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Shaikin: It's not easy to repeat as World Series champs, but Dodgers don't seem to mind

The Dodgers celebrate in the locker room after the team beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series at Yankee Stadium.
The Dodgers celebrate winning the World Series last season. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers aren’t supposed to be making this look so easy.

From Day One in spring training, this was the season storyline: Can the Dodgers become the first major league team in 25 years to repeat as champions?

Easy to understand. Hard to do.

But a deeper look reveals a degree of difficulty beneath the storyline.

The New York Yankees won the World Series in 2000 — their third consecutive championship — then lost the World Series in 2001.

Since then, only one champion has even returned to the World Series the following year.

Over half the time — 12 times in 23 years — the World Series champion did not even qualify for the postseason the following year.

Seven champions lost in the next year’s league championship series. Three lost in the next year’s division series.

Repeat? Easy to understand and hard to do, but the Dodgers are 7-1 in this postseason.

Read more:Shaikin: Dodgers starting pitchers proving to be the ultimate opposing crowd silencers

As the National League Championship Series moves to Dodger Stadium on Thursday, the Dodgers are two victories from a return to the World Series.

That is a step toward the goal, not the goal itself, but it nonetheless would make them just the second team in 23 years to win a championship one year and return to the World Series the next.

The other: the 2008-09 Philadelphia Phillies, the team of Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.

The historical record indicates winning the World Series is tough and winning the next is tougher, but Rollins would not concede that.

“I don’t think it was harder than it was the first time,” said Rollins, working the NLCS as an analyst for TNT Sports. “I think the first time was the hardest.

“You haven’t gone there. You haven’t made it to the top and had that success. It was more about motivation: We’re the champs now, we’re just taking another step.”

Read more:In this postseason, Dodgers' offense starts from the bottom

Recall what Mookie Betts said at the Dodgers’ fan festival last year, after the Dodgers had signed Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow but before they had even reported to spring training: “Every game is going to be the other team’s World Series.”

The Dodgers took everyone’s best shot last year. They collect starting pitchers every year — your veterans, your kids, your waiver claims, your highly paid free agents, and your injured — with the aim that just enough will be healthy and effective come October.

This year, they have so many arms ready that Clayton Kershaw and Emmet Sheehan are relegated to the bullpen. Last year, they had so few that their postseason starters included four openers: Ryan Brasier twice, Michael Kopech and Ben Casparius.

“We did it the hard way last year,” utilityman Kiké Hernández said. “It’s really hard to win without starting pitching, and we found a way to do it.”

The Dodgers signed Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki for the rotation last winter, and Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates for the bullpen.

Now? Snell is starting, Sasaki is closing, and Scott and Yates are not on the playoff roster. But, well, that was the plan after winning the World Series.

“Usually, if you’re the last team standing at the end of October, you’ve used a lot of your pitching very aggressively throughout the month to do it,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “And we really didn’t have that.

“Now, our bullpen did, but didn’t have it in the conventional way. So adding some fresh arms, we thought, would be helpful with that.”

Read more:Kiké Hernández and Will Smith talk NLCS Game 2 win, Yoshinobu Yamamoto's big night

The October aces — the starting pitchers that can put their team on their back and carry it through the postseason — are few and far between. Snell, Yamamoto and Glasnow have been aces so far this October, but the Dodgers intend to keep playing for another two weeks.

In 1988, Orel Hershiser threw 300 innings, playoffs included. In 2013, Kershaw threw 259 — more than the combined total of Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani so far this year. Yamamoto has thrown 193 innings.

There is a concern for the Dodgers, just as there always used to be a concern for the Lakers, about the long-term toll of playing another month every year.

For pitchers, however, the workloads for the best starters have gone down even as the number of playoff rounds have gone up. On the other hand, those new rounds are shorter ones, and even the best teams can lose two of three games, or three of five, to be eliminated long before a World Series.

“The playoff format doesn’t lend itself to just getting into the championship series and getting to the World Series,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So that in itself makes it more difficult.”

The Dodgers have won the World Series one season and returned the next season twice: in 1955-56 and 1965-66, when each league champion advanced directly to the World Series.

