LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 21: Walker Kessler #14 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the Golden State Warriors on October 21, 2026 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Making his Los Angeles Lakers debut Wednesday night, Walker Kessler put on absolute show inside Crypto.com Arena for his new team and fanbase with 26 points on 12-of-12 shooting, nine rebounds, two blocks and one assist in 30 minutes. His sparkling effort helped Los Angeles rout the Golden State Warriors, 127-105, to kick off their season with a win.
Kessler’s perfect shooting night placed him alongside a couple of historic Lakers big men. His 12-of-12 outing was the second-best shooting performance in franchise history behind a 14-of-14 game from Wilt Chamberlain…
Walker Kessler checks out 12/12 from the field, the second-best shooting game in Lakers history behind a 14/14 performance from Wilt Chamberlain.
Despite the excellent debut, Kessler admitted to some pre-game jitters but thoroughly enjoyed his first regular-season appearance in a Lakers uniform and was glad to emerge victorious.
““Yeah, I would say it [lived up to expectations]. It was awesome,” he told reporters postgame. “Got the win, which was the most important thing. I definitely was a little nervous going to the game, but just so thankful and so grateful for how it went.”
Among Kessler’s 12 made field goals, five came courtesy of Luka Dončić, who’s been involved in the NBA’s last two double-digit dunk games, a testament to his wondrous playmaking aptitude.
With Dončić and Kessler on the floor together, the Lakers scored 56 points in 18 minutes, good for a hilariously stellar 151.4 offensive rating (small-sample theater is fun!), according to NBA.com.
“Very impressive game for him. I think he was 12-12, which is very impressive,” Dončić said. “But just the way he saw, when I was driving, he stepped up. When I was doubled, he played in the pocket. So a very impressive game for him.”
Head coach JJ Redick has previously talked about the expectations any notable Lakers big man may experience, especially ahead of their franchise debut. He’s made clear the support system around Kessler to guide him through any worries and was pleased with his center’s first performance of 2026-27.
“Whether he had played for the last year and a half or not, I think it’s a big deal when it’s your first game as a Laker,” Redick said. “We’ve had conversations. He understands what this is and the pressures that come with it. I think it was a good opening statement for him.”
ANAHEIM, CA - JUNE 02: Colorado Rockies pitcher TJ Shook (52) makes his pitching debut during an MLB baseball game against the Los Angeles Angeles played on June 2, 2026 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
No. 37, TJ Shook (-0.1 rWAR)
TJ Shook was selected by the Rockies in the Triple-A round of the 2025 Rule 5 Draft from the New York Mets. The right-hander was originally signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020 after going undrafted out of the University of South Carolina and worked his way up through the system before being traded to the Mets in 2024.
Shook began the year in Triple-A Albuquerque, where he made 22 appearances out of the bullpen.
After posting a 0.73 ERA through 12.1 innings in April and a 3.60 ERA through 15.0 innings in May, the Rockies selected his contract on June 1 when Welinton Herrera was transferred to the 60-day IL with his elbow injury and Zach Agnos was optioned to Albuquerque. Shook made his MLB debut the next day against the Los Angeles Angels, where he pitched a scoreless eighth and allowed just one hit on 10 pitches.
Shook made four appearances during his first stint in the majors, and pitched well for the first three. He didn’t allow a run until his third appearance — and his first at Coors Field against his former team — and was optioned on June 7.
He was recalled again on July 5 and made a two-inning appearance against the Giants on July 9 that did not go well. Shook allowed four runs on six hits, including a two-run homer to Rafael Devers, on 52 pitches (36 for strikes). He was once again optioned on July 11, and recalled again on August 17 when Michael Lorenzen was DFA’d.
In his final appearance for the Rockies in 2026, Shook pitched well against the Dodgers at home. The Rockies ultimately lost 11-5, but he pitched two innings of one-run ball with a walk and a strikeout.
Overall, it’s hard to say what TJ Shook’s future is on the Rockies. He pitched alright when he was on the MLB roster, and posted a 3.45 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in Albuquerque.
You can never have enough bullpen arms, especially at Coors Field, so we’ll see what the Rockies decide to do with Shook going forward.
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 18: Atlanta shortstop Jim Jarvis (74) reacts during the MLB game between the Texas Rangers and the Atlanta Braves on July 18th, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Maybe I’m a bit of a baseball sadist and/or maybe I’m a weirdo who figures that the best way to reflect on failure is to go back and re-experience said failures. However, I’d like to do that while also getting to enjoy some eye-candy, so these particular moments are going to be filled with bullets and lasers that came off of the bats of Braves players but somehow ended up finding leather instead of grass or seats.
If this isn’t your cup of tea, so be it but if you’re rocking with me here, then let’s go through this process together. I’m here for you if you’re here for me. Let’s get into it, shall we? Also, please stick around until the end — trust me on this one, it is totally worth it.
No. 10 – Michael Harris II, May 16 vs. Reds, Line Out, .857 xBA
This one’s pretty straightforward to start this list off with. Michael Harris II got ahold of one and blooped it into center field for what could’ve very easily been a bloop single on any other given day. Instead, on this day it ended up being a fine play in center for Ceddanne Rafaela and Money Mike had to head back to the dugout with hat in hand. For what it’s worth, if anybody would’ve appreciated a play like this from a center fielder, it’s Mike.
No. 9 – Ronald Acuña Jr., March 29 vs. Royals, Fly Out, .871 xBA
What makes this one a bit funny from a morbid point of view is that if you look closely at the background as this ball appears destined to land beyond the center field fence, Blooper and his crew appear to be getting ready to celebrate the seemingly-incoming dinger. Instead, they all had to put everything down as this somehow landed in a glove instead of onto concrete beyond the wall. Blah.
No. 8 – Ronald Acuña Jr., April 18 at Phillies, Fly Out, .886 xBA
This time, it happened in Philadelphia (blah) so the robbery got a standing ovation instead of a groan from the crowd. Once again, Acuña seemingly got all of one and sent it flying to dead center. Once again, a center fielder was waiting to grab it instead of seeing it clear the fence. This is another one where Michael Harris II probably would’ve been tipping his cap from the dugout — especially considering how he’d seemingly made a habit of robbing homers at Citizens Bank Park, himself.
