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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
NBA playoffs, Knicks on the mark, Celtics out, a new WNBA season, NHL playoffs - will Ovechkin hang up his skates? Howard Bryant of Meadowlark Media joins us. Howard, thanks so much.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning, Scott. How are you?
SIMON: Well, I'm in better condition than the Boston Celtics, and I rarely get...
BRYANT: Oh.
SIMON: ...To say that. They lost last night, oh, by - I'm trying to do the math - over 30 points to the New York Knicks...
BRYANT: Yeah. Yes.
SIMON: ...Who will advance to the conference finals. They'll face the Indiana Pacers, who reduced Cleveland to dust.
BRYANT: (Laughter).
SIMON: The Celtics lost their best player, Jayson Tatum, to an injury. It's been a battle for them without him, and that this Knicks team deserves recognition, don't they?
BRYANT: Yeah, not just a battle and not just an injury for Jayson Tatum, but a catastrophic one...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Achilles injury, which will probably take him out probably for all of next year. Let's not forget when Kevin Durant tore his ACL. It really took almost three seasons for him to even look like the Kevin Durant of old. So catastrophic injury, catastrophic ending for the defending world champions to go out the way they did - really bad loss and suddenly turns their future into great uncertainty.
However, yes, for the Knicks, outstanding win for them, outstanding resilience. They played six games, and I think in four of them, the Celtics were up double-digits. They blew two 20-point leads in the first two games. They blew a 14-point lead in New York. And so the Knicks earned this, and they are a tough team. They've got Jalen Brunson - great, great player. And this is a great opportunity for them. So you've got a shot right now, and if you're the Knicks, they're not - they're right where they want to be, and their fans are insane...
SIMON: (Laughter).
BRYANT: ...And they've got Jalen Brunson. Good for them. I mean, this is - it's a great moment for them. The Knicks have not been to the NBA finals since 1999.
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: This is a moment.
SIMON: In the West, Oklahoma City Thunder, Game 7 tomorrow hosts the Nuggets. Of course, they were the best team all year, but Denver has maybe the best player in the league right now in Nikola Jokic. What do you think?
BRYANT: No maybe about it. No maybe about it. Jokic - Nikola Jokic is unbelievable. Once again, you look at - this is what the playoffs are for, to see who the best players are with the most pressure. And the Cavaliers are out in one-seed. The Celtics are out two-seed. The Rockets are out two-seed in the West. And now, a Oklahoma City team that ran through the league all season long, they're 48 minutes away from getting knocked out or getting some new life, so that's what the playoffs are all about. A lot of fun.
SIMON: WNBA season tipped off last night. Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, center of all eyes, of course. Higher attendance and ratings than ever before. What do you foresee?
BRYANT: I foresee more of the same. I think that this is the - a great moment. You've got the Liberty as defending champions. You've got Caitlin Clark in her second year. You've got Paige Bueckers as a rookie. She made her debut last night. And so, once again, I think that one of the hard things about where this league is is constantly trying to gauge how much progress equals progress. But I think we're looking at it right now. A lot of stars in that league, and a lot of players to watch.
SIMON: Finally, hockey - Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Washington Capitals on Thursday, ending their season. Does it also end the extraordinary playing career of Alexander Ovechkin...
BRYANT: Ah, it's a great question.
SIMON: ...Thirty-nine? He became the NHL's all-time leading scorer this season.
BRYANT: Yeah, you break a record that Wayne Gretzky held, and you know, he's the greatest goal scorer of all time. It's a very bitter way to go out for him. But obviously, what he did this season, you're going to remember it for a long time. And I don't see him retiring. I mean, if he sticks with it he could score - he could score 900 goals. He could score a thousand goals.
SIMON: Oh, my word.
BRYANT: And so, depending on what his motivation is, it's up to him. And just one shoutout to Game 7 for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Defending champion, Florida Panthers.
SIMON: There might be a Canadian involved in this sport.
BRYANT: (Laughter) And let's face it, we've been talking about all these teams for so long. The Maple Leafs they should be a Cinderella story. They have not even been to the Stanley Cup since 1967 in hockey crazy Toronto. So I'm kind of pushing for them. Let's see what they - this might be it for them.
SIMON: Howard Bryant, thanks so much.
BRYANT: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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