SACRAMENTO – Russell Westbrook has a single focus when he trots onto the basketball court, no matter who the opponent is, even if it’s the team that drafted him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and paid him $166 million over 11 seasons.
That was the scenario presented to Westbrook on Friday night at Golden 1 Center when the NBA’s best team so far this season rolled into town
The Oklahoma City Thunder, home to Westbrook during his early NBA days, had the look of a team very much bent on making a trip back to the NBA Finals to defend their title.
True to his word, Westbrook remained calm throughout.
There were no sentimental moments or long-ago memories to ponder over. Just straight pure hoopin’.
“I play the same way every night, compete at the highest level given the opportunity,” Westbrook said after the Kings’ 132-101 NBA Cup loss to the Thunder. “Who’s on the other side doesn’t change the energy and effort I’m going to play with.”
He had scored in double figures in six consecutive games heading into Friday, then extended that streak with 24 points against OKC. Westbrook was 9 of 17 from the floor, made five 3s to go with nine assists and six rebounds.
Not bad for a guy who has been playing out of position lately.
With power forward Keegan Murray still recovering from thumb surgery, Kings coach Doug Christie has tried experimenting with different players and rotations.
Westbrook had adapted fairly well and was one of, if not the only, bright spots on a night when the Kings were taken to the woodshed by the Thunder.
Oklahoma City dominated Sacramento in the paint, forcing 17 turnovers that led to 23 points, and had an easy time easing through the Kings’ defense.
Thunder 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein destroyed the Kings down low to the tune of a career-high 33 points and 19 rebounds.
He had plenty of help, too, as all five OKC starters scored in double figures, as did backup Isaiah Joe.
“If it wasn’t big fella, Hartenstein, going down the lane, the guard was getting around the corner,” Kings coach Doug Christie said. “Unacceptable. We have to make sure that we can contain the basketball.”
Westbrook said there was a combination of issues that fueled the breakdowns.
“Just (got) real stagnant offensively,” Westbrook said. “When we move the ball and play with pace it allows us to be able to cut, get to the rim, finish. We just missed a lot of our opportunities. It starts with our defense, too.“
DENVER – Cards were stacked high against the Warriors to begin NBA Cup play Friday night against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena, and they couldn’t pick up the pieces enough without Steph Curry. Not even close.
Draymond Green began the game draining a three from the right corner, and the Warriors then forced a shot clock violation on the Nuggets’ first offensive possession. The sequence wasn’t a sign of things to come. The opposite, in fact.
The Nuggets responded with a 12-0 run, and outside of a short stint in the second quarter, the Warriors were completely outclassed in an uncompetitive 129-104 loss.
Green (17 points) and Jimmy Butler (16 points) provided the only offense for the Warriors’ starters. The rest of the starting five scored two points in the first half, and 15 overall.
Quinten Post was a bright spot off the bench, scoring 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting and made his two 3-point attempts.
Nikola Jokić in 28 minutes barely missed a triple-double. The three-time NBA MVP scored an easy 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting and also had nine rebounds and nine assists with one turnover.
The play of the game belonged to Bay Area native Aaron Gordon. The 30-year-old stepped into a time machine and channeled his Archbishop Mitty days, crossing Buddy Hield at the 3-point line and throwing down a monstrous dunk on Post.
Along with Curry’s second straight game missed to an illness, the Warriors also were without Al Horford. The veteran center was a late addition to the injury report with left foot soreness. Horford was seen at shootaround getting shots up, but he was icing his left foot pregame in the locker room, something that has been seen frequently to start the season.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors dropping to 5-5 overall and 1-5 on the road.
Future Trio Drops Dud
With Butler and Green playing through pain, the Warriors’ starting five still featured two eventual Hall of Famers flanked by three players who want to lead the franchise into the future. Well, the future looked bleak in Denver.
The Warriors got absolutely nothing out of Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski in the first half as the Warriors went into halftime down 66-49. Kuminga and Moody were both scoreless on a combined 0-of-7 shooting and missed all four of their 3-point attempts. Podziemski added a whopping two points, the same number of turnovers he had.
