It’s Sunday, April 27, and the Boston Celtics (61-21) and Orlando Magic (41-41) are all set to square off from Kia Center in Orlando.
Orlando won Game 3, 95-93, in a last-second thriller holding off Boston. Paolo Banchero (29) and Franz Wagner (32) combined for 61 of the Magic's 95 points, while Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 36 points in his return after missing Game 2.
The Celtics are currently 33-8 on the road with a point differential of 9, while the Magic have a 4-6 record in their last ten games at home. We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Celtics vs. Magic live today
Date: Sunday, April 27, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Site: Kia Center
City: Orlando, FL
Network/Streaming: TNT
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.
Game odds for Celtics vs. Magic
The latest odds as of Sunday:
Odds: Celtics (-275), Magic (+223)
Spread: Celtics -6.5
Over/Under: 197 points
That gives the Celtics an implied team point total of 100.88, and the Magic 97.49.
Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!
Expert picks & predictions for Sunday’s Celtics vs. Magic game
Rotoworld Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes the Celtics to cover the first-half spread of -3.5:
"This has been a grind-it-out series where both teams haven't been that efficient from the field. However, one of my favorite angles on the Celtics is backing them off a loss. In the first half, Boston has led at half once (by 3) and trailed twice, so a good start is crucial to taking Game 4 and going back to Boston with a chance to close it out. Jayson Tatum looked good in his return (36 points on 10-of-22) and if Jrue Holiday is back in the lineup (missed Game 3), Boston's defense will improve."
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Celtics & Magic game:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Boston Celtics on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Orlando Magic at +6.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 197.
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions pagefrom NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!
Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Celtics vs. Magic on Sunday
The Celtics have won 4 of their last 5 matchups against Eastern Conference Southeast Division teams
Each of the Celtics' last 5 road games with the Magic have stayed under the Total
The Magic have covered the Spread in 6 of their last 8 games at home
The Celtics' record in their last 10 road games stands at 9-1
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) - Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) - Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) - Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
According to this report, Quenneville has been offered the head coach position with the Ducks. However, it's not official as Quenneville is still deciding if he wants the position.
Other teams have reportedly offered him a position in their organization.
Quenneville has a history with the Avalanche. He began his NHL coaching career as an assistant with the Quebec Nordiques in 1994. After one year, they moved to Colorado and were renamed the Avalanche. He remained with the team for another two years following the move.
He became the head coach of the St. Louis Blues in the 1996-97 season. After eight years there, he moved on to coach the Avalanche. Quenneville spent three seasons (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08) with the Avalanche. In two of those three seasons, they lost in the second round of the playoffs. In the middle season, they didn’t make the playoffs.
Joel Quenneville's Coaching Qualifications
Quenneville has 25 years of coaching experience. This, combined with his three Stanley Cups as a head coach, is why he is highly sought after to coach in the NHL (again).
The Chicago Blackhawks have a number of defensemen that they have to figure out what to do with ahead of next season. While the team hasn't pulled out of the rebuild yet, more than enough young talent is flooding the NHL and deserving of playing time.
This makes it so the Blackhawks have some tough decisions to make. There is room for seven defensemen on the roster and Chicago has 10 who have played NHL games and can play more as soon as next season.
This list includes Alex Vlasic, Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov, Kevin Korchinski, Wyatt Kaiser, Connor Murphy, TJ Brodie, Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan, and Louis Crevier.
Three don't have to go, but 1-2 may be on their way out.
The first and most likely on his way out is Brodie. He wasn't utilized in the latter half of the season and his game has fallen off from his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He ended the season with 54 games played, had two goals and 10 points, was a -18, and logged 15:38 per game. The only d-man on the Blackhawks who averaged fewer minutes per game in the NHL this season was Allan, and he's 21 years old and still played 43 games of better hockey than the veteran.
Brodie will have to go via a buyout. As the Blackhawks are a team other teams would look at to take on bad contracts, it doesn't make sense for them to waste an asset moving the final year of the veteran's contract when cap space isn't a concern. Buying Brodie out wouldn't be a difficult thing to do at all. The only other way I can see this going is if the Blackhawks just bury him in the minors, but he'll take up playing time over a young defenseman if they do that.
The Blackhawks can't have zero veterans left on the team with Alec Martinez already announcing his retirement. That should mean there is a good chance Murphy is kept around through at least the first half of the season. He has one year left on his deal and if the Blackhawks were to trade anyone at the deadline next season, it would be him. That would make 23-year-old Vlasic the veteran on defense, but we've seen that kind of look on the back-end with the Buffalo Sabres this season. It's better to play the young players than to have to move them or lose them.
