The Golden State Warriors will play the Miami Heat for Monday’s Martin Luther King Day matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM PT in San Francisco and can be watched on NBC Sports Bay Area.
The Warriors moved to a season-best five games above .500 after defeating the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, 136–116. It was a true team effort for Golden State, with eight players scoring in double figures. The Warriors shot 54.8 percent from the field and stayed hot from beyond the arc, knocking down 23 of their 52 three-point attempts (44.2 percent).
Golden State’s offensive rhythm continues to roll, as Saturday marked their third straight game with 10 different players making at least one three-pointer — a feat that has never been accomplished in NBA history.
The Warriors are the first team in NBA history to have 10 players make at least one 3-pointers in three straight games @NBCSWarriors
Curry on Golden State's recent 3-point shooting: "We have capable shooters all up and down the roster. … It's how you create good looks that get everybody involved. It's a fun way to play, not knowing who's going to get (the ball) on any possession."
Saturday’s blowout win came despite a surprising late scratch for Warriors wing Jimmy Butler, who was ruled out shortly before tip-off. After the game, head coach Steve Kerr said he was informed by general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. that Butler missed the game due to personal reasons.
Steve Kerr on Jimmy Butler’s late scratch and how the Warriors, said he doesn’t expect it to be anything long term:
“I got the word from Mike [Dunleavy] that everything is fine. He just had a personal thing that came up right before the game.” pic.twitter.com/G95j5XK4es
While Butler is expected to return for Monday night’s matchup against his former team in the Heat, Golden State will be without De’Anthony Melton, who will be sitting out the first night of this back-to-back.
De’Anthony Melton is out for the Warriors tomorrow night against the Heat on the front side of a back-to-back. They face the Raptors on Tuesday night. Jimmy Butler is not on the injury report after missing Saturday night for personal reasons.
In addition to Butler’s return, former Warrior Andrew Wiggins will make his first appearance at the Chase Center since last year’s blockbuster trade. Wiggins was a key piece of Golden State’s 2022 championship run and should receive a warm ovation in his return to the Bay.
I hope Dub Nation gives him a GREAT welcome back tonight!! He deserves it. https://t.co/Lw9YdioBC3
MADRID (AP) — Akor Adams scored a second-half double, the second of which was a last-gasp penalty, to give Sevilla a 2-2 draw at home to Elche on Monday and stop it from recording a fifth consecutive loss.
Sevilla came into the match having failed to score in its last four, and pressure on Argentine coach Matías Almeyda was mounting.
The match quickly seemed to get away from it as Elche took the lead after 14 minutes, with Aleix Febas drilling a low shot into the bottom corner for only his second goal of the season.
German Valera made it 2-0 early in the second half when he stroked home a low drive through a sea of legs after the ball was cleared from a corner kick.
But Adams pulled his side back into the match 15 minutes from time when he showed quick reflexes to prod home from close range after the ball had come back off the post.
Just back from the Africa Cup of Nations, the Nigeria international then secured the draw two minutes into stoppage time when he side-footed home a perfect penalty.
Sevilla had also hit the woodwork twice. The result leaves it in 14th place on 21 points.
Those pesky young Wizards fought in this game. This is despite the dominance of James Harden. As the game went on, the Wizards decided to double team Harden to get the ball out of his hands more. Harden did a great job of moving the ball to the open man and making the Wizards pay for it.
The Wizards countered by making the oldest team in the league do what any young team should do, make them play in transition more. This adjustment helped the Wizards to get out of the gates in the 2nd half with a 10-point lead. That lead would soon evaporate as the Wizards could not keep up the momentum.
Washington’s Achilles’ heel in this game was turnovers. 19 turnovers for the game, especially the ‘live ball’ turnovers killed the Wizards’ momentum at points in this game. Clippers got 21 points off of turnovers and also won the battle of points in the paint, 60-38. Those two issues stopped the Wizards from having a chance in this one.
Wizards lose this one 110-106. Next up, they will host the Denver Nuggets at Capital One Arena on Thursday evening.
BRIGHTON, England (AP) — Teenage substitute Charalampos Kostoulas scored with an audacious overhead kick in a stoppage-time to give Brighton a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Monday.
The 18-year-old Greece international received a knock-down from Jan Paul van Hecke, chested the ball up in the air and then executed a perfect bicycle kick from about 10 yards out.
“I’ve seen him score better in training, but that was unbelievable," Brighton captain Lewis Dunk said of the late strike. "He’s a special talent. You’ve seen glimpses, and there’ll be many more things to come from him. He’s adapting to the country, new league, and he’s shown what he can do. That shows exactly what he can do.”
The result extends Brighton's unbeaten run to five games and leaves it in 12th place in the Premier League, three points and three places above its south coast rivals.
Fabian Hürzeler’s team started well but faded after an encouraging first few minutes and Bournemouth took the lead with a disputed penalty in the 32nd minute.
Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen was adjudged to have fouled Amine Adli in the box and after a video review Marcus Tavernier confidently dispatched the penalty.
Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola lamented giving up the late goal and decried what he said was a run in which it seemed like “everything is going against us.”
But he was sanguine about the quality of Kostoulas's decisive strike.
“It is an incredible goal, it is an overhead kick into the top corner, and we finish with a point," he said. "It is a shame because the players have done an incredible effort. We are going point by point and we have to keep going.”
The announcement came during the NBA on NBC pregame show ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Cleveland Cavaliers game to tip-off the league's Martin Luther King Jr. Day broadcast slate.
The fan vote accounted for 50% of the selection process, along with a survey of NBA players and a media panel that were each responsible for 25%. The starters were chosen regardless of position.
Dončić -- who led both previous rounds of the fan vote in the weeks leading up to Monday's reveal -- held onto his lead with 3,402,967 total votes. He was the only player in the Western Conference to break three million votes; the next closest player to him was Giannis Antetokounmpo, who received 3,218,398 votes.
Despite being the top vote-getter among fans, Doncic finished sixth in the player survey and second in the media survey with 95 votes apiece. Notably, his Lakers running mate, LeBron James, saw his 21-year all-star starter streak end.
NBA All-Star Game starters
Western Conference
Here is the full starting five for the West:
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (12th All-Star selection)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder (fourth)
This year's All-Star Weekend will be held from February 13-15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The festivities will tip-off on Friday with the Celebrity All-Star Game and Rising Stars Game, followed by the three-point and dunk contest on Saturday all leading up to Sunday's All-Star Game.
This year's format, however, will be a little different. Instead of a traditional East vs. West matchup or the pickup-style experiments of years past, the NBA is pivoting to a USA vs. the World format. The All-Stars will be split into three teams consisting of eight players and will compete in a round-robin tournament. Reserves will be chosen by the coaches, though there is a contingency plan in which commissioner Adam Silver would fill out the teams if there are not enough domestic or international players.
Brandon Bussi made a few spectacular saves and the Carolina Hurricanes rode him to defeat the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1 on Monday afternoon at the Lenovo Center.
Bussi, who has been setting NHL records since his time with Carolina, set another one on Monday. He won his first 18 NHL games in the shortest period of time in NHL history, just 22 games. His record is now 18-3-1.
A couple of Bussi’s saves were unbelievable including one against a wide open Tage Thompson where the TNT announcers thought the sharpshooter had scored and announced it as such, but the replay actually showed that the goaltender had somehow gloved the shot.
The Hurricanes have now won three games in a row and they are 7-1-1 in their last nine games.
Just a minute and change into the game, Rasmus Dahlin fired a shot that got past Bussi to give the visitors the early lead.
Later in the opening period, the red hot Andrei Svechnikov tied the score off another nice pass from Sebastian Aho.
Svechnikov now has five goals in the last three games and Aho has assists on all of them.
Both teams battled back and forth in an entertaining, physical match up.
Two minutes into the third period, Seth Jarvis scored a powerplay goal to give the home team a lead they would struggle to hold onto the rest of the way.
Bussi made a few saves right up until the final moment to hold the Carolina lead.
The Canes now have a couple of well earned days off before they play their next game against Chicago on Thursday night.
Stephen Curry just became the oldest point guard ever voted to start an All-Star Game at 37 years old. He did it by beating out a 23-year-old Anthony Edwards who by many accounts is having a better statistical season. He did it in the same announcement that ended LeBron James’ 22-year stranglehold on All-Star starter status. And he did it knowing full well that Father Time is undefeated, even if Curry keeps trying to break his ankles with every hesitation dribble.
This is the fascinating inflection point of Curry’s career. He’s caught in basketball purgatory: the space between “still elite” and “eventually mortal.” He’s not chasing the longevity records that define careers like Kareem’s or LeBron’s. His late start to superstardom, those ankle injuries that nearly derailed everything, the way he didn’t make his first All-Star team until age 25? All of it ensures that the volume stats will never tell his full story.
But right now, Curry occupies something even more interesting: he’s the bridge between eras, the standard that the next generation has to meet while simultaneously being the gatekeeper they have to overcome. There’s a relatively high level of shock radiating through basketball social media for Curry being selected over Anthony Edwards to start the exhibition.
Edwards is an absolute monster on the court, and many probably assumed he was the clear choice over Curry. But the fans (50% of the vote) and the players said no. Not yet.
Curry finished third in fan voting, second in player voting, which propelled him to his 12th All-Star Game. Even diminished, even on an struggling Warriors team, Curry remains the most compelling argument for why basketball transcends box scores.
