Angela Pennyfeather, born and raised in Bed Stuy, has been going to Brooklyn Nets’ home openers for just about as long as the Nets have played in Brooklyn. But this year was different.

For the 2026-27 Nets’ season, the Barclays Center debuted a revolutionary AI-enhanced replay system that gives fans something totally new: a near-perfect 3D-recreation of the on-court action.

The tech was on display throughout the game to highlight dunks, blocks and steals. Replays were broadcast on the jumbotron and published across the team’s social-media channels. 

“It was pretty phenomenal,” Pennyfeather said. “We’ve never seen anything like it.”

Even her teenage son was impressed — “and he’s always trying to keep it cool,” she said. 

In the not-so-distant future, AI-powered replay systems will allow fans anywhere in the world to interact with the game from perspectives never before possible — say, directly under the hoop at a basketball game, or from inside the batter’s box at a baseball game — and edit their own replay packages. 

“One of our big goals is building the next generation of Brooklyn Nets fans,” Keia Cole, Chief Digital Officer of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (BSE), the parent company that owns the Nets, told The Post. “This is a tool built to wow them.”

The Nets’ 360-degree replay system was created by a set of 64 cameras placed all around the arena near the suite level. Each records the game from its unique angle, then sends its data to the cloud, where an AI-model built by Alibaba sews the footage together. Nets owner Joe Tsai is the cofounder and chairman of Alibaba Group.

The process takes only 15 to 20 seconds.

And the final product — “it’s kind of like art,” Pennyfeather said. 

The Alibaba Group has shown off the technology before, including at the Milan-Cortina Olympics with set-ups around 17 sports.

“[Basketball] games move so quickly, it’s hard to understand the mechanics and the complexity of a move,” said Cole. “This is a nuanced way to slow down the game.” 

As of now, you can only see the 360-degree replay system on the arena’s jumbotron or via the Nets social-media channels, but a Toronto-based startup is working to bring similar views to every screen in America.

Peripheral was founded in 2024 by Kelvin Cui and Mustafa Khan, then 21 and 22 years old. The following year, their company was selected to be a part of the NBA’s incubator program, Launchpad. 

Their work in the incubator culminated in Las Vegas at the 2026 Summer League, where Peripheral unveiled their product to league executives.

“We were able to show off our full videos for the first time. The Raptors [shared] some clips that went viral on X, fans really liked it, and the NBA invested,” Cui said. “So, yeah, it was sick.”

Peripheral’s technology works largely the same way as Alibaba’s — but Peripheral’s model will allow viewers more freedom. With an Xbox controller, the operator can ‘fly’ to any point on the court or around the arena to see what a play looks like from that point of view. They can even lock into an individual player and replay the game from their perspective. 

Peripheral’s cameras capture not just the volumetric data of how the game is unfolding, but also biomechanical data of how players are moving — down to individual finger joints. 

Cui, who previously worked on self-driving cars at Tesla, sees applications well beyond broadcasts. Teams could use the technology to better understand their players’ physical tendencies and develop protocols to prevent injuries. Coaches could use it to show their team how a play unfolded from the other side of the court. The league could use it to help with officiating. 

“The goal is to have all of these applications out this season,” Cui said. 

And the technology is only getting better. Less than a year ago, Peripheral was working with a 32 camera set-up, but that number is now down to just 18. The AI-model is trained on real games, and the more it records, the faster, cleaner and more efficient it becomes. 

Peripheral is currently working with multiple NBA teams on permanent installations, though the company can’t yet say which ones. In the future, the company wants to get the controllers into fans’ hands so they can watch their favorite team in a video game-like environment.

“There’s a lot of creative opportunities here for people who are producing the game for [television] or on the jumbotron,” Cui said. “[But also], this is how we get younger audiences back into live sports — give them an interactive experience closer to what they’re used to in 2K.”

Big game coming up tonight Dub Nation, as the Minnesota Timberwolves welcome the Golden State Warriors to Minneapolis. The Warriors started off 0-3 for the season before punching the Denver Nuggets in the mouth for their first win. Their reward is a flight to Minnesota to see a revamped Wolves team that added LaMelo Ball and GSW’s former #7 overall pick Jonathan Kuminga.

