One of Jimmy Butler’s closest confidants hopes disgruntled Heat fans can let bygones be bygones after the star forward’s return to Miami on Tuesday night.
Butler, now a member of the Warriors, will return to Kaseya Center for the first time since the blockbuster trade to Golden State on Feb. 5, and his agent, Bernie Lee, hopes the big matchup can help heal any resentment some Heat fans might have toward Butler after his rocky exit from the organization this season.
“My hope is Tuesday is cathartic for everyone,” Lee told the Miami Herald. “If you have some anger in your heart, get it out. Get it all out. But once that’s all released, my hope is we get to the next step, which is appreciation. Appreciation for a pretty incredible five years together.
“One unfortunate aspect of sports is the amount of change. Nothing ever stays the same and everything has a time limit. We hit ours, but once we get a bit of distance from the separation, what will hopefully remain is a really immense feeling of accomplishment and the profound connection Jimmy had with this city and community at large. He was the right person at the right time. And over time, I think more and more, we will all see and appreciate that.”
Lee found himself at the center of the Butler-Heat saga when he publicly refuted a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania about the then-Heat star preferring to be traded to either the Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks or Houston Rockets.
Alright listen. I gave you a pass yesterday because I was busy but if you don’t stop putting my name on your complete and utter made up bullshit because you know you normally arent worth my time to acknowledge.. (continued) https://t.co/1KOXza9kUI
Butler eventually was dealt to Golden State (41-30), which has gone 16-4 since his debut with the Warriors on Feb. 8, and is surging toward an NBA playoff spot.
Meanwhile, the Heat (30-41) have gone 5-17 since trading Butler and are clinging on to the final NBA play-in tournament spot.
Mike Bibby won an NCAA title as a player at Arizona in 1997 and then starred in the NBA for 14 seasons, with his biggest success coming in seven seasons with the Kings.
Steph Curry will miss his second consecutive Warriors game as he continues to deal with a pelvic injury.
Curry, who was upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s contest against the Miami Heat, officially was ruled out of the team’s second game of a six-game road trip.
Steph Curry is now OUT tonight against the Heat @NBCSWarriors
Curry sustained the pelvic bruise when he took a hard fall to the ground during the second half of last week’s win over the Toronto Raptors. An MRI confirmed he sustained a pelvic contusion but avoided any structural damage.
He didn’t travel with the team to Atlanta for its first game of the road trip, in which the Warriors fell 124-115 to the Hawks and 7-4 while playing without their star point guard this season. Curry joined the Warriors in Miami where his status was upgraded before ultimately being ruled out.
Golden State (41-30) is in the midst of a pivotal six-game road trip as the Warriors cling to the Western Conference’s No. 6 playoff seed in a jam-packed postseason race. After Miami, they’ll face the New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers before returning home to battle the Denver Nuggets.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday the team expects Curry to play against the Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
In his 16th season, Curry is averaging 24.2 points on 44.7-percent shooting from the field and 39.4 percent from 3-point range, with 4.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists through 60 games.
A leadoff hitter has the potential to set an immediate tone when stepping into the box for the first time.
And Jimmy Rollins certainly knows a thing or two about what it means to have your name sit at the top of a batting order … considering nearly 70 percent of his games played as a Phillie placed him first in the lineup.
Rollins, the Phillies’ all-time hits leader, who also has the most leadoff home runs in franchise history (46), sat down with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark and shared who his choice would be if he had a say in constructing the 2025 lineup.
“I would like to see (Trea Turner) lead off, get him a chance to get on base,” Rollins said on the Takeoff podcast. “Run the bases, put pressure on for the big boys, when (Bryce Harper) gets up there and (Kyle Schwarber) hitting those bombs. That’s what I would like, but I don’t make those decisions, that’s above my pay grade.”
Since the Phillies signed Turner to an 11-year, $300 million contract in December 2022, the leadoff spot has been one of the most debated topics surrounding the offense.
Schwarber, who will be a free agent at the end of the 2025 season, has been a non-conventional approach at the top of the order. Where he lacks in speed, he’s makes up for it with immediate impact. In the leadoff spot in 2024, Schwarber led the league in walks and broke an MLB record with leadoff home runs in a single season (15).
But does having that power from the jump actually help or hinder the club?
“Schwarber is a good hitter, he’s patient at the plate,” Rollins said. “But when he’s on base in front of Trea, that kind of slows Trea down for obvious reasons. Why not turn those home runs into two- and three-run home runs?
“I know they say you lead off once a game but it does change the way a pitcher and the other team sets up how they face the lineup. When you have speed at the top and power throughout, it’s different than having power in the beginning — which they have power all throughout — but there’s an attack plan from the first batter.
“I still like setting up a guy that can hit a ball in the gap, you’re still going to get more hits than home runs. You hit the ball in the gap, Trea scores. Trea hits a ball in the gap, Schwarber’s not scoring. And that’s what I like.”
It’s still up in the air who will hold the leadoff spot when the Phillies head to Washington Thursday to open the season against the Nationals. There’s also the possibility of alternating the two, depending on the opposing pitcher.
Only a few more days until hypotheticals turn into something more tangible.
Just days before Phillies Opening day, John Clark sits down with Jimmy Rollins to discuss who should lead off for the Phillies this season and if the Phils are the team to beat in the NL East. Plus, we look ahead to J-Roll being inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame this season.
00:00 – Jimmy Rollins 00:31 – Who’s leading off? 05:19 – Staying hot in the playoffs 08:14 – Who’s the team to beat? 09:50 – Phillies Wall of Fame 13:13 – Dick Allen going into the Hall of Fame
Minnesota agreed to a six-year contract with the Twin Cities-area native and former student manager for the Gophers who had the Rams within one basket of the Sweet 16.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani delivers a pitch during a spring training in Phoenix on Feb.18. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The first time Shohei Ohtani attempted to return from a Tommy John surgery, it did not initially go well.
In July 2020, more than 22 months removed from his first ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction as a rookie in 2018, Ohtani took the mound at Oakland Coliseum and failed to record an out, instead giving up five runs to the Athletics on three hits and three walks before being removed after 30 ineffective pitches.
A week later, in an Angels home game against the Houston Astros, the right-hander struggled again, needing 50 pitches to record five outs while giving up two more runs and issuing a staggering five walks.
Over the rest of that year’s 60-game season, Ohtani did not pitch again, getting shut down on the mound shortly after his second start when an MRI revealed a sprained flexor pronator mass in his right forearm. At no point during that pandemic-shortened campaign did Ohtani’s swing look right either, with the future three-time MVP posting MLB career-lows in batting average (.190), slugging percentage (.366) and OPS (.657).
They know Ohtani could probably be ramping up as a pitcher more quickly right now. They believe that once he returns to the mound, he will look more like the Cy Young-caliber talent he was from 2021-2023, when he rebounded from his dismal 2020 performance by going 34-16 with a 2.84 ERA over the next three years.
But for a team that possesses an otherwise deep starting pitching staff and is primarily counting on Ohtani’s bat to help spearhead its World Series title defense, the Dodgers have taken an increasingly cautious approach to the two-way star’s pitching plan.
Tuesday marks one full month since Ohtani last threw a bullpen session. And while he is scheduled to get off a mound again on Saturday — in what would be his first bullpen since Feb. 25 — there remains no hard timeline for when he might eventually join the Dodgers’ rotation.
At this stage, there doesn’t really need to be.
“Once he gets through the ‘pen on Saturday, then we’ll have a better idea of what a plan looks like,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I don’t really want to speculate too much. It’s hard to do that.”
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani warms up with pitchers and catchers during a spring training workout in Phoenix on Feb. 11. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
This all marks a shift in tone from where the Dodgers were before the start of spring training, when Roberts initially targeted May, if not sooner, for Ohtani to be pitching in big-league games again.
