The Washington Wizards play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night. No rest for the weary.

Game info

When: Saturday, Nov. 7, 8 p.m. ET

Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network

How to listen: The Team 980 AM, 106.7-2 FM

Injury Report

Wizards: Reece Beekman, Justin Champagnie and Jamir Watkins are out. Anthony Davis and Tristan Vukcevic sat out today’s game so it remains to be seen whether they’ll play tomorrow.

Thunder: Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber, Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are out. Jaylin Williams is sitting out today’s game against he Memphis Grizzlies.

Pregame notes

The Wizards are currently about to fly out of ATL and take a red eye to Oklahoma City as I write this. They will play a Thunder team that was 6-2 before today’s game against the Grizzlies. Before today, Oklahoma City won two straight games against the Cavaliers with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 42 or more points IN EACH GAME.

Thankfully, Washington now has a point guard who can put up numbers with Trae Young. But their hands will be full, especially if Anthony Davis misses tomorrow’s game because of an ankle injury. Let’s hope AD can suit up tomorrow so we can see a potential upset.

Same opponent, different stadium, same result. After falling to the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night in Washington, the Wizards traveled to Atlanta and got beat again, 139-132.

With Anthony Davis sidelined with a sprained ankle, the Wizards’ defense largely collapsed. The Hawks got free runs at the rim, open threes, offensive rebounds, and largely had their way against Washington.

How bad was it? The Hawks had 105 points in the first three quarters and added another 34 in the fourth. Atlanta had 37 assists and 52 made field goals. Maybe it’s because Venus is in retrograde.

Trae Young played a solid offensive performance in his first game back in Atlanta since getting traded to Washington. His defense looked more like it did when he was with the Hawks, which is to say inattentive and ineffective. He’s a wizard on the offensive end though — a dizzying mix of passing, shooting, crafty drives, and world-class foul-drawing.

The Wizards kept things close to the end with offense powered by Kyshawn George, who played another strong game. George finished 33 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists. He carried the offense late, pouring in 18 points in a powerful fourth quarter.

Tre Johnson’s shooting heated up. He finished with 23 points in 27 minutes off the bench, and he drew at least three, “He’s not bashful” comments from Hawks analyst Dominique Wilkins. Wilkins and play-by-play man Bob Rathbun marveled at Johnson’s aggressive shot selection.

Washington got as close as three points in the final minutes after trailing by as much as 14 in the second half, but didn’t have enough to finish the comeback.

The Wizards fall to 4-5 on the season, and 1-1 in NBA Cup play.

From the Notebook

• Early defensive play will be a learning experience for rookie AJ Dybantsa. On the play, Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu got free for a lob dunk. The reason he got free? Dybantsa didn’t call out a screener, Deandre Ayton got picked, and Okongwu was wide open.
• The first quarter included one of the worst defensive plays I’ve seen from Young this season, Kingston Flemings made what was going to be a routine cut to clear out the side. Young lost track of him, so it turned into an easy backdoor layup.
• I’ve been frustrated by Bilal Coulibaly’s lack of offensive aggression this season. In the first quarter, he attacked in transition and drew a foul. He made both free throws. This is the way.
• Early in the game, I noted that it was the most active Alex Sarr has looked all season. His energy level seemed to dwindle later in the game, but he did finish with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 30 minutes. That’s a solid game.
• The Wizards started the game with Ayton in Davis’ slot. In the second half, they tried Coulibaly instead of Ayton. It didn’t seem to make a ton of difference either way.
• Bub Carrington’s defense is much improved this season. Example: late in the first quarter, he pressured CJ McCollum into a backcourt violation.
• Dybantsa kept doing a good job of getting into the paint and to the rim…and then not finishing. I’m confident the finishing will come.
• The Wizards kept setting ball screens for Young that would send him left and into the sideline. I’m not sure why they’re doing that other than it’s something Young likes. Which, I’m not sure why he’d want that — most teams want to keep the ball out of the middle and are perfectly happy to push it to the sideline. That’s what ice coverage tries to do.
• Back to Coulibaly for a second — his poor shooting is an issue. The Hawks declined to defend him at the three-point line. They were happy to let him shoot. He made one of three.
• George carried the offense in the fourth quarter AND made a terrific defensive play — staying with McCollum through a heady sequence of moves before rising up and blocking the shot. The possession ended with Lu Dort hitting a fading two over Tre Johnson. I thought Coulibaly should have been in the game for defense on that play.
• I really liked the simplicity and execution of Washington’s out-of-timeout play with 13 seconds left in the game. George inbounded the ball to Sarr and immediately ran a classic “get action” (meaning he followed the ball to get it back from the big). He ended up with a wide open three, which he hit. Good design and execution.

