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The Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to advance out of the group stage of the NBA Cup for the first time. For them to do so, they’ll likely need to take advantage of a Miami Heat team that still hasn’t found its stride.
Miami has struggled to create any kind of positive momentum since trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Their offense hasn’t found a correct balance, as they’ve struggled to get consistent contributions from players outside of Giannis.
Things are worse defensively. They’re giving up the fifth-most threes in the league, and opponents are hitting 40% of their outside looks against them (28th). You’re just not going to have a good defense if you’re struggling to contain the outside shot to that degree.
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Cavs injury report: Evan Mobley – OUT (toe), Sam Merrill – OUT (elbow), Nae’Qwan Tomlin – OUT (back), Khalifa Diop – OUT (G League), Ernest Udeh, Jr. – OUT (G League)
Ottawa Senators (12-6-2, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-10-2, in the Metropolitan Division)
Pittsburgh; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Ottawa Senators visit the Pittsburgh Penguins after the Senators took down the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in overtime.
Pittsburgh has a 4-3-1 record at home and a 7-10-2 record overall. The Penguins are 1-1-1 when they commit more penalties than their opponent.
Ottawa has a 12-6-2 record overall and a 5-4-1 record in road games. The Senators are fourth in NHL play serving 12.2 penalty minutes per game.
The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Evgeni Malkin has scored six goals with 11 assists for the Penguins. Rickard Rakell has six goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
Drake Batherson has 10 goals and nine assists for the Senators. Jake Sanderson has one goal and seven assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 4-5-1, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.7 assists, 3.1 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game.
Senators: 5-3-2, averaging 3.5 goals, six assists, four penalties and 11 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.
INJURIES: Penguins: Bryan Rust: out (lower-body), Trevor van Riemsdyk: out (lower body), Ryan Graves: out (lower-body), Elmer Soderblom: out (upper-body).
Senators: Warren Foegele: out (knee), Nick Cousins: out (upper body), William Eklund: out (ankle), Andre Burakovsky: out (lower body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Florida Panthers (11-7-2, in the Atlantic Division) vs. St. Louis Blues (9-8-2, in the Central Division)
St. Louis; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Florida Panthers visit the St. Louis Blues after Anton Lundell scored two goals in the Panthers' 5-4 win against the Detroit Red Wings.
St. Louis is 9-8-2 overall and 5-2-1 in home games. The Blues have a 7-1-1 record in games they score at least three goals.
Florida has a 6-5-2 record in road games and an 11-7-2 record overall. The Panthers lead league play with 111 total penalties (averaging 5.6 per game).
The teams meet Saturday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pius Suter has scored five goals with four assists for the Blues. Jimmy Snuggerud has five goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
Seth Jones has three goals and 19 assists for the Panthers. Matthew Tkachuk has one goal and 12 assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blues: 5-4-1, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.4 assists, 2.5 penalties and 5.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
Panthers: 6-4-0, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.8 assists, 5.1 penalties and 15.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
INJURIES: Blues: Adam Jecho: out (personal), Torey Krug: out for season (ankle), Tyler Tucker: out (knee), Dillon Dube: out (neck).
Panthers: Jonah Gadjovich: out (upper-body), Brad Marchand: out (leg), Aleksander Barkov: out (lower body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
For those curious about where the Warriors will stand once Stephen Curry hangs up his sneakers, the preview has arrived.
With Curry out for several weeks, the only two players already identified as members of the post-Steph era will be front and center. The extended auditions of Yaxel Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski begin Friday night in San Antonio against the imposing Spurs.
Lendeborg, 24, and Podziemski, 23, have done well with Curry looking over their respective shoulders, but they’re now on their own. If the Warriors are to avoid a disastrous slide, they will need sufficient contributions across the roster, beginning with veterans Draymond Green and De’Anthony Melton, assuming he replaces Curry in the starting lineup.
But the main characters are Lendeborg and Podziemski. They will have the ball in their hands as much or more than Green, but they produce much more scoring. Lendeborg is second on the team in scoring behind Curry, and Podziemski is third. Podziemski is second in assists behind Green, and Lendeborg is fourth. Lendeborg is first in rebounding, and Podziemski is third.
The most telling statistical category is minutes per game, because it implies an inherent trust from the coaching staff and value within the franchise. Podziemski leads all Warriors, averaging 33.4 per game, and Lendeborg is second at 32.3.
Podziemski’s $110 million contract extension suggests the franchise considers him a keeper. This lavish commitment is no guarantee – see Poole, Jordan – that Podziemski will be a Warrior in 2028, much less 2031. Yet his is only the second large long-term rookie extension from Golden State since Klay Thompson received a four-year commitment in 2014.
So, yes, the Warriors believe Podziemski is as a keeper. At least for now.
“We think Brandin is a hell of a young player, a big part of our future, and he secures his future financially,” coach Steve Kerr said last month after the extension was official. “And it’s a deal that makes a lot of sense based on our numbers.”
Those numbers relate mostly to Podziemski’s positive impact on the court. He led the team with a plus-264 plus/minus as a rookie in 2023-24, ranked third on the team in his second season, dipped to eighth last season but this season ranks behind only Curry.
When Curry was sidelined for two months last season, Podziemski’s scoring ticked up 2.2 points per game, but his efficiency tumbled, as he posted splits of 44.8/34.8 percent. He’s at 48.1/39.7 percent this season.
The question before Podziemski now is whether he is better equipped to maintain similar scoring efficiency without the space afforded by Curry’s famous gravity. And can the fourth-year guard improve his 69-percent free-throw shooting?
The question before Lendeborg is whether he can handle the burden that comes with rising from No. 2 on the scouting report to No. 1. It’s a lot for anyone unaccustomed to it, perhaps even more for a rookie. The spotlight now is much brighter than any he has seen. He felt it after Curry left the game Wednesday night in Houston and responded with a game-high 25 points and team-high 10 rebounds.
“He really took a lot of the offense on his shoulders, and he’s obviously very capable,” Kerr told reporters at Toyota Center.
Lendeborg in his first 12 NBA games has passed, if not aced, every offensive test thrown his way so far. It’s a thin resumé, but it already is delighting the Warriors and their fans, who are falling in love with his potential.
