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Michigan State or Illinois? Big Ten basketball preseason poll reveals razor-thin favorite

The Big Ten finally ended its men's basketball national title drought thanks to Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines. May left for the NBA, so the throne is vacant. Can in-state rival Michigan State take the crown?

We polled writers within the USA TODAY Network who cover Big Ten schools for their preseason predictions, all-conference teams and preseason awards ahead of Big Ten media days, which run Oct. 8 in Rosemont, Illinois.

It was a two-horse for the top spot between Michigan State and Illinois, with the Spartans edging it out by one point (280-279).

Jeremy Fears Jr. was selected as preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and was the only unanimous All-Big Ten pick. Here's a look at how our writers think the 2026-27 season will shake out in the Big Ten:

From court to campout: Tom Izzo gets early peek at Michigan State basketball

Big Ten basketball preseason poll, predicted order of finish

  1. Michigan State
  2. Illinois
  3. Michigan
  4. UCLA
  5. Nebraska
  6. Purdue
  7. USC
  8. Ohio State
  9. Indiana
  10. Iowa
  11. Wisconsin
  12. Maryland
  13. Minnesota
  14. Oregon
  15. Washington
  16. Northwestern
  17. Rutgers
  18. Penn State

2026-27 preseason All-Big Ten basketball team

FIRST TEAM

* denotes unanimous selection

  • Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State*
  • Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska
  • David Mirkovic, Illinois
  • Elliot Cadeau, Michigan
  • Nolan Winter, Wisconsin

SECOND TEAM

  • Trey McKenney, Michigan
  • Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois
  • John Mobley Jr., Ohio State
  • Pharrel Payne, Maryland
  • Rodney Rice, USC

Also receiving votes (listed by vote count): Coen Carr, Michigan State; Markus Burton, Indiana; Aiden Sherrell, Indiana; Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois; Nikola Kusturica, UCLA; Trent Perry, UCLA; KJ Lewis, USC; Tariq Francis, Rutgers; Stefan Vaaks, Illinois; Alijah Arenas, USC; Daniel Jacobsen, Purdue; Braden Frager, Nebraska; C.J. Cox, Purdue; Cade Tyson, Minnesota; Omer Mayer, Purdue; Eric Dailey Jr., UCLA; Jaylen Petty, UCLA; Anthony Thompson, Ohio State; JP Estrella, Michigan; Jacob Cofie, USC.

Big Ten basketball preseason Player of the Year

Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State

Fears averaged 15.2 points and a league-leading 9.4 assists per game last season on way to a first-team All-Big Ten selection. He landed on numerous All-America teams last year and enters the 2026-27 season on shortlists for national player of the year.

Also receiving votes: David Mirkovic, Illinois; Trey McKenney, Michigan.

Big Ten basketball preseason Newcomer of the Year (non-freshman)

Stefan Vaaks, Illinois

Brad Underwood sure does love him some European. This 6-7 Estonian transfer from Providence averaged 15.8 points per game last season and led the Big East with 91 made 3s (at a 35% clip). The Illini lost their top 3-point shooters from last season (Keaton Wagler and Ben Humrichous), so Vaaks fills a key void.

Also receiving votes: Markus Burton, Indiana; KJ Lewis, USC; Aiden Sherrell, Indiana; Jaylen Petty, UCLA; Moustapha Thiam, Michigan.

Big Ten basketball preseason Freshman of the Year

Anthony Thompson, Ohio State

A top-10 national recruit, Thompson is the highest-ranked Buckeyes recruit since Jared Sullinger in 2010 and the program's first McDonald's All American since D'Angelo Russell in 2014. The 6-9 Ohio native has a 7-3 wingspan averaged 24.9 points and 7.9 rebounds and has range that extends to the 3-point arc.

Also receiving votes: Nikola Kusturica, UCLA; Christian Collins, USC; Quentin Coleman, Illinois; Bab Oladotun, Maryland.

Poll participants: Nathan Baird (IndyStar), John Steppe (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), Tyler Tachman (Des Moines Register), Connor Earegood (Detroit News), Adam Jardy (Columbus Dispatch), Zach Osterman (IndyStar), Jordan Mendoza (USA TODAY), Sam King (Lafayette Journal & Courier), Jerry Carino (Asbury Park Press), Chris Solari (Detroit Free Press), Graham Couch (Lansing State Journal), Michael Niziolek (Bloomington Herald-Times), Tony Garcia (Detroit Free Press), Chad Leistikow (Des Moines Register), John Leuzzi (USA TODAY Network), Craig Meyer (USA TODAY Network).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan State or Illinois? Big Ten basketball preseason poll reveals razor-thin favorite

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Ovechkin’s Last Dance In Montreal

On Monday, Washington Capitals legend Alexander Ovechkin announced that the 2026-27 season will be his last one in the NHL. After 22 years on this side of the pond, the Great 8 didn’t say he would retire, just that it would be his last year in the NHL. In other words, he’ll likely head home and spend some time in the KHL, as so many Russians do when Father Time catches up to them.

At 41, the Capitals captain isn't as productive as he once was, but he remains a legend of the game and the all-time leading goal scorer. Once, people wondered whether he could beat Wayne Gretzky’s regular-season goal total of 894, and he did in 2024-25. He could still beat Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record. The Canadian has 1,016 goals if you include the playoffs, whereas the Russian has 1,006. It would take a fantastic postseason for the Caps, but it’s far from impossible. When Washington won the Stanley Cup in 2017-18, he scored 15 goals in 24 games.

Canadiens’ St-Louis Hopes To Change Team’s Mindset
Canadiens Take Part In Stroll And Dash Event
Canadiens Farm Team Split Weekend Results

As things stand, Ovechkin has 929 goals and 759 assists for 1688 points. In 22 seasons, he has faced the Montreal Canadiens 63 times, scoring 44 goals and adding 32 assists for 76 points. He's been a thorn in the Habs’ side over the years, and it’s fair to say the Sainte-Flanelle won’t miss him.

Fans may miss him, though, because he remains an impressive player to watch on the ice; who doesn’t remember his breakaway challenge at the All-Star Game in Montreal in 2009? The Tricolore will face him three times this season; the first two duels will be in Washington on October 14 and January 19, and once in Montreal on February 13, at 1:00 PM. As always on Superbowl weekend, the Bell Centre will host a couple of matinee games, and if you’ve yet to see Ovechkin play in person, this will be your very last chance to watch him take on the Habs. If your kid has never seen him play, there’s your chance.

Right now, very few tickets remain for that game, and the cheapest one is at $269. Secondary-market prices will likely rocket up. Still, Canadiens fans will no doubt salute the end of Ovechkin’s career beautifully in February, and it will be yet another marquee moment at the Bell Centre.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.

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Is Anything Possible?—The Week in Green

There is a moment between seasons in sports, a springtime that occurs even in fall, when the previous season has been set firmly in the past and the upcoming season hasn’t started.

Some fanbases live for this moment. The perpetual also-rans have their moment in the sun at this time. The offseason’s changes have yet to pan out—or not—and the future is wide-open. If a chance at that brass ring is a bit too far-fetched, there’s always this hope that some things will be better this year than they were the last time around.

Boston, MA – September 15: Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, forward Paul George, guard Mike Conley and president Brad Stevens pose for photos at a press conference on September 15, 2026. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images

Such optimism can be found with the green and white, and it’s not without some foundation. The Celtics have added Mitchell Robinson, Michael Conley and Paul George—and Jayson Tatum, if you look at the broad trend of last season, and have lost Jaylen Brown. Now the Celtics won 56 games last season with a missing/recovering Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown stepping up.

So, to me, the question is whether Jayson Tatum can step up in a manner similar to Brown’s leap last season. I think he can.

Yes, the rest of the East has gotten better. Notably, the Sixers added LeBron James, who, I suspect, moved three time zones away from his family in order to have one last shot at Boston, and of course, they added Jaylen Brown. The Raptors added Kawhi Leonard, who managed to dodge the hammer that hit the Clippers as hard as any team has been hit in recent memory, but the Celtics have young guys that are still on the upswing of their career trajectories.

Right now, I would say that anything is possible. The league is as wide-open as it has ever been (there have been eight different champions in the past nine seasons, something that has never happened before). The Knicks showed last season that getting hot at the right time can be a successful path to a title.

A conflux of factors have made depth more important than ever in the league. For starters, the second apron has made talent aggregation almost impossible. You can’t stack your roster for the playoffs anymore.

And as Mazzulla said on Monday, “the standard and the expectation of playing all 82 isn’t realistic.” The intensity of the game has changed significantly, and with players training year-round, injury risk is significant and best-practices for letting the body heal have resulted in longer recovery periods than were common in the past.

While basketball is still a long way from adopting the line shift strategy employed by its winter sports partner, hockey, teams need to be prepared to go 10 deep or more, and those last few rotation slots seem to work best when they’re staffed by talent that’s been developed inhouse.

Here the Celtics are one of the best teams in the league. Perhaps Oklahoma City is better at identifying and developing talent right now, but it’s close in any case.

At the same time, Joe Mazzulla provided a thoughtful explanation and antidote for the preseason buzz that we all fall prey to at a media availability on Sunday. “Every team you lead is the most together team right now, because we haven’t traveled. No one’s gotten benched. No one’s been on a losing streak. No one’s gotten blamed in the media. No one’s had to go stand in the corner for 10 minutes and not get the ball.”

It’s a reminder that it’s not how together you are in practices—and blow-out wins—that counts, it’s how together you are during challenging situations that counts.

The Celtics, let’s not forget, blew out the Sixers during the two of the three games they won in May. They finished the series with a net score of plus 20.

Now this is not an argument that the Celtics should have won the series. The results are what they are, and if, for example, we as Celtics fans delight in the Boston’s 3-1 comeback victories over the Sixers in ’68 and ’81, then we need to own that loss in May as well.

That series is a reminder that, for as good as the Celtics looked during the relatively low-stakes contests of the regular season, they fell apart when they faced a Sixers team that challenged them.

The series reminded me, to a certain extent, of the 2022 Finals where Boston turned into a tightrope walker that looked down and caught a bad case of vertigo.

The Sixers made the Celtics uncomfortable, and Boston, suddenly, looked like they had no business being where they were.

A team that looked to be on the verge of great things wasn’t.

The Celtics—players and coaches alike—need to ask themselves if they’re prepared to stick together and respond to challenges, because that is what it takes to win a title. There has been enough turnover and time since 2024 that these are fresh lessons for some and lessons that others might need a refresher course in.

And it’s not enough to plan for challenges. The real test isn’t having a plan, everybody has one of those, it’s having the toughness to stick with the plan—or, if you’re on the coaching staff, having the flexibility and self-awareness to change the plan if it’s not working.

That’s why I’m intrigued by the Celtics’ roster additions coming into this season.

Michael Conley is coming into his 20th season, and has spent much of his career on teams that were mid-pack or worse. He’s not really here to score or defend. He’s here to keep this team grounded. All during the season, he should be teaching the younger guys on the team how to keep the game in front of them, and when the going gets tough, he needs to be there to steady these guys and keep everyone together and on the same page.

