Washington Capitals (32-26-7, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (29-23-11, in the Metropolitan Division)
Philadelphia; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Capitals visit the Philadelphia Flyers after Connor McMichael's two-goal game against the Calgary Flames in the Capitals' 7-3 win.
Philadelphia has an 8-7-4 record in Metropolitan Division games and a 29-23-11 record overall. The Flyers are sixth in the league serving 10.0 penalty minutes per game.
Washington has a 12-4-2 record in Metropolitan Division games and a 32-26-7 record overall. The Capitals have committed 249 total penalties (3.8 per game) to rank eighth in league play.
Wednesday's game is the third time these teams meet this season. The Capitals won 3-1 in the last meeting.
TOP PERFORMERS: Owen Tippett has scored 20 goals with 17 assists for the Flyers. Matvei Michkov has three goals and two assists over the past 10 games.
Tom Wilson has 24 goals and 26 assists for the Capitals. Pierre-Luc Dubois has four goals and two assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Flyers: 5-3-2, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.8 assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
Capitals: 6-4-0, averaging 3.2 goals, five assists, three penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
INJURIES: Flyers: None listed.
Capitals: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Kings visit the Boston Bruins after Adrian Kempe's two-goal game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Kings' 5-4 overtime win.
Boston has a 35-22-6 record overall and a 24-8-1 record on its home ice. The Bruins have committed 306 total penalties (4.9 per game) to rank third in the league.
Los Angeles has gone 16-8-7 in road games and 26-23-14 overall. The Kings have gone 20-3-7 in games they score three or more goals.
The teams meet Tuesday for the second time this season. The Bruins won 2-1 in overtime in the last meeting. Morgan Geekie led the Bruins with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: David Pastrnak has scored 23 goals with 51 assists for the Bruins. Charlie McAvoy has two goals and nine assists over the past 10 games.
Brandt Clarke has eight goals and 26 assists for the Kings. Kempe has five goals and six assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 5-2-3, averaging 3.5 goals, 6.1 assists, 4.9 penalties and 10.7 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game.
Kings: 3-6-1, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.8 assists, 3.3 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.8 goals per game.
INJURIES: Bruins: None listed.
Kings: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Graham Ike had 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 12 Gonzaga to a 65-56 victory over Oregon State on Monday night and put the Bulldogs in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game for the 29th straight time.
Gonzaga (29-3) will play No. 21 Saint Mary’s or Santa Clara in the title game. Those teams met later Monday night. It will be the Zags’ last WCC championship before heading to the Pac-12 Conference next season.
Oregon State’s seasons ends at 17-16.
Ike, the WCC player of the year, made 10 of 17 shots for his 14th double-double this season and 45th of his career. He was the only Gonzaga player to score in double figures.
Jorge Diaz Graham led the Beavers with 15 points and Noah Amenhauser scored 11.
SANTA CLARA 76, NO. 21 SAINT MARY'S 71
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sash Gavalyugov scored 23 points including a back-breaking 3-pointer to lead Santa Clara to a victory over Saint Mary’s in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament to take a big step toward making the Big Dance.
The Broncos (26-7) will play No. 12 Gonzaga (29-3) in the championship game on Tuesday night. The winner receives the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
While the Bulldogs are safely in the tournament, Santa Clara was considered on the bubble. The Broncos entered this game No. 42 in the NCAA’s NET rankings and No. 37 in Kenpom.
Saint Mary’s (27-5) could take a hit in the tournament seeding, but the Gaels figure to get into the field of 68. They were No. 20 in the NET and No. 22 in KenPom.
This is the first time since 2021 that the WCC final hasn’t been between Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.
Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek claimed his 600th career victory, a somewhat mild upset over the Gaels, who were favored by 5 1/2 points at BetMGM Sportsbook.
Elijah Mahi added 19 points for the Broncos and Allen Graves finished with 10.
