Worldwide Sports News

The Dallas Mavericks had a few holes last season that had them stuck near the basement at 12th in the Western Conference. Perhaps the biggest hole was a lack of shooting. in what could go down as one of the team’s savviest under-the-radar offseason move, the Mavericks added Bosnian-Turkish sharpshooter Tarik Biberović after a series of trades following the NBA Draft.

The 25-year-old forward has spent nearly a decade playing professional basketball in Europe, establishing himself as one of the better shooters in the EuroLeague before making the jump to the NBA this summer. Dallas acquired his draft rights as part of the six-team deal that brought Santi Aldama to the Mavericks, while adding Biberović on a two-year deal.

Biberović enters the NBA with a clear calling card: he can shoot. Last season with Fenerbahce, he averaged 10.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 36 regular-season games while shooting 39.9 percent from 3-point range and 95.1 percent from the free-throw line. He was even better in the playoffs, averaging 15.8 points and making 52.9 percent of his 3-pointers.

That shooting touch could be a massive benefit to the Mavericks. Dallas shot just 34.4 percent from three as a team last season, and Biberović’s ability to stretch the floor could give a new-look offense another weapon around Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving.

Biggest question

He can shoot, but can he defend? Shooters shoot, but how well will his defensive skills translate to the NBA? Can Dusty May trust him enough on both sides of the ball to give him meaningful minutes?

Biberović is 6-foot-7 and 218 pounds, giving him enough size to play either forward spot, but NBA athleticism is a different challenge than what he has faced in Europe. Dallas already has a crowded group of wings and forwards, including Zaccharie Risacher, Naji Marshall, P.J. Washington, and Morez Johnson Jr., all of whom will be getting minutes ahead of the rookie.

While considered a slightly below-average defender in Europe, Biberović’s defense has reportedly been ahead of expectations during training camp. Coach Dusty May specifically said Biberović’s defense has been “a little bit further along” than he anticipated. That’s important. If he can defend his position, rebound and make the right rotations while providing elite shooting, there is a legitimate role for him. This could be the difference between being a specialist who gets played when the Mavericks need offense and being a legitimate rotation player.

Best case scenario

Biberović quickly proves that his EuroLeague shooting translates to the NBA. If he can shoot somewhere around 38-40 percent from deep while making defenses pay for leaving him open, Dallas has a useful rotation piece. The dream scenario is that he becomes the kind of player opposing defenses simply cannot ignore. Put him alongside Flagg or Irving, and suddenly driving lanes become a little wider. Help defenders have to think twice before leaving him. A possession that previously ended with a difficult shot can instead become a kick-out 3-ball. That is the value of a player like Biberović.

He doesn’t necessarily have to score 15 points per game to provide it. If he can give Dallas 15-20 minutes a night, knock down a couple of 3-pointers, rebound at a decent clip and hold his own defensively, he could become one of the more interesting bench pieces on the roster. There is also something to be said for the experience he brings as well. He isn’t a typical rookie. He has already played professionally for years and was part of Fenerbahce’s 2025 EuroLeague championship team. The NBA game will be new. Basketball won’t be.

Worst case scenario

We never like to look at this side, but we have to. Here, Biberović’s shooting doesn’t translate quickly enough, and his defense keeps him glued to the bench. This is the obvious concern with any international player making the jump to the NBA at 25. The NBA is faster, longer, and more athletic than anything he’s seen, and Biberović is going to have to figure out where his shots come from within an offense that is less structured than the one he played in previously. May has already acknowledged that learning to find shots within the flow of Dallas’ offense will be part of the adjustment.

If he struggles to create separation, gets targeted defensively, or has trouble adjusting to the speed of NBA closeouts, his one elite skill may not be enough to keep him on the court. And the Mavericks have alternatives. Risacher is expected to receive an opportunity. Marshall has established himself as a versatile veteran. Washington Jr. is a staple piece. Morez Johnson Jr. will get big minutes his rookie season. Caleb Martin remains on the roster. There are only so many wing minutes to go around. Biberović will have to earn them with his big skill that the others lack — shooting.

Season goal

Become a trusted rotation player. That’s really all Dallas should be asking from Biberović in year one. If he can establish himself as a reliable shooter, prove that he isn’t a defensive liability, and learn how to play alongside Flagg and Irving, the season will have been a success. Something like 10-15 minutes per game would be a reasonable starting point, with the opportunity to earn more as the season progresses. More importantly, he needs to make the coaching staff comfortable putting him on the floor when the game matters. The 3-point shooting is the ticket into the rotation. Everything else determines whether he stays there.

