Early in the second quarter against the Charlotte Hornets, Heat captain Bam Adebayo was shaken up when he took a hard fall on the court. He was deemed questionable to return with a lower back injury, per the Heat.
But Adebayo was not on the court when the second half began and he was officially ruled out for the game before the third quarter was complete.
During the second-quarter play, Adebayo was trying to save a ball from going out of bounds when Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball took Adebayo's foot out from under him. Adebayo lost his balance and then fell on his backside, landing on his tailbone. Adebayo fell without the ability to brace himself. He remained down in discomfort for a minute or so, but eventually walked off.
He got up on his under his own power, though he walked gingerly into the locker room for observation.
Bam Adebayo falls hard and walks gingerly to the locker room after LaMelo Ball grabs his foot while in mid-air, swinging it (with replays) pic.twitter.com/bI3gC13xKk
With his ability to guard every position on the floor, Adebayo is Miami’s anchor on defense. A three-time All-Star and five-time All-Defense selection, Adebayo averaged 20.1 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in 73 appearances.
NBA general managers and scouts are heading home from the 2026 men's NCAA Tournament with plenty to think about after three weeks of incredible action on the court. Now they have to figure out which March Madness performances are indicators of future greatness and which are more of a mirage.
The 2026 NBA draft is expected to take place in late June. In USA TODAY's latest mock draft , Kentucky's Jayden Quaintance is expected to go in the first round after declaring on Tuesday. Here's how USA TODAY currently projects the Forward's draft night will play out.
Our draft order is based on ESPN's projected records and factors in trades, including swaps and protections.
Jayden Quaintance 2026 NBA Draft prediction: Pick No. 17 overall, Charlotte Hornets (via Suns)
Kalbrosky's Analysis:
Jayden Quaintance recorded just one start during his sophomore campaign as he recovered from a torn ACL, meniscus and fractured knee. The big man is still one of the youngest players in this class, but he has shown flashes during his time at Arizona State and Kentucky. When healthy, he is arguably the most talented defender in this draft class and could help a team that desperately needs frontcourt help, like the Hornets. But health may cause some concern for evaluators.
NBA general managers and scouts are heading home from the 2026 men's NCAA Tournament with plenty to think about after three weeks of incredible action on the court. Now they have to figure out which March Madness performances are indicators of future greatness and which are more of a mirage.
The 2026 NBA draft is expected to take place in late June. In USA TODAY's latest mock draft, Baylor's Cameron Carr is expected to go in the first round after declaring on Tuesday. Here's how USA TODAY currently projects the Guard's draft night will play out.
Our draft order is based on Tankathon.com and factors in trades, including swaps and protections.
Cameron Carr 2026 NBA Draft prediction: Pick No. 27 overall, Boston Celtics
Kalbrosky's Analysis:
One of the players who improved his draft stock the most this season was Baylor junior Cameron Carr. The All-Big 12 wing brings athleticism and shooting and, per Bart Torvik, he was the only player to make at least 40 field goals that were dunks and more than 60 field goals that were 3-pointers this season. Baylor outscored opponents by an additional 28.5 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor relative to when he was not, via CBB Analytics, which ranked as the fourth-most of any high-major player in the NCAA.
NBA general managers and scouts are heading home from the 2026 men's NCAA Tournament with plenty to think about after three weeks of incredible action on the court. Now they have to figure out which March Madness performances are indicators of future greatness and which are more of a mirage.
Our draft order is based on Tankathon.com and factors in trades, including swaps and protections.
Hannes Steinbach 2026 NBA Draft prediction: Pick No. 19 overall, San Antonio Spurs (via Hawks)
Kalbrosky's Analysis:
German big man Hannes Steinbach is a name worth watching in the 2026 NBA Draft. While his team missed the tournament, the All-Big Ten post is an instinctive rebounder with great hands, including an absurd 24 rebounds against USC on March 4. Additionally, the center is one of the more prolific pick-and-roll finishers in college basketball. He shined during the FIBA U19 World Cup, too, and scouts love that he is a smart basketball player who can make great reads. Steinbach could make an excellent backup to Victor Wembanyama.
But the NBA Playoffs are no strangers to surprises. Just last year, we saw the Indiana Pacers reach the finals as a 5-seed, nearly taking down the heavily favored Thunder for the title. No one expected that. We've seen mutliple play-in teams reach their conference championships as well. Even the 2023 Miami Heat reached the finals despite entering the postseason as the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed.