Paulius Murauskas scored 26 points to lead Saint Mary’s, Mikey Lewis had 23 and Andrew McKeever totaled 11 points and 11 rebounds.
After a few weeks of bad injury news, the Pittsburgh Penguins were due for something positive in that department.
And they finally got some good news on Monday.
The Penguins announced that defenseman Jack St. Ivany was loaned on conditioning to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins of the AHL. The 26-year-old right-side blueliner was injured in Pittsburgh's Jan. 25 matchup against the Vancouver Canucks when he broke his hand blocking a shot, which required surgery.
St. Ivany's initial timetable was supposed to be eight weeks, and according to the NHL's media site, he is no longer listed on injured reserve for the Penguins.
St. Ivany, 26, has played in only 17 NHL games this season due to injury. He missed the first few months of the season with a lower-body injury after getting going down during training camp in addition to the broken hand sustained in January.
He has seven assists in 17 games with Pittsburgh this season as well as a goal and five points in five games with WBS. He has nine total points in his 50-game NHL career and has yet to score a goal at the highest level.
It's unclear at this point where St. Ivany will report after his conditioning stint, as the Penguins already have eight defensemen on their NHL roster. Since he is technically on the NHL roster, he would have to pass through waivers in order to be re-assigned to WBS after his conditioning stint.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Orlando Lovejoy had 21 points and Lance Stone came off the bench to score 16, leading Detroit Mercy to a 70-64 victory over Robert Morris on Monday night in a Horizon League Tournament semifinal.
No. 3 seed Detroit Mercy (17-14) will play top-seeded Wright State in the championship game on Tuesday with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Lovejoy made 5 of 14 shots and 11 of 12 free throws for the Titans, adding six assists. Stone sank 6 of 12 shots with two 3-pointers. Tyler Spratt had 10 points and Legend Geeter contributed nine points and 10 rebounds.
DeSean Goode finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds to pace the second-seeded Colonials (22-11). Nikolaos Chitikoudis had 13 points and seven assists. Ryan Prather Jr. and reserve Ta'Zir Smith both scored 11.
The Titans outscored Robert Morris 37-28 in the second half.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Alton Hamilton IV scored a career-high 25 points, Isaiah Moses added 22 and Eastern Washington held off Weber State 84-79 on Monday night in a Big Sky Conference Tournament quarterfinal.
No. 3 seed Eastern Washington (14-18) will play seventh-seeded Idaho in a Tuesday semifinal. The Vandals beat the Eagles twice, including in the regular-season finale to end EWU's eight-game winning streak. Top seed Portland State plays fourth-seeded Montana in the other semifinal.
Hamilton made 8 of 10 shots with two 3-pointers and both of his free throws for Eastern Washington. He added five rebounds. Moses had eight assists and his three-point play with 37 seconds left gave the Eagles an 82-76 lead. Johnny Radford totaled 12 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Tijan Saine Jr. led the sixth-seeded Wildcats (16-16) with 27 points. Nigel Burris added 14 points and Viljami Vartiainen scored 13.
Hamilton made all six of his first-half shots and scored 18 to guide Eastern Washington to a 46-32 lead at the break. Hamilton had the first four points in a 16-0 first-half run for the Eagles.
After their 2-0 loss on Monday night, Vancouver Canucks Head Coach provided an injury update on Evander Kane. The 34-year-old did not play after being listed as a game-time decision after morning skate. Kane was not on the ice at either morning skate or during pre-game warmups.
"He's been fighting through an injury," said Foote. "A discomfort, upper-body. Just see if we can settle it down."
Kane has played 61 of Vancouver's 64 games this season. He has 11 goals and 27 points along with 78 penalty minutes. Kane is in the final year of his contract and is schedule to become a free agent on July 1.
Jan 25, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Evander Kane (91) during a stop in play against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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The Vancouver Canucks kicked off their eight-game home stand with a 2-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators. Kevin Lankinen was solid on Monday night, as he allowed just one goal 23 shots. As for Ottawa goaltender James Reimer, he stopped all 16 shots for his first shutout of the season.
