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The Cleveland Cavaliers drastically changed their team at the start of the month when they traded multiple rotation players for James Harden, Dennis Schroder, and Keon Ellis.

They’ve played eight games since their first trade for Schroder and Ellis. That isn’t a huge sample size — and they haven’t exactly played the best defensive teams during that stretch — but it’s large enough to make analyzing some of the impact stats worthwhile, even if nothing conclusive should be drawn.

With that in mind, let’s look at some of the new strengths and weaknesses of this team based on the numbers.

Harden has taken the offense to another level

Harden was brought in to boost the offense, and he’s done just that. The Cavs have registered an absurd 128.1 offensive rating (99th percentile) when Harden is on the court. That’s nine points better than it has been without him during that same timeframe. And for context, the Cavs had a 116.3 offensive rating (61st percentile) with Darius Garland playing this season.

There’s multiple areas Harden has been able to help the offense.

First, the Cavs have gotten to the rim much better due to his ability to drive inside and playmake for the bigs.

They’re taking 3.4% more of their shots at the rim with Harden on the floor than they are without him (89th percentile). More importantly, they’re converting 69.8% of them (82nd percentile), which is 5.7% better than they are when he isn’t playing (93rd percentile).

Second, the Cavs are getting to the line much more easily. The Cavs have had a free-throw rate of 28.2 with Harden on the floor (99th percentile). For context, their season-long free-throw rate is 20, which is good for 22nd in the league.

Lastly, the Cavs are hitting more threes.

Cleveland has connected on 37.3% of their triples with Harden on the court. That’s above their season-long average of 35.9%. Harden shooting 47.1% from distance certainly helps.

The three most efficient ways to score are getting to the basket, getting to the free-throw line, and making more threes. Harden has helped drastically in each of these areas. From that perspective, it isn’t a surprise the offense has helped boost an already great offense.

Harden has made the offense work no matter who he plays with

It was fair to wonder how Harden and Donovan Mitchell would pair offensively. It usually takes time for two high-usage players to coalesce. That hasn’t been an issue as the offense has put together an out-of-this-world offensive rating of 132 (100th percentile) when both are on the court. This has led to the Cavs outscoring opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions in such lineups (91st percentile).

The same can be said of just about every other Cavalier Harden has played alongside.

• Harden and Jarrett Allen: 129.9 offensive rating (99th percentile), +9 net rating (89th percentile), 228 possessions
• Harden and Sam Merrill: 127 offensive rating (98th percentile), +6.2 net rating (80th percentile), 285 possessions
• Harden and Schroder: 119.4 offensive rating (82nd percentile), +0.6 net rating (56th percentile), 98 possessions
• Harden and Jaylon Tyson: 129.3 offensive rating (99th percentile), +5.3 net rating (76th percentile), 208 possessions
• Harden and Evan Mobley: 129.7 offensive rating (99th percentile), +24.3 net rating (100th percentile), 74 possessions with half of this coming against the Washington Wizards

Harden has stabilized the minutes without Mitchell

The Cavs have really struggled when Mitchell sits. On the season, groups that feature neither Harden nor Mitchell have put up a 111.9 offensive rating (27th percentile) and a -3.6 net rating (36th percentile).

These numbers actually got worse when Garland was forced to carry the Mitchell-less lineups. The Cavs registered a -9.5 net rating (15th percentile) and a 111.1 offensive rating (22nd percentile) when Garland was on the court without Mitchell. There’s context behind why this was the case, but the ineffectiveness of those lineups was a major issue.

Harden has changed that dynamic. The Cavs have outscored opponents by 3.5 points per 100 possessions (68th percentile) when Harden is on the court without Mitchell, while posting a 122.7 offensive rating (94th percentile).

It’s difficult to find a guard who can both play well with Mitchell and hold things down when he isn’t on the floor. Harden has done that extraordinarily well so far in his time in Cleveland.

