PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 28: Tommy Novak #18 of the Pittsburgh Penguins moves much against Lian Bichsel #6 of the Dallas Stars at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 28, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Who:Dallas Stars (2-2-0, 4 points, 6th place Central Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2-2-1, 5 points, 4th place Metropolitan Division)
When: 7:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: Locally televised and streamed on Prime Video and SportsNet Pittsburgh, streaming for out of market at ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins get two days off after this weekend’s back-to-back before beginning a four-game road trip, which starts Tuesday in Chicago and continues Friday in Denver and Saturday in Las Vegas.
Opponent Track: The Stars were outscored 6-1 in a pair of season-opening losses against the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators, but bounced back by outscoring opponents 9-0 in wins over the San Jose Sharks and Buffalo Sabres.
Season Series: The Penguins lost both games in this season series last year, starting with a December shootout loss and ending with a 6-3 home defeat in late March.
Hidden Stat: The Stars have scored nine straight unanswered goals over their last two games. They could set a franchise record if they manage to score five more without allowing a response, per NHL Stats.
Getting to know the Stars
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Sam Steel – Wyatt Johnston – Mikko Rantanen
Jason Robertson – Roope Hintz – Jamie Benn
Justin Hryckowian – Arttu Hyry – Tyler Seguin
Oskar Back – Radek Faksa – Colin Blackwell
DEFENSEMEN
Esa Lindell / Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley / Nils Lundkvist
Lian Bichsel / Tyler Myers
Goalies: Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith
Potential scratches: Kyle Capobianco, Joel Kiviranta
Injured Reserve: Matt Duchene
Joel Kiviranta is sitting out the Stars’ two-game road trip with a lower-body injury. The Stars called up Colin Blackwell from the AHL to slot in on the fourth line in his absence.
Jake Oettinger started the Stars’ season opener, during which he allowed two goals on 22 shots in the shutout loss. He’s been perfect since then after stopping 39 consecutive shots against the Sharks and Sabres. The Stars have two days off after tonight’s matchup before a back-to-back against the Colorado Avalanche, so Oettinger could potentially get a third straight start tonight.
Stars first-line winger Mikko Rantanen is heating up. He scored a highlight-reel goal against the Sharks before recording the first four-point night (1-3—4) of his regular-season Stars career in his team’s Thursday night win over the Sabres.
The Stars’ power play, which had struggled through the first three games of the season, broke through Thursday when Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston and Roope Hintz finished off a passing play against the Sabres.
Another aspect that started clicking for the Stars recently is the addition of Sam Steel, a player Stars coach Glen Gulutzan has described as a “utility knife,” to the top line. He scored his first goal of the season Thursday against the Sabres.
The Penguins defense could be tested tonight with limiting some of their quickest opponents yet. Rantanen said after the Stars’ Thursday win he felt the key to his team’s recent victory streak was better skating.
“We had our legs again, I think that’s the key,” Rantanen said, per NHL.com’s Heather Engel. “Playing well, you need to skate well, and I think the last two games we’ve been playing really fast.”
And now for the Pens
Projected lines (based on Friday’s lineup)
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Hendrix Lapierre – Ben Kindel – Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Nick Robertson
DEFENSEMEN
Declan Carlile / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kaeden Korczak
Trevor van Riemsdyk / Kris Letang
Goalies: Arturs Silovs (Sergei Murashov started last night)
Ilya Solovyov was listed as a scratch for Friday’s game against the Blue Jackets despite being waived earlier that day. So was newcomer Spencer Stastney, who joined the Penguins Friday but did not play against the Blue Jackets. Muse indicated he could still potentially draw into the defensive lineup going forward.
Bryan Rust moved back up on the top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell ahead of Friday’s game. This line often got hemmed into their own zone Friday and found themselves on the ice for both of the Blue Jackets’ regulation goals, although Rust also scored for the Pens.
Arturs Silovs is in line to start Saturday. Sergei Murashov is in line for some well-deserved rest after weathering 45 shots on goal in Friday’s 3-2 shootout loss.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 22: Kevin Durant #7 of the Houston Rockets poses for a photo during the Houston Rockets Media Day at Hilton Americas-Houston on September 22, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images
First off, happy belated birthday to the Easy Money Sniper, who turned 38 on September 29th. That’s certainly a ripe old age in the NBA. Durant was drafted in the 2007 draft, which feels like a different world entirely. There are a couple other 2007 draftees around besides Durant still in the NBA: Mike Conley, Al Horford. Uncle Jeff Green currently is unsigned, and the 28th pick, Tiago Splitter, is an NBA head coach.
This will mark Durant’s 20th season in the NBA, but in some ways it’s hard to tell. Here’s a sample of five Durant seasons, (chosen by rolling a 20 sided die except for one).
PTS
TRB
AST
FG%
FG3%
eFG%
TS%
GP
28.0
8
3.5
.496
.387
.547
.610
66
27.1
6.6
5.0
.523
.413
.581
.626
75
28.2
8.2
5.0
.505
.387
.573
.634
72
25.3
6.5
2.8
.476
.422
.510
.577
74
26
5.5
4.8
.520
.413
.588
.641
78
These are, again, four seasons chosen at random from Durant’s career, and in the last row, last season.
Row one is 2011-2012 (5th Season, OKC, Age 23)
Row two is 2023-2024 (17th Season, PHX, Age 35)
Row three is 2015-2016 (9th Season, OKC (last season), Age 27)
Row four is 2008-2009 (2nd Season, OKC, Age 20)
Row five is 2025-2026 (19th Season, HOU, Age 37)
Over two decades it’s hard to imagine a more consistently excellent offensive player. Other than injury plagued seasons, pretty much every Durant season is within this range, with his MVP season of 2013-2014 in OKC being better still. The point here being, you can really take any season, from almost any point, of Kevin Durant’s entire career, at it will be in line with the five seasons above. He’s just that consistently superb. I might go so far as to say the most consistently good shooter in NBA history.
Why is that important? Well, until we see evidence of a decline, why worry? It’s very hard to see much of any sign of it comparing Kevin Durant’s first season with the Rockets to any other (chosen at random) in his career. Fortunately we got early 20s, mid 20s, 30s season in that sample, and they’re all just excellent KD seasons. Combing through other stats, it’s hard to see signs of decline. I suppose his free throw rate has declined from his absolute offensive peak in his mid 20s, but not that much. His rebounds dropped a bit. His percentages, though, held fast.
So what should we expect from Kevin Durant? Until proven otherwise, more of the same.
Durant also made a point at Rockets Media Day that he wouldn’t like to see his minutes reduced. At first I thought this was annoying. Of course he should see his minutes reduced, wear and tear, and so forth. He’s 38. Looking at his career, looking at last season, I’ve changed my mind. He probably should play his career average minutes per game – about 36. Last season was 36.4, his career average is 36.7. What you see in his career, overall, is that he goes down for fairly catastrophic, traumatic, or one off, injuries, and otherwise he plays about 75 games a season. Why tamper with it? The Rockets aren’t depending on five to eight more years of KD. He went out injured for the playoffs, but I’m far from sure that was some reflection of playing a lot of minutes in the regular season, because he usually does that, even when plays a lot of playoff minutes as well. He did fairly recently in Phoenix.
