The Knicks' massive issue vs. the Pacers in 1 terrible stat

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When Rick Carlisle was asked why the Pacers struggled so much to score late in Game 3 during the Knicks' furious rally back into the game, his answer was simple.

"They had a lot of their better defenders in the game," Carlisle said, alluding to the fact that Jalen Brunson sat out most of the fourth quarter with foul trouble. Karl-Anthony Towns played the entire quarter and ran the Knicks' offense to perfection, leading New York to a win.

But when Carlisle said that, I thought this was a bit of gamesmanship. I thought he was trying to coax Tom Thibodeau into benching Brunson again in the fourth quarter.

But, as it turns out, he was dead serious. And, more importantly, he was right!

That was demonstrated in Game 4 when the Pacers kept spamming the pick-and-roll with Tyrese Haliburton to get Brunson and Towns in the action with just three minutes left in a six-point game. Those six points felt like 20 because, well, the Knicks couldn't get a stop. Their two best players were turnstiles.

It was bad. Really bad. But it also doesn't feel that correctable, either.

The Knicks' two best players can't play together in this series. The numbers bear it out. According to data pulled from PBP Stats:

• The Knicks are a +10.76 in 127 minutes this postseason when Towns is on the floor without Brunson.
• The Knicks are +5.73 in 174 minutes this postseason when Brunson is on the floor without Towns.
• The Knicks are -4.63 in 438 minutes when Towns and Brunson play together.

That's a problem, guys! And I'm not sure how the Knicks are supposed to solve it.

Their two best players are also their best scorers. When they're both off the court, the Knicks' offense crashes and burns. They're a -12.86 in 39 minutes with a 92.9 offensive rating. You don't have to know precisely what those numbers mean to see that they're bad. That's untenable.

Staggering their minutes is reasonable, but the Knicks have done that already. They play a ton without each other and the results seem promising. But can you bench one or the other for an entire quarter at a time without the offense sputtering or wearing them down? The Knicks don't have many great options here.

That's why this series feels kind of over. Most people (including myself!)thought this series would be pretty close. New York had a solid shot of winning and advancing to the Finals.

The series isn't over until it's over. But, uh, I think we were wrong.

Smashing records — again

You can say what you want about Angel Reese, man. But nobody cleans up the glass like she does. In year two, she's still crushing WNBA rebounding records.

Reese became the fastest player to reach 500 points and 500 rebounds in just 38 games. That's pretty impressive considering some of the names that have come before her.

The Sky are still winless this season, so I'm sure she'd much rather have a 1 in the win column instead of this record right here. But that'll come eventually.

This is still something that should be appreciated. What she's doing is impressive.

CFB 26 is right around the corner

It's that time of year again. It's almost like Christmas in July. College Football 26 will be released in just about a month, on July 10. That means we'll be getting more content about the game as the release date approaches.

With that, folks, we have a glimpse of this year's cover. And, boy oh boy, is it an awesome one.

A look:

SOPHOMORE SEASON, LOADING!!!

Ryan Williams and Jeremiah Smith were two of the most electric players in college football last season. Having one on the cover would be great. Having two? I'm in love.

Hurry up, July 10. Can't wait.

Quick hits: Cam Brink is right ... The Fever are still worth it ... and more

— Cameron Brink made a fantastic point about roster expansion in the WNBA. Meg Hall has details here.

— Cory Woodroof says the Fever will still be fun, even without Caitlin Clark.

— Terry Bradshaw says the Steelers are a joke for pursuing Aaron Rodgers. Hard to disagree here.

— ESPN is off the rails. Kendrick Perkins' take here is proof.

— Jalen Ramsey is counting down the days until the Dolphins can trade him. Christian D'Andrea has more.

— Joe Burrow made a valid point here about the Bengals-Ravens game. Andrew Joseph has details.

That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️