Category: NBA

Here’s some good news for Duke and Charlotte Hornets fans: Kon Knueppel, who has been out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury, is almost back.

The Hornets announced Thursday that they were going to send him down to their G League for a practice, which means he’s basically tuning up before returning to the Hornets.

He had a sensational rookie season, nearly stealing the Rookie of the Year award from his former Duke roommate Cooper Flagg, averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. He also utterly smashed the previous rookie three-point record of 206, set by Keegan Murray, hitting 273.

Thanks partly to Knueppel, the Hornets had a surprisingly good season last year, but made major changes nonetheless. LaMelo Ball is now a Minnesota Timberwolf. Former Blue Devil Grayson Allen is now a Hornet, as are Naz Reid, Royce O’Neale, Dennis Schröder, and rookies Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson (at some point this season, we really hope the Charlotte announcers can say “Hannes to Christian Anderson for a fairy-tale play!”)

No doubt the Hornets are eager to get Knueppel back so they can sort out their rotation and see where things stand, and it won’t be long now.

• Kon Knueppel Injury Update: Latest Details On Hamstring Recovery And Potential Return Date
• Hornets’ Kon Knueppel nears return, assigned to practice with G League affiliate on Thursday
• Charlotte Hornets Make Kon Knueppel Injury Update Announcement
• Hornets Get First Bit of Good Injury News with Kon Knueppel Update

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On Wednesday, the San Antonio Spurs played the Utah Jazz in Salt lake City. While walking into the arena, Victor Wembanyama was seen donning a Tim Duncan t-shirt.

It was all over social media, but during Spurs Live on DAZN (the network has included the Spurs pregame show to their streaming) Sean Elliott made his obligatory teasing comment of the GOAT power forward stating he thought the shirt was Lord of the Rings until he saw Duncan’s number.

The t-shirt homage was not the only Duncan sighting this week.

The two-time league MVP does not typically attend games in the same way fellow big man David Robinson does and is rarely seen in public. But the five-time NBA champion was spotted with his partner Vanessa Macias waiting in line to participate in early voting early in  Northside Independent School District.

“Tim Duncan showin up to vote?! Just casual San Antonio things,” stated Ashly Shinde, the fan who posted the photo on Threads.

Early voting wraps up tomorrow with election day set for November 3rd.

No word on which Spurs legend’s t-shirt Wemby will wear next.

Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.

The Philadelphia 76ers are 4-1, coming off a solid win against the shorthanded Indiana Pacers. They’ll kick off a back-to-back against two strong teams in the deep Eastern Conference, hosting the New York Knicks before traveling to Charlotte for the second half of their back-to-back.

This will be the second time in the young regular season that they face off against the Knicks, the team that swept them in the NBA playoffs. The Sixers won the season-opening matchup against the reigning champs, 106-100. Since their last matchup, the Knicks have had a semi-turbulent start to the season. They started the year 0-3, with several subplots worth monitoring. Extension talks have stalled with two of their key players, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns, resulting in the Knicks “tabling” extension talks via a PR statement. Mikal Bridges has also struggled mightily, averaging 5.0 points per game on 27% shooting on the year. Their star, Jalen Brunson, has begun finding his groove, but he’s had to carry a heavy load amid their struggles and the off-the-court noise.

The Sixers, on the other hand, have mostly been good. Their only loss came against the Detroit Pistons, who, albeit shorthanded, are a capable team with a legit star. Much like the Indiana game, the subplot to watch with the Sixers has been their offense. It’s come and gone in spurts. The Sixers have had decent success in the half court, but they’ll need to lean on their defense yet again to generate some easy transition baskets.

Despite the flashes, the Sixers’ offense is best labeled as a work in progress. LeBron James has yet to really light it up in the scoring category. Their stars are still figuring out when to be aggressive and when to defer, but there have been glimpses of hope. Jaylen Brown is averaging 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists on good efficiency. He, in particular, is important in this Knicks matchup, as they have no shortage of wings to throw at him and James.

This matchup will also be another iteration of Towns vs. Embiid, the latter of whom is coming off two strong showings that saw him record a double-double and a triple-double. Heading into this game, Brown is listed as questionable with knee soreness. Jabari Walker, Tacko Fall and Dominick Barlow remain out.

Despite it not being November, this game does have some extra juice behind it, and no, I’m not talking about the Cup tournament with the ugly court. If the Sixers were to win this game, they’d guarantee no worse than a season-series tie against their division rivals, which means any potential tiebreaker could come down to division standing at the end of the year. We’re months away from hawk-watching the standings and playoff seeding, but this matchup could prove important when we get to that point.

And for those who don’t mind the highlighter courts and/or the NBA Cup, there is that, although the Sixers’ group for the NBA Cup is best described as a gauntlet: New York, Cleveland, Indiana and Miami. Miami’s struggles aside, that’s a tough group to go up against regardless of the raised stakes.

There’s very little margin for error with the NBA Cup, so we’ll soon know whether the Sixers are serious about it or if we experience more of the same from prior years: fizzling out. Let’s see what happens in what’s slated to be an intriguing late-October matchup.

Game Details

When: Friday, October 30, 7:30 pm ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: Prime Video
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow:@LibertyBallers

Steve Kerr eager to see how Yaxel Lendeborg handles rematch vs. Luka Dončić  originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors get another crack at defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, hosting their rivals to begin their NBA Cup campaign. All eyes will be on the Yaxel Lendeborg vs. Luka Dončić matchup.

Golden State faced the Lakers on opening night, losing 127-105. Lendeborg guarded Dončić and held his own, but dealt with the challenges of facing a superstar right out of the gate. Lendeborg spoke with reporters after the game and called out Dončić, sparking anticipation for the next matchup.

Coach Steve Kerr spoke on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs,” and when asked about Lendeborg’s second opportunity to face the Lakers, he stated that he’s excited to see how he handles the rematch.

“Nope,” Kerr told Dan Dibley on if he wants Lendeborg to take a different approach. “I think what happened last week was great. He said what he said, put himself out there, and now he’s got to guard Luka [Dončić] again. And hopefully, he will have learned from the first game. And he was astonished after that game at the way the game was played and the tricks that Luka was playing on him and the officiating and everything else, and I told him it’s a completely different game than the college game, and you have to get used to all those tricks.

“He’s got five games under his belt, but one against Luka. So we’ll see how he handles it [tonight] because you have to be really crafty to avoid the reach-in fouls, jumping at pump fakes, that comes off when you play against Luka.”

Lendeborg needed to adapt quickly in his first game against Dončić and showed promise. Scoring 12 points in 29 minutes, he was one of five Warriors players to score double digits and put his physicality on full display. Opening night gave him a good foundation to build on, and he followed that up with an 18-point performance in Golden State’s second game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Lendeborg, the No. 11 overall pick in this year’s draft, is an older rookie at 24 years old and joins a team that urgently needs him to perform. Luckily, Lendeborg steadily has improved each and every game, coming off a 26-point game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Averaging 22.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists through five games, he has surged in NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

The Warriors are decimated by injuries, with players such as Moses Moody, Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porziņġis all unavailable, but are still hungry to contend for one last title with the main core of Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Lendeborg’s early-season success has given the team new life while simultaneously giving Curry the perfect sidekick.

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The NBA regular season just started, but it’s not too early to look ahead to the league’s most significant individual award.

It’s clear the field for Most Valuable Player is going to be a crowded one, and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s run of two consecutive awards may be in peril. It’s also clear that injuries are going to take their toll on the race for the prize.

Several significant ailments, none bigger than Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards’ knee issue, are going to complicate résumé, as players try to meet the 65-game threshold for eligibility.

It has been an intriguing start to the season, so here is the first iteration of the USA TODAY Sports' NBA Most Valuable Player rankings:

NBA POWER RANKINGS: Injuries shake up league, winless Miami Heat plummet

NBA TOP 100: How we ranked the players ahead of the 2026-27 season

The NBA Cup enters its fourth year hopeful that a pair of firsts can help grow the audience for its in-season tournament.

For the first time, the defending NBA Cup champion is also the reigning NBA champion. For the first time, the event's championship game will be played outside Las Vegas. For the New York Knicks, it's an early season challenge once group-play games begin this week. They will attempt to become the first repeat winner of the NBA Cup.

Here's everything you need to know about the 2026 NBA Cup, including tournament format, schedule and how to watch all the games:

BOSTON — Jordan Walsh got annoyed last season when the Celtics introduced him as Josh Minott before his first start at TD Garden. He used the snub as fuel and leaned into his defensive abilities to help the Celtics win 15-of-20. Ascending to the role shocked him, and as he later recounted, Joe Mazzulla quipped that Walsh’s career was dead not long before that.

Walsh had one thought after that wore off. How do I maintain it for as long as possible? What did I do to get here? How do I keep it?

While he maintained a role for the rest of last season, and earned a three-year, $15 million extension over the summer, Walsh didn’t stay in the starting lineup. Baylor Scheierman received an opportunity ahead of Jayson Tatum’s return, then Sam Hauser joined Tatum and Jaylen Brown into the playoffs. But Mazzulla didn’t forget the defensive impact Walsh produced for that quarter of the season, and tried to recreate it in the preseason by starting him again. Since then, Walsh and offseason addition Mitchell Robinson have started all four regular season games.

Walsh assumed the role with a different perspective this time, despite finding out the same way. Arriving in the locker room in Detroit and seeing his name in the pre-game notes.

“I think we have a lot of really good guys,” Walsh told CLNS Media/CelticsBlog on Monday. “A lot of guys who can step in and play that starter role, so it’s more about having the the next guy ready and supporting him through that and passing on whatever knowledge you can in the moment, because we’re all trying to get to one goal which is to win a championship. So whether I’m playing or Hugo (Gonzalez)’s playing, Baylor, Ron (Harper Jr.), whoever’s playing in that position in those minutes, we want the best for him and so everybody has a group like that, who can step in and handle those minutes. Luka (Garza), Neemy (Queta) and Mitch are all interchangeable, so I think we’re just full of a lot of talented guys who want to play as hard as possible and try to win and so plugging in different pieces, it’s just gonna help us.” 

The Celtics plan to deploy a variety of lineups this year and Mazzulla stressed that starting lineups don’t mean much before the opener in Detroit. Yet Derrick White, Paul George, Walsh, Tatum and Robinson stand as Boston’s most-used combination through 36 minutes where they’ve outscored opponents by 17.6 points per 100 possessions. Their 118.9 offensive rating would rank fourth among teams and their 101.3 defensive mark would place second. And Walsh hasn’t been a passenger, ranking fourth among point of attack defenders in BBall Index’ defensive talent metric.

Jalen Brunson shot 2-for-7 against Walsh last week across nearly six minutes and Cade Cunningham finished 1-for-4 on opening night before Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle poured in 5-of-8 with Walsh in their shirts. Mazzulla saw Walsh’s on-ball defense as a tone-setter, but the Celtics also had larger schematic ambitions in starting him. They want to force more turnovers, and Walsh’s presence has allowed them to maximize Paul George’s off-ball defensive abilities.

