The Miami Heat begin their second half on the road this evening against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Tip-off for this contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Jalen Johnson has been a beast this season, and I’m targeting him to ball out in my Heat vs. Hawks predictions.
Read more in my NBA picks for Friday, February 20.
Heat vs Hawks prediction
Heat vs Hawks best bet: Jalen Johnson Over 22.5 points (-120)
Jalen Johnson has burst onto the scene this season, averaging 23.5 ppg. Before he partook in the All-Star festivities in Los Angeles, the Duke product cashed the Over in points in two of his final four games in the first half.
He also returned with a bang on Thursday, as the Atlanta Hawks hammered the 76ers. Johnson showed out for 32 points.
Johnson is averaging 26.5 ppg across two meetings with the Miami Heat in 2025-26, so he knows how to beat this team.
Heat vs Hawks same-game parlay
Tyler Herro is having a nice campaign, averaging 21.9 ppg. He’s hit the Over in points in four straight games.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker is averaging a respectable 3.7 assists per game. He’ll be important in getting Johnson more scoring opportunities tonight.
The Canadian guard has cashed the Over in dimes in seven straight.
Heat vs Hawks SGP
Jalen Johnson Over 22.5 points
Tyler Herro Over 17.5 points
Nickeil Alexander-Walker Over 3.5 assists
Our "from downtown" SGP: Home cooking for Hawks
Atlanta is coming off a big win over the Sixers, and this new-look roster is promising. They also beat the Heat on February 3.
Heat vs Hawks SGP
Jalen Johnson Over 22.5 points
Tyler Herro Over 17.5 points
Nickeil Alexander-Walker Over 3.5 assists
Hawks moneyline
Heat vs Hawks odds
Spread: Heat -3.5 | Hawks +3.5
Moneyline: Heat -155 | Hawks +130
Over/Under: Over 244.5 | Under 244.5
Heat vs Hawks betting trend to know
The Hawks have hit the 1H Moneyline in 13 of their last 24 games (+7.05 Units / 23% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Heat vs. Hawks.
How to watch Heat vs Hawks
Location
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Date
Friday, February 20, 2026
Tip-off
7:30 p.m. ET
TV
FDSN Sun, FDSN Southeast Atlanta
Heat vs Hawks latest injuries
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Tanking has the chance to become the NBA's biggest scandal since Tim Donaghy.
For that reason, the NBA is considering more changes to the draft lottery.
Via Shams Charania of ESPN.com, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told the league's General Managers on Thursday that changes could be coming to the NBA's draft lottery.
Per the report, several concepts are being considered. Possibilities include freezing the lottery odds at the trade deadline or some other date, preventing teams from picking in the top four in consecutive years (and/or after consecutive finishes in the bottom three spots in the league), preventing teams from picking in the top four the year after making it to the conference finals, determining lottery odds based on the combined record over two seasons, extending the lottery to include the play-in teams, and flattening the odds for all lottery teams.
None of those devices would eliminate tanking. It would simply change the analysis for teams that are hoping to land a key prospect in the next draft. Until the incentives to win are fully aligned with the incentive to get the best incoming players, some team at some point will be tempted to try to not win games.
On Thursday, Silver reportedly was "forceful" regarding his message that the problem must be solved.
And it must be. As Suns owner Mat Isbhia said on Thursday, teams trying to lose games is bigger than any prop-bet controversy the league has experienced. Beyond tanking being an integrity problem, it can become a business problem. Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, citing multiple unnamed high-level team executives, reports that tanking is "nowaffecting ticket values and game experience across the league."
How can it not be? Although former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban has said that the league should embrace tanking and focus instead on game experience, how does tanking help game experience if a fan purchases tickets weeks or months in advance with the anticipation that the "experience" will include watching star players who ultimately don't play for reasons other than injury, the experience is diminished.
It's a mess for the NBA. It's an embarrassment to the game. The only true solutions are to set the draft order randomly every year or to determine the draft order not based on worst-to-first but first-to-worst.
If dibs on incoming players were one of the spoils of victory, every team would try its damnedest to win every game. Likewise, if the worst teams no longer have the inside track to the best new players, there's no reason to do anything other than win as many games as possible.
The proposed changes will simply muddy the draft-lottery waters with more factors and complications. Some teams will still find a way to game the system by not trying to win each and every game.
And while tanking is not yet a full-boil problem for the NFL, pro football needs to be watching what's happening to the NBA. At some point, the NFL may need to come up with an approach other than its current one — ignore it.
That's why there's no NFL draft lottery. Anything other than a firewall between being bad in the regular season and parading around for several months with a prime draft pick opens the door to normalizing talk of tanking.
Unfortunately for the NFL, the fact that tanking has become such a hot topic for basketball will necessarily splash a little mud on the NFL's current ability to keep people from noticing the clear connection between losing late-season games and winning offseason benefits.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - FEBRUARY 19: Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics dribbles the ball during the game against the Golden State Warriors on February 19, 2026 at Chase Center in San Francisco, 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
#1 – Jaylen Brown driving the Celtics offense
With almost 19 drives per game, Brown is the second most prolific driver in the NBA this season – and last night might have been one of his most impressive games in the paint.
As the mid-ranges and 3-pointers wouldn’t fall, JB shifted his approach toward the rim and kept attacking it, with 10 field goals made in the paint. His craftiness was on full display, like here, where he crossed and attacked the space with just the right timing.
The Warriors tried to force him left and put bodies in the paint to slow down the five-time All-Star, but it didn’t work. The game felt easy for Brown, with very efficient footwork like here. He gathered the ball right before Draymond Green’s stunt, put his foot right between the two defenders while carrying the ball high to avoid their arms, and finished it with a nice touch.
Overall, 9 of his 10 field goals made came after a drive, showing how aggressive Jaylen Brown was after the All-Star break.
#2 – Celtics flare for space
The Warriors’ defensive coverage didn’t work against Brown’s drives but also collapsed due to the Celtics’ shooting ability and screening strategy. Green was asked to remain in the driving lane and leave Neemias Queta alone because the Portuguese big man is not a shooting threat – however, Queta can screen, and he screens pretty well.
In this play below, the Celtics had just crossed half court and already created an open shot for Sam Hauser thanks to a screen that punished Green’s positioning. The former DPOY wanted to block the drive and leave Queta open. The Celtics big man therefore set a flare screen and created space for Hauser to shoot. As Green was too far to help his teammate who was stuck in the screen, that was money for Sammy!
The Warriors still kept the same approach with Al Horford or Kristaps Porzingis, keeping them near the paint as much as possible, so the Celtics kept attacking that coverage. Even with Vucevic on the court, the Warriors’ big men remained low, and it opened things up for Boston.
Yet, while Vucevic and Queta set the same off-ball screens, they are quite different players. Boston’s pick-and-roll offense changed depending on who was on the court and showed real versatility.
#3 – Pick-and-roll with Queta
As Neemias Queta was starting the game, Boston made sure to use his screening skills to create space on the first possession. The big man set a screen on the ball for Derrick White, which triggered Draymond Green’s rotation toward him to prevent the pull-up. This forced the rest of the Warriors to compensate in the paint to protect the rim, but it was already too late, and Queta earned free throws.
The Warriors kept sending two players to the ball, hoping White would struggle under the pressure, but the Celtics guard didn’t. And as the Celtics’ spacing made the rotations more difficult, it left the paint open for Queta.
The Celtics even added a little twist to the pick-and-roll, with White acting as a second screener who slipped the action and cut to the rim behind the defense that wanted to pressure the ball. Safe to say the Celtics came prepared to punish the Warriors’ defensive coverage.
And while this worked well with Queta, the Celtics were also very efficient with Vucevic on the court.
