Category: Basketball

It’s “must lose” stretch for the Nets. They want to get the best odds in May 10 lottery, maybe even secure that last envelope Mark Tatum, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, opens that night. At the moment, they are so close to success, sitting alone in second, one game behind the Indiana Pacers.

BUT…

Per various draftniks, the Nets have the easiest schedule the rest of the way and many of those games are with competitors in the race to the bottom. Moreover, six of the nine are at home. A win in such a tight race could change the lottery order on a spring night in Chicago.

Starting Friday night with the Lakers, the Nets will have four games with teams likely to be in the post-season: Los Angeles, the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and the Charlotte Hornets.

On the flip side of the ledger are five games with teams whose fate is close to theirs: two games with the Milwaukee Bucks (with or without Giannis Antetokounmpo) as well as games with the other three teams Brooklyn is currently competing with: the Indiana Pacers, still ith the best odds; the Washington Wizards; currently with third best, and the Utah Jazz who’ve dropped down to fifth. Making things even more interesting is the fact that the Jazz have the hardest schedule of the rest of the way.

As C.J. Holmes of the Daily News wrote Thursday:

Five of the Nets’ last eight games will come against teams currently living in the same neighborhood of the standings, Sacramento, Washington and Indiana, plus two matchups with the Milwaukee Bucks. Those games matter because they’re direct swings in the race for the bottom.

In a normal season, the phrase “must-win” would hover over a stretch like that. For Brooklyn, it’s the opposite. The Nets have spent the year searching for progress, but the finish line is now defined by draft lottery placement. With the Pacers only a game ahead, the Nets can realistically chase the league’s worst record if they simply stay on their current trajectory.

The Nets at this point are arguably the worst team in the league: They have lost nine straight. They have shut down Egor Demin (plantar fascia), Day’Ron Sharpe (hand), and have functionally done the same with Michael Porter Jr. (hamstring). They won’t re-evaluate MPJ till the last few games of the season. Noah Clowney (wrist) and Danny Wolf (ankle) situation remain uncertain. Even 10-day Grant Nelson (knee) had to sit after his 10-day. They have called up the reserves from Long Island in their three two-ways and a 10-day but no wins have materialized.

As Holmes notes, the Nets have gotten some positives vibes from Ben Saraf, Josh Minott and Ziaire Williams, ages 19, 23 and 24, but they’re not going to carry teams to many wins. Many fans on other record tweeting or saying they don’t want to win another game..

It WILL get hairy at the end. In the last week, the Nets will play five games:

• April 5 – Washington Wizards at home;
• April 7 – Milwaukee Bucks at home;
• April 9 – Indiana Pacers at home;
• April 10 – Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee;
• April 12 – Toronto Raptors in Toronto.

Still note this: while the top three teams all have a 14% chance at the No. 1 and 52% chance at a top four pick, the team with the worst record will have a 48% chance at the fifth pick. Indeed, that’s happened the last three lotteries and remember the team with the worst record hasn’t won the top overall pick in the lottery since rules were changed back in 2019.

The jockeying may not even end with the lottery, either. One NBA decision-maker suggested that the wealth of picks Sean Marks & co. have accumulated could play a role by draft night: moving up if Brooklyn is disappointed in where they landed, as they were when they dropped from No. 6 to No. 8 last May.

“The only reason you bank firsts like that is to be able to strike opportunistically,” he told ND. “Now this draft will cost them (if they try to move up) and they will have to find a dance partner but say they land at the dreaded 5 spot. They have enough draft capital to get the to the third pick.”

He did not suggest possible packages.

Bottom line for him: somehow get one of the top three consensus picks, all of whom he considers franchise-changers. The names remain the same for him: A.J. Dybantsa, Cam Boozer or Darryn Peterson. Beyond that, he said, the Nets will get a good player but nothing that will change their current timeline.

It is all total speculation, of course. So,what’s the best way to handle the anxiety of these last nine games? Maybe one part praying for good luck, another part looking for players like Ziaire Williams and Ben Saraf to keep developing but the biggest part is rooting for the Brooklyn scouting staff to find the best player available no matter where they pick. After all, it isn’t just about the lottery pick. Tankathon thinks they have second best group of picks at Nos. 3, 33 and 43, That has to be comforting.

The Washington Wizards play the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Let’s get to it.

Game info

When: Friday, Mar. 27 at 10 p.m. ET

Where: Chase Center, San Francisco

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass

Injuries: For the Wizards, Leaky Black, Anthony Davis, Kyshawn George, D’Angelo Russell, Cam Whitmore and Trae Young are out. Tristan Vukcevic and Alex Sarr are day-to-day.

For the Warriors, Both Currys, Al Horford, Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler are out. Quinten Post and Malevy Leons are day-to-day.

What to watch for

The Wizards finally ended their long losing streak! Let’s hope they don’t start another long one. The Warriors are on a two game winning streak, most recently against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has banned its sports teams from traveling to countries it considers “hostile," Iranian state TV reported Thursday ahead of Tractor FC's scheduled soccer game in Saudi Arabia.

The ban announced by Iran’s Ministry of Sports in Tehran didn't mention the World Cup which starts June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The ministry's statement singled out the Tractor game against Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai that was set to be played in Saudi Arabia. It's a playoff game in the Asian Champions League Elite.

“The presence of national and club teams in countries that are considered hostile and are unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice,” it said.

The Iran war has impacted the region, with nearly every country in the Middle East sustaining damage from missile hits, drone strikes or shrapnel.

Tractor's playoff game in Saudi Arabia was the result of the Asian Football Confederation's draw Wednesday to determine the quarterfinal pairings, a day after announcing that the western zone playoffs that were postponed because of the war in the Middle East have been rescheduled for April 13-14 in Jeddah.

The Saudi city is also slated to host the tournament quarterfinals, semifinals and final from April 16-25, with organizers setting the dates and hoping for peace in the region.

The Iranian ministry added that the soccer federation and clubs “will be responsible for notifying the Asian Football Confederation of this matter in order to relocate the games.”

Iran's stance on the World Cup

The Iranian ambassador in Mexico City has said the country was negotiating with FIFA to move Iran’s three group-stage matches from the United States to Mexico after U.S. President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending the 48-nation tournament, citing safety concerns.

Last week, however, FIFA President Gianni Infantino further dampened Iran’s attempts to move its World Cup matches, saying global soccer’s governing body wants the tournament “to go ahead as scheduled.”

Iranian government and soccer officials have said they do not want to boycott the World Cup but that it is not possible for the national team to come to the U.S. because of military attacks on the country by Israel and U.S. since Feb. 28.

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

UPDATE: Beating the tanking Nets just got easier for the Lakers. Luka Dončić and Rui Hachimura were originally listed as questionable to play, but have now been upgraded to available.

Via the Lakers: Luka Dončić (left hamstring soreness) and Rui Hachimura (right calf injury management) have been upgraded to available for tonight’s game vs. Brooklyn.

— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) March 27, 2026

Luka will now get one game closer to the 65-game threshold he must reach to be eligible for the end-of-season awards. Hachimura has missed the last two Lakers games due to this right calf injury, so it’s good news for LA that he’s ready to go.

With their best player and a key rotation piece available, the Lakers should have no problem winning on Friday and maintaining their lead over the other teams in the West fighting for the No. 3 seed.

Original story follows.

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Getting back in LA was easy for the Lakers, but returning healthy has proven difficult. As they prepare to take on the Nets, the injury report is once again full of names.

Luka Dončić is now questionable to play due to left hamstring soreness. Rui Hachimura is also listed as questionable, and both Marcus Smart and Adou Theiro are out.

Luka Dončić is now listed as questionable to play against the Nets with left hamstring soreness. Rui Hachimura is also questionable and Marcus Smart and Adou Thiero remain out. pic.twitter.com/eKaRSIbcnq

— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) March 27, 2026

The only bright side to this report is that Deandre Ayton is no longer listed. The center missed LA’s most recent game against Indiana due to back soreness.

Luka missing would be the biggest blow for the Lakers. Dončić is having an MVP-level season and needs to play in just four more games to qualify for end-of-season awards.

If he’s out against Brooklyn on Friday, he’ll have to wait until Monday, when LA plays Washington, to participate in his 62nd game of the year.

Hachimura has missed the past two games with this right calf injury. Lakers head coach JJ Redick said he was day-to-day, so hopefully he can return this weekend.

Calf injuries can be tricky, so caution is needed to prevent them from becoming a bigger issue.

Similar to Hachimura, Smart has also missed the last two Lakers games. Although since he’s already been ruled out against Brooklyn, it’ll be three and counting for the team’s starting guard.

Redick also stated Smart was day-to-day, so we’ll see if there’s a more detailed update this weekend on his injury and his return.

This late into the season, every injury is a big deal.

The Lakers are playing some of their best basketball, but they can only keep it up if their full rotation is available.

Even if Dončić and Hachimura are out for this game, the Lakers should beat the Nets. They are a tanking team and are only playing for NBA Draft Lottery odds at this point.

The best-case scenario for LA is that they get the win in their first game back from their road trip, and everyone who is out gets the rest they need so they can begin next week fully intact.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

ATLANTA (AP) — Texas junior Rex Maurer defended his title in the 400-yard individual medley at the NCAA swimming and diving championships, and the Longhorns held the team lead after Day 2 on Thursday.

Texas has 215.5 points, followed by Florida with 205 and Arizona State 133.5.

Josh Liendo won the 100 butterfly for Florida in a NCAA record time of 42.49, just passing Texas' Hubert Kos on the final stroke. Kos matched Liendo's record set in the prelims at 42.54. Arizona State's Ilya Kharun also broke the 43-second mark.

Arizona State ended the night by winning its second relay of the championships, finishing the 200 freestyle with a NCAA record time of 1:12.46.

Virginia freshman Maximus Williamson won the 200 freestyle from lane eight in 1:30.03. In the prelims, Williamson tied his teammate David King for the final spot in the final and King ceded the spot.

California sophomore Yamato Okadome out-touched two Texas swimmers to win the 100-yard breaststroke in 49.90. Longhorns Campbell McKean and Nate Germonprez came in second and third, respectively.

SMU sophomore Luke Sitz claimed the one-meter diving title.

Day 3 of the four-day event continues on Friday with the 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 500 freestyle, 50 freestyle, 400 medley relay and three-meter diving.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

The Spurs are on a seven-game win streak and seem to be peaking at the right time, just as the playoffs near. They’ve looked like one of the best teams in the league for a while, but they have been playing like a true contender since the All-Star break and have fully separated themselves from the pack of teams below them in the West.

There are many reasons why the team seems to not only have a high ceiling but has looked more stable recently, from improved individual performances to pristine chemistry. One of the more underrated causes for the steadiness it has been displaying has been the optimization of some lineups. So let’s look at what has been working and why.

The new starting lineup is a juggernaut

With Harrison Barnes struggling, Mitch Johnson decided to start Julian Champagnie and have the veteran forward come off the bench. The results have been great. Since the change, the new starting lineup of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Champagnie, and Victor Wembanyama has outscored opponents by over 21 points per 100 possessions, a ridiculous amount. For the season, that group sits with a 17.7-point net rating, one of the best among units that have played at least 100 minutes together.

The Spurs’ previous starting lineup was also among the best, but not as effective as this new group. There are some weaknesses to this unit, particularly against opponents who have big forwards, but the shooting is a major plus, as San Antonio connects on 41.7 percent of its three-pointers with those five players on the floor. It remains to be seen whether rebounding will be an issue with this configuration against elite opponents, but the success it has had so far suggests Mitch Johnson was right to make the change, and the fact that he doesn’t over-rely on any lineup allows him to adjust.

A scoop of French Vanilla is fine, but don’t overdo it

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Luke Kornet signing in the offseason was the potential for him to not only back Victor Wembanyama up but also play next to the star center. Kornet had done it successfully with Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford in Boston and his ability to slot in with another big gave the Spurs the potential to play jumbo lineups. The duo even got a nickname: French Vanilla.

The reality hasn’t been as exciting as the idea. The Spurs simply can’t score enough with both centers on the floor, posting a sub-100 offensive rating. That main reason for the struggles won’t surprise anyone: lineups with both in them struggle to shoot, especially from distance, where they connect on just 26.4 percent on three-pointers. Wemby is not as reliable as the Boston bigs from long range, and adding a non-shooter like Kornet to groups that likely feature others hurts the spacing in general. The minutes for the combination are down in the post All-Start stretch, which isn’t surprising.

Those lineups could still have a place against specific matchups, which is why it’s good that they haven’t been scrapped completely. They are great defensively, allowing just 103.5 points per 100 possessions, and they dominate the offensive glass, with the Spurs recovering 41 percent of their misses. If some of those second-chance opportunities turn into points, the offense might improve. As a change of pace option rather than a go-to strategy, it could have a place in the offseason in short stints.

The Spurs are slowly figuring out the non-Wemby minutes

Like most teams, the Spurs have struggled to make units that don’t feature their superstar work. It’s not a huge issue when Wembanyama plays heavy minutes, as the Kornet-led lineups are just expected to keep pace for short stints instead of vastly outscoring opponents, but San Antonio can’t afford to have combinations that are liabilities, and some of the lineups they were using were just that.