The same goes for Paul George. He’s developed a bit of an old man’s game, and should be able to offer some meaningful contributions to the scoreboard, but like Conley, I think he can be a steady hand on the rudder when the seas get choppy, again, keeping everyone together.

Mitchell Robinson is coming direct off a championship run. And although Mitchell played a relatively small role, minutes-wise, in the Knicks’ playoff run, the Knicks were just 13-9 during regular season games that he missed. He promises to be an important factor in the Celtics being able to make the front court a position of strength 48 minutes out of every game, and 82 games out of the year.

Do the Celtics have the talent needed to win a title this year? In a flattened NBA where parity has become the rule, I think they have that talent, both in players on the roster and coaches guiding the team.

Will they win it all?

Well, that comes down to how well this team stays together through the challenges along the way.

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Islanders Gameday News: First meeting with the Smurfs

Make them suffer. | Getty Images

The Islanders are in action tonight against a Rangers team that is unfortunately off to a pretty good start, let by Igor Shesterkin’s goal and assist.

First Islanders Goal picks go here.

Islanders News

  • Practice notes from Monday. [Isles]
  • Prospect Report: Luca Romano, Kamil Bednarik and other cool names. [Isles]
  • One of these days, and maybe it’s today, Semyon Varlamov will make his first start in two years. He’s savoring every moment. [Newsday | Post]
  • Island Ice podcast: early season thoughts and a chat with J-G Pageau. [Newsday]
  • Logan Stanley is getting used to traffic, the price of coffee and the welcoming Islanders organization. [Post]
  • Dan and Mike check in with the first Islanders Anxiety since real games began and yes, there is Master Leaf Theatre. [LHH]
Islanders looking to keep to rest plan for Ilya Sorokin
Lee settling in with Mammoth, already making impact on young roster | NHL.com
Vincent Trocheck, Anders Lee back in New York playing for Utah Mammoth
Former Mets, Islanders broadcaster Howie Rose gets tribute at UBS Arena during Isles' home opener

Elsewhere

  • Yikes, Macklin Celebrini has some sort of injury. [Sportsnet]
  • The PA was not having any of Gary Bettman complaining about no-trade clauses. [Sportsnet | Athletic]
  • In a shock to no one, this will be Putin puppet Alex Ovechkin’s final season. He’s no Jagr! [NHL]

Don’t like this, not one bit:

Rangers defeat Mammoth for third win in four days | NHL.com
Alfredsson ‘emotional’ seeing Senators again as Maple Leafs associate coach | NHL.com
Sunday Overreactions: Canucks' Pettersson boosting trade value
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Pens Points: Third Period Problems Persist

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 05: Kyle Connor #81 of the Winnipeg Jets moves the puck in front of Nick Robertson #14 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on October 5, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

On Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins surrendered three third period goals to squander a 5-1 lead, but they were ultimately able to recover and win in overtime. On Monday night against the Winnipeg Jets, the Penguins allowed another three goals in the final frame to once again give up a lead they began the period with, instead this time around, they were unable to bounce back, and as a result, dropped their first game of the season in a 3-2 home loss. [Pensburgh]

Pens Points…

It’s the first full week of the 2026-27 NHL season and the Penguins have four games on the schedule, including their first back-to-back set coming on Friday/Saturday. This week also features a pair of games against Metro opponents in Washington and Columbus. [Pensburgh]

You can read more about it below, but Alexander Ovechkin announced he will be retiring at the end of the season. Having been his chief rival for more than two decades, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby shared their thoughts on the announcement with the media. [Pensburgh]

The rivalry between the Penguins and Capitals was already well established before Crosby and Ovechkin came into the league, but their own personal rivalry just added to the intensity when the two teams met, and now they will get one final go around this season. [Penguins]

So much of Crosby’s career has been defined by his rivalry with Ovechkin, that when Ovie retires, there will seem like a piece of Sid is missing as well for however long he continues playing. [The Athletic $$]

A new season brings some new menu items available for fans to purchase at PPG Paints Arena and there will be plenty to choose from and try out during your visit. [PPG]

Coming into the season, all you had to do was look at the Penguins roster and you could see they had an abundance of forwards under contract and not nearly enough room to fit them all. That depth is vital in an NHL season, but it still takes some managing to make sure you have the right fit. [The Athletic $$]

NHL News and Notes…

This season will mark the final season for Alexander Ovechkin who announced he will be retiring at the end of 2026-27 after a 22-year career. His final regular season home game will fittingly come against the Penguins in April. [NHL]

It’s the first “Three Stars of the Week” of the NHL season and Igor Shesterkin leads the way following two wins in three starts to go along with a goal of his own and an assist. Joining Shesterkin among the honorees is Evan Bouchard and Paul Cotter who lit up the box score early in the season. [NHL]

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Twitter Gold: A Duke Trivia Prodigy. Play Along And See How You Do.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 12: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics attempts a basket against Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the fourth quarter at the TD Garden on January 12, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 Brian Fluharty/Getty Images) | Getty Images

We’re pretty much Grade A Duke fans around here, but nobody knows everything. However, this guy comes close.

Imagine if you had a near-encyclopedic recall of Blue Devils in the NBA. Not only that, you could name every team’s leading career scorer from Duke.

That’s a big ask.

When this guy started to go through it, there were spots that we just couldn’t come up with the names. The Milwaukee Bucks got us, for one. The New York Knicks were a bit of a stumble, too. And we would’ve thought that Zion Williamson was the leading Duke scorer for the New Orleans Pelicans as well.

Nope!

We could be wrong, but by our count, every NBA team is represented on this list.

Some names were obvious, some were a bit more unexpected, but we were definitely impressed that the Duke savant got Jeff Mullins (Golden State) and Jack Marin, who played for the Baltimore Bullets.