Here’s what makes this moment deliciously complex: Curry knows he’s not winning this war against Father Time. But Curry’s is absolutely trying to win every individual battle with such style that when the war is finally lost, his legacy will burn throughout history. If you had told me back in 2011 that the skinny guard next to Monta Ellis would be an All-Star, I’d be like “I hope so but when??”. Now he’s tied with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, and Hakeem Olajuwon at 12. Oh yeah and Warrior legend Rick Barry! Not bad for a guy who was supposedly too small, too fragile, and too one-dimensional.
But unlike LeBron, who’s defying age by rewriting the athletic longevity blueprint, Curry’s rebellion looks different. He moves with deliberateness now, a calculated dismantling with very cut, dribble, and screen. He’s methodically deadly from anywhere on the court, moving at his own pace.
Edwards will get his moment. The 24-year-old is everything the modern NBA demands: athletic, versatile, clutch. He’s is definitely a major part of the future of basketball.
But today? The old guard said: not yet, young king. Go head Steph, show em how it’s done!
ROME (AP) — Nico Paz scored a brace but missed a penalty as Como comfortably beat Lazio 3-0 in Serie A on Monday to record a third consecutive away win by the same scoreline.
The win also puts Como just two points behind fifth-place Juventus, while Lazio is in ninth, with only one win in its last six games.
Martin Baturina scored the opener after two minutes although he was lucky that his shot took a deflection before hitting the net.
Paz was running the midfield with the poise that won him the Serie A’s Rising Star of the Month award in August and September and doubled Como’s lead midway through the first half when he rifled home a left-foot shot from close range.
The Spanish-born Argentina international but saw his penalty saved in the 35th minute but still added a second goal four minutes after the break.
Baturina’s cheeky backheel set Paz up and he stroked home a precise finish from the edge of the box.
Verona remains bottom
Verona remains rooted to the bottom of the league after a 0-0 draw at Cremonese earlier Monday.
Giovane came close to breaking the deadlock for the visitors but the stalemate extended Verona’s winless run to six games.
Verona is level with Pisa on 14 points remains in last place on goal difference. Both clubs are three points adrift of Lecce and Fiorentina.
I had the great privilege of chatting with Baseball America National Writer Carlos Collazo. We had a very fun discussion about his background, the Nationals’ new regime, the state of the Nats farm system and the 2026 draft. He provided great insights, as you would expect from one of the best prospect evaluators and writers in the space.
How He Got Started:
Ever since he was a kid, Carlos Collazo has been in love with baseball. His dad taught Carlos and his brothers to play the game at a very young age. By the time he was four, a young Carlos Collazo was all-in on baseball. Like most kids, Collazo dreamed of being a big league player.
He played through high school, and even had a D3 offer. However, he had realized that his playing career was not going to progress beyond that. Collazo, who already had a growing passion for writing, decided to go to the University of North Carolina to pursue a career in journalism.
This led him to Baseball America, which was headquartered in that area back then. He landed an internship at BA before turning that into a full-time job. Collazo has been working for BA since 2017.
Along the way, Collazo has met plenty of interesting people in the baseball industry. One of the people he formed a connection with over the years is new Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni. He told me that, “Paul Toboni is one of the few POBO’s I have gotten to know prior to him becoming a the top guy”.
Collazo said that he has a lot of respect for what Toboni did in Boston and holds the people he has hired in high regard. As a younger writer who has spent a lot of time in the scouting world, Collazo has a unique insight into Toboni, as well as the baseball world as a whole.
Nationals BA Connection:
There is one hire Toboni made that Collazo has an extra special connection to though. Just over a week ago, the Nationals hired Peter Flaherty to be the Northeast area scouting supervisor. Flaherty worked with Collazo on draft content for Baseball America over the last few years.
The two had a special relationship, with Collazo calling him “my side-kick”. Unlike Collazo, who arrived at BA straight out of college, Flaherty had scouting experience. He worked with the Yankees for a year and spent his summers working in the Cape Cod League. Collazo said that, “Peter has a natural feel for evaluating and scouting players”.
While he is excited for his friend, Collazo told me he was going to miss his pal. He noted that he is “very sad to see him leave from a selfish perspective because he’s done an awesome job helping us elevate our draft coverage”. Collazo’s loss is the Nationals gain, as it seems like the organization is getting a great scout and someone Collazo described as an A+ human.
Thoughts on Washington Nationals Prospects:
Flaherty will help rebuild a Nationals farm system that Collazo sees as solid, but underwhelming. While he is high on some of the prospects, Collazo does not think the system is where it needs to be considering how much the Nats have been losing in recent years.
None of the Nats prospects are going to appear in the top 15 of BA’s next update. For a team that has not had a winning season since 2019, you would like to see more blue chip talent in the system. That is not to say the Nats have a bad system according to Collazo.
One guy he really likes is 2025 first overall pick Eli Willits. The high school shortstop got overshadowed by the more famous Ethan Holliday, but Collazo is very high on Willits. He did not appreciate some of the rhetoric about Willits being the cheap option, saying, “There were a lot of narratives that kind of got out of control that I did not appreciate”.