In those years, the postseason field was two teams, and four wins won the championship trophy. The field is up to 12 teams now, and the Dodgers will need four rounds and 13 postseason wins to repeat.

“It’s hard getting guys to play their best baseball at the right time and to keep guys playing at a high level for 162 [games] to get to the postseason,” Roberts said, “then to give yourself a chance to win 11 or, this year, 13 games in October.

Read more:Just how much are the Dodgers charging for World Series tickets?

“What have I learned? I’ve learned that you’ve got to kind of give players grace at points during the season to appreciate the human side — it’s hard to play every game in April like it’s Game 7 — but know when to kind of turn it on.”

On July 3, the Dodgers had built a nine-game lead. On Aug. 13, after the Angels had swept them, the Dodgers fell into second place.

Said Rollins: “August? You’ve got a whole other month. July? It’s hot, let’s get to the All-Star break. In the playoffs, it’s just win the series.”

The Dodgers finished the regular season with the third-best record in the NL, but they have beaten the team with the second-best record (the Philadelphia Phillies) and appear poised to beat the team with the best record (the Brewers). They have won 22 of their last 28 games.

The one concern Friedman said he did not have about building a repeat winner was complacency. He said he always believed the players would be “focused on and driven by legacy, and doing something that’s so incredibly difficult.”

They are already more than halfway there. They need 13 wins. They have seven. Rollins believes they will get the other six.

“I thought, if the Phillies had beaten the Dodgers, no one could stop them,” Rollins said. “And vice versa: If the Dodgers beat the Phillies, no one could stop them.

“If you look at the way the teams match up — power for power, star power, great pitching — they presented basically a mirror image of themselves. Obviously, no one else has Shohei. But the style of game: they can score in many ways, they can bop, they’re clutch. They’ve proven it.”

Six to get, and history to make.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Watch ‘FCHWPO: Jaylen Brown's Boston,' a documentary on Celtics star's journey

Watch ‘FCHWPO: Jaylen Brown's Boston,' a documentary on Celtics star's journey originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jaylen Brown’s road to stardom with the Boston Celtics began with a bit of a speed bump.

When the Celtics selected the young guard from Cal with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, fans at a TD Garden watch party booed, expressing their frustration that the team didn’t swing a trade for Jimmy Butler or take a different top prospect such as Providence’s Kris Dunn.

But Brown declared he’d “go to war for this city,” and he’s backed up the promise both on and off the court.

NBC Sports Boston is kicking off its “Seven Days of Jaylen Brown” content series with an exclusive documentary on the Celtics star titled FCHWPO: Jaylen Brown’s Boston. (The acronym “FCHWPO” is a nod to Brown’s mantra, “Faith, Consistency and Hard Work Pays Off,” which also serves as his social media handle.)

The documentary, which is narrated by Boston’s own Donnie Wahlberg, follows Brown’s entire NBA journey: from the draft night boos, to the strong rookie campaign, to the persistent trade rumors, to the crucial social justice work, to becoming NBA Finals MVP and a champion, to this upcoming season, where he’ll take the lead for the Celtics without Jayson Tatum by his side.

Check out the full documentary in the video player above or watch below on YouTube, and stay tuned in the coming days for more Jaylen Brown content on all of NBC Sports Boston’s platforms.

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NBA fines Jonathan Kuminga $35K for ‘inappropriate contact' with official

NBA fines Jonathan Kuminga $35K for ‘inappropriate contact' with official originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Jonathan Kuminga is paying the price for his actions on Tuesday night, literally.

The NBA has fined the Warriors forward $35,000 for “making inappropriate contact with and continuing to pursue a game official,” the league announced Thursday morning.

The incident occurred in the second quarter of Golden State’s fourth preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center, when Kuminga was ejected for the first time of his career after arguing a no-call.

During the play, Kuminga used his speed to drive to the basket, forcing his way through multiple Trail Blazers defenders. As ESPN’s Anthony Slater noted, Kuminga was frustrated that the no-call impacted the right ankle he injured during the 2024-25 season.

Kuminga left the game with seven points, six rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes.

After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters he liked the “fire” Kuminga played with.

“I love the way he played,” Kerr said. “I love the fire, the passion. I don’t mind the objection at all; I kind of liked it, actually. I thought JK was terrific tonight.”

Well, that fire cost him, but maybe it was worth it.

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Observations From Blues' Embarrassing 8-3 Loss Vs. Blackhawks, Falling To 0-2 At Home

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues thought they had their game trending in the right direction following a two-game Western Canada sweep.

Wins over the Calgary Flames (4-2) and Vancouver Canucks (5-2) were supposed to get the Blues continuing in their march and trending in the right direction.

Well …

They hit the home ice for the second time in as many games this season, this time against their Central Division rival Chicago Blackhawks, who they had beaten five games in a row and outscored 28-15, but the Blackhawks took advantage of a rare night of shoddy goaltending and poor team habits and play, blitzing the Blues 8-3 at Enterprise Center on Wednesday.

Jake Neighbours had a goal and an assist, Dylan Holloway and Tyler Tucker scored for the Blues (2-2-0), but Joel Hofer, who was terrific last Saturday in Calgary, was pulled in the second period before re-entering the game in the third.

“I thought that our game was building the right way in Vancouver, but our execution today did not match the Hawks’ execution,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’re playing the hawks, division rival, our biggest rival. I don’t think that was the case. We didn’t execute well. That’s just our mental sharpness was not great.”

Let’s look at Wednesday’s observations:

* Hofer had a rare bad night – In his young career, Hofer has had off nights, but nothing like this.

He allowed four goals on 14 shots, and the first two that went inset the tempo for what would be a horrendous night. He departed the game at 7:09 of the second period, then Jordan Binnington finished the rest of the period before returning for the third. In the end, it was seven goals allowed on 22 shots. His numbers after one game (2.00 goals-against average, .931 save percentage) ballooned to 5.01 GAA and .824 save percentage at the end of the night.

“Our tandem is excellent,” Montgomery said. “Some nights, you’re going to win games 2-1. We won in Calgary, we won in Vancouver because our goaltenders were excellent. Sometimes we need to win 5-4.”

Hofer is normally so good as a puck handler, and he was already on display killing Chicago’s rims around the net, but when he went behind the net, got a puck, looked up the middle of the ice and tried to play it to Pavel Buchnevich, it was so off the mark and right onto the tape of Ilya Mikheyev, who couldn’t believe his fortune and deposited the biscuit into the net at 3:09 for a 1-0 Hawks lead:

The Blues fought back with Neighbours, who has four goals in four games, finding the back of the net for the fourth time in three games when he collected a loose puck in front of Colton Parayko’s jab at the puck to tie it 1-1 at 4:29:

But Hofer allowed another bad goal, this time to Lukas Reichel from a bad angle at the bottom of the left circle on the short side at 5:23 to make it 2-1 Chicago:

They fought back again when Holloway started a play and finished it, getting his first of the season at 14:54 to tie the game 2-2, creating a turnover in the neutral zone, then finishing from the left circle Jordan Kyrou’s pass:

“In the first period, we showed good resolve, came back twice and then just our habits just weren’t consistent enough to play winning hockey,” Montgomery said. ‘Can’t give up that many odd-man rushes, we can’t give up that many Grade A looks off the rush.”

The Blues are so used to their goalie tandem either keeping them in a game or even stealing them games. They’re not nearly used to having to bail them out, perhaps a reason why they played so poorly after the first period.

“I don't think we're worried about our goaltenders at all,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “We have two of the best goalies in the league and a great tandem. If you want to talk about the goals, let's maybe talk about the team and how we're giving up odd-man rushes and point-blank chances. You can talk about the goals all you want, but if we're not doing a good enough job in front of them, it's just that simple.

“People are going to look at our goaltenders, (but) I think we're looking at ourselves individually and as a team playing in front of them. We just haven't done enough of a good job defensively, especially at home, in front of them. Obviously the goalies would say different, but as a players we feel that we have to do a way better job.”

Chicago’s expected goals in the game were at 3.09, according to naturalstattrick.com, which tells you that there were too many pucks on this night going in that shouldn’t have, including the one Binnington allowed to Jason Dickinson at 8:52 of the second that made it 5-2:

* Two bad results at home – Including the playoffs, the Blues won their last 15 games on home ice and on most of those occasions, done so in convincing fashion.