Go to the DBR Boards to find Blue Healer Auctions || Drop us a line

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Rockets 2026-2027 player previews: Reed Sheppard

Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard poses for a photo during Rockets Media Day in Houston, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Photo by Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Reed Sheppard was pretty good last year for the Houston Rockets, don’t get it twisted. Was he great on defense? Far from it. But the Rockets were better when Reed was on the floor, and the numbers back that up. Houston was 17-4 when Sheppard was in the starting lineup. That made them 35-26 when he wasn’t, which boils down to an 81 percent winning percentage versus a 57 percent one.

The best long-range shooter on the team, Sheppard hit on 39.4 percent of his triples last year on a high volume of 7 attempts per game. We’ve talked endlessly here about Sheppard’s “gravity” in drawing other defenders to his three-point shot, thereby opening up spacing for his teammates, but on a team bereft of distance shooting, Sheppard was certainly underutilized at times.

He had a healthy 26.2 minutes per game, which is nothing to scoff at for a second-year player, but it still felt like Ime Udoka left a little something out there with his management of Sheppard’s court time. It still feels like that gravity wasn’t used properly.

Sheppard finished sixth overall in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting after averaging 13.5 points, 3.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. As a starter, that was upped to 15.4 points, 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block per game.

The most commonly-cited reason for Reed not forcing Udoka’s hand was his defense, and yes, there are numerous highlights of Sheppard the bull fighter. The one-on-one doesn’t always look great. But the data shows a +1.5 defensive box plus-minus (second on the team), it shows a 112 defensive rating (not great, but far from the black hole one would think), and he racked up 3.1 defensive win shares, which was fifth-best on the team, just below Kevin Durant (who played way more than Sheppard) at 3.2.

This illustrates that despite Sheppard’s limitations as a defender, he can be a part of a successful defense by playing to his strengths in his fast hands and suprising stock accrual numbers. Is he a good defender? No. Can he be part of a team that plays good team defense? Yes, and he has contributed to that good defense. Besides, isn’t Ime Udoka a defensive genius? He should be able to construct schemes that help benefit one of the league’s best long-distance gunners.

The Rockets didn’t exactly give Sheppard a vote of confidence, however, bringing in Marcus Smart to compete for guard minutes in addition to the return of Fred VanVleet and the signing of Bogdan Bogdanovich to hopefully add some three-point shooting to the lineup outside of Sheppard. Reed is going to have to prove himself, no doubt. But he looks bigger and stronger, which should help him with point-of-attack defense, and has another year of confidence under his belt.

If Sheppard can tighten up that defense, while maintaining his three-point shooting, and continuing to come into his own as a playmaker with VanVleet and Smart around to take up a lot of that slack as well, Sheppard very well could force Udoka’s hand. Our dude just turned 22 and is still dripping with potential. 2026-2027 is as good a year for an official breakout as any.

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Coco Gauff says ‘insane’ wave of racist abuse followed disputed point at China Open

  • American stopped rally after being distracted in match

  • Home youngster Sun Xinran distraught after defeat

Coco Gauff said she received an “insane” amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in her China Open match against home player Sun Xinran.

Gauff stopped a rally after electronic advertising boards lining the court flickered during a point late in the first set of her 7-5, 6-1 third-round victory over Sun, a 16-year-old who recently won the US Open junior title.

Continue reading...
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The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Tuesday, October 6

SAN JOSE, CA - OCTOBER 1: Macklin Celebrini #71 of the San Jose Sharks takes the ice through the Shark Head before the game against the Florida Panthers at SAP Center on October 1, 2026 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Kavin Mistry/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

good morning everyone!

October has begun and you know what that means: It’s the beginning of the NHL season!

And I can say that, after seven or so years, the San Jose Sharks might be near the end of a dark, dark tunnel.

The Sharks haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, when they gambled it all only to come up short.

Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Erik Karlsson, Timo Meier and Logan Couture: They’re all gone.

The Sharks spent the last few years in the bottom of the league. But now we’ve got a new-look team fronted by Hart Trophy contender Macklin Celebrini, and Will Smith is another exciting player.

I think the big question for the Sharks is how Yaroslav Askarov will do in the goal. He’s a young goalie and was entrusted with the position last year.

Also, can we please take a moment to remember how great the Shark Tank is?

The San Jose Sharks have the greatest entrance in professional hockey – and much better than the Medieval Knights rip-off they feature in Las Vegas. These are ice hockey players entering the Shark Tank through a shark!

And what’s that? A bunch of sharks swimming underneath the tank? That’s one intimidating environment. This is a playoff hockey arena.

I really believe this is the year the Sharks make it back to the playoffs. I’ve waited a very long time to see them play meaningful hockey again. I can’t wait.

COYS(harks)!

Fitzie’s track of the day: BLACKOUT, by TURNSTILE

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “Tottenham’s NFL boost – How much transfer cash they get and injury curse strikes again”

BBC: “England’s greatest international? Kane is now a serious contender”

Sharks Hockey Digest: “Sharks’ New On-Ice Graphics Are Making Waves”

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Darius Acuff Jr. looked comfortable in his first NBA preseason game

SACRAMENTO, CA ― Darius Acuff Jr. wasn't too worried about his offense in his first ever preseason game. The Sacramento Kings rookie looked comfortable as if he's already entering his seventh NBA season.

He scored 19 points in 27 minutes in his first NBA action, albeit in just a preseason game, despite his team coming short in a 127-103 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, Oct. 6 at Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento.

"It felt good. I haven't played a game in a while, like a real game," Acuff told USA TODAY Sports. "It felt good, just get out there and play against somebody else. Not the outcome we wanted but it was good to play against somebody else."