Before the All-Star break, the most used lineup featuring Kornet and at least two other bench players consisted of the big man, Dylan Harper, Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle, and Julian Champagnie. It bled points, getting outscored by 17 points in just 32 minutes. Granted, no sweeping conclusions can be drawn with such a small sample size, but in general, units featuring Kornet, Castle, and Harper struggled. The offense simply wasn’t good enough, largely because opponents could simply wall off the paint.

The apparent solution has been to have De’Aaron Fox or Devin Vassell share minutes with Kornet, Harper and Keldon Johnson, the three main bench rotation players. Post All-Star break, the most used Kornet plus at least two bench players unit has featured the two young guards, Keldon and Vassell, and has only been outscored by six points in 27 minutes. The second most used has Harrison Barnes and Fox along the bench trio, and has outscored opponents by two in 21 minutes. After that, there’s a unit featuring both Harper and Carter Bryant that has been a mess, but won’t likely be used much in the postseason.

It can’t be stressed enough how noisy the data of lineups that only share the floor for a few minutes a game can be, but good coaching staffs notice patterns and make small adjustments to try to win on the margins. Some teams are probably going to outscore the Spurs when Wembanyama isn’t on the floor, so the goal is to find units that can hold the fort and phase out those that can’t. It seems that Johnson is doing just that as the playoffs approach, which provides even more reason for optimism about a deep run.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has sued his parents for millions of dollars, accusing them of siphoning large amounts of his money into financial accounts they managed for him and then using some of the cash to pay their own expenses.

Bohm's lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Philadelphia court, comes after he began to review his personal and financial affairs in recent months, and said that his parents refused to give him access to the accounts or provide him with the information he sought about them.

They sought to “freeze” him out of four accounts — established as limited liability companies — and he now believes they “converted a sizeable amount” of his money from those accounts “to their own use,” the lawsuit said.

By the time he sought the information, his parents had already transferred millions of dollars from his personal accounts to the accounts they controlled, the lawsuit said.

Bohm’s parents, Daniel and Lisa Bohm, denied doing anything wrong and, through their lawyer, said they are “deeply saddened by the allegations” and will aggressively defend themselves. Alec Bohm has had full access to the accounts and his parents are paying his expenses on their personal credit cards, their lawyer, Robert Eckard, said in a statement.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bohm love their son very much and have always acted in his best interests, both personally and professionally, and still do so to this day,” Eckard said.

After Thursday's 2026 season opening game, Bohm declined comment to reporters, saying "I'm not going to address any personal matters right now."

Both parties say the first of the accounts was opened in 2019. His parents told him that they assigned themselves a 10% stake, strictly for administration purposes, and that Bohm was the “true” owner of all of the LLC's assets, Bohm's lawsuit said.

The accounts had various purposes, such as investing in securities or buying real estate. Bohm's lawsuit also said they used money from The Alec Bohm Foundation to pay their expenses.

Bohm’s lawsuit asks his parents to pay at least $3 million in damages, hand over control of the accounts and hire an accountant to track every dollar they transferred from Bohm's personal accounts to the accounts they controlled.

Bohm, 29, has a $10.2 million contract with the Phillies for the 2026 baseball season. The lawsuit said his parents live in a recreational vehicle and travel the country.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have only had their new core four players of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen all together on the court for three games this season. Friday’s contest against the Miami Heat could be their fourth.

Allen, who has missed the team’s last 10 games with a knee injury, is questionable for Friday’s rematch.

The Cavs made a bold decision at the deadline by sending out a much-younger Darius Garland for Harden. That move was done with the hopes that they would have a better chance of winning a title in the next few seasons, even if it cost them some long-term security. One of the issues of doing a move that drastic is that there isn’t much time to see how it all works.

Allen was the biggest beneficiary of the Harden acquisition. He displayed an instant chemistry with Harden, which led to him playing the best basketball of his career in February. This resulted in team success as well, as the Cavs registered a +8.5 net rating (87th percentile) and 124.2 offensive rating (96th percentile) in the 256 minutes Harden and Allen shared the floor.

Unsurprisingly, those numbers improve when Mitchell joins the grouping. In the 120 minutes they’ve played together, the Cavs have outscored opponents by 16.9 points per 100 possessions (98th percentile) with an incredible 133.3 offensive rating (100th percentile).

We know those groupings work. We don’t know for sure how it works when you throw Mobley into that mix. The Cavs have only played 35 minutes with all four on the court together. Those lineups have done incredibly well — +36.7 net rating — but it isn’t close to being a large enough sample size to draw any conclusions from. Figuring out how that lineup looks is critical to team success in the postseason.