Kuminga’s one turnover in the first half came from simply dribbling the ball off his leg and out of bounds. He settled for bad shots, got stuck offensively and defensively and was a whopping minus-22 through two quarters. Podziemski was a minus-18 at the time, and Moody was a minus-4.
Steve Kerr had a long talk with Kuminga when he first came out of the game where the two didn’t seem to be on the same page, and he was deep in conversation with Podziemski going to the tunnel at halftime.
Another five minutes passed in the third quarter before Kuminga scored his first points. Moody finally did in the first minute of the fourth, and Podziemski ended with seven points – the most between the three of them. Their 15 points came on 7-of-29 shooting (24.1 percent), and they were 1 of 12 on threes.
The Non-Jokić Minutes
After playing the entire first quarter while dropping 11 points, three rebounds and six assists, Jokić took a seat to begin the second quarter. This was the Warriors’ time to make a run and cut an 11-point deficit. They did exactly that, going on a 10-0 run in the first two minutes and 15 seconds to make it a one-point game, forcing a Nuggets timeout.
All the sudden, the Nuggets’ offense wasn’t humming as loud and the Warriors were off to the races after a first quarter where in the halfcourt they were stuck in the mud. But just like that, the Nuggets then went on a 9-0 run of their own before a Pat Spencer 3-pointer put the Warriors back on the scoreboard.
By the time Jokić back in the game at the 4:16 mark of the second quarter, the Nuggets held a 17-point lead, 53-36. His backup, Jonas Valanciunas, scored eight points, grabbed two rebounds and made both his 3-point attempts in the second quarter as Jokic watched from the bench.
That was the game, right then and there. As soon as the Warriors made it competitive with Jokić his rest, they couldn’t find the extra gear to power them through against the bench unit of one of the better teams in the league.
Draymond Goes Boom
Pat Spencer and Will Richard, two role players at the back of the bench, brought the biggest spark when the Warriors were getting blitzed. The most promising sight, however, was Green’s willingness to be aggressive offensively as a scorer and let it fly from deep on a sagging defense.
The Nuggets kept begging Green to shoot, and for the most part, he kept playing into their game plan. And he made them pay on multiple occasions.
Green made two threes in the first half, and three more in the third quarter. He connected on three from the right corner, one from the left corner and another at the top of the arc. The defensive dynamo was 5 of 10 on threes, and the rest of the Warriors were 6 of 22 (27.7 percent) when he came out of the game for good.
Through nine games, Green now is shooting 44.7 percent from three (17 of 38) this season. Teams will keep daring him to shoot them, and he’ll have to keep showing he won’t hesitate to take advantage of that kind of defense
SACRAMENTO – Russell Westbrook had another big game against one of his former teams, but without big man Domantas Sabonis, the Kings spent most of the night on their heels in a 132-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
Westbrook racked up 24 points, six rebounds and nine assists, falling just shy of adding to his NBA-record list of triple-doubles.
DeMar DeRozan had 18 points and five rebounds, while Drew Eubanks had a respectable night with 16 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Malik Monk added 15 points with three 3-pointers in the first group-play game of the NBA Cup in-season tournament.
The Kings (3-6) lost to the Thunder (9-1) less than two weeks ago when they had a healthy Sabonis, while Oklahoma City was without Chet Holmgren.
The tables were flipped on Friday, but the result was the same.
The Thunder held a dominant 60-34 advantage in the paint, led by center Isaiah Hartenstein, who finished with a game-high 33 points on 14 of 17 shooting from the field.
It didn’t help Sacramento that OKC came to town with a chip on its shoulder. The Thunder were coming off their lone loss of the season when they lost to the Trail Blazers in Portland on Wednesday.
Here are the takeaways from the Kings’ loss:
Doing without Domas
With the 6-foot-10 Sabonis not in uniform, the Kings were without their last line of defense and the Thunder were all too willing to try to take advantage.
The plan to go right at the heart of Sacramento’s D got off to a strong start, as the Thunder easily made their way deep into the paint and scored without much resistance. At one point, they had doubled the Kings’ production down low.
Kings coach Doug Christie tried several different options to fix the situation. Eubanks started and played 24 minutes. Newly signed Precious Achiuwa came off the bench with four points and three boards while rookie Max Raynaud rounded out Sac’s group of big men.