Collazo did not think that selecting Willits first overall was a reach, and noted that Willits was a top 3 player on their board in a draft without a clear top player. According to him, Willits was the most well rounded offensive player in the class and had less swing and miss questions than Ethan Holliday.
One move that really excited Collazo was the Harry Ford trade. He called it, “the exact kind of deal you want to make if you are a team like the Nationals”. While he sees Jose A. Ferrer as a good reliever, Collazo noted that quality relievers are a luxury rather than a necessity for rebuilding teams like the Nats. If you can move a reliever for a quality prospect like Ford, you should do it, at least according to him.
This logic makes plenty of sense. It is much harder to find a legitimate starting catcher than it is to find a reliever. Bullpen arms emerge all the time, but starting catchers are not something that you can find for cheap.
As a player, Collazo likes Ford’s offensive game. He noted that Ford has been productive for multiple seasons in the minors now. With his success in AAA last year, Collazo noted that Ford is, “ready for a chance to prove what he can do in the big leagues”. Given the presence of Cal Raleigh, he was never going to get that chance in Seattle.
Collazo, and those around the game are more skeptical about Ford’s defense though. He said that there are split opinions around the game as to whether Ford can stick behind the plate. The Nationals are going to give him a shot, but this is something worth monitoring. Fortunately, Ford does have the athleticism to play the outfield.
2026 Draft Deep Dive:
One thing Collazo was excited about is the upcoming 2026 draft. He called it, “one of the deeper, more impactful classes I have covered in a few years”. Unfortunately for the Nats, they are not able to pick at the top of this year’s class due to the lottery rules.
Collazo sees UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky as the clear cut number 1 overall pick heading into the season. If he was in the 2025 class, Collazo said the Nats would have had no debates about who to take. He sees Cholowsky as someone who is close to being a generational talent, though he did not fully commit to using the G word.
While it is a bummer that the Nats will not be able to take Cholowsky, Collazo is still very bullish on this class. He mentioned a group of college hitters, including Sawyer Strosnider, Derek Curiel and Chris Hacopian as potential options for the Nats. On the high school hitting side, he shouted out Jacob Lomard, Tyler Spangler and Blake Bowen.
Collazo is also excited by the three best college arms, which he sees as Liam Peterson, Cameron Flukey and Jackson Flora. Even though the Nats are not picking until 11, Collazo is confident that they can come out of this draft with a great haul.
He also seems more confident that these players will get the development they need. Under the old regime, Collazo said that the team “really struggled to make the players they are getting into their system better”. He added that he is curious to see if that can change under this new regime.
Some players he thinks the new regime could help include Alex Clemmey and Seaver King. When it comes to Clemmey, he just needs to throw more strikes. Collazo said he loves Clemmey’s stuff but projects him as a reliever right now due to his control issues.
Collazo really liked King coming out of college due to his athleticism and sneaky power. Despite a rough year, Collazo is still confident in King because of those attributes. He was encouraged by King’s showing in the AFL and is intrigued to see if he can keep that momentum going.
Overall, Collazo appeared cautiously optimistic about the state of the Nats. He loved the hires the new regime has made, but still seems to believe the team is not that close yet. It was really fun to talk to Carlos and our conversation was fascinating. If you want to see his work, subscribe to Baseball America, or watch some of his content on the BA Youtube channel. He is one of the best in the business, and it was a real pleasure to chat with him.
CLEVELAND — It’s been wrong to use injuries as an excuse for many of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ losses this season. They’ve had enough talent in many of those defeats to prevail still. Monday afternoon was different. They didn’t have the right combination of skill players to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder and were thoroughly outclassed as a result, leading to a 32-point loss.
The Cavs were without Darius Garland (toe), Sam Merrill (hand), and Max Strus (foot). That’s the wrong combination of guys to be missing against a physical, Oklahoma City defense that can wreak havoc on teams that don’t have numerous on-ball creators.
Donovan Mitchell has traditionally struggled in the matchup against the Thunder. Lu Dort was seemingly built in a lab to make life difficult for Mitchell. He’s one of the few guard defenders who can match Mitchell’s combination of speed and athleticism. In two games last season, Mitchell combined to score just 19 points on 6-31 shooting.
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the Mark Price shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE.
That trend continued. Mitchell scored the opening basket of the game, but then went cold. He wasn’t able to get past Dort and couldn’t shoot well enough behind the arc to make up for it. Mitchell ended the night with 19 points on 5-18 shooting to go along with three assists.
The Cavs’ offense struggled as a result. They went 4-18 (22.2%) from beyond the arc in the first half. That isn’t going to do it against a Thunder team that does such a good job at protecting the paint. This led to a 15-point deficit for Cleveland at the break.
The Cavs showed some fight in the third quarter. The Thunder pushed the lead to 20 early in the frame, but the Cavs were able to make it nominally competitive by cutting the deficit to nine late in the quarter. But that was as close as they would get in the second half.
Any comeback was reliant on the three-ball falling. That never happened as the Cavs ended the game shooting 8-25 (22.9%) from three.
The Thunder made this a one-sided affair in the fourth quarter. They won that quarter 45-25 to make this game much more lopsided than it felt for the first three quarters.
Oklahoma City’s defense made Cleveland’s bigs beat them with how they were able to defend Mitchell. The Cavs’ bigs weren’t able to consistently do so. Mobley’s boxscore looks fine. He finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, but he didn’t have the superstar impact the Cavs needed him to have if they were going to win this one.
Jarrett Allen added 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. SGA had a game-high 30 points on 12-20 shooting to go along with three assists. Holmgren supplied 28 points and eight rebounds.
Even though the Thunder were missing two starters in Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus), they were able to maintain their identity. Cleveland wasn’t. The Cavs didn’t have the shooting or playmaking to play how they wanted to. And right now, that’s what separates Cleveland from the truly elite teams.
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Wednesday as they hit the road to take on a Charlotte Hornets team that is playing better than expected over their last few games. Tip-off is at 7 PM.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that when he got into the lineup, he wanted to see what the club’s top prospect looked like, but against the first-place Canes, the youngster was carefully spotted, accumulating just 10:47 in the contest. This has been a trend for the veteran coach with young prospects like first-rounders Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund, who, for most of their call-ups to Buffalo, have played on the fourth line.
The young Finn is having an excellent second season with AHL Rochester thus far, with 30 points (9 goals, 21 assists) in 34 games, which is just five points short of his rookie season total with the Amerks. The 19-year-old was expected to be a main cog of Team Finland for the recent 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships in Minnesota, but Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen did not release Helenius to play in his third WJC.
With the injury to center Josh Norris, Ruff leaned heavily on Tage Thompson, playing the top center nearly 23 minutes on Monday, and gave more of a workload to Ryan McLeod and Ostlund, who have shown more offense with the Sabres this season playing higher in the lineup.
The Blue Jays traded pitchers Conner Greene and Dominic Leone to the Cardinals for Randal Grichuk.
Greene had been a good prospect. He was #100 on Baseball Prospectus’ Top 100 Prospect List in 2016. Then, in 2017, Conner played in New Hampshire and had a 5.29 ERA in 132.2 innings. He had trouble finding the strike zone; he walked 86 batters (with 92 strikeouts). Conner didn’t have a great time with the Cardinals and was DFAed after the season. After that, he went to the Royals, Dodgers, and Orioles and has played in Mexico for the last couple of years.
He had 25.1 innings in the majors, with a 7.11 ERA.
Leone was a waiver pickup for the Jays from the Diamondbacks before the 2017 season. He did an excellent job in our bullpen, putting up a 2.56 ERA in 65 relief appearances, 23 walks, and 81 strikeouts in 70 innings. Dominic wasn’t as good with the Cardinals. He had a 5.15 ERA in 64.2 innings in two seasons, with 30 walks and 72 strikeouts. They released him in November 2019. He pitched for Cleveland in 2020 and the Giants for two years. In 2023, he pitched for the Mets, Angels and Mariners with a 4.67 ERA in 51 games.
Grichuk? He was a Blue Jay for four seasons, hitting .243/.289/.461 with 90 home runs. Hot and cold would be a way to describe him. He had his moments but didn’t become the star we envisioned. His bWAR was 4.4 for those four years.
We won the trade, but the Jays also gave Randal a five-year, $52 million contract. He was traded to the Rockies just before the 2022 season, with the team sending $9.7 million along with him in exchange for Raimel Tapia and prospect Adrian Pinto. Tapia was released. Pinto is still in the Jays system, he played 19 games for Vancouver last year, hitting .284/.376/.608
I thought Denver might be a good spot for Grichuk, but he didn’t hit any better there, with a .275/.321/.448 batting line and 27 home runs in 204 games over two seasons. In July, he was traded to the Angels. Since then, he’s played for the Diamonbacks and the Royals. He is a free agent at the moment.
Five Years Ago
The Jays signed George Springer to a six-year, $150 million contract.
Five years into it, Springer has a .263/.343/.461 with 119 home runs and a 14.4 bWAR. 2025 was his best season with the team, hitting .309/.399/.560 with a 4.8 bWAR. By FanGraphs’ numbers, he’s been worth $118.2 million for the Jays, so a good season will bring his value up to the value of the contract (which is pretty unusual for a player who signs a long-term free agent contract).
There’s been a lot of rumors about other teams’ interest in Michael Porter Jr. (latest reportedly from Milwaukee) and Nic Claxton (as always from the Lakers) and even Day’Ron Sharpe (at least historically from Boston), but nothing about Cam Thomas.