I think, also, that Durant, if he doesn’t get these minutes, will become more of an irritant for the team than merely the fallout from a possible burner social media account, slagging off teammates, and the way the Rockets play. I believe Kevin Durant wants to climb further up the ladder of all time scoring. He’s not going to get the counting stats he needs to do that without playing a lot of games, and playing a lot of minutes. So I think he will do both, if he is at all able to do so.
Watching Durant closely for a season though, made me reconsider one of the main media talking points regarding KD. Namely “Durant fits anywhere, in any system.” I don’t quite see it that way anymore. Instead of viewing KD as fluidly blending with his teammates, I see more of a player who is almost entirely self-contained. That doesn’t mean he won’t play with the team, but more that he doesn’t really need anything more from them than the ball. Actions would be nice, screens would help, timely passing is good. But does KD absolutely require it? Not at all.
I now see him more as the famous soloist who comes to play with a symphony or other ensemble. You’ve brought in the world renown violinist, and everyone wants to see the fireworks show. He’ll work with the orchestra, of course he will, but he’s the star for that program, not your resident first chair. Does he deliver? Yes, I think he does. Anywhere, and everywhere. It’s not exactly your hometown orchestra anymore, but it’s definitely impressive stuff.
Does he love what he does? Obviously so. The passion, dedication, talent and artistry are all clearly there, even now. Does he love playing for you, your town, though? Certainly. Inasmuch as he loves playing. But you are no more or less special than anyone else who can pay his wage, and let him practice his craft. He’s won all the awards, and prizes, now he just wants his output to be something maybe two or three players all time can match. To be an elite of the elite.
Like that famous soloist, though, he’s happy enough to pack up the fiddle and move on. And like that stereotypical virtuoso, he’s temperamental, egotistical, and not especially cognizant of lesser talents around him. There’s nothing quite like him, but strangely, there don’t seem to be many tears shed when he moves on to the next gig.
I think Kevin Durant will have another virtuoso Kevin Durant season, and will thankfully not attempt to initiate the offense. The fact that there isn’t much conducting going on with the offense matters not at all to KD. He doesn’t need it. He never has.
With 11 days until the 2026-27 regular-season opener and nine until the NBA’s rookie contract extension deadline, Brandin Podziemski and the Warriors came to terms Saturday morning on a new deal that should make both sides happy.
Podziemski and the Warriors landed on a five-year, $110 million contract extension, Podziemski’s agent Bill Duffy told ESPN’s Shams Charania. The contract is fully guaranteed and has a mutual option in the final season and a trade kicker, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater. The mutual option allows both sides to opt in, not out, for the 2031-32 season.
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said at the end of last season and throughout the offseason that he wanted to reach an agreement and avoid restricted free agency. Podziemski was on the same page and has learned from experience seeing how two young Warriors went through much different routes.
Moses Moody signed a three-year, $39 million extension right at his deadline two years ago. That same offseason, the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga couldn’t come to terms. The two sides then went through an ugly restricted free agency. Kuminga was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks at last season’s trade deadline and signed a two-year, $12.4 million contract to join the Minnesota Timberwolves in late August.
“I think both seeing him and Moses do two different things for me helped, just seeing the goods and bads to both sides,” Podziemski said in April. “I don’t think one is better than the other, but seeing that as a teammate and seeing how they handled both situations, I think is going to help me.”
The contract that Podziemski signed is far greater than any dollar amounts Kuminga and Moody have seen in their careers. Kuminga and Moody were taken in the lottery of the 2021 NBA draft when Bob Myers still was general manager and the Warriors were in a different position. Podziemski was taken with the No. 19 pick two years later in Dunleavy’s first draft as GM, and he has played well above his slot ever since.
Fans were going to be loud about Podziemski’s next contract no matter what the final numbers finished at. That’s their prerogative. Those also are feelings of opinions much more than facts.
While others like Brandon Miller continue to wait, several players from the 2023 draft class have signed extensions this offseason. Victor Wembanyama (five years, $255.2 million), Amen Thompson (five years, $208 million), Ausar Thompson (five years, $155 million) and Keyonte George (five years, $155 million) are all players picked ahead of Podziemski in the 2023 draft who have jumped into a pile of cash the last few months. Podziemski wasn’t going to reach those numbers, but nobody should be surprised that he was given nine figures.
When assessing what Podziemski was going to sign for, there were two recent contracts to look at: Peyton Watson’s four-year, $88 million deal and Ayo Dosunmu’s five-year, $112 million contract. Podziemski’s average annual value of his contract evens out to the same $22 million as Watson’s and comes in just shy of Dosunmu’s total.
The Timberwolves signed Dosunmu in July following his fifth year in which he averaged 14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game between them and the Chicago Bulls, shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 43.9 percent from three. Podziemski is entering his fourth year and in Year 3 averaged 13.8 points (a career high), 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three.
But the Warriors saw Podziemski scale-up in the absences of Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler last season, and then performed admirably in the play-in tournament. Podziemski from the start of March to the end of the regular season regularly was often guarded by the opponent’s best defender and averaged 18.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from three over a 22-game span.
He scored 17 points and had seven rebounds in the Warriors’ play-in win against the LA Clippers, and then had a team high in points (23) and rebounds (10) two days later in Phoenix.
Podziemski was one of 18 players in the NBA to play all 82 games last season. He has consistently been one of the best rebounding guards in the league since the start of his career and finishes in the top three of charges taken every year. Podziemski led the Warriors in plus/minus as a rookie, was third in his second season and seventh last year in the team’s injury-filled season. He has the second-highest total plus/minus on the Warriors over the last three seasons.
Among his draft class, Podziemski ranks fourth in total win shares (13.4) and fifth in VORP (3.4).
Signing Podziemski now does continue to cut into the Warriors’ salary cap space next offseason after also signing Curry to an extension, but it’s far from detrimental. Podziemski’s extension only counts as roughly 11 percent of the projected year-to-year salary cap. From a value perspective, Podziemski continues to be a Warriors win.
The Warriors are betting on continued growth of someone who remains the youngest player on the 15-man roster going into his fourth season, and he has shown all the signs to earn their trust. It’s good business for the Warriors in keeping a good, impactful player, concurrently maintaining financial flexibility in the future.
How will Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options
The sense of desperation will be strong as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur arrive at Old Trafford with both teams in bad need of a win to change the narrative around their disappointing seasons so far.
Anything less than three points would further increase the pressure on Michael Carrick and Roberto De Zerbi, both of whom are fighting to prove they are the right people for their respective jobs. Saturday’s match could be pivotal.
The Hamilton Hammers will be without 22-year-old defenseman Isaiah George for the foreseeable future after he sustained an apparent upper-body injury in their 5-4 shootout loss against the Toronto Marlies.
"He'll be out for a bit," Hammers head coach Jay McKee said postgame.
Since joining the Islanders organization in 2024-25, George has struggled to stay healthy, dealing with multiple injuries seemingly every season.
In 2024-25, George played 33 NHL games, but halfway through the season, he sustained a concussion after a reverse hit from Max Domi's elbow. When he returned, he struggled to regain his effectiveness.
