Exasperated, Steve Kerr placed his head in both of his hands. He was imitating Adam Silver.
The Warriors coach imagined the NBA commissioner’s reaction to hearing yet another possible solution to the league’s tanking problem. Then he offered his own proposal.
“Flatten the odds. Everybody has the same odds,” Kerr told Tom Tolbert on Tuesday, agreeing with the host of the eponymous podcast. “The only thing I would add to that is there’s gotta be really big incentives to make the playoffs.”
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reacts during the first half of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. AP
Since the Jazz pulled their starters in a game they were winning shortly before the All-Star break, everybody from Bill Simmons to Silver himself have weighed in on the situation. Just about the only thing universally agreed upon is that the issue exists.
Kerr was quick to note the extreme circumstances specific to this season, with a draft class considered to be loaded and more than a handful of teams already in rebuild-mode.
Still, “I think something does need to be done,” Kerr said.
With Steph Curry injured and Jimmy Butler out until next year, the Warriors haven’t been immune from the thought of trying to lose their remaining games to take their chances in the lottery instead of the play-in. They didn’t exactly try during the pandemic-shortened season when Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant were all hurt.
The idea would be even more enticing if all 14 teams had even odds — about 7.14% — at the top pick, as Kerr suggested. To rebut that, Kerr suggested a financial incentive for playoff teams.
“Maybe some kind of cap relief. Maybe some kind of exception to the cap. Maybe there’s actual cash incentives just from revenue,” Kerr said. “But you can’t have a team in ninth or 10th say, ‘Eh, it’s not really worth it; we’re gonna play the one seed and lose anyway, we might as well tank.’”
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr looks on during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies. Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
“Because now you’re looking at the same thing. So there’s got to be a huge incentive for making the playoffs too that goes along with that.”
Teams already get additional revenue from playoff ticket sales — it’s helped line the Warriors’ pockets for years — so Tolbert, the host, offered another suggestion: Additional home games the following season, which would offer cash and a competitive edge.
“Everybody’s got a lottery idea,” Kerr chuckled. “You’ve got yours. I’ve got mine. … Nobody cares. Well, everybody cares but nobody cares about your idea.”
“I just know that we have to have change. Adam Silver has said it: Change is coming. You cannot have a league where teams are trying to lose. You can’t. I think we can do it. But there’s a million ways.”
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 12: Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Friday, September 12, 2025 in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo by Alyssa Howell/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
On his SiriusXM show on Mad Dog Sports Radio on Wednesday, a listener mentioned Grizzlies guard Ja Morant potentially being traded to the Bucks and Doc Rivers in the offseason.
Smith didn’t exactly shoot the idea down, but he interjected with some different news.
“It’s not gonna be Doc Rivers [coaching the Bucks next year] because Doc Rivers is gonna retire at the end of this season,” Smith said.
“Doc Rivers has been coaching for close to 25 years, this is it for him. He’s gonna step away.”
Stephen A. Smith briefly worked with Doc Rivers at ESPN before Rivers jumped to Milwaukee. NBAE via Getty Images
It’s unclear whether Smith’s claim has legs, but he did work with Rivers at ESPN for part of the 2023-24 season before the coach took on his role with the Bucks.
Rivers’ tenure in Milwaukee has been a nightmare, going 91-88 across two-and-a-half seasons and failing to make it past the first round of the playoffs.
This season, the Bucks are five games out of the Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference at 26-35.
With rumors swirling about a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade in the offseason, it looks like Milwaukee will begin a rebuild as well.
Rivers has never been a fan of blowing things up. He moved to the Clippers in 2013 after the Celtics started a rebuild earlier in his career.
Even though he’s under contract through next season, he could just retire instead of continuing, or Milwaukee could simply let him go.
Doc Rivers is just three games over .500 in his tenure with the Bucks. AP
Amid his 27th year as an NBA head coach, the 64-year-old Rivers owns a 1,188-851 career record across stints with the Magic, Celtics, Clippers, 76ers and Bucks.
