Category: NBA

Teenage life is complicated, and while we’re in the 2020s, it seems that the Toronto Raptors are going through an awkward phase right now. With a big brother (Kawhi) out of the house for college (injury treatment), they’re having to find themselves in a big and scary high school (Eastern Conference) as they’re trying to develop an identity for themselves in an unforgiving world (the National Basketball Association).

More threes, and a Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes centred offence, would have both been logical progressions from last year’s Raptors’ squad. But, Leonard out and some streaky shooting has meant that the Raptors are looking like quite a different beast entirely. Tonight, the Raptors are matching up with the Grizzlies, a familiar foe from the Vancouver days, with the possibility to have three starters out, due to Leonard’s injury management and some issues exhibited from Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley.

Scottie Barnes (adductor) and Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) are both questionable for tomorrow's game against the Grizzlies, per Raptors.

Both were limited participants in practice today.

— Zulfi Sheikh (@zulfi_sheikh) November 8, 2026

Barnes and Quickley are both focal parts of the Raptors’ offence, but didn’t play in the team’s last game, a victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. Across the four game road trip, the Raps went two and two, picking up wins against two really, really bad teams (Clippers and Bucks) and losing to a great team and a fine team (Lakers and Nuggets). Not super heartening, but again, the first major road trip, and all of those games were played with at least one starter down.

The road trip continued to showcase Scottie Barnes’ development into a type of player that we only saw glimpses of during the last playoffs. Barnes, this season, has transformed himself into a rebounding, midrange shooting, volume scorer as opposed to the pass-first point forward that he had developed a reputation as.

As of time of writing, Scottie is second in the league for midranges attempted, and third in the league for midranges made. This is, quite frankly, bananas, considering that Barnes was never known to be a primary scorer; it seems that one summer with Kawhi Leonard has rubbed off a lot on the younger player. Barnes has never been more fun to watch, while still maintaining his responsibilities on the defensive end, averaging 2.3 steals on the season so far.

Barnes has shown that he’s able to do something that superstars are often called upon to do: prop up a mediocre team with great scoring, taking over like he did during the win against the Clippers. And indeed, the Raptors have thus far been unfortunately mediocre.

“We’ve been very underwhelming to start the season,” said Jamal Shead after the Raptors’ win against the Bucks last week. “We have so much more to put out, and I think today was a start,” he continued.

A complete team effort.
Jamal Shead knows there's more to come. 😤 pic.twitter.com/kASe867rEK

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 7, 2026

Consistency is a big part of that. Kristian Cuaresma pointed to the loss to the Denver Nuggets being a tale of four quarters: the Raptors take 12 threes in the first quarter, and make six. Immanuel Quickley gets 10 points and six times in 12 minutes. But then, the Raptors shoot 6-22 from three for the rest of the game, and Immanuel Quickley ends the game, scoring just three more points, and getting one more assist.

In the game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Barnes finished with 22, but only had seven before the fourth quarter.

And, in the game against the Bucks, Jakob Poeltl plays 31 points and gets a 19 point, 11 rebound double-double. Yes, the Bucks are abysmal, but when Poeltl does that in one game, but has a rough stretch like he does at the beginning of the season, it’s difficult to know what version of the big man the Raptors are getting on a night-to-night basis, at this juncture.

Understanding team identity is important, and clearly, the idea of Scottie Barnes as a point forward supporting Kawhi Leonard, and the Raptors developing a major three point shooting offence isn’t developing quite as anyone thought it might. And ultimately, that’s okay. But this lack of dependable production (and availability) from just about everyone on the Raptors means that every game is shaping up to be a very different kind of contest, where weapons end up being used in majorly different ways.

If Darko Rajaković understands, and is able to harness his players’ varying levels of production going forward, there won’t be an issue. But, the alternative, a confusing and inconsistent team, would be devastating after making such a big swing for Kawhi Leonard.

Jamal Shead might have been speaking for his team with his statement: the Raptors can be doing a lot more, and perhaps will be able to turn the corner now into a more polished version of what they bring to the hardwood. But finally cementing the identity of this iteration of the Raptors is a project that seems far from finished. Growing up takes a lot of time, and a lot of pain for everyone involved, and Toronto seems to be no exception.

In the third week of the NBA season, the Phoenix Suns had four games, the same number they played in the first two weeks combined. Losing the first two and winning the last two, the team has established some momentum after a rough 1-5 start to the year, but there’s a lot they need to fix if they want to return to the playoffs.

Alas, here are the questions we want your answers on for this week’s edition of Bright Side Wonders:

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The Suns finally beat Kevin Durant

It took them four games, but the Phoenix Suns have beaten the Houston Rockets for the first time since trading Kevin Durant to Texas. In a back-and-forth second half, the team eked out the victory thanks to an all-around scoring effort and holding the Rockets’ top scorers (Durant and Alperen Şengün) under 36% shooting from the floor.

Leading as much as 19 in the first half, the Suns didn’t let blowing their massive lead stop them from closing out a contested final minutes.

While the win started the team’s first win streak of the season and helped build some momentum, beating Durant for the first time is noteworthy, considering the back-and-forths he’s had with the franchise since his departure.

How do you feel about the Durant trade now that the Suns have finally beaten him?

A starting lineup change

After starting the year 1-5, the Phoenix Suns made a change to the starting lineup. And no, Collin Gillespie is still a reserve. Oso Ighodaro has replaced Khaman Maluach at the starting center spot, and the team is 2-0 since. The two’s playing time hasn’t altered much since the move, but who they’re playing with has, and the Suns’ starting lineup’s net rating goes up by 16 points when Ighodaro is the starter, according to HoopsJunkie.

Ighodaro isn’t the rebounder or the physical presence that Maluach is, but he’s more experienced, and adds another playmaker to a starting lineup that lacks them. Additionally, the fact that he doesn’t need to have the ball to make an impact helps a starting five full of ball-dominant scorers.

Albeit a small sample size, how are you feeling about the lineup change?

A more efficient Dillon Brooks?

When the Suns traded for Miles Bridges, it was known that someone in the starting lineup was going to have to make a shot attempt sacrifice, but it was hard to believe it’d be Dillon Brooks after his career year and it’s been him, and the Suns aren’t benefiting from it.

While he’s shooting career-highs from the field and three, the team is 14 points worse on offense when he’s on the floor. Even though he makes up for it by being such a major impact on defense, one of the reasons the Suns surprised many last season was because of his offensive aggressiveness, and with him taking nearly five less shots per game than he did a season ago, they’re struggling?

What impact would a more aggressive Brooks make on the team’s offense?

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Weird, but True

The Suns’ win against the Rockets was their first win against Houston in 982 days. The only other team they haven’t beaten in that stretch is the Boston Celtics, who they haven’t beaten since February 3rd, 2023. 1,374 days ago.

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On the Suns’ Plate This Week

It’s another four-game week for the Suns, but this one is all at home. This week they’ll host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday for their game against the Eastern Conference of the season and then they’ll finish the week off on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

All games start at 7 pm AZ time except for the game against the Lakers, which starts at 2 pm.

DETROIT — Austin Reaves couldn’t pretend it was a good shot. 

Even with the Lakers star guard having the greenest of green lights after going on a personal 7-0 run as the hosts attempted to come back from down 26 points, Reaves kept it real about what followed. 

After John Collins nudged the ball out of his hands after running a pick and roll with Walker Kessler, Reaves lost possession of the ball in his left hand with his momentum taking him toward the sideline opposite of the Pistons’ bench. 

But he was able to get the ball back to the hottest hand on the court throughout Sunday night, regaining possession and taking a single dribble before firing up a 27-footer with 11 seconds still on the shot clock.   

“It was a terrible shot,” Reaves admitted postgame. “Absolutely.”

It didn’t matter, with the ball bouncing off the top of the backboard before falling through the net to give the Lakers a 78-61 lead and putting Reaves at 32 points after scoring 10 points in just over two minutes of game time for his first 30-point game of the season. 

The 6-foot-5 Oklahoma product didn’t even try to act like he called bank, with the shot reminding him of the kind of miraculous looks his backcourt co-star regularly attempts.

“Oh, it was 100% lucky,” he said. “Honestly, when I stepped back and shot it, I was like, ‘this is some b——- Luka [Dončić] would shoot.’ And I didn’t try to bank it in. It went in, it looks the same in the stat sheet.”

The 3-pointer was just one of the many wild shots Reaves made en route to scoring a season-high 43 points in the Lakers’ 121-116 win over the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

He also hit a fadeaway from behind the backboard midway through the first quarter for his seventh and eighth points of the night which gave the Lakers an early 18-7 lead.

“Lucky shot,” Reaves said. “I was a lucky player [Sunday night].”

And with Dončić, the league’s leading scorer with an average of 40.1 points per game, watching from the sidelines against the Pistons because of back tightness, the Lakers greatly benefitted from Reaves’ luck.

The mere mention of Doc Rivers’ name is bound to get some (maybe most) Sixers fans feeling some kind of way. Be that as it may, Rivers was on Bill Simmons’ podcast last Friday, throwing flowers in the direction of the team he coached from 2020-23.

The episode dropped before the Sixers split a pair of road games over the weekend, leaving them with a league-best 9-2 record. It is their fastest start since the Allen Iverson-led club won its first 10 games in 2000-01, en route to a Finals appearance.

“Right now,” Rivers said, “they’re the best team in the NBA. They’re gonna be hard to beat.”

The 65-year-old Rivers, whose 27-year run as a head coach appears to be at an end after he spent the last three seasons as the Milwaukee Bucks’ boss, went on to say that Jaylen Brown is among the three best small forwards in the league, that Joel Embiid is no worse than the fourth-best center and that Tyrese Maxey is among the top five point guards.

“And LeBron (James), whatever he is, top five,” Rivers said. “A four (i.e., power forward) right now.”

And what of VJ Edgecombe?

“Top five defender at the 2-spot right now,” Rivers said.

He didn’t stop there, either.

“I still think that, and I’ve said this before, anybody can go out and get the stars,” he said. “It’s the other guys. And I think that’s where they hit the home run. … (Anfernee) Simons, (Kentavious) Caldwell-Pope, Dean Wade.”

Pope, 33, is in his 14th season. He is, Rivers said, “perfect for this team, because he’s winning. He’s playing a role to win. Guys like Caldwell-Pope, late in their career, they can’t play on a bad team. It just doesn’t fit. They’re trying to play right. Now he’s in a perfect role.”

And to the veteran coach Simons “looks better,” even though his shooting has been erratic. 

“He looks like this year, he’s accepted his role even more,” Rivers said.

Rivers reserved his greatest praise for LeBron and Maxey. 

“I like LeBron’s role right now,” he said. “Love it.”

Later, he added, “LeBron is who I would have loved him to have been early in his career (i.e., a playmaker), even though he had to score. He’s the closest to Magic Johnson to ever have played, as far as being big and able to facilitate. LeBron’s vision is still underrated – like, he’s not a good passer; he’s a great passer, and he sees it early.”

James’ scoring average (15.6) is far and away the lowest of his 24-year career, but he is averaging around seven assists, as well as seven rebounds.

“It’s the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time,” Rivers said. “I don’t think he was ever that happy in LA (while playing for the Lakers the last eight seasons) – like this happiness. I’m not saying he wasn’t happy in LA, but this is true happiness.”

Maxey, meanwhile, seems content no matter the circumstances. Rivers saw that for himself when he coached him in Philadelphia, and continues to regard the young point guard as one of the most upbeat players he’s ever been around.

“Maxey’s one of these guys that can fit on any team,” he said. “I was telling Grant Hill (the managing director of USA Basketball), if he’s not on the Olympic team, you’re crazy, because he’s just going to do good. Even if he’s not playing, he smiles. He’s happy. He’s competitive. And he’s a phenomenal basketball player.”

Rivers’ wide-ranging conversation with Simmons also included a mention of former Sixer Matisse Thybulle, who has settled into a rotational role with the Lakers, his third team in eight NBA seasons.

“I’m happy for him,” Rivers said. “I didn’t think he loved the game enough. … He kind of was this flower child. Honestly right now, watching him play, it’s like he kind of realized, ‘I was almost out of the league.’ … He’s a smart kid, and he kind of realized, ‘You know what, I’ve got to get cooking here.’”

Rivers called Thybulle “a hell of a defender” while adding that he “gambles too much.” He also invoked the memory of the December 2021 game between the Sixers and Warriors. Entering play Stephen Curry needed 10 three-pointers to break Ray Allen’s career record, but Thybulle limited him to three triples in 14 attempts, and became the first player to block two of Curry’s threes in a single game. In all Curry managed 18 points on 6-for-20 shooting in the 102-93 Sixers victory.

Rivers said on the Simmons pod that while he and Curry are family – Stephen’s brother Seth, another ex-Sixer, is married to Rivers’ daughter Callie – he had made it clear in family discussions he did not want to see Steph break the record that night.

“It was all on Matisse,” Doc said. “He guarded the hell out of him. Because Steph takes some shots, and here comes Matisse from behind, with those long arms. He recovers. So yeah, he can really defend.”

The Virginia Cavaliers men’s basketball program is enjoying an excellent start to the season. The current ’Hoos earned a statement win over No. 12 Arkansas in Washington, D.C., on Sunday afternoon to improve to 3-0, while a handful of former Virginia stars are enjoying strong starts to their seasons at the next level.

With most NBA teams reaching the 10-game checkpoint over the weekend, here’s how the former faces of UVA basketball have been faring in The Association so far.

Ty Jerome (Memphis Grizzlies)

There’s no better place to start than with Ty Jerome, who has become one of the NBA’s feel-good stories early in the season. While Virginia fans have long known what Jerome is capable of, the national basketball audience is finally getting its formal introduction to the 6-foot-5 assassin from New Rochelle, New York.