#4 – Pick-and-roll with Vucevic
The former Bull is a different pick-and-roll player than Queta, offering a new variety of movement and spacing. After a screen, he rolls a little less deep than the Portuguese big man and has more passing flair. This one ended up as a turnover, but you can clearly see the great read from Vuc.
The difference with Queta in how he moves after the screen can also create pick-and-pop situations that put pressure on the defense in drop coverage. This play was really impressive to me, as he caught the ball beyond the three-point line and immediately drove to put even more pressure on the defense. The big standout of this action is the skip pass that created an even better situation. A great flash from the big man.
The Celtics’ ability to play a very different style depending on their centers is a great addition and could go a long way in a playoff run. And speaking of centers…
#5 – Porzingis’ trap
What is super insightful about a player facing his former team is that it gives us insight into what the former coaching staff really thought of him. And apparently, the Celtics didn’t have a lot of belief in Porzingis’ passing under pressure.
It also shows that the Celtics were wary of Porzingis’ post-up scoring and were willing to take that risk rather than let him attack one-on-one. The Celtics rarely put this much pressure on the ball against a single player and usually prefer to defend the matchup despite some occasional mismatches.
#6 – Boston cutting hedge
Back to the Celtics’ offense, which was really impressive last night. As far as I can remember, I can’t find another game this season where the players had this willingness to cut again and again. Here, for example, the defense focused on the ball with the Pritchard screen, but the important move came from Hauser, who cut from one corner to the other, catching the defense’s attention and creating space for Vucevic to shoot in the corner.
Why did they cut more than usual, you might think? This is related to the Warriors’ aggressive coverage on the ball. With this approach, defenders need to be ready to help, especially on the strong side. Therefore, a cut, like this one from Hugo Gonzalez, is perfect to punish that coverage.
This next play might be one of my favorites. A zoom action with not one but two screens prior to the handoff. As Jaylen Brown ran, Hauser popped beyond the line and White slipped the screen while the defense focused on the handoff with Queta… and that was a trap!
It was all very fun… until the Warriors suffocated the Celtics.
#7 – Warriors pressure
Despite losing by 30 points, the Warriors didn’t give up and kept fighting. They took advantage of the Celtics’ laid-back approach in the fourth quarter to steal the ball over and over and get back into the game.
The Celtics tried to play slowly at first. They ran the clock down to save time, but the Warriors were happy with these bad shots. And every time they were able to score in transition, they put a lot of pressure on the ball and the passing lanes. The defense was so good they even forced a very rare travel from Payton Pritchard.
Yet, it was Pritchard who put the game away a few minutes later.
#8 – Pritchard broke the shell
To break a shell, you need a tool adapted to create a breach. The Warriors’ shell, which was suffocating the Celtics by putting heavy pressure on the ball, had a kryptonite: Payton Pritchard’s deep shooting ability.
The Celtics put Jaylen Brown back into the game so he could hold the ball while attracting two defenders. Then, they made sure Pritchard was one pass away so, as soon as the Warriors trapped Brown, the Celtics could punish them from 35 feet.
The beautiful collective performance could make us forget that Jaylen Brown recorded his third triple-double of the season, and the sixth of his career. He is now tied with Dave Cowens, who recorded six triple-doubles in 726 games. The next player on the list is Paul Pierce with nine – could JB catch up with PP before the end of the season?
#10 – Healthy KP and mysterious Horford
The vibes were good with Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics.
It was nice to see him healthy and on the court after months of ups and downs for the Latvian big man. On the other hand, Al Horford’s words after the game raised more questions about his departure, and I’m looking forward to finding out what really happened.
Al Horford said his decision to leave the Celtics for Golden State was "something that's deeper than just the basketball stuff of it."
"And it's something that at some point I'll share with people," Horford said, "but for me it felt like it was the time for me to go elsewhere."
Nonetheless, this video from Noa at the end of the game showed that, mostly, it’s all love.
Very wholesome postgame scene as Al Horford and his son Ean made their way to say hi to almost everyone on the Celtics — almost like they both were former Celtics pic.twitter.com/iWUdN2or5H
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - FEBRUARY 19: Kristaps Porzigis #7 of the Golden State Warriors talks with Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics after the game on February 19, 2026 at Chase Center in San Francisco, 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
It had been 279 days since Kristaps Porziņģis last shared the floor with the Celtics, as either a teammate or an opponent. The final farewell was bitter.
Porziņģis last suited up alongside his former Boston teammates in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. A lingering illness that followed him out of the regular season stretched on for more than three months, reducing him to a limited version of himself. Fast forward 40 weeks and two trades later, and Porziņģis finally shared the floor with Boston again — this time as a member of the Warriors — facing the team he helped raise a banner with two years ago.
“It was definitely fun,” Payton Pritchard told reporters, per CLNS Media. “I was looking forward to it. It’s always fun playing against ex-teammates and going to battle with them.”
Golden State acquired Porziņģis before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, sending Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Hawks in exchange. Like his time in Boston, injuries limited Porziņģis’ impact in Atlanta. He played just 17 games due to left Achilles tendinitis, which also kept him out of a potential return to TD Garden on Jan. 28 against the Celtics. So instead, the reunion came in Porziņģis’ Golden State debut on Thursday night, with Boston coming away with a 121-110 win.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr played Porziņģis on limited minutes, giving him 17 off the bench.
In the second quarter, Porziņģis recorded his first basket in a Warriors uniform by flushing a two-handed dunk during a mismatch with Derrick White, which helped get him going. Nearly 12 minutes later, he attacked another mismatch, going after a rebound against Pritchard, who he towers over by more than a foot. The two wrestled back and forth for possession like brothers before smiling and setting up a lopsided jump ball between 6-foot-1 Pritchard and 7-foot-2 Porziņģis.
Porziņģis, unsurprisingly, came away with the win.
“I’m disappointed in myself for letting that go,” Pritchard told reporters. “Next time, I’m not doing that.”
Both Payton Pritchard and Kristaps Porziņģis refused to let the ball go 🤣
It didn’t take much for Porziņģis to outmatch Pritchard, but trailing his old team by 33 points put a little extra pep in his step in that moment. Ripping the ball away from Pritchard quickly became the only thing that mattered, Porziņģis recalled.
“I was not going to let go of that ball,” he told reporters, per team-provided video. “We were down big, so I was already not in the best mood. But it was a cool moment with my old teammate, and that’s it. Just playful.”
The motivation of facing his former teammates paid off for Porziņģis. Slowly throughout the night, the same player who thrived in a Celtics uniform began doing everything that made him a fan favorite in Boston — now in Golden State: attacking mismatches, draining 3-pointers, including one from 30 feet, and remaining competitive during each play. It also helped that Porziņģis reunited with fellow 2024 Celtics champion Al Horford, who assisted him in his first Warriors basket.
Horford spent seven seasons with the Celtics across two stints, while Porziņģis lasted two years. Both veteran centers remain beloved in Boston, by fans and by those of the current Celtics alike.
“I played with those guys, against those guys, and I practiced with those guys for a long time,” Jaylen Brown told reporters, per CLNS Media. “I always wish them well. I hope their families are doing good.”
Porziņģis scored 12 points in his first game since Jan. 7, part of an ongoing acclimation with a Warriors team in need of frontcourt assistance.
“I think this is a first step to keep building,” Porziņģis told reporters.
From afar, Porziņģis had been keeping tabs on the Celtics. Boston’s annual trip to Golden State gave him a first-hand look at the team’s retooled roster that lost much of its championship talent — including himself — yet has managed to excel as the No. 2 seed in the East, even without Jayson Tatum.
“You have to give credit to Joe and the coaching staff,” he told reporters. “Joe’s a great coach and a great leader. For this team to maintain the same culture — and probably be even hungrier with less talent — you have to give credit to that. And JB is playing at a super-high level, leading them. They’re a good team, even without JT and some of us who were there.”
Losing Porziņģis and Horford — their most-rotated centers last season — was just the start. Tatum’s Achilles injury in Game 4 against New York, combined with the need to rely on a mix of inexperienced and new players, put the Celtics in a tough spot from the jump. Yet judging by their 55-game sample size that has made Brown an MVP candidate, Mazzulla a frontrunner for Coach of the Year, and Boston a legitimate contender for the No. 1 seed, it’s likely Porziņģis shares a sentiment similar to most across the league.
“I knew they were going to be good, and this is probably a little bit better than I expected,” Porziņģis told reporters. “So hats off to them.”
PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 31: Anthony Mantha #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his second period goal against the New York Rangers at PPG PAINTS Arena on January 31, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Back in August, we wrote about players who had the most on the line individually in the 2025-26 season by identifying some situations where there was a lot on the line. In the last days of the Olympics, let’s circle back and check out how some of the ups and downs have gone.
Anthony Mantha — Mantha is the literal and immediate player with the most on the line this season for the Penguins, because he has up to $2 million in performance bonuses that he could achieve and nearly double his take-home pay. In that sense, no one has more to potentially gain from a big year. Beyond that, Mantha is at a crossroads now. He just turned 30. Arguably, teams have always been looking for that little bit extra out of him, whether it’s been a spark of intensity or consistency of effort to match his obvious skills and absolute ideal size. There’s also been some major bumps in the road for him lately, Mantha was traded to Vegas for the 2024 playoff run and played so poorly that he was made a healthy scratch. He followed that up by suffering a major knee injury at the beginning of last season with Calgary and has been out since November. At some point players run out of second chances, especially when they reach the point of being older than most of their peers. This probably won’t be Mantha’s last opportunity, but it could well be his last good one.
Perhaps no better encapsulates the surprising season as a whole for the Penguins as Anthony Mantha. Pittsburgh only gave him a one-year contract worth $2.5 million (with another $2.0m in performance bonuses) and Mantha has made good on that signing by producing 20 goals and 42 points in the season’s first 56 games. Tremendous value on that to dig up a player trending towards career-highs in all the major categories from basically the NHL’s bargain bin of free agency.
Similar players signed last summer:
Andrei Kuzmenko ($4.3m, one year, LA): 23 points in 51 games
Gustav Nyquist ($3.25m, one year, WIN):0 goals, nine points in 39 games
Patrick Kane ($3.0m, one year, $4m in potential bonuses DET): 32 points in 43 games
Jeff Skinner ($3.0m, one year, SJ): 13 points in 32 games, contract terminated
Brandon Saad ($2.0m, one year, VGK): 9 points in 39 games
Reilly Smith ($2.0m, one year, VGK): 16 points in 53 games
Corey Perry ($2.0m, one year, $2m in potential bonuses LA): 28 points in 45 games
Usually teams get what they pay for in terms of mid-level veteran forwards in that $2-4m range in free agency, which as you can see from above generally works out to be not that much to write home about. Mantha has well exceeded that level for the Pens this season. There were some bumps in the road — like the three points produced in 12 November games — but other than that Mantha has been an incredibly consistent performer and one of the team’s best players throughout the campaign. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are the only players on the team with more points than Mantha at this time.
For the Pens, this is the equivalent of hitting a $100 win on a penny slot, regardless of how much longer Mantha’s stint with Pittsburgh ends up lasting. Simply making it this far has been a major achievement and credit to him and the Pens’ management for bringing him in. Mantha has exceeded the most realistic of best case scenarios, it’s benefited the team this season and in one form or another it will certainly benefit the individual to get a career back on track.
Danton Heinen — On reddit, a user semi-jokingly came up with the most average of all NHL players (last year it was Drew O’Connor!) Danton Heinen would probably fit that bill more often than not. Heinen isn’t bad, but he isn’t really good….Not terribly much is expected from Heinen, but he’s in a contract year and probably at risk at falling out of the picture now that the Pens have signed players like Mantha and Brazeau. That’s usually where, against all odds and perhaps logic, that Heinen has been at his best with surprisingly effective performances. Does he have one more up his sleeve for this season?
The new additions for the Pens did end up forcing Heinen all the way down to the minor leagues, having gone unclaimed on waivers. The writing was on the wall that his time was short with the organization and was included to even out contracts in the Egor Chinakhov trade. Heinen gets a chance to catch on with Columbus (where he has three points in 13 games so far) and this one falls into the “break” area of make or break. Can’t all be winners.
Philip Tomasino — Tomasino went from a promising player showing some upside and production last season to one that also frustrated and confounded coaches with his all-around play and occasionally attention to detail…Tomasino could legitimately score 15-20 goals this season if he stayed healthy and played his way into being a part of the team, or it could go sideways and have a lot less of an impact than that. It’ll be a fascinating part of the story to watch unfold for how it goes for him.
Well, this one went sideways in a hurry. Tomasino never found footing in Pittsburgh this season and also ended up in the minor leagues. A trade soon followed, where his new team has yet to call him up to the NHL. This isn’t a player without skill, yet he seems to lack that certain indescribable ‘something’ needed to settle into a groove.
In a lot of ways, Chinakhov could be seen as this year’s Tomasino for the Penguins: the former first round pick acquired at a discount to give a second chance to see if there was more growth. It looks like it worked out a lot better this year for results, though the underlying philosophy behind the moves make sense for a team like Pittsburgh that has more draft picks than anyone else in the NHL. Use some of those picks to see what can come from it. The Pens went down that road with Tomasino as far as they needed to go, then weren’t dissuaded by that end result to try it again with Chinakhov.
Matt Dumba — …Dumba hasn’t actually helped an NHL team in quite some time, and the Pens will be his fourth stop since just the start of the 2023-24 season. Still, at age-31, does Dumba have anything left in the tank that can help an NHL team? The answer has been trending to “no” for a while now, but as a right shot defender with the ability to shoot the puck and play with an edge, you might as well give the benefit of the doubt to see what kind of redemption arc may play out. It’s been several years and defensive staffs ago since Pittsburgh was known as a place to give a mid-career boost to struggling defenders, and maybe that magic is dried up…But it’s worth watching to see if Dumba can play his way into any value with the Pens this year.
The Pens saw enough of Dumba to reach the conclusion that other teams have – he’s not NHL quality any longer. The purpose of adding Dumba was truly always more about the second round draft pick attached to the trade more than a realistic hope of a reclamation. Pittsburgh gave it a shot, it didn’t quite work out and now Dumba is also off the NHL roster.
Arturs Silovs — Silovs is a goalie, so of course his level of play has been all over the place. He hasn’t been great in the NHL — except when he admirably performed well for the Canucks in the 2024 playoffs with a 5-5 record (which is more than Jarry’s two career NHL playoff wins). Silovs is coming off a fantastic performance in the AHL playoffs. Which, yeah, it’s the AHL and not NHL but can that be a launching point for an NHL career? There’s a lot for him to prove, but it’s at least a fresh gamble for the Pens to try and take, and they weren’t getting that good of performances out of the most recent backup goalie in the first place, so hey, why not? At this time in about ten months, Silovs might be free to the wind as a free agent that didn’t do much to establish himself, or he could be a semi-entrenched member of the Pens for 2026 if it goes well. The range of possibilities is very intriguing.