Overall, the Canucks put forth a strong effort on Monday. They arguably should have left the ice with at least one goal as they were unlucky at times in the game. While the game was not the most entertaining, it was a step in the right direction from a process perspective as Vancouver fought until the final whistle.
All the focus from this game will be on the Senators first goal. The Canucks felt the play should have been blown dead as the puck hit Shane Pinto's glove before Ridly Greig scored. Vancouver did challenge the play, but it was unsuccesful as " The Situation Room supported the Referee’s on-ice decision that the puck deflected off Shane Pinto’s glove, and was therefore not deemed a hand pass prior to Ridly Greig’s goal."
As for the Canucks best player in this game, that was Lankinen. He made some big saves down the stretch, which included stopping all six shots he faced in the third period. Ultimately, Lankinen did his job and was a big reason why Vancouver had a chance to push for the tying goal late.
Zeev Buium was also a standout from Monday night. He logged over 20 minutes and finished with two shots on goal. Buium was also able to showcase his speed and skating ability throughout the night as he helped the Canucks with controlled entries into the offensive zone.
"I think we competed really hard," said Buium post-game. "I think we fought till the end, which is good to see. I don't think we gave them much either. Kinda had a weird goal obviously there but I thought we played really hard."
Mar 9, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek (17) watches as goalie Kevin Lankinen (32) makes a save on Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk (7) in the first period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
While the result did not go Vancouver's way, fans should at least be happy with Monday's effort. Yes, there were mistakes, but more importantly, the Canucks fought until the end and showed grit throughout the night. In the end, Monday was another successful tank game as Vancouver put forth a strong effort while still falling in regulation.
Stats and Facts:
- Canucks are shutout for the fifth time this season
- Curtis Douglas threw four hits in 6:52 of ice time during his Vancouver debut
- Aatu Räty's 67% in the faceoff dot led the team
- Filip Hronek led all players in ice time at 26:01
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
No Scoring
2nd Period:
10:11- OTT: Ridly Greig (10) from Shane Pinto and Artem Zub
3rd Period:
18:40- OTT: Brady Tkachuk (17) from Tim Stützle and Artem Zub (ENG)
Up Next:
The Canucks continue their home stand on Thursday against the Nashville Predators. This will be the third meeting between Vancouver and Nashville, with each team having picked up a win so far. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Utah Mammoth at the United Center on Monday night. Coming off a tough overtime loss to the Dallas Stars one night prior, they didn't have much time to dwell on it before getting a chance to bounce back.
Before the game started, the Blackhawks honored Troy Murray, who passed away over the weekend after a long, courageous battle with cancer. These tributes to an all-time great Blackhawks alumnus continued throughout the game during stoppages.
Drew Commesso was called into battle in place of the ill Spencer Knight. Arvid Soderblom started each of Chicago's last two games, and he was dressed as the backup for this one.
In the first period, Andre Burakovsky had an opportunity to score a goal and end his slump, but he tucked it just wide. Frank Nazar and Sam Rinzel made nice moves to set it up, but it wouldn't go.
This is notable for the Blackhawks because Burakovsky is getting chances to make an impact offensively. It isn't necessarily a bad process keeping him off the scoresheet, which suggests that one goal could get him back on track.
At 9:43 of the first, Barrett Hayton scored to make it 1-0 Utah. It was a neat redirect of a Nick DeSimone shot that beat Commesso.
Just a few minutes later, at 13:46, Andrew Mangiapane scored his first goal as a member of the Blackhawks, which was his 8th of the season overall. Since coming into the lineup, he's been a sparkplug, and now he has his first tally.
The momentum didn't last long for Chicago, however, as Dylan Guenther gave Utah the lead back at 16:26. Clayton Keller, one of Team USA's Gold Medal-winning Olympians, made an incredible pass to set up the play for Guenther. That 2-1 score made its way through the first intermission.