Vlasic, Levshunov, and Rinzel are seemingly untouchable at this time, but I wouldn't say the same for Kaiser, Del Mastro, Allan, and Korchinski. I think Korchinski, being drafted as high as he did and still so young, deserves a much longer look and leash. All four should be safe for now and rotated into the lineup. That leaves Crevier.
He is a RFA, the only one on defense, is 23 years old, and is a former seventh rounder. I don't just write off players drafted that late, but if there is an easiest player to go out of the young bunch, it would be him. The other way to look at it is that the Blackhawks don't have anyone else coming on defense, so Crevier could be brought back and played here and there or used as a depth body.
Tough decisions do have to be made and sometimes the wrong ones are made with so much young talent coming in all at once. You can never be certain who is going to pop off and who is going to fizzle out so early in their pro careers. Fortunately, major decisions don't have to be made for the Blackhawks yet.
We asked for your views on as Glasgow Warriors suffered defeat and Edinburgh drew in their weekend of URC action.
Here's what some of you said:
Glasgow Warriors 19-26 Bulls
Ben: After Glasgow's trip to South Africa last year, I felt very deflated and went into the play-offs feeling hopeful more than anything. I probably feel a bit worse this year. The only reason to be hopeful is that our missing players come back strong, but we will likely need to go away to South Africa in a semi-final, then away to Leinster in a final - tough ask!
Alistair: Warriors didn't have a plan B to counter Bulls' impressive defence. Tactical field kicking was poor as it simply returned the advantage to Bulls. I wouldn't criticise Tom Jordan for kicking the penalty dead but I would for the decision not to take the three points. Three on the board would have kept them in the game and have had the ball returned to them. Warriors looked the fitter of the two teams but just need to make better on-field decisions. The return of Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu can't come soon enough.
Anthony: It looked like a game too far for the injury-depleted Warriors squad. They struggled to break the gain line against a ferocious Bulls defence. Bulls coaching staff deserve credit for getting their tactics spot on and not allowing Warriors to play their normal, expansive attacking game. Bulls also had Johan Goosen as a very good goal kicker, while Jordan had a night to forget. Full credit to Warriors to show the heart and desire to claim an important bonus point right at the end. Worrying injuries to Kyle Rowe and Gregor Brown, but is was good to see Scott Cummings back on the field. This match was a brilliant learning curve for many of the younger squad members against a very good, physical Bulls team. Warriors have earned their two-week break before the Benetton match, which is a must win.
Bert: The Bulls scrum dominance was a major issue for Warriors. No matter how good your backs are they are going to struggle behind that weakness. While Warriors' penalty dogma of always going to the corner can be seen as positive, it surely has to be flexible for games like this where it was all about the win. The risks were fully evident when Jordan's second-half kick flew dead, scrum penalty again, and try scored from the lineout to effectively cost us nine points.
Zebre 25-25 Edinburgh
Steve: To put some perspective on Edinburgh's fairly abject draw with Zebre, there was one very depleted looking 23 versus a pretty well-stacked Italian outfit. Zebre are a different team this year but the feeling is that's another four or five points gone abegging. I have to question the nature of the squad rotation and perhaps it's a case that Europe is indeed being prioritised. We'll have to be very, very good to beat Bath, so I hope it's worth it. It has to be because the URC is effectively over unless three or four teams all do us a massive favour. Another frustrating season so far, but in our hearts we knew it was going to be.
Domenic: Edinburgh are a basket case. Inconsistent and at times appalling to watch. Quite simply successful teams beat those below them, unsuccessful ones don't. So, when do the SRU say enough is enough and clear out the hierarchy of Edinburgh Rugby from chief executive to coaching team? A £6m budget for this? Too many years of failing to reach potential, in any other walk of life you'd be shown the door.
Just one week later, on April 26, the first sizable news around general manager Pat Verbeek’s coaching search surfaced, a somewhat surprising development considering Verbeek’s statements alluding to casting a wide net and being open to any coach at his media availability following Cronin’s firing.
“It’s much like the way I took the approach last time,” Verbeek said. “The net’s going to be cast wide. I’m not going to really eliminate any options as far as my approach to the next coach.”
On Saturday morning, ESPN’s John Buccigross sent a cryptic post on social media of side-by-side images of controversial (to say the least) three-time Stanley Cup-winning head coach Joel Quenneville and a family of Ducks.