Overall

Biberović is one of the more intriguing unknowns on the Mavericks’ roster. There is a very real chance he becomes exactly what Dallas needs: a big wing who can punish defenses from the outside and provide valuable spacing around its best players. There is also a very real chance that adjusting to the NBA takes time. The good news for Dallas is that he seems to understand the challenge. He has repeatedly emphasized that he didn’t come to the NBA simply to say he made it. He wants to make an impact and earn his minutes. That’s the right mentality for a player entering a crowded rotation.

The Mavericks don’t need the sniper to become a star. They don’t even need him to become a high-volume scorer. They need him to shoot, be an average defender, play within himself, and make the game easier for the players around him. If he can do those things, Dallas may have found one of the better shooting specialists in its new-look rotation.

There’s nothing quite like basketball season.

Turning on the TV whenever we want and marveling as the best players in the world put on a show is a treat. Watching the Celtics play never gets old, and each season brings a new flavor.

This year is particularly intriguing, for obvious reasons, as they enter a new era with Just the Jay.

Here are 10 things I’m looking forward to as the action begins tonight:

1) A full season of Jayson Tatum

I think we can all agree Jayson Tatum looked even better than we expected when he returned at the end of last season. At the same time, we collectively held our breaths every time he did anything. This year, it will be fun to see Tatum play freely, without any inhibition, and run the operation. He’s ready to remind everyone exactly who he is.

2) Paul George silencing the haters

We need to collectively agree to not compare Paul George to Jaylen Brown. If we do, there’s a very good chance he’ll fall short of our expectations. If we don’t, and we view him as a reliable, sharp-shooting, 36-year-old key contributor, I believe he’ll meet or possibly even exceed our expectations. The key, of course, is health, but I genuinely believe he’ll have a great season.

3) Derrick White shooting the lights out

Derrick White would be the first to admit he didn’t shoot the way he wanted to last year. I expect his splits to rise significantly this season, with a full offseason of work behind him and Jayson Tatum setting him up for high-quality looks. White is arguably the biggest X-factor on the team, and I’m confident he’ll bounce back as a shooter while continuing to excel everywhere else.

4) Battle among the bigs

It will be fun to see who earns coach Joe Mazzulla’s trust – both to start games and finish them – between Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson. Both will play, and both will contribute at a high level, but it will be an entertaining subplot to see how it shakes out. My guess is it will depend on the matchup, but Robinson will start more than Queta and Queta will close more than Robinson.

5) No need to pace themselves

The Celtics finished last in pace (97.7) a season ago, and it will be interesting to see if they make a conscious choice to up that number this season. Pace doesn’t equate to good, and lack of pace doesn’t equate to bad, but there is a case to be made that they should play with more of it. At the same time, the Celtics got older this offseason, with George, Robinson and Mike Conley Jr., so it’s possible they’ll stay right where they are. It may take some time to figure out what works best, and that’s OK.

6) Taking the next step

It will be a joy to watch players like Baylor Scheierman, Hugo González, Ron Harper Jr. and Jordan Walsh take the next step. My guess is Scheierman and Harper Jr. make the most significant leaps, but all four are fully capable of taking their games to another level. Scheierman and Tatum is a pairing I want to see a lot of this season.

7) Jockeying with Jaylen

Celtics-76ers games are going to be extremely intense. Watching Tatum vs. Brown will be must-see TV, and oh yeah, LeBron James is there, too. The 76ers are the more talented team, but talent doesn’t always equate to wins. Plus, the Celtics are the deeper team and have more experience playing with one another. I have a hunch they’re going to meet in the playoffs as well and it’s going to live up to the hype.

8) Rookie respect

While it’s unlikely Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell will see heavy minutes, they do have a chance to see some. Cenac, in particular, is a very intriguing player who moves well for his size, can block shots and has shown he’s capable of stepping out and hitting 3-pointers. Mitchell is a high flyer who may occasionally enter as a defensive stopper. Both have a solid chance to blossom into strong NBA players long term.

9) AJ Dybantsa at TD Garden

Brockton’s own AJ Dybantsa will play back-to-back games at TD Garden in mid-December. I think the Wizards are going to be better than people expect if they stay healthy, and that’s one of the sneaky great schedule quirks of the season. He likely won’t sleep in his childhood bed, but he will get to play in front of family and friends twice in a row. Don’t sleep on those matchups.

10) Something to prove

The final one is simple: The Celtics have a chance to prove they’re better than people think. I’m not entirely sure why people are doubting them this season, but in a way, those seasons are more fun than when expectations are extremely high. I think the 76ers and Knicks are a bit better on paper, but the Celtics have as good a chance as anyone at knocking them off. The vibes were immaculate last season, and I expect that to continue this year. The wait is over. Basketball is back, baby.

In his second preseason game, former Duke star Cameron Boozer did pretty well. He got 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists, in just 22 minutes. He also shot 4-7 overall and 2-3 from behind the line.

