But the Cavaliers can't prove much else in the regular season at this point. They're banking on Mitchell's long-term viability as a premier scorer, internal improvement and Watson's potential to turn this conference finalist into a real contender once the playoffs start again.
Here's a breakdown of the Cleveland Cavaliers' offseason moves and what to expect from them heading into the 2026-27 NBA season:
Can Donovan Mitchell be the best player on a championship team?
Though concerns about Mitchell's capabilities as a No. 1 option in the playoffs aren't new, they were amplified by the Cavaliers' disappointing exit from the playoffs and the massive contract extension he signed this offseason. Mitchell's four-year, $273 million deal ties him to the Cavaliers for the foreseeable future, but will also limit the front office's flexibility given the restrictive NBA salary cap rules.
Projected starting lineup and rotation
Starters
G James Harden
G Donovan Mitchell
F Peyton Watson
F Evan Mobley
C Jarrett Allen
Rotation players
G Tyrese Proctor
G Sam Merrill
G Meleek Thomas
G/F Jaylon Tyson
F Mario Hezonja
F Nae'Qwan Tomlin
What to expect in 2026-27 season
The Cavaliers gave up some of their depth in order to add Watson to the fold and re-sign Mitchell and Harden, but they should have one of the best records in the Eastern Conference again if their core stays healthy. The challenge remains the playoffs, where Watson's help on the wing won't fix that the team's title hopes still ultimately hinge on Mitchell and an aging Harden.
Information in this article was imported automatically into a template written and reviewed by a USA TODAY Sports editor. You can send feedback using this form.
The Knicks did suffer some roster losses this offseason, but the core remains in place. Another thing that remains in place are expectations. And now that this fan base has tasted a title, it’s clear Knicks faithful will want another — and soon.
Here's a breakdown of the New York Knicks' offseason moves and what to expect from them heading into the 2026-27 NBA season:
The roster is returning nearly all its key contributors, with Robinson being the lone departure of the core rotation. So, after New York celebrated a championship all summer, where does this team go from here? The NBA hasn’t seen a repeat champion since 2018, so the Knicks have a tall task. Players have publicly said all the right things about maintaining their desire to compete and their hunger to win, but that is much harder in practice, especially when they’re just months removed from an emotional championship run. A bit of a hangover or letdown might be in order, if not expected. But with the roster boasting the best continuity in the NBA, perhaps fans won’t have to wait that long for another banner.
Projected starting lineup and rotation
Starters
G Jalen Brunson
G OG Anunoby
F Mikal Bridges
F Josh Hart
C Karl-Anthony Towns
Rotation players
G Miles McBride
G Landry Shamet
G Jose Alvarado
G Tyler Kole
G/F Jordan Clarkson
C Andre Drummond
C Mohamed Diawara
What to expect in 2026-27 season
In short: a highly competitive team, looking to capitalize on a shrinking window to win championships. The Knicks, aside from the offseason coaching change over the summer of 2025 that ushered in Mike Brown, have been the roster with most continuity in the entire NBA. The problem for New York, however, is that it’s incredibly challenging to win a title in the NBA, and it’s even more difficult to do so in consecutive seasons. We are in an era of parity in the league that has failed to produce back-to-back champions since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2018. So, the odds are indeed somewhat against the Knicks to repeat. Either way, the facts remain: New York has a star guard and closer in Jalen Brunson, a nightmare matchup in center Karl-Anthony Towns and role players who understand their respective duties. The Knicks may not win another championship, but they should be elite competitors.
Information in this article was imported automatically into a template written and reviewed by a USA TODAY Sports editor. You can send feedback using this form.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 22: Jae'Sean Tate #8 of the Houston Rockets poses during media day at Hilton Americas-Houston on September 22, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I think we all remember rookie Jae’Sean Tate as one of the few bright spots of the 2020-2021 season, but now, six seasons later, his role looks very different, so what can we expect from the captain of The Stay-Ready Crew this year?
Throughout his Rockets career, Jae’Sean has frequently struggled with injuries, but when he has been available, he has demonstrated consistency. You are aware of what Jae’Sean Tate will give you. You won’t see Tate whining about not receiving playing time, and Ime Udoka won’t ever have to bench him for lacking consistent effort. He had the option to leave the Rockets in free agency, but he made the decision to see the process through to the end, which he and the rest of us hope will result in an NBA title. The ultimate “Ime Udoka Guy” is him.