Silovs has worked out to be that fresh gamble. It must be remembered he is technically still an NHL rookie, yet he will likely lead the Penguins in appearances in net this season. His statistical profile (.895 save%, -1.6 GSAA, 2.89 GAA) is decent but far from impressive. At times he’s been strong, at other times he’s looked like a mid-level player. For someone who was unestablished in the NHL (26 of his 45 NHL appearances have come in these last four months), it’s been a slow process to get on the map, yet he’s starting to make a name for himself.
The future now in net remains just as alluring and seemingly as up in the air. Removing Tristan Jarry’s contract via a trade opens the situation up for the future. Silovs is a nice chip for the Pens to have on hand — other teams are always searching for an extra competent goalie. Silovs doesn’t appear to have an extremely high ceiling as an NHL starter but has shown he’s capable enough to belong, which will give him value in some respect, though it’s difficult now to see what the path ahead will be. The Pens have to decide what (if anything) they are going to do with impending free agent Stuart Skinner. Sergei Murashov continues to push his own development in a season where he made the AHL All-Star team as a 21-year old rookie. Joel Blomqvist is in a similar position as Silovs was a year ago in Vancouver buried on the organizational depth chart.
Silovs might be the case so far where the jury is out on ‘make or break’ at this point. He sure hasn’t been broken by jumping to the NHL level full-time for the first time, at the same time he hasn’t exactly become a shoo-in as a piece that is guaranteed to stick around for a while. That said, it’s not a stretch that Silovs could yet become the top choice for playoff goalie in two months time. The varying paths in front of him still look about as wide open as they did at the start of the season.
Maro Itoje says his late mother will be at Twickenham in spirit when the England captain wins his 100th cap in the Six Nations showdown with Ireland on Saturday.
After Florence Itoje died in December, the Saracens second-row was absent from the start of England’s pre-tournament training camp in Girona to attend her funeral in Nigeria.
Dallas Mavericks forward Marvin Bagley III, right, grabs a rebound away from Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
After an abysmal start to the NBA season defensively, the Lakers turned a corner on that end of the floor over the last month, and they’re confident the reasoning behind the turnaround can help lead to further success.
With respect to their roster construction, the Lakers’ defense wasn’t expected to be a top-tier unit entering the season. But they started off even worse than anticipated.
After an abysmal start to the NBA season defensively, the Lakers turned a corner on that end of the floor. AP
The Lakers’ defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 117.9 through their first 40 games ranked 26th — a bad sign for their chances of contending for an NBA title.
They rebounded the ball well defensively, didn’t foul a lot and forced turnovers at a decent rate in the first half of the season.
But they were one of the league’s worst teams at protecting the rim and limited 3-pointers. And in addition to their troublesome transition defense, they were giving up points in some of the worst ways.
Thanks to their zone defense, the Lakers have made improvements, helping them have an above-average defense (112.7 defensive rating, which ranks 13th) in their 14 games leading into the All-Star break.
And for a Lakers team that’s expected to be led by its offense, above average should be more than good enough.
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“It just gives us a different look,” Austin Reaves said Thursday of the team’s zone defense. “And an opportunity to kind of mix it up and fly around and get our defense started that way.”
During a pregame segment ahead of the Lakers’ home win over the Mavericks on Feb. 12, the “NBA on Prime” studio show highlighted the Lakers’ uptick in usage of zone defense.
The Lakers deployed a zone defense on a league-leading 17.6% of possessions in the 13 games leading into the matchup against the Mavericks — significantly higher than the league-most 10% of possessions the Bucks used zone defense this season through Feb. 12.
During a pregame segment ahead of the Lakers’ home win over the Mavericks on Feb. 12, the “NBA on Prime” studio show highlighted the Lakers’ uptick in usage of zone defense. AP
And it’s been effective, with the Lakers allowing just 0.86 points per possession when playing zone.
Although opponents shot similarly at the rim against the Lakers during the 14-game stretch leading into the break, the Lakers have been better at contesting 3-pointers.
“It starts with setting our defense and just eating up some clock,” coach JJ Redick said. “We looked (Thursday) morning, we did a bunch of stuff with our analytics group, it’s not like teams are vastly underperforming from the midrange or from 3. Some of the underperformance from 3 has to do with just breaking up a little bit of the flow of the game, if that’s what you mean by throwing it for a loop. It’s been a good tool for us, and we recognize that.”
Redick reiterated that the Lakers will have to use a variety of strategies for defensive success.
“We’re going to have to play man at points,” Redick said. “We’re going to have to play 15 at points and switch 1 through 5. We’re going to have to play some zone at points, and we’re going to have to put two on the ball at some point against certain players. With this group, it’s not going to be one thing. We’ve got to continue to be adaptable and search for the right answer in the middle of the game.”
There are many league-wide notions about what’s effective in an 82-game season vs. the playoffs, including the effectiveness of zone defense.
The Lakers are confident the strategy can be relied upon in higher-stakes postseason games.
“It’s just the way we communicate in the zone,” Reaves said. “Five guys are locked in every single possession, talking. Obviously, there’s gonna be breakdowns; nobody’s perfect. But for the most part, the communication’s high, and the effort’s high as well.”
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - FEBRUARY 11: Ayo Dosunmu #13 and Anthony Edwards #5 celebrate with teammate Julius Randle #30 of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center on February 11, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Trail Blazers 133-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Here we are, the home stretch of the NBA regular season.
It’s been a bumpy first two-thirds of the schedule for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ve had some high-hights, including a pair of wins against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and many low-lows, most notably a five-game losing streak in January.
With the All-Star break now in the rearview and just 26 games remaining on the schedule, the Timberwolves look to finish out the season strong heading into what they hope is another successful postseason campaign.
Before that, there is still a lot to be determined and numerous questions that still need to be answered. Let’s take a look at each of those questions, how the Wolves might find answers, and what that means for the Wolves’ playoff chances come April.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – FEBRUARY 11: Julius Randle #30 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center on February 11, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Trail Blazers 133-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Which version of Julius Randle will take the Court?
Julius Randle has an up-and-down season for the Timberwolves. On many nights, Randle has had outstanding performances where he almost single-handedly overpowers the opposing team as a matchup nightmare. There have also been games, though, where his bully-ball style isn’t working, the playmaking goes away, and his defense becomes untenable, as Randle has showcased a frustrating level of inconsistency.
In the aggreagate, Randle has had a fantastic season for the Wolves. Both his points and assists per game have both increased while seeing no meaningful dip in either shooting efficiency or turnovers.
Right before the All-Star break, Randle showcased what he is capaple as he put up 41 points, including 23 in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers and Deni Avdija, who was selected to the All-Star game above Randle.
In the first two rounds of the 2025 Playoffs, Randle played his best stretch of basketball in a Timberwolves uniform, putting up 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game as the Wolves won both series in five games.
Then, in the Western Conference Finals, the inconsistency showed back up. While he did score 20+ points in three of the five games, Randle scored just six points in Game 2 and five points in Game 4, both losses for Minnesota.
If the Wolves want to get back to the Western Conference Finals or beyond, they will need the version of Randle they saw in the game against Portland and in the first two rounds of last year’s playoffs. They will need the player who made Draymond Green, of all people, admit he got outplayed.
If Minnesota gets the opposite version, the one that often gets beaten back door on defense, provides little ball movement on offense, and has an overall moodiness to his games, then the season will likely end sooner than anyone wants.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – FEBRUARY 09: Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves smiles in the fourth quarter of the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Target Center on February 09, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Hawks 138-116. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Can the Timberwolves flip the switch?
For much of this season, the Timberwolves have played like a team that knows they can turn up the intensity when its required. When they put their mind to it, the Wolves can beat anybody. When they don’t, though, they can lose to anybody.