In this video, Gary Parrish and Chris Herrington talk about the impression Boozer is making, with Herrington noting – this will come as no surprise to Duke fans – that he is way ahead of the curve for his age, and that he’s noticeably quicker than he was at Duke. And also that he’s basically good at everything, with the possible exception of being able to protect the rim.

However, you can protect the rim without leaving the ground if you know what you’re doing. There’s no reason why Boozer can’t do that.

• Winners and losers from Memphis Grizzlies preseason loss to Orlando Magic
• Cameron Boozer records 16/6/2 line vs. Magic
• Cameron Boozer Highlights vs. Orlando Magic
• Ty Jerome Praises Grizzlies’ Pace, Cameron Boozer After Preseason Return
• Breaking Down Cam Boozer’s NBA Preseason Debut

Go to the DBR Boards to find Blue Healer Auctions || Drop us a line

The Cleveland Cavaliers had opportunities to drastically reshape their core over the summer. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown were available in trades. Reports suggested both the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics were interested in Mobley as a centerpiece for potential deals. And if one of those trades were made, maybe LeBron James would’ve decided to come back as well.

Instead, the Cavs chose not to make Mobley available. They doubled down on their belief in the 25-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year. But in doing so, they took on a much bigger risk than they would’ve if they traded him for a big name.

Moving Mobley for an established star would’ve raised this team’s ceiling in the short term and fit better with the shortened, self-imposed timeline they created by acquiring James Harden last winter. Yet, they decided to keep Mobley, presumably believing he can be the player the team needs to lift this core to a championship now, while also providing long-term stability.

It’s easy to believe in Mobley on his best days. His scoring looks effortless when he’s getting to the rim. He has enough vision and touch as a passer to make him effective when he can clearly see the doubles. And when the outside shot is falling — as it was at times last postseason — he can be a complete scorer. That is on top of being one of the most disruptive defensive players in the league.

Yet, Mobley doesn’t reach those heights as often as you’d like him to. His baseline is a high-level offensive contributor, but not the kind that you build an offense around. There’s tremendous value in a big that can roll out of bed and give you 18 points. But that impact pales in comparison to the All-NBA offensive superstars that were available over the summer.

This has left the Cavs with a very good player. One who can be All-NBA Second Team when he’s put in the right position, although he isn’t likely to be the focal point of an offense. That’s okay, but may not be enough to get the Cavs over the hurdles they’ve continually run into in the postseason.

Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!

Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the Believeland shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE.

Basketball is a team sport, despite how we sometimes frame the narrative. Nothing happens in isolation on the court. That is especially true for big men like Mobley, who are more dependent on their teammates to feed them the ball and hold up their end defensively. This is where the reshaped roster could work to Mobley’s benefit.

Having a full offseason with Harden will make a difference. And based on some of the lineups from training camp in Spain, Harden and Mobley could be the pairing head coach Kenny Atkinson sticks with this upcoming season, even though nothing is set in stone yet.

“A lot of discussion [goes into] who works best with who,” Atkinson said when asked about how he’s going to split the core four after practice yesterday.

“Collaborating with the players on what they like. Then, you have to consider minute stints. You have to match that. Does Evan function better in longer stints? Does JA (Jarrett Allen) function in longer stints? How you combine them plays a role in that. And then who are the three around them? It’s a lot of discussion with the staff and players, but we haven’t decided yet.”

Mobley and Harden only shared the court for about 2,000 possessions last season across the regular season and playoffs. For context, Mitchell and Mobley were on the court for over 4,000 possessions in the regular season and playoffs last season.

The Harden and Mobley pairing had solid results in the regular season as they were in the 77th percentile in net rating (+5.5), 80th percentile in offensive rating (119.5), and the 68th percentile in defensive rating (114). The really encouraging numbers came when Harden and Mobley were on the court without Allen and Donovan Mitchell. Those lineups were in the 97th percentile for net rating (+13.9), 96th percentile for offensive rating (124.2), and 88th percentile for defensive rating (110.4). Those lineup combinations dipped drastically in the playoffs — as to be expected — but the structure of a solid two-man pairing is there. This is also where the addition of Peyton Watson should help most.

Mobley is most optimized when surrounded by four shooters. This is why lineups with him and Dean Wade — Cleveland’s previously longest-tenured stretch four during the Mobley era — historically did well even though Wade was hardly a consistent offensive contributor despite having a respectable outside shot. This is where Watson should help most.

Watson’s three-point shot is more of a question mark than last season’s shooting percentage would suggest (41.1%) due to him only attempting 3.6 threes per game last season (for context, Wade attempted 3.3 threes per game last season). That said, opponents can’t cheat off Watson on the perimeter due to his shooting and ability to attack off the dribble, which will stretch defenses out. Watson has shown throughout his career that lineups can succeed when he plays power forward due to his length and ability to hold up as a rebounder.

