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What we learned as Steph Curry, Warriors stall late in NBA Cup loss to Blazers

What we learned as Steph Curry, Warriors stall late in NBA Cup loss to Blazers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO – Home is where the heart is. Pulses raced inside Chase Center on Friday night, racing up and down whichever way the game went. 

Warriors fans, for the first time this season, exited the building with broken hearts from a 127-123 loss against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Warriors led 97-94 through three quarters, and then were outscored 33-26 by the Blazers in the fourth. 

Weaknesses were exposed for the Warriors, particularly in their lack of size and point of attack defense. They were beaten in rebounding 52-32, which included 21 offensive rebounds for the Blazers and a lowly nine for the Warriors. That kind of ownage led to 28 second-chance points by the Blazers, a whopping 18 more than the Warriors. 

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 38 points and nine 3-pointers, giving him his most points in a loss this season. The Warriors now are 3-3 when he scores 30 or more points. 

Jimmy Butler did a bit of everything with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Brandin Podziemski scored 20 points off the bench for the Warriors. 

Another first for the Warriors (9-9) was winning the turnover battle but losing the game. They never could pull away quite enough, and the Blazers (7-9) kept coming. 

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ first home loss of the season, extending their losing streak to three. 

Steph’s Sizzle Wasted

Drool began forming at the corner of Curry’s mouth whenever Blazers big man Donovan Clingan guarded him at the 3-point line. Clingan is essentially a foot taller than Curry at 7-foot-2. He sure isn’t as fleet of foot as him, though.

Somehow, Portland’s defense kept letting that matchup happen in the second quarter. Curry kept taking advantage of that decision, too. After a five-point first quarter, Curry made five 3-pointers in the second quarter while playing just six minutes. 

Back home and getting to enjoy a day off, Curry exploded for 18 points in the second quarter on a perfect 6 of 6 from the field, including making all five of his tries from deep. 

Curry came back down to earth in the third quarter, scoring four points. He then scored nine big-time points in the fourth quarter. Each one felt bigger, and it still couldn’t equal a win.

BP Brings Scoring Punch

For the second time this season, Podziemski reached 20 points Wednesday night in the Warriors’ short-handed loss against the Miami Heat. He also needed 19 shot attempts to get there, making only six shots. Podziemski was much more efficient and in control against the Blazers. 

With Curry up to 23 points at halftime, Podziemski was right there alongside him. Jimmy Butler wasn’t the Warriors’ second scoring option. Podziemski was, scoring 15 first-half points on just five shot attempts. 

Podziemski hit the 20-point mark with a minute and a half left in the third quarter. He had taken just seven shots at the time. 

Whether it was shooting threes in the flow of the offense or forcing his way to the free-throw line, Podziemski was much more decisive Friday. That’s everything for him. His 10 free-throw attempts were a season high, as were Podziemski’s eight made free throws.

Make The Whistle Your Friend

Defending without fouling always will be key to the Warriors’ two-way success. Within the first seven minutes of the game, however, the Warriors already had been called for seven fouls. The Blazers in the first quarter were whistled for four fewer fouls than the Warriors and took five more free throws than them. 

Lesson learned. 

Instead of watching the Blazers walk to the charity stripe, the Warriors were the ones enjoying their time there in the second quarter. A total of five Warriors shot free throws in the second quarter, going 11 of 14 as a team. They got the Blazers in the bonus early, giving the Warriors a halftime advantage of two more attempts than them and three more makes. 

It was a back-and-forth battle of fouls and free throws for the two teams. The Warriors were at 18 fouls and 24 free throw attempts through three quarters, and the Blazers, going into the fourt,h had been called for 21 fouls and taken 22 free throws. 

Both teams were called for 25 fouls. The Blazers, though, took two more free throws than the Warriors and made one more than them. The Warriors dropped to 3-7 when their opponent makes more free throws.

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Yankees non-tender five players, including Mark Leiter Jr. and Ian Hamilton

Friday is MLB's arbitration deadline and the Yankees have quite a few players who are eligible.