Acuff, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, didn't have anything to say about his offensive performance. He added four assists, a block and steal to his stat line. His main gripe came on the defensive end as the Lakers shot 50% from the field, including 45% from 3-point territory on 20 made 3-point field goals.

"I don't think offense is the problem," he said. "I think, with defensively, we just wasn't racking up stops as a team, as much as we needed to. I think that's kind of what separated the game. But I think offensively, we'll be fine."

And they will. Acuff did not seem phased by a Lakers defense that picked him up full court, 94 feet throughout the duration of the game whenever he logged minutes.

The Kings rookie said it's better practice for him. He welcomes the challenge. He wants the pressure.

"It was the same," Acuff said. "It was better for me, picking me up full court. I feel like I like to play against that, so I think that's an advantage for me.

"Yeah, for sure. It prepares me for sure," he added. "I say, it takes watching film, just being smart, and, you know, not trying to dribble the air out the ball back there, just trying to get one move and go. But (it) definitely prepares me for the better defenders I'm gonna face, and, you know, I just gotta take the challenge, and, you know, go out there and be me."

Kings head coach Doug Christie echoed the same sentiment as his star rookie point guard that their defense has to be better.

"You know, helping when you're not supposed to help, like all the principles of shell defense, help defense, being in a gap, being in to be out, closing out, more middle," Christie told USA TODAY. "I'm sure the film's going to show all of that. But this is what we do. We learn, we go back to the film, we show them, we drill it, we get after it."

There's no panic in Christie, Acuff or the rest of the Kings. It's the first preseason game. But there is room for improvement and lots of it.

Kings forward-guard Daeqwon Plowden said preseason games are supposed to be evaluated differently.

"It's the first one outside of us playing each other, so we're setting the standard. The way we're evaluated is going to be much higher than what it was," Plowden told USA TODAY. "I think it's a lot that we can take away from this and build on."

Christie proclaimed the team will "be better."

"You know, they got hit in the mouth," he said. "And how do we respond?"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Darius Acuff Jr. looked comfortable in his first NBA preseason game

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Dominant Rays, wacky White Sox and Yanks flailing at the brink: ALDS takeaways

This year’s American League Division Series have been significantly entertaining. And more than a little jarring.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox are a combined 4-0, both one win away from advancing to the AL Championship Series, and both answering questions about their viability in a most voracious fashion.

And they’re doing it their way, the White Sox with an unprecedented pitching plan and the Rays suffocating the New York Yankees in every facet of the game.

As the teams charter their way to New York and Chicago, here’s five takeaways from a day that saw the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees pushed to the brink:

The Rays are scarier than we imagined

It’s a tradition every autumn, trying to discern which teams’ regular-season success will translate best to playoff baseball. The Rays have made two World Series runs in 18 years, the watchword in that time being their consistency.

This year, they rolled up 98 wins and the AL East title, yet every team must answer the same question once October arrives: Are they really that good?

Through two games, the answer seems to be, even better.

Tampa Bay’s combo of speed and contact, and more than a little power, made them a tough out all season. And in two games against the Yankees, it’s clear both of their offensive personalities are showing up.

Game 1: Jonathan Aranda’s solo homer provides the game’s lone run.

Game 2: The Yankees commit three first-inning errors and four overall, the last coming in a four-run fifth inning that turned a tie game into a solid Rays advantage and an eventual 5-2 victory.

You could say this was a Yankees problem, that they need to clean a lot of things up. And they do.

Yet the mere presence of Chandler Simpson, who plays faster than any human in the big leagues, was palpable in that fifth, when he hit a gentle two-hopper to Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr., who had a generally impossible task: Throw out Junior Caminero running from third on a contact play or try to get Simpson streaking to first.

The answer: Neither. Lombard biffed the play, most likely properly ruled a fielder’s choice, and Simpson was already clapping his hands five feet before he crossed first base.

This was the Rays at their essence.

“Constant pressure, constant long at-bats, getting pitches to hit. It's our MO all season long,” manager Kevin Cash said in his postgame news conference. “We're a contact-oriented team with guys that can knock the ball out of the ballpark, as well.”

And the Rays struck out just twice against Yankees ace Cam Schlittler, equaling a career low for the presumed Cy Young Award winner. Not an accident: No team struck out fewer times than Tampa Bay in the regular season.

They’re looking like a nightmare.

The Yankees’ bats are almost out of time

Talk about an unproductive business trip: The Yankees went 5-for-58 (.086) against the Rays in Games 1 and 2. Ben Rice hit a pair of homers in Game 2.

The rest of their offense? There was none.

While there’s really no point to the rest-vs.-rust argument for teams earning a first-round bye, the Rays certainly took advantage of their time off to develop a pitching plan against the Yankees. And it is being executed to perfection.

Never mind the 4⅔ serviceable innings Freddy Peralta worked. Lefty Ian Seymour – who toggled back and forth between bullpen and rotation this season – was practically untouchable in three relief innings, retiring nine of 10 batters, striking out four and yielding only a homer to the redoubtable Rice.

Funny thing about this wild-card era: Just finish a little above .500 and you can get in. Yet the gulfs between clubs can be massive. And while the Rays and Boston Red Sox shared a division, the similarities end there. New York scored 18 runs against Boston in the wild-card series, scarcely missing Aaron Judge.

It has scored two against the Rays. And the Yankees absolutely miss the big fella – and he ain’t coming back for Game 3.

Will Venable is a maestro

The White Sox have already made history: They’re the first team in major league history to win their first four playoff games with their starting pitchers throwing four or fewer innings.

Yet in this era of openers and bulk guys and matchup-capturing, it hasn’t felt gimmicky. Nor has it been panicky. Just feels like the White Sox manager and their personnel know exactly what they’re doing.