After years of dealing with injury while intermittently posting stretches of highly efficient and majorly underappreciated play, Jerome has erupted in the early going for Memphis, averaging 26.6 points and 5.3 assists per game while piloting the Grizzlies to an unexpected 6-3 start.

The former Virginia star is playing the best basketball of his pro career, and Memphis is reaping the rewards. Jerome has already racked up two 40+ point performances this season plus a highlight reel’s worth of clutch shots. Averaging a league-best 14 points per game on drives, Jerome’s signature floater has become one of the league’s deadliest weapons.

Ty Jerome loves shooting floaters.

Through 8 games:
– 5.8 floaters per game (1st in the NBA)
– Shooting 63% on floaters
– Average floater distance of 12.2 ft (league average is 8.8 feet)
– Average height of 12.4 feet on his floaters pic.twitter.com/nIUdLDVbkF

— Ryan Joseph (@rjanalytics7002) November 8, 2026

Trey Murphy III (New Orleans Pelicans)

Coming off back-to-back seasons averaging north of 20 points per game, Trey Murphy III is back to knocking down threes and throwing down eye-popping dunks for the Pelicans.

ZION LOB FROM HALF-COURT TO TREY MURPHY III 💥 pic.twitter.com/S4l1t2nslv

— NBA (@NBA) November 7, 2026

Though his raw numbers are down slightly this season (15.6 points, 4.8 rebounds per game), his three-point efficiency (37.7%) remains sky-high.

Once again, Murphy’s name is also swirling around the NBA rumor mill, frequently coming up in trade talks as New Orleans looks to rebuild. If given the chance to play for a contending team, Murphy’s status as one of the league’s most valuable 3-and-D weapons could finally be solidified over the back half of the 2026-27 campaign.

De’Andre Hunter (Sacramento Kings)

Now playing for his third different team in three seasons, the former fourth-overall pick has made nine starts for the Kings this season.

After an uncharacteristically poor season from three-point range in 2025-26, De’Andre Hunter is knocking down 35.3% of his attempts from downtown so far this season, propelling him to 13.1 points per game thus far. Unfortunately, despite four double-digit scoring efforts from Hunter — including back-to-back 24-point games on Oct. 27 and 29 — Sacramento is off to a frigid 1-9 start.

Jay Huff (Indana Pacers)

After a breakout campaign in Indiana last season in which he appeared in all 82 games, Jay Huff is back at it throwing down reverse slams for the Pacers.

The 7-footer, now in his sixth NBA season, has made five starts and nine total appearances this season, averaging 7.1 points per game on 49% shooting from the field. The ever-efficient Huff went off for a season-high 22 points (8-for-14 FG) and eight rebounds last Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks.

Another Hoo with a big night ⚔️
Jay Huff finished with 22pts and of course put his signature dunk on display again 🔸🔸🔹🔹 pic.twitter.com/F14vwwAviS

— Hoos In The NBA (@hoosinthenba) November 3, 2026

Sam Hauser (Boston Celtics)

The sharp-shooting Sam Hauser continues to be one of the league’s most valuable three-point specialists for the Boston Celtics. Playing 21 minutes per game (mostly off the bench, though he did start one game for Boston last week against the Milwaukee Bucks), Hauser is averaging 7.7 points per game on 40.4% shooting from the outside.

Sam Hauser has hit multiple threes in 7 of the Celtics' first 9 games and is shooting 40.8% from deep this season

He and Paul George are the only two Celtics to do so

Don't take consistently elite shooting for granted! pic.twitter.com/amNwipdMot

— SleeperCeltics (@SleeperCeltics) November 7, 2026

Ryan Dunn (Phoenix Suns)

A 2024 first-round pick by Phoenix, Ryan Dunn’s third professional season is off to an efficient start despite a somewhat limited role in the Suns’ rotation.

The 6-foot-7 defensive ace is averaging 5.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 stocks per game while playing 16 minutes per game for the 3-5 Suns and is coming off his best week of the season, posting a season-high 11 points in Thursday night’s win against the Orlando Magic and 8 points in a weekend victory over the Houston Rockets.

With Dunn, the question is always going to be his three-point shooting. And so far this season, he’s knocked down 7-of-13 attempts from distance.

The former ACC All-Defensive Team selection at Virginia in 2023-24 has yet to shoot better than 33.1% from deep in a season, but if he can keep his early-season stroke going, ’Hoos fans are well aware of the eye-popping athleticism that made Dunn such an intriguing pro prospect coming out of Charlottesville.

Want to know how impactful Ryan Dunn has been?

Suns net rating with Dunn ON: +24.1
With Dunn OFF: -18.6

That +42.7 differential ranks 2nd in the NBA, behind only Alex Caruso. He also leads PHX with a +40 total +/-.

Suns are a completely different team with Dunn on the floor. pic.twitter.com/PjlEsZPzG8

— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) November 8, 2026

Reece Beekman & Anthony Gill (Washington Wizards)

Beekman, now a third-year pro, signed a two-way contract with the Washington Wizards this past offseason after a year in the G-League in 2025-26. Unfortunately, Beekman is currently dealing with an acromioclavicular joint injury that will keep him sidelined for at least three weeks.

Meanwhile, the other former ’Hoo in the Nation’s Capital, Anthony Gill, is the longest-tenured player on the Washington Wizards’ roster. Gill has become the ultimate locker-room presence and player-coach for a franchise trying to transition from a rebuild to contention in the Eastern Conference. The seventh-year NBA vet has appeared in just two games this season, but his wisdom and steadying presence are immeasurable for the young Wizards.

Without Luka Dončić alongside him on Sunday, Austin Reaves showed out with his best performance of the season.

After happily playing second fiddle most of the year, Austin exploded for his first big game this year, scoring 43 points to lead the Lakers to their biggest win of the season against the Pistons. From a shot-making standpoint, it was one of the better games of his career as he knocked down an array of ridiculous floaters, fadeaways and stepbacks.

In many ways, it was Luka-esque. And even Austin admitted as much. To cap off a spurt midway through the third quarter, Austin beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer that banked in.

No, he didn’t do it on purpose. No, it wasn’t a good shot. And yes, it was some “bulls—” Luka would shoot, too.

Austin Reaves on the 3-pointer he banked in during the 3Q to put him at 32 points: "Honestly, when I stepped back and shot it, I was like, 'this is some bulls–t Luka would shoot. And I didn't try to bank it in. It went in, so it looks the same in the stat sheet." pic.twitter.com/3SvuJNFFTj

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) November 9, 2026

“Obviously Luka is an incredible player and I think sometimes, when they’re playing together, AR kind of has to take a secondary role kind of,” Walker Kessler said. “But, as you can see now, he’s very capable. He’s a heck of a playmaker, a heck of a scorer and a competitor. He played great.”

It was an eventful night for Austin overall. During the first half, he got into a face-to-face chat with a fan after being knocked to the floor in front of them. At the time, it was unclear if it was a friendly conversation or one of warning for Austin.

Austin Reaves has a face-to-face chat with a courtside fan in Detroit.pic.twitter.com/6b70CMFCIo

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) November 9, 2026

Late in the game, Austin effectively sealed the win with a dagger 3-pointer with just under a minute remaining. He took some of the mystery out of the type of conversation he had with the fan by turning and pointing at him while waving goodbye.

Austin Reaves in win vs. Pistons:

43 PTS (season-high)
5 REB
4 AST
14-27 FG
4-6 3PT

Made sure to wave goodbye to the fan he had words with earlier in the game.pic.twitter.com/2QvidUuEFy

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) November 9, 2026

But if you were looking for some kind of clarity on the specifics of the conversation and what was said, Austin, coyly, wasn’t playing ball postgame.

"I don't know what you're talking about." – Austin Reaves when asked about the interactions with the courtside fan https://t.co/lqe5nbPGQQpic.twitter.com/9nXWsaxV8C

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) November 9, 2026

What happens on the court stays on the court, it seems. Unless you’re Yaxel Lendeborg.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

MILWAUKEE — Mike Conley didn’t hear from his coach that he was starting in Sunday’s game. 

He heard it from the very Celtics teammates who picked him.

The 39-year-old point guard, in his 20th NBA season, got his first start of the year against the Milwaukee Bucks after Joe Mazzulla handed the decision to Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, Conley exclusively told CelticsBlog late Sunday night outside the visiting locker room.  

The two Celtics veterans decided that Conley, who had barely played through Boston’s first 9 games of the season, had earned the opportunity with his strong fourth-quarter play against the Charlotte Hornets.

“I heard it from D-White and JT,” Conley said after the team’s 117-97 win over the Bucks. “They were like, ‘Hey, you’re starting in Milwaukee.’ I was like, ‘What?'”

Joe Mazzulla asked the players to decide who should start

Prior to Sunday, Conley had played a total of 22 minutes all season.

So when Tatum and White approached him after Boston’s blowout win over the Hornets on Friday, he didn’t take them seriously.

“They looked at me after the Charlotte game. They’re like, ‘So you want to start next game?'” Conley said. “I’m just like, ‘What are you talking about?’ It’s not really on my radar at the moment, so I thought they were joking, honestly.”

But they weren’t. 

Conley had played well in his fourth-quarter stint against the Hornets, and Mazzulla and the team appreciated his ball pressure.

“I thought Mike did a great job getting us off to a [good] start in the fourth quarter against Charlotte with his ball pressure, with his defensive activity for us,” Mazzulla said. “And I wanted that same thing to start the game.”

But Mazzulla, who has openly stressed player empowerment all season long, wanted to give the players a chance to decide.

On Sunday morning, Mazzulla walked into the Celtics’ team meeting and asked the room who should start; Jordan Walsh started in 6 of the Celtics’ first 9 games, while Hugo Gonzalez got the chance in three of them. 

“He was like, ‘So who’s starting?'” Conley recalled. “He left it up to his players. And JT is like, ‘Mike, me…,’ and gave the starting lineup. I’m like, it’s real.”

That meant Conley, White, Tatum, Paul George, and Neemias Queta started against the Bucks. 

Conley said he wasn’t nervous — he’s started for most of his career, after all —but it was his first time sharing the floor with Tatum and George, which he thoroughly enjoyed. 

“It was the first time literally stepping on the court with them,” he said. “It was a lot of fun, just to get out there and get some run and play in a competitive atmosphere.”

The Celtics didn’t get off to a great start on Sunday night; Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma opened 6-of-10 for 16 first-quarter points, and the Celtics trailed by as many as 14 in the opening frame. 

But Mazzulla didn’t attribute the slow start to Conley’s play. 

“I thought his minutes were great,” Mazzulla said, adding that the Celtics missed several layups that helped put them in the hole.

Despite the slow start, the Celtics responded with a 33-18 second quarter, headlined by 16 points from a scorching-hot Paul George. They ultimately pulled away for a 117-97 win, improving to an 8-2 record on the season.

Postgame, Mazzulla downplayed the importance of who starts, as he has throughout much of his tenure as head coach. 

“At the end of the day, the starting lineup is one piece of the 15 to 20 lineups that we play in the game,” Mazzulla said. “All the lineups matter.”

Mike Conley has never experienced this level of player empowerment 

In 20 seasons in the NBA, Conley said, he had never seen players get a say in who starts or take on the kinds of off-court responsibilities that Celtics players have this season. 

“This is the first place,” he said. “Our players do scouts. We do film sessions. We have so much empowerment from Joe, and I think it’s just a unique atmosphere and culture built around that. So, that’s just another extension of it.”

Conley said the team has handled the constantly changing lineups well because everyone keeps the team’s success front and center.

“Everybody, Jordan Walsh to Hugo, whoever started prior games, nobody cares,” he said. “Everybody just goes out there and supports each other, and that’s cool.”

While all the players have had the chance to take on more significant responsibilities in film and scouting, perhaps no player has taken on more than Conley.

“I’ve got a lot to give, with my experience and things I’ve been through, and how I see and read the game maybe differently than some other players,” Conley said. “So I try to give that to as many guys as I can, and try to prepare them and give them options, and have them see things through my eyes a couple times throughout the games. And to see them go out there and execute is pretty cool. And I know Joe supports me in that, so he gives me the freedom to pull a guy to the side, or tell him to do this or that, or change something up, or even tell Joe to do something different. So it’s a unique, unique spot, and then also being able to play too — it’s pretty cool.”

As his coaching responsibilities grow, Conley works to stay ready to play

During training camp, Conley told CelticsBlog that he knew his on-court role would be inconsistent, and that some nights he’d play and some nights he wouldn’t. 

“It’s part of the job at this stage of my career,” he told CelticsBlog at training camp in Charleston. “I understand it. I understand there’s going to be a lot of times where I don’t play. There’s going to be some times where I’m needed. There are other times where I’m just needed to be the voice for a big stretch of the season. Being comfortable with that, and being able to own that, is my role and my job.”

What has surprised him, however, is that the Stay-Ready bench role has actually made him expend more energy, not less. 

“You’re not just relaxing and chilling,” he said. “You’re actually working harder than you probably ever have, because you never know when your number is going to be called. Your wheels have to be turning, your brain has to be on.”

Mazzulla said he’s been impressed with Conley’s minutes on the court.

 “There’s been times where he just comes in off the bench, he gets a shot right away,” he said. “His defensive presence has been great. So I think that’s just as important, because he still takes pride in playing. That’s great to see at this stage of his career.”

Still, Conley’s off-court impact might be his most profound contribution to the team. On Sunday, Mazzulla called Conley “an extension of the coaching staff”, and said he’s made a concerted effort to learn from him. 

“He has 20 years of experience, and I’m going to pick his brain just as much as the players are,” Mazzulla said. “He’s played for great coaches, had great teammates. We all just need to be able to take from his wisdom.”

Conley has run film sessions and handled part of the scouting and defensive game-planning for the Celtics’ game against the Orlando Magic last week, in which they held the Magic to just 97 points. When he signed in Boston, he knew he’d be expected to help lead in the locker room.

“I knew that I’d obviously be a voice and a vet leader and all that stuff,” Conley said. “But to the extent of running film sessions, picking out clips, stuff like that — I didn’t know that was going to be part of the job description.“

But he’s loved every minute of it. 

“It’s something I think is unique and really cool about being here,” he said. “And, I welcome it the rest of the year.”

Asked whether this season’s unique experience has pointed toward coaching, Conley laughed.

 “I always tell them, I don’t know if I can coach the young guys, man. Y’all run me in circles,” he said. “But I’ll never shut the door on it.”

For now, he’s enjoying the unique opportunity to be a key mind on one of the NBA’s top teams and a rare active player who can take on real coaching responsibilities.

Oh, and the occasional start.

“Hopefully I continue to get better at it,” Conley said, “and continue to bridge that gap of player and coach and teammate.”

Tyler Kolek’s girlfriend, Lexi Sousa, made it clear that she’s a proud Swiftie after the Knicks guard faced backlash from the singer’s fans for calling her out as the “fakest” celebrity supporter of the team.

Sousa broke her silence on the drama in the comment section of Kolek’s Instagram carousel post Sunday, captioned, “Tyler’s Version” — which was a take on the title of Swift’s re-recorded albums and songs during her music catalog dispute.

“Era’s tour attendee mind you !!” Sousa wrote, including a white heart emoji, referring to Swift’s record-breaking tour, which wrapped in December 2024 after 149 shows across 21 countries.

Sousa also reshared her comment to her Instagram Story.

In another post, Sousa shared a photo while in the car and listening to “All Too Well” — the 10-minute version by Swift.

“Back on my grind (passenger princess-ing),” she wrote, indicating that Kolek was behind the wheel.

Kolek explained that he wasn’t aware of Swift’s Knicks fandom on Saturday following the Knicks’ 109-97 win over the Cavaliers.

“It’s just a question that was asked for me, that maybe I answered in the wrong way. Take that on the chin,” Kolek said. “I love her music. We were just playing it five minutes ago, and I’m singing every word to every song. Nothing against her at all.

“People have been going back and sending me all this stuff about her coming to the games, and she was actually wearing a [No.] 13 jersey [of] Joakim Noah back in the day with Carmelo [Anthony]. That’s on me. I wasn’t up to date on my Taylor Swift Knicks fandom. So that’s on me.”

Kolek called out Swift when him and teammate Deuce McBride were answering questions during an NBA 2K TikTok livestream on Thursday. That video has since been deleted from the NBA 2K TikTok.

When asked “Who is the fakest celebrity Knicks fan?” Kolek singled out Swift.

“At the Knicks games, I would say it’s very performative,” Kolek said. “Because they just want to be seen at the game. They’re not necessarily fans. Maybe Taylor Swift? I don’t know if I’ve seen her at any other games. I guess she has a lot going on so she can’t come all the time. But it’s a little performative.”

McBride agreed but said “Swifties” wouldn’t like his answer.

“I’m going to get some hate from the Swifties,” Kolek added.

And he was right.

Swift’s fanbase destroyed him online and reminded him that he played zero minutes in the 2026 NBA Finals.

Swift stole the spotlight on Celebrity Row at Madison Square Garden when the Knicks pulled off a historic comeback to beat the Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 of the Finals. The Knicks then won Game 5 on the road to win their first title in 53 years.

The Knicks released a statement in defense of Swift after Kolek’s comments ruffled some feathers.

“Taylor Swift has been a Knicks fan for many years, has a long history with Madison Square Garden, and we are incredibly appreciative of her support of the organization,” the Knicks said in a statement Friday.

Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce got married at MSG on July 3.

Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson defended Kolek in an Instagram Story video on Sunday, which showed his teammate singing Swift’s hit song, “Blank Space” while in the locker room.

“He apologizes… the kid is okay. He’s a Swiftie,” Clarkson wrote.

Kolek made headlines when he had a run-in with police after they mistook him for a fan during the team’s championship parade in New York in June.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Bucks fans and fans across the country.

The old adage proclaims that the team that gets the best player wins the trade. By that logic, the Miami Heat are the clear-cut winners in the trade that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Heat in exchange for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakučionis, and picks, including the 13th-overall selection in this year’s draft, which ended up being Nate Ament. But is it all that simple?

Team Performance

Miami traded for Giannis on the basis of winning now. Three weeks into the season, that’s not really happening, with the Heat going 4-6 and sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference standings (moving up after a narrow win over the Sacramento Kings last night). Moreover, the Heat were billed as a defensive-juggernaut-to-be, yet that reality couldn’t be further from the truth. At this point of the season, the Heat rank 26th in defensive rating (116.8), 27th in opponent points per game (121.1 PPG), and 28th in opponent field goal percentage (48.8%). Their defensive struggles aren’t lost on head coach extraordinaire Erik Spoelstra, who said as much himself:

We’re losing games because of our defense. That has to be our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priorities. Everything else we’ll start to make some progress.

Others, including ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon, have noticed too:

Of course, the Milwaukee Bucks have their own problems—plenty of ‘em, including being too nice—and, despite being in most of their games thus far, find themselves sitting just 1-9 and in last place.

Player Performance

Individually, Giannis has put up similar numbers to what he did for Milwaukee: 27.5 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 1.1 BPG. However, he’s suddenly copping a lot more criticism in the media—a “perk” for requesting a trade to a big market, perhaps. Most notably, former coach Doc Rivers spoke about how Giannis is “not easy” to coach, while former player Nick Young was downright abusive of Giannis on Gil’s Arena. Manner aside, both of these point to game-style issues that have long been known, at least around here. Portis, meanwhile, is struggling to find his groove in South Beach, averaging just 7.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG on .371/.325/.714 shooting splits.

Closer to home, the Bucks’ recruits have been a mixed bag. Herro has been great, air-frying his way to 21.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 4.3 APG and providing rare veteran stability for a young team trying to figure things out (including how to go from competing to winning). Jakučionis has shown strong glimpses, as has Ament, who is likely ahead of the curve many projected for him. Jaquez has also been a positive, arguably playing the best ball of his career, although his long-term tenure on the team is anything but guaranteed having not come to terms on a rookie-scale extension. Then there’s Ware, who many saw as the prize acquisition and a potential breakout candidate, but who has been underwhelming to say the least, exhibiting many of the concerning habits that came to light during his time in Miami—and who seems to be finding a home in Taylor Jenkins’ doghouse.

The End Goal

For Miami, the goal of the trade is clear: win a championship. Pat Riley owned this, saying “We are here to win. Giannis wants to win. Our plan is to go for it right from the beginning.” Giannis did too:

“One of my goals is to win a lot of championships… I think this is the best route for me to do that.”

– Giannis Antetokounmpo

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) July 16, 2026

This puts a premium on the present. But if the Heat aren’t contending this year, then there’s a helluva lot of pressure to win next year—when Giannis will be turning 33—otherwise it might just be too late. For at least one fan, this pressure, not to mention the impending contract pressure when Giannis’ extension options become more lucrative in January, is not missed.

For Milwaukee, the play is obviously long term. Bereft of many (any?) real assets prior to the trade, this was a chance for the Bucks to build anew. And, fingers and toes—and anything else you can—crossed that the Bucks aren’t punished for the Gary Trent Jr. deal, they are in a better position to build than they would have been rehashing the same plan as yesteryear. Right?

So, three-or-so weeks into the season, now that we’ve seen how the acquisitions and teams look, how do you evaluate the trade?

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Since teaming up in the fall of 2017, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum forged on in Beantown as the Boston Celtics shuffled through name after name around them. 

Kyrie Irving. Gordon Hayward. Kemba Walker. Robert Williams III. Marcus Smart. Al Horford. Jrue Holiday. Kristaps Porzingis. 

All of them came and went while Boston pursued a title — and eventually claimed one in emphatic fashion — behind its two young, then budding, and, finally, established stars on the wing.

A year after winning a championship in 2024, the Tatum-Brown-Holiday-Horford-Porzingis core dissolved as the latter three departed. Despite Tatum missing much of 2025-26 while recovering from a torn Achilles, the Celtics pivoted toward a new group around their two pillars. Then, after a bountiful nine-year partnership, Tatum and Brown split.

In exchange for Paul George and two first-round picks (and two swaps), Boston dealt Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers over the summer. Brown’s exit represented the Celtics’ most dramatic roster reshaping in recent years. Sure, the year prior marked a wider exodus of names but none of them helped define Boston’s vision and identity like Brown. 

Through nine games, that’s proven true on both ends of the floor. The Celtics have altered how they elect to deploy their offensive figureheads and spotlight George’s defensive splendor — the product of Brown’s absence (for better and worse) and George’s arrival (for better and worse).

Without Brown, Boston does not sport a creator equipped to soak up mammoth on-ball volume beyond Tatum, who sports a career-high 36% usage rate (third league-wide, per Cleaning the Glass) and is averaging 27.9 points, 8.0 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game this season.

But the Celtics have not spiked Tatum’s responsibilities by simply handing him the ball up top and demanding he stir more of their drink. His 27.2% on-ball rate is lower than in 2025-26 (28.3%) and 2024-25 (28.8%) while his 20.0 creation true shot attempts per 100 possessions (pick-and-rolls, isolation, post-ups) align with the previous two years as well (19.0, 19.4), per databallr.

Instead, they’re leveraging his size, strength and fluidity to garner advantageous touches inside, dive to the rim around off-ball screens and attack tilted defenses on the move. A 33% rim frequency is his highest since 2022-23 and tied for the second-gaudiest mark of his career.  

Tatum relishes contact these days and will bludgeon through any defender to finish or draw fouls. His .510 free-throw rate is obliterating a previous career-high of .399. Only Luka Doncic (102) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (83) have attempted more free throws than his 80 this season. 

He is huge, strong and emboldened. The Celtics are wielding that to their benefit. 

Plays like those emphasize another crucial detail in how Tatum’s reached such towering usage: teammates are setting up him more often. Forty-seven percent of all his field goals are assisted, his highest rate since 2022-23, including 53% at the rim and 41% from midrange — also his highest rates since 2022-23, per Cleaning the Glass. 

In contrast to their guard-sized contemporaries, wing-sized initiators often incur drawbacks with their burst, handle and flexibility. They are bigger and stronger, so they are slower and less adept maneuvering through tight windows. Yet they are bigger and stronger than their diminutive peers, traits that present their own upshots. As best they can, the Celtics are embracing the upshots to help mitigate the drawbacks while still bestowing Tatum cream-of-the-crop usage.

He is logging plenty of traditional creation reps, though, too. And when he is commandeering Boston’s offense, he’s looked spectacular as a facilitator. His 40.5% assist rate dwarfs his previous career-high of 26.5%.

His 16.7 potential assists per 100 are also a career high, besting his 15.8 in 2024-25. When he returned last season, he was mighty punctual and precise as a distributor, reliably dissecting opponents if they sent too many limbs into his orbit. That’s continued this year. 

Most notably, he’s amended his playmaking patterns. Whereas he’s typically erred for kickout passes to shooters against gap help or blitzes — partly because he’s played with many below-the-rim and/or floor-spacing centers — he’s prioritizing more interior reads this season and averaging a career-high 5.2 at-rim assists per 100 possessions (99th percentile). 

That shatters last year’s career-high of 3.0, which already trounced his then-career-high of 2.2 in 2024-25. Boston’s rim frequency is 9.3% higher with him on the floor this season (per Cleaning the Glass), the result of his interior-oriented style and preferences as a passer.

Whether he’s playing alongside Neemias Queta or Mitchell Robinson, he’s utilizing his 84-inch acrobats to generate easy shots as the Celtics’ primary initiator. His own height empowers him to disregard extra attention over the top and he’s increasingly manipulating help defenders with his eyes to open up passes inside, particularly when George or Sam Hauser — Boston’s most vaunted off-ball shooters — are stationed in the weak-side corner. 

In totality, Tatum receiving newfound off-ball opportunities is a positive for his game. But a focus operating downhill and starting touches inside the arc has somewhat damaged his shot profile. According to Cleaning the Glass, 19% of his field goals are long midrange attempts (14 feet to the 3-point line) and 35% of his field goals fall under the broader midrange designation (beyond 4 feet to the 3-point line). The former is highest since 2018-19 and the latter is his highest since 2020-21. 

Of course, there are a handful of voluminous scorers who flourish in the intermediate region. Tatum is not among them. He’s shooting 39% from midrange and has only eclipsed 40% once in his decade-long NBA tenure. 

Too routinely, he will catch the ball in the post or against a switch and squander the chance with an arduous pull-up 2, turnaround jumper or fadeaway. He’s shooting 51.5% inside the arc, his worst mark since 2020-21, when he shot 52.4% — last year’s abbreviated, post-injury stretch excluded.

An uptick in looks around the rim and from midrange has seen Tatum’s 3-point rate dwindle to 30%, his lowest mark since 2018-19. And he’s been anemic from deep thus far, shooting 28.6%. That should perk up as the sample swells and 51.5% on 2s isn’t such a deviation from recent years that any long-range pulse, when paired with his premier foul-drawing emergence, should allow him to approximate or exceed the 60% true shooting he accrued from 2022-23 to 2024-25 (a very respectable 58% this year). 