Thomas famously exercised his qualifying offer back in the summer and less famously switched agents in the fall, for the second time in a year. He’s now with Wasserman Group, one of the league’s high-power firms. It would seem the two are linked, that Thomas is interested in moving on. The Nets are willing to help, it’s been said, but Thomas seems stuck as much now as he was in the summer. Maybe more. Thomas, with his $6.0 million expiring deal, does not appear to have any suitors, partly a function of how teams regard his style, partly because there’s so little cap space out there. .
Since he declined the Nets two-year, $30 million deal with the second year non-guaranteed, Thomas has added impediments, that admittedly were mostly put in place by choice, and worse luck. By exercising his QO, Thomas will have the right to approve any trade but would lose his Bird Rights, reducing his changes of a big contract even more. And worse, earlier this season, he missed 20 games with his fourth episode of hamstring soreness or worse. That brings the year-and-a-third total to 73 games.
As Jordi Fernandez said yesterday, Thomas remains part of the rotation, but won’t be returning to the starting lineup now that he’s 10 games back following his rehab from hamstring strain. He even praised Thomas both before and after Sunday’s game.
“Yeah, right now we’re happy where he is, with the minutes he’s playing with the production, being that willing playmaker; because we know how good he is scoring the basketball, and taking those steps defensively,” Fernandez said before the Nets’ 124-102 loss in Chicago. “We need him to stay in those minutes a little longer because I, we, just believe what’s most important right now is his body, and (how) his body reacts. And we’re gonna be cautious with that.”
Indeed, he will sit vs. the Suns Monday at Barclays Center as the Nets play a back-to-back and their third game in four days. He is often joined on the bench in such situations by others with injury concerns: Michael Porter Jr., Egor Demin, and now Drake Powell. All missed some time between Summer League and now, the midway point of the season. Thomas, of course, missed the most and to a nagging injury. So no surprise.
So, where he is is where a number of people thought he’d ultimately wind up: as a sixth man capable of heating up almost instantly. That is not where the 6’4” 23-year-old wants to be. He wants to start. When our Lucas Kaplan asked him few games back whether he was disappointed not starting, Thomas smiled and politely declined comment.
How’s he done in those 10 games since his return? Not bad but with some caveats. Brian Lewis lays it out:
Since his return, Thomas has averaged a dozen points on .408 shooting and .340 from deep in 22.5 minutes. He handed out a career-high tying ten assists Sunday in Chicago; but he had just three points on 1-of-6 shooting in a loss where the Nets desperately needed him to replace absent Michael Porter Jr.’s missing offense.
Sunday’s 1-of-6 number sticks out. As Lewis notes, when MPJ is out, they need their best sniper to pour it on. The numbers in the boxscore didn’t bother his head coach, though. Fernandez keeps noting that scoring is Thomas’ “super power” and he’ll continue to encourage it. On Sunday, he even offered praise for Thomas’ game.
That said, there have been too many moments like these: Cam hogging the ball while others are left to simply look on…
“I’m not going to believe that he’s going to go 1-for-6 ever again. So I’m ok with him taking those shots,” Fernandez said post-game Sunday. “But the [playmaking] ability, he proved it today. Ten assists to one turnover, that’s elite.
“And he’s more than capable of doing it. He can see the game. He’s a smart player. They’re being aggressive in coverages, and he’s found his teammates. And his teammates made the shots. So very proud of him and the way he played. He shared the basketball, made this simple play over and over and over. And that’s the CT with playmaking that we want to see.”
How long will they “see” is the issue. If he isn’t moved by the trade deadline, now 17 days a way, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent who the Nets could in theory re-sign. More likely, he’ll seek a big deal elsewhere.
In the meantime, you’d expect his new agent will be scouring the NBA horizon, lobbying for his client and looking in the league’s nooks and crannies for spots he might just fit. Might Thomas be included in some multi-team deal where his contract becomes a facilitating piece? Might he wait till season’s end? One thing is certain, his opportunities are at this point limited.
Boston Celtics (26-15) at Detroit Pistons (30-10) Monday, January 19, 2026 8:00 PM ET Regular Season Game #42, Road Game #23 TV: Peacock, NBC Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 97.1 The Ticket, SiriusXM Little Caesars Arena
The Celtics have reached the end of their 4 game road trip as they visit the Detroit Pistons. This is the 4th and final meeting between these two teams this season. The Celtics are 1-2 in the 3 games so far. They lost 119-113 in Detroit on October 26. They won 117-114 in Boston on November 26 when they ended the Pistons 13 game win streak. The Celtics lost 112-105 in Boston on December 15. They are 257-143 overall all time against the Pistons and 100-87 in games played in Detroit.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 4.5 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1.5 games ahead of 2nd place New York. They are 2 games ahead of 4th place Toronto, 3 games ahead of 5th place Cleveland and 3.5 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 7th place Orlando. The Celtics are 19-9 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 14-8 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 2 games.