Oh, Game 2 was plenty hairy: Lefty starter Anthony Kay got just one out, was removed for fellow lefty Sean Newcomb, who tossed a ball way wide of first and buried Chicago in a 2-0 hole as Cleveland’s Progressive Field roared in the late-day sun.

Yet Venable’s button-pushing and, essentially, his knowledge of his guys and the situation seems preternatural – and the dude’s only managed four postseason games.

Think about it: In ALDS Game 1, right-hander Grant Taylor got a four-inning save.

In ALDS Game 2, he got a four-out save.

Yeah, somehow Taylor for 42 pitches and 12 outs was the right call in a 3-0 Game 1 win.

And then, after just a day of rest, extending him for a four-out save – surviving a very hairy Jo Adell drive to the wall with a man on in the eighth – was also spot-on.

Taylor has worked in three of the White Sox’s four games, absorbing eight innings. They used five pitchers each in Games 1 and 2, though Kay and Taylor were the only repeats.

That’s not likely to stop so long as the White Sox are alive.

“I know we're pushing these guys, Grant especially,” Venable said in his postgame press conference. “It is really a lot to ask, but he's in shape for this.

“He's ready for this and he wants the ball.”

Guardians remain offensively challenged

With Steven Kwan’s second-half resurgence, rookie punch from Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana, and Jose Ramírez back from a hamate injury, this was supposed to be the year the Guardians were not an all-pitch, no-hit team.

Yeah, about that.

The Guardians have scored three runs in three games, mustering seven hits against that cavalcade of White Sox arms. Perhaps the multiple looks will catch up to Chicago: Both Kay and Taylor looked more vulnerable their second time in front of the Guardians’ bats.

Or maybe Cleveland is simply destined to run out of offensive juice.

They’ve made three playoff runs now under manager Stephen Vogt and have played 15 postseason games. They’ve been shut out three times and held to three or fewer runs in five other games.

Now, they’ll need to turn it around and then sustain three solid offensive games.

“Two games. Unfortunately, it is two games that are in the postseason,” says Vogt. “A little bit of try to do too much, a little bit of maybe not ready to hit your pitch at times.

“Again, we have had two games stretches like this all year and we come right back. I got a lot of faith in this offense. I have a lot of faith in this team. Like I said, this team plays its best with its back against the wall. I am looking forward to getting out on the field on Wednesday.”

Chicago is about to go crazy

Vogt might not understand what his club is getting into. White Sox fans have existed in a state somewhere between disbelief and delirium. And now, postseason papal power will find its way to the South Side.

The White Sox narrowly lost the Central title to Cleveland, forcing them on the road for four consecutive playoff games.

Now that they’ve survived it and return home undefeated, what might Rate Field sound like in Wednesday’s potential clinching Game 3?

“It’s all we are talking about. We are about to go back to a zoo,” pitcher Davis Martin told reporters in Cleveland. “It’s going to be wild. It’s going to be crazy.

“If Mune (Murakami) hits a ball 900 feet, it’s going to be loud as heck. We are all excited to hear it and be a part of it."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dominant Rays, wacky White Sox and Yanks flailing at the brink: ALDS takeaways

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Yankees' defensive miscues wipe away golden opportunity to even ALDS

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For a moment, before all the accountability cliches started flowing for the cameras in the Yankees' clubhouse, Cam Schlittler was blunt.

“I’ll be the first one to say that I didn’t do my job,” the 25-year-old ace said. “But it didn’t seem like we really showed up today.”

Given the chance to double down later, Schlittler wouldn’t do it.

“The guys work their asses off,” he explained.

“That’s baseball,” he reiterated.

He wasn’t good enough, either, of course.

But in reality, the Yankees played such historically porous defense Monday that they rendered their most dominant playoff ace in a generation completely irrelevant with several defensive misplays including four errors.

At one point, they set the record for most errors in a single Yankee playoff game with five -- only to have the fifth error overturned by the official scorer.

“Obviously, a really rough night to say the least for us,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We've got to get over it. We've responded all year to difficult times, and we've got to do that again. We've got to get ourselves up off the mat.”

Boone said he would address the players when they were settled on the plane back to New York early Tuesday morning. At times in describing what happened, he seemed lost for words, though he always found his way back to “we got to get over it, though. As simple as that.”

What will be difficult to get over is that the Yankees’ inability cost them the game they seemed most certain to win, one in which Schlittler started and his fellow playoff savant, Ben Rice, homered twice.

Playoff games include plenty of error-filled innings and misplays that end up ending seasons. But what the Yankees did Monday was not an example of natural ebb and flow.

Game 2 was a meltdown, the kind that can only be explained by something other than pure physical error -- something like when Aaron Judge dropped a fly ball in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, for example. Twice can be coincidence, but it sure feels like a trend.

“The guys and I, we work hard. We go out there every day. We take our ground balls and we take them very seriously,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “… Especially certain guys that are defensive specialists, some of the best defenders I’ve ever played with are playing. So for me, it hurts us a little more than you’d think.”

Monday’s lineup was not the Yankees’ best defensive alignment, but it hardly lined up as their worst either.

In fact, even after nearly being no-hit two nights ago, Boone decided to start Ryan McMahon in a platoon matchup against Freddy Peralta rather than start versatile Jose Caballero at third base or test novice Anthony Volpe there on unfamiliar turf. McMahon is an elite defender, which is why he starts there more often than not.

But when Yandy Diaz led off the game with a chopper his way, McMahon simply missed the easy hop, then looked as surprised as everyone else to discover he somehow had not caught it. More topspin than he thought, he said later.