There are 14 players whom the Yankees have to either tender or non-tender, which includes some big names, and pieces in the bullpen and bench. What GM Brian Cashman and the organization decide on Friday will determine who will become a free agent and who will be staying for 2026. Also, those who do get tendered could go to arbitration to determine their salary for the upcoming season.

Of course, the Yankees could do away with the arbitration process if they and the player agree to a deal. 

Here's all the arbitration and tender news from the Yankees...

Nov. 21, 5:55 p.m.

The Yankees non-tendered five players, most from the bullpen. Mark Leiter Jr., Ian Hamilton, Scott Effross and Jake Cousins were not given contracts for the 2026 season. Of course, the team could negotiate with the relievers to bring them back, but all four are now unrestricted free agents.

The other name is Michael Arias. 

Arias was traded to the Yankees from the Cubs back in January for cash considerations. He made 17 appearances with Double-A Somerset, where he pitched to a 2.57 ERA.

In addition, the Yankees have tendered contracts to other eligible players, which includes: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jose Caballero, Anthony Volpe, Luis Gil, Jake Bird, David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Fernando Cruz.

Nov. 21, 5:00 p.m.

The Yankees and starter Clarke Schmidt have agreed on a one-year deal worth $4.5 million, according to multiple reports. Schmidt and the Yankees avoid arbitration.

Schmidt had a solid 2025 for the Yanks, pitching to a 3.32 ERA across 14 starts. But after starting the season on the IL, the right-hander's year ended in July after undergoing Tommy John surgery, the second of his career.

Nov. 21, 4:45 p.m.

The Yankees and utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera have agreed to a $1.2 million contract, avoiding arbitration, according to multiple reports.

Cabrera, who missed most of 2025 after suffering a season-ending foot injury sliding into home plate, played just 34 games this past season. During that time, he slashed .243/.322..308 with an OPS of .631. He was the team's everyday third baseman, but could also play the outfield and around the infield. 

The move makes sense, giving manager Aaron Boone a versatile bench piece for next year. 

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Mets tender contracts to six players, including Tylor Megill and David Peterson

The Mets announced a flurry of roster moves prior to Friday's arbitration deadline. Here's all of the arbitration and tender news from Queens...

Nov. 21, 5:16 p.m.

Of the nine players eligible in the process, the Mets have signed or tendered 2026 contracts to the following: LHP David Peterson, C Francisco Alavrez, RHP Tylor Megill, C Luis Torrens, RHP Huascar Brazobán, and RHP Reed Garrett.

The Mets opted not to tender contracts to LHP Danny Young, LHP Jose Castillo, and RHP Max Kranick. As a result, all three relievers will become free agents.

Nov. 21, 4:35 p.m. 

The Mets and outfielder Tyrone Taylor have agreed to a $3.8 million contract for the 2026 season to avoid arbitration, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

Taylor, who was acquired by the Mets via trade with the Brewers in December 2023, didn't deliver desired results this past season. While the 31-year-old appeared in 113 games and provided well-above-average defense, he slashed .223/.279/.319 overall and spent time on the injured list due to a late-summer hamstring strain.

There's still positional value with Taylor, even though the Mets are searching for a player who offers greater production in the center-field role. If the club's offseason goes according to plan, Taylor -- entering his age-32 season -- will serve as a fourth outfielder next spring.

In seven big-league campaigns, Taylor has hit .238 with 93 doubles, 50 home runs, 13 triples, and 198 RBI (574 games).

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2025 Fantasy Baseball Steals Recap: Juan Soto runs wild, Shohei Ohtani puts on the brakes

Stolen base are one of the most exciting plays in baseball. The anticipation of a speedster reaching first, the murmur of a crowd knowing they're going to run, and the bang-bang play at second to try and catch them is intoxicating.

Sadly, they’d faded over the years until rule changes after the 2022 season brought them back in a big way.

This was another banner year for base stealers and I’m going to tell you all about who ran wild. Also, we’re going to walk through some disappointing base stealers – be it due to inefficiency or lack of desire – plus some interesting trends to watch league-wide.