That is to say that the NBA playoffs aren't as predictable as they may seem. That's why several experts have different opinions on what will happen. Here's a quick breakdown of numerous predictions from around the internet:
Kram writes, "Oklahoma City and San Antonio could spark a decade-long rivalry this spring, after the Spurs beat the reigning champs in four out of five meetings this season. Oklahoma City has crucial playoff experience and the best clutch scorer in the NBA on its side. But San Antonio presents real matchup problems for the champs because of its athleticism, guard play and game-changing force at center."
He continues, "It's possible that Wembanyama can't handle many more minutes because of his aggressive style of play. He looked noticeably fatigued when he reached 40 minutes in San Antonio's thrilling overtime loss in Denver this month. But Wembanyama doesn't need to play 40 minutes at altitude every game in the playoffs, and he successfully exceeded 35 minutes 10 times this season. In those games, he averaged 30.7 points, 14.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.0 blocks while making 44% of his 7.3 3-point attempts and 86% of his 9.6 free throw attempts. That's not evidence of a consistent problem playing big minutes; if anything, it's the opposite, and Wembanyama's stats have been even better when he has increased his workload."
He predicts the Spurs to win in six games, then take care of the Boston Celtics in six as well.
CBS Sports: 4 of 6 experts predict Celtics to emerge from the East
While the Western Conference is littered with different picks from CBS Sports' panel of experts, the East doesn't have as much variety, with two-thirds of their panel picking Boston to represent the conference in the Finals.
Funny enough though, only one of them has the Celtics winning it all. Jack Maloney is the the only person to predict a victory for the Eastern Conference, picking Boston to defeat the Thunder.
Maloney writes, "The Thunder would surely be favored in a Finals matchup against the Celtics, and could very well win. But Boston has defied the odds at every turn over the past seven months, and will cap a storybook season with an upset over the reigning champs."
Former NBA head coach Avery Johnson says that the Thunder remind him "of what [they] built in San Antonio."
He also believes that whoever comes out of the Western Conference between the Spurs and Thunder should win the championship. He specifically predicts the Thunder to win in six games over Boston.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) and Rockets center Clint Capela (30) battle for a rebound during a game last month in Houston. Ayton leads the Lakers in rebounding at 8.0 per game. (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
Rebounding was not a strength of the Lakers over the course of the regular season. Rebounding was a strength of the Houston Rockets during the 2025-26 campaign.
So, on their first day of practice Tuesday for Game 1 of the first round Saturday at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers worked diligently on rebounding drills, knowing full well that will be one of the keys against the Rockets.
The Lakers were the fourth-worst rebounding team in the NBA, averaging 41.0 per game. The Rockets were the top rebounding team in the league, getting 48.1 overall and 15.0 on the offensive end.
And one of the Lakers' better rebounders, Luka Doncic, won’t be available because he’s dealing with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain that he went to Spain for treatment. Doncic is second on the Lakers in rebounding at 7.7 per game. His starting backcourt mate, Austin Reaves, also is a good rebounder but he also won’t play because of a Grade 2 left oblique strain. Reaves is averaging 4.7 rebounds per game.
“They’re out indefinitely,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said about Doncic and Reaves.
Redick then gave a simple answer for how the Lakers have to deal with the Rockets in the best-of-seven series.
“Again, taking care of the basketball and boxing out. That’s the series,” Redick said. “Scheme, personnel, obviously important, but if we don’t take care of the ball and we don’t box out, we’re not gonna win the series.
“They were No. 4 in scoring opportunities. We were No. 23, so we don’t have the luxury with Luka and AR out of getting drilled in scoring opportunities every single game. We gotta box out. We’re going to place an emphasis on every drill in practice. We started practice with boxing out today. You gotta put it in their minds. That’s literally the only thing we said about Houston today. Today was about us having a practice, getting sharp with our stuff. Tomorrow, we’ll introduce [Rockets] personnel. Thursday we’ll do our scout, as we would. Friday will be a reinforcement of that scout. Saturday we’ll be good to go. Only thing we did today was box out.”
Lakers 7-foot backup center Jaxson Hayes will be counted to get rebounds. He’ll also spend time dealing with Rockets All-Star center Alperen Sengun, who averages 20.4 points and 8.9 rebounds (3.0 on offense) per game.