No. 7 – Ronald Acuña Jr., April 6 at Angels, Fly Out, .894 xBA
What did Ronald Acuña Jr. do to upset the baseball gods early on this season? This was the third time in less than a month where xBA figured that Acuña should’ve at least come away with (what would’ve likely been) at least an extra base hit. Instead, it ended up turning into a visually-routine out as it hung in the air long enough for old friend Jorge Soler to get under it and make the catch. Fortunately, this was as bad as it got for Acuña in terms of getting robbed but he won’t be the only Braves hitter making multiple appearances on this list.
No. 6 – Drake Baldwin, September 24 vs. Reds, Fly Out, .897 xBA
Maybe if you’re a doomer, you could make a case about this being a bad omen for what was to come in the future as this team met its eventual end at the hands of the Dodgers in a series where they just couldn’t find a way to break through with any sort of regularity. This was certainly a frustrating moment, as Baldwin seemingly got all of this one only for it to wind up finding a glove. Oof, man.
No. 5 – Mike Yastrzemski, August 1 vs. Nationals, Line Out, .931 xBA
Yeah, you’ve got to just give Nasim Nuñez his props here. Mike Yastrzemski hit it hard and he got a decent amount of air on it but Nuñez jumped all the way out of the gym in order to get to this one and snag it out of the sky. It’s hard to complain about this one.
No. 4 – Mauricio Dubón, September 8 vs. Rays, Line Out, .940 xBA
If you want to know how the series against the eventual American League Pennant winners wound up going for the Braves, just watch this clip over and over again. It seemed like the entire series was nothing but Braves hitters crushing the ball and the batted ball seemingly being magnetized to Tampa Bay’s gloves. This wasn’t even the moment
No. 3 – Michael Harris II, April 2 at Diamondbacks, Line Out, .954 xBA
Considering the situation, I don’t think Michael Harris II or the Braves lost any sleep over this one. Instead, it was a missed opportunity only when it came to being able to pad some stats as Atlanta was absolutely taking Arizona out behind the woodshed and had forced the Diamondbacks to go to James McCann to cover the ninth inning.
No. 2. – Michael Harris II, March 29 vs. Royals, Fly Out, .966 xBA
It’s kind of wild that two of these happened in the same game. This is Michael Harris II’s third appearance on this list (tying him with Ronald Acuña Jr.) and it’s also the second appearance from this game alone. In case you’re wondering: Yes ,the Braves lost this game (4-1) and yes, the Braves out-xBA’d the Royals by a significant margin despite the result (.314 xBA for Atlanta compared to .196 for Kansas City). That’s baseball for you!
No. 1 – Jim Jarvis, July 5 vs. Mets, Line Out, .971 xBA
In almost fitting fashion, the No. 1 robbery for Braves hitters according to xBA ended up looking very similar to what No. 10 looked like. Jim Jarvis blooped it out to center and if it didn’t stay in the air longer, it likely lands in the grass for a base hit that brings up the potential go-ahead run for the Braves. Instead, it lingered long enough to turn into an out and Jarvis goes down as having had the most unlucky moment for a Braves hitter in 2026.
BONUS – Lucky Dog Award: Mauricio Dubón, September 6 vs. Phillies, Double, .011 xBA
The Rays overcame a 2-1 series deficit against Cleveland, winning three straight games to capture their third league pennant. Starter Freddy Peralta, a trade deadline addition, earned ALCS MVP honors after going 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA across two starts and three appearances.
Now, Peralta, Junior Caminero and Co. are on the cusp of making Rays history:
How many World Series have the Rays made?
This is Tampa Bay’s third World Series appearance since the franchise debuted in 1998.
As the clock ticks on the Detroit Red Wings and Simon Edvinsson, the trade chatter is only getting louder.
The latest report adds the San Jose Sharks and the Boston Bruins among the 10 teams interested in the 23-year-old defenseman. The St. Louis Blues are also reportedly among those teams interested, as they are believed to be keen on adding a defenseman like Edvinsson or Alexander Nikishin.
The Red Wings on the other hand have stated they will re-sign Edvinsson, although, the player is said to "prefer" a trade away from Detroit.
According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, who also had the report that Sharks and Bruins have entered the Edvinsson sweepstakes, he suggested trades like Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Mammoth, Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens, Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks, and Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames as comparables for what the Red Wings would want in return.
The Mammoth gave up J.J. Moser, Conor Geekie, and two draft picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Sergachev. For Dobson, the Canadiens sent forward Emil Heinenman and two first-round picks to the New York Islanders.
The Buffalo Sabres received blueliner Louis Crevier, a first- and a second-round pick, from the Blackhawks, while the Flames parted with two conditional first-round picks, a second-round pick, and blueliner prospect Etienne Morin.
With this in mind, the Blues could formulate a deal around Dalibor Dvorsky, like Sportsnet's Ryan Dixon suggested earlier this month. If they chose a different route, they could send a package of prospects like Theo Lindstein and Otto Stenberg, or draft picks.
Whichever way they choose to go, they'll still need to sign Edvinsson to a contract, who is believed to be seeking about $10 to $11 million annually.
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"Todd will be remembered with great affection and gratitude for his place in one of the most memorable chapters in Reds history," the statement read. "Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, former teammates and all who knew and loved him."
Benzinger was a key member of the Reds' 1990 championship squad at first base, securing the final out in a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics.
A native of Dayton, Kentucky, Benzinger was drafted out of high school by the Boston Red Sox in 1981 and made his MLB debut with Boston in 1987.
He played two seasons with the Red Sox before being traded to Cincinnati in a five player deal that sent third baseman Nick Esasky to Boston.
With the Reds, he became an everyday player for the first time in 1989, hitting .245 with career highs of 17 home runs and 76 RBIs. After winning the World Series, the Reds traded Benzinger to Kansas City the following season. He later played one year with the Los Angeles Dodgers and two more with the San Francisco Giants before his career ended after the 1995 season.
He was a lifetime .257 hitter and finished with 66 home runs, 376 RBIs and 21 stolen bases.
After retiring as a player, Benzinger managed the Dayton Dragons, the Reds' Class A affiliate, in 2009 and 2010. He was also a frequent attendee at Reds' fan fest events.
(060408 Boston, MA )Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and Sam Cassell laughed as the Boston Celtics prepared for game 1 of the NBA Finals at a practice at TD Banknorth Garden on Wednesday, June 4, 2008. Staff Photo by Matthew West. (Photo by Matthew West/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
But as bad as Tuesday’s loss was, it’s just the start.
“There are bigger adversities in life than losing a game. I’m excited for the challenges and the opportunity,” Joe Mazzulla said at practice on Thursday.
“It was a challenge losing that [game], but it’s how you respond to that. It may or may not happen again, but it’s who you become. You have to learn. As I told the team, I don’t want us to feel a certain type of way after a win or after a loss — it’s all the same. You have to be able to process possessions in a game, so it’s really more about the consistency of the approach, not the feeling of the result. We just have to maintain the consistency of the approach and the process and continue to go through that.”
With a chance to knock off the defending champion Knicks tomorrow night in their home opener, it’s a quick turnaround for a team looking to turn the page quickly. After a 4-0 successful preseason that seemed to legitimize Mazzulla’s approach, the trade for George, the free agent signings of Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley Jr., and the development of the Celtics’ growing young core, the team will now have a four-game homestand to settle into the regular season and they don’t seem bothered by the hiccup.
“I don’t think it’s concerning. It’s the first game of 82,” Sam Hauser said. “There’s definitely going to be kinks that we have to work out. Obviously we ran into a few things in the last game, but I don’t think we’re concerned. We showed flashes of being really really good and showed flashes of where we need to improve. That’s the battle you go through each and every season.”
During training camp, Mazzulla stressed that it’s going to take 10-20 games to see what the team can lean on in terms of their strengths, what needs to be improved, and what the trend lines of the league are going to be. The Pistons, the East’s #1 seed last season, provided a good early test that Mazzulla liked “38 of 48 minutes” of. The key — as it is every year around this time — is being able to do for all 48, night in, night out.
“Last game was a perfect game because it was the epitome of momentum and opportunities and turning points and ebbs and flows,” Mazzulla said.
He noted that the team generated good shots during their worst stretches against the Pistons, but poor transition defense, fouling three-point shooters, and giving up and-1s off offensive rebounds ultimately allowed Detroit to steamroll them down the stretch. It’s all a learning process in the road to consistency.
Mazzulla on Pierce's presence around the Celtics: "The door is open for any Celtic."
“The way we want to play, the freedom, the ability to just read the game — it just takes time understanding what each guy likes. We had some really good moments of that, and throughout that process, there will be some janky moments, but we just continue to grow through it, We’re further along than I anticipated from that standpoint,” Mazzulla reiterated.
And how’s this for consistency: 26,864 points over 15 regular seasons and a decade’s worth of playoffs. That’s second all-time for the franchise. That’s The Truth. That’s Paul Pierce.
The Finals MVP and second all-time leading scorer visited today’s practice at the Auerbach Center.
“It makes you want to carry on the Celtics tradition, the legacy when you’ve got them around,” Hauser said of having The Captain back in the building.
Atlanta, GA - January 09: An Official Rawlings Major League baseball sits with a glove, lock and chain to represent the lockout between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) on January 09, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The 2026 World Series begins on Friday, with the Milwaukee Brewers hosting the Tampa Bay Rays. But before we get back to baseball on the field, let’s take the temperature of the room regarding the looming labor fight.
The collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1 at 8:59 p.m. PT, after which MLB owners will lock out the players.
Three times previously a labor stoppage has caused the postponement of the start of an MLB season:
1972 strike
This moved opening day from April 5 to April 15. None of the lost games were made up, and one ancillary result gave the Detroit Tigers the American League East crown at 86-70, a half-game better than the 85-70 Boston Red Sox, who played one fewer contest. In fairness, these two teams played one another in the final series of the regular season. Boston went into the final game of the season up a half-game playing the Tigers at home, plus lost 4-1 in what was essentially a playoff game for the division.
1994-95 strike
After the previous season ended on August 12 and the World Series was cancelled for the first time in 91 years, it took an injunction from United States District Court to get a deal done on April 2, 1995. Opening day was moved to April 25, about three weeks later than previously planned. Teams in 1995 played 144 games instead of the normal 162. Even with the reduced schedule, a stacked Cleveland team still won 100 games.
Opening day in 2027 for now is scheduled for Thursday, March 25. Today’s question is on what date do you think the next regular season Major League Baseball game will be played?
Let us know in the comments below. We’ll check back in about five weeks to see how we all feel closer to the lockout.
ST. LOUIS – The challenges will continue to get stiffer for the St. Louis Blues (4-4-1) when they play the second of a five-game homestand Thursday by hosting the Vegas Golden Knights (8-3-0) at 7 p.m. and can be seen on First Alert ABC 32-1 over the air television for the first time this season along with (Blue Note+, ESPN 101.10FM).
It’s the first of consecutive visits over the next two games when the Blues, coming off a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, host the past two Stanley Cup finalists at Enterprise Center.
Vegas lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, who come to town Saturday, in six games last season.
“This stretch, the five games at home, is really good hockey teams in the NHL that are all doing well already,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’re just focused on tonight and we’re really focused on ourselves. We want to be a consistent team that knows who we are and we want to get to that, and we’ve been talking about it a lot. We know Vegas is good, we know what they do really well, but we have to play our brand of game to be able to have a chance against a really good hockey team.”
The Blues will not make any lineup changes from Tuesday, meaning that Zach Dean and Theo Lindstein will be tonight’s healthy scratches, and Joel Hofer, who is coming off a 32-save performance Tuesday, will start for the seventh time in 10 games this season.
Hofer is 3-2-1 on the season with a 2.19 goals-against average and .919 save percentage, and there’s an opportunity for the Blues to ride the 25-year-old for a stretch of games, or is there?
“I understand the question, but Jordan Binnington’s a huge part of our team,” Montgomery said, “and we think our tandem is what makes us special as a team. It’s a huge advantage, we think, against the rest of the league. It’s going to be the two of them working together. Joel’s going to play more games, but at what level, it just depends on how the season progresses.”
- - -
It was another day on the ice for forward Alexey Toropchenko, who continues to rehab from an upper-body injury suffered Oct. 2 in a 4-0 win against the Dallas Stars.
Toropchenko began skating with the team on Monday and has been on the ice each day since, including an optional morning skate on Thursday.
“Good,” Montgomery said on the progress. “Took a little bit of bumping yesterday, take some more bumping tomorrow and he might be close.”
- - -
Blues Projected Lineup:
Dylan Holloway-Robert Thomas-Jimmy Snuggerud
Connor McMichael-Mason McTavish-Jonatan Berggren
Jake Neighbours-Dalibor Dvorsky-Pavel Buchnevich
Aleksanteri Kaskimaki-Pius Suter-Otto Stenberg
Philip Broberg-Justin Barron
Adam Jiricek-Colton Parayko
Cam Fowler-Brandon Carlo
Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Theo Lindstein and Zach Dean. Logan Mailloux (hand), Tyler Tucker (knee), Alexey Toropchenko (upper body), Dillon Dube (neck) and Ross Johnston (lower body) are out.
- - -
Golden Knights Projected Lineup:
Ivan Barbashev-Jack Eichel-Mark Stone
Brett Howden-William Karlsson-Mitch Marner
Trevor Connelly-Tomas Hertl-Raphael Lavoie
Marc Gatcomb-Nic Dowd-Braeden Bowman
Shea Theodore-Brayden McNabb
Jeremy Lauzon-Rasmus Andersson
Dylan Coghlan-Noah Hanifin
Adin Hill will start in goal; Carter Hart will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Ville Heinola and Alexander Holtz. Victor Olofsson (lower body) and Parker Wotherspoon (upper body) are out.
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NEW YORK, NY - JULY 27: Connor Thomas #65 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the game between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Monday, July 27, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Evan Yu/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The good news for Connor Thomas is that he’s appeared to have figured it out as a reliever and he should be able to find somewhere to pitch once the smoke has cleared with the upcoming labor war that’s looming over all of baseball. The bad news is that he figured that out with the Kansas City Royals instead of the Atlanta Braves.
Connor Thomas didn’t make too many appearances for the Braves in 2026 but he did somehow manage to become the focus of a rival broadcast’s pity based on his final outing as a Brave this season. Just how badly did it go for Connor Thomas in Atlanta? Let’s get into it, shall we?
How Acquired
The Braves signed Connor Thomas to a minor league deal back in early November of 2025. This came after he elected free agency when the Brewers outrighted him off of their roster oncer their season came to a close. That came after he was selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Brewers ahead of the 2025 season, so that tells you that something was certainly there for Thomas if a team was willing to pick him in that particular draft. With that being said, it mainly didn’t work out for Thomas in Milwaukee because bone spurs in his elbow wrecked his 2025 season, so Atlanta was certainly taking a bit of a flier on bringing in Thomas.
What were the expectations?
Well, Thomas ended up starting the season on the Injured List due to the surgery that he underwent in the previous year and while he did make a handful of appearances with the Rome Emperors in High-A, it wasn’t until May 22 when he was finally activated and sent to the Gwinnett Stripers. That’s where he stayed until he got called up in early-July, so the Braves really did kind of have Thomas tabbed as organizational depth during his time here.
Honestly, there wasn’t much of a reason to think differently. He was getting 35+ future value grades on FanGraphs, which is very definitionally a fringy prospect. He was a fifth-round draft pick with a modest signing bonus, hadn’t pitched well in all of two appearances with the Brewers in 2025, and had fairly unimpressive numbers from 2022-onward, after he ascended full-time to Triple-A. Largely the only thing he had going for him was running a low-ish ERA relative to his peripherals in some minor league stints, but that does not a pitcher above organizational depth make.
2026 Results
Connor Thomas finished with 19 1/3 innings pitched under his belt during this particular stint, as he proved to be a bit of a ground ball machine (finishing with a 64.4 percent ground ball rate) while also doing a good job of keeping runs at a premium. He ended up finishing with a 2.33 ERA (54 ERA-) and a 2.43 FIP (58 FIP-) across 19.1 innings pitched and 17 appearances — for the Kansas City Royals. When it came to his time with the Braves, well, it was disastrous.
Thomas only made two appearances totaling 6 1/3 innings while he was with the Braves. We all know about the second and final appearance that he made (which we will discuss later) but his first appearance still ended with some poor results. Thomas gave up the first of four homers that he’d somehow end up giving up in such a brief amount of time with Atlanta during his first appearance on July 7 against the Pirates. He wound up giving up four runs while he was out there, so this was certainly a rough experience for Thomas while he was here.
What went right?
The only good thing I can say about Connor Thomas’s time with Atlanta is that he ate some innings. The guy who entered the game after Thomas was done with both of his appearances was none other than Jorge Mateo, who is not a pitcher. Thomas’s job while he was here was to be on mop-up duty unless there were no other options available out of the ‘pen at any given moment.
Unfortunately for Thomas, that scenario came to fruition three weeks later.
I guess, one thing we can say went “right” for Thomas is that he pitched so much better in an extended stint for the Royals that he actually finished with positive fWAR for the year. Seriously: -0.4 fWAR across 40 batters faced for the Braves, and +0.5 fWAR across 78 batters faced for the Royals. Well done, sorta.
What went wrong?
Thomas’s second and final appearance for the Braves was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Walt Weiss brought him in for the sixth inning of a tie game against the New York Mets on July 27, which was a sign that the bullpen was definitely a bit gassed at this particular moment in time. Thomas gave up a single and a two-run homer to kick off his outing and at that point, it became clear that Thomas was going to have to wear one for the team.
Sure enough, he ended up facing 23 batters and getting charged with 10 hits (three of which were homers bashed off of him) and walking five batters in order to give up a grand total of 11 runs over 78 pitches. You know it was bad when the Mets’ TV commentary team was actually feeling bad for the guy instead of cheering on the onslaught.
"Poor kid – you want to give him a hug…literally I'm sick to my stomach"
"I'm not a happy camper at all, pretty disgusted with it"
Keith and Ron didn't like the Braves leaving Connor Thomas out on the mound to throw 78 pitches and give up 11 runs pic.twitter.com/aR7pefLUnl
Anyways, Thomas did indeed receive his ticket back to the minors after this and two days later, the Athletics claimed him off of waivers. Oof.