Russ against his old team
It has been seven years since Westbrook wore an OKC jersey but it’s clear he has a little extra juice every time he faces the Thunder.
The nine-time All-Star, who played his first nine NBA seasons with the Thunder, is the franchise scoring leader and all-time leader in triple-doubles. He came out roaring against his former team at Golden 1 Center. He made three 3-pointers and had 11 points in the first quarter and made good on 8 of 16 shots after his first attempt of the night was blocked by Chet Holmgren.
That was pretty much on par with what Westbrook had done against the Thunder in the past. Going into the night, he had an average of 18.8 points, 7.1 assists and 7.5 rebounds in 19 games against Oklahoma City.
Schroder shut down
It was a rough night for Dennis Schroder, at least when it came to scoring.
The 32-year-old point guard missed all 10 shots he took, including five misses from behind the arc. A minus-25 for the night, Schroder finished with two points and eight assists.
One of the Kings’ top offseason acquisitions, Schroder had been one of the team’s most consistent scorers through the first two weeks of the season, reaching double digits in scoring for six of Sacramento’s first eight games.
After winning its first five games (for the first time in franchise history), San Antonio has dropped two straight — not so coincidentally just as Victor Wembanyama had two rather pedestrian games. The Suns and Lakers started being physical with him, denying him positions in the paint, and doubling him at times to get the ball out of his hands on the perimeter.
Watch those games and one couldn't help but think, "this team could use De'Aaron Fox." That wait is now over. Fox is set to return on Saturday when San Antonio takes on New Orleans in the second night of a back-to-back.
Fox had been out since before the start of training camp due to a right hamstring strain. San Antonio traded for him at the deadline last February, and in 17 games with his new team, he averaged 19.7 points and 6.8 assists a game, although expect those numbers to go up a little once paired with Wembanyama. The former All-Star was brought in to be the veteran, star guard paired with Wemby, with the hope that they would bring out the best in each other. However, the duo only got five games together last season due to Wembanyama's shoulder blood clots. The two still have a lot of familiarizing to do.
Fox joins a promising backcourt with reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle (averaging 19.4 points, six rebounds and 5.7 assists a game this season) and No. 2 pick last June Dylan Harper (averaging 14 points a night off the bench, but currently out with a calf strain). The Spurs have started the season looking like a team ready to make a leap up the Western Conference standings this season, but they ultimately were going to need Fox back to do that.
Coach Doug Christie said Friday that Murray has progressed to working out in the gym, although he offered no timetable for the 2022 first-round draft pick to make his 2025-26 NBA season debut.
“He’s in protocol. He’s working hard,” Christie said before the Kings’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden 1 Center. “I like to see him in the gym. I’m seeing him in the gym, but it’s going to be a second. He’s working as hard as he can. We just have to wait till we get the nod, and when we do, he’ll be ready to come.”
Murray has been out since tearing the UCL in his left thumb during a preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers in October. He underwent surgery a few days later.
Christie has tried a variety of options while Murray has been out. Most recently, Russell Westbrook has started at power forward, averaging 24.5 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in games against the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors.
Zion Williamson is out for at least another week with a hamstring injury. Dejounte Murray is not expected to return to the Pelicans from his torn Achilles until the calendar flips to 2026.
That put the ball in the hands of Jordan Poole to be a primary shot creator in New Orleans, but now comes word that he has a strained left quad and will be out for at least a week, with a re-evaluation in 7-10 days.
Injury Update: The Pelicans announced today that Jordan Poole has been diagnosed with a mild left vastus lateralis (quad) strain.
Poole will be re-evaluated in 7-10 days and further updates will be appropriately provided. pic.twitter.com/WVfxhMDjO7
Poole has put up numbers for the Pelicans — 17.3 points and 3.4 assists a game — but has not been efficient doing so, shooting just 34.5% from the field.
Saddiq Bey got the start on Wednesday with Poole out, and both Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins are likely to see more run as well.
Whether you’re in a Yahoo! High Score league, a Sleeper league, a league with a games cap or simply have so many players with games scheduled that you can’t start them all, making a decision about who to start or sit can help you win or lose your matchup.
