Category: Basketball

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cavaliers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

We’re two games into the James Harden Cleveland Cavaliers era, and things couldn’t be going much better. The initial chemistry he’s shown with Donovan Mitchell is encouraging, and his ability to get Jarrett Allen involved in the offense has unlocked a dimension that wasn’t otherwise there.

That said, the cost of Darius Garland was steep — provided he can return to his All-Star form in the future. Reactions to the trade weren’t necessarily positive from Cavs fans at the time of the deal, and understandably so.

Now that a week has passed since the initial rumor and we’ve seen what it looks like on the court, have your opinions changed? How would you grade the trade?

Let us know with the survey below!

LeBron James spoke in hushed tones as he repeatedly rubbed his watering eye.  Austin Reaves was fully slumped in his chair. 

For 48 minutes, they had been swarmed. They were completely depleted. 

“That’s a championship team right there,” said James after the Lakers’ 119-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. “We’re not.”

The Thunder, who have an average age of 25.6 years and the best defense in the league, took it out of James in a way nobody else has this season, including back-to-back efforts. 

“We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes,” said James, who had 22 points, six rebounds and 10 assists. “And they can. That’s why they won the championship.”

So how big is the gap between the team that has the fifth-best record in the West (the Lakers) and the team with the best record in the league (the Thunder)? 

Huge. 

Monday was a wake up call for the Lakers, who are trying to claw their way up the Western Conference standings. The Lakers are good. But when it comes to teams like Oklahoma City or San Antonio, their age shows. 

The juxtaposition between the Lakers’ and Thunder’s locker rooms was stunning. While the Lakers looked as though they had just survived something, the Thunder could’ve passed for not having played a game. 

They were laughing. Joking. One reporter went from player to player, teaching them another language as they practiced the words 

Meanwhile, James was so out of it that he felt the need to explain himself. 

“I’m tired,” James said after he finished talking to reporters. “No, I’m not sick. I’m just tired as f—. Sorry if I sound irritated but I’m 41. My [patience for] irritation is being very, very low as the days go on.”

What’s interesting is the aftermath of the game revealed more than the game itself, which was a rock fight with 22 lead changes and 10 ties. With just one minute left, the Lakers only trailed the Thunder by three points (113-110) before Jalen Williams went on a 6-0 run. 

But if these teams met in the playoffs, there’s just no way the Lakers could hang in a seven-game series. The Thunder could’ve easily played another 48 minutes, while the Lakers seemingly could barely lift themselves out of their chairs. 

The Thunder are the gold standard in the NBA. 

They’re the defending champs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP and Finals MVP. (He didn’t play Monday because of an abdominal strain, and neither did Luka Doncic, who was sidelined with a strained calf). 

But still, the Thunder left the Lakers shell-shocked. Oklahoma City doesn’t just have the best defense in the league, they have one of the best defenses in modern NBA history. 

Lu Dort is elite one-on-one. Cason Wallace is nearly impossible to get past. Alex Caruso is an energizer bunny with the IQ of an elephant. Williams is a menace. 

It left the Lakers dizzied. 

There’s so much contact. So much physicality. James was able to force his way through it. But it left him completely worn out. Same with Reaves.

If this was a measuring stick game for the Lakers, the results were clear: They simply can’t hang with the creme de la creme of the league. And that statement would’ve been true even if the Lakers had won Monday. 

There was no need to look at a box score to come to that conclusion. 

A simple peek in the locker room was far more revealing. 

The NBA season is a bit over halfway done. And starting Thursday, the league will have their annual All-Star Break! There are no Washington Wizards players playing at the big event on Sunday. But on Friday, Feb. 13 at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock, the Rising Stars Challenge will be on. Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson will be there. Watching them on Friday will be the highlight of All-Start Weekend for me.

How about you guys? What is the biggest thing you are looking forward to on All-Star Weekend? Let us know below.

It’s that time of year: the time that in the past saw the Spurs getting past the January doldrums by going on the road to put everything together on their way to a championship run. However, in recent years, it has been a killer because the Spurs just weren’t that good away from the Frost Bank Center. Yes, we’re talking about the annual Rodeo Road Trip, and for this, the 24th iteration, things looker brighter than they have in at least 7 years.

It all begins with a Lakers team that has remained above the fray and in the playoff picture but has not quite lived up to expectations for a season that began with an in-shape Luka Doncic set to lead the team along with LeBron James and Austin Reaves. Between some bad habits returning for Doncic, Father Time (and dissatisfaction) catching up with LeBron, and Reaves dealing with injuries, it has been an up-and-down season for the Lakers. They tried to address some weaknesses by adding Luke Kennard at the trade deadline, but they still dropped one to a shorthanded Thunder team last night to fall four games behind the second place Spurs.