There are very clearly two different Timberwolves teams, one that takes the other team seriously and one that does not. It has led to the Wolves having incredibly varied performances from night to night and, despite being one of the healthiest teams in the NBA, sitting at sixth in the Western Conference.
While there are many reasons for the varied level of intensity from the Wolves, one of the biggest reasons is their franchise superstar, Anthony Edwards. Similar to Ranlde, the inconsistency of Edwards, seemingly dictated by the level of the opponent, has become maddening.
While Edwards is having by far his best season on the offensive end of the floor, the defensive end has been another story. There have been numerous games where Ant has felt totally disconnected from the Wolves’ game plan on the defensive end of the floor, leading to consistent open shots for the other team.
“He has the capacity to be the best two-way player in the league,” Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch said recently of Edwards. “Really, when he’s playing that way, we’re a whole other team defensively. So he’s really got to lean in and lead us that way.”
While Edwards is not the only player relying on “flipping the switch” come the playoffs, as Finch noted, the fix to that type of thinking needs to come from the team’s best player, as when Ant does lock in on defense, he becomes one of the best on-ball defenders in the entire league.
With the Wolves making the last two Western Conference Finals, they have a level of playoff success that is undeniable, but if they want to be better than either of those teams that lost in five games, Ant and the rest of the team will need to find far more consistency in their level of play.
Feb 11, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) dribbles the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers in the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
How much value will Ayo Dosumnu provide?
Since the departure of Nickeil Alexander-Walker last offseason, the Wolves have been desperate to replace his role and production. With Mike Conley’s game dropping off, Terrence Shannon Jr. dealing with nagging injuries, and Rob Dillingham failing to crack the rotation, the Wolves have felt a player short the entire season.
At the trade deadline, they seemed to have solved that issue, as the Timberwolves traded for Ayo Dosunmu, who has provided a scoring punch off the bench that Minnesota has craved all season. Dosunmu scored in double figures in each of his three games with the Wolves, including a 21-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks.
Dosumnu’s skills that are most needed on this Timberwolves roster are his ability to attack the paint with his drives and his willingness to push the ball in transition, often doing both on the same possession.
Even just a few games into his time in Minnesota, it has become clear just how good a fit Dosunmu is with this Wolves team. After an All-Star break to recover from the turbulent trade deadline and some practice time to integrate himself with his new team, Ayo is ready to his the ground running when the Wolves’ season resumes.
“This last three to five days helped me a lot,” Dosumnu said of the All-Star Break. “The coaches, I asked them to send me the playbook, send me the most frequent actions we run, defensive schemes, things of that nature, and I’ve just been watching it, and I’m getting very much more familiar with it. I’m getting comfortable with it, where I’m able to call sets out. So that’s been great, and I think these pasts, I’m blessed to have these past five days to be able to do that.”
While Dosunmu and Alexander-Walker are stylistically very different players, Ayo seems like the perfect fit to fill the hole left by NAW on the Wolves roster. Dosumnu can put the ball in the basket, something the Wolves bench desperately lacks, especially on nights when Naz Reid struggles, and does so without taking up too much of the offensive bandwidth.
The rest of this regular season for Ayo will be about getting up to speed and finding his role with his new team. If his first few days in the organization are any indication, he will be just fine.
DALLAS, TEXAS – JANUARY 28: Mike Conley #10 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on January 28, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images) | Getty Images
What will the rotation look like with the return of Mike Conley?
It has been a whirlwind past couple of weeks for Mike Conley. Before the trade deadline, he got traded from the Wolves to the Chicago Bulls, who traded him to the Charlotte Hornets, who bought out his contract allowing the 19-year NBA veteran to return to Minnesota.
With Conley back on the roster, the question now is, how much will he play? Before getting traded, Conley was averaging 18.5 minutes per game, but with Dosunmu added to the roster, Bones Hyland joining the rotation in the past month, and Terrence Shannon Jr. back from injury, Mike is unlikely to see the same level of playing time post All-Star break.
“Honestly, I don’t expect to be out there playing a ton of minutes,” Conley said in his first media availability after re-signing with the Wolves. “I don’t expect to be out there 20 minutes. I expect Ayo, Bones, and all these guys who’ve earned their time and minutes on the court to get their opportunities and do what they do. So I’m going to be ready and be prepared just for whatever role, whether it’s in rotation or spotty or whatever it is.”
While Conley likely will gladly take any minutes that may come, he seems to understand that his role within the team has changed since the trade deadline. It appears Conley is set up to be more of a break glass in case of emergency option for the Wolves. If Hyland or Shannon Jr. struggle in their playing time, Conley may be called upon to grab the eighth-man minutes.
Other than that, Conley’s role will likely be in and out of the rotation depending on what the matchup or injury report dictates, unless Finch has other plans, which is always a possibility.
Can the Timberwolves get a top-three seed?
If the playoffs were to start today, the Timberwolves would have to go through the Denver Nuggets, then likely the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, all on the road, to reach the NBA Finals. That is a gauntlet of championship-contending teams that almost every team would have difficulty advancing through.
That can and likely will change with the Timberwolves are just a game and a half back of the three-seed Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference. Just like last season, where the Wolves finished just a single game back of the third seed and only a game up on the seventh seed and the Play-In Tournament, there is again a lot of the line in March and April for the Timberwolves.
While the Wolves’ strength of opponent is high for the rest of the season, something that may not be a negative for this team, their travel schedule is incredibly nice as they have the fewest back-to-backs remaining at four, only two of which require the team traveling between games.
“We’re not afraid to go anywhere or play anybody, but obviously, you want to give yourselves the best chance. So we have that in front of us.” – Chris Finch
While the Wolves clearly feel like they can beat anyone in the Western Conference, they can make things a whole lot easier on themselves by advancing up the standings. Home court advantage in the first round is still well within their reach, and a dream scenario of forcing conference-title favorites OKC and Denver to face off again in the second round exists.
The Wovles have proven they can win multiple playoff rounds even if they are the sixth seed, but if they want to advance further than they ever have, that place in the standings will likely not be good enough.
Arizona Diamondbacks Nolan Arenado (center) during spring training workouts at Salt River Fields on Feb. 16, 2026, in Scottsdale. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The names of the starting pitchers for the first three games of Cactus League play will likely not be familiar except to the diehard fans. Right-hander Tom Hatch will start the opener and there won’t be a veteran going until Michael Soroka following the weekend slate.
“We’re just going to slow play some things,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “Everybody is going to be ready and built up to six innings and 85 pitches by the time they take their last spring start.”
With a dozen D-Backs players set to represent their countries in the 2026 World Baseball Classic at the beginning of March, Lovullo is making sure those players get the game reps they need to prepare.
“Normally they wouldn’t be, but I’m trying to fast forward this as much as possible because the entire infield is going to play in the WBC, so I want to get them on the field,” Lovullo said Thursday. “I wouldn’t be playing [Alek Thomas] in the outfield tomorrow, but I’m going to, so he can get ready for Team Mexico.”
On Thursday, the Arizona Diamondbacks revealed their 2026 spring training broadcast schedule for their upcoming Cactus League games.
Eight games will be broadcast free of charge to fans, and will be accessible on D-backs.TV and local TV providers. Fans will not have to pay for a D-backs.TV or MLB.TV subscription in order to view these eight games. All that will be required is a free account, set up with an email address.
“Right now, it really is clear that we have a group of teams at the bottom and we have some teams at the top,” Kendrick said. “We are in neither of those groups, to be fair. A model that would allow those extremes to not be what they are, I think would be good for the fans, and honestly, I think it would be good for the players.”
Congrats to all of us on making it through another long, dreary winter! Baseball is finally upon us once more, hope springs eternal, and already the hot dogs, cracker jax, and beer is calling my name. Here’s to another season, and maybe, just maybe this team can surprise us again.
