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After being down 2-0, the Cavaliers have entirely flipped the script on Detroit. But this thing isn’t over.
Today’s Lineup
⚔️ Cavs in Charge
Cleveland won Game 5 over Detroit on Wednesday.
🔥 Getting the Fire Started
The WNBA is back in style.
5️⃣ Top Five Friday
Five possible Finals matchups we’d love to see.
🎉 Happy birthday to Ersan Ilyasova, Cole Anthony, Tristan Da Silva, and Sam Merrill! 🎉
SOTG: Enjoy x NBPA 🏀 👀
The whistles, the techs, the no-calls that change games. NBA officiating is one of the most debated topics in basketball, and State of the Game is diving in.
In this clip from Episode 2, Andre Iguodala and Grant Williams have an unfiltered conversation about the player-ref dynamic. The pressure of making split-second calls at the highest level, what fans don't see behind the whistle, and why the relationship between players and officials matters more than you think.
Brought to you in partnership with Stratusphere Gin, this is the kind of insight you only get from guys who have actually been in those moments.
We want to know YOUR thoughts! Reply to this email or drop a comment on IG with your take.
Game Recaps
Cavaliers win rubber match Game 5 in OT, beat Pistons 117-113
James Harden (30 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST) led the Cavs on a remarkable comeback to beat the Pistons in overtime and take the 3-2 series lead on Wednesday.
The Cavs, featuring Harden + Donovan Mitchell (21 PTS) and Max Strus (20 PTS) off the bench, came back from down 9 with just over two minutes left to tie the game at 103 at the end of regulation, thanks to Evan Mobley’s (19 PTS, 8 AST, 8 REB) free throws with 45 seconds left.
From there, Cleveland outscored Detroit 14-10 to secure the win. Cade Cunningham (39 PTS, 9 AST, 7 REB) had an impressive final line, but his six turnovers were another sign of his tendency to give the ball up so far these playoffs.
For now, it’s on to Cleveland for a crucial Game 6.
🏀 🏀 🏀
WNBA’s Portland Fire beat New York Liberty 98-96 at the buzzer, win first game in franchise’s return to WNBA
The 2026 WNBA regular season tipped off last week, and we’ve already seen some crazy things.
Take this: in the franchise’s return to the W after over 20 years, the Portland Fire won their first game back via a buzzer-beating shot from Sarah Ashlee Barker to beat Breanna Stewart (16 PTS, 10 REB) and the 2024 WNBA champion New York Liberty.
Portland had been led by Carla Leite (21 PTS) and former Lynx Bridget Carleton (26 PTS) the whole way, battling against Stewie and Pauline Astier (24 PTS), but Barker stepped into the moment when the Fire needed her most and delivered.
As the NBA winds down, don’t miss out on the W this summer!
🏀 🏀 🏀
🧠 Daily Trivia 🧠
Who was the first player to record back-to-back 50 point games in the 2000s?
Top Five Friday
It’s hard not to look ahead in the bracket when a few teams have moved on and a few series from the previous round are still going. Here are five possible Finals matchups that could still happen with the storylines we wanna see: ⬇️
Thunder vs. Knicks: This is a tale of two teams in very different places—one, the reigning NBA champions featuring the reigning MVP, and the other, a team that hasn’t won the Finals since 1973. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson going toe-to-toe in this matchup would be electric, especially because we’d also get to see a bunch of other great matchups like Chet vs. KAT and defensive battles between Lu Dort and Josh Hart. Sign us up!
Wolves vs. Knicks: The Wolves have been one of, if not the, best stories in the playoffs this year. Add that to a reunion between Karl-Anthony Towns and his former squad, and this would be a show-stopping Finals matchup. Just think of the quotes Anthony Edwards would drop in the postgame interview going up against his former teammate of four years.
Spurs vs. Pistons: San Antonio had two back-to-back 22-win seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24. In those seasons, the Pistons did even worse, posting abysmal 17- and 14-win seasons. You can talk about tanking all you want, but seeing these two teams in the Finals just two years removed from those terrible chapters in franchise history would be cool, we can’t lie.
Spurs vs. Cavs: The matchups between Victor Wembanyama and Evan Mobley in this potential matchup would be electric. Not to mention that it would put the Cavaliers in position for their first title post-LeBron, and potentially deliver rings to James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and a few other longtime guys who haven’t won it all yet. Love it!
Wolves vs. Pistons: Is there a specific character or storyline that puts Minnesota-Detroit leagues above one of the other remaining matchups involving an MVP candidate? Maybe not. But seeing these two squads in the Finals, both of whom have been defined by gritty, “next-man-up”, team-first basketball, would be incredible. Not to mention everything that an Ant. vs. Cade Cunningham duel would imply…
Which is your preferred 2026 Finals matchup?
Three in the Key
🎤 “We can change the order of the draft…”
The latest jab in the war between Adam Silver and tanking.
🏀 Graves, Boozer, Johnson Jr.
Who caught SROS’s eye at the combine in Chicago this week?
😂 Knueppel’s “Welcome to the NBA” moment
Andre Drummond is a big dude.
What We’re Enjoying
The playoffs are in full swing, but don’t forget that the draft is just six weeks away! The guys did a mock draft on Numbers On The Board this week—for all those whose teams have already been eliminated, now’s your time to shine.
Signing Off
Thanks for being here, Enjoyers! Talk on Monday. ✌️