He hasn’t won a title as a head coach since 2008 with Boston.
If he does retire, one option could be returning to ESPN with Smith.
In his brief stint behind the mic, Rivers was one of ESPN’s lead NBA analysts alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke. Since then, the company has struggled to replace him.
But first, Rivers needs to prove Smith’s claim correct.
TOKYO, JAPAN - MARCH 06: Shohei Ohtani #16 of Team Japan tosses his bat back to the dugout after hitting a grand slam home run in the second inning during the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool C game presented by dip between Team Japan and Team Chinese Taipei at Tokyo Dome on Friday, March 6, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Shohei Ohtani had three hits, including a grand slam and double to drive in five runs and Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings in Japan’s 13-0 drubbing of Chinese Taipei on Friday morning to open pool play in the World Baseball Classic.
Ohtani doubled to open the game in the first, then hit a grand slam and an RBI single in a 10-run second inning that put the opener to bed for Japan, the favorite to come out of Pool C in Tokyo.
After a perfect first inning, Yamamoto walked the leadoff batter in the second but immediately erased him on a double play. He got a groundout to open the third, followed by a throwing error by third baseman Kazuma Okamoto. That meant the strikeout by Yamamoto that followed didn’t end the third but rather was the second out.
He then walked the next two batters on 12 pitches to load the bases and was replaced on the mound by Shoma Fujihara, who earned a strikeout to escape the inning.
In all, Yamamoto threw 55 pitches in 2 2/3 innings in his third start this spring. He threw three innings and 52 pitches for the Dodgers last Friday against the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale before leaving to join Japan.
Japan’s next game is Saturday morning at 2 a.m. PT against Korea, who is also 1-0 in Pool C. That game will be televised by FS1.
For the first time this season, the Montreal Canadiens will be taking on the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night. The California-based outfit is currently second in the Pacific Division, and it looks like it will qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Keen to help their playoff push, GM Pat Verbeek acquired veteran offensive defenseman John Carlson from the Washington Capitals for two draft picks early on Friday morning. The rearguard has 46 points in 55 games this season and will bring some veteran leadership to a young Ducks side.
This game will be the first duel between rookies Beckett Sennecke and Ivan Demidov. While the Habs’ rookie led the scoring race for most of the season, Sennecke recently overtook him and is now in pole position with 51 points in 61 games, while Demidov has 48 points in 60 games. The young Russian was outshone by the New York Islanders' rookie blueliner Matthew Schaefer when they faced off last week, and he will no doubt want to win his duel with Sennecke.
The Canadiens had a new look at practice on Thursday, not because Kent Hughes went out to get some reinforcements, but because Martin St-Louis decided to change his lines. Since coming back from the Olympics break, his second line had been ineffective, and he decided it was time to put red-hot Alex Newhook back with Demidov and fellow rookie Oliver Kapanen.
As a result, Juraj Slafkovsky went back to the first line, a welcome change for captain Nick Suzuki after having a revolving door on his wing since the big Slovak was moved to the rookie line. This also means that Kirby Dach is moving to Jake Evans’ wing alongside Zach Bolduc. Dach and Bolduc had shown some chemistry early in the season, and the reunion may be good for them. As for the Brendan Gallagher, Philip Danault and Josh Anderson line, it’s the only one that remains untouched.
After Thursday’s practice, St-Louis refused to confirm if there would be any lineup change on the blueline, simply saying “I don’t know” when he was asked if Arber Xhekaj would play. The gritty defenseman has been linked to the Calgary Flames in trade rumours, but he’s still a member of the Canadiens at the time of writing.
The Ducks have a 7-3-0 record in their last 10 games and have won their last game 5-1 against the Islanders, with Sennecke leading the charge with a goal and an assist and Ville Husso manning the net. Since he’s the backup, chances are the Canadiens will face Lukas Dostal on Friday night. The Czech netminder has a 2-1-1 record against the Habs with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage. Meanwhile, Husso has a 4-0-2 record against Montreal with a 1.95 GAA and a .929 SV.