Then, in 2025-26, when defenseman Alexander Romanov went down with a few injuries, the Islanders couldn't recall George because he was injured on both occasions. That led to the Islanders ultimately having to acquire Carson Soucy to fill the hole.
The Islanders began this season with tremendous depth, particularly on the left side.
But just a month into this season, they've lost Romanov to a torn right ACL, and now George goes down as well.
That means Long Island native Marshall Warren is now the No. 1 left-side defenseman in the system.
The Islanders currently have right-shot defenseman Matt Kessel at seventh defenseman, with Scott Mayfield expected to start for a second straight game.
The best ability is availability and it's just been tough sledding for George, who is now in the final season of his three-year entry-level deal.
Chicago Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar has been suspended for two games by NHL Player Safety for his illegal check to the head on New York Islanders captain Bo Horvat at 18:27 of the third period in Thursday's 4-1 Islanders victory:
Horvat was forced to go down the tunnel, likely due to concussion protocol. He was still being evaluated when we spoke with head coach Pete DeBoer on Friday morning.
Through four games this season, Horvat has four goals and one assist.
The Philadelphia Flyers enter their sixth game of the season carrying an 0-3-2 record, and they are the last team in the Eastern Conference without a win. Things won't get any easier on Saturday afternoon, as they'll face a 3-2-0 Boston Bruins team at TD Garden at 1 p.m. in their first midday game of the season.
On Thursday, the Flyers played their best game of the season against Ottawa, though the bar, at this point, is pretty low for that standard.
Matvei Michkov scored the Flyers' first power play goal of the season, and new free agent signing Michael Bunting made his Flyers debut, though he took the penalty the Senators would score on to tally the game-winning goal in the 2-1 defeat of Philadelphia.
With Joseph Woll getting the start on Thursday night, it is likely Dan Vladar's turn to tend goal for the Flyers as head coach Rick Tocchet and Co. look to rotate their goalies on this back-to-back; the Flyers will come home to host Carolina on Sunday night.
Veteran defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen accompanied the team for this three-game road trip, but it's currently unclear if he'll return for Saturday afternoon's game against the Bruins.
If not, the Flyers are in action again on Sunday night and Tuesday night.
In any event, this is clearly the Flyers' first must-win game of the season, especially with so many players struggling at the moment. If they lose six in a row, well, they'll have lost their last 10 games dating back to last season's playoffs, and this season's playoffs will begin to look like a pipe dream.
Flyers lines vs. Bruins
Travis Konecny - Sean Couturier - Porter Martone
Trevor Zegras - Christian Dvorak - Owen Tippett
Tyson Foerster - Denver Barkey - Matvei Michkov
Michael Bunting - Noah Cates - Noel Acciari
Travis Sanheim - Jamie Drysdale
Cam York - David Jiricek
Nick Seeler - Simon Benoit
Dan Vladar (S), Joseph Woll
Bruins lines for Flyers game
Morgan Geekie - Pavel Zacha - David Pastrnak
Marat Khusnutdinov - Fraser Minten - J.J. Peterka
Casey Mittelstadt - Elias Lindholm - James Hagens
Tanner Jeannot - Matt Poitras - Mark Kastelic
Hampus Lindholm - Will Borden
Nikita Zadorov - Connor Clifton
Frederic Brunet - Mason Lohrei
Flyers special teams
Power play: 1-for-15, 6.7% (29th)
Penalty kill: 15-for-20, 75% (22nd)
Bruins special teams
Power play: 3-for-14, 21.4% (16th)
Penalty kill: 15-for-18, 83.3% (14th)
How to watch the Flyers game
Saturday afternoon's Flyers game can be found on NHL Network, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NESN, Sportsnet East, and TVAS. 97.5 The Fanatic will have the radio broadcast.
Flyers player to watch
Porter Martone has not had an easy go at the start of his first professional season, but he's too smart and talented to stay quiet for this long.
Martone was dragging his teammates into the fight against Tampa Bay on Monday night, though he finished the game without a shot on goal, the third such instance for him this season.
The 19-year-old scored his first NHL goal, an overtime winner, against the Bruins back on April 5, in addition to his assist on Christian Dvorak's tuck to open the scoring.
The Flyers haven't quite depended on Martone so much as, say, Tyson Foerster, and his flying under the radar might create the opportunity for him to do some damage against the Bruins on Saturday afternoon.
SAN ANTONIO, TX -OCTOBER 8: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs celebrates a basket against Atlanta Hawks in the first half of the preseason game at Frost Bank Center on October 8, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This article is for those of you who hesitate to mess with technological changes in their life. And I mean the “I still have CDs and won’t download music apps” people. The “I have and iPhone 8 that is so old it has to live on a charger and it refuses to updates” types, this is for you. I’m talking to the “I maxed out my cloud but rather spend hours deleting my old photos and videos than pay $7” version of an adult. I will die on my mountain of technology that became outdated but I simply could not let it go and it piled up….literally.
For you I say — DAZN was not as harsh a transition as I made it out to be in my head. You’d have thought I was buying a car for how long I spent attempting to research. In the end it was simple. I downloaded an app, chose Spurs, signed up a free week-long trial (I think I literally said “that’s where they get you” and realized (a) I really am becoming the best/worst old man version of myself, and (b) I was talking out loud to no one), and then chose a plan. Immediately I had access to some Spurs content that had been uploaded — mostly the 50th anniversary “Ring of the Rowel” series and Summer League highlights.
I watched Thursday night’s preseason game on the app. Again, it was easy to navigate. Due to some family plans, I didn’t start the game after it after aired. Jacob Tobey and Sean Elliott were the hosts, so not too much changed. There was no pregame or postgame and I am curious if this is just during preseason or if those will eventually be added to the DAZN content.
One criticism. When I went to watch the game, the screen that takes you to the game reveals the score. Personally, I prefer not to know the outcome before I watch.
There is a cost, which for me is always a hesitation. But honestly, it gave me some time to reevaluate and cancel some other subscriptions. Which of course distracted from my time deleting old photos and videos to free up room in the cloud.
Speaking of, I better get back to work.
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JULY 16: Shohei Ohtani #17 of Los Angeles Dodgers waves to Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers prior to the 94th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Globe Life Field on July 16, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images) | Getty Images
“Here we go again,” says the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in what is now a popular meme. For the third time in nine years, the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers face off in the National League Championship Series, and Brewers fans are hoping that this time they can get past the well-funded boogeymen who reside in the LA hills.
On paper, this year’s version of the Dodgers do not seem to be in as strong a position as they have the past two years, in which they’ve won back-to-back World Series titles. Yes, the starting rotation is formidable, as good as any we’ve seen in baseball in recent years. But Shohei Ohtani is banged up, key contributors in the lineup are a year older, and questions remain about the team’s bullpen.
Let’s take a position-by-position look at what each team has to offer, and determine who might have the edge in the series. I’ll list a few regular season stats with each players and give a quick breakdown, then determine who has the advantage.
Catcher
Brewers: William Contreras (2.9 bWAR, 108 OPS+, 18 HR), Gary Sánchez (0.6 bWAR, 112 OPS+, 12 HR)
Dodgers: Will Smith (1.7 bWAR, 115 OPS+, 10 HR), Hunter Feduccia (0.5 bWAR, 75 OPS+, 1 HR)
Contreras’s full-season numbers don’t look as good as they have in previous years — his 108 OPS+ was his worst in any of the five seasons in which he has played over 52 games. That doesn’t quite tell the whole story, though; Contreras was mired in a brutal slump that lasted most of July and August before he hit .292/.359/.562 over his last 23 games and then went 6-for-16 (.375) with two homers against the Padres in the Division Series. Sánchez is a capable backup who should get plenty of action as a pinch hitter in this series: by OPS+, Sánchez had his best season since 2019, and against left-handed pitching this season he hit .238/.366/.436. Sánchez also posted a career-best 16.7% walk rate, an elite mark, and showed the value of that patience during his at-bat against Mason Miller in the ninth inning of NLDS Game 2 on Sunday.
Smith has been one of the league’s premier catchers since his debut in 2019; from 2021-25, he had five straight seasons with at least 3.3 WAR and made three All-Star teams. But he struggled with health this season — an inflamed disc in his neck limited him to just 73 games, by far the fewest in any season since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Smith, who is now 31, still performed well when on the field, with a 115 OPS+ and 10 homers in those 73 games. After missing nearly three months with his neck injury, Smith returned to the lineup on September 1, and hit .290/.400/.548 over the final month, though he struggled in the NLDS, managing just a single in 16 at-bats.
Feduccia, acquired from the Rays at the trade deadline, was meant to be LA’s third-string catcher — a temporary backup to Dalton Rushing, who took over the starting job when Smith was injured. But Rushing is dealing with an elbow injury and cannot catch, and did not make the NLDS roster, so Feduccia is on the roster as a “break glass in case of emergency” backup.
Advantage: Brewers, but it’s slight. Contreras raked in the NLDS and Smith was awful, so this is mostly based on recency bias. I wouldn’t count on Smith staying down for long, though, as he was quite good for the entire month of September. Sánchez has way more value as a backup than Feduccia has; don’t be surprised if there are a couple of important Sánchez at-bats in the series.
First Base
Brewers: Jake Bauers (3.3 WAR, 140 OPS+, 26 HR), Andrew Vaughn (1.5 WAR, 130 OPS+, 6 HR)
Dodgers: Freddie Freeman (2.7 WAR, 118 OPS+, 16 HR)
Bauers and Vaughn combined for one of the more potent platoons in the majors this year. Bauers, in a surprising season, was amongst NL leaders in on-base percentage and OPS, finishing seventh among qualified NL hitters in OPS+. Vaughn was a capable complement, and after missing some time at the beginning of the season had what was, by rate stats, his best season, over 331 plate appearances. Vaughn has been used pretty strictly as a platoon player of late, and Pat Murphy chose to use him as a high-powered pinch-hitter against the Padres, so he got only two plate appearances in that series. With more lefties available for the Dodgers, Vaughn may get a start or two, but there is some logic to Murphy’s approach, giving him maximum flexibility to play defense and keeping a good defensive unit while keeping Bauers in the lineup.
Freeman is, of course, well on his way as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. He also recently turned 37 years old, and that age finally appears to be slowing down one of the best hitters of the 21st century. Freeman still had a good year — one of the iron men of modern baseball, Freeman played in 153 games (he’s played in at least 90% of his team’s games in every season since 2017) and was solid, with a .288/.362/.430 batting line, 32 doubles, and 16 homers. But that’s his worst season by OPS+ (118) since he was 22 years old way back in 2012, and his 2.7 WAR was his lowest total since that same 2012 season (even including 2020, when he played only 60 games but won the NL MVP). Freeman remains a dangerous hitter who has a ton of playoff experience, which showed in the NLDS, when he homered twice against his former team.
Advantage: Brewers, but again, it’s slight. Bauers and Vaughn’s combined performance was definitely better than Freeman’s over the course of the season, but I’m not about to doubt Freddie Freeman in the playoffs.
Second Base
Brewers: Brice Turang (7.3 WAR, 124 OPS+, 21 HR)
Dodgers: Tommy Edman (1.6 WAR, 97 OPS+, 8 HR), Miguel Rojas (0.8 WAR, 93 OPS+, 4 HR)
Turang was the league’s best second baseman in 2026, by a comfortable margin. He’s become a good offensive player with pop, he still runs the bases well, and he’s one of the league’s best defensive players. The only question here is whether Turang can shake whatever is bugging him in the postseason; since his offensive awakening during the summer of 2025, Turang has been unable to translate that success to the playoffs. In 55 plate appearances since the start of the 2025 postseason, Turang has just six hits (.118/.182/.196). He hit singles in each of the last two games of the Padres series and looked a little more comfortable at the plate in Game 4, so hopefully this is beginning to turn. The Brewers need him.
Edman is one of those guys who doesn’t seem threatening when he’s on almost any other team but then he joins the Dodgers for nothing and you can’t help but wonder how LA was allowed to get a guy like him. Edman is a versatile role player who, outside of his first couple of full seasons with the Cardinals in the early 2020s, hasn’t done a whole lot in the regular season. But he’s been a crucial part of the Dodgers’ World Series teams the last two years; he won NLCS MVP in 2024, and coming into this season was a .273/.303/.435 hitter in 32 playoff games with the Dodgers (in that same timespan, he hit .229/.280/.392 during the regular season). Edman went 0-for-7 against Atlanta, so hopefully the magic dust has worn off a bit.
Rojas is 37 and doesn’t figure to be a major part of this series, but he’s absolutely the kind of guy who you can’t believe just homered.
Advantage: Brewers. It’s not going to be an easy series for Turang, with Blake Snell and Tarik Skubal in LA’s rotation, but if he can find a way to break out offensively, it could be a key to the series.
Third Base
Brewers: Joey Ortiz (2.6 WAR, 101 OPS+, 9 HR), David Hamilton (1.8 WAR, 80 OPS+, 4 HR)
Dodgers: Max Muncy (4.1 WAR, 128 OPS+, 29 HR), Kiké Hernández (-0.1 WAR, 82 OPS+, 4 HR)
Ortiz had a roller-coaster season but hit .329/.379/.532 in 51 games after the All-Star break, a real sample. He also might be the Brewers’ best defensive player. Hamilton is one of this team’s more divisive players, but it certainly looks like Murphy prefers him in matchups versus right-handed pitching at the moment. Hamilton is not the defensive player that Ortiz is, and while he’s a better hitter against righties (.668 OPS), he still wasn’t as good statistically against them as Ortiz, the right-hander, was (.768 OPS, significantly better than against LHP). Ortiz mostly didn’t look good against the Padres — just one hit in 11 PA — but he did hit the ball hard into outs a couple times.
Muncy, who turned 36 at the end of August, somehow just had one of his best seasons. He graded as a solid defensive third baseman, hit for his highest batting average since 2018, and slugged 29 homers, the fifth time in his career he’s had at least that many. By WAR, it was the fourth-best season of Muncy’s 11-year career and his highest total since 2021. Qualitatively, he’s just one of those guys who it feels like he’s going to pop a homer every time he swings the bat. I hate it.
Speaking of things I hate: Hernández is 34, and over the last five seasons is a .225/.281/.360 hitter. In that same timespan, in the playoffs, he is a .271/.317/.411 hitter. He went just 1-for-6 in the NLDS, but his one hit was, of course, a homer. There’s a very good chance he does something extremely annoying during this series.