The Pistons are 1st in the east, 4.5 games ahead of 2nd place Boston, 5 games ahead of 3rd place New York, 6.5 games ahead of 4th place Toronto, 7.5 games ahead of 5th place Cleveland, 8 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 7th place Orlando. They are 21-6 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 16-4 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 2 games.
The Celtics are playing in the final game of a 4 game road trip. They lost the first game in Indiana and won in Miami and Atlanta. The Celtics will then play one game at home against Indiana before playing Brooklyn and Chicago on the road. They will then have another 4 game home stand where they will host Portland, Atlanta, Sacramento and Milwaukee. Then, they are on the road at Dallas and Houston before playing Miami, New York, and Chicago at home, taking them into the All Star Break.
For Detroit, this is the final game of a 6 game home stand. They beat New York, Chicago, Phoenix and Indiana and lost to the Clippers. Next, they will play at New Orleans and then home vs Houston and Sacramento. Then it’s a 3 game road trip through Denver, Phoenix and Golden State before hosting Brooklyn, Denver, Washington, and New York. Then games at Charlotte and Toronto will take them to the All Star break.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum remains out as he continues to rehab from the Achilles tear he suffered in last year’s playoffs. Josh Minott will miss his 7th game with a sprained ankle. Chris Boucher is probable due to back soreness. Payton Pritchard missed his first game of the season on Saturday with ankle soreness but is available for this game. For the Pistons, Ron Holland II is questionable due to illness.
Probable Starting Matchups PG: Derrick White vs Cade Cunningham
SG: Payton Pritchard v Duncan Robinson
SF: Jaylen Brown vs Ausar Thompson
PF: Sam Hauser vs Tobias Harris
Sam Hauser
C: Neemias Queta vs Jalen Duren
Celtics Reserves Anfernee Simons Josh Minott Xavier Tillman Jordan Walsh Hugo Gonzalez Luka Garza Baylon Scheierman Chris Boucher 2-Way Players Ron Harper, Jr Max Shulga Amari Williams Injuries/Out Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out Josh Minott (ankle) out Chris Boucher (back) probable Payton Pritchard (ankle) available
Head Coach Joe Mazzulla
Pistons Reserves Javonte Green Jaden Ivey Bobi Klintman Chaz Lanier Paul Reed Isaiah Stewart Caris LeVert Marcus Sasser
Two Way Players Daniss Jenkins Colby Jones Tolu Smith
Injuries/Out Ron Holland II (illness) questionable
Head Coach JB Bickerstaff
Key Matchups Derrick White vs Cade Cunningham Cunningham is averaging 25.9 points, 6 rebounds, 9.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 45.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. In the 3 game against the Celtics, he averaged 33 points 5 rebounds and 7.7 assists while shooting 47.7% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Celtics must defend him well both in the paint and on the perimeter and they need to expect him to pass to the open man since he is averaging 9.6 assists per game.
Neemias Queta vs Jalen Duren Duren is averaging 17.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 62.8% from the field with no 3 pointers. In the first 3 games against Boston, he averaged 14 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 46.4% from the field with no threes. The Celtics need to try to keep him out of the paint and off the boards. Honorable Mention Sam Hauser vs Tobias Harris Harris is averaging 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 46.2% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. In the first 3 games against the Celtics, he averaged 14.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 45.5% from the field and 17.6% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game Defense – As always, defense is the key to winning this, and every, game. The Celtics have been up and down with their defensive effort, even quarter to quarter within a game. The Celtics are 14th with a defensive rating of 114.0. The Pistons, on the other hand, are 2nd with a defensive rating of 108.5. The Celtics have to especially defend the paint as the Pistons are 2nd with 57.1 points in the paint per game. The Celtics have to be ready for the tough defense that the Pistons play and they must make defense a priority and match the Pistons’ effort on defense if they hope to win this game.
Rebound – As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning. The Celtics have to crash the boards as a team and go after every rebound. The Celtics are 10th in the league with 44.9 rebounds per game. The Pistons are 3rd, averaging 46.4 rebounds per game. The Pistons average 17 second chance points per game, which is 6th in the league. Every Celtic has to crash the boards and they must work harder to grab rebounds than the Pistons to limit those 2nd chance points.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics need to move the ball to get the best shots. The Celtics are much better when they move the ball and don’t lapse into iso ball. But, they have to be careful with the ball and avoid turnovers. They need to make careful passes and also focus on their ball handling so as not to turn the ball over. They are best in the league with just 12.0 turnovers per game. However, they tend to lose focus and at times turn the ball over way too much. The Pistons are 2nd in the league with 21.8 points off turnovers per game and they will make the Celtics pay if they get sloppy.
Effort and Energy for 48 Minutes– The Celtics have to play with extra effort overall for all 4 quarters. In most of their losses and even in some of their wins, they have allowed their opponents to play with more energy than them for periods of time during the game. They play well for stretches but let up and allow their opponents to surge ahead. The Celtics need to make playing with more effort and energy their identity this season and play that way for the entire game, not just a quarter or two. Hopefully they can play well for 48 minutes in this one just as they did against the Hawks.