That timeline tracked through the first several weeks of camp, with Ohtani completing four bullpen sessions in his first month at Camelback Ranch.
However, as soon as the slugger — who is also coming back from offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left non-throwing shoulder — began playing in Cactus League games near the end of February, his bullpen sessions suddenly stopped.
Not because of an injury, the team insisted. Not because of dead arm or fatigue, either. In fact, during a news conference in Tokyo last week, Ohtani said his throwing program was going so well, he actually had the luxury to dial it back amid the logistical challenges of the team’s season-opening trip to Japan.
“This is according to plan,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “I’m actually quite pleased with how things have been going.”
So why did Ohtani slow down his pitching ramp-up? And why is his timeline to returning to the mound suddenly so unclear?
Because, he acknowledged, right now he wants “to prioritize the hitting aspect” of his game. In the Dodgers’ view, any production they get from Ohtani’s pitching this year is something of a bonus. And in order to avoid the pitfalls he experienced in 2020, and avoid any added injury risk that could impact his performance or availability as a hitter this year, both the player and team seem content with allowing him to take his time completing his throwing program.
“Because things have been going according to plan,” Ohtani said, “this is a time where I can actually get a breather.”
Shohei Ohtani takes a swing at the plate during a game against the Cubs at the Tokyo Dome on March 18. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Ohtani’s return to pitching this season always figured to be complicated. Throughout last season, Ohtani slowly increased his post-Tommy John throwing program, coming close to the point of once again facing hitters in live batting practice. But in October, he and the team decided to hold off on any live sessions until after the postseason, not wanting to risk over-stressing his body during his first career appearance in the playoffs.
When Ohtani tore his labrum sliding into second base in Game 2 of the World Series, it further delayed his timeline, requiring him to spend the early part of the winter rehabbing that injury after undergoing surgery in the first week of November.
Because of that, the long-awaited completion of Ohtani’s pitching recovery process will require some rehab gymnastics during this coming regular season.
But neither Ohtani nor the Dodgers want him to miss time as the team’s everyday designated hitter in order to go out on such a rehab stint. Thus, at some point, he will begin building up through simulated games likely to take place hours before he hits in a big-league game. His first time hitting and pitching in the same contest probably won’t come until he makes his full return as a two-way player in the big leagues.
While inevitable, it will create the kind of burdensome schedule that could invite a whole host of variables, putting the 30-year-old superstar in a situation he hasn’t experienced before in the majors.
“We don’t really have a template or road map or even experience, really, dealing with a guy with a two-way situation,” pitching coach Mark Prior said earlier this month. “So we’re leaning on him, on how he’s feeling.”
Even though Ohtani has declared he feels good — so much so, he began re-incorporating a wind-up back into his delivery during his spring bullpens — the risk of ramping up too quickly, or routinely hitting pitching velocities his surgically repaired elbow might not yet be fully ready to handle, continues to outweigh the rewards of having him back on the mound sooner.
Remember, the Dodgers’ pitching staff should be good even without Ohtani. The team returns last year’s co-aces, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow. They added two more potential aces, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, in free agency this offseason. And they have ample depth behind them, from Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin (who are coming back from their own elbow surgeries), to Landon Knack, Bobby Miller and, at some point, Clayton Kershaw (who is also expected to miss the first couple months of the season while recovering from offseason toe and knee surgeries).
What the Dodgers really want is to have Ohtani available as a potential impact pitching option come the stretch run of the season.
And though Roberts said the team “would bank that right now” when asked about the potential of Ohtani making 18-20 starts this season, it would not be a surprise if he only makes roughly half that amount during the next six months.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani puts on his elbow pads next to catcher Will Smith during a preseason game against the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“This is a long-term play for Shohei’s well-being, so [we’re] making sure that we’re as cautious and careful as we possibly can be,” Roberts said. “For 2025, the most important piece of this is having him be able to do both through the end of the season, and through October.”