Kerr was quick to place the ultimate faith in Lendeborg’s ability, elevating him to primary offensive engine when Curry is off the floor. Lendeborg’s response has been 21.7 points per game on 51.8/42.6 shooting splits, while adding 7.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists. His Rookie of the Year candidacy is strong.
A lot must happen for the Warriors to win at least half their games without Curry. Green must take and make more shots. Melton, shooting 42.9 percent from deep, must stay close to that level. Georges Niang and Al Horford must produce off the bench. Charles Bassey must remain a force in the paint. Brandon Williams must return soon.
“We have to keep working on our offensive execution,” Kerr said in Houston. “… Without Steph, we have to be organized in our concepts and with our spacing so that we can attack and create shots for each other.”
Much of that task will fall on Lendeborg and Podziemski. If they handle it well, the Warriors can be respectable without their superstar.
For those curious about where the Warriors will stand once Stephen Curry hangs up his sneakers, the preview has arrived.
With Curry out for several weeks, the only two players already identified as members of the post-Steph era will be front and center. The extended auditions of Yaxel Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski begin Friday night in San Antonio against the imposing Spurs.
Lendeborg, 24, and Podziemski, 23, have done well with Curry looking over their respective shoulders, but they’re now on their own. If the Warriors are to avoid a disastrous slide, they will need sufficient contributions across the roster, beginning with veterans Draymond Green and De’Anthony Melton, assuming he replaces Curry in the starting lineup.
But the main characters are Lendeborg and Podziemski. They will have the ball in their hands as much or more than Green, but they produce much more scoring. Lendeborg is second on the team in scoring behind Curry, and Podziemski is third. Podziemski is second in assists behind Green, and Lendeborg is fourth. Lendeborg is first in rebounding, and Podziemski is third.
The most telling statistical category is minutes per game, because it implies an inherent trust from the coaching staff and value within the franchise. Podziemski leads all Warriors, averaging 33.4 per game, and Lendeborg is second at 32.3.
Podziemski’s $110 million contract extension suggests the franchise considers him a keeper. This lavish commitment is no guarantee – see Poole, Jordan – that Podziemski will be a Warrior in 2028, much less 2031. Yet his is only the second large long-term rookie extension from Golden State since Klay Thompson received a four-year commitment in 2014.
So, yes, the Warriors believe Podziemski is as a keeper. At least for now.
“We think Brandin is a hell of a young player, a big part of our future, and he secures his future financially,” coach Steve Kerr said last month after the extension was official. “And it’s a deal that makes a lot of sense based on our numbers.”
Those numbers relate mostly to Podziemski’s positive impact on the court. He led the team with a plus-264 plus/minus as a rookie in 2023-24, ranked third on the team in his second season, dipped to eighth last season but this season ranks behind only Curry.
When Curry was sidelined for two months last season, Podziemski’s scoring ticked up 2.2 points per game, but his efficiency tumbled, as he posted splits of 44.8/34.8 percent. He’s at 48.1/39.7 percent this season.
The question before Podziemski now is whether he is better equipped to maintain similar scoring efficiency without the space afforded by Curry’s famous gravity. And can the fourth-year guard improve his 69-percent free-throw shooting?
The question before Lendeborg is whether he can handle the burden that comes with rising from No. 2 on the scouting report to No. 1. It’s a lot for anyone unaccustomed to it, perhaps even more for a rookie. The spotlight now is much brighter than any he has seen. He felt it after Curry left the game Wednesday night in Houston and responded with a game-high 25 points and team-high 10 rebounds.
“He really took a lot of the offense on his shoulders, and he’s obviously very capable,” Kerr told reporters at Toyota Center.
Lendeborg in his first 12 NBA games has passed, if not aced, every offensive test thrown his way so far. It’s a thin resumé, but it already is delighting the Warriors and their fans, who are falling in love with his potential.
Kerr was quick to place the ultimate faith in Lendeborg’s ability, elevating him to primary offensive engine when Curry is off the floor. Lendeborg’s response has been 21.7 points per game on 51.8/42.6 shooting splits, while adding 7.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists. His Rookie of the Year candidacy is strong.
A lot must happen for the Warriors to win at least half their games without Curry. Green must take and make more shots. Melton, shooting 42.9 percent from deep, must stay close to that level. Georges Niang and Al Horford must produce off the bench. Charles Bassey must remain a force in the paint. Brandon Williams must return soon.
“We have to keep working on our offensive execution,” Kerr said in Houston. “… Without Steph, we have to be organized in our concepts and with our spacing so that we can attack and create shots for each other.”
Much of that task will fall on Lendeborg and Podziemski. If they handle it well, the Warriors can be respectable without their superstar.
It’s been a frenetic and emotional — at least after all the hype in the build-up to Tuesday’s visit to see old friend Jaylen Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers — start to the 2026-27 season for the Boston Celtics.
Still, Boston arrived at its first extended break of the new campaign with an Eastern Conference-best 10-2 record. So how should we feel about that?
That was the biggest question when we asked a bunch of our Celtics group chats to send over their biggest queries through the first 12 games of the season.
So let’s rip open the Celtics Mailbag for the first time this season. We’ll get into what the two losses exposed, what Brad Stevens might actually need to shop for, and what the headband colors are telling us.
But we start with the question that gets a little harder to brush off with every win:
Have the Celtics established themselves as legitimate contenders through 12 games?
Look, it’s probably too early to make wholesale declarations about what this team is capable of when the postseason arrives. Even after dealing away Brown, many pundits suspected the Celtics would be a very good regular-season team. But it’s hard to argue with the early season numbers, including …
Boston is 10-2 overall, best record in the East
Ranks second in net rating (+13.4)
Ranks top 10 in defensive (second, 105.6) and offensive (sixth, 117.4) rating
A +12.2 point differential suggests a team on a 67-win pace
5-0 at home
10-1 against the conference
8-0 against teams under .500
The not-so-glossy numbers:
Celtics are 2-2 against teams over .500
Boston ranks 26th in strength of schedule
The best teams each season tend to take care of business at home and feast on inferior competition. You can only play the schedule as it’s drawn up. We’d feel better if Boston hadn’t fumbled away a 22-point lead in Detroit on opening night, or shown a little bit better in Houston despite playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Basically, we’d sum it up like this: If you said the Celtics were going to be 10-2 after 12 games to start the season, particularly with three sets of back-to-backs and some crazy early season travel, we’d probably have taken it. Boston has only scratched the surface of its full potential, but there’s some very encouraging early trends, including Jayson Tatum’s play, Paul George’s availability, and positive contributions throughout the supporting cast.
