Mar 27, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) reacts after making a basket during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
BOSTON — With Jaylen Brown out against the Atlanta Hawks, someone needed to step up to shoulder the offensive load for the Celtics and Payton Pritchard answered the call.
Pritchard finished with a team-high 36 points along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 13-23 from the field and 6-11 from three-point range. The biggest indicator of how much Pritchard dominated this game was that he ended as a +26 in a game the Celtics won by seven.
Pritchard was asked postgame about filling the Jaylen Brown role tonight and said nothing really changed on his end. “I don’t think my role changed,” he said. “Like any other night, just come out being aggressive, looking to make plays for my teammates or for myself, and just make the right reads.”
In 8 games without Jaylen Brown this season, Pritchard has stepped up with averages of 25.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.3 assists on 48% shooting from the field and 46% shooting from three.
Payton Pritchard vs the Hawks 36 Points 7 Rebounds 4 Assists 13-23 FG 6-11 3PM pic.twitter.com/XqUtJueGiE
The Celtics offense was slow to start in this game, going down 25-9 with 3:39 left in the first quarter. Joe Mazzulla called his second timeout in a row, seemingly looking for any kind of a spark from someone. That was when Pritchard started to turn it on, scoring 7 points and assisting on another to cut the deficit to 3 points at the end of the first.
In classic Payton Pritchard fashion, he ended the quarter with an incredible buzzer beater, crossing over Dyson Daniels and finishing with a layup that kissed the banners in the TD Garden rafters before falling in.
When asked about his buzzer beater heroics, he talked about the science behind them, saying, “It’s a momentum play and the crowd feels it. Our team feels it. So I feel like it’s crucial because ending a quarter or a half and then going into the next possession you get that energy and the momentum swing.”
When asked about his situational awareness when it comes to taking these shots, Pritchard credited his high school coach for instilling it in him, saying, “I really don’t know… My high school coach, we used to do situations all the time of like end the game, and we would run through like, 8 to 10 situations every day of practice. And I just got really good at learning how to get my shot off in different ways and make a play.”
Pritchard didn’t slow down after swinging the momentum for Boston in the first quarter, riding his hot streak into the second quarter where he had 12 points on 5-7 shooting. He did a great job when it came to getting his shot off quickly and find ways to get to the basket aggressively.
Pritchard carried his impressive play into the third quarter with 13 points on 4-7 shooting. The Hawks tested out a new defensive style of not guarding Payton when he was wide open for three. This, as you could imagine, did not work out well for Atlanta.
Boston dominated the rebounding battle in this game, destroying Atlanta 52-35. Out of those rebounds, the Celtics had 13 offensive rebounds where Pritchard had 3 of them that made a huge difference in the second half. His rebounding led three different scoring plays, one a follow up basket for his own and the other two resulting in Jayson Tatum drawing fouls to shoot free throws.
Joe Mazzulla praised Pritchard’s ability to box out the defenders, calling out specifically the first one he had in the fourth quarter on Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Mazzulla said, “…the offensive rebound that he got looked like a defensive box out, but he got an offensive rebound in the foul [Tatum] drew. They were going out in transition and that could have changed the game a little bit.”
Talking about his offensive rebounds specifically, Pritchard just credited it to hard work and the want to win to win saying, “I want to win. You want to make a play and you see somebody shoot the ball, and I see it coming off the rim, I’m just fighting to try to get in, get an extra possession. Those little things like that can change the game and win a game. So, yeah, it’s just about the want and competitive spirit.”
When asked about the Celtics improvement on the boards as a whole Pritchard said it was all about “hard work, being about your work every day coming in. And, you know, trying to get better at the things that we need to improve at. That’s just a testament to the culture we built here.”
If Pritchard didn’t start for most of the season, it feels like he would be the runaway favorite for Sixth Man of the Year. Since moving to the bench on February 3rd, he has played in 22 games and has averaged 17.3 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.5 rebounds on 47% shooting from the field and 41% shooting from three.
Pritchard’s ability to come in and just cause chaos coming off the bench is a skill that no one in the league is better than him in. We have seen him be able to take over games and be a complete three-level scorer on the offensive end while being a great on defense for his size. He is a one-of-one type of player and his ability to out-work everyone on the court is an example of how he embodies the culture of playing in Boston.
While the coaches pacing the sideline in tailored suits or quarter-zips often get the most attention in men’s college basketball, it’s the players on the court who determine who makes the Final Four and wins the national championship.
The 2025-26 season has been one of the most star-studded in recent memory in the sport, with future NBA Draft lottery picks and wildly productive college players dominating the landscape nationally.
During the 2026 NCAA Tournament, some of the sport’s brightest stars have continued to propel their teams on deep runs. Though standouts like AJ Dybantsa, Darius Acuff Jr. and Darryn Peterson are watching the tournament from home, a number of All-American and all-conference performers are still chasing their dreams of cutting down the nets in Indianapolis on the first Monday night of April.
Among that distinguished group, who are the best players competing in the Elite Eight?
Here are the top eight players in the Elite Eight, with one player from each of the remaining eight squads:
Best players to watch in the Elite Eight
Players listed in alphabetical order
Cameron Boozer, Duke
The likely national player of the year has been everything the Blue Devils could have hoped for this season, averaging 22.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game to make him one of just 14 Division I players averaging a double-double this season. The 6-foot-9 freshman, the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, has kept up his outrageous production in the tournament, with a double-double in each of Duke’s first three wins, including 22 points and 10 rebounds in a narrow Sweet 16 win over St. John’s. He’s a projected top-three pick in the NBA Draft for a reason.
Brayden Burries, Arizona
Burries is one of several top-10 recruits from the 2025 class who have enjoyed stellar freshman seasons. On what might be the most well-rounded team in the country, Burries is the leading scorer at 16.2 points per game and has been efficient getting there, shooting 50.2% from the field and 39.5% from 3-point range. Though teammate Jaden Bradley earned Big 12 player of the year honors, Burries has been the Wildcats’ best player in the tournament thus far, averaging 19 points per game and shooting 64.3% (including 75% from 3).
Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
He's not the best NBA prospect on his team (that would be star freshman forward Nate Ament), but no player has been more indispensable to the Volunteers than Gillespie, who entered the Sweet 16 averaging a team-high 18.4 points, 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game. The Maryland transfer has been a steady, consistent presence for a team that has struggled to score at various points during the season.
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
It wasn’t an accident that Kaufman-Renn was in position to score the winning basket in Purdue’s biggest win this season. The Sellersburg, Indiana native, the rare college player who’s in his fourth season with the program where he started his career, has come through in a big way during the Boilermakers’ run to the Elite Eight, averaging 21.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 63.6% from the field. Teammate Braden Smith, the Division I career assists leader, has had the better career and better season, but Kaufman-Renn has been Purdue’s best player so far in the tournament.