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The offense has been elite since the trades

I don’t want to give Harden all the credit for the offense being better, even though he deserves plenty of praise. The Cavs as a team have played well on that end since the initial trades for Schroder and Ellis.

Since the beginning of February, the Cavs have had the second-best offense in the league with a 124.9 offensive rating.

They’ve done this by being elite in the halfcourt (107.6 half-court offensive rating, second best in the league in that span) and by consistently getting to and converting at the free-throw line (23.2 free-throw rate, fourth best in the league). Both are things they’ve struggled with at various points this season.

This has all led to the Cavs having a +12.9 net rating since the start of February, which is good for fourth-best in the league.

The defense has been rough with Harden

Harden isn’t a good defender. Even though he can hold his own in the post, the rate at which he gets blown by on the perimeter far outweighs that. So far, the Cavs haven’t found a good way to mask his ineffectiveness on that end.

The Cavs have registered a poor 120.8 offensive rating (16th percentile) when Harden is on the floor. That’s 20.8 points worse than it is with Harden off the floor since the trade. That disparity is artificially high due to the defense being uncharacteristically good with Harden off the floor, but it does speak to some of the issues.

Harden hasn’t helped the Cavs’ rebounding problem

Cleveland is 29th in defensive rebounding percentage since the beginning of February. In that time, opponents are collecting 34.2% of their missed shots.

Defensive rebounding has plagued the Cavs all season, but it’s actually worse when Harden is on the floor. Opponents are collecting 35.1% of their misses when he is playing (second percentile).

The Cavs have been great defensively with Ellis and Schroder

In contrast, the defense has been incredibly impressive with either Ellis or Schroder on the floor. Lineups with Ellis have registered a 105.6 defensive rating (96th percentile). With Ellis, they’ve had a 106.1 defensive rating (95th percentile). And with both, they’ve had a 100 defensive rating in 140 possessions (100th percentile).

It’s worth noting that these lineups have been good offensively as well. The defense, however, has been elite. That means something on a team that has struggled on that end with Harden in the lineup.

Lineups with Ellis and Harden have been good defensively

The Cavs have played some of their best basketball when Harden and Ellis share the floor. Those lineups have a +27.5 net rating (100th percentile), 139.3 offensive rating (100th percentile), and a 111.9 defensive rating (79th percentile) in 117 possessions.

The interesting part about these lineups is that there isn’t much commonality with the other three players. The Cavs have run this duo out in many different combinations, and nearly all of them have worked so far.

This is a pairing I would stick with.

Schroder has fit better with Mitchell so far

It’s a small sample size, but lineups with Schroder and Mitchell, but without Harden, have been great. The Cavs have a +26.4 net rating (100th percentile), 125.7 offensive rating (98th percentile), and a 99.4 defensive rating (100th percentile) in 167 possessions. It really doesn’t get better than this.

Groups with Schroder and Harden, but without Mitchell, have worked well. They’re in the 64th percentile for net rating (+2.7) due to being good offensively in their 85 possessions together. That is perfectly fine, even though it doesn’t live up to the other grouping.

This makes sense conceptually. Mitchell needs to play with a point guard, and Schroder fits that mold well. Harden needs additional spacers, not ball handlers. Schroder can do that, but that isn’t his area of expertise.

What do we make of all this?

It’s dangerous to read too much into the data that we have. The sample size is still incredibly small, the Cavs have played some horrible defenses, some good offenses, and the rotations haven’t been set yet.

That said, the numbers do conclusively show that the offense is much more well-rounded than before. They’re getting to the rim and the free-throw line more than they have in the past. Their attack is much more diversified, so that they don’t have to live and die by the three-ball as much as they have in the past.

Additionally, they need to find ways to make it work defensively with Harden. They haven’t figured out a system that best hides his deficiencies. It’s difficult to have a solid defense if your back court with him and Mitchell is that susceptible to being blown past. Going with more zone defenses could be a solution, but I’m not sure if having him at the top of a 3-2 zone is the best way to do so.