For the Spurs, who have won four straight while finding an offensive rhythm that eluded them for much of January, this will be their third visit to the Staples Center this season thanks to the quirks of the NBA Cup Tournament, which sent them to LA for an extra game in the quarterfinals. While the Spurs split those two outings, losing the first match-up on the final shot way back in the second week of the season, they owned the next two, including the Cup quarterfinals and in San Antonio last month.

While Doncic has always been a thorn in the Spurs side — even Victor Wembanyama admitted he was hard to beat earlier in the season — the Spurs’ solution in previous games was to let him do his thing with his difficult shot selection while limiting everyone else’s offensive impact. Doncic is just as good of a creator as he is scorer, so if you can take away one aspect of his offense, you have him beat.

With all that being said, Doncic may be out tonight after missing last night’s game with a sore hamstring, and who knows with LeBron on back-to-backs. If that is the case, the Spurs will have to make a mental adjustment that they have sometimes struggled with but overcame twice last week, and that’s not getting complacent and playing down to injured or inferior opponents. If the Spurs stay focused and play their best version of ball, they may be able to make quick work of this game and save some legs for the next night against a similary shorthanded Warriors team.

San Antonio Spurs (36-16) at Los Angeles Lakers (32-20)

February 10, 2015 | 9:30 PM CT

Watch: FanDuel Sports, NBATV | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs injuries: Lindy Waters III (out — knee)

Lakers injuries: not due until 1:00 PM CT

During an appearance on The Sports Junkies on Tuesday, Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins shut down reports that Anthony Davis won’t play this season.

“I would say highly likely,” Dawkins said when asked about Davis and Trae Young playing this season. “That’s the goal. We want to see our guys together so we can build camaraderie and build some continuity towards the end of the season.”

Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said he believes it's "highly likely" that Trae Young and Anthony Davis play this season.

"That's the goal. We want to see our guys together so we can build camaraderie and build some continuity towards the end of the season."

— Ben Strober (@strobersports) February 10, 2026

Davis suffered ligament damage in his left hand on Jan. 8. It was reported on Jan. 13 that Davis would forego surgery and be re-evaluated in six weeks.

Following Wednesday’s trade for Davis, Chris Haynes reported that the 32-year-old forward would miss the remainder of the season as he rehabs his hand injury. But Dawkins’ recent comments, both on Sunday before the Wizards’ game and on radio Tuesday, contradict that report.

Dawkins said in January that the plan is to re-evaluate Young, who hasn’t played with the Wizards while he rehabs an MCL sprain and a quad contusion, after the All-Star break. He said Davis, who was listed with a finger sprain, will continue rehabbing his hand injury in Dallas and will have an important doctor’s appointment during the All-Star break.

Sixers sign former Bulls 1st-round pick Dalen Terry to 2-way contract  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers have signed 23-year-old wing Dalen Terry to a two-way contract, the team announced Tuesday. 

Terry was the 18th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft and spent his first three and a half professional seasons with the Bulls. He got dealt twice at this trade deadline — first to the Knicks, then to the Pelicans — before being waived by New Orleans. 

Terry was known for his ability to do a little bit of everything entering the draft. Over 204 games with the Bulls, the 6-foot-6 Arizona product averaged 3.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.6 steals in 11.1 minutes per contest. Terry tied his career scoring high last February against the Sixers when he posted 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the Bulls’ blowout win.

The Sixers had an open two-way slot after signing Dominick Barlow to a standard NBA deal.

Their other two-way players at the moment are Jabari Walker and MarJon Beauchamp. Walker’s status is in limbo. He’s been active for the maximum of 50 NBA games and wasn’t available for the final three games of the Sixers’ West Coast road trip.

“It’s sort of annoying just how it all works, that Jabari can’t play for some games here,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said last week. “ … He’s been a tremendous next-man-up type of contributor. We hope to have his services going forward, but we do have to weigh optimal use of our scarce two roster spots and against the other opportunities as well. So that’ll be written over time, whether or not we do that conversion there.” 

Indiana plans to build a permanent bronze statue of former men’s basketball coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Knight inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers’ home arena.

The university announced the move on Monday, Febr. 9, the same day that Indiana’s 1976 national championship team was honored at halftime of the Hoosiers’ 92-74 win against Oregon.