As for the Habs, St-Louis has already confirmed that Samuel Montembeault would be in the net after Jakub Dobes lost his last game and gave up six goals against the San Jose Sharks. The Becancour native has a 2-5-0 record against the Ducks with a 2.89 GAA and a .894 SV. As for Dobes, he has never taken on Anaheim.
Up front, Gallagher is the Canadiens’ most productive player against the Ducks with 12 points in 15 games, followed by Patrik Laine, who has 11 points in 14 games but won’t play tonight. Suzuki comes in third place with seven points in nine games.
At the other end of the ice, veteran Alex Killord has 21 points in 42 duels against the Canadiens, followed by Ryan Strome with 17 points in 24 games and Frank Vatrano with 13 points in 21 games. Newly acquired Carlson has 28 points in 46 duels against the Tricolore, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be dressed on Friday after the trade went down during the night from Thursday to Friday.
The Canadiens have a 4-6-0 record in their last 10 games against the Ducks, and they lost their last meeting, 3-2 in Anaheim in February 2025. The game is scheduled for 9:00 PM ET, and you can catch it on Victory+, KCOP-13, TSN2, and RDS.
Forward Victor Eklund, whom the Islanders selected 16th overall, is untouchable or as close as you can get to it.
The 19-year-old, who has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 39 games with Djugardens in the Swedish Elite League, is planning to join the organization for the 2026-27 season, whether that's at the NHL or AHL level.
Don't be shocked if he cracks the Islanders' roster out of camp.
Defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson, whom the Islanders selected 17th overall, is crushing it -- figuratively and literally -- in the OHL with the Barrie Colts. He has 64 points (27 goals, 37 assists) in 50 games and was named February's OHL Defenseman Of The Month for a second straight month, setting the franchise record for points by a blue-liner.
Blueline boss. 👑@NYIslanders prospect Kashawn Aitcheson is your February #OHL Defenceman of the Month for the second straight month, setting a new @OHLBarrieColts franchise record for points by a defenceman.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered Thursday night on a three-game winning streak. The standings were tightening like a vise. One win over the Denver Nuggets and suddenly the Lakers would climb past them and into fifth place in the Western Conference.
A statement opportunity was in front of them.
A measuring stick game.
A chance to show that this version of the Lakers, fully healthy now for the first time all season, belongs in the same conversation as the conference’s real contenders.
After Thursday’s loss, the Lakers are now 14–19 against teams above .500. Against losing teams. AP
Instead, the Lakers walked out onto the floor at Ball Arena and played like a team that didn’t even realize the exam had already begun.
Denver sprinted out to an 11-0 lead before the Lakers had even broken a sweat. Seconds later the score was 15-2 and the Nuggets had already seized control of the game. They would go on to a wire-to-wire 120-113 win while the Lakers spent the rest of the night chasing shadows.
“I didn’t think we started the game with a sense of urgency,” Lakers head coach J.J. Redick admitted afterward. “We talked about the importance of this game pregame. It’s difficult against good teams to spot them 13 points.”
That may be the most polite way imaginable to describe what actually happened in this one.
The truth is more simple: the Lakers blinked.
When the lights got bright against a team that matters, and an opportunity to prove they belonged, they shrank.
And frankly, that has become the defining pattern of this season.
After Thursday’s loss, the Lakers are now 14–19 against teams above .500. Against losing teams. They’re a comfortable 23–6.
In other words, they feast on the league’s soft underbelly and stumble the moment they face resistance.
Remember that three-game winning-streak? Here’s how it went in a nutshell:
The Los Angeles Lakers entered Thursday night on a three-game winning streak. AP
Contenders do that in their sleep.
But when the Lakers see the real giants of the Western Conference — the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the rising San Antonio Spurs, the relentless Houston Rockets, the disciplined Minnesota Timberwolves, or the former champion Denver Nuggets — the result usually looks the same.