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Lendeborg was one of the best players outside the five power conferences last season, averaging a double-double for a 24-win UAB team. This season, he’s proven to be just as effective in arguably the best conference in the sport while being the star for a team that spent several weeks this season ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The 6-foot-9 consensus first-team All-American is averaging 15.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and in the NCAA tournament, he’s been on fire, making 19 of his 30 shots (63.3%) and eight of his 13 3s (61.5%).
Tarris Reed Jr., UConn
Dan Hurley's team is remarkably balanced, with five players averaging between 10.6 and 14.2 points per game for a squad that's aiming to win its third national championship in the past four years. At the top of that group is Reed, a 6-foot-11 senior center who entered the Huskies' Sweet 16 win against Michigan State leading the team in scoring (14.2 points per game), rebounding (8.9 per game) and blocks (two per game). The Michigan transfer has followed up a strong regular season with an even better NCAA tournament, averaging 20.3 points and 15 rebounds per game. That run included one of the most ridiculous performances of the tournament, with 31 points and 27 rebounds in a first-round win over Furman.
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
While Ben McCollum’s coaching acumen helped him rise from Division II head coach to Iowa’s first Elite Eight since 1987 in just two years, Stirtz’s on-court contributions didn’t hurt. The Hawkeyes guard has been with McCollum every step of the way the past four years, following the coach from Northwest Missouri State to Drake to Iowa, where he’s averaging a team-high 19.7 points and 4.4 assists per game this season. He’s carried the Hawkeyes offensively, as he’s the only Iowa player averaging more than 10.4 points per game.
Keaton Wagler, Illinois
In a star-studded freshman class, Wagler has been perhaps the most unexpected star. He was the No. 261 recruit nationally in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, but has been one of the best guards in the sport this season, averaging 17.7 points per game and shooting 41.1% from 3. He’s been the centerpiece for a dynamic Illinois team that’s No. 2 in adjusted offensive efficiency this season, according to KenPom.
The Islanders’ up-down, up-down form hopefully does not continue today when they host the Panthers for a 1 p.m. matinee in Elmont.
Florida split two games at home (lost to the Wild, beat the Kraken) after finishing a road trip with a 4-1 loss in Calgary. Yes, they are last-except-for-the-Rangers in the East, but the Cup champs are not pushovers and have not thrown in the towel, going 5-5 over their last 10 (just a game worse than the Islanders, by the way).
After squeaking by the Stars on Thursday, if the Islanders can pull off another win chances are it will be by one goal, which is how they’ve gotten 27 of their wins thus far this season.
Islanders News
Five dudes who are key to the Isles’ playoff push. [Newsday]
Here’s how they lined up at Friday’s practice. [Isles]
The Isles ground out a win vs. the Stars, they’ll need that again this afternoon. [Post]
The Skinny: “Schaefer has 22 goals, tying Barry Beck (22) for the second-highest total in a season. His next goal will tie Brian Leetch’s NHL record.” [Isles]
It was team photo day, and the behind-the-scenes shots are all cute ‘n stuff. Kyle Palmieri and Alex Romanov sightings, plus Matt Martin in a suit and Matthew Schaefer hamming it up. [Isles]
Elsewhere
Just two games last night but the Red Wings won in Buffalo, in regulation, earning a valuable two points from one of their two games in hand.
PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 11: Roope Hintz #24 of the Dallas Stars skates against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 11, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Who:Dallas Stars (43-18-11, 97 points, 2nd place Central Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (36-20-16, 88 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 5:00 p.m. eastern
How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and Victory+, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins have a back-to-back coming up that will have a major impact on the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Pens take on the New York Islanders on the road on Monday before matching up with the Detroit Red Wings at home on Tuesday.
Opponent Track: The Stars have hit a recent skid, going 1-4-1 in their last six games (coming on the heels of going 8-0-1 in the first nine games out of the Olympic break). When Dallas is good, they’re very good but that hasn’t been the case recently having lost four-straight games (0-3-1) with losses to Minnesota, Vegas, New Jersey and most recently a 2-1 regulation defeat to the Islanders on Thursday night. Between the Stars’ slide, combined with Colorado’s recent four-game winning streak, it looks like Dallas is heading towards the ‘first round matchup of doom’ this year in the Central Division against Minnesota in what could feature two 105+ point teams squaring off.
Season Series: Back before the Penguins exorcised their shootout demons, they lost a 3-2 shootout decision against the Stars on Dec. 7 thanks to a Mikko Rantanen shootout goal against Tristan Jarry.
Hidden Stat: The Stars clinched a playoff spot on Sunday, which marked the franchise’s fewest games to earn a playoff spot (70) since the team did it in 63 games during their 1998-99 Stanley Cup season (h/t NHL Stats).
Hidden Stat 2.0: Home ice hasn’t been that friendly to the Penguins, who have only won 16 out of the 35 games at PPG Paints Arena (with another “home” win in the standings counted in a victory in Sweden when the Pens were designated as the home team). Overall the Pens are just 16-11-8 this season in their true home arena.
Rantanen is nearing a return from injury, he participated in Thursday’s morning skate ahead of the NYI game (though he didn’t play). As of 12 days ago Rantanen was said to be 10-14 days away, so he’s right in the window for a possible return to action for today’s game.
Mikko Rantanen is still more than 10 days to two weeks away from any possible return.
He will not go on the road with the team this week.
Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa are further away from consideration.
The Stars will be without Tyler Seguin for the rest of the season and the playoffs after placing him on LTIR in February amid his recovery from a torn ACL. They’ll still hope to get Hintz and Faksa back in time for the postseason, in addition to the impending return of Rantanen.
Former Penguin Michael Bunting was one of the Stars’ additions at the trade deadline alongside defenseman Tyler Myers. Bunting has since slotted in on Dallas’ second line alongside Matt Duchene.
Dallas could soon have two brothers on the same team for the first time since Jamie and Jordie Benn. The Stars recently signed Dylan Hryckowian, brother and former college teammate of third-line center Justin Hryckowian, to an entry-level contract.
Stars going dim
Generating offense has been an issue for Dallas during their current losing streak. They’re currently without two of their top-five point producers and stretching others into bigger roles has had an effect on output lately.
During the past 5 games, Dallas has scored 1 goal 1 goal 2 goals 4 goals 1 goal
The loss of Rantanen and Hintz is now a major issue. It's not just the loss of the two forwards but also the effect it has on special teams and depth scoring.
Wyatt Johnston has recorded career highs in both goals and points while centering Jason Robertson, who is enjoying his fourth straight 80-point season in Dallas.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, although he’s been strong as of late. The Stars are playing the Philadelphia Flyers on the road tomorrow, so they’ll have to decide whether Oettinger or former Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith will be getting the start in Pittsburgh tonight.
DeSmith, by the way, has only played against Pittsburgh once in his career. That happened last year as a member of the Stars, where he stopped 35 of 39 shots but picked up the loss. Oettinger has a lot of career success against the Pens, boasting a 6-1-0 record with a .942 save% and 1.71 GAA.
The Stars have been running one of the most formidable power plays in the NHL this season, although their top unit has recently taken a hit with the injury absence of Mikko Rantanen.
Dallas has had some injury issues but they haven’t played many different players, just 27 skaters have dressed this season. By comparison, the Penguins have dressed 38 different skaters so far this season.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby* – Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Anthony Mantha
Ville Koivunen – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau
Elmer Soderblom – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kris Letang
Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner
Potential Scratches: Ilya Solovyov, Blake Lizotte (injured), Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, Evgeni Malkin (injured)
IR: Filip Hallander, Jack St. Ivany
The Pens canceled a practice yesterday, so we’ll have to wait and see for this morning on any updates on the status of Crosby. If Crosby can’t play, it’s possible that Joona Koppanen will be in the lineup as a bottom-six center. The team could also opt to shift Rickard Rakell or Noel Acciari to center for the day and insert a winger like Avery Hayes into the lineup. Depending on Crosby’s status it could be a very fluid situation with a couple different options on how they want to go about patching a lineup together.
We’ll also await word on Evgeni Malkin, officially day-to-day with an undisclosed injury (believed to be in the finger/hand area). Malkin did not even travel with the team to Ottawa for Thursday’s game which might not bode well for his availability just a couple days later.
Bryan Rust is currently in the midst of a career-long nine-game point streak (5G-8A) and has points in 14 of his last 15 games played (7G-12A) dating back to Feb. 28th, per Pens PR. Rust’s streak is the second longest active one in the league behind Boston’s David Pastranak (11).
Sam Girard is set to play in career game No. 600 today. Not bad for a guy who won’t turn 28 until May.
Whether or not the goalie rotation continues will be interesting as well, Skinner has been performing much better than Silovs lately — but the team has other considerations in mind with a massive set of games on Monday/Tuesday against NYI and Detroit. They may want to keep Skinner fresh and in rhythm for that Monday game by not leaning too hard on him today, which would make Monday his third game in five days. They may also not want Silovs to have his next action come on Tuesday and have him go a full week between starts by skipping him today. Lots to weigh and consider for that decision on who plays in goal today for the Pens with more variables in mind than simply this one game.
Erik Karlsson is deep into Paul Coffey territory for points in a single month — always a great sign for any defender. Across the NHL this month, only Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov (26) has more points than Karlsson with his 21.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 25: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees greets his teammates during player introductions prior to the game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kavin Mistry/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It would’ve been hard for the Yankees to script a better first two games of their 2026 campaign. Sure, they probably wouldn’t have written in four strikeouts from their captain on Opening Day, but otherwise, things have been stellar, with Aaron Judge busting out with his first home run yesterday in another shutout win. Two games mean little when they’re followed by 160 more, but these two games do show what the glass-half-full case looks like for New York; a carbon copy of last year’s league-leading lineup and elite starting pitching lead to excellence.
On the site today, say hello to the minor league season with our first Baby Bomber Recap, as the RailRiders cruised in their first game. Also, Sam will deliver today’s Rivalry Roundup, while Matt’s entry in our Yankee Birthday series celebrates Vic Raschi, who had a great turn with the Yankees during their midcentury dynasty years.
Today’s Matchup
New York Yankees at San Francisco Giants
Time: 7:15 p.m. EST
Video: FOX
Venue: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
Questions/Prompts:
1. It’s just one start, of course, but are you letting your imagination run wild after seeing how Cam Schlittler looked in his season debut yesterday?
2. Have any performances from players on other teams particularly caught your eye two days in?
HOUSTON — Rebounding has always come naturally to David Mirkovic. Before he committed to play college basketball at Illinois, the 6-foot-9 forward from Montenegro played two seasons of professional basketball in the Adriatic Basketball Association League, where he averaged 6.4 rebounds per game during the 2024-25 season.
When the ball bounced off the rim or backboard, Mirkovic corralled it, simple as that.
That changed when he got to Illinois last summer.
“It’s much different,” Mirkovic said. “(In Montenegro), I didn’t have coaches that tell me and remind me every day all day to crash the boards or get some of the defensive rebounds. But since I’m playing basketball, every time I was the best rebounder on my team. I would say just naturally, I had that feel for rebounds. So when that combines with the coach that’s put that much emphasis on rebounding, it’s just getting better.”
Mirkovic is now the top rebounder on an Illinois team that is riding a rebounding wave into Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game against Iowa.
This season, the Illini are ranked 10th in rebounds per game (41.1) and seventh in rebounding margin (10.1). It’s not a new strength; Illinois has been a top-10 rebounding team in the country in each of the last three seasons.
“I think the secret sauce is just, it’s something you emphasize every single day,” said Illinois assistant coach Tyler Underwood.
Underwood’s father, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood, was Kansas State’s director of operations during the 2006-07 season under head coach Bob Huggins, who is famous for his aggressive rebounding schemes. That left an imprint on Underwood, and in nine seasons at Illinois he’s made rebounding a pillar of his program.
The Illini track individual players’ “go rates” – what percentage of the time they crash the offensive glass – in practices and games. At halftime, coaches check "go rates" and remind players who are falling short to fulfill their offensive rebounding obligations. The message is clear: If you don’t go, your playing time stops.
The Illini are receiving key contributions on the boards from a pair of freshmen, Mirkovic and guard Keaton Wagler.
Through three NCAA Tournament games, Mirkovic is averaging a team-high 10.7 rebounds to go with 13.7 points. Wagler, the team's top scorer averaging 17.7 points, is right behind him averaging 8.0 rebounds.
In the Illini’s Sweet 16 win over Houston, Mirkovic broke the Illinois freshman total rebounding record set by Kofi Cockburn six seasons ago, while Wagler pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds. They became the first pair of freshman teammates to each have a double-double in the same NCAA Tournament game since freshmen became fully eligible in 1972-73.
“His frame doesn’t scream 12 rebounds, but his toughness does,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said of Wagler.
Prior to Thursday’s game, Brad Underwood told Illini players that they would need a massive effort on the glass to win, especially from the guards. Wagler answered the call.
“He's a great listener,” Brad Underwood said. “We knew that (Chris) Cenac and (Joseph) Tugler, they back tap a lot of balls. They're elite at it. So our bigs were going to have to hit bodies, but our guards were going to have to come clean it up. So we needed a big, big rebounding game from our guards. I thought Keaton just takes everything to heart. He's had some big rebounding games this year, but to do this in this moment – you guys got to understand what a joy it is to coach him, and he doesn't worry about needing to score points.”
While Illinois’ bigs engage in physical battles under the basket to grab rebounds off the rim and box out their defenders, Wagler and the other guards stay alert and track down longer rebounds.
