Category: NBA

The relationship between NBA basketball and math has long been tenuous.

You’ve seen the debates. The stat nerd vs the hooper. Metrics vs the eye test. It’s as false a dichotomy as one could imagine. To understand basketball, you need both. That will always be the case.

Anyway, the 2025-26 Houston Rockets need a math tutor. Their calculations are off. They’re losing the math game:

And the numbers aren’t lying.

Rockets need to improve efficiency

If you’re reading this, you surely know that the Rockets don’t shoot many threes. In fact, their 34.0% three-point frequency ranks dead last in the NBA.

They hit a high percentage of those triples. Houston’s 37.0% three-point shooting ranks sixth. That amounts to 11.3 made threes per game, which lands 24th in the NBA.

That would be fine – if the Rockets hit a high percentage of their twos. This team wasn’t built to overwhelm opponents with three-point shooting. They were built to dominate the offensive glass and win the math game with extra possessions.

They’re still dominating the glass. Houston’s 39.9% Offensive Rebounding Percentage is first in the league by a long shot. It’s just a somewhat moot point when they’re hitting 52.3% of their two-point field goal attempts.

That’s second-last in the NBA.

That’s right. Only the Pacers hit a lower percentage of their twos. This is a gap year for the Pacers. Despite the significance of Fred VanVleet’s absence, the same cannot be said for the Rockets.

So let’s break out the calculators. What can the Rockets do?

The Rockets must play to their strengths

They shouldn’t be thinking about increasing their three-point volume too dramatically.

They simply do not have the personnel. Sure, Ime Udoka ought to have a little more faith in Reed Sheppard. He could bolster the three-point volume a bit, but he’s only one NBA sophomore. That won’t meaningfully move the needle.

Above all else, the Rockets need to hit a higher percentage of their twos.

The elephant in the room: Alperen Sengun needs to be more efficient. He just does. He’s hitting 69.7% of his shots between zero-and-three feet. That’s a career high, but it’s still not high enough.

For context, Giannis Antetokounmpo hits 81.1% of his field goals from the same area. Nikola Jokic hits 78.6% of his bunnies.

Am I being unfair by comparing Sengun to the best players in the NBA? OK. Domantas Sabonis hits 69.9% of his attempts from the same range. Newsflash:

The Rockets need Alperen Sengun to be better than Domantas Sabonis.

Holding the young star to a high standard should not be frowned upon. Sengun doesn’t offer much from three-point range, so to be a star playmaker, he needs to make hay at the rim. That’s what the math dictates.

Otherwise, Amen Thompson is hitting 75.0% of his shots between zero-and-three. That’s consistent with last year (75.8%), but his volume is significantly down (36.1% from 42.0%). That’s likely symptomatic of his on-ball work. When Thompson is setting up in the halfcourt, it’s easier for defenses to force him into the midrange. Taking him back off the ball and putting him in a position to cut and attack closeouts could get him back at the rim more often.

That’s about it, as far as my solutions go. I’m no math wizard. Let it be said that the Rockets don’t need to play brutal, D’Antoni-style stat-ball. They do need to find a way to improve on their dreadful two-point efficiency if they’re going to be a low-volume three-point shooting club:

Otherwise, the numbers just aren’t in their favor.

It really should be called the final third of the season now, shouldn’t it?

The Sixers just need to put the finishing touches on the final 28 games of the regular season to complete a bounce back from their disastrous 24-win campaign a season ago. With just a game in the loss column currently keeping them out of the play-in tournament in the East, it’ll take a strong finish to secure a top-six playoff spot.

Here are the pressing questions that will define whether they’re able to do so or not.

Is the All-Star break enough to recharge VJ-Maxx?

This has come up quite a bit, because it’s no secret just how much of a workload these two have taken on — Maxey in particular with his 30% usage rate. Not only has the topic of fatigue and tiredness come up quite a bit in Maxey’s recent postgame press conferences, but it seems to be catching up with him as well.

Through the end of December, Maxey was averaging 30.8 points per game on the season shooting 39.6% from three-point range. In January and February he’s dipped down to 26.5 points a night shooting 35.6% from deep. If there’s a silver lining it’s that his minutes per game have gone down from 39 to 37 in that time, though he still leads the league in minutes by far.

Edgecombe is only averaging a measly 35 minutes a night, but he still has a comfortable lead on most minutes played this year by a rookie. Not only has his production gone through dips, but his shot selection seems to indicate a rookie wall as well.

Again, through December, Edgecombe was taking 35% of his shots at the rim and 18% from the short midrange. In the roughly month and a half since, he’s only taken 29% of his shots at the rim and his short midrange attempts have dropped to 14%, according to Cleaning the Glass.

With the top-heavy roster the Sixers have, a week off may be the only relief coming when it comes to these two. Neither of them even had a full week technically, with Maxey being both an All-Star and three-point contest participant, and Edgecombe competing in the Rising Stars game.

We’ll see soon enough whether four days off is enough to recharge either of their batteries because there’s likely to be plenty of 40-minute nights in their near futures.

How much will this shaken up bench be able to produce?

Relatedly, a big reason why so much responsibility is placed on Maxey and Edgecombe’s shoulders is due to the lack of bench production as of late. The Sixers are currently the 28th-ranked team in the league in bench points, averaging 30.4 a night. Jared McCain struggling to crack the rotation while he was still here put the role of bench shooting entirely onto Quentin Grimes.

However tall of an ask that is, he’s struggled to do so after a pretty solid start. Through November he was averaging 17 points a night shooting just a tick below 37% from three. No one’s come down to earth harder though, as he’s averaging 9.9 points a game shooting 42% from the field and 31% from three in the 29 games since then.

Through most of that time, the Sixers had been getting solid bench production from whichever of Kelly Oubre Jr. or Dominick Barlow came off the bench. With Paul George suspended though, both of those guys have become required starters.poiu9o0p[=p-]\

The dumping of McCain as well as Eric Gordon only intensified the need for Grimes to get right. Through the buyout market the Sixers may have found an additional scoring burst in Cam Payne. It’s a long shot, with Payne having spent the first half of this season playing in Europe, but at least the Sixers have seen him impact a playoff game before. As a bottom three bench team in the league, the Sixers will take any help they can get.

How will the front court behind Joel Embiid hold up?

So obviously this stems from the most burning, everlasting question surrounding the Sixers: how healthy will Joel Embiid be?

After enjoying over a month long stretch of healthy basketball, only missing planned nights that were back-to-backs, Embiid missed the last two games before the All-Star break due to another bout of knee swelling. The positive spin there is that this was his right knee, not the left that he’s injured so frequently. Nick Nurse didn’t seem super concerned by this either, saying the soreness had progressed somewhat and that the All-Star break should help that as well.

No one here has to be reminded of the history, though. After starting the season playing well without Embiid, the Sixers once again look like a team dependent on him, losing six of their last seven with him out of the lineup. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Sixers are a -1.4 with Adem Bona on the court and -4.3 in lineups with Andre Drummond.

Bona continues to show flashes as a shot blocker, but has yet to really develop his rebounding skills and has been abysmal as a lob catcher this year. After a resurgent start to the year, Drummond has started to look older each passing game. While they both turned their two-way deals into standard contracts, neither Barlow nor Jabari Walker has seen enough substantial time playing center to know if they are legitimate backup five options.

With the trade deadline come and gone and the buyout market looking just as bare in the front court, the only solution to this problem is probably Embiid staying as healthy as possible. Even if he’s able to, the Sixers still have six more back-to-backs to get through this regular season as they gear up for a busy March.

They won’t be easy hurdles with all the solutions needing to be internal, but how the Sixers deal with these issues will define their second half of the season.

It will be another several months before Mavericks fans see Kyrie Irving on the hardwood again.

The Dallas point guard will miss the rest of the 2025-26 season as he continues to recover from an ACL tear, the team announced on Wednesday morning.

Irving sustained the injury in his left leg in March 2025, and after undergoing surgery shortly afterward, he had initially eyed a return at some point this year.

But in a statement, Irving explained “the right” choice was to allow the knee a few more months to heal.

“This decision wasn’t easy, but it’s the right one,” he said. “I am grateful for the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season.

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“The belief and drive I have inside only grows. And I wanted to send a huge shoutout to ALL of my brothers and sisters out there who’ve torn their ACL or gotten injured doing what they love to do every day. THANK YOU for the inspiration. No fear!”

Irving joined the Mavericks in the 2022-23 season via a trade from Brooklyn, and the following season, he and Luka Doncic helped lead the team to the NBA Finals.

In 2024-25, he had an All-Star season, but missed the last portion of the year due to the knee injury.

The Mavericks, of course, are in no position to rush back Irving, who’s in the middle of a three-year, $119 million contract — the team sits near the bottom of Western Conference standings with a 19-35 record.

Kansas State basketball's attempt to fire Jerome Tang for cause has been widely derided by the basketball world. After a 90-74 win over Baylor with interim coach Matthew Driscoll on the bench, the Wildcats still mentioned Tang several times postgame.

Kansas State arguably looked more complete than it has all season, with PJ Haggerty and Nate Johnson putting up 34 and 33 points, respectively.

"We (came) more together as a team," Johnson told reporters postgame. "It just bonded us over that period of time, and it showed. His message still showed that we are still together and we're just going to keep getting better every day."

REQUIRED READING: Why Kansas State fired Jerome Tang: 'What he said about the student-athletes really concerned me'

"It's been some very difficult days," Haggerty added. "Every day, we all love Coach T (Tang), you know, as a coach and as a person. He just wanted us to be better men rather than just basketball players, too. But at the end of the day, we're just gonna keep playing and honoring him."

Haggerty also harkened back to a mantra of Tang's.

"'Crazy faith' is something he said every day, whether it was good days or bad days; he always stuck with faith," he said. "Either he had it on his shirt, or he said, 'crazy faith,' and that was the biggest thing that he always told us."

This support lingers even after Tang's firing for cause was justified by a press conference in which Tang derided his roster and said most of the players wouldn't be back next season.

"This was embarrassing," Tang said after a 91-62 loss at the hands of Cincinnati. "These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform, and there will be very few of them in it next year. I'm embarrassed for the university, I'm embarrassed for our fans, and our student section. It's just ridiculous."

Even with those harsh words, Kansas State's players are rallying behind him as he looks for the $18.675 million buyout he would be owed if Kansas State loses its case to fire him for cause.

Driscoll also sung Tang's praises following his first win as an interim coach. In a lengthy press answer, he said: "I did not come to Kansas State to be the head coach. Coach Tang is an amazing human being. He has always been there for me, he's always supported me, and he's an amazing human being, and he did amazing things at Kansas State."

Driscoll added: "Because of his leadership and because of what he did, that's why tonight transpired, and it's why everything came to fruition tonight. We went through a lot of things, but if you want to know something, there's nothing easy in life, and nothing's normal. Everyone wants it easy, and he said we're not doing that."

Clearly the players and new installation of coaches aren't hoping to bolster the university's case.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kansas State players react to first win since Jerome Tang firing

In the latest installment of Ethical Tanking Theater, the Dallas Mavericks (19-35) announced on Wednesday that Kyrie Irving would miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season as he continues to recover from his ACL reconstruction surgery, which he underwent in 2025.

The team said in a press release that “Irving has made steady progress in rehabilitation and will remain actively engaged with the team through the remainder of the season.”

“This decision wasn’t easy, but it’s the right one,” Irving said. “I am grateful for the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season. The belief and drive I have inside only grows.”

There was some hope that Irving would return to the court sometime this season after suffering the knee injury that ended his 2024-25 season on March 3 in a 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings. The normal recovery time for ACL reconstruction is usually 9-12 months, and here we sit on Wednesday, 11-plus months since Irving crumpled to the ground in the second quarter of that loss.

This news should be viewed through the lens of player health and safety, despite the Mavericks’ current record and downward trajectory. Irving will turn 34 next month, and erring on the side of caution is the only smart thing to do with a player of his caliber and importance to the team. The long end of the normal recovery window would put Irving back on the court sometime in March, and the season will be over in April for these Mavs.

Irving averaged 25.6 points per game in his first full season with the Mavericks and 24.7 before his injury in 2024-25. He shot better than 40% from 3-point range in both his seasons in a Mavs’ uniform.

Fans have been anxious to see how Irving’s game will fit with Cooper Flagg in his rookie-year ascendancy, but they’ll have to wait until year two for that now, when the team’s war chest will hopefully be restocked with another high draft pick in the stellar 2026 NBA Draft. Irving may have been brought here to play Robin to Luka Dončić‘s Batman, but now it appears he’ll come back for 2026-27 as a veteran leader in a young, up-and-coming reboot scenario.

This decision is in the best interest of the player and the team in this case, but it will no doubt be cast as a “tank move” among NBA fans throughout the league. When the loudest cries are pronounced, just be sure to check whose store-bought jersey the one making the call is wearing.

“I wanted to send a huge shoutout to all of my brothers and sisters out there who’ve torn their ACL or gotten injured doing what they love to do every day,” Irving continued in the team release. “Thank you for the inspiration. No fear!”

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving will not suit up this season, as he continues to rehab from a knee injury, the team announced.

Irving tore the ACL in his left knee in a game against the Sacramento Kings on March 3, 2025, and he missed the last 20 games of the season. Irving, 33, is expected to return for the 2026-27 season.

"This decision wasn’t easy, but it’s the right one," Irving said in a statement. "I am grateful for the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season. The belief and drive I have inside only grows. And I wanted to send a huge shoutout to ALL of my brothers and sisters out there who’ve torn their ACL or gotten injured doing what they love to do every day. THANK YOU for the inspiration. No fear!"

REAL MVP: The savior of the NBA All-Star Game wasn't the format. It was Wemby

At the time of Irving's injury, the Mavericks were thought to be in the championship hunt after acquiring Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers for All-NBA guard Luka Doncic, a trade that stunned the basketball world.

But Irving and Davis appeared in one game together, and Davis only appeared in 29 games with the Mavericks before he was traded earlier this month to the Washington Wizards, part of a nine-player blockbuster deal.

Dallas entered the All-Star break at 19-35, good for 12th place in the 15-team Western Conference.

Irving, a nine-time All-Star, has averaged 23.7 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds during his 15-year career for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and Mavericks.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kyrie Irving ACL tear ends season for Mavericks star

DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving won't play this season as the star guard for the Dallas Mavericks continues his recovery from a knee injury sustained almost a year ago.

The nine-time All-Star and the team made the announcement Wednesday, two days before the Mavericks return from the All-Star break. Dallas is on a nine-game losing streak, its longest in 28 years, and out of playoff contention.

“This decision wasn’t easy, but it’s the right one,” Irving said in a statement released by the team. “I am grateful for the Mavericks organization, my teammates and our fans for their continued support throughout the process. I am looking forward to coming back stronger next season. The belief and drive I have inside only grows.”

Irving tore the ACL in his left knee on March 3. This will be the first time in his 15-year career that the 33-year-old has missed an entire season.

The most significant injury of Irving's career came a month after the Mavericks traded young superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package centered around older and oft-injured big man Anthony Davis. Just nine months earlier, Irving and Doncic led the Mavs to the NBA Finals.

Irving and Davis played together for just 2 1/2 quarters because Davis aggravated an abdominal injury in his Dallas debut and didn't return before Irving went down in a 122-98 loss at home to Sacramento.

The Mavericks converted a 1.8% chance to win the draft lottery and picked former Duke standout Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall. But Irving, Davis and Flagg never played together.

Dallas sent Davis to Washington before the trade deadline, a deal that signaled the Mavericks were moving on from the ill-fated Doncic deal less than three months after firing general manager Nico Harrison in part because of that trade.

The Mavericks appear set to build around Flagg with help from Irving, believing the older of the two one-and-done stars from Duke can complement the new face of the franchise.

“Kyrie has the ultimate respect for Cooper,” said co-interim general manager Michael Finley, who was a two-time All-Star with the Mavericks a quarter-century ago. “He loves the kid’s work ethic. He loves the kid’s love for the game. And I think Kyrie’s embracing the role as a mentor to Cooper.”

The team said Irving would remain “actively engaged” with the team the rest of this season. Dallas is on its way to missing the playoffs for the second year in a row since the five-game loss to Boston in the NBA Finals.

“And I wanted to send a huge shoutout to ALL of my brothers and sisters out there who’ve torn their ACL or gotten injured doing what they love to do every day,” Irving said in the team's statement. “THANK YOU for the inspiration. No fear!”

Before the injury, Irving thrived in two years with the Mavericks following a trade that ended a tumultous three-plus seasons in Brooklyn. There was plenty of drama in Boston before that. Irving was the No. 1 pick by Cleveland in 2011 and won a championship there with LeBron James in 2016.

Irving has averaged 23.7 points and and 5.6 assists per game over 779 games while shooting almost 40% from 3-point range and 89% on free throws.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Cheers to commentor 1130PAR for suggesting this topic. Keep ‘em coming!

We Celtics fanatics consume a ridiculous volume of Boston Celtics content and the large majority of the game coverage is fed to us by NBC Sports Boston as the Regional Sports Network for the team. So much so that they become like part of the family.

I have tremendous respect for the work that these individuals put into the coverage and appreciate their efforts. Just like the players, however, there are ups and downs and learning curves for everyone. So give us your thoughts on the job that they are doing.

• Brian Scalabrine and Drew Carter have the unenviable job of following legends Mike and Tommy (no last names needed). With that said, they’ve developed their own cadence and voice over the years.
• Abby Chin has been a been a popular, long-time sideline reporter for the team (which included a brief departure due to budget cuts).
• Eddie House, Tom Giles, Chris Forsberg, Kayla Burton, and Michael Holley others serve as Studio analysts and hosts.
• Behind the scenes there are countless people working on the look, feel, content, and flow of the coverage.

So how are they doing? What kind of feedback would you want to give them? What would you like to see more or less of in their coverage?

We didn’t see the best of Doug Moe in Philadelphia. Hell, we barely saw him at all. He lasted 56 games as the Sixers’ coach in 1992-93, the team’s first after Charles Barkley left town. Thirty-seven of them were losses, two by 56 points – including the last one, on March 6, 1993 in Seattle.

Too bad, because Moe, who died Tuesday at age 87, was funny and fiery and free-wheeling. Also a helluva coach, given the right circumstances, which he most certainly was not given that season.

It could even be said that he was something of a pioneer, since his previous teams, in San Antonio and Denver, favored a wide-open, high-scoring style that anticipated today’s game. He would laugh at that designation, though, because he laughed at a lot of things.

Writing on the Platform Formerly Known as Twitter on Tuesday, longtime NBA chronicler Peter Vecsey described Moe, a Brooklyn native, as “the kind of guy who never stopped hanging out in front of the neighborhood candy store” – always cracking wise, always playing things fast and loose.

When he was coaching the Spurs, Jeff Cohen of the San Antonio Light once wrote, Moe would allow dogs at shootarounds, his thinking being that when the canines did their business on the floor, he could immediately excuse himself to go play golf.

Also – Moe called his wife “Big Jane” and just about everybody else “stiffs.”

“There are good stiffs and bad stiffs,” he told me and the rest of the media corps during his lone training camp with the Sixers. “You always wonder.”

While he predicted that that edition of the team would win 50 games, he soon discovered that he had way too many bad stiffs. Hersey Hawkins was still around, and still a viable player. And Jeff Hornacek, over from Phoenix in the Barkley trade, could ball. But assorted injuries had curtailed Johnny Dawkins’ effectiveness, and the rest of the roster was the Land of the Misfit Toys.

A funnyman before tipoff, Moe turned into a wildman on game night, raging at officials and his team. (Woe to the young fan sitting within earshot of the Sixers’ bench.) But his histrionics had no impact on a team that was ill-equipped to execute his coveted motion offense – the idea was for players to think on their feet, to read the defense and each other – much less run up and down.

There was some levity, though. Bob Ford, then the Inquirer’s beat writer, noted on Facebook Tuesday that before a game one night in Denver, backup center Eddie Lee Wilkins approached him and said, “I wanna pop off.”

Ford discouraged that, as he had already filed his pregame notes and didn’t think it was particularly newsworthy to chronicle the complaints of a guy who was buried behind Andrew Lang, Manute Bol and Charles Shackleford on the depth chart.

Wilkins was shocked by Ford’s stance.

“Man,” he told the scribe, by Ford’s recollection, “when I played for the Knicks if you wanted to pop off there would be 10 dudes standing around you writing it down.”

(In other versions of the story, Wilkins uttered a four-syllable word beginning with “mother” rather than “dudes.”)

Anyway, Ford finally allowed Wilkins to pop off a few days later, and he complained that the team didn’t have any plays, and their practices were a joke. Moe didn’t disagree with any of that but told Ford (again by the writer’s recollection) that he wasn’t going to “beat up these guys trying to get them to play a way they can’t really play.”

Moe’s point being that if given a competitive roster, he could get the most out of it. His track record in Denver, where he went 432-357 over a decade, would suggest as much. Law Murray of The Athletic noted that five of the 31 teams in NBA history to average over 120 points a game were indeed Nuggets clubs coached by Moe.

That was topped by the 1981-82 club, which checked in at 126.5 a night and featured Dan Issel, David Thompson and Kiki Vandeweghe. Also Alex English, who scored more points than any other NBA player in the ‘80s. (And think about some of the others who played in that decade.)

So yeah, the man could coach, despite how it might have looked here. Moe’s 628-529 record over 15 seasons is further testament to that. (Only 18 coaches have ever won more games.) So too are his people skills.

“God bless you BIG STIFF,” former Nugget Bill Hanzlik typed on Twitter Tuesday.

Seems like as fitting an epitaph as any for Doug Moe, who never took himself too seriously, and never stopped hanging out in front of that candy store. 

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin wins gold in Olympic women’s slalom, breaks 8-year medal drought at Winter Games.

A potential Final Four contender suffered a major blow Tuesday night.

Texas Tech star JT Toppin tore his ACL in his right knee during Tuesday's game against Arizona State with about 6 minutes left.

The Red Raiders announced Toppin is out for the rest of the season on Wednesday.

Insider: What JT Toppin's season-ending injury means for Texas Tech

Bracketology: Who is rising in latest March Madness predictions

Toppin, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and projected first round NBA draft pick, had 20 points and eight rebounds before the injury. The Red Raiders (19-7, 9-4) would go on to lose to the Sun Devils, 70-67, but the defeat was far less concerning than Toppin's status.

Toppin was attempting to drive to the line in transition but lost his balance and had the ball blocked out of bounds. He stayed on the ground for a period, holding his right leg and asked for trainer Mike Neal to come over and help him.

Gut-wrenching.

You hate to see a guy like JT Toppin go down. He has been one of the absolute best players in the country this year.

You simply cannot replace that kind of impact.
Praying for him.

pic.twitter.com/7cGMXokDZ5

— Zach Schumaker (@ZachSchumaker) February 18, 2026

Coach Grant McCasland and Neal had to help Toppin off the floor as Toppin was not able to put his full weight on his leg.

"I just know he's really disappointed. He's such a competitor," McCasland said postgame.

Texas Tech, a No. 3 seed in USA TODAY Sports' latest bracketology, can't afford to lose Toppin, who was on his way to an All-American season. Toppin was coming off a 31-point, 13-rebound effort in Texas Tech's win over then-No. 1 Arizona on Feb. 14.

March Sadness: College basketball's 10 most disappointing teams

Toppin is averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season.

"Hate to see a guy go out of the game like that," ASU coach Bobby Hurley said afterward. "One of the best players in the country."

On a personal level, this absolutely sucks for JT Toppin. Watching him become the player he is now the last 2 years has been a joy. Rare to cover players that dynamic. No idea what the future holds for him but no doubt he'll attack this like he has everything else.

— Nathan Giese (@NathanGiese) February 18, 2026

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reporter Nathan Giese contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JT Toppin injury update: Texas Tech star out for season with torn ACL

Things got so bad during UCLA's blowout road loss to Michigan State on Tuesday night that Bruins coach Mick Cronin apparently felt the need to eject one of his own players.

The incident occurred late in the second half of an eventual 82-59 loss on Feb. 17 when UCLA center Steven Jamerson II picked up a flagrant foul for hacking a Spartans player from behind on a dunk attempt.

Cronin explained afterward he didn't appreciate Jamerson's actions, especially coming with just 4:26 to go and the Bruins trailing 77-50.

"I was thoroughly disappointed," Cronin told reporters after the game. "The guy was defenseless in the air. I know Steve was trying to block the shot, but the game's a 25-point game. You don't do that."

Mick Cronin ejected his own player, Steven Jamerson II, after he was assessed a technical foul against Michigan State 👀pic.twitter.com/Zyisx8ys0d

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 18, 2026

Frustrations continue to mount for the Bruins, who lost to top-ranked Michigan by 30 points on Saturday after entering the weekend winning five of their last six.

Cronin also had a testy exchange with a reporter after the game. When asked about the Michigan State student section chanting the name of former Spartans player Xavier Booker − who transferred to UCLA last year after two underwhelming seasons in East Lansing − Cronin fired back angrily.

"I would like to give you kudos for the worst question I've ever been asked," he said. "You really think I care about the other team's student section?"

UCLA coach Mick Cronin's thoughts on the Michigan State student section. @ThisistheIZZONEpic.twitter.com/7pJJHEs7sQ

— Owen Oszust (@Owen_Oszust) February 18, 2026

The loss dropped UCLA to 17-9 overall and 9-6 in the Big Ten. Michigan State improved to 21-5 and 11-4 in Big Ten play.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UCLA coach Mick Cronin kicks out Steven Jamerson after hard foul

At various points across January and February, the Atlanta Hawks looked like a team that needed the All-Star break. Heading into the break on the back of a three-game losing streak would be one such indicator that the break was a welcome one, and could use the team to rest, while also looking fondly at Jalen Johnson’s first All-Star game appearance, and subsequent triumph as part of the winning effort of Team Stars.

Now, the focus returns to the Atlanta Hawks, the team, as the second, unofficial ’half’ of the season looms large. So, with that said, let’s look ahead to the schedule that lies ahead for the Hawks, break it down month-by-month, and unpack the remaining schedule as the Hawks look to improve their place in the Eastern Conference standings; currently sat in 10th with a 26-30 record.

Starting with the remaining month of February:

Total games: 5

Home games: 4

Road games: 1

Back-to-backs: 1

Longest road trip: 1 game

Longest homestand: 4 games

Opponent winning percentage: 37.5%

The Hawks couldn’t have asked for much better in terms of an ease of schedule after the break. Yes, a difficult game against the Sixers on the road to return — and a much better than expected Sixers team since we last did this exercise in the preseason — is not entirely helped by the game being on the first night of a back-to-back with the Miami Heat in town the following night.

However, a game against the languishing, and openly tanking, Brooklyn Nets and, more notably, two fixtures against the Washington Wizards provide an ample opportunity for the Hawks to get a winning streak going. It’s never a guarantee; the Hawks have an unfortunate history of failing to beat the Wizards in seemingly favorable situations and expectations…

Of course, two Washington fixtures mean two meetings against former Hawk Trae Young for the first time since his in-season trade to Washington. However, Young’s injury status is currently unknown ahead of these two fixtures; the last update issued by the Wizards was that Young would be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.

That said, I’d be very surprised if he played in either of these games, with Washington objectives for the season pretty well-set. Still, there will be, undoubtedly, a tribute to the former franchise player and, hopefully, a kind reception for a player who, yes, was flawed, but provided a lot of memorable moments in his time as an Atlanta Hawk.

To March:

Total games: 15

Home games: 10

Road games: 5

Back-to-backs: 1

Longest road trip: 2 games (twice)

Longest homestand: 5 games

Opponent win percentage: 48%

The last ‘full-on’ month of the NBA season is on that is, again, pretty kind to the Hawks. They have a predominantly home-heavy schedule, with 10 of their 15 total games taking place at State Farm Arena. A mixed bag of opponents range from heavy-hitters such as the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons on the road, two games against the Boston Celtics, and a difficult road-tilt in Houston. You have a range of play-in teams such as Portland, Orlando, and Golden State, in addition to the play-in chasing Milwaukee Bucks.

Finally, you have a number of teams who have either actively given up — or very close to it — and these include the Nets, two games against the Dallas Mavericks, the Grizzlies, and the Sacramento Kings. Those two games against the Bucks could be critical to determining seeding, especially if Giannis returns for the Bucks. Similarly, the Orlando game may carry significant weight in the final standings among those play-in teams.

Recent acquistions/departees will be reacquainted in the month of March, with both Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, and Kristaps Porzingis all facing former teams in March 21st’s meeting against the Golden State Warriors. The Atlanta meeting between these two teams is usually a boisterous affair, especially if Steph Curry is in action, and with everything surrounding the Kuminga trade, I’m sure this game will be one to circle. A homecoming at the beginning of the month for Vit Krejci, now with the Portland Trail Blazers, is sure to be a popular one as Krejci was very well liked by his teammates.

Finally, to April:

Total games: 6

Home games: 2

Road games: 4

Back-to-backs: 0

Longest road trip: 2 games (twice)

Longest homestand: 1 game (twice)

Opponent win percentage: 53.3%

A difficult stretch to finish, and an extremely important couple of games, most notably on the road in Orlando and in Miami. At least one of those games is very likely to be a rehearsal of a play-in fixture to decide a potential postseason berth, in addition to potentially determine seeding and, potentially, who plays at home in the play-in tournament, versus being on the road. All three teams would consider their scenarios this season as disappointing, and none will provide an inch of advantage over fellow Southeast Division rivals. Time will tell whether the decisions from Orlando and Miami to stand-pat at the trade deadline — compared to the very active Hawks — will pay off in comparison to each other.

Elsewhere, a ‘gimme’ against the Brooklyn Nets is about the only respite compared to two games against two Eastern Conference juggernauts in the New York Knicks, and the rolling Cleveland Cavaliers (twice). Whether the Cavaliers will still be rolling by this stage of the season remains to be seen, but they are absolutely improved following the James Harden trade, and likely to be fighting for seeding by this stage of the season, with any seed from two-to-fifth still reasonably plausible for the Cavaliers. In other words, the Hawks should not expect an easy pass in these spots, and that will include the Knicks game, too.

Per Tankathon, the Hawks have one of the easier strengths of schedule remaining in the NBA; while this is a guarantee of absolutely nothing, it does suggest — and as we’ve looked at now — that the Hawks have a favorable situation to end their season on a more positive note. With the additions of Kuminga and Hield, in addition to Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum a month prior, the Hawks will hope that time in practice and integrate further into the team will provide them with a higher ceiling than when Young was with the team, and when Porzingis absent more often than not.

Irrespective of to what degree of success the Hawks achieve doing this, if any, their end-of-season scenario is unlikely to change: they’ll, very likely, be playing the play-in tournament for the opportunity to enter the NBA postseason as a seventh or eighth seed…just as they for a number of years now. However, a look not-too-far-East to New Orleans may provide a greater sense of optimism heading out of this season than previous seasons…

Until next time!