Close enough to tease hope.
The standings were tightening like a vise. NBAE via Getty Images
Not good enough to matter.
Thursday night followed that exact script.
The Lakers trailed by double digits for most of the game yet somehow clawed their way back into striking distance. With under two minutes left, Austin Reaves stepped to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game.
Miss.
One win over the Denver Nuggets and suddenly the Lakers would climb past them and into fifth place in the Western Conference. NBAE via Getty Images
Moments later, Marcus Smart got two wide-open three-pointers that would have tied it.
Miss. Miss.
Then came the final blow: a defensive rebound the Lakers absolutely had to secure — and didn’t. Nikola Jokic bullied his way to the basket for a layup that pushed Denver ahead by five, the final dagger in a game that felt lost long before the buzzer sounded.
JOKIĆ SCORES WITH 22.3 LEFT TO SEAL IT IN DENVER!
Another Joker masterpiece: 28 PTS, 12 REB, 13 AST.
“We gave a great effort. We had an opportunity at the end of the game. Credit to them,” said James.
Redick pointed to the details that mattered.
“The start was detrimental to our team… we missed five layups in the second half. We lost free throws by 14,” he said. “Both of those things really hurt us.”
Those are the kinds of numbers that expose a team’s margin for error.
Championship teams don’t give away those possessions.
They choke the life out of them.
To the Lakers’ credit, there were small flickers of fight buried inside the wreckage.
Jaxon Hayes was excellent filling in for injured center DeAndre Ayton, finishing 8-for-10 from the field and battling Jokic for 28 minutes.
A chance to show that this version of the Lakers, fully healthy now for the first time all season, belongs in the same conversation as the conference’s real contenders. NBAE via Getty Images
“I thought he was terrific tonight,” said Redick of Hayes, who likely will start at center on Friday on the second night of a back-to-back. “I definitely have a lot of confidence in him.”
Hayes, meanwhile, blamed himself for the loss and was honest about the mountain he had to climb in guarding the three-time NBA MVP.
“He’s 350 pounds and has the best footwork I’ve ever seen in my life,” Hayes said of Jokic. “He’s the best player in the world right now.”
Denver sprinted out to an 11-0 lead before the Lakers had even broken a sweat. AP
That last sentence might be the most honest moment of the entire night.
Because while the Lakers are still trying to figure out who they are, the Nuggets already know.
They are a machine built around one of the best players on planet Earth.
Jokic had yet another triple-double with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists. Jamal Murray had 28 too.
The Lakers, by contrast, are a team still learning how to fit the puzzle pieces of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and a 41-year-old LeBron James together.
That trio had the opportunity to prove why they belong in the championship conversation.
The Lakers, by contrast, are a team still learning how to fit the puzzle pieces of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and a 41-year-old LeBron James together. NBAE via Getty Images
Instead, the standings continue to whisper an uncomfortable truth.
The No. 6 seed might be this team’s ceiling.
They are clearly not operating in the same stratosphere as the Thunder or Spurs. They were humiliated by Houston on Christmas Day. They lost in five games to Minnesota in the first round of last year’s playoffs. And now they’ve come up short against Denver in a game that could have changed the entire narrative of their season.
Pretenders don’t always get blown out.
Sometimes they hang around just long enough to make you believe.
Then the final two minutes arrive — and the truth shows up.
The Lakers’ schedule won’t offer them much mercy, but it does provide them with more opportunities to prove they belong. Four of their next six games are against the Timberwolves, Nuggets again, and a back-to-back with the Rockets.
Win them all, and they’ll likely find themselves in third place in the standings.
Jaxon Hayes embraced the challenge.
“I like a challenge,” he said. “If you don’t like a challenge, then why are you here?
That’s admirable.
But liking the challenge and beating it are two very different things.
Right now, the Lakers are still learning that lesson.
