You know what will happen today…

…as the Knicks face the Nets.

Anyway, here’s the latest.

“From now on don’t nobody talk to me directly” 😂 pic.twitter.com/hFr58lvKJs

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 31, 2026

Mike Brown

On Jose Alvarado’s availability for Monday‘s game after practicing on Sunday:

“I have not talked to our medical people.”

On Tyler Kolek’s role while Alvarado remains sidelined and going forward:

“Tyler is definitely going to keep playing while Jose is out. When he comes back, we’ll figure it out.”

On finally having a full practice over the weekend amid early-season issues:

“When you have an opportunity to practice, you hope that you can address some of the things that bothered you and get a little bit better.”

On failing to deal with opposing bench players getting hot:

“I’m OK with that because sometimes guys are going to get hot and make shots. Now, are there little things we can do to correct it? Yes.

“But what I was concerned with is our first half inability to control the dribble-drive, OK, and then how bad our turnovers were. Those were the two biggest things that I had concern with.”

On the need for rebuilding chemistry after the championship season:

“You’re starting all over. It’s like climbing a mountain. We’re climbing a mountain as a team and we conquer the mountain, then you gotta come back down, take some time off, then you gotta climb another mountain. It’s the same thing. And when you climb that mountain the second time, you’re starting from base camp again. And if you skip steps doing that, you’re going to die. It’s not that tragic for us. When you’re sitting at 2-4, people equate it to that sometimes, but it’s the same thing, taking each step the right way and embracing it and trying to get a little better.”

On why the Knicks must experience growing pains again despite having won the title:

“If we don’t go through our growing pains and we can’t get through our growing pains, for whatever reason — because we don’t want to go through it being that hard again or we think we know or whatever it may be — if we can’t get through our growing pains, we have no chance.

“It’s like anything you do in life. When you complete something and you have to do it again, you’re not just starting right here [at the top] when you do it again. You’re starting here [at the bottom] and you’re building up. And sometimes, your second or your third year doing it, you’re getting here [at the top] a little quicker. But you still gotta go through all the necessary steps to get there.”

On the Knicks’ struggles finishing in the paint:

“If you think about it, if you’re shooting the way we’re shooting the ball at the perimeter, it’s like in football, if you’re not able to pass the ball, they’re gonna put eight guys in the box. It’s the same thing. If we’re not making shots, they’re going to do this [collapse in the paint] and it’s gonna be harder to finish in the paint.

“And so eventually, at least the green [high-quality] 3s, we’re gonna have to continue generating green threes but we’re gonna have to make some green threes. But in the same breath, while we’re not doing that, we gotta be better in other areas to compensate for our ability to shoot the ball right now.”

On the Knicks’ problems stopping Philly in the paint:

“They were getting in our paint left and right, right and left, and it was really, really easy doing it. If it’s a post-up game or something like that, OK, maybe, I don’t know. But to continue to have that ball driven in the paint, especially in the first half when they shot 5 of 17 or whatever it is from the 3-point line, was not good.”

On the Knicks’ defensive communication and inconsistent execution:

“It’s not just one thing. It’s a little thing here, little thing there, little thing there, and that’s why it adds up. We’re competitive when we need to be, and that’s why all our games that we’re in, we have a chance down the stretch.

“But trying to make sure we continue to do the little things throughout the course of the game is gonna be huge for us because we’re not doing it right now.”

On the Knicks failing to execute fundamentals:

“It was almost like we were just gonna show up and go hoop and not doing the little things that we need to do to go get a win.”

“My name is Jalen Brunson and welcome to Madison Square Garden“

— Jalen Brunson helps raise the banner for Harry Styles 30 consecutive nights at the Garden

(📸: John Pascarella) pic.twitter.com/edtDmXgrLd

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) November 1, 2026

Jalen Brunson

On trusting the Knicks’ decision-making and not being afraid to make mistakes:

“We have the right intentions. We’ve just gotta be confident in our decision-making and don’t be afraid to fail. We have the confidence in this locker room to do it. We all work hard. We see it every day. Everything’s going to fall into place as it should be.”

Celebrations should not be painful pic.twitter.com/2LhI4zAPnx

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 31, 2026

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the condition of his sprained left wrist heading into Monday’s game:

“The wrist is doing its thing.”

On the Knicks needing to rediscover their championship form more consistently:

“We gotta find a way to be that magical team we were last year at a more consistent pace. You don’t always want to just wait until the end to find that magic. Lightning don’t strike twice, so we gotta be that team right now and we gotta continue to build off of what we did last year.”

On the Knicks’ offensive struggles and failure to execute:

“We just haven’t played our best, and we haven’t executed at a high level.”

Andre with the assist pic.twitter.com/pODjCfHAU3

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 31, 2026

Josh Hart

On the Knicks’ stagnant offense contributing to early deficits:

“I think when that’s happened, we’re just coming in a little stagnant offensively. Forced into either bad shots or turnovers. And then, you know, stops are harder.”

Mikal Bridges

On his affection for the Nets and Suns, his former teams:

“No matter them or Phoenix, people I played for, there’s always a spot in my heart for them and I always remember the time being there.”

On former Nets teammates still playing in Brooklyn:

“It might be just them two.”

On the Knicks’ practice session and correcting their mistakes:

“Just lock in. Obviously, we watch film and work on things that we gotta fix.”

On rebuilding the chemistry the Knicks developed during their championship season:

“Yeah, that’s why I think for us, we just gotta continue to grow. Last time we played was in June. I think [we were] probably the most polished as a team we were at the end of the year, as we should be. So, I know it’s tough to see last time we played to the beginning of the year, and obviously we should be better than we are, me personally. But it takes time and just not skipping steps and just kinda going through the process and keep learning, get back in that rhythm.”

“Doesn't really matter what team I play for. I was at my son's game yesterday & it was like 'I'm a Nets fan, you’re gonna kill it this year.' Then I get on the other side & it's 'Thank you for everything you've done for the Knicks"

– Julius Randle whose Nets play Knicks Monday pic.twitter.com/UrmeOVNjlc

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 31, 2026

Julius Randle

On returning to Madison Square Garden:

“I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun. No, I don’t know nothing about (the Knicks’ winning streak against Brooklyn). I live in the present, baby. … Focus on what we need to do to get a win, build off of what we did [Sunday] and stick together as a group.”

On opposing fans taking over Barclays Center during Nets home games:

“I don’t give a shit. I’ve been on teams that weren’t good and didn’t have the excitement around them. Then you start winning and the whole arena is there to see your team and cheer. So I think that’s just part of being a fan. For us as a team, we got to give them something to root for.”

On whether he sees himself as responsible for developing Brooklyn’s next generation of fans:

“Oh, hell no. It doesn’t really matter what team I play for. I was at my son’s basketball game yesterday and it was like, Man, I’m a Nets fan. You’re going to kill it this year. Then I get on the other side and it’s, Thank you for everything you’ve done for the Knicks’ …”

On building a winning culture in Brooklyn and helping the Nets’ younger players:

“I definitely want to be a part of establishing a culture and giving the city of Brooklyn something to be proud of. I’m not here just to come out and get my numbers or whatever it is. I’m here to win a championship. I’m here to help these young guys excel and speed up their growth process.”

After recording a team-high 23 points, Michael Porter Jr. tells @Meghan_Triplett what Brooklyn can take from tonight's win into tomorrow against the Knicks. pic.twitter.com/nRjTqkDnws

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) November 2, 2026

Michael Porter Jr.

On facing the Knicks after Brooklyn’s historic 54-point defeat at MSG last year:

“We’ve got a big game [Monday] that we should be very excited to play. Last year, when we went to the Garden, it was not pretty, and we should remember that and look forward to getting our rest [Sunday night] and going in there and being competitive. I know I’m looking forward to it.”

On opposing teams’ fans dominating the crowd at Barclays Center:

“When we play Knicks, Celtics, Philly, Lakers, it’s mostly their fans. It’s crazy.”

Damn, Nets owner Joe Tsai says the Knicks championship left the Nets fanbase ‘irritated’ and ‘embarrassed’ 🫢

“Every year, some team is going to win a championship. So it happens that this year that team is in the same city. It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irates our… pic.twitter.com/TFyiiNCRJ0

— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) August 18, 2026

Joe Tsai

On the Nets’ embarrassment after the Knicks won the NBA championship:

“It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irates our fan base and it is embarrassing.”

THE 2026 WNBA CHAMPS ARE IN THE HOUSE 🏆

The @valkyries are honored in the Bay during a timeout! pic.twitter.com/pZUbeawtrW

— NBA (@NBA) November 2, 2026

In Sunday’s 124-112 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors rookie phenom Yaxel Lendeborg fell just shy of scoring 40 points. It is the most for a Warriors rookie since Stephen Curry in 2010.

Lendeborg finished with 37 points and was asked why he didn’t go for the 40-point figure. He indeed tried, but fell short because of the pressure from his peers.

Yaxel Lendeborg considers himself an "ethical hooper" pic.twitter.com/ZNiMtJCxjx

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 2, 2026

“I’ve never been a stat chaser in my life, so just falling into peer pressure like I did just now was pretty much bad on my part,” Lendeborg said. “Especially because I’m a guy that just loves ethical hoops. I’m a guy that loves efficient basketball, and I didn’t do that the last two or three minutes. So it’s kind of bad on my part.”

Lendeborg said his teammate De’Anthony Melton approached him and said, “Hey man you need to get 40. You’re three points away.’ And I’m like, ‘Nah, man. It’s all good.’ And he peer pressured me into doing it.”

“He said he’s going to give me the ball. And he literally like, was holding it just to give me the ball. And I’m like, ‘All right, fine. I’ll shoot it.’ And I missed.”

Lendeborg said he tried to barter with Melton about being content with his 37 points, but then Will Richard approached him and said, “You got to do it.”

“Everybody was just egging me on, and I kind of just fell into it. But I know next time, I’mma just play in the flow of the game, ’cause they came out of me like four threes in a row, and we almost lost the game because of that. So, next time I’m never doing that again.”

It is not often you hear a professional athlete openly talk about trying to pad their stats. Yet, the Warriors rookie is not one for holding back.

“If it comes to me, it does. If I don’t get it, then I wasn’t meant to get it that day,” Lendeborg said. “Imma be way better next time.”

Steve Kerr told reporters he’s enjoyed watching his rookie shine, saying, “he’s playing this way and he really doesn’t know the NBA game yet. …He’s going to get a lot better.”

Lakers head coach JJ Redick made it clear that what happened on Sunday night won’t occur again. 

And that there are consequences, especially for end-of-bench players, for not being ready to play in an NBA game when their number is called.

The Lakers coach thought his team’s lead was safe when he subbed out most of his main rotation players – Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler and Matisse Thybulle – with the Lakers leading by 14 points (123-109) with 1:43 left of their home game against the Raptors. 

Luka Dončić, who had already scored 41 points by that point, had been out of the game for 45 seconds, with the Lakers and Redick believing the end-of-bench players would put the finishing touches on securing the victory. 

Even though the Lakers did eventually beat the Raptors, it didn’t come to fruition as Redick and the team hoped, with the end-of-bench players nearly blowing a double-digit lead in less than a minute.

“I won’t make that mistake again,” Redick said. “I’ll leave the guys in. You gotta play to the final buzzer, and if guys are not ready to play, then I just won’t put them in.”

After one of the lone rotation players, Quentin Grimes, split a pair of free throws to put the Lakers up 124-109 with 1:24 left, Jamison Battle hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to cut the Raptors’ deficit to 12. 

JJ Redick on the Lakers' lead being cut from 15 points to 5 in 40 seconds after LAL subbed its main rotation players out against the Raptors, leading to JJ subbing them back in to close the game: "We just didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball in that situation. So I… pic.twitter.com/pUhIHhvMLp

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) November 2, 2026

A failed lob attempt from Grimes to Jarred Vanderbilt that resulted in a turnover turned into another Battle catch-and-shoot 3 in transition that quickly cut the Lakers’ lead to nine points. 

And a failed inbounds pass by Bronny James led to the Lakers’ lead dropping down to seven after Battle hit a floater on the Raptors’ ensuing possession, making it eight straight points in less than 20 seconds of game time for the 2024 undrafted forward out of Ohio State.

Redick had seen enough by the time Jaden Bradley converted an and-1 layup to trim the Raptors’ deficit to six points with 44 seconds left (and five points after making the free throw) after the Lakers led by 15 points just 40 seconds prior.

Dončić, Reaves, Kessler and Thybulle all subbed back in for James, Vanderbilt, Jaden Hardy and Cameron Carr (who was making his NBA debut) before Bradley shot his free throw. 

The Lakers did just enough to secure the win with its main players back in the game, but it wasn’t pretty.

“A lot of times as a player when you kind of get something like that in that point, you kind of look at it as garbage minutes but the reality is, every time you step on the court, you got to treat it like it’s minutes to play the game,” Kessler said.

“Because my rookie and sophomore year, I got put in the garbage minutes and you got to play to the whistle because the reality is you’re only going to get your shot. And I’m not saying that those guys aren’t competitors ‘cause a lot of them are, but they got to be a lot more more fundamental, for sure.”

The Lakers improved to 5-2 on the young season with a 131-125 win over the Raptors on Sunday night. The score is not indicative of how much Los Angeles controlled the game, which set in motion the most hysterical moment of the game.

When Austin Reaves subbed out with 1:43 remaining in the Lakers’ eventual win over the Raptors, he did so with clear intentions of not returning to the game.

The biggest tell: The Lakers star guard gave his signature headband to a fan sitting behind the team’s bench, with Reaves expecting to watch the remainder of the game from the sidelines.

That didn’t come to fruition as planned.

With their end-of-bench players in the game, the Lakers’ lead was cut from 15 points with 1:24 left to single digits within 20 seconds of game time. 

Coach JJ Redick had seen enough from the reserves when Jaden Bradley converted the and-1 layup that trimmed the Raptors’ deficit to six points with 44 seconds left (and five points after making the free throw), deciding to sub his main rotation players back in to close the game out. 

Which meant that Reaves had to retrieve his headband as he, Matisse Thybulle, Walker Kessler and Luka Dončić all subbed back in the game with 44 seconds left to secure the victory.

Luckily for Reaves, it didn’t appear the fan had any issues with handing the headband back over.

With Redick saying he won’t make this mistake again, subbing in players if they aren’t ready to play late in games, it appears to be unlikely that the 6-foot-5 guard will be in this position again. 

But in case it does, Reaves better hold onto his headband until the game’s officially over.

You wouldn’t think the sky would be falling in most fanbases four games into the season where the team has picked up a win, but here we are with the Phoenix Suns and their 1-3 start. The frustration from the fanbase has gotten so loud that we’ve got the team’s TV play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Ray comparing how to manage the freezing nature of a cold plunge to coping with the early season struggles.

With an 0-2 week in the books, reports that there’s growing “frustration” in the locker room over a lack of a true point guard, and with many key players going down with injuries around the NBA, here are some questions we want your answers on:

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Starting guards trade struggling games

In last week’s loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Devin Booker had one of the worst games of his career, scoring just three points on seven shots. In the following game, Jalen Green scored just two points on 1/6 shooting from the field, his lowest scoring output as a member of the Suns in a game where he didn’t leave early because of injury. Both games the Suns lost.

Coming into the season, the Suns’ lack of point guard in the starting lineup caused some controversy around the team, and with NBA Insider Chris Haynes’ latest report about the backcourt not working well together, many are calling for the team to trade for a point guard or replace Green with Collin Gillespie in the starting lineup, who’s had success playing alongside Devin Booker in the past.

If you’re Jordan Ott and the coaching staff, how would you handle the guard controversy?

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A massive break between games?

Phoenix has played the fewest games in the NBA so far, with a lot of that attributed to the 96-hour break they had between their two games this week. The Suns have played just two games since October 25th. In turn, this week will be more intense. They’ll play four games in a six-day span, including their first back-to-back of the year.

As a fan, how did you enjoy the massive break between games so early into the season, and how do you think it will impact them as their schedule ramps up?

Injuries around the West

The Western Conference suffered a bevy of significant injuries in the past week. The Oklahoma City Thunder have lost three starters: Anthony Edwards is expected out for about two months, Jaren Jackson Jr. will be sidelined for the next 5-7 weeks, and Ja Morant is expected to miss nearly all of November.

While the Suns remain without Mark Williams, the rest of the roster is healthy, and they’ve known they’d be without Williams more than a month before the season started.

How do the injuries impact where you think the Suns stand in the West?

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Weird, but True

The Suns have played four of their last five postseason opponents to start their season. Their only win came against the only team they beat in postseason play, the Golden State Warriors, whom they beat in last year’s 8/9 Play-In game.

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On the Suns’ Plate This Week

Phoenix will play the same amount of games this week as they’ve played in the entirety of the first two weeks of the season this week, along with their first back-to-back of the year. After they face the Golden State Warriors tonight, they’ll host the Portland Trailblazers on Wednesday and then the Orlando Magic on Thursday, capping the week off with Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. The home games this week are the first three of the franchise’s longest homestand since 2021 during Covid.

Maybe that one win in Indy will change things for the Brooklyn Nets. Maybe the cross-town rivalry will get the New York Knicks out of their lethargy. But at the moment, the Nets, despite their awful opening, are 1-5, only a game behind the 2-4 world champions. Indeed, if the Nets should upset the Knicks, the two would be tied!

Of course. 2026 has been the year of the New York Knicks as everyone’s still riding high from their NBA championship win over the summer. They’ve gotten off to a poor start this season at 2-4 and lost a close one, 98-93, to LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night in Philly.

Game info and broadcast details

• Matchup: Brooklyn Nets vs. New York Knicks
• Date: Monday, November 2, 2026
• Time: 7:30 PM EST (6:30 PM CST)
• Location: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)
• TV/Streaming/Radio: YES Network, MSG Network, DAZN, ESPN Radio, WFAN

Nets vs. Knicks: Who’s out?

Brooklyn Nets

• Egor Dëmin: OUT — Right leg bone bruise
• Joshua Jefferson: OUT – G League Assignment
• Ben Saraf: OUT – G League Assignment
• Tyler Bilodeau: OUT – G League (Two-Way)
• Grant Nelson: OUT – G League (Two-Way)

New York Knicks

• Jose Alvarado: Questionable — (left ankle sprain)

The Game

This isn’t Julius Randle’s first game back at MSG after the big trade a few years ago. But it is his first game back after they won the championship. Should make for an interesting evening for him.

Perhaps that will help the Nets in their years long quest to finally beat the Knicks. Brooklyn has not won a game against their crosstown rivals since January 2023 when Randle was a Knick and Kyrie Irving was a Net. Time flies, doesn’t it?

For Randle, he’ll look to find his shot. Randle hasn’t shot above 50% from the field since the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second game of the season. Brooklyn needs a lot from Randle when it comes to the quality of shots he can generate and when it comes to holding on to the ball. Randle is sixth in the NBA in turnovers per game at 4.2 a night, and for a Nets offense that has had its struggles, you can’t live with that.

Day’ron Sharpe and Mo Wagner will look to put a good outing together against one of the best bigs in basketball. Sharpe collected his first double-double of the season last night in Indiana and for the first time this year, it felt like he was a real presence on the boards. That will be critical going up against Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT has been tremendous as a Knick and is a center that expands the floor and forces opposing bigs into touch choices. Towns hasn’t reached the best version of his game yet this season, but the signs are there and with a few tweaks, the Knicks offense is due to take-off sooner rather than later.

The forward matchup ought to be fun. OG Anunoby made himself a household name during the playoffs, but he’s been great for a long time. OG does a bit of everything and will get his fair share of matchups against elite wings. He’ll draw Michael Porter Jr tonight, and MPJ will look to keep Anunoby off-balance. If the game is close late, Porter Jr’s ability to get his own shot will keep the Nets in it and give them a chance to pull off the upset. It’s been a long time since the Nets beat the Knicks, and today would be as good of a time as any to make a change.

Player to Watch: Jalen Brunson

Life is good when you’re the King of New York. Jalen Brunson was already a beloved figure, but the championship has taken him into the rarified air that few players ever reach. Saturday Night’s Main Event was built primarily on his presence (with a special surprise shout out to KAT and Danhausen!). He’s got a guest appearance on Law and Order: SVU this week. And his NBA Finals run featured some of the greatest guard play you’ll ever see.

Brunson’s shooting numbers haven’t joined the party yet this season. His shooting splits are down across the board in his first six games, but give it about a month and a half and he should be back to where his career numbers are. He’s drawing a lot more contact and is getting to the free throw line at the highest rate of his career. Drawing fouls is an art and being a good free throw shooter that can get your own shot and get to the line is worth its weight in gold.

Mikel Brown Jr is back and we’ll see how many minutes he plays tonight. Who knows how long the Nets will be managing his minutes, but hopefully they let him loose in his pro debut at the Garden. We’ll see if he gets minutes next to Nolan Traore tonight. Nolan was a bright spot against the Pacers last night and knocked down four three-pointers. His development will go a long way in determining what a future may look like for the Nets, and the more good minutes he puts on the board, the more optimistic Nets fans should feel about his game going forward.

From the Vault

Ones in the air for Jerry Koosman

More reading: Posting and Toasting, Daily Knicks, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation NBA, New York Post, New York Daily News, Clutch Points, Nets Wire, Nets Insider, SNY, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Steve’s Newsletter

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
• New York Knicks Game Notes – New York Knicks
• Nets visit Knicks with fresh memories of terrible 2025-26 blowouts – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Mike Brown knows why Knicks championship chemistry hasn’t carried over: ‘Climbing a mountain’ – Jared Schwartz – New York Post
• Mike Brown’s plan for Tyler Kolek as Jose Alvarado nears Knicks return – Jared Schwartz – New York Post
• Defending champions Knicks have a bad habit of digging themselves in a hole ($) – Steve Popper – Newsday
• Knicks need to start acting like championship parade is over – Mike Lupica – New York Daily News
• After 54-point rout saved their season, Knicks need Nets again – Kristian Winfield – New York Daily News
•  Mikal Bridges, Knicks wait on a hot 3-point night – Kristian Winfield – New York Daily News
• Michael Porter Jr. opens up on adjustment to playing with Julius Randle amid Nets’ slow start – Erik Slater – Clutch Points

They say defense wins championships, and it definitely is true that you need to be able to defend, but defense does not only win championships.

The Knicks, through six games and the end of October, are a perfectly normal 10th in defensive rating. It’s slightly down from last year, but it’s more in line with everything they’ve done as a team for the last few years.

The reason they’re 2-4 is not their defense; it’s their offense. In all four of their losses, they’ve scored 103 or fewer points.

They’re 22nd in offensive rating. They’re shooting abhorrently bad at the rim. Jalen Brunson, a floater maestro, has been extremely bad at it. They’ve been uncharacteristically bad at the free-throw line. While they’ve actually been great at making wide-open threes, they go through puzzling cold stretches from some of their best shooters.

All of that stuff isn’t sticky in small samples. A team this talented will not continue to shoot sub-60% at the rim. The craftiest point guard in basketball didn’t lose his touch (although the wrist surgery may cause this slump to last longer than we want), the good shooters will eventually start making their shots.

There is one thing, though, that is a matter of execution, not hoping for luck to even out.

The Knicks, as of now, have not played structurally sound offensive basketball. They haven’t deserved much better outcomes than what they’re currently getting on a possession-by-possession basis.

In the 2025-26 season, the Knicks averaged 2.01 assists per turnover (27.4 assists, 13.6 turnovers), which ranked eighth in basketball

So far this season? Just 1.69 assists per turnover (26.2 assists, 15.5 turnovers), down to 15th.

While it’s just one stat, the assist-to-turnover ratio is something that separates the wheat from the chaff. Of the top seven offenses last season, six of them had an AST/TO ratio above two, something only eight teams did. It’s very rare for teams to have a good offense and a low AST/TO ratio, the Knicks are not one of those teams that can do that.

Looking player-by-player, there isn’t any issue with the team’s primary playmakers. Instead, it’s their secondary playmakers.

Jalen Brunson, Tyler Kolek, and Jose Alvarado have combined for 61 assists to 19 turnovers.

Everyone else? 96 assists to 68 turnovers. While you might expect some drop-off, this is a bit bizarre.

To spell it out in AST/TO and compare it to last year:

2025-26:
Brunson/Kolek/Alvarado: 2.99
Everyone else: 1.85

2026-27:
Brunson/Kolek/Alvarado: 3.21
Everyone else: 1.41

That “everyone else” drop-off is concentrated in the rest of the starters, mainly Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Hart was arguably the team’s most efficient playmaker with a staggering 2.48 AST/TO ratio. So far this season, he’s at 20 assists to 11 turnovers. This is a guy who averaged nearly five assists last year, second on the team, and it’s down to 3.3 so far.

What’s up with that? He seems to be touching the ball a lot less offensively. Obviously, Brunson gets the lion’s share of on-ball reps, but the evolution to a KAT-centric offense and the desire to let Anunoby build on last year’s on-ball success in the postseason have turned him into someone he isn’t: a catch-and-shoot perimeter threat. That’s for Deuce McBride, not for Hart.

For Anunoby, his numbers are similar in the playmaking aspect, but he’s on ball significantly more than he was last year. He’s averaging more touches; he’s averaging more dribbles per touch, and there are more plays being run for him.

Visually, some of these touches and plays just look… bad. They’re affecting not only the increased turnovers but also the lower shooting numbers. If things don’t level off soon, you might see Mike Brown rein in these touches and go back to having Anunoby as an off-ball player to simplify the offense.

Stunningly, is the biggest issue Towns? The same guy whose playmaking evolved to such a degree in the postseason that it was the adjustment that led to a title?

It very well may be.

Karl-Anthony Towns AST/TO:
2025-26: 1.21
2026 postseason: 1.88
2026-27: 0.76

The Knicks haven’t fully leaned into the KAT-centric offense as they did in the postseason, but they’ve spent a lot more time working through him than they did during the regular season last year. Brunson is spending significantly less time with the ball in his hands, and KAT is the biggest beneficiary.

Really, it seems he’s just trying to do too much. There have been multiple plays:

The Knicks have gotten burned to a crisp on plays like these. Live-ball turnovers. Here, Towns is trying to hit an outlet and just throws it into no-man’s land. It’s high-risk, high-reward, as we saw last postseason, but the risk is rearing its ugly head.

The live ball turnovers aren’t just a KAT issue; everyone is culpable.

These are just live-ball, bad-pass turnovers. There are a bunch more where the player just loses the ball, stumbles, or gets stripped in a bad position, which leads to a fast break.

A staple of Knicks basketball in the Brunson era has been being toward the bottom in turnovers. In three of the first four seasons, the Knicks were top-six in least turnovers per game. This season so far? 13th.

Mike Brown brought about more ball movement and less standing around doing nothing. At least so far, it’s looking a lot more like standing around and doing nothing.

"We're trying to hit a home run every time we get the ball. And we have to hit singles"

Mike Brown talked about the Knicks' turnovers in the first half vs. Philadelphia as part of his opening statement pic.twitter.com/Sh6vDUiRBb

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 31, 2026

First, a disclaimer: It’s early. Ty Jerome, briefly a Sixer on draft night seven years ago, is among the NBA’s leading scorers. Quentin Grimes and Matisse Thybulle are playing regular minutes for the Lakers. Another old friend, De’Anthony Melton, is shooting better from the arc than his Golden State teammate, Stephen Curry.

The point is, nobody knows nothin’. Not yet. 

That said, it looks like the Sixers can really defend. Time and again they have shown a willingness to dig in on that end of the floor, often at the most critical moments. The want-to is there. The effort is there. The connection is there.

Through seven games, six of them victories, they are third in the league in defensive rating (105.4) and fifth in halfcourt rating (105.0). 

As LeBron James said after Friday’s victory over the Knicks, “We definitely hang our hats on the defensive end so far this season.”

The caveats are many. Joel Embiid’s health. LeBron’s age. The lack of an adequate backup center (again). The many newcomers, besides James. And, as mentioned, the fact that we’re not quite two weeks into the season; seven games in October don’t carry nearly the same weight as seven games in May or June.

But it’s clear the foundation is in place. The Sixers have four standout defenders in VJ Edgecombe and newcomers Jaylen Brown, Dean Wade and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Embiid, before his current foot problems, seemed to be approaching the rim-protector form he showed a few years back, and James, two months shy of his 42nd birthday, appears to have recommitted himself on the defensive end, after showing some slippage in recent seasons.

Even guys who are not known for their defense, like Tyrese Maxey and Anfernee Simons, are putting their best feet forward – Maxey because he’s Maxey, Simons because he knows he will be out there in big moments, given what an offensive weapon he has shown himself to be.

“We are just willing to guard, and that’s important,” Edgecombe said. “We’re connected. In training camp, we obviously worked on our standard, our principles. And I say we just kind of execute from there.”

The payoff is considerable.

“We know,” he added, “if we get some stops, we get out and have fun from there.”

In James’ mind, it is easier for a team featuring so many new pieces to coalesce on the defensive end.

“The offense usually comes after that,” he said, “because guys are just kind of figuring it out and being on the floor with one another.”

And indeed, the Sixers are just 23rd in offensive rating (109.3), despite Maxey’s sizzling start; he’s averaging just under 30 points a game, on .486/.352/.830 shooting splits.

He generated 38 in Saturday’s 109-104 victory in Charlotte, a game that was in doubt until the Sixers reeled off 13 straight points to erase a seven-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. As had been the case in the 98-93 home victory over the Knicks the night before, Edgecombe provided the dagger three-pointer in the final minute. But when you zoom out you again see that ultimately D was the difference: The Sixers limited Charlotte to 34.8 percent shooting while outscoring them 32-21 in the fourth. And they did that, even though Embiid and James were held out of the game.

On Friday, they led the defending champs most of the night – at a couple points by as many as 14 – despite Brown’s absence with a sore knee. And again there were moments of defensive brilliance, notably by Edgecombe and KCP, who tag-teamed Knicks star Jalen Brunson, and Wade, who jousted with OG Anunoby.

Wade started but did not squeeze off a shot while going scoreless in nearly 27 minutes of action. Still, he made a difference, and he was particularly stout during a second-quarter stretch that saw him register two of his three steals and contest an Anunoby miss. His efforts hardly went unnoticed.

“The stat sheet doesn’t always determine winning plays and the things he was doing tonight defensively, and the things that he was doing offensively, giving us extra shots and things of that nature,” James said, adding that the 6-foot-9 Wade is the “perfect player for every team.”

“And,” James said, “he’s always going to make the winning plays.”

Speaking of which, let us consider the work of Edgecombe, who at age 21 seems to make such plays nightly. He and Caldwell-Pope limited Brunson to 24 points on 8-for-22 shooting – no easy task, considering his herky-jerky old-man game. As Edgecombe put it, Brunson “uses the fundamentals of the game well” while repeatedly knocking down difficult shots.

“I just try my best to just be there, just make sure I’m contesting every shot,” Edgecombe said.

The Knicks, as is their wont, kept coming, and finally took the lead at 90-89 on Brunson’s right-corner three-pointer over Edgecombe with 1:32 remaining.

“There are really great players throughout this league,” Edgecombe said. “They’re going to make tough shots, but I said I can’t hang my head down and get mad because he made a tough shot. He shot it over me. I kind of did my job, but like I say, it’s going to happen.”

James put the Sixers back in front with a foul-line fadeaway, and on the next Knicks possession Karl-Anthony Towns screened for Brunson as he advanced the ball over midcourt. Embiid hedged and Edgecombe recovered, tracking Brunson as he kept his dribble and moved to his right.

The moment of truth came when the Knicks star drove down the right side of the lane. There defenders are often easy pickings for his array of step-throughs, up-and-unders and fadeaways, but Edgecombe met the moment, forcing Brunson into a miss from eight feet.

Then, at the other end, Edgecombe nailed his enormous three-ball. That proved decisive, despite the fact that he was whistled for a foul on Brunson (apparently with his pinky toe) next time down – a call upheld after replay review.

Brunson made the first free throw, then had a ball-don’t-lie miss, and the Sixers closed it out.

Again, miles to go. The Sixers are hardly fully formed. But their defense – “the physicality, the communication, the keeping the ball in front, the really not quitting on plays,” as Nick Nurse said – is at present their calling card. If that proves to be sustainable, it’s not hard to believe that they will be in this for the long haul – that they will be playing far more meaningful games next spring than they are right now.

If there are any questions about the Knicks’ commitment post-championship, or their distraction level amid contract negotiations, none of them can be pointed at Karl-Anthony Towns. 

Coming off a legendary postseason run that helped secure his place in New York immortality, Towns has been his team’s most locked-in player of the new season, averaging 21.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game on 65.5 percent shooting from two and 41.4 percent from three.

This, despite being the key hang-up in the Knicks’ extension talks and coming off a busy summer of celebration. Let’s dive into Towns’ hellacious start and what it means to the team.

One difference from Towns this season is his frame. He came into the season considerably thinner than in years past, though he plans to bulk up as the year progresses. 

This seems to only have benefited Towns’ game. His mobility looks better and there haven’t been major sacrifices on the defensive end or boards.

His inside finishing has been particularly efficient, while that was a weakness early last season.

Otherwise, it’s been a lot of the Towns we know and love, specifically out of the hub offense that turned around last season's playoffs. The Knicks are leaning into it more now having the blueprint, and Towns looks as comfortable as ever with head coach Mike Brown’s schemes.

It hasn’t shown up on the stat sheet as many would have liked — Towns’ turnovers have spiked while his assists are flat. But much of this is due to how teams have adjusted against this look.

They’ve been more aggressive in switching the flex screen and helping off the weak side, forcing the Knicks into the third and fourth option on these plays. There’s also some sloppiness on Towns’ part as he gets reacquainted and sees what passes he can force or not. 

But these bumps are to be expected, the net is positive, and even some early hiccups are ultimately helpful toward the ultimate goal. The fact that the Knicks haven’t made shots like normal is also skewing the numbers.

Inside or out of the hub offense, Towns has looked the part. His 41.4 percent three-point shooting mark could come on higher volume, but he’s picked his spots well with deep catch-and-shoots off trails and even some self-creation in the clutch.

Towns has seen the most action in fourth quarters, scoring 7.3 of his points per game in that period. Unfortunately the Knicks haven’t turned to him in the closing moments enough, as he’s taken two shots in the eight minutes of crunch time in games New York’s played thus far.

That the Knicks have lost most of these tight contests to fall to 2-4 record could be in part due to this. Until others pick up their slack, this may need to be more of a Towns-centric team.

Fans know first hand how these Towns reps will ultimately pay off in the playoffs, when the Knicks will need multiple answers and know they can depend on their big man. But they’ll also play a role in the coming contract negotiations.

Towns can either hit free agency or re-sign long-term with the Knicks, with both parties seemingly favoring the latter -- just at different prices. He will have much more leverage walking in with continued dominance like this.

Towns can point to New York’s falling point differential when he steps off the court, or the mixed results they’re getting from their alternative second options on the wing. He can point to being second in the league in rebounds per game and first to the rim to defend it.

Hopefully this ends in an inked extension and repeat run. In the meantime, Towns is aiming to put together one of the best seasons of his career, and the early returns are promising. 

Warriors redefining ‘Strength In Numbers' mantra to turn around terrible start originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Steve Kerr coined the phrase as a motivating tool. There was no way Kerr could have known the words “Strength In Numbers” would turn to a slogan forever attached to the Warriors, and still be used to describe his teams more than a decade later.

Like taking a page out of his former coach Phil Jackson’s book, Kerr came up with “Strength In Numbers” before meeting his players for the first time as a way for them to play as a team. The phrase fit right into Kerr moving Andre Iguodala to the bench after starting all his previous 758 career regular-season games. Conveniently, Kerr’s three words also fit right into the state of the roster for the 2014-15 Warriors. 

Steph Curry was in his age-26 season and about to set a new pecking order in the league as MVP. Klay Thompson was 24, and so was Draymond Green. Harrison Barnes was just 22, and Andrew Bogut was the elder of the starting five at 30 years old. Iguodala was 31, and Leandro Barbosa was the oldest on the team at 32. 

That’s seven players right there, and a 29-year-old Shaun Livingston hasn’t been mentioned yet. Neither has a 31-year-old David Lee, or a 27-year-old Marreese Speights. Festus Ezeli was 25 and back from missing the previous season to reconstructive knee surgery. 

Numbers were literally a strength of those Warriors. They could go 11 deep and sometimes 12. The Warriors this season didn’t even have 11 players from their 15-man roster available for the season opener in Los Angeles. 

Injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody last season already set them back for this season. Then came Kristaps Porziņģis’ mystery illness that was announced the morning of media day, leading to an ongoing absence. Numbers didn’t look like a strength of the Warriors going into the season, but a weakness already for reasons out of their hands. 

Somehow, though, the Warriors are redefining “Strength In Numbers” to turn around a terrible start. 

“Well, I think it’s obvious that we have a lot of depth,” Kerr said Sunday after the Warriors’ short-handed win over the LA Clippers. “To be able to play a game like that without Steph and Dray, obviously Jimmy, Moses – got a lot of injuries, and to be able to play a game like that shows that we got a lot of talented players.” 

For the second game this season, the Warriors were without Curry and Green, on top of already being down Butler, Moody and Porziņģis. And for the first time, they won with the Curry-Green duo watching from the bench. 

Signs of depth being a sneaky strength started showing in training camp, the preseason and even when the Warriors lost their first three games. Rotations were able to be formed quicker than usual and the emergence of rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and the growth of others have made it easier for players to fit into proper roles. 

De’Anthony Melton describes the Warriors’ second unit as “fast and disruptive” with the bench taking “a lot of pride” in proving naysayers wrong and providing help to an already undermanned Warriors team. 

“Obviously, everybody sees what we see too,” Melton said. “But early on, I’ve talked about the depth we have, and I think we have a lot of guys that can contribute in various different ways. Some nights you’re going to see some guys do more, some guys do whatever it is. We’re going to do it as a committee, and we keep tracking along.”

In the Warriors’ road loss to the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 24, their third straight loss and the second night of a back-to-back without Curry, Green and others, Melton scored 25 points off the bench. His former high school teammate Brandon Williams dropped 20 in his first start of the season. The two have brought their chemistry to the Warriors and it shows in the stats. 

Melton and Williams have played 37 minutes together and have a 17.5 net rating with a 117.5 offensive rating and a 100.0 defensive rating. 

While Lendeborg’s 37 points against the Clippers was the story Sunday night, so was Melton scoring an efficient 21 points in the starting lineup, Williams scoring 17 off the bench shooting at a highly efficient clip and Brandin Podziemski giving them 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as Melton’s starting backcourt mate. That’s strength in numbers on a night where numbers aren’t supposed to be a strength. 

Lendeborg in two games without Curry has scored 63 points for an average of 31.5 points on 57.9-percent shooting (22 of 38) and a 54.5 3-point percentage (12 of 22).

The Warriors need Melton and Williams to be reliable in games Curry plays. That becomes even more paramount when Curry is in street clothes. Melton and Williams in the two games Curry has missed to rest have scored a combined 83 points on 60.1-percent shooting (26 of 43). 

“I tried to tell everybody, like, we don’t have a player like him,” Melton says of Williams. “He can just get downhill and his shiftiness and his flair and stuff like that, he needs that just to get the crowd involved and just to get the excitement of everybody. We all love it, and we’re all fascinated with the way he can finish. We’ve seen it as opponents, too.” 

When told in the locker room of Melton’s comments at the podium, Williams turns to his right and says “Who said that? Melt said that? My dog.” 

The oohs and aahs rang throughout the Chase Center crowd as Williams raced past his defender and flew to the rack for crafty layups to beat the Clippers. A season removed from giving the Warriors 26 points in San Francisco on Christmas, Williams already has become a crowd favorite of Dub Nation. 

“Oh man, I love it,” Williams told NBC Sports Bay Area. “I love it. I’m glad. I’m glad everybody’s starting to recognize it.” 

If Williams could, he would tell the fans to get on their feet every time he has the ball, feeding off the vibes from thousands of fans.

“I’m a rhythm player, so like every time the crowd gets going, I feed off of it for sure. And then I bring it out to my team as well,” he said. “So once the crowd gets into it, I feel like that’s our sixth man.”

The Warriors’ win against the Clippers came one game after one in which Curry scored 31 points and made Luka Dončić touch earth. But it also was a game where the Warriors’ bench outscored the Lakers’ bench 50 to seven. Golden State through Sunday night now ranks sixth in bench points per game (43.0).

Georges Niang in the win vs. the Lakers was a perfect 3 of 3 from 3-point range and now is shooting 47 percent beyond the arc during the Warriors’ four-game win streak. 

Niang showed some fire against the Lakers, too, going nose to nose with Colin Sexton. 

“I’m not out there to make anyone feel like it’s a walk in the park,” Niang told reporters in the locker room after. 

Kerr had to use five different starting lineups in the Warriors’ first five games. Consistency couldn’t be part of the Warriors’ equation, but connectivity still was.

The Warriors coach said Sunday night’s victory was won in the summer, praising young guys like Lendeborg, Will Richard, Charles Bassey and Graham Ike for being around throughout the summer and buying into who the Warriors want to be, as well as Melton for rehabbing in the facility and digesting offensive tweaks and Frank Vogel’s defense. The oldest team in the league is getting energy from their young role players and stability from their veterans to bring balance to the bench. 

Williams is new to the Warriors’ slogan but always believed this is who they would be, as seen in taking both games against the Southern California foes. 

“I thought that would be our strength, for sure,” Williams said. “Obviously with 30 [Curry] and Dray out, everybody’s gonna have to step up, all of us all around. So BP did. Obviously, we saw what Yax did. Mel as well. G came in with a good spark, as well as Will. I think everybody kind of contributed in their own ways, and I think everybody’s starting to see now that’s how deep we are as a team.”

With numbers not on their side, these Warriors are finding improbable ways to bring “Strength In Numbers” alive.

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The 6-1 Philadelphia 76ers have a golden opportunity to continue their winning ways on Monday when they host a struggling Chicago Bulls squad.

Getting injuries out of the way, at the time of writing Monday morning Joel Embiid is currently listed as questionable to face the Bulls for planters fasciitis injury management. This is also the designation that Embiid had when he missed the second leg of the weekend back-to-back on Saturday. Of course, any injury designation for Embiid makes us all nervous, but one could also speculate that the Sixers may just feel they shouldn’t need the big fella on Monday and are giving him the extra rest. We will just have to wait and see how things develop.

Dominick Barlow remains out with the low back stress reaction that has delayed his participation to start the season. For the Bulls, Nic Claxton is doubtful with a hamstring strain while Jalen Smith (finger) and Tobe Awaka (ankle) are probable.

Not to be too harsh on Chicago, but the Bulls are struggling mightily to start off this season. At 1-5 and coming into Monday on a four-game losing streak, there’s just a lot of things on the wrong trajectory for them. They’re currently 29th of 30 in the league in field goal percentage sinking just 41.4% of shots from the floor; dead last in three-point percentage hitting just 28.1% from long range; 25th in offensive rating and 28th in defensive rating; 24th in turnovers per game; and 28th in personal fouls per game.

Yes, the season is still very new, and we all know how much can change over the marathon of an 82-game season… but right now, there are a lot of weaknesses the Sixers can look to exploit. If I’m Nick Nurse, I want to see my squad take advantage of those turnovers and get out in transition with the speed they have shown already, and I want to see them drawing as many fouls as possible. Take the easy points when you can get ‘em, and hopefully you’re never worrying about playing catch-up the way the Sixers have in a number of games to start their season. Maybe you won’t even have to play Tyrese Maxey for 40 minutes just to snag the win.

One bright spot for Chicago thus far has been rookie Caleb Wilson. The 2026 4th-overall pick out of the University of North Carolina has been leading the Bulls to start the season putting up 21.2 points per game with 6.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Thirty-three-year-old veteran Norman Powell has been right there with Wilson chipping in 20.7 points per game. Josh Giddey has been the main playmaker for Chicago averaging 7.5 assists per game, with the next highest mark in that category for the team being Tre Jones averaging just 3.0 assists off the bench.

All in all, with or without Embiid, this is a game the Sixers shouldn’t struggle with. If anything, this is a game Philadelphia fans should really hope to see them not have to fight with all their might or stage a comeback in. This is a one-game homestand before the Sixers hit the road for a few games, so it would be in their best interest not to make things harder than they need to be.

Whether they do that, though, is always up in the air.

The Sixers and Bulls tip off in South Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Game Details

When: Monday, November 2, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow:@LibertyBallers

Following a 4-1 month of October, the Boston Celtics opened up November with their first road win of the season, taking down the Orlando Magic 108-97. This extends their winning streak to 5 games, tying their longest winning streak from last season.

In Halloween fashion, the Magic gave Boston a scare after coming back from a 15-point lead the Celtics held midway through the third quarter. However, some clutch shot making by Jayson Tatum and Paul George down the stretch of the fourth quarter allowed Boston to escape the house of Disney World with a victory.

1. Magic Drew First Blood, Tatum Finished it

Jayson Tatum had a great first quarter, finishing with 8 points on 3-6 shooting but at the end of the quarter he was hit in the head, resulting in a cut that saw him bleeding and having to go back to the locker room. Much like Rambo saying, “they drew first blood, not me,” Tatum finished the game with another spectacular performance, finishing with 32 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 8-19 shooting from the field, 1-5 from three and 15-17 from the free throw line.

A bad third quarter made Tatum’s final numbers look worse than it was but the thing that impressed me the most was his ability to get to the free throw line. We have seen Tatum already set a new career high in free throws attempted against the Nets on Tuesday and with 17 more in this game, he became the first Celtic since Paul Pierce in 2008 to attempt 54 free throws in a 4 game span according to Dick Lipe. It feels like he has become a lot less reliant on the three-point shot and is just bullying his way to the basket on most of his possessions.

Tatum’s defense was a stand out as well. There were multiple possessions where the Magic decided to go one-on-one against Tatum and he stood his ground. He was fighting around screens and did a great job on constantly putting pressure on Orlando’s ball handlers. It really is just a pleasure to watch him on the court, further cementing the fact that he is one of, if not the best two-way player in the game.

Jayson Tatum we will speak about your defense https://t.co/6tpgs7MMwipic.twitter.com/PhaC9ANbiO

— Nik Land | NikNBA🏀 (@NIKNBAYT) November 1, 2026

When clutch time hits, there is also no one I would rather have than Jayson Tatum on the floor controlling the offense. After a long stretch off to start the fourth quarter, he came in and immediately hit two pull-up jumpers to build Boston’s lead back up to 8 points. Tatum is now averaging 31.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 7.0 APG on 61% TS% in his last 5 games and looks prime for a run at potentially an MVP.

2. Hugo Gonzalez First Start

We saw a change to the starting lineup for the first time this season as Joe Mazzulla decided to start Hugo Gonzalez in the place of Jordan Walsh. Gonzalez held his own in 14 minutes of play, finishing with 7 points, and 2 steals on 3-5 shooting from the field and 1-3 from three.

All of Gonzalez’s points came in the first quarter but he looked to be holding his own on the offensive end. He hit a three and had a couple nice finishes in the paint. When it came to his work on the glass, I feel like the best way to describe it is the epitome of a bulldozer. He was able to clear out space a ton and it opened up the Celtics to get more offensive rebounds.

💥🇪🇸 ¡HUGO GONZÁLEZ NUNCA SE RINDE! ☘️🏀

💪 Rebote ofensivo.
🔥 Se tira al suelo para salvar la posesión.
🎯 ¡La jugada termina con tiros libres para Tatum!

Esto es lo que en la NBA llaman MULTIPLES ESFUERZOS. ¡HUGO LO DEJA TODO EN LA PISTA! 💚👏#HugoGonzalez#Celtics#NBApic.twitter.com/WqXuZrNDY7

— Verso de Cancha – NBA 🏀 (@versodecancha1) November 1, 2026

I hope we get to see more of Hugo Gonzalez in the starting lineup moving forward. Even in the limited sample size he was on the court, he looked comfortable amongst the rest of the Celtics starters and specifically thrived next to Jayson Tatum. The idea of Walsh as a starter isn’t bad, but I feel like Gonzalez can do pretty similar things to him and might have a little bit more upside.

3. Grand Theft Auto: Boston

Although Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be based in Florida, the Celtics played their own version of the game when it came to their defense against the Magic. Boston hounded Orlando into 16 turnovers, 9 steals, and 7 blocks on the game, holding them to only 97 points.

The Celtics set the tone early in this game, forcing the Magic into 8 turnovers in the first quarter alone. Although it could be chalked up to sloppy play by Orlando, Boston’s defense was a big factor and it helped them get out from an early deficit after the Magic started the game on a 13-4 run. The defense came up huge again in the fourth quarter, as they held Orlando to 7-24 (29.2%) shooting from the field and 2-9 (22.2%) shooting from three. A gritty effort by the Boston defense.

4. No Threes, No Problem

We all know Boston is known for their three point shooting and we also know the Celtics have shot themselves out of games in the past when they are missing from beyond the arc. However, we saw the Celtics shoot 12-44 (27.3%) from three in this game against the Magic and still came out with the victory. This was due in part to the fact they shot 25-40 (62.5%) from inside the arc and more specifically shot 12-16 (75%) at the basket.

It’s good to see Boston have some more variety when the threes aren’t falling. It is a huge help that Jayson Tatum and Paul George are proficient when it comes to shooting in the midrange and it will make them all the more dynamic of an offense this season.

5. Neemias Queta Presence

Hugo Gonzalez wasn’t the only the only change to the starting lineup ahead of today’s game, as Mitchell Robinson was ruled OUT do to rest since the Celtics are playing a back-to-back. This gave us a chance to see Neemias Queta back in the starting lineup and he was able to show out a little more. He finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 4-9 shooting.

The first half saw Queta showcase his talents on the offensive end, rolling to the basket and finishing with monster slams or nifty reverse layups. The second half is where we saw his defense come in to play, specifically in the fourth quarter. Queta had 2 huge blocks in the final two minutes of play that the Celtics up to hit the dagger and put the game out of reach.

Celtics process has been outstanding all night and they stuck with it through a rough shooting night

Block on one end but miss the open 3 go right back down with guys hurling to contest a layup then they get the made 3 pic.twitter.com/bPZ64y4JtP

— Nik Land | NikNBA🏀 (@NIKNBAYT) November 1, 2026

I hope we get to see Queta in the starting lineup more. He has been fine coming off the bench this year but Mitchell Robinson hasn’t really impressed in the starting role so far. Queta was a great starter last year and has great chemistry with Tatum. I feel like Boston could go either way with the starting center but as of now it feels like Robinson would be better suited for a bench role.

6. Luka Garza: Magic Killer

If you were watching this game with the Orlando Magic’s broadcast team, you would have heard them call Luka Garza the “Magic Killer” because every time he sees their shade of blue he has a big game. That is a true statement after last year where in the final game of the season he finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds on 10-18 shooting including the game winning three. Garza was once again a force against Orlando in this matchup as the Celtics second string center, finishing with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists on 4-7 shooting from the field and 2-4 from three.

Garza is known for turning into the “Garzilla” when it comes dominating the offensive glass but it was his three point shooting that was the biggest factor in this game. He hit his first three in the second quarter to end a 1-15 drought to begin the game for Boston and his second came in the fourth quarter during a big Celtics run. Garza played some huge minutes as the only backup center Boston played in this game and just continues to be a consistent presence off the bench.

Luka Garza hitting some BIG shots today 😤 pic.twitter.com/wbaCzP5XTd

— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) November 1, 2026

7. Elite Assist Numbers

One thing that has jumped out to me about the Celtics offense this year is the amount of assists that they are able to rack up. In this game against the Magic they finished with 29 and the ball movement was beautiful to watch. Even with the shots not falling in, Boston was able set up their teammates with a lot of wide open opportunities and they kept Orlando’s defense on their heels all game.

However, a stat that the NBC Sports Boston broadcast brought up was the fact that the Celtics have tallied 25+ assists in all six of their games this season. It is the longest streak in franchise history and is a testament to the way Boston has been playing. The unselfish brand of basketball the Celtics have been known for is flowing to start this season, with Boston ranking tied for 4th in assists per game as a team at 28.0. They are also ranked 9th in the league with a 1.83 Assist/Turnover rate.

8. Huge Non-Tatum 4th Quarter Minutes

Going into the fourth quarter, the Celtics led the Magic 77-74 with Jayson Tatum scoring 11 points in the third. Tatum was going to sit to begin the fourth quarter and Boston was going to have to fill some big minutes without their best player on the floor. In that time, the lineup of Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Baylor Scheierman, Paul George, and Luka Garza weathered the storm.

They outscored Orlando 20-17 with Tatum on the bench including an 18-6 run that gave them a 12 point lead with 5:02 remaining. Tatum was set to come in after Paul George shot free throws but Joe Mazzulla decided to hold him back a little longer, trusting the group that had the momentum. It almost back fired entirely with Desmond Bane and Tristan da Silva hitting back to back threes to cut it to a 6 point game with 4:22 remaining, but I liked the sentiment.

Mazzulla was trying to reward the guys on the floor who put out a double digit lead and maybe it lasted a little too long, it was still a fine decision. It not only gave Tatum time to rest a little more given the Celtics were on the first half of a back-to-back, but it also allowed him to come in fresh and takeover the game. Loved what I saw out of that group and it gives me more confidence in them moving forward.

9. Paul George Closer

Paul George has been better than anyone could have hoped when it comes to the beginning of his Boston Celtics career. There are shades of Clippers PG on offense still apparent in his game now it came out in full force against the Magic. George finished with 17 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks on 6-14 shooting from the field and 3-10 from three. However, in the fourth quarter he turned it on the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points on 3-4 shooting from the field and 2-3 shooting from three, including the dagger with 1:32 remaining to give the Celtics the win.

George was the main facilitator of the Non-Tatum minutes and has thrived in that role throughout this season. Via databallr, the Celtics have a +25 net rating when Paul George is on the court without Tatum including an offensive rating of 138.8 per 100 possessions. Those are just the basic numbers without anything filtered so there could be an outlier there but those are still some pretty great numbers. George continues to impress me every game he plays with Boston and he fit into this system about as perfect as anyone could have imagined.

10. Road Dogs

There always seems to be something off anytime the Celtics play against the Magic in Orlando. Every time they play in the Kia Center Boston and Orlando always seem to have a heavy weight match that ends in a pretty close contest. The Celtics were 1-4 playing in that arena over the last seasons with the one win coming last season so there was bound to be something going on today.

Even with the gods of the Kia Center working against them, Boston gutted out a win over a Magic team who is a lot better than people give them credit for. Desmond Bane and Tristan da Silva are legit flame throwers every time they play the Celtics and even though Franz Wagner had a bad game, he can also light you up. This game was the first of twelve road games that Boston is going to play in the month of November, so I expect to see more gritty wins like this one as the Celtics World Tour across the country continues.

How Yaxel Lendeborg joined Warriors icons in franchise history vs. Clippers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Yaxel Lendeborg has given the Warriors a youthful jolt of energy, and he has entered some rare company through seven games.

In the absence of Steph Curry and Draymond Green, Lendeborg took complete charge of the offense during Sunday’s 124-112 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The No. 11 overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft scored a career-high 37 points with six made 3-pointers to lead Golden State to its fourth consecutive win.

The outburst pushed Lendeborg’s numbers on the season to 22.3 points per game on 52-percent shooting from the field and 40.9 percent from distance as the Warriors’ second-leading scorer.

Lendeborg became the third player in franchise history to average over 20 points per game through his first seven games, joining Warriors legends Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry.

Yaxel Lendeborg scored 37 points to lead Golden State to victory, the most by a Warriors rookie in a game since Stephen Curry had 42 in 2010.

Lendeborg is averaging 22.3 PPG this season, he's the 3rd player in Warriors history to average 20 PPG over his first 7 career games,… pic.twitter.com/T3RgsjFPB9

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) November 2, 2026

His 37 points also were the most scored by a rookie since Curry’s 42 in a 122-116 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in April 2010.

While Curry finished second in the Rookie of the Year race in the 2009-10 season to the Sacramento Kings’ Tyreke Evans, both Chamberlain and Barry won the award.

Chamberlain was the first player in NBA history to win MVP as a rookie when he did so in the 1959-60 season, and Barry made First-Team All-NBA as a rookie in 1965-66, although the number of teams at the time was considerably smaller.

The numbers do not just compare against franchise legends, but also against the current crop of NBA stars.

Lendeborg is one of two rookies to rank top 25 in the NBA in scoring this season, alongside Sacramento Kings guard Darius Acuff Jr.

Beyond the scoring, Lendeborg has had an impressive all-around impact. His 7.3 rebounds per game leads the Warriors, and coach Steve Kerr frequently has used him as a playmaker in the Warriors’ offense.

Lendeborg’s consistency has been on full display, with 25-plus points, five or more assists and nine or more rebounds in four games.

Yaxel Lendeborg this season:

More PTS than
— Durant
— Brunson
— Curry
— Flagg

More REB than
— Jokic
— Luka
— Bam
— Sengun

More STOCK than
— OG
— Dort
— Jrue
— Tatum

More 3P than
— Kyrie
— Dame
— Harden
— Garland

He's a rookie. pic.twitter.com/GkQNuUWJXN

— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 2, 2026

The rookie’s play is making headlines, but his personality only has amplified his popularity. Lendeborg said he “lost all respect” for Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Dončić after the Warriors’ 127-105 opening-day loss, and promptly refused to get media trained.

After a lackluster start to the season with three straight losses, Lendeborg has been a huge reason for the Warriors’ turnaround, and he will continue to be featured if the Warriors are to maintain this momentum until Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody return.

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