Regardless of where any of us fell on the spectrum of belief that the Lakers could actually be a championship contender this season, we could all agree that their most realistic path to reaching that status would be on the offensive side of the ball.

Sure, they added some free agents who could help bolster their defense, but those players were never going to tip the scales so severely to catapult the team into the upper echelons of the league on that side of the ball.

No, if the Lakers were going to win — and win big — they’d do it by being such a force on the offensive side of the ball that opponents wouldn’t be able to keep pace.

Despite a record that has them 10 games over .500 on the season and one of the 10 best records in the league heading into Friday’s games, the Lakers have not been the offensive juggernaut one might expect, even when contextualizing that record through the lens of all the injuries the team has had this season.

Yes, the Lakers, currently 11th in offensive rating, have been mostly a top-10 offense all year and have been particularly strong at the end of close games, where they’re the best clutch offense in the league. But hovering around 10th while boasting a great finishing kick is not the same as outpacing opponents over the course of full games and making every sort of defense pay.

Which brings us to the big three of Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. Any shortcomings on that side of the ball rightfully put them squarely in the crosshairs. This team is built around their offensive prowess and the idea that together, and when staggered into different lineup groupings, they’d be able to lift the Lakers over the course of a full 48 minutes to put the screws to any defense in the league.

Indvidually, while things have not always been perfect — see the end of the team’s loss against the Magic on Tuesday — all three have mostly been holding up their end of the bargain.

Luka is leading the league in scoring and is third in assists while boasting shooting percentages in line with his career marks from the field overall, behind the arc and at the foul line. He remains a top-five MVP candidate and is on pace to make another All-NBA First Team.

Austin Reaves, meanwhile, is having the best statistical season he’s had in his 5-year career, scoring 25 points and dishing out over five assists a night while shooting 50% from the field, 37% from behind the arc, and 87% from the foul line. Before his calf injury cost him over a month, Austin was on pace to make his first All-Star game.

LeBron’s production is not where it’s been in recent seasons, but he’s still scoring nearly 22 points and handing out seven assists a game, is shooting 50% from the field and, after a slow start, is back to 75% from the foul line.

Besides raw points per game, the only real decline he’s shown statistically on offense is from behind the arc where he’s shooting just 30% from deep after consecutive seasons that saw him hit 37% and 41%. But, even disregarding his age, the only player averaging as many points and assists as him while shooting as well from the field overall is Nikola Jokic.

However, when they’ve shared the court as a trio this season, things have not always lined up.

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This season, the NBA’s worst offense is the Indiana Pacers, who have an offensive rating of 108.7. To put this number into context, it’s a full 12 points per 100 possessions worse than the league’s best offense, the Nuggets. When the trio of Dončić, James, and Reaves share the floor, the Lakers’ offense is just 106.7, two points worse than the bottom-dwelling Pacers.

Should this be a huge cause for concern? Well….yes and no.

It’s pretty clear that when these three share the floor, there’s a replication of skill sets and not yet much chemistry on how to elevate each other through the natural way each of them likes to play. When the team is not running organized sets or specific plays, there can be a tendency to play too much standard pick-and-roll or isolation basketball where one of the Luka, Bron or Reaves just commandeers the possession while the other stars stagnate.

This can often lead to one- or no-pass possessions where LeBron might get a post-up and look to bully his man in the paint or Luka/Austin simply call for a ball screen that turns into a fairly predictable outcome where either they shoot themselves or the player they pass to shoots.

There are also countless freelance possessions a game where one of the three — and it’s Dončić who does this the most — will hunt their own offense early in the shot clock without making a single pass at all. How many times have you seen Luka take an early clock stepback three when both LeBron and Austin are in the game?

And while he has the ball the most and can be singled out, it’s not just Luka who can play on an island in this way. Again, just as I can see in my mind’s eye Luka taking that early clock three, I can envision Austin dribbling up high and calling for a pick so he can go into his dance and try to get a shot up for himself. Or I can visualize LeBron dribbling above the break and going into a backdown of his defender to try to post up, only to take a contested fadeaway.

They all have this tendency and it’s too baked into the culture of freelancing on offense by relying on the individual greatness of a singular shot creator. And these sorts of actions don’t do much to elevate the other stars on the court who don’t have the ball, as they often end up watching their teammate go and try to cook the defense.

On the flip side, heading into Thursday’s game in Phoenix, the sample size for these three playing together this season is not yet very big at just 213 minutes. Further, 94 of the 213 minutes this trio has played come from the original starting lineup head coach JJ Redick deployed with Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura flanking his three stars. This group has posted a particularly abysmal offensive rating of 97.6 in those minutes, drastically underperforming the offensive talent on the floor.

There is a longer discussion to be had about why this group isn’t meshing, but putting that to the side for a moment, there are a couple of lineups where by simply making a single substitution — either swapping out Rui for Marcus Smart like the team has of late in the new starting lineup or, alternatively, Ayton for Jaxson Hayes — where the five on the floor are considerably better offensively and perform much closer to expectations:

• Austin, Smart, Luka, LeBron, Ayton: 55 minutes, 117.1 offensive rating
• Austin, Luka, Rui, LeBron, Hayes: 22 minutes, 117.8 offensive rating

These numbers mirror what the Lakers did with all three on the floor last season, where the team posted a 117.8 offensive rating, which was buoyed mostly by the team’s small-ball look where those three were flanked by Rui and Dorian Finney-Smith. Those groups posted a 124.9 offensive rating, which is a hint that the team might have more small-ball looks in its future now that everyone is healthy.

Heading into the Suns game, surrounding the team’s big three with Smart and Rui has led to a 132.0 offensive rating — though only in 12 minutes. Not a sizable enough sample to latch onto as meaningful, but in line with the team’s success last year in a similar lineup construction.

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So, is the glass half-empty or half-full? I guess it depends on the night and how generous you want to be towards the team.

I could argue that, despite those two straight losses against Boston and Orlando that both left a sour taste in our mouths (and a third against the Suns on Thursday), the Lakers have a couple of lineups they can turn to that, even if it’s only small margins, are showing they can be successful together when the team has its three best players on the court together.

Those groups still aren’t scoring to the level they could be, but with better commitment to running more organized offense rather than freelancing, the team has shown it can be a high-functioning half-court offense that puts defenses in situations with few good choices.

That said, there’s also an argument to be made that this team has not shown a proclivity to commit to playing that way at all. There’s also an open question of whether health will permit the team to play these better-fitting lineups together as consistently as needed and whether Redick will even lean into those lineups to the degree that the small data samples imply he should.

Sticking with the lineup point a bit further, of all the combinations of the Lakers’ three stars, there are not many variations that have shown to be a net positive this year. When any of the Dončić, LeBron, or Austin trio play by themselves, the Lakers have a positive net rating.

But of the Dončić/Reaves, Dončić/James, and James/Reaves pairings when the other star is off the court, only the Luka and Austin duo have posted a positive net rating this season.