And until they start winning these prove-it games, the Western Conference already has its answer.
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Peoria, AZ - February 23: Freddy Fermin #54 of the San Diego Padres bats during a spring training game against the Milwaukee Brewers on February 23, 2026 in Peoria, AZ. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
Walker Buehler made his first start as a member of the San Diego Padres organization against the Seattle Mariners at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday. That was supposed to be the lead story of the game as Buehler, JP Sears and Triston McKenzie, who are all battling for the final spot in the San Diego rotation pitched in the game. Instead, the Padres offense exploded with 27 runs and 28 hits in a 27-6 drubbing of the Mariners.
The entire lineup contributed to the end result with one of the top offensive performances coming from Freddy Fermin. The catcher recorded a single, a double and a home run. He also had six RBI and three runs scored. Sung-Mun Song hit his first home run as a Padres with a 430-foot blast. Other San Diego players to homer in the game were Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill, Miguel Andijar, Tirso Ornelas, Bryce Johnson and Nick Schnell.
Buehler completed three innings in his Padres debut. He allowed two runs on two hits and recorded four strikeouts and allowed one walk. Sears also completed three innings and allowed two runs on two hits with three strikeouts, three walks and two home runs allowed. McKenzie completed 1.2 innings and allowed a run on four hits with two strikeouts three walks and one home run allowed.
With his breakout performance against the Mariners, Fermin who joined the Padres at the 2025 trade deadline, appears ready to be the primary catcher for San Diego handling all the duties and responsibilities that entails heading into the 2026 season.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 12: Ryan Helsley #21 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches live during practice at Ed Smith Stadium on February 12, 2026 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Baltimore Orioles/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The last time the Orioles were in need of a closer in free agency before this past offseason, they signed Craig Kimbrel, who was once quite good but had his most recent season before that end in a memorable disaster. It didn’t work out. Needing a closer heading into 2026, the Orioles signed Ryan Helsley, who was once quite good but had his most recent season end in a memorable disaster. Maybe it’ll go better this time around.
One thing working in Helsley’s favor is that he’s not as old as Kimbrel was. This is his age 31 season and up to this point he’s maintained a fastball in the 99mph range. The Orioles signed him for $14 million this year and the same amount next year, although if he’s good, he can opt out of the contract. This kind of contract structure didn’t pay off for the Orioles when they signed Tyler O’Neill before last season. Maybe it’ll go better this time around.
Here’s what two of the big projection systems see on average from Helsley this season:
Neither system expects a return to the elite results Helsley was getting in the 2022-24 range. That’s not too surprising. Although a lot of attention is paid to his repeated meltdown games after being traded to the Mets, Helsley wasn’t that same elite guy prior to being traded by the Cardinals either. He had an ERA of exactly 3, with batters hitting him better than they’d ever done before.
If Helsley is around the above projected results, he’ll get some clutch saves where you were sure the Orioles were going to lose, and he’ll have some blown saves that make you wish Mike Elias signed someone better. With the chaos in the bullpen behind him, the Orioles could sure use some ninth inning stability.
What are you expecting from Helsley this year? Do you think he’ll still be around for 2027?
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a grand slam in Japan's 2026 WBC opener Friday against Chinese Taipei at the Tokyo Dome. (Gene Wang / Capture At Media via Getty Images)
The last time Shohei Ohtani was seen wearing a World Baseball Classic uniform with "Japan" across his chest, he was striking out Mike Trout of the United States on a ninth-inning, full-count slider to give his country a victory in the championship game three years ago.
So much has happened in Ohtani's life between then and now. He has a wife and a daughter, a new interpreter, a new Major League team, two World Series championships and three more Most Valuable Player awards.
Yet unforgettable WBC memories continue. This time, he delivered from the batter's box instead of the pitcher's mound.
In the second inning of Japan's WBC opener against Chinese Taipei on Friday at the Tokyo Dome, Ohtani smacked a hanging curve a few feet over the right-field wall for a grand slam, triggering an offensive onslaught that resulted in a 13-0 victory.