It’s only two games, yes, and I agree, the result in the opener (a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild) wasn’t as bad as the score indicated, but this marks two games now in which the Blues have not even been competitive in, in front of their home fans, being outscored 13-3.

“That's a fair question. It's been only two games ... I think through two road games, even six periods on the road, we've played four good periods,” Schenn said. ‘We need to clean up a lot of things with our habits and details and tracking and puck play and willingness to compete for one another. I think it starts with that.”

Why has it happened so often here, though?

“The details are obviously not sharp,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. “It’s not our group and not where we want to be. We’re going to rebound as a group, we’re going to come ready to work. We have a great group in this locker room. We all believe in each other. We’re going to rebound, just come prepared to come work for each other in practice Friday and obviously Saturday at the game.”

Former Blue Scottie Upshall said it best in a tweet and I agree with the soft hockey, and that's inexcusable for a team that was a playoff team a year ago and looking to maintain its stature:

* Habits weren’t sufficient enough, play looked very soft – The Blues had their fair share of attacks at the Hawks, and had a goalie (Arvid Soderblom) they’d been able to beat up quite a bit (5-0-0), but the times they either didn’t funnel pucks to the goal or were not connecting in the O-zone, they were getting counter-attacked often and giving up prime scoring chances.

It occurred often in the second period when Chicago outscored the Blues 3-0 and at one point held an 8-1 edge in shots on goal.

“Habits and details aren't there, especially at home,” Schenn said. “We have to take pride in playing for one another, especially at home, make it a hard place to play. I take full responsibility for that. Obviously I can help with that and lead the charge. I think one of the things you can control is your compete level and your habits. We, and I, have to be better at that.”

Montgomery mentioned reloads of the puck, and it was not near good enough, which in turn allowed Chicago to play the way the Blues were playing in the two games they won: on their toes, their front feet and transitioning in five-man units.

“We’ll watch the tape, we’ll look back at it,” Montgomery said. “This game got away from us because of our own habits and actions.

“Reloads and gaps are a big part of how we want to play. The reloads were not consistent and that makes it hard on the defensemen.”

* Mailloux's struggles continue – It’s tough to pick on one particular player when so many did not meet expectations, particularly that top line of Neighbours, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, which was a combined minus-6 with three shots on goal and on the ice for four goals against.

But for Mailloux, who was a team-worst minus-4 Wednesday and now is a minus-7 for the season in just four games, he’s been on the ice for exactly zero goals-for at 5-on-5 and seven against.

He coughed up the puck trying to rim it around the net early in the second period that was picked off by Connor Bedard that led to Reichel’s go-ahead goal that made it 3-2 at 2:49 that started a snowball affect for the game:

I’ll say it over and over that comparing Mailloux to Zack Bolduc is like comparing apples to oranges. One is a defenseman that has barely scratched the surface, one is a forward who has more experience and who was ahead of the curve as far as teaching last season that was coming on.

The Blues believe in the 22-year-old and understand this is going to take time.

“He’s going to be a great player,” Parayko said. ‘You watch him skate, you watch him shoot, he’s steady, he’s strong back there. There’s no doubt about that. I’m looking forward to watching that guy grow and become a dominant force back there. I have full faith in him. He’s a great player. We’re just all looking forward to watching him grow, but at the end of the day, it’s a group effort no matter what. That’s the bottom line. We’re all wearing the Bluenote together.

“It’s got to be difficult obviously going to a new team and you want to play well and things like that. He’s a great player. I have full confidence in him. I’m just looking forward to watching him continue to grow and just keep building.”

We know the offensive capabilities Mailloux has, but here’s an example of a pinch that went awry when he pinched along the right boards, the puck was tipped out and Mailloux is caught out of the play and Frank Nazar turns it onto a goal with Neighbours trying to chase him down when Philip Broberg probably should have:

They’re details that – again – with time will be worked out. By the way, Mailloux did get physical on the play when Neighbours was tackled after the goal when he was trying to defend Hofer after Nazar ran into him in the net.