Advantage: Dodgers. Muncy is a dangerous hitter. Ortiz’s defense will help, but this is the most likely spot on the roster to be a complete offensive black hole.
Shortstop
Brewers: Cooper Pratt (1.7 WAR, 99 OPS+, 3 HR)
Dodgers: Mookie Betts (3.9 WAR, 113 OPS+, 23 HR), Hyesong Kim (0.5 WAR, 81 OPS+, 1 HR)
Pratt debuted in mid-June when Ortiz’s season had hit a low point. Most expected him to be a good defensive player who would struggle offensively. As it happened, Pratt held his own offensively — he was just about exactly a league average hitter in 74 games, and the defense was as advertised. At least until the NLDS, when Pratt committed as almost as many errors in four games — three — as he had in his 74 regular season contests (five). Pratt did pick up a few hits, including a ground-rule double, against San Diego, though, and looked like he belonged.
At shortstop we meet the Dodgers’ second future Hall-of-Famer, one of the best defensive right fielders of all time, Mookie Betts. Betts looked on his way to an underwhelming season at the plate, but he salvaged his season with a scorching-hot September; he hit .337/.438/.674 with seven homers and nine doubles in 23 games. Perhaps beneficial for the Brewers, that didn’t seem to carry over into the NLDS, where he was 3-for-14 with three singles and three walks.
Kim doesn’t matter much — if he’s not replaced on the NLCS roster, he’s probably just here as a pinch-runner and potential defensive substitute.
Advantage: Dodgers. Pratt is a nice player and Betts, who turned 34 on Wednesday, isn’t what he used to be. But if he’s anything like the hitter he was in September, he could carry the whole Dodger offense on his back.
Outfield
Brewers: Jackson Chourio (4.9 WAR, 129 OPS+, 25 HR), Garrett Mitchell (3.4 WAR, 112 OPS+, 11 HR), Sal Frelick (-0.5 WAR, 70 OPS+, 4 HR), Luis Lara (1.2 WAR, 77 OPS+, 1 HR)
Dodgers: Teoscar Hernández (1.0 WAR, 108 OPS+, 16 HR), Andy Pages (6.0 WAR, 122 OPS+, 23 HR), Kyle Tucker (0.7 WAR, 97 OPS+, 17 HR, $60 million), Josue De Paula (0.5 WAR, 198 OPS+, 1 HR)
Chourio’s batting line in the NLDS (3-for-16, a homer, six RBIs) belies the fact that he was on everything. Chourio looked like a star in the series, even if he only had three hits — all three of them major, clutch, run-scoring hits that either tied the game or gave the Brewers the lead — to show for it.
Mitchell should be coming into the NLCS feeling confident. After a tepid showing in the NLDS’s first three games (a couple of hits, but six strikeouts in 12 plate appearances), Mitchell was the star of the show in the clincher, where he hit a triple and an RBI single, scored a run, and robbed Manny Machado of the game-tying homer in the eighth. Frelick, battling a series of nagging injuries, had an awful season, but he looked like the vintage version of himself against the Padres, when he started three of four games, hit .333 with a couple RBI, a stolen base, and a couple runs scored, and threw out a runner at third base. Lara struggled to hit down the stretch (an abysmal .188/.243/.203 in September) but worked a walk and saw a lot of pitches in his one start in the Padres series and will always give you elite defense in right field.
Pages is the Dodgers’ best outfielder and their best position player under 30. Depending on your preferred defensive metric, he grades as one of the best defensive outfielders in the league (DRS has him even higher than Pete Crow-Armstrong) and he’s a good hitter. He started incredibly hot, though — he had an OPS over 1.000 after about a month — and hit a much more modest .259/.343/.414 from June 1 until the end of the season. He missed about a month toward the end of the season after fracturing a bone in his hand but hit well over the season’s last week after he returned. He had four singles and a couple RBIs against the Braves.
Hernández is slowing down — he turns 34 next week, and he’s seen a significant downturn offensively in the last two years from his peak seasons (2020-24). He remains a potent weapon versus lefties — .303/.392/.515 this season — so the Brewers will need to prioritize matchups in his case. Tucker is one of the bigger disappointments in recent years after signing an immense contract before the season; he looked like a shell of himself, and after five straight seasons with between 4.5 and 5.5 WAR, he looked lost at the plate for most of the season and, despite being healthy, finished with an OPS that was nearly 100 points lower than any other season of the last six years. His defense, a traditional strength (he won a Gold Glove in 2022) also graded out poorly. Tucker is only 29 — not sure what happened.
De Paula is a mega prospect who was promoted straight from Double-A to the big leagues when Ohtani went on the IL late in the season. He hit .323/.500/.581 in 42 plate appearances, and went 0-for-1 with a walk against the Braves.
Advantage: Brewers. Let’s call Chourio and Pages a wash (though I’d rather have Chourio); Mitchell was far better than anything the Dodgers got from Hernández or Tucker this season, and if Frelick looks like he did in the Padres series, he’s better than either of those guys, too. LA’s “other” guys have the ability to change a game with a homer, but are likely to be net negatives, especially over a longer series.
Designated Hitter
Brewers: Christian Yelich (0.1 WAR, 91 OPS+, 12 HR)
Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani (3.2 WAR as hitter, 143 OPS+, 26 HR)
Yelich struggled this season. We know it, he knows it. He turns 35 soon, and this is probably just how it’s going to be for him moving forward. But Yelich, who was better in the second half than the first and flashed some solid indicators for quite a while, was lively in the NLDS — he hit .357 (5-for-14) with a double and an RBI, he stole a couple of bases, he walked a couple times, and he had a couple of bad-luck hard-hit balls — a shot to deep center that looked like it was going to tie the game in Game 2 but was caught, and his 107-mph game-ending double play in Game 3.
Even whatever optimized version of 34-year-old Yelich is going to be at a disadvantage against the game’s biggest star, though. Ohtani is banged up — he’s been dealing with knee and biceps injuries, neither serious enough to threaten his season but bad enough that he had an IL stint late in the season to try to get healthy. He doesn’t look healthy. In early summer, it looked like he was on his way to a fourth straight MVP — he was hitting .296/.412/.542 at the end of June and pitching as well as we have ever seen from him. But the pitching went first — his last appearance as a pitcher came on July 3, and while he stayed in the lineup after that, there was a downturn in results that accelerated as we got closer to the end of the season. The former home run champ hasn’t hit one out since August 18, and in 18 games from then to the end of the season he hit just .157/.289/.214. He hit two singles and walked twice in 16 plate appearances against Atlanta, and batted fifth and fourth in the lineup in the series’ last two games, after batting first or second in literally every time he’d been in the Dodger lineup the last three years.
Advantage: Dodgers. I’m still giving it to Shohei, but it really doesn’t seem like he’s healthy, and there’s a real chance Yelich outperforms him.