Additionally, the Cavs have struggled defensively without Allen. That’s been seen in recent games as they’ve consistently over-helped to stop dribble penetration, which has led to giving up open threes. Having an additional rim protector should theoretically help with some of those issues.

This new group would ideally like more time to gel before playoff basketball starts. There’s only nine games left in the regular season. At the very least, Friday could be an opportunity to see how this looks when at least the team’s top players are fully healthy.

On the season, Allen is averaging 15.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game on 63.6% shooting.

The Cavs will still be without Jaylon Tyson (toe), Craig Porter Jr. (groin), and Dean Wade (ankle) on Friday. Miami could be missing Jaime Jaquez Jr., who’s questionable for Friday’s game with an ankle sprain.

CHICAGO — Rick Barnes didn’t give the canned answer like Alabama’s Nate Oats and Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger had to because nobody really figured it was worth asking anymore.

“I’m from North Carolina,” the 71-year-old Tennessee men’s basketball coach quipped when told he was likely to be the only head coach at the 2026 NCAA Tournament’s Midwest regional to not have to address the job opening currently driving the college basketball coaching carousel conversation. 

But the Hickory, North Carolina native is also from another era, joining Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Houston’s Kelvin Sampson from the old guard of coaches to make it to the Sweet 16 this year. His No. 6 seeded Tennessee team faces No. 2 seed Iowa State Friday, March 27 at the United Center in Chicago.

With that longevity comes a fascinating perspective about the place he’s been for the past decade, the places he might have left for previously, and the places he probably won’t go now that everything about college sports is different.

“The obvious problem today is there's some fan bases that still think they have an entitlement and they think it's going to be the same way,” Barnes said on Thursday in reference to North Carolina basketballl. “The game has changed totally because of NIL.”

INJURY UPDATE: Will Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson play vs Tennessee?

The statement perhaps minimizes the remarkable consistency forged under Barnes over the past decade on Rocky Top. This is the fourth Sweet 16 appearance in a row for Tennessee under Barnes, and no active coach has more all-time wins (860) without winning a national championship. The Vols have advanced past the first weekend of the men's NCAA Tournament nearly as many times with Barnes (5) as they had in the previous 106 seasons of program history.

He’s also 23 years removed from a Final Four appearance with Texas and may never be on another blueblood wish list again because of his age and the lifetime contract he signed with the Volunteers last year. But now, with his coaching career much closer to its ending than the beginning, he might not need to be.

That's what he believes, and so do his counterparts actually being featured on all those UNC hot boards this week. The 2025-26 college football season was proof of concept for some.

“We may not have the tradition that some of these other places had," Oats said in reference to Alabama, for instance, "but Indiana football probably didn't have that tradition, either, and they won it. I think their athletic department supported them, they got a good coach and they won it.”

This alignment between administration and coach, Barnes emphasized Thursday, is more important than ever in a system he acknowledged as “broken” because of the rapid evolution of the NCAA rulebook. “You need money. We know that,” Barnes said. “But there’s a lot more to it than that."

There's a scenario, for instance, in which he would have already retired in the wake of all the change in college basketball if not for the presence of Tennessee athletic director Danny White.

"I love coaching, and if I didn't have the leadership – I don't know," Barnes said.

In this way, perhaps coincidentally, he has been ahead of the curve working at a school with a powerhouse football program. 

Barnes called Tennessee football the "greatest asset we have," rather than competition for resources, due to the revenue generated and the value of hosting recruits during games at Neyland Stadium in the fall. He joked NIL stands for "now it's legal," and yet the version of Barnes players get now seems a lot like the version they got before making six- and seven-figure salaries.

His recruiting pitch even includes the warning that, "this will be the hardest-working program you'll ever be in," Ohio State transfer Felix Okpara said.

“He’s as hands on as it gets. He’s ripping into you," added guard Bishop Boswell. "A lot of times it can be hard to hear, but at the end of the day, he demands perfection. I think the thing we respect the most about him is he’s the same every day. There’s no fall off, even if we might not always want to hear it.”

Barnes savors this part of the job. He loves practice most of all, he said, and told a story Thursday from when he worked for Wimp Sanderson at Alabama 40 years ago.

Barnes walked in on Sanderson "literally lying on the sofa in his office" with his hands behind his head before the first game of the season, and the coach told Barnes this would be a great job "if you never had to play games." Only Barnes lost his train of thought as the memory flooded back to him and asked to hear the question again.

What's his driving force after so many years, so many accomplishments and so many changes? This time, Barnes gave the canned answer.

"You don't ever take it for granted," he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rick Barnes, Tennessee basketball and end of entitlement in NIL era

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alec Burleson hit a two-run homer to cap off an eight-run outburst in the sixth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 9-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.