There’s an argument to be made, then, that instead of tethering Austin and LeBron in the way he does to start the second and fourth quarters, Redick could lean more into exploiting the Luka and Austin duo while forming a more athletic and defensive-oriented lineup around LeBron, as was the case when Reaves was out with his calf injury.

Whatever decisions are made, though, need to happen now. Coming out of the All-Star break is a massive sprint to the finish line where the playoffs are the ultimate goal. Injuries have not allowed the team to get the footing through information gathering it would have liked, but the race does not stop so that you can get your bearings.

The Lakers do not have the time to falter or linger on ideas that have not yet panned out. Here’s hoping they can find their way and do it now. Because if they don’t, they’ll have a very long offseason to consider where they went wrong…again.

You can follow Darius on BlueSky at @forumbluegoldand find more of his Lakers coverage on the Laker Film Room Podcast.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Soccer star Lionel Messi was knocked to the ground by a fan and a security guard at the end of Inter Miami's friendly match in Puerto Rico.

Inter Miami was playing Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle in Bayamón on Thursday when a fan ran to the center circle and grabbed Messi by the waist before both were pulled down by a security guard.

Messi appeared to be unharmed. The Argentine star immediately got up and walked to another part of the pitch.

It happened around the 88th minute of the exhibition tour match. Several fans jumped onto the pitch at Juan Ramón Loubriel stadium.

The match was originally scheduled for Feb. 13, but was postponed because Messi felt discomfort in his leg during the previous exhibition match against Barcelona SC of Ecuador.

Santiago Morales and Messi scored in the 16th and 70th minutes respectively to give Inter Miami a 2-1 win.

Miami, which started its MLS season with a 3-0 loss to LAFC, faces Orlando City next Sunday.

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

There’s something about the number 11.

I was born on the 11th. I grew up with the German soccer novel “11 Freunde müsst ihr sein”. Later came “11 Freunde”, a wonderful monthly magazine about soccer culture. But if I’m being honest, my favorite association with the number 11 has nothing to do with soccer at all — it’s the movie “This Is Spinal Tap”.

Because 11, as we all know, is louder. 1 louder, to be precise.

I have a very good friend with whom I spend my summers at festivals, my winters at club gigs, and every now and then all year hanging out in his rehearsal room. Over time, “Eleven” has become a running gag between us — the kind that quietly takes on a life of its own.

It has gone so far that other people have had custom T-shirts made for us, with our names printed on them alongside the word “Eleven.” Someone even made us an engraved house number sign — our names on it, and the number 11. Whenever we’re at a festival, we hang it on our tent.

So yes, eleven means something to me.

And now the Spurs have won eleven in a row.

Takeaways

• The Spurs are winning games — even back-to-back road games — despite their sole superstar going through a rough offensive patch. Victor Wembanyama shot below 40 percent for the third game in a row, taking only nine field-goal attempts (mostly jump shots) and making just three of them in only 26 minutes of playing time. He’s clearly knackered and probably needs a break.
• But a break could possibly spell the end of his MVP case. With Joker and SGA in similar trouble — and Giannis already out of the race — the very best players are struggling to meet the minimum-games-played requirement. That doesn’t feel right.
• One reason why the Spurs were able to extend their winning streak to eleven was — it has to be mentioned — a weak and at times careless opponent. On the other hand, the Spurs continued to play good basketball: the driving and cutting guards were finding their way to the rim with ease, and they were also finding the shooters out on the perimeter. Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell — for the third game in a row — combined to shoot better than 60 percent from deep on 16 attempts.
• Additionally, the Spurs were able to rely on their bench mob. Dylan Harper has turned into a bit of a shadow starter, in the sense that he — as in the Toronto game — played 29 minutes, which was the most of any Spur last night. Harper struggled with his three-point shot but was his usual self as a driver, rim finisher, and passer.
• Realistically, Harper isn’t in the race for Rookie of the Year, since there’s no way past either Kon Knueppel or Cooper Flagg at this stage. But maybe he should at least be considered for Sixth Man of the Year? Yes, his box-score numbers don’t jump off the page, but his play-by-play data certainly does. On the season, the Spurs are outscoring their opponents by 10.5 points per 100 possessions with Harper on the court — and his on/off differential per 100 possessions sits at plus-6.6. These are ginobilicious figures.
• After a couple of quiet games, Keldon Johnson was almost perfect (six of seven from the field) as a bucket getter off the bench and is probably the Spurs’ more realistic Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Whether he wins it or not, I’m glad Keldon is having a season that proves he’s not just the heart and soul of the team — but a serious contributor on a winning, possibly contending team.

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The Boston Celtics are laying the lumber against the Brooklyn Nets, with tonight’s point spread among the biggest of the entire NBA season.

A blowout win for Boston means added floor time for the bench, including sixth man Payton Pritchard. He’s continued to give the C’s strong minutes with points, assists, and rebounds in reserve.

My Nets vs. Celtics predictions and NBA picks for Friday, February 27 peg Pritchard for a big night on the boards. 

Nets vs Celtics prediction

Nets vs Celtics best bet: Payton Pritchard Over 3.5 rebounds (+102)

Payton Pritchard is coming off a quiet 28 minutes in the loss to Denver on Wednesday, recording only three points along with three rebounds. 

That marked the first time in five games that the Boston Celtics guard failed to play at least 34 minutes and snatch four or more rebounds.

The Brooklyn Nets are at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and among the worst rebounding teams, ranked 26th in rebound rate.

Pritchard has grabbed four or more boards in two of the past three matchups with Brooklyn and is projected for as many as 4.9 rebounds tonight.

Nets vs Celtics same-game parlay

Boston has a bad taste in its mouth after getting dropped in Denver to wrap its Western Conference road trip. The Celtics are 12-7 ATS off a loss this season and won’t be taking the Nets lightly after going 2-1 SU versus Brooklyn and needing OT for one of those victories.

Pritchard averages more than four rebounds a night and Brooklyn is a piss-poor shooting team, especially on the road (43.5% is a league low). That means plenty of rebounding chances for the Celtics' plucky guard, whose projections all sit north of four boards.

Sam Hauser scored 19 points in his last run-in with Brooklyn, and game models call for double digit points tonight.

Nets vs Celtics SGP

• Celtics -17.5
• Payton Pritchard Over 3.5 rebounds
• Sam Hauser Over 9.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Nic's knack

While my SGP is very pro-Celtics, Brooklyn big Nic Claxton has been money against Boston this season, with twin 18-point efforts in his last two meetings with the C’s. Projections call for 11+ points tonight.

Nets vs Celtics SGP

• Celtics -17.5
• Payton Pritchard Over 3.5 rebounds
• Sam Hauser Over 9.5 points
• Nic Claxton Over 10.5 points

Nets vs Celtics odds

• Spread: Nets +17.5 | Celtics -17.5
• Moneyline: Nets +850 | Celtics -1400
• Over/Under: Over 208.5 | Under 208.5

Nets vs Celtics betting trend to know

The Boston Celtics are 88-50 ATS off a loss going back to the 2021-22 season (64%). Find more NBA betting trends for Nets vs. Celtics.