Jonathan Kuminga’s road from the Bay to Target Center played out like a slow, grinding breakup we all watched live together. The 2021 lottery pick won a ring as a rookie. In 2025, he took a two-year, $46.8 million deal over a three-year, $75 million framework the Warriors put on the table. He got shipped to Atlanta for Kristaps Porziņģis at last February’s deadline, and the Hawks declined his option in June. Minnesota landed him on a two-year deal worth about $13 million, roughly half of what one year of that Warriors framework would’ve paid.

Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves
When: Wednesday, October 28, 2026 | 5:00 PM PT
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis
TV: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: 95.7 The Game

Warriors Injuries:

Moses Moody: Out (Knee),

Jimmy Butler III: Out (Knee),

Kristaps Porzingis: Out (Illness),

Yaxel Lendeborg: Questionable (Foot)

Timberwolves Injuries:

Donte DiVincenzo: Out (Achilles),

Anthony Edwards: Out (Knee)

Four games in, Kuminga looks more like the guy Steve Kerr spent five years asking for. Kuminga is averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds, he’s shooting 47% from three, and Chris Finch keeps praising him for guarding, hustling, and letting the offense come to him. Warriors assistant Kris Weems told the Chronicle he used to preach doing the dirty work first, and that JK’s response back then boiled down to “Just give me the ball, man.”

Well, Minnesota is about to give him the ball. Anthony Edwards dropped 47 on Cleveland Monday in an overtime loss. On Tuesday, news broke that he needs an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee that could keep him out up to two months. Ant was averaging 33.3 points a night. LaMelo Ball will get first crack at a lot of those possessions. Still, some of those shots are going to land with the most motivated man in the building, who’s wearing a Wolves jersey against the team that drafted him.

The Warriors finally showed up for the season Monday in Denver with a 134-114 beatdown. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg led the way with 31 points and 12 rebounds, and Steph went a perfect 8-of-8 for 24.

Lendeborg is where this matchup gets delicious. He’s a month older than Kuminga, and he logged 37 minutes in his second NBA game, something JK didn’t do until his second season. The kid got the runway Kuminga always wanted. He’s also questionable with a sore left foot, which would be a cruel twist on a night JK will likely spend some possessions guarding him.

Then there’s the Porziņģis heath situation. He’s the return for the Kuminga trade but is out with an illness, joining Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody on the sideline.

Don’t pop the champagne over Ant’s absence, either. Minnesota went 12-9 without Edwards last season. They still have Ball, Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels. This is also the franchise that ended the Warriors’ 2025 run in the second round, a series where Kuminga had one of his best scoring stretches in blue and gold.

Draymond is healthy and available. At some point Wednesday night, JK is going to catch it on the wing with the ball finally his and Draymond squared up in front of him, and Dub Nation’s five years of arguments are going to come down to one possession.

The Indiana Pacers could be without star Tyrese Haliburton again and the NBA might have lost another star player to an injury.

The 26-year-old Haliburton is listed as questionable with "left hamstring tightness/soreness" on the team's latest injury report and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said that Haliburton will meet with an outside specialist before Indiana hosts the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 28.

Haliburton had only just made an emotional return after missing the entire 2025-26 season while recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. He played in the Pacers' first four games of the regular season this month, including a back-to-back on Oct. 25-26, and nearly averaged a double-double (21.8 points, 9.5 assists).

Here's the latest on Haliburton's injury situation and how it could affect the Pacers season:

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg talked trash to Luka Doncic unrelentingly on Opening Night.

Lendeborg has the chance to do it again Friday night when the Warriors and Lakers square off for their second meeting of the season.

There’s been much discourse surrounding the rookie’s chatter toward Doncic, but Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said he doesn’t have a problem with Lendeborg chirping at the Lakers superstar.

“I think rookies get excited to play against great players and I have no problem with that. When you’re a great player, you’re everybody’s big game. Those kids grew up watching you, so it’s a big deal,” Barkley said.

While the trash talk by Lendeborg was Barkley approved, the former NBA player turned analyst wasn’t a fan of the 24-year-old’s comments after the game.

“I don’t have any problem with him coming for Luka. I didn’t like the stuff after the game because number one when you get your ass kicked by 30 you probably should shut the hell up,” Barkley said.

Lendeborg admitted he probably went overboard with his comments after the Opening Night loss.

“I feel like I did kinda take it overboard in the media, but it is what it is,” he said.

However, fans will see whether the Warriors rookie took the learning lesson to heart. Lendeborg continuing the trash talk on the court with Doncic seems likely, but if Golden State loses, will he comment on the Lakers superstar afterward?