In the second period, after a long while with a lot of chances but no scoring, the Blackhawks finally broke through and tied it. It was Andre Burakovsky making up for that mishap in the first period. His goal at 15:35 of the middle frame was his 11th of the season.
Connor Bedard assisted on Burakovksy's goal, giving him the most career assists by a player under 21 in Chicago Blackhawks history. For a century-old franchise that has had a lot of incredible players come through at a young age, this mark proves how special Bedard is and will be.
The 2-2 tie held through the second intermission, setting up an incredibly exciting end to the game. The Blackhawks were presented with another chance to earn a win when the game was close late.
Although each team had chances to score and win the game in the third period, both Vitek Vanecek and Drew Commesso stood tall. Overtime was required.
In the extra frame, the Blackhawks were awarded a power play. With the man-advantage, Frank Nazar scored to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 win. Over the last couple of games, he's been one of Chicago's best forwards, and now he has an overtime game-winning goal.
The Blackhawks emerged victorious in a game in which they faced some adversity and needed a clutch moment at the end. This is one to build on as they begin to close out the season.
The Blackhawks will be back in action again on Thursday. They will once again face the Utah Mammoth, wrapping up their season series with their newest division rival. This is not the next game for the Mammoth, however, as they will face the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night in between.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — James Reimer stopped 16 shots for his first shutout of the season and 32nd of his career, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-0 on Monday night.
Ridly Greig scored in the second period for Ottawa, and Brady Tkachuk added an empty-netter with 1:20 remaining, extending his point streak to seven games — six of those after he helped the United States win Olympic gold in Milan.
Kevin Lankinen made 22 saves for Vancouver, which opened an eight-game homestand.
Ottawa has points in seven straight games (5-0-2) and 11 of 12 (9-1-2) as it chases an Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Greig collected a pass from Shane Pinto at the bottom of the faceoff circle, moved the puck to his forehand and fired a shot past Lankinen midway through the second.
The Canucks challenged the play, arguing Pinto made a hand pass before the goal, but the call was upheld after a video review.
Making his first start since Feb. 5, Reimer improved to 4-3-1 on the season and earned his first shutout since April 8, 2025, when he was with Toronto. The 37-year-old signed with Ottawa as a free agent on Jan. 12.
Tim Stutzle assisted on Tkachuk’s goal, stretching his point streak to 13 games (eight goals, nine assists).
Ottawa defenseman Jake Sanderson was sidelined with an upper-body injury suffered in Saturday's win over Seattle. Coach Travis Green said the 23-year-old is “week to week.”
The Ottawa Senators wrapped up their five-game road trip in impressive fashion Monday night, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 2–0 and finishing the trip with a strong 4-0-1 record.
James Reimer made 16 saves for the shutout, while Ridly Greig scored the eventual game-winner midway through the second period. The victory moved Ottawa to within three points of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
It wasn’t an easy night, though. Despite sitting in last place overall, ten points behind everyone else, the Canucks made the Senators work for everything. And they tried to make life particularly miserable for Tim Stutzle, knocking him around physically in an attempt to slow him down.
Ottawa controlled much of the early play and outshot Vancouver 24–16, but Kevin Lankinen kept the game scoreless through the first period with several solid stops.
The game’s turning point came midway through the second period on a play that came with a lengthy review.
After a shot came toward Shane Pinto, the Ottawa forward instinctively raised his arms to protect his face. The puck deflected off arm and landed on Ridly Greig’s stick, leaving the young forward with a mostly open net.
Vancouver challenged for a hand pass, but after review, the officials allowed the goal to stand.
The Canucks nearly found an equalizer in the third period on what looked like a sure tap-in, but Jordan Spence made a terrific defensive play, reaching his stick in at the last moment to knock the puck out of harm’s way.
From there, Ottawa did what good teams do late in games; they locked it down. Reimer didn't face a ton of shots, but there were a number of tricky, well timed saves, the kind that the Senators haven't always gotten in tight games this season.
