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After Houston’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, we finally got a long-awaited update on Steven Adams’s availability. In the post-game press conference, Ime Udoka said: “Marcus is day-to-day, game-to-game. We’re hoping to have him back, possibly next game. Steven will be out for at least a week or two.“

This means that Adams would return sometime between the Celtics game on November 2 and the Nuggets game on November 9.

This raises an interesting question: Can the Rockets trust Steven Adams to be a reliable piece of the rotation? This is the third season he’s missed time with injury, but for more, check out James’s piece here.

If you want my opinion on the matter, I feel that it is complicated. Houston should not be relying so heavily on a 33-year-old Steven Adams in the first place, and it was Rafael Stone’s job to acquire another backup center during last year’s trade deadline or offseason if he can’t trust Clint Capela to play a similar role. But then again, the NBA is not NBA 2 K; you can’t just throw a trade together, snap your fingers, and have it work. There are logistics to the matter that are unfathomable to the average fan from a contract perspective.

Additonally, I love Steven Adams and have enjoyed having him on the team, but my desires don’t exactly matter when the purpose of the NBA is to win a title, which is likely a good thing because a team of “guys Holly likes” would likely consist of players such as Adams, Gerald Green, and Victor Oladipo.

To try and conclude my jumble of emotions and thoughts, my opinion on the Adams injury is that it is unfortunate for both the team and for Adams himself, as being injured SUCKS!

Houston will be back in action next versus the Milwaukee Bucks, but in the meantime, let me know what you think about the Adams injury, and as always, be sure to check back at The Dream Shake for all things Rockets news.

On Monday night, the Dallas Mavericks played the Miami Heat, and recorded a 113-109 victory over the winless Heat.

Cooper Flagg showed signs of growth in this game. He racked up a tremendous stat line, with 29 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks.

For a guy who is now reportedly 6-10 1/2, Flagg, who is still 19, moves with incredible guard-like skills. He’s disruptive defensively, and he can dominate on that end, as he showed against Miami.

He’s also able to dominate on the offensive end, and for a guy who’s pushing 6-11, his agility is pretty amazing. In some ways, he reminds us of Toni Kukoc, who rose to greatness with the Jordan-era Bulls, but he’s got a meaner streak than Kukoc had.

Anyway, check out these highlights from Monday night’s game, and remember where he was at Duke. He was a real force with the Blue Devils, but Flagg has gone way beyond what he was then.

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There are games where Steph Curry drops 50 and the building shakes, and then there are games like Monday night in Denver, where he barely shot in the first half and still walked out of Ball Arena with the cleanest stat line of his career.

Curry made all eight of his field-goal attempts, went a perfect 3-of-3 from deep, and knocked down all five of his free throws. That’s 24 points with zero misses and zero hope for the Nuggets. And the 134-114 win in Denver was Golden State’s first of the season, which means the first W of 2026-27 came with a bow on it. Did you know that the Warriors are officially undefeated in franchise history when Steph doesn’t miss a shot from the field?

If you tuned in early and saw Curry’s box score at the break, you’d have assumed something was wrong with his back. He took exactly one shot in 14 first-half minutes. The man has lapped the entire history of the sport in three-pointers and he spent the first two quarters with his shooting hand holstered.

He wasn’t hiding, though. He was setting the table, throwing a long outlet to Podziemski for an easy bucket after Podz beat everybody down the floor, and letting Denver get comfortable guarding everyone else. With Steph taking just one shot, the Warriors still went into halftime up 60-56.

Then the third quarter happened, and Curry went Unanimous MVP mode.

Curry scored 17 of his 24 in the third period, and most of that came in a burst over just 7:30 of game clock, the kind of stretch where you stop watching the ball and start watching the Denver bench just to see who’s going to be the first guy to put a towel over his head. And he did all of this in 26 minutes and change, which is the part that should make every Western Conference coach a little nervous heading into his 18th season.