Can we revisit the contender/pretender talk around Christmas?
What should be on Brad Stevens’ early-season shopping list?
We’ve seen a lot of way-too-early chatter about Boston’s trade needs, probably from people who put their Christmas tree up on November 1. We’re not judging you, but we’re kinda judging you.
One thing we do think is really important to keep in mind when we get closer to December 15 and the unofficial start of NBA trade season: The Celtics have heavy motivation to remain under the luxury tax for a second straight season, which would reset pesky repeater penalties and give Stevens an opportunity to potentially splurge a bit next summer.
The Celtics currently sit less than $2 million below the tax line, meaning something as simple as filling the vacant 15th roster spot would stress their budget. There’s still pathways to bigger tinkering, but it would likely require sending out some of Boston’s non-minimum salaries to add an impact player.
We do think that, given the glut of wing talent and only so many minutes to go around, even in instances where the Celtics prioritize rest for veteran players, there should be consideration of consolidating if a particular need exists elsewhere on the roster closer to February.
The roster, otherwise, is about as balanced as the Celtics have been in recent seasons. We wouldn’t suggest there’s an obvious need through 12 games. Some will lust for players that either 1) Put pressure on the rim or 2) Can simply take stress off the Tatum/George combo. Alas, those players routinely command salaries that Boston would struggle to absorb, even if willing to move on from core talent.
The bigger priority right now should be getting Mitchell Robinson comfy here, and figuring out the youngest players the team should lean into.
Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The Celtics have heavy motivation to remain under the luxury tax for a second straight season.
Did Detroit and Houston expose anything that Boston needs to get better at?
Good teams narrow your margin for error. So the Celtics might be able to survive their miscues and steal an overtime win against the Nets, but lose your way for six minutes against Detroit, then you’ve fumbled away a 22-point lead and the game.
We could playfully distill it down to Boston thriving whenever there’s not a Thompson twin on the other side of the court. But what that probably suggests is that, when there are defenders that can challenge Tatum, it certainly puts a greater stress on the supporting cast to shoulder the scoring load.
In those instances, the Celtics need Payton Pritchard and Derrick White to be great, even against teams that might have the size and physicality to make both guards uncomfortable.
That said, Boston acquitted itself well in wins over New York and Philly, two teams with incredibly skilled starting fives. The schedule gets a bit more challenging through the end of November, though Boston might benefit from the fact that opponents will be dealing with some schedule difficulty or managing injuries.
A little end-of-the-month NBA Cup showdown with Atlanta should be fun, and there’s a visit to Wemby and the Spurs right after. If the Celtics qualify for Cup quarterfinals (or beyond), we’ll learn a bit more about how this team fares against top-level competition.
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
If you could lead the league in “being in the right spot on both ends of the floor,” Baylor Scheierman would be among the league leaders.
If a playoff series started tomorrow, which young wing would you trust most?
The answer here is Baylor Scheierman. One of the stories we have in draft mode is basically how even with all these crazy analytics we pour over every day, we still can’t properly quantify Scheierman’s impact. If you could lead the league in “being in the right spot on both ends of the floor,” we think he’d be among the league leaders. If you could quantify a higher-level hustle play — breaking up an alley-oop attempt with a deflection out of bounds, or starting a fast break by passing from the floor after recovering a loose ball — then Scheierman’s stat line would pop a bit more. His basketball IQ is simply off the charts, and it makes him super impactful even when he’s not shooting (though his 3-point percentage might beg that he hoist even a few more).
Hugo Gonzalez has had his moments. He was insanely active in that Philadelphia game. He’s defending 22 shots per 100 possessions when he’s on the court, which ranks in the 99th percentile for his position. Opponents are shooting 7.1 percent below expected on the shots he does defend, one of the best marks among all Boston players. You can make a strong case that Boston should continue to accelerate Gonzalez’s development by carving out even more minutes for him.
Jordan Walsh has benefited from his starting minutes, and the confidence is growing on the offensive end. The Celtics have a real luxury with their wing depth but, when the games really matter in the postseason, we’d probably yearn to see Scheierman and Gonzalez dominating those minutes.
Who’s getting to the rim when Jayson Tatum sits?
The Celtics rank dead last in the NBA with only 51.1 drives and 25 drive points generated per game. This is not wholly unexpected. You trade away Jaylen Brown, and you’ve got Tatum still learning to trust his body to attack the basket, and that number was always going to project low with a roster built heavy on 3-point shooting.
What it does demand is that, regardless of opponent, the Celtics need Payton Pritchard in attack mode. He’s second on the team with 11.8 drives per game (Tatum is at 14.5). The encouraging number: Pritchard is shooting 46.7 percent on 3.8 field goal attempts off drives per game, and generating 1.2 assists off drives per game. The Celtics simply need him and Derrick White (8.8 drives per game) to put pressure on the rim regardless of Tatum’s on-court status. White seems to have found his floater, which is a very encouraging sign.
The Celtics don’t need to drive just to drive. But we know how important paint touches can be to creating opportunities for shooters. It’s something to monitor, especially if the team downshifts and settles for perimeter looks when the offense sputters. That’s when they need to embrace attack mode a bit more.
Can Paul George be the No. 2 on a contending team at age 36?
George is putting together an All-Defense-caliber season as one of the league leaders in deflections and steals. He’s 11th in the East in scoring at 22 points per game. Would it be wild to suggest he’s an early All-Star candidate based on Boston’s hot start and the way his two-way impact has helped fuel it?
We’ll see how his body holds up over 82 games. George surely was one of the best players on the floor when Philly rallied out of a 3-1 series hole against Boston last season, though the late-game suspension likely aided his body in being ready for that grind. It’s slightly ambitious to ask him to do that over multiple rounds.