“The job is his if he wants it, and I’d be stunned if he doesn’t take it,” Murphy’s source relayed to him. “I’d say it’s 99.999999 percent he becomes the next head coach in Anaheim.”
Roughly an hour and a half later, PHWA President Frank Seravalli from DailyFaceoff.com slightly contradicted Murphy’s report, confirming the Ducks interviewed Quenneville, but stated the team is early in their process.
“Joel Quenneville recently interviewed for the (Ducks) head coaching vacancy,” Seravalli reported on social media. “He is a strong candidate but it’s still early in the process, multiple interviews to come in Anaheim.”
Quenneville (66) sits second on the NHL’s all-time wins list for head coaches with 969. He hasn’t coached a game since Oct. 28, 2021. He resigned from his position as head coach of the Florida Panthers following the results of Jenner & Block’s investigation into the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks.
The Ducks have stated that they are not going to confirm or deny each report and rumor on candidates.
UPDATE
The IIHF U18 World Championship is underway in Frisco, Texas, the final big on-ice draft event of the season. Making up most of the attendance numbers are NHL coaches, scouts, media, and family members of players.
Sean Shapiro of DLLS Sports and Elite Prospects offered an update on the Anaheim coaching search via social media on Saturday.
“Chatter at U18s from some in the NHL coaching circles is that Anaheim has interviewed, but not offered the job to anyone,” Shapiro said.
Elliotte Friedman from SportsNet is one of the NHL's premier insiders. He gave his thoughts on Monday’s rendition of his “32 Thoughts” podcast.
“The way I understand it, he’s definitely a serious candidate there, and we’ll see if he ends up being the guy. But he’s definitely a serious candidate. I don’t think that’s the only team that’s interested in him.
“I think the Ducks are very serious about it from a hockey perspective. You’ve heard Pat Verbeek say that they want to make the playoffs next year, and that’s why I think he’s looking at Quenneville, and Quenneville is a possibility. And I think the two of them met face-to-face last week.
“The bottom line is the Ducks are considering him, and he is a very serious contender for their job.”
Despite star forward Jimmy Butler missing Game 3 due to a left pelvic contusion, the Warriors still found a way to grab a pivotal 104-93 win on Saturday night and take a 2-1 series lead over the Houston Rockets.
Now, Golden State believes that their marquee midseason addition will return to action in Monday’s Game 4, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported after Saturday’s game.
Jimmy Butler worked out on the practice court pregame, per source. Medical team held him out to give body two more days to heal, but there’s a belief he will be back for Game 4 on Monday night with the Warriors searching for 3-1 series lead over the Rockets.
The six-time NBA All-Star sustained “significant swelling” and had limited mobility, according to a report by ESPN’s Shams Charania, so an extra 48 hours of rest could be the difference in Butler’s recovery.
Tip-off for Game 4 is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday night at Chase Center, with “Warriors Pregame Live” airing from Thrive City starting at 6 p.m on NBC Sports Bay Area.
SAN FRANCISCO – Steph Curry’s longevity is on full display in the Warriors’ first-round NBA playoff series against the Rockets, as two of Houston’s top players were elite high school prospects at his own camp.
Jalen Green showed out in the summer of 2018 before his one season at Prolific Prep, the basketball academy in Napa. The same ridiculous athleticism Amen Thompson plays with today in the NBA was seen at Curry’s camp in 2022.
Thompson was talked up as the next ‘Steph Stopper’ entering the playoffs after how he helped blanket Curry in a regular-season game just two weeks before the postseason began. Curry had three points in that Warriors loss and went 1-of-10 shooting, just to drop 31 on 12-of-19 shooting with five 3-pointers in Game 1. Myth debunked, again.
When Curry broke down the Warriors’ Game 2 loss Wednesday in Houston, nothing brought out his frustration more at the podium than looking down at the box score and bringing up Green’s game. A game where Green punished Golden State with 38 points, and eight big ones in the fourth quarter.
“We just let Jalen get going a little bit, and he got free to space,” Curry said. “There’s no reason he should get up 18 threes. We gotta figure out a way to control where he is on the floor. Those are all momentum threes that kind of kept the separation. … We let him get loose.”
They didn’t Saturday night in the Warriors’ 104-93 Game 3 win, when Green scored just nine points. Curry said the Warriors had to control where Green is on the court. Message received. He was kept in check, and that usually tells the story for the Rockets.
