Welcome to Week in Review: a Monday feature that looks back at the week that was for the San Antonio Spurs, takes a look at the week ahead, and more. Enjoy!

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Week 1: 1-2 (1-2, 9th in West)

104-116 loss vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

It wasn’t the season opener the Spurs had hoped for. With the Thunder out for revenge for the Western Conference Finals and red hot from three in the first half, the lethargic Spurs went ice cold in the second quarter to fall behind by 26 points and, despite an admirable effort in the second half, couldn’t rally all the way back.

On a side note, keep Jalen Williams in your thoughts after he suffered a brutal looking leg injury last night (I don’t recommend making the same mistake as me and watching it). Assuming it’s as bad as it looks, he’s more than likely out for the season and faces an even harder road back.

110-114 loss vs. Houston Rockets (in Austin)

The Spurs looked better in their second game as they continued to shake off the rust and find some rhythm, but it still wasn’t enough against a healthy Rockets squad that finally has a true point guard. Alperen Sengun was unstoppable down low no matter who guarded him, and Amen Thompson blocked Victor Wembanyama’s game tying attempt for the heart-breaking loss.

106-122 win at Dallas Mavericks

The Spurs finally got their first win of the season against a depleted Mavs team that was missing Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, among others. While nothing special, the Spurs’ starters did their jobs and put the opponent away with a few timely runs, and we even got to see what Tarris Reed could bring to the table in rotation minutes.

Power Rankings

John Schuhmann, NBA.com — 6 (last week: 1)

OffRtg: 110.5 (14) DefRtg: 111.3 (14) NetRtg: -0.7 (14)

A season with big expectations got off to a rough start for Victor Wembanyama (1-for-13 against the Thunder) and the Spurs. After losing to Oklahoma City and Houston, they trailed the shorthanded Mavs (no Kyrie Irving or Cooper Flagg) late in the third quarter on Saturday before pulling away in the final 13 minutes.

Two takeaways

1. The Spurs’ new starting lineup played limited minutes (just 9.4 per game) and the results were mixed. It outscored the Thunder by 10 points on Tuesday, but scored an anemic 30 points on 45 offensive possessions (67 per 100) against the Rockets and Mavs over the weekend. The offense was at its best with last season’s starter (Julian Champagnie) on the floor.

2. Victor Wembanyama has struggled with his jump shot. Combining preseason and Week 1, he’s shot 2-for-11 from mid-range and 5-for-28 from beyond the arc. But the Spurs have allowed less than a point per possession with him on the floor, while allowing 133 per 100 with him on the bench.

Coming up: The Spurs’ win in Dallas over the weekend was the start of what seems like a pretty soft, 12-game stretch of schedule that should have them at or near the top of the West in mid-November. Minnesota is the toughest opponent on that stretch, but the Spurs will have a rest advantage when they host the Wolves on Saturday.

Law Murray, The Athletic — 12 (last week: 5)

Opening week question: Do De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle complement one another well enough?

Defensively, the trio has been fine — it helps to have Victor Wembanyama back there. But these three are only starting together because that’s the team Mitch Johnson has to manage this year. Last year, Johnson could bring the second pick of the draft (Harper) off the bench, have Fox minimize his touches and play primarily through Castle while Wembanyama enjoyed his ascent to MVP finalist. This year, the Spurs are letting their guard trio dominate the ball. San Antonio is shooting only 41.5 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from 3.

Kurt Helin, NBC Sports — 8 (last week: 2)

Through three games, the jury is still out on starting the three guards together — De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper — with the group posting a +1.4 net rating when on the court together. With that trio, the defense has been spectacular, but the offense has struggled (granted, on an exceedingly small sample). One issue with starting the three-guard lineup is that the Spurs now lack the bench punch Harper brought last season. It’s wild to say it, but the bigger problem for the Spurs — especially against the Thunder on opening night — was Victor Wembanyama. Against OKC, he held the ball too long, which disrupted the three-guard offense’s flow. Wemby shot 1-of-13 in the opener, partly because the Thunder are an elite defensive team, collapsed on him, and have three seven-footers to throw at him. In the Spurs’ second game against Houston, Wemby had a much better first half but struggled after halftime, then against Dallas he looked more like himself. The Spurs need that version of Wemby.

Brett Siegel, Clutch Points — 9 (last week: 4)

This was an unprecedented start for the defending Western Conference champions. While falling to the Thunder in the first game of the season wasn’t all that shocking, losing to the Rockets in a game they never really controlled was.

Not only is Victor Wembanyama struggling to find his shot early on, but the Spurs are still trying to figure out what their three-guard approach looks like on a nightly basis with De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper.

Getting Tobias Harris back on the floor from his calf injury will be important for this team, especially since he brings extra rebounding and secondary scoring. Nonetheless, this team’s success revolves around Wembanyama’s production, which was lackluster during the first week of the season.

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Coming up

• Tues. 10/27 vs. Sacramento Kings (7:00 PM CT)
• Wed. 10/28 at Utah Jazz (8:00 PM CT)
• Sat. 10/31 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (7:00 PM CT)

When people said they wouldn’t care if the Knicks went 0-82 this season, I don’t think that they meant it as an invitation.

The first three games have gone from disappointing to annoying to bewildering as the Knicks sit at the bottom of the standings with a 0-3 record after three close losses to Eastern Conference rivals, all of which were winnable with better execution. It’s the first 0-3 start since David Fizdale was coach in 2019-20 (yikes).

In these games, the Knicks have scored 103 or fewer points in all of them. Raw point totals aren’t everything with this team’s preferred slow pace, but that doesn’t work in the modern NBA. This is early-Thibsian-level offense.

Is it process-based or just shoddy shooting? It could be both.

On Opening Night, the Knicks fell to the Sixers not only due to inconsistent shooting at the perimeter, but also startlingly bad finishing at the rim. As a team last year, they shot 66.3% in the restricted area and 58.3% on shots in the paint. On Opening Night? 58.6% and 42%.

These shots make up half the team’s shot diet, so shooting 16% worse at it can decide games. That’s especially concerning against a team with incredibly little rim protection, even if it were the freshest Joel Embiid you’ll ever see.

The jarringly bad shooting continued through Boston and Orlando. They’re 26th in FG% at the restricted area (63%) and dead last in total FG% in the paint (50%).

The main culprits? Andre Drummond (8-for-15 at the rim, 8-for-18 in the paint), Jalen Brunson (4-for-18 outside the restricted area), and Josh Hart (4-for-8 at the rim, 7-for-13 in the paint).

Those last two are the ones we can directly compare to last season. Brunson shot 47.9% on incredible volume outside the restricted area last season, while Hart shot 67.4% at the rim and 60.4% in the entire paint. The sample is small, but important in three close losses.

The perimeter shooting has been pretty bad, too. Outside of Deuce McBride’s Boston heater, nobody has had the touch to start the season. Four players have attempted at least 14 threes so far, and all of them are below league average (Brunson 26.7%, Anunoby 28.6%, Hart 33.3%, Shamet 35.7%). Mikal Bridges is also doing his best October 2024 impression, starting the year 0-for-10 from deep.

On Sunday night against the Magic, the Knicks shot 32 open and wide open threes and made only nine of them. There were some bad looks in there, but a lot of them were clean looks that you’re used to them making. Last season, they only averaged 30.5 of those attempts per game, but shot 37.3%. That’s equivalent to three extra made threes last night, which could’ve swung the game.

Really, they lost on Sunday because the Magic, an extremely poor shooting team, shot 43.6% on those looks and had just their third game in the last two years where they shot 40 threes and made at least 40% of them, but you could’ve also made shots yourself.

As if their shooting at the rim and behind the arc wasn’t bad enough, they’ve also been ghastly at the foul line.

As a team, they’re shooting 70.8%, which in prior years you’d think would be dragged down by the Hack-a-Mitch, but there’s no excuse this year. Even if you remove the only poor free-throw shooter on the roster, Drummond, they’re at an unacceptable 72%. If you removed Mitch last year, the team shot 81.6% from the line.

It added up against Philly; it didn’t help against Boston; and it directly hampered their chances at a late comeback against Orlando.

Anunoby is at 81.8%, but after him? Brunson is 14-for-20, and Towns is 12-for-17, both around 70%. For two guys who are career 85% free-throw shooters, it’s a back-breaker.

Looking at the splits (and turnovers, which are also a small problem) through three games, the Knicks aren’t close to where they need to be as a team:

vs PHI: 37/33/70, 14 TO
@ BOS: 44/40/71, 16 TO
vs ORL: 41/24/68, 14 TO
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25-26: 48/37/79, 12.9 TO

The only game they shot adequately was against Boston, but they committed a season high in turnovers and still didn’t make their free throws. In the other two games, it was poor play at all three levels.

In the modern NBA, three-point shooting is everything. For the Knicks under Mike Brown, they are as reliant as a team can be without being Joe Mazzulla-esque.

2025-26 Knicks, including playoffs:
22-0 when shooting 44% or better
0-7 when shooting 25% or worse

Last season, when the Knicks shot worse than 33.3% from downtown, they went 11-19.

When they shot 33.3% or better, a mark that is not even league average, they went 58-13.

It’s a cheat code for their success, and considering they returned every shooter from last season’s roster, it’s one that needs to show up to right the ship.

By first quarter’s end on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers looked a bit of a mess and trailed the Utah Jazz, 47-29. By halftime, they had righted the ship and already stormed all the way back to enter the break with a 74-71 lead. For much of the second half, the two sides engaged in a back-and-forth affair before Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves made a handful of key plays down the stretch to propel Los Angeles to a 132-123 victory and a 3-o start to the year.

After the win, head coach JJ Redick emphasized the importance of a game like that so early in the season for a team still growing together with so many new rotation players. Of course, doing so in a win is preferable but Redick made clear it would’ve provided valuable information regardless of the outcome.

“I talked about this earlier in the year last year. For, particularly, a new group of guys and this feels like a newer team, right, because of all the new faces, you need to build reference,” Redick told reporters. “Really, whether we had responded to the adversity of that first quarter, not being ready to play and not doing any of the stuff that we had talked about pregame, it still would be a reference point. Because we ended up coming back and winning, now it becomes a positive reference point and it’s a reference point for resiliency, right?”

Once Utah had built an 18-point advantage to close the first quarter, Redick saw his team quickly respond in the second quarter to extinguish the deficit and, ultimately, nab a road victory — something that shouldn’t be discounted, especially against a team that’s given the Lakers trouble in recent years.

“Winning on the road is hard in the NBA. These guys always play us tough, particularly here, at least since I’ve been here,” Redick said. “So I wasn’t surprised with how they came out and played offensively. But our guys were, we talked to them at the beginning of the second quarter and there was an immediate response and then we had to gut out a win. We had to gut out a win and I’m just proud of the group for that.”

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

The Phoenix Suns’ first two games of the season couldn’t have gone more differently. A historic beatdown from the Portland Trail Blazers commenced their season, which they followed up three days later with a solid victory over a Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors team in their home opener. Nonetheless, it was a 1-1 week despite losing by 41 in their first game. The beauty of a singular game only being worth one loss, no matter the outcome.

Now having our first glimpse of the 2026-27 regular season Suns, here’s what we want your responses on:

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Thoughts on the new guys

Luke Kennard and Miles Bridges are in Phoenix and contributing early. While Kennard didn’t play in the season opener and Bridges scored just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, both were impactful in the team’s first win of the season. Kennard hit three three-pointers, including a few late, and Bridges showed his inside-out game, scoring in the paint and hitting a few triples against the Warriors.

How do you think the two have fit in so far, and how do you expect their roles to evolve as the season goes on?

Starting guard drama looming?

Early returns on the Jalen Green and Devin Booker starting backcourt have not been promising. The first game of the season saw the Suns go down 21-0 en route to getting blown out, and in 13 minutes against the Warriors, the starting lineup had a -21.6 net rating.

In comparison, when Collin Gillespie was replaced by Green, the rest of the starting lineup had a +85.7 net rating.

Two games into a season is no time for seismic changes, and the Suns as a whole mightily struggled in their first game of the season especially, but how concerned are you about Jalen Green’s fit next to Devin Booker in the starting lineup?

Early returns on Khaman Maluach as the starter?

There’s a new starting center in Phoenix, and his name is Khaman Maluach, and he’s been quite passive on the offensive end so far. In 44 minutes in his first two games, the Duke product has taken just five shots and six free throws, averaging 5.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and two assists per game.

As the team continues to play without a traditional point guard in the starting lineup, it might take Maluach some time to find his role on the offensive end, and his 136.4 defensive rating leaves a lot to be desired on defense, but the team has been significantly better on the glass when he’s in the game.

It was well-known that the big man was going to take some time to get comfortable in his new role, but have early returns given you more or less confidence in his future as a starter?

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On the Suns’ Plate This Week

Another two-game slate this week starting on the road and ending at home against the Western Conference for the Suns.

Phoenix will face the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at 5 PM AZ time in a rematch of the first round of the 2026 Western Conference Playoffs that saw the Suns go down in four games. Then on Friday, they’ll host the Denver Nuggets at 7 PM AZ time for their first game of NBA Cup play. The Thunder and Nuggets were the West’s first and third seeds a season ago and once again project to be some of the conference’s best teams.

To quote new Timberwolves commentator Kevin Calabro, “Nothing but cord.” Fresh off another hot shooting night where Minnesota was 15 for 31 from deep (48%) they prepare for their first back-to-back of the season. Coach Chris Finch rewarded the effort of his squad with frequent breathers and deployed 11 players in non-garbage minutes. Some of this was due to LaMelo Ball foul trouble. Or was that Melo’s strategy all along for saving his legs for the next day?

Minnesota’s opponent the Cleveland Cavaliers are struggling to find their Eastern Conference Finalist form in the early goings of the season. They will have the advantages of rest and home court as they host the undefeated Wolves.

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Game Info

• Who:Minnesota Timberwolves (3-0) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1)
• When: Monday, October 26 at 6:00 PM CT
• Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
• Local TV: DAZN-MIN
• Radio: 830 WCCO

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Some Numbers

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Playing for Each Other

Maybe it was something in the Parisian water. Maybe it was the iron sharpening iron team organized practices before training camp. Maybe it was the trade for LaMelo Ball and the full court press to get Jonathan Kuminga to sign in Minnesota. Whatever it was, this Wolves team is knit tighter and more defined than a Norwegian sweater.

No matter the lineup that Finch runs out, every player knows what is expected of them. In the Raptors game, every player bought in on relentless defense regardless of assignment as seen most prominently in Bones Hyland posting as many points as he did blocks and rebounds (three of each). The early efforts have taken some of the load off the regular rotation and allowed the deep bench to get some run. Rookie Isaiah Evans has played in each of the first three wins.

These Wolves are not playing with their food. When they build a lead they add to it. They have only lost three quarters thus far and two of those were in the fourth quarter of 20+ point victories. Even the players “sitting” on the bench understand what is expected of them.

Target the Bad Defenders

The Cavaliers deploy two bigs in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley who will roam the paint looking to swat shots. Cleveland has averaged eight and a half blocks in their two games, good enough for first in the league. They outbid the Denver Nuggets in a sign-and-trade for Peyton Watson to defend on the wing, and that’s where the strength of their defense trails off. James Harden presents some effort when he can guard in the post, but when asked to move his feet, he runs into problems.

As the Wolves did against the Miami Heat’s Klay Thompson, they should hunt the Harden and Donovan Mitchell on the perimeter. The rest of the Cavs rely on the shot creation of those two players to get their offense going, so pulling them into a recurrent defensive stance will wear them out. Off the bench, Cleveland relies on the scoring of wings Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill, and former Trey Lyles Real Madrid teammate Mario Hezonja, none of whom offer much more defensive resistance than who they replace.

Rebounds and Turnovers

The Raptors won the offensive rebounding and turnover battle against the Wolves allowing them to hang around until early in the third quarter. I’d imagine Finch and the coaching staff will be in the player’s ears on the flight to Ohio about ways to clean that up. This will be a unique test for the Wolves playing on the second night of a back-to-back. They rank number one in the league in rebounding, predicated on effort and gang rebounding. They will need to summon that same sweat equity to nullify Cleveland’s bigs.

The Cavaliers have choked away one game against the Philadelphia 76ers and barely hung on against the Brooklyn Nets with fourth quarter turnovers. They have coughed up the ball over 20+ times in each of their first two games with Mitchell and Harden among the biggest culprits. Perhaps a student of the Shaquille O’Neal school of taking the season to play into shape, Harden has shown limited burst to get to the cup. Staying in front of him should allow for off-ball defenders to swarm passing lanes and juice the score in transition.

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Prediction

The Wolves have momentum, a clear thesis of what they want to do, and the spirit of youth. The Cavs guards will look to put Minnesota into compromising positions and if the Wolves play clean, they’ll run out to an early lead. Off of tired legs, less Wolves three-balls will drop, but second efforts on the glass will sap the confidence of their opponent. Cleveland will try to get back into the game launching errant three-point shots and Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson will assure the media that by every number but the final score, they won the game. Isaiah Evans will record his first regular season point.

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Our blogging buddies are over at Fear the Sword. Be respectful of our sword swinging brethren!

Maxey named East Player of the Week for standout start to season  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

True to form, All-NBA Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey earned another award at the very start of the 2026-27 season. 

Maxey was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday. The Grizzlies’ Ty Jerome won the award in the Western Conference. 

Maxey averaged 28.8 points, 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds for the new-look, 3-1 Sixers. He posted at least 26 points in all four games and ranks fifth in the NBA in scoring average. 

The 25-year-old also impressed on defense. He’s already racked up eight steals and his full-court pressure on former teammate James Harden helped fuel the Sixers’ home-opening comeback win last Thursday over the Cavs. 

“He totally changed the game,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s out there doing that and the rest of the guys are in the back watching. And all of a sudden, they start saying, ‘I’ll be in on this, too.’

“He provides not only the physical effort to start it, but also kind of a spark that got everyone emotionally going.”

Maxey has won five East Player of the Week awards in his career. His first also came in Week 1. Maxey took home the honor in late October of 2023 right before the Sixers traded Harden to the Clippers.

After averaging 24 points (84.6% shooting), 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 1.5 steals through the first two games of the season, Walker Kessler struggled mightily during the Los Angeles Lakers’ comeback win Sunday against the Utah Jazz. In 28 minutes, he had two points (1-of-2 shooting) and seven rebounds, and committed four fouls.

The matchup marked Kessler’s return to Utah, where he spent the first four years of his career before joining Los Angeles this summer. Afterward, Kessler admitted emotions may have played a role in his poor performance.

“Obviously Utah was the first four years of my career. It’s a special place for me. Kind of jump started my career,” Kessler told reporters. “A lot of good memories, but definitely just let my emotions get the best of me and kind of hype myself up more than I usually do and kind of got too amped and then just couldn’t find the ball. Couldn’t find the rhythm. Just kind of was off. A couple fouls that were tough. A couple of blocks I usually just [get to]. One of those nights, but, fortunately, basketball is not a one-man sport. I’ve got really good teammates and I’m very thankful.”

As Kessler labored through a lackluster outing, the Lakers’ star backcourt pairing led the charge. Luka Dončić dazzled with 52 points (17-of-30 shooting), 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals while Austin Reaves continued his strong start to the year, dropping 29 points (7-of-12 shooting), four assists, two blocks and one steal. Matisse Thybulle added 11 points (3-of-7 beyond the arc), three steals and one block.

“I think going to the game, I definitely let my emotions get the best of me. But you got to learn in those moments and move on,” Kessler told reporters. “But, yeah, I’m glad we got the win tonight. I’ve got a lot of thanks to give to my teammates. All of them. They all played their roles and did a great job even though it wasn’t my best night. So I really, really appreciated them.”

Kessler will have a chance to bounce back Tuesday night at 8 p.m. when Los Angeles hosts the Portland Trail Blazers in a clash between undefeated teams.

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

While every win hasn’t been pretty, the Lakers have racked them up to start this season. A blowout of the Warriors, a sloppy win against the Clippers and a comeback over the Jazz has them a perfect 3-0 to open the campaign.

It’s unlikely they’ll go 82-0, though you can’t rule it out yet. Even still, the undefeated start has still brought with it some questions. So, let’s hear yours after a wild first week of the season.

Whether it’s about the Lakers or the NBA in general, or even something else, fire away with any questions.

As always, keep things friendly along the way!

Luka Dončić has not needed to shake off any rust this season.

The superstar guard produced a staggering 52-point performance in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 132-123 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. Dončić’s 34.3 points per game is second-highest in the league and a key reason why the Lakers are undefeated to this point in the season.

One of Dončić’s biggest critics over the years has been Kendrick Perkins.

The former NBA forward called Dončić out for having missed time during the playoffs with an injury last season and even defended the Dallas Mavericks’ decision to trade Luka in 2025 because he didn’t believe Dončić was prepared to lead a team to a NBA championship.

But even Perkins couldn’t deny Dončić’s dominance on Sunday, as he made an X post in the wake of Los Angeles’ win against Utah that read, “Luka with a cool 52 and 10 on the lord’s day.”.

Dončić responded to this, writing, “.”

Dončić’s response has over 600,000 views in about 13 hours. This savage response suggests Dončić has seen what Perkins has said in the past and was eager to show that he sees Perkins’ praise as well.

Even Perkins has to admit that Dončić appears to be in his prime right now.

The Lakers will look to remain undefeated on Tuesday against the Trailblazers in Los Angeles.

Former Warriors player rips GM Mike Dunleavy's ‘s–t job' building team's roster  originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The 2026-27 NBA season is off to a rough start for the Warriors, and a former player is not holding back his thoughts.

Four-time All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, who played for the Warriors during the 2018-19 season, spoke on FanDuel’s “Run It Back” and gave his thoughts on the current state of the franchise, specifically calling out general manager Mike Dunleavy for how he has struggled to build a competitive roster around Steph Curry. Cousins’ comments come in the midst of the team’s 0-3 start to the season.

Boogie Cousins GOES OFF on the Golden State Warriors 🗣️

"Dunleavy has done a sh*t job putting a roster around Steph Curry."@MichelleDBeadle | @boogiecousins | @TeamLou23pic.twitter.com/BmpFTLMChm

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) October 26, 2026

“And it’s unfortunate, because I think Steph [Curry] has so much more greatness to give, even at this point in his career,” Cousins said. “I don’t feel like the front office is believing in Steph the way everybody in the world believes in Steph. And I think the evidence is pretty apparent.

“I’ll go on the record and say I think Dunleavy has done a s–t job as far as putting a roster around Steph Curry. Why this guy still has a job? I’ll never know. Obviously, I don’t have that privilege in life.”

Cousins also alluded to the system that the team runs, calling it “outdated” and saying how it does not work in today’s NBA. The biggest issue he pointed out was the team’s lack of a true dominant center, something Golden State has struggled to find in recent seasons.

“I think he’s done a horrible job as far as putting a good group around him,” Cousins continued. “They’re still running the same outdated system as far as going extremely small. I think the other night Steve Kerr put in a lineup, and the tallest guy on the floor was [6-foot-6]. It doesn’t work anymore. The system is outdated…So, it sucks to see Steph kind of go out on this limb. I feel like he has a lot more greatness to give.”

The Warriors made a few moves this offseason to bolster their size, such as drafting Yaxel Lendeborg at No. 11 overall in this year’s draft, re-signing Draymond Green, Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis and signing free agent Georges Niang. But the team failed to bring in another true star and stayed relatively quiet overall, giving them limited options to help Curry.

Golden State still is hoping to surprise people this season and compete for a playoff spot after missing out on them entirely last year. Curry signed a massive two-year contract extension last month, keeping him the Bay Area through at least his 20th season and motivating the team even more to win their fifth title since 2015.

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A cliché is an overused expression or idea that has lost its originality and impact, while a truism is a statement that is so obviously and self-evidently true that it offers little to no new insight.

Both are pithy, ultimately pointless things to say that we say anyway because something has to be said. There’s a saying in sports: Availability is the best ability.

That’s more of a truism.

Which brings me to the Houston Rockets’ Steven Adams. As of this writing, the Rockets have a rematch with the Atlanta Hawks this evening. Adams is not expected to suit up, which brings him to one game played out of four this season so far.

That’s a problem.

Rockets can’t rely on Steven Adams

Yes, it’s likely that Ime Udoka is intentionally giving Adams some early-season rest. This may not be a massive problem. The team is (again, as of this writing) undefeated.

Only Adams managed just 32 games last year. He played 58 in his 2024-25 debut season with the Rockets, but the year before that he played 0, and 42 in 2022-23.

Durability has been an issue for Adams since that 2022 injury. It’s been four consecutive seasons now. It’s probably fair to drop the caveat:

Durability has been an issue for Adams.

This is a player who’s meant to be integral to the Rockets’ identity. Preserving his body for the playoffs is smart, but this is still an amber alert.

What do the Rockets do if Adams can’t get on the floor?

Rockets must explore long-term backup big man options

Here’s a simple, elegant solution:

Play Oscar Tshiebwe.

Last season, Adams had an 18.9% offensive rebounding percentage (via NBA.com, because there’s a discrepancy on Basketball Reference, and that bothers me). That was third in the NBA. Tshiebwe’s 15.1% mark ranked 8th. That’s a gap, but it’s not a gulf.

We shouldn’t reduce the entire secondary big man’s role to offensive rebounding. At the same time…it’s a pretty large percentage of the role for these Rockets. If we made a pie chart, it’d be one of those pie charts where over half is one color, and then the rest of the pie is divided between a bunch of other variables.

Adams isn’t an especially good defender. He’s a poor offensive player. Yet, he’s managed to be an incredibly impactful NBA player by being the best in the league at two things for a long time: Offensive rebounding and screening.

