Editor's note: until our watch picks model ships, only the marquee game carries a Vegas line. The rest of the slate is just what's on tonight and the matchups worth your time. Tile-by-tile detail lives at watch.uristocrat.com.
The Finals start tonight, and they start with the Knicks. New York is in the championship round for the first time since 1999, riding an 11-game playoff winning streak into San Antonio to meet Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. Around it, a full MLB day-to-night slate and two WNBA games fill out the card.
Marquee: Knicks at Spurs, NBA Finals Game 1 (8:30 PM ET, ABC)
This is the matchup the league wanted: the smallest star in the Finals against the tallest. Jalen Brunson, all 6-foot-2 of him, swept Cleveland and Philadelphia on the way here and has the Knicks playing the best basketball of anyone left. Wembanyama is the other side of it, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and Western Conference Finals MVP, fresh off a seven-game war with Oklahoma City that ended last Saturday. The rest gap is real. New York has been idle since May 25 and should be the fresher team. San Antonio is the team that just proved it can win a slugfest. The swing question is what Brunson can get to in the half court when Wembanyama sits in a drop, because entire stretches of the floor close off when he is near the rim. Mitchell Robinson is questionable with a fractured bone in his right hand but plans to play in a brace.
Vegas line: Spurs -4.5, total 218.5, moneyline Spurs -185 / Knicks +154 (DraftKings, via ESPN).
Also tonight
- Padres at Phillies (6:40 PM ET). The pitching matchup of the night. Cristopher Sanchez has been the best version of himself for Philadelphia, a 1.47 ERA through his first 13 starts. San Diego counters with Walker Buehler, who has been hittable at 4.88 and needs a bounce-back on the road.
- Tempo at Liberty (7:30 PM ET). New York's other team. The Liberty host expansion Toronto in Brooklyn on national TV, a chance to stay near the top of the league before the Finals tip across the river.
- Mets at Mariners (3:40 PM ET). Freddy Peralta against George Kirby in a cross-country afternoon game. Two arms with swing-and-miss stuff and a Seattle lineup that punishes mistakes at home.
- Tigers at Rays (1:10 PM ET). Quietly the day's best ERA duel, Troy Melton at 1.42 against Nick Martinez at 1.62. If you want a tight, low-scoring game to start the afternoon, this is it.
- Mercury at Storm (10:00 PM ET). The nightcap out West. Phoenix visits Seattle to close the WNBA doubleheader.
- White Sox at Twins (1:40 PM ET). Chicago's Erick Fedde is still chasing a first win, up against Minnesota's Taj Bradley. A get-right spot for the Twins at home.
The thread tonight is fresh versus tested. The Knicks have rested for a week and the Spurs have not stopped fighting since the spring. Everything else is undercard, but a Sanchez gem in Philadelphia and a Liberty win across the river would make it a clean night for New York. Afternoon baseball starts just after 1 ET, the Finals tip at 8:30.
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