I would lean more into playing Harden with Ellis. It’s not a huge sample size, but their fit matches the eye test. Harden just needs floor spacers on offense, and that’s one of the few things Ellis can do well on that end. And Harden also needs people who can cover for him defensively. Ellis can do that as he’s one of the most disruptive defenders in the league for his size.

The main takeaway, however, is that the Cavs are implementing many changes in their rotations and style of play. It takes time to work those things out, and that’s not something this team has.

Right now, Atkinson will need to decide if he values trying as many lineup combinations as possible or if he wants to do less experimenting in an effort to establish some continuity. I would opt for the latter, but neither is a perfect solution.

These trades were a bet on Atkinson’s ability to figure out the rotations and style of play. So far, he’s done a great job, but there’s still plenty of work to be done before the playoffs. We’ll see if Atkinson can get this group to reach their potential.

Lineup data was taken from Cleaning the Glass.

This past Saturday, the NCAA men’s basketball committee released its ranking of the top 16 teams, ostensibly providing a template to help professional and amateur observers visualize what the final bracket might look like in a few weeks. Within mere hours of that reveal, the template was effectively broken as half of the committee’s top 10 teams lost. As if we needed a reminder, this is why the term March Madness is so engrained in the sport’s vocabulary.

In any event, we’ve had to reexamine the committee’s order and come up with a new template for our latest bracket projection. Duke, now topping the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll, strengthened its case for the No. 1 overall seed with its neutral-site victory against Michigan. Arizona also has an argument, with its win at Houston adding to an impressive list of high-end triumphs away from home. Michigan remains well-positioned as a top regional seed. Iowa State holds down the fourth No. 1, as its recent decision against Houston helps offset Saturday night’s loss at Brigham Young.

Houston is still very much in the No. 1 conversation but remains a 2 for now after a loss to Kansas on Monday. We also differ with the committee on Florida, which was outside the top 10 but projects as a No. 2 seed in our bracket. Purdue and Connecticut round out the second line.

Illinois, which lost a third consecutive overtime contest, might have missed out on its shot at heading a regional and slips to the third line along with Nebraska, Texas Tech and Gonzaga. The middle portion of the bracket wasn’t drastically altered by the weekend’s results, but there was a change on the fringe of the at-large pool as UCLA, thanks to its buzzer-beater against Illinois, replaces rival Southern California in the field.

March Madness bracketology: NCAA Tournament projection

March Madness last four in

TCU, New Mexico, UCLA, Santa Clara.

March Madness first four out

Southern California, California, Virginia Commonwealth, San Diego State.

NCAA tournament bids conference breakdown

Multi-bid leagues: Big Ten (10), SEC (10), ACC (8) Big 12 (8), Big East (3), West Coast (3), Mountain West (2).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness predictions: Latest men's NCAA tournament bracketology

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, February 24th. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 36-22 and host the New York Knicks tonight. The last time they played the Knicks was in New York on Christmas Day. Since then, the Cavs have turned the corner and are playing like a new team.

New York still stands as one of the Cavaliers’ biggest obstacles in the Eastern Conference. This game can give them valuable intel into how James Harden changes the dynamic of this matchup.

Also, I’m hoping to see a bounce-back game from Evan Mobley.

Today’s Game of the Day

• Boston Celtics at Phoenix Suns – 9 PM, NBA League Pass

The Celtics are in the middle of their West Coast road trip. They previously dismantled the Los Angeles Lakers and now face a scrappy Suns squad. This could make for a fun matchup as both teams have surpassed expectations this season.

Boston is a dark-horse contender in the East this year and should be on the mind of every Cavs fan. Especially if Jayson Tatum returns before the playoffs. This isn’t a team to ignore.

The rest of the NBA schedule

• Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers – 7 PM
• Oklahoma City Thunder at Toronto Raptors – 7:30 PM
• Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks – 7:30 PM
• Dallas Mavericks at Brooklyn Nets – 7:30 PM
• Miami Heat at Milwaukee Bucks – 8 PM
• Golden State Warriors at New Orleans Pelicans – 8 PM
• Charlotte Hornets at Chicago Bulls – 8 PM
• Minnesota Timberwolves at Portland Trail Blazers – 10 PM
• Orlando Magic at Los Angeles Lakers – 10:30 PM

It’s a stacked night for the NBA.