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA - MARCH 02: Scott Kingery #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on after a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays during a spring training game on March 02, 2021 at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Every year we get excited for the start of the Spring Training schedule of games. A long winter without baseball finally ends, even if the games don’t count. Then we quickly remember that the spring games are usually for the players we’ve never heard of or may never hear from again, as anyone important is extremely limited in their playing time.
But those limitations for regular starters allows for some fun or interesting stories to arise over the course of the spring season. Sometimes a player comes out of absolutely nowhere, tears up the Grapefruit League, and captures the heart of Phillies fans everywhere. Perhaps none embody this idea more than Scott Kingery.
Kingery may not have come out of nowhere, as he was a well-regarded prospect in the Phillies system, but he impressed in his first taste of MLB camp in 2017, hitting .286 with two home runs in ten games before going back to Reading. Kingery then burst onto the scene in 2018 when he hit .411 with five home runs in 22 games during the spring. His performance was so impressive that it earned him not only a call up to the Majors after just three years in the Minors, but general manager Matt Klentak awarded Kingery with an unprecedented six year, $24M contract extension. It was a large commitment to a player who had never appeared in the Majors to that point, but Kingery had put together two impressive camps, and it looked clear he was ready for the Majors.
But things didn’t work out that way, as Kingery struggled to ever come close to his torrid springs and had his career derailed by mismanagement, bad advice, COVID-19, and injuries. The once promising prospect hit only .229 with a .667 OPS across parts of five seasons with the Phillies. He returned to the minor leagues in 2022 and stayed there for the next two full seasons before being traded to the Angels in November of 2024.
Another name that comes to mind when thinking about spring training legends is Brock Stassi. The lefty first baseman did actually come out of nowhere and tore apart the Grapefruit League in 2017, hitting .306 with 6 home runs in 25 games. The Phillies had a spot on their bench, and Stassi earned a spot on the 2017 Opening Day roster, getting his first crack at the Majors at the age of 27 after six seasons in the minor leagues. He even earned his own fan group, as “Brock’s Crocs” started to appear at Citizens Bank Park. Unfortunately, the Cinderella story ended there, as Stassi lasted just 51 games with the Phillies, hitting .167 with a .573 OPS. He was sent back to Triple-A and ultimately designated for assignment in August. Stassi bounced around between organizations after electing free agency, but he never again appeared in a major league game. Stassi ultimately wound up back with the Phillies organization after his career, coaching with their minor league affiliates in 2023 and 2024 before being hired by the Mariners as a hitting coach for their low-A affiliate in 2025.
These are just two names of players who were the MVPs of spring training but never found much success in the majors. But we’ll always have that time in late February and early March where it looked like they might be something. Who is your favorite Phillies Spring Training MVP?
Tommy Henrich, who played left field for the Yankees.
The storied history of the Yankees is dominated in the popular perception by the team’s legends, from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, to Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, to Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge. But baseball is played with nine to a side, and even these superstars couldn’t raise the Yankees to fantastic heights on their own. There have always been great supporting players anchoring each great Yankees squad, players that may not have dominated the spotlight, but made important contributions all their own.
One of those players was Tommy Henrich, who we ranked 37th on our Top 100 countdown a few years back. An outfielder who played during a time when mythical figures like DiMaggio and Mantle roamed the grass at Yankee Stadium, Henrich was a superlative performer in his own right, one who was invaluable as the Yankees piled up championships in their glory years.
Thomas David Henrich Born: February 20, 1913 (Massillon, OH) Died: December 1, 2009 (Beavercreek, OH) Yankees Tenure: 1937-50
Thomas Henrich was born in Massillon, Ohio, a city 50 miles south of Cleveland. Massillon was a football town, and Henrich’s high school, St. John’s Catholic High School, didn’t even have a baseball team, so Henrich grew up largely playing softball. Henrich would play semipro ball after graduating and caught the eye of a Detroit Tigers scout, spurning Detroit’s advances but eventually signing with Cleveland in 1933.
In Cleveland’s system, Henrich didn’t look like a man who played little baseball growing up. He hit .325 in his first year in the minors, and hit .337 in 1935. He was one of the best players in the minors by 1936, hitting .346/.411/.560 with 15 homers and 100 RBI across 157 games.
Yet Cleveland didn’t show much interest in promoting Henrich to the show, as the team tried to sell his contract to the Milwaukee Brewers. He and his father wrote to a letter Commissioner Kenesaw Landis, arguing that Cleveland was denying Henrich a shot at the majors that he obviously deserved. Landis ruled in Henrich’s favor, and Henrich became the first free agent in MLB history.
Given Henrich’s stellar record in the minors, there was quite a bidding war for his services when he suddenly hit the open market. The New York Giants offered Henrich a $15,000 bonus, a hefty sum for 1937. But Henrich had eyes for a different New York club. Despite growing up in Ohio, Henrich had been a Yankees fan, awed by the exploits of Babe Ruth. The Yankees offered him a staggering $25,000, and Henrich was off to the Bronx.
The little kid from Massillon arrived in New York confident. He told Arthur Daley and the New York Times, of the time he checked into his hotel in Manhattan:
I still have a vivid memory of coming to town for the first time and checking into the Hotel New Yorker. The bellhop took my bag and discovered who I was before we even reached the room. ‘So you’re the new Yankee outfielder,’ he said, sneering at me. ‘How can you break in ahead of—let’s see, who we’ve got—Joe DiMaggio, Jake Powell, Myril Hoag, George Selkirk and Roy Johnson? Did you ever see them guys hit?’ Not yet,’ I said bravely, ‘but they never saw me hit either.’
After a brief stint with the Newark Bears, Yankee manager Joe McCarthy called for Henrich, and he made his major-league debut on May 11, 1937. Plugged into a lineup that included a late-career Lou Gehrig and a second-year player named Joe DiMaggio, Henrich more than held his own when his number was called. Henrich would play 67 games as a rookie, hitting a robust .320 with a .972 OPS. The Yankees would win the World Series that year, though Henrich didn’t appear. He would make his first appearance in the Fall Classic the next season, following a similarly strong sophomore campaign that saw Henrich post an .882 OPS. Henrich doubled in his first World Series game, and in the deciding Game 4, Henrich hit a solo home run that would prove to provide the winning run as the Yankees swept away the Cubs for their third-straight title.
Henrich cemented himself early in his career as one of the Yankees’ most consistent producers behind their stars, earning the nickname “Ol Reliable” from Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen. However, a knee injury he picked up as a rookie returned to plague him in his mid-20’s, and though he posted an .800 OPS in 1939 and a .947 figure in 1940, he played in fewer than 100 games each season. He didn’t appear in the 1939 World Series, which the Yankees won to make it a four-peat, before the club finally saw their streak end without a pennant in 1940.
In 1941, Henrich put together the finest overall season of his career to that point, hitting a career-high 31 home runs with an .895 OPS, and adding another World Series home run as the Yankees reclaimed the crown by defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers. Amusingly though, his most memorable play came on a strikeout that should have ended Game 4 in a Dodgers win to tie the series at 2-2. Brooklyn catcher Mickey Owen couldn’t handle Hugh Casey’s low curve and it skipped away from Owen for an error. DiMaggio and company promptly started a rally and by the time the dust had settled, the Yankees had won, 7-4. They won the World Series the next day.
Henrich’s breakout spilled over into the next season as he made his first All-Star team, but his run was cut short as the United States entered World War II. Henrich joined the U.S. Coast Guard in August 1942 and served three years primarily stationed in Michigan.
