Category: Basketball

The Knicks lost a big piece in their rotation on Thursday, as reserve point guard Miles McBride is officially set to miss the next four-to-six weeks following surgery for a core muscle injury. 

Losing McBride is a huge blow to New York’s second unit. 

It didn’t take them long to find his replacement, though, as they acquired scrappy point guard Jose Alvarado in a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.  

Alvarado is a high-energy player, who should slide into McBride’s place perfectly. 

While he won’t light up the score sheet on a nightly basis, the Christ the Kings product is a tenacious defender who should fit in perfectly with the rowdy MSG crowd. 

Head coach Mike Brown is excited about what he can add to this lineup. 

“He brings a level of toughness to this team, his energy is unmatched,” Brown said. “What he can do defensively in the full court and even in the front court with the ball especially on the pick-and-rolls and stuff, is at a pretty high level. 

“He shoots it better than people think, too. We want to play fast and we believe he's a guy who will come in and push the pace, get into our offense, and all of that because he’s quick and has a low center of gravity -- excited to have him.”

Alvarado averaged 7.9 points and 3.1 assists over 21.9 minutes in 41 games with the Pelicans this season. 

He wasn’t with the Knicks yet for Friday’s blowout loss in Detroit, but has officially been cleared to make his orange and blue debut Sunday afternoon against the Celtics. 

The 27-year-old could be in line for an extended role out of the gate if the Knicks remain very shorthanded. 

McBride is sidelined following surgery, and Josh Hart (ankle), Karl-Anthony Towns (eye laceration), and OG Anunoby (toe) are all listed as questionable heading in. 

LOS ANGELES — In his first media availability with reporters since the sale of the majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family to Mark Walter, the franchise’s president of basketball operations/general manager Rob Pelinka acknowledged there will be an expansion of the organization’s front office personnel. 

And he mentioned that he and Jeanie Buss, the franchise’s governor and former majority owner, will lead the process in additions to come.    

“When Mark bought the team, Jeanie and I did a deep dive with him on sort of the areas he wants to grow, move into and get aggressive,” Pelinka said to a handful of beat reporters ahead of Saturday’s home game against the Golden State Warriors. “And again, looking at the Dodgers and how they built it out has been a great sort of example and North Star. And so we’re still going through that process of how we’ll look in the offseason and what additions we’ll make. But there will be some positive changes and we will build things out, again, led by myself and Jeanie, and with Mark’s support.”

Walter, who’s also the majority of the Dodgers, agreed to terms to buy a majority stake of the Lakers last summer and officially became the majority owner in late October. 

The Dodgers have appeared in five World Series and won three, including being reigning back-to-back champions, since Walter and the Guggenheim Baseball Management group Walter leads purchased the franchise in 2012. 

“Mark Walter establishes an incredible standard of excellence and he has been really enjoyable to collaborate with,” Pelinka said. “Jeanie and I have had several amazing conversations with him and keep him informed on all the details. And so the three of us are working really, really strongly and well together. And it’s also been great to have sort of outside allies and advocates.

“Looking at the Dodgers and the success they’ve had and what they’ve built over there, and being able to tap into a person like [Dodgers president of baseball operations] Andrew Friedman for best practices. He’s so incredibly smart and has done such an amazing job bringing championships to the Dodgers. To have like another head of another team that you can – whether it’s a roster move, whether it’s a staff move – just someone that you can talk to has been an incredible resource.”

As part of the sale, Buss will remain the Lakers governor for “at least five years”, according to the NBA. 

Pelinka and coach JJ Redick also received contract extensions in 2025 before the sale was official, with Pelinka being promoted from vice president of basketball operations to president. Redick’s extension keeps him under contract with the Lakers through the 2029-30 season. 

The Lakers made several front office/scouting terminations earlier in the season, including firing Joey and Jesse Buss, Jeanie’s younger siblings. In addition to having ownership stakes in the franchise, Joey Buss was the organization’s vice president of research and development, while Jesse was an assistant general manager and director of scouting.

Friedman and Farhan Zaidi, with the latter being the Dodgers former general manager and current special advisor, began advisory roles with the Lakers in the fall. 

“Just their draft process and sort of how they’ve established their farm system is amazing,” Pelinka said of how the Lakers can learn from the Dodgers’ success. “There’s best practices in that as we evolve and get better going forward in those areas. And then just the way they’ve sort of built out their front office, how deep it is. There is no expense they’ll spare in being the best sort of front office in the world. And you could just see that in the way they operate. And we’ve done a really good job here, Jeanie’s been incredibly supportive, but I think now we’ll have an opportunity just with extra resources that Mark brings to build it out and become even better. So that’s going to be an exciting thing for us in the offseason that Jeanie and I will lead. And we’re excited about that.”

In addition to the new ownership change, Pelinka also addressed the addition of Luke Kennard ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, calling Kennard, “the game’s best shooter.”

With the Lakers having one standard roster spot open, they can sign a free agent or convert one of their two-way players to a standard contract. 

“We are in sort of active conversations with some players that are available now, doing our due diligence,” Pelinka said. “Players down the road could come in through the buyout market. So we are evaluating that 15th roster spot and at some point probably will likely fill it.”

Rob Pelinka, the Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager, had high praise for Luke Kennard, the NBA team’s newest acquisition.

“Clearly, right now, he’s the game’s best shooter,” Pelinka said to a handful of reporters before Kennard made his Lakers debut in Saturday’s matchup against the Warriors. “When you get to add the best shooter in the game to your group at the deadline, it’s a great opportunity. So, we seized it.”

No wonder the Lakers were eager to add Kennard.

Statistically, Pelinka is right. Kennard was shooting 49.7% from beyond the arc this season entering Saturday to lead the NBA.

And for a team that’s struggled with its outside shooting for most of the season, shooting 34.9% from beyond the arc (No. 21 in the league entering Saturday), Kennard will fill a need. 

“We just felt like the gravity and space he could create for the group with LeBron (James), or with Luka (Doncic), or Austin (Reaves), just being a reliable guy that could create space, hit big shots in big games and really help us on a playoff run. 

“We’ve really been hopeful to see our big three on the court at the same time in terms of Austin Reaves, Luka and LeBron, and we’ve just had limited reps of that,” Pelinka said. “So we’ll be excited when we get that and see what that group could do because we feel like there’s some power in those three players playing together. We felt like adding Luke when those three guys are on the court would actually be really helpful. Just to create some optionality with different lineups, like an all-shooting lineup with Rui (Hachimura) and Luke, and maybe those three guys if you decide to go small in a playoff series.”

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By trading Gabe Vincent and their 2032 second-round pick for Kennard ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, the Lakers maintained their “optionality” for the offseason. 

The Lakers can trade three of their first-round draft picks (2026, 2031 and 2033). 

They’ll also have five players who’ll become unrestricted free agents in the summer after their contracts expire (James, Hachimura, Kennard, Maxi Kleber and Jaxson Hayes).

The Lakers also have three players with player options for 2026-27 (Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart), potentially creating significant cap flexibility for the franchise.

Rob Pelinka, speaking to a handful of beat reporters, on the Lakers' acquisition of Luke Kennard: "I think clearly, right now, he's the game's best shooter. When you get to add the best shooter in the game to your group at the deadline, it's a great opportunity. So, we seized… pic.twitter.com/U6SLT5Ehq6

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) February 8, 2026

“It’s clear for all the teams in the league that this dual-apron system is harsh and strict,” Pelinka said. “We felt like creating optionality or having optionality now is really a positive thing for us this coming offseason. Because there’s some teams that maybe have gotten too deep into the aprons. And I think players, we see around the league, become available when teams get in that position. So, whether it’s through free agency, whether it’s keeping our own players, whether it’s looking around the league for players that are really good that maybe teams are trying to get off salary, we feel like there’ll be so many different ways to complete our roster in the offseason.” 

Pelinka said the team was “aggressive” ahead of the trade deadline.

“And one form of being aggressive is saying no to moves that come your way that might not be best for the short- and long-term future,” he said. “Because it’s hard to say no sometimes to getting a good player that could be a quick short-term fix but could have implications for the long term where it doesn’t fit into the overall vision you have for the team. 

“We were very aggressive. We worked incredibly hard. We evaluated numerous things.”

Pelinka reiterated his belief in the current group’s ability to contend for an NBA title. The Lakers entered Saturday with a 31-19 record despite Doncic, James and Reaves playing alongside each other in only 10 games so far this season.

“We believe in the power of this group,” Pelinka said. “We want to see what this team can do with the rest of the season. I wouldn’t underestimate the power of what a group of brothers can do when they come together for a playoff run. We feel like we have a really good roster, and we want to get healthy and make a run, and that will help us evaluate end-of-the-season stuff, too. We haven’t made any decisions about any of that prematurely.”

The Houston Rockets were facing and Oklahoma City Thunder squad missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as well as Jalen Williams and Ajay Wilson, but a win is a win, and the Rockets needed one to get back on track. Alperen Sengun finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks to lead the Rockets with his second triple double of the season. He was 6-for-12 from the floor and also really had things going as a facilitator.

Houston was led on scoring, however, by Tari Eason, who finished with 26 points, 8 boards and 3 steals. The Rockets wisely kept Eason out of trade talks, as they look for an extension after the season, when Eason will be a restricted free agent. Eason was 5-for-13 from three, and when he’s playing well, the Rockets are a better team. They need him playing — Eason has only played in 60 percent of his possible games as a Rocket.

Kevin Durant was just 6-for-10 shooting for 20 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, a steal and a block. The Rockets are also a better team when Durant isn’t shooting the ball 20-plus times, and that played itself out here against the Thunder, though there were some clutch Durant moments down the stretch, including a shot that out the Rockets up six with just a minute left in the game. This is how the Rockets need to operate. Team ball the whole way, and then let KD close it out.

Jabari Smith Jr. had another good game, and he seems to be breaking out of his slump a little bit. Jabari finished with 22 points, 10 boards, a steal and a block, as well as played some pretty good defense. The guy is painfully streaky player, which is not out of the ordinary for a 22-year-old. I still see the vision with Jabari, though I’ve admittedly been on the Smith train since the beginning, so I may be biased, but it’s certainly not yet time to give up on his long-term success.

Reed Sheppard finished with 16 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals, rounding out every Rockets starter in double figures, though he continues to struggle from three, going just 1-for-4. The Rockets got very little from their bench, as Houston’s previously vaunted depth has taken a huge hit. The Rockets got 11 total bench points, with 8 coming from JD Davison. Who’s going to provide scoring punch off of the bench for Houston right now?

That’s an issue for another day, however, as the Rockets are back on the winning track in the meantime, moving to 32-19 on the season. The Rockets will be back in action on Tuesday against the L.A. Clippers, as they play back-to-back nights in H-town before the break.

The Toronto Raptors continue their homestand when they welcome the skidding Indiana Pacers to Scotiabank Arena this afternoon.

Scottie Barnes continues to pile up the points and rebounds, and I’ll explain why he’s due for another double-double in my Pacers vs. Raptors predictions and NBA picks below. 