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Stay up to date with the MLB free agent market this offseason, including player signings, contract details, and team fits as the 2025-26 Hot Stove heats up.
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2025 MLB Stolen Base Leaders

Here is the stolen base leaderboard from the regular season.

Player
SB
CS
José Caballero
49
11
José Ramírez
44
7
Chandler Simpson
44
12
Juan Soto
38
4
Bobby Witt Jr.
38
9
Oneil Cruz
38
5
Elly De La Cruz
37
8
Trea Turner
36
7
Pete Crow-Armstrong
35
8
Victor Scott II
34
4

A surprising league-leader, José Caballero took the stolen base crown despite having just 370 plate appearances. Only Elly De La Cruz stole more than his 93 bases over the past two seasons, and Caballero got there with 542 fewer PA. When he plays, he will run.

How does José Ramírez keep doing it? He just completed his second straight 40-steal season. These were the first times he reached that milestone in his career and he waited until turning 31 to do so. He is a marvel.

Chandler Simpson was tied for second-most steals despite being called up three weeks into the season and then getting sent down again for most of June. He was also caught more than anyone in the league. His defense and offense are both questionable traits, so it’s anyone’s guess as to if he’ll go into next season as a starter in Tampa Bay.

Next, here’s the stolen base leaderboard for just the second-half.

Player
SB
CS
Juan Soto
27
3
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
21
4
Corbin Carroll
21
2
Gunnar Henderson
20
2
Josh Naylor
19
0
Jose Caballero
18
4
Chandler Simpson
18
6
Francisco Lindor
16
4
Trevor Story
15
1
Jose Ramirez
15
2
Randy Arozarena
15
4
Agustín Ramírez
15
1

Juan Soto, man. For him to have stolen 27 bases in 64 games after the All-Star break and wind up with the fourth-most in the league was astounding.

One of the key questions heading into next season is how many bags to expect as an encore. Soto gave most of the credit for this newfound abilityto now former Mets’ first base coach Antoan Richardson, who will have that same role with the Braves this coming season.

Can Soto hold the skills Richardson helped him develop? Should we expect some of the Braves players to run more? Both could wind up being true or untrue and it will be a hot-button topic during draft season.

Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson each stole far more bases in the second half compared to the first when they were dealing with injuries.

Josh Naylor stole 26 consecutive bases successfully from May onward and 19 of which came after being traded to the Mariners in late July. He is still quite slow, so there’s a question as to whether this will sustain next season despite his return to Seattle.

Agustín Ramírez has a chance to be a true unicorn with 30-30 potential from the catcher position. He also could find himself on the razor’s edge of everyday playing time given his atrocious defense behind the plate and poor on-base skills.

Lastly, here’s a list of players who either ran far less than we’d have hoped or were inefficient when doing so.

Player
SB
CS
Jonathan India
0
4
Jackson Merrill
1
2
Bryan Reynolds
3
2
Lars Nootbaar
4
5
Bo Bichette
4
3
Ernie Clement
6
5
Daylen Lile
8
6
Masyn Winn
9
5
Jose Altuve
10
6
Jacob Young
15
11
Jackson Holliday
17
11
Anthony Volpe
18
8
Shohei Ohtani
20
6
Brice Turang
24
8

Shohei Ohtani shouldn’t be considered over Aaron Judge for the first overall pick in any weekly set line-up leagues if he’s a 20-steal player like he’s been most of his career compared to the 56 he swiped in 2024 when he wasn’t pitching.

Jackson Merrill got a concussion on a stolen base attempt in June and did run again for the rest of the season. There could be sneaky upside on his projections heading into next season if he chooses to run again.

Masyn Winn offers next to no fantasy value if he can’t hit and doesn’t run, like last season.

Similarly, Jackson Holliday and Anthony Volpe couple poor seasons at the plate with woeful efficiency on the base paths. They need to take steps forward in some areas to be considered viable options heading into 2026.

It’s funny that Brice Turang’s steals fell by more than 50% and he was still the top second baseman in most leagues. He could approach first round value if he pairs this newfound 20-homer power with the 50 bases he stole in 2024. There’s also a chance he’s a colossal bust if he reverts to the slap hitter he was last season with this year’s low stolen base total.

