Category: NBA

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The red-hot Houston Rockets welcome the reeling Utah Jazz to the Toyota Center tonight, with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

My Jazz vs. Rockets predictions are eyeing Kevin Durant to cook a struggling Utah defense.

Read more in my NBA picks for Friday, April 3.

Jazz vs Rockets prediction

Jazz vs Rockets best bet: Kevin Durant Over 23.5 points (-120)

Kevin Durant has been brilliant for the playoff-bound Houston Rockets in Year 1. He's averaging 25.8 PPG, which ranks 10th in the Association. KD is a walking bucket, and he's one of the most consistent scorers around, even at 37 years of age.

The future Hall of Famer is averaging 25 PPG this season against the Jazz across three meetings, and the Utah Jazz — sitting at 21-56 and 29th in defensive rating — is the perfect matchup. Durant is also thriving lately, cashing the Over in points in six of his last eight.

He's hit the Over in three of his previous four contests at home, where Durant is averaging 24.2 PPG. The Jazz are considered an easy matchup for opposing small forwards, allowing 26 points per night to the position.

Houston enters tonight as a 92.5% favorite, looking to extend their win streak to five games. Durant should ball out tonight against this Jazz stop unit.

Jazz vs Rockets same-game parlay

Alperen Sengun has been a brilliant playmaker for the Rockets this season, averaging 6.2 assists per game. The big man has cashed the Over in dimes in three of his last four contests.

Sengun has cooked the Jazz this season as a facilitator. Across three matchups, he’s averaging 9.3 dimes.

The Rockets have won two of the last three against Utah in 2025-26, and they cashed the Over in both of those victories. The Jazz are allowing a league-worst 125.4 PPG this season.

While Houston doesn’t typically score a ton of points, they’re up against a team that struggles immensely to contain their opponents offensively. Lock in the Over.

Jazz vs Rockets SGP

• Kevin Durant Over 23.5 points
• Alperen Sengun Over 6.5 assists
• Rockets Over 124.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Reed Thin Defense!

Reed Sheppard has been scorching hot from deep lately. The guard was 9-for-14 against the Bucks, and he was also 4-for-7 from three-point range on Tuesday against the Knicks.

Amen Thompson is averaging 5.3 dimes this season and 5.0 assists against Utah. He’s cashed the Over in back-to-back games, and the Jazz are allowing 5.6 dimes per night to opposing shooting guards.

Jazz vs Rockets SGP

• Alperen Sengun Over 6.5 assists
• Rockets Over 124.5 points
• Reed Sheppard Over 3.5 threes
• Amen Thompson Over 5.5 assists

Jazz vs Rockets odds

• Spread: Jazz +17 | Rockets -17
• Moneyline: Jazz +979 | Rockets -1800
• Over/Under: Over 228.5 | Under 228.5

Jazz vs Rockets betting trend to know

The Houston Rockets have hit the 2Q Moneyline in 17 of their last 24 games (+10.00 Units / 24% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Jazz vs. Rockets.

How to watch Jazz vs Rockets

Jazz vs Rockets latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The Charlotte Hornets are the standout pick for “playoff sleeper”, and they can improve their chances of sneaking into the Top 6 against the Indiana Pacers tonight.

Charlotte has put together a 7-3 run in its last 10 games, just as other Eastern Conference foes are fading, and my Pacers vs. Hornets predictions expect LaMelo Ball to cook up another big stat line here.

Get the lowdown on this April 3 clash with my free NBA picks, including the impact of Indiana’s lengthy injury report.

Pacers vs Hornets prediction

Pacers vs Hornets best bet: LaMelo Ball Over 20.5 points (-102)

Ever the polarizing player, LaMelo Ball has found the right balance of scoring and playmaking in what has quickly turned into a breakthrough season for the Charlotte Hornets.

As a result, the Hornets have reeled off win after win, and I like the LaMelo points prop tonight against an Indiana Pacers squad missing Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith.

Ball made seven of his 12 shots in his previous meeting with the Pacers, and he’s reached the 20-point mark in six of his last nine contests, while being flanked by Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.

Answering any remaining questions about whether he makes winning decisions, LaMelo has dialed back a few of his wilder field goal attempts – and he shot a steady 36% from downtown in March.

But this prop pick is still a volume play, with Ball jacking up 16+ shots in 11 of his last 16 games, and he’s always a candidate to pile up 20+.

There are some creaking gaps in the Indiana defense, too. The Pacers are giving up 120.7 PPG, fifth-most in the league, and Ball has the size to shoot over any potential backcourt defender.

With Charlotte cruising to a pair of blowouts in its past two outings, Ball shifted into playmaking mode. But I’m counting on more scoring here, particularly for a Hornets squad that’s on the second night of a back-to-back set.

Pacers vs Hornets same-game parlay

All the parts just seem to fit for the Hornets – including both Ball’s ability to get tough buckets and Moussa Diabate’s nonstop effort on the glass. I’m building this SGP around the Charlotte duo, with Diabate racking up 10+ rebounds in five of his past seven contests.

The Pacers are just 7-31 SU on the road this season, so there’s no obvious path to an upset. Given that the Hornets landed a 133-109 win in Indiana in late February, a home victory is on the cards here.

Pacers vs Hornets SGP

• LaMelo Ball Over 20.5 points
• Moussa Diabate Over 9.5 rebounds
• Hornets moneyline

Our "from downtown" SGP: The Diabate Experience!

The Pacers are set to be the latest team to get the full Diabate experience. Rebounding is his calling card, but he’s refining his offense – to the tune of 10+ points in four of his last seven matchups – and he averaged a block per game in March.

With Diabate leading the charge defensively for Charlotte, the Under is 48-29 this year for the hosts.

Pacers vs Hornets SGP

• Moussa Diabate Over 9.5 rebounds
• Moussa Diabate Over 7.5 points
• Moussa Diabate Over 0.5 blocks
• Under 235.5

Pacers vs Hornets odds

• Spread: Pacers +15.5 | Hornets -15.5
• Moneyline: Pacers +795 | Hornets -1300
• Over/Under: Over 232 | Under 232

Pacers vs Hornets betting trend to know

The Under is 7-3 in the Hornets’ last 10 contests. Find more NBA betting trends for Pacers vs. Hornets.

How to watch Pacers vs Hornets

Pacers vs Hornets latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

In the aftermath of their worst loss of the season, few Lakers players or coaches had spoken to Luka Doncic after he limped off the court in the third quarter Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Austin Reaves didn’t know the extent of Doncic’s hamstring injury, but he knew how the Lakers superstar would approach the latest hurdle in this winding season.

“He's a competitor,” Reaves said of Doncic, “so he'll do all he can do to put himself in a position to come back when he can.”

Doncic will undergo an MRI on Friday on the left hamstring injury he suffered in a 43-point loss to the Thunder. He already missed four games before the All-Star break with the same injury, but the Lakers withheld expectations on his status for the final five regular-season games.

After Sunday’s game in Dallas, the Lakers face the Thunder at home Tuesday, play consecutive games at Golden State on Thursday and against Phoenix at home Friday and finish the regular season Sunday against Utah.

Read more:Lakers star Luka Doncic suffers hamstring injury in reality-check loss to Thunder

Doncic’s injury left the Lakers backcourt extra shorthanded Thursday as Marcus Smart missed his sixth consecutive game Thursday. The veteran guard could return against Dallas, coach JJ Redick said. He has been day-to-day since injuring his right ankle against Orlando on March 21.

If Smart is unable to return in Doncic’s absence, the Lakers could shift even more ball-handling responsibility to Reaves and LeBron James while relying on Bronny James as an additional guard off the bench. The 21-year-old James has played in five consecutive games, tying his longest stretch of his second pro season.

The Lakers (50-27) are already guaranteed a top-six seed in the Western Conference, but are still jostling for seeding. They have a one-game lead for the No. 3 seed over No. 4 Denver, which is on a seven-game winning streak.

Approaching the end of the regular season, the Lakers looked at Thursday’s game against the defending NBA champions as a test, forward Jake LaRavia said. They were 15-2 in March with 13 wins in their last 14 games. The Lakers were playing like an evolved form of the team that lost by 29 to the Thunder in Oklahoma City in November.

Read more:After a sizzling March, Lakers face a big playoff test against equally hot Oklahoma City

But like that first rout, Thursday’s featured a flurry of Lakers turnovers, suffocating Oklahoma City ball pressure and an efficient masterclass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“This close to the end of the season, we would've wanted it not to go that way,” said LaRavia, who had six points and a team-high eight rebounds Thursday. “It was pretty much the same story, I feel like, the first time we played here this year.”

The Lakers built much of their March success on successful revenge performances. They bounced back after previous losses to the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and the Orlando Magic. They lost by seven to the Nuggets on March 5 then responded with nine consecutive wins, their longest winning streak of the season, including an overtime thriller against Denver that clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker that could factor into the tight standings.

Redick praised his team’s “playoff mentality” during the run. It was also when the team was largely its healthiest.

Doncic had played all but one game since the All-Star break. Reaves, who missed six weeks with a calf injury this season, has started in 22 consecutive games. When James returned from an elbow injury, the star trio found a clear hierarchy that lifted the team to new heights.

Read more:Luka Doncic matches Michael Jordan for the most magical March in NBA history

Doncic, who became just the 10th player in NBA history to score 600 points in a single month, is the “head of the snake,” said James, who is averaging just 12.3 shots in the last 12 games but is shooting 54.4% from the field. Doncic’s brilliant March unified the team behind his most valuable player push, his thrilling shot-making and even his smiling dunk against Washington.

With the team exuding the type of joy that often characterizes Doncic’s game, James believes the Lakers can maintain their momentum despite Doncic’s uncertain status and a deflating loss.

“Nothing is rattled,” James said. “It's one game, it's part of the NBA season, it's the defending champions. We get it. We understand.”

Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

There’s always that one tricky team all the contenders want to avoid in the playoffs. And right now, the Atlanta Hawks are that team in the East.

Atlanta has bullied its way up the Eastern Conference standings with an 18-3 record since the All-Star break, scoring recent wins over heavyweights like Boston and Detroit. 

The Hawks take a step back in competition tonight, traveling to the Big Apple as 16.5-point road favorites against the Brooklyn Nets. But while the oddsmakers expect an easy win for Atlanta, this team really has no chill.

Our Hawks vs. Nets predictions like how things shake out for Atlanta’s lineup, especially big man Onyeka Okongwu.

My NBA picks take his points prop tonight.

Hawks vs Nets prediction

Hawks vs Nets best bet: Onyeka Okongwu Over 13.5 Points (-120)

Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu is logging a lot of minutes in recent games after sharing shifts with fellow big Jock Landale most of the season.

Landale has been in and out of the Hawks' lineup and will not be on the court against the Brooklyn Nets tonight after injuring his ankle in a blowout win over Orlando on Wednesday. That has Okongwu putting in work against a terrible Nets interior.

While Okongwu can do damage in the key, he’s not just a bruiser. The Southern Cal product has range from outside and is shooting the ball well from deep, knocking down 10 of 22 attempts from beyond the arc the past four games.

Brooklyn is getting roughed up from inside and out. The Nets have pretty much given up defending 3-pointers, sitting dead last in opponent success from distance.

Brooklyn also allows the sixth most points in the paint, and its frontcourt limps into Friday with starters Nic Claxton and Noah Clowney dealing with several issues, including illness.

Okongwu has scored 16 and 20 points in the past two games, and with his minutes peaking with Landale out, player projections call for between 14 and 16 points versus Brooklyn tonight.

My number comes out to 14.8 points with respect to a much higher ceiling.

Hawks vs Nets same-game parlay

The Hawks just roasted the Magic by 29 points and need to keep the wins coming as they chase Cleveland for the No. 4 seed in the East. Brooklyn, on the other hand, only has a few more games to drop to last in the league and a better shot at the No. 1 overall pick.

Around the Covers office, there are days known as “Jonathan Kuminga games”. This could be one of them. The Hawks are trying to get their sixth man on track ahead of the playoffs, and with a sizable spread, the bench will see extra floor time.

Kuminga can explode for big nights when he wants, and the Nets don’t offer much pushback.

Hawks vs Nets SGP

• Atlanta Hawks -16.5
• Onyeka Okongwu Over 13.5 points
• Jonathan Kuminga Over 11.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Oh Wow, Onyeka!

Onyeka Okongwu makes the most of his extra minutes against a bad Brooklyn frontcourt. Not only is he projected to top his scoring prop, but models call for as many as 11 rebounds and three assists. He hung a similar stat line against Boston two games ago.

Hawks vs Nets SGP

• Hawks -16.5
• Onyeka Okongwu Over 13.5 points
• Onyeka Okongwu Over 7.5 rebounds
• Onyeka Okongwu Over 2.5 assists

Hawks vs Nets odds

• Spread: Hawks -16.5 | Nets +16.5
• Moneyline: Hawks -1700 | Nets +950
• Over/Under: Over 225.5 | Under 225.5

Hawks vs Nets betting trend to know

The Nets do nothing with all those points being handed over by oddsmakers. Brooklyn is 12-22-1 ATS as a double-digit underdog, including going 4-10 ATS when catching +10 or more at home. Find more NBA betting trends for Hawks vs. Nets.

How to watch Hawks vs Nets

Hawks vs Nets latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

If you thought the rides at Disney World made you queasy, try getting on the Orlando Magic’s roller coaster.

Orlando’s up-and-down play in the home stretch of the NBA schedule has the team’s postseason plans in peril.
 
The Magic were riding high to begin March, climbing to a Top-6 seed, but suddenly dropped six straight outings to fall back in the Play-In. Orlando has split its last four outings and desperately needs direction as it visits the Dallas Mavericks tonight.

Our Magic vs. Mavericks predictions call for that consistency to come from do-it-all guard Desmond Bane. My NBA picks like Bane stuff the stat sheet on Friday, April 3.

Magic vs Mavericks prediction

Magic vs Mavericks best bet: Desmond Bane Over 8.5 rebounds + assists (+102)

Desmond Bane’s biggest strength is his versatility. The stocky 6-foot-6 shooting guard can be whatever the Orlando Magic need him to be.

Sometimes that’s a scorer. Other times, that’s a playmaker. And some games, Orlando needs Bane to battle on the boards. The Magic need a little bit of everything against the Dallas Mavericks tonight.

I’m focusing on Bane’s passing and rebounding with his combo prop set at 8.5. 

He’s coming off a quiet game against a very good Atlanta defense in which he finished with just two rebounds and two assists. That 29-point blowout loss left him to log just 30 minutes, and Orlando’s rotations were a work in progress with Franz Wagner playing his first game since February 11.

Heading into that game, Bane had topped his combo prop in five of the previous seven. He’ll face a softer challenge from the Mavericks, who are playing out the home stretch at the bottom of the Western Conference.

Dallas sits 24th in defensive rating since the All-Star break and was busted open like a piñata in March, giving up almost 123 points per game. The Mavericks watch opponents rack up the fourth-most assists (28.3) and wrangle the fifth-most rebounds (55) per game.

Bane and the Magic beat Dallas 115-114 at home on March 5, and he finished with eight rebounds and three assists (along with 14 points) in 38 minutes of action. Tonight’s projections have his assists between 4.4 and 5.0, while his rebounding forecast bounces between 4.5 and 5.4.

Magic vs Mavericks same-game parlay

Dallas has only one win in its last seven games and lacks the Magic's motivation, as they try to improve their spot in the Eastern Conference pecking order. Orlando always has troubles in Texas, but game models have them walking out with the “W”.

Paolo Banchero pulled the plug on a bad night versus Atlanta, leaving with only 26 minutes in floor time and a dismal 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting. Game projections call for a bounce-back performance at 24+ points.

Magic vs Mavericks SGP

• Magic moneyline
• Desmond Bane rebounds + assists Over 8.5
• Paolo Banchero Over 23.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: The Bane of Dallas' existence

The Mavericks were rolled by margins of 24 and 30 points in their last two games. Dallas has put up 100, 99, and 94 points in the past three outings, staying below the total in each of those contests. Bane’s player forecasts call for as many as five assists and five rebounds.

Magic vs Mavericks SGP

• Magic -6.5
• Under 238.5
• Desmond Bane Over 4.5 assists
• Desmond Bane Over 4.5 rebounds

Magic vs Mavericks odds

• Spread: Magic -6.5 (-110) | Mavericks +6.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Magic -270 | Mavericks +220
• Over/Under: Over 238.5 (-110) | Under 238.5 (-110)

Magic vs Mavericks betting trend to know

Dallas is just 7-12 ATS in its last 19 games, including 2-6 ATS at home in that stretch. Find more NBA betting trends for Magic vs. Mavericks.

How to watch Magic vs Mavericks

Magic vs Mavericks latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The results from Tim Bontemps’ final 2025-26 NBA MVP straw poll over at ESPN are in, and though the race between Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama appears to be as close as it ever has been, Gilgeous-Alexander actually won it in what looks like a walk. SGA took nearly 90% of respondents’ (who are likely MVP voters themselves) first-place votes and appears set to nab his second straight MVP award.

You may look at the 88-8 disparity in first-place votes between those two and think, “What a blowout — the voters think he’s that much better than Wemby? Surely, it’s more of a 60-40 or 55-45 kind of race this year.”

It’s important to read the context as well as the results, though, both in the two-man race at the top of the MVP balloting and in the two-man race that has become the Rookie of the Year vote among media members this year. Because we have a similar result in Bomtemps’ Rookie of the Year straw poll, and it’s not one that many Dallas Mavericks fans are going to be happy with.

Kon Knueppel won the Rookie of the Year ESPN straw poll among the 100 media members asked who they have at the top of their Rookie of the Year ballot, getting 80 of the 100 possible first-place votes to Cooper Flagg’s 20. But that does not mean that the disparity is that wide, so cool your jets if they’re firing loud.

In a two-man race, if all 100 voters think it’s a close race, but Gilgeous-Alexander is just slightly ahead of Wembanyama at this point, and Knueppel is just slightly ahead of Flagg at this point, both of those two are going to win the poll, 100-0.

“When this is a binary choice, it doesn’t matter if you think it’s 60-40 for one guy,” Bontemps said on Friday morning’s episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, where he and fellow ESPN analysts Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon discussed the straw poll results. “If you think it’s 60-40 for one guy, and the majority thinks it’s 60-40 for one guy, the voting is not going to be 60-40. It’s going to be like 80-20, which is about where this is. It’s not like a ranked-choice scale where you can get percentage points for being close. You’re either first, or you’re second. You either win or you lose, and all fans look at it this way.”

Kon Knueppel is leading the entire NBA in 3-pointers made this season with 261 entering play on Friday. He’s shooting better than 43% from distance this year, something we haven’t seen from a rookie since Stephen Curry. His Charlotte Hornets are suddenly relevant, which is an unexpected point in his favor this year. Team relevance usually doesn’t play a role in Rookie of the Year voting, but the Hornets’ case this year is unique. The fact that Knueppel was on an absolute heater during the stretch of games that Flagg missed in February with a sprained foot, and Flagg’s slow start out of the gate after coming back from that injury also works against Flagg in the poll results.

Flagg has been great, and in 95 out of 100 years, his rookie stat line of 20.3 points (better than Knueppel), 6.6 rebounds (more than Knueppel) and 4.5 assists (more than Knueppel) would be good enough to win Rookie of the Year. Since the NBA-ABA merger, he’s just the fourth rookie to average more than 20 points, more than six rebounds and more than four assists per game as a rookie, after Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Luka Dončic all did it in their first years. The one knock on Flagg’s game is that he hasn’t been a good jump-shooter across his rookie campaign. He’s shooting just 27.8% from 3-point range this year and

“For [Flagg] not to be Rookie of the Year was going to require something pretty historic was going to have to happen,” Bomtemps said on Hoop Collective. “And, not only has Knueppel set the 3-point record for a rookie in the NBA, he’s currently leading all players in the NBA in [3-pointers made], he’s shooting 43% from 3-point range on crazy high volume. And on top of that he’s been the driving force, if not one of the driving forces, on the remarkable turnaround job in Charlotte.”

He called the Rookie of the Year straw poll result “pretty expected” under those circumstances, though I don’t expect Mavs fans to agree with them. It should be noted, though, that Windhorst was one of Flagg’s 20 first-place votes in the straw poll.

“It’s a perfectly defensible vote if you want to vote for him,” Bontemps said on the podcast. “He’s having an awesome season.”

I’m fascinated by limitations. I don’t think I’m alone in this, but in my case, the fascination borders on morbidity. Even when the ceiling on something is predictably low, I’m curious as to how precisely low that is.

NFTs seemed like such obvious snake oil (especially the whole ‘Bored Ape’ phenomenon), but I couldn’t stop tracking the ascent before the eventual downfall. Most of us knew it was coming, but I just had to know how astronomically overvalued they would become.

I had been a bit young to fully appreciate how farcical the value of beanie babies were in the mid-to-late 90s, but I couldn’t miss out on part deux, and I was riveted.

There was an almost fatal optimism around it that was spellbinding. It became a sort of litmus test for those you had previously considered reasonable and those who reeked of artifice. Immunity was unpredictable. Not because it exposed the unintelligent, but because it exposed what even the intelligent were not exempt from: the weaponization of hope.

I didn’t need the dulcet tones of Morgan Freeman’s voice to remind me that hope was a dangerous thing. I was living that reality as a Spurs fan.

Clinging to every peripheral acquisition. Holding my breath if the team strung two or more wins together in a row. Panning my way through game replays and box scores in search of the faintest glimmer.

I watched Keldon Johnson pile up rebounds and stumble his way into an unforeseeably hot streak from long distance. I fantasized that he could be a sharpshooting Charles Barkley-lite, never minding that those rebound numbers had been the result of an otherwise lone effort on the boards, or that his shooting form roughly resembled that of a medieval trebuchet.

I told myself that Dejounte Murray and DeMar DeRozan’s mid-range games could easily be extended beyond the arc, and that Chip Engelland would work his magic, ignoring that even under his tutelage, Tony Parker had never really managed to become an outside threat.

Lord help me, I even let myself think that maybe Luka Samanic was right, and that something dimly resembling Kevin Durant could be looming somewhere off in his future. I grasped at every straw, I crawled down every rabbit hole, I tuned into every fluctuation.

And you know what? I was wrong. I was categorically, unquestionably, embarrassingly wrong.

But that’s the thing. No one is immune to the necessity of hope in one part of their lives or another. I was experiencing marital troubles. I was strained by a regime change at work. I was diagnosed with a degenerative condition just two weeks before my daughter was born, in the midst of a country-wide lockdown.

I needed to believe that something unreasonable was possible, even when the rest of my brain knew better. If there’s one thing you can say for the truly mad, it’s that they’re rarely suffering from a crisis of faith.

I find it to be supremely interesting that what the rest of us designate as insanity is often merely a belief in that which the collective agrees is preposterous. It makes me wonder how flimsy that agreement really is.

Because, honestly, are there any of us who do not believe in at least one vaguely absurd thing?

Sure, there’s a difference between believing that more than half the population has been replaced by beings who have assumed their identities and believing that Lonnie Walker IV could blossom into some variation of Vince Carter if he could just find the right confidence-restoring mantra, but I’m starting to surmise that it’s not as large a gap as one might think.

I suspect it (largely) has more to do with how much a belief consumes the rest of your life rather than the belief itself. After all, I have a Jock Landale t-shirt and no one’s come to put me away, yet.

The problem is that once you reach a place where you’re capable of recognizing the delusion for what it is, it can make you a little gun-shy regarding anything that threatens to seduce you in a similar fashion.

You recognize the sensation, and then connect it to previous hallucinations in relation to the potential of one Malaki Branham, and it kind of takes you out of it to the point of wielding your crosses and your holy water whilst bidding the devil begone.

That’s been my prevailing instinct all year.

The Spurs are on a double-digit win-streak? Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

They keep beating the reigning NBA champions? I mean, it is just the regular season after all.

They go undefeated for the month of February? It was only 11 games.

They scored 110+ points in every game? Defense in the NBA isn’t what it used to be.

Hell, I even went as far as to declare the Spurs just shy of championship caliber two weeks into the very same month. And while the Spurs have certainly evolved into something different in the time that has passed, it’s not hard to see why I felt that way. The inconsistency was prevalent. The youth was without question.

But that’s the thing about rationality, it’s not a zero-sum game. Sometimes in our desire to be reasonable, we tilt too far in the wrong direction. We make a deity out of philosophy, and in our desire for the world to be coherent, we place our hope in something equally absurd.

According to the myth, the Pythagoreans, cultic in their belief in a rational universe, threw their compatriot Hippasus into the depths of the sea for bringing to light the irrationality of the square root of 2.

My takeaway from that story has always been that there’s no definitive mode of thought that can insulate you from the unpredictability of the cosmos.

I saw more people attribute the arrival of Victor Wembanyama to fate and/or the power of positive thinking than to mathematical chance. The numbers were just not as optimistic.

Sometimes you just have to place your hope in something, even within the framework of other faiths and creeds. Sometimes you just have to believe.

The difference is that this team isn’t fool’s gold. I had started thinking that long before they cut down the-nephew-that-must-not-be-name and the hungry Los Angeles Clippers without the aid of their gargantuan leader.

59 wins. The Spurs are going to win 60+ games. They’ve just tallied their 2^nd 11 game win streak of the season, and looked supremely unbothered in the process of knocking down a team that’s played them close and hard all season.

De’Aaron Fox reminded fans that the jet-boosters attached to his legs are still in their prime, picking his spots with the selectivity and sleight-of-hand of a longtime carnival worker who knows all the tricks of the trade.

Stephon Castle continued to make teams pay for sagging off of him at the arc, upping his three-point percentage to 43% over the last 10 games, and navigating crowded space like the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid belt.

Luke Kornet did his best Wemby impression in protecting the paint, and Dylan Harper threaded passes with the delicacy of a jeweler crafting a Faberge egg and an audacity that opened up lanes so wide that it almost felt like the Clippers were begging him to start a layup line.

Everyone made their contribution. Nobody seemed to break a sweat. They’ve spent most of the season taking every team’s best shot, and in doing so have become a team for whom limitation exists at the boundary of what they can imagine.

The Spurs have arrived in a manner that is much more suggestive of the iPhone than a blockchain full of cartoon monkeys. And sure, there are gonna be people who sneer at them and cling to their Blackberry.

I have empathy for them, though. They have to hope their teams will remain relevant. That the tide is still high. That they’re not beating on against the current, being borne ceaselessly into the past. I’ve been on the other side of it, and I can’t begrudge them their fantasies.

Hope is the garment of every naked emperor, and we all take turns playing at the role.

They’re welcome to borrow my Jock Landale t-shirt, though. I hear it’s going up in value.

Takeaways:

• I’ve been pretty vocal about this for most of the season, but if Stephon Castle can keep hitting threes the way he has been, Dylan Harper is the most natural fit for running the point. No player on the roster getting real minutes has been more turnover efficient than Harper, even as his touches increase. He converts passes that would make Manu blush. He finishes inside with an ease that would put rookie Tony Parker to shame. He can hit shots from the outside, and he sticks to guards and wings alike, forming a natural pairing with Castle in the back-court (who is himself capable of thwarting the forwards that Harper cannot handle). It’s really a shame that he’s not going to win ROY, because he definitely would have if he’d swapped draft years with Castle. He’s just that good. Whatever the case, San Antonio’s back-court is set up to be oppressive both now and in the future. I can barely contain myself thinking about what they’ll be capable of next season.
• I did a bit of a deep dive data-wise yesterday afternoon, and discovered that Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie have the highest net ratings for low usage players in the league. They are the definition of efficiency on both ends, and they helped keep a healthy Kawhi Leonard in check last night, while adding their usual long-distance contributions. It’s no coincidence that the Spurs have led the league in offensive rating pretty much from the moment they both made their way into the starting lineup together. Wemby might be the engine that runs this train, but they’re the ones diligently throwing coal on the fire, and they’re keeping it hot!
• Also, boy is this team different when they can lean on Luke Kornet. No offense to Mason Plumlee (who’s been a damn sight better in relief than Bismack Biyombo), but Kornet’s health is paramount to this team making it through the Western gauntlet in the postseason. He’s been a little banged up as of late, so I’d love to see the Spurs rest him a bit before the close of the season. Against most teams, as long as Wemby’s playing, they can get away with playing him less. Admittedly, the Clippers’ front-court squad is far from fearsome, but keeping them from getting any easy points was probably the difference in playing out a very stressful 4th quarter, and walking away with a double-digit margin of victory. He’s been one of the best signings in the NBA this offseason, I’d daresay.

Playing You Out – The Theme Song of the Evening:

The Logical Song by Supertramp

Tonight marks the Jazz’s preparation for their closing performance in the ceremony. They went through the depths of hell for the last four years, they made their bid for Ace Bailey, they got their win-now trade piece, and now we must bid adieu to what was the strangest Jazz season in the last decade.

Funnily enough, the Rockets clinched their second consecutive Playoff birth after Phoenix’s blowout loss against Charlotte. Unsurprisingly, they built this team on the backbone of the NBA Draft Lottery by throwing out the most putrid lineups imaginable from 2021-2023; the same precedent that Adam Silver wants to stop so that a first-round exit Playoff team can achieve a top-4 pick, for some reason.

Today’s Jazz injury report will feature all your favorite regulars, including Blake Hinson, who has been bestowed the highest honor one can receive for being capable of hitting three triples in a row. Keyonte George, Isaiah Collier, Elijah Harkless (hamstring triplets?!), JJJ, Markkanen, Kessler, and Nurkic continue their comfortable ride on the Jazz bench during the final stretch.

The @utahjazz injury report

OUT – Elijah Harkless (hamstring)
OUT – Isaiah Collier (hamstring)
OUT – Keyonte George (hamstring)
OUT – Blake Hinson (2-way)
OUT – Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee)
OUT – Walker Kessler (shoulder)
OUT – Lauri Markkanen (hip)
OUT – Jusuf Nurkic (nose)

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) April 2, 2026

Rockets are still all business despite their latest Playoff birth, featuring only their true injured players of Fred VanVleet (torn ACL) and Steven Adams (ankle surgery). That’s because they’re only 1.5 games back of catching up to 4th-seeded Denver and taking home-court advantage into the first round.

Catching up to the Jazz’s standings, on the other hand, Sacramento’s interesting 123-115 win over the Raptors only puts the Jazz 1 game ahead of them in the standings. Yes, DeMar DeRozan just played 35 minutes in a meaningless April game. Utah can’t afford any chances; they intend to keep the ball rolling and to continue throwing out a combination of lineups that only sort of resemble the game of basketball. That could be the difference between draft lottery immunity and an 0.6% chance of giving up their pick to OKC.

I would bet my buck that Ace Bailey is determined to finish this season strong. The media had a chance to propel Ace Bailey to All-Rookie 1st Team honors, and may have completely sabotaged that by giving Western Conference Rookie of the Month to…Maxime Raynaud?

Ace Bailey's March:

✅ More PPG than Raynaud
✅ More APG than Raynaud
✅ More BPG than Raynaud
✅ Higher Offensive Rating
✅ Higher Defensive Rating
✅ Higher Net Rating

Western Conference Rookie of the Month:
Maxime Raynaud.

Are we serious? 😐 pic.twitter.com/AmWXDdXPOQ

— SleeperJazz (@SleeperJazz) April 2, 2026

Don’t get me wrong Kings fans, I, too, remember when Kessler was the only promising young piece on my team. But it feels a little mundane not to reward Ace Bailey after having statistically one of the greatest months one could have as a teenager.

But the Jazz do, in fact, have more young promising pieces that they can barely even keep up with.

Kyle Filipowski has been juggling between the 4 and the 5 spot, playing out of position 90% of the time while still managing to average 15.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game since the All-Star Break. Utah’s gravest mistake may be choosing to unleash Sensabaugh. Since returning to the starting lineup on March 9, Ice Brice has scored over 20 points in 8 of 10 games. During this period, he is averaging 25.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 three-pointers made, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting an efficient 53.7% from the field and 47.4% from three-point range.

Point in case, this is not a game for the Rockets to slack off, or the Jazz to…work hard, I guess. Utah can do the whole charade — maybe a 21-3 run sprinkled in there, a Svi Mykhailiuk sudden heat-check, perhaps even a Kennedy Chandler hustle montage. All that matters is that Utah comes in to collect that 57th loss, no matter how badly some Twitter loser tries to convince you that it’s ‘ruining’ the NBA product. Sometimes, as Neil Armstrong would say, you need to land the eagle.

How to watch:

Who: Utah Jazz (21-56) at Houston Rockets (47-29)

When: April 3rd, 6:00PM Mountain Time

Where: Toyota Center, Houston

Channel: Peacock, Jazz+, KJZZ

Radio: 97.5/1280 The Zone

There are those of you who might say that the Dallas Mavericks are just plain bad, and that’s why they’re losing. And good for them, because working hard every night to try your best to win has a multitude of underrated payoffs, which will benefit both the players and the team down the line. 

The Dallas Mavericks have put up a real fight in almost every game. Sure, it gets hard when you’re losing or keep losing, but head coach Jason Kidd keeps getting the team to go out there and work hard every night. That’s how he operates, and that’s a really good thing for the team.

What it does, is basically eliminating the issue of potentially creating bad habits during a tanking season, and that’s important because it is in the struggle that we find our identity and strength for adversity in the future. 

Not in manipulation, pretense and stat-padding. No one ever reached greatness – or an NBA championship – by cutting corners. And that is what tanking is.

We cannot talk about this without acknowledging that tanking is offensive to sports as a whole. From the point of view of a European, it’s hard not to feel that the theatrics and manipulation around this whole thing is a sham. Losing in order to win is an inherent antithesis to the competitive nature of sports. 

Not only are we teaching kids and fans that manipulating is a criteria for success, we’re also teaching them – along with players – that not putting your best effort forward could prove beneficial. 

It’s all an artificial game of make believe. We pretend it’s normal and convince each other that rooting for a team to lose is a good thing. 

But trying to lose in a competitive environment is not normal, especially for the people involved. Players, who have been brought up to focus on one thing and one thing only – winning – now have to pretend to be satisfied with being part of an organization that encourages not putting your best foot forward. 

Players who have been encouraged to have tunnel vision focus can lose their perspective. It takes a special athlete mentality to make it to the NBA, and for that to become misaligned can prove detrimental, set careers back and in the worst case ruin them. 

We call it bad habits, but it’s more than that. Players are not robots who you can just tell how to think, act and play. Do you think the best players ever become the greatest of all time by tanking? Do you think football players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Zlatan Ibrahimovic would ever be part of an organization who “had” to lose? 

No. And that’s why they’re among the best that ever played. They would not allow themselves to be distracted by the politics of tanking. By manipulating a system to get the biggest reward. They would want to play through adversity to prove that they are the best and deserve to be called the greatest. 

But since the rules still are in place, teams have to play along – but there are ways to do it more gracefully and with less of the negative effect to the players especially. And luckily, that’s exactly what we’re seeing from the Dallas Mavericks right now. 

Good habits can be formed while losing, character is shaped during adversity and all that. But it’s not until we take ourselves seriously, as fans, players, leaders and people in the world, that we can improve. Let’s not get blindsided and pretend tanking is a natural part of sports. It should be reformed, rethought and updated, because it provides nothing positive to sports, the NBA or basketball. 

But at least we have finally found something the Mavs are winning at: being the most ethical tankers around. 

Find more Beyond Basketball pieces here.

Following their inspired effort against the Rockets, the Milwaukee Bucks face the red-hot Boston Celtics tonight as they try to replicate that effort. As fans, that’s really all we can ask for at this point in the season. Play hard, play together, and let the chips fall where they may.

Where We’re At

Look, the Bucks have lost a bunch of games recently, but as I alluded to in the intro, that Houston game should be what the team aims to be going forward. Play with purpose and confidence as a unit, and you can be proud of your game, whatever the result is. We just saw career highs from Ousmane Dieng, Pete Nance, and the newly signed Cormac Ryan. Ryan, in particular, is a guy I’d like to see play 25-30 minutes per game from here on out; they need to determine whether the shooting is real, and they’re running out of time to do that.

With Jayson Tatum now back in the fold and getting more and more comfortable, the Celtics may just be the odds-on favorite to get out of the East and into the NBA Finals, which is crazy to say when you consider that this year was considered to be a “gap year” for them. As a Bucks fan, I hate to say it, but this Celtics organization just oozes competence at every level. For instance, they grab castaways from other teams and morph them into serviceable role players, such as Luka Garza and Neemias Queta. Obviously, they are extremely well-coached too. This could be a rough one for Milwaukee.

Injury Report

For the Bucks, Giannis (knee), Kevin Porter Jr. (knee), and Bobby Portis (wrist) are out. Gary Trent Jr. (hip) and Thanasis (calf) are questionable, while Ryan Rollins (hip flexor) and Jericho Sims (knee) are both probable. For the Celtics, Nikola Vucevic (finger) is out.

Player to Watch

Let’s go with Jayson Tatum. Tatum has shot ineffectively since returning (40.2%), but his minutes are ramping up, and by all accounts, his movement has been very encouraging as of late. Tonight should be a good chance for him to test some stuff out against lesser competition (sorry, Bucks), so he’ll be a good one to monitor.

How To Watch

Tune in at 7:00 p.m. CDT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.

---

---

What good is an advantage if you don’t use it?

Being fluid in Sanskrit is only so employable. Spending nine grand on an Alienware Area-51 Ultra 9 RTX gaming computer to play solitaire would be foolish. Having a playmaking center in the NBA is redundant if you’re not going to run a motion offense.

Come again?