That might come as a disappointment to Dodgers fans who have yet to experience Ohtani’s pitching talents. It’s a sacrifice Ohtani himself will have to accept, marking the first time in his MLB career he hasn’t rushed back to full-time two-way duties as quickly as possible.
But if it means he and the Dodgers can avoid the kind of struggles he endured in 2020, it’s a trade-off everyone involved appears happy to make.
“The main thing is, we always [want to] have the guys at the end of the season,” Prior reiterated. “There are a lot of variables that are unique to his situation. So I think it’s just about having an open mind and trying to be cautiously optimistic and take the right approach.”
DENVER, CO - MARCH 24: Russell Westbrook (4) of the Denver Nuggets misses a three pointer as the Chicago Bulls lead 126-119 during the fourth quarter of the Bulls’ 129-119 win at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Denver Post via Getty Images
Russell Westbrook has scored a lot of points in a lot of different ways over his Hall of Fame career, but the book on defending him remains the same: If he wants to shoot a 3-pointer, let him.
As he has throughout his 17-year career, Westbrook proved that book on him wrong on Monday night, hitting a logo 3-pointer that moved him past Kevin Garnett for 20th on the NBA All-Time scoring list.
A LOGO TRIPLE TO JOIN THE TOP-20 ON THE ALL-TIME SCORING LIST
Westbrook should move past Celtics legends John Havlicek and Paul Pierce on that list early next season.
Westbrook is a two-time NBA scoring champion as well as the 2017 NBA MVP, a nine-time All-NBA player and All-Star who has had a legendary career. His being in the top 20 in scoring all-time just seems fitting.
The Buffalo Sabres have announced that forward Isak Rosen has been recalled from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In addition, forward Brett Murray has been re-assigned to Rochester.
Rosen, 22, was just loaned to Rochester by the Sabres on March 18. Now, he is heading back to the Sabres' NHL roster, where he will look to make an impact. In three games this season with Buffalo, the 2021 first-round pick has zero points and a minus-2 rating.
At the AHL level with Rochester, Rosen has been excellent. In 55 games this campaign, he has set new AHL career highs with 27 goals, 27 assists, and 54 points. This includes three points in his last three games with Rochester.
Murray, on the other hand, was called up by the Sabres on March 15. He appeared in his first three NHL games of the season during this call-up, posting zero points, three hits, and a minus-2 rating.
Murray will now once be a key part of Rochester's forward group down the stretch following his demotion. In 55 games this season with the AHL squad, he has 23 goals, 40 points, and a plus-11 rating.
New Laver Cup Team Europe vice-captain won’t be moving into coaching even if he does like the look of Jack Draper
Tim Henman says he has no intention of following Andy Murray’s lead into full‑time coaching despite being appointed the new vice-captain of Team Europe at the Laver Cup. From this year, Henman will act as a mentor to some of the best players in the world alongside the team captain, Yannick Noah, the 1983 French Open champion.
“I think coaching is a far bigger commitment in terms of time, in terms of travel, and I’ve had those offers, but it just doesn’t appeal to me,” Henman said. “And that may change. I would never shut the door on coaching an individual player. I was involved in the ATP Cup, but that was a very specific event.
Here are Mets and Yankees predictions from SNY staff and contributors for final records, team MVP, and more for the 2025 MLB season...