Pacers vs Raptors prediction

Pacers vs Raptors best bet: Scottie Barnes to record a double-double (+130)

Scottie Barnes had a quiet game in Thursday’s win against the Bulls with just 13 points and six rebounds, but that was an outlier in what’s been a strong season for the Toronto Raptors forward.

Barnes has been a jack of all trades for the Raptors with 23 double-doubles this season — 11th most in the NBA and the fifth most among forwards.

The 24-year-old has claimed three double-doubles in his last six contests and should be able to add another to his total this afternoon vs. a struggling Indiana Pacers team.

Not only do the Pacers rank 24th in points allowed per game (118.4), but they’re also 27th in opponent rebounds per contest (46.9).

Barnes, who leads the Raptors with 8.3 rpg this year, will be even more integral on the glass with center Jakob Poeltl listed as questionable with a back issue. Look for him to dominate the Pacers on the scoreboard and on the glass.

Pacers vs Raptors same-game parlay

Brandon Ingram is fresh off a 33-point outing on Thursday and has gone Over 23.5 points in four of his last five contests. The Raps forward is poised for a big game vs. a weak Pacers defense.

Toronto is a big favorite this afternoon, and for good reason. The Pacers are in the midst of a three-game skid and lost by 14 points to the Raptors three weeks ago.

Pacers vs Raptors SGP

• Scottie Barnes to record a double-double
• Brandon Ingram Over 23.5 points
• Raptors moneyline

Our "from downtown" SGP: Barnes & Noble

If the Raps are going to win big today, they’ll need help from all around the lineup. Sandro Mamukelashvili has provided plenty of scoring off the bench, averaging 11.4 ppg this season while dropping Over 10.5 points in three straight and eight of his last 11. 

Pacers vs Raptors SGP

• Scottie Barnes to record a double-double
• Brandon Ingram Over 23.5 points
• Sandro Mamukelashvili Over 10.5 points
• Raptors -8.5

Pacers vs Raptors odds

• Spread: Pacers +8.5 | Raptors -8.5
• Moneyline: Pacers +270 | Raptors -340
• Over/Under: Over 225 | Under 225

Pacers vs Raptors betting trend to know

The Raptors are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 head-to-head meetings. Find more NBA betting trends for Pacers vs. Raptors.

How to watch Pacers vs Raptors

Pacers vs Raptors latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

In a far too early matinee, the Knicks (33*-19) face the Celtics (34-18) at TD Garden. This is a matchup of two Eastern Conference heavyweights, although the Knicks more resemble a boxer at the end of a fight—bloodied, swollen-eyed, with at least two sprained ankles.

On December 2, 2025, Boston defeated New York 123-117, with Jaylen Brown scoring 42 points for the Celtics and Mikal Bridges topping the Knicks with 35 points. Q: Was that the smudged jersey game? Answer below!

Boston holds the league’s second-best offensive rating at 121, the seventh-best defensive rating at 113.4, and scores 115.6 points per game. Brown averages 29.5 points per game and shoots 36% from deep. Derrick White averages 17.4 points per game and shoots 32% from downtown, while Payton Pritchard averages 17.3 points per game and shoots 37% from downstairs. Newly acquired veteran center Nikola Vucevic averages 11 points and grabs 12 rebounds per game.

Boston’s likely starting five is Sam Hauser (39% 3P), Luka Garza (46% 3P), Neemias Queta (8.4 RPG), Brown, and White. 

The good news for us is that this promises to be Jose Alvarado’s debut for the Knicks. Otherwise, yikes. New York lists Karl-Anthony Towns (eye laceration), Josh Hart (ankle), and OG Anunoby (toe) as questionable. And of course, Deuce McBride is out indefinitely due to hernia surgery. The villains list Sam Hauser as questionable due to a back problem. So they’ll be mostly full strength. Sigh.

ESPN gives New York a 42% chance to win. Fair ’nuff. This beat-up club was clobbered by Detroit on Friday, not even 48 hours ago. The Knicks must neutralize Brown and control the rebounds to pull off the road upset. With KAT and OG uncertain and Hart suffering, this early affair could be a toss-off on the road to a get-well All-Star break. A win would fill our sails with the certainty that even banged up, our boys can defeat one of our toughest conference rivals. A loss? Don’t sweat it too much.

A: Google tells me that the Jaylen SmudgeGame was played on October 24. During the third quarter, when Brown swiped his head across Anunoby’s midsection, a mysterious dark residue from Brown’s dome transferred to Anunoby’s kit. Shoe polish, we believe. Lest we forget a moment of Boston embarrassment!

Game Details

Date: Sunday, February 8, 2026
Time: 12:30 PM ET
Place: TD Garden, Boston, MA
TV: ABC / ESPN
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

* Should be one more, but the Cup final doesn’t count.

The struggling Miami Heat try to shake a recent funk when they visit the capital city on Super Bowl Sunday to take on the Washington Wizards.

The Wiz are clearly happy to tank, but is Miami able to take that win? My Heat vs. Wizards predictions and NBA picks expect what the books expect: a comfortable Heat win.

Heat vs Wizards prediction

Heat vs Wizards best bet: Heat -11 (-110)

The Washington Wizards played last night and got ripped 127-113 by the Nets. They're just 3-5 against the spread playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

Defense continues to be a problem for the Wizards, who rank second-last in the NBA in points allowed at 122 per contest.

This roster is a little in shambles, too. Most notably, leading scorer Alex Sarr (ankle) and leading set-up man Kyshawn George (knee) missed yesterday's game and are a game-time decision. They are two of nine players who currently occupy the injured list, with seven sitting out against the Nets.

The Miami Heat are a cool 4-2 ATS as a road favorite, but leading scorer Norman Powell (hand) and Bam Adebayo (hip) are on the injured list and listed as game-time decisions.

The Heat are a Top-10 scoring defense, but they haven’t looked it lately. They’ve lost four of their last six, and have surrendered at least 125 points in three of those losses.

Miami has won four of the last five head-to-head matchups, and all of them have been blowouts, winning by 12+ points in each. The Wiz won the last game they played, though, surviving a 1-point win.

Normally, I’d lean on the home team and the points, but this Washington team feels like a compilation of promising talent that can’t be woven together by injured stars Anthony Davis and Trae Young.

Heat vs Wizards same-game parlay

The good news is that the books have Powell listed in the props, which means he must be close to returning. He’s coming off a 24-point game against New Orleans, and Powell has gone for 20+ in three straight games.

Alex Sarr will do damage for the Wiz against this struggling Miami defense that could be without Adebayo.

Heat vs Wizards SGP

• Heat -11
• Norman Powell Over 22.5 points
• Alex Sarr Over 16.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Sarr strikes on Super Bowl Sunday!

Keyonte George has lost his jumper in February, shooting just 1-for-5 from 3-point range over three games. Miami isn’t the exact get-right team, as they’re sixth in the league in 3-point shooting defense.

Miami guard Davion Mitchell has had 7+ assists just four times in the last 11 games, and while he’s had 8+ assists in back-to-back games against the Wizards, that’s too small a sample size to put some money on.

Heat vs Wizards SGP

• Heat -11
• Norman Powell Over 22.5 points
• Alex Sarr Over 16.5 points
• Keyonte George Under 1.5 threes
• Davion Mitchell Under 6.5 assists

Heat vs Wizards odds

• Spread: Heat -11 | Wizards +11
• Moneyline: Heat -474 | Wizards +380
• Over/Under: Over 235.5 | Under 235.5

Heat vs Wizards betting trend to know

The Wizards have lost 40 of their last 41 games on the second night of a back-to-back. Find more NBA betting trends for Heat vs. Wizards.

How to watch Heat vs Wizards

Heat vs Wizards latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

Couldn’t he have just started a podcast? “The Internet is full of opinions. I decided it was time to make some of my own,” Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the four best basketball players in the world, posted in a statement announcing that he was joining the prediction market Kalshi as a shareholder. “We all on Kalshi now.”

We are not, but doesn’t the tone sum it up? The universe’s ineffable forces have clearly decided that the ubiquity of sports betting companies is insufficient. There must be new companies, with which you can bet on any outcome – Kalshi competitor Polymarket has hosted markets tied to geopolitical outcomes, including scenarios related to Israel and Gaza, for instance – that incentivize people to treat life’s most important avenues as trivially as a sports game. Kalshi and Polymarket are prediction platforms rather than traditional betting companies. Users effectively bet (or “trade”) against others on the platform about the outcome of events, from familiar wagers such as the result of a sporting event, to the obscure, such as the color of a politician’s suit at an election appearance. Kalshi has enjoyed plenty of freedom under the second Donald Trump administration, and Donald Trump Jr is a “strategic advisor” for them and Polymarket. A Kalshi outcome taking bets until recently was “Giannis Antetokounmpo’s next team?” as rumors swirled that the two-time NBA MVP was about to leave the Milwaukee Bucks. Antetokounmpo will be involved in marketing and publicity for Kalshi, and is forbidden from trading on markets related to the NBA. The move is also in step with the NBA’s rules – players are allowed to endorse betting companies as long as they don’t gamble on the league itself. But that hasn’t prevented scores of fans across Instagram and Reddit, and media members on Twitter, from expressing their displeasure at the move and insisting there is a conflict of interest.

Related: The NBA jumped into bed with gambling. Now the league is getting its due

Antetokounmpo seems to be fine with the deal though, and would have you know that jumping in bed with Kalshi is no more complicated than holding some opinions. For Antetokounmpo, a multimillionaire inking a deal with thiscompany, whose CEO recently said, “the long-term vision is to financialize everything and create a trading asset out of any difference of opinion,” rather than just about any other company, is apparently no big deal. Nor is the fact that a significant part of Kalshi’s trades are on sports outcomes, and Antetokounmpo is a professional athlete. “We all on Kalshi now.” We are apparently also all in hell.

Antetokounmpo has done a fine job ruining what had been a stellar approval rating. He spurred the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA title in 2021, emerging as a new face of the league. The next year, the Bucks made a respectable run at a title defense by losing to the Boston Celtics in the conference semi-finals in seven games. Game 7 was an unfortunate blowout, but Antetokounmpo put up more staggering numbers across the series. The Bucks were in a good place.

Since, though, they can’t stop exiting the playoffs in the first round. The Bucks are 21-29 so far this season; they’ll be lucky to even make the playoffs. Antetokounmpo has played some brilliant basketball but also suffered two non-contact calf injuries, keeping him out of games and making him the latest NBA star on Achilles Watch. Giannis is 31, and barring LeBron James-esque longevity, closer to the end of his career than the beginning. It is obvious to everybody that any winning he does from here on out will have to come on a team besides the Bucks.

The past several weeks have seen Antetokounmpo waffle between acknowledging this, which in conjunction with his agent shopping him around to other teams suggested he was on his way out, and acting insulted at the idea that he would leave. It was all very confusing and suggested that Antetokounmpo knew he had to go but didn’t want to be the bad guy.

The uncertainty behind Antetokounmpo’s future was almost certainly down to legitimate basketball reasons: teams’ willingness to trade or how much the Bucks wanted to keep their superstar. And, in any case, Antetokounmpo is forbidden from trading on the NBA with Kalshi. But perception trumps reality among NBA fans. And now it is impossible for many of them to reflect on Antetokounmpo’s future without his Kalshi stock front of mind. Every time Giannis turns in a performance, or even a play, that deviates from expectations, it may raise suspicion over whether he was trying to move Kalshi’s prediction lines. Or others could speculate he whipped up rumors of a trade so that gamblers would flock to Kelshi to bet on his future.

But perhaps what’s perhaps most depressing is that Antetokounmpo isn’t a remarkable case here. This news comes at a time when James is a DraftKings ambassador and Kevin Durant cashes checks from FanDuel. When watching a big game, regardless of league, odds are you won’t be able to avoid a deluge of over-under lines and parlays from commentators and social media accounts. Prior to joining ESPN, the NBA’s foremost news-breaker Shams Charania unintentionally moved a betting line with a misleading tweet while co-hosting a show for FanDuel. Many NBA-focused outlets – notably The Ringer and its large fleet of podcasts – are sponsored by a betting company, which could create a conflict of interest even in the coverage of gambling scandals. League commissioner Adam Silver has given tepid quotes in favor of more regulation but has largely welcomed sports gambling since arguing for its legalization in the New York Times in 2014. Then there are even more serious incidents. At the start of the season, the Miami Heat’s Terry Rozier was arrested for allegedly using inside information about NBA players to manipulate prop bets.The NBA is infested with betting companies and ripe for yet another scandal.

Wagering away your life savings has never been easier: just reach into your back pocket, open a fiercely addictive app striving for your attention, and click away. But gambling has become so ubiquitous that we decided somewhere along the way that this problem doesn’t matter, or is better ignored. The secondary problem with rampantly available gambling is the incentivization of rigging outcomes, and the constant suspicion even in absence of a scandal. Sports are meaningful enough to define the lives of players and fans alike, but all that love and time rests on the strength of the idea that what we are watching is real. It’s never been so easy to lose the faith, and Antetokounmpo’s latest deal has only made the whole mess worse.

Per a Spurs press release:

The San Antonio Spurs announced that the organization will return to Paris, France this month to host “Spurs Week Paris,” a special weeklong activation across the city that brings key elements of their fan experience directly to their French supporters. From Thursday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, March 1, Spurs Week Paris will consist of community impact programming, exclusive retail and fan engagement opportunities and more activations designed to enhance the cross-cultural exchange between Texas and France, as part of the organization’s long-term commitment to growing the game of basketball globally.

The weeks events include:

Thurs. Feb. 26-Sun. March 1
Exclusive Pop-Up Shop
The limited time “Les Spurs Pop Up Fan Shop” in the 1^st arrondisement will feature an exclusive Spurs “Bexar Goods x Paris” retail line designed to introduce French fans to the South Texan style and materials through the lens of the team’s private label “Bexar Goods.” Classic Spurs team merchandise such as jerseys and hats will be available as well. Store hours are as follows: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CET daily, closing early at 2 p.m. CET on Sunday, March 1.
 
Thurs., Feb. 26
Spurs Basketball Clinics in Le Chesnay, presented by Ledger
The organization will return to the court they renovated in Victor Wembanyama’s hometown of Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt with the 2025 launch of the Play Paris initiative. Spurs Sports Academy coaches will lead skills clinics, open to athletes ages 8-16 years old, with sign-ups open now at SpursSportsAcademy.com/Paris.
 
Sat., Feb. 28
Play Paris Court Design Unveiling, presented by Ledger
In partnership with Ledger, the Spurs will surprise the community of Nanterre with the announcement of a renovated court. This court will be the second in the Spurs Play Paris program, which was built to inspire the next generation and create a lasting legacy in the community. The announcement will be followed by a Spurs skills challenge, which is open to local youth athletes with sign-ups open now at SpursSportsAcademy.com/Paris.
 
Sun., March 1
Official Spurs Watch Party, presented by Ledger
The Spurs and Ledger will host a free watch party, open to the public with required RSVP while supplies last, to cheer the team on as they face the Knicks in New York. The party will feature all the classic Spurs game day elements like Coyote, giveaways and more. To RSVP in order to receive official event invitation, visit Spurs.com/Paris.
 

RC Buford, CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, stated,

“Spurs Week Paris was thoughtfully designed with French Spurs fans in mind, building upon the decades-long relationships the team has established in France and throughout Europe. Our longstanding international history has given us the privilege of connecting with fans worldwide and we’re honored to be embraced and welcomed by communities across the globe.”

Spurs Week Paris is a continuation of the Spurs commitment to making basketball a global game and connecting with fans across the world.

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The Suns welcomed the Philadelphia 76ers to the Mortgage Matchup Center on Saturday night, and the building buzzed for one reason. Devin Booker was back. Jalen Green was back. The cavalry had arrived.

What they did not bring with them was a shooting touch.

Phoenix opened the night by going 1-of-13 from deep in the first quarter and never really escaped the fog. By the end of it, they were 11-of-46 from beyond the arc. Brutal. So brutal it started to seep into their decision-making. For stretches in the second, the open looks were there. Clean looks. Rhythm shots. And instead of letting them fly, the Suns pump-faked themselves right out of confidence. Dribble. Reset. Force something worse.

That is the part that sticks with you. The offense was doing its job. The ball moved. The actions worked. The looks were real. Execution from three never showed up.

When the dust settled, both teams finished with 11 made threes. The difference was how they got there. The Suns needed 17 more attempts to reach the same number. That math catches up with you every time.

And yet, weirdly enough, this still felt like a step forward.

That sounds insane after a loss, but context matters. Getting Booker and Green back before the All-Star break matters. Roles have been stretched thin for weeks. Guys have been asked to do more than they are built for. That does not reset overnight.

It is still a work in progress. Green is coming off the bench. That will change. Booker is finding his legs again. That will come. The rotation has not fully settled yet, and that part is important.

Losing at home never feels good. But this is part of a larger process playing out in real time. Sometimes progress looks clean. Sometimes it looks clunky and uncomfortable and frustrating as hell. You do not have to like it. But you do have to respect it.

Bright Side Baller Season Standings

Grayson gets the nod against the Warriors, and he was a casualty of that game. He gave it his all, tweaked his knee, and is once again sidelined. At least he has his 7th BSB to keep him company.

Bright Side Baller Nominees

Game 53 against the Sixers. Here are your nominees:

Dillon Brooks
28 points (11-of-23, 2-of-10 3PT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 fouls, +10 +/-

Devin Booker
21 points (5-of-12, 1-of-7 3PT), 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 turnovers, +10 +/-

Royce O’Neale
14 points (5-of-10, 4-of-9 3PT), 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, +6 +/-

Mark Williams
11 points (4-of-7), 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 fouls, +0 +/-

Jalen Green
8 points (2-of-6, 0-of-3 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, +7 +/-

Jordan Goodwin
7 points (2-of-7, 1-of-4 3PT), 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 4 fouls, -6 +/-

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Who was your star of Saturday night?

The last time the Seattle Seahawks came within a yard of defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 49, the Toronto Raptors were riding a six-game winning streak. Months later, the Raptors were swept in the playoffs by the Washington Wizards, signalling the first red flags of the ‘We The North’ movement. 

Over a decade later, the Raptors are ushering in a new era, and things are equally hopeful and uncertain. 

Next up is their penultimate game before the unofficial halfway point of the season, which involves a matchup against the Indiana Pacers on a super Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST on Sportsnet. 

While the Pacers sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Raptors are in the midst of protecting their tenuous hold on a playoff spot. 

The Philadelphia 76ers and the four teams currently in the play-in all have a legitimate chance at catching the Raptors during the second half of the season. Not including the Cleveland Cavaliers, who recently leapfrogged into fourth place, the Raptors are 1-9 against the top four teams in the East and West. 

The Raptors must figure out their issues with contenders, but it’s also equally important to dispatch the teams they should beat. 

Here are three additional storylines to consider. 

Poeltl is key to the Raptors ‘run-game’

The Toronto Raptors are nearing full-strength and a glimpse into the team’s future may be possible ahead of All-Star Weekend. 

The most significant update is Jakob Poeltl being listed as questionable on the injury report. While it’s likely he won’t suit up until after the break, the mere thought of Poeltl’s return offers reprieve from the team’s struggles against opposing centres. 

It seems like the plan is to eventually roll out the Austrian for as many games as possible to close out the season. A load management approach will likely be used, meaning Toronto must continue to rely on Scottie Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili to moonlight as centres when needed. 

To help with the physical toll that takes on the their bodies, General Manager Bobby Webster also acquired Trayce Jackson-Davis from the Warriors at the trade deadline. After an encouraging rookie season during which Jackson-Davis averaged 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in 16.6 minutes, the six-foot-nine tweener ultimately fell out of Golden State’s rotation.

Jackson-Davis will have every opportunity to rediscover his confidence on a Raptors team desperate for any kind of interior presence.  

The classic ‘redshirt’ season

The Pacers arguably paid a steep price to acquire Ivica Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers at the deadline, but the move suggests the front office is ready to fight for their spot in the Eastern Conference once Tyrese Haliburton returns. 

Indiana dealt Canadian Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks and a second-rounder in exchange for Zubac and Kobe Brown. Zubac will wear a new jersey for the first time in over seven years, but his debut may have to wait due to a lingering ankle injury. The seven-footer also recently welcomed a newborn into the world. 

Since Myles Turner’s departure, the Pacers have worked tirelessly to find a replacement at the five spot. Zubac should confidently outperform the mixed results produced by the tandem of Jackson and Jay Huff. For the second consecutive season, Zubac is averaging a double-double with 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds. 

Increased routes and targets for Walter

With Ochai Agbaji now a member of the Brooklyn Nets, that’s one less component of the bench carousel of wings the Raptors have deployed this season. There’s a fun combination of reduced pressure and increased expectations that now fall on Ja’Kobe Walter. Drafted with the 19th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Walter has a straightforward opportunity in front of him.

Walter finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes against the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 5. The Raptors are 3-1 when Walter plays at least 30 minutes this year. The six-foot-four guard flashes a scoring punch and defensive intensity Toronto desperately needs from the wing position. If RJ Barrett is moved in the off-season, Walter’s play during the remainder of the season will factor into that decision.  

The New England Patriots will play in the Super Bowl tonight. Stop me if you’ve heard that before.

I genuinely can’t imagine how my friends that aren’t Boston sports fans do it. How do you deal with someone who cheers for teams that seemingly don’t rebuild, don’t take gap years, and whose version of disappointment usually involves falling short on the biggest stages? That disappointment itself is a luxury. Most fanbases would kill just to be relevant long enough to be crushed that way.

And yet, here we are again.

The Patriots are playing in Super Bowl LX in Mike Vrabel’s first season as head coach. The Celtics are near the top of the East despite reshuffling roles, missing stars, and redefining themselves in real time. None of the success feels frantic or accidental. Like clockwork, Boston simply continues to win.

That’s the part worth paying attention to. Because this isn’t about luck, or magic, or Boston mystique. It’s about something much more repeatable: identity, clarity, and leadership that knows how to survive discomfort.

Joe Mazzulla noticed it immediately with Mike Vrabel.

“I think when you just take a look at it, they’re a team that’s developed an identity over the course of the season,” Mazzulla said of the Patriots after they clinched their Super Bowl berth. “Every coach, regardless of the sport, is looking for that — creating that type of identity and consistency, and playing to that throughout an entire season.”

