Posts

Posted on

Player Grades: Lakers vs. Pistons

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 08: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after a late second half three point basket against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on November 08, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images

One trait JJ Redick teams will have is that they play hard.

Redick had a revelation of sorts early in his coaching career that just trying hard was enough to mask over flaws on most nights in the regular season. From that point on, the Lakers have, for the most part, tried hard.

With previous rosters, playing hard looked different because of a lack of energy or athleticism across the board. On a younger, more athletic, more tenacious team like this, playing hard looks like a team without their superstar jumping all over the Pistons on the road in the first quarter.

It’s quite the encouraging trait to have.

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

Matisse Thybulle

28 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 fouls, 2-5 FG, +0

This is Thybulle’s third consecutive subpar offensive game. He’s hit just one of his last nine threes in the span. Unironically, no longer shooting no-dip threes might have messed with his timing. I don’t think his starting spot is in jeopardy yet, but there are plenty of options behind him.

Grade: C-

Jake LaRavia

29 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 fouls, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-4 FT, +3

An interesting use of LaRavia in this game as he was more of a ballhandler with the Lakers down Luka Dončić. I had hoped that experiment stayed in the 2025-26 season, but it wasn’t disastrous on Sunday.

Grade: B

Walker Kessler

28 minutes, 12 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 3 fouls, 4 turnovers, 5-10 FG, 2-3 FT, +5

Kessler’s ability to stuff the stat sheet is going to make him a sneaky 5×5 candidate. Seven of his 16 rebounds were on the offensive glass and each one felt like it led directly to another basket. A huge showing from him.

Grade: A

Quentin Grimes

31 minutes, 12 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4-12 FG, 2-5 3PT, 2-4 FT +1

Almost all of Grimes’ production came in the first quarter, but it was all very useful. He hit four of his first five shots and was a necessary ballhandler to alleviate some of the pressure off Austin Reaves.

Even if he faded as the game went, this was a far more encouraging performance from Grimes than most of his recent outings.

Grade: B

Austin Reaves

36 minutes, 43 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 14-27 FG, 4-6 3PT, 11-11 FT, +21

This is everything you needed from your nearly max player with your superstar out. He took on every bit of Luka’s role, dealt with the intense ball pressure all night long and still put up 43 points on great efficiency.

Grade: A+

Sandro Mamukelashvili

17 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers, 3-5 FG, 1-3 3PT, -7

Another relatively quiet night from Mamu as well. He had a couple moments early but also faded as the game went on.

Grade: B-

Jarred Vanderbilt

13 minutes, 2 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers, 1-1 FG, 0-1 FT, +2

Vando was immediately impactful in the first quarter, grabbing nearly as many rebounds in that quarter (5) as he had in his last three games (6). His only basket came on a great finish on an and-one as well.

Credit to him for remaining ready even after falling out of the rotation with Adou Thiero’s return.

Grade: A-

Ziaire Williams

21 minutes, 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 2 fouls, 6-10 FG, 4-8 3PT, 1-2 FT, +7

For a number of reasons, this was a really strong performance from Ziaire, none more so than his clutch baskets in the fourth quarter. He stepped up and knocked down some huge shots and rightfully closed this game.

Grade: A

Collin Sexton

24 minutes, 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 2 turnovers, 5-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 7-8 FT, +1

You know what? Fair play to Sexton. It still wasn’t a perfect game, especially with him fouling on a 3-pointer at the end. But the Lakers needed him and he had some important buckets throughout the game.

Grade: B+

Adou Thiero

Another brief cameo from Thiero as he works his way back from injury. He still had a highlight with a big dunk after corralling an offensive rebound. It will be interesting to see how his knee responds and if he’ll be available against the Hawks.

JJ Redick

Great work from Redick to have the team ready to go from the start on Sunday. They jumped out to an early lead and forced the Pistons to play from behind all game. He has this team in a great spot mentally and schematically right now.

Grade: A

Sunday’s DNPs: Bronny James, Cameron Carr, Jaden Hardy, Kevon Looney, Lawson Lovering

Sunday inactives: Luka Dončić, Arthur Kaluma, Chris Mañon

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

Posted on

Celtics mantle 20-point win on Bucks, 117-97

MILWAUKEE, WI - NOVEMBER 8: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on November 8, 2026 at Fiserv Forum Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images). | NBAE via Getty Images

The Boston Celtics traveled to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks in their second meeting of the season. The first quarter was close, but Boston outplayed the Bucks through the final 3 quarters to comfortably win the game, 117-97. Paul George led Boston with 27 points on the night, Jayson Tatum had 21 points as the Boston Celtics move to 8 wins on the season.
Mike Conley started his 1,143rd game in the NBA alongside Derrick White in the backcourt, with Jayson Tatum, Paul George, and Neemias Queta in the frontcourt. Milwaukee started Tyler Hierro, rookie Brandon Burries, Kyle Kuzma, Jaime Jacquez Jr., and Myles Turner in their fifth home game at Fiserv Forum.

Milwaukee came out of gates rolling; they went 8 of 11 from the field to start the game. Boston was ice cold at the other end, going just 2 of 10. Kyle Kuzma outscored Boston by himself with 14 points in just 5 minutes of play shooting the lights out with 4 triples to start the game. Boston was down early, 6-17, before Joe Mazzulla eventually called a timeout.

Kuzma eventually cooled off, bricking a pair of threes as Boston had seemingly weathered the early storm. Jayson Tatum had 9 points to start the game, with 3 triples of his in the first seven minutes. Jordan Walsh, Payton Pritchard, Mitchell Robinson, and Sam Hauser checked into the game with Jayson Tatum, the only starter for either team to play the first 12 minutes.

Boston cut the Bucks lead to just 7 points at the 2-minute mark, the C’s making inroads on the scoreboard as Kuzma and Hierro went to the bench in the first quarter.

Boston kept getting stops to end the quarter and eventually cut the Bucks lead to just 2 points, 25-27. A stunning comeback considering the early hole they dug themselves to start the game. Tatum led the way for Boston with 16 points in 12 minutes of play. Boston only had four scorers after the first quarter; Paul George and Mitchell Robinson had 4 points each, and Queta made 1 of 2 free throws.

Luka Garza and Baylor Scheierman got into the game to start the second quarter and raised the defensive intensity for Boston with a pair of hustle plays. Paul George drained a fadeaway three-pointer to give Boston their first lead of the game, 28-27. PG scored all 8 points to start the second quarter before Bucks’ head coach, Taylor Jenkins, called a timeout.

Baylor Scheierman had a two-hand dunk in front of the visitor’s bench, which had the Celtics’ players up off their seats. Derrick White had 5 quick points for Boston as the C’s went on a 17-7 run to start of the second quarter. Jayson Tatum had a long 7-minute spell on the bench and returned to the game with Boston up by 10 points, 44-34, with 4 and a half minutes to go in the half.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – NOVEMBER 08: Kyle Kuzma #18 of the Milwaukee Bucks defends Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics in the first quarter at Fiserv Forum on November 08, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The second quarter was all Paul George for Boston; he poured in 16 points in the 2nd quarter, heading to the bench after a solid 10 minutes of play. Boston were in complete control at halftime with a 13-point lead, 58-45.

Boston opened up the third quarter where they left off, they hit seven straight points in the first 2 minutes of play. Queta hit a tip layup, followed that up with a fadeaway jumper, Boston up by 20 points, 65-45. The Boston lead swelled to 23 points at one point before Kyle Kuzma and Ryan Rollins had back-to-back 3-pointers for Milwaukee to cut it back to 16.

Mitchell Robinson provided some great minutes to close out the third for Boston, he had a tip in basket and a lob dunk for his 12th point of the night, Boston in cruise control to close out the third quarter.

Payton Pritchard went supernova to start the 4th quarter, he hit 3 triples in a row for Boston as they were looking to close it out on the road before a big game in Philly on Tuesday night. Boston connected on 6 three-pointers midway through the fourth quarter, they had a 109-86 lead with 5 minutes left in the game.

The final minutes saw the stay ready crew take the floor for Boston, with Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh and Ron Harper Jr. The game was never in doubt after halftime for Boston, a clinical win on the road to a struggling team.

