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Good morning. The West just got wilder.
Houston Has a Problem
Rockets dealt a major blow before camp
The Houston Rockets had positioned themselves as perhaps the biggest threat to upend the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference by acquiring Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith and others while keeping point guard Fred VanVleet to go with their collection of young talent.
But that may have changed Monday, as the Rockets will be without VanVleet, who tore his ACL in a minicamp workout in The Bahamas, for an extended stretch.
The Rockets have good depth, but point guard is where they are thin, with no proven floor general behind VanVleet. Houston, however, shouldn’t fall off completely. The Rockets still have a playoff-caliber roster and a good coach in Ime Udoka. But they’re limited in what they can do to replace VanVleet for now. They’re closer to the pack of teams looking to win the West after finishing second in the conference last season and losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Golden State Warriors.
The Rockets, at 52-30, were only two games ahead of the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers, No. 4 Denver Nuggets and No. 5 LA Clippers. The Rockets were also only four games ahead of the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies.
The offseason moves, with Durant at the forefront, were supposed to create separation from the pack for the Rockets. Which teams potentially benefit? Let’s take a look.
• Denver: The Nuggets had an active offseason and might have been the top obstacle to Oklahoma City repeating even if the Rockets were at full strength. Nikola Jokić is still the best big man in the league, and the additions of Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown help with depth that was lacking last season.
• Minnesota: Anthony Edwards is at the point in his career when he should be in the MVP conversation regularly. If the Timberwolves can avoid some of the injuries that disrupted them last season, they are poised to be a top-four team in the conference.
• Clippers: Another team that was close in the standings and made moves to improve their depth. John Collins fills a need at power forward, and LA picked up Bradley Beal at a bargain after he was bought out by the Phoenix Suns. The second unit features Chris Paul and Bogdan Bogdanović.
• Dallas: Kyrie Irving (ACL) is out to start the season, but having D’Angelo Russell in the meantime isn’t a bad option. Few teams have the size to match up with the Mavericks’ frontcourt (Houston is one of them), and big things are expected from rookie Cooper Flagg and a healthy Anthony Davis.
• Lakers: The Lakers have the thinnest margin of this group. They lost Finney-Smith to the Rockets (but added Jake LaRavia to help fill the void). Their biggest pickup was center Deandre Ayton, after not having a playable center in the postseason. They still have LeBron James and Luka Dončić, and not many teams can counter that tandem. Depth is where the Lakers are challenged, but that pairing is tough for any team.
The Last 24
🏀 Changing direction. The Seattle Storm are parting ways with coach Noelle Quinn. Who might replace her?
🏀 Coaching change. Another veteran men’s college hoops coach is stepping down, as has been the case in recent seasons. This time it’s Auburn’s Bruce Pearl.
🏀 Stepping up. Kara Lawson is the new Team USA women’s basketball coach.
📺 New adventure. Swin Cash’s role with Prime Video? NBA front-office analyst.
🏀 ‘A movement’. An inside look at what owner Ryan Smith is building in Utah with the Jazz and Mammoth.
A’ja Wilson won her fourth MVP trophy on Sunday. (Lucas Peltier / Imagn Images)WNBA Playoffs
Game 1 panic
A’ja Wilson won her record fourth WNBA MVP award on Sunday. Then her second-seeded Las Vegas Aces lost Game 1 of their best-of-five semifinal series, 89-73, at home to the No. 6 seed Indiana Fever.
The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx handled business with an 82-69 win over the fourth-seeded Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of their series.
Who should be worried? Let’s examine.
Aces-Fever
Las Vegas has been the hottest team in the WNBA. Even after the loss, the Aces have won 18 of their last 20 games, including the playoffs. Indiana is still the underdog, but with Kelsey Mitchell coming off a 34-point outing in Game 1, she gives the Fever a go-to player who can lead an upset.
The Aces, however, still have the best player in the series in Wilson. Few expect the Fever, without Caitlin Clark, to beat Las Vegas two more times. The Aces better not play around in Game 2 and get off to a slow start like they did in Game 1. Indiana is confident and can play carefee.
Aces panic meter: 🚨🚨🚨
Fever panic meter: 🚨
Lynx-Mercury
Minnesota is the No. 1 seed and is playing like it. Golden State pushed the Lynx in Game 2 of their first-round series and they came out focused against the Mercury. If Phoenix doesn’t win Game 2, it’s not unreasonable to envision the Lynx winning in three. I’m not expecting that, but the Mercury need a much better showing in Game 2.
Lynx panic meter: 0
Mercury panic meter: 🚨🚨🚨
Tonight:
Phoenix at Minnesota (Lynx lead 1-0), 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Indiana at Las Vegas (Fever lead 1-0), 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
End of the Road
Could this be it for these stars?
Excuse Los Angeles sports fans for being a bit emotional over the weekend.
Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw announced he would retire and pitched his final regular-season game at Dodgers Stadium on Friday.
Los Angeles hockey great Anze Kopitar announced that 2025-26 would be his 20th and final season with the Kings.
Someone please pass this L.A. native some tissue, but are there some other NBA fan bases that should be preparing to say goodbye? For which NBA stars might the 2025-26 season be their last? This isn’t based on anything other than some “what if” thinking and appreciating the longevity of some of the best players of the last 20 years.
• LeBron James, Lakers (age 40; entering his 23rd season): James is still one of the best players in the NBA, and his 23 seasons are an NBA record. He was second-team All-NBA last season at 40 years old. His presence on the Lakers is a big reason they still have championship expectations. James hasn’t suggested that he’s retiring anytime soon. He is the only player on this list who made his name playing above the rim, and he still does. If he wants to play beyond next season, it would be foolish for the Lakers not to bring him back. When James decides to retire, it will be worthy of a season-long celebration similar to what Kobe Bryant, Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had in their final seasons.
• Chris Paul, