Category: NBA

Jumping the gun after three games can be a bit over the top, especially when those games are preseason exhibitions.

But the Boston Celtics are earning every bit of the hype and anticipation surrounding them after a near-flawless three-game stretch entering the regular season — and that’s no exaggeration.

Both behind the scenes and on the court during their preseason trail runs, the restructured Celtics are starting to click. It’s only been two weeks since training camp began, but head coach Joe Mazzulla’s crew is already taking shape. By now, the newcomers have a strong feel for Mazzulla’s world and what it takes to thrive in it.

“He gets on my ass a lot,” Mitchell Robinson told reporters after Wednesday night’s 114-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets, improving their perfect 3-0 preseason record.

“The way that he takes everything in and gives us all the information, literally down to a T, those are things that can help us be successful,” Robinson continued.

For the team’s preseason home finale, Mazzulla unexpectedly paired Robinson with Neemias Queta, introducing an intriguing double-big combination. Together, Robinson and Queta showed flashes of their potential as a co-existing option Mazzulla can lean on. They challenged Charlotte on both ends of the floor, particularly with their rotations, helping Boston’s offense operate more efficiently.

“Mitch is one of the smartest players I’ve been around,” Mazzulla told reporters.

Robinson and Queta combined for 28 points, unlocking a new option for a team already built on flexibility.

The Celtics, much like last season, aren’t committed to a fixed rotation night in and night out. Rather, as they’ve shown throughout the preseason, they’ll attack in a variety of ways to maximize their roster’s strengths and wear down opponents.

Experimenting with the clipboard is a strong suit for Mazzulla that made last year’s counted-out Celtics into winners of 56 games, good for second-most in the Eastern Conference.

Getting Robinson and Queta accustomed to playing alongside each other wasn’t the end of Mazzulla’s trail runs with Boston’s big men. Queta, who attempted eight 3-pointers all of last season, totaled three attempts against the Hornets, each with plenty of room but off the mark.

Nevertheless, the 7-footer is confident he’ll turn those attempts into a reliable source of offense.

“I think it can help us,” Queta told reporters postgame. “It can be a weapon that we can use at certain points. Obviously, it’s not gonna derail my attention span off what I do best on the court, but it can still be used as a weapon and a strength.”

Needing to adjust and get a new group going comes with pressure, but Mazzulla doesn’t see it that way. Giving Queta and Robinson an audition in the preseason is just a snippet of Boston’s preparation and philosophy. There’s a buy-in that all Mazzulla-led teams, including the 2024 championship group, need to invest in. And so far, that’s exactly what last season’s Coach of the Year winner has received with less than a week until Opening Night.

Paul George, the organization’s return piece for Jaylen Brown, too, has bought in.

Poised for a role with greater responsibility than was demanded in Philadelphia, George has passed the eye test. Outside of shooting a combined 5-for-20 from the floor in two preseason appearances, George has played the part needed from him.

He’s allowed team leader Jayson Tatum to shine while complementing the rest of the group seamlessly. George’s shooting slump hasn’t deterred him from grabbing six rebounds against the Hornets or five steals Saturday night against the Sixers.

George and Tatum have challenged each other during training camp, avoiding playing together during scrimmages to make their preseason debuts their first official time sharing the court as teammates.

Tatum and Mazzulla have already expressed their excitement to acclimate George to the team, aware that a nine-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer still has plenty left to offer, even at 36 years old. In return, George has also expressed his excitement to be a Celtic.

“It definitely fuels you,” George told reporters after debuting on Saturday night. “It makes you play hard. It makes you want to win for everyone in that arena, and it is like a badge of honor to wear that green.”

Once the shots start to fall, George’s contribution will carry even more weight.

In the background, the reserve unit has made plenty of noise this preseason.

Devin Carter made an immediate impression, scoring 17 points in the team’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hugo González has attacked the basket with greater confidence. Baylor Scheierman has experimented with his range while slinging passes that channel his inner Jason Williams, and Luka Garza has remained a lead-by-example presence, always ready to step in and deliver.

Mazzulla also made note of Jordan Walsh’s defensive strides, which made him integral at points last season.

“Jordan continues to be really good at the start of games, guarding the team’s best player, getting off to a good start defensively, something he’s done well for us those last couple of games,” Mazzulla told reporters on Wednesday night. “It’s a huge role for him that we’re going to need from him.”

With one final preseason game left against the Sixers on Friday night, the Celtics have checked every box.

Turning their scrutinized offseason into a contender capable of a deep playoff push will require everything the Celtics have shown so far. Getting the fanbase on board after a heartbreaking front office decision is difficult — and a challenge much deserved — but Mazzulla’s group has proved it’s possible.

There’s a lot to unlock in the versatile Celtics.

Whether they can sustain that promise over 82 games is the bigger challenge ahead.

Folks, we’ve got a full plate of news in today’s edition of Heard ‘em Say, including fresh intel on how the Bucks are trying to whittle down their roster to 15, another draft-related horror story, and a Bucks fan favourite has started a podcast. Let’s rip into it!

Roster developments

On Wednesday, Jake Fischer reported on social media that Milwaukee is exploring trades to address its roster crunch, as I noted in The Feed. We now have more specifics on how the Bucks plan (or hope) to make those trades happen via another edition of The Stein Line.

Bucks, Lakers discuss Jericho Sims-Dalton Knecht swap

Per Fischer, the Bucks and Lakers have held “exploratory trade discussions” about a deal that would send former first-round pick Dalton Knecht to the Cream City, along with second-round draft capital, in exchange for Jericho Sims. However, Fischer also points out that he’d heard some pessemism that such a trade will actually eventuate.

The Lakers have had interest in Sims for a while now, which I mentioned in my Bucks trade value rankings for 2026-27, where I ranked the bouncy big 11th and said he could fetch an early-to-mid second-round pick. Apparently, he’s worth more than that.

Granted, Sims’ value is somewhat inflated because, well, the Lakers need a viable backup big. Milwaukee’s own Kevon Looney currently occupies that spot, and he isn’t exactly playable anymore. In short, Horst would have the upper hand in negotiations, which I can only assume is why the reported deal is Knecht plus picks.

Fischer notes that if no deal materialises, LA might have to waive the former Tennessee wing before Monday’s deadline. Knecht is guaranteed $4.2m for the 2026-27 season after the Lakers picked up his third-year team option, so they would have to absorb that money if they waived him instead of trading him.

Interestingly, Fischer also reports that Sims is a name to monitor for the Philadelphia 76ers after their original backup centre, Ariel Hukporti, tore his Achilles in the opening minutes of the preseason.

Bucks weigh deals involving Kevin Porter Jr. and Caris LeVert

The other Bucks-related tidbit from Fischer is that Milwaukee has weighed potential deals involving Caris LeVert and Kevin Porter Jr.—along with possible Sims trades—to avoid waiving contracted players. Crucially, Fischer states that the Bucks want to keep fan-favourite Pete Nance and know they risk losing him to another team if they waive him in hopes of re-signing him to their final two-way contract.

(Another) draft-related Horst horror story

Folks, we have another “close, but no cigar” story relating to Jon Horst’s drafting. Last year, I wrote about Washington Wizards wing Kyshawn George’s appearance on the Old Man And The Three podcast, where he revealed he was shocked the Bucks didn’t pick him at 23 in the 2024 NBA Draft after strong workouts and feedback.

Well, it appears the same thing happened (in that same draft!) with OKC Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell. Even more ironically, Mitchell appeared on the same podcast this year to detail his draft story and Milwaukee’s interest in him during the pre-draft process.

“My agents were like, ‘There’s a chance you get picked late first.’ Milwaukee had the 23rd pick. I went in there, they really liked me. My sister lived in Wisconsin, so I could see that connection. My whole family was like, ‘You might be in Milwaukee, and that would be great.’”

Instead, Milwaukee selected AJ Johnson, not Ajay Mitchell. However, Horst still had a chance to save himself: Mitchell wasn’t taken until pick 38, and the Bucks also had pick 33, but as we all know, they used it on Tyler Smith.

But wait, there’s more! In the same article above where I detail the Kyshawn George story, I also share a tidbit from Zach Lowe: the Bucks were basically deciding between Andrew Nembhard and MarJon Beauchamp for pick 24 in the 2022 draft. In the end, they went with Beauchamp, who quickly flamed out. Sigh.

I want to curl up into a ball.

Kyle Kuzma starts a podcast (just like everyone was asking for)

To top it all off, Kyle Kuzma has announced he is starting his own podcast, Read the Room, where he will “sit down with founders, investors, athletes, and creators to talk about the boldest moves, the pivots, and what they learned along the way.”

Do with that information what you will.

I had thought that both the Rockets and Thunder might not play their starters at all tonight. Both teams had a hefty number of “Game Time Decisions” and “Day To Day” players. It seemed like it might be a slightly nonsensical clash of deep benches, and guys who are likely headed to the GLeague.

This was not to be. We certainly saw some deep roster players in action tonight, but the first quarter, and much of the second was more or less starters and rotational players, minus a couple of absences. We didn’t see Steven Adams for the Rockets, nor Chet Holmgren or Jaylin The Other Williams for the Thunder.

The first quarter went the Rockets way, as neither team could really hit jumpers, but Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun could dunk the ball at the rim pretty easily. The R0ckets ended up winning the quarter 33-15. The beginning of this game, the Rockets offense was basically just dunks by Amen on cuts, and clever passes from Sengun. Nice to see that again.

The Thunder came back in the second quarter, winning it 32 to 21, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen The Main Williams got going a bit.

The third quarter saw a switch from starting players (Durant came out at the half in street clothes.) to rotational players, and the Rockets Bogdan Bogdanovich, Tari Eason, and Reed Sheppard all made shots, particularly BogBog, who was 5-8 from three, and looked to be moving very well.

We also saw minutes with Marcus Smart, but he wasn’t particularly effective tonight, going 0-3 and notching 2 assists to 2 turnovers. Fred VanVleet was the primary point, and in the distribution role he was again a sight for sore eyes, logging 8 assists and 0 turnovers. His shooting was not as good as the first game, as he went 3-13 overall. He needs to keep shooting, though, as he’s been away from basketball for a year, and we need to see if some consistency will return to his shooting.

We’re also going to have to see if the idea of Marcus Smart being the secondary point guard is a good one. There are other players who might do as well, and offer better shooting.

The fourth quarter was basically the deep benches, but the Rockets deep bench could hit 3pt shots, and the Thunder couldn’t. The Rockets put up 53 three pointers tonight, which is far beyond their average of 31.6 last season. We’ll see if that holds up in any way.

I’m not sure there are any particularly surprising takeaways from individual play, but there were some changes in approach from the Rockets we might hope to see continue.

The first is, not setting up in the same spot every time, and very few screens being called up anywhere, and certainly not as a reliable certainty. Last year screens mainly served to drag another defender into the area of the ballhandler, congesting their movement. Right now the Rockets are staying spread out. They don’t move, but they do actually space the court, forcing defenses from the paint.

The second is, the Rockets are attacking on offense early in the clock, with very little surveying and pounding the ball. Certainly some of this is attributable to Fred VanVleet, but the set up is simply different as well, from the past two seasons. I’m cautiously optimistic. Attacking a defense like the Thunder early is the way to go. The Thunder want to swarm and slap on defense, and the longer a team holds the ball, the worse it gets. They’re good at it. What they aren’t, in general, is big and powerful, or even especially quick. Decisive attacks that force reactions, and might lead to passes off cuts, like Sengun to Amen, are a way to break them down. Sure, it’s preseason, but that’s a good recipe no matter when.

Third, we’re seeing an actual fast break attack. Despite the Rockets size and athleticism, they were one of the lower ranked fast break teams in the league last season.

Finally, are they going to shoot more threes? They might well have better personnel to do it than anytime since The Harden Centuries.

Anyhow, preseason is now over, and the Rockets start the real season at home, against Dallas, on Wednesday the 21st. See you there.

Karl-Anthony Towns was facilitating like it was the 2026 playoffs. 

The All-Star center collected six assists and five points in the first 7 ½ minutes of Thursday’s 122-120 preseason finale victory over the Raptors, setting the tone for a stat-stuffing evening while using his height and vision to create from the top of the key. 

It was a flashback to the dominant postseason run from Towns, who unlocked a dominant Knicks offense by transforming into a triple-double threat midway the first round. 

Coach Mike Brown said he would revisit Towns as the hub this season and Thursday’s evidence was on display early. Towns, whose stagnant extension negotiations have hovered ominously over preseason, finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 15 rebounds and 13 points in 28 minutes. 

“Yeah, I feel good,” said Towns when asked about his rhythm. “I feel really, really good.” 

It represented KAT’s best performance of preseason, and also New York’s as a team as it finished 1-3. But the lone win arrived with a caveat. 

Towns was unstoppable unless guarded by Toronto’s top defender, Scottie Barnes, who drew the assignment in the third quarter and subsequently shut down KAT. 

It was the type of adjustment that is sure to define the start of the Knicks season. Towns as the hub was a new wrinkle in the playoffs, and the opponents are equipped with enough film to discover ways to counter. 

The Knicks start the real games against the Sixers on Tuesday’s Banner Night, when Towns as the hub will resurface as a strategy that the opponent will have to deal with. 

Thursday showed it can work again. 

“I thought today was a good dress rehearsal,” Towns said. “It was cool, it was very nice to get back out there and get back into our flow and be really good. Obviously we have a lot of things to work on. But it was a good way to end the preseason.” 

Josh Hart was the only starter who did not play in Thursday’s preseason finale. He had a sore right ankle but Brown said it shouldn’t impact Hart for the season opener Tuesday.

The Knicks’ regular-season roster is taking shape. The only remaining question is: will there be room for Bruce Brown?

Brown and James Wiseman have made it through preseason cuts. The Knicks clearly like both players. But New York only has room under the second apron in team salary to keep one player. In order to keep both Brown and Wiseman, the Knicks would need to trade a player on a standard contract without taking back salary.

My read heading into the weekend: Wiseman is a lock to make the roster. There is strong support to add Brown as well. The Knicks would need to make a trade by Monday afternoon if they want to keep Brown. I think they will explore all avenues to make that happen.

It's logical to assume that the Knicks will move third-year wing Pacome Dadiet. But I believe New York will explore other deals — including trades involving third-year guard Tyler Kolek — this weekend and Monday.

The Knicks will be asking teams to take on a player without sending back salary. To get a deal done, New York may need to attach its own second-round picks (New York will have at least 11 second-round picks in the next seven drafts).

Something worth noting here: multiple teams (Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and others) are trying to attach second-round picks to work through a roster crunch. So the Knicks have competition in that regard. But given their plethora of second-rounders, they have the draft capital to get a deal done.

Here's what Knicks head coach Mike Brown likes about the veteran combo guard:

“Bruce has been through a lot with a lot of different teams at a pretty high level,” Brown said of the NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets. “His toughness, his experience, his feel, all those things — he's a winner. It seems like every place he's gone, he's won, but all those things can add a lot to the program, and then he's versatile both ends of the floor. He could play a few different positions offensively; he can guard a few different positions defensively. So a guy like that, especially a veteran winner, can be helpful to any team.”