Obviously, in many leagues, having more games played each week ends up being the difference in a matchup. This is not me saying to bench a player in a points league without a games cap. Even if I’m expecting a terrible game, five points is better than zero!
The Hornets, Clippers, Lakers, Knicks, Pelicans, Suns, Trail Blazers and Jazz only play once this weekend, so if you’re just looking to maximize games, avoid those teams.
▶ Guards
Start: Donte DiVincenzo, Minnesota Timberwolves
Even with Anthony Edwards back, DiVincenzo is still an important part of the offense in Minnesota. They play two games this weekend, with one of those coming against the Jazz, who have allowed the second-most three-pointers per game this season. DiVincenzo has hit at least five triples in three straight games.
Start: Grayson Allen, Phoenix Suns
When Jalen Green made his debut for Phoenix on Thursday, the expectation was that Allen would be moved to the bench. However, Allen remained a starter, with second-year forward Ryan Dunn shifting to a reserve role. Assuming that holds, Allen will get another matchup with the Clippers on Saturday after hitting four three-pointers against them on Thursday.
Sit: Bradley Beal, LA Clippers
This should be an easy one, but he’s still heavily-rostered in Yahoo! leagues. Beal has started every game he has played this season, but he’s been limited to 20.3 minutes per game. Against the Suns on Thursday, with Kawhi Leonard (ankle) and James Harden (personal) out, Beal had a great opportunity to get back on track, but he ended up having his worst performance of the year. He might figure things out at some point, but until he proves it, he should be left on the bench.
Sit: CJ McCollum, Washington Wizards
McCollum has had a few decent performances this season, but the last two have been quite rough. Now, the Wizards have a back-to-back with the Cavaliers and Mavericks, two teams who are in the top 10 in points allowed per game this season. This isn’t the weekend to bank on McCollum figuring things out.
▶ Forwards
Start: Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Coming off his best performance of the season, Flagg has a strong opportunity this weekend. Dallas takes on the Grizzlies and Wizards, and both teams rank in the bottom three for points allowed per game. With Anthony Davis (calf) still hurt, Flagg is going to be the focal point of the offense again, and he’ll have the chance to build on his game against the Pelicans.
Start: Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat
Jaquez has been really good so far this season, with a couple of subpar performances sprinkled in. However, with Bam Adebayo dealing with a toe injury, and Tyler Herro still out, there will be plenty of usage available in Miami. The Heat play two games this weekend, including one against the Hornets, who have been bottom five in points allowed and bottom three in turnovers forced.
Sit: Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies
There isn’t a lot going right in Memphis right now, but Coward has been a bright spot. Still, matchups with two strong defenses in the Mavericks and Thunder won’t provide Coward with a great opportunity to stay hot. He’s still a great long-term option, and he appears to be the latest draft success for Memphis, but this isn’t an ideal weekend for him.
Sit: Cam Johnson, Denver Nuggets
It’s been a rough start to the season for Johnson, and I’m confident he’ll get back on track eventually. However, that will happen when he gets going from beyond the arc. Denver will take on the Warriors and Pacers this weekend, and both teams rank in the top 10 in fewest three-pointers allowed per game.
▶ Centers
Start: Deandre Ayton, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers only have one game this weekend, but it’s against the Hawks, who have the worst rebounding percentage in the league, per NBA.com/stats. Ayton has two straight 20-point double-doubles, and this is a great opportunity for him to keep that streak going. Ayton started the season off slowly, but he’s starting to figure things out.
Start: Daniel Gafford, Dallas Mavericks
Anthony Davis (calf) and Dereck Lively (knee) are still out, and while Gafford won’t play the minutes that many starters will, he’ll be a force on the glass against two teams (Memphis and Washington) that rank in the bottom three in rebounds allowed per game. This should be a strong weekend for Gafford.
Sit: Isaiah Jackson, Indiana Pacers
I know everyone was thinking that Jackson’s three-game hot streak was the start of his breakout, but I’m not confident that’s the case. The Pacers take on the Warriors and Nuggets this weekend, and both teams have been effective on the defensive glass and now allowed many blocked shots. Perhaps that’s because nearly half of the Warriors shot attempts are from deep, and the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic.