"I thought it might land as an out, so above all, I really wanted to get the first run on the board," Ohtani told reporters afterward.
Ohtani led off the game with a double and singled in his second at-bat of the second inning, when Japan put up a WBC-record 10 runs. He added a run-scoring single in the third inning, giving him five runs batted in.
In 2023, Ohtani hit and pitched Japan to the WBC title, batting .435 with eight RBIs and allowing only two earned runs in 9 2/3 innings on the mound. This year, he will only bat, saving his pitching for the Dodgers, who begin their quest for a third consecutive World Series title in three weeks.
Japan's starting pitcher Friday was a decorated Dodger nevertheless. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, MVP of the 2025 World Series, threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings, walking three and striking out two while giving up no hits.
His command wasn't pinpoint — he threw 53 pitches, 33 for strikes — but it is still spring training, even though the atmosphere was electric for Japanese players competing in front of a crowd of 42,314 that included actor Timothy Chalamet and superstar Bad Bunny.
"I know there will be some tough battles ahead, but if the fans and the team can unite and everyone can help build the excitement together, it will really encourage us," Ohtani said.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 2: Keyonte George #3 of the Utah Jazz signals to the bench after making a three-point shot against the Denver Nuggets during the first half of their game at the Delta Center on March 2, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Jazz fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The Utah Jazz are at the tail-end of their stretch of tanking they’ve done to maximize their upcoming window. They’re going to be good next season, the question is how good? In this week’s Utah Jazz Reacts, I wanted to ask two things. First, we know that the Jazz will be good next year, but who will be the best player for the Jazz? That’s why I was curious to see who Jazz fans think will be the most likely All-Star on the team.
The second question I had had to do with Adam Silver’s favorite thing, tanking. There’s still a good chunk of the season left. Is there enough left for the Jazz to get into the bottom-four of the league?
The Flyers traded Nicolas Deslauriers to the Hurricanes on Friday in exchange for a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick.
Deslauriers, a 35-year-old veteran winger, was set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He had served mostly as the Flyers’ extra forward over the last two seasons.
The Flyers signed Deslauriers in July 2022 to a four-year, $7 million contract. As one of the NHL’s toughest players, Deslauriers took pride in protecting his teammates and never shied away from dropping the gloves.
But as Deslauriers had gotten older and the Flyers turned younger, he had lost his everyday role on the fourth line. Over the last two seasons, he played a combined 55 games and only 7:50 minutes per game.
With Carolina, Deslauriers will get a chance at a playoff run. He’ll very likely be an extra forward on a deep Hurricanes team, but when called upon, he’ll know his role.
Patrick Kane’s best days are behind him, but he’s still a strong offensive player, having produced 33 points through 47 games.
My Panthers vs. Red Wings predictions expect Kane to find the scoresheet while facing one of the league’s worst teams at keeping the puck out.
Let’s break down my NHL picks for Friday, March 6.
Panthers vs Red Wings prediction
Panthers vs Red Wings best bet: Patrick Kane Over 0.5 points (-120)
Patrick Kane has consistently produced in favorable matchups — particularly in Detroit. He has picked up at least one point in nine of 14 home dates against Bottom-16 teams in goals against. That’s a solid 64% clip.
That hit rate soars to 78% when isolating home games vs. Bottom-10 goal suppression teams. Kane has points in seven of nine, tallying 11 along the way.
The Florida Panthers rank 26th in goals against and 31st in high-danger SV%. They’ve also conceded a power play marker in six of their last eight, and Kane skates on the No. 1 unit.
Panthers vs Red Wings same-game parlay
Dylan Larkin has averaged more than four shots on goal per game since returning from the Olympics. His shot totals have also seen a boost playing with Kane, whom he shares the ice with at 5-on-5 and on the power play.
