Timberwolves bounce Warriors, Celtics stay alive; NFL schedule reactions; PGA Championship is underway

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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …

ANTHONY EDWARDS AND THE MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

When Anthony Edwards arrived in Minnesota, the Timberwolves had been to one conference finals ever. They’ve now been to two more — in consecutive years, no less — and Edwards, all of 23 years old, has emerged as not only a burgeoning superstar and franchise savior, but one of the faces of the league. Behind a wonderful team effort, the Timberwolves finished off the Stephen Curry–less Warriors, 121-110, in Game 5.

Edwards got plenty of help:

• Julius Randle continued his magnificent renaissance with 29 points on 13-for-18 shooting. A Knicks cast-off in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, Randle has flat-out just been lighting it up this postseason, Brad Botkin notes.
• Rudy Gobert had 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting and was a team-best plus-21.
• Edwards was more than happy to distribute, finishing with a postseason career-high 12 assists to go along with 22 points.

Then there’s Jalen McDaniels, Minnesota’s lanky, athletic super-defender/dunker and heady veterans Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo, who also provided sparks. This team is a nightmare to play against, and two of the flashiest teams — the Lakers and the Warriors — have found out in short order.

Earlier, the Jayson Tatum–less Celtics kept their season alive with a 127-102 win over the Knicks, who still lead the series 3-2.

Derrick White (34 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 7-for-13 from 3) was the star as Boston shot 45% from 3. With Boston needing players to step up after Tatum’s Game 4 Achilles rupture, White and Luke Kornet (10 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks) very much fit the bill. Jaylen Brown (26 points) responded nicely from a rough Game 4.

👍 Honorable mentions

🏀 And not such a good morning for …

THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Curry had a chance to return for Game 6. We’ll never find out if he would have.

We also don’t know if the Curry-Jimmy Butler pairing is a championship-caliber one considering Curry only played in 13 minutes of this series. What we do know is this is the first time the Steve Kerr-coached Warriors have lost in fewer than six games.

So, what’s next? Sam Quinn thinks they could be in on the potential Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.

• Quinn: “Golden State doesn’t have the most to offer. The Warriors could never outbid the Thunder or the Rockets or the Nets or a handful of other teams. … If the Bucks want Brandin Podziemski, they get Brandin Podziemski. A Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade is tricky from a cap perspective, but almost always doable with high enough stakes. … Don’t discount Golden State’s draft picks. All of their other post-2025 draft picks are in play, and you’d probably like to get your hands on as many deep future Warriors picks as you can right now.”

Not so honorable mentions

🏈 NFL schedule released: winners, losers, best video reveals

It’s here, and it’s glorious: The entire 272-game 2025 NFL regular-season schedule has arrived, and we have every team’s schedule right here.

Jeff Kerr broke down 10 must-watch contests, and Tyler Sullivan analyzed winners and losers from the reveal. Among the former is a team looking to bounce back.

• Sullivan: “Winner: 49ers — Based on their opponents’ combined over/under win total for the upcoming season, San Francisco has the fourth-easiest schedule in the NFL. The Niners also square off against just three teams that made the playoffs in 2024: the Rams (twice), Texans and Buccaneers. The Niners also have a well-situated bye week coming in Week 14. After that, three of their final four games on the season are at home, with their lone road game being in Indianapolis to face the Colts.”
  

The Commanders are also a winner with eight standalone games, and Jonathan Jones spoke with NFL scheduling guru Mike North about that and many more topics.

On the other end, the Cowboys are losers thanks to a historically difficult late-season stretch — Eagles, Chiefs, Lions, Vikings, Chargers, Commanders from Week 12-17 — Garrett Podell notes.

• Podell: “That makes Dallas’ 2025 squad the first in NFL history to have four consecutive games against teams with 14 or more wins the year prior (Weeks 12-15) and the first in NFL history with six consecutive games against teams with 11 or more wins the year prior (Weeks 12-17).”

Of course, the schedule release is only half the fun. Austin Nivison ranked every team’s schedule release video, including a deleted one.

 Here’s more:

🏈 College Football Playoff nearing seeding structure change

The superconferences get what the superconferences want. At least, it’s looking that way. The College Football Playoff powers are nearing a consensus to change the playoff seeding format.

The proposal would result in “straight seeding” rather than the four highest-ranked conference champions getting the top four seeds and, in turn, first-round byes. Consider last year’s bracket …

• Eventual champion Ohio State was ranked sixth entering the CFP.
• But because Boise State (ranked ninth) and Arizona State (ranked 10th) were the highest-ranked conference champions after Oregon (ranked first) and Georgia (ranked second), they received the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively. Ohio State slid to the No. 8 seed.
• Ohio State beat No. 9 Tennessee in the first round and then played (and beat) Oregon, which had to face the country’s sixth-best — but eighth-seeded — team.
• Lest you think I’m just pitying Oregon, Georgia got similarly disadvantaged. Eventual runner-up Notre Dame, an independent, was the fifth-ranked team but the No. 7 seed thanks to Boise State and Arizona State’s conference champion-boosted jumps.
• Notre Dame beat No. 10 Indiana in the first round and then played (and beat) Georgia, which had to face the country’s fifth-best — but seventh-seeded — team.

This new format would also clear up the rank-vs.-seed difference. The above examples show why the Big Ten and the SEC have long supported it, and the ACC recently added its support as well.

Another key reminder: Winning a conference still matters … a lot, Shehan Jeyarajah writes.

The proposal requires unanimous approval from the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame to be enacted for the upcoming season.

🏀 WNBA Power Rankings, top 25 players

There’s no such thing as “too much sports,” and that’s good, because we’re adding to our already-busy schedule with the WNBA season beginning tomorrow night.

Let’s start with Jack Maloney’s WNBA Power Rankings, and just like they ended last year, the Liberty are on top.

• Maloney: “The core of the title team is back, but much of the supporting cast is different. The most notable addition is Natasha Cloud, who will give them another elite perimeter defender, while the most notable absence is Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who will miss the season after undergoing knee surgery. Their wing depth could be a concern, but they are the favorites.”

Napheesa Collier‘s Lynx, who lost a heartbreaking Finals against New York, are No. 2. A’ja Wilson‘s Aces, Caitlin Clark‘s Fever and Nneka Ogwumike‘s Storm round out the top five.

The league isn’t short on stars. That made it tough on Jack to pick his top 25 WNBA players, but I think he did a great job. Here’s his top five:

1. A’ja Wilson — “Wilson is coming off arguably the best individual campaign ever …”
2. Napheesa Collier — “She set new career-highs in every major statistical category save for points, won Defensive Player of the Year, finished runner-up for MVP …”
3. Breanna Stewart — “She is still the same two-way force she has always been.”
4. Caitlin Clark — “We have never seen a player like Clark in the WNBA …”
5. Alyssa Thomas — “A wrecking ball in transition, an elite playmaker and a high-level defender …”

One big name we haven’t mentioned? No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers. You can see if she made the top 25 here.

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

⛳ We’re watching the PGA Championship. Here’s how.
⚾ Nationals at Braves, 12:15 p.m. on MLB Network
🏒 Hurricanes at Capitals (Hurricanes lead 3-1), 7 p.m. on TNT/truTV
⚾ Astros at Rangers, 8:05 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Thunder at Nuggets (Thunder lead 3-2), 8:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Wings at Stars (Wings lead 3-1), 9:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV