The Knicks took it to the Washington Wizards on Sunday night with a dominating 145-113 win at MSG for the team's sixth consecutive victory.
Here are the takeaways...
-- New York was off and running from the opening tip in this one, scoring on the first possession of the game and never looking back. They scored 32 points in the first quarter led by Jalen Brunson's 12 and led for the entirety of the frame. The Wizards got close a few times and even tied it for a brief moment in the second quarter, but the Knicks followed that up with an 18-4 run that crushed any chance of a Washington win.
-- By halftime, New York led by 16 points and was firing on all cylinders. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with a game-high 26 points and was a monster on the glass with 16 rebounds. Josh Hart filled the stat sheet with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals and Mikal Bridges had a game-high plus-minus rating of plus-28 in his 30 minutes of action.
-- After scoring 68 points in the first half, the Knicks were even better in the second half and put up a ridiculous 77 points. They shot 58.5 percent from the field and 53.1 percent from deep.
-- With the help of Towns as well as Mitchell Robinson, New York also dominated the interior. The Knicks outrebounded the Wizards, 48-28, and put up 64 points in the paint compared to Washington's 38. Robinson joined KAT with a double-double of his own off the bench in just 17 minutes and New York emptied its bench to give some of its reserves extended minutes.
-- With the game already in the bag, Tyler Kolek still got the Garden on its feet at the end of the game by going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and scoring 11 points in five minutes. Jeremy Sochan was also able to make a difference in his time on the court, grabbing six rebounds in eight minutes.
-- For the Wizards, who have now lost 16 in a row, their leading scorer was Jaden Hardy who had 25 points.
Game MVP: Josh Hart
The do-it-all guard once again did it all with his 16/6/4 stat line on an efficient 5-for-9 from the floor (3-for-3 from three) in 28 minutes.
What's next
The Knicks have a day off before getting right back to it with a game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.
Mar 22, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek (13) reacts after making a three point basket during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
When the NBA conducts its annual draft lottery in May, the Knicks will get screwed out of a top-10 for the second time in three years. In 2024 Dallas pissed away a postseason shot to avoid sending the Knicks a lottery pick that year; the basketball gods have since exacted vengeance upon the Mavs. Washington was making some noise earlier this season for the first time in years. If their first-round pick isn’t top-8, it goes to the Knicks. So the Wizards became the first team ever to acquire two All-Stars midseason with zero intention of playing either, and have, according to plan, resumed normal service. That is to say, sucking.
The gods may punish their shenanigans someday. Tonight behind 60/53/95 shooting, the Knicks punished the Beltway bozos 145-113. Not a one of the 14 ’bockers to suit up saw so many as 30 minutes of run. If Tom Thibodeau were the coach the five starters would still be playing five minutes after the final buzzer. New York led wire-to-wire and by as many as 33 in as stress-free an NBA game as you’ll find. Washington was without Alex Sarr, the suspended Justin Champagnie and promising rookie Tre Johnson, though that’s hardly a hardship when you’re selling losing as the roots of winning.
The Knicks outscored the Wizards 64-38 in the paint, by 26 on 2s and nine at the foul line. Second-chance points? 26-11 to the home team. Karl-Anthony Towns put up the quickest 26 and 16 a human being can. Though if you’ve been paying attention, KAT was apt to pad his stats.
One of the fun things about being a sports fan is how often the story you expect to see unfold deviates entirely from the script. Even more fun is when your team is way better than the other one and they really should kick some ass, then they go out and do. We watched the Knicks be the Wizards for a long, long time. Much nicer look on other teams.
Russell Richardson will have your recap. The Knicks are really good. The Wizards? They’re losing, they’re tanking and they ain’t cutting their fans no discount, a joke of a franchise taking the Joker’s words to heart: if you’re good at something, never do it for free.
SAN DIEGO – By the time the basketball rolled off the tips of his right hand, St. John’s guard Dylan Darling was moving so fast toward the basket that he didn’t even see if the ball went in the hoop.
But he heard the noise that followed: The final buzzer sounded. The crowd roared.
And that’s how he knew. He had just won the game for St. John’s on a banked-in layup as time expired to beat No. 4 seed Kansas Sunday in the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament 67-65.
“I didn’t actually watch it go through the net,” Darling told USA TODAY Sports in the hallway outside the St. John’s locker room after the game. “But I heard everybody’s reaction.”
He raised his arms in triumph right afterward. And then he got tackled by his teammates on the baseline as the Red Storm celebrated their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999. No. 5 seed St. John’s next will play No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in Washington, D.C.
But it’ll be hard to top this in terms of sheer panedemonium at the end.
Here’s how it went down, according the players and Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, who is taking his fourth team the regional round in the tournament.
∎ Darling, a transfer from Idaho State, hadn’t made a shot all game before the buzzer-beater. He missed on his four previous attempts - all from 3-point range.
∎ The ball went in even though the left handed Darling shot and dribbled the ball with his right.
∎ Darling even asked his coach, Rick Pitino, to let him make that play at the end before he did it.
“This is the amazing thing, and the funniest thing I've ever been involved with,” Pitino said.
The final sequence for St. John’s and coach Rick Pitino
St. John’s never trailed and led by as much as 14 points in the second half before Kansas surged at the end to tie the game at 65-65 on two free throws from freshman guard Darryn Peterson with 13 seconds remaining.
St. John’s got the ball back then with a chance to win. But Kansas had four fouls to give before it would force the Red Storm to the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking with no timeouts left, leading Darling to give some feedback to St. John’s coach Rick Pitino.
“We're going to run a play, but they've got fouls to give,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said afterward. “And Bells come up to me and says, ‘Run power,’ which is a high, back-screen pick-and-roll. So I walk away and I said, `Wait a second. He hasn't scored a bucket, and he wants to run a play for himself.’ I'm thinking as I'm walking, but he's Bells. And not only did he do it, he went with his right hand. So real proud of him because to want the ball when you haven't made a shot is unbelievable.”
'He hadn't done a damn good thing the whole night'
After the Jayhawks committed four fouls to disrupt the Red Storm’s final possession, St. John’s forward Bryce Hopkins inbounded the ball to Darling with 3.9 seconds left. He took the pass in the backcourt and went straight for the hoop, dribbling three times with his right hand away from his Kansas defender, Elmarcko Jackson.
“He got downhill, and I was kind of trailing the play just in case he missed the layup,” Hopkins told USA TODAY Sports after he inbounded the ball to Darling. “I was gonna be there for the rebound, hopefully, and try to put a tip back in.”
He didn’t need to.
“As soon as Bells said to me to run power, I knew he could get to the rim because he hadn't done a damn good thing the whole night,” Pitino said. “So I knew he was going to do it.”
The St. John’s locker room was loud afterward
Hopkins and St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor each scored 18 points for St. John’s. Ejiofor was near the top of the 3-point arc ready to set a screen when Darling fielded the inbounds pass. He didn’t have to do much but watch.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God! Big Bell strikes again,’” Ejiofor told USA TODAY Sports afterward. “That’s what he’s done all season.”
Darling didn’t think there was time for anything else. He could have passed the ball to the corners if necessary, or tossed it to Ejiofor if he didn’t see an opening. There still wasn’t much time.
“I saw the lane, and I just went for it,” Darling said.
It might be the last 'cruel' play for Kansas coach Bill Sefl
It might even send Kansas coach Bill Self into retirement. The Hall of Fame Jayhawks coach said afterward he hadn’t made up his mind about that after experiencing recent health issues. He’s won two national championships, just like Pitino. This loss stings.
“One of the things that makes it so great is that it can be great,” Self said. “But it can also be cruel.”
By contrast, Pitino said he was “jubilant.”
“We've taken another step now,” said Pitino, 73. “So it's just awesome. Proud of our guys, and now it's just starting. The fun is just starting.”
“No, I haven't decided,” Self said in the postgame news conference at Viejas Arena. “I'll get back and visit with family. I've had obviously some issues off the court health-wise. And that will be discussed. But I love what I do. I want to feel good while I'm doing it, though. We'll get back and we'll discuss that when we get back.”
His No. 4-seeded Jayhawks had just suffered a 67-65 loss, preventing them from reaching their first Sweet 16 since 2022, when they went on to win the national championship.
It was a tough loss to swallow. Lefthanded St. John’s guard Dylan Darling took an inbounds pass with 3.9 seconds left, drove to hoop with his right hand and banked the ball in as time expired to win the game.
Self also was hospitalized last year and two stents inserted during a heart procedure. In 2023, he experienced chest tightness and had concerns about his balance as his team was preparing for a Big 12 tournament.
He has won more than 800 games in his career, including two national championships at Kansas in 2008 and 2022.
If he does retire, it won't be because of what happened against St. John's. He made it clear Sunday that his decision will be about his health.
"My career ain't going to be based on one game," Self said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 16 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 23 points and the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 145-113 on Sunday night for their sixth straight victory.
Josh Hart made all three 3-point shots and added 16 points as New York handed Washington its 16th straight loss. Mikal Bridges had 14 points and six assists, while Mitchell Robinson came off the bench to make all five shots and finish with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes.
The Knicks rang up 77 points in the second half against one of the NBA's worst teams and shot 58.5% from the floor and 53% from 3-point range. They also made 18 of 19 free throws (94.7%).
Tyler Kolek played about 5 1/2 minutes in the blowout and went 4 for 4, including 3 for 3 behind the arc, and scored 11 points after pouring in 42 while playing for the Knicks' NBA G League team earlier in the day.
Jaden Hardy made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points for the Wizards. Anthony Gill had 18.
The Knicks led 68-52 at halftime, then made nearly 62% of their shots in the final two quarters and led by 33 points in the fourth.
The Knicks beat the Wizards for the 12th straight time, their second-longest winning streak in the series. New York beat Washington 15 straight games between 1992-95.
Jalen Brunson reacts during the Knicks' March 22 win against the Wizards.
This was finally what a contender against a tanker is supposed to look like.
For almost two weeks, the Knicks had been playing down to their opposition, repeatedly squeaking by NBA bottom-feeders.
But this was appropriately a laugher that was comfortable pretty much the whole way.
This firmly matched the two teams’ places in the standings, as the Knicks blew out the Wizards 145-113 Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
It extended the Knicks’ win streak to six, and with the Celtics’ loss, brought the Knicks to just a half-game out of the second seed in the East.
It marked their sixth of seven straight games against teams under .500.
Five of those games — including Sunday’s clash — came against teams in the bottom three of their conference.
Jalen Brunson reacts during the Knicks’ March 22 win against the Wizards. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
The Wizards entered Sunday being outscored by an average of 11.3 points per game, the worst mark in the league.
Sunday was their 16th straight loss.
And they didn’t even have Alex Sarr, the 2024 No. 2 overall pick and the only legitimate talent suiting up for the Wizards these days.
Mitchell Robinson, after the Knicks escaped the Nets by just one point on Friday, challenged his teammates to better respect their opponents despite their record and get off to better starts.
And there was no slow start on Sunday for the Knicks, which had been a recurring theme of late.
They jumped out to a 10-point lead with 5:05 left in the first quarter.
“We talked about it,” Brown said. “Our biggest thing is making our opponent feel us and we did a better job in that area. I thought we did a nice job moving the ball and trying to take the right shots. … I thought overall, it was a lot better than what we’ve done in a couple of games.”
A brief lull in the beginning of the second quarter allowed the Wizards to tie the game, but the Knicks responded with a 16-2 run to take a 14-point lead.
By just over a minute into the third quarter, the Knicks led by 20. By the start of the fourth quarter, the lead was up to 24 points.
They were incredibly efficient — the Knicks shot 58.5 percent from the field and 53.1 percent from 3-point range as the no-name Wizards offered almost no resistance on the defensive end.
It only took the Knicks three quarters to surpass 100 points.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson paced the scoring with 26 and 23 points, respectively. Brunson had 12 in the first quarter to ensure the Knicks came out of the gates better than they had recently.
Towns added 16 rebounds as well.
Brunson did not have to play at all in the fourth quarter.
Towns was able to check out with 8:15 left.
“I think we came out and we played our style,” Brunson said. “They had a decent run where they tied the game back up, but after that we got the lead, played well with the lead and didn’t look back after that.”
Karl-Anthony Towns goes up for a shot during the Knicks’ March 22 win against the Wizards. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
Mikal Bridges, with Landry Shamet (knee soreness) out and not there to steal any of his playing time, finished with 14 points — his most since he scored 15 on March 4.
Josh Hart, after missing Friday’s win over the Nets with runner’s knee, recorded 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.
There was not a big need for much from the bench until garbage time, though Robinson did add 10 points — on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field — along with 10 rebounds.
Tyler Kolek put on a show to close the game with 11 points in five minutes.
OG Anunoby was the only starter who didn’t reach double figures.
“Our ability to take good 3s was huge,” Brown said. “Good night on both ends of the floor.”
The Knicks have one more game against lowly opposition in this stretch, though the Pelicans are a bit better than the Wizards, Nets, Pacers or G League Warriors.
Then comes the tough part, when they hit the road and face a surging team in the Hornets, the defending champion Thunder and the tough Rockets.
Sunday’s cakewalk should have been the norm during this stretch, but too often — for a supposed contender — they had to sweat out wins.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves for his NHL-leading seventh shutout of the season, Bo Horvat scored the only goal on the first shot of the game and the New York Islanders moved back into a playoff spot with a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night.
Sorokin bounced back a night after he allowed six goals on 32 shots before being pulled in New York's 7-3 loss at Montreal. The shutout was his franchise-record 29th and Sorokin tied his single-season high set in 2021-22.
Horvat scored 1:25 into the game, taking a pass from Anders Lee and beating Jet Greaves with a snap shot. It was the earliest goal scored in an Islanders 1-0 victory in franchise history.
The Islanders snapped a two-game skid that knocked them briefly out of a playoff spot. With 85 points, they're in the second wild-card position in the Eastern Conference and tied with the Blue Jackets. Columbus is in third place in the Metropolitan Division because it has played one fewer game than New York.
Greaves finished with 21 saves for Columbus, which had its four-game winning streak and 12-game points streak stopped.
Lee appeared to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead with 7:54 remaining, but Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness challenged the goal and the call was overturned on video review when it was ruled that Lee interfered with Greaves.
Shortly after the Islanders' goal was waved off, Sorokin made saves on in-close attempts by Sillinger and Marchenko.
The Blue Jackets pulled Greaves with just over two minutes left, but Sorokin — who had 13 saves in the third period — and the Islanders held on.
Up next
Blue Jackets: Visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
Islanders: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
The Hawkeyes had led by as many as 12, but saw the Gators claw back to take a two-point lead with eight seconds remaining after Isaiah Brown split two free throws.
Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz took the inbound pass and had a two-on-two in front of him, after Florida had opted to press and Stirtz’s primary defender, Boogie Fland, gambled to try to get a steal. As Stirtz took the ball up the court near the 3-point arc, Gators forward Thomas Haugh bit to cut off Stirtz’s path to the basket, leaving Folgueiras wide open in the corner to knock down the go-ahead 3 with four seconds remaining.
Florida had a chance to pull out a win, but was unable to even get a shot off, with Xaivian Lee driving to the basket and trying to dump it off to Haugh, only for an Iowa defender to stick his hand in to block the pass as time expired.
With the win, Iowa earned a trip to its first Sweet 16 since 1999, a milestone it reached in just its first season under coach Ben McCollum.
The Gators became the first No. 1 seed to lose in the tournament this season.
Folgueiras' triple was one of two game-winning shots Sunday, with St. John's guard Dylan Darling giving his team a 67-65 victory over Kansas earlier in the day on a layup as time expired.
DALLAS (AP) — Reilly Smith scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:38 left in the third period and the Vegas Golden Knights beat Dallas 3-2 on Sunday night, denying the Stars' bid to clinch a playoff berth.
Vegas' Mitch Marner skated into the high slot and his shot ricocheted off two Dallas players and landed near Smith, who scored from close range past a defenseless Casey DeSmith. The deciding goal came after the teams played more than seven minutes without a whistle.
Brayden McNabb and Ivan Barbashev also scored for Vegas, which snapped a three-game skid and won for just the third time in nine games. Adin Hill made 13 saves for the Golden Knights, who outshot Dallas 33-15.
Dallas' Wyatt Johnston set a franchise single-season record with his NHL-leading 23rd power-play goal. Johnston held the mark for the most in a season since the Stars moved to Dallas in 1993-94. His latest moved him past Dino Ciccarelli (1986-87) for the most for the Minnesota-Dallas franchise.
Justin Hryckowian also scored for Dallas (43-16-11), which is five points behind Western Division-leading Colorado (102). The Avalanche lead the NHL and Western Conference with a record of 46-13-10. DeSmith stopped 30 shots as the Stars lost for the third time in four games. Sam Steel had two assists.
McNabb opened the scoring at the 4:01 mark of the first period, carrying the puck out of his own zone, splitting two defenders and beating DeSmith low to the glove side.
Johnston scored his 38th of the season on a power play at 10:55 of the second and and Hryckowian put the Stars ahead with his 11th of the season at 16:48.
Barbashev tied the game at 2, scoring on a power play at 16:48 of the second after Nils Lundkvist was sent off for slashing. Barbashev took a feed from Brett Howden and scored from a tough angle near the side of the net.
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 22: Jaden Hardy #8 and Leaky Black #14 of the Washington Wizards high five during the game against the New York Knicks on March 22, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, 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 Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Washington Wizards lost to the New York Knicks on Sunday night, 145-113. It’s their 16th straight loss, tying a franchise record that they have done numerous times.
Washington didn’t have a bad night offensively, but they let the Knicks shoot even better combine that with a rebounding differential that made the Wizards look silly, well, yeah, it’s no surprise that the Wizards got their butts handed to them tonight, like most of the last month.
Jaden Hardy led the Wizards with 25 points. Karl Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 26 points, playing just under 26 minutes overall.
The Wizards are off until Wednesday when they continue their long road trip to Salt Lake City. They’ll play the Utah Jazz. Tip off is at 9 p.m. ET. See you then. Hopefully we won’t see the Wizards make franchise history, but I’m not holding my breath.
The Hawkeyes did it in stunning fashion: down two points with eight seconds left, Bennett Stirtz drove down the court and found a wide open Alvaro Folgueiras for a go-ahead 3-pointer with four seconds left. Florida was unable to respond with its last chance.
"This is really special for the dreamers, and there is no better dreamer than us," Folgueiras said on the broadcast after the win.
The defending champions entered the Sunday, March 22, game fresh off their massive blowout victory of No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M in the first round, scoring a tournament high 114 points in the win. Two days later, the Gators looked nothing like the team that earned a top seed in the NCAA bracket.
Iowa started strong, turning the game into a physical battle that had a few heated moments in its favor. The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 10-point lead midway through the first half, and Florida was forced to play catch-up the majority of the final 20 minutes, trailing by as much as 12 points in the second half.
Florida took the lead with five minutes left and held it as the momentum shifted toward the top seed playing in its home state. But Iowa didn’t fold, leading to the shocking last-second bucket.
Iowa is the first No. 9 seed to make the Sweet 16 since Florida Atlantic in in 2023, and became the ninth No. 9 seed to take down the top seed since seeding began in 1979 − the first since Florida State in 2018. Florida joins Kansas in 1998 as the only teams in NCAA Tournament history to win a game by at least 50 points and lose the following contest.
With the loss, it ensures Connecticut will remain the last back-to-back champion, accomplished in 2023 and 2024. While the Huskies’ wins were recent, it follows a trend of defending title winners struggling to defend their titles the following season.
Eight of the past nine national champions have failed to make the Sweet 16 one year after winning it all. The loss also ensures there will not be an all-No. 1 seed Final Four after all the top teams in the bracket made it last season.
Iowa coach Ben McCollum continues to impress in his first season in Iowa City. In the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons, this will be Iowa’s first Sweet 16 appearance this century, last making the round in 1999. Awaiting the Hawkeyes in the round is a familiar foe in Nebraska, as the Big Ten rivals will meet Thursday, March 26, in Houston.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Victor Olatunji scored in the 85th minute and Sergi Solans also scored a goal Sunday for Real Salt Lake in a 2-2 tie with San Diego FC.
Olatunji tapped in a cross played from the right side to the back post to cap the scoring.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for Real Salt Lake (3-1-1).
Juan Manuel Sanabria played an arcing ball to the center of the area and Solans went up high for a header that slipped inside the right post to open the scoring in the 17th minute.
Marcus Ingvartsen tied it a 1-1 in the 27th minute when he poked in a loose ball from point-blank range for his fourth goal of the season.
Anders Dreyer, on the counter-attack, took a pass from Amahl Pellegrino and took a couple touches before he chipped a shot over Cabral, who had charged off his line, into a wide-open net to give RSL a 2-1 lead in the 56th minute.
Dreyer, who was second in MLS with 38 goal contributions (19 goals, 19 assists) in 2025, has three goals and three assists this season.
Christopher McVey was shown his second yellow card in the 89th minute and San Diego (3-0-2) played a man down the rest of the way.
Seven of RSL's nine first-half shots came in stoppage time.
Feb 14, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks at press conference during the NBA All Star game at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jacob Douglas: There is a surplus in NBA talent right now, but there is a lack of competent front offices and organizations that can capitalize on that talent. The league’s tanking problem makes it a tough time to support expansion. Do we really want to add two more teams that are getting blown out by 30-40 points in March while sitting their starters? That said, I hope that Seattle gets their team back in some capacity. The city has a rich basketball culture and needs a pro team to match it.
Bill Huan: It’s absolutely a good decision. Every team in the league has multiple guys who can drop 40+ on any given night, assuming they’re actually fielding their best lineup. The bigger issue is tanking, and having more teams might mean that more front offices will deem it necessary to tank, but that shouldn’t stop the league from expanding. The quantity and quality of talent have never been higher, and it makes sense to showcase that skill in more places to grow the game. My only concern is the NBA prioritizing Vegas as a potential destination. The city isn’t the party hub it once was, and there are already countless pro sports teams there already. Wouldn’t it make more sense to give Vancouver another chance, so that they could create an instant rivalry with Seattle while growing the game in a country that’s producing more NBA talent than ever before? Or how about Mexico City, where there’s already a G League team in place? There’s enough interest in basketball in the States — if Adam Silver wants to maximize growth, he needs to consider America’s neighbors.
Devon Birdsong: I’m of the opinion that expansion is always the right choice when a league has the right mixture of appeal and finances, and I think the NBA is going to be hard-pressed to find a better time to do so. Growing up around and writing about the only “Big Four” professional sports team in the area has given me a lot of perspective regarding what that might mean for a city without multiple teams, so I’d prefer to see the second team go somewhere other than Vegas. As it is, there seems to be some conversation about the Grizzlies potentially moving to Nashville, and I’d really feel for Memphis fans if that came to pass. Expansion might forestall that. As for dilution of talent, that seems like a thin excuse not to. There are only 450 players on permanent rosters as is, and with two-ways, that approaches 500+, so I think it’s safe to say that there’s room for 30 more players out of that surplus without much issue. The bigger issue, in my view, is tanking. It doesn’t matter what the talent balance is if you have too many teams losing on purpose.
Jeje Gomez: The talent is there. The problem is how it’s spread around. There are no real superteams, and the draconian apron rules should lead to more player movement eventually, as some teams go back to prioritizing free agency when others simply can’t retain all their stars, an issue the Spurs might experience as their young players become more expensive. The problem is that, as long as rookie contracts and restricted free agency are in place, the best way to acquire cheap talent will be through the draft, which might lead to more teams tanking, which subsequently will give the illusion of dilution, even if there are more good players now than ever. An example of that are the Wizards, who traded for two All-Stars but don’t seem all that interested in playing them. The biggest battle the league will have to win when it comes to expansion is a battle of perception, since a lot of fans already think there are too many games and bad teams.
If Seattle and Las Vegas get the two expansion teams as reported, two Western Conference teams will have to move to the East. Which teams should go to the weaker conference?
Douglas: Minnesota, Memphis, and New Orleans could all easily be moved to the East. Minnesota would easily slot into the Central division with Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Indiana, and Cleveland. Memphis could make sense in that conference, or in the Southeast with Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Washington, and Atlanta. New Orleans could go to the Southeast, but given their proximity to the Texas teams in the Southwest division, I’d keep them in the West.
Huan: I agree with Jacob here: it should be Minnesota and Memphis given their proximity, and New Orleans can stay in the West since they’re already close to the Texas teams. Having young stars in Ant and whoever Memphis gets in the lottery this year will also be important to give the East more players to feature and market, and hopefully even out the talent across the two conferences some more.
Birdsong: Geographically speaking, Minnesota is an obvious choice. I would also include Oklahoma City. Not as much because it makes sense as because I hate them. And also, I would like to avoid playing them on the Western side of the playoff bracket. Actually, if you were asking me to do this out of pure spite, I would also include either the Rockets or the Lakers alongside the Thunder. Maybe the Clippers as a third choice to atone for their multitude of sins. Much more satisfying if you ask me. I’d be the most beloved NBA commissioner in San Antonio history.
Gomez: Minnesota and Memphis feel like the best answers, not only because of proximity but because moving the Pelicans to the East could create a future problem if the franchise moves. New Orleans can probably support a good NBA team and should get a chance to prove that, but they have struggled to consistently create one so far, and they seem like the type of franchise that could be relocated if the league eventually tries to go to Mexico or Canada. To avoid a new reshuffling in the future, keeping the Pelicans in the West might be the smart move, even though they would probably love to go to the weaker conference.
Expansion is not coming for a while, but if it were to happen this offseason, which eight players should the Spurs protect?
Douglas: This will probably change in a few years, but the score to keep around is Wembanyama, Castle, Harper, Fox, Vassell, Johnson, Bryant, and Champagnie. No offense to Kornet, who has been incredible this season, but we’ve seen quality big men picked up on cheaper deals by other teams in the last few seasons. I have confidence that San Antonio could find another quality big man if Kornet were to be drafted to Seattle or Vegas.
Huan: Off the top of my head, it should be Wemby, Harper, Castle, Fox, Champagnie, Vassell, Johnson, and Bryant. Devon brought up the idea of leaving Fox unprotected, which will likely gain some traction, but I’d still avoid that. Yes, his contract isn’t the greatest, but we’ve seen star-level players get traded time and time again in recent years, even with questionable contracts. We can’t risk letting a talent like Fox go for free, and by the time the expansion teams come in, he’ll already be on the second-last year of his current deal. Even factoring a decline and the contract potentially becoming negative value, opposing teams are always willing to make deals with soon-to-be-expiring money.
Birdsong: Based on the roster right now, I’d say Wemby, Castle, Harper, Vassell, Keldon, Kornet, Bryant, and Champagnie. My reason for not protecting Fox is largely strategic due to his contract. Expansion teams may be leery of taking on a max contract so early in their existence, and if not, it saves the Spurs having to figure out what to do with that contract if Fox begins to decline (and no, he is not currently). Of course, a lot of this depends on how the postseason goes. If the Spurs bring Larry home, I 100% stand by my order. If not…I may have to make changes to it.
Gomez: Since we are talking about the upcoming season for this exercise, I’d go with Wembanyama, Fox, Castle, Harper, Vassell, Bryant, Johnson, and Champagnie. Kornet is in a great contract, but so is Champagnie, and he’s younger and plays a position that has more scarcity. Not protecting Fox and daring the expansion teams to take on his contract could be smart, but if they call the Spurs’ bluff, San Antonio would be losing a key player. If we are talking years down the line, the list would change and Fox would likely not be protected, but for now, he’s too important.
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is clear to play Monday night at Detroit after the NBA rescinded his 16th technical foul of the season.
Doncic and Magic center Goga Bitadze each received a technical foul with 1:19 left in the third quarter of Los Angeles' 105-104 win at Orlando on Saturday night. The players exchanged words while Doncic was at the free-throw line, and appeared to continue the conversation on the way down the court.
The NBA announced on Sunday that the technical on each player had been rescinded. A 16th technical foul triggers a one-game suspension.
The Lakers have won nine in a row going into the matchup with the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons. Doncic is averaging 40 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists during the streak.
No perfect NCAA Tournament brackets remained among the millions of entries in the ESPN bracket challenge and in the contests tracked on the NCAA's official website.
The day started with two perfect brackets left in the ESPN contest and four on the NCAA's site, which tracks the ESPN challenge along with six contests run by other outlets. ESPN had 26.5 million entries, and 36 million were tracked by the NCAA.
The number of perfect brackets in the women's tournament dropped to 279 in the ESPN contest and less than 400 on the NCAA website after higher seeds won the first six games Sunday.
The odds of going 63-0 in a bracket contest are somewhere between one in 9.2 quintillion (for totally random guesses) or one in 120 billion (semi-educated ones).