There are options the Blues will have to look at here.

Do they sit Mailloux in favor of Matthew Kessel? Do they go with seven defensemen inserting Kessel into the lineup to watch some of Mailloux's minutes? Or ... do they send him down to Springfield since he is waiver's exempt? Remember, GM Doug Armstrong said it's Mailloux's job to lose.

“He's played 11 games or 12 games,” Schenn said. “There's a lot of pressure on him coming from outside. I believe in Logan Mailloux, we believe in Logan Mailloux, and the organization does. I think people are always going to look at this one-for-one. It's not a one-for-one. It's a long-term plan, and he's a great player.

“Like I said, he's played four games for us and it's a new organization ... new coaching, new system, there's a lot of stuff that goes into it. Honestly, I think he's getting ... there's no reason to put pressure on the kid. He's young, and he's getting his feet wet, and he's going to be a good player for a long time, and I firmly believe that.”

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Gabe Vincent is hot from three in Lakers' preseason loss

Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent, left, and Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) contest for a loose ball during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)
Lakers guard Gabe Vincent, left, and Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg vie for a loose ball in the first half Wednesday. (Ian Maule / Associated Press)

Gabe Vincent pulled up for a three-pointer and nailed it. And then Vincent nailed his next three and his next three and his next, giving him four straight made treys.

Vincent was on fire to start the game for the Lakers during their exhibition game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Before Vincent could even think about getting off his fifth three-pointer, Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg smothered him. Vincent stumbled and fell, scrambling to keep control of the ball. He did and passed it to a teammate.

When Vincent got to his feet and got the ball back, the fans began to shout, “Shooot it!” So, Vincent did, nailing his fifth three-pointer over the outstretched hand of the 6-9 Flagg, drawing more cheers from the pro-Lakers crowd.

Vincent was fouled on his sixth three-point attempt, sending him to the free-throw line for three free throws, all of which he made. That gave Vincent 18 points in what seemed like a flash in the first quarter.

Read more:LeBron out, Luka in: Where the Lakers stand one week from opening night

He missed his next two three attempts, but that didn’t seem to matter to the crowd. Vincent had put on a show.

Vincent finished the game with 22 points on six-for-15 shooting and six-for-11 on three-pointers during the Lakers’ 121-94 loss to the Mavericks that saw L.A. get outscored 37-8 in the fourth quarter.

“I just wanted to come out aggressive,” Vincent said. “Obviously we were a few guys down. We knew we needed to play a little fast and I just wanted to come out and be aggressive and look for my shot. Guys found me early. They went in. That’s always helpful.”

He was part of a Lakers’ starting group of Rui Hachimura (19 points), Jaxson Hayes (12 points, 10 rebounds), Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht. None of them played in the game Tuesday night in Phoenix.

Vanderbilt was having a good all-around game until he was forced to leave late in the second quarter with a left quad contusion after banging his left knee with a Mavericks defender. He limped up and down the court, but was still able to score on a dunk after he was injured and he drilled a three-pointer.

But with five minutes and 39 seconds left in the second quarter, Vanderbilt limped back to the Lakers’ locker room and never returned to play. He had five points, seven rebounds and four assists in 13 minutes.

Read more:JJ Redick isn't overly concerned about the Lakers' on-court chemistry

“He can be a really impactful guy on both ends,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said about Vanderbilt. “Yyou can see he's moving better than he was last season. You can clearly tell that he's spent a lot of time working on his game this summer…Having him be able to guard multiple positions on the perimeter and be a crasher and hopefully a high-level corner spacer and a cutter…He can do a lot.”

The starting five Lakers who did play against the Suns — Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia — didn’t play in the back-to-back game against the Mavericks, Doncic’s former team that traded him to the Lakers in February. Redick said Bronny James didn’t play because of a sprained ankle.

The Lakers finish their preseason against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, and from the sounds of things, Doncic and those who didn’t play against the Mavericks will play against the Suns.

“And then Friday, yes, the plan is to do another dress rehearsal and likely play most of our guys,” Redick said before the game. “I don’t know the minutes total, but that’s the plan.”

The Lakers open the regular season Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors at home.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.