Boston next travel to Philly to take on Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and the 76ers, at 8pm EST.

Posted on

Matt Coronato scores at 4:08 of overtime in Flames' 4-3 victory over Flyers

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Matt Coronato scored at 4:08 of overtime to give the Calgary Flames a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night.

Zane Parekh, Zach Whitecloud and Joel Farabee, while short-handed, also scored for the Flames (8-9-1). Yegor Sharangovich had two assists.

Flames goalie Devin Cooley, in his first game back after missing five because of a lower-body injury, made 32 saves.

Denver Barkey, Noel Acciari and Owen Tippett scored for Philadelphia (4-10-5), and Sean Couturier added two assists. Dan Vladar stopped 22 shots.

Farabee tied it on a short-handed breakaway midway through the third period.

Up next

Flyers: At Vancouver on Monday night.

Flames: Host the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Posted on

Nets get run over by Flagg, Irving, and Mavericks, losing 130-93

DALLAS, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 8: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Dallas Mavericks drives against Nolan Traore #10 of the Brooklyn Nets during the first half at American Airlines Center on November 8, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images

This time, the Net took a far more direct route to a loss.

Continuing their first legitimate road trip of the season, Brooklyn sure looked like weary travelers tonight in Dallas. They also played this one as the second half of a back-to-back, and that likely didn’t help either.

In that prior game, the Nets let a contest they had complete command over slip away in its final moments. Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. kept his team in the driver’s seat for as long as he could, dropping 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Held out for back injury management, the Nets were without him tonight, and any sense of control over whatsoever. It was in a lot of ways the worst loss of the season and that’s saying something. Br00klyn is now 2-8.

Danny Wolf got the start once again for Egor Dëmin, who’s also still out with a bone bruise in his right leg. But even with a seven-footer technically in their backcourt, Dallas looked like the bigger team early on. In the game’s first few minutes, the Nets missed an abundance of attempts around the rim and even saw three of their shots get rejected. The Mavs nearly doubled Brooklyn up on the glass as well, out-rebounding them in the first 13-7. However, they did triple them in paint scoring, adding 18 points inside to Brooklyn’s six.

Those statistical discrepancies would only swell as the game went on. By the end of it, the Nets were out-rebounded 46-30 and lost in the paint 64-40. The score was ugly too, but I’ll save that score for later.

Keon Ellis also returned to the rotation in the first after not logging any minutes yesterday vs Atlanta. Still expected to be a spark plug kind of player for the Nets this year, Ellis’ reappearance didn’t give the Nets much juice, but nobody else outside of Michael Porter Jr. could either.

Brooklyn began the game 4-of-14 from the field. Kyrie Irving alone had the same amount of field goals as them through the 3:21 mark of the first, adding nine points on 4-of-7 shooting in the opening period. But after Porter Jr. got free in transition for a few triples, everything else started to fall for him. He scored 11 points in the period’s final 2:51 and 15 in the quarter, just beating out Cooper Flagg, who had 14. That kept us out of blowout territory, with the Nets down 33-26 entering the second.

No, that’s what the second quarter was for. The Mavericks started it with an extended 21-6 run in the period’s first five minutes, quickly hurling the Nets into a 22-point hole. After a turnaround jumper from Kyrie with 4:06 to go in the quarter, it got as deep as 26 points.

“We were not connected, and we made a lot of mistakes,” Fernández said. “And then a team like this, when they’re in a rhythm with the players that they have, it’s when you can get hurt. And I think they made some tough ones, and we also allowed some.”

Were than any positives? Nolan Traoré continued to look like a confident, true point guard, navigating around the Dallas defense, directing traffic, and picking the right shooting spots. Turnovers, which were a major problem in the fumbled game vs the Hawks, also weren’t as abundant. The Nets even won that battle in the first half, forcing Dallas into 12 and only committing eight themselves.

Still, Brooklyn posted .385/.287 splits going into the break, while the Mavericks shot .619/.400, and no silver linings or improvements around the margins could cover that up. The Mavs led at half 66-46. By that point, Flagg had 20 points, seven assists, and four rebounds on just 10 shots. Brooklyn’s only man in double figures was Porter Jr., who had 16 points with seven boards on 3-of-7 downtown shooting.

If you expected the Nets to take that first-half embarrassment personally and respond accordingly, you were mistaken. By the 4:20 mark of the third, Dallas had gotten up by 30.

Things got borderline humiliating when Noah Clowney fouled out of the game with 2:23 to go in the third after shoving Morez Johnson Jr. in the chest away from the ball. They got into it earlier in the quarter too, where officials tagged Johnson Jr. with a technical foul after he knocked down Clowney on a box out. This time, however, Clowney took the guilty charge. He picked up the six fouls to disqualify himself in just eight minutes or burn.

“That’s something that he’s got to figure out,” Fernández said. “He put us on the bonus right away and in one minute, and that’s tough. And I think that it comes from a good place because I know he’s extremely competitive guy. But then doing the war on your own, it’s just tough at times.

“You got to choose the right way to do it, and channel all that energy and sometimes frustration the right way. I think the one person that you know is helping him and will help him is Juwan [Howard] because he’s been there. I know that the intentions are great. It’s just, keep doing what’s best for the group. A nd we need Noah Clowney. L ike that first half against Charlotte, we don’t win that game without him, so we need the best version of himself because we know how good he is.”

And, at the same time, the Mavericks kept inflating the lead, just having fun out there. With two seconds left to go in the third period, Naji Marshal connected with Kyrie with a beautiful cross-court dime to set him up and-one…

Dallas also opened the fourth with a Cooper Flagg three after Wolf went under a screen for him, which extended their lead to a game-high 32 points. Flagg might’ve had a career night had the Nets been more competitive and gave Dusty May any reason to keep him in, but the star sophomore didn’t play past the 8:28 mark of the fourth. He still finished with 25 points, five rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists while shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep. Irving finished with 21 points, four assists, and three rebounds while shooting 9-15 from the field and 2-7 from three.

Around that point, Drake Powell and Josh Minott came in, giving us something fresh to watch, even if necessarily not fun.

Minott did hit two “Chris-Paul-hits-a-huge-three-to cut-the-lead-to-down…” shots on back-to-back possessions on near the quarter’s midpoint. Leveraging the defense’s newfound awareness of his shooting, he attacked a closeout and got up for a jam a few minutes later as well. He finished the game with 10 points, two steals, and two rebounds while shooting 4-of-10 from the field and 2-of-8 from deep.

Powell got through the defense for a rushed, but made floater that came back down and in after bouncing high off the back iron, but produced little outside of that.

With Brooklyn still down 25+, Dallas gave Jett Howard, son of Nets assistant coach Juwan Howard, some run as well. In front of his pops, he added five points and grabbed a rebound in three minutes of play.

That was cool. Everything else that happened on the court tonight was not. The Nets ended up losing by a whopping 37 points, where nobody on the team put up more than 20 points. Porter Jr. got up to 19 with nine rebounds while shooting 9-of-19 from the field and 4-of-11 from three. Randle contributed 13 points, four assists and four rebounds while shooting 5-of-10 from the field. He also had three turnovers and was a -33. Traoré got to 14 points and two dimes, shooting 6-15 from the field and 2-of-6 from deep.

Final: Dallas Mavericks 130, Brooklyn Nets 93

Next Up

Brooklyn’s road trip continues with a Wednesday evening game in New Orleans vs the Pelicans. The Pels are 4-5 at the time of writing. The Nets split their series against them last year. This one tips off at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Posted on

Sarah Strong takes charge with career-high 39 points as No. 2 UConn beats No. 10 Iowa

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Sarah Strong scored 26 of her career-high 39 points in the first half as No. 2 UConn beat No. 10 Iowa 91-79 on Sunday.

Blanca Quinonez had 21 points and hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game with 2:57 remaining after Iowa pulled within 10 points. KK Arnold added 14 points and Jovana Popovic had 10 points and six assists for UConn, which returned home after suffering its first loss of the season on the road against Michigan.

Chit-Chat Wright had 23 points, Ava Heiden had 15 points and Dani Carnegie finished with 12 points for Iowa (2-1).

Heiden had five points as Iowa jumped out to an early six-point lead. Quinonez came off the bench to score 11 points as UConn finished the first quarter on a 13-3 run.

NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 84, NO. 12 NORTH CAROLINA 39

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chloe Kitts had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Joyce Edwards added 15 points as South Carolina rolled past North Carolina at the Ally Tipoff.

Kitts had missed all of last season with a knee injury, but looked as energetic as ever in the leading the Gamecocks (2-0) to a lopsided victory over a second straight ranked opponent.

South Carolina topped No. 20 Maryland, 101-93, in Paris to start the season this past Monday. The Tar Heels (0-2) were there, too, falling to No. 21 Oklahoma, 91-79, in their game at the Oui-play double-header.

But it was the Gamecocks who caught fire in the second and third quarters to break things open. They outscored North Carolina 51-16, forced 17 turnovers and allowed just six baskets in those two periods.

It was South Carolina’s fifth straight win in the Carolina border rivalry.

Fifth-year forward Ashlyn Watkins had 10 rebounds, but was held scoreless. She returned to action after an ACL injury in January 2025. She sat out all last season. Watkins also had a team-high 10 boards in the opening win over the Terrapins.

NO. 3 USC 118, UTAH ST. 40

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins had 32 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and five steals to lead USC to a win over Utah State.

It was a star-studded return for one of college basketball’s most electric players.

Sunday was USC’s home opener at the Galen Center and fans showered Watkins with applause in pregame lineup introductions. Watkins had missed 20 months with a torn ACL, and she got a standing ovation as she was subbed out with 2:34 left in the game.

She’s back to looking like she was pre-injury, when she was the AP Player of the Year.

The senior has been a scoring machine in two games, totaling 53 points for USC (2-0). Watkins scored 21 points in USC’s season-opening 100-68 win over UNLV in Nevada.

Watkins got the crowd going in pregame introductions and then with a buzzer-beating pull-up jumper from 15 feet to end the first quarter with USC leading 36-11.

NO. 4 DUKE 78, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 56

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Freshman Autumn Fleary scored 14 points, Toby Fournier had 10 in her first game of the season and Duke traveled to beat Florida Atlantic in a last-minute game scheduled about 48 hours prior to the tip.

Duke was originally scheduled to play North Texas on Sunday in San Antonio, the hometown of Arianna Roberson and Bella Flemings, in the Foundry Classic. But the game was cancelled “Due to circumstances beyond the control of the participating institutions,” according to a Duke statement.

Coaches in multiple leagues were notified Duke was in need of a replacement game and willing to travel. FAU agreed despite having just played Kennesaw State at home on Saturday, resulting in a 68-28 victory for the Owls.

NO. 5 MICHIGAN 109, WRIGHT STATE 52

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Olivia Olson had 19 points, a career-high tying seven assists and five steals as Michigan followed up its historic opening-night victory with a rout of Wright State.

The Wolverines (2-0) were coming off a 77-66 win on Thursday over No. 2 UConn, the highest-ranked team they have beaten in program history. Michigan had six players in double figures Sunday while forcing 28 turnovers, leading to 43 points.

Syla Swords added 16 points and Dallas Loughridge finished with 15 points and six assists. Te’Yala Delfosse racked up 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks and Kendall Dudley also had 11 points. Ashley Sofilkanich added 10 points.

Jayden Terry led the Raiders (1-2) with 24 points and Rylee Sagester had 10.

NO. 14 KENTUCKY 93, NO. 25 N.C. STATE 78

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Ajsa Sivka scored 32 points and matched a program record with eight 3-pointers in her third collegiate game, and Kentucky breezed to a victory over N.C. State at the fourth annual Ally Tipoff.

Sivka, a 6-foot-5 guard from Slovenia, made 11 of 17 shots for the Wildcats (3-0) at the double-header event that features top-ranked programs. She sank 8 of 12 from 3-point range and snagged five rebounds. Sivka’s eight makes from distance matched Rhyne Howard’s single-game school record.

Clara Strack totaled 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting for Kentucky with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Savvy Swords pitched in with 14 points off the bench.

Khamil Pierre led the Wolfpack (2-1) with 34 points. The senior, who scored a career-high 42 points as a sophomore, made 12 of 25 shots and 9 of 13 free throws. Zoe Brooks went 11 for 13 at the foul line and scored 13.

NO. 15 TCU 89, TARLETON STATE 42

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Clara Silva had 15 points and Lanie Grant scored 14 to lead TCU to a lopsided victory over Tarleton State.

Silva made 6 of 11 shots and 3 of 4 at the foul line for the Horned Frogs (3-0). Grant hit 5 of 7 shots with three 3-pointers and added four assists.

Lara Somfai and Jadyn Wooten both scored 12 for TCU with Somfai adding nine rebounds. Jessie-May Hall pitched in with 11 points off the bench.

Caroline Lyles had 10 points to lead the Texans (1-1).

TCU missed all six of its 3-point shots in the first quarter but still managed to lead 15-11 after scoring the final four points.

NO. 18 OHIO STATE 91, MERCYHURST 57

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Elsa Lemmila had 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, Jaloni Cambridge added 17 points to go with seven assists and Ohio State eased past Mercyhurst.

Ohio State made its first six field goals of the game and 10 of 11 in building an early 23-9 lead. Then, Mercyhurst missed their first 10 shots of the second quarter as the Buckeyes extended their lead to 40-18 following an 11-0 run to open the frame.

Cambridge capped the first-half scoring to make it 51-29. Ohio State was 21 of 28 from the field in the opening 20 minutes, with 6-of-7 shooting from Cambridge.

Ohio State’s lead did not drop below 21 points in the second half.

Ava Watson added 15 points and seven steals for Ohio State (3-0), which surpassed the century mark in a 103-36 win against Central Michigan on Thursday. Kylee Kitts scored 12 points, and Kennedy Cambridge and Sydney Mobley each had 11.

NO. 20 MARYLAND 81, GEORGE MASON 62

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Oluchi Okananwa scored 24 points and Maryland cruised to a victory over George Mason.

Okananwa made 9 of 13 shots with two 3-pointers for the Terrapins (1-1), who bounced back from a season-opening 101-93 loss to top-ranked South Carolina in Paris.

Addi Mack added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists for Maryland, and Bri McDaniel scored 12.

Anovia Sheals had 19 points and Mary Amoateng scored 10 for the Patriots (2-1).

Okananwa had seven points and Mack sank two 3-pointers to guide Maryland to a 21-10 lead after one quarter. The Terrapins scored the first seven points and never trailed.

Okananwa had 11 points by halftime, Mack added 10 and the Terrapins took a 35-29 lead into the break. Reserve Madison Bob hit two from beyond the arc in the quarter to help George Mason close the gap.

NO. 21 OKLAHOMA 95, MORGAN STATE 38

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Freshman LeeLee Bell had 20 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double, Sa’Myah Smith added 18 points, nine boards and two blocks off the bench, and Oklahoma beat Morgan State in its home opener.

Bell scored seven of her 11 first-quarter points during Oklahoma’s 16-0 run to close the frame for a 28-11 lead. After leading 42-21 at halftime, the Sooners opened the third quarter on a 12-0 run as Morgan State did not score until the 6:38 mark.

Oklahoma also closed the game on a 22-4 run for its largest lead. The Sooners finished with 31 points off 24 Morgan State turnovers and held a 58-23 lead on the glass.

NO. 24 WEST VIRGINIA 81, GEORGIA TECH 63

ATLANTA (AP) — Skylar Forbes had 23 points, Gia Cooke scored 20 and West Virginia rolled to a victory over Georgia Tech.

Forbes made 8 of 21 shots, including 3 of 10 from 3-point range, for the Mountaineers (3-0). Cooke shot 6 for 14, sinking 3 of 4 from distance and 5 of 6 at the free-throw line.

Kennedy Harris also hit 3 of 4 from distance and scored 11 for West Virginia. Khyala Ngodu pitched in with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Talayah Walker had 21 points on 7-for-20 shooting for the Yellow Jackets (2-1). Ariadna Termis scored 14.

Cooke had nine points and Harris hit two 3-pointers and scored eight to guide West Virginia to a 27-16 lead after one quarter.

Forbes had seven points in the second and the Mountaineers cruised into halftime with a 43-30 advantage.

Posted on

Hellebuyck makes 23 saves for his first shutout with Devils in 4-0 victory over Maple Leafs

TORONTO (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves for his first shutout with New Jersey and the Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 on Sunday night.

Acquired from the Winnipeg Jets last month after demanding a trade, Hellebuyck became the first goalie in franchise history to win each of his first five games with the club.

The Devils are set to play at Winnipeg on Tuesday night, with general manager Sunny Mehta saying Sunday night that Hellebuyck will not play. Hellebuyck had his first shutout of the season and the 46th of his NHL career.

Timo Meier scored twice for New Jersey (13-5-0), which has won nine of its last 10 games. Nico Hischier, with a goal and an assist, and Connor Brown, into an empty net, provided the rest of the offense. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt each had two assists.

Anthony Stolarz stopped 25 shots for Toronto (8-9-2). The Maple Leafs have lost three straight and five of their last six in regulation.

Meier opened the scoring at 8:28 of the second period when he was left alone in front after a faceoff in the offensive zone. The winger doubled the advantage with 7:16 left in the period when a Hughes' shot deflected off Meier and past Stolarz.

Hischier made it 3-0 on a power play at 9:49 of the third, and Brown iced it into the empty net. Hischier assisted on Meier’s first goal to become the third Swiss-born player in NHL history with 500 career points, joining Roman Josi (799) and Kevin Fiala (528).

The Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2026 was honored before the puck drop. Carey Price, Patrice Bergeron, Pekka Rinne, Keith Tkachuk and Cindy Curley are set to be enshrined in the player category Monday. Brian Burke will go in as a builder.

Up next

Devils: At Winnipeg on Tuesday night.

Maple Leafs: Host Colorado on Tuesday night

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Posted on

Free Agent Poll: Seiya Suzuki

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Seiya Suzuki #27 of the Chicago Cubs bats against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning in game one of the National League Wild Card Series at Petco Park on September 29, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images

We have been doing this for a few years now: looking at the top free agents, using the contract Ben Clemens suggests he’ll get, and asking whether you would like the Jays to give him that contract. This year, the lockout makes it a little more complicated. Keith Law’s list is here. Ben Clemens’ is here.

Number two on Ben Clemens’ list and number four on Keith Law’s list is Seiya Suzuki. Suzuki is 32, he turns 33 next August. He’s played five seasons with the Cubs, with a .269/.351/.472 line in 675 games. He has 113 home runs, 316 walks and 719 strikeouts.

This past season, he put up 5.1 bWAR (the best of his career) with a .270/.368/.473 line, with 26 home runs, 81 walks and 155 strikeouts.

I guess the question is do you think he can keep up this level of performance into his mid-30s.

Among the thing Law said:

He’s a solidly above-average hitter, probably on the downswing, and at least a solid-average defender in right field as well who’s improved his jumps enough to mitigate his declining speed. His 4.5 fWAR was a career high and I think there’s some walk-year inflation in it; he’s probably a 3-4 WAR player for the next few years, trending down by the end of a five-year contract, and I’d be inclined to come in under $30 million a year because of his age and the warning signs in his hard-hit rates.

Clemens:

Teams have mostly gotten out of the business of giving long-term contracts to hitters over 30, but when they do, it’s for bat-first types who have few holes in their game, and that describes Suzuki perfectly. He checks the three boxes of good eye, good contact, and good power, which gives him room to have a down year in one area and still be viable. I think that the uncertainty around the economic structure of the game will keep him from getting five-plus years, but that shouldn’t stop him from getting the second-biggest AAV in the class.

Ben figures him to get a four-year, $108 million dollar contract, averaging $27 million a year. Not Skubal money, but he won’t be going hungry.

Posted on

3 thoughts after Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks truck the Brooklyn Nets, 130-93

DALLAS, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 8: Cooper Flagg #32 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at American Airlines Center on November 8, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Dallas Mavericks (6-4) made quick work of the hapless Brooklyn Nets (2-8) on Sunday at American Airlines Center, scoring a 130-93 win behind 25 points and 12 assists from Cooper Flagg. Kyrie Irving added 21, and Daniel Gafford had 18 points and three blocked shots in the win as well.

Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 19 points and nine rebounds in the loss. The 37-point margin of victory against Brooklyn was the largest for the Mavs since Oct. 22, 2022, when they beat the Memphis Grizzlies 137-96.

Flagg scored eight quick points in the game’s first five minutes, and when he went to the bench midway through the opening quarter, Irving took over from there. Flagg’s finger roll in secondary transition just 4:16 into the proceedings put Dallas ahead 13-5, then Irving scored on back-to-back possessions, including a finger roll of his own in traffic with 5:13 left that put the Mavs up 17-11.

Walter Clayton Jr.’s hit Dallas’ second 3-pointer of the game two possessions later, on an assist from Morez Johnson Jr., to make it 22-12 and force Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez into a timeout. Irving knocked down a little teardrop after a whirling dervish drive to the bucket to give him nine points in the quarter and extend the Mavericks’ lead to 26-13 with just over three minutes left in the frame. After Michael Porter Jr. hit two straight contested 3-balls to bring Brooklyn back to within six, Flagg converted a beautiful spinning 3-point play with two minutes left in the first, and Dallas was back up 30-21.

Despite another driving dunk being called off for an offensive foul on the play, Flagg finished with 14 points in the first, and Dallas led 33-26 after one.

Dallas opened up a huge lead in the second quarter as Flagg’s run of brilliance continued. You had to wonder when Mavericks head coach Dusty May would look to start resting Flagg and other key contributors as the lead swelled to 19 just four minutes into the second. The Mavs were on the front end of a back-to-back set with a game against the Indiana Pacers looming on Monday.

Flagg found Naji Marshall alone in the corner for his fourth assist of the first half to make it a 22-point lead on a baseline 3-pointer with seven minutes left before the break. All of a sudden, the Mavs were on a 15-2 lead and the Nets hadn’t scored in over three minutes. The Mavericks led 66-46 at the break.

Despite a somewhat sloppy third quarter, the Mavs outscored the Nets 34-25 in the period to cement the blowout as Brooklyn began to fold. Marshall found Irving with a pinpoint lead pass in transition with two seconds left in the third for a three-point play up ahead that made it 100-71 going into the fourth.

Dallas coasted home for the 130-93 win, resting Flagg, Irving and Gafford for most of the fourth. Santi Aldama showed progress in his second game of the season, too, finishing with 12 points off the bench.

With a vengeance

View Link

Flagg announced his presence with authority in that first quarter, nailing his first 3-pointer of the contest on the Mavs’ last possession of the frame, then using one dribble to get into the lane and rising up for a vicious slam over Noah Clowney on Dallas’ first possession of the second. Danny Wolf drew the initial defensive assignment on Flagg for Brooklyn, and the young man simply had no hope of containing the combustible force that Flagg is morphing into before our very eyes.

After assisting on two straight Daniel Gafford three-point plays early in the second, Flagg got the ball along the perimeter late in the shot clock with Wolf sagging off one step too many to avoid another blow-by. Flagg stepped back for his second 3-ball as the shot clock expired to put the Mavericks up 47-32 with 9:22 left in the first half. Flagg had already collected 20 points to that point on 7-of-8 shooting.

After exploding for 14 points in the first, Flagg added six more in the second quarter, but dished seven dimes in the frame as he sucked the helpless Brooklyn defense into his gravitational vortex and adjusted to what the game presented him. He doled out five more dimes in the third, before nailing his third 3-ball of the game early in the fourth to extend the Mavs’ lead to 103-71.

Flagg made three of his five 3-point attempts on the night before going to the bench for some rest with 8:20 left to play.

Overcoming turnovers

Despite the domination on the scoreboard, the Mavericks turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, including two rare palming violations. Flagg was called for palming late in the first quarter, and Santi Aldama, in just his second game with the team, was called for another along the perimeter while trying to fight through a screen late in the second.

Aldama scored his first bucket of the game a possession after being called for his palming violation, on a fading jumper over Wolf with 1:30 left in the half, to extend Dallas’ lead to 23, up 63-40. Flagg found Aldama open along the right wing for a 3-pointer with about a minute left in the second to make it 66-44.

The Mavs dominated the Nets in the paint (64-40) and off the bench (58-31) in the win to overcome a little bit of uncharacteristic carelessness on offense. Dallas finished with 20 turnovers in the win.

Gafford game

Despite getting out to an awkward start on offense in the first quarter, Gafford turned in another quality performance on the interior for the Mavericks in the win. He was consistently on the receiving end of open looks as the Brooklyn defense sent multiple defenders at Flagg and Irving. He scored 11 points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter as Flagg kept feeding open teammates. And that was on top of the three blocked shots and the three offensive rebounds Gafford accounted for through the game’s first three quarters.

Of Flagg’s 12 assists in the second and third quarters, five of them went to Gafford in close to the basket. Gafford cashed in seven of his eight field goal attempts on an incredibly efficient night despite three early fouls. He cut toward an empty lane with 5:17 left in the third and Flagg found him for his 12th assist of the contest to extend the Dallas lead to 90-62.

“[Flagg is] a phenomenal player,” Gafford said in his televised postgame interview. “Everybody is paying attention to him, and that leaves me with open shots. He keeps saying he’s going to get me the ball, and that’s what he’s doing.”

Gafford, Flagg and Irving combined to shoot 24-of-36 from the floor in the win.

Posted on

What Nique Clifford to the Thunder means for the Spurs

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 10: Nique Clifford #10 of the Sacramento Kings stands on the court during the second half of the preseason game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on October 10, 2026 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Godofredo A. Vásquez/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Thunder and the Kings completed an early-season trade that surprised most observers. Oklahoma City acquired second-year player Nique Clifford from Sacramento in exchange for two second-round picks, as first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The trade is strange from the Kings’ side, and we’ll get to it. As far as the Spurs are concerned, however, the biggest impact comes from the Thunder once again getting cost-controlled, young talent for middling draft assets to bolster their depth in the present and the near future. Let’s start there.

Clifford won’t likely make a big difference this year, but the trade puts OKC in a better overall position

First things first: Clifford is not Jared McCain. All they have in common is that they were both second-year players whose previous teams gave up on them, and they were both traded to Oklahoma City for two second-rounders. The main difference between the two is that McCain was so impressive to start his first season in Philadelphia that he was the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year for a while, before getting hurt. Clifford, who entered the league at 23 years of age, had an acceptable but unimpressive first season for a horrible Kings team. The McCain trade was a bigger deal than this one at the time, and McCain’s impact will likely be bigger than Clifford’s in the future.

With that out of the way, it’s still a good move for Oklahoma City, as they needed depth at the wing after losing Jalen Williams and likely Cason Wallace for the rest of the season. Clifford is 6’5 with a 6’8 wingspan, a jack-of-all-trades player who can fill in the gaps in lineups. He’s someone who, in theory, can contribute in many different ways, which is always helpful for good teams that already have elite scorers and creators in place and can use guys who won’t demand too many touches. There’s a really good chance he thrives as a secondary or tertiary creator in Oklahoma City while providing solid defense. Considering what it took to get him, he’s not a bad stopgap.

The real impact this trade could have, however, is on the future affordability of an increasingly expensive Thunder roster. Clifford is almost certainly not good enough to give OKC even half of the production of either of their starting wings who are out with injury, but he could be a solid depth piece going forward. He’s in the second year of a very cheap rookie deal, so Sam Presti could get almost three years of production out of him on a cost-controlled contract, which means that when everyone returns, the Thunder could have both top talent and depth, which is becoming increasingly hard to do in the apron era.

By essentially re-drafting guys using second-round picks, OKC is building a pipeline of young talent to replace their own misses in talent evaluation and veterans who become too expensive.

That’s bad news for every Western Conference team, including the Spurs.

The new lottery rules might be behind the Kings’ decision to make the trade

Both analysts and people on social media are mocking the Kings for trading a first-rounder to OKC to select Clifford in the 2025 draft only to, just after a season and change, trade him to the Thunder for two seconds. It’s a funny sequence of events from a poorly run franchise, so the jokes are understandable, but, in reality, it isn’t as bad as it might seem at first glance.

First, the first-round pick the Kings traded to get Clifford was the Spurs’ 2027 pick that they got in the De’Aaron Fox trade. The pick will likely be in the late 20s. Moving that asset for a pick of similar value (Clifford was selected 24th overall) was not necessarily a terrible idea by the Kings at the time, since they clearly liked Nique then. And cutting your losses if you think you made a mistake drafting someone is better than falling for the sunk-cost fallacy and holding on even after you’ve concluded the player just isn’t good. Sacramento actually had to send out a second-round pick to shed former lottery pick Devin Carter Jr.’s salary, so they were probably trying to avoid doing the same with Clifford, who was out of the rotation.

But there might be an explanation for the trade that doesn’t involve Sacramento thinking Clifford is a bust: the new lottery rules put the Kings in a bad position, and the move was a way to salvage something.

Starting next draft, the teams with the bottom three records will be in the relegation zone and will actually get worse odds of getting the top pick than a non-playoff team with a better record. The entire point of the change was to make sure coaches didn’t just sit their veterans with fake injuries to tank as hard as they could while trotting out lineups featuring players who didn’t belong in the NBA. It’s entirely possible that the Kings felt like they needed to put guys on the floor who could lift them to at least the fourth-worst record, and thought Clifford was not one of them. Not yet, at least. At that point, trading him before he loses all value after being buried on the bench makes sense.

The Kings’ reputation is so bad that explaining the move this way might seem too charitable, especially since even while playing their veterans, they are 1-8 and are a likely bottom-three team. Whether this specific move by this specific franchise is smart remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see more mediocre-to-bad teams with young players that need developmental minutes that just aren’t there moving on quickly while trying to get some value back.

If that’s the case, contenders should be on the lookout for re-drafting opportunities, and Brian Wright should be ready to pounce if someone he likes becomes available.

Posted on

2027 South Side Sox Prospect Vote: Round 6

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 25, 2026: William Bergolla Jr. #90 of the Chicago White Sox warms up during the seventh inning of a spring training game against the Cincinnati Reds at Camelback Ranch on February 25, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona.

It was a squeaker, but William Bergolla Jr. took an immediate lead and held Jaden Fauske off for the Round 5 win. Bergolla earned 21 of 77 votes (27%). Bergolla’s vote total was the same as Round 3 winner Billy Carlson, only with many more votes cast.

Bergolla, acquired from Philadelphia at the 2024 trade deadline for Tanner Banks, was our No. 15-voted prospect in last year’s Vote.

As you might have imagined in a shortstop-heavy system, we now have three shortstops among our first five picks:

Past No. 5s in the SSS Top Prospect Vote
2026 Sam Antonacci (41%)
2025 Colson Montgomery (29%)
2024 Nick Nastrini (27%)
2023 José Rodríguez (38%)
2022 Colson Montgomery (41%)
2021 Jared Kelley (47%)
2020 Dane Dunning (48%)
2019 Nick Madrigal (66%)
2018 Dylan Cease (70%)

Plum prep Kyle Casteel, a sweet-looking 11th-rounder in the 2026 draft, joins the ballot this round.

South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2027

  1. Caleb Bonemer — 71% (Cholowsky 25%, Fauske 3%, Prosek 2%, Bergolla Jr./Carlson/McDougal/Sandlin/Thome/Volchko 0%)
  2. Roch Cholowsky — 75% (Sandlin 8%, Bergolla Jr. 6%, Carlson 5%, McDougal 3%, Fauske/Mogollón 2%, Prosek/Thome/Volchko 0%)
  3. David Sandlin — 30% (Carlson 23%, Fauske 10%, Bergolla Jr./McDougal 9%, Prosek 8%, Lodise/Thome 4%, Mogollón 3%, Volchko 0%)
  4. Billy Carlson — 38% (Bergolla Jr. 27%, Fauske 13%, McDougal/Prosek 7%, Thome 4%, Lodise/Mogollón/Wolkow 2%, Volchko 0%)
  5. William Bergolla Jr. — 27% (Fauske 25%, McDougal 21%, Prosek/Thome 10%, Lodise 4%, Mogollón/Wolkow 1%, Volchko/Weingartner 0%)

Kyle Casteel
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 19
2026 high level Butler Area (H.S.)
Overall 2026 stats (H.S) 10-0 ▪️ 13 games ▪️ 65 ⅔ IP ▪️ 0.64 ERA ▪️ 103 K ▪️ 11 BB ▪️ 0.685 WHIP

Casteel is the sort of player you dream of getting to start off the $150,000 round of 10 picks: A player who the White Sox had been talking to regularly that, based on how the first round fell, now was draftable knowing the club could meet the prep’s demands. It’s undoubtable that Casteel is far better than the 315th pick (MLB had him ranked at No. 162 overall), and thus the White Sox pocketed a player who should have been selected in the fifth round. Casteel has power and control, and while the White Sox will bring him along with care, he has a rare profile in a pitching-starved White Sox system.

Jaden Fauske
Center Fielder
Age 20
2026 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 11
2026 high level Kannapolis (Low-A)
Age relative to high level -1.3 years
Overall 2026 stats 118 games ▪️ 4 HR ▪️ 48 RBI ▪️ .250/.388/.360 ▪️ 46-of-56 (82.1%) SB ▪️ 94 BB ▪️ 125 K ▪️ .948 FLD%▪️ 2.8 WAR

A year ago, we were not certain where Fauske would play, as a high school catcher announced at the draft as an outfielder-only. That proved to be the case in his first professional season, but what ho, Fauske saw more time in center than right field. And with quicks that saw Jaden snatch 46 bags in 118 games, the youngster might well stick in center.

Kyle Lodise
Shortstop
Age 22
2026 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 24
2026 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level 0.0 years
Overall 2026 stats 111 games ▪️ 20 HR ▪️ 77 RBI ▪️ .230/.380/.440 ▪️ 42-of-51 (82.4%) SB ▪️ 92 BB ▪️ 141 K ▪️ .957 FLD%▪️ 3.6 WAR

Lodise made a return visit to Winston-Salem in 2026, and his first full professional season went extremely well. With a low average and slug to burn, the shortstop fits right in with the org profile of swinging hard, damn the contact. Thankfully, Lodise is selective enough at the plate to produce astronomical OBPs. And his power bat is showing better than advertised at this point.

Tanner McDougal
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
Age 23
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 33
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking N/R
2026 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 6
2026 high level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -6.2 years
Overall 2026 stats (High-A/AAA/MLB) 2-3 ▪️ 27 games (7 starts, 3 finishes) ▪️ 50 IP ▪️ 4.86 ERA ▪️ 53 K ▪️ 34 BB ▪️ 1.480 WHIP ▪️0.2 WAR

The good news is that McDougal was enough of a core piece to be promoted to Chicago in the second half of 2026. The bad news … well, where to start. McDougal’s presumptive march to the South Side rotation was stopped dead early in the season, when he was sidelined for weeks with forearm tightness. While the injury was thankfully not severe enough to necessitate a second TJS, Tanner was a relief arm for the rest of the season and not a stable one at that. His brief cameo in Chicago saw him rack up one out along with three walks.

Javier Mogollón
Second Baseman
Age 21
2026 high level Winston-Salem (AA)
Age relative to high level -2.0 years
Overall 2026 stats (Low-A/High-A) 91 games ▪️ 14 HR ▪️ 57 RBI ▪️ .262/.368/.448 ▪️ 36-of-44 (81.8%) SB ▪️ 53 BB ▪️ 123 K ▪️ .965 FLD%▪️ 2.5 WAR

The diminutive (5´8´´, 160) infielder wowed in rookie ball and though his climb has slowed, Mogollón has steadily risen up our ranks, from No.62 in our 2024 Top 100 to the cusp of the Top 10 today. That said, he’s seen two straight seasons shortened by hamstring issues. At least in 2026, Mogollón was able to return before season’s end, providing a clutch bat coming that provided a .313/.389/.813 slash and eight RBIs en route to sweeping to a SALLY title.

Cole Prosek
Third Baseman
Age 19
2026 High Level Magnolia Heights (H.S.)
Overall 2026 stats (H.S) 41 games ▪️ 18 HR ▪️ 79 RBI ▪️ .545/.678/1.177 ▪️ 62 R ▪️ 7 SB ▪️ 31 BB ▪️ 12 K

Coming to Chicago as a second-rounder, Prosek seems more highly-regarded by evaluators than the guy picked ahead of him by the White Sox, low first round choice Landon Thome. That’s a curious thing, but Prosek dominated his prep competition even more thoroughly than Thome. Plus, while the White Sox regard Prosek as a second baseman, his prep time was spent significantly at the hot corner, and he has experience behind the plate as well.

Landon Thome
Shortstop
Age 19
2026 High Level Nazareth Academy (H.S.)
Overall 2026 stats (H.S) 7 HR ▪️ 29 RBI ▪️ .545 AVG ▪️ 49-of-50 (98.0%) SB

How crazy is it to have two high school teammates (Thome and Jaden Fauske) on our first ballot of the voting year … or any ballot, ever? The White Sox were so hot to dip back into Nazareth’s roster that they dealt promising 2023 first-rounder Jacob Gonzalez to Pittsburgh to acquire the draft pick to snag him; clearly the club was not confident Thome would drop into the second round. Unlike his father, Hall-of-Famer and White Sox adviser Jim, Landon is better regarded for his speed and defense than his ability to put the ball over the fence. Slugging will come in time for junior, however.

Joey Volchko
Right-handed starting pitcher
Age 21
2026 high level University of Georgia (NCAA)
Age relative to high level +0.1 years
Overall 2026 stats 11-2 ▪️ 18 starts ▪️ 1 CG ▪️ 95 1/3 IP ▪️ 3.68 ERA ▪️ 119 K ▪️ 46 BB ▪️ 1.343 WHIP ▪️ 2.1 WAR

This big-armed righty can touch 100 mph with his fastball, but wildness concerns might have precipitated Volchko’s drop to the White Sox in the third round in spite of MLB ranking him as a second round (68th-best) talent. He’s a big-game pitcher who dragged the Bulldogs to their first College World Series win in 18 years with a complete-game effort over the University of Texas. There’s a chance Volchko ends up as a high-leverage bullpen arm, but he will get every chance to stick as a starter.

Alex Weingartner
Right Fielder
Age 19
2026 high level St. Augustine College Prep (H.S.)
Overall 2026 stats 30 games ▪️ 7 HR ▪️ 36 RBI ▪️ .495 AVG ▪️ .817 SLG ▪️ 33 SB ▪️ 21 BB

Oddly enough, Weingartner may be a doppelganger for the player listed right below; both he and George Wolkow were prep plums selected lower than their skill and scout rankings indicated, and both players scored sweet bonuses from the White Sox to lure them from potential college commitments. Both have rocket arms (Weingartner, in fact, pitched for his St. Augustine Hermits in 2026) as well.

George Wolkow
Right Fielder
Age 21
2024 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 14
2025 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 13
2026 SSS Prospect Poll ranking 16
2026 high level Winston-Salem (High-A)
Age relative to high level -2.0 years
Overall 2026 stats 123 games ▪️ 22 HR ▪️ 100 RBI ▪️ .239/.317/.446 ▪️ 15-of-22 (68.2%) SB ▪️ 50 BB ▪️ 179 K ▪️ .971 FLD%▪️ 1.6 WAR

Wolkow sacrificed speed and what batting eye he had for power in 2026, and while that made for some impressive counting stats (22-100 plays on the back of any baseball card) the hole in his swing hasn’t been sewn. If the White Sox brass is having Wolkow bet on his best tool, power, at all others’ expense, he’s slipping into the Colson Category.

Posted on

Is The Oilers' Goaltending Just Cursed?

Everyone knows by now that the Edmonton Oilers can't seem to keep their goaltenders healthy.

Edmonton entered training camp with three goaltenders, and just 10 games into the season, two were injured, forcing the Oilers to use four different goaltenders and dress an emergency backup.

At least things are starting to improve.

Devon Levi returned from a groin injury on Saturday, Tristan Jarry is healthy after missing Thursday's game against Anaheim with an illness, and Frederik Andersen remains sidelined with an injury he suffered during the offseason.

The Oilers had some decisions to make about their goaltending heading into October, and injuries have taken care of most of them.

Levi won six of his first seven starts before suffering a groin injury against Carolina on Oct. 22. He apparently felt something wrong during the third period, though it was of little concern to him at the time.

“I wasn't going to get out of that game unless I was dead,” Levi said.

Probably not what the medical staff wanted to hear.

Levi missed seven games, leaving Jarry responsible for most of Edmonton's starts. The 31-year-old recorded consecutive shutouts against Calgary and the New York Islanders, as well as some pretty reliable goaltending during their road trip through New York.

“With Dev hurt, I knew I'd get a little bit more work,” Jarry said following the Islanders game. “So just being able to take care of that opportunity and kind of just run with it… It's been fun, to say the least.”

Edmonton Goes 2-0 vs Vancouver: Oilers and Elks Both Pick Up WinsEdmonton Goes 2-0 vs Vancouver: Oilers and Elks Both Pick Up WinsMcDavid’s historic pace and a stellar return for Devon Levi fueled an Oilers victory, while the Elks punched their ticket to the Grey Cup on a golden night.

Matt Tomkins also got an opportunity to play, making 27 saves in Edmonton's 4-1 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The 32-year-old Edmonton native entered that game with just six NHL starts and no league appearances since April 2024.

Then Jarry got sick.

Edmonton dressed Tomkins and emergency backup goaltender Brett Epp against Anaheim on Thursday night, since Andersen and Levi were still unavailable.

Having an emergency backup sitting on the bench in November probably wasn't something Stan Bowman expected when he put together this roster.

Fortunately, Levi returned on Saturday night against Vancouver, stopping 20 shots in Edmonton's 4-2 win. Jarry was healthy enough to serve as his backup, and Tomkins was reassigned to Bakersfield.

“It was a tight game,” Levi said afterward. “I love playing those games, going into the third period (tied) 1-1, knowing that I’m probably going to have to come up with one or two (big saves). Love it, man. So it was a fun game.”

Oilers Waive Highly-Touted Blue Line ProspectOilers Waive Highly-Touted Blue Line ProspectFinnish standout Atro Leppanen heads to the AHL after an injury-stalled preseason, positioning the record-setting offensive defenseman for a potential NHL debut later this hockey season.

“He's got all the characteristics of a gamer,” Jason Dickinson said. “He fights hard, he battles hard, he's been itching to get back. It's definitely good for us to have him.”

Edmonton now has two healthy goaltenders who have been playing well, and Andersen's eventual return will give the organization more hope.

Jarry has earned more opportunities with his recent performances, Levi has won seven of eight games, and Andersen was originally expected to be the starter.

The Oilers are 12-3-3 through 18 games, and their goaltending has been reasonably reliable despite everything that's happened, but four goaltenders and an emergency backup before 20 games is getting a little ridiculous.

Maybe somebody really should check for a curse.

See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

Posted on

Scheifele scores on power play with 1.6 seconds left to lift Jets past Lightning, 4-3

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Mark Scheifele scored on a 5-on-3 power play with 1.6 seconds left and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Sunday after blowing a late three-goal lead.

Scheifele scored on a one-timer from the high slot off a feed from Cole Perfetti.

After Brayden Yager gave Winnipeg a 3-0 lead on a power play at 8:10 of the third with his first NHL goal, the Lightning tied it in a 4:07 burst. Brandon Hagel scored with 9:38 to go, and Pontus Holmberg struck twice — with 5:59 left and 5:33 remaining.

Perfetti, Morgan Barron and Brayden Yager also scored for Winnipeg (7-8-3), and Stuart Skinner made 18 saves. The Jets have won three in a row after dropping nine straight.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 21 shots for Tampa Bay (11-4-2) in the opener of a three-game trip The Lightning had won three in a row.

Winnipeg went 3 or 5 on the power play, and Tampa Bay was 0 for 4.

Up next

Lightning: At Buffalo on Wednesday night.

Jets: Host New Jersey on Tuesday night.

___

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Posted on

Pistons vs. Lakers: Austin Reaves pulls a Doncic to beat Detroit

DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 8: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket during the game against the Detroit Pistons on November 8, 2026 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Who needs Luka Doncic when you have the US equivalent from Newark, Arkansas, Austin Reaves? The Los Angeles Lakers guard scored a game-high 43 as his MVP-level teammate rested with a back injury, propelling LA past the Detroit Pistons 121-116.

Honestly, the game had no reason to be as close as it was in the end. The Lakers led 40-14 one basket into the second quarter courtesy of insane shotmaking (hitting 72% from the floor) and an insane amount of Pistons miscues, including having more turnovers (eight) than made baskets (six).

But the Pistons, being the Pistons, weren’t about to give up. While Detroit pulled within one point early in the fourth quarter, the Lakers led wire to wire. So while it was only marginally competitive from Detroit’s point of view, it was certainly an instructive game. Here are some of the things I learned:

1. Kevin Huerter

Kevin Huerter is going to be a critical component of the Pistons’ rotation this season. In a game where Detroit’s entire backcourt didn’t really show up to play (both Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson were largely no-shows until some fourth-quarter scoring), Huerter was by far the biggest bright spot for the Pistons.

It also happened to be his best game in a Detroit uniform. Huerter hit four three-pointers, scored 24 points overall, and added five rebounds, five assists, five blocks(?!) and two steals. Ever since the Pistons traded for him at the deadline last season, it was clear Huerter makes winning plays, and you were hoping he’d be able to combine that with rediscovering his 3-point shooting stroke from earlier in his career. The early returns indicate the shot might be back, as well as everything that goes with it. After tonight, he’s hitting 40% from deep this season.

2. John Collins and Paul Reed

Detroit’s starting front court simply does not work, and it will never work. For as long as Jalen Duren remains sidelined or off the floor this season, this is going to be a significant issue for the Pistons. Duren is ramping back up from a hamstring injury and will be out two more weeks. Detroit has been, and will continue to be able to weather that storm. But it ain’t pretty, and any additional time off from Duren will have me significantly worried.

Most will want to pin the blame on the newcomer John Collins, and he has certainly played worse than Reed, but I think it’s the combination that brings out the worst in both players. Each is the kind of big man that relies on the gravity from teammates that allows them to use their athleticism to create the chaos that makes them effective. With both of them on the floor, it’s two bouncy balls pinging around the floor with no semblance of a plan on how to actually get the ball to the rim. The defense is also bad, and the rebounding is even worse. It’s an ugly situation, and it was exacerbated tonight by both men getting out-physicaled by the behemoth seven-footer Walker Kessler. Kessler, the Lakers’ big offseason addition, had 12 points and 16 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. The Lakers also dominated the Pistons in the paint, 58-46.

Again, the lion’s share of the blame goes to Collins. He’s been quite bad all season, and it’s getting less clear by the day how he’s going to turn it around and be a positive force for the Pistons. I don’t think he’s ever met a 50-50 ball he couldn’t surrender to the opposition. But the pathway to him playing well lies with sharing the floor with Duren. Get well soon, JD.

3. Austin Reaves

The Pistons were correct in trying to give Austin Reaves the bag this offseason. Detroit reportedly was ready to give the wing a max contract this offseason as the second scorer and potential missing piece in a Detroit Pistons title run. Once the Lakers believed the pending RFA had a max offer on the table, they quickly moved to get an agreement to sign him on the eve of free agency so he’d never hit the market.

Reaves was insane tonight. The degree of difficulty on his shots begged belief. He was able to create space, get balanced, and score at all three levels. It was a sight to behold, and he was by far the best player on the floor for either team tonight.

4. Daniss Jenkins

Daniss has that dog in him, especially under two scenarios: 1. There is an impending buzzer. 2. He feels like his team is getting punked. Jenkins was truly the other hero of the game behind Huerter. He hit yet another buzzer-beater tonight, and he scored a career-high 31 points. When the Pistons were down huge, Jenkins got that look in his eye, as if to say, “This is not going to happen.”