Henrich returned to the Yankees in 1946 and, at age-33, began an uninterrupted run of success. From 1946 to 1948, Henrich made two All-Star teams and received a smattering of down-ballot MVP votes each year. He appeared in at least 142 games each season, the longest stretch of decent health of his career. And he raked, his .858 OPS over that span 35 percent better than league average, all while providing the excellent outfield defense that he so prided himself on.
He was no longer a role player, a nice background piece behind the Yankees’ cast of legends. Even if the likes of DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, and other future Hall-of-Famers took most of the shine, Henrich was a celebrated player in his own right. Casey Stengel, having taken over as manager of the Yankees in 1949, said of his outfielder:
He’s a fine judge of a fly ball. He fields grounders like an infielder. He never makes a wrong throw, and if he comes back to the hotel at 3 in the morning when we’re on the road and says he’s been sitting up with a sick friend, he’s been sitting up with a sick friend.
Stengel’s praise encapsulated what Henrich’s teammates liked most about him; that dependability and reliability. Though injuries finally caught up to him at the end of his career, Henrich produced all the way to the end, as he always had. He dealt with back and toe injuries in 1949, which limited him to 115 games, and his balky left knee, always a lingering issue since he was a rookie, kept him to 75 games in 1950. When on the field, Henrich was still at his best. He managed a combined 680 plate appearances across 1949 and 1950, his final two seasons, and in that span he hit 30 homers, drove in 119 runs, and ran a .936 OPS.
Henrich threw in one more World Series homer in 1949 as the Yankees trumped the Dodgers again — a game-winning clout off Brooklyn’s Don Newcombe to break a scoreless tie and win Game 1. It was the first walk-off shot in the history of the Fall Classic.
Henrich would retire after the 1950 season, having appeared in four World Series, all wins, and having contributed to eight different pennant-winning teams. He hung around baseball for a time, spending a year as a Yankees coach in 1951, going into broadcasting for a couple seasons, and doing a tour as a base coach with the Tigers and Giants. He ultimately seemed more content to stick to the sidelines in retirement, speaking of those golden years when he won ballgames alongside the likes of Gehrig and DiMaggio and Berra. He would become a fixture at Old-Timers’ Days, and wrote two books, The Way to Better Baseball and Five O’Clock Lightning: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and the Glory Years of the NY Yankees.
Looking back decades later, it’s easy to wonder about what could have been for Henrich, had he not injured his knee his rookie year, or if he hadn’t lost three prime years to war. It’s not hard to imagine a world where Henrich pushes closer to the inner circle of Yankee greats, or even compiles a reasonable Hall-of-Fame case. But Henrich authored a more than fine career as played. He passed away in Ohio in December of 2009, and was born on this day 113 years ago. Happy birthday to Old Reliable!
SACRAMENTO, CA - JUNE 08: Heston Kjerstad #13 of the Baltimore Orioles warms up prior to the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Every spring, baseball hands us a fresh stack of reasons to believe. The weather is warm, the innings are low-stakes, and everyone is in the best shape of their life. So when Heston Kjerstad steps into the box at Ed Smith Stadium and rockets a home run off a live-arm pitcher, the correct response is probably measured skepticism.
And yet.
Something feels different this February. Maybe it’s the swing. Maybe it’s the words coming from the manager’s mouth. Maybe it’s Jackson Holliday — not exactly a disinterested observer, but also not a guy prone to empty flattery — saying that when Kjerstad is healthy, he’s “seriously one of the better hitters that I’ve seen.” Whatever it is, the optimism around Kjerstad this spring has a texture to it that feels harder to dismiss than the usual “he looks focused in camp” boilerplate.
Let’s try to figure out whether any of it is real.
You probably know the story all too well. In 2020, the O’s made Kjerstad the second overall pick out of Arkansas, where he’d been one of the best pure hitters in college baseball. Within months of signing, he was diagnosed with myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — and missed essentially all of 2021. A hamstring strain pushed his professional debut further into 2022. When he finally showed up to play, he hit. He won the Arizona Fall League home run derby. He slashed .303/.376/.528 with 21 home runs across the minors in 2023. He hit .253/.351/.394 in 39 big-league games in 2024 before Clay Holmes drilled him in the helmet with a 97 mph fastball in July.
Then 2025 happened. He hit .192. He posted a .566 OPS. He got optioned to Norfolk in June, went on the IL with fatigue, and then disappeared from game action entirely in late July with what the organization vaguely described as an undisclosed medical issue. Mike Elias confirmed Kjerstad had been undergoing treatments for a medical condition but declined to say much more. The season was over.
That’s a lot of history for a 27-year-old who has still never played more than three games in a row at the major league level.
So what’s new? A clean bill of health, maybe. A new swing adjustment. Kjerstad has ditched the large leg kick — the signature piece of his always-unorthodox mechanics — in favor of a simpler toe tap as his front foot lands. It’s the same change Jackson Holliday made late in 2024, and Holliday’s offensive improvement in 2025 is well-documented. The theory is straightforward: less moving parts, more contact.
Manager Craig Albernaz, who is still finding his voice in his first full spring as a big-league manager, didn’t sound like a man offering polite encouragement when he talked about Kjerstad. He said Kjerstad is “physically in a great spot,” that he’s “moving so efficiently in the box,” and that the new mechanics would “allow that whippiness [good word] to work in the swing.”
And Kjerstad has already gone deep twice in live batting practice — a 410-foot left-on-left shot off Keegan Akin and another off righty Trey Gibson. He hit a line drive to left off Shane Baz. He had singles off Kyle Bradish. His exit velocities have always been elite when he’s healthy; the 46.5% hard-hit rate and 9.3% barrel rate from his 2024 major league stint were genuinely impressive numbers buried inside a limited sample.
Now, here’s the uncomfortable question: is Kjerstad still in the Orioles’ outfield plans? The team brought in Taylor Ward and Leody Taveras this offseason, and they still have Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill, and Dylan Beavers in the mix. That’s five outfielders with reasonable claims on roster spots before you even get to Kjerstad. Opening Day roster is almost certainly not happening for him. But a strong start at Triple-A Norfolk could make Kjerstad a roster contender — or a valuable trade piece.
He’d need to show some sustained success, but if Kjerstad is genuinely healthy and hitting, there are worse things a contending team could do than sign a left-handed bat with plus raw power, pre-arb through 2031, still only 27 years old.
Then again, the Orioles scenario isn’t hopeless either. O’Neill has his own lengthy injury history. Beavers hasn’t yet proven he can handle a full season. Ward and Taveras are one-year rentals. Cowser had a brutal 2025 and is entering the year with something to prove himself. The outfield picture in Baltimore is more volatile than it looks on paper, and one or two DL stints from the incumbents could open a door Kjerstad has spent five years waiting for.
There are two honest ways to view Heston Kjerstad in February 2026. The first is as a cautionary tale about what happens when you keep watching a talented player get mowed down by things outside his control, until eventually the career opportunity cost adds up and you can’t get it back. The second is as a player who has never actually gotten a real chance — never started three games in a row, never been healthy for a full season — and who might finally be about to find out what he can do.
The swing change is real. The spring results are real. Jackson Holliday working out with him all offseason in Stillwater is a good sign. The medical situation remains a mystery, but “full health” from the man himself and from the organization is the best available information we have.
Do I fully buy the optimism? Let’s say I’m cautiously in. We’ve been burned before, but the version of Heston Kjerstad that shows up healthy and locked in, with a more efficient swing and something to prove, is the kind of player worth paying attention to. If this spring turns into what it might be, we’ll be saying we saw it coming. And if it doesn’t — well, we’ve had plenty of practice at that too.