Hayes missed the last four games because of left foot soreness, but he was back at practice Tuesday.
“Feeling a lot better,” Hayes said. “It's nice getting a few days off. Especially with my job, I jump a lot and I run a lot, so it's hard for me to rest something like that. Getting those days off was very much needed. Very helpful.”
When asked about the box-out drills the Lakers did at practice, Hayes recalled the last time he did such a thing.
“Definitely college, for sure,” Hayes said. “College days with those Texas bigs. Coaches start off the practice where you got to smack somebody. Obviously, we weren't trying to murder each other out on the boards, but definitely practicing that stuff. Houston is, I think, one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the past 20 years. So, just making sure we're ready for that.”
The Rockets are a physical team that also plays smothering defense.
Houston allowed 110.0 points per game during the regular season, the fourth-best defensive mark in the league, and held teams to 46.0% shooting, the sixth-best mark in the league.
For Lakers guard Marcus Smart, there is one way to compete with the Rockets on the backboards.
“Will. Willpower,” Smart said. “We’re competitors. We’ve been doing this for a while. We’re doing that at the highest level, right? And they’re going to try to come in and punk us. And if you will allow that, you will be punked. And I don’t think we have any guys that are going to be punked on this team. So, we might not be the most athletic and strongest, but we got to have the most heart.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 12: Marcus Smart #36, Austin Reaves #15 and Luke Kennard #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers watch from the bench during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena on April 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Head coach JJ Redick fielded that question for the first of what will be many times on Tuesday and had a definitive, if not unclear, response.
“They’re out indefinitely,” Redick said. “I’m not going to have an update for you this week.”
Based on the latest reports, Luka is set to return to Los Angeles later this week. From there, he’ll be re-evaluated after receiving treatment in Spain. Austin, meanwhile, is not close to a return and has not really had any updates on his status.
Outside of those huge caveats, though, the Lakers are back to full health heading into the postseason. That included LeBron James, who has been on the injury report with left foot injury management, as well as Jaxson Hayes, who missed the final four games of the regular season.
Hayes’ absence was also due to a foot injury, which he discussed after practice on Tuesday.
“Feeling a lot better,” Hayes said. “It’s nice getting a few days off, especially with my job. I jump a lot and I run a lot so it was hard for me to rest something like that. So getting those days off was very much needed and very helpful.”
Despite how things went about this time last season, Hayes is set to have an important role this postseason. While it won’t be as a starter, he will be a key figure off the bench.
Fortunately, the Lakers are going to head into the playoffs with Hayes and a host of options…even if it won’t include their two top stars.
CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 17: LaMelo Ball #1 of the Charlotte Hornets dribbles the ball during the game against the Miami Heat on March 17, 2026 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Game Details
When: Tuesday, April 14, 7:30 PM ET Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC Watch: Amazon Prime Video Follow:@LibertyBallers
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 22: Mark Williams #15 of the Phoenix Suns drives to the basket against Scoot Henderson #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center on February 22, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Blazers defeated the Suns 92-77. 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 Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much.
The 2026 play-in tournament starts tonight, and the only game that Spurs fans really need to be interested in is the second matchup, which will decide San Antonio’s first round opponent. Will it be Dillon Brooks, Devin Booker and the Suns, or will it be Tiago Splitter’s overperforming Blazers squad. No one is really giving Portland much of a chance to beat Phoenix, but the teams are pretty evenly matched with the Suns leading the season series 2-1. The last game was on February 22, a 92-77 rock fight win by the Blazers. Both teams are more healthy tonight, so perhaps at least one of them will score in triple digits tonight. The winner will face the Spurs in the first round series beginning at the Frost Bank center on April 19, and the loser will go on to face the winner of the tomorrow’s Clippers/Warriors game on Friday for the chance to be dismantled by the Thunder in their first round matchup. I’m kind of hoping that the Warriors will end up facing the Thunder because their shooting could cause problems for OKC, and also because I don’t like the Suns or the Clippers. Let’s go Blazers!
Game Prediction:
Jeff Bezos will use his Blue Origin rocket to attend both games in person, which will create quite a mess when it lands in the parking lot at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
Miami Heat vs Charlotte Hornets—6:30 PM Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers—9:00 PM April 14, 2026 TV: Amazon Prime Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — You think the Charlotte Hornets were starving for a home postseason game?
