Latest / The Sports Hangover Daily / Giants Land Pick 10 for Dexter Lawrence: 5 and 10 Loaded | Apr 19, 2026
Transcript
- The Giants just traded Dexter Lawrence for the tenth pick in the draft. New York now has five AND ten. And if you think Joe Schoen isn't about to do something wild with that ammunition next week — you haven't been paying attention. Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Alright, let's get into it. The NBA playoffs kicked off last night with four Game Ones — and all four home teams won. But the game I can't stop thinking about is Denver and Minnesota. The Nuggets took down the Wolves one sixteen to one oh five, and Jamal Murray put on a show that was equal parts brilliant and baffling. Thirty points. Sixteen for sixteen from the free throw line. Perfect. Flawless. Did not miss a single freebie all night. And yet — the man went oh for eight from three. Zero for eight! That's a stat line that shouldn't be possible. It's like throwing a perfect game while also hitting three batters. But Murray found every other way to score and it didn't matter. Jokic did Jokic things — twenty-five, thirteen and eleven, another casual triple-double in a playoff opener. The Wolves actually had the lead early, but Denver flipped a switch in the third quarter with a seventeen to two run that just buried Minnesota. Anthony Edwards had twenty-two, but he's clearly dealing with that sore right knee, and you could see it limiting him. If Ant can't be full Ant in this series, the Wolves are cooked. Denver looked like the team that's been here before — because they have. Over in LA, the Lakers handled the Rockets one oh seven to ninety-eight, and the hero of the night was — checks notes — Luke Kennard. I mean, look. When Luka Dončić is out with a hamstring and Austin Reaves is out with an oblique, somebody's gotta step up. Kennard went nine for thirteen from the field, five for five from three, twenty-seven points. His first twenty-plus game as a Laker. LeBron ran the show with nineteen, eight and thirteen assists. And here's a cool moment — LeBron and Bronny both got minutes, making them the first father-son duo to ever play in a playoff game together. That's pretty damn special regardless of how you feel about the Bronny situation. Houston was also without Kevin Durant, so this was basically a MASH unit on both sides. The Rockets got seventeen apiece from Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard, but they never really threatened in the fourth. Word is Luka could be back as soon as Game Three, and if that happens, this series is basically over. In the East, the Knicks handled the Hawks one thirteen to one oh two at the Garden. Jalen Brunson had twenty-eight and Karl-Anthony Towns went off for twenty-five, with nineteen of those coming in the second half. When KAT decides to be aggressive after halftime, that Knicks team is a different animal. OG Anunoby chipped in eighteen. Atlanta's gonna need more from Trae Young if they want to make this competitive. And Cleveland steamrolled Toronto one twenty-six to one thirteen. Donovan Mitchell poured in thirty-two. Max Strus came off the bench for twenty-four. James Harden had twenty-two and ten dimes. The Cavs shot fifty-four percent from the field and fifty from three. That's just disgusting efficiency. RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes combined for forty-five for the Raptors and it wasn't remotely enough. Toronto's got a long series ahead of them. Now for the NFL, because there's a LOT happening heading into draft week. The Giants pulled off a blockbuster Saturday night — they shipped Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals for the tenth overall pick. Straight up. No sweeteners. Lawrence requested a trade two weeks ago after seven years in New York, and Cincinnati is gonna give him the extension he wanted. For the Giants, this is fascinating. They now hold picks five and ten in a draft loaded with talent. Joe Schoen literally flew to Arizona right after the trade to watch receiver Jordyn Tyson work out. Over twenty teams showed up for that workout. Tyson's stock is skyrocketing days before Pittsburgh. The Vrabel-Russini story keeps getting messier. Quick version — photos surfaced of Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini at an adults-only resort in Sedona. She resigned from The Athletic while under internal investigation. The Athletic asked her for evidence backing her version of events. She never provided it. And now the NFL says they're not even gonna investigate Vrabel. No personal conduct policy review. Nothing. Vrabel skipped the Patriots' pre-draft presser but will have to face the media after the draft. That's gonna be uncomfortable. One more NFL nugget — Will Anderson Jr. is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Three years, a hundred and fifty million with the Texans. A hundred and thirty-four million guaranteed. Plus a no-trade clause. The man is twenty-four years old. Good for him. Here's my Hangover Take for today. Four home teams won last night, which is fine and expected. But I'm looking at today's slate, and the game I'm most interested in is Detroit and Orlando. The Pistons are the one seed in the East. Just sit with that for a second. Detroit. The one seed. This franchise was a laughingstock three years ago. Cade Cunningham has turned into a legitimate star, they've got depth, they've got swagger. But being the one seed means you're now the team everyone's gunning for. Orlando's scrappy, they play hard, and they've got nothing to lose as the eight. If Detroit drops Game One at home today, the narrative flips instantly. Every talking head will be asking if the Pistons are pretenders. That's the pressure of being on top in a city that isn't used to it. I think Detroit wins — but I think it's ugly, and I think it takes them a few games to figure out that playoff basketball is a whole different sport. That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.