Tyler Underwood said that the Illini chart their misses and find that most occur on shots from the left corner of the court. When they miss from the left, the ball tends to carom to the right side of the basket, so Illinois tells players to flood “opposite and inside” to be in prime rebounding position.
Illinois typically has four players crash the boards after shots on offensive possessions, but last season the team slightly altered its rebounding philosophy. Instead of either the point guard or the shooting guard always being the player responsible for getting back on defense after a shot, the Illini decided that on 3-point shots, the shooter is the one who gets back – regardless of what position he plays.
That nuance has helped Illinois take advantage of their “twin towers,” brothers Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic, two 7-footers who each attempt more than half of their shots behind the 3-point line.
“With our pick-and-pop bigs, they end up shooting a lot of 3s, so that draws opponents’ bigs away from the rim, which puts them in uncomfortable sports, which allows guards to rebound,” Tyler Underwood said. “And our bigs end up being back in transition a lot, which is good because they’re our 7-footers.”
The strategy only works if players like Mirkovic and Wagler pick up the slack on the boards.
“I think rebounding, there’s an element of feel to it, an element of timing, an element of tracking the ball while it’s in the air,” Tyler Underwood said. “Both of those guys excel in that area because they have such a good feel for the game. And then they’re very disciplined and they put their teammates first. They’re willing to make winning plays.”
Both freshmen are do-it-all players who have developed a close relationship with each other on and off the court.
On the surface, the idea of a 6-foot-9 former professional player from Montenegro forming a bond with a skinny guard from Shawnee, Kansas, calls to mind videos of unlikely animal friendships. But the pair’s chemistry has blossomed through a mutual appreciation for hard work and competition, be it playing the “NBA 2K” video game or working out on the court.
“We have some similarities in our personality, like we are both Gen Z, I would say,” Mirkovic said. “The second thing, we had a lot of similarities, basketball-wise. Like we are pretty similar players despite different positions. … I would say our understanding and IQ of basketball and our unselfishness and skill level, that makes us unstoppable.”
Wagler said, “My first impression of him is that he’s a goofy guy who likes to mess around, but then in practices, he’s super competitive. He hates losing drills, no matter what it is. I knew we were gonna get along after that because I’m competitive. I don’t like to lose.”
They’ve both learned to embrace the Illini’s rebounding ethos, too. Wagler said he and Mirkovic have gained confidence from watching each other succeed.
“I think we both learned that you don’t have to be the most athletic or fastest person on the court,” Wagler said. “You can play at your own pace and still be as good as anyone. We both do the right things and we both want to win. Doesn’t matter if we score however many points, you know – if we got to go in and pass, get assists, get rebounds, we’ll do that.”
As the dreaded popup rises in a youth baseball game, coaches on the bench and parents in the bleachers tense as the world turns into a slow-motion movie reel.
Who’s gonna get it?
Even big leaguers sometimes hate popups. Just before Carl Yastrzemski hit the one that would end Boston’s American League East pursuit in a famous winner-take-all playoff game in 1978, Graig Nettles, the Yankees’ third baseman, said to himself: “Don’t hit a popup to me.”
But Nettles, one of the best fielding third baseman of all time, camped under it and caught it. Overcoming popups are essential to success in baseball and in reality away from the field.
I would argue most parents don’t often think about these lessons when we watch our kids play. We want them to succeed from the earliest ages.
“Considering the pyramid of ascension in baseball, kids are not gonna be playing major league ball, and many of the kids are not gonna be playing college ball,” says Rotbart, a pediatrician and parenting author who coached his two now-grown sons at baseball, tells USA TODAY Sports. “And if they do it, it will be club ball. So I think that parents have fantasies about their child, if he doesn't make that catch, if he doesn't get the hit with the bases loaded, nobody is gonna sign him.
“He's not going to be drafted anyway.”
While chasing the long odds, have you ever thought about how baseball and softball imitate finding success in life? Rotbart and Davidoff, a veteran sportswriter, have teamed to explore that question.
We spoke with them and picked out 10 tips for parents about how they can apply lessons from baseball for sports and life success.
1. Step into the box: Being comfortable and confident is being successful
The book is about 15 years in the making, after Rotbart coached his two sons (now 34 and 38) through high school, taking meticulous notes that became a manuscript. He connected with Davidoff, who covered Major League Baseball for 30 years for a few New York City-area papers to bring it more legitimacy, to connect it more to the big leagues.
Rotbart was exercising the lesson in Chapter 9 ("The Batter’s Box") and finding his comfort zone. In this instance, Davidoff tied the familiar moment to Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, who liked to chat with fans in the on-deck circle, which made him feel at home as he calmly walked to the plate.
When he stepped into the box, it was his time to be confident in his preparation, focus in and take charge.
“You are the right person, at the right time,” the authors right in the book. “Believe you can face any challenge, any time, and want to face that challenge. You are in the in the batter’s box, right where you belong.
When you step into the box and aren’t successful, though, a matter of inches – up or back, inside or out – can help you get on track.
“You can change your faith oftentimes without making dramatic changes in your life, but even making incremental changes,” Rotbart says.
2. Remember to tag up: Pause and control your anger
Now you’ve made it to one of the bases. If the batter hits a fly ball that is caught, you can’t advance to another without “tagging up.” When the ball leaves the bat, though, your impulse is to run.
But that little pause – that tag up – prevents us from harm and embarrassment. Outside the field, it’s a form of anger management.
How many times have you received an email or text from someone that enrages you? If you respond right away, your reply might be nasty. But if you pause and take a break, your action is more measured and thoughtful.
“There's so much impulsivity in young athletes,” Rotbart says. “They see it in role models. They watch it on TV, the impulsive reaction to umpires, to coaches, to fans. And we have to teach kids to tag up.”
3. Life is a fielder's choice: Decide what is most important
We are told as baseball players to think about what we’re going to do with the ball if it’s hit to us in the field. If runners are on base, we must make a choice.
If our team has a big lead in the game, we get the easiest force play. But if it’s a close game, we might throw across the diamond to third base to get the lead runner.
“It's urgent for you to protect that slim lead and then you translate that over to school,” Davidoff says. “Let's say you're acing chemistry, you're up four runs in chemistry. So, OK, you have homework in five subjects tonight, don't worry about (chemistry) too much. But now you’ve got a “C” in chemistry, you’re only up one run. You need to get that lead runner. You need to turn the double play. You need to really step on the gas with your chemistry and make sure you nail it.”
4. Include everyone: Pinch-hitters and pinch-runners are crucial to the team
We can learn to throw ourselves into whatever role we are given.
“There are players who are not starters, and there are players who may not even be position players by their talent level,” Rotbart says. “But they have other skills that they can bring. They may be a fast runner. They may be able to hit, but not be able to field. And pinch-hitters and pinch-runners teach kids that we should be inclusive and not clickish, that we should want everyone on a team, everyone in our friendship circle, everyone in our class, to be included in activities, becauseeveryone has something different to contribute.”