Rookie JJ Wetherholt also homered for St. Louis.

Jonathan Aranda homered for Tampa Bay, which took a 7-1 lead with six runs in the top of the sixth.

St. Louis answered back with eight runs in its half including run-scoring sacrifice flies by Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera, which tied the game 7-all.

Burleson followed with a blast to right field.

Both teams sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning.

Jonny DeLuca had a two-run single to highlight the sixth inning for Tampa Bay, which had won four of its previous five games on opening day.

Riley O’Brien picked up the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Ryne Stanek earned the save. He struck out Richie Palacios with the bases loaded to end the game.

St. Louis outfielder Nathan Church added a two-run hit in the sixth. Church, Burleson and Victor Scott II had three hits each.

Yandy Díaz, Ben Williamson and Nick Fortes had three hits each for the Rays.

Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen allowed just one run on four hits over five innings in his first opening day assignment.

Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore surrendered one run on seven hits in five innings.

The Cardinals are in rebuilding mode after trading veterans Sonny Gray, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras in the offseason for prospects.

The game time temperature of 91 degrees was the hottest opening day in the history of Busch Stadium, eclipsing the previous mark of 73 degrees on April 5, 1999.

Up next

After a day off on Friday, Tampa Bay RH Joe Boyle (1-0, 3. 52 ERA last season) will face RHP Michael McGreevy (8-4, 4.42) in the second game of the three-game set on Saturday,

HOUSTON (AP) — Mike Trout homered to launch what he hopes will be a bounce-back year, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a season-opening 3-0 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday.

Trout also walked three times and played center field for the first time since April 2024. The three-time MVP played 130 games last season, his most since 2019 because of various injuries.

Making his franchise-record 14th opening day start, the 34-year-old Trout broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning when he sent a 96 mph fastball from reliever AJ Blubaugh (0-1) 403 feet onto the train tracks in left-center. It was his fifth opening day homer, also a club record.

The Angels snapped an eight-game road losing streak in season openers, starting 1-0 on the road for the first time since 2013.

Oswald Peraza hit an RBI single in the eighth and Nolan Schanuel homered in the ninth.

José Soriano (1-0) allowed two hits and four walks in six innings while striking out seven. Four relievers completed the three-hitter, with Jordan Romano working the ninth to earn the save in his Angels debut.

Hunter Brown started for Houston and allowed four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out nine.

The Astros went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position while stranding nine runners.

Houston designated hitter Yordan Alvarez may have been robbed of a home run in the first inning because the retractable roof at Daikin Park was closed. Alvarez hit a towering shot toward the right field foul pole, but it ricocheted off a horizontal rafter and landed in foul territory.

It was ruled a foul ball. The Astros challenged, and the call was upheld after a review. Alvarez later struck out swinging.

Up next

The teams resume the four-game series on Friday, with lefty Yusei Kikuchi starting for Los Angeles opposite right-hander Mike Burrows.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

The NBA tanking picture will come into clearer view each day between now and the end of the regular season on April 12. In the meantime, we will provide detailed daily updates on the landscape, lotto odds, remaining schedules and the stakes for every day's slate of games. We also break down the league’s playoff races each day.

1. Indiana Pacers

Record: 16-57 | Streak: L-1

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 14%

• Remaining schedule: LAC, MIA, @CHI, @CHA, @CLE, MIN, @BKN, PHI, DET

What’s at stake: Clinching one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the highest odds at the No. 1 pick. Due to the Ivica Zubac trade with the Clippers, if the Pacers’ pick lands between the 5-9 spots on lotto night, it will go to L.A.

2. Brooklyn Nets

Record: 17-56 | Streak: L-9

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 14%

• Remaining schedule: @LAL, SAC, CHA, ATL, WAS, MIL, IND, @MIL, @TOR

What’s at stake: Clinching one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the highest odds at the No. 1 pick.

3. Washington Wizards

Record: 17-55 | Streak: W-1

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 14%

• Remaining schedule: @GS, @POR, @LAL, PHI, @MIA, @BKN, CHI, CHI, @CLE

What’s at stake: Clinching one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the highest odds at the No. 1 pick. If the Wizards’ pick falls out of the top-8, it will go to the New York Knicks.

4. Sacramento Kings

Record: 19-55 | Streak: L-2

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 12.5%

• Remaining schedule: @ATL, @BKN, @TOR, NOP, LAC, @GSW, GSW, @POR

What’s at stake: Clinching one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the highest odds at the No. 1 pick.