Ernie Johnson is making a significant career move.

The star sportscaster for TNT Sports announced Wednesday that he will be hosting “Inside the NBA” for the final time during the 2026-27 season in what is a decision made completely on his own.

It will be his 37th year hosting the show and he will sit beside Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal for one final run.

Johnson noted a “contributing factor” to his decision, which is that he has dealt with heart issues over the past two years, which included bypass surgery 14 months ago.

“Still trying to get this thing to beat in exactly the way it should, and we are getting there,” Johnson said in a video posted to X. “I feel great. So, this isn’t a case where my doctor said ‘You need to stop working.’ It’s nothing like that, but here’s the deal. Going through that has made me treasure even more every second with my amazing wife of 44 years Cheryl and being Poppi to our five grandchildren.

“So, I just want to slow down a bit and spend more time enjoying that.”

Johnson, 70, added he is “not retiring” but rather “cutting back.”

He will still be a part of March Madness among other projects for TNT and CBS. Johnson also said he started a production company, 32 Bowties, that will highlight feel-good stories in sports.

“This is by no means the end. It’s just a turning of the page,” he said.

One of his favorite parts of the job has always been the hours logged in preparation for the night ahead throughout his career. He said that has now become “more of challenge than it is a joy,” and was an indicator to step away.

Johnson had a fun conclusion to last season, hosting the Knicks’ championship ceremony after their Game 5 win over the Spurs in San Antontio in June. He also interviewed the NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson on “Inside the NBA” following the champagne celebrations.

“It’s just time,” Johnson said. “It’s been an honor to share so many nights, decades actually at the desk with my brothers — Kenny, Charles and Shaq — and with our production crews who are so talented and devoted. I so appreciate the leadership at TNT and ESPN for allowing the show to continue.”

Midway through the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 136-129 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night, three flopping technicals were doled out in a 90-second span. The first culprit was Toumani Camara while he guarded Luka Dončić on an inbounds play. Then, Ja Morant ricocheted off of Austin Reaves as he recovered around a screen. Thirteen seconds later, Ziaire Williams wobbled in retreat after forcing Deni Avdija away from his preferred right hand and received a forearm to the sternum.

Among the three infractions, Williams certainly has the clearest case for frustration. Avdija absolutely pushes him and is already a much stronger player than Williams. Williams flailing his arms doesn’t do him any favors in the officials’ eyes. But that’s much more about him trying to stay upright and on his feet rather than convincing anyone of an offensive foul and he immediately darts right back into the play to defend Avdija.

After the game, Williams took exception to the tech and explained his perspective.

“I mean, if the dude was pushing off me, my body is naturally going to waver back,” Williams told reporters. “I don’t know. I didn’t think I flopped. I don’t know, man. I don’t know.”

On Monday, Williams received a $2,000 flopping fine for a similar play to Tuesday’s event. Against the Utah Jazz on Sunday, he cut off a Keyonte George drive and took a forearm to the hip, which sent him stumbling backward. That time, George was called for an offensive foul but Williams “was assessed a postgame Flopping fine of $2,000 upon league office review.”

Williams maintains he is not flopping, and it’s hard to really contend otherwise. He’s a pretty slight-of-frame defender moving backward against players extending their arms into him. He does not want to fall over and miss out on the play, so he uses his arms to keep on his feet. That’s simple physics.

“They’ve just been calling it. I haven’t heard anything from anyone,” Williams said. “Like I said, I don’t think I’m flopping. If I was flopping, I’d be on the floor. But it is what it is. Nothing I can do about it now.”

Despite the recent, frustrating flopping incidents, Williams is off to an excellent start with the Lakers. Through four games, he’s averaging 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 69.2% on 2-pointers and 46.7% beyond the arc. He’ll look to continue his rhythm and avoid any harsh flopping calls Wednesday night as the Lakers take on the Clippers at 7:30 p.m.

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

The Lakers have aspirations of becoming a championship-level team.

The first week of the season showed that they already have the recipe to be an elite offensive team.

But it also proved that they have plenty of progress to make before their defense is at a championshiop level, too.

The Lakers’ defensive struggles led to their first loss of the season on Tuesday night, a 136-129 defeat to the Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena.

“We have to be able to rely on our defense every night,” coach JJ Redick said. “And if we score 129 points at home, we should be able to get enough stops to win.” 