Sit: Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets
The Nets play the Knicks and Pistons this weekend, and both teams have dominated the glass this year. Claxton has been effective recently, but that has come against some teams that have struggled to rebound this season. This isn’t the ideal weekend for Claxton to stay hot.
Seven or eight games at the start of the season is enough time to make sweeping generalizations about teams and who they should try to trade. Apparently.
The NBA trade rumor mill never stops grinding, so here is the latest on some big names.
Zion Williamson
For the fourth consecutive year, Zion Williamson has been sidelined with a hamstring injury (this is a Grade 1 strain expected to keep him out 7-10 days). Combine that with New Orleans' 2-6 start and bottom-five offense and defense in the league — and a reminder that Joe Dumars came in and traded away their first-round pick next season to move up 10 spots and draft Derik Queen — and there are calls for change in the Big Easy.
Stated simply, even with his unusual non-guaranteed contract over the next two years that offers the franchise protection, Williamson's trade value isn't super high.
"To be honest, their move might be a win-now trade, not a Zion trade," a rival executive said. "His trade value isn't there and they are facing some pressure to win."
Dumars knows there is no Zion trade market. That's why he came in last summer and backed Zion, choosing not to try to trade the former No. 1 pick, because he understood there wouldn't be enough value in return, a league source told NBC Sports. Dumars needed Zion to have a strong season, raise that value, then he would have options. So far, that has not come to pass, and if there is clamoring for change in New Orleans, it could be coach Willie Green who pays the price.
Ja Morant
As written about this week at NBC Sports, league sources have told us there is not much of a trade market for Morant right now, and any offers for him at this point would be lowball ones looking for a steal. Minnesota and Sacramento are reportedly interested, not Houston (why take the ball out of the hands of Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant? The Rockets need a floor general at the point). Memphis is in a tough spot because Morant is still a player people pay to see in a small market, and the business side of the equation matters, as Tim Bontemps mentions at ESPN.
In talking with various sources around the league, Morant is still viewed as a borderline top-10 player at the position -- and that's before factoring in the previous off-court issues -- but there aren't many teams around the league in need of a starting point guard ...
"He sells shoes, he sells tickets, and he wants to play in Memphis when no one wants to," a Western Conference assistant coach said. "So it makes for a really, really difficult situation."
Now, if the Grizzlies were to decide to make a major change, there would be a lot of interest in former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson, ESPN notes.
Trae Young
It's hard to make any call on Young with him out for at least another three weeks with a sprained knee. Young can opt out and become a free agent next summer, but Atlanta's new front office was wisely being patient, not really negotiating on an extension with the All-Star. The Hawks want to see how Young and Kristaps Porzingis fit together (and with the rest of the talented players on this roster, such as Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels) before committing to anything. Young and Porzingis have played just 51 minutes together this season, way too few to make any kind of assessment.
That said, one executive told ESPN that Atlanta would listen to trade offers.
"Atlanta is good enough to keep Trae and be good and make the playoffs," an East executive said. "But with the pick and Jalen, Dyson and [Zaccharie Risacher], they'll at least pick up the phone and listen when called."
If Young leaves Atlanta, a sign-and-trade next offseason seems the most likely scenario. The more likely scenario is that he stays, but there is no need to make a call either way until we see more of what these Hawks could be healthy.
LaMelo Ball
Much like the Hawks' situation, the Hornets came into this season optimistic and wanting to see what a lineup featuring their star point guard, Ball, Brandon Miller, and No. 4 pick last June, Kon Knueppel, looked like. So far, we have seen that trio healthy and on the court together for 16 minutes in one game. The big questions have yet to be answered, and Miller with out with a shoulder injury and no timeline for a return it could be a while before we get answers.
The situation in Charlotte with Ball also echoes what is happening in Memphis in one key way: the star player is very popular in the market and helps sell tickets, while his trade value around the league is not high enough to have the Hornets considering a deal. Here is what one scout told ESPN:
"Would someone take a flier on him? For sure. But Charlotte isn't taking a flier price for him."