The positive outlook would be that the Celtics know full well how to bring their veterans along. Even if he’s not on the full Al Horford plan in terms of rest, the Celtics will give George every opportunity to keep the body fresh over the regular-season grind.
Slice up the hierarchy however you like, but it’s clear that everyone behind Tatum needs to be locked in and consistent for this team to thrive against high-level competition.
Boston Celtics
Paul George has been outstanding so far for the C’s.
Biggest concern(s) through the early portion of the Celtics schedule?
We’re admittedly nitpicking here given the strong start, but it’s pretty undeniable that the Celtics have to figure out how to get the best version of Mitchell Robinson on the floor.
Whether Robinson is simply ramping himself up after New York’s long championship season, or if it’s simply navigating some bumps in the acclimation process, Robinson just hasn’t been as impactful as even in smaller bursts through camp and preseason.
The fact that Neemias Queta and Luka Garza have both put up some of the best on-court numbers for the team so far this season has given the team some ability to figure things out with Robinson. Teammates gotta get better at lobs — though they’ve looked good when they work. We’d like to see Robinson crank up the motor and create post-up opportunities in transition like we’ve seen in small glimpses. We have to think he won’t smoke as many close-range putbacks as he has through the early portion of the schedule.
It goes back to the overarching conversation here: The Celtics are built to be regular-season monsters. The question is, how do they transition that success and thrive in the postseason?
Some of that might simply be Tatum being great on the big stage. Some of it is making sure that players in the top six of the rotation — from Robinson to White to Pritchard — are playing their best basketball on that stage, too. There’s a lot of time to work it all out.
Nerdiest stat in your spreadsheet to start the season?
The Celtics have worn white headbands in 10 of their 12 games. The green and black headbands are undefeated (1-0 apiece), but the white headband has brought out the best individual numbers from players like Scheierman. The NBA now mandates that players all wear the same color headband, so we suspect the colorful ones might be a bit rarer for players this season.
It took 65 minutes and an eight-round shootout to finally get a goal, but at 10 PM Mountain Standard Time, the game between the Utah Mammoth and the St. Louis Blues finally ended. Unfortunately for the home team, their losing streak extends to four games with a 1-0 shootout loss on Thursday.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. You definitely can’t blame the Mammoth’s efforts. There was so much going against them. The team just came back from Las Vegas the night before, after an intense game against the Vegas Golden Knights. A couple of minutes out from this one, it was announced that the Mammoth would be rolling without three of their top five forwards.
After Nick Schmaltz was injured off a hit in the game against the Golden Knights, it was speculated that he likely wouldn’t play on Thursday. That speculation ended up being correct, as he joined Dylan Guenther, John Marino, Nate Schmidt, and Logan Cooley on the injury row. Head coach André Tourigny confirmed that a majority of those players are still a long way away from returning.
One man's loss is another man's gain. Coming into the lineup to replace Schmaltz was Ben McCartney, who hadn’t played an NHL game in 1,832 games, despite multiple NHL call-ups over the past couple of years and some really strong American Hockey League campaigns with the Tucson Roadrunners. Tourigny and the coaching staff had spoken highly about McCartney on Wednesday before the game against the Golden Knights, saying his time was coming. Thursday, his time finally did come.
"There are a lot of emotions,” McCartney said. “It was a grind to get back here, but I'm just so happy to be here. I just want to try to help the team win in any way possible."
It was his first game since Nov. 6, 2021, with the Arizona Coyotes. Zac Jones also made his Mammoth debut against the Blues, appearing in his first game since April 17, 2025, with the New York Rangers. Another player who has had a very good season so far with the Roadrunners.
“It took a lot of hard work, a lot of belief in myself,” Jones said. “Being a guy who was the seventh defenseman in New York for my entire career, it was tough to make a name for myself. It was nothing against them; they were great there; it was just time to move on. I think last year in Rochester, getting to play all the time rebuilt my confidence again and proved to myself that I can be a pro hockey player.”
Mammoth fans were on edge early on. Mikhail Sergachev went down early on, limping off the ice and into the locker room. Jones got extra shifts, but the Russian defenseman eventually returned and played more than 28 minutes.
This was a defensive-minded game from the very beginning. Two teams desperate for points, trying to figure each other out. A lot of credit has to be given to the blueline. They weren’t that great against the Golden Knights, but they really did well against the Blues.
Outside of Artem Duda and Jones, the top four defensemen each played upwards of 20 minutes. Especially when you consider the five times the Mammoth found themselves shorthanded, the blueline was the strongest part of the Mammoth’s game against the Blues.
“The way we defend, 5-on-5 (or) PK, all the time, a lot of pride, a lot of aggression,” Tourigny said. “I’ve talked a lot about that in the past, about how great we are when we have that aggression defensively. Tonight, we were rock solid defensively. I need to talk about Sergachev. He was really, really good. Best player on the ice, in my opinion, for both teams. He’s a big factor in why we got the point. He was at 28 minutes, and yesterday he had a lot of minutes as well. Kudos to him.”
The penalty kill ended up killing all five penalties, as mentioned. Lawson Crouse was another big factor in that. He played a very reliable two-way game and was out for a lot of the biggest shorthanded moments.
Karel Vejmelka also has to be credited with a huge part of why the Mammoth ended up getting a point. The goaltending has been highly criticized all season long. Vejmelka in particular has received a lot of flak for his play. Yet, he walks away from this one with a shutout. 22 saves in the game isn’t too shabby.
Again, it’s about finding consistency. This cannot be a one-and-done for Vejmelka. Both he and Sebastian Cossa need to find a way to perform well and win games repeatedly. Thursday’s game is a good start for the goaltender.
As mentioned, the Mammoth took this game all the way to the shootout. It is the first time in franchise history that the team went into a shootout tied at 0-0. Yet, they had some good opportunities to score throughout the match. They managed to outshoot the Blues 29-22. Not bad considering the Mammoth were missing three of their top five forwards.
“I think any team, throughout the course of a season, you're going to have injuries, and it's very important for the depth to step up and fill the role of whatever they're asked to do, and I thought everybody did that tonight,” Vincent Trocheck said.