Matthew Tkachuk has averaged 3.2 shots on 7.4 attempts over five games following the Olympic break. He generates a ton of his volume from the slot, and the Detroit Red Wings rank 30th in preventing shots from that area over their last 10.
Panthers vs Red Wings SGP
Patrick Kane Over 0.5 points
Dylan Larkin anytime goal
Matthew Tkachuk Over 2.5 shots on goal
Panthers vs Red Wings odds
Moneyline: Florida +125 | Detroit -145
Puck line: Florida +1.5 (-200) | Detroit -1.5 (+165)
Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-135) | Under 5.5 (+115)
Panthers vs Red Wings trend
Patrick Kane has points in six of his last eight games against Florida. Find more NHL betting trends for Panthers vs. Red Wings.
How to watch Panthers vs Red Wings
Location
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Date
Friday, March 6, 2026
Puck drop
7:00 p.m. ET
TV
FDSN-Detroit, SCRIPPS
Panthers vs Red Wings latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
As we pass through the diamond, I should note that I have been playing a little footloose and fancy free with the outfield distinctions. In point of fact, just about every outfielder outside of Yordan Alvarez is capable of playing all three spots and most of them likely will play multiple positions. So, who I choose to put where largely depends on where we might expect them to play, but also as a way to space it out so we get the same number of guys in each lab.
For our purposes here, we are looking at Jake Meyers and Zach Cole, but we should acknowledge that Joey Loperfido and Cam Smith could also see time in center. Like we did, I will include a player not on the Astros (or currently in MLB) as a frame of reference for Zach Cole. We are not necessarily predicting that he will have this player’s career, but I’m sure we would be in for it if he did.
Chase rate: This is the percentage of balls a player swings at outside of the zone. The league average normally lives around 30 percent, but we will be looking at three year intervals and we should notice trends more than where a player is in relationship to the league average.
Hard hit percentage: This is simply the percentage of balls that a player hits hard. Hard hit balls become hits and extra base hits more often than softer contact. Typically 35 percent is around the league average in this category.
BABIP: This is batting average on balls in play. Home runs are obviously excluded since they are not in play. The league average tends to hover around .300 but it will largely depend on hard hit percentages and breakdowns between groundballs, flyballs, and line drives.
Contact percentage: This is the percentage of swings that turn into contact. Typically 75 percent is around league average.
HR/FB percentage: This is the percentage of flyballs that result in home runs. Ten percent is typically around the league average.
Jake Meyers
Chase
Hardhit
BABIP
Contact
HR/FB
2023
26.6
27.9
.283
74.1
11.2
2024
30.3
37.0
.263
74.2
9.8
2025
23.7
38.9
.353
81.1
3.8
Aggregate
26.9
34.6
.300
76.5
8.3
There were a number of people (me included) who were critical of the Astros hitting coaches the last few years, but it has to be noted that not everyone got worse under those guys. Meyers made real gains in his chase rate, hard hit rate, and contact rate last season. At least some of that is likely to carry over into this season. So, in all likelihood, Meyers is a better offensive player in 2026 than he was in 2023 and 2024. However, he might not be quite as good he was last season.
That is largely because of the out of context BABIP. Even with gains in hard contact, that kind of jump is not sustainable. At best, he might live between .310 and .320 in that category and that is assuming a return to career norms in home runs per flyball. If you give him positive regression in that category then he might be roughly on par with last season overall.
However, the likelihood is a hitter that lives around .250 or .260 with decent speed numbers and okay power numbers. So, that could end up being something in the neighborhood of .250/.300/.380. Couple that with very good defensive metrics and you have an above average regular overall, but in all likelihood you will not see 2025 Meyers again.