5. Utah Jazz

Record: 21-52 | Streak: L-3

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 10.5%

• Remaining schedule: @DEN, @PHX, CLE, DEN, @HOU, @OKC, @NOP, MEM, @LAL

What’s at stake: Clinching one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the highest odds at the No. 1 pick. If the Jazz’s pick falls outside of the top-8, it will go to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

6. Dallas Mavericks

Record: 23-50 | Streak: L-5

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 9%

• Remaining schedule: @POR, MIN, MIL, ORL, LAL, @LAC, @PHX, SAS, @CHI

What’s at stake: Clinching one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the best odds at the No. 1 pick. The Mavs don’t control their future first-rounders from 2027-2030.

7. Memphis Grizzlies

Record: 24-48 | Streak: L-4

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 7.5%

• Remaining schedule: HOU, CHI, PHX, NYK, TPR, @MIL, CHI, @DEN, @UTH, @HOU

What’s at stake: Clinching one of the three-worst records in the NBA to ensure the best odds at the No. 1 pick.

8. New Orleans Pelicans

Record: 25-49 | Streak: L-3

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 6%

• Remaining schedule: @TOR, HOU, @POR, @SAC, ORL, UTH, @BOS, @MIN

What’s at stake: The Pelicans have no incentive to lose; they owe their unprotected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks.

T-9. Milwaukee Bucks

Record: 29-43 | Streak: L-2

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 3.8%

• Remaining schedule: SAS, LAC, DAL, @HOU, BOS, MEM, @BKN, @DET, BKN, @PHI

What’s at stake: Moving “above” the Pelicans for better lottery odds.

T-9. Chicago Bulls

Record: 29-43 | Streak: L-1

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 3.7%

• Remaining schedule: LAC, MIA, @CHI, @CHA, @CLE, MIN, @BKN, PHI, DET

11. Golden State Warriors

Record: 35-38 | Streak: W-2

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 2%

• Remaining schedule: WAS, @DEN, SAS, CLE, HOU, SAC, LAL, @SAC, @LAC

What’s at stake: The Warriors are currently in the play-in tournament.

12. Portland Trail Blazers

Record: 37-37 | Streak: W-2

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 1.5%

• Remaining schedule: DAL, WAS, @LAC, NOP, @DEN, @SAS, LAC, SAC

What’s at stake: The Trail Blazers are currently in the play-in tournament.

T-13. Miami Heat

Record: 39-34 | Streak: W-1

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 0.8%

• Remaining schedule: @CLE, @IND, PHI, BOS, WAS, @TOR, @TOR, @WAS, ATL

What’s at stake: The Heat are currently in the play-in tournament.

T-13. Charlotte Hornets

Record: 38-34 | Streak: W-5

• Current odds for No. 1 pick: 0.7%

• Remaining schedule: PHI, BOS, @BKN, PHX, IND, @MIN, @BOS, DET, @NYK

What’s at stake: The Hornets are currently in the play-in tournament.

Thursday’s games of consequence

Friday’s games of consequence

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For those of you who do not know who Jaden Shackelford is, you probably have not spent much time tracking the G League or keeping tabs on the Valley Suns. And there is a good chance SEC hoops has not been part of your regular viewing diet. But Shackelford has been putting in work. In four seasons down in the G League, two with the Valley Suns, he’s seen steady production, steady growth, and numbers that keep stacking.

After three years with the Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team, he went undrafted in 2022, which says more about how crowded the pipeline can be than it does about his ability. That Alabama team in 2021 went 26–7 and made a run to the Sweet 16 before running into the UCLA Bruins, and Shackelford was the leading scorer as a sophomore. Not a small detail when you consider the talent around him. Names like Herb Jones and Joshua Primo were on that roster, along with Keon Ellis and Alex Reese, and Shackelford still carried the scoring load.

Since then, he has bounced between opportunities with the Oklahoma City Thunder system and the Suns organization, carving out a role in the G League as a reliable offensive weapon. The 6’3” guard out of Hesperia, California, has had his best season yet down in Tempe. He logged 35.1 minutes per game, putting up 22.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, all while posting 43/38/80 splits. He is a score-first guard. That is his identity, that is his lane, and he leans into it.

And on Wednesday night, in the regular season finale against the Mexico City Capitanes, the only G League team without an NBA affiliate, he put that skill set on full display.

On Collin Gillespie bobblehead night, Jaden Shackelford turned the building into his own personal stage. Earlier in the week, he logged the first triple-double of his G League career. Then on Wednesday, he hit, and everything opened up. Inside Mullett Arena, the crowd got a show.

