Figgie & the Moose: Knicks force game six against Pacers
Figgie & the Moose: Knicks force game six against Pacers
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Welcome to 'Figgie & the Moose' with PIX11's Nelson Figueroa and Marc Malusis, where we break down the day's sports news and headlines through in-depth conversation.
Join us daily on PIX11+ streaming at 1:30 p.m. as we provide commentary and analysis for the world of sports: local and national.
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On Friday, Figgie and Moose react to the New York Knicks defeating the Indiana Pacers in game five of the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
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WIRED
26 minutes ago
- WIRED
This Palm-Cooling Device Helps You Recharge During Workouts
When I ran track in college (10 years ago, sigh), my team's physical therapists were always pushing us to utilize any and all recovery tools, no matter how ridiculous they seemed to us college kids. We'd leave practice with protein shakes in each hand, our shins bulging with ice bags that were plastic-wrapped to our legs as we waddled on our way to the dining hall. We dutifully visited the training room three times a day to take an ice bath or get an ultrasound, transcutaneous electrical muscle stimulation, or the simultaneously loved and dreaded Graston massage. Foam rolling and mini-band work were staples. Ever since then, I've been fascinated by how trainers and coaches can use recovery methods to make people better athletes, or simply bounce back from marathon training faster. When the Nice Rocc, a new handheld palm-cooling device that claims to improve athletic performance by rapidly speeding up muscle recovery, came onto my radar, I was intrigued. Even better, the Rocc is manufactured in Boulder, Colorado, close to where I live in Denver. I got to drop by the Nice headquarters myself to see how this thing is made. Super Fast Cooling Photograph: Kristin Canning Palm-cooling, also called palmar cooling or vasocooling, uses the glabrous, or hairless, skin that humans have on the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet. This skin contains special blood vessels called arteriovenous anastomoses that contract quickly and widely, making them a great area to target if you want to cool core temperature. That aids in muscle recovery and helps athletes go harder for longer. When you hold a palm-cooling device, it sucks heat from the body and sends cooled blood back into the circulatory system, dropping core body temperature fast. Athletes can take advantage of these tools during rest periods in games or between reps in practice. These devices are even being used to help firefighters and military personnel fight heat stress. As a performance tool, palm cooling is research-backed. Today, professional coaches and players in the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL, as well as tennis, soccer, and Olympic athletes, are using these products to get an edge in games and during training. Nice has already established itself as an iceless recovery-tool maker with the Nice1, a portable cooling and compression device, but the Rocc is its first foray into cooling for performance instead of injury recovery. It's a dense, rounded cylinder that weighs 5.3 pounds, but it has several factors that set it apart from other options on the market. While most palm-cooling devices, like the CoolMitt, require some setup (usually in the form of adding cold packs or water to the vessel), the Rocc utilizes solid-state electronic cooling, similar to that found in mini fridges. Small squares inside the machine contain two different conductor metals that meet at a junction. Sending electricity to the junction triggers the Peltier effect, causing the outward side of the squares to feel cool, white the internal side of the squares heats up. (This heat is released through fans in the middle of the Rocc.) All this means that you only have to make sure the Rocc is charged before you can use it. It can run for two hours on a single charge. Once you turn it on, it only takes about two minutes for it to reach the proper cooling temperature (50-60 degrees Fahrenheit). Dropping down to a lower temp causes those glabrous skin blood vessels to constrict, sending your cooled blood on its way through your body. Lights on the device let you know when it's ready to go and the charge status. Pushing It Nice recommends the Rocc for anyone looking to amp up their training or competition performance, but you're supposed to hold onto it for at least two minutes to get the best results. (A haptic timer vibrates every thirty seconds to help you keep track.)


New York Times
26 minutes ago
- New York Times
Pascal Siakam leans on his championship credentials to will Pacers into NBA Finals
INDIANAPOLIS — As the Indiana Pacers celebrated Saturday night's 125-108 win over the New York Knicks in Game 6, stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam embraced on the court. It was the moment for which Siakam had been brought to Indianapolis. The Pacers acquired Siakam on January 17, 2024 from the Toronto Raptors. Siakam had spent his entire career with Toronto and was a key member of their 2019 NBA championship team. With the trade, Siakam, twice an All-Star in Toronto and again this season with the Pacers, brought leadership and winning experience to a young, gutsy team. Siakam was meant to be a perfect complement to Haliburton. Advertisement And he delivered. 'Well, if you have the right player to build around, it can happen much faster than you think,' head coach Rick Carlisle said. 'Getting Tyrese made it very clear what our identity as a team needed to be. We needed to be a fast-paced team with shooting, and we had some good shooting at the time. 'The Siakam trade took things to another level.' Great leaders remain resilient under pressure. Facing a potential closeout Game 7 on the road, Siakam rose to the occasion at home in Game 6. The Pacers had an opportunity to beat the Knicks in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, but they came out unenergetic, unmotivated and flat. New York jumped out to an early lead, which they never let up, and Indiana never really locked in. Siakam finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists — the only Indiana starter to score in double figures. After the poor showing, Pacers players were confident that they would watch film and turn things around. They vowed to fix their mistakes and defend the Knicks' sharpshooters with more urgency. And in Saturday night's game, the Pacers showed and proved they deserved to be on basketball's biggest stage, advancing to the franchise's second-ever NBA Finals. Though Haliburton got off to a relatively quiet start, Siakam was the first Pacer to score in double figures. Siakam was smooth on the offensive end, hitting turnaround jumpers as New York looked for an answer for him. He also leaked out on multiple possessions, sprinting ahead of Knicks defenders for easy baskets. On the defensive end, he was dominant, keeping Karl-Anthony Towns from becoming too much of a threat. In the decisive home victory, Siakam led all scorers with 31 points, his third 30-plus-point game of the series. Shooting 55 percent from the field (10 of 18) and including 2 of 5 from 3, Siakam's next-level performance earned him Eastern Conference finals MVP. ALL LOVE FOR PASCAL 🫶🫶 Pacers teammates celebrate @pskills43 winning ECF MVP and getting the Larry Bird Trophy 👏 — NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2025 'Congratulations to Pascal. So deserving guy's been a rock of consistency all year, and a lot of guys contributed to this game,' Carlisle said. Pascal Siakam earns the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference Finals MVP @CBS4Indy | @FOX59 — Alexa Ross (@AlexaRossTV) June 1, 2025 In the series against the Knicks, Siakam was a steadying presence on the court, averaging 24.8 points. And thanks to his championship pedigree, Siakam provided valuable advice to his teammates in the locker room. 'We brought in a champion, and then you brought in someone that's been there before … someone who had to work his way up,' Pacers big man Myles Turner said. 'He's a G League champion, G League finals MVP, and (an) All-Star. (He's) someone who's also seen the highs and lows and (has) that championship experience. There's only so much I can tell guys. 'When you have someone who's actually been in trenches, who has actually felt what it feels like … it's so underrated, just the emotions this time of the year. You don't sleep. You lose hair. You can't explain that if you've never been here before.' "We brought in a champion."@Original_Turner on the impact that @pskills43 has had on the Pacers since last season's trade 👏 Siakam leads IND to the Finals, beginning Thursday, 6/5 at 8:30pm/et on ABC! — NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2025 Winning a ring with the Raptors was not the only reason leaving Toronto was one of the most difficult moments of Siakam's career. Toronto's 'Jurassic Park' was the place that fostered his love for basketball, before he knew basketball was a lifestyle somewhere in the middle of America. 'It was a tough moment, I think being in Toronto … I came there as a little kid, and it was a huge part of who I am as a person. And having to leave that place was hard,' Siakam said. 'From the first time I had a conversation with Chad (Buchanan, Pacers GM), (president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard) and coach (Rick Carlisle), this was a goal. I think that just how amazing they've been throughout the whole process, just supporting me, not that I needed the words of affirmation, just being there for me. 'And just so much support from the organization, the fans. I can never take it for granted. It's rewarding to be able to be in this position. (It's been a) full year and a half but to be able to get to this level and have the opportunity to play for an NBA championship, that's amazing.' "It's been a crazy journey." Pascal Siakam discusses the winding road leading him to his 2nd NBA Finals, this time as ECF MVP 🤩💯 — NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2025 Siakam came ready to make an impact, and did as soon as he donned the blue and gold. In 41 games for the Pacers during the 2023-24 campaign, Siakam averaged 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists. After Indiana's season ended in the Eastern Conference finals, Siakam invited his Pacers teammates to his home to build upon the chemistry that had started to bloom during the season. Advertisement 'I think that's one of the reasons coming into the summer I invited everyone to my house. We got to hang out. And every single person on this team is an amazing person,' Siakam said. 'It's just a bunch of good guys. And when you have that, and everyone is committed to the work, and there's no selfishness and it's all about winning, that's what you want to have. 'And another thing … we're resilient. We won't stop. And when there's bad games, we're still gonna be here. We're gonna wake up every single day and we're gonna go to work, and that's what you want from a team. That's why I always ride for these guys.' Pascal Siakam dropped 31 in our Game 6 clincher 😮💨 — Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 1, 2025 And his guys ride for him. They have since the very beginning, especially Haliburton. The All-Star point guard was the first to buy in, knowing what was at stake. 'When we brought him here, we had a vision,' Haliburton said. 'We envisioned doing something like this, doing something special. It's just really special that he's been here. He's been like a big brother for me, someone I can really trust, somebody that I can really lean on and talk to, and just somebody who can always keep me steady.' Siakam has especially been a steadying presence for Bennedict Mathurin, the third-year guard/forward from Montreal. The two share more than their native language, French, and Canadian residence at different points in their lives. They share a similar competitive spirit, a never-ending work ethic, and the desire to rise above expectations. 'He's good, he's amazing,' Mathurin said. 'He's always the same — even-keeled — whether we win or we lose. He's been there before, so it's easy to know what he's talking about. It's easy to follow what he knows best. This moment is amazing.' Advertisement The moment Siakam raised the Larry Bird Trophy next to Reggie Miller in front of a sold-out, gold-out crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the kid from Cameroon joined the rich fabric of Indiana basketball forever. Because he now understands, 'in 49 states, it's just basketball.'


Forbes
29 minutes ago
- Forbes
College Star Xaivian Lee Signs Signature Sneaker Deal
College basketball star Xaivian Lee has signed a sponsorship deal with Serious Player Only. College basketball star and NBA prospect Xaivian Lee already has a deal for a signature sneaker. The Toronto native who played at Princeton and is now with the University of Florida signed a deal with Serious Player Only for a multi-year brand sponsorship that includes a future signature shoe. 'SPO is a young and upcoming brand with a strong belief in their products and future,' Lee tells me, 'similar to how I view my own story.' Oigi Yang, CEO and co-founder of Serious Player Only, says that Lee brings innovation, craft and an unstoppable work ethic that can inspire. 'Xaivian is more than a rising star,' Yang says, 'he's a cultural bridge, and we're proud to walk this global journey with him. This partnership represents more than just a brand and athlete endorsement, it's a statement about the future of sports branding.' The new deal for Xaivian Lee includes a future signature sneaker. Yang says value-driven brands can stand 'toe-to-toe with legacy giants' by having a focused understanding of their audience. With basketball continuing to expand globally—and with young players—Lee says that upcoming athletes gaining more notoriety could be the future of sports branding. 'I wouldn't be surprised to see similar, innovating things like this in the future,' the 21-year-old says about signing a signature deal so early in his career. George Langberg, founder and CEO of GSL Sports Group, helped craft the sponsorship deal and says the combining of Lee and SPO offers a partnership where 'vision meets craftsmanship.' MORE: Xero Shoes Set To Release X1 Basketball Shoe Worn In NBA SPO, which already has Toronto Raptors Jonathan Mogbo, the first NBA player to sign with the brand, and a top-ranked high school point guard in Emilee Skinner, adding Lee will be about more than just another name on the roster. The brand has committed to a future signature shoe, immediate signature colorway releases and full creative freedom in a collaborative design process as the brand looks to amplify Lee's influence 'across Asia and North America.' Xaivian Lee is from Toronto and will play at Florida next season after playing at Princeton ... More previously. 'I'm excited to be a part of the creative process in both the shoes and clothing,' Lee says. 'I want to inject my sense of style into their already existing ideas and create something special.' From a performance point of view, Lee says SPO's different sneaker models 'strike a nice balance of performance, functionality and style.' A key feature of SPO footwear is the interchangeable insoles, providing differing performance needs. 'I enjoy the optionality with the different insoles to adjust to my needs,' Lee says. Lee's looking forward to seeing where Serios Player Only heads and how he can be a part of that. 'Looking for a brand to partner with, I thought Serious Player Only has a really good vision on where they want to be,' he says. 'I'm really excited to see where the brand can go in the future and how I can be a part of that and help bolster it even more. I love seeing how Serious Player Only is growing across regions and building something unique globally as a young and upcoming brand.' MORE: On's The Roger Footwear Line Modernizing And Growing