Even if you're assigned a less prominent or less prestigious assignment on the team, or on the student council, or at the school newspaper, or in a Woody Allen movie with one line, make the best of it:
Go out there and make the catch that nobody expects you to make.
“When the expectations are low, that's when you have the best opportunity to shine,” Rotbart says.
5. If you get yourself into a pickle, you can give yourself up for the greater good
I had a player on one of my Little League teams who was fast and could keep himself caught in a “pickle” between first and second bases long enough for a runner from third base to break for home and score.
The longer a pickle in baseball lasts, the more humorous it gets, and we wonder if the runner who made the “mistake” will still reach a base safely.
“Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't work out, but the analogy in the book is that when you are untruthful, when you say things that are not true, you get yourself in a pickle, and that's when you're lying, and you lose trust,” Rotbart says. “Sometimes you get away with it. Sometimes you advance to the next base. But oftentimes, you get thrown out, and being untruthful, lying is the most common cause for (a) real-life pickle.”
The lesson I like about the pickle is sacrificing yourself. As we know, even with two outs, that run from third base counts if it scores before the player is tagged out.
6. Mound meetings work: Take time to accept advice, or to just catch your breath
Davidoff remembers covering the Yankees’ first interleague visit to play the Colorado Rockies in 2002, and Roger Clemens was having a rough first inning.
He watched third baseman Robin Ventura walk over and chat with Clemens for a few seconds. Davidoff asked Ventura the next day what he had said to the starting pitcher.
“Nothing,” the third baseman told him, “just an excuse to let him exhale and take a deep breath.”
We all need it. Clemens got out of the first inning allowing only one run.
The same concept can apply as a youth coach when you call a timeout as a youth coach or gather your young player on the mound. They often respond by playing better. Sometimes, it’s as simple as you telling them, “I believe in you.”
7. Clean up your messes, and take pride in your spaces
Yoshinobu Yamamoto came to the Los Angeles Dodgers for $325 million in 2023. We know he helped lead Los Angeles to the World Series the last two seasons.
But did you know last October, after he pitched a complete game to even the World Series 1-1 in Toronto, he remained in the dugout and cleaned up trash teammates had left behind?
“Do not leave today's mess for tomorrow,” Rotbart said. “You clean up the dugout, you sweep the field, just like Yoshi Yamamoto did. That's protecting your tomorrow by taking care of your mess today.”
Someone may be playing on the field after you, or an opponent may have hosted you at their home park. You are showing them respect – win or lose – but also showing everyone a piece of who you are.
“Your personal spaces are part of you, signs on the outside of who you are on the inside, like the clothes you wear and how you brush your hair,” the authors write.
8. Stretch for the ball, but know when to pull off the base
Sometimes we want to make a spectacular play by diving for a ball in the outfield, or stretching far in front of us to catch a ball if we’re playing first base.
But what happens if we can’t get to the ball? We miss it, and it rolls to the outfield wall, allowing three runners to score. We don’t reach it and it skips past us at first base and the baserunner to get to second base in a tie game.
Sometimes, we need to slow up and let the ball drop to prevent further damage, or take our foot off the bag to stop the ball from going to the fence. Rotbart has used such analogies when speaking to patients as a pediatrician.
“A clinical example that I have (is) where a parent and an adolescent came into the clinic, and the mom was complaining that her son was doing too much of what his friends, what his cohort was asking him to do,” he says, “and that he would do anything to maintain friendship but he was going too far, doing things he shouldn’t be doing.”
9. Believe in yourself, and don't listen to the chatter
I hear it every time my sons play a high school game. Teams are yelling at each other from the dugout, or fans are yelling from the stands, to try and throw players off their games.
It’s not easy to block out the noise.
“There will always be those who feel better when they’re embarrassing others,” Davidoff and Rotbart write. “In baseball, the best teams and the best players don’t taunt.”
The authors analogize chatter in the book to be like gossip: Saying things that are potentially hurtful, disruptive and distracting or even dangerous (in the case of fly balls).
Chatter might seem helpful in the moment but if a potential coach sees you doing it – in person or on social media – he or she might stop recruiting you.
10. Learn to catch the popup: Take charge and follow through
When the ball is up in the air, we’re waiting for someone on the field to take charge. Maybe it’s the kid who’s under it, but often it’s the one who’s most confident in catching it. Go ahead, call for it.
“Someone has to take responsibility,” Rotbart says. “Someone has to be accountable, and suddenly, the pop fly became a lesson in taking responsibility, following through.”
He thought about it, after watching some of the 700 to 800 kids who came through his baseball program crash into each other on the pitcher’s mound going after a popup. Rotbart reached for his notebook, and the seed of a book was born.
“Double-check everything you do with others to make sure you know who is doing what,” he and Davidoff would craft into lesson No. 48. “If you’re the one ‘calling’ for the ball, make sure others hear you; if someone else is calling for it, make sure you hear them. Messages you send can get lost and so can messages people send to you.
“When it’s important your message – or assignment or project – gets where it’s going and gets seen or heard, follow through and make sure it got there. Otherwise, you’ve dropped the ball.”
Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His Coach Steve column is posted weekly.For his past columns, click here.
Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@usatoday.com
TAMPA, FL - MARCH 11: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 11, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
SNY | Phillip Martínez The Yankees are now 2-0 in the 2026 campaign after taking the second game of their three-game set vs. the San Francisco Giants. The 3-0 final score meant that they have now pitched two consecutive shutouts in the Bay Area, led by Max Fried on Wednesday and Cam Schlittler on Friday.
Schlittler, limited to 68 pitches after the minor back/lat scare he suffered in spring training, blanked San Francisco for 5.1 innings, surrendering just a hit and no walks while striking out eight.
MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams The Yankees took a minor-league flier on right-hander Luis García, who won the 2022 World Series with the Houston Astros, on a two-year deal. He is currently rehabbing from a second Tommy John surgery performed in the fall of 2025. He returned from the first procedure and was only able to make two starts, in which he had a 3.52 ERA.
The Yankees are probably aiming for García, who has a 3.60 career ERA and is 29, to return at some point in the 2027 campaign.
NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller Facing left-hander Robbie Ray, Yankees manager Aaron Boone sent the three right-handed hitters and lefty-killers from his bench to the field on Friday: Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, and Randal Grichuk. Ben Rice, Ryan McMahon, and Trent Grisham were benched.
Boone, however, didn’t commit to this arrangement against all southpaws and clarified that Rice and Grisham, in particular, will be in the lineup sometimes against pitchers of their same hand.
“Not necessarily,” Boone said. “Ben’s gonna play against some lefties. Grish, too. A lot of it has to do with the first three series, first nine games, this is probably the only lefty we’re gonna see, and we certainly want to get those guys in.
“And obviously they bring a lot to the table against left-handed pitching. So I’m excited to see them get their feet wet and get going.”
SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors often talk about building good habits and generating momentum while approaching the NBA play-in tournament, but Friday night was the latest instance in which their bad habits have been too stubborn to leave.
Having frittered away a 12-point halftime lead during a brutal third quarter, the Warriors went into the fourth down by two to the Washington Wizards, who had lost 16 of their last 17 games and, thankfully for the Warriors, are cool to the notion of slowing their rocket to the NBA draft lottery.
There they were, two teams missing their top two players, traipsing through the final 12 minutes before the war of the woeful was won by the team sure to play beyond the regular season.
Down by five (111-106) with 6:18 remaining, the Warriors went on an 16-2 run that spurred a 131-126 victory, their third in a row, before a sellout crowd too polite to boo moments that invited it but summoned rousing cheers down the stretch.
“First half, I saw focus offensively, simple decisions,” coach Steve Kerr said. “And then I thought we let our guard down defensively in the second quarter. A couple back-cut layups, some poor transition, missed communication on switches.
“There was good and bad tonight, but I like the way we closed the game and had a lot of good individual performances.”
The cleanest and most efficient of those performances came from Gui Santos, who scored 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from deep while splashing 8 of 9 from the line. Kristaps Porziņģis continue to lurch toward impact status, producing a team-high 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 5 of 11 from distance, while grabbing eight rebounds. Brandin Podziemski delivered 22 points, a team-high 10 rebounds and seven assists.
The Warriors’ three-game win streak was built on wins over teams waving white flags big enough to cover Chase Center. This was the Warriors’ second consecutive “clutch” game against an opponent with no incentive to win. Two nights after the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets sat three starters in the fourth the quarter to welcome defeat, Washington followed the same script.
Oh, but here comes the heat, three consecutive opponents bound for the NBA playoffs, all fighting to gain favorable position.
The Warriors fly to Denver on Saturday to face the Nuggets on Sunday, return home to face the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday and then greet the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
The only way Nikola Jokić or Jamal Murray or Victor Wembanyama or Donovan Mitchell are sitting in the fourth quarter is if they’ve already blown the Warriors off the floor – which is a distinct possibility if they donate more quarters like the third against the Wizards, who, aided by six Golden State turnovers, posted a 34-20 advantage.
“We just got to slow down,” Santos said. “We need to play fast, move the ball fast, but at the same time stay under control. When we drive, when we get into the into the paint, we’ve got to just stop with two feet.”
The Warriors showed signs of improvement in the first quarter, leading by as much as 16 points. They accomplished this by shooting 50 percent from the field, including 46.7 percent beyond the arc – and not committing a single turnover.
That had to be encouraging for Golden State, which had committed 97 turnovers in its previous four games.
But the Wizards (17-56) understood the assignment, which allowed the Warriors opportunities to overcome the worst of themselves.
Those bad habits will be their undoing if they aren’t broken. Their desire to climb above 10th place in the Western Conference surely will be sabotaged if they help teams that don’t need it.
“We’re getting there,” Podziemski said. “We’re showing flashes of good and bad. Fortunately, we got to do it against Brooklyn and Washington in these last two games.
“But we’ll see what we’ve got come Sunday.”
Stephen Curry won’t make it to Denver. He’ll stay in the Bay Area, working with medical/performance chief Rick Celebrini in hopes of being ready by Wednesday or Thursday.
Curry’s arrival won’t matter much by then unless the Warriors catch some of the good habits that they insist they are chasing.
The Brooklyn Nets have not been a physically imposing team in a long time. That lack of phsyicality has been a common criticism of Sean Marks’ rosters in his decade-long tenure as GM, though there have been a couple notable exceptions. Andre Drummond and Day’Ron Sharpe aren’t just strong on paper; they’re two of the best offensive rebounders of the 21st century.
Those two are more exception than rule. Jarrett Allen, Nic Claxton, and Noah Clowney all have their individual strengths, but they are also prone to getting pushed around in the paint. This has irritated Nets fans to no end because the cycle repeats every couple years, feeling more like a stain on the front office rather than the individual players.
It’s not just big men, and it’s not just physicality. David Nwaba tore his achilles during the 2019-20 season, and Brooklyn did not then roster a wing with nearly as much burst until Drake Powell, whose quick-twitch ability is exciting partly because we have not seen it in so long.
Some of this is inherent in watching a bad team lose a bad game. Where they are long, they are not strong; where they are strong, they lack burst. If the Nets were full of plus-athletes, they’d probably be better.
But for all the panic over the Flatbush Five’s relative lack of athleticism and size, the tide is shifting, ever so slightly. Clowney has continually scaled down positions, playing the 5 for much of his rookie year with the Long Island Nets but manning the wings of late, where his lack of strength and vertical explosion is a bit less of an issue. I think the a-ha moment was a couple of Long Island matchups against the Mexico City Capitanes in Clowney’s rookie year, when a 34-year-old Kenneth Faried put him in a hydraulic press.
Brooklyn’s signing of Chaney Johnson to a two-way contract drew some surprise, but he has had a fun stint with the big league club despite a lack of traditional offensive skills. Johnson is a thick 6’8”, and has put that frame to good use, grabbing offensive boards, blocking shots, and dunking the ball seven times already while getting fouled on a couple other attempts…
But that seems to be all a preface to Friday’s game (which didn’t finish till after midnight back on the East Coast) wherein Ziaire Williams and Josh Minott combined for 34 points. Those two have brought a new dynamic to Brooklyn’s wings. Their play and toughness over the last month has been a revelation.
Of the two, it’s tougher to make that argument for Williams, a skinny guy who doesn’t initiate a ton of contact on either end. Williams is listed at 6’9” and can jump, but has he dunked on anybody as a Net? These limitations will sometimes flare up when the 24-year-old puts the ball on the floor, which he’s done frequently in March.
That said, Williams has been a menace on the perimeter this season, particularly over the past month. Among the 313 NBA players who have appeared in 40+ games this season, he ranks 10th in deflections per minute. Opponents turn the ball over on 4.4% more of their possessions when Williams is on the court, a 98th percentile swing, per Cleaning the Glass. Certainly, the Nets have encouraged him to be aggressive in the passing lanes, particularly in the middle of the floor…
from a while ago, but a good example of Ziaire's freedom to play attacking defense: pic.twitter.com/tRL0smHVsR
“Sometimes we gotta let Ziaire be Ziaire, right?” explains Jordi Fernández. “His energy is contagious, and a lot of times it’s not going to be perfect, but he just makes up with — you know, sometimes they’ll make mistakes, but he makes up with that extreme energy. But the guys know it; like, if you gamble, you better get it. That’s what I always tell them.”
Williams’ offense is uneasy, but it’s trending in the right direction — threes comprise over 60% of his shot diet, and he’s shooting 34.3% on 9.9 attempts per 100 possessions this season, all career-highs. He’s also cut most of the fat out of his two-point diet (notwithstanding this stretch of late-season experimentation) as a strong cutter with just a couple finishing tricks in the bag.