Tshiebwe can approximate Adams’ offensive rebounding. I’d be lying if I said I could recall an Oscar Tshiebwe screen off the top of my head, but he’s said to be good there too. He won’t be Adams – nobody will – but he’s probably as close as we’ll get.

This is not a big deal. So far, it’s been an odd start for the Rockets. The team is 3-0, and they aren’t leaning on the extra possession philosophy as they have in years past. The team’s 34.3% Offensive Rebounding percentage is just ninth in the league. The Rockets are winning basketball games by doing good basketball stuff.

So imagine how dominant they’d be if they were controlling the offensive glass again.

What’s being suggested here is that getting Tshiebwe on the floor is a way for the Rockets to preserve that identity for the next half-decade. He may not play well, but at least then the team would know.

Otherwise, relying on Capela for the rest of the year is…fine. He’s got a sterling 22.2% offensive rebounding percentage as well, but he’s only playing 9.4 minutes per game. Capela has become a subpar defender, which limits his value.

Maybe Udoka is done with the double-big lineups. That’s fine, but they still need a reliable backup big. If it isn’t Tshiebwe, that’s fine, but they need to have targets circled in the 2027 NBA Draft.

By now, it seems clear that it won’t be Steven Adams for much longer.

Remember when the Knicks won the NBA championship?

Yeah, that was more than four months ago, so maybe it’s about time someone starts getting back down to earth and hooping again.

Here’s the latest from the latest embarrassing loss in an early season full of them.

"The biggest thing is to coach them and tell them the truth… If we're trying, and trying the right way, sometimes you've got to fight through stuff like this to get yourself on track. Games like this will tell us like, our crap stinks. It does."

– Mike Brown pic.twitter.com/32sgBqXXqM

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 26, 2026

Mike Brown

On evaluating the season in five-game segments for his own sanity:

“We break the season into five-game segments. There are marks that we like to hit in those five games and it kind of gives us a good feel of where you were, in a fair amount of games, and to see if you can make progress in the next five.

“Obviously you want to go 5-0, you’ll take 4-1, and then maybe you have to take 3-2. But if you’re doing anything less than that, you know that nobody is reaching their potential.”

On coaching the Knicks through their 0-3 start and holding players accountable:

“The biggest thing is to coach them and to continue to tell them the truth. When I talked to them, I said, ‘Hey, we were great in transition in the second half.’ We were. But now, we have to continue to try and embrace the little things. We have to make sure we’re doing it in practice so that it carries over into the game. I’ll really jump their a– if I see the effort is not there. To me, that’s a whole different thing. If we’re trying, and trying the right way, sometimes you have to fight through stuff like this to get yourself on track.

“But games like this will tell us, and I’ve said it before, our crap stinks. It does. We’re the only ones who can do something about it.”

On the Knicks’ excrement:

“Games like this will tell us, our crap stinks. It does. And we’re the only ones who can do anything about it. There’s no light switch we can just turn on and go and win the ballgame. Nobody’s giving us anything, so we have to be better with the little things until we start shooting the ball.”

On the Knicks allowing a nonsensical fourth-quarter offensive explosion to Orlando:

“Giving up 40 points in the fourth quarter is way too much.”

On benching Andre Drummond for James Wiseman:

“I felt our transition defense wasn’t good during that time, not just because of [Drummond], but I wanted to go with a change. Wiseman’s been playing well in practice. I wanted to give him an opportunity and I thought he was pretty good in his first stint [in the first half]. And so I decided to go with him for a second stint. But Andre will go out there as a backup in the next game.”

On the open competition for minutes among the Knicks’ reserves:

“First thing I wanna make clear is we have our starting five. Other than that, anybody can play. When you’re a backup in this league, that doesn’t mean you’re always gonna be the seventh man or you’re always gonna be the eighth man.

“No, no, no, no, no, no. It’s competitive. And it’s less so with the starting group if your starting group is established, which ours is, but everybody else after that starting five, I can throw in front of the next guy in a heartbeat.”

On the Knicks not yet reaching their expected level of play in the early season:

“We’re not quite there yet.”

On Dalton Knecht’s two-way contract and plans to give him playing time in Westchester:

“Right now he obviously is a two-way [player], and we want him to play as much as he can, so he’s gonna play some games with Westchester. If we need him to play games with us, we’ll do that. I’d rather him play than be around us too much and sit.”

On helping Knecht learn the Knicks’ system and potentially giving him NBA minutes:

“So trying to get him caught up to speed sooner than later with what we like to do would be one of the reasons why we want him around. But with him, we’ll take it day-by-day to see how quickly he picks up on the offense and the defense, and then if there’s a need to throw him out there, I won’t hesitate to throw him out there.”

On waiving Kevin McCullar Jr. to sign Knecht:

“Kevin, first of all, he’s a fantastic young man, and we’re gonna miss him, obviously, but he’s been here two seasons as a two-way. Being able to try to get to know a guy like Dalton Knecht at this point of the year, it’s something that we need to take a look at.

“So it wasn’t anything that Kevin didn’t do. He was great, and he is an NBA player. And I think he’s gonna get a shot, someday and it could be with us, who knows down the road? I don’t know. But it was more so having the opportunity to bring a guy like Dalton on just to get to know him a little bit better is why we did it.”

"Poor decision making by me late in the game. Ball's not falling in for us, I think we've gotten some good looks throughout the game but the little things we can control that helps contribute to wins"

Jalen Brunson on the late-game turnovers the Knicks have experienced: pic.twitter.com/1QBya5tgDT

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 26, 2026

Jalen Brunson

On defending Miles McBride’s play against the Celtics:

“[McBride] played great. He’s one of the reasons we were still in the game. Without him doing what he was doing, it might’ve been a worse outcome. He came in ready to go and helped us.”

On the Knicks getting comfortable during strong stretches of play:

“Everyone can say it’s early in the season — we can use that as an excuse — but the one thing I see is that when we get on those runs and look like the team we were in the past, we get a little comfortable. We have to continue to put our foot on the gas and execute things like we did last year.

“We’re not going to be the same. We’re not going to play how we were playing last year; that’s just human nature. But we have to accept this part of the journey, find a way to get better, and hopefully after a couple of games, we can look back and say, ‘We grew from that.’”

On taking responsibility for the Knicks’ offensive struggles on Sunday:

“Organization on my part and making sure we’re in the right place to execute what we need to do. Everything falls on my shoulders. I just got to be a better leader in making sure our guys are ready to go and are in the right spots. There are a lot of little things but that’s the main thing. Organization on my part.”

On the message he delivered to teammates after the Knicks’ 0-3 start:

“Control what you can control; focus on the little details that may seem small but are going to impact winning. Most importantly, let’s do it together.”

On his frustration after the Knicks’ third consecutive loss:

“Not happy. Plain and simple.”

On early-season adversity revealing the Knicks’ character:

“One thing I’ve said during training camp and to this day is we’re going to see who we are within the first couple weeks of the season. And we’re seeing adversity. So how are we going to respond?”

On not wanting championship praise anymore:

“Everyone has been telling us what a great job we did, how fun it was, what we did for the city, the constant praise (for winning the title). So now we need the opposite.”

Andre Drummond was asked if he has any idea about his expected role with the team:

"Nope. I'm just here to work, when my number's called I'm prepared to play." pic.twitter.com/ARKIZRdVRy

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 26, 2026

Andre Drummond

On being benched against the Magic without receiving an explanation:

“Control what I can control. I can’t do s–t about not playing. All I can do is cheer my teammates on and hope for the best.”

On not knowing why Mike Brown removed him from the rotation:

“You can make the guess for me”

On whether or not Brown told him about his expected role with the Knicks:

“Nope. I’m just here to work, when my number’s called I’m prepared to play.”

Dalton Knecht thinks playing in Westchester "is going to be great":

"Learn a new system, learn a new scheme and stuff like that. Just be ready for the new opportunity, I'm excited to start learning from everybody" pic.twitter.com/bebulPJr19

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 25, 2026

Dalton Knecht

On leaving the Lakers and getting a fresh opportunity with the Knicks:

“I thought [Los Angeles] was a great opportunity. Next thing was coming. So it was kind of exciting [to] get a new opportunity, a new start somewhere. So I think this is gonna be great.”

On what changed between his rookie and sophomore seasons with the Lakers:

“I don’t think nothing changed, I think it’s just — the team got changed, and that was it. I don’t have no hard feelings, but on to better things.”

On learning the Knicks’ system and preparing for his new role:

“I think it’s gonna be great [in New York]. Learn the system, learn the new schemes and stuff like that. And you know, just be ready for the new opportunity. I’m excited to just start learning from everybody.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was completely shattered upon seeing Jalen Williams' injury.

It's like he went into tears

That's heartbreaking, man 🙁 https://t.co/KzKBNmJPrppic.twitter.com/O38QNWgsiP

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 26, 2026