James Harden enjoyed his top scoring game of this postseason. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
This week, despite a meh performance from Devin Vassell, the Spurs took a 3-2 lead in their series against Minnesota; we learned that personal fouls in the playoffs are up 11 per cent from the regular season; and Anthony Edwards remains confident even as his Timberwolves have suffered two blowout losses to San Antonio. Other Fantasy basketball stories we’re following include…
James Harden Comes Through
Exactly one month ago we wondered whether the Cleveland Cavaliers could get back to the Eastern Conference Finals or perhaps beyond, and here they are, just a win away from a rematch with the New York Knicks, who beat the Cavs in five games in the opening round in 2022-23.
Two trends have emerged for Cleveland: one a season-long issue; the other limited to the postseason. The Cavs have struggled to win games when failing to score over 101 points all season long (1-8 in the regular season and 0-2 in the playoffs).
Their other bugaboo, and the more recent trend: Failing to win on the road in the playoffs. Cleveland had dropped all five roads games until prevailing on Wednesday in overtime in Detroit to seize a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Cavs really had to pull this one out of the fire as they trailed by nine points with under four minutes to play. But it was veteran James Harden – who has traditionally been vilified for his proclivity of not showing up in the postseason – who poured in 30 points to lead the way (becoming the first player in NBA history to have 30 or more points in a playoff game with six different teams).
It was the highest scoring game for the Beard in this postseason, and although he didn’t shoot it well, he did add eight boards and three treys while feasting at the line with 11 free throws made (despite getting an earful from the Detroit faithful).
After being traded from the Clippers to the Cavs at the deadline, Harden’s touches dropped significantly, but his three-point shooting never looked better. And while that accuracy from deep hasn’t continued into the playoffs, he’s still been sinking more treys in the postseason.
Harden has had his share of flameouts with a variety of teams, but – knock on wood – this union with Cleveland seems to be working, at least so far (thoughts echoed by coach Kenny Atkinson in the video below).
Harden was having a bit of a renaissance this season in L.A., but took a small step back for the Cavs, yet he was still a better Fantasy asset overall this season compared to 2023-24, when it looked like age was catching up with him.
He remains a top 50 dynasty player even with his 37th birthday approaching this summer. Do note, however, that Harden is likely to get even more games off next season in an effort to preserve his conditioning.
Can Phoenix Take the Next Step?
Back in March 2025, things didn’t look so good for the Phoenix Suns and sure enough, they wound up missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20.
Phoenix rose from the ashes this season, at least somewhat, improving to 45 wins to return to the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons. But the question now is what’s next?
This much we know at the moment: barring a trade to get back in the first round for a chance to get anywhere near the projected top five at FanDuel, the Suns won’t pick until the second half of the second round (No. 47) – a draft selection that’s not even their own (it was received from Philadelphia).
While it was great to see them back in the playoffs, after getting swept by OKC in the first round (and running their postseason losing streak to 10 games), it’s clear that more work is required to build Phoenix into a legitimate power in the West.
While Devin Booker continues to shine for the Suns, Dillon Brooks’ work in the postseason buoyed hopes that Phoenix has a pretty good Robin to Booker’s Batman.
Brooks scored 23 or more points in each of the final three games of the series, adding more rebounds than usual while providing across the board production in the series finale. Health was an issue for him this season, but you have to go all the way back to his rookie campaign to find a better long-distance shooting performance and he averaged his most steals since 2021-22. Oh, and there was the whole career-best scoring effort thingy. All told, Brooks flirted with 30 Fantasy points per game for the first time.
It’s hard to call an age 30 season a breakout, but Brooks’ Phoenix debut was a very pleasant surprise. And – apparently – he’s the only player in the league capable of guarding Victor Wembanyama. So you know his ego works.
Still, at best Brooks is a top 175 player for Dynasty purposes, but if you’re in a league that values trolling or playing dirty, he’s a first rounder.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Swedish rockers The Cardigans formed in 1992 and other than a six year break, remain active today. In 1998, they released their fourth album, Gran Turismo, and the second single “Erase/Rewind” reached No. 3 in Iceland.