Last night, the Hawks were looking to end their back-to-back losses to the Houston Rockets and extend the offensive funk for the Miami Heat, who hadn’t won a game heading into the matchup. Rather than reclaiming a winning record however, the Hawks became the Heat’s first win of the season and fell to 2-3, with all three losses coming one after another.

This game also officially concluded the first week of the season for the Hawks. While a season is certainly not won or lost in the first week, there are several positives and negatives for the Hawks to take away from their first week of action.

Positive: Turning steals into points

Thanks in large part to the expected defensive brilliance of Dyson Daniels, the Hawks rank fourth in the league in total steals. Not only are the Hawks ending possessions, but they are converting forced turnovers to points on the other end. The team ranks fourth in points off turnovers as well.

A large part of the scoring is their ability to push in transition and convert, ranking in the top five in fastbreak points. The Hawks are composed of tenacious defenders and talented ball handlers, which are ingredients in the perfect recipe for pushing the envelope in transition. This trend being a part of their identity will make them a dangerous team going forward.

Negative: Interior Play

If you’ve watched any of the three losses for the Hawks this season, you’ve probably noticed they are putting on their best matador impression in the painted area. In the three losses, they’ve been significantly outrebounded (147-117) and outscored in the paint (172 versus 164). At one point, in the second matchup against the Rockets, the Hawks were being outrebounded 14-4.

The Heat scored 70 points in the paint, which was more than half of their total scoring output. Averaging the third fewest blocks in the league, the Hawks offer defensive resistance down low that is similar to using a piece of scotch tape to prevent a truck from driving through your house. If this trend continues throughout the season, the Hawks will put a heavy burden on their offense that may not be sustainable.

Positive: Emergence of Kingston Flemings

After losing Trae Young last season, the Hawks greatly needed another point guard. That need led to drafting Kingston Flemings with the eighth overall pick in the draft. Coming off the bench, Flemings struggled in his first game, going scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting.

Despite the early woes, his performance against the Heat was just the beginning of what the former five-star is capable of. Flemings scored 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting, which included shooting 3-of-5 from deep. Along with the scoring output, Flemings grabbed five boards, dished five assists, along with a steal and a block.

He had a sequence of back-to-back buckets, which included an “and-one” finish, a block on a much taller Giannis Antetokounmpo, and an even more impressive finish over the future first-ballot hall of gamer. Flemings also found himself in the game down the stretch as the Hawks tried to rally a fourth quarter comeback before the effort eventually flamed out.

Though it’s early in the season, it seems that Flemings could be the point guard of the future for Atlanta.

Negative: Slow start for Jalen Johnson

If you looked at only points, rebounds, and assists for Jalen Johnson, it would be fair to assume he was continuing his dominance from last season. In their first matchup against Houston, Johnson channeled his inner John Stockton and tallied a staggering 16 assists along with 26 points and nine boards. However, the averages have not translated to impacting winning in the same way.

The biggest detractor for the former Duke Blue Devil is his less-than-ideal shooting percentages. He is shooting 42.8% from the field, which is well below the area a team’s number one option should be. Johnson has only posted a field goal percentage above 45% once, which was his 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting in their huge win over Charlotte. His past two outings featured shooting 35.7% and 33.3%. Despite these poor numbers, his three-point efficiency is the most frightening part. Johnson’s career high in assists against mentioned above is higher than his three-point percentage, which currently sits at 15.8%.

If the Hawks want to make another playoff push, Johnson has put the ball in the basket at a more efficient clip.

Positive: Productive scoring back court

Despite Jalen Johnson’s slow start, the Hawks are still receiving great support from their back court. Nickiel Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum once again are proving to be the Hawks’ go to options for offense. ‘NAW’ is the team’s only guy to score 30 so far, which was in the opening game against the Magic. He’s also shooting 38% from three, proving to be a reliable option from behind the arc and seems to convert when his team needs it most.

McCollum is the Hawks’ undisputed microwave scorer, seeming to get hot quickly and put up points in a hurry. The 14-year veteran is shooting an impressive 53% from the field and 44% from three. There are times when it seems like McCollum simply cannot miss, which provides a huge boost to the Hawks. The duo averages a combined 36.1 points per game, which is more than ideal for second and third scoring options.

Aaron Wiggins has also been critical off the bench. Whether it be catch-and-shoot opportunities or creating his own shot off the dribble, Wiggins is averaging 15.8 points per game on 53.5%/48% shooting splits, which is the perfect spark of the bench for Atlanta.

Negative: Three-point shooting

In today’s NBA, three-point shooting is undoubtedly a team’s biggest weapon. For the Hawks, the three-point shot is one of their biggest deficiencies. In their last games, which again, are all losses, they have the second lowest three-point percentage in the entire league.

In the second Houston matchup, the Hawks shot 28% as a team, which included their bench only shooting 3-for-15 for the game. One of the most startling revelations of their three-performance comes from the center position. Ideally, teams with bigs shooting at a high frequency spread out a defense and open up opportunities for an offense to execute at all levels of the floor.

However, when your centers are shooting 4-for-32 on the season from behind the arc, that vision is difficult to achieve. With their defensive and rebounding issues, the Hawks will have to counter with big scoring outputs, which can only be achieved with improved three-point shooting.

An hour and a half before the Lakers started their win over the Clippers at Intuit Dome, the team officially added a player to its roster to hopefully address its glaring big-man problem. 

And it sounds like JJ Redick will have some homework to do coming out of the back-to-back set on the latest addition. 

The Lakers announced on Wednesday that they signed Lawson Lovering to a two-way contract, waiving AK Okereke to create a roster spot for Lovering.

When asked for a scouting report on the Lakers’ newest addition and how the 7-footer can help the team’s frontcourt in light of the Lakers having a desperate need of another big man behind starter Walker Kessler, Redick had a comical seven-word response.

“I know his name is Lawson Lovering,” Redick said before laughing, adding that he found out about the team adding the big man when reporters did. 

Lovering spent 2025-26 with the Grizzlies, playing for the organization’s G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, and NBA team.

He averaged 7.7 points (59.2% shooting), 7.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocked shots in the G League last season. 

Lovering played in two NBA games for the Grizzlies last season.

He went undrafted in 2025 after spending his collegiate career at Colorado (2021–2023) and Utah (2023–2025).

A front office member of another NBA team described the big man to the California Post as a center with good size, a really good screener, an underrated passer and a player who knows their role.

“To me,” the front office member said, “he’s one of the better G League bigs that’s two-way eligible.”

For Redick and the Lakers’ sake, hopefully that’s the first impression Lovering makes.

Playing the second night of a back-to-back following a narrow loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Luka Dončić-less Los Angeles Lakers were going to need some unsung heroes to help them topple the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night. That became even more apparent as Austin Reaves struggled through his worst outing of the season, going 6-of-16 from the floor, scoring 16 points and committing eight turnovers — the first time in five games he’d shot worse than 54.5% or tallied fewer than 23 points.

Reaves and the shorthanded Lakers found reinforcements from their bench trio, Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jarred Vanderbilt, all of whom helped Los Angeles handle the Clippers, 103-87, for a fourth win in five tries this season.

Sexton recorded a season-high 21 points (6-of-11 shooting, 4-of-7 from deep), four rebounds and two assists. Mamukelashvili filled up the box score with 13 points (6-of-15 shooting), eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. Vanderbilt made his regular season debut, chipping in seven rebounds and two assists; although he did not score, his motor and range defensively helped stymie the Clippers’ frontline.