2027 Outlook
Considering that he did end up sticking around with the Royals through the end of the season and what the Royals were able to get out of him while he was there, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see him pitching somewhere once the 2027 season rolls around. He’s a left-hander, he’s under 30 and he’s shown an ability to induce ground balls at a pretty high rate and his stint with the Royals ended up going pretty well. He’s never going to blow anybody away with his velocity but maybe some organization will decide that it’s worth it to see if he can keep on getting opposing hitters to keep it on the ground instead of the air by relying on the varied movement of his pitches. It probably won’t be the Braves giving him another shot, though.
Of course, the Royals still control him, given his low service time, so all of this only matters if they decide to move on. Which, given how he pitched for them down the stretch, isn’t a certainty. Still, he looks like a replacement-level reliever on balance until he shows otherwise for more than a couple of months. But, maybe the Royals helped him figure something out that goes beyond serving as a sacrificial lamb to the long grind of an MLB season.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 14: Jake Bauers #9 of the Milwaukee Brewers reacts after striking out during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
No, the Mariners aren’t playing in the World Series this year. No surprise there. But that doesn’t mean Mariner fans have to sit out the Fall Classic without any thought of their hometown nine. In fact, there are plenty of Seattle connections featured during this series between the Brewers and Rays.
1B/OF Jake Bauers
2021: .220/.297/.275, 2 HR, 67 wRC+, 0.0 fWAR
2026: .266/.389/.484, 26 HR, 143 wRC+, 3.7 fWAR
By now, you’ve probably heard all about Jake Bauers’s story. How went from considering leaving baseball entirely a few years ago to winning the NLCS MVP award last week. His story also briefly crosses paths with the Mariners — twice! Way back in 2018, Bauers was traded from the Rays to the Guardians as part of the three-way, Edwin Encarnacion/Yandy Díaz trade. (Weird that that trade included two key players during this postseason eight years later.) Bauers was later traded to Seattle in June 2021 and posted an ugly 67 wRC+ across 202 plate appearances during the second half of that season. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster at the end of the season and bounced between the Reds and Yankees before latching on with the Brewers in 2023.
INF Ben Williamson
2025: .253/.294/.310, 1 HR, 76 wRC+, 0.4 fWAR
2026: .238/.302/.318, 3 HR, 76 wRC+, 0.2 fWAR
Ben Williamson made his major league debut with the Mariners last year combining excellent defense at third base with a noodle bat at the plate. Recognizing a need for a more potent profile at a traditionally offense-focused position, the Mariners traded Williamson to the Rays during the offseason as part of the three-way, Brendan Donovan deal. With Junior Caminero manning the hot corner for Tampa Bay, Williamson spent most of the season as a utility infielder, splitting time between second base and shortstop. His defensive chops were stretched a little at those two up-the-middle positions and he matched his rookie campaign with a 76 wRC+ in 2026.
RHP Freddy Peralta
2015 (MiLB): 4.11 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 8.38 K/BB
2026: 4.42 ERA, 4.28 FIP, 2.48 K/BB, 1.9 fWAR
Both of the MVPs from this year’s LCS’s had ties to the Mariners, but you have to go all the way back to 2015 to find Freddy Peralta’s connection. He was dealt to the Brewers in the ill-fated Adam Lind trade as a 19-year-old prospect and made his major league debut just three years later. Peralta was traded to the Mets this past offseason and then dealt to the Rays at the trade deadline, so he’ll be facing his old ballclub in the World Series. His season started off pretty rough in New York — his ERA was just a hair under five in 22 starts before moving to Tampa Bay — but he got things back on track down the stretch and has allowed just two runs in 16.2 postseason innings so far.
RHP Brody Hopkins
2024 (MiLB): 2.90 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 2.38 K/BB
2026: 5.06 ERA, 6.29 FIP, 1.17 K/BB, -0.1 fWAR
Brody Hopkins was the headlining prospect sent to the Rays in the Randy Arozarena trade in 2024. He’s developed into a top 100 prospect and was ranked third in Tampa Bay’s preseason farm system rankings. His athleticism has helped him thrive on the mound even though he’s only truly focused on pitching for four years now — he was a two-way player in college. But that lack of experience has led to some developmental hurdles that have stalled his growth a bit. The biggest issue is his command; he was walking nearly a batter per inning in Triple-A, limiting his strikeout-to-walk ratio to just 1.3. His stuff is nasty, his velocity has played up in shorter stints out of the bullpen, but he simply can’t locate any of his pitches with any regularity.
Those four players are the most notable former Mariners playing in the World Series this year. A special mention goes to Casey Legumina who was a significant piece of the Rays bullpen since being traded to Tampa in April but wasn’t included on their ALDS or ALCS rosters. The Rays have the advantage with three players (four if you count Legumina), plus it seems like Arozarena will be cheering on his former club as loudly as he can this weekend.
Oh, and there’s the fact that the creator of Lookout Landing, Jeff Sullivan, is employed by the Rays. In a roundabout way, Tampa Bay’s success is also Lookout Landing’s success.
Even though the Brewers have only one former Mariner on their roster, the franchise started out as the Seattle Pilots in 1969. By the transitive property, a Milwaukee championship would also count as a Seattle championship, right?
If you’re looking for a team to bandwagon simply based on Mariners connections, you can’t go wrong with either team.
NEW YORK - OCTOBER 09: Robinson Cano #24 of the New York Yankees celebrates after a walk off home run in the eleventh inning against the Minnesota Twins in Game Two of the ALDS during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 9, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Every generation of Yankees has transcendent talent, and for the faithful fans, homegrown stars have always made their passion burn a little deeper. Robinson “Robbie” Canó was one of these stars. A homegrown wonder kid whose timing, big smile, and smooth left-handed swing made him seem destined to take the torch from Derek Jeter and continue the Yankees’ legacy. Oh, what should have been.
Robinson José Canó Mercedes Born: October 22, 1982 (San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic) Yankees Tenure: 2005-13
Born on the eastern side of the island of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic, Canó’s dad, a former big leaguer himself, named him after legendary second baseman Jackie Robinson. Canó grew up playing baseball and basketball on the island but also spent a few years in the States during junior high and high school before returning to graduate from San Pedro Apostol High School in San Pedro de Macorís.