There were a lot of known factors going into this series of what could determine the outcome. Curry always could flip a game on his own with his scoring outbursts, and how those around him shoot is ever important knowing how the Rockets guard him. The Warriors knew they needed to take care of the ball against the Rockets’ defense, and they only had 10 turnovers in Game 3, which led to 11 points for Houston. The Rockets outrebounded them again — but not by a wide margin — and the Warriors won the hustle and transition stats.
How they went after Green also made all the difference for Golden State.
He isn’t Curry or Butler, but he can swing the pendulum of how this series can go nearly as much in his own regard.
“They did what they did, went after Jalen quite a bit and everybody was making him pay from there,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said.
A handful of Warriors held Green to nine points on 4-of-11 shooting, one game after he shot 13 of 25 overall. Green made eight of his 18 3-point attempts in Game 2, but took just five in Game 3 and made one. That’s how it has gone for him throughout the season, and especially against the Warriors.
His first shot of the night was a three from the top of the arc that was blocked by Draymond Green, leading to a Jonathan Kuminga dunk. The Warriors bottled his athleticism and didn’t let him get downhill consistently. He wasn’t able to create separation, taking away his outside shot essentially all night long.
Green’s four made shots came from two layups, one dunk and one three at the end of the first quarter. No fourth-quarter explosion, no heater at any point.
“We just played with more force,” Draymond said. “He kind of roamed free in Houston the other day. So we just made sure to play with more force. Not just with Jalen, though, with everybody. Just made sure they felt us a little more on the defensive end.”
In the Rockets’ 52 wins this season, Green was one of the better young players in the NBA, averaging 22.5 points on 44.6-percent shooting with a 37.1 3-point percentage. Green in those games had a 57.2 true shooting percentage, 114 offensive rating, 108 defensive rating and an average plus/minus of plus-12.7. But those numbers took a significant dip in losses.
In the 30 games the No. 2-seeded Rockets lost, Green averaged 18.4 points on 38.1-percent shooting with a 32.3 3-point percentage. When the Rockets lost, he had a 49.2 true shooting percentage, 103 offensive rating, 122 defensive rating and his average plus/minus was a minus-14.8.
The Warriors and Rockets played each other five times in the regular season, with the Warriors taking three of those games. Green in the Rockets’ two wins averaged 16.5 points, and only 10 in their three losses. The Rockets needed 38 points and eight threes from him to win Game 2, and Green has averaged 9.0 points on 26.9-percent shooting in the two games the Warriors have won.
It’s no secret how much the Rockets lack half-court scoring. NBA All-Star center Alperen Şengün, who was limited to 15 points and 11 rebounds Saturday, is going to put up numbers off his size and skills combination. Green is the one outside threat who really can get the Rockets ready for liftoff.
When Green’s stuck on the launching pad, the Warriors know the Rockets’ offense is a shell of itself, and they’ll keep throwing everything at him to keep swinging the pendulum in their favor.
Though the warmup shenanigans ahead of Game 3 in the Battle of Ontario led to disciplinary fines, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz says he didn’t even notice the sideshow despite being at the center of it.
Following Toronto’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators in Game 4, the 31-year-old was asked for the first time about the much-discussed warmup incident involving Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins. His response was surprising, considering his role in the matter.
“I mean, I didn't even notice, to be honest,” said Stolarz post-game.
The league certainly noticed.
On Friday, the NHL fined Cousins $2,083.33 – the maximum allowable under the CBA – for “unsportsmanlike conduct” during warmups. The Senators organization was also hit with a $25,000 fine for their involvement.
The fines stem from an incident ahead of Game 3 in Ottawa. During pre-game warmups, Cousins and members of the Senators sent pucks directed at Stolarz and into the Maple Leafs’ half of the ice, making it all the more surprising that he hadn’t even noticed.
The situation escalated enough to prompt an NHL investigation. A video clip, circulated on social media Friday morning, appeared to show Cousins intentionally targeting Stolarz.
Here’s what NHL is looking at from last night. “Friend of Bieksa” Nick Cousins shoots puck at Stolarz. NHL not crazy about pre-game stuff…also clamped down on funny Scheifele/Hofer standoff in Blues/Jets series pic.twitter.com/ZF08AZwdO4
Despite the headlines, both teams have somewhat dismissed the controversy. Senators head coach Travis Green downplayed the situation when speaking to reporters Friday, suggesting Cousins was simply trying to rattle an old teammate and throw him off his game.
"Nick Cousins and Stolarz have played together. I don't know. Yeah, he's probably trying to either laugh at him or make a joke or get him off his game, and it is what it is,” said Green.
Stolarz appears to agree with the popular opinion and the same sentiments as Green.
The goaltender shared locker rooms with Cousins during stints with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, and most recently during their Stanley Cup-winning run with the Florida Panthers last season.
“It's one of those things. Obviously, I know Cousy; I played with him for a number of years. So, I'm sure he didn't mean any malicious intent by it,” Stolarz explained.
When asked if he and Cousins had spoken about the incident, Stolarz offered a simple, “No.” While the league’s fines served as a message against pre-game antics, it appeared to have the desired effect. Prior to Game 4, both sides kept their distance during warmups with no issues.
Both teams have turned the page with Game 4 in the books, and for Toronto, the focus remains on closing out the first-round series. Despite Saturday’s loss, the Leafs hold a 3-1 series lead and will have a chance to finish the job again on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.
“Just keep doing what we're doing,” said Stolarz. “Like I said, I thought we played a really good game tonight. We were boxing out really well. We were getting pucks in, kind of going low to high on them. I just think if we continue that, it will be the recipe for success.
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Friday night’s game was full of twists and turns at the Bell Centre; nine goals were scored, and four goaltenders were used, a rare feat. Emergency backup goaltender Patrick Chevrefils ended up on the Montreal Canadiens’ bench, wondering if he would be called into action, but the goalie hemorrhage stopped after the starting netminders.
On Saturday afternoon, Martin St-Louis said Samuel Montembeault was still being evaluated, and Spencer Carbery, the Washington Capitals coach, said he expected to get an update on Logan Thompson later in the day. It was no great surprise. Show me a coach who’s an open book about their lineup or injuries during the NHL playoffs.
However, judging by how Thompson exited the ice without putting any weight on his left leg on Friday, he’s going to need to be Wolverine to heal in time, but that’s not unheard of. We’re talking about a hockey player here, not a footballer. As for Samuel Montembeault, he was seen gingerly going up some stairs after the game, and that’s not a good sign either.
Logic dictates that on Sunday night, Capitals backup Charlie Lindgren will be taking on the team that gave the undrafted free agent his first chance in the pro ranks at the end of his third season in the NCAA with St. Cloud State in 2015-16.
The 31-year-old has never faced the Canadiens in postseason action, but he has a 3-1-0 record against them in the regular season with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage.
As for Jakub Dobes, it’s not far-fetched to believe he’ll be back in the net after being credited with the win on Friday night. That was the first time he had faced the Capitals, or any other team in the playoffs. He gave up one goal on eight shots and finished his night with a .875 SP. The young netminder also beat Washington once in the regular season when he backstopped the Habs to a 3-2 win in D.C. in early January.
Up front, the Capitals will have to keep a close eye on the Canadiens’ top line. Cole Caufield put up two points last night, Jurja Slafkovsky scored a big goal, and across three games, the former has a staggering 19 shots on goal while the latter has 14. Rookie wonder Lane Hutson has three points in three games about Ovi and co.
As for the Habs, they’ll have to know where Alex Ovechkin is at all times. The Capitals’ captain has 14 points in just 10 games against the Canadiens, followed by Dylan Strome, who has five in three games.
Exceptionally, the game is set for 6:30 PM. Make sure not to tune in late; the intensity is ramping up quickly in this series, and who knows what could happen early.
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The Bruins are missing several key players while waiting for the transfer portal to clear, but coach DeShaun Foster and his staff are making some changes.
Despite taking a loss Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Yoshinobu Yamamoto entered Saturday ranked first in the National League in ERA (1.06), fourth in strikeouts (43) and sixth in innings pitched (34). (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
“Those two guys, that’s how it should look when you pitch,” Kershaw said a few days later. “The fluidness, the effortlessness, the way it comes out of your hand. That’s how you should throw. DeGrom and Yama are two of the best that just, like, make it look really easy.”
For deGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner and four-time All-Star, such plaudits are nothing new. But for Yamamoto, the second-year big leaguer blossoming as one of the sport’s best starters, it was a sign of how far — and how quickly — his young MLB career has progressed.
“He’s learned his way really well,” Kershaw said. “And honestly fast, for what it was.”