Starting Pitching
Brewers: Jacob Misiorowski (6.5 bWAR, 1.80 ERA, 2.17 FIP), Logan Henderson (3.3 bWAR, 2.47 ERA, 3.32 FIP), Robert Gasser (1.3 bWAR, 3.87 ERA, 4.24 FIP), Dustin May (0.3 bWAR, 5.65 ERA and 5.06 FIP with Brewers)
The Brewers might have the best pitcher in this series, but the Dodgers are boasting a gauntlet unlike we’ve seen in the majors in some time — who was the last No. 4 starter as good as Glasnow? I’ve ordered LA’s pitchers here in the order that they pitched against Atlanta. Skubal, who of course was heavily tied to the Brewers in trade rumors, mostly shut down the Braves for six innings in Game 1; he allowed two hits, two walks, and a run while striking out seven. Skubal has a long history of postseason performance, too; he has a 1.97 ERA and 2.18 FIP in 45 2/3 career postseason innings.
Snell wasn’t sharp against the Braves — he held them to one run but walked five guys in 3 2/3 innings. But during the regular season (which, aside from one rough outing in May, didn’t start for Snell until August 11), Snell was as sharp as he has ever been: over eight starts since permanently joining the rotation in August, Snell allowed only five runs — never more than a single run in one outing — in 39 2/3 innings (a 1.13 ERA). He struck out 50 and walked 14, looking every bit of the guy who’d won Cy Youngs in Tampa and San Diego. Those who haven’t blocked it out will also remember that Snell utterly dominated Milwaukee in last year’s NLCS, when he struck out 10, walked zero, and allowed only one hit in eight shutout innings in Game 1.
Yamamoto is the Dodgers’ No. 3, a guy who finished third in Cy Young voting and won the World Series MVP last season. He was just as good this year as he was last year and shut down the Braves in his one start in the NLDS. Glasnow, the fourth starter, had a 3.53 ERA and 2.74 FIP in 74 innings this season and held the Braves to one run in 4 2/3 innings in the series clincher on Wednesday.
On the Milwaukee side, Misiorowski will look to get past his shaky start versus the Padres — two runs in four innings, in which he needed 88 pitches despite just one walk. Miz handled the Dodgers in his only start against them this season, when he allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts.
Henderson was a bit shaky as well at the beginning of his outing against San Diego but settled in nicely. He allowed two runs, but he had no help from his defense (only one of those was earned). Gasser pitched well against the Padres and on paper he’s got a better matchup against the Dodgers, who rely on more lefties than the Padres do — I’d definitely slot him in ahead of May in this series. Milwaukee will probably need a fourth starter — I’d be surprised if Misiorowski pitched on three days’ rest in game four — and that might be the longtime Dodger May, but they also might just do a bullpen game (or effectively do a bullpen game with May getting a shot once through the order, or something like that).
Advantage: Dodgers. This is one of the best four-man rotations I’ve ever seen. Misiorowski can beat any of them, but LA has three different guys who can match him on any given day. The Brewers will have their work cut out for them, and their best bet in this series is to grind out at-bats against the starters and try to get to the bullpen as quickly as possible.
In the NLDS, there was a lot of talk about the Padres and their league-best bullpen heading into the series. But the Brewers got to Adrián Morejon in Game 1 and Mason Miller in Game 2, while their own bullpen — which at this point might be flying under the radar a bit as a major strength — allowed just one earned run in 19 innings against San Diego. Both Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe may have gotten away with a couple of near homers, but Aaron Ashby looked as good as he’s ever looked in game four, and the Brewers got solid work from DL Hall, Antonio Senzatela, and JoJo Romero, as well. With the higher concentration of lefties that the Dodger lineup presents, expect Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison to have roles in this series, as well. Chad Patrick may have fallen off the trust tree with his September control issues, but we’ll see.
The Dodgers aren’t in as bad of shape here as they have been at times in the past, but I wouldn’t call the bullpen a major strength. After a disaster of a season in 2025, lefty Tanner Scott fixed himself, and had an excellent season in which he saved 25 games.
It wasn’t Scott closing games in the NLDS, though: the Dodgers went with the right-handed Edwin Díaz, despite his 8.68 ERA during the regular season. Díaz is one of the best closers of his time — he’s got a solid argument as the best reliever in his league at least twice — and he was really good for the Mets in 2025. But after his big contract in LA, something has been wrong. He’s spent some time on the injured list but there doesn’t seem to be a major injury issue — he just started walking guys and giving up hard contact. The Dodgers gambled a bit by using Díaz to close back-to-back games in Atlanta after he pitched a scoreless inning in LA’s Game 2 loss, and he’s now riding three straight scoreless outings in which he hasn’t walked anyone into the NLCS. If Díaz is fixed, that’s bad news for the Brewers… but his strikeouts are also down (three strikeouts in three innings in the postseason, well below his typical numbers) and Ozzie Albies got him for a double off the wall on Tuesday, so who knows. It’s a major wildcard in this series.
Other notables here include the flamethrowing Henriquez, the reliable lefty Alex Vesia, and converted-ish starters Sasaki and Bubic. The Dodgers only carried eight relievers in the NLDS, and it’s very possible that they’ll replace either De Paula or Kim with another reliever (Jack Dreyer? Justin Wrobleski?) for the longer NLCS.
Advantage: Brewers. Milwaukee has more depth in their pen. Scott is really good and there are a few good pitchers here, but there are some questions about roles, and Díaz is a major question mark. The Brewers also match up well with all the left-handed hitters (Ohtani, Freeman, Muncy, Tucker) in the Dodgers’ lineup.
Wrapping up
I accidentally wrote 4,000 words, so I’ll keep this brief:
Catcher: Brewers First Base: Brewers Second Base: Brewers, big time Third Base: Dodgers Shortstop: Dodgers Outfield: Brewers Designated Hitter: Dodgers, maybe, unless Ohtani is as hurt as he looks Starting Rotation: Dodgers, big time Bullpen: Brewers
The Brewers are better at more places on the field, but the Dodgers’ rotation is a major equalizer. Overall, these are two pretty evenly matched teams. If the Brewers can be pesky against the Dodgers’ starters and force them to throw a lot of pitches, I like their chances. But if they can’t find a way to get through Skubal, Snell, and Yamamoto (they couldn’t last year, at least in the case of the latter two) and into the bullpen, it may not matter much.
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 30: Brandon Marsh (16) of the Philadelphia Phillies bats during the Atlanta Braves versus Philadelphia Phillies game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series on September 30, 2026 at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
There is a game five tonight with the White Sox going back to Cleveland to take on the Guardians to see who will be playing the Rays in the ALCS. Chicago might be on fumes with their pitching staff though as their idea of “pitching chaos” is starting to get exposed.
Quarterback Justin Herbert and the Chargers opened the season winless through four games. (David Becker / Associated Press)
I’ve been a Justin Herbert fan since his days in Oregon. I kept believing he was going to lead the Chargers to new heights, even after all the leadership changes he’s been through. He’s talented, tough and all-in. I gave him every benefit of the doubt. But now, I can conclude only that Justin Herbert is the problem. Inconsistent, often slow to react, but mostly he’s unable to finish. He’s lost more games in the fourth quarter than he’s won.
So far this season the Chargers have the greatest negative point differential in the fourth quarter in the NFL. The pattern is consistent regardless of the coach. Is it all on Herbert? No. But he is the common denominator through all of this.