The Lakers’ defensive struggles were all over the court, even though Walker Kessler took responsibility for not leading the team on that end of the floor like he’s expected to.

Their ball containment was subpar, leading to breakdowns around the perimeter. 

The Blazers’ shotmaking was elite, which wasn’t surprising considering the talent on their roster.

But the Lakers weren’t disciplined enough with their defensive game plan execution.

“I don’t think there [were] any adjustment that [had] to be made,” Austin Reaves said. “It was more so us not doing what we were supposed to. We got to talk more on the defensive end and just be sharper in our base coverages.”

The Lakers’ defensive struggles weren’t limited to Tuesday – which is why they went from being ranked No. 19 in defensive rating to No. 22 after the loss.

The Trail Blazers just made the Lakers pay more than any other team was capable of during the season’s first week. 

The loss to the Trail Blazers was the third straight game the Lakers allowed their opponent to score at least 117 points.

“We’ve been relying on our offense a lot,” Kessler said. “And we have a very, very good offense and a lot of great scorers. But that’s not gonna be the only thing that gets us to win a championship here. So it’s a good reminder. We’ll learn a lot from it.”

The Lakers didn’t have to wait long to use the lessons from Tuesday against another opponent.

The loss to the Trail Blazers was the first night of a back-to-back set, with the Lakers playing the Clippers for the second time this season on Wednesday, but this time at Intuit Dome.

“Coach pointed it out and now it’s up to us to respond,” Sandro Mamukelashvili said. “Everybody will watch [the] film, I’m sure. Everybody is going to see what mistakes they had. We all have great player development coaches who are going to work with us, make sure we kind of fix the mistakes we made. 

“We got to be better and we will. I’ll be better. I got to communicate more, be more physical. Just got to play hard.”

The Dallas Mavericks make their primetime debut Wednesday evening against the suddenly beaten and battered Oklahoma City Thunder squad. Dallas (2-2) won a thriller against the Miami Heat on Monday evening, as Cooper Flagg (29 points, six boards, 11 assists and eight stocks) and two-way guard Walter Clayton Jr. (15 points, four rebounds and four assists in just 17 minutes off the bench) led the way in a four-point victory.

For Oklahoma City (4-0), things have been held together by smoke, mirrors, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell. The duo, who are playing without Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams, combined for 56 points in Monday’s 125-114 win over the Phoenix Suns. The Thunder played nine guys at least 20 minutes in that contest, and it’s clear that for the foreseeable future, this thing is going to be a group effort to support the two guards.

Before we dive into the handicap, lets recap last week’s results.

Last week

Houston 128, Dallas 110

Tyler: 3-1 (+$165)

David: 3-1 (+$181)

Overall: 6-2 (+$346)

On $100 flat wagers, we are sitting in the black after one week. Let’s ride the high!

Game intangibles

Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0) at Dallas Mavericks (2-2)

Tipoff: It’s a late one, as tipoff is scheduled for just after 8:40 p.m. from the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

How to watch: Dallas makes their season debut on National TV, as Dave Pasch, Jeremy Lin and Jorge Sedano will have ESPN’s coverage of the game.

Game lines as of 12:30 p.m. CT

Spread: Oklahoma City -6.5 (-105)

Total: Over/Under 228.5 (-110)

Moneyline: Dallas is +188 to pull off the home upset

David’s plays

• Cooper Flagg to score 25+ points (-104)
• Mavericks ML (+188)
• Ajay Mitchell to score 20+ points (+114)
• Mavericks first quarter spread +1.5 (-113)

I think the Mavericks follow up Monday’s big win with a statement win tonight on ESPN. The Thunder have absolutely nobody that can guard Cooper Flagg or defend the rim at the level you need to to prevent him from getting to his spots. On the other side, Ajay Mitchell has now been thrust into a bigger role and I think he provides a lot of problems for the Mavericks perimeter defenders. Despite that, Dallas will ride a good first quarter to a huge win.

Tyler’s plays

• Under 228.5 points (-110)
• Dallas +6.5 (-115)
• Cooper Flagg 8+ rebounds (+124)
• Isaiah Hartenstein under 9.5 rebounds (+112)

I do like the under here quite a bit. Dallas has been held to 110 points or less twice already this season, while OKC has also been held under 110 twice. That includes a 96-point effort against Denver, who isn’t exactly sparkling on the defensive end. And in these low scoring affairs, I typically lean to the dog, especially at home. The rebound props feel correlated to me. Flagg has had many chanced to grab rebounds, but has failed to capitalize at times. In this matchup, OKC will not be positionally as big as the teams Dallas has faced to date, so I like his over. Hartenstein, meanwhile, is going to see a lot of attention, given OKC’s injuries. I like his under and I think Flagg will pick up the loose change.

Other games on the card

Steve Kerr coins new NSFW nickname for NBA amid early season flopping epidemic originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors coach Steve Kerr did not mince his words when asked to share his thoughts on the early season flopping epidemic that has plagued the NBA.

“We should be the No Bulls–t Association,” Kerr told reporters before Golden State’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday at Target Center. “Anything that is B.S. should just be banished.”

“Every bit of bulls–t the players try to pull, we should just say, ‘No, no. We’re not doing that,'” Kerr said. “It’s a better game when guys aren’t flopping… [and] running into screens and looking like they got hit by a car.”

Kerr was asked to share his thoughts on the sequence in Tuesday night’s Trail Blazers vs. Lakers game in Los Angeles where the officials called three technical fouls for flopping in a two-minute span.

“I feel like we’re constantly, as a league, behind the players,” Kerr said. “The players are grifting, and we’re chasing them and we’re never getting ahead of it.”

Kerr also clarified that he believes the onus to solve the issue does not fall on the officials.

“I think our officials do a great job and I think they work their butts off. It’s such a hard job. I’m not complaining about the officiating,” Kerr said. “What I’m saying is we need to stay ahead of all the player grifting. Easier said than done, I get it. But we’ve consistently been behind it for a decade.”

Kerr already has spoken on the issue several times this nascent season, particularly after the Warriors’ home opener against the Memphis Grizzlies.

“It’s a really, really hard thing to police,” Kerr said. “Can we have a general, sort of, philosophy of ‘No bulls–t’?”

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The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to extend their winning streak to 17 games against the Washington Wizards. The last time the Wizards defeated the Cavs, Kevin Pangos started at point guard, and Kevin Love put up 24 points. 2021 was a while ago.

This Wizards team will look a little different than the ones that the Cavs have consistently beaten over the last five years. This new-look version seems to have modeled itself after the Cavs, with their new two-big frontcourt that features Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr. They also have a small guard in Trae Young who serves as the team’s offensive engine.

This game will also feature the NBA debut of number one overall pick AJ Dybantsa. He missed Washington’s first four games with an ankle injury.

This is a much better Wizards team than the one that the Cavs last faced back in April. Washington could make a push for the playoffs in a loaded Eastern Conference. The Cavs will need to play decently well to come out with a win.

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Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE. The link to the 2016 championship shirt HERE.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (2-1) vs. Washington Wizards (2-2)

Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH

When: Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 7 PM

TV: DAZN, NBA League Pass

Point spread: Cavs -9.5

Cavs injury report: Nae’Qwan Tomlin – OUT (back), Khalifa Diop – OUT (left knee), Ernest Udeh Jr. – OUT (G League)

Wizards injury report: Justin Champagnie – OUT (ankle), Tristan Vukcevic – OUT (hip), Jamir Watkins – OUT (knee)

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

Wizards expected starting lineup: Trae Young, Kyshawn George, AJ Dybantsa, Anthony Davis, Alex Sarr

Cavs jersey:Wine Icon Edition uniform

Previous matchup: The Cavs have won 16 straight over the Wizards. Cleveland last won on April 12, 130-117, in the regular-season finale.

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

Just when I thought we were hunting for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NBA Draft…

…Mike Brown and the lads decided to get their excrement together and remind us the Knicks are actually a title contender.

Here’s the latest before we turn the page quickly to this evening’s affair against the Chicago Oxen.

Mike Brown

On facing the Pistons despite Detroit dominating the Knicks last season:

“We have to concentrate on the next opponent in front of us, and Detroit happens to be that opponent. And, they had our number last year, you know. It is what it is, that’s kind of how the NBA is [and] it works. I said this before, one of the years we won it when I was in Golden State as an assistant. We lost the season series to Utah, I don’t know, it was 0-4, 1-3. One game, we got I think, beat by 40.

“So, you know, I don’t necessarily take a ton of [stock in it]. Obviously, you want to win, you want to be in good position for a playoff run, but I don’t take a ton of stock in, they won this series or they killed us in this [regular season] series because playoff season is a different ballgame.”

On experimenting with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns’ minutes and rotations during the first games of the season:

“No, no, no, no. You can always get better. You guys probably don’t notice, you probably never picked up on it but in Games 1 and 2 [of this season], my big experimentation was playing [Karl-Anthony Towns] and Jalen in two stretches together. And so the middle of it, I had both KAT and Jalen off the floor. We didn’t really do that last year.

“Watching it, I didn’t like it. So last game was the first game that I went back to [keeping one on the floor]. So there’s some things that I’m looking at or messing with that may or may not stay the same.

“That’s part of what you’re trying to do to figure out what’s best for your team long term. In the short term, it might not turn out good, like it didn’t turn out good not starting Josh, we took our lumps. But it was good to go through it last year. So, it’s something we’ll continue to try to figure out early on.”

On challenging Karl-Anthony Towns at halftime against the Pistons and his 27-20 outing:

“I challenged KAT and KAT had a tremendous second half. Twenty-seven and 20, he’s more than capable of doing that night in and night out.

“KAT’s a grown man. He’s obviously a perennial All-Star. I just told him the truth: ‘KAT, the guy is killing us on the glass, and when he gets a rebound, he’s putting it back. Anything he gets in the paint, he’s putting it back. If he catches on the perimeter, guard him,’”

“And he did those things. I’ve got to take my hat off to KAT because I thought his shift in his mindset was really big for us in the second half.”

On the Knicks dictating the physicality against Detroit:

“Once our guys realized, ‘No, no, I can’t react to them, I gotta dictate to them what’s gonna happen,’ and they do it with a smart level of physicality, then it makes it easier [to defend].”

On the Knicks putting together a more complete performance in their first win:

“We talk about trying to string a game together. 48 minutes of basketball the way we know how to play, and we like to play. And we had some lulls where we weren’t as physical as we should have been throughout the course of the game, but we had some really good moments. We had more good moments in this game in totality than we did in the first three games, and that’s why we got the win.”

On the Knicks’ early struggles being part of the process of preparing for the playoffs:

“We can have some hiccups. That’s what the [regular] season’s for. It’s trying to correct it, so come playoff time, you’re ready to go do what you need to do. So is it fixed? No, it ain’t fixed. Nothing’s really fixed.

“What tonight shows us is we’re more than capable if we put our minds to it. And that’s what we gotta continue to try to build off. And then if we do slip up, that we don’t slip up for eight minutes or 10 minutes. Maybe for a minute and a half, two minutes, and then we get back, regroup, and get back heading in the right direction again.”

On the Knicks’ shot selection and overall performance against Detroit:

“I still believe we took some really good shots. I believe if we keep taking the shots that we’re taking, they’re going to start going in sooner than later. But our guys played an overall good game. On the offensive glass, defensively physically, offensively physically.”

On the Knicks doing a better job defending Detroit’s designated shooters:

“The guys that we labeled hot tonight, two of the guys were obviously Duncan Robinson and [Daniss] Jenkins, and they were combined 3-for-16. So our awareness, our level of physicality, throughout the 48 minutes were a lot better on those two guys in the previous game.”

On the Knicks’ performance against Detroit compared with their first three losses:

“I give our guys credit. We talked about trying to string a game together, close to 48 minutes, the way we can play and like to play. We had some lulls where we weren’t as physical as we should have been. But we had some good moments. We had more good moments in totality than the first three games.”

On lessons from the Warriors’ 2018 championship defense and avoiding panic:

“The one thing that I do know [about that season] is nobody ever panicked, from the ownership to the [general manager] to coaching staff all down through players. We just truly felt we were better than the way we were playing.

“At that point in the season, to go through getting thumped in the head sometimes, might not be all bad, you know? So I think that’s the biggest thing is to know that you’ve got a game plan and you want to stay the course. Make some tweaks here, make some tweaks there.”

Jalen Brunson

On a challenging start to the season:

“Everyone can say it’s obviously early in the season. We could use that as an excuse. But I think the one thing that I see is when we get those runs, when we start to look like the team that we’ve been in the past, we get a little comfortable. So we’ve got to continue to put our foot on the gas and execute things that we did last year.

“And we’re not going to be the same. We’re not going to be the way we were playing last year. That’s just human nature. But we have to accept this part of the journey, find a way to be better. And hopefully, throughout a couple of games, we’re going to look back on it and say, ‘Yeah, we grew from that.’”

On responding to early-season adversity and the sky-high expectations of a title defense:

“Find whatever it takes to win. Control what we can control. Focus on the little details that might seem small but can impact winning. Most importantly, stick together. 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?

“We’re going to get everyone’s best because of last year. Everyone has been telling us what a great job we did, how fun it was, what we did for the city, the constant praise and so we need to be the opposite.”

On the Knicks’ identity after earning their first win:

“We’re the Knicks, actually.”

On the Knicks’ defensive turnaround against Detroit:

“We talked about it and we knew we needed to do it. I think the way we played that second quarter really turned things around and helped us take control of the game.”

On the Knicks’ need for patience:

“We got to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. This is a new year, new team. Adversity started early, so we just gotta fight back. We have a long way to go, but obviously we want to learn from wins as much as we do from losses. Excited we came up with the win today.”

On Karl-Anthony Towns stepping up against Paul Reed and the Pistons on Tuesday:

“[Reed] played great in the first half. I think we were able to not let him loose on the offensive boards. He was really impacting the game. For [KAT] to step up as he did throughout the game was something that we needed.”

On Josh Hart’s sources of energy:

“Popcorn, candy, wine and caffeine. He’s just a different person.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On staying optimistic despite the Knicks’ 0-3 start:

“As much as you lose nine out of 11, it’s the way you can win 13 straight. So just stay faithful, stay faithful, continue to put the work in, continue to find different ways we could be better. We’ve just gotta get back to the drawing board. Back to what made us so special last year. We have to tap back into that kind of mojo, that magic, and find ways to do what we got to do to get it back up.”

On the Knicks resembling last season’s championship team against Detroit:

“More like ourselves from last year.”

On the Knicks increasing their physicality and intensity against the Pistons:

“I thought we did a better job picking up our intensity and our physicality, and we just executed at a high level. We’ve just got to worry about the controllables, which is us playing our best, executing at a high level, and bringing that physicality to the game.”

On the Knicks executing the fundamentals against Detroit:

“We did all the little things tonight. That’s how we got the W.”

On the need for building momentum after the first win:

“Gotta get the next one. Build off of this game and continue to improve as a team. All year it’s gonna be us improving, going through the ups and downs of a season. We just gotta stay steady, keep believing in each other, keep pushing each other to another level.”

On wanting to reward Knicks fans after three disappointing losses:

“It’s been an ongoing thing. These fans deserve the best of us and we haven’t given them that the first three games. We wanted to give them something to cheer for.”

None of this feels real to me. Not yet, anyway. It’s like we’re floating through an ethereal state of existence somewhere between awake and asleep. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something still feels off. The season has started. The music is playing. The lights are on. Is anyone home?

This was a win. From a basketball standpoint, the Spurs went out there against an overmatched Kings lineup and, mercifully, followed the script. They jumped on them immediately and never let up. Lobs, threes, blocks, the works. It all ran like a well-oiled machine, and we were treated to a comfortable, easy win that doesn’t require much analysis. The Spurs are better than the Kings. Let’s pack it up and call it a day, yeah?

Because no one needs me to come into this space and tell you that when Julian Champagnie hits eight threes off the bench, the Spurs are hard to beat. It’s not breaking news that Wemby will have a big night if he gets unfettered access to the lane on barely contested pick-and-rolls. I’m not getting a Pulitzer for informing the noble readers of this site that if every team were the Sacramento Kings, we could start planning the parade right now.

All due respect to the Kings, who I know are a real NBA team, but all of this brings me back to a nagging feeling in my gut that we’re stuck in some sort of basketball purgatory where nothing is beautiful and everything is fine. The stakes are real, but the outcomes feel perfunctory. Or maybe it’s just me.

Look, I think I maybe died in June. Not literally, obviously, I’m still here typing away, but somewhere between the double-overtime Game 1 against OKC, the OG Tip-In, and the Knicks holding the trophy on our court, the part of me that does the feeling sort of got used up. I think I just forgot how much effort the playoffs require. How locked in you get, night after night after night. You redline it like that for long enough without the payoff of actually winning and then you’re just sitting there feeling empty. Waiting for it all to click on again.