It’s been a decade since the Hornets hosted a postseason game, and the team is doing what it can to celebrate the accomplishments of Kon Knueppel and LaMelo Ball and generate excitement among its fan base.
Prior to Tuesday night's play-in tournament game against the Miami Heat, the Hornets placed a black “Protect the Hive" T-shirt on each of the 19,444 seats in Spectrum Center.
“I expect it to be lit,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said of the atmosphere.
The Hornets need to beat the Heat and then defeat the loser of the Wednesday night’s Orlando-Philadelphia game to qualify for its first playoff series in 10 years and snap the longest drought in the league.
"My wife was actually able to go to the (Carolina) Panthers’ playoff game and I remember her calling me ... and she’s like, ‘This is insane! People are going crazy! This town is ready for a winning team, playoff atmosphere!'" Lee said of the Panthers' first playoff home game in January after seven seasons of missing the playoffs. "So that was exciting to hear. And so I expect a very similar environment here.”
The Heat-Hornets game is a sellout.
“We have an exciting, young team that has earned this moment and brings an energy that’s fun to watch and easy to rally behind,” Hornets president of business operations Shelly Cayette-Weston said. “Protect the Hive represents the connection between our team and our fans at the highest level.”
BROOKLYN, NY - APRIL 3: Nic Claxton #33 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on April 3, 2026 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Mike Lawrence/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
If there’s one thing all NBA fans love more than tanking, it has to be numbers and math, right?
A few years ago, our old pal Kevin Durant rhetorically (and rather vulgarly) questioned if anyone wants to “look at graphs” while having a conversation about hoops. It’s since become something of a rallying cry for the Ball Don’t Stop’s of the world, those who aren’t just standing pat along the fan dividing line, but pushing against the against the tide of the analytics-minded voices in basketball.
Indeed, part of the game has gotten lost in the pool of digits we’ve collectively paddled our way across. While Durant’s mid-range remains pure in the big 2026, the back-to-the-basket game seemed to fade away with Al Jefferson and the Gasol brothers. We live in a world where the great Kevin Garnett’s highlight reel almost feels unsettling to watch with every catch from behind the arc, singular step in, and then high-arching jumper he takes.
That said, teams are undoubtedly the performing better because of it. Offensive records are continually broken year after year by players, teams and the league at large. It’s cliché to say, “the game has changed,” but there’s no arguing against that notion.
Now, I’d never call myself a “numbers” guy. I majored in writing and never got farther than Precalc in high school. Take a wild guess at what I struggled with growing up and eventually began to utterly detest by adulthood. That’s right, numbers and math.
However, I do believe those who don’t get on the analytics train will be left behind. And in that, I’ve learned to appreciate the value of a telling stat, and would argue everyone else should to.
So, with us now at the conclusion of Brooklyn’s 2025-26 campaign, I found three stats that exemplify its season. All of them are rather rudimentary, but might’ve gotten swept under the rug amid all the roster turnover and phantom injuries.
Spoiler alert: none of them are particularly positive. However, when you’re serving up a 60-loss dish, that’s just what the recipe calls for. Let’s dive in. The dessert will hopefully come later in the summer.
The Rookies got Their Shots Up
From day one, or even day negative one and beyond, this season was all about the rookies for the Brooklyn Nets. That feeling was so abundant that Jordi Fernández even felt the need to remind the media on more than one occasion that the rookies aren’t the only ones on the team.
Nevertheless, Brooklyn’s shot diet this year did more to endorse the former sentiment. This season, the Nets led the league in total rookie field goal attempts with 2,231. Sure, Brooklyn drafted five rooks last June, the most ever by an NBA team, then added three more. The next closest team was the New Orleans Pelicans, who had three in their rotation as well in Derik Queen, Jeremiah Fears, and Micah Peavy.
Still, New Orleans trailed the Nets by a whopping 171 shots. The Nets also led in triples taken by rookies by over one hundred. And, speaking of that shot…
They had a misplaced Confidence in the Three
Brooklyn finished this season with the worst offense in the league, averaging the fewest points per game and lowest field goal percentage. That’s not a shocking metric to hear if you watched the team at any point this year. The Nets often posted scoring totals that looked like they were ripped off the box score from a 90s game, frequently struggling to crack triple digits.
But while Brooklyn’s shot diet was rather modern, averaging the 11th most triples taken per game in the league, it didn’t do them any good.