Here’s what Brown likes about Wiseman:

“He's young, he's talented, you know, he's raw, still. I think he's still trying to establish a foothold in this league,” Brown said of the former No. 2 overall pick. “But with the God-given attributes he has, in terms of athleticism and length and quickness, [they] can bode well for him on both ends of the floor. And at 25 years old, he hasn't even reached his prime, especially knowing he hadn't played a ton of basketball; having a vertical threat at the rim will help [the Knicks], or could help everybody else play the game a little bit easier, whether it's driving the basketball or playing pick and roll.” 

The Lakers are down to one last preseason game which will be against the Denver Nuggets on Friday. The purple and gold will be back on their home floor for this one.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets

When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Oct 16

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch:  ESPN, Spectrum Sportsnet

Just like that, the Lakers are just one preseason game away from the real thing that is the regular season.

The preseason has provided plenty of early clues about what lies ahead for the Lakers this season. Clues like which lineups work and don’t, what some of the role players can bring to the table alongside Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves and even how the overall Lakers game experience — from the new PA announcer to broadcast — team — will look like this season.

But if there’s one thing that we haven’t seen yet in the last four games, it’s a complete Lakers team on the floor.

We saw perhaps the biggest signing of the offseason, Walker Kessler, finally take the floor in Tuesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas. Kessler, who had 16 minutes of burn, recorded 11 points and nine rebounds.

Besides Kessler’s sensational defense, the highlight was witnessing him already running plays with Reaves, who had himself a night with 28 points and seven assists.

The Lakers may have come up short after resting their key players in the second half but this one was still arguably their most entertaining preseason game yet. Now the question is, will the fun continue in Friday’s dress rehearsal against the Nuggets?

Hopefully we see even just a few minutes of Dončić, Kessler and Reaves together on the floor. If those three indeed suit up, it’ll be interesting to see who takes the last two slots in the starting five as well as head coach JJ Redick’s substitution patterns.

Speaking of Redick, yes, it may be preseason but it’s hard to imagine him not having a game plan against Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets. Note that this will also be the Nuggets’ last preseason game, so it’s fair to assume that they’ll treat this one like a dress rehearsal as well. All of Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon played minimal minutes in their previous game so they could possibly suit up and do the same on Friday.

It may be preseason, but it sure will be nice to see how these two projected playoff teams in the Western Conference match up. Remember, the purple and gold have won four of their last six matches against the Nuggets since Dončić arrived in Los Angeles. Facing a reenergized Nuggets team is a great test for the Lakers ahead of the season opener.

Let’s see if LA can get that win on Friday.

Notes and Updates

• Collin Sexton has yet to play in any preseason game as he continues to recover from a lower leg injury. There is optimism that he could play on opening night.

• One thing to look at for in Friday’s game is how the Lakers perform in the rebounding department, something they worked on in practice on Thursday.

• We have an exciting new feature in our app this season. It’s easier than ever to chat in our game threads. Each game, this post will become a live chat and will be easy to find at the top of the Lakers community page, so be sure to download the app and give it a try this preseason.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.

The Clippers are trying to rebuild its relationship with the fanbase.

The team’s latest announcement allows the first 4,000 fans that attend Opening Night to swap an old Clippers jersey for a new one. The home opener on Oct. 21 will have a special twist for fans as the team kicks off a new era.

The summer was not kind to the organization as the NBA punished the Clippers for violating its salary cap circumvention rules. The team was stripped of five first-round picks, fined $30 million and owner Steve Ballmer was handed a year-long suspension.

At Clippers media day, interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden opened the event with an apology to fans.

“Our fans deserve to hear from us before this, and for that we’re sorry,” Redden said Monday. “We’ve been listening to the thoughts, the concerns, and feeling the emotions of our fan base. They mean everything to us. … We hope to fulfill our promises to them, to build their trust and move forward through this time.

“This franchise often has done its best work with its back against the wall … We hope to represent our fans the same way we always have in dark times, by coming out fighting.”

It appears the latest announcement by the time is another effort by the Clippers to regain the trust of its fans. It’ll be interesting to see how many Kawhi Leonard jerseys are swapped for new ones on Opening Night.

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Two former New York basketball stars are joining ESPN this season. 

Former Nets legend and coach Jason Kidd and ex-Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin will join the Worldwide Leader’s rotation of NBA commentators, the network revealed on Thursday. 

Kidd moves over to the broadcast side of the game after five seasons as head coach of the Mavericks.

The Hall-of-Fame point guard was relieved of his post after Dallas went 26-56 in Cooper Flagg’s rookie season and now finds himself part of the ESPN family. 

“Excited to join @ESPN for the 2026–27 season!” Kidd wrote on X after the news was announced. “Looking forward to working with some amazing colleagues and legends of the game, and providing my perspective in the studio for @ESPNNBA Countdown!”

Kidd will be part of the “new-look” team for “NBA Countdown,” and he will serve as an analyst on select games carried by ESPN. 

The addition of Kidd on “NBA Countdown” will add him to a program that includes Malika Andrews, Kendrick Perkins, Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst. 

Lin had appeared part-time for ESPN during the 2025-26 season, appearing in March and then being part of the network’s coverage of the Knicks’ run during the NBA Finals. 

He will be a regular contributor on “NBA Today” and serve as a game analyst. 

Kidd and Linn join a rotation of analysts that includes Richard Jefferson, Tim Legler, Doris Burke, and P.J. Carlesimo. 

Kidd was a 10-time All-Star and reached the Finals twice in New Jersey before being a key part Dallas’ championship-winning team in 2010-11. 

Lin became a household name during the 2011-12 season during “Linsanity” when he led the Knicks to a surprise winning streak that February. 

The 2026-27 season will mark the 25th consecutive NBA campaign that ESPN has had coverage of.

Tonight at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks played their final preseason game—a rematch with a Toronto team that clobbered the reserves on Tuesday. This time, the fight was fairer. The visitors played their starters (Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Kawhi Leonard, and Jakob Poeltl), but so did the Knicks (mostly: Mohamed Diawara took Josh Hart’s spot). Determined to not lay a complete goose egg this preseason, coach Mike Brown returned to his starters in the fourth quarter, and that gave them just enough juice to win, 122-120.

The game started on the right foot. Resuming their championship ways, Karl-Anthony Towns took turns with Jalen Brunson on give-and-go sequences that were money in the bank. When KAT sat around the three-minute mark, he had five points, five boards, and six dimes on perfect shooting. Included in those buckets was a laser from deep. Every time he swishes the net this season will sound like a whispered, “Pay the man.”

Across the aisle, Barnes converted his first four shots for an early nine points. That’s what has Toronto fans excited: four scoring options in their starting lineup to complement a top-ten defense. Neither team lived up to their defensive potential in the first frame, however. They allowed each other to shoot over 60% from all areas of the floor by the midway mark.

Even Diawara (carrying two fouls) laced a corner three. Not to be outdone, Miles McBride (who had two triples through four preseason games) dropped three threes in his first four minutes. Those were positives. What wasn’t: Pacome Dadiet checking in and promptly getting stripped while over-dribbling. Soon after, he flushed a pass from Brunson, but there was nothing to change our minds about the youngster. In preseason form, the two teams traded buckets, but by the quarter’s end, the good guys were up, 35-32.

Andre Drummond provided a steady hand off the bench, hoovering up rebounds (seven in seven minutes), rattling in a jump hook, tipping in a putback, and making a free throw or two. That softened the sting of seeing Mitchell Robinson doing his best Bill Russell impersonation at TD Garden. Also off the bench, Landry Shamet picked Jamal Shead’s pocket and, on a fast break, fed the trailing Jordan Clarkson. Just a few pros giving the team solid minutes.

Toronto fell behind by 10, but clawed their way back by disrupting New York’s offense. Shead and Jamison Battle hit threes; the former is a defensive pest and blocked two perimeter shots (Diawara, Shamet), while Collin Murray-Boyles intercepted two Brunson passes. Towns had lost the touch, missing two threes and coughing up the rock twice. Nonetheless, New York won the quarter 28–26, and entered intermission ahead, 63-58.

The hosts had shot 55% overall, 47% from deep, and had a 32-18 advantage in the paint. They’d out-bounded the Raps, 26-16, but turned the ball over 12 times, which kept them from running up the score. Top scorers through the half were Barnes (15 points) and Mikal Bridges (14 points, two blocks, 6-of-8 shooting). Bridges made all five of his two-point attempts and canned a Brunson-assisted three, but his jump-out-of-the-seat play was the block of Barrett’s three at the buzzer. I’d say Mikal is ready for opening night.

With our team fumbling and bumbling after the break, the guests gained ground and overran the score, 69-66, with scores from Leonard, Quickley, Barrett, and Murray-Boyles. For the Knicks, Anunoby continued to struggle from yard, having made just 1-of-11 through the preason after his miss early in the third. Diawara committed another foul trying to grab a board, and his fourth infraction in 13 minutes earned him a quick hook.

Remember when Brunson joked that his SNL episode would be like a Knicks playoff game: crappy through three quarters with a big finish at the end? The Knicks still feel like a team that can’t play a complete game. We cheered when Towns dished to a cutting Shamet for a dunk (yes, Shamet!), but no one boxed out Barrett at the other end for an easy response.

Coach Mike Brown wanted this win, we gather, as he left Brunson and Towns on the floor late in the third quarter. Brunson steadied the offense, scoring seven points and dishing two dimes to fuel a 9–0 run. Dadiet made a hook to tie it at 74 (then missed a dunk), and KAT connected from deep to regain the lead. With a 19-5 run—including OG’s first basket after missing seven shots—our heroes finished the frame up, 87-79.

A few times tonight, we saw Jose Alvarado and Drummond playing a nice two-man game. When Andre drove to the cup for a finger-roll, it gave the home team double-digit lead. Alvarado made his first three dingers from deep, too. We’re eager to see more of this dynamic duo. The Dinos went on a Barnes-heavy run and scored eight unanswered to tie the game around the 9:30 mark, but then Alvarado, Anunoby, and Shamet stimulated a seven-point swing to stop the insanity.

The toughest move of the night was Mike Brown refusing to go winless this preseason. At 8:28, he subbed Brunson, Towns, and Diawara in to hold the lead alongside Shamet and Anunoby. OAKAAKUYOAKs Barrett and Quickley would not willingly roll over on their old home court, however, scoring their 21st and 18th points respectively. For a scrimmage, this one was competitive late.

When Towns sat at 5:15, his box score read 13 points, 15 boards, and nine assists and his team clung to a six-point advantage. It would be up to the reserves to close out the dub: Tyler Kolek, Tyler Nickel, Dadiet, Diawara, and James Wiseman.

Tonight we got just four minutes of Wiseman, who seems to have secured the third-string center spot with today’s annoucement that Drew Eubanks has a torn pectoral.

With a minute to go, Jaden Bradley had tied the score at 117. From there, though, the Tylers combined for five points (including a trey for Kolek) that offset a late bucket by Malachi Smith. These games don’t count, but this one sure had some fun moments.

Up Next

Opening night is Tuesday, with a banner and the Sixers. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

It’s no secret the connection that Knicks fans of a certain generation feel toward the 1972-73 championship-winning squad. But a pair of stars from that team share a deeper connection that was on display Thursday morning in the South Bronx. 

Speaking before a packed gymnasium at the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, two-time NBA champion and former U.S. senator Bill Bradley spoke from the heart about his friend, one-time on-court rival and eventual Knicks teammate, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe. 

“The fact that it has Earl Monroe on the [school] name, that might be a little reason why I’m here, but you guys are the reason that makes my heart full. Earl is the reason of my heart, because he is in my heart,” Bradley said with Monroe sitting off to his left and drawing an audible reaction from the school’s students in the crowd. “When you are a teammate and you go to the top, it’s a forever bond, and we did that twice.” 

Bradley, 83, added that his appearance Thursday was “one small way for me to say to my friend, I love you.” 

The two Knicks legends were side by side once again to celebrate the opening of the new 69,000-square-foot facility for the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, a specialized charter school in The Bronx whose curriculum is based around basketball and careers beyond the court. 

The school opened in 2021 and provides its 440 students from grades 9-12 with an education in topics ranging from broadcast, print and digital media to law and marketing. 

“Everybody can’t play basketball, even though everybody wants to, but there’s so many other aspects of the sports and the game that you can be involved in without being the sports person,” Monroe, 81, said after the event. “I think that this is an excellent way for people to be involved in the sport and still get the same satisfaction as scoring a basket.” 

The ribbon-cutting ceremony drew a star-studded list of guests, including former Knicks stars John Starks and Stephon Marbury, Knicks celebrity superfan Tracy Morgan, ESPN personality Mike Greenberg, who hosted the event, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver. 

Silver noted how fitting it was that Thursday’s ceremony was taking place after the Knicks ended their 53-year championship drought this past summer, making them the first Knicks title squad since Monroe’s 1973 team. 

“It felt great,” Monroe said about seeing the Knicks win another title. “We’ve had some great players come through over the years, and finally getting over the hump. Not only just for me, just for the city itself. We’re a city of champs, so we deserve it.” 

But the Knicks will have a target on their back this season as defending champions, and repeating is no small task. 

Monroe was part of the Baltimore Bullets team that prevented the Knicks from repeating in 1971, knocking them out in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer didn’t seem too worried about the Knicks’ mindset going into this season. 

“Certainly, the fact that you’ve won, obviously, it makes it so that you understand that you can win again,” Monroe said. “So I’m quite sure that they’re coming into this thinking that we’re No. 1, and I’ll tell other people to prove that we’re not.” 

While Monroe and Bradley are forever tied together on the court, from their days playing in the Baker League in Philadelphia through college and into the NBA, Bradley’s lasting memory of Monroe reflected more from what he saw Thursday than on the court. 

“This is the Earl Monroe that I know,” Bradley said prior to the start of the ceremony. “From the first day I met him, when we had a shootout at Bry Pope Baptist Church in Philadelphia in the summertime, Earl Monroe was interested in the community, and this is the epitome of being interested in the community.”

The Knicks looked like their championship selves Thursday night, beating the Toronto Raptors, 122-120, in their final preseason contest. New York finished the preseason 1-4.

Here are the takeaways...

-- New York mounted its strongest performance of the preseason, avenging (can you seek revenge for a preseason game?) its 50-point loss to the Raptors on Tuesday. Despite falling behind early, New York quickly took the lead with confident threes, quick drives to the basket, and clean rebounds.

Overall, the team shot 48 percent from the field, 36 percent from behind the three-point line, and 78 percent from the free-throw line — the first two representing preseason bests.

-- Though coach Mike Brown stayed true to his pregame promise of treating the matchup like a dress rehearsal for the regular season, affording his five starters — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mo Diawara — real starter minutes for the first time, the winning effort came from players up and down the roster. (Diawara was starting in place of Josh Hart, who missed the game with ankle soreness.)