No PPA stats tonight.

Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much.

The Spurs have won six in a row, but when it takes a 52 point outburst from Victor Wembanyama to pull out a hair-thin 112-111 win over the Mavericks at home, one wonders how sustainable this is for an 82 game season. There are 74 games left to play, and the Spurs need to think about playing more than nine players and developing young players like Carter Bryant and Tarris Reed. One positive note is that they play the Kings tonight, a team that they blew out of the gym on their final preseason game on October 16.

You can’t take a win over regular season Kings for granted, they defeated the Mavericks by 15 a few days before the Spurs had to pull out all the stops to barely edge Cooper, Kyrie and the rest of the Dallas gang. That’s the only win so far for Sacramento, but it shows that you always need to treat every opponent with appropriate fear. The Kings should be a little more motivated tonight as they are at home, and winning an NBA Cup game will be a great opportunity to light the beam after the game.

Let’s GO SPURS GO!! It’s a late night west coast game, so put on a pot of coffee or your stimulant of choice and stay up with us and watch the game. If the Spurs win tonight, they could be tied with the Golden State Warriors for the early lead in the West Group C. Portland can also be tied at the top of the group if they defeat the Lakers, which would be great, because it’s always great when the Lakers lose.

Game Prediction:

In a serious miscalculation, the Kings team runs a promotion to give all of the fans in the arena a purple laser pointer so that they can ‘light the beam’ after a Kings win. When the court is covered with little bright purple dots before the game, the game is delayed for an hour by having to confiscate all of the trinkets from the attendees.

San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings (NBA Cup)
November 6, 2026 | 9:00 PM CT
Streaming: DAZN, League Pass
TV: DAZN
Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.

Jayson Tatum came back from a rest game with a head of steam, and the Charlotte Hornets stood no chance with five notable injuries.

Tatum’s 34 points (24 of which he scored in the first half) led the Boston Celtics to a 119-80 win over the Hornets in the teams’ first matchup of the season and Boston’s first stop in a 4-game road trip. The win gives the C’s a 7-2 record on the season and an NBA Cup group play record of 2-0 in East Group C.

Boston now leads the group by record, and sports a +53 scoring differential, which leads the group by 44 points. The winner of each group, plus two wild cards from each conference, will make it to the NBA Cup’s knockout rounds.

The Celtics starting squad tonight included Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, and Neemias Queta. Boston’s injury report was clear.

The Hornets started Coby White, Brandon Miller, Grayson Allen, Naz Reid, and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Kon Knueppel, Moussa Diabate, and former Celtics Grant Williams and Dennis Schroder, sat out with injuries. Miller also left the game at the half with right groin soreness.

Tatum started hot with an easy three-pointer off a screen, as the Hornets opened up the game with Reid guarding him. But he did not spam that matchup off the bat. Instead, the opening minutes were defined by energy and activity. George hit a three-pointer after Queta rebounded a midrange clunker. George and Queta both stuffed a couple Hornets shot attempts. White got a defensive rebound, ran the length of the floor and hit a transition 3 to give the C’s a 9-2 lead three minutes into the game.

White and JT kept the momentum going for a few more minutes. White scored on back-to-back and-1s, including a 4-point play, to get 7 points in 15 seconds of game time. Tatum scored the next two buckets and put Boston up 21-7 with less than 7 minutes to go. At that point, the C’s had connected on 5-7 three-point attempts.

However, the offense started dragging after that as the Hornets seemed to settle in. Payton Pritchard hit a sweet step-back three-pointer, and the Celtics’ activity didn’t slow, but shots stopped falling so effortlessly. In response, Coach Joe Mazzulla called a timeout and subbed in Baylor Scheierman and Sam Hauser to inject some offense. Scheierman immediately made an impact by splashing a three-pointer, then drew a foul on the Hornets to get the ball back for the C’s soon after.

Luckily for the Celtics, Tatum stayed hot. He drove to the basket for a couple nice layups, got to the line and hit a pair of free throws, got an and-1 with another layup, then nailed a three-pointer. That wasn’t the end of it, though. Before the quarter ended, he assisted on a deep (and I mean DEEP) Hauser three-pointer, and got the ball to Scheierman for an attempt from behind the arc at the buzzer. Scheierman missed the shot, but it was a quality look.

By the end of the opening frame, Tatum already had 18 points and Boston led Charlotte 40-20.

The C’s stayed active in the second quarter despite the big lead. Mitchell Robinson opened the frame with a tough finish through contact inside (of course, he missed his free throw) and was all over the boards. Without Tatum, who regularly takes a rest at the start of second quarters, the team struggled to make its shots — but so did the Hornets. Both teams scored a combined 3 points over the first 3 minutes of the second quarter.

Boston began to break out of that lull around the 8-minute mark of the second frame, when White hit a three-pointer. That shot seemed to take the lid off the basket for the C’s, as George cashed in on a floater soon after. George then hit a three-pointer, which Luka Garza followed up on the next possession with another 3. Almost halfway through the quarter, the Celtics led 53-25.

JT came back into the game with 5:34 left to go in the second frame, and after about a minute, hit a beautiful step-back 3 to keep the offense rolling. It was the first of three straight offensive possessions with made 3s for the Celtics, as Pritchard and Tatum hit on the team’s next 2 three-point attempts. Those buckets helped secure Boston’s first 30-point lead of the game, as the C’s led 62-31 with 3 minutes left to go in the half.

Naz Reid hit back-to-back shots to cut into the lead, but White hit a couple of his own, and Robinson got a block that led to an open Hauser 3, leaving the Celtics with an imposing 70-39 lead at the half. Boston won the quarter 30-19.

Jayson Tatum, who was red-hot in the first half, racked up 24 points on 57.1% shooting from the field and 5-8 shooting from three-point range. He also had 4 rebounds and 6 assists before the break.

Boston’s second-leading scorer was Derrick White, who had 18 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal at the half. No other Celtic had more than 8 points, but the team as a whole shot 54.8% from three-point range.

On the other end of the court, Naz Reid led Charlotte in scoring at the half with 10 points. The Hornets shot only 28.3% from the field and 21.7% from three-point range in the first half.

The Celtics maintained their energetic defense from the first half, but the offense briefly stuttered to open the second. Nevertheless, Queta got the scoring going with a couple nice buckets, including a hook shot and an impressive one-handed alley-oop on a pass from JT. Tatum continued to make his mark on the game by hitting a couple free throws, then assisting on a tough Walsh dunk and-1. Four minutes into the third quarter, the C’s had a 79-45 lead.

The Celtics didn’t let themselves become complacent with such a lead. Tatum, Pritchard, and Scheierman kept the offense churning, while the defense stayed active and refused to allow Charlotte’s offense to get in a flow. JT was unstoppable driving to the rim and reached 30 points on a layup with 4:26 remaining in the third. Robinson threw down a couple hefty alley-oops, the second of which put the game out of reach entirely, as the C’s had a 94-53 lead with less than 2 minutes to go in the frame.

By the end of the third quarter, which the Celtics won 26-18, Boston led by 39 points.

The C’s opened the fourth with Pritchard, Hauser, Hugo Gonzalez, Mike Conley, and Luka Garza on the floor. While the Hornets scored the first 4 points of the quarter, Hauser and Pritchard splashed a couple three-pointers that inspired Charlotte to call a timeout, raise the white flag, and send in its reserves. Boston subbed in Ron Harper Jr. for Pritchard, but otherwise kept the same squad on the court to run up the lead.

Without Pritchard, Gonzalez and RHJ led the Celtics offense. After Gonzalez hit a 3 with 5:35 to go in the final frame, the Celtics had a 112-67 lead. It was such an insurmountable lead that NBA.com’s NBA Cup standings page showed Boston’s group play record as 2-0 about halfway through the fourth quarter.

The C’s offense was a little clunky the rest of the way, but a couple three-pointers from Walsh and Garza inflated the lead to 118-74 with about 2 minutes left in the game.

Tatum finished the game with 34 points on 56.3% shooting from the field and 11-11 free throws, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and a steal.

White failed to score a single point in the second half, but still finished as Boston’s second-leading scorer for the night, with 18 points. The only other Celtic to finish in double digits was Pritchard, who had 12 points.

The team as a whole shot 45.8% from the field and 54.5% from three-point range. Boston’s 24 made three-pointers is a new NBA Cup record.

Reid led the Hornets with 14 points, while Sion James had 11 points off the bench. Overall, Charlotte shot 29.3% from the floor and 22% from behind the arc.

Boston’s next game will be against the Milwaukee Bucks at 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The road trip will then take the C’s to Philadelphia and Toronto.

The C’s next NBA Cup group play game won’t be until Tuesday, Nov. 24, when they will face the Wizards. It will be the Celtics’ third of four group play matches before knockout rounds begin on Friday, Dec. 4.

The Hawks welcomed Trae Young and the Wizards into their building for their first of five group stage NBA Cup games of the season. They’d have to find a way to win missing Jalen Johnson, Asa Newell, and Jock Landale among others — although Anthony Davis was not available for the other side.

The good guys came out blazing, using their solid team defense to force turnovers and create easy opportunities going the other way. Nickeil Alexander-Walker remained scorching from deep:

Nickeil stays hot in the early going ♨️ pic.twitter.com/5gkG1i4Iyx

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 7, 2026

Atlanta raced out to an early 20-10 lead with help from their rookie phenom Kingston Flemings:

Watch Kingston move without the ball 🙂‍↕️ pic.twitter.com/qSTjJ0N6AW

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 7, 2026

Atlanta let the Wizards storm back once the bench came in, however. Down just about all of their reserve fours and fives, Washington went on a 22-8 run to close the quarter.

Kingston Flemings had a mini takeover in the early part of the second quarter. He and the other first-round rookie, Zuby Ejiofor, powered the Hawks with some nice link ups:

It's the Kingston and Zuby show!! pic.twitter.com/c9VquMya3X

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 7, 2026

The second quarter remained close until the starters re-entered the game. They executed at a high level on both ends of the floor and pushed the margin to a seven-point lead at halftime.

Standout performers from the 66-59 first half include Nickeil Alexander-Walker (16 points on 5-for-10 shooting), Dyson Daniels (four points, nine rebounds, and seven assists) and Kingston Flemings (nine points on 4-for-5 shooting and two assists in just 11 minutes).

In the third quarter, Luguentz Dort of all people decided to take over on both ends of the floor. He was everywhere, picking off lazy passes and crashing the offensive glass for easy scores. Here was just one example:

Lu steal and score 🔒 pic.twitter.com/FsB7zDUykA

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 7, 2026

After that, Zuby Ejiofor had a nice cameo on the third quarter, injecting some hustle and off ball rim runs into the works. His efforts helped push the Hawks lead to 105-94 with one quarter remaining.

The Hawks kept the Wizards mostly at bay early in the fourth quarter, although Washington seemingly matched every three ball for three ball. In fact, the Wiz went 12 for their first 18 three-point attempts in the second half.

Washington made a big push towards the end of the game behind Kyshawn George’s scoring explosion, but some key buckets from Lu Dort of all people were key to closing the door:

LU AGAIN to beat the shot-clock buzzer 😳 pic.twitter.com/4SpBdqdQbJ

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 7, 2026

Atlanta squeaked out a 139-132 win to move to 6-4 and 1-0 in the NBA Cup.

Luguentz Dort was the star man with 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 28 points, and Dyson Daniels was one rebound short of a triple double (13 points and 12 assists).

The Hawks have a quick turnaround against the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow at 7:30 PM EST.

Back in mid-October, as Karl-Anthony Towns voiced his displeasure with the lack of a new contract extension, he also maintained it wouldn’t impact his performance. 

He may not have been completely truthful. At least so far, it seems to have pushed him to be even better. 

Through eight games, Towns has been the best Knick amid an uneven start for the reigning champions. But, Towns insisted, something bigger is at stake than a new deal. 

“I came into the season wanting to defend the championship at all costs,” he said after practice Friday. “Like I said before, the city hasn’t seen that trophy here in New York for 53 years, and all of us in this locker room, especially myself, don’t intend for it to leave. 

“Being the No. 1 pick, [reaching] the Finals and getting your title, and having to go out there and try to figure out how to do it again, that’s enough motivation for me.” 

Towns has been terrific, even while many teammates have struggled. He is averaging 19.9 points, a career-high 13.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He is shooting a career-best 42.9 percent from 3-point range on 4.4 attempts. He owns a NET rating of plus-9.0, the best among Knicks starters. Towns also leads the team in defensive rebounding percentage at 33.3, which ranks tied for fifth in the league. The 7-footer also has tallied a double-double in every game. 

“I just always want to impact winning, and I always try to get every rebound possible for our team so we don’t give up any second-chance points or we give ourselves more chances at second-chance points on offense,” he said. “Obviously, with [Mitchell Robinson] gone, I had to pick up the effort, especially the rebounding effort. When you have one of the greatest offensive rebounders the NBA has ever seen in Mitchell Robinson, it’s a team effort. I just want to do my part to help with rebounding.” 

Head coach Mike Brown raved about Towns’ all-around play and was particularly effusive in describing the energy the big man is bringing on a daily basis. If he is unhappy about his current contract, Towns is doing a good job of hiding it. 

Brown would like to see Towns improve in two areas: pick-and-roll defense and cutting down on turnovers. His 3.8 turnovers per game would be a career high, up from 2.5 a year ago. Some of that is a product of having the ball in his hands more as an offensive hub. 

“I say those two things because he’s been doing so many things well for us,” Brown said. “He’s rebounding, he’s running, he’ s shooting the ball well from 3, he is passing when he doesn’t go for the home run ball, he’s communicating. The energy he’s bringing is great.” 

Towns agreed. He has played well, but there are things he can improve upon. When asked about his season in general, he opted to look more at the team’s overall performance. 

That’s where his head is at, not individual numbers or a new contract. 

“Me and Jalen [Brunson] are here to lead the team. I want to do my part as best as I possibly can. I can’t allow outside distractions and ego to get in the way,” Towns said. “We won last year because we put our egos to the side and we did what’s best for this city, best for this team, this organization, and we sacrificed, and I’m always going to be willing to sacrifice for my brothers and this family that we’ve built here.”

Brandon Ingram is working his way back and is close to his debut with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The two-time All-Star has been the biggest absence for the team this season, considering he will be an immediate starter upon his return.

He is recovering from right heel surgery he had in May. He is also dealing with a partially torn Achilles tendon.

“I'm pretty close,” Ingram told reporters during media availability on Friday. “I've been on the floor a little bit more than I've been in the past. I didn't have a summer to have 5-on-5, move at all, but I'm gaining that confidence right now.”

The Clippers acquired Ingram as one of the primary trade assets in the package sent over by the Toronto Raptors for Kawhi Leonard during the offseason.

Ingram told reporters he was initially supposed to have a bone removed from his heel, but the doctors found the partially torn Achilles during that procedure. While sidelined, he’s remained close to the team and appreciates the players' efforts.

"I actually want to commend those guys because everybody is in new positions and asked to do more,” Ingram said. “So the guys are trying. They're playing really, really good defense.”

Ingram’s return would be welcomed, especially on the offensive end of the floor. The All-Star led Toronto with 21.5 points and was third in rebounds (5.6) last season. He started 77 games for the Raptors.

“They're trying to figure it out on the offensive end,” Ingram said. “When I come in, I want to play make, make it a little bit easier for guys to catch and shoot, and not have to make so many decisions. And be able to, when it gets down to it, be able to score."

Ingram already had a level of familiarity with head coach Tyronn Lue and assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy from playing for Team USA during the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Ingram, center Yanic Konan Niederhäuser and Max Strus, who has the ability to play as both a guard and forward, were recalled on Nov. 2. The trio participated in a weekend assignment with the team’s G-League affiliate.

Konan Niederhäuser is working his way back from right Lisfranc surgery. Strus was recovering from a partial tear to his right plantar fascia.

"Max came back and had a big impact on the team,” Ingram said. “He's made the team better. Yanic is coming back soon.

“... As a full team, I think we're gonna mesh well. And we'll be a little better than we have been. But in these games that we lost, we've been right in the game. Just fix a few mistakes and we can win those games."

The Clippers won the season opener against the Sacramento Kings before losing seven straight. Los Angeles will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 8.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brandon Ingram is 'pretty close' to making debut with L.A. Clippers: Latest injury update

LeBron James might have chosen to join the Philadelphia 76ers instead of returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but it was all love in "The Land."

James and the 76ers took on the Cavaliers in Cleveland for an NBA Cup game on Friday, Nov. 6. and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming for the 24-year veteran and Ohio native.

In the tunnel to the locker room, there was a video board that said "Welcome Home LeBron!" with an image of him holding up Cleveland's 2016 NBA Finals trophy. During the Prime pregame show, a young fan held up James' St. Vincent–St. Mary High School jersey, and other fans were shown wearing Cavaliers jerseys with James' name on them.

Just before tipoff, James did his signature chalk toss and fans were crowding around with their phones to record the moment. A video from ESPN NBA reporter Dave McMenamin on X showed that as the 76ers were being announced, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid received boos but James was greeted with cheers.

LeBron James greeted by his customary cheers from the Cleveland crowd when announced in the starting lineup as a visiting Philadelphia 76ers player for the first time pic.twitter.com/y0SFp1Kohd

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 7, 2026

This offseason, James informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he was going to leave the team. The Cavaliers were among the teams that the NBA's all-time leading scorer was considering. The 76ers won the battle with James crediting Tyrese Maxey for helping him make his decision.

James' 76ers teammate Dean Wade also joined Philadelphia this offseason after spending the first seven seasons of his career in Cleveland. He spoke to the media ahead of the game about his memories facing James in his hometown.

"In my seven years, anytime that LeBron came back it was just a madhouse. It was crazy," he said in a video posted byMcMenamin on X. "The fans were awesome. So I expect that to be what tonight's going to be like. Super loud, a lot of energy. I think it's gonna be a fun night."

According to the Prime pregame show, James hasn't beat the Cavaliers in Cleveland since November 25, 2023 when the Lakers won 121-115. He had 22 points, six assists and six rebounds.

James grew up in Akron, Ohio and joined the Cavaliers out of high school as the No.1 overall pick in the 2003 draft. He spent the first seven seasons of his career in Cleveland before leaving to join the Miami Heat in "The Decision" in 2010. After winning two championships in South Beach, he returned for the 2014-15 season. He guided the Cavaliers to their first NBA title in 2016 when he was named Finals MVP. James left again in 2018 to join the Lakers and won his fourth championship in 2020.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James gets warm welcome in Cleveland as 76ers face Cavaliers

The Lakers aren’t where they want to be defensively. 

But they have reasons to be optimistic that they can be a lot better on that end of the floor.

The Lakers entered Friday’s home game against the Trail Blazers ranked No. 16 in defensive rating according to Cleaning The Glass, which filters out garbage time. 

Not quite the “nasty” defensive team starting center Walker Kessler said the Lakers would be. Or even a “pretty good” defense, as coach JJ Redick put it, saying the team elevated its expectations for that end of the floor after preseason. 

But the small sample of the Lakers’ first nine games showed a defensive area that the team is prolific in that can help them maximize their defensive potential: forcing turnovers.

The Lakers entered their 10th game of the season ranked No. 2 in defensive turnover percentage at 18.8, just behind the Raptors (19.1%) at No. 1.

“It shows that we have a lot of potential,” Kessler said. “A couple of things we gotta clean up, but it shows that we’re willing to be aggressive and turn guys over, especially in the half court.”

The Lakers entered Friday having forced at least 14 turnovers in every game they played, including 16 or more in seven of those nine games. 

It has provided a spark to their league-best offense, with the Lakers leading the league in points scored off turnovers (23.4).

“Got guys that fly around, play the defensive end the right way and are in the right spots,” Austin Reaves said. “Matisse [Thybulle], [Ziaire Williams], Jake [LaRavia], [Quentin Grimes], you can go down the line. So good defensive players that are in the right spot at the right time that stick to our schemes.” 

That last part is key. 

The Lakers entered Friday ranked No. 8 in half-court defense, in part, because they don’t have to compromise their defense to create turnovers. 

“I’ve talked about this before as it relates to giving offensive players freedom and creativity as long as it’s done within our system and our rules and our structure: It’s no different defensively,” Redick said. “[We] want to disrupt, but we want to disrupt within our schemes. So, you can be a defensive playmaker by doing our defense versus gambling — there’s a big difference.

“You’ve got to give those guys freedom, too.”

Forcing turnovers isn’t the be-all, end-all of good defensive teams. 

But it helps.

Six of the top-12 defensive teams from last season were also top 12 in defensive turnover percentage. And it was seven of 12 the previous year. 

The Lakers have other areas they need to clean up to make their defense pop: defensive rebounding (especially when Kessler isn’t on the floor) and their own turnovers (which leads to easier scoring opportunities for opponents) are among them.

But they’ve found an aspect of defense to be proud over during the first 2 ½ weeks of the season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to start their NBA Cup season with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to your fellow Cavalier fans and make your voice heard!

Karl Anthony-Towns tuned in Thursday night to see the Knicks’ captain, Jalen Brunson, make a 59-second cameo on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” 

Brunson, though, wasn’t the only Knick to appear on the show. His father Rick, an assistant coach, also appeared as an extra. 

Brunson played Detective Madison. Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson met Brunson at a restaurant and asked him about an arrest. Rick Brunson entered the restaurant ahead of Hargitay. 

“I thought Rick stole the show,” Towns joked after practice Friday. “That was a helluva walk. That was an Emmy walk right there.” 

Since leading the Knicks to their first championship in 53 years last June, Brunson has hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live” and now has appeared on “SVU.” Brunson is close friends with Hargitay, a longtime Knicks fan who regularly sits courtside at the Garden. 

“Shoutout to Jalen,” Towns said. “I’m glad he’s living his dream. It was funny to watch it too.” 

Towns has acted before as well. He recently appeared in the movie “The Devil Wears Prada 2” with Anne Hathaway. 

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The Knicks are in the midst of a light stretch. They had two days off after beating the Bulls on Wednesday. After Saturday’s road game against the Cavaliers, they will have two more off days. 

“It’s great because, particularly for us at this point in the year, it gave us a chance to continue to give guys rest. More importantly, there’ s some things that we weren’t doing well, and it gives us a chance to actually practice and clean it up,” head coach Mike Brown said. “As the season goes along, especially when you have game, day [off], game, day [off], when you start doing that, it’s hard to practice.” 

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Josh Hart practiced after missing Wednesday’s game against the Bulls with right ankle soreness. But he will remain out against the Cavaliers on Saturday. 

CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell is taking four fewer shots per game this season compared to last year. Should the Cleveland Cavaliers be concerned?

“The shot attempt stuff doesn’t bother me in the least,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said when asked that very question.

Even though Mitchell is taking fewer shots, he’s taking a similar percentage of looks at the rim. A quarter of Mitchell’s attempts have been in the restricted area this season; that’s slightly better than last season when he was taking 24% of his shots at the rim.

If you wanted to point at something more negative, you could say that he’s shooting a lower percentage on shots at the rim and below the free-throw line. Additionally, his free-throw rate is also down slightly, and he’s gone from driving 18.5 times per game to just 15.6.

That said, Mitchell has been slightly more efficient as he’s averaging 1.24 points per shot attempt (88th percentile) and has an effective field-goal percentage of 57.4% (85th percentile).

Instead of worrying about Mitchell’s shots, Atkinson is looking at something different.

“That’s my theme to him: Can you make others better?” Atkinson said. “That’s important for this group. You have to continue to make others better, make the right play. So I judge it more…I don’t look at field goal attempts.”

The blueprint for what Atkinson wants to see from Mitchell is last season’s Game 7 against the Detroit Pistons. In that game, Mitchell came out with an effort to set up teammates, which led to him finishing with eight assists and no turnovers.

We’ve seen glimpses of this during the season. The first game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (when Mitchell had 11 assists) and the win over the Washington Wizards are both examples of that. He made a concerted effort to get others involved, and the Cavs were better off for it.

On the flip side, there’s a balance to this. Mitchell’s efforts to set up others need to come from being aggressive and getting to his spots on the floor. And from those spots, he needs to be getting others involved. That isn’t something he is necessarily doing well early on. Mitchell sometimes feels a little too passive from an energy standpoint, which is where some of the criticism is coming from.

Ultimately, Mitchell is a scorer. But scoring will become easier for him when he’s a threat to find teammates on his drives to the paint.

The Cavs are a work in progress at this point of the season, and so is their best player. The team is asking him to emphasize different skills than they have in previous years. And if he’s able to do so consistently, they’ll be better off for it in the long term.

“I know he can get 40 every night,” Atkinson said. “I know he can shoot 25 times a game. He needs to empower others around him, and I think he does a hell of a job at it.”

The Dallas Mavericks (4-4) play host to the feckless Utah Jazz (1-7) on Friday night as the start of a three game home stand. The Mavericks are coming off of two straight losses, to the Kings Monday then the Spurs on Friday. The Jazz have lost six straight, their most recent an overtime game to the New Orleans Pelicans. Both teams need a win to get back on track. Here are the main things you need to know:

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Utah Jazz
• WHAT: Start of a homestand
• WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
• WHEN: 7:30 pm CST
• HOW: KFAA

In what qualifies as actual news, Santi Aldama is listed as probable and he is at least available make his debut as a Dallas Maverick tonight. Coach Dusty May told reporters before the game, “We want to see him play, but obviously he hasn’t played 5-on-5 with the main guys yet.” Max Christie is also listed as probable after missing last game with a hip issue. Sergio De Larrea and Tarik Biberovic are still listed as out with their respective injuries. Kyrie Irving is also listed as probable, apparently dealing with an illness. Caleb Martin is on the injury report as he’s wearing a splint, but he is available to play.

The Utah Jazz are without center Jaren Jackson Jr., who has an MCL tear, and Jusuf Nurkic, who has a plantar plate tear.

The youthful Jazz have much, much better talent than their 1-7 record, so the Mavericks would be wise to approach this game as a must-win. The moral victory of coming back to the Spurs is nice for a day, but this team is capable of wins, and this matchup is one I could see catching the team by surprise. This is the first of three games in four days, but all four are winnable contests, so it would be great to see the Mavericks put together a complete game.

Since you’re here checking out this post, it’s for one of two reasons.

• Injury report news
• Discussion and comment thread

If you’re part of the former, please consider signing up for an account. You get way fewer ads, and you can comment! If you’re part of the latter group: GO GET THE APP. I’m serious. The app has some real-time features specifically for game threads like this one and you can comment and get notified really, really easily. It’s part of what’s keeping this whole series of sites going. So go do it for us and in doing so, you’ll see why the experience is simply better.

Consider joining me on Pod Maverick live after the game on YouTube; I will be going live tonight, and I need y’all to join and participate!

Luka Dončić is dominating headlines with arguably the greatest start in NBA history. But it’s no secret that Walker Kessler’s blue-collar work in the paint is just as essential to the Lakers’ success this season. 

Before the Lakers played the Clippers on Oct. 28, coach JJ Redick issued a challenge to Kessler after he fell short of grabbing double-digit rebounds in his first four games of the season. 

“Well, I think where he can continue to grow with us, you know, [with] per 36 numbers, per-minute numbers, he’s not rebounding at the rate [we expect], and obviously that’s a area of concern for us right now,” Redick said. “So need to be him doing better, particularly on the defensive glass.

“… I remember my rookie year. B.J. Armstrong was an agent at Wasserman at the time and came down to Orlando to check on me. I remember when we were at the game, he was talking about Dwight [Howard]. He said, ‘You know what Dwight’s superpower is?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t.’ And he said, ‘He can rebound outside his space. He can rebound outside his airspace.’ And I’ve seen Walker do it. That’s where I think he can give us the biggest boost right now defensively. We want him to protect the rim. We want him on the interior.”

Redick wants Kessler to be everywhere. He’s the heart of the Lakers’ defense. He’s wants one of the league’s greatest rebounders and rim protectors to leap to the next level.

Kessler has internalized Redick’s words. 

Following an 11-point, nine-rebound performance against the Clippers, he went on to have three straight double-doubles, averaging 13.6 points and 14.3 rebounds in a loss to the Warriors on Oct. 30 and wins over the Raptors on Nov. 1 and Heat on Nov. 2. 

“I think his effort to go get the ball has been good,” Redick said after the Lakers’ 138-117 victory over the Heat on Monday. “I think he’s boxed out really well.”

Kessler is averaging 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots for the Lakers (7-2), who are in second place in the Western Conference.

Kessler is seventh in the NBA in rebounds. He’s third in blocked shots. 

But defense is the Lakers’ weakness. 

They rank 21st in defensive rating (112.9) but first in offensive rating (121.1). Much of that is due to the team’s steep drop-off when Kessler is off the court. 

When Kessler is on the court? The Lakers’ defensive rating is 110.1. When he’s sidelined? It’s 117.2, per Cleaning the Glass.  

Kessler’s impact on the Lakers has been notable. 

His screening creates open shots for Dončić, who’s averaging a league-leading 38.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and eight assists, and Austin Reaves, who’s averaging 23.3 points on career highs in field-goal percentage (53.1) and 3-point percentage (42.9). 

Kessler’s presence in the paint has emboldened the team’s perimeter defenders to be aggressive and take risks, which has led to the Lakers ranking No. 1 in opponent turnovers (166). 

Kessler is ranked No. 1 among defenders who have taken at least 50 shots within 6 feet this season, holding opponents to 45.1% shooting. 

But it’s no secret that Kessler is still figuring things out with the Lakers. 

The Lakers acquired Kessler in July in a sign-and-trade with Utah for two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps on top of a four-year, $130 million deal. 

He’s still working his way back from missing all but five games last season because of a torn posterior labrum in his left shoulder that required surgery. 

Kessler is one of nine new players on the Lakers, and it’s going to take time for him to learn Dončić and Reaves, in addition to developing into the defensive beast the team needs.

The Lakers need Kessler to be at his best to be a championship-level team. 

He has steadily improved this season, though he stumbled a bit in Wednesday’s 116-103 win over the Kings, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds and a game-high four blocked shots. Kessler acknowledged that Domantas Sabonis (16 points, 17 rebounds) got the better of him, saying, “[He] definitely got my tail kicked a little bit in the first three quarters.”

For Kessler, this is a learning process. There’s going to be bumps in the road. Redick has preached patience.

But Kessler has sky-high potential.

And it’s clear Redick wants him to reach new heights.

CHARLOTTE — The Celtics will start Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, and Neemias Queta when they face the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

It’s the first time that particular combination has started; Walsh started the first five games of the season, while Hugo Gonzalez started in place of him over the last three. Similarly, Mitchell Robinson started the first five games of the season, while Neemias Queta started the last three.

At Celtics shootaround Friday morning, Walsh was hard on himself when asked to evaluate how his first 8 games have gone.

Walsh’s minutes trended downwards in the games Gonzalez started. After playing 18 or more minutes in three of the Celtics’ first four games, he hasn’t played more than 12 minutes since October 27th.

“I haven’t been playing great — but the starting, not starting thing, it’s not about that,” Walsh said. “That’s just kind of Joe’s thing, like he wants to try new things. Like, that’s fine. But I’m still playing the same amount of minutes. So, I still gotta produce in those minutes. Like, I gotta do that better.”

On the other side, the Hornets will start Grayson Allen, Naz Reid, Brandon Miller, Colby White, and Ryan Kalkbrenner.

It is the Celtics’ second NBA Cup game of the season; they previously beat the Chicago Bulls 125-111 in the first game of of Group Play.

The Celtics are 6-2 to start the year, while the Hornets are 3-6.