He could have been talking about his own team. When you strip them down to their nuts and bolts, the Celtics and Patriots are largely building the same thing. They’re just doing it in their own ways.

Identity shows up before the results do

The Patriots didn’t make Super Bowl LX by reinventing themselves between Week 1 and now. They just figured out who they were early on and leaned harder into that week after week.

Close games. Defensive discipline. Playing ugly without apologizing for it.

The Celtics have followed a similar blueprint. Lineups have been changing nightly. Roles expanding and contracting like a living organism. Yet the structure has held. Decisions are still clean. That kind of consistency doesn’t come from talent alone, but rather a coach who cares more about how five guys function together than who gets credit for it.

Mazzulla has been open about what he values when things get uncomfortable.

“The togetherness stood out,” he said after a recent upset win over the Houston Rockets. “That s*** matters. The ability for us to stick together whether it’s perfect or not, is important.”

That soundbite does more than just describe how the Patriots and Celtics are operating. It says something about how Boston itself operates.

As a Boston fan, there’s no expectation of approval from the outside. At least there hasn’t been in my lifetime. When the Patriots make the Super Bowl, the path was soft. If you ask a Lakers fan, they’ll tell you the Celtics benefitted from an injury-plagued playoff run en route to Banner 18 — which is funny, because if Boston doesn’t beat Dallas in 2024, Nico Harrison probably never starts staring at Luka’s midsection long enough to pick up the phone and call Rob Pelinka. So really, you’re welcome, Lakers fans.

What the Celtics and Patriots have done instead is lean inward. Trust the locker room. Trust the structure. I almost walked into “Trust the Process,” but caught myself.

Trust has been explicit from both coaches all season. Mazzulla has said it out loud, and the Patriots turned it into a slogan: We all we got. We all we need.

WE ALL WE GOT. WE ALL WE NEED. pic.twitter.com/0AYeuot1WF

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 7, 2026

Neither group has been perfect. Both have had to adjust on the fly. But the through line has been belief in each other and a refusal to fracture when things get uncomfortable. In Boston, that mindset isn’t new. And it travels just as well from the locker room to the fanbase.

Vrabel and Mazzulla aren’t similar, but they’re aligned

Mike Vrabel and Joe Mazzulla are….different. If they were to sit next to each other on a long flight, I think Joe would be headphones in with The Town on before takeoff.

But listen to how they talk about leadership, and the similarities between them becomes obvious.

“Joe is fantastic,” Vrabel said last summer. “He’s always trying to learn and gain knowledge different ways — about building a team, about strategy, about scheme, about inspiring players to do their job well. So I always love my conversations with him.”

That curiosity matters. So does the emphasis on responsibility.

Mazzulla echoed that sentiment when Vrabel attended a Celtics practice earlier this season.

“There’s got to be communication and understanding,” Mazzulla said. “We’re all carrying a responsibility to compete at a high level and bring championships to this city. So you’ve got to learn from each other and have that perspective.”

Neither coach talks first about stars. They talk about standards, roles, and people knowing exactly why they’re there.

That’s how you survive a season in Boston when nothing goes according to plan.

---

Vrabel and Mazzulla don’t talk about winning as something you chase. They talk about it as something you arrive at together.

That shared language explains why this all feels so familiar in Boston. Coaches arrive, systems settle, expectations snap back into place. The Patriots went from irrelevance (and the occasional Lunatic Lateral) to the Super Bowl in one year. The Celtics are contending while redefining themselves in real time.

I think I always knew it deep down, but I’m starting to accept why this all feels unbearable from the outside — and like just another February in Boston for those of us on the inside.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden came through when it mattered most. They combined for 32 fourth-quarter points to lead Cleveland to the 132-126 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

All is well that ends well. The Mitchell and Harden pairing struggled at the start of the game. They seemingly didn’t want to step on each other’s toes, which resulted in a stagnant half-court offense that mostly involved aimlessly swinging the ball around the perimeter with little off-ball movement.

The starting lineup featuring four guards with Tyson and Sam Merrill, with Allen as the only forward, didn’t do anyone any favors. I understand why you’d want to go small to simplify things for Harden, but this led to getting beaten on the defensive glass and giving up 27 second-chance points.

The Cavs were able to get back into the game thanks to their bench lineups, and closed with Mitchell and Harden playing their best.

Cleveland took the lead late with back-to-back Harden triples, the last coming from a nice Mitchell swing from the corner to a wide-open Harden.

Both are such talented offensive pieces that bring so much attention to the ball. It’s easy to see what made pulling the trigger on this deal so alluring. The question will be how often we get to see the level of synergy we saw in the fourth quarter.

In the meantime, we know that Harden is going to make Jarrett Allen’s life easier.

There are few guards better at feeding their forwards than Harden. His size, strength, vision, and ball placement allow him to set up his big man in the perfect spot to score.

Great players make what they do well look easy. Harden did that as he repeatedly found Allen on the block and in the short roll, to set up high-percentage looks.

“In the pick-and-roll, I feel like he found every opportunity to exploit it,” Allen said postgame. “Even if it wasn’t a pass to me, we were just creating action, creating gravity for players to bring it to us.”

Once Allen gets going, he can be difficult to handle. As we’ve seen throughout this season, Allen needs to be fed early if he’s going to have a major impact. Harden and the Cavs made it a priority to get Allen involved. He rewarded them for doing so with 29 points on 11-12 shooting with 10 rebounds.

This road trip has been a great reminder of how impactful Allen can be. He’s an incredibly good finisher in the paint (and even converted a post fadeaway) and is an underrated playmaker when he has the ball in his hands with room to operate.

Allen’s proficiency in the short roll is going to pair nicely with Harden, who once again showed how good he is when the defense doubles him.

This is one of the areas he’s going to help the offense out most. Harden requires the opposing defense to shift over to him. That will be useful when he’s sharing the floor with Mitchell and anchoring bench lineups.

Harden’s patience when the double team comes and skill to make the correct, on time, and on target pass give screeners like Allen, Tyson, and Craig Porter Jr. the ability to beat them in the short roll.

Overall, this was a great debut from Harden, even if it wasn’t perfect.

He — understandably — looked like someone who was trying to find his place on the floor. He wasn’t assertive in the first half and struggled to find his defensive rotations.

Even when Harden got going in the fourth quarter, he seemed hesitant to drive to the paint, which resulted in his only two free-throw attempts coming once Sacramento had to foul in the final minute and no shot attempts at the rim. It’s not going to be an outstanding scoring night for Harden if he isn’t getting to the basket and the line early and often.

Still, it speaks to how talented Harden is that even when he isn’t at his best, he’s still incredibly valuable. The Cavs don’t come close to winning this game if it’s not for his scoring in the fourth and the playmaking he showed throughout.

This performance should make everyone excited about how things look when Harden gets more acclimated with his new teammates. He finished with 23 points on 7-13 shooting with eight assists and two rebounds.

Keon Ellis was everywhere defensively. He has the rare combination of being both a great individual defender, while also being able to get his hand on the ball anytime someone comes near him with it. Ellis provided three steals and a block in just 17 minutes.

That defensive effort was useful on a night when only a few of their players decided to show up on that end. It allowed Mitchell and Harden’s fourth-quarter scoring to matter as it did. This led to him being in the closing lineup and finishing the game with a plus/minus of +20.

Dennis Schroder’s production is much needed. His energy and ability to get into the paint have been sorely missed from the backup point guard position. That was on display on Saturday as he picked up seven points and four assists, while being a +22 in just 17 minutes.

The minute distribution is out of balance. Ellis and Schroder were phenomenal and fit exactly what the team needed, but neither played over 17 and a half minutes. Meanwhile, Porter saw just under 23. This isn’t a shot at Porter, but it’s difficult to see him as the superior option over either, especially on a night Mitchell and Harden are both playing.

The rotations are a work in progress. Head coach Kenny Atkinson likely wants to see as many different lineups as possible with the new additions, and it makes sense to reward Porter for how well he’s been playing recently. That said, it’s fair to point out that the lineup combinations — including the four-guard starting unit — left a lot to be desired.

This is still Mitchell’s team. Even though he was hesitant to step on toes at the start of the game, he wasn’t afraid to take over late. Mitchell scored 29 in the second half on 11-16 shooting, while being confident in taking over in crunch time.

Afterward, Harden praised Mitchell for doing so. He told sideline reporter Serena Winters that Mitchell is “the leader of the team” and that he’s just there to “support him and do whatever it takes to help.”

If this experiment is going to work, it will be because Mitchell and Harden elevate each other on the court as they did down the stretch in Sacramento.

PERTH, Australia (AP) — South Africa won the Australian stopover in the sevens world series for the first time in nine years after topping Fiji 21-19 in the Perth final on Sunday.

It took a phenomenal second try by Ryan Oosthuizen, who crashed past four Fijians, to tie the score at 19 that was then converted from the sideline by Ricardo Duarttee.

“I'm not the fastest guy so sometimes I need to run over people,” Oosthuizen said.

New Zealand women won their third leg of four in the series, beating defending Perth champion Australia 29-7 in the 31-degree (C) heat and ending Australia's 10-match home win streak.

South Africa pounced on two Fiji errors to blast off 14-0 in four minutes. Duarttee converted tries by Oosthuizen and Sebastiaan Jobb.

But Fiji has been the comeback king lately. It rallied from 12-0 down to beat France in the Singapore final last weekend, and beat South Africa from 14-0 down in pool play on Saturday.

Terio Veilawa was at the center of Fiji's rally, setting up tries for Viwa Naduvalo and captain Jeremaia Matana to trail only 14-12 at halftime. Veilawa then claimed the second-half restart and broke two tackles on his own 22 line to score the go-ahead try, converted by Iowane Teba for 19-14.

But South Africa regained the lead when Oosthuizen high-stepped to his second try and Duarttee slotted his second big sideline conversion.

The last five minutes were all defense. Nacani Boginisoko made a try-saving tackle near the right corner flag on South Africa’s Donovan Don, and Luan Giliomee pulled off a try-saver on Boginisoko on the halfway line.

South Africa last won in Australia in 2017 and is the first two-time men’s winner in the ongoing series.

In the season's fourth women's final of four between the neighbors, the Australians, after being smashed by New Zealand 36-7 in the Singapore final, scored first through Heidi Dennis, their youngest player at 20.

But Jorja Miller, on her 22nd birthday, kickstarted New Zealand with a brilliant run. She slipped out of a double tackle near the right touchline in her half, tore away and threw off a third defender, and offloaded to send captain Risi Pouri-Lane over.

Kelsey Teneti then scored on both sides of halftime for a Perth-leading eight tries. Katelyn Vaha'akolo finished off another overlap, and New Zealand, which missed one tackle in the final, capped it in typical style: Stacey Waaka forced a desperation spill by Australia's Maddison Levi near her tryline and Alena Saili snapped up the gift.

“After back-to-back tournaments, for the girls to show consistency and connection and still turn up even when it's hot and you're hurting, I'm really proud,” Pouri-Lane said.

The series resumes in Vancouver on March 7-8.

___

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