"Coach Knight's influence on the game of basketball is immeasurable, but his impact on this university and Hoosier basketball fans is even deeper," said Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson said in a statement. "On a personal level, having started my career here as a student manager under Coach Knight, I saw firsthand the unparalleled standard of excellence he demanded. He taught me, and countless others, that success is the result of meticulous preparation and unwavering discipline. This statue will be a well-deserved tribute to a man who didn't just win games; he changed how the sport is played."

REQUIRED READING: IU home to last undefeated basketball, football champions. 'Incredibly humbling,' Quinn Buckner says

Knight’s statue would be displayed in the south lobby of the arena, alongside the statue honoring the 1976 team that he led to an undefeated season. Fifty years later, it’s the last time a Division I men’s basketball champion has finished a season unbeaten.

Details about the project and its timeline, which is being funded by an anonymous longtime Indiana donor, will be released “in the coming months,” the school said.

Knight is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential coaches in the history of basketball at any level. He led the Hoosiers to three national championships — in 1976, 1981 and 1987 — and won 904 games over his 42-year head-coaching career at Indiana, Army and Texas Tech. He went 662–239 in 29 seasons with the Hoosiers. During that tenure, he popularized the motion offense and routinely had some of the country’s toughest, most tenacious defensive units.

Beyond his work at Indiana, which also included 11 Big Ten championships and five Final Four appearances, he was the head coach of gold-medal-winning USA Basketball teams at the 1979 Pan American Games and the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Knight’s legendary run at Indiana came to an abrupt end in September 2000, when the university fired him two months before the start of the upcoming season. His dismissal came after he violated a zero-tolerance behavioral policy that had been placed on him by school president Myles Brand earlier that year when a tape was released of Knight putting his hand around the neck of former Hoosiers guard Neil Reed during a 1997 practice.

In February 2020, nearly 20 full years after his firing, Knight returned to an Indiana game for the first time. He received a standing ovation while being honored at halftime of the Hoosiers’ game against Purdue.

Knight died at 83 years old in 2023.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Indiana plans to build statue of former basketball coach Bob Knight

The Knicks (34*-19) host the Indiana Pacers (13-40) tonight at Madison Square Garden, pitting a team from the top of the conference against one from the drain. Over their last ten contests, New York has won nine and the Hoosiers have lost seven. One fanbase is salivating about a deep postseason run; the other is checking ticket prices for Fever games.

The clubs last clashed on December 18, 2025, when New York edged Indiana 114-113 in Indianapolis. A go-ahead three-pointer by Captain Clutch with 4.4 seconds remaining saved the day for our heroes. Brunson finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, while Andrew Nembhard led Indiana with 31 points and Pascal Siakam added 26. 

Injuries and inconsistency have undermined Indiana’s season. They’ve struggled on both ends of the floor, averaging 110.6 points per game (28th) while allowing 118.5 (24th). Their 109.4 offensive rating ranks last in the NBA, and their defense is only slightly better with a 117.2 rating (21st). Across the Basketball-Reference stat box, they rate in the top 15 for only two categories, two-pointers attempted (12th) and turnovers (11th).

In the absence of Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam (23.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 3.9 APG) remains Indiana’s primary offensive engine. Guard Andrew Nembhard (17.3 PPG, 7.4 APG, 36% 3P%) continues to handle much of the playmaking responsibility, and young contributors like Jarace Walker (10.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG) and Ben Sheppard (6.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG) have assumed larger roles with the roster depleted. They last played on Sunday, in a 122-104 loss to Toronto. The starters for that game were Nembhard, Sheppard, Walker, Siakam, and Jay Huff.

Both teams enter the game dealing with multiple injuries. The Pacers list Ivica Zubac, Aaron Nesmith, Micah Potter, and T.J. McConnell as game-time decisions with ankle, hand, hip, and hamstring issues, respectively. For the Knicks, OG Anunoby (toe) is a game-time decision, while Mitchell Robinson (ankle) is out.

Prediction

ESPN projects an 82% win probability for New York. That checks out. Given the roster and record disparities, this should be a Me: Godzilla, You: Tokyo sorta game for the home team. Total demolition, ya dig? Sure, the last game between the two teams was a one-point squeaker, but KAT, Josh, and Deuce were out, the Knicks hadn’t yet added Jose Alvarado, and Mohamed Diawara was still gestating in his cocoon.

Tonight, the Knicks should rest OG Anunoby and give more reps to the rising rookie Diawara against an (allegedly) NBA team. When the teams played in December, New York allowed Indy to score 36 in the opening quarter and 30 in the third. Look for the Knicks to right their defensive sins of the past. The Hoosiers don’t even have Bennedict Mathurin anymore, since he was jettisoned to the Clippers at the trade deadline. If anything, this should be a short night for the starters and a nice showcase for Knicks’ bench mob. Knicks by 10.

Game Details

Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, NYC
TV: MSG
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

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

Suspensions are coming after a gnarly fight broke out between the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons on Monday night. The Hornets entered as the hottest team in the NBA riding a nine-game winning streak. The Pistons entered with the top record in the Eastern Conference and tied for the fewest losses in the NBA. Detroit beat Charlotte, 110-104, but a great game was overshadowed by a fight that is going to have long-lasting consequences.

Tensions had been building between Hornets big man Moussa Diabate and Pistons All-Star center Jalen Duren earlier in the night, and they boiled over in the third quarter after Diabate fouled Duren on a drive to the rim. The two started shoving each other, Miles Bridges got involved, Isaiah Stewart ran off the bench to fight, and all four players were ejected. The traditional TV camera angle doesn’t really do this brawl justice, but it’s still important context. Watch the fight here:

HORNETS V PISTONS LETS GET NEGATIVE pic.twitter.com/mG3Ds0d7Yq

— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) February 10, 2026

Diabate has been known for his extra efforts this season, and he really did give multiple efforts in this fight to try to sock Duren. He had to be held back from the Detroit All-Star multiple times, and while it was happening, Bridges and Stewart were fighting on the other side of the court.

This alternate angle from inside the building best shows the full scope of the fight. This was legitimately chaos.

Absolute CHAOS at The Hive tonight! Moussa Diabate and Jalen Duren were teeing it up all game. Both throwing punches. Miles Bridges and Isaiah Stewart also went at it. Insane, wild scenes.

Shades of Malice at the Palace.
All 4 were ejected. Holy hell. pic.twitter.com/dGzTxv6Fg3

— Joey Ellis (@Jellis1016) February 10, 2026

As Diabate was being held back by teammates and coaches, Miles Bridges charged in and threw a punch at Duren. That escalated the fight to a new level and triggered Isaiah Stewart enough to run off the bench. Stewart is not someone you want to mess with, and has a long history of fighting tied to his reputation.

Watch Stewart charge in off the bench here. The WWE announcers added by the poster really makes the whole thing work:

WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL…..IT'S THE BEEF STEW! pic.twitter.com/PgdFlpe9wm

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) February 10, 2026

Why was Diabate so upset? It seems like he sure didn’t like getting poked in the eye by Duren during one confrontation.

Yep, that'll do it: https://t.co/M3zd8A7OMJpic.twitter.com/fnfNuDxzyU

— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) February 10, 2026

Stewart is a repeat offender at this point, and is probably going to get hit with a long suspension. That’s a bummer, because it will likely cost him a spot on the All-Defense team at the end of the year. Stewart has been a fantastic paint defender for the Pistons this year, and deserves to be recognized for his work. He also has to be poised enough to stay on the floor.

Stewart has never been All-Defense before. He probably won’t go down in the history books for his work this season, but it’s another reminder that he needs to keep himself under control.

We’ll update this post when the suspensions are announced.

It has been a turbulent past few days for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Following a trade deadline that saw many of the players involved in rumors of a possible Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, and a pair of concerning losses to the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers, the Wolves looked to turn it around before the upcoming All-Star Break:

— The Wolves had a solid showing on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks, winning 138-116. Ayo Dosunmo showcased why the Wolves coveted him at the trade deadline, as he led the Wolves off the bench with 21 points on 9-13 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers.

— Rudy Gobert and Chris Finch had standout comments following the loss to the Pelicans. Gobert mentioned that effort and accountability were issues, seemingly calling out Edwards and Julius Randle. Finch mentioned at practice the next day that he wished his comments had remained in-house.

As frustrated as Rudy Gobert has been about the Wolves' effort this season. He also said the accountability is not there.

"There's just no effort. We've seen that many, many times this year, last few years since I've been here. We always know it's coming, and when it comes… pic.twitter.com/p8R1fmwwwP

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) February 7, 2026

— The Timberwolves followed up the loss against the Pelicans with one of their worst performances of the year on Super Bowl Sunday against the Clippers. It was a game that spoke to many of the issues Gobert had brought up following the previous game.

— Despite the loss, Johnny Juzang had his best night of the season on Friday against the Pelicans. With Jaden McDaniels in foul trouble, Juzang played well in his limited minutes, getting a big block and later knocking down a 3-pointer.

— Through 55 games, the Timberwolves have not looked like a championship-caliber team. There is still plenty of time to turn that around, and they’ve shown an ability to go on a run down the stretch of a season, as last season they won 17 of their last 21 games to secure a top-six seed.

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