Cavs links of the day

• 10 Passes that show James Harden as a legendary playmaker – Fear the Sword
• Sneak Peek of Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center – Akron Beacon Journal

NBA links

• What NBA Players will make in 10 years – Yahoo Sports

MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan must overturn a two-goal deficit against Bodø/Glimt in Tuesday's Champions League playoffs if it is to avoid becoming the latest giant to be cut down by the tiny Norwegian team.

Bodø/Glimt leads 3-1 after the first leg and has its sights on the round of 16.

Inter — the beaten finalist in two of the last three seasons — plays the second leg at home but is in danger of suffering one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history.

“We should have done better, and there’s a lot of disappointment,” Inter coach Cristian Chivu said. “But we’ve reset and I’m now interested in our approach and our confidence, being the best version of ourselves and knowing we can turn it around.”

Bodø/Glimt's victory last week in Norway saw it follow up back-to-back wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid at the end of the league phase.

“We feel we can compete with most teams but at the same time we have nothing to lose,” Bodø/Glimt midfielder Patrick Berg said.

Atletico has work to do after drawing at Club Brugge 3-3.

Newcastle appears to be cruising into the next round after a 6-1 win in Qarabag, while Bayer Leverkusen is in control against Olympiakos following a 2-0 win in the first leg.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Let me set the scene for you in Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.

The Warriors were down on starpower. Steph Curry was out. Draymond Green got ruled out before tip-off. Kristaps Porzingis? Nope. Jimmy Butler III? Not available. You’re essentially running a nine-man road crew against Nikola Jokic, who just posted his 185th career triple-double like it was a grocery errand.

And third-year Golden State guard Brandin Podziemski? He was 1-for-10 through three quarters, couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a beach ball. The kind of performance that makes trade rumors feel justified. Then the fourth quarter happened.

Podziemski scored 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting to fuel a 20-2 run that buried Denver 128-117. He finished with 18 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, and9 assists. One assist away from a triple-double and a plus-19 in 37 minutes. On National TV!

That’s some damn good clutch play.

The historical context here matters deeply, because a Basketball Reference query shows Podziemski’s 18-15-9 line against Denver makes him just the 28th entry in Warriors franchise history to post at least 18 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists in a single game. The names above him on that list? Wilt Chamberlain, Nate Thurmond, and Draymond Green. That is the full list of Warriors players who have done something in this neighborhood. Brandin Podziemski is 22 years old and carved his name into that wall Sunday afternoon.

The heavy.com report from December noted the Warriors had shifted from treating him as “untouchable” to being “more open than ever” to moving him before the trade deadline. That’s a real tension that exists around this young man that I see around Podz in the fanbase; and performances like these make believers.

This is the version of Podziemski that had Mike Dunleavy Jr. telling him “you’re ours” when teams were calling with draft picks during the offseason. This is the version Joe Lacob saw when he believed him to be a future All-Star. And 15 rebounds from the guard feels rather Prime Westbrookian, amirite? They say if you can’t score, find other ways to contribute, don’t let your shot drag down your game. Those boards represent effort and will to affect the game in multiple ways.

Here’s what I keep coming back to from what Podziemski said in October that stuck with Dub Nation. He talked about wanting Curry and Green to be able to leave the franchise with him, to go to Joe Lacob and say “he’s the one.” But Sunday against Denver was Brandin answering that challenge without saying a word. Podziemski was ice cold for three quarters and then he willed them to a win against the fourth-best team in the Western Conference.

That’s not just promise; that’s character. As to whether Podziemski is catching his stride, and the answer has to be: he’s catching something. Call it confidence. Call it clutch gene. Call it the beginning of a player materializing the understanding of what he’s capable of when the lights get bright.