X-Factors On the Road – The Celtics are on the road for the 4th straight game. They need to overcome the distractions of playing on the road and in front of a hostile crowd and stay focused on playing the right way. They have to come out playing hard right from the beginning and try to keep the Pistons’ crowd from getting into the game. The final game of a road trip is always a tough game and the Celtics need to stay extra focused and play extra hard to get a win. Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Every crew officiates differently. Some call it tight, others let them play. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus from playing the game. We have recently seen how much of an x-factor officiating can be. The Celtics have to play so well all game that the officiating, no matter how bad, can’t influence the outcome.
That’s always the question to pose once NBA All-Stars – and each conference’s starters – are announced.
On Monday, Jan. 19, the NBA unveiled the East and West starters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, which will take place Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The league used a weighted system to select starters, with the fan vote accounting for 50%, and NBA players and media accounting for 25%, respectively. Each player then generated a weighted score, and the Top 5 players from each conference, regardless of position, were named starters.
Here are the winners and losers from the selection of starters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game:
Though he is a five-time All-Star, Brown had always been overshadowed by fellow Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Not this year. With Tatum sidelined with a torn Achilles, Brown has not only emerged as a legitimate No. 1 option and a first-time All-Star starter, but he has also put himself squarely in the conversation for Most Valuable Player. That Brown is also doing this after Boston moved on from established stars Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis further illustrates his rise. He’s averaging 29.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists this season.
Jalen Brunson
There’s no question Brunson is one of the elite players in the NBA and one of the steadiest closers. And though Brunson cleared the threshold with ease — his weighted score of 3.25 ranked fourth among East players and was 2.75 points greater than Donovan Mitchell, the No. 6 player on the list — he probably got a boost that New York players often get. The Knicks are a blue-chip franchise with a gargantuan following, so their stars tend to get elevated. Make no mistake: Brunson is a deserving All-Star. But with a roster of talented guards in the East, his case to start was thinner than the end result indicated.
Victor Wembanyama
There’s no denying the impact Wembanyama has on the floor, but the San Antonio Spurs are actually 10-4 in games he didn’t play. That record, though, shouldn’t be skewed; he’s certainly worthy of the starter nod, but he got by on the slimmest of margins, on a fan vote tiebreaker (more on that later). Wembanyama just turned 22 on Jan. 4 and is making his second All-Star appearance. He’s only getting better and is in the MVP conversation. His days of starting in All-Stars are only beginning.
Tyrese Maxey
Another first-time starter, Maxey’s rise this season shows how he’s assuming control of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise. Although Joel Embiid, the 2022-23 Most Valuable Player, is slowly returning to form, this is Maxey’s team, and he’s quickly becoming one of the elite scoring guards in the NBA – one with seemingly limitless shooting range.
LOSERS
LeBron James
Chances are, James will still be an All-Star and will extend his record streak to 22 consecutive nominations. But for the first time in 21 years, James was not named a starter in the All-Star Game. James missed the first 14 games of the season with a right sciatica issue, and the Los Angeles Lakers have managed his playing time in back-to-backs since then. James, who turned 41 in late December, is reimagining the standard for players his age. His points (22.6 per game) and rebounds (5.9) are the lowest they have been since his rookie season (20.9 and 5.5), but James remains a threat for the Lakers. Still, all good things come to an end.
This is the biggest snub of the day. Edwards’ 29.6 points per game rank fifth in the NBA. He’s a dynamic, three-level scorer and is one of the premier walking highlights this league has. His biggest problem here is that the person who took his spot, Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama, is exactly the same. Edwards and Wembanyama received the same weighted score of 5.75, which triggered a tiebreaker. Edwards lost that because his fan vote (1,960,957) was just 4,505 votes fewer than Wembanyama’s total. Stats don’t paint the entire picture because Wembanyama’s impact as a defender is immense, but, just for comparison’s sake, he’s averaging 24.5 points per game.
Donovan Mitchell
He was the first out in the field for starters in the East and very easily could’ve made a case to start. Entering Monday, Mitchell ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring, dropping 29.2 points per game. Even then, the margin between him and Jaylen Brown, the fourth player on the list, was just 0.5 points per game. His scoring clip is a career high, and his assists numbers (5.7) are just behind his all-time high of 6.1. The Cavaliers, though, started slowly, which almost certainly impacted his voting numbers.
Jalen Johnson
Will Johnson be an All-Star? Almost certainly yes. Did he deserve to start? Perhaps. Johnson is the victim of playing in a smaller market, for a team that has struggled to reach relevance in recent seasons. The Hawks are 20-24 (10th in the East), but Johnson is averaging nearly a triple-double, putting up 22.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. Johnson is more of an all-around player than Jalen Brunson, though Johnson’s defensive intensity has fallen off in recent seasons.