Andy Martino, SNY MLB Insider
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.40 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Luisangel Acuña Where will Mets finish in NL East? First What will Mets' final record be? 93-69
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What willMax Fried's ERA be? 3.00 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 88-74
Todd Zeile, SNY Mets Analyst
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs forPete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 2.79 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Luisangel Acuña Where will Mets finish in NL East? First What will Mets' final record be? 93-69
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.05 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 97-65
Jim Duquette, SNY Mets Analyst
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.75 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 90-72
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.25 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 92-70
Terry Collins, SNY Mets Analyst
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.25 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Luisangel Acuña Where will Mets finish in NL East? First What will Mets' final record be? 97-65
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Paul Goldschmidt Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.72 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 93-69
Our SNY staff and contributors all have the Mets winning at least 89 games this season ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/14FtvDpoaI
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.86 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? First What will Mets' final record be? 97-65
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Cody Bellinger Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.89 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 89-73
John Harper, SNY Contributor
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 2.98 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Third What will Mets' final record be? 91-71
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.18 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Third What will Yankees' final record be? 90-72
Anthony McCarron, SNY Contributor
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.65 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Third What will Mets' final record be? 89-73
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.15 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Third What will Yankees' final record be? 88-74
Dani Wexelman, SNY Contributor
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.50 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Luisangel Acuña Where will Mets finish in NL East? Third What will Mets' final record be? 89-73
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.20 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 89-73
Hannah Keyser, SNY Contributor
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Under Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.83 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 89-73
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Max Fried Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.49 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 89-73
Will the Mets, Braves or Phillies win the NL East in 2025?
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Under Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.70 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 91-71
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.96 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Second What will Yankees' final record be? 85-77
Joe DeMayo, The Mets Pod Co-host
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Under Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Over What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.33 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 95-67
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Over Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.18 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 98-64
Danny Abriano, SNY Manager of Editorial Production
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Francisco Lindor Over/under .950 OPS forJuan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs forPete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.49 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 94-68
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Under What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.38 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Third What will Yankees' final record be? 91-71
Alex Smith, SNY Editorial Producer
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Over Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.89 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Nolan McLean Where will Mets finish in NL East? Second What will Mets' final record be? 92-70
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Cody Bellinger Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 3.04 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Will Warren Where will Yankees finish in AL East? Third What will Yankees' final record be? 88-74
Phillip Martinez, SNY Editorial Producer
Who will the Mets' MVP be? Juan Soto Over/under .950 OPS for Juan Soto? Under Over/under 40 home runs for Pete Alonso? Under What will Clay Holmes' ERA be? 3.95 Which prospect will have the biggest MLB impact? Brandon Sproat Where will Mets finish in NL East? Third What will Mets' final record be? 90-72
Who will the Yankees' MVP be? Aaron Judge Over/under 50 home runs for Aaron Judge? Under Over/under 25 home runs for Cody Bellinger? Over What will Max Fried's ERA be? 2.86 Which prospect will make the biggest MLB impact? Jasson Dominguez Where will Yankees finish in AL East? First What will Yankees' final record be? 93-69
Mar 24, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) lays on the ground after suffering an injury against the Sacramento Kings in the third quarter at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Hopefully, this will not be as bad as it looked when it happened.
Boston's Jayson Tatum had to leave the game in Sacramento in the third quarter after he pulled up for a 3-pointer over Domantas Sabonis and came down on the foot of the Kings' center, rolling his ankle. Sabonis' reckless closeout took away Tatum's landing space and he was given a Flagrant 1 foul for it.
Jayson Tatum went down in significant pain after this closeout by Domantas Sabonis.
Tatum left the game not to return but left the arena that night without a boot or crutches, telling ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne his ankle was “just sore.” Still, with just 10 games left in the Celtics' regular season and the team essentially locked into the No. 2 seed, there is no reason to push him to return. Expect Boston to be cautious with his return and Tatum to get some nights off to rest his ankle down the stretch of the season.
After the game, Sabonis apologized for the closeout and injury.
Domantas Sabonis feels "horrible" for the play that injured Jayson Tatum in tonight's game pic.twitter.com/nXyQYYpjt0
Boston went on to win the game comfortably, 113-95, and Tatum was still the leading scorer with 25 points, plus he dished out eight assists. Payton Pritchard had 22 points off the bench, and Kristaps Porzingis had 16 points and eight rebounds.
This was the Kings third loss in a row and they are now just half-a-game ahead of No. 10 seed Phoenix. Zach LaVine said after the game, "The vibe is not good."