The baton metaphor he used in October looked premature when December came around. Sunday it looked like a sneak peek at a very favorable future in the Bay.

HOUSTON (AP) — Rockets forward Kevin Durant will be less than two months shy of his 40th birthday when the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics begin, but he said Monday night he told USA Basketball Managing Director Grant Hill he’d like to be considered for the U.S. men’s team when the time comes.

“I didn’t want to just take my name out of consideration just because of the simple fact that I’m older and I did it before,” Durant said after scoring 18 points for Houston in a 125-105 win over the Utah Jazz. “Grant understands my love for Team USA. That’s my family. The level of love I have for Team USA and the whole organization over there is unmatched, so I’d love to be part of it until I’m done playing.”

Durant has played in the last four Olympics, becoming USA men’s basketball’s career scoring leader in the process, but he says he doesn’t want to just be handed a spot on the 2028 team. He wants to earn it.

“I understand how tough that decision is for Grant, and how many great players are going to emerge the next year and a half, and I’m also very old compared to a lot of these players,” Durant said. “I know I've got my work cut out for me to make that team.”

During the 2024 Paris games, Durant became the first American player to win four Olympic gold medals in men’s basketball. United States stars Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird won five gold medals in women’s basketball, but Durant says joining that club is not his motivation for wanting to go through another Olympic cycle.

“I just love playing for Team USA. I love representing my country. That’s the first and most important thing — it’s putting that USA across my chest and representing where I come from,” he said.

Durant is averaging 25.9 points per game on 50.7% shooting in his 18th NBA season.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Sacramento Kings (13-46, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (35-21, third in the Western Conference)

Houston; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Western Conference foes Houston and Sacramento face off on Wednesday.

The Rockets have gone 20-16 against Western Conference opponents. Houston averages 114.5 points and has outscored opponents by 5.1 points per game.

The Kings are 9-30 in Western Conference play. Sacramento has a 5-29 record in games decided by 10 points or more.

The Rockets average 114.5 points per game, 6.5 fewer points than the 121.0 the Kings give up. The Kings are shooting 46.2% from the field, 0.6% higher than the 45.6% the Rockets' opponents have shot this season.

The teams square off for the fourth time this season. The Kings won the last matchup 111-98 on Jan. 12. DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points to help lead the Kings to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kevin Durant is averaging 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Rockets. Jabari Smith Jr. is averaging 18.6 points over the last 10 games.

Russell Westbrook is scoring 15.1 points per game and averaging 5.5 rebounds for the Kings. Malik Monk is averaging 1.7 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rockets: 6-4, averaging 107.3 points, 45.3 rebounds, 24.0 assists, 9.6 steals and 6.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.4 points per game.

Kings: 1-9, averaging 109.3 points, 43.4 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 8.6 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.8 points.

INJURIES: Rockets: Jae'Sean Tate: out (knee), Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Steven Adams: out for season (ankle).

Kings: Domantas Sabonis: out for season (back), Dylan Cardwell: out (ankle), De'Andre Hunter: out for season (eye), Zach LaVine: out for season (finger), Devin Carter: day to day (back).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

According to Sarah Todd, it appears that Vince Williams Jr. may have suffered a season-ending injury in the Jazz’s game against the Houston Rockets.

If you haven’t seen the play, Williams took a shot from Tari Eason coming down the court, and his knee appeared to hyperextend sideways.

After the game, it looks like Keyonte George let Tari Eason know what happened and Eason looked like he felt bad about what had happened.

It’s a really unfortunate injury for Williams, who was looking like he was trending in the direction of being a potential rotation player next season with his size, length, defense, and ability to run the point. Now, Williams will obviously find out the extent of the injury and begin the recovery process. Let’s hope that it’s not as bad as it looked and that it’s just a severe strain and not something that requires any sort of reconstructive surgery, as likely as that seems.