In the shootout, the Mammoth were once again competitive. Both Trocheck and Barrett Hayton managed to force the competition all the way into the eighth round, where Connor McMichael eventually ended it. It's a sour way to end such a hard-fought battle, but at the very least, the Mammoth do get a point out of this one.
CONNOR MCMICHAEL WINS IT IN ROUND 8 OF THE SHOOTOUT FOR THE BLUES 🔥
Losing isn’t acceptable. Especially with losses in each of their four most recent games, points need to start flowing the Mammoth’s way, or they’re going to slip further and further out of the top three in the Central Division. Excuses shouldn’t be a go-to either, generally speaking.
However, you can’t fault the Mammoth for this one. They played and worked hard, which was impressive considering the number of injuries they have and the fact that they just got back from a road trip less than 24 hours ago. They also get a point, the first one they’ve picked up since their overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
“Losing the top guys that we have out, you can't really replace those guys,” Jones said. “But the guys that played, I thought, did a great job of just sticking to our roles, and honestly, we played a great game today. Credit to their goalie; he played well, and it's the way it goes sometimes.”
It is honestly the way it goes sometimes. Luckily, they do get some easier games coming up. The San Jose Sharks are a struggling team, while the Vancouver Canucks are in the middle of an all-out rebuild. They will also play the next four games at home, meaning the fatigue from traveling so much won’t be an excuse. Maybe just don't wear the Hometown Remix jerseys in those games. They are now 0-0-2 while wearing them.
Would a win be better than a shootout loss? Everyone will tell you yes. However, considering the circumstances, this is an outcome you can’t complain too much about.
“On the back-to-back, obviously we wanted the two points,” Tourigny said. “There are no moral victories in the NHL. But we lost in a shootout. We didn’t lose in a 3-on-3; we lost in a skills competition. We wanted the two points, I won’t lie, but I cannot be more proud of our guys.”
It’s a good way to look at it. The Mammoth lost in a skills competition, one they hadn't faced since April 2025. One that can be quite a gamble sometimes. There’s a lot to take and build on from this one, though. The only thing the Mammoth really can do is take those moral victories, move on, and win some of their upcoming games—something they desperately need to do.
The Mammoth will play the Sharks on Saturday. The Sharks are 8-11-2 this season and are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Anfernee Simons and Jabari Walker shared the floor for 128 games in Portland. The Trail Blazers won 43 of them.
They sat beside one another in the Sixers’ interview room Thursday night after a victory and discussed what the other 85 taught them.
“Whether you’ve got a big role or a small role, it’s hard to win in the NBA,” Simons said. “We’ve seen it firsthand.”
Their roles were considerably different then.
Simons was an established starter entrusted with creating and scoring. Walker, a 2022 second-round pick, was trying to establish himself in a rotation. During their three overlapping seasons, Portland went 33-49, 21-61 and 36-46. The Blazers missed the playoffs each year.
Both are now reserves on a Sixers team constructed to contend. In nine games they’ve both appeared in this season, Philadelphia is 7-2.
They provided 26 points, 11 rebounds and six three-pointers in the Sixers’ 123-112 win over the Raptors at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Simons scored 17 points and shot 5 for 6 from three-point range. Walker recorded nine points and eight rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.
The Sixers outscored Toronto by 24 points during Simons’ 23 minutes. Neither former Blazer committed a turnover.
Their production helped Philadelphia overcome a 17-point first-quarter deficit and improve to 10-3 without LeBron James.
“You learn once you come off the bench to kind of read the game before you get in there,” Simons said. “Obviously, we started off kind of slow. You just want to go in, bring some energy, get some stops, get out and run. I think everybody who got off the bench brought energy.”
Simons supplied an immediate lift with a deep three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer. His shot ended an 8-0 Sixers run and trimmed Toronto’s lead to nine.
He remained involved during an 11-0 burst late in the third quarter, knocking down a three and setting up Walker for a basket. Walker then made a three early in the fourth before Simons scored on the Sixers’ next possession.
When Toronto pulled within six with less than five minutes remaining, Simons answered with his fifth three-pointer.
Making those shots is the most obvious way Simons can help a roster already featuring James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown. He said the Sixers have not made him feel as though every opportunity must go in.
“They encourage us to keep shooting the ball,” Simons said. “Knowing that a team has that much confidence in us to keep shooting makes the game that much easier. Whether you miss or make, as long as we get the right shots in the right moments, I think everybody can live with the misses and makes.”
Simons spent seven seasons in Portland before playing last year with Boston and Chicago. His move to Philadelphia reunited him with Walker and Rayan Rupert, another former Blazer who joined the Sixers on a two-way contract during the offseason.
Knowing familiar faces awaited him helped Simons enter another new locker room.
“It made the transition seamless,” he said. “Just being able to have some comfortability with guys that I played with for multiple years. It’s been fun, kind of feeling like a little bit of old times. Me, Bari and Rups have been through a lot.”
Walker’s path to Philadelphia began a year earlier and required an additional step.
After playing 188 games over three seasons with Portland, Walker signed a two-way contract with the Sixers in July 2025. He earned a standard contract in February and has since pushed his way into the backup-center conversation despite standing 6-foot-7.
Walker believes some of the work he did on losing teams was easily missed.
“When I first got to the league, I was part of a rebuilding process,” he said. “I just felt like some of the little things I did didn’t always get noticed when you’re losing. I told myself, if I ever got to be part of a winning organization, then I’d go out and expand my abilities.”
Rebounding has made Walker difficult for Nick Nurse to overlook.
Walker credited his timing and strong hands to lessons passed down by his father, former NBA center Samaki Walker. Those instincts have become especially useful while the Sixers piece together their frontcourt behind Embiid.
“Rebounding is a skill I kind of honed in on,” Walker said. “My dad was a good rebounder. He was known for his rebounding and his timing. I think it’s just a gift that he transferred to me.”
Walker has made it clear that he expected to earn a role this season.
“I don’t know if I was delusional, but I always felt like I was going to play and I was going to be a part,” he said. “I read something where they said it’s a surprise, but if you were around me this summer, it wouldn’t be a surprise. This is expected, and I just want to continue to get better.”
The freedom Simons once had in Portland is no longer necessary. Walker does not need a high volume of touches, either. Both understand that playing beside the Sixers’ stars requires shooting when open, moving the ball and handling the less glamorous work.
“You’ve got to find ways to impact the game multiple ways, even if you’re not scoring,” Simons said. “Whether it’s cutting, making the right read and pass to Joel, being the right swing pass to VJ, boxing out on defense or just being in the right position.”
Their opportunities will fluctuate. Simons may take nine shots one night and only a few the next. Walker’s minutes will depend on matchups and the health of Philadelphia’s frontcourt.
Winning has changed what they are being asked to do. Their three years together in Portland taught them why the adjustment is worthwhile.
“You feel appreciative of the times where you go into a situation where your role might be a little bit less, but you’re winning,” Simons said. “That’s something you can’t take for granted.”
Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs were named the AL and NL Most Valuable Players on Thursday.
The 29-year-old Alvarez and 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong were the runaway winners, taking home the awards unanimously.
Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals finished behind Alvarez in the AL voting. Crow-Armstrong ended Shohei Ohtani’s streak of three straight MVPs, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star finishing second and Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang in third.
This year marks a changing of the guard after years of dominance by Ohtani and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. They were the MVPs in both 2024 and 2025, and at least one of them had been an MVP every year from 2021-25. Both players battled injuries throughout this season, with Judge playing just 66 games and Ohtani hitting his fewest home runs (30) since 2020.
Alvarez, the 2019 Rookie of the Year, had a standout season to carry the Astros to the AL West title, despite going just 81-81. He set a career-high with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs, and he led MLB in walks (109), batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.432), slugging (.601) and OPS (1.033).
After battling injuries in 2025, Alvarez played 158 games in 2026 while making his fourth All-Star appearance (and second start at DH). He hit three grand slams in June alone, becoming the 11th player in MLB history to pull off that feat.
Alvarez previously finished third in MVP voting in 2022, and this is his third top-10 finish. He joins teammate Jose Altuve (2017) and Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell (1994) as just the third Astro to win the award.
Crow-Armstrong’s MVP campaign came in his third season, and his victory was emphatic. He led the NL in runs (119), home runs (45), slugging (.570), OPS (.943) and WAR (9.8) while playing all 162 games.
While the Los Angeles Clippers seem to be seeing strides made by some of their other injured players, Bradley Beal doesn’t appear to be on the same trajectory.
Beal is exactly one year removed from having undergone season-ending surgery to repair his fractured hip. The three-time All-Star’s hip has been cleared, but Beal remains on the injury report with right knee inflammation.
Beal has continued to serve as “a veteran leader” who spends time talking with the young guys, but when he will be able to get back on the court remains undecided.
“Every time we get him on the court to do something three days in a row, then it's like, it's not good results,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters on Nov. 12.
Beal averaged just 8.2 points, 1.7 assists, and 0.8 rebounds in his six games played last season before his injury.
For his career, Beal has averaged 21.4 points, 4.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game through 14 seasons.
Beal re-signed with the Clippers as a free agent in August to a two-year deal worth $13.2 million. The deal has a player option for the second year.
LOS ANGELES — For an illustration of how fleeting “when they get healthy” is as a concept in the NHL, look no further than Thursday here in Downtown LA.
But the air was let out of their balloon slightly when Jean-Gabriel Pageau left morning skate just a few minutes in and was declared out with a lower-body injury.
“Kind of a depleted lineup,” Bo Horvat told The Post afterward, before finding the juxtaposition of it all. “We get Pully and ‘Chelly back, both played great.”
Alex Laferriere of the Los Angeles Kings and Ryan Pulock of the New York Islanders battle for the puck on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. NHLI via Getty Images
The forward lines coach Pete DeBoer had planned needed to be tossed out when Pageau left the ice, and the Islanders ultimately went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Casey Cizikas centering the third line.
Maccelli and Mitchell Chaffee were the fourth line, and Matt Kessel was the extra defenseman.
“I think we wanted to give Pulock some protection,” DeBoer said. “He hadn’t played in a while, and really that was probably the main thing.”
All things considered, you could call the news a win for the Islanders, at least assuming that Pageau’s injury is indeed short-term.
Pulock’s return gave the defense some much-needed breathing space — it’s little coincidence the Islanders’ structure looked so much worse without him — and Maccelli had six points in the eight games he played before suffering a lower-body injury.
“Obviously it could have been a lot worse,” said Pulock, who confirmed the issue was a reaggravation of a shoulder injury that required surgery during the offseason. “It’s just something to deal with for four games. Originally, when it happened, I thought maybe it’d be worse. Just been trying to rehab, get strong, get myself to the position where I can get back.”
While Pulock said he doesn’t want to think of the injury as something he’ll need to manage for the rest of his career, he admitted it’ll require some extra work to keep his shoulder from barking.
Matias MacCelli of the New York Islanders stick handles in front of Corey Perry #90 of the Los Angeles Kings in Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. Getty Images
“It’s not just gonna feel good every day,” he said.
As for Maccelli, he was slotted to play on the fourth line in a move intended to ease him back into the lineup before Pageau’s injury jumbled everything back up again.
“Kinda just keep playing the way I was before I got hurt,” he said of his expectations. “I think I was personally playing well, so I gotta bounce back to the same level. But also, I haven’t played in 3 ½ weeks. Trying to get my legs going early, try to help the team.”
Thursday was Matthew Schaefer’s 100th NHL game and Tony DeAngelo’s 500th NHL game.
On the same day they were reintegrating Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock back into the lineup, head coach Pete DeBoer had to remake his lineup on the fly after Jean-Gabriel Pageau left morning skate with a lower-body injury, blunting what would have been unmitigatedly happy news.
Imperfect as this was, the Islanders can’t do much complaining.
New York Islanders goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin (30) protects the goal against the Los Angeles Kings in Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. NHLI via Getty Images
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got the job done,” Bo Horvat told The Post after his empty-netter put a bow on the 5-2 win over the Kings. “Different guys stepped up in different ways. … All-around great team effort with guys out of the lineup.”
Breaking a nascent four-game losing streak was ultimately a lot more than the how of it. In part because this was a strange circumstance, in part because there’s optimism that Pageau’s injury is minor and in part because this was a group that really needed two points.