Last season, Tate barely saw playing time, and only played more than 20 minutes in a game during the last game of the NBA season where the Rockets took on the Grizzlies. Jae’Sean Tate did, however, score 13 points and 6 rebounds in that game, but it was mostly due to the Rockets having rested their starters. Tate did also see some playing time post all star break, but again that was likely due to the season-ending injury of Center Steven Adams.
As usual, Tate’s health will be crucial to helping the Rockets achieve their goal of a championship. He will have opportunities if he can stay healthy. With Kevin Durant turning 38, Steven Adams recovering from a season-ending ankle injury, and Fred VanVleet recovering from an ACL rupture, there will unavoidably be more ailments that give Tate more playing time, which is why having him on the team is such a luxury.
So if Tate somehow happens to be reading this, I recommend lots of yoga, stretching, and, if it calls for it, a nice ice bath to get those joints loose.
That’s all we have for today, but for more Rockets player season previews, make sure to check back here at The Dream Shake.
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 24: Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Christopher Denver/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates might not be a playoff team this year, but the team still has a chance to finish the session with a winning record. The Pitching deserves a lot of credit for the success of this season.
The Pirates set a new franchise record for strikeouts in a season with 1,444, after right-handed pitcher Lake Bachar struck out St. Louis Cardinals Alec Burleson in the top of the first inning of the 5-1 loss at PNC Park on Sept. 23. Pittsburgh eclipsed its previous record (1,443), set in 2019 with four games left, and should easily add to it before 2026 ends.
The Pirates had a deep rotation this year, 30 different pitchers recorded a strikeout this season. The 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes leads the Pirates with 200 for the second straight season.
Braxton Ashcraft came in second with 173 and rookie Bubba Chandler coming right behind him with 138. Even with some injuries Mitch Keller and Jared Jones had a good season coming in fourth and fifth in strikeouts.
Mason Montgomery (102) and Yohan Ramirez (99) lead relief pitchers. Left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto is in third place with 79 strikeouts, while the other eight pitchers have fluctuated between the major leagues and minor leagues.
The Pirates had five pitchers who were with the team this season, but are no longer a part of the club.
The strong pitching is a really promising sign for the future in Pittsburgh. A lot of the top pitchers on the team right now are young guys like Pauk Skenes, Bubba Chandler and Jared Jones.
The Bucs breaking their own record this year is a great start and you can tell that the future is incredibly bright for the club in the Steel City.
Andrei Kuzmenko joined the Pittsburgh Penguins this summer [Getty Images]
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko has returned to Russia before the start of the NHL season after his father was killed by a bear.
Kuzmenko's father Alexander, who was an ice hockey coach in Russia, was on a fishing trip along the Krasnaya River in Southern Siberia with a group of seven others when a bear attacked from the trees.
The 62-year-old suffered severe facial injuries in the attack.
A member of the fishing party called for an ambulance but the dense forest made it difficult for emergency services to reach the area.
Kuzmenko was taken by river downstream for four hours before then being airlifted to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Penguins president Kyle Dubas said the team was "deeply saddened" by the death.
"Our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with the Kuzmenko family and their loved ones as they grieve the loss of Alexander. We ask that the privacy of Andrei and the Kuzmenko family be respected at this time," the team said in a statement.
"Andrei chose to be surrounded by his team-mates and practice with the team this morning before returning to Moscow to be with his family this afternoon. Andrei and the Kuzmenko family have the full support of the Penguins organisation during this time."
The 30-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Penguins this summer and is about to compete in his fifth season in the NHL, following previous stints with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings.
I play in dozens of fantasy basketball leagues every year, and my favorite format is the 9-cat head-to-head (H2H) league. Some experts call it a psycho format because of the weekly volatility, but it's where I've always had the most success. Building a winning 9-category roster is like solving a puzzle: you need players who contribute in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, 3-pointers, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage and turnovers. Ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season, here are my top 9-cat fantasy draft strategies, mid-to-late-round stat-stuffers to target and inefficient scorers to fade, plus why punting categories is usually a mistake.
9-Cat Strategies
Don't Punt
If you've read any articles about 9-cat leagues, you've surely seen writers talk about punting. It's something you should only do if a draft completely falls apart, because punting a category is usually a poor decision. Imagine starting every week needing to win five of the remaining eight categories just to squeak out a 5-4 victory. That strategy can put you in a major hole, and it's a flawed way to build a team.
Target Stat-Stuffers
This one's obvious, but rostering players who contribute across the board is a major asset in a 9-cat league. Some of you might be thinking of a guy like Nikola Jokic, but low-end stat-stuffers can help round out a roster too. The most important factor is finding guards who won't kill you in field-goal percentage and big men who won't hurt your free-throw percentage. We also love guards who rebound and big men who dish out assists or hit 3-pointers. Being above average in any of those areas from a position where you don't expect it can be a major boost.
Limit Your Losses
Every fantasy manager is going to lose some weeks in 9-cat leagues, but limiting the damage is key. You'll undoubtedly face a juggernaut who goes off on you, but keeping that to a 3-6 loss instead of a 1-8 blowout can make the difference over a season. You can do this by streaming or targeting specific categories in a given week. Mastering that skill is one of the most important factors over a long season, because digging out of a 1-8 hole can set you back for a month.
9-Cat Targets
It would be easy to recommend 9-cat studs like Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kawhi Leonard and Jalen Johnson, but let's look at some stat-stuffers you can find deeper in drafts.
Jaren Jackson Jr., Utah Jazz
Jackson played only 48 games last season, which was a surprise given that he averaged 70 games per season over the previous four. That track record of reliability is a big part of JJJ's fantasy profile. The big man has one of the most diverse stat lines in the NBA, averaging 19.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals, 2.0 blocks and 1.8 3-pointers over the last five seasons. He has almost no holes in a 9-cat format, especially since he also shoots 46 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
Dejounte Murray, New Orleans Pelicans
Murray missed most of last season with an Achilles injury, but he's been a 9-cat stud throughout his career. The Pelicans' primary playmaker has averaged 19.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.3 blocks and 1.8 3-pointers over the last five years. Some managers might be worried about him coming off an Achilles injury, but his per-minute numbers last season were close to those averages. It's also nice to have a guard who can flirt with 50 percent from the field while stuffing the stat sheet like that.
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Green goes late in drafts, but he's been a 9-cat staple throughout his career. The All-Star has never lit up the scoreboard, but he's averaged 9.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.0 blocks and 0.9 3-pointers since 2014. He's slipped a bit recently, but it's rare to find a player this deep in drafts who's a net positive in almost every category outside of scoring.
9-Cat Fades
These are all good basketball players, but they're simply impossible to trust in a 9-cat league. And trust me, I have no bias against left-handers, even though all three of these guys are southpaws!
Julius Randle, Brooklyn Nets
Randle was actually one of Minnesota's best players last season, but his lack of stat-stuffing and poor efficiency make him a tough sell in 9-cat leagues. He's averaged 18.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.3 blocks and 1.1 3-pointers across his 12-year career, while shooting 47 percent from the field, 77 percent from the free-throw line and 33 percent from 3-point range and committing 2.7 turnovers per game. Those numbers are decent, but he has too many deficiencies to justify a high pick in 9-cat leagues, especially since his efficiency could dip as one of Brooklyn's primary playmakers.
Miles Bridges, Phoenix Suns
Bridges is essentially a poor man's Randle. The issue is his lack of across-the-board production: he averaged 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks per game last season. Scoring is the only real positive there, and even that looks worse given that he's shot 45 percent from the field over the last two years. Limited production outside of scoring paired with poor shooting for a forward is a recipe for disaster in a 9-cat league.
RJ Barrett, Toronto Raptors
Barrett might be the worst-shooting scorer I've ever seen. That might sound contradictory, but his inefficiency is terrifying. The lefty has averaged 18.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks on 45 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free-throw line throughout his career. It's one thing to provide little outside of scoring, but doing it with minimal defensive stats and poor shooting is inexcusable. A "scorer" who shoots 70 percent from the line is hard to manage, and his role could shrink even more now that Toronto has acquired Kawhi.
Australia A captain Peter Handscomb has rued calling incorrectly at the toss as his team were soundly beaten by India A in their first unofficial Test in Puducherry.
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: The grounds crew covers the field before rain before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 7, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: In case you missed it, last evening the New York Yankees announced that, due to the impending bad weather, this weekend’s series against the Baltimore Orioles has been rearranged. Saturday’s game has been “pre-poned” to this afternoon, serving as Game 1 of a single admission double header. CC Sabathia’s enshrinement in Monument Park will take place today, and Josh Hart bobbleheads will be given out to the first 18,000 fans who arrive when gates open at 2:30. Only those fans with tickets for the originally scheduled game will be honored; for those with tickets to the cancelled game, rainchecks will be available, subject to the team’s normal raincheck policy.
SNY | Julia Yohe: While most of the attention has centered on whether or not Aaron Judge will be available for the Wild Card Series as he deals with a calf strain, two other Yankee bats have been inching towards a return. Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham, on the IL for a series of calf strains and a strained hamstring, respectively, participated in baseball activities, and while it’s too early to say whether either will actually be able to play, it’s something worth paying attention to.
MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: After spending the entire season rehabbing to return to the Bronx, Clarke Schmidt’s season ends after recording just two outs. The team placed him on the injured list with right bicep neuritis prior to last night’s game, and while he theoretically could return for the ALCS (assuming the Yankees make it that far), he will have essentially missed a season and a half.
ESPN | Roundtable: As the season ends its final days, ESPN’s baseball insiders got together to talk about what they’ve been hearing about the upcoming postseason. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Yankees appear to be one of the biggest wild cards: their starting rotation makes them dangerous in a short series, but their path to the ALCS consists of teams that have been very hot in the second half and whose strengths are perfectly placed to exploit the Yankees’ weaknesses — especially with Aaron Judge on the shelf.
The Boston Bruins have a solid core of David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman. Those three pillars are complimented by veterans such as Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie, JJ Peterka, Hampus Lindholm, and several others.
But for the Bruins to make the playoffs from what should be an ultra-competitive Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference overall, they need multiple young players to play key roles in the 2026-27 NHL season.
Depth is vital, especially in the regular season. Eighty-four games is a lot of hockey.
Let’s look at three young players who could have a meaningful impact on the Bruins’ success during the upcoming campaign.
Fraser Minten
Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
Fraser Minten signed a seven-year extension last last week.
Position: Center
Age: 22
2025-26 stats: 17 G, 18 A in 82 GP
Minten’s first full NHL season was an impressive one. He didn’t miss a single game, he took a strong step forward offensively, he played a smart defensive game and had a meaningful role on the penalty kill.
There’s no doubt has a good two-way skill set and excels in many of the defensive aspects of the sport. In fact, the B’s had a .937 save percentage at even strength when Minten was on the ice, which led all Boston forwards. He’s also a very mature player for his age.
The real unknown is whether Minten can take another step or two offensively. Can he score 20-25 goals, or even 30, some time in the near future? If healthy, Minten should absolutely be able to surpass 20 goals this season, especially if he plays a significant amount of time with David Pastrnak. The Bruins outscored opponents 23-7 during the 306:34 of ice time that Pastrnak and Minten played together at even strength last season, per Natural Stat Trick. It was an effective duo, and certainly one worth going back to early in the upcoming season.
The Bruins are in dire need of legit top-six centers. Minten, who recently signed a seven-year, $50.4 million extension, is one of the few players on the roster that might be able to fill that role long term. But he needs to become a more prolific scorer to really become a center of that caliber.
In addition to scoring more goals, if Minten can play more minutes on special teams, improve on faceoffs (49.3 win percentage last season) and take on more difficult defensive zone assignments, he could end up being one of the team’s most valuable forwards in short order.
Minten has a high floor. It would be very surprising if he wasn’t at least a very good No. 3 center in his prime. But the Bruins probably need him to become a legit No. 2 if they’re going to be a perennial contender throughout the length of his extension.
James Hagens
Position: Left wing/center
Age: 19
2025-26 stats: 0 G, 1 A in 2 GP
Hagens has the most potential of any young player in the organization, which makes sense considering he was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and was ranked as his class’ top prospect at one point.
His offensive talent is obvious. He has fantastic speed and his overall skating is impressive. He has high-end playmaking ability and a shot that features both accuracy and power. He has a high hockey IQ, too, and plays with more strength than his frame would suggest.
For a Bruins team desperate for more elite offensive players, Hagens has the ability to make a huge impact on the team’s scoring output for many years. If Hagens reaches his ceiling, he could be a legit No. 1 center. But the Bruins might not start him at center right away. His early experience at the NHL level has been on the wing, where his defensive responsibilities are not as important compared to center. It wouldn’t be surprising if he continues on the wing until he’s fully comfortable with the speed and physicality of the NHL.
In an ideal world, Hagens would make the Opening Night roster and be with the Bruins all season, score 20 or so goals, become a key part of the power play and be responsible enough defensively to play in most situations. Hagens also could be one of the first players selected for shootouts, which is not an insignificant role when you consider Boston was 4-3 with only six goals in seven shootouts last season. In what should be a tight Eastern Conference playoff race, one or two extra points in the standings could be pivotal.
Expectations are high for Hagens, but the progress he has made thus far is encouraging.
“When he came last year, I felt like he was just a little kid,” Sturm said of Hagens on Thursday before a preseason matchup versus the Philadelphia Flyers. “He’s still a kid – he looks like it in the face – but on the ice, it just feels a little bit different. Part of it is he’s more confident out there. He’s not as nervous. Now he knows us, he knows the system, he knows everything, he knows the players, he knows how we have to play. He already looks different to me than last season. He’s bigger, stronger.”