Mobley hasn’t benefited from this ideal of a point guard and forward pairing before. The closest we’ve seen was Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter during the 2024-25 season, yet that year Mobley spent most of his minutes with Mitchell, and Hunter wasn’t an optimal four alongside Mobley due to his poor rebounding and defense. On paper, this latest trio should be the perfect lineup combination to let Mobley’s skills shine.

That all said, the Cavs still need to fine-tune the Mobley and Allen minutes.

Cleveland was bad last postseason when both were on the floor (-6.8 net rating, 25th percentile), and even worse when they played together without Wade (-18.4 net rating, 5th percentile). We’ve seen that duo play extraordinarily well in the regular season, but it hasn’t translated over ot the playoffs as you’d envision it.

There’s an argument to be made that Cleveland’s two-big lineup can’t work in the postseason against elite competition. Playoff opponents have the game plan and personnel to take away what opposing offenses do best. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Cavs need to trade one of their bigs. It does, however, mean that Watson and, to a lesser extent, Mario Hezonja need to be capable of playing high-leverage playoff minutes at the four.

At 25, it’s unreasonable to expect Mobley to drastically change who he is. It’s unlikely that he develops an elite face-up game or becomes a high-volume outside shooter. That’s historically not how development works. Yet, he could still fine-tune the areas of his game that he’s already good at.

Marginal improvements combined with lineup combinations that accentuate his abilities could be enough for Mobley to have a career year. After all, a big like Mobley is more reliant on his teammates and lineup construction than a score-first guard like Mitchell.

The biggest gamble the Cavs have made this era is betting on Mobley. So far, that bet has led to consistent regular-season success and mixed playoff results. The former will likely continue this season. Whether or not the latter flips to more consistently positive outcomes will determine if that gamble was worth it.

Jock Landale made his presence in Atlanta known almost immediately, recording a career night after a trade deadline acquisition.

Landale was on his way to Utah in a trade from the Grizzlies until he was told to “get off the [dang] plane.” He found out he was being rerouted to the Hawks, and so he then made the 6.5-hour drive from Memphis to Atlanta to suit up with his new team.

In his debut with teammates with which he was mostly unfamiliar (save for, of course, his country-mate Dyson Daniels), he dropped 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting with five triples. And, for good measure, he added 11 rebounds and four blocks.

From there, he settled into a role as the burly backup center who can space the floor for his team to operate. In 23 games for the Hawks, he averaged 9.1 points per game on 60% shooting from two and 39% shooting from three plus 4.1 rebounds per game on 19.4 minutes per contest — mostly coinciding with a blistering 20-6 end to the regular season for the Hawks.

But then on a fateful day on April 1st against the Orlando Magic, his season was ended prematurely due to a dirty foul from Goga Bitadze.

Ultimately, he was unable to return for the Knicks series — a series where he could have battled Karl Anthony-Towns and Mitchell Robinson down low and provided screening and physicality.

“My ankle injury took a little while to get over,” Landale talked about his steps of recovery at media day. “So initially when I went back to Australia, there was a lot of time spent towards that. I’m going on 31 in a couple of weeks, so I just decided it was time for me to trim up a little bit. Worked on my body in that capacity.”

In the offseason, Landale signed a one-year, $14.1 million contract — almost doubling his career earnings with one swift stroke of the pen. With Onyeka Okongwu returning, he’ll remain the backup center for 2026-27 but it’s possible we could see lineups with the two of them sharing the frontcourt.

Defensively, he’s largely a liability in space, and frankly that won’t change this season. Once Mouhamed Gueye returns from an injury of his own, he or rookie Zuby Ejiofor could be a natural partner off the bench to help cover ground. But as a bigger body than Okongwu, he can certainly be helpful against bruising bigs throughout the 82-game grind and beyond.

Most of all, he sounds absolutely thrilled to be back in Atlanta after contemplating ending his NBA dreams and returning home to Australia.

“It meant a lot,” said Landale about the Hawks’ interest in re-signing him. “A lot of conversations with Quin [Snyder] and Onsi [Saleh] about what the team needs. How I can continue to help out. That was more towards when I was in the moment playing. I really felt as though from day one when I got here back in February, it felt like I was involved. It felt like I was valued. And they really cherished the skillset I brought and the level of maturity.”

There’s no doubt that Landale will be a welcome returnee to the Hawks for hopefully a productive and helpful season.

On Monday, the NBA announced that selected preseason games will include the use of a smart basketball with a Bluetooth sensor that collects data which could eventually be utilized in real-time officiating. Wilson has developed the technology that is currently only considered research, not part of the official game or stat collection.

Additionally, some officials in a specific exhibition games test wrist wearables to communicate with the replay center in designated situations, including reviews, scoring changes and clock malfunctions. The league piloted a program during the summer and though the experiment was considered a success, the technology will not be applied in the regular season.

Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.