From there, Jenkins started firing away from deep, and he was hitting. In the end, he canned eight three-pointers. He was also the ONLY Pistons player to go to the free-throw line more than once in the game. Really, Jenkins is like a better version of Marcus Sasser. He’s got scoring in his blood, and he’s more of an off-guard than a point guard, despite being stuck in a point guard’s body. He’s got three inches on Sasser and better floor vision, so he’s better overall and can cosplay as a point guard better than Sass, but Jenkins works best in this Pistons lineup when he’s not running the offense.

4. The refs.

The referees love the Lakers. Nothing else needs to be said.

Posted on

Austin Reaves explodes for 43 points, leading Luka-less Lakers to win over Pistons

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles the ball down the court during a game against the Detroit Pistons, Image 2 shows Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham dribbles the ball against a Los Angeles Lakers defender, Image 3 shows Ronald Holland II of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers

DETROIT — The Lakers’ minutes without Luka Dončić on the floor have been a problem they’ve yet to figure out during the first three weeks of the season.

But with the superstar guard sidelined for Sunday’s road game against the Pistons, that’s all the Lakers had available for them to kick off their road trip.

Austin Reaves (15) of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images

And while it got shaky at the end, the Lakers found enough answers against the league’s best defense to leave Little Caesars Arena with a victory, beating the Pistons 121-116 to improve to 9-2 on the season.

The beginning of those answers started with star guard Austin Reaves, who had his best game of the season with his backcourt co-star watching from the bench. 

Reaves scored 43 points on 14-for-27 shooting for his highest-scoring and first 40-point showing of the season.

After having a brief midgame confrontation with a courtside fan, he scored 13 points in the third quarter to keep the Lakers afloat while the Pistons came back from being down 26 points in the second quarter and 13 points at halftime. 

The Lakers got out to a 38-14 lead after forcing the Pistons to turn the ball over eight times, scoring 17 points directly off those giveaways. 

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) moves the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. NBAE via Getty Images

Quentin Grimes, who started in place of Dončić, also got off to an explosive start, scoring 10 points of his scoring total (12 points) in the first. 

The Pistons took advantage of Reaves being on the bench, going on a 7-0 run when the Lakers star guard subbed out with 2:30 left in the third to cut their deficit to 84-81 before Collin Sexton (17 points) made a lauyup and a pair of free throws to give the Lakers an 88-81 lead going into the fourth.

Ronald Holland II of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers in Detroit on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images

The Lakers didn’t let go from there, pulling off the wire-to-wire win despite the Pistons cutting their deficit to one midway through the fourth. 

Reaves, Sexton, Walker Kessler (12 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots) and Ziaire Williams (17 points) all made big plays late to help the Lakers secure the win.

The Lakers will play the Hawks in Atlanta Monday night to close out their back-to-back set.

Posted on

Austin Reaves steps up in Luka Doncic's absence to lead Lakers over Pistons

Austin Reaves drives around John Collins of the Pistons in the first half.
Austin Reaves drives around John Collins of the Pistons in the first half. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

The Lakers’ star guard banked in a fadeaway three-pointer. He nailed a clutch step-back with 44.5 seconds left. He trash-talked with fans.

Luka Doncic?

No, Austin Reaves.

Reaves embodied Doncic in almost every way Sunday, leading the Lakers to a 121-116 win over the Detroit Pistons as Doncic sat out with low back tightness. The Lakers replaced the guard averaging a league-high 40.1 points with Reaves’ season-high 43 points, four assists and five rebounds.

The Lakers (9-2) needed every bit of Reaves’ magic. Their 26-point second-quarter lead nearly evaporated under an avalanche of second-half turnovers and 53 combined points from Detroit bench guards Daniss Jenkins and Kevin Huerter.

Fresh off a max contract extension, Reaves has had a quiet, yet ruthlessly efficient start to the year in Doncic’s shadow. Doncic is getting most valuable player chants each time he steps to the free throw line. Reaves, averaging 25.3 points per game on 50.8% shooting from the field and 41.3% from three, has at times looked clumsy while getting comfortable with new teammates in the minutes without Doncic.

Read more:Luka Doncic's historic run jump-starts early MVP conversation

He looked comfortable in the starring role again Sunday. Reaves hit a seemingly impossible baseline fadeaway in the first quarter, flinging the ball almost over the backboard. When two fans sitting opposite the Lakers bench started chirping at Reaves, he bent down, put his hands on his knees during a stoppage of play and talked directly at them for several seconds.

Doncic, dressed in black pants and a gray jacket, took it all in from the sideline.

“Sometimes when they’re playing together, AR kind of has to take a secondary role,” said center Walker Kessler, who had 12 points and 16 rebounds, including a clutch put-back, three-point play that put the Lakers up by eight with 2:15 remaining. “But I mean, as you can see now, he’s very capable. He’s a heck of a playmaker, heck of a scorer and a competitor.”

On the front side of a back-to-back, Doncic missed his second game of the season with low back tightness, although Lakers coach JJ Redick said he didn’t anticipate it to affect Doncic significantly throughout the season.

The Slovenian superstar is averaging a league-high 40.1 points per game, but Doncic was doing more than just scoring at rates not seen since Wilt Chamberlain. His estimated on/off of 37.7 — the difference between the Lakers’ net rating when he was on the court compared to off — was the second-highest in the league, following only Victor Wembanyama’s 41.5. In addition to having the highest scoring average through nine games since Chamberlain, Doncic is the team’s second-leading rebounder at 7.8 per game and is second with 1.7 steals.

Austin Reaves goes to the basket against Pistons guard Kevin Huerter in the second half Sunday.
Austin Reaves goes to the basket against Pistons guard Kevin Huerter in the second half Sunday. (Duane Burleson / AP)

But the Lakers already showed they could compete without Doncic this season. They dominated the Clippers on Oct. 28 when he was sidelined, also with back tightness.

Just as they did against the Clippers, the Lakers needed contributions from everyone. Ziaire Williams hit four three-pointers and finished with 17 points. Collin Sexton, serving as the Lakers’ second ball-handler, had 17 points on five-of-10 shooting.

Jarred Vanderbilt’s energetic six rebounds, two assists and one block in less than six minutes during the first quarter helped lift the Lakers to a 26-point lead early in the second.

The Pistons, playing without All-NBA center Jalen Duren (hamstring), didn’t get their first points from star point guard Cade Cunningham until early in the third quarter. Instead, Jenkins nearly mounted the comeback on his own.

Jenkins, a familiar Lakers foe who scored 30 points in Detroit’s win over the Lakers here last year, scored 22 points of his career-high 31 in the first half, cutting the Lakers’ 26-point lead to 13 by halftime. He drained a three-pointer at the buzzer that injected life into the antsy home crowd. The Lakers, who have benefited from two halftime buzzer-beating heaves from Doncic this season, know what it’s like to be on the other side of that momentum swing.

Read more:Swanson: Luka Doncic can lead Lakers to a title, but only if his teammates pull their weight

Pistons fans banging inflatable thunder sticks erupted in the third quarter as Detroit ripped off an 11-0 run to close the lead to three with 1:03 remaining in the quarter. The Lakers, playing with Sexton as their primary ball-handler during the stretch, had four turnovers during the drought, including a shot clock violation after a timeout.

Reaves rested from the sideline during the slide, but Redick stayed committed to the pre-determined rotation matrix to ensure star players get their necessary breaks.

“If you start just overreacting in-game and saying ‘I gotta get this guy back in, I gotta get this guy back in,’ it’s just chaos,” Redick said. “And we’re trying to create consistency for our players.”

Redick called Reaves “Mr. Consistency” earlier this season. He had 13 points in the third quarter, including five straight on difficult fadeway jumpers that pushed the lead to 17 with 6:41 to go in the third. After his step-back three from the wing kissed off the glass and rattled through the rim, Reaves shrugged.

“It was 100% lucky,” Reaves said.

Reaves shot Doncic’s shots then talked Doncic’s talk. After hitting the dagger shot to put the Lakers up by eight with 44.5 seconds left, Reaves turned and waved goodbye directly to the two fans sitting courtside.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.