Frederic Brunet
Position: Defenseman
Age: 23
2025-26 stats: 12 G, 24 A in 65 GP (all with AHL’s Providence Bruins)
The Bruins have some tough decisions to make on their blue line with 10 waiver-eligible defensemen. There aren’t enough roster spots for everyone. But through training camp and the preseason so far, it could be pretty tough to leave Brunet off the roster.
He is a very good skater and makes smart, confident plays with the puck on his stick. He has a good shot and does an effective job getting it on net. He tallied two assists and played on both the power play and penalty kill in Tuesday’s preseason win over the Flyers.
The Bruins want and need to generate more scoring chances and goals from the blue line, and Brunet’s offensive-minded skill set make him an ideal fit for that style of play. After tallying five goals and 12 assists in 69 AHL games in 2024-25, he had a breakout 2025-26 for Providence with 12 goals and 24 assists in 65 games.
“Sometimes I think the offense was kind of the one thing, one area, it kind of got lost a little bit. I think there’s times we could have maybe joined the rush more (last season),” Sturm said at a press conference earlier this month. “We could have been more active overall as a defensive group. That’s something we’re going to touch on starting (in camp) to be more involved, I would say, in our offensive game.”
Brunet needs to be a little stronger in the defensive zone, and learning the team’s hybrid defensive system will take some time. But Brunet could definitely play a valuable role on the blue line now and well into the future. And it would be a huge boost to the Bruins if he did, because they don’t have any elite defenseman prospects in the pipeline.
The Warriors can enter the 2026-27 NBA season with the same starting lineup as they closed last season.
Should they? Some spots already are set in stone. At least two others might be more in pencil than pen going into training camp at BYU-Hawaii and throughout the preseason.
Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Draymond Green and Kristaps Porziņģis rounded out the Warriors’ first five on the floor in a season that included 43 different starting lineups. Those five gave a bit of everything to beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA play-in tournament to keep their playoff hopes alive. Curry scored 35 points with seven threes, Green’s defense down the stretch was as good as it gets, Porziņģis and Santos both scored 20 points, and Podziemski added 17.
But two days later in Phoenix, the Warriors fell short of the playoffs for the fourth time in the last seven seasons.
A tired squad saw Curry struggle to find his shot, scoring an inefficient 17 points. Green had as many turnovers (five) as points and was called for one more foul, including an ejection. Instead of each scoring 20 points, Porziņģis (11) and Santos (nine) combined for that much. Podziemski was the Warriors’ best player and the only to reach the 20-point mark with 23.
Before looking at last season, we first have to look at how this even became the Warriors’ starting lineup. Santos was part of it because of his emergence after Jimmy Butler’s season-ending torn ACL. Podziemski’s part in the starting lineup was twofold: Curry missed two months to runner’s knee, and Moses Moody ruptured his left patellar tendon with 11 games left in the regular season.
Will Steve Kerr turn to continuity as he calls the Warriors a team in a transition phase? There’s no point in mentioning Curry and Green as part of this exercise. Curry is still Steph, and Green’s spot remains secure until told otherwise. Porziņģis started the final 10 regular-season games he played, as well as both play-in games, and he provides the most advantages on both sides of the floor among Warriors centers.
Re-signing De’Anthony Melton again can create competition between him and Podziemski to start next to Curry in the backcourt. Santos also could feel competition from a rookie Yaxel Lendeborg after the Warriors used their top pick in the draft to select a pro-ready forward who is only three months younger than him.
Either way, all four figure to be high on Kerr’s pecking order of minutes. There will be games where one starts and the other closes. Who begins next to Curry always is the bigger question, especially years removed from the Splash Brothers of Curry and Klay Thompson.
Podziemski played 43 games and 601 minutes alongside Curry last season, and the two produced a 115.4 offensive rating. Melton didn’t make his season debut until Dec. 4, playing 250 minutes with Curry in 25 games, and producing an almost identical 115.2 offensive rating. The difference lies on defense.
A Curry-Podziemski tandem tallied a 110.3 defensive rating. A Curry-Melton duo was much better with a 106.3 defensive rating. That always has been the argument for Melton to start next to Curry, and it’s his best case to secure a starting spot this upcoming season.
Curry has called Melton a “prototypical” starting shooting guard. His 6-foot-8.5 wingspan and defensive acumen make it less likely for a team to pick on Curry. Podziemski can’t be questioned for his effort, but he isn’t the same point-of-attack defender as Melton.