For a guy who’s made more insane shots than basically anyone who’s ever picked up a basketball, perfect nights have been almost nonexistent. This game was only his second time accomplishing the feat. The first came back in 2011, when sophomore Steph went 5-of-5 (3-of-3 from three) for 14 points in a 102-89 win over the New Orleans Hornets. So Monday’s 24 is the most he’s ever scored without missing, which is a very different thing from his career high, and also a very funny thing to be able to say about the greatest shooter alive.

The New Orleans Hornets?! That’s how long ago it was, folks. Monta Ellis was still the guy in the backcourt and Steph was still the skinny kid people wondered about with the ankles. We’re talking witnessing two perfect shooting games in fifteen years that have led to two Warriors wins.

How long can that last? Through the season’s first three games, Curry is averaging 23.7 points on 52.6 percent from the field, and Monday was the loudest possible proof that the gas tank isn’t anywhere near empty.

But the thing worth remembering about this night in Denver is what happened before the perfect part kicked in. Steph Curry went 8-for-8, and somehow he still wasn’t the only reason the Warriors won. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg poured in a career-high 31 points with 12 rebounds, while Podziemski added 18, Gui Santos chipped in 13 and Al Horford had 11.

If Golden State can keep giving him that kind of help, maaaaybe the 38-year-old won’t have to be perfect every night.

Yaxelmania is beginning Dub Nation. The rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is fresh off of winning a national championship at Michigan, taking Summer League MVP in Vegas, and stealing the show in Denver on a night he shared the court with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Stephen Curry.

His 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists helped the Golden State Warriors get their first win of the season after dropping their first three games. It also got him a primetime audience with legends turned commentators Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, and Vince Carter in the postgame TV show. What struck me the most about his interview was the way he openly beamed with gratitude on the chance to speak with those greats, asking for advice live on national television.

That’s what balling will do: get you noticed by Hall-of-Famers. The superlatives are rolling in: he’s got a nice jump shot, the physicality to get to where he wants to go, a smooth handle with passing feel, and an indomitable will. Just ask Luka Doncic. Speaking of Hall-of-Famers, Yax has been receiving great praise from his legendary teammates, starting with Stephen Curry:

“His composure. I mean, he just came off of an NCAA championship run,” Curry noted. “He’s just got composure, feel. His size on the court; he’s a matchup problem. He’s never really in a hurry and he’s starting to see the pictures really well. Distributing, being aggressive, getting to the free-throw line, offensive rebounding. Kind of the full package. So, we want him to continue to play aggressive.” 

His Coach Steve Kerr pontificated on Big Yax’s play as well:

“He’s strong as an ox and skilled,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “The way the game’s played, he’s going to be able to get to the line a ton. You saw it tonight. Basically in all the critical moments of the game, we just put the ball in his hands. And for a rookie to be that advanced already, it’s extremely rare.”

Then you open the stat sheet, and Yaxelmania starts evolving from a fan base on a desperate sugar high into legitimate data. Through four games, Yax is averaging 21.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists, and according to Real App he’s the first player since 1960 to post those numbers through his first four career games. He’s doing it on 45/35/77 shooting, and he’s leading all rookies in scoring in a draft class that was supposed to belong to Boozer, Dybantsa and Peterson.

The company he’s keeping is getting ridiculous. Per OptaSTATS, his 87 points and 37 rebounds make him one of four players since 1985-86 with at least 85 points and 35 rebounds through his first four games. The other three are Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal, so a No. 11 pick who came up through junior college is now sharing a list with three Hall of Fame centers and Shaq’s size-22 sneakers. In franchise history, the only Warriors rookie who scored more in his first four games was Wilt Chamberlain in 1959. If your only competition is a guy who averaged 37.6 as a rookie, you can sleep just fine.