Again, a Ball trade is more likely next offseason than at the deadline. The Hornets will be patient, they want to see what this core can do together when healthy (which could boost Ball's trade value).
How to Watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones. Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
The Nets will be without starting shooting guard Cam Thomas for at least the next three to four weeks due to a left hamstring strain, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
Brooklyn had ruled Thomas out earlier in the day for Friday night's NBA Cup opener against the Detroit Pistons, but now it appears he'll miss more time.
Thomas suffered the hamstring injury during Wednesday's win over the Indiana Pacers. He played just six minutes before leaving the court and not returning.
Hamstring injuries have become a recurring problem for the 24-year-old, who missed 57 games last season after injuring it three times, limiting him to just 25 games played.
After agreeing to a one-year qualifying offer before the start of the season, Thomas is averaging 21.4 points on 40.2 percent shooting (35.6 percent from three) over eight games and 28.3 minutes of action per night.
With Thomas sidelined, Brooklyn will need Michael Porter Jr. to continue leading the team in scoring (22.4 points per game). Porter dropped a season-high 32-points (his second 32-point game) to help the Nets earn their first win of the season on Wednesday after a rough 0-7 start.
Additionally, the Nets upgraded rookie wing Drake Powell (right ankle sprain) to available for Friday's contest. The UNC product has played in just two games (11 minutes combined) so far this year. Three other of the Nets five first-round picks -- Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf, and Nolan Traore -- remain on G-League assignment with the Long Island Nets.
Meanwhile, wing Terance Mann, who was previously listed as probable due to left shoulder soreness, is available on Friday. Mann has started and played in all eight games, averaging 11.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
CAMDEN, N.J. — The Sixers continue to wait for Paul George and Dominick Barlow’s green lights.
Neither George (left knee surgery recovery) nor Barlow (right elbow laceration) have been cleared yet for a return. Both were at the Sixers’ practice facility Friday. George ran through a post-practice shooting session with Jared McCain. Barlow sat on the sidelines with a multi-part brace on his right arm.
According to a team official, George will meet with doctors over the weekend to assess his recovery and determine next steps. Barlow will miss the Sixers’ weekend back-to-back vs. the Raptors and Pistons. He’s set for a follow-up visit with his surgeon on Monday.
George has been a regular practice participant for weeks.
“I think the last hurdle is he’s seeing the doctors this weekend,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “I think that’s the hurdle of them clearing him to play … the main thing. That’s it.”
“He’s looked good,” Nurse said. “I think he’s moving very well, he’s shooting very well. … I’m like everybody out there in Sixers nation: I’m hoping the doc gives him the clearance so we can get him out there, even if it’s just to get him back in the flow of things. He’s going to help us. To me, he looks really good on defense. He’s just got such an instinctual feel for that end of the floor. And he’s got the size at 6-9, and there’s deflections and all that stuff.
“He’s really kind of a captain-type guy there. He knows what he’s doing and he helps other guys. … That would be useful as well.”
“He still has that splint or partial cast, whatever it is, that’s making him keep his arm straight-ish,” Nurse said. “Again, the (laceration) was right on where it bends and that’s what’s causing the problems. He does have a follow-up on I believe Monday. Hopefully, he gets out of that thing and it’s healed. I’m going to be optimistic: I don’t see that being a super-long rehab. I think it just needs to get healed up and he should be good to go.”
Safe to say it’s not a typical injury.
“I’ve never seen that one,” Nurse said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, he cut himself.’ I’m like, ‘All right, patch him up and let’s get him back in there.’ That was like three weeks ago when I said that during the game. … So it falls under bizarre, yes.”
McCain returned to action Tuesday in the Sixers’ loss to the Bulls, although he’s still limited in several ways. He played 15 scoreless minutes in Chicago and then sat the next night against the Cavs with a “left knee injury recovery” designation.
The 21-year-old guard suffered a left knee lateral meniscus tear on Dec. 13 and a right thumb UCL tear on Sept. 25. On top of restricted minutes and new teammates, he’s adjusting to wearing a bulky brace on his knee.