The Jazz fell to the Rockets, 105-125, in a defeat that was all but assured ever since the opening quarter. Not that Jazz fans are complaining; with the next two games being against the Pelicans, where losses are far from guaranteed, an easy and relaxed addition to the teams ping pong balls versus Houston is a pleasant and successful evening.

The Jazz’s woes this game were not new to this team; yet again, their opponent displayed three point shooting well above their typical standard. Against the Jazz, the Rockets shot 10 more threes than their per game average, and knocked down a very healthy 45%. Kevin Durant, Reed Sheppard, and Jabari Smith Jr. were the main culprits, and the defense wasn’t quick to adjust – they did their damage on open three after open three.

Transition defense was another problem that the Jazz simply had no answer for. Amen Thompson, always a speed-demon, created a semi-transition opportunity after nearly every Jazz miss. In those opportunities, the Jazz veterans were too slow to keep up and the Jazz youngsters kept up but always in the wrong direction. Cody Williams and Ace Bailey showed activity in getting back on defense, but the Rockets were surgical in consistently finding the open man.

Lauri Markkanen and Brice Sensabaugh were the offensive bright spots. While Lauri’s three pointers weren’t dropping tonight (it did feel like sometimes he settled for tough, movement jump shots), he matched and exceeded the Rocket’s physicality in the paint, which is no small accomplishment. He finished 9-13 on two point shots, dealing with contact on nearly all of them. Brice continued to do Brice things – shoot jump shots early in the shot clock that seem like they can’t be the most efficient form of offense, but they go in at a respectable rate nonetheless. While much of his scoring came in the 4th quarter, when the game was over in all aspects but time on the clock, it wasn’t as if the Rockets perimeter defenders had thrown in the towel. Since the New Year, he’s averaging nearly 17 points per game at around 47% from the field and 35% from three. He is blossoming into a legitimate playoff-level scorer to close out the year.

A bit of bad news that needs monitoring – Vince Williams Jr. was carried off the court by two trainers after a rough collision with Tari Eason that seemed to injure Vince’s left knee. This injury will likely lead to both (a) some more 48 minute outings from Isaiah Collier and (b) increased playing time for Elijah Harkless, who impressed me tonight with his signature defensive tenacity. Attached below is a video of the injury – it isn’t pretty, so some viewer discretion is advised.

The Jazz will be back at it at Thursday at 7 in a home game against the Pelicans.

Sunday afternoon against Denver, in a game that the Dubs had no business being competitive in, Moses Moody reminded everyone watching why the Warriors used a lottery pick on him back in 2021. Twenty-three points. Seven rebounds. Five assists. A complete performance on a national stage, against a Nuggets team that isn’t exactly handing those kinds of good vibes out for free.

But here’s what makes that line genuinely special, not just impressive-for-a-young-guy special. According to Basketball Reference, since the Warriors dynasty era began in 2014-15, only 13 other instances exist of a Golden State player posting at least 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in a single regular season game. Stephen Curry owns 99 of the appearances on that list. Kevin Durant dropped 50 during his Warriors tenure. Draymond Green has 8. And then there’s Moses Moody, sitting at the bottom of that list with his very first one, right next to names like Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga.

He just joined some serious company. Let that simmer for a second.

The timing matters too. The Warriors have been navigating an obstacle course lately with star wing Jimmy Butler on IR and face of the franchise Steph Curry is wounded. Jonathan Kuminga got traded out of the building in a move that still has the fanbase pondering what it all means.

This team is running thin on the kind of players who can create their own shot when the offense stalls. And February has asked Moody to answer questions he’s never been asked before at this level, consistently, with no veteran safety net to catch the narrative if things went sideways.

His February game log tells the real story. He’s played seven games and topped ouble figures in six of them. That 6-point game against Philly on a reduced 20 minutes was the outlier, not the norm. He went for 25 against the Lakers on 39 minutes of work. He also poured in 17 in San Antonio, then 15 in the Memphis comeback win. The consistency isn’t flashy, but it’s real, and real is exactly what this team needs right now.