If you live and die by the three, the Nets sure as hell died by it, historically. This year, they averaged 38.4 triples per game, but made them at just a 34% clip. That ranks as the third worst percentage on that many attempts or more in NBA history. Only the Washington Wizards, who shot 33.5% on 39.1 attempts per game last year, the Houston Rockets, who shot 33.9% on 40.6 attempts per game in 2020-21, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who shot 33.6% on 39.7 attempts per game in 2019-20 insisted on launching more threes … despite having so little success to show for it.
I’m not prepared to argue the Nets would have had any more luck had they pressured the rim or ventured into the midrange more frequently. However, there’s no debating the notion that their investment in the deep ball was a poor one.
One of the worst clutch teams in recent memory
Any successful tank involves fumbling a few games at the goal line. Whether by design or not, this past year, nobody did that better than Brooklyn. In the clutch, which the NBA defines as a game within five points and with five or fewer minutes to play, Brooklyn had a .235 win percentage in this woeful season. That ranks worst in the league.
It was also the third worst posted by any NBA team in the past decade. The Detroit Pistons had a .229 wining percentage in clutch games during the 2023-24 season and a .219 one in 2020-21. The Philadelphia 76ers, being the tanking GOATs that they are, also had a ludicrous .143 clutch winning percentage in 2015-16. Not really surprising when, as Sean Marks mentioned in his YES Network interview, Brooklyn’s roster was the youngest not just this season, but in the last 20 as well.
If this is it for Nic Claxton and the Nets, and if somehow Brooklyn’s somehow able secure a top three pick this summer, fans should applaud Nic Claxton for his efforts in this regard. Clax was a team-worst -64 in 66 clutch minutes this year, with nearly 20 points separating him from the next closest guy.
Woe is us? No question and any deep dive would tell you the eye test was the least of it.
The All-Big West Conference honorable mention selection out of UC-San Diego and, most notably this month, NCAA transfer portal entrant had lost track of days, let alone the “hundreds” of phone calls and texts from potential basketball suitors.
On Tuesday, Mayes made official the next step in his blossoming college basketball career — and spoke about the choice exclusively to USA TODAY Sports.
The 6-5, 200-pound rising sophomore guard has signed with Eric Olen’s New Mexico program. Olen guided the Lobos to 26 wins and an NIT semifinals appearance in his debut, 2025-26 season at the helm.
“It felt like absolutely forever. If you asked me how long ago, I would tell you two months ago not officially one week in the portal,” Mayes, the Tritons’ No. 2 scorer at 11.1 points per game, told USA TODAY Sports after he ended a recruitment that also included Baylor, Notre Dame and Syracuse among top contenders. “I tried not to let myself get too stressful with it. My agent (NBA certified agent KJ Smith of Range Sports) told me once you do enter, you’re going to get hundreds of texts and calls.
“I wasn’t thinking about the portal; I was trying to help us win the Big West (tournament). But there were too many opportunities that we heard about and knew from trusted sources that were real. My dream has always been to play the highest level of college basketball and get to the highest level of college basketball. I told coach Olen (Monday afternoon), and I slept great last night.”
The son of former Notre Dame All-America wideout and Green Bay Packers Super Bowl champion Derrick Mayes, grandson of Naismith Hall of Famer and former ABA star Roger Brown, Hudson Mayes started 12 of San Diego’s final 13 games, scored in double figures in the season’s last 10 games and helped the Tritons close with eight wins in their final 11 games.
Multiple Power conference programs “offered significant money” and “multiple six figures.” Olen’s New Mexico program offered an immediate chance to compete for a starting role — and the familiarity of having already been recruited by Olen and multiple members of the Lobos staff from their previous time at San Diego.
“Coming into the portal, I obviously had pretty much every Power Five Conference and every other conference trying to get me to commit there,” Mayes said. “They were throwing me different offers. I kept money out of my decision and made a basketball decision.
“We were prepared for that, for the money, but we knew this was going to be a decision that we would have to make based on relationships and what’s best basketball-wise and what’s the best path.”
Olen doubled down on the Lobos program's ability to stand toe-to-toe with the sport's more renowned program.
"New Mexico’s rich with tradition and we want to continue that here and that just starts with building really good basketball teams," Olen told USA TODAY Sports Tuesday afternoon by phone. "It’s a great place to play college basketball, up there with the best home environments anywhere in the country and we believe in what this place can be.