“Defensively, I think we’re really good. PG being able to be an off-ball playmaker,” Walsh said. “Obviously he’s a really good on ball defender, but being able to be an off-ball playmaker and not worry about having to guard the best guy, I think that takes a load off of him, and he gets to play more free, he gets to play however he likes, and I think that’s my job is open that up for them and everybody else, so trying to do that to the best ability I can.” 

Walsh also hoped to expand his offensive games this season and become more of a threat, with a long-term goal of becoming a player who can’t be removed from the game in any matchup or situation. So far, he’s shown mixed results, shooting 9-for-20 (45%) from the field and 4-for-10 (40%) from three with 6.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game (11.5/8.4/2.3 per 36 mins.). He did most of that work on Tuesday against Brooklyn, when he scored 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting.

His renewed skill set flashed immediately in the preseason with a stop-and-start move, and he revealed that he tried to contact Paul George right away after the Celtics acquired him to begin working out. On the court, George showed him ways to use his physicality while the off-court mentality of thinking more like a player, instinctually, rather than running around energetically helped Walsh most. That’ll flash when rest nights and injuries inevitably allow the team’s younger players to step into larger roles.

For now, Walsh knows he’s filling and role and wants to maximize his productivity in it.

“I mean, (offense is) obviously a focus that I want,” Walsh said. “I think at the end of the day, I’m on the court with, J.T., D. White, P.G. and Mitch a lot of the time, so my job isn’t to go score the ball, necessarily. That’s not my role, so all that extra stuff is just icing on the cake. What I’m there for and what I’m trying to provide to the team is being the best defender, being a guy that keeps us out of rotations, keeps the stress off of our other guys so that they can focus on the bigger picture, taking a stress off of them in that sense and so the offense, I want it to be better, everybody probably wants it to be better, but the main thing is always gonna be the main thing.”

How does the NBA Cup work? Format, groups and schedule for the 2026 tournament originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Who will win the fourth edition of the Emirates NBA Cup?

Introduced in the 2023-24 campaign as an in-season tournament, the NBA Cup offers teams and players an extra shot to lift a trophy, along with cash bonuses based on performance.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the first ever edition of the event, the Milwaukee Bucks took down the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024-25 NBA Cup Final and the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in an NBA Cup Final that doubled as an NBA Finals preview.

There will be new team jerseys, fresh colorful courts and a run to the final that will be played in a new location.

Here’s everything to know about how the tournament works, the schedule and how to watch.

When does the NBA Cup start?

This year’s tournament will begin on Friday, Oct. 30.

Most group stage games will be played on Fridays through Nov. 27, with additional contests on Nov. 24-25 before Thanksgiving.

The knockout rounds, starting with the quarterfinals, will begin on Dec. 4 and 5.

The semifinals and final were previously held in Las Vegas, but the league switched things up this year. Semifinals will be held at higher seeds’ home arenas and the final will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The full schedule can be found here.

How does the NBA Cup work?

The NBA Cup has a similar format to the World Cup, with group play and a knockout round.

All 30 teams will compete in group play, having been placed into six groups of five teams within their conference. Teams face each of their group opponents once for a total of four group play games, two at home and two on the road.

If two or more teams are tied within a group, the following tiebreakers are used:

• Head-to-head record in group play
• Point differential in group play
• Total points scored in group play
• Record from the 2025-26 NBA regular season
• Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)

Eight teams advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds: the top team in each of the six groups and a wild-card team in each conference that’s awarded to the second-place finisher with the best overall record. Wild card tiebreakers follow the same tiebreaker sequence but begin with point differential.

Winning teams advance to the semifinals and then final.

Teams entered the season with only 80 scheduled games. The 22 teams that do not advance to the knockout round will play two regular-season games during tournament off nights on Dec. 6-7 and Dec. 9-10. The four teams that lose in the quarterfinals will play a regular-season game on either the Dec. 7, 9 or 10.

What are the groups for the NBA Cup?

The 30 teams were divided into six groups based on records from the 2025-26 regular season.

• Pot 1: The teams with the three best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 2: The teams with the fourth- through sixth-best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 3: The teams with the seventh- through ninth-best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 4: The teams with the 10th-through 12th-best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 5: The teams with the 13th-through 15th-best prior-season records in a conference

And here are the six groups in total, with three in each conference.

East Group A

• Brooklyn Nets
• Detroit Pistons
• Milwaukee Bucks
• Orlando Magic
• Toronto Raptors

East Group B

• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Indiana Pacers
• Miami Heat
• New York Knicks
• Philadelphia 76ers

East Group C

• Atlanta Hawks
• Boston Celtics
• Charlotte Hornets
• Chicago Bulls
• Washington Wizards

West Group A

• Dallas Mavericks
• Denver Nuggets
• Houston Rockets
• Phoenix Suns
• Utah Jazz

West Group B

• LA Clippers
• Memphis Grizzlies
• Minnesota Timberwolves
• New Orleans Pelicans
• Oklahoma City Thunder

West Group C

• Golden State Warriors
• Los Angeles Lakers
• Portland Trail Blazers
• Sacramento Kings
• San Antonio Spurs

Does the NBA Cup matter?

Define “matter.”

All of the games count towards the 82-game regular-season standings, with the exception of the championship game. Teams that advance to the knockout round all receive a share of the prize pool, with teams advancing the furthest getting the largest allotment.

Players on the team that wins the NBA Cup will take home an extra $604,985 each, while the runner-up will receive $241,994 each. Semifinal losers will collect $120,997 each and the quarterfinal losers get $60,499.

The tournament winner also gets bragging rights, a trophy and even celebratory hats and shirts.

The NBA will also name the Most Valuable Player of the In-Season Tournament and the All-Tournament Team.

But, other than tournament games counting towards regular-season win-loss records, the tournament has no impact on the postseason bracket.

Where is the NBA Cup held?

Group play and the knockout rounds of the in-season tournament will be played at each team’s respective home arenas.

The NBA Cup Final will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

How to watch the NBA Cup games

Most NBA Cup games will air on Prime Video, NBA League Pass or local stations. Select games will air on NBC and Peacock, as well as ESPN.

How does the NBA Cup work? Format, groups and schedule for the 2026 tournament originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Who will win the fourth edition of the Emirates NBA Cup?

Introduced in the 2023-24 campaign as an in-season tournament, the NBA Cup offers teams and players an extra shot to lift a trophy, along with cash bonuses based on performance.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the first ever edition of the event, the Milwaukee Bucks took down the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024-25 NBA Cup Final and the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in an NBA Cup Final that doubled as an NBA Finals preview.

There will be new team jerseys, fresh colorful courts and a run to the final that will be played in a new location.

Here’s everything to know about how the tournament works, the schedule and how to watch.

When does the NBA Cup start?

This year’s tournament will begin on Friday, Oct. 30.

Most group stage games will be played on Fridays through Nov. 27, with additional contests on Nov. 24-25 before Thanksgiving.

The knockout rounds, starting with the quarterfinals, will begin on Dec. 4 and 5.

The semifinals and final were previously held in Las Vegas, but the league switched things up this year. Semifinals will be held at higher seeds’ home arenas and the final will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The full schedule can be found here.

How does the NBA Cup work?

The NBA Cup has a similar format to the World Cup, with group play and a knockout round.

All 30 teams will compete in group play, having been placed into six groups of five teams within their conference. Teams face each of their group opponents once for a total of four group play games, two at home and two on the road.

If two or more teams are tied within a group, the following tiebreakers are used:

• Head-to-head record in group play
• Point differential in group play
• Total points scored in group play
• Record from the 2025-26 NBA regular season
• Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)

Eight teams advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds: the top team in each of the six groups and a wild-card team in each conference that’s awarded to the second-place finisher with the best overall record. Wild card tiebreakers follow the same tiebreaker sequence but begin with point differential.

Winning teams advance to the semifinals and then final.

Teams entered the season with only 80 scheduled games. The 22 teams that do not advance to the knockout round will play two regular-season games during tournament off nights on Dec. 6-7 and Dec. 9-10. The four teams that lose in the quarterfinals will play a regular-season game on either the Dec. 7, 9 or 10.

What are the groups for the NBA Cup?

The 30 teams were divided into six groups based on records from the 2025-26 regular season.

• Pot 1: The teams with the three best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 2: The teams with the fourth- through sixth-best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 3: The teams with the seventh- through ninth-best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 4: The teams with the 10th-through 12th-best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 5: The teams with the 13th-through 15th-best prior-season records in a conference

And here are the six groups in total, with three in each conference.

East Group A

• Brooklyn Nets
• Detroit Pistons
• Milwaukee Bucks
• Orlando Magic
• Toronto Raptors

East Group B

• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Indiana Pacers
• Miami Heat
• New York Knicks
• Philadelphia 76ers

East Group C

• Atlanta Hawks
• Boston Celtics
• Charlotte Hornets
• Chicago Bulls
• Washington Wizards

West Group A

• Dallas Mavericks
• Denver Nuggets
• Houston Rockets
• Phoenix Suns
• Utah Jazz

West Group B

• LA Clippers
• Memphis Grizzlies
• Minnesota Timberwolves
• New Orleans Pelicans
• Oklahoma City Thunder

West Group C

• Golden State Warriors
• Los Angeles Lakers
• Portland Trail Blazers
• Sacramento Kings
• San Antonio Spurs

Does the NBA Cup matter?

Define “matter.”

All of the games count towards the 82-game regular-season standings, with the exception of the championship game. Teams that advance to the knockout round all receive a share of the prize pool, with teams advancing the furthest getting the largest allotment.

Players on the team that wins the NBA Cup will take home an extra $604,985 each, while the runner-up will receive $241,994 each. Semifinal losers will collect $120,997 each and the quarterfinal losers get $60,499.

The tournament winner also gets bragging rights, a trophy and even celebratory hats and shirts.

The NBA will also name the Most Valuable Player of the In-Season Tournament and the All-Tournament Team.

But, other than tournament games counting towards regular-season win-loss records, the tournament has no impact on the postseason bracket.

Where is the NBA Cup held?

Group play and the knockout rounds of the in-season tournament will be played at each team’s respective home arenas.

The NBA Cup Final will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

How to watch the NBA Cup games

Most NBA Cup games will air on Prime Video, NBA League Pass or local stations. Select games will air on NBC and Peacock, as well as ESPN.

Four eye-popping stats that tell the story of Celtics' strong start originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

From Paul George’s defensive chaos to Jayson Tatum’s playmaking evolution, we dug up four numbers that pop off the page through Boston’s first four games.

It’s far too early to make sweeping declarations about this team, but it’s never too early to start obsessing over the analytics. Some of these numbers are undoubtedly destined to regress, but others might be early indicators of what might drive Boston’s success over the 82-game grind. 

1. Paul George is a one-man wrecking crew on defense

Remember all that talk about what a 36-year-old Paul George might have left in the tank? Well, apparently there’s still plenty of gas on both ends of the floor. 

Most notably, George is averaging a league-leading six deflections per game through Boston’s first four contests. 

And this isn’t simply a case of George getting his fingertips on passes. He’s been a legitimate turnover-inducing menace on the defensive end while disrupting passing lanes and simply making opposing ballhandlers think twice about passing in his direction.

George’s 3.5 steals per 100 possessions slot him in the 95th percentile at his position. His 2.3 steals per game ranks tied for 9th in the NBA overall. 

The most encouraging part? George doesn’t necessarily need to be the offensive superstar of his younger days to make a positive impact on this team. His defense has changed the momentum of multiple games to start his first season in green.

What’s more, George’s defensive impact is rubbing off on teammates like Sam Hauser and Jordan Walsh, who gushed after Thursday’s practice about the chance to learn from George’s elite defensive instincts.

2. The Celtics are a completely different offensive team with Sam Hauser on the floor

Every season, there’s at least one Celtics player whose on/off number makes us rub our eyes and double check the spreadsheet. Through four games, it’s Hauser.

Boston owns a staggering plus-29.8 net rating in Hauser’s 86 minutes of floor time. When he’s on the bench, that number plummets to minus-10.1.

That number should eventually come back down to earth, but Hauser’s absurd net rating is a reflection of just how good Boston’s bench lineups have been to start the season. Hauser and Neemias Queta have the best on/off splits on the team to start the season. 

Boston has produced an absurd 132.6 offensive rating with Hauser on the court through four games. Without him? Just 102.8. A 29.8 points per 100 possession swing. Hauser often gets early run alongside Jayson Tatum, which helps kick up his shot quality. 

Hauser is producing 7.5 points per game off catch-and-shoot opportunities, tied for top output on the team with George. He’s connecting on 58.8 percent of 4.3 catch-and-shoot 3s per game.

Even more impressive, Hauser’s true shooting percentage sits 13.1 percentage points above league average, ranking him in the 91st percentile for his position.

3. Payton Pritchard is making a mockery of shot-quality models

Payton Pritchard hasn’t met a deep 3 that he didn’t think he was going to make. But he’s cranked up the degree of difficulty this season. 

Through four games, Pritchard has connected on 47.6 percent of his attempts beyond the 3-point arc. That’s impressive enough on its own. But here’s the number that really popped: The expected 3-point percentage on those shots was just 34.4 percent.

That’s a 13.2-percentage-point difference between what the NBA’s shot-quality model anticipates and what Pritchard is actually producing, and it’s by far the best mark on the team among the limited number of qualifiers. 

That differential ranks 11th best in the NBA overall, and fifth among non-centers.

Pritchard’s confidence is a weapon. His third-quarter outburst against Chicago on Monday fueled Boston’s most lopsided win of the season. He’s been relatively quiet in Boston’s other three games — at least by his own lofty standards — and he’s often eased his way into new seasons before turning on the jets.

But that sort of shotmaking is going to be vital as the Celtics figure out how to replace the overall offensive production after Jaylen Brown’s departure.

4. Jayson Tatum is turning into one of the NBA’s premier playmakers

So much of the focus on Tatum entering the new season was his need to shoulder the team’s scoring load. Instead of forcing that issue, Tatum has simply given the game what it needs, and that’s made him one of the best playmakers in the league to start the new campaign. 

Through Boston’s first four games, Tatum owns a career-best 39 percent assist rate, according to Cleaning the Glass data. That number puts him in the 100th percentile at his position. For perspective, the next closest player among all wings is Dallas’ Cooper Flagg at 33.3 percent.

And when you expand the view across the entirety of the league, Tatum finds himself rubbing elbows with some of the NBA’s most gifted offensive orchestrators.

Only four players have a higher assist rate: Trae Young (40.3 percent), Nikola Jokic (39.6), Josh Giddey (39.4), and Tyrese Haliburton (39.3).

Tatum is generating 18.7 potential assists per 100 possessions, the best mark at his position. He already ranks sixth in the NBA while handing out eight assists per game, but there’s potential for that number to climb even higher if teammates maximize all the quality looks he’s creating. 

For years, the conversation around Tatum has centered on whether he could become a more complete offensive player. Could he consistently make the right read at the rim? Could he punish double teams without forcing difficult shots? Could he elevate the players around him?

Early returns this season are encouraging. Tatum’s ability to score and create for others might be the most important piece of Boston’s success. And it will be that combination that will dictate where Tatum lands in the MVP conversation this season. 

With a rash of injuries wiping out the superstar class of the NBA so early in the regular season, load management, style of play, and second guessing the length of training camp have become the center of NBA discussion.

For the Celtics, the conundrum of trying to win now over prioritizing health hit in Game #4 when they had to decide whether they’d play their more vulnerable veterans in the second game of a back-to-back. After a blowout over the Bulls in which nobody played over 27 minutes, the team opted to not rest anybody against the Nets. After 48 minutes of regulation time and an overtime, the Celtics prevailed after Jayson Tatum’s game-winner capped off 40 points in 42 minutes play — not exactly an ideal outcome, but two wins nonetheless.

After the game, Joe Mazzulla said the team would treat the win as a loss when they watched film the next day. Surely, he was talking about another game plagued by turnovers and sloppy play. But in turn, it also added more mileage to the season’s running odometer.

Seven years ago, CelticsBlog’s Chris Grenham interviewed then strength coach Bryan Doo and even back then, there was an awareness that the game was changing and that sports science and the medical staff had to change with it:

As the game continues to evolve, Doo, just like the players he works with, has needed to evolve with it. It means prioritizing certain things he may not have in the past, while using his strengths to his advantage. As B-Doo put it, “pure size and mass isn’t the big thing anymore.”

“It’s a quick game,” said Doo. “It’s a game of speed and movement patterns, and luckily, that was my strength. I feel like my strength was body mechanics and movement patterns. We would pay attention to that all year, every year with the Celtics.”

Today, it’s remarkable how deliberate Boston’s medical staff is with every second of playing time. To start overtime against Brooklyn, Mazzulla went with Baylor Scheierman and Payton Pritchard rather than veterans Derrick White and Paul George; after going scoreless and down four points after two minutes, they returned to the floor. It was a curious move not to just play his starters the entire OT, but it does suggest that every minute is weighed and charted. Remember: this is a medical staff that held out Jayson Tatum out of a Game 7 against the 76ers last spring.

“At the end of the day, it’s two-fold. We trust the sports science team that we have. We trust the competition of those guys,” Mazzulla said after the win. “At the same time, our locker room has been built on 1-through-15, 16, or 17 being able to impact winning. It’s just a combination of all those things. At the end of the day, we have to do what gives us the best chance to win and keep those guys healthy and evaluate the whole locker room and put guys in situations where they can win games for us.”

Medical teams have to account for at least 1,180,800 seconds of playing time and that’s only for the regular season. That doesn’t include those pesky overtimes, days plural spent on planes, back-to-backs, and injury timetables — all to be healthy at the playoffs. And with the game changing so much and the new collective bargaining agreement emphasizing going deep into your roster to find players, second and third string players are no longer developmental pieces for the future, but necessary contributors right away.

After playing just 13 minutes in the first two games of the season, Hugo Gonzalez mopped up 24 against the Bulls and then on the following night, seemingly inexplicably just six against the Nets. It’s been a little bit of a choppy start for the sophomore, but he understands that as a member of the Stay Ready group, he’ll get his shot when he gets his shot.

“We’ve got a lot of good players that have proven that they can play at a high level and contribute to the team at any certain point,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are ready to go and we’re trying to use as many guys as we can so that it can be easier.”

Gonzalez is one of ten players in the rotation averaging double digits in minutes. Luka Garza just barely misses the cut at 9.3 minutes per game. Of teams over .500, only the Rockets, Lakers, Thunder, Raptors, and Grizzlies can boast that depth of rotation. It’s becoming a prerequisite if you want to contend in May, June, and July. You can almost guarantee that come the dog days of the NBA schedule in December and January, you’ll see some off days for Tatum, George, and Robinson with Ron Harper Jr. getting some run and the rookies and two-ways coming up from Maine to help shoulder some of the burden of the 82-game grind.

Here comes Luka Dončić, and Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg won't flinch originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It took Yaxel Lendeborg only 10 days to climb to a place most NBA players can’t get to in 10 years.

He already is a marked man – by opposing coaches and opposing players.

He has zoomed up the scouting report on Golden State’s offense as the No. 2 concern. As the Los Angeles Lakers prepare to face the Warriors on Friday night, Yaxel’s name will be high on the board, right behind that of two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry.

Lendeborg most assuredly will be No. 1 in the mind of LA star Luka Dončić.

Lendeborg’s in-game conduct and postgame comments last week in the wake of Golden State’s opening-night loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles added spice to future meetings between him and Dončić. The rook didn’t flinch during or after, and the vet led his team to victory.

When they meet again Friday night at Chase Center, the usual sellout crowd will be casting curious eyes toward Lendeborg and Dončić. Will there be any heat between them? Will Luka hunt the rookie? Will Lendeborg – with his image already alongside Curry in promotional graphics – try to make a statement?

We hope that “yes” is the answer to all three questions.

Without referencing Dončić, Lendeborg made it apparent late Wednesday night that he is anticipating coming home for a rematch against the Lakers.

“I’m looking forward to the matchup,” Lendeborg told Tim Roye on postgame Warriors Radio. “I need that day off; it’s very much needed. But I’ll be ready to kill on Friday, or whatever day it is. I’m just trying to make sure that we get that win and continue to keep rolling.”

After losing their first three games, the Warriors are coming off back-to-back wins at Denver and Minnesota. Lendeborg shined against the Nuggets, producing game-highs in points (31) and rebounds (12) while adding six assists. The rook put up 26 points and eight rebounds against the Timberwolves but also acknowledged the worst part of his performance.

On a night when the Warriors led by as much as 24, he committed seven turnovers – six of which came in the second half to nourish Minnesota’s late comeback.

“That started with me,” Lendeborg said. “I was being way too sloppy with the ball. I had no control over it, and pretty much all those turnovers kind of gave them a little run. The crowd got into it, so they started feeling a little bit more confident, seeing a bunch of shots go in that weren’t falling in the first half.”

That instant self-reflection is among the many of Lendeborg’s encouraging traits. He knows he’s learning but makes no attempt to overlook the lessons.

“He feels terrible in there,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters at Target Center. “He’s not happy at all. And yet, he had 26 points and eight boards in his fifth NBA game.

“So, it’s a great lesson for him.”

The weakest component of Lendeborg’s game is his defense. His footwork is awkward, his rotations can be a beat late and he’s still calculating the timing and nuances of operating as the helper. He didn’t do much of that last year at the University of Michigan, largely because his 6-foot-9 body was on the wing while 7-foot-3 Aday Mara and 6-foot-10 Morez Johnson Jr. roamed the paint.

Lendeborg is, however, decent on the ball for someone with such a massive physique. That’s why he saw plenty of Dončić last week and can expect more on Friday.

Dončić, during his eight seasons in the league, has developed a reputation for being a brilliant offensive machine, frequent dialogue with officials and seeking to attack opponents who become irritants. His 36.0 points per game lead the league and his shooting percentages are more than respectable.