What’s changed is his shot creation within structure. Moody came into the league tagged as a catch-and-shoot specialist, which is a polite way of saying the league wasn’t sure he could make decisions fast enough when the ball found him in live-game situations. The 23-7-5 line against Denver shows a player who now rebounds, pushes in transition, finds cutters, and still knocks down the pull-up when the defense gives it to him. That’s not a catch-and-shoot player anymore. That’s a basketball player.

He’s 23 years old. He was taken 14th overall in a draft class that the Warriors will forever be haunted by if they can’t find some way to keep Curry’s twilight years competitive. Both picks in that draft showed real promise. The paths just diverged differently, and right now, Moody is the one wearing a Warriors jersey and producing when the franchise needs him.

Sunday night wasn’t a fluke me thinks; rather it was confirmation. The kind of confirmation that dynasty-era Warriors fans have been trained to recognize, the moment a young player stops auditioning and starts performing.

Moses Moody is performing.

Well, the season is saved! The Rockets scored a robust 125 points, held their opponent to just over 100, and essentially stomped their opponent from beginning to end. Wait, I’m getting word that their opponent was the Utah Jazz, a team that claims not to be losing intentionally, but their growing fines from the NBA league office might suggest otherwise.

The Jass are what? 18-40? That’s not…good. So far from good, or trying to win, that again,they’ve been fined for it. Still, pretty much this Jazz team, but including Keyonte George, did in fact beat the Rockets earlier in the season. If you told me the Jazz, playing the Rockets at home would do their very best to get a win, and try to lose everything else, except against Portland, I’d believe you.

But there’s no reason to look askance at the result we had hoped, or in some cases, expected, to see. If you wanted to see the Rockets run some offense, they did. It happened. Write it down, that on February 24th, 2026 Kevin Durant ran several baseline cuts. It did my cruel, flinty, hater, heart good to see the Rockets actually move purposefully on a basketball court on offense.

If you wanted the Rockets to grab an opponent by metaphorical throat early, rather than Latrell Sprewell style, and not let go, they did that, too. The Rockets won the first quarter 38-22. They won the second and third quarters 30-25 and 32-28 respectively. It wasn’t until an entirely garbage time 4th quarter that the Jazz got to 30 points in a quarter.

What else did we see? Well, we saw the Rockets actually feature the three point shot. They took 40 threes to Ime Udoka’s former lead assistant in Boston, Will Hardy’s team’s 44. The Rockets shot at a robust, encouraging, possibly unsustainable, 45% clip on threes. The Jazz made a sad, bluesy, trombone of 18%. Maybe this is make or miss league stuff, but you can’t make or miss threes you don’t take. This 40 attempts is pretty much the level maintained by nearly every good NBA offense. Actually making such shots will force opponents out of the paint, where they usually hang around, making life difficult for Alperen Sengun, Kevin Durant, and Amen Thompson, all at the same time.

This is the first game in a very long time where the Rockets looked like an NBA offense. Admittedly against a tanking team, but one positive feature of this win might have been less focus on Kevin Durant. We also saw more positioning of Kevin Durant somewhere, anywhere, besides the top of the three point arc. Durant only took 13 shots tonight, 5 of which were threes. That might be a low shot output, but it’s a shot distribution I like a lot more. Durant standing in the corner is doom for opponents, as he can actually drive to his middie from there, unlike Amen standing in the corner, which is doom to the Rockets.

The player who came through tonight, who looked, dare I say, like the player we’ve been hoping to see, was Jabari Smith Jr. Jabari was 12-17, and 6-11 from three point range. He seemed to be playing freer, and I think a more free Jabari is a better Jabari. He seems to me to be a player who suffers inordinately from overthinking. Jabari was 6-6 from inside the three point line, and it seemed like A) no one on the Jazz could hold him, and B) he actually used his 3pt shot, and his height, to unlock his other shots. Jabari also had 9 boards, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. The turnovers were a bit unfortunate, but do not mar the long awaited The Return of Jaswishy. Long may he swish.