Last year, as a rookie with massive expectations following his record-breaking $325-million signing out of Japan, Yamamoto was good. Great at times, even. He went 7-2 with a 3.00 earned-run average. He struck out 105 in just 90 innings. He was the Dodgers’ Game 1 starter for the National League Division Series.
And yet, it often felt like something was missing. Like there was another level he couldn’t consistently reach.
“As we can all expect or imagine, there was a lot of uncertainty,” manager Dave Roberts recalled this spring of Yamamoto’s acclimation process. “I wouldn’t say anxiety. But [he was] new somewhere. And there’s expectations that everyone has.”
Entering Year 2, those expectations still were present. And one month in they’ve easily been met — if not surpassed.
Through six starts Yamamoto is all over statistical leaderboards, entering Saturday ranked first in the NL in ERA (1.06), fourth in strikeouts (43), sixth in innings pitched (34) and top-10 in both walks plus hits per inning pitched (1.00) and batting average against (.190).
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto celebrates with teammates in the dugout after throwing six scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs on April 11. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
And that was after arguably his worst start of the season Friday night, a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits and a career-high four walks over five innings in another high-profile pitchers' duel against Paul Skenes.
“Certainly there's a lot of talent,” Roberts said of Yamamoto. “But it just speaks to how great he wants to be, his own expectations, the work that he puts in to continue to stay at the top of this game."
Beyond the work, Yamamoto’s transformation has, in the view of many around the team, also come down to a few simple things: more confidence in himself, more comfort in his surroundings and more conviction on the mound.
“Today’s stuff was obviously a little bit of a struggle,” Yamamoto, ever-modest, said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda after Friday’s start. “But if I evaluate my stuff up to this game, it [hasn’t been] bad.”
Getting there required last season’s growing pains. But now he's blossoming into one of the best pitchers.
“It’s just human nature,” Kershaw said. “If you’ve been somewhere for a year, you get more comfortable, you get more acclimated. And when you have success, you gain confidence.”
After the Dodgers’ postseason opener last year, Kiké Hernández simply had a feeling.
While sitting in the dugout that night as an unused bench bat, the veteran utility man watched Yamamoto’s start against the San Diego Padres closely, trying to understand why a pitcher with so much talent had looked so out of sorts in a three-inning, five-run struggle in his postseason debut.
Hernández had long been convinced of Yamamoto’s potential, wowed by the pinpoint command of his upper-90s fastball and seemingly unhittable movement of his breaking pitches. Hernández had seen the proof of concept too, when Yamamoto blanked the New York Yankees over seven spectacular innings in the Bronx in June.
After that outing, however, Yamamoto suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for almost three months. And though he was healthy again by the time of his Game 1 start in the division series, Hernández couldn’t help but feel like the 26-year-old lacked the swaggering — or, at least, assertive — demeanor of a bona fide big league star.
“He was kinda down after Game 1,” Hernández said.
So, during the team’s day off in San Diego following Game 2, Hernández sought out Yamamoto for a one-on-one conversation — meeting with him and an interpreter from the Wasserman Media Group (the agency that represents both players) for almost two hours at a Starbucks on the ground floor of the club’s hotel.
“I just wanted to pick his brain,” Hernández said, “and know where his head was at.”
What Yamamoto shared was illuminating, expressing uncertainty about who he was as a big league pitcher and how to best deploy his arsenal against opposing lineups.
“I felt that he wasn’t very convicted with the pitches he was throwing,” Hernández said. “And he just mentioned that he was feeling a little overwhelmed.”
It was an understandable dilemma. Virtually all rookie pitchers — even those with previous professional experience in Japan — go through such an acclimation period, trying to refine raw talent into tangible results. That learning curve can be particularly steep with a club like the Dodgers, as pitchers have to balance their own personal preferences with the highly detailed game-planning information that goes into the team’s advanced scouting reports.
“When you’re throwing pitches that you don’t want to throw,” Hernández noted, “your conviction is not the same as when you are throwing a pitch that you are committed to throwing.”
Yamamoto’s season being shortened by injury to just 18 starts also detracted from that process. His language barrier with the coaching staff was yet another complication.
“I feel bad for these guys,” bench coach Danny Lehmann, a key voice in the team’s game-planning meetings, said of the challenges Yamamoto and other Japanese imports face early in their MLB careers. “The language barrier, the culture, all that stuff is just a lot. Especially going straight to the big leagues.”
Hernández, however, offered simple encouragement as the two finished coffee: Commit to throwing his best stuff and trust his premium talent would play no matter who stood in the batter’s box.