Brady Tkachuk eventually iced the win with an empty-net goal in the final seconds. Stutzle drew an assist on it to extend his point streak to 13 games as the Senators completed a successful road trip, collecting nine of a possible ten points.
Ottawa returns home Wednesday night to face the Montreal Canadiens to kick off a stretch where they'll play five of their next six games at home..
That it came on the night when he tied Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record for consecutive games (126) with at least 20 points only bolsters his late-season argument. And that he won the game with a silky, step back 3 with just 2.7 seconds left added yet another MVP moment to his highlight reel — something voters tend to weigh with significance.
“Tremendous poise, confidence — he doesn’t change his mindset regardless of the circumstance,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the 129-126 Thunder victory. “He doesn’t break a sweat.”
If there’s a paradigm of consistency in the NBA, it’s Gilgeous-Alexander. He appears to glide across the floor, unbothered, to get to his spots. He seems to know exactly what defenses will try to do against him.
And as the Thunder have confronted injuries all season long — they rank second in the NBA in games missed and were without three starters (Jalen William, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein) against the Nuggets — it’s Gilgeous-Alexander who is carrying this team to greatness.
Despite the time missed because of injury, the Thunder are 51-15, which is the best record in the NBA.
Just to show how quickly things change: a little more than two weeks ago, after carrying the Pistons to a massive win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Cade Cunningham had seized momentum on the national stage.
In fact, I wrote then that Cunningham should be the MVP favorite and would be deserving of the award, if the season ended that day. The season, of course, didn’t, and Detroit has sputtered since that game, losing five of its subsequent nine games.
The Pistons are currently on a four-game losing streak and Cunningham’s play has been slightly uneven in recent weeks.
Realistically, if Cunningham had any edge over Gilgeous-Alexander at the time of that Knicks game (Feb. 20), it was that SGA was at the time sidelined with an abdominal strain.
But in the five games Gilgeous-Alexander has played since returning from the injury that forced him to miss nine games, he’s averaging 30.8 points, 8.4 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.
By late Monday night, just minutes after Gilgeous-Alexander’s game-winning 3, Fan Duel and Draft Kings each lowered their futures odds for Gilgeous-Alexander winning MVP to -800. That’s a fairly pedestrian figure, especially since he was -275 and -260 in those books, respectively, just one week ago.
Realistically, the only thing that can get in SGA’s way is his health. He has played 54 of a possible 66 games for the Thunder, which means he can miss no more than five through Oklahoma City’s final 16 contests to remain eligible for postseason awards.
“I think with what he has already done, he’s an all-time great,” Thunder center Jaylin Williams told reporters after the game. “He’s just adding onto it. I think every game, every situation, he just continues to impress. When you’re the best in the world, it’s hard to continue to impress. He’s doing it night in and night out.”
TAMPA, FL - MARCH 03: New York Yankees Pitcher Max Fried (54) delivers a pitch to the plate during the spring training game between Team Panama and the New York Yankees on March 03, 2026 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: To no one’s surprise, Max Fried will be taking the baton first for the Yankee rotation in 2026. The team officially announced that Fried will be the Opening Day starter on March 25th against the Giants, setting up their ace from the 2025 season to start things off. Fried didn’t get the honor last year because of how close to the start of the year Gerrit Cole’s injury occurred (Carlos Rodón got the ball instead), but after stepping up in place of the clubhouse leader there was no question that he’d get the nod this time around.
The Athletic | Chris Kirschner ($): Around these parts we’ve been giving rave reviews of how well Ben Rice did last year while being sure to mention that he got ridiculously unlucky at the plate at the same time, and Rice himself feels compelled to check the stats every once in a while to look at how silly his Baseball Savant page looks. The difference was a lot more difficult to swallow two years ago though, when Rice debuted and looked like a solid enough player already whose results unfortunately were terrible. Rice lays out how he battled through that frustrating rookie season and transformed his results, as well as the strides he’s looking to take this season which could push him from the fringes of stardom to a household name in the league.