First, the fumbling. Thank you, Derius Davis. Your inability to simply complete a fair catch led directly to a Seahawks touchdown. How many points did your team lose by?
Next, the bumbling. Call it a banged up offensive line, (AGAIN!), a moderately skilled and depleted receiving core, or a lost, interception prone Justin Herbert, the Charger offense remains sketchy, inconsistent, and self-destructive.
Finally, the stumbling continues … as they cannot beat teams they should or pull out potential victories over the more challenging ones.
Good luck turning this around!
Rick Solomon Lake Balboa
I don’t care much about the Chargers. I rarely read stories about them and would be elated if they’d return to San Diego where they belong.
But, much like a car accident on the 405 that you instinctively know you shouldn’t stare, I just can’t seem to avert my eyes from the wreck the Chargers have become.
Ron Yukelson San Luis Obispo
Here is a modest proposal: Lincoln Riley and Jim Harbaugh waive their buyout clauses and swap jobs. It might be the rare trade that improves both organizations. It is difficult to see how it could make things worse.
Paul Hunt Sierra Madre
Lincoln’s log
Lincoln Riley is a classic trust fund kid who inherited a billion-dollar program from Bob Stoops and a perennial power at USC. Bob Chesney inherited a teardown from DeShaun Foster at UCLA and has turned it into a Malibu Mansion.
Mark S. Roth Playa Vista
The commandments
Since when has The Times become a religious newspaper? That’s what came to mind as I read Eric Sondheimer’s “Bible” dealing with the ethical dilemmas and tough calls in high school sports. His article should be required reading for all high school athletes, their parents, coaches, and athletic directors. The answers are not always easy, but until we start thinking about these matters we will not move forward towards a better high school sports experience for the many participants.
Mark Kaiserman Santa Monica
Recent history
Dodgers’ dinosaurs: Still roaming. Padres: Extinct. History class dismissed.
Steve Ross Carmel
Bill Plaschke wrote that the Dodgers are “now just eight wins away but, given how mediocre the American League playoff teams appear, they could realistically be just four wins away.” Is he serious? Hey Bill, have you not watched the Tampa Bay Rays at all this year? They just swept the Yankees. Their pitching staff is deep and talented, they play exceptional defense, and they have an offensive attack that does all the little things well.
The Dodgers will have to beat two excellent teams to three-peat. I’m sure the Dodgers know this, even if Plaschke doesn’t.
Steve Kehela Studio City
Wrong answer
The MLB’s proposed reduction of games for the season from 162 to 154 to allow them to expand the divisional playoffs from a five-game series to a seven-game series is not the right solution. Baseball teams have 30 spring training exhibition games. This is way too many. No other sport has that many exhibition games before the season. All MLB needs to do it cut 10 days off of spring training to bring the number of spring training games down to a little more than 20 games and this will allow them the time to extend the divisional playoffs.
Steve Shaevel Woodland Hills
Guiding hand
It was October 1988 and Orel Hershiser pitched well in the World Series. Kirk Gibson was limping but homered. Tommy Lasorda was making the on-the- field decisions, but it was GM Fred Claire who put the Dodgers in position to win their sixth World Series.
We lost Fred this week on his 91st birthday. We will always remember him for 1988 and even more for his kindness.
Fred Wallin Westlake Village
Dollars and sense
Regarding the Buss siblings’ fighting over the potential sale of their shares in the Lakers, I honestly hope that they can resolve this. Frankly, I lose a lot of sleep at night worrying that the family will be doing OK financially!
Jack Wolf Westwood
The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 08: James Wiseman #35 of the New York Knicks looks to pass as Felix Okpara #34 of the Washington Wizards defends during the second half at Madison Square Garden on October 08, 2026 in New York City. The Wizards won 111-109. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Knicks are back to playing basketball and are less than two weeks away from opening night. They’ve started 0-2, which nobody really cares about, but we’ve also now seen enough minutes from the exhibition matches to get a glimpse of who the winners and losers have been in the early portion of the preseason.
Winner: Jalen Brunson and his wrist
Should anyone have really doubted or even been remotely worried about Brunson’s offseason wrist surgery? No, the captain has repeatedly been the definition of reliable. So it was ridiculous to ever think that Brunson wouldn’t be prepared or would look off coming off of his injury. But fans are unreasonable. And also, he is a 30 year-old who had an operation on his shooting hand.
Fortunately for Knicks fans, though, he’s looked as good as any other Knicks. His three-point shot was off against the Wizards as he went just 1-for-6. But Brunson looks like he’s in midseason form. He’s taking his usual shots, which include, but aren’t limited to, driving layups, floaters, mid-range fadeaways, and pull-up threes, and he’s looked comfortable and confident in doing so. Defensively, he’s started the preseason giving good effort, and he’s already drawn multiple charges as well. Brunson and his wrist seem to be doing just fine.
Loser: Pacome Dadiet and his trade value
Coming into training camp and preseason, there couldn’t have been many expectations for Dadiet. He’s now had two full seasons of pretty much being non-existent. His Summer League left a lot to be desired. And he played worse than most fans could’ve imagined during the World Cup qualifiers for the Ivory Coast team. Yet even after all that, he’s found a way to disappoint so far in preseason. In the preseason opener, the team was clearly trying to give him an opportunity to either increase his trade value or at least win some spot minutes, and he failed to do that. And he wasn’t much better in game two against the Wizards.
It’s only been two games, but they’ve both been a failure for Dadiet. He’s scored just nine total points in 30 minutes of play and is shooting just 28.6% from the field without standing out as a playmaker, rebounder, or defender. Dadiet’s path to being a rotation player in New York was pretty thin to begin with. But whatever opportunity he had to at least help the team out by increasing his trade value may be slipping away now too.
Winner: Landry Shamet
Shamet is coming off of two straight training camps where his job wasn’t even guaranteed. He’s battled back from injuries and has consistently displayed a perfect balance of selflessness and staying ready. That led to him becoming an integral part of the Knicks’ rotation last year. And he was rewarded with a very nice four-year, $24 million contract. Shamet rewarded the Knicks and their loyalty by reportedly turning down offers from other contenders.
Now back with the same team for the third straight year-something he’s never done before in his career-the journeyman looks comfortable and confident. He looks poised to not just continue what he’s done but build upon it and has gotten off to an extremely hot start in preseason. He’s averaging 11.5PPG in just 13.5MPG and is shooting an extremely hot 53.3% from the field and 50% from three.
Loser: Miles McBride
The talk around McBride for much of the offseason has been about what the Knicks could get in a trade for him. And after the offensive struggles he went through in the Finals, there are some fans who may have forgotten just how good and valuable the reserve guard is. He’s still one of the best bench perimeter defenders in the league, and that, combined with his much improved three-point shooting, makes him so pivotal to what Mike Brown and the Knicks want to do. And nobody should be overly concerned about what he does or doesn’t do in the preseason.
That being said, he’s currently struggling mightily offensively. McBride has so far averaged just 3PPG on 18.2% shooting from the field and 11.1% shooting from three. There were some expectations that he’d showcase a little more after a full offseason to work on some of his weaknesses that got exposed against the Spurs. And fans were excited to see him fully healthy after he revealed that he was still hurt throughout the postseason run. He should be fine eventually, but it’s been a rough go for McBride so far.