Right after graduating, Canó started his journey with the Yankees. In 2001, at 18 years old, he signed as an international free agent. An unheralded signing at the time, Canó began his path to the show that summer, playing for both the Gulf Coast Yankees and Staten Island Yankees.
Canó slowly worked his way through the farm system and up prospect boards. A free swinger with some defensive lapses, Canó started to take off as he filled out his frame. In 2003, his performance earned him a selection to the All-Star Futures Game. His rising stock also made him a potential trade chip as the Yankees tried to cash in on the youngster.
The Yankees offered to include Canó in the Alex Rodriguez deal before the 2004 season, but Texas chose Joaquín Arias instead. Then, at the deadline, they tried to package Canó and catcher Dioner Navarro to the Royals for Carlos Beltrán. The following month, Canó was part of the Yankees’ efforts to acquire Randy Johnson from Arizona. Canó just kept raking, earning his second straight Futures Game selection in 2004 while reaching Triple-A.
After surviving so many potential trades, the stars aligned in 2005 when the Yankees called Canó up to the majors in early May to replace Tony Womack. The closest regular in age to the 22-year-old Canó was a 29-year-old Alex Rodriguez. Unfazed by the star power in the lineup, the rookie slashed .297/.320/.458 with 14 home runs in 132 games. His performance was good enough for second place in the Rookie of the Year voting, behind only Houston Street.
Canó was even more impressive in his sophomore campaign in 2006. During that season, he made his first All-Star team and finished the year slashing .342/.365/.525 with 15 home runs and 41 doubles. The .342 mark was third in the AL, with only his teammate Jeter and Joe Mauer surpassing him in a bid for the batting crown.
Then, the 2007 season started what would become an 11-year run of playing at least 150 games every season. If availability is the best ability, Canó was the best of this decade-long run. Prior to the 2008 season, Canó signed an extension to keep him in pinstripes through the 2013 season. It proved to be a brilliant move.
The 2008 season proved to be the first down year of Canó’s career, as his average dropped to .271. The whole team sputtered that season and finished third in the American League East. In the final season at the original Yankee Stadium, Canó recorded the final walk-off hit in the ballpark’s history.
The down year and new stadium prompted ownership to go all in before the 2009 season. With new stars aboard, the Yankees went on to have a historic season. Canó and Jeter became the first middle-infield duo in MLB history to record 200 hits in the same season. The team won 103 games while Canó hit 25 home runs and batted .320. The Yankees went on to win the pennant and take down the Phillies for the championship in six games.
It seemed like Canó had taken the torch and was ready to run the Bronx to another dynasty as he hit .319 with 41 doubles and 29 home runs in 2010. He posted a 143 OPS+ with 8.1 rWAR and finished a career-best third in AL MVP voting, trailing only Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera (also winning his first Gold Glove at the keystone). After struggling in the postseason the previous year, Canó almost got the Yankees back to the World Series himself in 2010, hitting .348 with four home runs in the ALCS against the Rangers.
With the championship window still open, the Yankees and Canó kept rolling in 2011 and 2012. The team won the AL East both years before falling to the Tigers in the playoffs. Canó hit a combined 61 home runs over those two seasons while batting .307, plus a career-high 148 OPS+ in 2012. The biggest highlight would be when he won the Home Run Derby in 2011 with his dad pitching to him.
The 2013 season was a year of transition for the Yankees, as injuries ravaged the squad (most notably Jeter and Mark Teixeira) and there just wasn’t enough depth to get the team back to October in what turned out to be Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte’s swan song. Canó had another stellar season, hitting .314 with 27 home runs, but without much help, the Yankees struggled and finished third in the division. Canó reached free agency following the season and it seemed like a no-brainer that the star would be back in the Bronx.
However, in a shocking situation, Canó and the Yankees couldn’t reach a deal. The club offered seven years and $175 million but would not come close to the 10-year, $240 million deal the Mariners offered. The heir to the throne signed on the dotted line, packed his bags, and headed off to the West Coast. From that moment on, the Yankees were on a different path. The once-Evil Empire, which chased championships no matter the cost, had a new direction. That new direction has yet to win another title.
For Canó, the post-Yankees years have been complicated. In Seattle, he made three more All-Star teams during the first five seasons of his mega-contract, but he was suspended for 80 games in 2018 after testing positive for a banned substance. The Mariners traded him that offseason, along with emerging closer Edwin Díaz, to the Mets.
Suiting up across town in the other borough, Canó, at 36 years old, was officially on the back nine of his career. He played for the Mets during the 2019 and COVID-shortened 2020 seasons. However, he missed all of 2021 after testing positive for a banned substance for a second time, this time resulting in a full-season suspension.
Returning in 2022, Canó struggled and was released by the Mets. He then played out the season journeyman-style, suiting up for the Padres and Braves for about a month each. Canó continued his professional career in Mexico, most recently playing for the Diablos Rojos del México in 2026 and hitting 15 homers with an .826 OPS at age 43.
Over his MLB career spanning 17 seasons, Canó finished with a .301 batting average, 2,639 hits, 335 home runs, and 1,306 RBIs. He was an eight-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger winner, earned two Gold Gloves, and took home World Baseball Classic MVP honors with the Dominican Republic in 2013. In pinstripes, he recorded 1,649 hits, 375 doubles, 204 home runs, and 44.4 rWAR. All four marks rank among the top 16 in Yankees history.
If not for the suspensions, Canó would have a legitimate case for a call to Cooperstown. He is arguably one of the 10 best second basemen to ever play the game, but between the failed drug tests and his departure from the Yankees, Canó’s legacy is complicated. For Yankees fans, he will always be a reminder of what could have been.
All the same, I wish you would’ve never left. Happy birthday, Robbie!
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Bryson Stott #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits an RBI double in the first inning during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park on September 27, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I saw this post come up on my Bluesky feed and shook my head.
Tim Kelly does a great job covering the team for On Pattison, so this is not a criticism of him. He’s merely echoing what the organization is telling the public, including this quote of Dave Dombrowski’s assessment of Bryson Stott’s 2026 season.
“…We like Stott, think he can be better than what he is, even,” Dombrowski said. “He had a really good June, July, August. I don’t know why he can’t be that player all the time.”