2025 League Wide Stolen Base Trends

This was the third season of MLB’s new rules meant to put stolen bases back into the game and it’s clear that they’ve done that. Yet, it seems pitchers and catchers are beginning to better understand this new frontier.

Year
SB
CS
CS%
SBA
% Change
2025
3440
989
28.8%
4429
-3.3%
2024
3617
961
26.6%
4578
+4.8%
2023
3503
866
24.7%
4369
+32.5%
2022
2486
811
32.6%
3297
N/A

Obviously, stolen bases boomed in 2023 when the new rules were implemented. Runners were successful far more often and in turn, that led to far more stolen bases being attempted. From the league’s perspective, this was both the hope and the goal.

Realizing the greater chance of success, teams pushed the envelope even further the following season. They were caught more often though. It’s possible that teams got a little cocky in deciding who should get the green light.

Then, this season, runners were caught more often and fewer stolen bases were attempted. While the difference is relatively small, that could signify a slight strategic shift with another full season of data.

Part of that may be the defense catching up. Jerry Weinstein is a baseball lifer who’s been coaching in some capacity since 1966. For reference, that’s 30 years before I was born. His current role is with the Cubs as a Special Assistant to the General Manager and his bio reads “professional baseball coach.”

He recently shared some interesting data from the legendary Tom Tango about throwing accuracy data when catching a would-be base stealer.

This tells us that catchers are now intending to throw more towards the first base side of second for a tag higher up on the base stealer's body rather than the old school adage of throwing directly to the base so the runner slides into it.

Part of this is the increased rate of head-first slides and ability of a runner to dodge a tag being placed directly next to the bag. Also, this could be a subtle strategic shift as stolen bases became easier to come by and teams try to fight back.

Correlation doesn’t lead to causation, but it’s interesting to note and feels like more and more tags at second base are being made higher up on runners’ bodies when watching games. That’s why baseball is the best, there’s always a solution to a problem. It will be fun to track these trends heading into the 2026 season.

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One Rangers Prospect To Keep and Eye Out For

 Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Friday sure comes around in a hurry; and that's a good thing because it's Ask The Maven time. Today's question comes via Charlie Yokofsky of Ardsley. Take it away, Charlie:

NOW THAT PROSPECTS GABE PERREAULT AND BRENNAN OTHMANN HAVE BEEN RETURNED TO HARTFORD, WHO IMPRESSES IN THE RANGERS FARM SYSTEM?

The Maven Replies: At the moment, the best bet is 6-7 forward Nathan Aspinall of the OHL Flint Firebirds. The Markham, Ontario product was a low 2024 fifth round draft pick. 

The Maven's superscout Jess Rubenstein has submitted this report:

"Aspinall is the current best prospect. He was just named the Cogeco OHL Player Of The Week award, recording four goals, three assists and seven points over three wins.

Looking For A Blueshirt Miracle In Colorado And Finding ZilchLooking For A Blueshirt Miracle In Colorado And Finding ZilchYesterday, The Maven made it clear that it would take a miracle for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> to visit Denver's Ball Center and emerge with a victory.against the sizzling hot Avalanche.

"Also, Aspinall leads all Rangers' prospects with a 12-15-27 record. No Rangers' prospect is even close to those numbers."

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WNBA's New York Liberty reportedly hires Golden State assistant Chris DeMarco to be new head coach

The trend of NBA coaches jumping to the WNBA continues.

The New York Liberty reportedly have agreed to terms with long-time Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco to become their new head coach, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

DeMarco brings a serious resume, including four NBA championship rings. He has been a Warriors assistant coach for 13 years — he was hired as a video coordinator by Mark Jackson and was the lone holdover from that staff when Steve Kerr took over. DeMarco's role as an assistant coach has grown over the years, and in the past couple of years he has essentially been the team's defensive coordinator. He is also the head coach of the Bahamas men's national team.

DeMarco replaces Sandy Brondello, who won the WNBA Championship with the Liberty just a season before in 2024. However, after the team started fast at 9-0 last season, injuries began to pile up to Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and others, and after the fast start the team went essentially .500 the rest of the way, finishing 27-17 and getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs by eventual finalists Phoenix. Brondello has said she felt she and Liberty management weren't on the same page.

DeMarco takes over a team that expects to return to competing for a title — if they can bring their stars back (under whatever the new CBA ends up looking like, the Liberty left themselves a lot of flexibility, but that comes with risk). Jones, Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and all but two Liberty players (Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally) are free agents.

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Sabres Forward Sent Down To AHL

Mason Geertsen (© Gerry Angus-Imagn Images)

The Buffalo Sabres have announced that they have assigned Mason Geertsen to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Geertsen was placed on waivers on Nov. 20 and went through them unclaimed. Due to this, the Sabres were able to send him down to Rochester, where he should now be a solid part of the AHL squad's roster. 

Geertsen has played in five games this season with the Sabres, where he has posted zero points, one shot, eight hits, and 12 penalty minutes. His most recent appearance for the Sabres was on Nov. 4 against the Utah Mammoth, where he had 3:49 of ice time.

Geertsen spent this past season exclusively in the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights, where he recorded five assists, 77 penalty minutes, and a plus-3 rating. In 447 career AHL games over 10 seasons, Geertsen has recorded 19 goals, 69 points, and 840 penalty minutes. 

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No. 24 Kansas will play Vegas tournament without star freshman Darryn Peterson

No. 24 Kansas will be without standout freshman Darryn Peterson for a tournament in Las Vegas next week, coach Bill Self said Friday. The nation’s top recruit and potentially the top pick in next year’s NBA draft will miss games against Notre Dame, Syracuse and a yet-to-be-determined third opponent because of a lingering hamstring injury. "So we’re hopeful he’s running and cutting and doing all those things while we’re in Vegas, but not to the point where he’s probably ready to play.”

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Dodgers boss Andrew Friedman part of team to advise Lakers in ownership transition

Dodger President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, right, joined by General Manager Farhan Zaidi, speaks during a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015. Don Mattingly won't return as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers next year after agreeing with his bosses that he and the team needed a fresh start. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel
Dodgers executives Farhan Zaidi, left, and Andrew Friedman will be advising the Lakers moving forward during an ownership transition from the Buss family to new majority owner Mark Walter. (Richard Vogel / Associated Press)

The executives that Mark Walter and his Guggenheim Baseball Management trusted to turn around the Dodgers and make them World Series winners, Farhan Zaidi and Andrew Friedman, now have been enlisted to take on advisory roles with the Lakers, people not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Times on Friday.

Walter, the controlling owner of the Dodgers, purchased majority ownership of the Lakers for a $10-billion evaluation and has started the transition from the Buss family ownership by having Zaidi and Friedman become more involved. Friedman is the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations and has overseen a team that won three World Series titles in the last six years. Zaidi was the Dodgers’ general manager under Friedman from 2014 to 2018 before becoming president of baseball operations with the San Francisco Giants. He returned this year as an advisor with Guggenheim and also has been consulting with the Sparks, another team Walter now owns.

Both executives are known in the baseball world for relying on analytics. The Lakers have been known to have a weak analytics department, so Zaidi and Friedman will play a role in improving that. Friedman already has been talking with Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

Read more:Lakers fire executives Joey and Jesse Buss and members of scouting staff

The Lakers began making changes in their front office Thursday when they fired Joey and Jesse Buss as well as some scouts. Joey Buss was an alternate governor and vice president of research and development, while Jesse was the assistant general manager and head of the scouting department.

Fresh off winning a World Series with the Dodgers, Walter, who had been a minority owner of the Lakers since he bought 27% of the franchise with Todd Boehly in 2021, promptly sat courtside for the next Lakers home game on Nov. 2. He looked on when the Lakers honored the Dodgers at a home game on Nov. 5.

Walter was part of the group that purchased the Dodgers for $2 billion in 2012. Since then the team has won three World Series titles in five appearances with 13 consecutive playoff berths.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.