Alperen Sengun also had a good game, one in which no Rocket dominated the shot tally. He was 7-12, with 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He was 2-2 on his FTs. Why Alpie needed to play 36 minutes, and Clint Capela 10 minutes in this one is anyone’s guess. Capela has accumulated enough positive +/- nights, or been the least bad player off the bench enough, that it should warrant more minutes, in my opinion. Perhaps there are medical reasons why not, but if it’s not that, it’s hard to see why he doesn’t play a bit more.

Amen Thompson had something of an odd game, on the offensive side, with 3 ast to 6 TO. But he did attack aggressively, and made 4-5 FT. He was 8-9 on the shots that did count, none of which were 3pt shots. So very high efficiency as an offensive player, low as a distributor.

The last starter, Tari Eason, was disruptive, but seemed to feel the bite of regression a bit on his three point shots, going 1-5. He did grab 10 rebounds. The Rockets lost the offensive rebounding game, maybe because they just didn’t miss much 57% overall, and 45% from three. They did, however, crush Utah on the glass overall, 53-36.

The Rockets also didn’t have anything resembling a free throw edge. They took 11 to Utah’s 30. I don’t think Utah earned that many trips to the charity stripe, but part of the reason Houston didn’t take as many FTs was Utah didn’t do much defending, and Houston did.

Dorian Finney-Smith played 20 minutes of nothing much. We might have hoped to see him have a get right game as well. While he’s never been a high stats output player, you might like to see more than 3/4/0/0/0 with a turnover in 20 minutes, in a game the Rockets dominated.

Reed Sheppard had quite a good game in my opinion. He scored 15 on 5-9 shooting, with all of those attempts coming from three point range. He had 3 rebounds, 4 ast, 3 to, an 1 stl. His point guarding wasn’t superb, but it was there, and if the Rockets want to give Reed at least 10 shots from three a game, I think it would help them a lot in the long run.

Josh Okogie returned from his banishment, or silent treatment, or whatever, and played 12 mostly anonymous, but high energy, minutes. I can also report that Aaron Holiday, Uncle Jeff, and Isaiah Crawford are alive.

This is the first game in a very long time where I actually enjoyed watching the Rockets play offense. If some thought the Rockets could not run coherent offense, for mysterious reasons, this is proof that it is, at least, a possibility. Hopefully this easy, good shooting, win will lead the Rockets to a better place. On offense, and mentally. Maybe it will do the same for the Dear Old Dreamshake. At any rate, it’s a win, and not a troubling one in any respect.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Russsell Westbrook scored 25 points and Precious Achiuwa had 22 points and 12 rebounds as the Sacramento Kings snapped a 16-game losing streak — the longest in franchise history — with a 123-114 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

DeMar DeRozan and Daeqwon Plowden finished with 19 points each, with Plowden scoring 10 in the fourth quarter. Sacramento has the NBA’s worst record and hadn’t won since beating Washington on Jan. 16.

Javon Smalls led Memphis with 21 points and nine assists. Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 17 points and GG Jackson added 16 points.

SPURS 114, PISTONS 103

DETROIT (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 21 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks, Devin Vassell scored 28 and San Antonio beat the Detroit in a potential NBA Finals preview.

The Spurs have won a season-high nine games in a row and trail only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference.

The Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, who had won five straight, host Oklahoma City on Wednesday night in another test.

Detroit star Cade Cunningham struggled, missing 21 of 26 shots and finishing with 16 points and 10 assists.

ROCKETS 125, JAZZ 105

HOUSTON (AP) — Jabari Smith Jr. had 31 points and nine rebounds and Amen Thompson scored 20 points as Houston beat Utah.

Smith hit his first five shots and matched a career-high with 14 points in the first quarter. He converted 12 of 17 shots overall and made six 3-pointers.

Thompson shot 8 for 9 from the field and finished with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Kevin Durant scored 18 points and added a season-high 12 assists. Reed Sheppard scored 15 points off the bench.

With the win, the Rockets (35-21) into third place in the Western Conference, behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio.