The Utah Jazz have officially lost 9 straight games. The team is getting close and closer to a win, but that still eludes them. 1-10 overall and 1-5 at home, Utah may be able to pull this one out after a gutsy comeback against the Miami Heat last night.

The good news is that Darryn Peterson is slowly breaking out. After scoring 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists yesterday, Jazz fans expect to see even more continue growth from their 2nd overall pick. He truly does look like a future star, with Ace Bailey very much looking the part of a do-it-all forward that is sorely needed in SLC.

But this team just can’t seem to get a win. Although it was an okay 4th quarter for both Svi and Isaiah Collier, the bench overall has been having a horrific season. Brice Sensabaugh has yet to show up, Kyle Filipowski continues to struggle with a back injury, and the injuries are mounting for this team. Once a promising season, this year has gotten out of hand quickly. The Jazz NEED a win and tonight against the Orlando Magic is a great chance.

The Orlando Magic are having a rough season themselves, sitting at 3-7 and seeing numerous injuries themselves. Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs have been out, Tristan de Silva missed last game, and a few of their younger guys in Izaiyah Nelson and Noah Penda have been struggling with injuries as well.

Much of the season has been placed on the shoulders of Franz Wagner, who has yet to truly find his outside shot, shooting 22.9% on the year. Desmond Bane has shot inconsistently, but Anthony Black has been a bright spot. It could be a competitive one tonight at the Delta Center.

Start Time and TV Schedule

Who: Utah Jazz vs Orlando Magic

When: November 11, 7:00 MT

Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT

How to watch: KJZZ, Jazz+

Injury Report

Jazz Injury Report (as of 11/10)

OUT – Trey Alexander (G League – Two-Way)

OUT – Keyonte George (Right Ankle; Sprain)

OUT – Harrison Ingram (G League – Two-Way)

OUT – Jaren Jackson Jr. (Right Knee; MCL Tear)

OUT – Jusuf Nurkic (Right foot; 2nd Plantar Plate Tear)

When the Knicks lost Mitchell Robinson in the offseason, there was not only a sense of mourning for losing the services of the longest-tenured Knick right after a championship, but also in the sense of what he provided on the court.

Even with his injury-prone nature, Robinson was a premier rim protector and an anchor for the Knicks’ defense whenever he was on the court, which would be enough of an asset on his own, but the biggest asset he provided was something entirely different.

As we all came to know and love, he is simply the best offensive rebounder of this generation and one of the best rebounders, period, in the NBA. His innate ability to gobble up boards helped turbocharge an offense that already had plenty of offensive weapons, but would sometimes struggle with inefficiency.

For several years now, the Knicks have built their offense around the expectation of extra possessions. They’ve game-planned to win games by simply getting more opportunities to score than their opponents by grabbing more rebounds and committing fewer turnovers. With Robinson gone, the former was in serious danger, even if the team signed Andre Drummond to bandage it.

Through 10 games this season, though, they seem to have not missed a beat.

The Knicks are impressively the No. 1 rebounding team in basketball so far. That’s powered by Drummond not missing a beat with his usual rebounding prowess, but also an elevation in the team’s process and scheme.

Karl-Anthony Towns, historically a great rebounding center, leads the NBA with a staggering 13.8 rebounds per game. While his defensive strides have been the most encouraging part of the start of this season, he’s been a huge part of winning the possession battle by hitting another level with a 36.6 DREB%, which also leads the league.

As a team, the Knicks have hauled in 55.5 percent of available rebounds, 73 percent of defensive rebounds, and 38.8 percent of offensive rebounds, all leading the NBA. They’ve done this despite routinely having smaller lineups on the court.

Over the last two years, the Knicks were an elite rebounding team, especially thanks to double-big lineups and versatility. They’ve gradually gotten smaller as a team, have played zero minutes with more than one player taller than 6’8” on the court, and are still dominating on the glass.

Towns, Drummond, and Josh Hart have combined to do a bulk of the rebounding on both ends, but it’s also been a group effort. OG Anunoby has been much more active on the glass, averaging 1.7 OREB/g. Mikal Bridges and Jordan Clarkson are grabbing more rebounds on a rate basis. Even Jalen Brunson is averaging a career high in offensive rebounds.

Everyone is feeding off each other. Of the Knicks’ 10 most-used lineups, nine of them have an elite rebounding percentage, with the lone exception being a shocker: the starting five (47.5%).

Their early-season struggles, particularly on offense, are worth monitoring, but some positive regression is due whenever Hart returns from his ankle/illness ailments, especially in the rebounding department. The team as a whole played poorly through five games and has only started to pick it up recently.

The synergy has allowed them to just take the soul out of teams in recent games, something that’s been pivotal to their success in recent years. Just look at last night’s game against Milwaukee, where, despite the plucky Bucks chopping a 26-point lead down to 11, they couldn’t overcome a 59-32 rebounding disadvantage.

Against Cleveland on Saturday, the Knicks took advantage of no Jarrett Allen to outrebound the Cavs, 49-40, to help stretch their second-half cushion. In the blowout of the Bulls last week, it was another 57-34 bludgeoning.

It even makes you think: was it the system that made Mitchell Robinson who he was, or was he just a superpowered cog in the wheel?

Let’s slow down. Robinson was always a generational rebounder, as evidenced by his work under previous head coaches, but his early struggles in Boston are notable.

As long as Towns continues to be consistent defensively and the team keeps rebounding like this… will they even miss him that much?

Embiid and James listed as questionable for Sixers vs. Raptors  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers listed both Joel Embiid and LeBron James as questionable for their Thursday night game vs. the Raptors.

As has been the case on previous early-season injury reports, James’ official listing was “low back/sciatica management” and Embiid’s was “right foot plantar fascia injury management.” 

While Thursday’s contest isn’t part of a back-to-back, it’s the sort of situation in which the Sixers have load management matters in mind for the 32-year-old Embiid and 41-year-old James. They’ll host the Pacers on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET and then visit the Nets the following night.

James logged 29 minutes Tuesday in the 9-3 Sixers’ loss to the Celtics and Embiid went 31. Embiid said postgame that he rolled his ankle late in the second quarter, but he was fine to play the second half. 

With the Raptors facing Boston on Wednesday night, Toronto’s injury report won’t be available until Thursday afternoon. The Raptors announced Tuesday that superstar Kawhi Leonard will be sidelined for at least one more week because of his left knee injury. 

Adem Bona (cervical spine sprain), Dominick Barlow (lower back stress reaction) and Ariel Hukporti (right Achilles tendon tear) will all remain out for the Sixers against the Raptors. 

About every 10 games this season, I’ll pulse my top-3 candidates in each of eight categories. This one comes on the heels of an easy Suns win, their third in the last four games, as they continue to work on undoing a rough 1-5 start. All of these will be debatable, so have at it in the chat. 

Most Valuable Sun

1. Devin Booker
2. Luke Kennard
3. Oso Ighodaro

Booker has had a key role in each of the Suns’ wins thus far. The losses may be more about the pieces around him not fitting, or playing well enough. Kennard has provided much-needed shooting and playmaking with incredible efficiency (see below) and is second in net rating. Oso has been far from perfect thus far, but his presence in the starting lineup provided significantly better flow to the offense and smarter defensive rotation.

Rising Suns

1. Ryan Dunn
2. Khaman Maluach
3. Jordan Goodwin

Dunn’s stock is on fire. He has a true shooting percentage of 63%; see more below on his defense. Maluach is developing and getting valuable experience reps. Shows occasional flashes, be it a dominant block or hitting a three. The hands and defensive rotation need to improve to keep him on the rise. After last night’s game, I moved Goodwin up to the third slot.  He’s becoming much more than hustle, rebounding and defense. He’s hit 3 or more three-pointers in each of his last three full game appearances, hitting 13 of 22 (59%) over that span.

Setting Suns

1. Jalen Green
2. Rasheer Fleming
3. Backup point guards (Jamaree Bouyea, Pat Spencer)

Green has been a lightning rod for frustration so far. He gives good effort most of the time, and seems to be trying to do his assigned role – assists up slightly in recent games – but it seems unnatural. As a result, his value is declining. Fleming has battled health issues, but fell out of the rotation before that. Bouyea and Spencer are just not getting any minutes; I thought there was a role to be had here, on occasions when a change of pace is necessary.

Suns Scorers

1. Devin Booker
2. Luke Kennard
3. Dillon Brooks

Booker’s overall ability to get shots, draw fouls (34% free throw rate), and make free throws (94%) has him leading the team at over 25 points per night. He also plays his usual facilitation role with a 23% assist%. Kennard has a 74% true shooting percentage at 49% from three-point range, and has a 6.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. Brooks is at 42% from downtown, and still has that mid-post game.

Sun Blockers

1. Ryan Dunn
2. Oso Ighodaro
3. Collin Gillespie

Disclaimer on this category: the team’s defense has been subpar. Dunn’s defensive rating of 99 is 10 points better than the second-best Sun, Ighodaro, who provides defensive versatility. Gillespie is third in the NBA at 3.0 steals per 36 minutes.

Outworking the Sunrise

1. Ryan Dunn
2. Jordan Goodwin
3. Collin Gillespie

Dunn also shows up here, seemingly going all-out during his limited minutes. Goodwin is so good at hustling that I have him on here despite playing only 5 ½ games of the 10 games due to a calf injury. Gillespie is always hustling, moving the most distance per minute of any Phoenix player and at a team-topping average speed of 4.73 mph.

Most Likely to Leave Suns’ Orbit

1. Jalen Green
2. Rasheer Fleming
3. Dillon Brooks

Despite his athleticism, Green has not met the expectations of his contract thus far in Phoenix. He is a popular fan target for a trade shakeup. I hope not right now, as his value is at a low. I’m hoping they get him into a sixth-man-type role where maybe he could cook. Fleming has size and a skill set that showed flashes last season. I could see other teams wanting him as part of a deal. The wild card: Brooks. If the season spirals, a contender desiring a toughness element may value him, and the Suns should consider it for the right younger piece.

Best Suns Win

1. Nov 7 – Houston 99, Phoenix 102
2. Nov 10 – LA Clippers 110, Phoenix 133
3. Nov 5 – Orlando 104, Phoenix 117

Saturday’s win over the Rockets easily tops this list now. Positive signs began to show in the Magic win, but last night’s dominant win over the Clippers moves into the #2 slot.

The Sixers got their asses handed to them by the Celtics on Tuesday night, to put it bluntly. They fell into a double-digit hole early in the second quarter, managed to claw their way back to tie the game late in the third, then got buried by an avalanche of three-pointers and called it a night.

While the beef and/or lamb chops and gravy between Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum took center stage Tuesday night, the real story of the game was that the Sixers and Celtics came into it with the two best records in the Eastern Conference. This was the first of four matchups between two legitimate title hopefuls, one with no shortage of bad blood on either side (as much as the Celtics try to deny it).

The result raised two glaring red flags for the Sixers, ones which have been prevalent throughout this early start to the season. Their lack of three-point shooting and lack of rim protection behind Joel Embiid once again came back to bite them, and this time, they weren’t able to muster a second-half rally via lockdown defense.

Sixers losing the math game

Through their first 12 games, the Sixers are 24th in the league in made threes per game, 26th in three-point attempts and 21st in three-point percentage. In the 22-point loss to Boston, they got outscored by 33 points from deep.

The Celtics have been one of the NBA’s highest-volume three-point shooting teams under Joe Mazzulla, and that hasn’t changed this year. After Tuesday’s avalanche of triples, they’re now second in the league in three-point makes, fifth in attempts and third in long-range shooting percentage.

Even though the Sixers drew 28 free-throw attempts compared to only five for the Celtics, they weren’t able to overcome the math advantage from Boston’s three-point barrage.

“We weren’t aggressive enough defensively, and they got loose,” Tyrese Maxey said after the game. “For them to get up 50 threes is, you know… the way they got them up, too. The catch-and-shoot threes, the open threes. We know their game plan is to get up threes. But we can’t give up the catch-and-shoot threes to this team because the result is this right here.”

Three-point shooting loomed as a legitimate concern for the Sixers heading into the season. Maxey is the only plus long-range shooter in their starting lineup. All four of their other starters can knock down triples as well, but they aren’t particularly reliable from deep. Opponents will happily concede those shots, particularly if they’re contested, if that allows them to wall off the paint and prevent easy looks at the basket.

The one silver lining to Tuesday’s game is that Joel Embiid, who was mired in a brutal 0-of-19 three-point slump over his previous seven games, finally knocked one down at the beginning of the second half.

“I think you can see it, as soon as I made a three, the next shot that I had in the short corner on the right side, I didn’t even think about it, I just shot it, let it fly. And I made it,” Embiid said after the game. “Probably if I hadn’t made a three, I probably would have been in my mind and would have thought about it.”

Head coach Nick Nurse doesn’t seem particularly concerned about the Sixers’ three-point woes in the early going.

“I think that we’ve got some guys that are obviously shooting much lower percentages than their last season or their career average, almost a handful of guys,” he said after Tuesday’s game. “And I don’t think it’s because they’re shooting fall-away, totally contested ones. I think they’re shots that we want them to take. So I think we’re going to continue to take them, and I’m pretty sure those will even out into their career averages.”

In particular, Nurse highlighted Dean Wade—a low-volume, above-average three-point shooter—as someone who can help fix the problem.

“We certainly feel like there are shots that he turned down in the first half-dozen games, for sure,” Nurse said. “But again, I don’t think he’s quite in the mindset to take them. We just keep showing him. We need his spacing. It’s obviously why we signed him. He’s a spacing big, and we need that, for sure.”

Too-small small-ball?

Ariel Hukporti is out for the year with an Achilles tear. Dominick Barlow has yet to make his season debut because of a back injury. And Adem Bona suffered a cervical spine sprain against the Detroit Pistons and has missed the Sixers’ past three games. That’s left the Sixers woefully shorthanded in the frontcourt behind Embiid.

Jabari Walker has been filling in as the nominal backup 5, but he’s only 6’7″. When Embiid has been off the floor in recent games, opponents have started attacking the basket with aplomb knowing the Sixers don’t have a rim protector lurking to swat their shots away.

After the Celtics game, Nurse told reporters that he might have to switch up their defensive strategy whenever they go with a small-ball 5.

“I think we need to just check on it schematically to see if there isn’t something we can do different when we’re small,” he said. “Maybe we can do a little more switching, maybe we can do a little more blitzing, things like that. As you know, we kinda used to use certain coverages, and when Bona would check in, we’d go to some other coverages. We haven’t gotten to as much of that this year, but that’s probably where we’re heading.”  

On a related note: What’s the point in having Tacko Fall signed to a two-way contract if he can’t get on the floor even with the frontcourt this depleted? That isn’t to suggest that he would have stemmed the bleeding against the Celtics—if anything, they likely would have picked him apart in drop coverage—but the Sixers may need to reevaluate how they’re using their two-way spots to add more frontcourt insurance until they get healthier.

The Sixers’ schedule considerably softens up over the next few games, which should help deter any Chicken Littles from screaming about how much the sky is falling. But despite their early-season success, the Sixers are still clearly a ways away from being a legitimate title threat this year. The loss to Boston underscored two glaring weaknesses that opponents will happily exploit in the playoffs if the Sixers can’t fix them before then.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.

Remember when the Knicks started 0-3, and people thought that the sky was falling? Turns out talks of the team no longer being good were exaggerated after all.

New York has now won six of their last seven games and are now winners of four straight after Tuesday night’s thrashing of a Bucks team that has been maybe even worse than expected. Part of that can and should be attributed to a lighter schedule over the last couple of weeks. The Knicks have played the 1-8 Bulls twice, the 2-8 Nets, and the aforementioned 1-10 Bucks. Of their two quality wins during that stretch, one was against the 7-3 Pistons and the other came against the Cavaliers, the latter perhaps not that great a deal given the interesting season they’ve had and the fact they were playing on the end of a back-to-back.

Up until the Bulls game last week, I would’ve called the Knicks’ season a roller coaster ride. But whatever early-season turbulence and disappointments the Knicks experienced, the Cavaliers might have surpassed it. At 5-6, they are just 1.5 games behind the Knicks. And it’s only been 11 games. But the Cavaliers have lost two in a row, have lost four of five and five of seven.

A lot of it starts with the starting lineup, which is ironic given the ceaseless talks surrounding the Knicks’ very own starters. Coming into Wednesday night, the Cavaliers’ preferred starting lineup of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen has an abysmal net rating of -18.9 in 84 minutes together. That number is a lot better when one of Mobley, Watson, or Allen is off the court, with the net ratings in those minutes all being positive, suggesting that the talent is there, but the synergy may not be.

There are three players in particular who deserve a closer look. Harden is currently averaging 15.3PPG and 5.7APG both of which are the third and fourth lowest of his career, respectively. He’s currently shooting just 35.5% from three, 37.5% from two, and shooting just 4.8FTA/G. Given how little he provides as a defender, he’s been a tough watch this season, and the numbers back it up. In the 359 minutes with Harden on the floor, the Cavaliers have had a -6.0 net rating. In the 174 minutes with him off the floor, they have a +16.5 net rating. That’s a 22.5-point swing.

He isn’t the only one that has been a disappointment, though. Watson, the Cavaliers’ major off-season trade acquisition, was looked to be the athletic shooting wing with size that could finally lock down the small forward position. Critics of the move were cautious given how much he benefitted from Nikola Jokic’s gravity and passing, but also given his relatively small sample size of being the kind of player the Cavaliers were hoping to get. While it’s unfair to judge Watson on just nine games in a new city and situation, he’s been a subpar player. Watson is currently averaging just 11.4PPG and 4.6RPG while having an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.7:1.8 and is shooting a putrid 21.6% from three and barely hovering above 40% from the field. And like Harden, he’s been a negative when on the floor. The Cavaliers have a -5.2 net rating in the 250 minutes with him on the floor. Some of that may simply be due to the fact that he has to share a large chunk of his minutes with Harden. But it also doesn’t fully explain why the Cavaliers have a +7.1 net rating in the 283 minutes without him or why the starting lineup sans Watson actually has a +30.4 net rating in 23 minutes.

Maybe the most interesting case study, though, is Mobley. His individual stats look fine for the most part. He’s averaging 17.5PPG and 7.5RPG while shooting 55.8% from the field and 50% from three. But the Cavaliers are a -2.4 in his minutes. And even when he shares the floor with Mitchell and Allen, the trio is a -20.5 in 87 minutes. Meanwhile, the duo of Mitchell and Allen without Mobley is a whopping +26.1 in 67 minutes with Mitchell being a +7.0 in his minutes and Allen being a +5.0 in his.

The team can still turn things around. As Knicks fans were told to do after 144 regular season minutes, Cavaliers fans should be reminded to relax because it really is a marathon. But as you can see, there are some very clear holes in this team. Some have pointed to Kenny Atkinson’s inability to fully get this group to gel. I do think there is some validity to that. He’s either not making the requisite changes or his players aren’t listening. And either can be a fireable offense. But he can’t bear all of the blame.

The team has very little depth. And at the end of the day, it comes down to his players simply playing better. Harden can’t shoot this bad if he’s going to give close to zero effort defensively. Watson needs to shoot better. And Mobley, despite putting together a solid campaign statistically, needs to continue becoming much more of an aggressive force both offensively and defensively.

All that being said, the Knicks are in prime position to extend their winning streak to five. They took care of business against the lowly Bucks last night, which allowed their starters to rest. Not a single player played more than 29 minutes, so they should be ready tonight. It can be difficult to beat a team twice in such a short span, but given the Cavaliers’ recent struggles and how well the Knicks have played them as of late, New York should be favored.

When you play a team with expectations, such as the Cavaliers, that has underperformed the way they have, you run the risk of running into a hungry and sometimes even angry team. Cleveland has the talent on paper to beat anybody on any given night. But we saw last Saturday that this team doesn’t have a single player that can defend Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns, and they just do not have the depth, especially at the center position, to reliably stay physical with a team like the Knicks.

With New York finally finding their groove and Cleveland slipping, I expect a closer game than the last one, but the Knicks to hold them off, improving to 7-4.

Game Details

Who: New York Knicks (6-4) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (5-6)
Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
TV: ESPN
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

Not much to say, really. The Brooklyn Nets faced a tough task on the road Sunday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Back-to-backs are never easy and going from Atlanta to Dallas is especially difficult. However, the Nets didn’t give the people at home much to enjoy. The team was never really in it after the first quarter and got trucked, losing 130-93. You’ve got to give people something worth holding on to at some point.

The opponent tonight is still searching. The New Orleans Pelicans don’t figure to be competing for a playoff spot this year, but they’ll try to figure out how they can build a brighter future. They were in San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors on Monday night and got embarrassed, losing 138-87. Yeesh.

Game info and broadcast details

• Matchup: Brooklyn Nets vs. New Orleans Pelicans
• Date: Wednesday November 11, 2026
• Time: 8 PM EST (7 PM CST)
• Location: Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, LA)
• TV: YES Network
• Streaming: DAZN, NBA League Pass
• Radio: WFAN

Nets vs. Pelicans: Who’s out?

Brooklyn Nets

• Probable – Egor Demin (right bone bruise)
• Questionable – Nolan Traore (right calf tightness/soreness)

New Orleans Pelicans

• Out – Yves Missi (left knee contusion/bone bruise)
• Probable – Trey Murphy III (bilateral patellar)
• Out – Trendon Watford (right ankle sprain)

The game

Herb Jones is here, but not playing the minutes one would expect for a player of his stature. He’s at a career low 22.6 minutes per game and it looks like Pelicans management might be gearing up to trade him later in the season. If you’re a team desperate for wing defense, it might be worth a shot.

Speaking of things being worth a shot, we might get our first extended look at Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr playing together. So far this year, they’ve only been limited to four minutes together on the court, but that should change in a hurry. Brooklyn’s guards have shown glimpses of excellence thus far, and we’ll see how the vision for them continues to develop as the season progresses.

On a team level, they have to be more careful with the ball. Too many of their games have gotten out of control due to ill timed turnovers, inability to rebound, etc.

“I know the guys are not trying to turn it over, so put less pressure on yourself when you make those decisions,” Jordi Fernández said. “It’s more about our spacing and then how we do from there because we’re pretty unorganized early and then that doesn’t help. So I don’t want them to play tentative; I want them to play aggressive, and making their decisions and playing very hard.

Fortunately for the Nets, they are playing a Pelicans team that is allowing 116.8 points per 100 possessions, fifth worst in the NBA. Unfortunately for Brooklyn, they allow 114.8 points per 100 possessions, seventh worst in the NBA. This one figures to be sloppy and frantic.

Player to watch: Zion Williamson

I think two things are true when discussing Zion Williamson. The first is that he’s had what we can consider a successful career. He’s gotten to the All-Star game a few times, has made over $150 million and counting, and is likely due to cash in on another big contract before his career ends. This season, he’s averaging 21 points on a career best 62.8 percent from the field and has taken some more three pointers than you’d expect out of him.

It’s also true that we expected a LOT more from the former number one pick. Numerous issues and controversies have dulled his impact in the league and instead of being a transcendent star, is merely a good player and potential trade chip this winter. If you told me eight years ago that’s how things would go for him, I would have called you a liar. But alas.

Williamson would be helping himself immensely if he were a better rebounder. He’s never been great at it and his rebound rate is at career lows to start the season. From Chris Lambert at Pelicans Debrief:

“There is zero reason for a player with his frame and athleticism to not be jumping up and snatching boards like they’re going out of style. Then you factor in he still gets lazy defensively and lets his man blow by him way too often, and I ask: what value do his defensive playmaking numbers even bring?

Honestly, I would rather he average one steal and block zero shots but give this team six-plus rebounds and actually provide a consistent effort when guarding on the ball. That would provide more value for this group than starting a few fast breaks. Well, actually, maybe not because the half-court is putrid, so maybe I take that back.“

Indeed.

Another lefty All-Star will look to put a good outing on the board. Like Williamson, Julius Randle has to be the best player on the court in order for his team to win. It hasn’t happened enough this year and it makes life more challenging for his teammates. Not that single-game plus minus tells the entire story, but the Nets were -33 in Randle’s minutes on Sunday. He’s the guy who’s out there the most and the player the team expects the most out of. With an extra day-off to recuperate and fine tune some things, Fernandez is hoping Randle gets off to a strong start and builds on it throughout the evening.

From the Vault

So we got word that former World Championship Wrestling executive Jim Herd passed away a few months ago. Herd’s time in charge wasn’t especially good, but during his run, we did get one of the greatest matches of all time, so let’s watch that!

More reading: In the N.O., Pelican Debrief, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation NBA, New York Post, New York Daily News, Clutch Points, Nets Wire, Nets Insider, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Steve’s Newslette

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
• New Orleans Pelicans Game Notes – New Orleans Pelicans
• The glaring issue holding back Nets as team rallies together to turnaround slow start – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Egor Demin set to return to Nets’ lineup against Pelicans – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• What I’m seeing in the Nets’ ugly start: Randle-Porter awkwardness, bench woes, enticing backcourt ($) – Brian Lewis – New York Post

The Lakers are riding a high right now, winners of six in a row and sitting atop the league looking down. But there’s always the question of how it can get even better.

This week’s mailbag saw questions based on potential trades for backup centers as well as prospects to watch with Coachella Valley in the G League.

Let’s dive in!

The backup center position is going to be arguably the top priority for the Lakers between now and the trade deadline. While the Jarred Vanderbilt-Sandro Mamukelashvili pairing has done a suitable job as a short-term solution, it doesn’t feel like one that will work when the games really matter.

The pairing offers spacing offensively, but can they hold up enough defensively in the playoffs? And if they don’t, then who can you target that will?

I still worry about Brook Lopez defensively in the playoffs because the last time we saw him in the postseason, it was really rough. But depending on the price, there could be value there.

Similarly, Jericho Sims will likely remain a name on the Lakers’ radar until the deadline. He has played in six games this season, but he has played more than eight minutes only twice. Do they try to get really frisky and try to get Kel’el Ware from Milwaukee, another player they were linked to? The asking price will probably be too high, but it’ll be worth a question.

There could be a buyout market to find someone, but it’s hard to determine what that’ll look like in November.

As for Looney, I think he brings value as a leader and on this team. He’s been around the block more than anyone else. And there are a couple other guys I’d have higher on the list to waive before him.

I don’t think this start really changes the team’s approach at the trade deadline. For one, the team is still going to prioritize having the ability to use the mid-level exception next season, so I can’t imagine they’ll take on long-term contract without sending out long-term money.

PJ Washington, for example, would cut into that room next season. Daniel Gafford, who I did not mention in the last section, creates similar issues depending on the outgoing players. It’s why I predict they’ll make a small move, then use their MLE in the summer and look to move an expiring Vando contract for another piece.

Coachella Valley has now played three games this season. Chris Mañon had a career-high 32 points in the second game while Cole Swider had 22 and 21 points in the first two games.

For now, Mañon and Kaluma are the obvious players to watch for obvious reasons. AK Okereke returned to Coachella Valley, so he’s another one to look out for. William Kyle was an interesting prospect in Summer League and could be a sort of Kaluma-esque candidate for a breakout season after a year in the G League.

As for Swider, I get the rationale of wanting to play younger players with more potential, but I also think there’s value in simply having talented players on the court. Swider is your typical AAAA player who won’t stick around in the NBA but will be good in the G League.

Having him around helps space the floor for Kaluma or Mañon to drive or gives Kyle room to operate as an athletic finisher. He gives Mañon a target to find coming off screens. He complements the players on the roster, which is valuable. Having a handful of guys like that on the roster isn’t a bad thing, plus he’s a player the organization is familiar with, too.

This is probably a longer piece that we may dive into at some point, but the teams have changed quite a bit.

One of the biggest differences is that the March 2026 Lakers were buoyed by finishing at a very high level on drives to the rim. They were also a different team defensively as one that didn’t create as much chaos but also had a better defensive rating, partially because they could clean the glass to end defensive possessions.

This team’s defense is built around turning teams over and blocking shots. They’re still working on the ending possessions with a rebound part, though. Offensively, they’re a more prolific and efficient offense from range so far.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

The Boston Celtics are 9-2, and 2-2 against teams that came into the season with realistic expectations of finishing at the top (or near the top) of their respective conferences. Boston’s latest win, a 123-101 triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers, certainly came with a sizeable amount of fanfare and media attention.

Of course, that attention was inevitable. This was the first time Jaylen Brown was facing off against his former team since her was unceremoniously shipped out earlier this summer. It was also the first time we’d seen Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown go toe-to-toe in a competitive setting. 

You never forget your first time.

Just eleven games into the season, and we were already treated to a playoff-style game. Boston’s ability to impose its will against a staple of the Sixers’ defense gave it a leg up en route to an impressive win.

Winning the perimeter battle

Before Tuesday’s game against the Sixers, Philly was among the better teams in the NBA at limiting opposing teams’ three-point attempts. Before the game against Boston, Cleaning The Glass had Philadelphia ranked 9th in the NBA for defensive three-point frequency.

More importantly, though, they were ranked third for defensive three-point percentage, limiting opponents to 31.8% from deep. 

On the other side of this battle, the Celtics were coming into the game ranked sixth in both offensive three-point frequency and offensive three-point accuracy. 

Simply put, the Sixers denied a lot of threes and held teams to a below-league-average clip on the threes they did allow. Boston takes a lot of threes (although not as many as in previous years) and makes a lot of them, too.

One of these two sides was going to lose this battle. Either the Sixers were going to implement their will and force the Celtics to beat them on the interior, or the Celtics were going to stare into the Sixers’ souls, giggle, and make their shots anyway.

This is a Joe Mazzulla roster, so of course they chose violence, and giggle into the Sixers’ souls they did. 

Today, the Sixers have fallen from 9th in the NBA for defensive three-point frequency to 12th, and from third in the NBA for defensive three-point accuracy to eighth.

For the Celtics, their three-point shot is akin to their jab. They use it to size you up, to score points, and to set up the bigger blows. Philly came in looking to slip those jabs and hit the Celtics with the counterpunch in transition. 

Instead, the Sixers allowed, well, more so witnessed, the Celtics having one of those nights where their threes are falling from everywhere. Boston ended the game shooting 44.9% from deep, on 22-of-49 shooting. 

Peppered. 

The Sixers got peppered with jabs, and in turn, the Sixers’ biggest defensive strength looked penetrable. From there, the Celtics have a platform to build on, even when the whistle went cold against them.

14 Points

That’s how many Paul George scored in the fourth quarter. Eight more than anyone else on Boston’s roster in the final twelve minutes of play, and two more than Anfernee Simons, who was the Sixers’ only legitimate source of offense as they tried to keep pace with a Celtics team that surged out of the gates for the final round.

George has been way better than advertised to begin the season. Sure, there are still questions and/or concerns regarding his ability to stay healthy. Still, you can’t deny the impact he’s making when he steps onto the court for Boston, both offensively and defensively.

“I thought he was great,” Joe Mazzulla said during his postgame news conference. “That’s just what we need. We need him to play two-way basketball and be great. And you kind of saw that there, especially at the start of the fourth quarter.”

George was a catalyst for the Celtics last night, in a game where his involvement in the Brown trade had become an afterthought.

That’s how you remind people not to forget what you’re capable of. 

Speaking of a reminder

How many of us threw Sam Hauser’s name into the trade machine this summer? How many times did you come across someone saying Boston needed to move on from him in order to strengthen other areas of the roster?

How wrong we/they/some of us were. 

Hauser had another great night from the perimeter against the Sixers, going 4-of-6 from deep, along with snagging five rebounds and putting in a solid shift defensively. 

This was just another game in a solid start to the season for Hauser. More importantly, he played a key role in unlocking the Sixers’ perimeter defense early, hitting two of his four treys in the second quarter and proving that Philadelphia’s point-of-attack defense wasn’t the impenetrable wall the numbers would have you believe.

Hauser is knocking down threes at a 43.1% clip over his first 11 games of the season. If he keeps this up, it will be the best shooting season of his career since his rookie year. Of course, when you factor in volume (he took 1.7 threes per game as a rookie compared to 5.3 per game this season so far), I think it would be fair to say this is the best he’s been as a straight-up perimeter bucket-getter.

A difference in defense

Dean Wade and Brown split the lion’s share of defensive responsibilities on Tatum. Wade totaled 3 minutes and 40 seconds paired up with Tatum, while Brown clocked 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

However, how each defender looked to play Boston’s superstar was interesting. When Brown was matched up on Tatum, he was face guarding or top-locking, looking to freeze Tatum out of Boston’s offense – which is a smart call. In fact, Tatum only took two shots with Brown as his on-ball defender, making both of them.

Now, part of the reason Brown didn’t defend too many of Tatum’s buckets is that the Celtics were more than happy to force Brown into a switch on the perimeter, as Tatum looked to punish Joel Embiid’s mafia-style bricks for feet. For the most part, the Celtics were successful in hunting those switches, although sometimes that led to Tatum pairing up with VJ Edgecombe or Tyrese Maxey.

Either way, a quick pass to Tatum followed by a screen ensured we weren’t seeing the two former teammates going at it possession after possession – as we did in 2023 when the pair were on opposite sides for the All-Star game. 

Wade, on the other hand, appeared more than happy to guard Tatum on-ball and look to impact his scoring opportunities. In fact, Wade held Tatum to 1-of-5 shooting in their matchup, forcing Tatum into some tough spots, both on the perimeter and from two-point range.

When it comes to trying to shut down an elite talent like Tatum, you have to keep throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. Brown was undoubtedly motivated to pair up with his former running mate, but the truth is, placing Brown in an off-ball defensive role limits his value on that side of the ball. Boston knew that, which is what once Tatum got the rock in those matchup minutes, screens were only a few seconds away (mostly). 

Well, at least that is out of the way

I’m sure that most of us are done with the constant Tatum and Brown reporting. We lived through it when they were teammates, and since Brown was traded, the media cycle has been relentless. Naturally, that reporting shifted into another gear heading into Tuesday’s matchup.

I mean, it was a major storyline that added juice to a regular-season game in November; I get why that was the case. Fortunately, though, the game is over. Tatum and Brown have faced off. It’s done. We saw it. It was cool. Now, can we please move on? 

Actually, if I don’t hear about the Tatum and Brown situation until we get closer to Brown’s first return to the TD Garden (we’re not counting a preseason game where he didn’t play), then that would be fantastic. 

It’s time to move on. It’s been time to move on. Hopefully, last night was the closure everybody needed to put this whole situation on pause and ultimately in the rearview. 

That would be swell.

Here you go

No words, just the best highlight of the game.

Ok, maybe one word…WOW…

Looking ahead

For anyone looking to dine out on this win, I got some bad news for ya…The Celtics are back in action again tonight.

They’re facing off against the 5-5 Toronto Raptors. As it’s the second night of a back-to-back, it’s fair to wonder whether Mitchell Robinson, George, or even Tatum will be present in the rotation. Right now, we don’t know the answer to that. However, I’m sure it won’t be long until the injury report is out and we see who, if anyone, is getting the night off to rest.

My problem with this matchup is that it has the potential to be a trap game. Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard will not be participating. Immanuel Quickley is listed as doubtful, as is Collin Murray-Boyles. 

When facing an injury-hit team, it’s easy to think you can take your foot off the gas. In recent years, the Celtics haven’t fallen victim to that mindset as much; in fact, it’s been quite rare recently. Still, the risk is there, and when coupled with the tired legs from two games in two nights, it could make for a tough outing.

PHILADELPHIA – The last time Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown shared the floor was in late April, in Game 6 of the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Neither knew it then, but that lackluster game, a Philadelphia 76ers blowout, became their last as teammates. Tatum missed the subsequent Game 7 with a leg injury, and Brown was stunningly traded just a few months later to the very Northeast rival that ended their nine-year run as teammates.

Four months later, Brown turned a cold shoulder to Tatum moments before tip-off of Tuesday’s highly-anticipated game between the 76ers and the Celtics.

With cameras and reporters flooding Xfinity Mobile Arena, the two stars never spoke or embraced, at least not publicly. Tatum punted Brown-related questions postgame, and Brown denied any ill intent behind the viral pregame exchange.

“To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention,” Brown said.

“No headlines about anything like that,” Tatum said when pressed on the interaction. “I was just getting ready for the game, ready for the jump ball, go out there and compete, have some fun, and try to get a win.”

Still, despite Tatum’s best efforts to downplay the storyline, the coverage leading up to Tuesday’s game between the 76ers and the Celtics centered on a now-fractured, highly publicized relationship between two superstars, one that has been analyzed and debated for nearly a decade. So many media members attended the game that Tatum said it felt like an NBA Finals game — and joked he didn’t expect to see most of us in Toronto the next day.

As someone who has covered dozens of Celtics playoff games, I can say the atmosphere felt heightened. The Celtics bench rose to its feet after nearly every play. Payton Pritchard and Paul George let out screams after back-to-back 3-pointers. Tatum jumped up emphatically and clenched his fist when Neemias Queta secured a putback over Joel Embiid.

The game pitted the East’s top two teams against each other, but more than anything, it was billed as a showdown between two former teammates turned foes. Brown struggled: he finished with a game-worst -27, four turnovers, four fouls, and a season-low 13 points. Tatum had the much better night, with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks, including a throwdown dunk on LeBron James that sent Hugo Gonzalez and the Celtics bench into a frenzy.

But ultimately, despite all the hype, neither player fittingly ended the night as the top performer on their team.

That morning, at Celtics shootaround, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” blasted as players warmed up. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the song was a fitting backdrop for the night and commotion ahead.

Why couldn’t they be friends?

Much of the reason the Tatum-Brown storyline has captivated the basketball world is that fans are so eager for players on their team to be friends.

Were they ever actually friends? Does it even matter?

A decade in the spotlight

For much of the past decade, the questions followed Tatum and Brown everywhere they went:

Do they actually like each other? Do they hang out? Do they secretly want the other one gone?

Every pregame dap-up and high-five seemed to prove they got along. Their (relatively) limited on-court synergy suggested otherwise. Every postgame answer about the other, and there were many, was scrutinized. Some left more room for interpretation than others, but hardly any felt completely satisfactory, at least not to the heaviest Brown-Tatum skeptics.

In 2024, when Brown won Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP, all eyes were on Tatum’s reaction.

Was Tatum happy for Brown? Was he envious?

In the 2023 offseason, the duo made headlines with a joint, on-camera workout in Los Angeles, a rarity in their tenure. For those in the ‘Brown and Tatum are friends’ contingent, the moment felt like a victory lap. That contingent reached the mountaintop when the Celtics won the 2024 championship, and Brown earnestly credited Tatum in his Finals MVP speech.

“I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime, Jayson Tatum,” Brown said as confetti fell. “He was with me the whole way. So, we share this shit together.”

But even at that peak, Brown and Tatum were not particularly close friends, according to multiple sources. They were certainly in a better place than they were on Tuesday night; there’s no question about that.

But the notion that the two All-Stars were great friends was misguided.

So, for those who viewed the ice-cold exchange before tip-off as the punctuation mark on a public breakup, as the final act for body-language doctors and psychoanalysts to dissect — the reality is more complicated, more nuanced, and far less exciting, at least in my view.

NBA friendships differ sharply from the teammate friendships most of us know from middle and high school sports and other non-professional settings. NBA players have egos, money, and fame that are hard for the average person to relate to. They are surrounded by their own ‘camps’ – the people in their inner circle who look out for them and their careers, whether that’s family members, friends, personal trainers, podcast co-hosts, photographers, agents, or publicists.

Those are the people players, especially the highest-profile ones, often get closest to: people whose job, by definition, is to look out for their best interests. On Tuesday night, key members of both players’ camps were in Philadelphia, watching the two face off from the sidelines.

The incessant media coverage and fanfare are rooted in an assumption rarely challenged in sports coverage and discourse: that the guys on your team should be friends, that the best players should be particularly close, and that a championship comes as the end result when a group of talented people who love each other plays basketball together.

But the people who actually manage NBA locker rooms will tell you that’s not how it works, at least not the vast majority of the time.

“I’ll tell you right now, all 30 teams, it’s not Boy Scouts. We’re not all just sitting there getting along, and everyone’s happy-go-lucky,” Joe Mazzulla said before tip-off. “I mean, that’s just not how the world works… We’re going after something that’s highly competitive and stressful, and there’s things at stake, and with that comes conflict. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing; you work through things together.”

Mazzulla noted how much differing lifestyles play a role, too.

“You got people that are single, there are married, divorced, kids, no kids,” he said. “People have been traded four times; people haven’t been traded at all. You just have a plethora of experiences from on and off the court that you have to mix together into a group of guys, and you have to leave space for that.”

So, it’s important to note that Mazzulla and other NBA coaches are not striving to build a team of best friends, though those friendships do naturally blossom on occasion. Instead, he’s aiming to build a team that understands each other well enough to chase the same thing and set its issues aside for a common goal, a locker room filled with guys who respect one another, even if they don’t always see eye to eye.

“I think the one thing I’d like people to understand is this isn’t supposed to be summer camp where we all just get along all the time,” Mazzulla said. “There’s plenty of times within a great culture, good culture, where you have disagreements… That’s just a part of the competitive journey and going after greatness together.”

“How can we get to the point where we just go after greatness together, but at the same time appreciate each other’s life?”

76ers coach Nick Nurse put it more bluntly.

“The players usually understand, first and foremost, it’s a business, right?” Nurse said. “And almost no matter where they’re at in these relationships, these things can happen where they get separated because of the business aspect of it.”

Nurse suggested the friendships that fans picture belong to an earlier stage of sport.

“Obviously, you kind of hope sports bring a lifelong friendship in those kind of situations,” Nurse said. “I’m not sure that’s the case in professional nearly as much.”

NBA players describe the same gap from the inside; different family structures and lifestyles make genuine, long-term friendships rare.

“I think it’s just the stages of life,” former Celtics-turned-76ers center Tacko Fall told CelticsBlog. “When you are in high school, for example, you’re young, right? You don’t have a family to go back to and everything like that. As you get older, you become a professional. You have guys that have wives. You have guys that have kids.”

Payton Pritchard, who was teammates with Tatum and Brown for six seasons, added that managing egos plays a role, too.

“There’s a lot of egos in it, and people need an ego to get to the NBA. And so it’s definitely a balancing act,” Pritchard said. “Not to say that we’re not all buddies, but everybody’s got families. They’re trying to make it. They got things to prove, so it’s different.”

None of this means NBA friendships don’t exist – they certainly do.

Brown and Fall, now teammates in Philadelphia, have been very close since their days together in Boston, for example. Brown is the godfather of Fall’s youngest daughter, and the two often travel together in the offseason.

“Jaylen’s basically become family,” Fall said. “We started hanging out so much, and we’re just very similar in the way we are as people, in the way we think as well. And then, obviously, the more you hang out with someone, you kind of build those connections. Then our families kind of start to know each other even more, and that relationship just gets better and better.”

In Boston, it’s well-documented that Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman have become fast friends.

In New York, it’s well-known that Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges are close friends, though that friendship originated when they were teammates in college.

But those genuinely close off-court bonds are more of the exception than the norm. In my experience covering the team, players don’t hang out off the court nearly as much as fans think. The goal isn’t friendship; it’s professionalism, respect, and a willingness to set differences aside to win. It’s role acceptance. It’s discipline.

For the majority of their tenure, Tatum and Brown did that as well as any duo in this league.

“It’s working relationships,” Pritchard said. “Some people are closer than others, but find a way to win and keep going.”

Still, though real friendships aren’t all that common, camaraderie is crucial

Paul George, fresh off a 36-point outing on Tuesday, said the most fun part of the Celtics season so far wasn’t going off against the team that traded him — it’s been the team bonding off the court.

“Sorry to give you the most cliché answer ever,” he said, “but the most fun is just the camaraderie, being around these guys, the locker room, the flights. That’s the most fun that I’ve had in a while. It’s just, again, a good group of guys out there competing together, and then it transfers on the court. You see how much fun we have off the court by how we play on the court.”

Pritchard echoed that sentiment, and credited Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens for building a roster of guys who are easy to get along with.

“I just think it starts from the top, and got to give credit to Brad,” he said. “He picks really good people to be a part of it, and it’s not just about basketball. It’s the type of person they are. They’re hardworking. They’re good locker room guys and stuff like that. So we have a great group, and everybody enjoys being around each other. So that makes a difference. You want to see the next man win. We want to see PG kill. We want to see JT go off. It really matters. So everybody’s gonna have their nights, and we love to see it.”

And, Tatum’s enjoying the good vibes, too.

“We’ve really kind of bonded really, really well off the court, and I think it’s translated on the court,” he said. “We got a great group of guys, a bunch of funny individuals. It’s been cool.”

What’s next for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown?

Maybe one day, Tatum and Brown will sit side-by-side on a podcast, years removed from their playing days, and talk about what went awry in their final act. Maybe one day, they’ll return to TD Garden for a marquee game as fans, just as members of the 2008 Celtics team have so many times.

Though their tenure as teammates has ended at long last, it feels inevitable that all eyes will be on their relationship moving forward, regardless.

Will they sit together?

Will they hug next time?

The scrutiny and questions will likely follow them forever.

But for now, it should be understood that what Brown and Tatum did for 9 seasons was co-work as well as almost any duo in modern basketball.

They played in a whopping 107 playoff games as teammates. They reached five Eastern Conference Finals and two NBA Finals.

Most importantly, they won it all, bringing the Larry O’Brien back to Boston for the first time in 16 years.

By the time Tuesday’s game ended, Tatum had already shifted his focus to Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors.

“They all count as one,” Tatum said, as he has so many times in his years.

That was Tatum’s message to his team, too.

“Tonight in the locker room, he said it means nothing if we don’t play the way we need to play tomorrow,” Mazzulla said. “That’s just the nature of the business.”

And Jayson Tatum — and Jaylen Brown, for that matter — have both been very good at that business.

When the Toronto Raptors take the court against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, it’ll mark their most challenging test yet.

The issue for the Raptors – and their fans – is that they are neither ready to solve the problem ahead nor will it serve as an accurate reading of where they sit in the self-healing Eastern Conference.

Toronto is stuck in a hellish .500 landscape due to injuries to several key players like Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and Collin Murray-Boyles.

Meanwhile, Boston has won four in a row and five of its last nine contests.

Here are three storylines to consider ahead of the scheduled 7:00 p.m. tip-off on TSN:

This team needs to get healthy fast

According to the team, Leonard will remain out due to the continued reconditioning process following treatment for left knee swelling. The next update is scheduled for a week from now. When it was initially announced that Leonard would be out on Oct. 25, there wasn’t a clear timeline for his potential return. Later that week, NBA Insider Chris Haynes reported on Oct. 29 that Leonard would miss three to four weeks. It appears that report will be the likely outcome.

Toronto is 3-5 without Leonard in the lineup. The team is 5-5 and currently sixth in the Eastern Conference.

The goal seems obvious: stay afloat until reinforcements arrive.

Barnes remains out against the Celtics, but Quickley and Murray-Boyles are listed as questionable.

The Jakob Poeltl situation

On the topic of Quickley, it’s worth investigating how his absence affects the rest of the lineup.

Albeit on a minuscule two-game sample size, the player who has seen the most noticeable uptick in numbers is Jakob Poeltl.

In two games without Quickley, Poeltl is averaging:

• Points: 18.5
• Rebounds: 9.0
• Assists: 2.0
• FG%: 69.2 per cent
• Steals: 2.0
• Blocks: 2.5

In six games with Quickley:

• Points: 5.2
• Rebounds: 5.7
• Assists: 1.0
• FG%: 59.1 per cent
• Steals: 0.5
• Blocks: 0.3

By default, this also puts a spotlight on Jamal Shead, who has done an admirable job of filling in for Quickley in the starting five. This isn’t surprising considering how great Shead was as an emergency starting point guard in the playoffs last year against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Despite Shead’s areas for improvement, he’s grown into an excellent set-up man. The numbers back it up. Since Quickley’s injury, Shead is averaging 13.5 assists, with many of those coming in the pick-and-roll with Poeltl or on dump-offs.

Obvious chemistry aside, Poeltl may also just be finally getting healthy. The Raptors are also better together as a whole. Quickley’s shooting is severely missed (33.3 per cent). If Quickley and Poeltl can find a similar synergy, it’ll help boost Toronto’s firepower ahead of a nightmare set of opponents that lurk around the corner.

An Eastern Conference gauntlet awaits

After their game against the Celtics, the Raptors’ next three games are against the Philadelphia 76ers and a back-to-back set with the New York Knicks. Considering the team’s health, it’s entirely plausible that Toronto could be 5-9 after this stretch.

Finding a way to split the next four contests should be considered a massive success.

Those lamb chops did not come out as well as hoped.

In the most highly anticipated game of this young regular season, Jaylen Brown finally took on Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics after thinly veiled barbs had been tossed by both sides since the summer. It did not go Brown or the Sixers’ way.

Brown played just 25 minutes thanks to a combination of foul trouble and a waving of the white flag, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting along with five rebounds, two assists and four turnovers. The Sixers trailed the majority of the night and lost 123-101. After Philly tied the game at 76 late in the third quarter, the Celtics outscored them 47-25 over the final 16 minutes of the game.

To pour salt in the wound, Paul George, the player the Sixers sent to Boston in return for Brown, dropped a game-high 36 points. After the game Brown was asked if he was relieved that this game is behind him now.

“I guess you could say that,” he said. “I’m a bit frustrated, honestly. I wanted to perform better for my team. Foul trouble kind of derailed me a little bit, but it happens. It’s unfortunate, but now we got to just move on to the next [game].”

Brown was ready to take his medicine. He said multiple times that the Celtics outplayed and out-executed the Sixers. On top of the foul trouble, he thought the Celtics did a good job game planning for him, pointing out that he got double teamed on every drive. His coach felt similarly.

“It started really tough for him in the beginning by getting in foul trouble right from the start, and then he gets another early one in the second half, so he really had no chance to get going and [it] made it tough,” said Nick Nurse. “I think they did a pretty good job of swarming him and sending multiple defenders. I really think that, especially in the first half, we were generating really good shots out of their swarming defense.”

The Sixers once again struggled to make open jumpers, finishing the night making 29% of their 37 three-point attempts. Even as the team’s performance turned the nationally televised game into a dud, there were still plenty of eyeballs on Tatum and Brown. Would they interact and if so, how much?

The answer was not very much. Right before tip-off Tatum went over to dap-up Brown as well as a couple other Sixers and Brown completely no-sold it.

“I’m just focused on coming out and doing what’s best for my team. Everything else was just, to be honest, I wasn’t paying attention,” Brown said of the interaction. “Credit to Jayson, he played well tonight. Credit to the Celtics, they executed, they shot the hell out of the ball, and they were the better team tonight.”

Brown also insisted that there weren’t any extra emotions for him coming into this game. He said he was locked in and focused, and had his rhythm derailed by picking up those two early fouls. At the same time, he admitted that this was a game he wanted to play well in.

“I was looking forward to this, I was looking forward to playing well,” he said, “but shit happens, you just get ready for the next one I guess.”

While this game was the most anticipated around the league so far, it won’t be the last game that has, for lack of a better term, external noise. It was even the second game of that nature the Sixers had played in their last five days, with LeBron James making a return to Cleveland just a few days prior.

Tyrese Maxey explained how the team deals with those games as a group. It’s important for the group to do so because he doesn’t think those types of games are going to stop coming for this team.

“I think the biggest thing was just trying to be there for him. It is going to be emotional no matter how the game,” Maxey said. “I think he did a good job of just, hanging in there. I know it was tough, he got into foul trouble early, and it’s a difficult situation, but it’s OK.”

The good news for Brown is that Maxey is right, these games won’t stop coming this season. He’ll have at least three more chances to get his revenge against Boston and after the Sixers performance in this one, the noise will only be getting louder.

As everybody knew before tip-off, the Knicks ended up beating the Bucks on Tuesday.

Wednesday, however? That’s an entirely different beast, as New York hosts Cleveland.

A different beast, I mean, as they wear red threads instead of green ones. Other than that, this one’s also ending in yet another easy Knicks’ dub.

Mike Brown

On Karl-Anthony Towns’ rebounding instincts, positioning and physical advantages:

“He’s just got a nose or a knack for the ball. You know he doesn’t jump real high, but he’s long, and he understands angles.

“KAT’s in that category when it comes to rebounding. We emphasize it quite a bit, and we tell guys, ‘You gotta put bodies on bodies.’ So if our small is on other people around him or putting bodies on bodies, it’s a one-on-one contest for KAT, and he’s gonna win most times.”

On Towns recording a double-double in each of the Knicks’ first 10 games:

“He continues to be a double-double machine at a high level.”

On the Knicks’ defensive physicality against Milwaukee:

“Our group, they were pretty efficient tonight. I thought our physicality on the defensive end of the floor was at a pretty high level, and they did it the right way. They did it without fouling. Which was a lot of fun to watch. The point-of-attack defense, with Landry [Shamet] and especially Deuce [McBride] on the ball, was unbelievable. Deuce was our defensive player of the game. Could have gone to Landry as well. But just a fantastic job at the point of the screen in pick-and-rolls. [The Bucks] had two 13-point quarters and I’m sure they missed some shots, but I thought we also impacted their shots with our play.”

On Josh Hart’s ankle recovery and whether he could have played against Milwaukee:

“From what they’ve told me, correct me if I’m wrong, if he was not sick, he would (have played).”

On Jose Alvarado’s rotation fallout:

“We’ll go with who we go with until we feel that it’s time to go to the next guy. So again, it’s not anything negative right now on Jose or even Tyler when he’s out. They just got to be ready to play when their number’s called, and both of them are trying to do that.”

On Tyler Kolek earning the edge over Alvarado in the backup point guard competition:

“Right now, Tyler’s played pretty good basketball. You know, we’ve strung some games, and, you know, again, those guys are close.

“The reality is Jose got hurt. Tyler gave us some good minutes, but at the end of the day, I sat them both down and I told them: ‘Jose, you’re our backup because you ended the season as the backup, but both you guys helped us win last year. Jose in the Finals. Tyler in the Cup Finals. So I feel like both you guys can play and contribute at a high level. So both you guys got to be ready because a change can happen at any time.’”

On sticking with Kolek unless his performances warrant another change:

“And so I’m gonna go with Tyler, and if I think I need to make a change because Tyler’s not getting it done in my eyes, then I’ll go back to Jose.”

On Alvarado and Kolek supporting their teammates despite fluctuating playing time:

“So they just have to both stay ready and make sure that they continue to do what they’re doing. They both, when they’re not playing, they both have done a heck of a job cheering for their teammates and trying to uplift everybody.”

On the Knicks’ offensive rebounding on Tuesday:

“Obviously our players, they’re trying to compete most times when it comes to going after a shot attempt. So I give our players a lot of credit.”

On why the Knicks don’t need extraordinary individual performances from their starters:

“With the way our team is built we don’t need anybody to do anything extraordinary. Just go, like Landry said, be yourself, play hard. It’s not necessarily always how you start games. It’s how you finish.”

On allowing the flow of games to determine his rotation:

“The game will dictate it. I go in with a minutes sheet. I don’t know if we’ve followed the minutes sheet once so far this year or let alone even last year. It’s just a cheat sheet of different lineups that you think you can run at the right time based off who’s out there to defend, who’s out there handling the ball, who’s out there setting screens and all that other stuff. We let the flow of the game dictate what’s gonna happen.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the Knicks returning to their fundamentals and improving defensively:

“I just think that we’re doing a great job of getting back to the basics. We started off slow, and now we’re picking it up. While the shooting isn’t doing great — I could be the first one to tell you about that tonight — but I think we’re doing a great job of executing right now at a high level, and our defense is there. At the end of the day, the offense will catch up. The defense is something you got to establish. We’re doing a great job of that right now.”

On approaching Willis Reed’s franchise record for consecutive double-doubles to start a season:

“I didn’t know that. I just know that this team right now, we’re on a good winning streak, we’re playing good basketball, and that’s the most important thing. That’s what the fans really want to hear about.”

Landry Shamet

On maintaining the same approach whether starting or coming off the bench:

“I try to keep things as consistent as possible. In the past in my career, if it was a spot start or a stretch of them, I think I made the mistake of trying to change too much. Or think I had to change a lot. Or do something differently. Or be something different. Just because I’m starting the reality is it’s the same basketball game. You can create different reasons as to why it’s different. But for me, and I think the whole goal for anybody, is setting yourself up for success and for me that just looks like keeping things as standard and concise as possible.”

On the Knicks’ constantly changing roles and the responsibility to contribute wherever needed:

“Like we’ve always said, with this team, that’s the kind of special benchmark of our group is it could, that could change from night to night. from person to person. There might be something required of me differently, tonight versus tomorrow night, might be making shots, might be guarding this guy. It might be being a great teammate on the bench and picking up somebody who’s struggling, or, whatever the case may be, all these roles are constantly evolving and rotating. And it’s all of our jobs collectively to just fill the voids that need filling when needed.”

Jordan Clarkson

On embracing the Knicks’ team-first culture regardless of how many minutes he plays:

“That’s just our culture here. No matter if it’s one minute, 30 seconds, 30 minutes during the game. That’s what we focus on. That’s what Mike has preached to us since he’s got here and that’s just a big thing all of us hold our hat on.”

In the weeks leading up to the first Celtics-Sixers matchup of the season, Jaylen Brown had been hyping up the reunion. But just six minutes into Tuesday night’s game, his long-awaited rivalry debut began to unravel.

Brown admitted it himself after Philadelphia’s 123-101 loss to Boston, acknowledging he and his Sixers teammates didn’t do enough to match up to the Celtics during the marquee matchup.

“I’m a bit frustrated, honestly,” Brown told reporters, per CLNS Media. “I wanted to perform better for my team. Foul trouble kind of derailed me a little bit, but it happens. It’s unfortunate. But now we gotta just move on to the next.”

Brown established himself as the aggressor from the jump. He nailed Jordan Walsh’s throat before flushing a two-handed dunk, bulldozed Derrick White and was called for an offensive foul, then intercepted a pass intended for Jayson Tatum. He also missed his first two shot attempts and picked up two fouls before checking out with 5:33 remaining in the first quarter.

In his first attempt to attack Tatum, Brown pump-faked a three, dribbled into a spin move and lost control of the ball, sending it out of bounds. Paul George and Neemias Queta followed Tatum’s lead, pointing toward the other end of the floor in reaction to Brown’s turnover.

Brown was forced to Philadelphia’s bench, where he watched the Sixers struggle to keep pace.

Boston’s bread-and-butter — 3-point shooting — came in handy throughout the night, and it began early. In the first quarter, the Celtics nailed four of their first 11 threes while the Sixers only converted one of their first seven attempts. The disparity carried over into the ensuing quarters, as both teams continued firing.

Brown, usually an above-average, reliable 3-point shooter, went just 1-for-4 himself. He played just over 25 minutes, well below his 35:48 average and his lowest total of the season so far. Brown’s four personal fouls, three of which were accumulated by halftime, forced Sixers head coach Nick Nurse to play him less than four minutes in the third quarter.

Crucial minutes in which Brown could’ve used to turn the tide were wasted as he battled foul trouble.

He turned in an underwhelming performance by his standards, as Brown finished with a season-low 13 points along with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. On Sunday, he told reporters in Philadelphia he had nothing else to tell Tatum or the Celtics except “check the ball up.” And on Tuesday, Brown was overshadowed by Tatum’s second-career poster dunk over LeBron James and George’s 36-point outburst.

Needless to say, things didn’t go as planned, which left Brown with no choice but to tip his cap to his adversaries.

“Credit to Jayson. He played well tonight,” Brown said. “Credit to the Celtics. They executed. They shot the hell out of the ball, and they were the better team tonight.”

Brown helped stir the pot moments before tipoff. As both teams greeted each other at center court, Tatum approached Brown and gave him a friendly, one-handed pat on the chest. Brown, meanwhile, spun the game ball on his finger without even acknowledging Tatum’s presence — a moment reminiscent of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen’s icy exchange in 2012.

It seemed clear Brown had no interest in dapping up Tatum.

His explanation?

“To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention,” Brown responded.

Once the game ended, Brown continued to keep his distance from Tatum. He shook hands with nearly every Celtics player before heading back to Philadelphia’s locker room, once again leaving his former co-star out of the postgame exchanges.

For those keeping track at home, that’s twice Brown ghosted Tatum on the court (three times if you include their preseason warm-up session at TD Garden on Oct. 10).

And for the Celtics, their trip to the City of Brotherly Love was a success.

They checked all the boxes needed. All the boxes they could’ve hoped to check.

Tatum and George combined for 57 points. Boston responded to Philadelphia’s game-tying 20-7 run with a 12-2 spurt that carried into the fourth quarter. And Payton Pritchard also caught fire, giving the Celtics 18 points off the bench, while knocking down four consecutive 3-pointers in the second half to fuel the team’s runaway victory.

For Brown, even 10 seasons spent with the Celtics, including years alongside many of the team’s current players, couldn’t provide much of an advantage.

Brown dismissed the idea that familiarity with Boston’s personnel made any difference.

“Does it make it easier? No. It’s basketball at the end of the day,” Brown said. “It’s five-on-five. You gotta come out and execute, and they were better than us tonight. They executed better than us tonight, and they outplayed us. So that’s on us. We gotta improve. They’re one of the top teams in the league, and they’ve been together for a while, so we got a lot to work on over here. So we gotta get to work.”

The Celtics leaped over the Sixers as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night.

The high-intensity, playoff-like duel between Brown and Tatum never materialized. Instead, Brown and the Sixers were forced to settle for a classic Boston beatdown, similar to the many Brown experienced plenty of times throughout his decade spent with Tatum by his side.

Philadelphia got outclassed. They allowed George to score more points than any opposing player has scored against them, dropped to 21st in the league in 3-point percentage by shooting 29.7 percent against Boston, and gave Sixers legend Allen Iverson, who sat in attendance, little to celebrate.

When George drained his game-leading sixth 3-pointer of the night to put the Celtics ahead 111-87 and force a Sixers timeout, Joel Embiid hung his head and grabbed his hair in disbelief.

At that moment, everyone in the building knew that was all she wrote.

Brown only needed three words for his blunt, honest assessment.

“Tonight was humbling,” Brown said. “We got outplayed, outexecuted. So we go back to the drawing board and get ready for the next one.”

For the Celtics, Sixers, Brown and Tatum, the next one won’t be until their Jan. 21 rematch at TD Garden.