The article went on to note that…
Stott was really good during the summer months, hitting .286 between June and August. During that stretch, he shifted to third base to make room for Luis Arraez at second base and didn’t skip a beat at the plate. FanGraphs says that between June and August, Stott not only led Phillies position players in WAR, but his 2.8 mark was 13th among all qualified position players over that period.
However, Stott hit just .217 between March and May. He posted a .692 OPS in September, and then recorded only two hits in 13 at-bats in the NLWCS.
And there’s the rub. Stott has always had stretches where, for two months, he looks like one of the most productive all-around players in Major League Baseball, a star in the making. Then there are 2-3 months where he looks utterly lost at the plate, and he has posted a dreadful .515 OPS in 142 career plate appearances over 10 playoff series.
Bryson Stott is what he is. There is no “better version.” Baseball Reference’s WAR listed him at 1.8 on the season, 3rd-best on the roster among position players. His 3.8 Fangraphs WAR was the best, better than Bryce Harper’s 3.3 or Kyle Schwarber’s 2.9. Based on the eye test, I believe the 1.8 bWAR is more indicative of his true value to the team, but even if we met somewhere in the middle, we could say Stott is a 2.5-to-3-win player whose value comes mostly from defensive versatility.
He’s hit his ceiling, and if Bryson Stott is your 5th or 6th-best player, or one of about 5-6 guys on a team that can pile up 2-3 wins, it’s all good.
But this is as good as Bryson Stott is ever going to get.
He’s not going to be an All Star. He’s never made a Midsummer Classic roster and I don’t expect that to change. His OPS+ in his five years with the Phillies is remarkably consistent: 85, 103, 86, 96, 98. Over the last three years, his OPS has hovered between .671 and .736. His 36 doubles were a career high this season, so that’s great, but the inconsistency and his 2-3 month death spirals are a bit hard to take.
He’s not alone.
The players on the 2026 roster that finished with the lowest OPS+ of any team in baseball this season has a mountain to climb in order to be a top-10 unit. Even in a year in which offense was depressed, the Phillies were still among the most punchless in baseball. At his year-end presser, Dombrowski pointed to position player coaches seemingly not using the data sent to them by the analytics team to its fullest capacity.
“They supply good information that we are looking to improve upon,” he said. “I think they’re very good. They have a good foundation. For example, they work with [pitching coach] Caleb [Cotham] all the time. From the pitching perspective, we’re known as being very progressive.
“It’s not only how you get the information, but then how other people want to use it, too. That is information we need to do a better job at using. That’s not the analytic people’s fault. That’s something we need to do a better job and emphasize on ourselves.”
To be clear, I’m all for the move to replace Kevin Long as hitting coach, but his successor is going to need players with actual upside in order to turn things around.
Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are a good place to start. The Phillies were the only team in baseball to have two players in the top-15 of OPS (Harper 13th, Schwarber 15th). Harper’s 2026 numbers are almost identical to his “non-elite” season of 2025. Schwarber’s brutal second half prevented him from matching his otherworldly power numbers from the season prior, but they were still very good. Both players turn 34 next year. The best we can hope for is that they maintain their current output.
Incredibly, only six players (Harper, Schwarber, Stott, Derek Hill, Edmundo Sosa and Brandon Marsh) finished with a WAR that was better than replacement level. Three of them were bench players, and Marsh was, statistically speaking, the worst player in baseball after the All Star Game. The following players all had WARs either at 0.o or were in negative territory:
J.T. Realmuto (0.0), Trea Turner (-0.1), Bryan De La Cruz (-0.1), Luis Arraez (-0.1), Justin Crawford (-0.2), Alec Bohm (-0.2), Garrett Stubbs (-0.5), Felix Reyes (-0.6), Gabriel Rincones, Jr. (-0.7), Rafael Marchan (-0.7), Otto Kemp (-0.7), Adolis Garcia (-0.8).
And only four players finished with an OPS better than .750: Harper (.865), Schwarber (.857), Hill (.783) and De La Cruz (.762). Again, only two of them were regulars.
The veterans on this team are what they are. Not a single one overachieved last year and the vast majority underachieved. Below is the OPS change from their 2023-25 numbers to what they generated in ‘26.
Trea Turner (-.123)
J.T. Realmuto (-.122)
Brandon Marsh (-.074)
Alec Bohm (-.065)
Bryce Harper (-.016)
Kyle Schwarber (-.009)
This lineup is a collection of free swingers. There is no patience, there is no plan at the plate, they just swing. Here is where they rank in terms of swing percentage since their first playoff berth in 2022:
2022: 48.3% (T-10th most)
2023: 48.4% (9th-most)
2024: 48.7% (8th-most)
2025: 48.7% (4th-most)
2026: 48.3% (6th-most)
In 2026, the best offenses in baseball were also the most patient.
The Brewers, who won 103 games and are playing in the World Series starting Friday night, swung at 43.7% of pitches this year, the lowest number in baseball. The NL’s best offensive team in the regular season, the Cubs, swung the second-least, 45.2%. The Guardians, one of baseball’s final four this year, swung 46.1% of the time, 5th-lowest, and the Dodgers’ 46.2% was 7th-lowest.
Milwaukee, as the 2025 No. 1 seed entering the playoffs, also finished with the lowest swing rate in baseball, 45.0%. The Dodgers were 4th-lowest, and they won it all. The AL-pennant winning Blue Jays had the 5th-highest swing rate, 48.6%, just below the Phillies’, and the Phils’ high swing rate didn’t prevent them from finishing the second-best record in the NL a season ago, so it’s not always a one-to-one correspondence.
But if you’re going to swing a lot, you better hit for a lot of power. In 2025, the Phils’ .431 team slugging was 4th-highest and they hit the 9th-most home runs, Toronto’s team .265 average was baseball’s best and their .427 slugging was 7th. This season, Toronto slugged .381, 26th in MLB, while the Phils’ .395 slugging was 24th. Toronto also swung a ton without much impact, 49.2% of the time, 5th-most in baseball.
In Philly and Toronto, you had two lineups who swung a lot and didn’t do much with all those swings. You can’t ask a lineup that is hard-wired to swing a lot to suddenly grow more patient and swing less.
Sure, it may work for a time. The three weeks in the beginning of August where the Phils suddenly morphed into a more patient lineup was bliss. Not coincidentally, the offense had its best stretch of the season, and the team had its most successful month overall. But it only lasted for those three weeks. Once teams adjusted and the calendar flipped to September/October, the hacking Phillies couldn’t resist their natural impulses.
Which brings us back to Dombrowski and his off-season plan. I am sure there will be attempts to bring new players onto the roster, but the degree to which he will make changes, at this point, feels slight. There’s a chance they bring Bohm back on a qualifying offer. They’ve already committed to Turner remaining at shortstop to start the season. They’re talking up Aidan Miller, who missed virtually the entire 2026 season with a back injury, and Bryan Rincon, who has never played above AA, as offensive contributors for 2027.
“We need to complement those guys with some other players,” Dombrowski said at his year-end presser. “So that will be our goal. Some of them may come internally. I’m not going to put it on his back, but we think a guy like [Philadelphia’s No. 2 and MLB’s No. 59 overall prospect] Aidan Miller is a really, really good player. You see all the young players that have jumped into playing this year and the years that they had. Aidan Miller, when he’s healthy, he’s as good as any of them.”
Everyone hopes Miller and Rincon will be ready to make an impact at the big league level, but it’s a strategy based more on hope than real conviction at this point.
Schwarber and Harper can be the front runners of a solid offense, but they need players around them who either see more pitches and swing less, or double down on power. Too often this team swung a lot with little power behind it.
Perhaps a new hitting coach that makes better use of data can do that. It’s more likely 2-3 parts of the batting order needs to be replaced by different players, with a stronger bench that will allow the regulars more days off to keep them fresh.
While the one-year deal reaffirmed the team’s commitment to the four-time champion, it raised questions about Green’s future with the team, and in the NBA, beyond the 2026-27 season.
Green reiterated in an interview with CNBC’s Alex Sherman that he wants to spend his entire career with the Warriors but also stated that this will not be the final season of his career.
“I would love to retire a Golden State Warrior; however, I also would love to play basketball next year,” Green said. “So if that’s not here, I’m not going to retire. But in saying that, I would love for that to be here.
“It’s such a rare thing to be on one team for your entire career, and if I can accomplish that feat, I would love to do it.”
Green’s love for the franchise is clear, but he also acknowledged that he doesn’t have the “luxury that Steph Curry has” of a guaranteed future spot on the Warriors roster if that is what he desires.
He understands that the franchise has a business decision to make next offseason regarding roster construction.
“Number one, I understand the business,” Green explained. “I do know that this is a business and the organization is going to make the best decision from a business standpoint. If I fit into that equation: great. If I don’t: great.
“But I’m extremely grateful for the journey that I’ve been on here, and I’m going to enjoy this year like it’s my last, even if it isn’t.”
The possibility that it is his last year with Golden State is not something he ignores.
“I think I’d be crazy to not think that that’s a possibility,” Green said. “In saying that, I don’t approach every day like this is my last year here. But to say that that’s not a possibility; I’d be fooling myself.”
Above all else, Green is content with playing a key part of the Warriors since the beginning of his career in 2012.
“If 14-and-a-half years ago you handed me a sheet of paper that said ‘Hey, not only are you going to player 15 years in the NBA, but you’re going to play 15 years with one team?’ I would have taken that sheet of paper so fast – sign me up as fast as you can,” Green said. “So, I’m not going to get to year 15 in this place and have any ill-will or any ill-feelings towards this maybe [being] my last year.”
Green is clearly appreciative of his time as a Warrior. And even if the powers that be decide that this is his last year with the franchise, it does not appear that it will be his last year playing basketball.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 20: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts during the game against the New York Knicks on October 20, 2026 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Whenever there are star-laden rosters rolled out in the NBA, skeptics of said rosters often have the same critiques.
“There’s only one ball.”
“Too many egos.”
“Good luck getting that guy to take a back seat to anyone.”
The NBA has long been powered by its stars and while it seems as if the narrative in recent years has changed, particularly with a team like New York winning an NBA championship last season primarily due to its stellar depth, top-end talent will always garner a lot of conversation in the NBA. The Sixers have a ton of it. It was fair to question how quickly all of the talent would mesh and come together, but if the season opener at Madison Square Garden was an indication, chemistry isn’t going to be a problem for this season’s Philadelphia 76ers.
Every Sixer in the starting lineup, besides VJ Edgecombe who attempted the fewest number of field goals amongst the five, had at least five assists in the 106-100 victory over New York. The Sixers committed fewer turnovers than a Knicks team that was returning the bulk of its roster that won last season’s title. Philadelphia also had 24 fastbreak points to 16 for the Knicks. These are all statistical categories that indicate a strong degree of togetherness and selflessness on the court.
On Tuesday night, the Sixers did not look like a team that was still trying to figure out how to put the puzzle pieces together. They also did not beat the Knicks due to a hot shooting night that could just be chalked up to randomness. Philly shot just 28% from the three-point line in the win. They did so with two high-profile new starters in the lineup in LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. They closed out a close game on the road against an opponent that’s owned them in recent seasons including two of the last three postseasons. So if they can do all of that in their first game together against the reigning champions, maybe it’s easy to see why there was so much hype around this team.
Inevitably, there are going to be overtures, if they haven’t started already, from fans about coach Nick Nurse’s overreliance on the starting five. Every starter played at least 33 minutes in the opener. There are another 81 regular season games to go plus what the franchise hopes is a deep playoff run. Managing minutes is not a novel concept for Nurse, but how good will he be at it this season? It’s a fair question.
Will Mike Gansey be able to find a backup center to Joel Embiid after losing Ariel Hukporti for the year before the season started? Finding some consistent outside shooting from the wing also figures to be the easiest way to get James some rest throughout the marathon that is the regular season.
Surely, there are still things the Sixers will have to figure out during the season as they’re not going to waltz to an NBA championship. But playing into June was on everyone’s minds before this season started and the victory on Tuesday night in New York showed us why. Chemistry and cohesion are usually things that only get better as the season goes on and if that’s the case for this group, we might be in for a very special next 6-8 months, Sixers fans.