Denver is where the history books really started paying attention. Per Stathead, his 31, 12 and 6 in about 31 minutes made him only the second rookie ever to post 30, 12 and 6 in 31 minutes or less, and the other one is Victor Wembanyama. He’s the first Warriors rookie since Rick Barry in 1966 with 30 points and 12 rebounds in a game, and the first since Steph Curry in February 2010 with 30, 10 and 5 in a road win. Take the rookie label off and it’s still rare air. According to AP’s Josh Dubow, Yax is only the fifth Warriors player in the last 50 seasons with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a game, joining Kevin Durant, Jason Richardson, Ralph Sampson and Joe Barry Carroll.

And let’s not forget the action at the free throw line. Rookies usually have to wait a couple of years before the refs give them that whistle, but Yax has already taken 31 free throws through four games, seventh-most in the league, and he went 12-of-13 in Denver. “Strong as an ox” is a cute quote until you’re the guy trying to keep him out of the paint in the fourth quarter.

Four games is a sample you could fit on an index card so trust me, I know it doesn’t mean he’s the next LeBron James. But every list he’s landing on is full of names that ended up in Springfield, and the Warriors only have so many Steph years left to find out whether he’s headed there too. Also Bill Simmons said he was looking like the next LeBron James against Denver.

NO, seriously!

Yaxel Power is on the rise.

LOS ANGELES — The highs of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 3-0 start — Luka Dončić‘s high-scoring nights, Walker Kessler’s historic statistics, Austin Reaves’ incredible selflessness — mostly delayed what became their inevitable undoing in Tuesday’s 136-129 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Defense.

The Blazers have personnel that can match Los Angeles’ scoring output on any night. The first time an opponent required the Lakers’ defense to win them a game, trouble arose.

The Lakers kept pace with the Blazers through the first three quarters, until a 3-point barrage, spearheaded by Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija in the final quarter, lifted Portland overtop. Avdija and Ja Morant finished with 23 points apiece, Jrue Holiday added 22 off the bench and Lillard ended the night with 21.

“We just got broken down a lot,” head coach JJ Redick said postgame. “I thought the game plan discipline, [Know Your Personnel], personnel discipline, wasn’t where it needs to be. Sometimes, early in the season, these are good learning lessons that we can all apply, both as coaches and as players.”

The four Portland ball handlers scored in varying ways all night: Avdija at all three levels, Morant slicing through the defense and finishing in the paint, Holiday as the off-ball savant he is and Lillard in high pick-and-roll actions either burying a moving three or drawing a foul on the shot.

Adding to the Lakers’ woes,guys like Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan shot 6-for-7 combined from beyond the arc.

“It was also an incredible shot-making game,” Redick added. “You have to also factor that in. … We have to be able to rely on our defense every night. And if we score 129 points at home, we should be able to get enough stops to win.”

Kessler, the Lakers’ defensive anchor, was not able to affect the game as he had in the previous three, mostly because much of Portland’s actions came at the perimeter. Even then, he admitted that he still needs to be held accountable as the “linebacker” of the Lakers’ defense.

“Personally, I’ve got to do a better job at pursuing the ball,” he said. “Being more aggressive to attack the ball. We kind of got it back a little bit in the second half … I’ve got to start that way, being more aggressive. But we’ll figure it out.”

This team’s detractors knew a night like this would come. They talked about it all offseason. The Lakers would have to outscore their opponents every night. For a few moments through the first three games, Los Angeles was able to put up at least a quarter of competent, momentum-shifting defense.

But on a night where the opposing team was able to keep pace with Dončić’s 41 points and nine assists, Reaves’ uber-efficient 26 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili’s 16 off the bench, the defense just wasn’t there.

Early in the season, it’s still seen as a problem that can be solved. But the Lakers saw firsthand what will happen in the most important games if a solution isn’t found.

You can follow Connor on Twitter at @cmorenoNBA.

And just like that, the Lakers’ attempt to go 82-0 flies out the window.

It was always going to be tough for LA to go undefeated this season, particularly with a defense as porous as the one they showed on Tuesday. In a game where they shot 56.3% from the field and 39.5% from three, the Lakers allowed Portland to hit 59% of its shots and half of their 36 threes.