“It feels unbalanced and it just feels like it’s super heavy, like you’re just lugging a whole leg. … And it’s just hard to move,” McCain said. “I said to family it’s like my mind wants to do something but my body’s not letting me. So it just takes getting used to. That’s what (Joel Embiid) said: It’ll take some time.”
McCain said he believes he’ll be re-evaluated in about a month and hopes to have the brace off “as soon as possible.”
For now, Nurse has to make do with restrictions for McCain and Embiid and the absences of George and Barlow. His key players are accumulating tons of early-season minutes; Tyrese Maxey’s 41.3 per game easily lead the NBA.
Will the Sixers change anything about how they approach back-to-backs moving forward?
“There’s a couple of things I think we’ve learned that we need to tweak,” Nurse said. “I wish I could tell you what they are, but I can’t, really. But there are some things. Mostly, I just want to try not to make such a big deal out of it being a back-to-back.
“I think that’s a good place to start mentally, a mindset of, ‘Let’s just play the game.’ It is talked about and there’s a million things going on because it’s a back-to-back, but I want to get us a little bit more into, ‘Let’s just play it like another game.’”
The Boston Celtics currently sit 10th in the NBA’s Eastern Conference at 4-5 after an up-and-down start to the 2025-26 season. But if they defeat the Orlando Magic on Friday night, they can lay claim to first place in Group B of the 2025 NBA Cup.
The league’s third annual in-season tournament continues Friday with more group play action, as Celtics-Magic is one of 11 games around the league that will count toward the NBA Cup standings. The C’s — who are in Group B of the NBA Cup along with the Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets — are 1-0 in the group stage after edging the Sixers 109-108 last Friday in their NBA Cup opener.
That Celtics-Sixers game has been the only Group B game to date, as the Magic, Pistons and Nets have yet to begin their NBA Cup slates. All three teams are in action Friday, however — Detroit and Brooklyn play at 7:30 p.m. ET — so we’ll see more movement in the standings by the end of the night.
As a reminder, point differential is a key tiebreaker in the NBA Cup, so expect both the Celtics and Magic to play hard until the final whistle, even if the game is already in hand for either side.
How will it all play out? Below is a brief refresher on the NBA Cup format, followed by the Celtics’ schedule and the Group B standings, which we’ll update at the conclusion Friday’s games.
How does the NBA Cup work?
The tournament begins with the group stage. All 30 teams will compete in group play, having been placed into six groups of five teams within their conference. Teams face each of their group opponents once for a total of four group play games (two at home and two on the road).
Eight teams advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds: the top team in each of the six groups and a wild card team in each conference that’s awarded to the second-place finisher with the best overall record.
If two or more teams are tied within a group, the following tiebreakers are used:
Head-to-head record in group play
Point differential in group play
Total points scored in group play
Record from the 2024-25 NBA regular season
Random drawing
The knockout rounds begin with quarterfinal games on Dec. 9 and 10 hosted by the higher seed, and then the semifinals and finals, which will be held in Las Vegas.
All Group Stage games count toward teams’ regular-season records. Teams enter the season with only 80 scheduled games, and the 22 teams that don’t advance to the knockout round will play two regular-season games during tournament off nights on Dec. 11/12 and Dec. 14/15.
Celtics’ Group B schedule
The Celtics’ four Group Stage games will be played across a 27-day span from Halloween until the day before Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, Nov. 26: Pistons vs. Celtics, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Group B Standings
Each team in Group B will play each other once during Group Stage play. If two teams have the same record in group play, the first two tiebreakers are head-to-head record and point differential.
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Nearing the end of Steph Curry’s career, the Warriors have nothing but winning an NBA championship on their minds.
Getting there, of course, is the challenge. And while Golden State, which once dominated the West for several consecutive seasons, might not be seeking the No. 1 playoff seed the way it used to, Warriors coach Steve Kerr revealed the team’s target seed it is chasing.
“I mean, unless you’re OKC, everybody in the West is thinking, ‘Let’s make sure we’re in the top six.’ I told our team before the season, let’s finish in the top four,” Kerr said Thursday on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs.” “Let’s have our homecourt advantage in the first round. And so, top six is obviously where everybody wants to end up. Nobody wants to be in the Play-In. I think we’re good enough where we should be thinking top four. Home court. But we haven’t gotten there yet.