NJ.com | Randy Miller: Carlos Rodón has progressed to the next stage of his rehab, facing live hitters and notching the velocity on his fastball back into the 92-94 mph range. Rodón likely isn’t going to make it into any spring training games this year, but there’s a chance that he could build up to an exhibition game just before the Yankees break camp in Arizona ahead of Opening Day. Still, while the left-hander might not be back with the major league team before May this is altogether a solid recovery for a pitcher who’s had his fair share of surgeries at this point. Here’s hoping the rest of the process stays smooth.
NY Post | Joseph Staszewski: Spencer Jones got off to a hot start in this year’s spring, but logistics were always going to get in his way before he could book a ticket to San Francisco with the rest of the big leaguers. Jones was officially optioned down to Triple-A to start the year, alongside starter Elmer Rodríguez, where he was expected to begin thanks to the Yankees boasting an outfield consisting of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Trent Grisham. Jones will have plenty of eyes on him still as scouts look to see whether he can continue his prodigious power streak while toning down on the strikeouts, but whether he’ll get a shot to showcase that for the Yankees or another organization remains to be seen.
As an aside on Rodríguez, he may be ticketed for Triple-A, but in a big start for Puerto Rico against Cuba last night, he demonstrated a small sample of why the Yankees like him so much, throwing three innings of scoreless, one-hit ball (albeit while walking three).
SB Nation | Samantha Bradfield: There’s a lot of star power on the Team USA roster this year, but the locker room has been a boon for everyone involved it seems. Players have rave reviews for getting to experience these All-Star-esque rosters and pick people’s brains, and of course the Captain of the team is front and center in that experience. Judge called it a “once-in-a-lifetime experience,” with players like Clayton Kershaw, Kyle Schwarber, and Paul Goldschmidt chiming in to agree.
National Baseball Hall of Fame: Bill White was awarded the Buck O’Neil Award on Monday, honoring his “extraordinary efforts to enhance baseball’s positive impact on society.” A former World Series champion first baseman with the Cardinals, a trailblazer, and a six-time All-Star, White transferred over to the broadcasting booth following his retirement, and formed an iconic booth alongside Yankees legend Phil Rizzuto for 18 seasons. He was later named president of the National League, back when the two leagues had separate heads. White’s call of Bucky Dent’s famous home run against Boston in the 1978 AL one-game playoff is an iconic one, and one that rings through the history of the game to this day.
Mar 9, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) reacts after a play during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
“The beauty of it is we got another one tomorrow,” is how James Harden ended his media scrum after Sunday’s disappointing loss to the Boston Celtics. The Cavs didn’t make up for that performance, but this was a good response.
Like Sunday, the Cavs started the game unable to buy a three-point shot. They made just one of their first 10 attempts, but this time, they didn’t bury themselves in the process. They found ways to still get to the basket and the free-throw line. Instead of a 10-point quarter, they mustered 26.
And when they actually started hitting their outside shots in the second quarter, they broke the game wide open.
The Cavs don’t have many tough opponents left on their schedule; they do, however, need to figure out who’s in their rotation for the playoffs. That’s what a game like this was for.
“I told the guys in there, this is going to be a fight to be in the playoff rotation,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said postgame. “We got so many good players. We’re deep. Who’s going to be a star in his role?”
Role players not coming through against Boston is one of the things that did them in. Keon Ellis was one of the players who struggled. He didn’t score in 24 minutes and finished the game with a plus/minus of -15.
Ellis responded well on Monday, scoring 19 points on 5-9 shoooting which included going 4-7 from three. He showed that he can make an impact offensively, which is what he’ll need to continue doing if he’s going to get substantial playoff minutes.
The three-point shot is going to be the swing skill for Ellis. If he’s making that, they can always find room for him on the court. But there are other ways he can influence the game on that end.