PEORIA, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 10: A member of the grounds crew mows the field during sunrise at Peoria Sports Complex on February 10, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We made it, everybody. In what feels like the shortest off-season I can remember, today spring training games start for the Mariners. We’ve been busy working all off-season to keep you updated on what the Mariners have been up to this winter, but in case you’re checking in for the first time after taking some time off (welcome back!), here’s a speedrun recap of the off-season content, with links, to help bring you up to speed fast:
40 in 40 series: Where we preview every member of the 40-man roster, from the fringiest reliever to the biggest stars.
This year’s NRIs: Non-Roster Invites are players who get invited to big-league camp despite not being on the 40-man roster. If you’re wondering who the player on your screen wearing a number in the 80s is, the answer is probably here.
The off-season tracker: This includes not only a list of the moves the Mariners made this off-season, from major to minor, but also links to the stories we wrote about them, where applicable.
Top prospects countdown: We’re only about halfway through our top 20, but you can keep checking back.
Spring training broadcast schedule: Bookmark this one, because it will give you a handy list of all the games and whether they’re on TV or not, as well as how to watch them.
Starting next week, we’ll also have a preview series of all the teams in the AL West that will carry us straight through to Opening Day, if you’ve been using the 40 in 40 series as a way to count down to the start of spring training.
But today is all about the opening of spring training. The Mariners open spring as they always do, playing their complex-mates the Padres. The game starts at 12:10 PT and you can watch it on Mariners.TV for free, provided you make an account. If you have Xfinity, you can tune in on the old ROOT Sports channel, 629, at least according to the channel guide I checked.
Check in here at LL (most) every day this spring around 11 AM PT (12 when we move to daylight savings time) for a game thread that will give you important information like start times and broadcast information, as well as starting pitching matchups, which minor-league players are being brought over from minor league camp, or other things of note. If you can’t watch the game because your “boss” insists you “work” during the day and you have to do things like “feed your family” when you get home at night, we’ve got you covered with a daily recap that will run down the important bullet points of the game.
No matter how you consume spring baseball, we hope that you’ll come and talk about it with us, whether in the game threads or later in the recap comments. Our goal here is to provide authentic conversation around the team we all love, to learn with each other and from each other, and to be in communion with people who understand why “that’ll never hit” is the most cursed string of words in the English language. In a time where it feels like human conversation and community mean more than ever – and are vanishingly rare – our community is what makes us who we are.
If you’ve been a LLurker in the past, I hope this is the year you take the leap from “future commenter” into “active commenter.” If you’re brand-new here, welcome! Please sign up and join us. Before you jump into the conversation, do take the time to read over the site guidelines. Basically, they boil down to this:
No politics, no religion, treat each other with respect. Part of that respect is understanding not everyone shares your same viewpoints. We are an inclusive staff and an inclusive community, and comments that insult someone’s identity, directly or indirectly, will not be tolerated. We think that’s one of the things that will make this community a place you want to come back to again and again. That, and all the volcano facts.
Make comments that are additive, not subtractive. Ask questions, share observations, respond to something someone else said, make a joke (but not a joke that punches down at others. We are not diss comics here.). Subtractive comments are things like excessive complaining or negativity, piling on, or other comments made for no reason other than the person commenting is having a bad time and wants to make it everyone else’s problem. That’s selfish! Don’t do that. Or try not to, at least. We understand sometimes the Mariners will Mariner.
Don’t use chatspeak. This is a rule I myself have trouble following all the time (I tried to title this section the “tl;dr”) but it really is necessary to keep us all on the same page, and also serves as a reminder that there’s real thought and care that goes into these conversations. Similarly, these are authentic conversations, so we have a strict no-AI rule for comments. We are all smarter than ChatGPT about the Mariners, that’s the whole point of the site, so your ideas only, please.
Sometimes you’ll make a mistake just because you don’t know better, and at that point you’ll get a helpful message from the mods. Please take this in the spirit in which it’s intended: not to make you feel small, but to make your understanding of the world bigger. Our expectation is once you know better, you’ll do better.
Okay, that’s enough of that. Really, it’s a fun place to come and chat baseball provided you follow the most important rule: Be A Person. So sign up and join us today! One of us…one of us…
VENICE, FLORIDA - MARCH 23: Spencer Strider #99 of the Atlanta Braves delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles during a Grapefruit League spring training game at CoolToday Park on March 23, 2025 in Venice, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I guess I could’ve worded this, “Do you actually watch Spring Training games,” too.
Today marks the start of Grapefruit and Cactus League action. There are a few games against unaffiliated teams, too. But the full slate really begins tomorrow.
Me, I’ll watch pretty much any MLB baseball. Though the pitch clock made it somewhat harder in some ways, I’m still aiming to watch about three games a day this upcoming season. Spring Training games, though… they’re too unserious for me to pay real attention to. Not that I begrudge them this, as the point is really just for players to get up to speed — but it’s just too divorced from what resembles competition to be interesting for me. So I’ll usually turn it on, and lose interest when the re-insertions or full-scale substitutions start happening. I’ll leave ‘em on in the background, sure, but it’s not appointment viewing time, like the new regular-season-with-pitch-clock is now forced to be.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 01: A closeup view of the Detroit Tigers logo on the Nike jersey worn by Riley Greene #31 of the Detroit Tigers during the fourth inning in Game Two of the American League Wildcard Series against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on October 01, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Happy Friday, everyone! We’ve made it through the week, thank goodness, and our reward is the official return of baseball games! Sure, you can say Spring Training doesn’t matter, but tell that to a fan who has been starved for live games since October. The Tigers won’t have their first game until tomorrow, but hey, something to look forward to! In the meantime, the Tigers have unveiled their new home and road alternate jerseys and they’re pretty darned slick!
The other biggest news of the week is that MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, who has led the Players’ union since 2013, stepped down amid a sea of scandal (personal, not baseball-related) and his interim replacement Bruce Meyer has been announced. This is a terrible time for the players to be shifting leadership as debate over salary caps and the CBA is running rampant. We’ll have a bit more on that below.
So let’s get into the news bites for the day and prepare ourselves for baseball tomorrow!
Last season, McGonigle, 21, dominated the Arizona Fall League, slashing .362/.500/.710 with six homers and 19 RBIs, winning the league’s MVP award. That performance came after he hit .305/.408/.583 with 19 homers and 80 RBIs in 88 games split between Low A, High A and Double A during the regular season. He projects as a future batting title winner with 20-25 home run power. He’s selectively aggressive at the plate, is very quick on inside pitches and goes the other way extremely well on tough pitches down and away. He’s also solid defensively and is a good base-runner. If the Tigers give him a legitimate shot to make the roster this spring, he should, given his polish and talent.
Of Max Clark, he said:
Clark, 21, leads all potential rookies in swag and speed. He profiles as an elite leadoff hitter who will reach base consistently and steal bases at will. He has solid bat speed and above-average plate discipline and he makes good swing decisions. Clark is a tremendous defensive center fielder with solid first-step quickness and well above-average range in all directions. He also has the arm to stop base-runners from taking the next base. He’ll be a fan favorite quickly in the Motor City and, along with McGonigle, should give the Tigers an extremely fun and bright future. He’d be higher on my list but he’s likely to start the season in the minor leagues as he has just 43 games of Double-A experience.
Kevin McGonigle is starting at shortstop for the #Tigers on Saturday in the first spring training game, manager A.J. Hinch said. https://t.co/c9VoSjyCGd
A fresh take on a Detroit classic!!! So excited about these @tigers alternates🤩 You can get your hands on these starting Friday at the D Shops in both Detroit & Lakeland and online starting Sunday. • • • P.S. @PAWSDetroit was a celebrity at the office today pic.twitter.com/0QxpfBzrMn