Suddenly, Schlittler was in the stretch. Inevitably, he was not in peak rhythm. He was not the only one.

After a Jonathan Aranda single, Junior Caminero hit a groundball that George Lombard Jr. chased down up the middle. He flipped the ball to Chisholm, who caught it falling over second base and decided to throw to first base in the process. It bounced away.

Two batters later, Chisholm fielded a routine groundball that could have been a double play. He threw it high to Lombard cringing when he let go as if he wished he could pull it right back. The throw cost them a double play.

In between those two Chisholm plays, Austin Wells was called for catcher’s interference on a pitch that would have been strike three. That the Rays scored just one run during what ended as a three-error first inning was a relative miracle, one due in part to Schlittler’s composure.

Schlittler has been historically unflappable in big games during his first two postseasons. He is as calm as they come, and more confident than most.

Asked before the game if he had ever seen Schlittler doubt himself, for example, center fielder Trent Grisham did not hesitate.

“No,” he said simply. “I have not.”

But the Schlittler who found himself in the middle of a teamwide defensive meltdown looked as uncomfortable as he ever has in a game this important.

His velocity was not quite where it was in his Wild Card start. He searched for his fastball command, missing so badly up and inside to Diaz at one point in the second that he walked up to Diaz to talk about it afterward.

Everyone seemed to decide it had been completely accidental. After all, Schlittler had been missing wide with his fastball, as well.

Even so, he survived the second inning, then the third, then the fourth. A Rice homer meant the game was tied when he took the mound to start the fifth inning. Then the Yankees knocked their ace out of the game.

First, Spencer Jones got a late jump on a line drive to right. Caminero doubled. A soft ground ball to Chisholm (no one’s fault) scored a run. A chopper to Lombard -- originally ruled an error, eventually ruled a fielder's choice -- scored another. Both plays would have required some heroics.

Too often, the Yankees could not do the basics.

“[Cam’s] not wrong. Obviously, wasn’t ideal from the start. We didn’t make some plays we usually make, kind of happened throughout the game,” Lombard said. “Just made it harder for ourselves.”

Lombard threw a ball wide of first later that inning, so two runs scored on Richie Palacios’ single up the middle.

When it was all said and done, the Yankees had broken an ignominious team record and spurred Boone to try Brent Headrick to stop their bleeding. Schlittler finished after allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits in 4.1 innings.

The Rays applied their trademark pressure. The Yankees could not withstand it.

“I think [Cam’s] just throwing a lot more pitches than he should have been throwing. I think it's maybe a different story there if we take care of the ball and he's at 30 pitches or 25, 30 pitches instead after the first two and gets in a rhythm and he's in a groove,” Boone said. “Kind of found himself in trouble a lot tonight, not by his own doing.”

Schlittler would be available to pitch Game 5 on Saturday if the Yankees can force it, but they will need to win two games to do that. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Monday’s game -- like any game started by Schlittler, even when he is not at his best -- was supposed to be one of the games they could pencil in as a win.

Though Schlittler did not say so, it was his defense that beat him Monday.

“I’m not disappointed in our defense. I’m not disappointed in our offense,” Schlittler said. “Really just disappointed in myself. That’s baseball and those things are going to happen. I’ve got to be able to work through those. I wasn’t able to do that today.”

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Ben Rice can't do it alone: Yankees face elimination after another offensive letdown

The Yankees’ dreadful defense in Game 2 is certainly the headlining woe. It’s the one that forced Cam Schlittler to throw stress-laden pitches in the first inning that doubtless impacted the rest of his outing. And it’s the one that helped the Rays to three unearned runs.

But in the wake of the Yankees’ 5-2 loss Monday night at Tropicana Field, there’s another culprit also pushing them toward elimination:

We need to talk about the offense.

It’s every Yankee fan’s October nightmare: the pinstriped bats have gone cold and there’s no Aaron Judge coming to save them, at least in this series. He’s out with a calf injury. After a splurge against the fading Red Sox in the Wild Card Series, the Bronx Bombers have turned that nickname into a punch line of sorts in this best-of-five AL Division Series against Tampa Bay.

“Whatever it takes, we’ve got to do it offensively and we’ve gotta be able to score some runs and do a better job of preventing (them,)” Aaron Boone said in the postgame news conference room.

It can only get better, right? In two games against the Rays, the Yankees have scored exactly twice. Both runs came in Game 2, when Ben Rice slammed two solo home runs. They have all of five hits -- Rice’s home runs, two doubles by Austin Wells and a single by Cody Bellinger. They are 5-for-58 in the series (.086) with a .145 on-base percentage, .224 slugging and .369 OPS.

It’s the fewest hits and fewest runs of any team in Division Series play. The Yankees, who drew the eighth-most walks in baseball during the regular season, aren’t even doing that -- they have two walks in each game so far.

They have just four plate appearances with runners in scoring position in the series and are 0-for-2 with two walks.

Credit where it’s due -- the Rays are pitching very well, from Drew Rasmussen in Game 1 to Freddy Peralta and the bullpen in Game 2.

And that is certainly part of the reason why, when they’ve had chances against Tampa Bay, the Yankees have missed. Wells foolishly tried to stretch an easy double into a triple in Game 1 and was easily thrown out, burying the only Yankee scoring chance against Rasmussen.

In Game 2, Bellinger, who batted .340 with runners in scoring position during the season and hit a big home run in the Boston series, came up with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and mashed a ball to center. It traveled 405 feet, but it was nothing more than a loud out, a ball with an expected batting average, per Statcast, of .760 that was caught on the warning track.

Boone noted that Bellinger’s ball, a few feet either way, could’ve been a bases-clearing, series-changing double. And it was just one of six balls the Yankees hit 100-plus mph in Game 2, two fewer than the Rays.