“I was like, ‘You are already one of the best pitchers on the planet,’” Hernández recounted. “But it still felt like there was more in there. And in order for him to come out and bring his best, he needed to be committed to the pitches he was throwing.”
“I owe my performance today to my teammates,” he said.
And ever since, Yamamoto hasn’t looked back.
Around the same time Yamamoto met with Hernández, he also had a breakthrough with the coaching staff.
The playoffs, Lehmann said, afforded the team’s so-called “run-prevent department” to take a deeper dive with each starting pitchers. They honed in especially close on Yamamoto, concerned he might have been tipping his pitches in his Game 1 defeat.
From that process, Lehmann recalled, “we got to get to know him a little bit better, and what he wants to do.”
“We just had more time to sit down and watch videos, like, ‘Here’s how your pitches play’ … Even the way his pitches play off each other,” the bench coach recalled. “I think he had a better sense of what we’re spewing at him, and how to decipher it.”
After his Game 5 gem, Yamamoto was solid again in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series (4⅓ innings, two runs, eight strikeouts) and terrific in Game 2 of the World Series (6⅓ innings, one run, four strikeouts), serving as the backbone of a shorthanded, championship-winning pitching staff.
“He was a different animal,” Hernández said.
It carried into spring training, when Yamamoto became an immediate standout with his renewed poise and consistent daily work ethic.
"I think it's just human nature. If you've been somewhere for a year, you get more comfortable, you get more acclimated. And when you have success, you gain confidence," said Clayton Kershaw of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, here embracing one another following Yamamoto's performance in Game 2 of the World Series. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“The way Yama throws long toss is amazing,” Kershaw said.
And over the opening month of this season, Yamamoto’s confident mound presence has been mirrored behind the scenes, the pitcher becoming more vocal in game-planning meetings and assured in his clubhouse demeanor.
“You just see, like, his body language, the way he carries himself this year, there’s so much more security in himself,” Hernández said. “When you have that confidence that, ‘Hey, I can do it. I can do it at the highest level.’ That’s what it looks like to me. He’s just so much more confident in his entire routine. He just seems very, very comfortable in his own skin.”
It was all reflected in the pride he took from last week’s duel against deGrom, outpitching the Texas Rangers star with seven shutout innings and a career-best strikeout-to-walk ratio of 10 to 0.
“He elevated his game to another level,” Roberts said. “You could see that he was going against one of the game's best in deGrom, and he obviously matched him pitch for pitch.”
It was evident again in the disappointment Yamamoto felt following Friday’s loss to the Pirates, when lacked his typical command while getting bested by Skene’s 6⅓ scoreless frames.
“I was falling behind in the count, and then I couldn’t establish my rhythm,” Yamamoto said. “I couldn’t grind through and get myself out of trouble.”
It was another lesson, but this time in a different context. No longer is Yamamoto looking for validation at the big league level. Now it’s about polishing the rest of his rapidly improving game.
“I don’t think it’s rocket science,” Kershaw said. “That’s just like life in any business, or any avenue. You get more comfortable, you get more confident, as you have success and do it.”
Then, thinking back to Yamamoto’s start against the Rangers, the future Hall of Famer paid Yamamoto one of the biggest compliments he could.
“The way he throws,” Kershaw said, “is how I think you would teach it.”
Gazza painted his artistry all over the 1991 FA Cup and his stupendous free-kick influenced the game for years
Football is an unstoppable continuum, a whirling dervish of love and hate, life and death, frequent tedium and the greatest excitement known to humanity. Because we care so much for it it feels like it cares for us back, but the painful truth is this is our imagination and self-respect saving us from acknowledging that actually, football was there before us, it’ll be there after us, and while we’re there it exists as though we don’t.
Occasionally, though, we have bestowed upon us an event that grabs us by the lapels and shrieks indelibly into our souls, the entirety of the cosmos consumed by the wonder of the game. “It tells us something we’ll always remember,” wrote director-screenwriter Randall Wallace when considering what makes something epic. “It makes us walk out of a theatre and whisper into our own hearts, ‘I’m changed.’”
Goalkeeper struggled at Newcastle but heroics in Nottingham has set up a chase for Europe on two fronts
Matz Sels might have thought his FA Cup story had ended with a humiliating defeat at League One Oxford United, in what turned out to be his final game of a forgettable spell at Newcastle. The Belgian, 33, was bought to be the club’s No 1 in 2016 but managed only 14 appearances in a turbulent period at St James’ Park before departing for the serenity of Strasbourg two years later.