Podziemski does have a higher offensive upside than Melton, which could be used to make an argument for him to start — or for him to lead the second unit. That brings us to Lendeborg’s chances to start from Day 1.
After starting two games his first two years in the NBA, Santos started 30 games last season as one of the best breakout stories in the league. He averaged 14.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game as a starter with a 49.2 field goal percentage. But he also shot a lowly 33.8 percent from three in those 30 starts with a 110 offensive rating, 118 defensive rating and a 1.45 assist-to-turnover ratio, compared to a 1.86 ratio coming off the bench.
It wouldn’t be fair to underplay Santos’ ascension last season. The truth also is somewhere in the middle. Santos established himself as someone who has a permanent spot in the rotation, but Lendeborg’s potential is higher, and hopes for the future rest on his shoulders as opposed to the other way around.
Lendeborg will make mistakes, and the Warriors’ coaching staff will have to live with them. He and Santos are probably better served at the four than the three defensively, and power forward might be his long-term position while Green’s Golden State career winds down. But there’s a glaring hole at the three right now, and the Warriors don’t have time to hold Lendeborg’s hand and slowly bring him into the fold.
Like Melton and Podziemski, Santos and Lendeborg both will receive ample playing time. And all four could find themselves competing for a spot in the starting lineup to open the season. The way the grind of an 82-game season goes, and with the Warriors’ ages and injuries, they’ll each find their names in the starting five a large number of times.
The Warriors aren’t who they once were, and they aren’t pretending to be. Competition is king, and it’s the fuel this team could need to quiet all the doubt coming from outside their orbit.
Former rugby league star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will start on the wing for the first time in his Wallabies career when Australia hosts world champions South Africa in Perth on Sunday.
There are three games remaining in the 2026 regular season, and somehow the Astros control their own destiny in the American League West.
The Astros have won two of three games this week despite not having a starting pitcher complete three innings. Hunter Brown will start Friday’s game in West Sacramento, with Hayden Wesneski likely to follow Saturday. But what about Sunday?
This would’ve been Cristian Javier’s turn in the rotation, but Javier was placed on the injured list Wednesday after leaving Tuesday’s start with a groin injury.
It is possible Sunday’s game will be meaningless, but what if it’s not? What if it’s a must-win? Who starts, and how on Earth do Joe Espada, Josh Miller and company piece together 27 outs?
Here are some logical, illogical and downright crazy possibilities for who could start Game 162.
Pitchers already on the active roster
Ethan Pecko
Pecko would be starting on three days rest in this scenario, but he only threw 51 pitches in 2 2/3 innings in what was a disappointing start on Wednesday in Seattle. Pecko has not pitched in a game on less than four days of rest since his second professional outing in 2023 after facing three hitters in his pro debut in rookie ball.
Miguel Ullola
Ullola will be down on Friday after another impressive outing on Thursday against the A’s. It’s hard to think he wouldn’t come into play on Saturday, assuming he’s available, but if not, the Astros could try to extract a three inning start from him on Sunday.
Ronel Blanco
Blanco has pitched once since slogging through four shutout innings against the White Sox on Sept. 1, and that was the 14-4 game in Tampa when he entered with the Astros trailing 9-0. Blanco hasn’t been good since returning from Tommy John surgery in July. He has a 7.11 ERA over 31 2/3 innings with a 6.66 FIP, but Blanco has completed at least four innings in all five of his starts.
Tatsuya Imai
Needing just 13 outs for a $1 million bonus, Imai has thrown just 17 innings in seven games since being banished to the bullpen two months ago. He has a 2.12 ERA with a 2.21 FIP and a 34.3% strikeout rate out of the bullpen, but he hasn’t thrown a pitch with the Astros leading or tied since his last start in Anaheim on July 27, when he failed to complete the first inning for the third time in 15 starts. That Blanco made that start against the White Sox should tell you all you need to know about how the team currently feels about Imai.
Pitchers in the organization
Mike Burrows
Remember him? Burrows was returned from his rehab assignment on Monday after the minor league season ended. While on the 60-day IL, Burrows is throwing bullpens are joined the Astros in Sacramento on Thursday. He was a candidate to start that game against the White Sox on September 1, but shoulder inflammation ended that possibility. Burrows hasn’t pitched in the Majors since July 6, but he did post a 1.76 ERA in four rehab starts with Sugar Land.
Bryce Mayer
The Astros minor league pitcher of the year posted a 5.45 ERA in seven Triple-A starts after finishing his time in Double-A with a 2.61 ERA. Allowing 10 earned runs in eight innings while making two starts in Albuquerque and Las Vegas didn’t help that ERA. Mayer’s last two starts were a struggle despite pitching in neutral ballparks, and he eclipsed 100 innings for the first time as a pro. I imagine the Astros are content with his season being over.
You want to get nuts? Let’s get nuts!
Lance McCullers Jr.
Listen, I have no idea if McCullers has even thrown a baseball since he was released by the Brewers two months ago. I’m here for the story, and what a story it would be if the man who closed out game seven of the 2017 ALCS and started game seven of the World Series 11 days later, ended his career by helping the Astros win another American League West crown.
Justin Verlander
Hey man, you said you wanted to get nuts.
Verlander is currently scheduled to make the final start of his illustrious career on Saturday in Detroit, but hear me out: What if his old golfing buddy, Jim Crane, were to make a call to see if Verlander might be interested in rejoining his old team and pitching in a game with actual stakes?
The Tigers could then place Verlander on waivers, where the Astros could claim him and get him on a flight to California.
Of course, none of this will ever happen. The Tigers wouldn’t screw over their already pissed-off fan base, and even if Verlander wanted it to happen, he’d have to be placed on waivers now so the 48-hour waiver period could pass in time for him to start for the Astros on Sunday.
But imagine if it did happen.
You’d have one of this generation’s greatest pitchers making the final start of his career, pitching in one of baseball’s great cathedrals, Sutter Health Park, on the west side of Sacramento, California, trying to get a team he hasn’t played for in two years back to the playoffs.
Entering this week, the Dodgers seemed to be rolling toward the postseason.
They had won 14 of 17 games. They had clinched the National League West division crown. They separated themselves for a top-two NL seed. And they had finally gotten the entirety of their roster –– from a previously slumping offense to a once-scuffling bullpen to a star-studded rotation –– synced up and playing well at the same time.
There was, of course, one caveat to all that success.
The team had gotten an exceedingly soft late-season schedule, having not faced a fellow contender in almost a month.
Teoscar Hernandez tosses his bat after striking out during the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss to the Padres on Sept. 25, 2026 in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Thus, this week’s visit of the San Diego Padres felt like something of a pre-October test, if not a preview of a potential postseason matchup.
And with a 4-2 rubber-match loss on Thursday night at Chavez Ravine, it was one they concerningly failed in their last true tune-up before the playoffs.
The Dodgers, of course, will downplay the significance of this week’s results. They won 7-0 with a bullpen game on Tuesday night. They felt Wednesday’s 5-1 defeat was closer than the final score reflected. In the big-picture, Thursday’s setback didn’t hurt them either –– especially after they clinched a first-round playoff bye pregame thanks to the Atlanta Braves’ loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
There was also a matter of motivation, with the Padres clinching their own postseason spot by winning each of the last two games.
Nevertheless, dropping this series continued an increasingly troublesome trend for the two-time defending champions.
On the season, the Dodgers are just 25-28 against above-.500 teams currently on track to make the playoffs this year (excluding the sub-.500 Astros and Rangers, who are currently tied atop the AL West).
In the last two months, that mark includes an eye-popping 2-14 rut in such matchups.
Over that period, there were series sweeps at the hands of the Red Sox, Cubs and Braves. There was just a lone win in a dispiriting four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers.
San Diego’s Jackson Merrill (right) claps after scoring on a single by Austin Hays during the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ loss to the Padres. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
And still, no outcome felt more foreboding than this one.
After a four-run rally in the bottom of the second on Tuesday, the Dodgers’ once-resurgent lineup scored just six more times over its next 25 innings –– even with Shohei Ohtani returning from the injured list on Wednesday, and recording a multi-hit effort Thursday that included a consolation RBI double in the ninth.
Though they manufactured plenty of traffic and prevented each of San Diego’s starters from completing even five innings, they wasted countless opportunities by going 4-for-25 with runners in scoring position.
It didn’t matter that the team got a pair of quality, though hardly dominant, starts out of Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Wednesday (six innings, two earned runs –– albeit with two more unearned) and Tyler Glasnow on Thursday (6.1 innings, three earned runs –– the last of which scored after he left the game).
Tyler Glasnow adjusts his cap after finishing the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ loss to the Padres. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Or that their own bullpen was, by and large, excellent; only done in during a three-run seventh-inning rally from the Padres on Thursday that was aided by some shoddy Dodgers defense (another area where the team suddenly regressed against a higher level of opponent).