A couple years ago, the Nets and other teams might have imagined Williams as a stretch-4 of sorts. Not anymore. Williams played many minutes next to a Clowney/MPJ/center trio this season, both guarding the opponent’s lead ball-handler and being an attack dog in the passing lanes. For an off-guard, his length and energy is a plus, hardly a questionable athlete in this role.
This was a good find from NetsFilm on Twitter…
Ziaire is currently the second youngest player in the NBA with a STL% >2.5, BLK% >1.5 and TS% >56, only behind teammate Josh Minott pic.twitter.com/9aS7OJtuFG
Williams has been a chaotic defender who makes enough of his shots to be a net positive and in March, he’s put up big numbers averaging 13.3 points on 52/51/90 shooting splits. That’s 13 games of very hot shooting, and Williams has been known to be inconsistent over his Nets tenure, but he is putting together a strong season by any definition.
So is Josh Minott. Minott is a sturdy 6’8” with a plus-wingspan, throwing down some big dunks since getting traded to the Nets midseason, but there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of self-creation.
Despite a couple nice drives here and there, he’s recorded nearly twice as many turnovers as assists in Brooklyn. You see in the first clip below that he misses a open corner pass on a drive. However, in that second clip, you see yet another impressive 3-pointer from the former Celtic…
Across the season, with both Brooklyn and Boston, Minott is shooting an absurd 44.1% from deep on nearly nine attempts per 100 possessions. Across four NBA andG League seasons, Minott is shooting 38.2% from deep on just under 400 total attempts as a pro. The shot looks a little funky, and he hasn’t really let it fly until this season, but that ball is going in.
If it continues, Minott is a bonafide NBA player who will bring more force to Brooklyn’s wings. This season, he ranks 17th in the league in deflections per minute, averaging nearly four stocks (steals + blocks) per 36. Jordi Fernández has openly challenged his mediocre rebounding numbers, but Minott plays with a clear blend of athleticism and calculated risk-tasking on D. This steal (initially called a foul but overturned via challenge) against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday really showed off his hands…
You figure Fernández is going to love playing Williams and Minott next season (assuming Brooklyn picks up the team option they have on each guy — $6.3 million on Williams, $2.3 million on Minott). Brooklyn has forced turnovers at just above a league-average rate over Fernández’s stint as head coach, but it’s taken a concerted effort from the staff to get them there. The Nets trapped ball-screens relentlessly in ‘25, and though they’ve toned that down a bit in ‘26, they play aggressively in the gaps, demonstrated above by Williams.
Next season, can Brooklyn force even more turnovers and will that factor into their offseason decision-making? Furthermore, can they both force turnovers and shut off the rim ever so slightly? After all, Brooklyn’s opponents have taken 36.1% of their attempts directly at the rim, the highest mark in the league, per Cleaning the Glass.
Sean Marks and the Nets might be turning over a new leaf. Egor Dëmin isn’t going to win a dunk contest anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t getting more athletic, particularly when Ziaire Williams or Josh Minott is playing the 2.
Neither Williams nor Minott is a perfect player. On a competitive team, neither can handle the ball much, and for 3-and-D players, both have questions about their outside shot. But for a Nets team that has too often been bullied by their opponents, it’s been fun to watch Williams and Minott fly around on the wing.
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 27: Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on March 27, 2026 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
In a game of runs, it was the Celtics that eventually finished out the final stretch to beat the visiting Hawks 109-102 behind 36 points off the bench from Payton Pritchard and a 26-12-5 line from Jayson Tatum. Without Jaylen Brown (and Nikola Vucevic), Boston was able weather a Hawks’ 25-9 opening kick and a 26-14 run bridging the second and third quarter to push their record to 49-24 and end Atlanta’s three-game winning streak and adding a loss to their 14-2 record since February 22nd.
36 minutes, 26 points (2-8 from 3, 8-10 from the free throw line, 8-24 from the field), 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, +1
It wasn’t the most efficient night for Tatum, but you can see him slowly getting his legs and confidence back in Game #10. Where Tatum seems to be lacking is where you’d expect: finishing. Whether it’s getting lift on his pull-up 3s, rising around the rim, or changing direction on his drives, he doesn’t seem to have his twitchiness yet. To be honest, it might take another summer to get that back.
However, where he’s been consistent is in areas where he can use his size — Tatum seems a little stronger in his upper body, right? — and length to overpower defenders, rebound, and navigate the floor and find shooters with his passing.
“I mean, I thought I saw his defensive rebounding. I thought that was the most important thing. Thought offensively, got into the paint, got to the, you know, was able to get to the free throw line, shoot ten free throws, just continuing to chip away at giving the game what it needs,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “He was aggressive in his drive, missed some easy layups there, but as long as he stays aggressive, as long he makes the right read, as long as he continues to rebound, he’s, you know, continuing to get better and better.”
The ball seemed a little sticky whenever JT got a matchup that he thought he could beat, but it’s important for him to get those reps in March before they really matter in April, May, and June.
Grade: B
Sam Hauser
29 minutes, 10 points (2-5 from 3, 4-7 from the field), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, one turnovers, -2
It’s been an odd couple of games for Hauser. When he’s been wide open, he’s uncharacteristically been missing those. In tight windows or off the dribble, he’s hit the more difficult looks.
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 28, 2026
Grade: B+
Neemias Queta
27 minutes, 5 points (1-2 from the free throw line, 2-2 from the field), 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 block, +5
The Hawks are a high-volume drive team, but for the most part, the Celtics were able to control the defensive glass and Atlanta’s halfcourt offense because of Queta’s presence in the paint. Neemi didn’t score much, but I’ll chalk that up to Brown not playing and Queta not getting those dunker spot opportunities.
Grade: B
Derrick White
34 minutes, 10 points (0-4 from 3, 4-5 from the free throw line, 3-13 from the field), 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, -4
Over his last four games, DWhite has shot 6-15, 6-15, 3-11, and 3-13 last night against the Hawks. There’s no worry here even though he’s mired in a season-long slump.
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 28, 2026
Baylor Scheierman
28 minutes, 3 points (1-3 from 3, 1-3 from the field), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, one turnover, -13
Scheierman replaced Jaylen Brown in the starting lineup and was largely invisible against Atlanta. He still played good defense whenever he got his licks against Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Johnson and was a steady Baller Scheierman tonight rather than the Baylor Schowman that we saw against the Thunder on Wednesday.
Grade: C
Payton Pritchard
34 minutes, 36 points (6-11 from 3, 4-4 from the free throw line, 13-23 from the field), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 turnovers, +26
Simply put, the Celtics don’t win this game without PP going nuclear. After making all three from behind the arc in the first half, another three straight triples in the third quarter put Boston up virtually up for good for the rest of the game. He hit the Hawks with a couple of drives and grabbed some timely offensive rebounds which made up for his five turnovers.