That’s a slightly reductive way to frame the Udoka-era Houston Rockets. Alperen Sengun has had an impressive NBA career thus far, but he hasn’t accomplished enough to justify designing the entire offense in his image.

Yet, that’s not what’s being advocated for here, either.

Rockets need to find themselves

Much of this also boils down to who Amen Thompson is going to be.

If he’s the point guard, some of this is moot. If he’s a wing (which he should be), the Rockets are getting plus positional passing at the five as well as the two or three (or four at times). If Reed Sheppard is the long-term point guard, the Rockets are cooking with motion-offense gas. No matter who eventually replaces Kevin Durant, the Rockets have the passers to do something interesting on offense.

This year’s offense has been interesting, but in an entirely different way. It’s been interesting in the sense that it’s strikingly rudimentary and buoyed far too much by offensive rebounding. Chucking up any old shot because you’ve got a relatively high probability of getting another one does not make for sustainable offense.

Luckily, the Rockets seem to be figuring that out.

The Rockets are moving the ball

For the 2025-26 NBA season, the Rockets have a 59.4 Assist Percentage (AST%). That ranks 26th in the NBA.

Over their last ten games, they have a 67.9 AST%. That ranks 8th in the league. The results have been tangible. During that stretch, the Rockets’ 119.2 Offensive Rating is a meaningful upgrade over their season-long 116.8 mark.

Beyond the numbers, you can see the difference, right? (PS: I’m watching games again. I needed a sabbatical). The ball is just moving. The Rockets have been significantly more fun to watch.

It makes one wonder what the Rockets have been doing. Why would they struggle to hunt mismatches and score in isolation when, outside of the 37-year-old, they’re not a strong isolation team? Yes, Sengun is a great isolation scorer on the standards of a five, but the Rockets need to have a strong offense on the standards of an NBA team. Why hasn’t Udoka leaned into their strengths?

Unless…

The Rockets are finding their stride

Could this be a case of Organic Learning?

(Shout out, Drew. If you know, you know).

Could this have been Udoka’s master plan? Instill toughness and defensive effort in the team. Let them figure out the offense on their own. It’s a high feel roster, and they’ll come up with something eventually.

Alternatively, it could be an unintentional benefit. Udoka’s laissez-faire approach to offensive coaching may have been a gamble on Sengun and Thompson’s development in isolation. By letting the boys figure it out, they independently decided to play the way they play best.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. The Rockets will be lucky to win a playoff series this year. They’d shock the world by winning two. Beneficial long-term developments are what matter for now, and the Rockets’ sudden improvement in offensive approach has to carry over into 2026-27, barring a blockbuster trade.

Otherwise, they aren’t making the most of their advantages.

I’m not going to lie, I came into this game a bit disgruntled. First, I found out that Victor wouldn’t be playing in the team’s first contest against a competent opponent in some time. Second, the OKC-Lakers game had started, and it was already abundantly clear that the Spurs weren’t going to be gaining any ground in the standings via this game. Put simply, I found myself reflecting on the real possibility that San Antonio could lose against the Clippers, which – together with OKC’s win over the Lakers – would have just about slammed the door on any chance of the Spurs securing the #1 seed.

Thankfully, this iteration of the Silver and Black is exceptionally deep came to play last night despite their best player being out. As a result, San Antonio mostly cruised to yet another blowout victory. On top of that, they managed to produce a box score with a number of interesting gems:

• The Spurs failed to win several potentially critical battles in this game, as evidenced by their +6 turnover differential, +3 foul differential, and +0 offensive board margin. Since the start of 2012-2013, this is just the 46th time in 16,817 regular season games that a team has won by 19+ points while recording margins as bad or worse in all of these three areas.
• Largely due to the extra fouls and turnovers, San Antonio also faced deficits in FGA (-5) and FTA (-4). While these are not severe disadvantages, they certainly don’t tend to produce easy wins either.
• However, all of these deficiencies were swept away by the Spurs’ dominance in shooting efficiency, including FG%, 3P%, and FT% differentials of +10.4, +20.19, and +7.94 percentage points, respectively. 208 other regular season winners have met or surpassed all three of these differentials since the start of 2012-2013, and the average margin of victory in those games was nearly 29 points.
• The three-point battle in this game deserves some more attention. First, the total volume of threes attempted (58 across both teams) was quite low by modern standards. In fact, only 69 other regular season games have had a 3PA total at least that low in 2025-2026 (that’s about 6% of games played in the season to date). As you might expect, you don’t have to go too far back for this story to change dramatically. As recently as the 2017-2018 season, an absolute majority of regular season games had a 3PA total of no more than 58, and just a few years prior to that 58+ 3PA totals in individual games were relatively rare.
• The second interesting thing about the three-point battle is how comically bad Los Angeles was. In going 5-of-27 from distance, the Clippers allowed the Spurs to earn a +7 3PM margin on just 31 three-point attempts. Winning teams have achieved this combination in 695 other regular season games since the start of 2012-2013, but the vast majority of those cases came in the earlier part of the period. So far this season, it has only happened four other times.

What are Team Graded Box Scores?

Very briefly, these box scores grade winner-loser differentials for basic box score statistics, with the grade being based on the winning team’s differential relative to other NBA winners during a defined reference period. Think of it like a report card for understanding how a given winner performed relative to other winners. The reference period used runs from the start of the 2012-2013 season to the latest date of play, including only games in the same season category (i.e., regular season and playoff games are not compared to each other).

Data Source: The underlying data used to create these box scores was collected from Basketball Reference. In all cases, the data are collected the morning after the game is played. Although rare, postgame statistical revisions after data collection do occur and may affect the results after the fact.