I wrote after the opening night Thunder game that I didn’t feel ready for the season to start, and I’m starting to think the season wasn’t ready either. The whole league seems to be out of whack in oddly specific ways. The Knicks hung their long-awaited banner and then became the first defending champs to start 0-3 since the 2011-12 Mavericks. The Nuggets got booed at their home opener, lost by 20 to the Warriors, and Jokic is snapping back at the crowd. The Heat got Giannis and promptly turned into the Bucks. I’m even seeing reports that LeBron James is a Sixer? That can’t be right.

What else, what else. The Thunder are 4-0 and also might be in crisis. Jalen Williams was carried off the floor Sunday with a gruesome leg injury, Cason Wallace is headed for shoulder surgery, and Chet Holmgren is out with a bad knee. Are they, like, already maybe done? The new-look Wolves were off to a great start until word came down Tuesday that Ant is having knee surgery and will miss up to two months, a day after he scored 47 playing on it. Even Certified Iron Man Kawhi Leonard might miss some time with a swollen knee! (Ok, actually that checks out.) Meanwhile, Memphis and Portland are sitting near the top of the West. Just like we all predicted!

In that sense, I suppose the relatively routine nature of the Spurs romping over the Kings last night was a welcome sign of life. Something happened the way it was supposed to. The shots went in. No one got hurt. The crowd cheered and we all moved on to the next thing.

I just can’t wrap my arms around any of it yet, and I don’t think I want to. This is the preseason, for all intents and purposes. From now on, I’m going to try to just let this stuff happen however it needs to happen. Go smooth-brained with it. Shake off the losses, ignore the wins, and clap like a seal when there’s a big dunk or a loud noise. It’s fine. It’s all fine. Or it’s not. Whatever.

Late in the fourth quarter, with the game long decided, Harrison Barnes rose up over Alex Karaban and the whole building went nuts as he threw it down. The bench was on its feet. The announcers fell apart. Wemby even said afterward that he stood up so quick he got dizzy, and his explanation for all the commotion was simply that everybody loves Barnes.

Maybe that’s it. The season started before we were ready and we simply stood up too fast. The blood rushed to our heads, the room tilted a bit, and the whole place got a little too loud for a few seconds. We couldn’t tell whether we were waking up or just finally losing it for good. Honestly, I’ll take either. In a league where up is down and left is right, the most meaningful thing that happened in this game was a dunk that didn’t matter. It could be that it was just nice to feel some synapses firing again, if only for a moment.

We’re all losing our minds. Or maybe we lost them already. Either way, the lights are on.

It’s time to go home.

Takeaways:

• I just can’t help feeling like the season doesn’t actually start until Tobias Harris gets in the mix. He’s the skeleton key that unlocks this whole thing. Has to be.
• It’s really frustrating to watch this game and feel like this is how the whole thing is supposed to look but, because it came against the Kings, it’s hard to feel like it matters. It’s a scientific result that happened in a vacuum. It’s a scrimmage against cardboard cutouts and traffic cones. I liked it. I was happy with it. I don’t trust it even a little bit.
• That said, made shots beget made shots beget made shots. Mitch has emphasized a few times this season that the process for getting looks has been good and that the shots going in was a matter of time. Well, tonight they went in. The Spurs came in shooting 31.2 percent from three and went 17-of-37, including 13-of-22 before halftime, and we were all treated to just how effective this offense can look when that happens.
• I know Wemby can’t be this aggressive against every team, but it would have been more worrying if he hadn’t taken full advantage of a night like this. He missed all three of his threes and still scored 29, because 18 of his 21 shots were twos, including nine dunks, five of them off lobs. So everyone here at WWL headquarters is going to go ahead and give him a polite golf clap anyway.

WWL Post Game Press Conference

So you’re having trouble getting out of the blocks this season?

I really am. I wish I could say that I’ll stop talking about it sometime soon but I’m not sure I can make that kind of a commitment. I’m adrift. I’m waltzing around in no man’s land. I’m lost on the Penrose stairs in an infinite loop of wondering when this season will feel like it’s actually real.

It seems to me like you flew too close to the sun and now you’re trying to dig out of the hole with as many metaphors as possible.

I’m looking for any port in a storm.

Sounds like you’re just spinning your wheels.

I’m certainly burning the candle at both ends, I’ll tell you that much for free.

Maybe you’re missing the forest for the trees?

I probably just put the cart before the horse.

It’s still early, no need to clutch at straws just yet.

I’ll try not to beat a dead horse.

Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Gotta keep pounding the rock.