If Tatum has not suddenly devolved into a Thompson Twins-level outside shooter, the tweaks to his usage and passing upswing should set the stage for a career-best campaign offensively. And he is not the only Celtics wing embarking on a new offensive journey. 

Boston recognizes it requires a substantial role for George offensively but cannot just hand him Brown’s shoes and tell him to fit in them. He is nowhere near the shot creator or explosive driver of Brown but does have some advantages, such as size, versatile off-ball play and passing. 

So, head coach Joe Mazzulla is constantly rotating George through various jobs to influence possessions without overtaxing him on the ball — and the early returns are excellent. He’s averaging 19.6 points (58% true shooting), 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.4 steals while shooting 41.3% beyond the arc. 

Despite a career-high 75% of his field goals coming via assists, he touts a 27.6% usage rate, his highest since 2022-23, and is averaging 9.1 creation true shooting attempts per 100, his lowest in the stat’s database spanning back to 2013-14; his time of possession is also its lowest since 2017-18, per NBA.com. Similar to Tatum, Boston is granting George touches in favorable contexts by leaning on its blend of elite screening, decision-making and spacing around them.

As George has aged, he’s lost much of his spunk as a driver. That physical decline has resigned him into many challenging midrange jumpers over defenders who he can no longer scoot past or chisel through to the rim. The Celtics don’t want that as a basis of their offense, so they’re implementing plenty of actions that manufacture advantages for George, whether it be off-ball screens to help him pressure the paint, forcing smaller defenders onto him or letting him catch the ball on the move to ease his creation burden.

His .508 3-point rate is a career high and he’s hoisting a career-high 13.0 triples per 100 possessions. They’re also utilizing him as a screener and roller more than any other team has in his career. According to databallr, his 3.7 finishing true shooting attempts (cuts, putbacks, rolls) per 100 is a career-high. Related: a 21% rim frequency is his highest since 2022-23. Boston’s offense is helping George optimize his shot profile and he’s taking his fewest share of midrange jumpers (31%) since 2011-12.

Reinvigorating George and Tatum as forces inside — and Tatum’s playmaking pivot — feels like an intentional effort to replace Brown’s driving prowess. The Celtics’ 30.2% rim frequency is their highest since 2021-22 and ranks 16th league-wide, their highest standing since 2019-20. That 30.2% mark is loftier than anything they posted with Brown on the floor over his final three years in Boston, which isn’t to frame Brown negatively but to underscore the Celtics’ revamped approach offensively. 

*Billy Beane voice* Boston is aiming to recreate Brown in the aggregate. 

Tatum has commanded a heftier workload and is calling the rim home more often. George is the secondary creator, albeit a lesser one than Brown. Because Tatum’s offensive role has expanded to help replace Brown, the Celtics are asking less of him defensively and calling upon George to fill that void and some of the void Brown left behind.

He’s assuming Brown’s former point-of-attack duties while doubling as an off-ball roamer who can guard bigs (Tatum’s tasks) when Queta ignores a non-shooter to patrol the paint. He’s third in the NBA in deflections per game (5.3) and fifth in steals (2.4), and owns a career-high STOP% of 4.7 (steals, blocks recovered and offensive fouls drawn per 100). 

Just as Boston is highlighting Tatum’s enormity on offense, it’s doing the same with George on defense. His blend of size, screen navigation, instincts and off-ball disruption puts him in rare air defensively. He is huge and mobile. The Celtics are wielding that to their benefit. 

Despite a 7-2 start with their leading men generally thriving, there is much to still sort out and navigate for the Celtics as the season further unfolds. Although I was higher than most on George’s entire Sixers tenure and his pre-suspension performance in 2025-26, it is undeniable he played much better last year once returning from a 25-game layoff. 

An offseason of recuperation offered a similar reprieve. And his scoring numbers since a 38-point barrage to open the year aren’t as rosy: 17.0 points on 53.6% true shooting (37.3% from 3) over the past seven games. How will he fare on both ends as the grind of a long season mounts and transitions to a grueling playoff environment? 

As splendid as Tatum’s been offensively and wondrous as George has been defensively, I still believe Boston, to etch a deep postseason run, will need more of its franchise superstar defensively. His rim protection, general activity and rebounding on that end are at career-worst levels, the last of which is bleeding into Boston’s 24th-ranked defensive rebounding rate (it’s never finished worse than 11th in the Mazzulla era). 

Perhaps, that is a conscious decision from him and the coaching staff, given his prolific offensive scope. But he is, ideally, capable of more. Will he dial it up at some point? Can he? It’s a ton to ask, particularly because I don’t believe this offensive setting has an off-ramp for him to effectively scale back.

And for as cohesive and cunning as the Celtics’ offense is, I’m unsure of its playoff translation. They win on the margins with early flare screens, back-screens and drag screens that catch less-alert defenses off guard in the regular season — all details Tatum and George have ridden to early success. 

When the stakes are raised in the postseason, countering schematic advantages is easier than countering talent advantages. The 2025-26 and 2026-27 Celtics have typically won because of the former, not the latter; their title team merged both components for dominance. This iteration lacks the ball-handling abundance and malleable center play the 2023-24 and 2024-25 squads enjoyed. 

It is also possible a championship is not Boston’s utmost goal or one the organization internally deems plausible this year. Building a team unable to do so during its All-NBA superstar’s prime may warrant criticism but is a separate conversation. 

This is Tatum’s first full year back from a torn Achilles. George, while still very good, is 36 years old and not an All-Star-caliber player anymore. His lucrative contract will be an expiring deal next summer. Derrick White, while a pillar of Boston’s prosperous last half-decade, is 32 and potentially trending downward. 

Maybe, the Celtics are content to see what this Tatum-led group can achieve before parlaying George’s expiring deal and their wealth of first-round picks into a better, younger upgrade over the offseason. Maybe, they continue piling up wins and feel compelled to make a splash at this season’s deadline. 

Regardless, this team is good but different than years past and still spearheaded by Tatum — who, for the first time in his career, is flanked by a new running mate on the wing. 

All stats accurate prior to games played on Nov. 8.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to reestablish some positive momentum as they take on an injured and struggling Charlotte Hornets team.

Things aren’t going well for the Hornets. They have been one of the worst teams in the league based on their point differential. It doesn’t help that they’ve been without one of their best players for most of the season, and their second-best player has struggled mightily.

Kon Knueppel will be missing this game with a hamstring injury. He has played just six minutes so far this season for Charlotte. The Hornets will also be without Brandon Miller (hip), who’s gotten off to a rough start to the season as he’s been unable to find his range from beyond the arc (26%).

This is a prime opportunity for the Cavs to pick up a win and start another busy week on the right foot.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (5-5) at Charlotte Hornets (3-7)

Where: Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC

When: Monday, Nov. 9 at 7 PM

TV: DAZN, NBA League Pass

Point spread: Cavs -8.5

Cavs injury report: Sam Merrill – OUT (elbow) , Jarrett Allen – QUESTIONABLE (knee), Jaylon Tyson – OUT (ankle), Nae’Qwan Tomlin – OUT (back), Khalifa Diop – OUT (G League), Ernest Udeh, Jr. – OUT (G League)

Hornets injury report: Kon Kneuppel – OUT (hamstring), Brandon Miller – OUT (hip), Dennis Schroder – OUT (hamstring), Grant Williams – OUT (hamstring), Moussa Diabate – QUESTIONABLE (quad)

Cavs expectedstarting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Meleek Thomas, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley

Hornets expected starting lineup: Coby White, Grayson Allen, Sion James, Naz Reid, Ryan Kalkbrenner

Cavs jersey:Black Statement Edition uniform

Previous matchup: The Cavs have won three straight over the Hornets, including a 118-113 win at the end of last February.

Here’s a look at both teams’ regular-season impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.

	Offensive Rating	Defensive Rating	Net Rating
Cavs	116.3 (9th)	112.1 (10th)	+4.2 (11th)
Hornets	102 (30th)	116.1 (24th)	-14.1 (29th)

The Houston Rockets are having an identity crisis.

Think Fight Club (which, as an aside, I only watched for the first time a few years ago, and if you haven’t seen it, don’t bother; it’s been caricatured to the point that it feels like a parody of itself), in reverse. The Rockets were a rugged, fist-wielding Brad Pitt in 2025-26. Pesky social conventions like “getting good shots” and “running offensive sets” were boring and beneath them. The Rockets were winning fights instead of playing games.

In 2026-27, they’re more like the neutered, emasculated Edward Norton. They’ve mostly been doing all the right things, and it’s mostly been working, but they’re just lacking some kind of cliched, overly white-male-privileged (blue wavy baby, we’re back) existential purpose.

Let’s park the analogy. It’s good that the Rockets’ offense has looked more sophisticated in 2026-27. They shouldn’t abandon that. Instead, they need to synthesize last season’s approach with this one.

In their last contest, the old 2025-26 offense reared its ugly (or maybe ruggedly handsome if we’re Brad Pitt) head. The floor shrank. Instead of zipping high post passes to a cutting Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun settled for a bunch of bad floaters that he’s never been proficient with, in large part because the Thompson cuts weren’t coming. The Rockets’ offense fell apart:

Yet, if they’d just dominated the Suns on the glass, they would have won anyway.

Rockets need to get back to their former selves

Rest assured, this offense will fall apart again.

Ultimately, it’s the same old chestnut: The Rockets don’t have an every-night, carry-the-offense, even if he’s missing, he’s making something happen superstar. Sorry, Sengun fans, and Thompson isn’t even close, and it’s just not how the team is using Kevin Durant this year, which makes sense from a longer-term developmental perspective and a shorter-term, preserve him for the playoffs perspective.

Last year, the Rockets compensated for that lack of top-end talent by dominating physically. They were number one by a long shot in Offensive Rebounding %. This year, they’re fourth (36.0%). They’re fifth in overall Rebounding % (52.5th), which they also led the NBA in last season.

Sure, the Rockets are still a great rebounding team. If they have 2026-27 NBA championship aspirations, great isn’t great enough. They need to be the best rebounding team in the NBA, or else they will lose in the playoffs to a team with better players.

It’s not just rebounding, either. The Rockets’ 109.4 Defensive Rating ranks 10th in the NBA. Last year, they had the league’s sixth-best defense (112.1). This year’s mark is actually better, but that feels like a small-sample quirk. Their placement relative to the league seems more relevant.

Of course, they also have the second-best Offensive Rating in the NBA (118.6). Make no mistake: This year’s team looks better than last year’s team. It would also be wise to avoid overreacting to one game, but against the Suns, it felt like some offensive regression was due. If it is, they need to regress to the mean (a confusing phrase when something is improving; it ought to be progress to the mean, why don’t we say that?) in rebounding and defense.

Some of this is due to Steven Adams’ absence, but let’s not make excuses. If Adams can’t regularly play, the Rockets need a new backup five, and he needs to be the best rebounder they can find. The Rockets need to rediscover their identity:

After all, the things you do own, end up owning you.

For as bad as last Friday’s game was in Cleveland, the Sixers probably deserve a mulligan. At 9-2 after Sunday’s win in Chicago, Philly has not only looked the part of a championship contender, but they’ve done it against lots of fellow contenders, Sunday notwithstanding. The schedule is about to lighten up for the Sixers, but they still have two more games this week against playoff teams from last season. They’ll host Boston on Tuesday and Toronto on Thursday.

If the Sixers can get to 11-2, they’ll be set up to face a slew of sub-.500 teams for the rest of November. They’ve already got the attention of the entire NBA world given that they’ve lived up to the preseason hype thus far. Think about what the narrative could be in 3-4 week’s time surrounding this team. The wins should continue to be piled up, and they would have already beaten all the top challengers in the Eastern Conference once already and it wouldn’t even be Christmas yet.

Oddly enough, the Sixers have not had home-court advantage in a playoff series since the 2023 first round when they swept Brooklyn. That means it hasn’t happened in three previous seasons under Nick Nurse. As they continue to stockpile victories early in the season, the reality of a deep playoff run becomes increasingly plausible. In two postseasons under Nurse, the Sixers have had grueling first-round matchups, losing a tight series to New York in 2024 and having to rally from 3-1 down to eliminate Boston in 2026. The drain of having to dig out of the 3-1 hole against Boston clearly showed itself in the second round last spring when the Sixers got whitewashed by the Knicks in a quick four-game sweep.

In 2023, Philly was ahead 3-2 after five games against Boston and on the precipice of making the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001. We all know how the series ended, but the point remains that getting through an easy first-round series would do wonders for getting Joel Embiid — and LeBron James at his advanced age, for that matter — through an entire four rounds of the postseason.

As the Sixers continue to stack victories early in the 2026-27 season, they’ll continue to make the path to an NBA Championship easier for themselves. Not only have they been stacking victories but finishing off such a challenging first three weeks of the season with two more wins this week against Boston and Toronto would only be the icing on a cake that’s already baking pretty good. In addition to making their postseason path easier, Philly could be as selective as possible in determining when to load manage Embiid and James.

The NBA regular season has often come with a label of irrelevance thanks in part to the load managing we see around the league with superstars and their playing time. While it feels like the Sixers have washed away a lot of the negative labels surrounding their ability to make a deep playoff run, there probably is a segment of the fanbase that is still very much in “Wake me up in April” mode and, to some extent, that’s an understandable sentiment to feel.

But the Sixers are doing all they can possibly do now to make fans believe that this could be the year they play into June. They’re beating every contender in front of them. Remember, despite Friday’s drubbing in Cleveland, they came back from a 29-point deficit to beat the Cavaliers earlier in the season. Simply put, it’s a great time to be a Sixers fan, even if it’s only November.