“I thought we started to put together some really good at-bats, especially in the fifth inning where we chased Peralta and Belli puts a good swing on it, hits it to the fence,” Boone said. “That's unfortunate there.”

Rice, though, is doing real damage. He has driven in eight of the 20 runs the Yankees have scored in the postseason and he has four home runs, which leads all playoff hitters. He’s the first Yankee to have more than one multi-homer game in the same postseason, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com. He’s batting .467 with an 1.889 OPS.

The Yanks will need some teammates to join him to get back in this series. It’s already a daunting assignment: According to Langs, in all best-of-five postseason series, teams that go up, 2-0, win 89 percent of the time (83-of-93). In the current 2-2-1 home format, the team that wins the first two at home wins the series 92 percent of the time.

There’s a lot to clean up. The defense better be good Wednesday night in Game 3 with groundball artist Max Fried starting for the Yankees.

And Rice can’t be the only one raking, either. The Yankees haven’t shown they can score enough against the Rays.

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Yankees' Cam Schlittler takes brunt of blame for Game 2 loss: 'Really just disappointed in myself'

Despite the defense failing Yankees starter Cam Schlittler in the first inning and again in the fourth inning with the offense scratching across just two runs on four hits, he took the blame for New York’s 5-2 loss in Game 2 of the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.

The right-hander didn’t exactly pitch poorly, and even did well to limit the damage to just one run in the first inning where the Yankees made three errors on the infield, but it was clear Schlittler wasn’t at his best during his 4.1 innings of work.

Perhaps it was the failure on defense to make plays all game, but it seemed like New York’s ace was under duress from the jump and was forced to throw high stress pitches every inning he was out on the mound. 

Of course, in the postseason, everything is heightened and more stressful than the regular season, especially when trailing in the series, but Schlittler was supposed to be the Yankees’ trump card against the Rays in the series and the 25-year-old was pulled in the fifth inning.

“I just didn’t have my stuff today,” he said. “Didn’t get great results, some timely hits there. Didn’t get through the fifth so it’s not good enough.”

After escaping the error-filled first inning by allowing just one run, the fifth inning was a different story for Schlittler. Once again, New York played sloppy defensively against Tampa Bay’s contact-first approach of putting the ball in play and seeing what happens.

George Lombard Jr. had two misplays in the inning, although only was officially called an error, and the Rays took full advantage by scoring four times in the inning to take a 5-1 lead.

“It was just one of those games where things kind of compiled and stacked up on top of each other,” the rookie said. “It wasn’t ideal and we put ourselves in a bad spot… They’re obviously a good team and they battle and they don’t let down, but we definitely didn’t help ourselves. Against a good team like that you can’t afford to make as many mistakes as we did.”

But if you ask Schlittler, who shut out the Boston Red Sox for 6.1 innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series at home last week, he should’ve been better.

“I’m not disappointed in our defense, I’m not disappointed in the offense, really just disappointed in myself,” he said. “Again, that’s baseball and those things are gonna happen, but I got to be able to work through those. I wasn’t able to do that today.”

Schlittler’s second postseason outing this year ended after 4.1 innings where he allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out just two after he struck out 10 against the Red Sox.

It wasn’t what he or the Yankees were expecting in such a crucial game, but Schlittler remains confident that New York can climb out of this hole it dug for itself starting on Wednesday night in Game 3.

“I’m confident, but we gotta get home tomorrow, get our work in and show up Wednesday," he said.

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Lakers vs. Warriors Preview: Building off a strong start

SACRAMENTO, CA - OCTOBER 5: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings during a 2026 NBA Preseason game on October 5, 2026 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

After a dominant performance in the preseason opener in Sacramento, the Lakers head to San Francisco for the second night of a back-to-back against the Warriors on Tuesday.

This will also be the second game of three in four nights.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors

When: 7:00 p.m. PT

Where: Chase Center 

Watch: Spectrum SportsNet, NBA TV

Things could hardly have gone better for LA in their first preseason game against the Kings on Monday.

A dominant stretch in the second quarter highlighted a comprehensive first-half beatdown before a much more relaxed second half. Still, it was a very encouraging game from the Lakers after a summer that created a lot of intrigue and excitement.

Two of the most intriguing takeaways were the team’s 3-point shooting and the turnovers forced.

Offensively, they hit 20 3-pointers, surpassing their high in makes (19) from last year’s regular season. Granted, they won’t shoot 45.5% with any sort of regularity during the season, but head coach JJ Redick’s penchant for spacing and shooting means the attempts will likely increase this season.

On the other side of the ball, the team forced a staggering 27 turnovers that they turned into 32 points. Again, this was certainly an outlier performance exacerbated by the Kings being a truly awful basketball team. Still, the activity level defensively was noticeable.

Both Ziaire Williams and Matise Thybulle were jumping into passing lanes and deflecting passes. And once the team gets into transition, they have a lot more athletes this season to really punish teams on the break.

The rest of the preseason will determine if either of these is merely an aberration or a new identity for the Lakers.

Lastly, let’s take an extra moment to laugh at the Kings.

Injury updates and notes

  • On top of it being a back-to-back, teams aren’t required to list injury reports in the preseason.
  • Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton and Arthur Kaluma all did not play in the team’s win over the Kings. We’ll see if any of them return on Tuesday.
  • On the flip side, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Luka sit on Tuesday after playing the first half on Monday’s game.
  • The Warriors will be without Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristpas Porzingis.
  • We have an exciting new feature in our app this season. It’s easier than ever to chat in our game threads. Each game, this post will become a live chat and will be easy to find at the top of the Lakers community page, so be sure to download the app and give it a try this preseason!

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