“We’re just discovering his offensive capabilities,” Atkinson said. “I saw a couple of things that I haven’t seen him do yet. Come off a DHO (dribble-hand-off), get in the lane, shoot the flooter. I didn’t even know he had that.”
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Harden scored his 29,000th career point. That’s a remarkable accomplishment, even though less than 0.1% of his points have come in a Cavalier uniform. It speaks to his incredible longevity and how he’s been able to continually reinvent his game in a league that has evolved drastically since he entered it 17 years ago.
“[It’s a ] testament to his resiliency,” Atkinson said. “It’s so hard in this league to do it for so long, so consistently. This version we’re seeing of James…[is a] complete player and playmaker. And what he’s given us so far is everything we need to win.”
A good portion of those 29,017 career points came out of the pick-and-roll. Harden has been able to develop instant pick-and-roll chemistry with nearly every big he’s played with.
Atkinson credits this to Harden being in the 99th percentile in decision-making. He simply always makes the right play.
“He knows where the defense is in (on the pick-and-roll), he knows how to kick it out,” Atkinson said on Sunday. “When they’re out, he throws the lob. He knows the timing. And that’s rare in my experience to be around a player who’s almost perfect in terms of his decision-making.”
Evan Mobley may be the exception to this general rule for Harden. The duo hasn’t been able to replicate the success Harden has had with Jarrett Allen. That comes down to how both Mobley and Harden operate in the pick-and-roll.
Mobley neither sets hard screens nor rolls hard. More often than not, he slips the screen before there’s real contact and then floats in the midrange and tries to find an angle to receive a dump off. That can work in some contexts — and has mostly paired well with an explosive downhill attacker like Donovan Mitchell — but it hasn’t with Harden.
Harden will always make the right play. But there isn’t a right play to come from this, given how deliberate Harden is in these actions. By the time he’s ready to take advantage of the opening, the defense has already recovered, nullifying the screen entirely.
This is why the starting offense has felt so static at times the last two games with Allen sidelined. Harden has still initiated the offense with the pick-and-roll with the big, but it hasn’t gone anywhere. Instead of getting things going to the basket and reacting from there, they end up wasting four or five seconds trying to set it up, and then have to resort to something different.
This issue isn’t that Mobley doesn’t know what he needs to do as the big with Harden, it’s just not his game.
This play is a good example of that. Mobley tries to set a solid screen on Harden’s defender, but doesn’t create much separation. He compounds this by not rolling to the basket as hard as he needs to, which led to Mobley getting cut off in the restricted area.
Mobley is never going to be a physically imposing screener like Ivica Zubac. That isn’t changing overnight. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make this duo more effective.
“Evan is not used to rolling all the time,” Atkinson said. “I saw them talking tonight about screening angles. I think James can help him be better on the roll.”
This is an example of how Harden can do so.
Instead of being deliberate in waiting for the screen to materialize — like he did in the first example — Harden is more aggressive about getting around the screen quicker. This helps the contact that Mobley makes to be effective enough to get the defender on Harden’s back hip. And once that happens, there’s a mismatch he can use to generate open looks.
Even though Mobley isn’t the prototypical Harden pick-and-roll partner, there are still ways to make it work.
“I’ve talked to James about that,” Atkinson said. “Just getting those two together and talking to Evan about how he wants the screen angle, when he wants him to slip out, when he wants him to hold. And with Evan, he can mix in the pop (three-point shot) too.”
It can be easy to focus on what Mobley doesn’t do well, and understandably so. The flaws in his game, like this, can be quite clear. But that shouldn’t overshadow what he does well.
Mobley is a gifted scorer who’s continually added elements to his offensive game. He’s a more well-rounded offensive weapon than most bigs Harden has had success with. There’s something there that Harden can work with. They just need time to figure it out.
“I want them to get together and work on it more,” Atkinson said. “I think that could be a really lethal combination.”