Instead, their red-hot offense reverted back to its mediocre mid-summer form.
And now, after several weeks of increasingly auspicious form, the Dodgers have renewed questions to answer about their inability to beat other playoff-bound teams.
If it doesn’t change soon, it could portend an unexpectedly short October.
The Houston Astros were coming off perhaps their most devastating defeat of the season Wednesday, fearing it might have cost them the AL West title. They called up rookie Lucas Spence to replace center fielder Brice Matthews, who was placed on the injured list.
Certainly, they had no expectations but needed a body.
Spence, who wasn’t even drafted out of Southern Illinois, was hitting just .150 with one extra-base hit when he was sent back in April to Triple-A Sugar Land.
He came up Wednesday and didn’t collect a hit, but was back in the starting lineup Thursday − and just may have saved the Astros’ season.
He hit not one, not two, but three home runs with five RBI in the Astros’ 7-5 victory over the Athletics.
And just like that, the Astros are back tied with the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West with a 79-80 record and just three games remaining.
“That was fun, man, that was awesome,’’ Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters after the game. “I enjoy watching young players come up here. The biggest stage there is. We need some of these kids to step up and do big things, and (he) just delivered. …
“He hit three homers (in) a must-needed win.’’
Spence, who still was in disbelief after the game, had trouble describing his emotions on the Astros’ postgame show.
“That was really exciting,’’ Spence said. “It kind of helped me settle in after getting called back up. It’s nerves or whatever, and you take a good swing like that, it helps you settle in and build on the day and keep it going forward.’’
The Astros, coming off a deflating 10-inning defeat Wednesday night to the Seattle Mariners, couldn’t have asked for Spence’s heroics to come at a better time. He hit a three-run homer in the second inning, a solo homer in the seventh, and then led off the ninth with his third homer of the night.
“It means everything,’’ Spence said. “You know, you’re up here. You want to win. You want to get to the playoffs. It’s why we work every day. It’s everything to us.’’
The Calgary Flames took their preseason show on the road Thursday night, dropping a 4-3 decision to the Seattle Kraken in a shootout at Climate Pledge Arena.
Devin Cooley got the start in net for Calgary, making his second preseason appearance.
The Flames opened the scoring at 10:02 of the first period after a strong forecheck from Dryden Hunt forced a turnover behind the Seattle net. Brennan Othmann collected the loose puck and found Jonathan Costagna in front, who buried his first goal of the preseason past Philipp Grubauer.
Seattle answered late in the period. Jordan Eberle made a play from the slot while being knocked down, finding Bobby McMann for a quick one-timer that beat Cooley and tied the game 1-1.
Calgary outshot Seattle 14-6 through 20 minutes.
Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
The Flames regained the lead in the second when Rory Kerins found some open ice and took a pass from Alex Nylander before ripping a shot into the top corner for his first goal of the preseason.
After some physical play between the teams, Calgary went to a 5-on-3 power play and capitalized.
Aydar Suniev picked up the puck in the high slot and snapped a wrist shot over Grubauer’s glove for his third goal in two preseason games and fourth in his last three games, including the Next Gen rookie game.
The physicality continued, with Othmann throwing a big hit in the corner before being challenged by Ville Ottavainen.
Seattle appeared to cut into Calgary’s lead late in the period when Brandon Montour scored, but the goal was waved off for offside.
The Flames carried a 3-1 lead and a 23-9 edge in shots into the third.
Montour eventually got his goal just 1:26 into the final frame, pinching down from the blue line before taking a pass from Matty Beniers and beating Cooley with a wrist shot.
Seattle tied it at 7:31 when Ryker Evans drove down the left side and fired a shot into the top corner.
Neither team could find the winner in overtime, sending the game to a shootout.
Berkly Catton scored the deciding goal as Seattle completed the comeback with a 4-3 win.
Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images<br />
Three Takeaways
The Flames brought the compete
This was essentially a Wranglers-heavy Calgary lineup going up against a much more NHL-calibre Kraken group. The Flames played fast, physical hockey, outshot Seattle and answered when the game got chippy. They also continued to show plenty of pushback when their teammates were challenged.
Suniev keeps scoring
Suniev continues to make noise this preseason. His goal Thursday was his third in two preseason games and fourth over his last three appearances, putting him among the preseason scoring leaders.
Kerins needed to make an impact with limited preseason opportunities, and he did that Thursday. His second-period goal was an important moment for a player trying to stay on the Flames’ radar. It may not be enough to secure an NHL roster spot, but it gives him a strong performance to build on heading into the rest of camp.
Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