Jaden Shackelford WAS IN HIS BAG 💰 He finished the night as the @gleaguesuns new franchise all-time leading scorer with a new career-high 54 PTS from 16 FGM and shot 50% from deep‼️ pic.twitter.com/rbaUz71jaz

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) March 26, 2026

In the 114–94 win over the Mexico City Capitanes, Shackelford went for 54 points, 16-of-26 from the field, 5-of-10 from deep, 12-of-14 from the line, with 8 rebounds and 3 assists layered on top. Efficient, aggressive, in rhythm, the kind of night where every touch feels like it is headed in.

And with that, he became the Valley Suns all time leading scorer.

THE VALLEY SUNS ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER 🙌

Congratulations Jaden Shackelford on becoming the franchise's all-time leading scorer tonight with 54 points on the board!#TheRiseStartsHerepic.twitter.com/iXgYJBhNJB

— Valley Suns (@GLeagueSuns) March 26, 2026

He has not cracked the NBA level yet, but a 54-point night has a way of turning heads. It forces people to look twice, to check the numbers, to ask the question of what comes next. It was a fitting way to close the second full season for the Valley Suns. For a team that finished 11–25, second-worst in the Western Conference in the G League and will not see the postseason, it was a bright spot.

I’m really feeling the grind of the end of this season. It’s already hard enough as it feels like biding time waiting for news on when Cade Cunningham will return to the lineup from the collapsed lung. Then you look at the schedule, and you see the New Orleans Pelicans are on it. That is not a huge motivator for me to want to sit down and invest three hours into a regular season game with likely zero impact on standings and seeding. To be clear, the Detroit Pistons could completely embarrass themselves and give an obviously winnable game away. You could even make the case that the Pelicans are on quite an extended respectability streak. They are 10-6 in their last 16 games, including wins against the Raptors and two wins against the Clippers. That’s not nothing! For the Pistons, Marcus Sasser is back in action, and Caris LeVert is once again out. LeVert was being forced into ball-handling far above his station, and hopefully Sasser can at least fill that role in a more responsible manner. More importantly, Duncan Robinson is also out tonight. Also known as Detroit’s one reliable 3-point shooter. Kevin Huerter is starting in his place. Lastly, remember, the Pistons are an NBA-best 10-2 on the end of a back-to-back this season.

Game Vitals

When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons -5

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (52-20)

Daniss Jenkins, Ausar Thompson, Kevin Huerter, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

New Orleans Pelicans (25-48)

Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Herbert Jones, Zion Williamson, DeAndre Jordan

One of the top assistant coaches in men’s college basketball will now get the chance to lead a program of his own.

Connecticut assistant Luke Murray has been hired as the new head coach at Boston College, the university announced on Thursday, March 26.

Murray is the son of actor Bill Murray, who has regularly been spotted sitting behind the bench at games for much of his son’s coaching career.

REQUIRED READING: March Madness Sweet 16 games ranked as men's NCAA Tournament nears Final Four

The 40-year-old Murray is in his fifth season with the Huskies, a run that included national championships in 2023 and 2024. Murray has been widely praised for his abilities as an offensive tactician. In 2023, UConn finished third nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, and finished first the following season while successfully defending its national title.

"Today marks a turning point in Boston College Men's Basketball," Boston College athletic director Blake James said in a statement. "In Luke Murray, we have found a leader who does not just understand the modern landscape of college basketball - he has helped define it. His role in building a national championship caliber program, his sophisticated offensive vision, and his relentless pursuit of excellence make him the perfect fit to lead our student-athletes. We are thrilled to welcome Luke, his wife, Kara, and their family to the BC community."

The Huskies will continue their push for a third championship in the past four seasons with a matchup against Michigan State in the Sweet 16 on Friday, March 27. Murray will remain with UConn through the NCAA tournament.

Murray had previously worked alongside UConn coach Dan Hurley at Rhode Island from 2013-15 and at Wagner from 2010-11. He was also an assistant at Louisville from 2018-21 and Xavier from 2015-18, serving under Chris Mack at both stops.

He’ll take over a Boston College program that has largely struggled since Al Skinner was fired after the 2009-10 season. Over the past 15 seasons, the Eagles have gone 184-290 overall and 73-200 in ACC play while regularly playing in front of some of the smallest home crowds at the power-conference level. During that 15-year stretch, they’ve finished with a winning record twice and have never won more than 20 games.

Murray will replace Earl Grant, who went 72-92 in five seasons, including an 11-20 mark last season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boston College hires UConn assistant Luke Murray, son of Bill Murray, as head coach