Zach Cole
Chase
Hardhit
BABIP
Contact
HR/FB
2023
—-
—-
.366
64.3
20.4
2024
—-
—-
.336
67.2
14.9
2025
20.0
44.1
.418
64.9
31.1
Aggregate
20.0
44.1
.373
65.5
22.1
These are all minor league numbers for Cole. Cole has four of the five tools in spades. If we add plate discipline as a tool then he has five of the six tools in spades. Unfortunately, that sixth tool might be the most important one. Like Matthews and Dezenzo before him, there is just a ton of swing and miss in his game. Players have succeeded at the big league level while missing the hit tool, but they are fewer and further between. The question will be if he can make enough gains in contact to give those other tools enough room to breathe.
As we noted above, there is a player that Cole has been compared to that we can profile here. Joey Gallo is no longer playing in the big leagues, but he had some big seasons with the Rangers before washing out. In short, the lack of contact eventually caught up with him, but he might be the apex of what Cole can accomplish at the big league level. Between 2017 and 2019, Gallo hit more than 100 home runs. Cole has more speed than Gallo, so he could be even more. Just look at the numbers and see what you notice.
Chase
Hardhit
BABIP
Contact
HR/FB
2017
26.5
53.0
.250
59.0
30.1
2018
27.6
49.5
.249
61.7
27.6
2019
22.6
52.7
.368
59.7
37.3
Career
24.2
49.1
.254
60.6
25.8
The career numbers showed he tapered off a little in hard hit and pure power after those three initial seasons. Simply put, you cannot survive long with a contact rate like that. I do not have a minor league to major league decoder ring, but most players do not make more contact at the big league level initially. So, Gallo seems like a reasonably comp for Cole.
Gallo reached a career high of 4.4 FWAR in 2021, so I think most people would be pleasantly surprised if the Astros got that out of Cole. Keep in mind, he adds a speed element that Gallo did not. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have quite the power rate or hard hit rate that Gallo did. Perhaps he makes a bit more contact and ends up approximating the numbers above overall. The question will be whether Astros fans want to stomach the swing and miss in order to tap into the impressive power and speed. What do you think?
HAINAN ISLAND, China (AP) — Mi Hyang Lee played bogey-free in windy conditions on Friday and posted a 6-under 66, giving her a one-shot lead in the Blue Bay LPGA going into the weekend as the South Korean chases her first LPGA title in more than eight years.
The wind wasn't as strong as what Lee faced in the opening round, and she managed to keep a clean card while making birdies on three of the four par 5s at Jian Lake Blue Bay.
Lee was one shot ahead of Yu Liu (66), the former Duke player who is trying to join Shanshan Feng as the only Chinese player to win Blue Bay since the tournament began in 2014.
Auston Kim, the American coming off a tie for third last week in Singapore, made eagle on the par-5 eighth hole and shot 68. She was two shots behind.
“The wind was blowing more than I expected this morning, but still better than yesterday afternoon,” said Lee, who was at 11-under 133. “Pretty similar direction, as well, so it wasn't that hard for me.”
Key for Lee were the undulating greens. She focused on hitting the right section of the greens for easier putts, and chipping instead of putting when just off the green to navigate the slopes.
“That's why I make a lot of birdies and no bogeys,” she said.
The contours in the greens were perplexing, and at times frustrating, for Kim down the stretch as some of her approach shots took unexpected bounces and left her a long way from the cup or tricky putts to set up pars.
After a hot start, including the eagle on No. 8, she made her only bogey on the ninth and then had to settle for pars until a birdie on the par-5 18th. Even so, she was in the thick of contention for the second straight week with a chance at her first LPGA title.
“Heading into tomorrow and heading into the weekend my game is feeling good. I know what I can control and chasing is good,” Kim said. “It'll be fun out here.”
Former Women's PGA champion Ruoning Yin of China had the first hole-in-one of the year on the LPGA tour with an 8-iron from 153 yards on the par-3 seventh, her 16th hole of the round. She is six shots behind at the halfway point.
Blue Bay LPGA wraps up a three-tournament swing through Asia for the LPGA with the weakest field of the three. It follows a week in Singapore that had nine of the top 10 in the women’s world ranking, missing only Nelly Korda, who again skipped the Asia swing.