In five and a half seasons in France, Sels rebuilt his career. He won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2019 and was named Ligue 1’s best goalkeeper of the 2021-22 season. His consistency alerted teams to him but he was a long way down Nottingham Forest’s shortlist when they were looking for a goalkeeper in January 2024. The £5m punt they took on him has paid off spectacularly though and Sels has an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City to look forward to on Sunday. His saves in three shootouts have helped Forest to get there.
Apr 26, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after defeating the Houston Rockets during game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
This was the game the Rockets needed to win on the road. Jimmy Butler was sitting on the bench in a brown sweat suit, out with a pelvic contusion after his fall in Game 2. The Warriors are not the same team without him.
Instead, it was the Stephen Curry show. He took over in the second half and dropped 36 on Houston’s long, athletic defense.
With that win, the Warriors are up 2-1 in the series with Game 4 in the Bay Area Monday night. Jimmy Butler could return for that game, and if the Warriors win with him, it will seem the Rockets missed their window.
The Rockets were ahead for much of the first half, with that lead growing to 13 at one point.
The spark the Warriors needed to turn things around came from Buddy Hield. He started draining 3s in the first half and cutting the Rockets’ lead down to size.
It was a rough game for Houston. This is a team built on defense, but they seemed to lose Curry and give him too much space too often. Additionally, their half-court offense stagnated much of the night.
The Warriors learned their lesson from Game 2, when Jalen Green went off for 38. They made him play in a crowd. For the game, the Rockets were led by Fred VanVleet with 17 points (13 of those in the first quarter), while Alperen Sengun added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Nobody could score enough for Houston.
Still, the Rockets fought back and even led 84-83 with 5:47 to go, but then the Warriors went on a 21-9 run to close out the game. A run fueled by Curry.
The Rockets need to find their own offensive fuel by Monday or they will find themselves on the edge of elimination.
Eventually, a home team will win a game in this series, right?
The Florida Panthers had a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their opening round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon in Sunrise, but it was the Bolts who got the best of their hosts.
Tampa’s 5-1 victory got them on the board in the series, which Florida now leads 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Monday night.
Despite the loss, there is still an opportunity for the Panthers to take control of the series if they can earn a split of their two home games.
There are a few things the Cats will need to address if they want to see a better result than they did in Game 3.
Let’s get to the takeaways.
COULDN’T BUILD ON FAST START
The Panthers were all over Tampa Bay in the early stages of Game 3.
A goal by Matthew Tkachuk and a healthy shot and possession advantage had the Cats and their fans feeling good about Game 3.
Then Brayden Point scored late in the first period, and things gradually began going better and better for the Lightning.
“We just went flat for a while,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “I liked our start, at 1-1 straight through to 2-1, misconnections on a bunch of stuff, not that far off it, but the energy was there, the drive, we tried to make some plays that didn't go for us, but even with that, there's nothing going on in really the game, it was just a quiet block of the game. They got a couple of knucklers on you and you’re down 3-1 and chasing it a little bit.”
PUCK MOVEMENT WAS LACKING
One area of their game that Florida is generally quite sharp is when it comes to taking care of the puck.
The Panthers have always been very mindful of how they move around the ice with the puck, making smart plays and limiting opposing transition opportunities.
Whether it was something Tampa was doing differently or just an off night for the home team, Florida had a hard time making some plays that they generally making, particularly in the offensive zone.
“I thought we stopped moving the puck as well as we can in close proximity to some things that didn’t get connected,” said Maurice. “That's not a hands thing, for me, that's more of an emotional thing. You start looking for something a little better, and it slowed our game. I thought how we moved the puck slowed our game down.”
"THIS WAS GOING TO BE A GRINDER"
During the first two games in Tampa, the hockey gods were smiling on the Panthers.
The majority of the bounces went Florida’s way, particularly around the net, which helped fuel their two series-opening wins.
Things changed significantly on Saturday, as Tampa picked up a couple goals on funky plays that swung the momentum in their favor and kept them ahead of the game for much of the night.
They also get spectacular goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy, who finished with 33 saves, including an eye-popping 14 high danger stops.
“I don't think we were great,” Maurice said. “I think offensively we probably generated more tonight than we did and any of the other games, at 5-on-5 from an even strength perspective. We've got lots of room to get better, I'm sure they do too, so I'm not feeling today like there's an aberration to how I thought this would go. This was going to be a grinder straight through.”