Grade: A+
Jordan Walsh
27 minutes, 5 points (1-1 from 3, 2-3 from the field), 3 rebounds, one assist, 3 blocks, +3
After six straight DNP-CDs, Walsh ate up the minutes vacated by Jaylen Brown and did well in his return to the rotation. For Walsh to be successful, he has to find ways to impact the game without the ball. When he was starting earlier in the year, that met being a plus defender on the opposing team’s best player and hitting catch-and-shoot opportunities. In other words, getting in where he was fitting in. A block here, a block there, a back door cut here, a kick out 3 there on a night when the Celtics needed to gut out a win earns high marks for JW.
Grade: A
Luka Garza
15 minutes, 11 points (1-2 from 3, 2-2 from the free throw line, 4-5 from the field), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, +10
Garza has become reliable at all the things you can’t count on. In every game, you just know he’s going to grab an offensive rebound or two and get a handful of second chance points. If he picks and pops for an open three, there’s a good chance that it’s going down. Last night, he had a pair of decel drives that I didn’t see coming, but like I said, he’s reliably surprised me all year long.
Grade: A-
Hugo Gonzalez
7 minutes, 3 points (1-1 from 3, 1-1 from the field), 2 rebounds, 7 assists, +10
In the box score, it’ll never look like much, but the kid just adds juice to the game when it needs it. When Gonzalez, Walsh, Garza, and Pritchard came in at the 6-minute mark of the first quarter, Boston was down 17-9. Going into the second, they flipped the script and were only down 3. It wasn’t all because of Hugo, but he added a little pickup to the game after the Celtics went down early.
Grade: B
DNP-CD: Ron Harper Jr., Amari Williams, Max Shulga, Charles Bassey
SAN JOSE, CA — The harsh Arizona deserts are no stranger to droughts. One has lasted quite a while in Tucson, except it has nothing to do with rainfall.
It’s that Final Four drought.
For more than two decades, Tucson residents have been trying to turn on the faucet of basketball success, and while enough falls out to keep the grass from turning brown, it’s waiting for a steady stream to end the dehydration and nourish the garden of winning.
Arizona hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2001, and the city is very aware of the crisis.
“You hear rumblings of it all the time,” Wildcats forward Tobe Awaka told USA TODAY Sports.
Luckily, the forecast is showing a possible end to the dry spell. A chance of heavy showers of victory could be raining down Saturday, March 28 with Arizona facing Purdue in the Elite Eight. But the Wildcats have been here several times before. An opportunity to break the spell turns into more heat.
“The collective joy it would give our community, it would be more special than just the win by itself,” said Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd.
No coach has stacked up wins in their first five seasons like Lloyd, with 147 victories already on his resume. It’s been an impressive start to his tenure, bringing Arizona back into the national picture and perfectly weaving into a stacked Big 12.
All of that, yet this will be the first time Lloyd has the Wildcats in the Elite Eight, a microcosm of all of the March struggles this program has had since 2001.
Since 2010, Arizona has the fourth-most wins in Division I, in the top five with Gonzaga, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky. However, the Wildcats are the only one from that group to have not made the Final Four in that time span. Even worse, the all in that group have made multiple Final Four trips.
This year will be the sixth Elite Eight appearance for the Wildcats since their last Final Four appearance. Two of those times, it was a No. 1 seed, and it lost to the No. 2 seed, including the 2014 overtime thriller against Wisconsin. In 2026, it’s a No. 1 seed again facing the No. 2 seed.
Arizona has had all the right pieces to have multiple Final Four trips, with NBA talent on all of those Elite Eight squads, but it just can’t get over that hump.
“These games from here on out are not guaranteed,” said guard Jaden Bradley.
Unlucky? A curse? There really isn’t an answer for why Arizona can’t get the job done. If history is any indication, the Wildcats won’t be able to take down Purdue, and the Boilermakers will be the ones going to Indianapolis.
But this isn’t the same Arizona.
At 35-2, the Wildcats have a case to be the best team in the country. It’s a talented, deep roster with so many players that can end opponents, and they’ve proven so.
Arizona knows how to score and prevent you from doing so. It’s why they’re in the top five of scoring margin. What’s impressive is that includes 12 ranked victories this season, showing it handles even elite squads.
“One of the best teams in the country, if not the best team in the country,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter.
The last thing standing in the way of Arizona breaking through is a contrasting Purdue team. While Arizona is led by freshmen with a mix of veteran presence, the Boilermakers are as experienced as it comes, with three players that have played in a national championship game and a starting unit with a combined 559 career starts.
On paper, Arizona has more talent than Purdue. But it knows better than anyone these games are played on the court, where all of that gets thrown out the window, and anything can happen in 40 minutes.
In fact, Painter knows all about the burden of being at a premier program with a long Final Four drought, with the Boilermakers making the 2024 edition after last appearing in 1980. While Lloyd said Arizona’s recent struggles in the NCAA Tournament don’t bother him, Painter acknowledges the burden.
“There's relief there. It gets talked about a lot,” he said. “You don't have to wait for the morning paper to hear what people say about you anymore. You hear it all day long.”
Lloyd and Arizona have a chance to finally silence all the talk about it in the Elite Eight. The Wildcats have shown they were on a warpath to this destination ever since it beat defending champion Florida in the season opener.
Now it’s time to put all of the past behind, and officially declare Arizona basketball drought-free.
“I'm not surprised we're sitting here. Not at all,” Lloyd said. “We're exactly where we should be. Now we've got to go put in the work – and probably have some good fortune on our side as well – to hopefully take the next step.
Club’s financial crisis meant exclusion from the RFL Championship this season, and it could be a long way back for one of the sport’s storied names
Sunday afternoon in Featherstone. The first shoots of spring are creaking through the skyline and the Railway pub is bustling with rugby league supporters as the town’s pride and joy, Featherstone Rovers, prepare to face Swinton Lions.
Or at least, that is what should have happened last weekend. Instead, streets of this West Yorkshire town built on coal mining were deserted. The Railway, just a few hundred yards from Rovers’ Post Office Road home, was largely empty and the gates of the stadium chained shut.
Britain’s heavyweight prospect puts his unbeaten record on the line against Jermaine Franklin on Saturday
Moses Itauma might represent the glittering future of heavyweight boxing but right now he is locked in the present. In the back seat of a car, while being driven from one swanky hotel to another in Manchester, the 21-year-old turns to me and says: “Let’s get going.”
I know how much Itauma dislikes interviews and so the only sensible option is to resist this blunt invitation to rush through our 45 minutes together. On Saturday night, in Manchester, Itauma fights Jermaine Franklin, the tough American who should provide his first notable test after he has won all 13 professional fights so far, with 11 ending in brutal stoppages. So he nods, just a little grudgingly, when I suggest we wait until we are sitting face to face.