So, at least in that sense, who cares if it was pretty?
“I think we got away from some of the entails of our game in San Jose with the puck, turning it over and defensively, some of the detail,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “We did a much better job of that tonight.”
Still, this was the sort of West Coast game that ought to get you an award if you stayed up until the wee hours to watch it in New York. Both teams played ugly, the refereeing was ugly, the crowd was sparse, and there was a delay for broken glass along the boards. The Islanders, one minute into a power play during the third period, used their timeout. It was that sort of night.
The Islanders could at least be happy about Pulock getting right back to his level in his first game back from a shoulder injury, picking up two secondary assists, playing a solid role on the breakout and contributing to a defense that looked much more comfortable with his presence in it.
Victor Eklund of the New York Islanders celebrates his goal with Ben Hutton during a game against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. Getty Images
“You want to help chip in,” Pulock said. “Obviously, I know my game, and defensively, doing a good job is my first priority. You want to bring some offense, you want to carry that into the O Zone and chip in a little bit, especially when you’re sitting out a little while.”
Horvat was more straight to the point.
“He was phenomenal for us,” he said of Pulock.
So too was Victor Eklund, with the young Swede’s connection with Brayden Schenn showing up again. Eklund drove the net to finish Schenn’s cross-crease feed on the rush at 5:35 of the second to extend his scoring streak to four games, the longest for an Islanders rookie since Anthony Beauvillier in 2018. That followed Schenn’s goal at 5:50 of the first when he cleaned up the garbage on Pulock’s tipped shot.
Bo Horvat (14) of the New York Islanders and Brandt Clarke (92) of the Los Angeles Kings battle for the puck Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. NHLI via Getty Images
Undergirding those moments, as well as Matthew Schaefer’s power-play goal at 12:56 of the first, was that after two periods, the Islanders had just nine shots on goal. Their puck management remained poor in spots, and they let the Kings back into a game they led 3-1 by taking consecutive penalties that led to Quinton Byfield scoring at 5-on-3 to bring them within one going into the third.
The saving grace of this game for the Islanders, though, was that the Kings played worse than they did.
Instead of seizing the opportunity they’d been granted, the home team handed it right back. Just 39 seconds into the third, Simon Holmstrom ripped one past Darcy Kuemper from the slot to bring the lead back to two.
Matthew Schaefer celebrates his goal with New York Islanders teammates during a game against the Los Angeles Kings in Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. NHLI via Getty Images
It may not have been all that inspiring, but the Islanders never needed the cushion, with Ilya Sorokin turning aside 26 of 28 shots and Horvat’s empty-netter sealing it. Thirteen high-danger chances allowed at five-on-five, though, made clear that there is still plenty to work on.
“Third period, obviously the goal helps, but we got more aggressive,” Schenn told The Post. “We made a couple more cleaner plays with the puck, which led to us playing in the O Zone more. Third was our best.”
A win is a win, and on the heels of a losing streak, that feels especially true.
The New York Islanders (8-6-4) got Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock back in the lineup and returned to winning ways with a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings (5-10-2) on Thursday night.
Brayden Schenn had a three-point night (one goal, two assists), while Victor Eklund scored for a fourth straight game to tie all Eastern Conference rookies with seven.
Matthew Schaefer recorded his sixth goal of the season in his 100th career game, with points in all 18 games this season (six goals, 12 assists). Bo Horvat joined him with his 18th point late in the game (eight goals, 10 assists).
Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves to snap his four-game slide, while Pulock recorded two assists in his return, and Maccelli earned an assist.
The Kings went 10-0-1 in their last 11 games against the Islanders, and the Islanders haven't had a regulation win in their last 12 meetings. It's their first win in that building in about eight years.
The Islanders were held to just 21 shots but were productive enough.
Here's how the game unfolded:
The Islanders took a 1-0 lead at 5:50 of the first period after Brayden Schenn buried a rebound to Darcy Kuemper's right, which was created after Mitchell Chaffee and Ryan Pulock's point shot:
The Kings answered at 8:55 of the second period courtesy of a Trevor Moore slot tip on a Brandt Clarke point shot.
But at 12:56 of the first period, Matthew Schaefer scored on the power play to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead. Maccelli fed him at the point, and there was a ton of traffic in front as the shot went off the glove-side post:
Quinton Byfield buried an Artemi Panarin rebound at 7:52 of the third period to cut the Kings' deficit to 3-2.
But, the Islanders got insurance early in the third when Simon Holmstrom turned around with a snipe from the slot at the 39-second mark of the period to extend the Islanders' lead to 3-0:
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 12: LaMelo Ball #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates his three-point basket against Kyrie Irving #11 of the Dallas Mavericks in the third quarter at Target Center on November 12, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Mavericks 133-94. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Do you remember the last time the Minnesota Timberwolves played basketball?
Since the Wolves last played, the Minnesota football team got flat-out embarrassed on national television, then went through all five stages of grief before building a time machine that sent them back to the days of Kirk Cousins, and now, in one fell swoop, has gone from pumpkins to the NFL’s new belle of the ball.
And somewhere in the midst of all of this, Joan Beringer is officially no longer a teenager and is starting to go gray.
I’m not saying having no Wolves games is responsible for any of this, or that if we had played sooner, maybe Beringer wouldn’t have had to have a birthday (is that how that works?). I’m not saying that! But man, does it feel good to finally have this team back on the court and on our screens again.
In their first game back in eons, the Wolves laced up and faced off against a team in the Dallas Mavericks that seems to be fast-tracking a soft rebuild. On paper, both teams are pretty evenly matched in several categories, namely FG% (DAL #4, MIN #5), turnovers (DAL #10, MIN #11), and steals (DAL #14, MIN #15), so the Wolves needed to win the possession battle.
Certainly, the Mavericks would be up for the challenge, so it would stand to reason that this would be a challenging game for the Wolves. Right?
Right?
Wrong
To start the game, Jonathan Kuminga was on a torrid pace, muscling to the basket for a lay-up and cutting to the rim for a dunk off a beautiful find by LaMelo Ball, who proceeded to find Jaden McDaniels on a similar play a few possessions later.