“I think the guys, Vando, Sexton, Mamu, those guys, you can’t always read into like the single-game plus-minus, but very apparent in our good stretches of the game, just the impact that those guys had,” head coach JJ Redick told reporters postgame. “They ended up with [a plus-minus of] +21, + 23 + 22, those three guys off the bench. They were great. They helped us win.

In particular, the Mamukelashvili-Vanderbilt tandem produced good results for the Lakers, which outscored the Clippers by 27 points (51-24) across the 20 minutes those two played together. Redick acknowledged their complementary skill-sets — Vanderbilt’s defensive signature and Mamukelashvili’s offensive versatility — as the driving force behind that success.

“It was good. We had Vando on Lopez. He did a great job. We showed a clip at halftime of fronting him in the post and not allowing him to get the basketball,” Redick said. “Vando’s always going to play hard. He’s always going to impact the game with just his effort and I thought he did that tonight. The pairing with Mamu, it’s probably the best pairing in terms of having another big out there that can space and shoot and playmake.”

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

Collin Sexton comes across as polite and understated.

… Until you watch him play.

The 27-year-old guard transforms from someone who speaks in hushed tones and politely nods in the locker room into someone who more closely resembles a rabid animal when he’s on the court.

In a viral video of him guarding Cam Christie in the Lakers’ 103-87 win over the Clippers on Wednesday, Sexton’s eyes were bulging. His jaw was clenched, except for his tongue poking out. It almost appears as though he was roaring.

When his on-court vs. off-court dichotomy was brought to Sexton’s attention after the game, he chuckled.

“Honestly, I would say when I step between those lines, it’s us against them,” said Sexton, who had 21 points on 6-for-11 shooting, four rebounds and two assists as the Lakers improved to 4-1.

“I’m going to do whatever my team needs for me. I feel like I turn into a different person when it’s time to go. And I think my teammates know that, so they try to talk to me a little bit, but they know I’m in the zone and ready to go to war. And that’s how I look at it. Whenever I step between those lines, it’s war time. So, that’s how I look at it, for sure.”

On a night when the Lakers were missing two starters in Luka Doncic (back tightness) and Ziaire Williams (left foot soreness), Sexton had the highest plus-minus of anyone on the court (+23).

The Lakers acquired Sexton on a two-year, $19 million deal in July, hoping the veteran could be a secondary ball-handler and give the Lakers a scoring punch off the bench. He has career averages of 18.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists over eight seasons with the Cavaliers, Jazz, Hornets and Bulls.

So far, the Lakers have appreciated what he’s bringing to the team on both ends of the court. Austin Reaves has described him as a “pest” defensively. Lakers coach JJ Redick called him “intense.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to get his attention, you know, because he gets locked in, he gets in the zone,” Redick said. “I love the competitive fire.”

Barely one week into the 2026-27 NBA season, a handful of teams are dealing with season-altering injuries.

Thunder wing Jalen Williams (fibula/ankle) and guard Cason Wallace (shoulder) may already be out for the season. Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard is “expected to miss a period of weeks” because of swelling in his left knee. Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards may be out for two months because of a knee injury. A torn MCL is set to sideline Jazz big man Jaren Jackson Jr. for 6-8 weeks. Magic forward Paolo Banchero is out for multiple weeks with a high ankle sprain, while guard Jalen Suggs is out for at least two weeks because of a bone bruise in his right knee. And Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is out for at least two weeks due to a left hamstring strain.

Those are the major ones, although other teams throughout the league are dealing with various bumps and bruises as well. The Pacers, whom the Sixers faced on Wednesday, were without both Haliburton and starting center Ivica Zubac (ankle), which helped the Sixers escape with a 114-109 road win.

The Sixers are dealing with a handful of injuries as well, although all five of their starters are healthy for now. As long as that remains the case, they’re poised to take advantage of these other absences throughout the league.

The Sixers don’t play the Thunder, Jazz or Timberwolves until the calendar flips to 2027, so Edwards and Jackson might be back by then. (J-Dub and Wallace likely won’t be back for either of the two Sixers-Thunder games in January and February.) However, the Sixers will host the Raptors on Nov. 12 and head to Orlando six days later, which means they could avoid Leonard and Banchero in those games. They also host the Pacers on Nov. 15 and face them again on the first night of a back-to-back in late November, so they might dodge Haliburton in at least one of those games if not both.

Head-to-head results aside, those injuries could prove costly to their respective teams in terms of their win-loss record. And with the East looking especially cutthroat this year, an early-season slide from the Magic and/or Raptors might leave the Sixers with fewer competitors for a top playoff seed. That would be a welcome development, particularly given how much the Sixers might need to load-manage Joel Embiid and LeBron James throughout the regular season.

However, the leaguewide wave of injuries could have one notable long-term consequence for the Sixers.

After this season, Tyrese Maxey will have seven years of NBA experience and will have two years left on his contract. If he doesn’t make an All-NBA team this year, he’ll be eligible to sign a three-year extension next summer starting at 30 percent of the 2029-30 salary cap. If he does make an All-NBA team, he’ll be eligible to sign a four-year extension starting at 35 percent of the 2029-30 salary cap. Those back-to-back All-NBA nods would also automatically qualify him for a five-year supermax extension in 2028, too.

Maxey made the All-NBA third team last year, in part because stars like Edwards, Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo weren’t eligible for end-of-season awards since they played in fewer than 65 games. Edwards will likely be ineligible again this season, and Leonard and Haliburton are already in danger of losing their eligibility as well. And again, it’s only the first week of the season. More All-NBA candidates are bound to miss time moving forward.

Heading into the season, it was fair to wonder whether the Sixers’ new star-studded starting five would all cannibalize one another’s production, jeopardizing their chances at All-Star and All-NBA nods. However, through the first five games of the season, Maxey is averaging 28.4 points on 46.2 percent shooting, 4.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game.He’s doing all of that while shooting only 32.4 percent from deep, a figure which is bound to come up in the near future.

Maxey was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the first week of the season. He was the only player in the NBA to average at least 25 points, two steals and one block per game over that span, according to the Sixers. If he maintains anywhere near that level of production moving forward and plays in the requisite 65 games, he’ll be in strong contention for an All-NBA nod, if not an outright lock.

Luckily, Maxey is already on a guaranteed contract through 2028-29, so his supermax eligibility wouldn’t impact the Sixers until 2029 at the earliest. However, both Embiid and Jaylen Brown’s contracts are set to expire after the 2028-29 campaign as well—provided, of course, that Embiid picks up his $67.3 million player option for 2028-29—while VJ Edgecombe will become a restricted free agent in 2029 if the Sixers don’t sign him to an extension by the rookie-scale extension deadline in October 2028. That’s a lot of overlapping pieces to juggle.

Again, none of that is a concern this season. All the Sixers need to focus on this year is coalescing and getting 1 percent better every day, as Maxey is fond of saying. But if this early-season wave of injuries does increase Maxey’s probability of earning his second straight All-NBA nod, it could create some long-term financial consequences for the Sixers as early as next summer. How they navigate those will help shape the next era of Sixers basketball after LeBron either leaves or retires.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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It’s not even Halloween, the NBA season is barely a week old, but the injury report already looks like something you’d expect to read in April.

Here in Mexico City, I can relate. You can feel Día de Muertos in the air, both figuratively and literally. We’re just days — hours, if you push it — away from one of the biggest festivities in the country to take place this weekend. No need to explain what we celebrate, trying to bring back those who left us in the past to start just another chapter away from the land. If only for a little ratito.

Meanwhile, in the NBA, it looks like stars are playing a very solid role in a performance mimicking this weekend’s celebrations. It’s not a few, but muchos, who have already undergone surgery and be placed on the shelves for months on end, if not the whole year, outright.

Meanwhile, the New York Knicks are doing something that is starting to feel illegal, some sort of subterfuge competitive advantage in itself.

Being healthy. Vivito y coleando.

Keerthika Uthayakumar’s little research went viral yesterday. Yet according to ESPN’s injury report from early Thursday, the Knicks had just one player listed: my man José, who missed the game against the Chicago Bulls with an ankle injury. Maldito tobillo.

Now compare that with the rest of the league, where approximately 15 percent of players (s/o Keerthika!) were dealing with injuries or illnesses yesterday afternoon. Eleven former All-Stars were already expected to miss several weeks or longer just eight days into the season.

The NBA injury report is a hot parrillada

Obviously, the most concerning situation might be in Oklahoma City, where Jalen Williams underwent surgery to repair a fractured left fibula and reconstruct ankle ligaments following a fracture-dislocation and will only be reevaluated by the team when the regular season ends. Gone for good, in other words. Descanse en paz, bendito. His teammate Cason Wallace also needs surgery after tearing the labrum in his left shoulder, and both will miss a hellaciously long time.

Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and could miss two months. Utah’s Jaren Jackson Jr. tore the MCL in his right knee and faces a six-to-eight-week absence. Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, already coming off a season lost to an Achilles injury, will miss at least two weeks with a hamstring strain. Orlando’s Paolo Banchero faces four to six weeks out with a high ankle sprain, while Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss multiple weeks because of swelling in his left knee. Elsewhere, Golden State is without Jimmy Butler III until potentially January or February, while Kristaps Porzingis remains away indefinitely with ongoing health concerns. Sacramento’s Ben Simmons and former Knickerbocker Ariel Hukporti suffered Achilles ruptures, and Washington’s Jamir Watkins is recovering from ACL surgery.

Hay más almas que cempasúchil en el sendero.

Somehow, the Knicks have avoided all of this

As Stefan Bondy of the New York Post noted, every member of the Knicks’ starting five reached the 65-game threshold in both 2024-25 and 2025-26. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns have provided a level of continuity that most teams can only dream about. ¡Quién pudiera!

Bridges hasn’t missed an NBA game in his career even though seemingly everybody wants him hitting the pine for a start, with his streak reaching 643 consecutive appearances on Wednesday. Towns and Anunoby, meanwhile, arrived in New York with considerable injury histories but have remained remarkably durable.

Per Bondy, the Knicks’ starting five led the NBA with 940 minutes together in 2024-25, finished second with 541 last season, and ranked first again through four games this year.

Around the NBA: Oct. 29 injury report

ESPN listed 99 players across 29 teams on its injury report, with the Memphis Grizzlies, de algún modo, escaping the Santa Muerte.

Here’s the list. Sigue rezando, mijo.

• Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves): Underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Expected to miss up to two months, with ESPN listing December 21 as his estimated return.
• Jalen Williams (Thunder): Underwent surgery to repair a fractured left fibula and reconstruct ankle ligaments following a fracture-dislocation. Will be reevaluated before the end of the regular season. His season could be over.
• Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers): Suffered a left hamstring strain. Expected to miss at least two weeks, with November 13 listed as his estimated return.
• Kawhi Leonard (Raptors): Dealing with swelling in his left knee. Expected to miss multiple weeks, with an estimated November 23 return.
• Paolo Banchero (Magic): Suffered a right high ankle sprain. Expected to miss four to six weeks, with November 22 listed as his estimated return.
• Jaren Jackson Jr. (Jazz): Diagnosed with a torn MCL in his right knee. Expected to miss six to eight weeks, with an estimated December 14 return.
• Luka Doncic (Lakers): Dealing with a back injury. Ruled out against the Clippers on October 28 and listed as day-to-day.
• Chet Holmgren (Thunder): Sidelined by a knee injury. Ruled out against Dallas on October 28 and listed as day-to-day.
• Alperen Sengun (Rockets): Dealing with a back injury. Ruled out against Milwaukee on October 28 and listed as day-to-day.
• Jimmy Butler III (Warriors): Recovering from a torn right ACL. Could return between January and February.
• Kristaps Porzingis (Warriors): Away from the team indefinitely because of ongoing health concerns. ESPN reported that Golden State is exploring potential trades involving him.
• Lauri Markkanen (Jazz): Sidelined by a wrist injury. Ruled out against San Antonio on October 28 and listed as day-to-day.
• Brandon Ingram (Clippers): Recovering from an Achilles injury. Expected to miss at least another week, with November 8 listed as his estimated return.
• Cason Wallace (Thunder): Diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and requires surgery. Could miss the remainder of the season.
• Donte DiVincenzo (Timberwolves): Recovering from an Achilles injury. Remains hopeful of returning during the 2026-27 season, although ESPN lists April 2 as his estimated return.
• Ben Simmons (Kings): Underwent surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon. Expected to miss the season.
• Jalen Duren (Pistons): Suffered a right hamstring strain. Scheduled for reevaluation after two weeks, with November 9 listed as his estimated return.
• Coby White (Hornets): Sidelined by a calf injury. No confirmed return timetable.
• Nic Claxton (Bulls): Recovering from a hamstring injury. Participating in individual drills and hoping to return to team practices the following week.
• Dereck Lively II (Mavericks): Sidelined by a foot injury. ESPN lists November 2 as his estimated return.
• Jalen Suggs (Magic): Diagnosed with a mild bone bruise in his right knee. Scheduled for reevaluation after two weeks.
• Shaedon Sharpe (Trail Blazers): Suffered a torn meniscus. Expected to miss approximately six months, with March 2 listed as his estimated return.
• Moses Moody (Warriors): Recovering from a ruptured left patellar tendon. Targeting a potential return between December and January.
• Mark Williams (Suns): Underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Expected to miss an extended period, with February 3 listed as his estimated return.
• Bradley Beal (Clippers): Sidelined by a knee injury. Wasn’t ready for the start of the regular season, with November 8 listed as his estimated return.
• Keegan Murray (Kings): Recovering from an ankle injury. Expected to be reevaluated within 10 to 14 days of October 26.
• Marcus Smart (Rockets): Dealing with a forearm injury. Ruled out against Milwaukee on October 28.
• Ivica Zubac (Pacers): Sidelined by an ankle injury. Ruled out against Philadelphia on October 28 and listed as day-to-day.
• Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz): Recovering from a partial plantar plate tear in his right foot. Expected to miss at least four weeks from his October 7 injury update.
• Max Strus (Clippers): Recovering from a foot injury. Expected to miss at least another week.
• Kon Knueppel (Hornets): Sidelined by a hamstring injury. No confirmed return timetable.
• Ariel Hukporti (76ers): Suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon. Ruled out for the season.
• Johnny Furphy (Pacers): Diagnosed with a torn right ACL. Listed with a January 2 estimated return, although the supplied ESPN report describes his injury as season-ending.
• Henri Veesaar (Hawks): Diagnosed with a torn right ACL. Expected to miss the entire 2026-27 season.
• Jamir Watkins (Wizards): Underwent surgery for a torn ACL. ESPN lists April 2 as his estimated return.
• Ben Sheppard (Pacers): Underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Expected to miss multiple months.
• Jordan Miller (Clippers): Underwent surgery to repair a torn left rotator cuff. Expected to be reevaluated after six months.
• Justin Champagnie (Wizards): Sidelined by a foot injury. Expected to miss several months.

Other banged-up players across the Association:Mouhamed Gueye, Devin Carter, Egor Demin, Tyler Bilodeau, Grant Williams, Kylan Boswell, Tobe Awaka, Patrick Williams, Sergio de Larrea, Naji Marshall, Tarik Biberovic, Santi Aldama, Cameron Johnson, Spencer Jones, Alpha Diallo, Julian Strawther, Isaiah Joe, Gui Santos, Steven Adams, T.J. McConnell, Rui Hachimura, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Ziaire Williams, Cameron Carr, Adou Thiero, Simone Fontecchio, Jordan Poole, Yves Missi, Jose Alvarado, Alex Caruso, Thomas Sorber, Nikola Topic, Jonathan Isaac, Noah Penda, Izaiyah Nelson, Jabari Walker, Tacko Fall, Dominick Barlow, Oso Ighodaro, Chris Youngblood, Dylan Cardwell, Maxime Raynaud, Tobias Harris, Jayden Quaintance, Nate Bittle, Trey Alexander, Tre Johnson, and Tristan Vukcevic.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have waited for a significant offensive leap from Evan Mobley. Subtle improvements over the years have refined him into being an elite two-way player. But that next step was always a question mark.

Would it be developing a mid-range game, or a go-to move around the basket? Or would Mobley step outside the three-point line and become a good enough shooter to open the floor for Cleveland?

Right now, it sounds like the third option.

Mobley has opened the season shooting 12-for-18 from downtown (66%). This is a blistering number that won’t be sustainable throughout 82 games — but it could mark the start of a career-best year.

“I felt it in preseason, leading up to preseason,” said Kenny Atkinson. “There’s a shift in his demeanor… He put in the work. There’s a confidence to him now. It’s raised.”

Mobley took six three-pointers on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards and nailed five of them. He had similar success in Cleveland’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this week, canning 4-of-5 attempts with three of his triples coming in the fourth quarter and overtime.

It’s one thing to take a three-pointer as a last resort. It’s another to launch them confidently even when the game is on the line. This is something Mobley began flashing in last season’s playoffs, but has taken to another level to start the year.

“I think last year he’d kind of make 3s with time and space. I feel like this year he’s getting it off quicker. He’s making them with harder contests,” said Atkinson. “We saw it last year in the playoffs too, right? Detroit series, hit some big ones. Toronto series, hit some big ones. When a guy’s in a groove like this, we’ve got to find him a little more.”

Mobley, always nonchalant, says his hot-shooting is simply a result of his work ethic.

“Just confidence,” said Mobley. “The first few went in, so I just kept shooting them. Been working on them for years now. I feel confident in it, and I’m gonna keep shooting them.”

The three-point shot is arguably the most valuable offensive tool a player can add to their game. Especially in the frontcourt. Cleveland has managed for years to navigate the lack of shooting in their frontcourt — but that awkward spacing might not be such a thorn in their side if Mobley can step outside and make defenses pay.

“He’s just putting it all together,” said Jarrett Allen. “It opens the floor up to me. There’s not a lot of people in there, so I can do my work in there.”

Nearly all of Mobley’s three-point attempts have been products of the defense sagging off him. In each of his last two games, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis made a deliberate choice to ignore Mobley in favor of packing the paint. It was on Mobley to punish them for this decision, and he did.

“If they keep playing like that, I’m gonna keep shooting it,” said Mobley. “So, until they close out really hard, I’m gonna just keep letting it fly.”

Still, there’s pressure on Mobley to stick to his greatest strengths as a play-finisher around the basket. He’s spent more time on the perimeter than we’ve grown accustomed to. The increased shooting is great, but the Cavs don’t want Mobley to rely too heavily on it.

“I still want him at the paint, at the rim, just finding that balance,” said Atkinson. “I think [his shooting] opens things up for us. He’s taking timely ones. He’s taking good ones. If he can hit 3s and still be the great defender he is and should be, that could be our next jump.”

There’s a lot of season left and plenty of time for Mobley’s shooting to regress. That said, Mobley has given himself a strong foundation to build on. A full season of Mobley taking and making threes could change everything.

“Are they going to put Wemby back in?”

It was an excellent question, and one that I had myself.

It was, in a way, the question of the season so far when it comes to a Spurs team that has scuffled quite a bit coming out of the gate.

The starting unit, forced into a new configuration by the ascension of the prodigious Dylan Harper, has looked disjointed and seems to do its scoring in fits and starts.

The bench, on the other hand, seems almost lost — unmoored without the steady hand of the rookie who led it for most of last season.

The one player holding everything together has been, somewhat predictably, Wembanyama, and the better part of almost every game has seemed to hinge on his presence and the antigravity of his occasional absence.

But, to paraphrase an episode of Cartoon Network’s Samurai Jack, even the gods must rest, and for all his gifts, Wemby is not a god.

With nine minutes left in a game that the shorthanded Utah Jazz had spent clawing for every point, Mitch Johnson had made the call to give Wemby a quick breather.

That seemed reasonable. Wemby would catch his breath and then jump right back in, right? Right?

The Spurs were clinging to a six point lead when Wemby headed for the sideline, and Spurs Twitter was awash with (understandable) anxiety.

The Spurs had trailed for most of the first half and had finally clawed their way to a lead, but it was a tenuous bargain with a scoreboard that seemed determined to forsake its oath to the Silver and Black. In fact, I was beginning to doubt its fealty altogether.

With every Wemby exit, betrayal was in the air, and San Antonio’s 2nd unit (and Luke Kornet in particular) were bearing the brunt of the Jazz’s unholy pact with the jumbotron.

Utah had shot nearly 60% from the field in the 3rd quarter, and it felt like they were heating up again.

Everything seemed to be going in. The post was a turnstile. The rim was actively thwarting San Antonio’s short-armed stabs at conversion. It was getting dramatic. Catastrophic, even.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the atmosphere more closely resembled that of a postseason contest rather than game 5 of 82, on a Wednesday night in late October.

I’m not ashamed to say that I got caught up in it a little myself.

When you’re an avid fan of a sports team, there’s this bizarre and inexplicable fusion that occurs. It’s not quite empathy per se, but an identification that spans the gap between the professionals on the court and the plebeians on the couch.

You get to feel an echo of their joy and the spectre of their pain. Their wins make you hopeful for your own, but their losses can do the inverse.

It’s silly, and strange, and wonderfully human.

And somehow, it allows for a communion between disparate individuals that feels like alchemy — a group connection that pulls you into a maelstrom of emotion and connection.

It’s damn near irresistible, which is probably why I found myself loudly bemoaning the appearance of Kornet as Wemby trotted off, in spite of my long-standing fondness for The Big Elote.

And to be fair, Kornet’s been a shadow of his 2025-26 self, carrying with him the play that (unfortunately) defined San Antonio’s big-man deficit in the NBA Finals.

I’m not sure it’s a playoff hangover, or a crisis of confidence, or a small nagging injury of some sort, but the Kornet of the Western Conference Finals has yet to be seen, and, as a fellow Spurs fan pointed out, the Spurs have been hemorrhaging points during his limited stints.

Within a minute, the game was tied again.

Devin Vassell (who had been cold most of the night) and Stephon Castle were doing their best to keep things from getting ugly on the offensive end, keeping pace with a Jazz team that clearly smelled blood.

With six-and-a-half minutes left in the game, Will Hardy called a timeout.

Finally, a break! Mitch could substitute Wemby in without using a valuable timeout of his own.

And without hesitation, he subbed Keldon Johnson in for Julian Champagnie, the Spurs’ best three-point shooter.

What?? The confusion was widespread. What about Wemby? What about the lead?

“Are they going to put Wemby back in?” my daughter inquired from her end of the couch.

She really only recognizes three players: Devin (my name), Fox (a favorite animal), and Wemby, but having retired from her coloring book for the evening, she was now peppering me with questions as she crawled over to lean against my knees.

“Yeah, they’re gonna put Wemby in real soon.”

Ten seconds later San Antonio’s skipper called a timeout of his own.

Oh. I guess it was just a mistake. Not ideal, but not costly, I guess.

No substitution at all? I could hear the consternation as if I were within the confines of a fan section at the Frost Bank Center.

I had to bottle up any profanity for the sake of the five-year-old lounging against my knees, but I was silently livid.

And my daughter, attuned to adult emotion in that way that we don’t give children enough credit for, cheerily reassured me.

“It’s okay, I see Devin,” she said as she patted my leg consolingly.

Almost as if on cue, Vassell sunk a 20-footer in the face of the defense.

About time, I thought to myself. But Vassell had been shooting better for most of the quarter, even if I had failed to notice.

“See!” she said elatedly, displaying the kind of childlike credulity that gospels allude to.

Little did either of us know that her three favorite players were about to take us on a magic carpet ride out of danger and into the win column.

Vassell hit two more shots on passes from Wemby, which proved (along with a tip-in from Keldon and a buzzer-beating miss from Fox) to be just enough to get the Spurs to overtime.

And it was there that Vassell and Co. picked up right where they left off, with all but two of San Antonio’s points scored or assisted on by Devin, Fox, and Wemby.

The icing on the cake was a steal and a racing dunk from Fox with less than a minute left. Its parallel as an opposite to his endlessly replayed hesitation in the Finals wasn’t lost on me.

“I told you it would be okay.”

“You were right. I guess I should listen to you more.”

“Yeah, you should.”

I think Billy Joel has a song about women always being women at every phase of life, or something like that.

No argument here, though. I’ve got a lot of childlike believing to do if I want to enter the kingdom of heaven. How much do I have to have for another Finals win, though?

I guess we’ll find out.

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a Nina Simone song.

I think I’ll take the win while I can.

Takeaways

• I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both Kornet and Keldon have had such a rough/inconsistent start to the season, with Harper spending so much time with the starters. Yes, Mitch has made sure to keep at least one of the star guards on when the bench takes their turn, but that’s not the same thing as the consistency that the 2nd unit experienced with Harper running it. Hopefully, Harper will get more time with the bench once Tobias Harris returns from injury (though the starting unit will then have to adapt to that), as both Keldon and Kornet benefited greatly from his presence; if not, I think it would be ideal to at least use one of the guards consistently with the 2nd unit, so that they can build a rhythm and rapport.
• Last year Kornet was the only real option as a backup for Wemby, but the San Antonio braintrust might want to consider giving Tarris Reed some run on nights that Kornet doesn’t seem to have it. Of course, it’s possible that the bench will continue having issues until the guard issue is somewhat resolved. But hey, why not give it the old college try? He might be a rookie, but Reed has a serious motor, and some considerable heft. If nothing else, the change of pace might come in handy when a team is making easy work of Kornet’s defensive efforts.
• It’s early yet, but two things are beginning to stick out as minor trends: 1. The Spurs have really cracked down on sloppy mistakes, as they’re leading the league in fewest turnovers per game right now. 2. They just can’t seem to get to the line, as they’re the 4th-lowest team in free-throw attempts and have the 3rd-lowest free-throw rate. The first thing is really good, and evidence that the offensive flow feels a bit worse than it is. But the second thing might serve as proof that the lack of spacing is really hurting San Antonio’s ability to drive to the hoop, something that served as a meal ticket last season when shots weren’t falling. The three-guard experiment is a bit of a mixed bag so far, so let’s hope they either figure it out soon or make a change to loosen things up.
• However, in spite of those issues, it’s important to note that the Spurs are still 5th in the NBA in points scored in the paint. That’s because, for the past two games (and most of the season), Wemby has been shoving the ball down the throats of anyone bold enough to meet him around the rim. And when his outside shot is on, as it was last night, he’s nigh unstoppable. Poor Jaxson Hayes looked like he didn’t know whether he was coming or going after two quarters of that. It seems like Wemby’s really dedicated himself to interior scoring this year, and frankly, it’s terrifying.

Playing You Out – The Theme Song of the Evening:

Feeling Good by Nina Simone

The Los Angeles Clippers might not have been the only thing that stank in the Intuit Dome last night.

The Clippers fell to 1-3 after their 103-87 loss to the Lakers on Wednesday night. However, a moment involving their in-arena host is getting the most attention.

Hannah Cormier is entering her 11th season with the Clippers organization and her seventh as the in-arena host and MC. She was on camera during one point in the game, appearing to not realize they were rolling.

She seemed to notice a few seconds later, which sparked a terrified look on her face.

She gathered herself quickly before saying, “Clipper Nation, the ladies are back performing to ‘Gemstone’. Give it up for our Clippers spirit!”

As Cormier walked away, the microphone caught a sound that sounded conspicuously like a fart.

An X user posted a video of this entire debacle with the caption, “NBA reporter farts, stumbles over her words, walks off”. The clip has gone viral, amassing over 390,000 views in about 10 hours.

There is some debate about what the sound actually was. Some believe it was truly Cormier passing gas that was caught on the microphone, while others are claiming is was either microphone static or something else the microphone inadvertently picked up.

Fans can come up with their own conclusions about what the sound was. Regardless, this mic’d up mishap provided a welcome distraction to the Clippers’ mediocre on-court product.

It’s understandable that Jaylen Brown was not happy when the Boston Celtics sent him to a bitter rival.

Brown’s name had come up in trade rumors multiple times over the last few years. After the team failed to land Giannis Antetokounmpo this past offseason — with Brown and his salary going to Milwaukee to make it all work — it seemed like the damage had been done. Brown was seemingly shopped to just about every team in the league.

After 10 years, five All-Star selections, two All-NBA nods and a Finals MVP, the Celtics were trying to pack him up, as Brown put it. So, you could imagine Brown’s surprise when he was ultimately traded to the Sixers, a franchise he tortured often while in Boston.

While Brown was diplomatic when asked about his time with the Celtics during his introductory presser in Philly, you could tell feelings lingered. He revealed that he still hadn’t spoken to Jayson Tatum, his All-Star teammate of nine years, since the trade broke.

Recently, Tatum posted an interview to YouTube where he recollected the moment Brown was traded. Brown obviously didn’t think Tatum was being truthful and commented.

Even if Brown didn’t comment, you’d have to be awfully naive to believe Tatum. You’re telling me Brad Stevens made a blockbuster trade that could change the entire trajectory of the franchise … and his star player found out the same time as the rest of the world? Yeah, cap is fair.

Tatum downplayed Brown’s comments, saying there was no beef. That led to Brown’s colorful response about lamb chops and gravy while also pointing out Tatum has a “great PR team.” A petty response? For sure. But it was a fun moment and, at that point, it seemed like everyone was ready to keep it moving.

Then Brian Scalabrine had to insert himself into the situation. Scalabrine reported then recanted (kind of, sort of, but with a lot of arrogance) that Brown “demanded” a trade. Multiple reports have debunked that being the case, but that wasn’t a remedy for Scalabrine’s main character syndrome. He took it to the broadcast to insult Brown again.

So, he reported something that wasn’t true, awkwardly recanted it, then sort of doubled down for his dislike of Brown. Scalabrine mocked the idea of doing PR for Tatum … while actively doing PR for Tatum. He spent five years with the Celtics as a player and has been working on Boston’s basketball broadcasts in some capacity since 2012. His loyalty is obvious. Just last year, he was doing PR work trying to get Brown in the MVP conversation. Now, he’s discrediting the season Brown had in 2025-26.

That’s why Brown’s response to Scalabrine was a smart one. When it’s Brown vs. Tatum, that’s real drama with a potential payoff when the two play each other for the first time. Having beef (or lamb chop) with a pom-pom waving commentator is a losing battle.

If you viewed his response to Tatum as petty, this was the exact opposite. Brown took the high road, despite Scalabrine laying it on pretty thick over the last week or so. It makes Brown look like the bigger person and Scalabrine look silly.

We still have to wait until Nov. 10 to see Brown go up against Tatum and his former team — and we have to wait all the way until January to see Brown’s return to Boston.

Whether it’s beef or lamb chops with gravy, it should be fun.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to extend their winning streak to four games as they head south to take on the Atlanta Hawks.

Both the Cavs and Hawks will be playing on the second end of back-to-backs. Cleveland won their game on Wednesday over the Washington Wizards thanks to five threes from Evan Mobley and a strong performance on both sides of the court in the second half. The Hawks, however, are coming off a loss to the Miami Heat, where they were thoroughly dominated in the paint.

The Cavs have struggled in Atlanta in recent seasons. They have lost their last four games at State Farm Arena, with their most recent win coming in January 2024. We’ll see if the Cavs can change that trend tonight.

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Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (3-1) vs. Atlanta Hawks (2-3)

Where: State Farm Arena – Atlanta, GA

When: Thursday, Oct. 29 at 8 PM

TV: DAZN, WUAB 43, NBA TV

Point spread: Hawks -1.5

Cavs injury report: Not yet submitted

Hawks injury report: Not yet submitted

Cavs expectedstarting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Hawks expected starting lineup: CJ McCollum, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu

Cavs jersey:Black Statement Edition uniform

Previous matchup: The Cavs and Hawks split their four-game season series last year. Atlanta won their most recent matchup 124-102 on April 10.

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

All of a sudden, the Knicks look scary.

Who would have thought after they won the championship four months ago lost three in a row!?

Here’s the latest as the guys rest up for their NBA Cup title-defending debut on Friday.

Mike Brown

On why Mo Diawara and Pacome Dadiet haven’t played this season:

“It’s tough because going into the season early on, one of [the] things I wanted to experiment with is playing 10 or 10 ½ guys [as my rotation]. And Mo is in that mix. Mo and Pac. Give them different opportunities at different times. And we experimented with different stuff and our players not getting it done caused us to start off a little slow.

“So to get us on track, we’re going to hold the fort down with a veteran group of guys. Hopefully we get to the point sooner than later that I can start throwing those [young] guys out there.”

On continuing to experiment with the Knicks’ bench rotation:

“Our starting five is what it is. But everybody else after that, until we find something that’s working consistently, I’m going to try to give different guys opportunities.”

On Jalen Brunson overcoming his shooting struggles against Chicago:

“I wasn’t worried about that. He just seems like he always finds a way. And tonight we needed every single one of those. It definitely wasn’t a concern of mine.”

On the Knicks looking sluggish after arriving in Chicago at 2:30 a.m.:

“It was just a late game [Tuesday night]. I acknowledged that to our guys. It’s not an excuse. It’s the life of the NBA. So we have to find a way in situations like this, and our guys found a way. But you could tell we looked really, really sluggish.”

On Brunson’s determination, toughness and MVP-caliber ability:

“His will is unbelievable. His determination, man, it’s second to none. You look at this guy and he’s not 6-7, he’s not athletic, he’s not quick. I mean, you can go down the line in natural physical tools that a lot of guys have, but his determination, his spirit, his competitive spirit, his will, his toughness, especially his mental toughness, but his physical toughness, too, added with his skill set, it makes him an unbelievable basketball player. An MVP-caliber basketball player. I hope he gets recognition for that this year because his will is off the charts.”

On benching Mikal Bridges and using Tyler Kolek alongside Brunson on Wednesday:

“We just found a combination we went with. One of the things [assistant coach] Rick Brunson suggested was throwing Kolek in the game with Jalen. Just to give them a different look and get Jalen off the ball and put Tyler on the floor.

“Doing that, playing Jordan Clarkson extended minutes, Landry was playing well. Now there’s not much room. And the combination we had out there, we kept playing well. It was harder to go back to what we started with.”

On Karl-Anthony Towns continuing to shoot after injuring his left hand and wrist:

“He was still shooting that thang from 30 feet. So the wrist looked good to me.”

On whether the Knicks are generating good shots despite their early shooting struggles:

“The biggest thing is: are we getting good shots from the right people? Watching the film and watching the game, I think we are. We’ve had some pretty good looks from the right people at the right time that normally go in so I want them to keep shooting.”

On what Tyler Kolek needs to improve as the Knicks’ backup point guard:

“He’s gotta run the team. What I mean by that is, when you watch our games, when he goes on the floor, people get up into his chest when he’s trying to run our offense. He can’t get off the ball too early, if it’s just one guy. He’s gotta be able to go by that guy and get the guy off-balance and bring it back out and set our offense up and/or get by and make a play in the paint. He can’t let pressure bother him or disrupt our offense at all.

“And then defensively, he’s gotta be a pest. He’s gotta be nasty, not anything illegal or anything like that, just a guy that people wanna say ‘get off me, get off me,’ because he’s more than capable of doing that. He’s gotta play with some sort of force, particularly for his size.”

On the Knicks’ bench contributions in their comeback victory over Chicago:

“We got a lot of contributions from all across the board. I thought our bench was fantastic. Landry came off the bench and had 14 points, 4-for-7 from the three-point line was huge. Andre Drummond came off the bench and had 11 rebounds in 15 minutes. That was huge. Tyler hit three big threes, nine assists in 18 minutes. Zero turnovers; he’s just a ball mover. That was huge.

“And obviously our defensive player of the game, Jordan Clarkson. He was big for us. He had been on the shelf for a while. Not only was he big for us offensively, but he had two big steals for us during our run. Our bench was very good for us tonight.”

Jalen Brunson

On overcoming his shooting slump and rediscovering his rhythm against the Bulls:

“I was happy to be able to kind of finally get over that hump. I feel like I was putting a lot of unnecessary commentary in my head. But seeing the ball go in the way it did, it put me out of my mental state and put me in a good flow state.”

On how he broke out of the slump:

“I switched a couple of things up.”

On his relationship with Derrick Rose and Rose’s son, P.J.:

“It’s crazy to see how old he is now. I’m thankful for the relationship I have with him and his family. I feel like the feeling is mutual. I’m happy to have (Derrick) as a mentor and someone I can talk to, and someone I look up to, as well.”

On his memories of growing up around Chicago basketball and attending Bulls games:

“So many memories. I remember the Eastern Conference finals with Derrick, when they lost to LeBron, and going to all of those games. I met Kobe here. I met countless players here. Just how loud the United Center was — it’s always going to be loud no matter the situation. So many memories. I remember exactly where I used to sit and everything. It was perfect.”

On remembering the late Stacey King and his support during Brunson’s high school years:

“I just want to say RIP to Stacey King, who we lost recently. He’s a person I knew when I was in high school out here. He supported our team a lot. His kids went to Stevenson.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the source of Josh Hart’s seemingly endless energy:

“Sugar.”

Jordan Clarkson

On the Knicks’ confidence in Jalen Brunson during clutch situations:

“We have a lot of confidence. What we’ve built as a team, Jalen (Brunson) at the end of games, knowing that he’s going to make shots. Then, everybody else doing the small things. We’re just competing to win.”

Caleb Wilson

On Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby after facing the Knicks:

“Jalen Brunson cold. Then KAT is just––he’s huge, he’s huge, he just makes the right decision, can shoot, trail threes, just plays the basketball really well. Honestly, they’re just a good team. OG’s really good too, really physical, hard to go against, hard to score against, they just have a really well-rounded team.”

On Jordan Clarkson’s performance:

“Even Jordan Clarkson came the bench and finished it. He played really well.”

On facing the Knicks again in a few days:

“We get to play them again next week at their place. We’ll learn from this and hopefully we can go out there and get a win.”

Stephen A. Smith

On reports that James Dolan is unhappy with Knicks players over a potential White House visit:

“People have been a little bit stressed because the owner, James Dolan, has an attitude with players because they don’t want to go to the White House.”

On his opinion of Dolan and the reported disagreement:

“I don’t know whether this is true or not, but I’ll believe anything when it comes to James Dolan because he is a walking embodiment of petulance. This man is as petty as they come.”

The San Antonio Spurs outlasted the rising but shorthanded Utah Jazz in an overtime win behind Victor Wembanyama’s game-high 36 points along with 14 rebounds. Devin Vassell proved instrumental as well, chipping in a season-high 21 points. The game was pretty ugly or rather ugly pretty, but the Spurs capitalized on some defensive fortunes with 14 steals as a team, highlighted by 3 apiece for Wembanyama, Vassell, and De’Aaron Fox.

Dylan Harper with the pretty pass up the stream to Stephon Castle. It’s still early in the season, but it’s always easy on the eyes seeing the Spurs continue to develop that chemistry.

If you’re not a fan of old school, down low, post moves with some exquisite foot work, avert your eyes. This highlight below is not for you. Mayhaps I could interest you in one of dozens of those other videos of other players on other teams taking 5 steps outside the three-point line for one of those “step-back” threes that isn’t called for travel. I say this knowing full well the Spurs biggest big man will chuck up like 11 shots from downtown, but at least he’s not chucking up 10 shots from downtown (checks box score) . . . OK well candy corn M&Ms was the worst thing ever invented by humans.

Patience is a virtue. So is this nifty fake pump from De’Aaron Fox, nothing but virtue. Early in this season, Fox is living up to his Swipa nickname, averaging 1.8 steals per game (he had 3 himself in this game alone).

Castle finds Wembanyama up top for a change-the-shot-clock-light-bulb high slam.

And another shot clock light bulb needed changing. While you’re up there, Victor, please dust the top of the backboard. No one ever pays attention to those little details when deep cleaning. Like blades of the ceiling fans. It’s a whole thing. Gotta grab the ladder if you don’t have one of those extending dusters. Then you get dust in your eye if you’re not careful. It’s a whole thing.

Kids, this is why you follow through on your shot. Because if you don’t, those political spam texts will never stop. Never. Ever.

That being said, I for one, encourage everyone to go vote! It’s our civic duty, like it’s Stephon Castle’s civic duty to finish at the basket with such flair and flare.

I don’t know how stats work. Does the bottom of the backboard get credit for 1/2 of a block? They do 1/2 sacks in football. I know Wembanyama is the boss of blocks, but give some love to the inanimate objects too.

Keldon Wilder Johnson with the no look pass to Wembanyama for the jam. Sir, I did not know you had that in your bag. Kudos to Keldon. Once Tobias Harris joints the rotation, it’ll be interesting how the minutes shake out. But for the time being, Johnson and Julian Champagnie are shoring up the bench unit with important minutes and their usual hustle plays.

If at first you don’t succeed, thank your teammate Devin Vassell for trailing on the play and staying with the ball.

If you missed the game because you were too busy explaining to your spouse why James, Ken, Greg, and Gina keep texting you, here are the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs will host a Halloween Haunt against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

By the time Collin Sexton arrived at the Lakers’ practice facility Wednesday morning, just hours after a nearly three-hour slugfest against the Portland Trail Blazers, Jarred Vanderbilt was already deep into a morning workout. The Lakers were beginning a grueling five-game, seven-day stretch, but Vanderbilt was on the practice court in a full sweat at full speed.

It’s no surprise to Sexton that Vanderbilt approached his long-awaited regular-season debut the same way Wednesday against the Clippers.

“He’s always going to be ready for whenever his name is called,” Sexton said. “But that just shows a true professional.”

Read more:Plaschke: LeBron who? Lakers happily shed the burden of departed star

Vanderbilt starred in his bench role in his delayed season debut Wednesday in the Lakers’ 103-87 win over the Clippers at Intuit Dome. The offensive numbers are unremarkable: no points, one shot, one assist and a turnover. The impact was undeniable. The Lakers outscored the Clippers (1-3) by 22 points in his 21 minutes and two seconds he was on the court.

Vanderbilt, who had seven rebounds, was one of three Lakers bench players to have a plus-minus of plus-21 or better Wednesday, along with Sexton (plus-23) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (plus-21).

“The second unit, we have to come in and pick up where the starters left off,” said Sexton, who had 21 points, including 11 during the third quarter. “That’s the biggest thing. We got to come in and impact the game right away. We can’t come in and ease into it.”

Vanderbilt’s energy helped the Lakers (4-1) win the rebounding battle for the first time this season. He didn’t waste any time after he subbed in with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter. On his first possession in the game, Vanderbilt repeatedly tipped a loose ball up in the air to keep it alive long enough for Austin Reaves to grab an offensive rebound.

The 6-foot-8 forward did not appear in the Lakers’ first four games. He has been on the fringes of the Lakers rotation in part because his three-point shot is not reliable enough to offset his consistent defensive tenacity and energy. But with the Lakers struggling to find a backup center behind Walker Kessler, Lakers coach JJ Redick said Vanderbilt could get an opportunity to play out of position.

Redick said he had previously had conversations with Vanderbilt about ensuring he would be in a position to succeed. Redick views Vanderbilt more as a wing or a forward than a center, where he occasionally played during 2025 after the Lakers traded for Luka Doncic and were shorthanded in the frontcourt. But with Kevon Looney being the only other full-time center behind Kessler this season, there could be moments when Vanderbilt plays the five by necessity, Redick acknowledged Wednesday.

When Kessler wasn’t on the court Wednesday, Redick said the duo of Vanderbilt and the 6-foot-9 Mamukelashvili was “the best pairing in terms of having another big out there that can space and shoot and play-make.” Mamukelashvili had 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in 30 minutes.

Read more:Lakers, playing without Luka Doncic, have others step up in win over Clippers

Looney, who was minus-eight in five minutes on the court against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday, did not play Wednesday. The three-time NBA champion offers a completely different skill set than Kessler at the position, and only one week into the season, Redick said the staff is still figuring out how Looney best fits into the team’s scheme.