Winner: Andre Drummond
Many fans had different reactions when Drummond signed with the Knicks this past summer. Some were excited, some were indifferent, and some were disappointed. New York still has a very long season ahead of them, and that should come with opportunities to upgrade at this position one way or another. And during said long season, Drummond will inevitably go through ups and downs. But so far, the veteran center has looked solid.
His pick-and-roll defense, something many were concerned about, has actually looked good. He’s been very active with his hands, and his defense there, especially when paired up with the also active Jose Alvarado, could be a fun tandem. Drummond’s finishing ability is concerning due to his lack of explosiveness. But his surprisingly solid defense, along with his elite-as-advertised rebounding, has been fun to watch.
Losers: Drew Eubanks, Ochai Agbaji, and Tony Bradley
Bruce Brown Jr. was looked at as one of the favorites to win the Knicks’ last roster spot given the team’s previous interest in him. Other than that, there really wasn’t a consensus. Some wanted James Wiseman for his potential. Others wanted Eubanks for his defense, passing, and experience. Others wanted Agbaji for… not really sure why.
Two games into preseason, it looks clear who Brown and the Knicks have the most interest in. Brown, Wiseman, and Jaden Akins are the only three of the training camp invitees to play in both games. On Thursday night against the Wizards, Eubanks, Agbaji, and Bradley were DNPs. Now, this may just be the way they are splitting up the minutes, and maybe those guys see minutes over Brown and Wiseman when they play the Timberwolves on Monday. Brown, although not overly impressive, has looked solid. And Wiseman, especially against the 76ers, looked good. Neither is locked in to make the roster just yet. But it seems like they are a head above Eubanks, Agbaji, and Bradley.
Bronx, N.Y.: New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe is on 2nd base after his apparent home run is overturned by a fan interference in the 6th inning as the Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York on Oct. 7, 2026 (Photo by Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images) | Newsday via Getty Images
It’s Day 3 of a post-2026 Yankees world, and the MLB playoffs continue on without the Bombers. Tonight, the Rays will learn who they’ll be playing in the ALCS on Monday at Tropicana Field, as the 2-0 advantage that the White Sox once held vanished upon their return to the South Side. The Guardians won both games in Chicago and can complete the 2001 Yankees-esque comeback with just one win tonight back home in Cleveland. No matter who emerges, they will be heavy underdogs against the top-seeded Rays.
On the site today, Josh discusses the apathy he, and surely many other fans, are feeling after another Yankees exit that felt just so typical. Later, John writes up David Bednar for our Yankees Birthday series, while Kento analyzes Aaron Boone’s perplexing decision to bat Trent Grisham leadoff in Game 3, and Matt offers his biggest gripes with the Boone Era. With the NLCS already set and beginning tomorrow night, Peter also previews that Dodgers/Brewers rematch, which Milwaukee is hoping is a lot closer than the 2025 version.
Today’s Playoff Matchup:
American League Division Series Game 5 (winner-take-all)
Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox (RHP Gavin Williams vs. RHP Sean Burke)
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
TV: TBS/HBO Max, TruTV, Univision
Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
Questions/Prompts:
1. Will any of the Yankees significant pending free agents (David Bednar, Trent Grisham, Paul Blackburn, Jazz Chisholm Jr.) be back with the team next year?
2. Does tonight’s Game 5 between the Guardians and White Sox intrigue you? Or are you left feeling empty, both because of the Yankees’ exit from the postseason, and the underwhelming quality of both these AL Central squads?
Damn, Igor Shesterkin had to be helped off the ice. That could be bad news for the Smurfs. Captain J.T. Miller said it’s awful and a shock to the team. [NHL | Sportsnet]
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 28: Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens answers questions during a press conference during Boston Celtics Media Day at Auerbach Center on September 28, 2026 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. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Thursday’s preseason opener was the Celtics sicko equivalent of a gambling addict having gone six months without betting, and then hitting a six-leg parlay that they bet $0.50 on.
Low stakes. Unbelievably high dopamine levels.
After spending the longest offseason in 10 years sitting around and talking ourselves into this refreshed roster, we’re all the way back in and drinking the green Kool-Aid.
Not only did the Celtics beat the “Cavs” (the first team ever that I completely despise for reasons unrelated to their uniforms — those guys were a bunch of losers in the Eastern Conference Finals) but they beat them while sitting eight rotation players. Cleveland, by the way, played everyone but James Harden.
Even by the time the Cavaliers pulled their starters in the second half, the Celtics had outscored them by nine and it didn’t feel flukey. The story wasn’t red hot shooting from the Cs or the opposite from the Cavaliers. In fact, Boston made just 41.4% of their attempts from the field, while Cleveland sank 47.8%.
So, how did the Celtics win a game where they shot relatively inefficiently without key personel?
It was work.
Boston just did what they do. They controlled the possession battle, dominated the glass, and outshot the Cavs 99-92 by the end of the night. That number doesn’t even tell the entire story because Cleveland shot just 16 free throws to Boston’s 35.
Possession maxing is real and it’s spectacular.
The beautiful thing about it is that that aspect of the game will always be in the Celtics’ control. No matter who’s out there or how well they’re shooting, they can always be careful with the basketball and fight for extra possessions on the boards.
Their 56-39 rebounding advantage came without any of Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta, and Mitchell Robinson even dressing. It’s pretty insane when you think about it, especially against a frontline of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
When the full roster is available, or at least some of the big dogs, we could all be in for a supercharged version of the preseason opener. The Celtics have figured out their identity, and they still have another 11 days before they open the season.
Oh, and all of the wings that everyone’s been talking about battling for bench minutes all looked pretty solid. Baylor Scheierman was the best of the bunch. He took on a facilitating role against Cleveland’s regulars and did it comfortably. Scheierman put the ball on the floor, navigated the defense, and made shots off the dribble — a skill that could be key in the next step of his development.
He finished the night with 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while knocking down four threes.
dear Joe Mazzulla: let Baylor Scheierman rock out. 16 points, 4/7 3FG, 3 assists. pic.twitter.com/gryg7bs5vd
Both Hugo Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh had their moments, too.
It’s beginning to feel like Boston’s bench platoon is going to handle business in stride this season, regardless of which member’s number is called.
The depth is as real as the possession maxing, and just as spectacular.
Speaking of, Devin Carter completely stole the show off the bench, and he’s not even on the team! The former Providence Friar shattered whatever expectations the fanbase had for him and showcased his ability to get the rim, annoy opposing ballhandlers, and provide a spark.
His first action was a coast-to-coast push in transition, which he capped off with a loud dunk with Peyton Watson trailing closely in pursuit.
It literally got a loud “OH” out of me from my couch.
Celtics Devin Carter 17 PTS (5-9 FG, 1-3 3P), 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, +22 vs. Cavs
— Role Player Performances (@BenchHighlights) October 9, 2026
After having spent months without Celtics basketball it’s impossible not to overreact here. But it doesn’t feel like an overreaction.
The takeaways are still real. Boston’s system clearly works. They clearly have the personel to afford resting stars here and there. Brad Stevens might’ve sniped another demon from the Sacramento Kings scrap heap.
It’s almost too bad that there’s not more time between games to ride the high.