The Mavericks settled in and muddied the game as the quarter went on. At the 5:16 mark, TJ Shannon subbed in, and PJ Washington proceeded to bully him to the rim for an and-one. This was a great quarter for Washington, as he finished with 10 points in the quarter.
Perhaps an accurate distillation of the rest of the game, though, is that those 10 points would be it for Washington, and the Mavs 24-19 lead would soon be relinquished and gone for good.
Ayo Dosunmu and the bench mob of Bones Hyland, Jaylen Clark, Trey Lyles, and Joan Beringer burst the Wolves out of the mud like the Snoats brothers in “Raising Arizona”, spurring an 11-0 run that got the crowd dancing on their feet. After a couple of free throws by Naji Marshall to stop the run, a Gobert offensive rebound off a missed Dosunmu corner three allowed the Wolves to close out the quarter with this Clark nuke.
The second quarter saw more of the same for the Wolves. After a sloppy turnover by Dosunmu led to a corner three by Zaccharie Risacher, the Wolves had given up 15 points off of six turnovers. Those numbers would balloon to 25 and 11 by the end of the first half, and it wouldn’t matter.
Because everything else was aces.
Dosunmu continues to truck along as Mr. Consistency, a perfect cog in the absence of Anthony Edwards. He finished the half with 12 points by doing what he does best: being an absolute bully out on the break.
As for Ball, he was unconscious from deep, and finding cutters left and right. Much has been said about his fit with Gobert, and there were still a couple of miscues on the Ball-Gobert feed tonight. Near the end of the half, though, Ball slipped into the paint as the ball guided him around. He faked once, and then floated the ball up for a Gobert slam.
It was a thing of beauty, and exactly why sticking to the process matters.
Going into this game, Ball’s assist-to-turnover ratio (1.62) wasn’t pretty to look at, but for the most part, I don’t mind it.
The way I see it is that they are mostly a statistical fallout of process-driven stuff that should temper with time. Some of the results might be an eyesore for box score perusers, but I love the process. I love that Ball is not afraid to continue to funnel the ball into Rudy, even if his individual numbers risk taking a hit. The box score won’t tell the whole story. It seldom does. But Ball’s commitment to the process should pay dividends as the season bears itself out.
Minnesota scored 33 points in the second quarter. LaMelo Ball created 18 of those points (10 with his scoring and 8 with his assists).
He was — once again — in total command. Has been the case consistently over the last four.
The Wolves would go into halftime leading 67-52. And then…
It got fun. Real fun.
Ball continued his unconscious streak from long-range, followed by a Dosunmu transition trey. Dusty May would call a timeout not even two minutes into the second half to try to stop the bleeding. That worked just as well as trying to stop a Beringer nosebleed.
The Wolves were playing loose and fast. McDaniels was gliding down the court for barely contested lay-ins. Kuminga was hitting threes, and the lead would soar to 32 points midway through the third after McDaniels was blocked, got the ball back, and then threw down a vicious slam.
Right before the McDaniels sequence, Beringer re-entered the game with a clear mask (!). Before the mask change, Beringer had zero points and zero blocks. After the mask change: 13 points and three blocks. Need I say more? That new mask is magic.
Although there were times through the third where it looked more like a horse race at Canterbury, with players running around with their manes on fire, any and all sloppy play was a moot point, and the Mavericks would end up waving the white flag before the third quarter had even concluded.
The fourth quarter was mostly a non-event because of the score (Wolves 103 – Mavericks 69 at the end of the third), outside of a Gobert and-one off a Kuminga miss (where he converted on the free throw!) and a smooth jump hook by the magic-masked-man Beringer, but I wanted to shout out Isaiah Evans on his first official points in the NBA.
I know it was on a goal-tend, but still, a milestone is a milestone.
And a shout-out to Jon “Boog” Sciambi on the call tonight, his first Wolves game of the season. I know he is beloved in Wrigleyville as the play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Cubs. As a Twins fan, I hold no ill will towards the Cubs. It’s that other team on the South Side that I have problems with.
In the end, the Wolves were able to completely stifle Cooper Flagg for 12 points on just 5-12 shooting. Seeing the Wolves, he was probably having nightmares about his last game against them, when he went 5-19 for 12 points. I guess this game was an improvement? Baby steps, teenager. Baby steps.
The Wolves were also able to silence Kyrie Irving, who up until now had looked rejuvenated and was outperforming his career shooting splits across the board.
Caleb Martin just about doubled his scoring average (seven points tonight). He should be proud of that.
But this was perhaps the Wolves’ best all-around effort in this season’s infancy. Off a long break against a good team, Target Center was rocking, and from start to finish, it was just a rollicking good time.
79-3.
Quick! Say something nice about the Mavericks!
Right now, the Mavericks have 13 guys logging double-digit minutes. It’s clear that Dusty May and his coaching staff have spent the early part of this season seeing what works and what doesn’t. I’d expect the rotations to get tighter as the season wears on, as players fill out their roles and the overall numbers flesh out into something a bit more comprehensive. So far, though, May has struck a good balance of thinking big picture while still keeping his team competitive on a nightly basis.
In a fairly perforated coaching pipeline, May’s seamless transition from college to the NBA has been nothing short of impressive. I was late to the magic of May, only first hearing about him last year as the coach of the eventual national champion Michigan Wolverines. Chalk it up to object permanence on my part, but I know who he is now, and it’s almost as if he was built in a lab to know ball and coach ball.
Yesterday also marked the one-year anniversary of the Mavericks dumping disgraced GM and possible secret Los Angeles Lakers operative Nico Harrison. Going from Harrison to Masai Ujiri seems to have stabilized this organization. Finally, adults have returned to the table.
Enmities from the 2024 WCF aside, I’m happy for Mavericks fans.
Game Highlights
Up Next
The Timberwolves continue their eight-game homestand on Saturday, as Chicago O’Hare International Airport’s Bulls fly into Target Center. O’Hare ranks first as the busiest airfield in the world. Meanwhile, their team ranks first in a bunch of categories you’d rather not rank first in. Liftoff is at 7:00 PM CT on DAZN-MN and NBA League Pass.
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