“You’re trying to figure out who you are as a group [at the beginning of the season],” Redick said. “You’re also, like, for a team with a lot of new guys, you’re trying to figure out what they are. You follow players for years. You can watch them play, and you got to figure out where they fit and how you can, again, put them in a position to succeed. So that’s still a work in progress with all regards.”

The Lakers looked to bolster their depth at center by signing 7-foot center Lawson Lovering to a two-way contract Wednesday and waiving forward AK Okereke. Lovering was with Memphis’ G League affiliate, where he averaged 7.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 30 games last season. He was undrafted out of Utah, where he finished his collegiate career that started at Colorado.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Welcome to another edition of Heard ‘em Say, where we share the Milwaukee Bucks news that matters to you—all in one convenient place! On this week’s agenda: what could have been instead of waiving Kevin Porter Jr., a roundup of the Wisconsin Herd’s roster, an update on Malik Beasley’s sports gambling charges, and Nate Ament reps the Brewers. Oh, and was Jaylen Brown pushing to become a Buck?

Nuggets offered picks for KPJ?

As you’re well aware, the Bucks waived Kevin Porter Jr. just before the 4:00 p.m. CT deadline for NBA teams to finalise their rosters ahead of the regular season starting. The news was a shock, at least to some (Editor’s note: more on that to come), particular given how well Porter performed when healthy last season. As it turns out, the Bucks didn’t have to lose him for nothing. In fact, according to Jake Fischer’s report in The People’s Insider, they could’ve received draft picks in exchange for the 26-year-old. Of course, there’s a caveat:

The Stein Line has learned that the Nuggets showed a willingness to package two future second-rounders and a second-round pick swap along with Zeke Nnaji’s very available contract in a bid to bring Kevin Porter Jr. to the Rocky Mountains. Yet I’m told that the Bucks ultimately walked away from the Porter-to-Denver discussions as well — and then waived Porter Jr. — because they could not stomach the idea of swallowing Nnaji’s $7.5 million salary for the 2027-28 season.

Fischer also reported that five salary cap specialists from rival teams “said they would have made the move if they were in Milwaukee’s shoes” but also that “All five capologists say they could understand why the Bucks ultimately chose not to surrender $7.5 million of their theoretical flexibility entering the 2027-28 campaign.” All this considered—not to mention the additional opportunities Porter’s absence has afforded Kasparas Jakučionis—do you agree with Jon Horst’s decision?

Speaking of Porter, via the Clutch Scoopspodcast, ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel speculated that while a return to the NBA isn’t out of the cards, Porter may even head back to Europe:

Halfway through the year, there’s going to be teams needing point guards and needing more backcourt depth. They’ll look at Kevin Porter Jr. as an option. But I would just keep an eye on him as also being an option for international teams overseas in Europe. And I expect him to gain interest there. We’ll see what he ultimately decides, whether he wants to give up on the NBA and go overseas or if he’s going to wait for some of these pro-rated deals after the trade deadline.

As we know, Porter has more than enough talent for NBA basketball, and if it weren’t for all his injuries last year he could very well be the Bucks’ starting point guard right now. So, let’s hope he gets another shot somewhere.

All the best, Scoot.

Wisconsin Herd roster roundup

After making their pick in the G League Draft last Saturday, the Wisconsin Herd have officially finalized their 15-man training camp roster. The roster is led by two-way players Kam Jones, Pete Nance, and Cormac Ryan.

Despite trading a 2026 first-rounder to the Capital City Go-Go (the Wizards’ G League affiliate), the Herd still walked away with a player after the draft. The Herd selected Brody Fox, a former The Citadel forward coming off a one-year stint in Estonia, with the 49th pick.

Some of the Herd’s most recognizable players parted ways with Wisconsin earlier this year. Mark Sears (19.1 ppg) signed an Exhibit-10 deal with Portland, while Wisconsin traded Stephen Thompson (17.4 ppg) to the Iowa Wolves, and Johnny Davis (15.6 ppg) signed with a Turkish team. The Herd went 10-26 last year, good for last in the Eastern Conference, but coach Schuyler Rimmer and the Herd are hoping to improve going into 2027.

The full roster is as follows:

• Ty Berry (guard, Kauhajoki Karhu)
• Johni Broome (forward, Philadelphia 76ers/Delaware Blue Coats)
• Jeremiah Burke (forward, Denver University)
• John Butler Jr. (forward, Wisconsin Herd)
• Brody Fox (forward, Latvijas Universitate)
• Marcus Garrett (guard, Greensboro Swarm)
• Terrence Hargrove Jr. (forward, Grand Rapids Gold)
• Kam Jones (guard, Indiana Pacers/Noblesville Boom)
• Cameron Martin (forward, Wisconsin Herd)
• Pete Nance (forward, Milwaukee Bucks/Wisconsin Herd)
• Manny Obaseki (guard, Westchester Knicks)
• Cameron Parker (guard, Rip City Remix)
• Cormac Ryan (guard, Milwaukee Bucks/Wisconsin Herd)
• Kalifa Sakho (forward, Houston University)
• Jake Stephens (forward, KK Split)

Malik Beasley in talks over possible guilty plea

In June 2025, news broke that former Bucks guard Malik Beasley was under investigation for betting on NBA games. This June, Beasley wasindicted on sports gambling charges, allegedly committing those crimes while with the team. Now, it appears Beasley is pleading guilty, as reported by Mike Vorkunov from The Athletic:

Beasley was indicted this summer for his role in an alleged scheme that bet on his performance while he was with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2023-24 season. Beasley is accused of manipulating his play so that bettors could win their wagers on him. Beasley initially pleaded not guilty, but court records Friday night said that he intends to change his plea.

Steve Haney, a lawyer for Beasley, said Beasley has not yet decided to plead guilty, but is in talks with prosecutors with the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. He is expected to make a final decision early next week.

In fact, there’s no doubt about it:

Yikes.

Jaylen Brown may or may not have pushed to be traded to Milwaukee

According to Brian Scalabrine, at one point this offseason, Jaylen Brown pushed to be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks:

“My understanding is that Jaylen Brown went to the organization and had a list of demands, and it was like, ‘You either do this, or you trade me.’ And he was rooting to get traded to Milwaukee, including calling some teammates about, ‘Hey, man, what do you think of Milwaukee? We should go there.'”

Then again, according to the same Brian Scalabrine, that actually didn’t happen:

Drew Carter and Brian Scalabrine taking about Scal’s comments on the radio today https://t.co/Ldad81lQHO

— Ian Inangelo (@iinangelo) October 26, 2026

For as good as Brown is, I’m good with how this all played out. What about you?

Nate Ament & the “Brew Crew”

Finally, just in case you missed it, Nate Ament is embracing all things Milwaukee—even with his shoes:

Bucks rookie Nate Ament is debuting his “Brew Crew” Reebok Engine A 26 PE today — as the Milwaukee Brewers begin the World Series. The 1-of-1 PE features his player logo on the tongue and a classic navy / yellow Brewers colorway. https://t.co/xGRnvCu5BX

— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) October 23, 2026

Way to go, Nate. And way to go Brewers!

For more on your World Series champion Brewers, be sure to head on over to our friends at Brew Crew Ball.

That’s it for this edition, folks. Got any Bucks news or rumours? If so, share them in the comments—or perhaps even as an extended post in The Feed.