At the sight of Lendeborg, Luka will want to drop 40. 

The fun of the matchup is that Yaxel would want nothing less than another round of spirited competition with a star for whom he says he “has lost all respect.”

Nothing Lendeborg has said or done in his first 10 days suggests any back-and-forth will have any effect. He has a high level of skill, but we’ve seen enough of his personality to realize he possesses the ancillary elements required for stardom. He’s not ducking the smoke and he absorbs critiques and advice from his NBA elders.

Let the challenges come. Game after game, throughout the season. A rookie needs barriers to clear, especially those with star quality. 

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Sixers-Knicks NBA Cup primer: What's at stake in Friday's rematch originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers’ second meeting with the Knicks in 10 days will count in two places.

Friday night’s game at Xfinity Mobile Arena is part of the regular-season schedule, but it will also open Group Play in the fourth annual NBA Cup.

The Knicks enter as defending champions twice over. They won last season’s NBA Cup before completing their run to the NBA championship. The Sixers, meanwhile, will attempt to advance beyond the Cup’s opening stage for the first time.

Here is how the tournament works, what Philadelphia faces in East Group B and what has changed since the Sixers spoiled the Knicks’ banner night.

How does the NBA Cup work?

All 30 teams participate and are divided into six five-team groups — three from each conference. The groups were determined through a drawing based on last season’s standings.

Each team plays four Group Play games, facing every other member of its group once. Two are played at home and two are played on the road.

The Sixers share East Group B with New York, Cleveland, Miami and Indiana. Their schedule is:

• Friday, Oct. 30: vs. Knicks
• Friday, Nov. 6: at Cavaliers
• Wednesday, Nov. 25: vs. Heat
• Friday, Nov. 27: at Pacers

The three group winners from each conference advance to the eight-team Knockout Rounds. One wild card from each conference — the second-place team with the best Group Play record — also moves on.

Because each team only gets four Group Play games, there is little room for an off night. Head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker, followed by point differential and total points scored. That is why teams may continue attacking late in games that appear decided.

There is one new wrinkle involving overtime. If a Group Play game goes beyond regulation, the result still counts, but the teams receive a point differential of zero for tiebreaking purposes. Points scored in overtime are also removed from the total-points tiebreaker.

The Quarterfinals will be held Dec. 4 and 5, followed by the Semifinals on Dec. 8 and 9. Those games will be played at the higher seed’s home arena. The championship is scheduled for Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Every Cup game also counts toward the regular-season standings except the championship. Players on teams that reach the Knockout Rounds receive prize money, with the amount increasing through each round. The league will also select a Cup MVP and an All-Tournament Team. 

How have the Sixers fared?

The Sixers have gone 5-7 across the first three editions of the tournament and have never advanced beyond Group Play.

They finished 2-2 in both 2023 and 2024, then went 1-3 last season. Their only Cup victory in 2025 came in their final Group Play game against Brooklyn, after they had already dropped games to Boston, Detroit and Orlando.

New York experienced the other end of the tournament last season.

The Knicks defeated the Spurs, 124-113, in the championship game. Jalen Brunson was named Cup MVP after averaging 33.2 points across his six tournament appearances. The Cup became the Knicks’ first NBA trophy since 1973, several months before they added another.

Brunson is not the only former Cup MVP in East Group B. Every player to win the award is in the group: LeBron James won with the Lakers in 2023, Giannis Antetokounmpo won with the Bucks in 2024 and Brunson claimed it last year.

What worked for the Sixers in New York?

The Sixers beat the Knicks, 106-100, on opening night despite trailing by four at halftime.

Their defense shifted the game. New York shot 37 percent from the field, and Brunson finished with 21 points on 6-for-19 shooting.

The Sixers were especially effective when the Knicks tried to involve Joel Embiid in ball screens with Brunson. Philadelphia switched certain matchups before the screen arrived, sent extra pressure at Brunson when necessary and relied on James to rotate behind the play.

Philadelphia also created the kind of open-floor opportunities it wants this season. The Sixers scored 24 fast-break points and converted 14 New York turnovers into 22 points. Tyrese Maxey accounted for 12 of their fast-break points and finished with a team-high 28.

The Sixers did not shoot especially well, but their defense allowed them to attack before New York could get organized.

What has changed since the opener?

The Knicks’ season initially continued in the wrong direction.

New York followed its loss to Philadelphia with defeats against Boston and Orlando, opening 0-3. It has since responded with consecutive wins over Detroit and Chicago.

Brunson appears to have found his shot during that turnaround. He went 4 for 20 from three-point range over New York’s first four games before making six of his 10 attempts Wednesday against the Bulls. He finished with 38 points and seven assists in a 133-127 victory.

The Sixers have also changed since their first trip to Madison Square Garden. They enter Friday at 4-1 after Wednesday’s 114-109 win over the Pacers, when four players scored at least 20 points and three recorded double-doubles.

Availability could alter the rematch. Jaylen Brown is questionable with left knee soreness after playing in each of the Sixers’ first five games. James and Embiid are not listed on the injury report for the first leg of a back-to-back, while Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker, Tacko Fall and Ariel Hukporti remain out. New York backup guard Jose Alvarado is out with a left ankle sprain.

A victory Friday would count the same as any other in the Sixers’ pursuit of a playoff spot. It would also give them the head-to-head advantage over the defending Cup champions in a four-game race where every result — and possibly every point — carries additional weight.

How does the NBA Cup work? Format, groups and schedule for the 2026 tournament originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Who will win the fourth edition of the Emirates NBA Cup?

Introduced in the 2023-24 campaign as an in-season tournament, the NBA Cup offers teams and players an extra shot to lift a trophy, along with cash bonuses based on performance.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the first ever edition of the event, the Milwaukee Bucks took down the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024-25 NBA Cup Final and the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in an NBA Cup Final that doubled as an NBA Finals preview.

There will be new team jerseys, fresh colorful courts and a run to the final that will be played in a new location.

Here’s everything to know about how the tournament works, the schedule and how to watch.

When does the NBA Cup start?

This year’s tournament will begin on Friday, Oct. 30.

Most group stage games will be played on Fridays through Nov. 27, with additional contests on Nov. 24-25 before Thanksgiving.

The knockout rounds, starting with the quarterfinals, will begin on Dec. 4 and 5.

The semifinals and final were previously held in Las Vegas, but the league switched things up this year. Semifinals will be held at higher seeds’ home arenas and the final will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The full schedule can be found here.

How does the NBA Cup work?

The NBA Cup has a similar format to the World Cup, with group play and a knockout round.

All 30 teams will compete in group play, having been placed into six groups of five teams within their conference. Teams face each of their group opponents once for a total of four group play games, two at home and two on the road.

If two or more teams are tied within a group, the following tiebreakers are used:

• Head-to-head record in group play
• Point differential in group play
• Total points scored in group play
• Record from the 2025-26 NBA regular season
• Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)

Eight teams advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds: the top team in each of the six groups and a wild-card team in each conference that’s awarded to the second-place finisher with the best overall record. Wild card tiebreakers follow the same tiebreaker sequence but begin with point differential.

Winning teams advance to the semifinals and then final.

Teams entered the season with only 80 scheduled games. The 22 teams that do not advance to the knockout round will play two regular-season games during tournament off nights on Dec. 6-7 and Dec. 9-10. The four teams that lose in the quarterfinals will play a regular-season game on either the Dec. 7, 9 or 10.

What are the groups for the NBA Cup?

The 30 teams were divided into six groups based on records from the 2025-26 regular season.

• Pot 1: The teams with the three best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 2: The teams with the fourth- through sixth-best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 3: The teams with the seventh- through ninth-best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 4: The teams with the 10th-through 12th-best prior-season records in a conference
• Pot 5: The teams with the 13th-through 15th-best prior-season records in a conference

And here are the six groups in total, with three in each conference.

East Group A

• Brooklyn Nets
• Detroit Pistons
• Milwaukee Bucks
• Orlando Magic
• Toronto Raptors

East Group B

• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Indiana Pacers
• Miami Heat
• New York Knicks
• Philadelphia 76ers

East Group C

• Atlanta Hawks
• Boston Celtics
• Charlotte Hornets
• Chicago Bulls
• Washington Wizards

West Group A

• Dallas Mavericks
• Denver Nuggets
• Houston Rockets
• Phoenix Suns
• Utah Jazz

West Group B

• LA Clippers
• Memphis Grizzlies
• Minnesota Timberwolves
• New Orleans Pelicans
• Oklahoma City Thunder

West Group C

• Golden State Warriors
• Los Angeles Lakers
• Portland Trail Blazers
• Sacramento Kings
• San Antonio Spurs

Does the NBA Cup matter?

Define “matter.”

All of the games count towards the 82-game regular-season standings, with the exception of the championship game. Teams that advance to the knockout round all receive a share of the prize pool, with teams advancing the furthest getting the largest allotment.

Players on the team that wins the NBA Cup will take home an extra $604,985 each, while the runner-up will receive $241,994 each. Semifinal losers will collect $120,997 each and the quarterfinal losers get $60,499.

The tournament winner also gets bragging rights, a trophy and even celebratory hats and shirts.

The NBA will also name the Most Valuable Player of the In-Season Tournament and the All-Tournament Team.

But, other than tournament games counting towards regular-season win-loss records, the tournament has no impact on the postseason bracket.

Where is the NBA Cup held?

Group play and the knockout rounds of the in-season tournament will be played at each team’s respective home arenas.

The NBA Cup Final will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

How to watch the NBA Cup games

Most NBA Cup games will air on Prime Video, NBA League Pass or local stations. Select games will air on NBC and Peacock, as well as ESPN.

The Golden State Warriors seem to have landed a gem with the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Yaxel Lendeborg has put his name among some of the greatest rookies of all-time with his first-week performance.

After an 0-3 start, the Warriors have won back-to-back games and Lendeborg has filled his role tremendously.

Yes, he's playing alongside a guy named Stephen Curry, who's been unstoppable the past two games − his 44-point night following a perfect shooting night. Still, Curry can't do it alone and with injuries to Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody, Golden State needs players to step up. Lendeborg has so far.

The 24-year-old rookie has averaged 22.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists over his first five games.

Lendeborg is the first player since Shaquille O'Neal to average at least 20 points and nine rebounds in his first five career games.

His performances include 31 points in the Warriors' first win of the season, which came on the road against the Denver Nuggets. He added 12 rebounds and six assists. He shot 9-of-19.

He's continued to adapt to the NBA game, staying aggressive and getting easy opportunities at the free throw line. The rookie finished 12-of-13 from the charity stripe against Denver.

Lendeborg joined Hall of Famers Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and O'Neal as the only players in the draft lottery era (since 1985) to put up at least 85 points and 35 rebounds in their first four career games.

He scored 87 points in his first four career games, which is second-most for a player in Warriors history behind Wilt Chamberlain. Lendeborg is ahead of Joe Fulks (78 points in 1946-47); Paul Arizin (73 points in 1950-51); Rick Barry (71 points in 1965-66); and Chris Webber (68 points in 1993-94).