Eleven different Knicks saw the court across the first half. Every one of them scored at least two points, and six grabbed five or more. Aside from Pacome Dadiet, they each played six-plus minutes.

-- Brunson, though, drove the effort, racking up 20 points, three rebounds, and seven assists across 29 minutes of play. He also went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line and landed his single three-point attempt.

-- Towns had a huge impact at the high post, recording one-third of the Knicks' 21 first-half assists (7 of 21) and rebounds (9 of 27). He finished the game just one assist shy of a preseason triple-double (13 points, 15 assists, 9 rebounds).

-- After waiving Tony Bradley and Drew Eubanksduring the day Thursday, the Knicks were left with just two candidates looking to fill the highly contested final slot: James Wiseman and Bruce Brown. 

Only Wiseman played, and he only took the court in the waning minutes of the game. In that four-minute stint, he recorded two points and one rebound.

-- Though Miles McBride sat out much of the latter half of the game, the longest-tenured Knick carried the first quarter on his back, ending the frame with three-straight triples and going 3-for-6 both from the field and from the arc.

-- Toronto's Jaden Bradley, a 2026 second-round draft pick, tied the game at 117 with less than a minute left, landing a field goal and earning a free throw on a foul from Tyler Kolek, but the Knicks pulled ahead again by the end thanks to a three from Kolek and two foul shots from Tyler Nickel.

-- Scottie Barnes (23 points, 4-for-5 from beyond the arc), as well as former Knicks RJ Barrett (21 points) and Immanuel Quickley (18 points), kept the Raptors in the mix, but their efforts to topple the reigning NBA champions once again fell just short. 

Game MVP: Scottie Barnes

The 25-year-old guard led all players in points (23).

Highlights

Mo banks a triple! https://t.co/e8ISMkEl4z

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 15, 2026

KAT with the drive! https://t.co/FH5XtMNiAN

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 15, 2026

Three straight triples from Deuce! https://t.co/dEuhCCXmDu

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 16, 2026

Landry Shamet throws it down! https://t.co/AbxLRJ5atF

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 16, 2026

OG throws it down! https://t.co/UDWfH89XP0

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 16, 2026

What's next

The Knicks will kick off their title defense with the first game of the 2026-27 regular season at MSG, hosting the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 20. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

In an ideal world, by now the Lakers would’ve already gotten at least one look at what their team would look like with close to their full roster available.

But that’s not the situation the Lakers find themselves in entering Friday’s preseason finale against the Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena.

It’s also not a matter that coach JJ Redick is worrying about, with his team primed to getting closer to being whole before the games start to matter in the standings next week. 

“Can’t control it, so it’s not even a concern,” the Lakers coach said. “Play the guys you can play.”

Thursday provided optimism that the Lakers will have more guys available to play in their final exhibition after multiple key players sat out the previous four games. 

Ziaire Williams is trending in the right direction after dealing with left foot swelling, fully participating in Thursday’s practice after sitting out the previous three exhibitions. 

Luka Doncic also fully participated after getting the night off against the Warriors on Tuesday.

Which means the Lakers could have their preferred starting lineup available against the Nuggets for the first time this preseason. 

But even with a healthier roster, the Lakers still need to show they can improve in two key areas before the Oct. 21 regular-season opener against the Warriors: defensive rebounding and ball security.

Both have been areas of struggle over the last couple of weeks.

Which is why it was a significant focus of Thursday’s practice.

“I’d like us to do a better job taking care of the basketball, and I’d like us to do a better job on the defensive glass,” Redick said. “Those two things, showing improvement there, showing a heightened awareness offensively of being organized with certain groups, and the heightened awareness of not playing in a crowd and just making a simple play. 

“And then defensively, we did three different box-out drills [on Thursday] at practice; it’s a point of emphasis going forward.”

It’s clear why those areas are being emphasized. 

The Lakers had the third-worst defensive rebounding rate (63.1%) and second-worst turnover rate (24.1%) among all teams that’ve played in the preseason entering Thursday. 

They emphasized reducing their turnovers before playing the Warriors this week but recorded 30 giveaways. 

“Just like a bunch of new guys,” Quentin Grimes said of the Lakers’ ball security issues. “You don’t know where guys might cut, guys might spot up, you don’t know guys’ tendencies right now. Like some guys play in certain preseason games, some guys don’t, but it’s getting those reps in with each other, figuring out where guys like the ball, where they don’t cut when you got the ball, stuff like that. So guys are just trying to figure out a rhythm, but once we get that rhythm and the spacing and stuff like that, it’ll calm down, for sure.”

Walker Kessler’s return helped on the defensive glass against the Warriors — at least for the first half that he played before sitting out the second half. 

Having Williams, the Lakers’ second-tallest player at 6-foot-10, should also help.

“It just takes all five of us to gang rebound,” Williams said. “Especially when [Kessler’s] not in. We just gotta do a better job of just wanting it a little bit more. We’ll get there.”

With the NBA season beginning in five days, the Phoenix Suns are narrowing down who the final members of their regular-season roster will be, and it appears they’ve likely decided on who the last standard roster spot is going to, according to Arizona Sports insider John Gambadoro.

27-year-old Jamaree Bouyea is in line to stay on the roster after a strong end to last season and a noteworthy preseason. Even though the team can roster 15 players on standard deals, Gambadoro reports they will likely use the flexibility they have for a few of the two-way players they signed this offseason and stay at 14. This means the Suns will most likely cut Haywood Highsmith, who is currently on a non-guaranteed deal.

The 6’2” guard from the University of San Francisco had the best season of his NBA career last year, reaching career highs in points per game and games played. After the team waived Cole Anthony in March, Bouyea’s contract was converted from a two-way to a standard deal.

Known for his quickness, Suns fans saw Bouyea in spurts last season, with his playing time increasing as the season went on. His development into a full-time NBA player is one that team owner Mat Ishbia has lauded as an example of the team’s ability to develop players who’ve been with other teams and can fly under the public’s radar.

While no formal cuts have been made yet and no decisions have been formally announced, expect a slew of announcements on the final roster after tomorrow’s game against the Utah Jazz, their last game of the preseason.

The Suns’ season tips off next Wednesday, October 21st, at 7:00 pm Arizona time when they head to Portland to face the Trailblazers.

What is the Lakers’ ceiling?

Lakers coach JJ Redick and Luka Doncic believe the team could compete for a championship this season. 

But is that realistic?

In the Western Conference alone, there’s a Goliath-sized impediment. 

You know, the 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama who carried the Spurs to the NBA Finals last postseason before his team blew double-digit leads in four of its five games against the eventual-champion Knicks. Wembanyama, who’s next in line to become the face of the league after LeBron James retires, spent all summer stewing — and plotting. 

There’s also a well-established impediment. 

You know, two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Thunder to a championship in 2025 and is now chomping at the bit to carry his team back to the Finals after the Spurs stunned Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.

The thing with this Lakers team is that their championship hurdles will be as much external as internal. 

There are nine new players, including Walker Kessler, who’s going to be an integral part of the Big 3 alongside Doncic and Austin Reaves. There are questions around the team’s perimeter defense. It’s going to take time for everyone to build chemistry. To jell. 

Not only do the Lakers have to worry about everyone else. But they have to worry about themselves. What’s their identity? 

Redick raised eyebrows when he claimed ahead of media day that he was confident the Lakers would develop into a championship-level team this season. 

When asked at Thursday’s practice why he believes that, he didn’t hesitate. 

“I think that every season,” Redick said. “Unless somebody blatantly tells me that we’re not trying to win, I think that every year. That’s why I say I’m confident. I said the same thing last year for all of January and February that we were going to figure it out at some point, and we did. And then we had some injuries.”

Redick’s not wrong.

He kept insisting that Doncic, Reaves and LeBron James would work out their kinks. Those words seemed empty at times. But eventually they shape-shifted and came together, going on a 16-2 run last spring before Doncic suffered a strained hamstring and Reaves suffered a strained oblique on April 2.

During that time, Doncic looked like the NBA’s best player, regularly delivering stunning 40-point performances. Reaves looked like an All-Star. And James, who’s arguably the greatest player of all time, wholeheartedly committed to becoming the team’s third offensive option.

Redick has his work cut out for him again.

Can Walker become an All-Defense-caliber player? Can Redick unlock the potential of guys like Ziaire Williams, Adou Thiero, Cameron Carr, Quentin Grimes, Jake LaRavia, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton and Matisse Thybulle?

Redick has a way of getting through to players.

He got James to agree to be the third option for the first time in his then-23-season career. He helped Luke Kennard transform into an ephemeral star in the first round of the playoffs against the Rockets when Doncic and Reaves were sidelined. He got the best out of defensive juggernaut Marcus Smart.

It’s not far-fetched that he could work wonders with this team. It’s not out of the question that he could make them believe they’ve arrived. It’s not absurd that they could buy into the idea that their time is now.

The Lakers have arguably the best player in the league in Doncic. They have a lot of talent. They have a great coach.

But they also have holes, such as proven starting forwards and a reliable backup center. There’s a lot of questions around them. They have a lot to prove. Especially against teams that already have most things figured out.

The Thunder have been atop the league together. The Spurs tasted victory before letting it drop out of their mouths like a dog rejecting a healthy snack. 

The Lakers are seemingly behind. 

But they could get there. 

Now, being a championship-level team doesn’t necessarily mean walking away with the Larry O’Brien Trophy. That’s not what Redick is saying. There are too many variables there. 

“Being a championship-level team or being a — I don’t like the word ‘contender’ — but being a team that can make a run and can play in the playoffs and can play different ways in the playoffs, those things take time, and it doesn’t mean you’re going to be in the NBA Finals,” Redick said. “It’s just not the way this works, particularly with the way the playoffs work in terms of just matchups and what you can exploit and what you can’t exploit versus certain teams. But I think because of our talent, because of our fit, because of our depth, I really like our team.”

Redick thinks the Lakers could be elite.

They could make the league nervous. If things go right, they could become a threat. They could really be in the mix.

And right now, there’s no reason to believe him. 

But there’s also no reason to doubt him.