“The schedule’s been tough. We haven’t settled our rotation yet. We haven’t allowed for guys to get comfortable yet in their roles because lineups have changed. We’re a little scattered right now. But nothing we can’t fix and get on track. Like I said, I can’t be more excited about our team and talent level and ability to be good. But we have some work to do.”
Golden State currently holds a 5-4 record and is sitting seventh in the West in the early part of the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Warriors have the sixth-most difficult schedule remaining, per Tankathon, with four matchups against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, three against the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, respectively, and two against the red-hot Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons.
But experience is on Golden State’s side, even if the schedule isn’t.
And the confidence level is high for the Warriors, especially after acquiring six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler, who is in the midst of his first full season with the team.
Now, as Kerr attested to, it’ll be on the players to execute if they want to reach their lofty goals of homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Still, Warriors coach Steve Kerr isn’t worried about the veteran center’s early slump.
“Zero concern,” Kerr said Thursday on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs.” “Because what I’m watching is the way he’s moving. I said this after the game and I’m sure people laughed, but it was real. It was honest. I thought he played a really good game [Wednesday] night, the ball just didn’t go in. All of his shots looked good, I thought every single one of them was going, and none of them went. So he’s at one of those stages right now, and it happens in every sport. A baseball player who, the ball, it’s coming off his bat hard, but it’s going right to people.
“Nothing is going Al’s way right now. It doesn’t shock me because it is really hard to go to a new team. But I’m watching the way he’s moving, his decision-making, how smart this guy is. He’s going to be just fine. I wouldn’t worry about Al.”
Horford is 1 of 16 from beyond the arc over his last four games, and 5 of 24 (20.8 percent) on the season.
Over the course of his nearly two-decade career, Horford has shot 50.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from distance as he’s established himself as one of the best shooting bigs in the game.
That is why Kerr won’t hit the panic button just yet, as he is certain Horford will find a rhythm with time.
How hard have injuries hit the Pacers this season? We're not even 10 games into the season, and today Indiana made its fourth roster move to try to plug the holes left by all the players out with injuries.
The latest move is to waive recently signed guard Mac McClung and replace him on the roster with veteran Monte Morris, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and confirmed by other reports.
Indiana had considered bringing in Morris to training camp, but he was dealing with a calf strain that was likely to keep him out most or all of camp, so the Pacers pivoted. Now, Morris is healthy, Indiana is even more desperate for help at the point, and the two are finally getting together. Morris, 30, is an eight-year NBA veteran who spent last season in Phoenix, averaging 5.2 points a night across 45 games (and less than 13 minutes per game).
This is unfortunate for McClung, the three-time Dunk Contest champion and former G-League MVP, who had signed a multi-year but non-guaranteed contract with the Pacers. He is now a free agent.
Indiana's guard depth has been decimated by injuries this season: Tyrese Haliburton (out for season, torn Achilles), Bennedict Mathurin (foot), Andrew Nembhard (shoulder), and T.J.McConnell (hamstring) are all out right now. (That's not to mention frontcourt players Obi Toppin, Johnny Furphy and Kam Jones.)
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia has brought an indictment against Lester Jones, the Atlanta Hawks' former senior vice president of financial planning and analysis, charging him with fraud and embezzling $3.8 million from the franchise.
Some of the evidence against Jones came from an audit conducted by the Hawks themselves. The Hawks have not publicly commented on the indictment. From The Athletic:
Jones used his position with the Hawks to build a lavish lifestyle for himself, prosecutors allege. He controlled the team's American Express card account and had the ability to authorize charges, according to prosecutors, authorized multiple corporate cards for himself and had the ability to charge sums for others.
He reportedly used that power to spend on trips to the Bahamas, Hawaii, Thailand, Switzerland and other countries; paid for a Porsche; and bought tickets to concerts and other events. Now, he is facing a count of federal wire fraud.
Prosecutors allege that Jones went to great lengths to cover up his spending. They say he changed financial reports to hide his use of the company's corporate cards, faked emails to make his transactions seem legitimate and diverted his personal spending on those cards to the Hawks' team operations.
This case will now proceed through the federal court system.