Not ideal!

But, at the same time, not a surprise. Jokes aside, a loss was going to come and likely soon. The Lakers can learn from this. It’s still just the fourth game for a mostly new roster. They still have plenty to figure out.

So, let’s dive into the loss. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

Matisse Thybulle

21 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 3 turnovers, 2-5 FG, 1-4 3PT, -12

A pretty ho-hum game from Thybulle. For those wanting to argue taking him out of the starting lineup, a performance like that helps their case.

A common theme in these is to not overreact to one game. But Thybulle has to bounce back.

Grade: D

Ziaire Williams

28 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 4-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-2 FT, -3

On the flip side, this was a really good Williams game. He was active on both ends and had a couple of nifty moves on fastbreaks to set up teammates for easier finishes.

Grade: B+

Walker Kessler

32 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers, 6-9 FG, 1-4 FT, +3

It was a pretty underwhelming first half followed by a decent second half. There’s going to be a greater emphasis placed on his production with Kevon Looney struggling so much, which isn’t entirely fair to him.

But he also just has to be better.

Grade: C-

Austin Reaves

39 minutes, 26 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 fouls, 8-13 FG, 4-8 3PT, 6-7 FT, +0

Another consistent, strong game from Reaves, who has made a habit of that so far. It goes a bit under the radar because of Luka’s recent explosions, but Austin is now averaging 26.5 points per game on 63.3% shooting.

The defense wasn’t great, though, which will knock him a bit.

Grade: A-

Luka Dončić

36 minutes, 41 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 block, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers, 12-22 FG, 6-15 3PT, 11-13 FT, +7

Another fantastic Luka game that wasn’t enough. His shotmaking remains unmatched in the league. The Blazers resorted to faceguarding him down the stretch the moment he crossed half court and it still didn’t matter.

Grade: A+

Quentin Grimes

18 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 1-4 FG, 0-3 3PT, -10

If there was a night for him to have a strong game, this would have been the one. With Thybulle struggling, a big Grimes showing would have increased the noise for him to start.

Instead, he struggled and was turning down open shots at the end of the game. Finding the best role for him off the bench will be one of the challenges in the coming weeks.

Grade: D

Sandro Mamukelashvili

24 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 6-9 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, +6

This was easily the best Mamu game of the season. He hit a pair of big threes at the end of the second and then was at the center of a big run in the second half. He justly closed the game in this one.

Grade: A-

Jake LaRavia

19 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 steals, 4 fouls, 2-2 FG, 1-1 3PT, -10

As good as his season started, this was an outlier. Truly, this was a woeful game.

His four fouls were all of the frustrating variety. One was on a Deni Avdija drive to give him two free throws, one was 94 feet from the basket with the player falling out of bounds and with the Blazers in the bonus and the last two were on 3-pointers.

Ten free throws on four fouls. Efficiency, but in the worst possible way.

Grade: F

Collin Sexton

13 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers, 4-11 FG, 0-5 3PT, 1-2 FT, -8

A weird stat line that doesn’t really tell the whole story. A pair of backdoor cuts where Luka found him for layups saved his stat line from looking much worse.

I’m not going to be too harsh on Sexton yet because he didn’t have a preseason that everyone else had.

Grade: C

Kevon Looney

Unplayable. Next.

JJ Redick

I originally wanted to give him credit for going to Mamu to close the game, but as I wrote out these grades, I realized everyone else on the bench had pretty rough nights.

He at least won his first challenge in this one, even if it was very obvious. But there wasn’t much else to break down. He only played Looney five minutes, but maybe it’s time to at least try something else.

Grade: B

Tuesday’s DNPs: Jaden Hardy, Bronny James, Arthur Kaluma, Jarred Vanderbilt

Tuesday’s inactives: Cameron Carr, Adou Thiero, AK Okereke, Chris Mañon

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.