"We think New Mexico basketball is a national brand, we want to be relevant on that stage and Hudson helps us do that."
With three years’ eligibility remaining, Mayes hasn’t given his New Mexico decision a moment of doubt — even as teams pressed for a final opportunity to woo the versatile combo guard who led San Diego with 5.7 rebounds per game.
“I turned down several offers from teams, at-large (NCAA) tournament teams that I kind of just decided to go with my gut,” Mayes said. “I believe next year New Mexico can be an NCAA Tournament team.”
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The NBA Play-In Tournament continues tonight with the first Western Conference matchup, which will determine the No. 7 seed.
The Portland Trail Blazers (42-40) are hoping to end a five-year playoff drought with a win tonight against the Phoenix Suns (45-37). The last time the Trail Blazers appeared in the playoffs was 2021, while the team’s last playoff series win came in 2019.
Phoenix won two of three games against Portland in the regular season, but Portland won the most recent matchup on February 22.
Trail Blazers vs. Suns: what to know
What: NBA Play-In Tournament
When: April 14, 10 p.m. ET
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center (Phoenix, Arizona)
Streaming: Prime Video (try it free)
Both teams in tonight’s Play-In game will have a chance to continue on in the playoffs; the winner will advance directly into the playoff bracket as the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed (to face the Spurs in the first round), while the loser will face off with either the Clippers or Warriors on Friday to determine the No. 8 seed.
Trail Blazers vs. Suns start time:
Tonight’s (April 14) Trail Blazers vs. Suns game tips off at 10:00 p.m. ET.
How to watch Trail Blazers vs. Suns for free:
The NBA Play-In Tournament, including tonight’s Trail Blazers vs. Suns matchup, is streaming exclusively on Prime Video, so you’ll need an Amazon Prime subscription to watch the game.
If you aren’t a Prime Video subscriber yet, you can get started with a 30-day Amazon Prime free trial, including Prime perks like the Prime Video streaming service, free two-day shipping, exclusive deals, and more. After the free trial, Amazon Prime costs $14.99/month or $139/year.
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All 18- to 24-year-olds, regardless of student status, are eligible for a discounted Prime for Young Adults membership as well, with age verification. After a six-month free trial, you’ll pay 50% off the standard Prime monthly price of $14.99/month — just $7.49/month — for up to six yearsand get all the perks.
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
After reports surfaced on Monday, April 13 that Los Angeles Lakers stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are inching closer to their returns from injuries, head coach JJ Redick made it clear on Tuesday, April 14 that there will be no further updates in the near future.
"Look, they're out indefinitely," Redick told reporters during his media availability at Tuesday's practice. "I'm not gonna have an update for you this week. They're out indefinitely."
NBA insider Marc Stein confirmed an earlier report that Doncic is scheduled to return to the Lakers on Friday and will be re-evaluated after undergoing multiple injection procedures in Spain in hopes of accelerating his recovery from a grade 2 left hamstring strain.
Reaves, meanwhile, has been rehabbing a grade 2 left oblique muscle strain in Los Angeles. Both Reaves and Doncic sustained their injuries during a blowout loss in Oklahoma City on April 2 and missed the rest of the regular season and will likely be out through at least the first round of the playoffs, where the No. 4-seeded Lakers will take on the No. 5 seed Houston Rockets.
While they're considered out indefinitely, both injuries usually carry a standard recovery window of about four-to-six weeks, which would sideline Doncic and Reaves through the first week of May. It's currently unclear how effective the treatment Doncic got in Spain actually was or if it impacted his timeline at all, and it most likely won't be known until after his re-evaluation at the end of the week.
What is a grade 2 hamstring strain?
A Grade 2 hamstring strain is a “moderate injury that is typically a partial tear in the muscle; patients are likely to limp when walking and will have occasional twinges of pain during activity,” according to Mercy Health.
The injury could take close to a month to heal, but “returning to sports before the injury is fully healed can cause more severe injuries.”
What is a grade 2 oblique strain?
A grade 2 oblique strain is another moderate strain in which "one of the abdominal muscles (internal or external oblique muscles) becomes frayed, torn or detached, often from the lower four ribs," according to Performance Place. The injury makes it painful for someone to breathe, cough and laugh and is common among baseball players and golfers.