How to watch Nets vs Celtics

Nets vs Celtics latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The New York Knicks (37*-22) face the Milwaukee Bucks (26-31) tonight at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. This Eastern Conference matchup gives the Knicks a chance to clinch the season series after splitting the first two games. The Knicks have gone 6-4 over their last 10 games, while the Bucks have won 8 of their last 10.

The last meeting came on November 28, 2025, when the Knicks won 118-109 at home. Jalen Brunson led New York with 37 points, and Josh Hart added 19 points with 15 rebounds. Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists.

The Bucks have had a stormy season—something of a Greek tragedy, if you will. Sitting 11th in the East, the once mighty deer are fighting for a play-in spot. They rank 20th in offensive rating (114.2), 22nd in defensive rating (117.4), and 24th in points per game (112.4). Although they are an excellent shooting team (39% 3P%), they lag in pace (22nd) and net rating (22nd).

Doc Rivers’ club leans heavily on Ryan Rollins, who averages 17.2 points per game. Giannis Antetokounmpo remains elite when healthy, leading the league in 2-point field goals per game (10)—but he’s OUT tonight with a calf issue. Bobby Portis provides bench scoring and shooting, hitting 45% from three, and Myles Turner anchors the paint.

The Bucks beat the Cavaliers on Wednesday by two. Their likely starting lineup tonight will be, Rollins, A.J. Green, Kyle Kuzma (12.9 PPG), Portis, and Turner.

The Bucks injury report lists Antetokounmpo and Taurean Prince (neck) as OUT. New York’s list mentions only Deuce McBride, still recovering from his hernia surgery.

Prediction

ESPN gives the Knicks a 76% chance of winning tonight. Generous! The Bucks aren’t having a great season, but they’ve beaten the Thunder, Magic, Heat, and Cavs in recent games. On paper and screen, the Knicks are the better team—they just don’t always play like it. Still, they’ve had two days off and this will be a good warm-up match before their Sunday matinee at home against the Spurs. Motivated and rested, Knicks win by seven.

Game Details

Date: Friday, February 27, 2026
Time: 8 PM ET
Place: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
TV: MSG
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

* Should be one more, but the Cup Final was a trick of the eye.

Okay, hold on. Let me check something real quick.

Peruses Warriors schedule.

Checks it again.

Wait, the Warriors are off today?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE. It’s February 27th, 2026, and the Golden State Warriors are sitting at home in their sweats watching other teams play basketball? Doesn’t the NBA know this is Stephen Curry Day?! I need somebody in the league office to explain this to me, because this is either the greatest scheduling oversight in NBA history or a deliberately protecting the other 29 teams from a fate worth than death: a disrespectfully epic Curry performance.

That’s gotta be it. The league saw what was happening for damn near two decades and said enough is enough. Give the competition a chance by sending Steph a gift basket and a strongly worded memo: not today. I mean he’s injured anyway, but there’s a major chance his knee miraculously heals for 24 hours on this magical day. Because when I say 2/27, is the day Stephen Curry transforms into something the basketball rulebook was never designed to handle.

This is his date. His portal. His zone of complete and total basketball domination. Across ten games on that date in his career, he’s averaging 32.6 points per game, shooting 50.2 percent from the field, with 5.7 three-pointers made, 5.3 assists, and 5.4 rebounds. For context, a 32.6 point average would have led the NBA in scoring plenty of years. Curry is doing that as a recurring calendar event. The consistency is almost more disorienting than the individual performances themselves. You can prepare a defense for a hot game. You cannot prepare a defense for a law of nature.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the all-time scoring records for February 27th games. The top three performances in NBA history on this specific date are all Warriors. Number one is Wilt Chamberlain dropping 65 points back in 1962 for Philadelphia. Number two is Stephen Curry with 56 points against Orlando in 2025. Number three is Stephen Curry again with 54 points at Madison Square Garden in 2013. Curry also owns the eighth spot on that list with his 46-point explosion against Oklahoma City in 2016.

That OKC game, by the way, is the one the NBA just officially called the greatest regular season game in NBA history. A documentary called “38 Feet Deep” will premiere on the Warriors’ official YouTube channel at noon Pacific time today, celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the shot that broke OKC’s soul on their own floor. Oh, how I love that.

Ten years later, the story of the greatest regular-season game in NBA history.

2/27. 12 pm PT.

🎬 https://t.co/e24yVjhHZEpic.twitter.com/aPEhCXC09A

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 24, 2026

I first covered this phenomenon last year for Dub Nation HQ after Curry dropped 56 on Orlando and it still doesn’t feel real writing it again twelve months later. Three times on this date, Curry has crossed the 46-point threshold. We’re talking three different eras of his career with different versions of the team around him.

So yeah. The NBA looked at the schedule, looked at the date, thought about what has happened every single time this franchise suits up on February 27th, and decided the rest of the league deserved a free pass today. I get it. Sometimes you have to protect the people.

Fans love stories in sports. While the action on the field/court/pitch is the initial draw, interest in sports skyrockets when attached to stories that people can connect to. Whether that is a huge comeback story, rooting for your country in the Olympics, or an athlete trying to make history, eyeballs are drawn in multiples when attachment happens.

For the City of Cleveland, the story of brothers could be the next big thing.

The Cleveland Browns have the sixth overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which could put them in a position to select Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson. With some injury concerns, Tyson could slide down to where the Browns pick later in the first round as well. Heading to Cleveland would place Tyson in the same city as his Cleveland Cavaliers brother, Jaylon Tyson.

Football Tyson was obviously excited about the possibility of joining basketball Tyson if the Browns draft him. Jordyn talked about how his family, including his brother, trained him in competition:

Talking about growing up, Tyson talked about competing. His family pushed him to be better and he said multiple times how much he loves to compete at everything pic.twitter.com/0s2MoHHRHY

— Jared Mueller (@JaredKMueller) February 27, 2026

Sounds like they would compete at almost everything pic.twitter.com/3Poe1bsp74

— Jared Mueller (@JaredKMueller) February 27, 2026

Tyson believes that playing in the same city and living with his brother would push him to be his best:

Playing in the same city and living with his brother would help Jordyn be even better on the field.

(Tyson brothers together in Cleveland would be fun story after fun story) pic.twitter.com/UEvzOcDRcx

— Jared Mueller (@JaredKMueller) February 27, 2026

Like everyone in Cleveland, Tyson would love to get to watch live as the Cavs compete for an NBA championship, especially with the home crowd:

Tyson was excited about the idea of being in CLE for @cavs playoff games. Said meeting with Browns was “amazing” pic.twitter.com/lD2n4gvurV

— Jared Mueller (@JaredKMueller) February 27, 2026

The Arizona State star had over 1,800 yards and 18 touchdowns in his two seasons in the desert. Between a major knee injury in 2022, a collarbone injury limiting him in 2024, and a hamstring issue in 2025, the key at the NFL combine for Tyson will be his medical checks.

Tyson is interested in finding out if the Browns like what they see from him:

With maybe a sly smile at the end, Tyson talked about his meeting with the Browns and finding out if “they like me or not.” pic.twitter.com/txkYp33NzH

— Jared Mueller (@JaredKMueller) February 27, 2026

According to the younger Tyson, if both are playing in Cleveland, Jaylon will have to buy the house, but would get the big room:

When asked about plans between him and his brother if he’s drafted by the Browns, @tyson_jordyn said big bro is paying for the house and getting the big room.

Not sure @jaylontyson will agree with the first part pic.twitter.com/SWaINJOEnx

— Jared Mueller (@JaredKMueller) February 27, 2026

While Jaylon is the big brother, Jordyn is likely to have the bigger rookie contract. With the Cavs, Jaylon’s rookie deal was for four years that would top out around $16 million. Jordyn would have to drop out of the first round to have a smaller contract and would more than double his brother’s deal if he is selected in the first seven picks of the 2026 NFL draft.

Be on the lookout for Camryn Justice’s interview with Jaylon on WEWS Channel 5 to find out what older brother thinks about who is buying the house and who gets the big room.

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How do you feel about Tyson playing for the Browns? Do you think it would be helpful for him to play in the city as his brother?

Share your thoughts in the comment section below

It feels like the Knicks last played a basketball game five years ago.

Turns out that’s not real, and they’re also back on the schedule tonight. Yay!

Here’s the latest.

Bucks say Giannis Antetokounmpo is OUT Friday vs Knicks

Giannis has been out over a month (calf) but is "getting closer" according to Bucks coach Doc Rivers

Knicks injury report clear except for Deuce McBride who remains out (hernia surgery) pic.twitter.com/9V21QtNdDT

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) February 26, 2026

Mike Brown

On believing the Knicks can win the championship:

“I truly believe it. Now, having said that, there are things that have to go right. You got to be playing your best basketball. You have to be connected. The things that I talk about. You got to sacrifice. If you got guys on your team that aren’t sacrificing, you could be in trouble, because it’ll mess with your connectivity, which is huge. You got to have a competitive spirit. You got to want to compete every night. And you’ve got to believe. You’ve got to keep believing. Even when things are going bad. Even when you go through stretches of 2–7 or 2–9. You got to believe not just in the process — because it is a process — but you got to believe in each other.“

On peaking at the right time for the playoffs:

“Everything is geared toward being your best toward the end of the season and going into the playoffs and hopefully throughout that run. I’ve never been a guy who put stocks in everything and it’s the end of the world if it doesn’t happen in this game. That’s not life in general. Things are going to average out to however they need to at the right time. And hopefully after 70 games or whatever it is, you feel pretty good where you are going into that postseason.”

On accountability within the locker room:

“At the end of the day, in anything you do, starting with me, everybody has to be held accountable, because everybody has slippage. I have slippage. Guys on my staff have slippage. Obviously, the players have slippage, too. So we all have to hold each other accountable and I can’t get mad if I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing and somebody tells me — they’re not telling me to put me down. They’re telling me so I can be better. And help uplift the group better. So those things, which are our standard, are huge for us. Those things are not necessarily what the outside world can see. The outside world sees the shots, the points, the defense and all that. If you want to win a championship, you gotta have a team that’s talented. We have that. Can we make sure we maximize and embrace our standard every time we step on the floor? If we can, that’s what’s going to get us over the hump more than anything else.”

On Mohamed Diawara’s confidence amid Jeremy Sochan’s arrival:

“Yes, it can [hurt his confidence]. But that’s my job more than anybody else’s is to make sure I communicate with him and anybody else when that happens. There’s a part of me — and I could be wrong about this — but there’s a part of me that doesn’t think so because I started him. And I thought it would rattle him. It doesn’t rattle him. I bring him off the bench in the first half. And then I don’t play him at all in the second half. And I throw him out there the next game. The dude — at least my experience doing those things with him — he doesn’t get rattled. And like I said, the biggest one is, ‘You’re starting tonight.’ He might not even play two games and it might be a ‘big game.’ And he’s just like, OK. And the way he plays, it’s OK. He’s a pretty confident young guy.”

On the Mo-Sochan battle for backup forward minutes:

“Back and forth. It could be Jeremy tonight. It could be Mo tomorrow night. Mo has played well. He’s gotten better. Jeremy just hasn’t had an opportunity to. And the biggest thing is, obviously between the two guys is Jeremy is in his fourth season and he’s a little bigger, he’s a little stronger and he knows the league a little bit better. But Mo is coming. And I say Mo is coming because everybody needs to understand that. Not just Jeremy. But everybody. Because Mo is coming.”

On OG Anunoby’s regression after coming back from injury:

“He was playing at an extremely high level. When he was out, we even had a conversation — he was like, ‘Man, I was playing extremely well.’ Which he was. He was shooting the 3. He was rebounding. His crashes were unbelievable. He was getting out in transition. His decisions were quick and decisive. And he was really impacting the game on both ends of the floor. The injuries have happened. And he hasn’t played like that since. But he’s only been back for a few games too.”

Apologies and I corrected this error: he could miss the remainder of the regular season. Expected was not the right word. Was told a 6 to 8 week recovery. https://t.co/3G0bzbduwt

— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) February 26, 2026

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the Knicks’ work-in-progress season:

“We’re still a work in progress. New system, a new coach, new philosophy, so we’re just making sure we can do the best we can to maximize all of our opportunities of who we are in our team.”

Jalen Brunson

On the loss to the Cavs:

“Cleveland was just a bad game for us.”

AMEN THOMPSON THROWING PUNCHES AT JOSE ALVARADO

OMG (h/t @Fullcourtpass) pic.twitter.com/r3mcvujO1J

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 15, 2025

Jose Alvarado

On overcoming the odds to reach the NBA:

“If you know my story, you know I’m not supposed to be here. I’m not the biggest guy. I don’t jump out the gym. But you know, when I step on that floor, I give everything I got. That’s what I owe to the game.”

On being traded to his hometown Knicks:

“Honestly, it was bittersweet. Obviously, I love New Orleans. It’s a situation I was comfortable in. But if I had to go anywhere, I’m glad it was New York. This is where I’m from. This is the culture I was raised by. I know how much the Knicks mean to everybody out here, including my family. Just to be a part of what these guys are building is dope.”

On not pushing to leave New Orleans sooner:

“I was really comfortable with the team, with the people in the organization. My family was comfortable in New Orleans. You also gotta understand that I know how dope my relationship is with the city. Guys don’t get that chance to connect with a city like that. It’s special. I got to be a part of the growing process for the organization and we won some big games for the city. But joining the Knicks, everything just lined up perfect at the right time. I think right now, this is the best situation for me.”

On how he learned about the Knicks trade:

“The organization did a great job with me. (Pelicans lead executive) Joe (Dumars) they were keeping me updated leading up to the (trade) deadline. They told me it looked like the deal was gonna happen. I just appreciate that they kept me in the loop the whole time. None of it was really a surprise, like you hear with some guys. I got to make sure my family knew so we could be ready for what’s next.”

On representing New York and playing at MSG:

“Man, I get to represent my hometown and I have a lot of pride when I put that jersey on. I’m really from the streets that’s here. It’s exciting. If you’re from here, you know how crazy the city is when the Knicks are good or when the Knicks are winning. Now, I get to be a part of that, which is crazy. I love it. Not really. Playing in (Madison Square Garden) is crazy. The fans are wild. All the games are crazy in there – they’re cheering and making noise. You see all the legends sitting courtside. I can’t wait to see what it’s like in the playoffs. I just want to be a part of us doing something special for New York. We’ve got so much talent. I’m excited to see how we come together.”

On the his Knicks expectations ahead of the playoffs:

“The Knicks are going to be a tough team to deal with. We’re gonna fight. We’re gonna do whatever it takes to win. I can’t wait.”

Welcome to the 〽️, @TajGibsonpic.twitter.com/B6BQOktFtL

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 27, 2026

The Tuesday night loss to the Atlanta Hawks was bad. The loss last night was worse. The Wizards fell behind quickly, made a first quarter run when the Hawks slacked off early, and then got their doors blown off. Again.

I’ve now written several versions of a sentence that communicates the idea that the competitive portion of this game ended early. They all landed wrong because in truth, there was no competitive portion. The players wearing Wizards uniforms tried. I have no reason to think Brian Keefe and his staff didn’t give a professional effort on the coaching front.

But the roster — designed to lose and lose badly — was missing several of its best players, and against a semi-competent team playing for something, there was no hope.

Less than four minutes into the game, Hawks legend/broadcaster Dominique Wilkins said it was going to be a blowout win for Atlanta. The score at the time: 14-2. It would be another minute of game time until Tre Johnson hit a three, which was Washington’s first field goal of the game.

Acknowledging the above is not complaining. Well, it is complaining because I love watching good basketball. This kinda begs the question of why I’ve spent so many years watching the Wizards and Bullets, and I don’t have a satisfactory answer. Over the past couple decades, I’ve taken to saying that I jumped on the bandwagon in 1978, and the exits are poorly marked.

In this one, the Wizards were annihilated by CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert — who they traded to Atlanta earlier this season for Trae Young, who may one day take the floor for Washington.

McCollum took his former teammates to school, pumping in 25 points on 19 shots in 26 minutes. The NBA mantra he got what he wanted was invented for games like this. Wizards defenders tried to slow McCollum. He was just better — routinely maneuvering them where he wanted to go and then pulling the trigger on the shot he wanted. If he’d actually been hot (9-19 from the floor and just 2-8 from three), the damage would have been worse.

Speaking of getting hot and causing worse damage, Kispert feasted on open looks to score a career high 33 points, including 22 in the first half — tying his career-best scoring output for a half. Kispert kept getting wide open threes, and I kept rewinding the action to see why.

Examples?

• With about a minute left in the first quarter, the Hawks had the ball in transition — two Hawks running up on offense vs. two Wizards back and in position to defend. Justin Champagnie picked up the ball. Will Riley for some reason just drifted back towards the basket — ignoring Kispert (a dangerous three-point shooter, especially in transition) sprinting to the corner. I jotted KYP (know your personnel) in my notes, which is pretty ridiculous considering these guys were teammates who went through training camp together.
• The very next possession — a Hawks transition possession — Anthony Gill was on an island needing to defend two. As the ball went to Kispert on the wing, Gill took his first step…towards Jock Landale in the corner. He redirected quickly, but Kispert got another open look (which he hit).
• To start the second quarter, Atlanta ran a basic pindown for Kispert. Jaden Hardy was trailing, but Gill was dropped way into the lane, so Kispert got yet another open shot.

The Wizards did react. About a minute later, they overplayed Kispert at the three-point line, and he responded with an easy drive for a layup. That bucket gave him 19 points with more than 10 minutes left in the second quarter. He’d been on the court for about seven minutes of playing time at that point.

Thoughts & Observations

• Tre Johnson has been guilty of holding the ball and not passing to open teammates when routine passes could initiate the offensive flow. Tristan Vukcevic gave a classic (but muted) “WTF?” gesture Tuesday night. Last night, other teammates had similar reactions. In addition to get the offense moving passes he missed, he either didn’t recognize or chose not to make simple passes to teammates wide open at the three-point line. Not something to worry about, but perhaps something worth monitoring.
• The Hawks had a giveaway going, which they decided to do by laying out t-shirts on seats. The result: pink seat backs that served to highlight how many empty seats there were.
• The Hawks broadcast is an often entertaining product at the intersection of interesting basketball insights, poor preparation, and mistakes.
• Atlanta play-by-play man Bob Rathbun (who I knew a little when he was calling games for Old Dominion University) very carefully mispronounces Vukcevic’s name. For the record, it’s VOOK-suh-vitch. Not VOOK-eh-vitch. Not VOOCH-eh-vitch. VOOK-suh-vitch.
• After saying the game would be a Hawks blowout, Wilkins watched as the Wizards went on a run. When they got the score to 20-18, Wilkins said, “I didn’t see this coming.” Atlanta immediately responded with a run of their own, and the game was never close again.
• At the 4:44 mark of the first quarter, Bilal Coulibaly hit a pullup midrange jumper. According to play-by-play data, about 4% of Coulibaly’s shots have come from that distance this season.
• Another Wilkins comment: “Riley has no idea what he’s doing on the floor right now.”
• More ‘Nique? After Johnson drove and dunked, Wilkins said, “He’s standing there posing. You just want to say, ‘Young man, you’re down 17.‘ ”
• At the half, Rathbun had a good line: “The old Wizards are sticking it to the new Wizards.”
• The Wizards developed a theme in my notes at the end of the first half and start of the second — “dumb” fouls. They included a pointless push by Johnson that resulted in a McCollum four-point play, an inexplicable take foul by Coulibaly, and then a non-flagrant foul that should have been a flagrant on Johnson.
• Bub Carrington is not a good lob passer.
• No one from the Wizards actually played well last night. Gill led the team in total production with a below-average 80 PPA. Johnson was the only player to crack average, and his game was just a 103. Average is 100.

Four Factors

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

FOUR FACTORS	WIZARDS	HAWKS	LGAVG
eFG%	43.1%	53.3%	54.3%
OREB%	19.6%	25.0%	26.1%
TOV%	13.3%	12.4%	12.8%
FTM/FGA	0.160	0.319	0.208
PACE	105		99.5
ORTG	91	120	115.4

Stats & Metrics

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is listed in the Four Factors table above. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%. Median so far this season is 17.7%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 115, the league — on average — would produced 23.0 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -3.0.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

WIZARDS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Anthony Gill	31	68	118	14.5%	0.3	80	-29
Will Riley	36	78	84	24.3%	-6.0	66	-32
Tre Johnson	20	44	108	25.4%	-0.8	103	-9
Leaky Black	30	67	139	4.0%	0.6	63	-22
Justin Champagnie	20	44	108	27.2%	-0.8	94	-20
Bilal Coulibaly	22	49	101	19.4%	-1.4	57	-1
Bub Carrington	22	48	91	12.2%	-1.4	26	1
Tristan Vukcevic	17	37	105	29.8%	-1.1	22	-1
Sharife Cooper	14	31	43	16.2%	-3.7	-82	-3
Jaden Hardy	28	60	59	32.1%	-10.9	-104	-34

HAWKS	MIN	POSS	ORTG	USG	+PTS	PPA	+/-
Corey Kispert	28	61	147	30.0%	5.8	367	26
Dyson Daniels	33	73	145	15.4%	3.3	302	28
CJ McCollum	26	57	125	31.2%	1.7	246	2
Jonathan Kuminga	30	65	119	21.4%	0.6	163	23
Onyeka Okongwu	26	58	99	20.1%	-1.9	115	10
Mouhamed Gueye	18	40	122	5.5%	0.1	88	6
Zaccharie Risacher	25	54	102	14.5%	-1.0	60	10
Jock Landale	18	40	86	28.1%	-3.3	59	20
Gabe Vincent	16	35	120	11.0%	0.2	34	15
Keaton Wallace	13	28	25	8.6%	-2.2	-107	10
Christian Koloko	3	6	179	45.4%	1.9	648	0
Asa Newell	3	6	101	22.4%	-0.2	-51	0

The Milwaukee Bucks play host to the New York Knicks tonight at Fiserv, eager to complete their third three-game win streak of the season. As I’ll get to, the Knicks haven’t looked like themselves lately, while the Bucks are flying. The season series between these two sides sits at one game apiece, with Milwaukee taking the first contest just four games into the season, and New York taking the most recent one.

Where We’re At

The Bucks have won eight of their last 10. Most recently, they lost handily to the Raptors, but responded by beating the Heat and (zombie) Cavaliers on a back-to-back. Not to demean anyone else, but Milwaukee’s return to winning has come primarily off the back of three players: Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, and Jericho Sims. Porter and Rollins have been doing a great job of creating for themselves and others (while Porter, at least, has kept his turnovers down). Over the back-to-back, the Porter-Rollins duo racked up 91 points and 26 assists. As for Sims, he’ll never fill up the stat sheet, but anyone who’s been watching recently can tell how much of an impact he’s made as a defender and rebounder. This is evidenced by the fact that, over the past 10 games, the Bucks—who’ve been a bad rebounding team for most of this season—have the fifth-best defensive rebounding percentage and the 15th-best offensive rebounding percentage. Much of that credit goes to Sims, who’s had 10 O boards in the last three games.

The Knicks, on the other hand, are sputtering. Their overall record lately, going .500 over their last eight games, doesn’t look too bad on the surface, but context is needed. They lost to the Pacers, very nearly lost to the Bulls, beat the Rockets after Houston crapped the bed up 18 in the fourth, and got annihilated by the Pistons twice and Cavs once. They have the 15th-best net rating in the NBA over that eight-game span. Having said that, this team won eight in a row right before this most recent eight-game streak (which followed a horror stretch before that!). In short, New York has an equally low floor as it does a high ceiling—anything could happen tonight.

Injury Report

For the Bucks, Giannis (calf) and Taurean Prince (neck) are both out. For the Knicks, Miles McBride (core) is out.

Player To Watch

Let’s keep rolling with Jericho Sims. Going up against the rebounding beast that is Mitchell Robinson, Sims will need to keep doing what he’s been doing on the boards. Jericho actually seems like a decent matchup to cover the pick-and-pops from Karl-Anthony Towns (probably better than Myles Turner, at least). The bigs will play a huge role in who wins this game.

How To Watch

FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin at 7:00 p.m. CST.

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For the second time this week, the Atlanta Hawks squared off against the hapless Washington Wizards in front of their home fans at State Farm Arena. After beating Washington handily on Tuesday, Atlanta delivered an equally emphatic 126-96 victory last night — though with Jalen Johnson (left hip contusion) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (left foot sprain) watching this one from the sidelines, the manner of victory looked a little different than it did on Tuesday.

The Wizards have been one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, ranking 29th in offense and 28th in defense, still, with the Play-In race in the Eastern Conference heating up, it was important that the Hawks took care of business on Thursday evening.

Corey Kispert led all scorers with a career-high 33 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field (6-for-11 from three) against his former team, while CJ McCollum added 25 points in 26 minutes of action. Dyson Daniels had a nice night, filling up the stat sheet with 13 points, 11 assists and five steals. Jonathan Kuminga, logging his first start in a Hawks uniform, chipped in with 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

McCollum had it going early on, scoring eight out of Atlanta’s first 14 points as the Hawks jumped out to an early 14-2 lead. A cold spell from Atlanta saw Washington cut the lead to two, before the Hawks pulled away towards the end of the quarter — thanks in large part to Washington turning the ball over four times over the final 3:00 of the period (and Corey Kispert going nuclear).

Here, after a chaotic sequence, Daniels pokes the ball free from Jayden Hardy leading to a Kispert triple after some nice ball movement by Atlanta.

A few plays later, Landale gets a paw on the entry pass, leading to a fastbreak opportunity for Atlanta and another Kispert three ball.

On the very next possession, a wayward entry pass from Anthony Gil leads to another Daniels steal. He finds Kispert with a nice hit-ahead pass for another open triple.

Adding insult to injury, Mo Gueye capped off the quarter with a steal and slam, and Atlanta took a 37-26 lead into the second quarter.

Another defining factor in the first quarter was the frequency with which Atlanta was getting out in transition and generating quality early shot clock looks while preventing them on the other end, with the Hawks outscoring the Wizards 16-0 in fastbreak points in the opening frame.

Here, Daniels grabs the rebound, races the other way and finds Kuminga for a wide-open corner three.

In the play below, Daniels glides right by Champagnie for a pretty transition finish off of a Washington miss.

In the second, Atlanta extended their lead to 20, facing little resistance from the visiting team. While they continued to shoot the ball well from the outside (with McCollum and Kispert knocking down two three-pointers apiece), they also did a good job attacking the paint — shooting 8-for-12 from the interior in the second.

Here, Daniels goes to his trademark spin move before dropping in the floater over Bilal Coulibaly.

In the play below, Risacher gets the handoff from Okongwu, then finds him underneath the basket for two.

A few minutes later, Daniels finds McCollum cutting to the basket for a silky smooth finish at the rim.

Even Zaccharie Risacher, in the midst of a rough February shooting-wise, got in on the action, throwing down a mean lefty slam over Coulibaly in transition.

ZACCHARIE RISACHER LEFTY POSTER pic.twitter.com/V8KXvzPzEx

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 27, 2026

Still, while the Hawks took a commanding 76-56 lead into the halftime break, it wasn’t all perfect in the second quarter, with the team suffering a handful of defensive breakdowns towards the end of the period.

Here, Risacher gets caught in no-man’s land, leading to a Coulibaly slam. After Carrington rejects the screen, Risacher has to try and shrink the floor, ideally positioning himself by the nail so he can keep an eye on Coulibaly and play the pass to Vukcevic. Instead, he’s out of position when Carrington passes to Vukcevic, and Coulibaly loses him with a backdoor cut.

Here, Tre Johnson loses McCollum around the screen from Vukcevic. Okongwu is in good position to wall off the drive while CJ recovers, but he abandons his spot way too early (rotating onto 28% three-point shooter Tristan Vukcevic camped out on the perimeter) and Johnson takes it right to the hole for a slam with Atlanta’s rim protection out of the way.

Here, Leaky Black clears McCollum out of the way before Coulibaly beats Kuminga off the dribble, taking it to the cup for an easy two. Far too easy.

The third quarter lacked the shot-making prowess that we were treated to in the first half. Atlanta — ahead by 20 — looked quite lethargic coming out of the break, managing just 22 points on 7-for-21 shooting from the field (7-for-11 at the free-throw line), while turning the ball over seven times* in the period.

_{*They turned it over just twice in the first-half.}

Here, after the air-ball from Risacher, Kuminga tries to thread the needle but throws it away.

A few plays later, Okongwu commits a careless turnover in the back-court leading to an easy two points for Washington, prompting Quin Snyder to call for timeout with the Wizards only trailing by 14.

Fortunately for the Hawks, Washington continued to struggle shooting the basketball in the third (10-for-28 from the field, 2-for-10 from three) and couldn’t find a way back into the ball game despite the lack of verve from Atlanta. A Kuminga-led flurry to close the quarter saw Atlanta take a 98-80 lead into the final period.

The fourth quarter was hardly competitive. Atlanta got the period started on a 6-0 run and led by 24 with just under six minutes remaining. Meanwhile, the Wizards kept up the miserable shooting (6-for-24 from the field, 0-for-9 from three) and managed just 16 points in the final frame.

When the buzzer sounded, the Hawks went home with a resounding 126-96 victory.

Searching for some overarching themes from this one, one big difference between the two sides was seen in the amount of free-throws the Hawks were able to generate, with Atlanta finishing the game with 37 free-throw attempts (29-for-37) — tied for the fourth most free throw attempts they’ve taken in a game this season — while Washington finished the game just 15-for-16 at the line.

Jonathan Kuminga, who has routinely ranked near the top of the league in shooting fouls drawn (per cleaningtheglass) over the course of his career, put a ton of pressure on the rim in this one*, tying his season-high with eight free throw attempts, converting six of them.

_{*Something Atlanta have desperately needed since the McCollum and Kispert additions.}

Another difference was that despite these two teams ranking near the top of the league in ‘pace’, the Hawks were the only ones able to consistently generate quality early shot clock looks, outscoring Washington 24-11 in fast-break points.

Of course, it was always going to be difficult for Washington to overcome the massive shooting discrepancy (58.7% true shooting percentage (TS%) for Atlanta vs. 47.5% Washington), but the fact that they were unable to gain on edge on the glass or in the turnover margin sealed their fate.

Postgame, Quin Snyder had the following to say on how the team responded to a difficult third quarter.

“I think the way we started the third quarter. I didn’t think we defended as well, but also, we missed some shots, and that makes it harder because they were in transition. But those are the times where we’ve talked about, we just can’t give up big runs, so we did a good job responding to that. NBA games get competitive, and I was just happy with the way we defended throughout the course of the game. We’ve got to do a better job on the defensive glass, and I didn’t think we crashed the offensive glass as consistently as we need to. So, that possession game is just crucial for us, and we need everyone to do it.”

On getting out to a fast start in the first quarter, Snyder said:

“We had a couple guys shoot it well in the beginning of the game, and Corey throughout the game, but you can’t count on that all the time. You need to be able to rely on getting stops and rebounding. That’s where our focus needs to continue to go.”

On Jonathan Kuminga’s second game in a Hawks jersey:

“The thing that’s impressed me as much as anything is just, his work. You saw that previous to him getting healthy and I think that’s carried over. There are some plays defensively where his strength stands out and he’s been focused. There was a — he lost it out of bounds — but there was a big play out of a timeout. I thought we needed to dig in, [and] he did a really good job just denying the entry pass and he almost had a dunk. So that to me is more impressive than the actual dunk — I know he can dunk. So those little things on the defensive end, he can be impactful”

“Then I think he’s really focused on moving the ball and being unselfish. I thought he made a couple passes tonight that were really impressive, just looking the guy off and seeing the court, and as he plays more, he’s going to be more instinctive.”

On Corey Kispert setting his career high in points (33), and if there were any conversations about feeding him the ball to help him get there.

“We weren’t talking about his career high. I don’t think he was focused on that. We were talking about him doing a good job spacing, which is I think where a lot of his shots came early. He’s someone that we’ll run an ‘ATO’ for because, those are opportunities that you get to take a stab at a three, or if someone overplays the situation, you get high percentage shots. But I don’t think anyone was thinking about that. Frankly, I wasn’t aware of it until you just said it.”

Snyder also spoke highly of Kispert’s ‘determination’ and ‘pride’ when asked about the chase-down block he had in the third quarter, which helped snap the Hawks out of their funk.

Looking ahead, Atlanta has one more game remaining on their homestand, taking on Vit Krejci and the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday evening. Tip off for that one is at 6 PM EST.

Talk soon.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bat first in cricket's T20 World Cup Super 8 match against England at R. Premadasa Stadium on Friday.

A win will earn New Zealand the second semifinal spot from Group 2. Leader England has already qualified after beating Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Victory for England will leave Pakistan with a slim chance of getting into the semifinals via net run-rate if they beat Sri Lanka on Saturday.

South Africa has already qualified from Group 1. The second spot will be decided by the result of the match between India and the West Indies.

New Zealand fielded the same side that beat Sri Lanka comprehensively on Wednesday while England bolstered its spin attack by recalling Rehan Ahmed in place of Jamie Overton.

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Lineups:

England: Harry Brook (captain), Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson.

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

In their last game of February, the Sixers picked up one of their most important wins of the season. With the Miami Heat coming into town Thursday just a game and a half behind the Sixers for the sixth seed and final guaranteed playoff spot, the Sixers knocked them off 124-117.

That seemed to take a backseat to a new franchise record. Tyrese Maxey passed Allen Iverson for the most made three-pointers in franchise history. He was three away from the record coming into the game and got it out of the way early, drilling five triples in the first quarter.

He was especially keen to get the record out of the way early — learning how close he was threw him off in the team’s previous game in Indiana.

“He was complaining that they told him too much the other night or something,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “He didn’t want to know, and he knew, and he was thinking about it a bit.”

Maxey explained that the culprit here was his close buddy Trendon Watford, who told him that Maxey might as well break it against the Pacers after hitting his first two threes in that game. Maxey didn’t make a three the rest of that game.

One game later against the Heat, Watford got to be apart of the record-breaking moment.

“It’s ironic, Trendon was the one that passed me the ball,” Maxey said, “so, we’ll remember that one forever.” 

Anyone who’s followed Maxey for any stretch of his career won’t be shocked to learn that he spent most of his time talking about the record thanking God, his family, coaches and teammates, past and present. Former Sixer Tobias Harris also got a shoutout from Maxey in his postgame presser.

“I gave a shoutout to Tobias earlier,” Maxey said. “In my rookie year he told me I was a great shooter even though I wasn’t shooting as well as I wanted to. He told me I was great shooter.”

Despite Maxey’s rise from a player drafted outside of the lottery to an All-Star game starter, there’s been a sense of humility that he’s never lost. Accolades seem like a nice byproduct of trying to get better every day.

“I didn’t know what to expect. I always said I was going to make it to the NBA, but I didn’t know what to expect, honestly,” he said. “Someone asked me at All-Star [weekend] if I expected to be an All-Star starter, and I was like, ‘Man, no, I just work.’”

The longer his teammates have been around him though, the less of a shock it is for them to see these accomplishments.

“It’s a surreal moment, but it’s not surprising,” said Kelly Oubre Jr., a teammate of Maxey’s for the last three seasons. “He puts in the work, he’s confident, he’s developing every year, and you know, I’m super proud of him and blessed to be alongside him.”

The hard work and leadership Maxey has shown since taking over that role for this team has created a positive feedback loop. It’s something he sees in those he goes to work with as well.

“I’m just appreciative of the Philly fans, appreciative of the Philly organization, and both my coaches who really pushed me to become better every single day,” Maxey said. “When you have your coaches that really believe in you and your teammates that have your back every single night, you can’t ask for anything better than that.”

That work ethic and ultra competitiveness Maxey has become famous for is seen often in his rookie backcourt running mate too. VJ Edgecombe had high praise for the record-breaker, but was able to use it to motivate himself as well.

“The record is going to be harder to break now, I’m gonna try, hopefully I can get to it,” Edgecombe half-joked, “but credit to Tyrese, man. He means a lot to me. Obviously, because of who he is as a person and who he is as a player.”

Three-point records are of course a tricky thing because of how the game has changed, but this achievement is a good mark of just how much work The Franchise has put in.

The Memphis Grizzlies (21–36, 9–18 Away) limp into Dallas to face the Mavericks (21–36, 14–16 Home) on Friday night in the second half of a back-to-back for both teams. Dallas just got shellacked by Sacramento 130–121 despite Naji Marshall dropping 36 points. Memphis is on a three-game losing streak and hasn’t won in seven of their last eight. Both rosters are held together with duct tape and prayers. Cooper Flagg’s availability remains uncertain. The Grizzlies traded Jaren Jackson Jr. three weeks ago and are down seven rotation players. This is what we call “chaos with a spread.”

Let’s scan the lines in search of value.

🏀 Fixture: Memphis Grizzlies (21–36, 9–18 Away) @ Dallas Mavericks (21–36, 14–16 Home)
📍 American Airlines Center — Dallas, TX
🕢 7:30 PM CST, February 27, 2026
📺 KFAA-TV / MavsTV / NBA App

📊 DraftKings Snapshot (as of 3:00 AM CST)
Spread: DAL -5.5 (–110) | MEM +5.5 (–110)
Total: 237.5 (O –108 / U –112)
Moneyline: DAL –225 | MEM +185

📉 Game Side Lean: Mavericks -5.5

Memphis is missing everyone. Seven players out, one doubtful. Ja Morant (elbow). Zach Edey (ankle). Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (finger surgery). Brandon Clarke (calf). The list goes on. What’s left is GG Jackson, a collection of rookies and second-year players, and whatever fumes former Mav Olivier Maxence-Prosper is running on.

Dallas, meanwhile, just lost to the worst team in the league but still has the size and veteran presence to impose their will. The preview from MMB noted that Sacramento beat Memphis earlier this week by outmuscling them in the paint 123–114. If the Mavericks are healthy — and that’s a big if with Cooper Flagg’s status uncertain — they have the frontcourt depth (Marvin Bagley, Daniel Gafford, potentially Khris Middleton) to do the same.

The Grizzlies have won both meetings this season, but those were different rosters. Memphis traded Jaren Jackson Jr. on February 3rd. Dallas shipped Anthony Davis to Washington. Neither team looks remotely like the clubs that met in November.

Back-to-backs are brutal for veteran-heavy teams, but Dallas is at home and Memphis is playing their ninth road game in a brutal stretch. The line dropped from -6.5 last night to -5.5 tonight, which suggests some uncertainty, but the Mavs should have enough to cover if they take care of the ball. They turned it over 17 times against Sacramento. Clean that up and this game stays under control.

🔮 Total Lean: Under 237.5

Both teams played last night. Both teams are exhausted. Both teams are missing significant offensive firepower.

Memphis is down Ja Morant, their primary playmaker, and Zach Edey, their anchor in the paint. Dallas might be without Cooper Flagg again, and even if he plays, he’s coming off a four-game absence with a foot injury. The Grizzlies’ offense has been anemic lately — they’ve lost seven of their last eight — and their roster is so thin that coach Tuomas Iisalo is playing everyone 20+ minutes just to get through games.

Dallas scored 121 last night, but that was in a chaotic shootout with Sacramento where both teams were firing threes and leaking points in transition. Memphis doesn’t have the offensive firepower to turn this into a track meet. The Grizzlies are one of the smallest teams in the league now, and Dallas should control the pace with size and physicality.

The math points under. Two tired teams, depleted rosters, and a game that should grind more than it flows.

🎯 Player Props We Like

GG Jackson Over 15.5 Points (–116)

GG Jackson is the Memphis Grizzlies right now. Since Jaren Jackson Jr. was traded to Utah, GG has started eight of nine games and gone on an absolute heater from three — 20-of-39 since the trade. He’s averaging 17.0 points per game in February and has taken on a massive usage bump with the roster decimated. Dallas is playing without Flagg (likely) and P.J. Washington, which thins out their frontcourt defense. Jackson is an excellent finisher through contact at the rim, and his shooting from deep has opened up the floor for him to operate. With Memphis missing seven rotation players, someone has to score. It’s going to be GG.

Khris Middleton Over 13.5 Points (–110)

Middleton left Tuesday’s game against Brooklyn early with a shoulder stinger, which limited his minutes. But he’s expected to play tonight and should see his usual workload restored. He’s been solid since arriving in the Anthony Davis trade — 25 points against Indiana, 18 against Minnesota — and Memphis has no perimeter defense with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope out. Middleton’s veteran savvy and ability to create his own shot should give him plenty of opportunities against a Grizzlies team that’s giving up points in bunches. The line feels generous at 13.5. He should cruise past it.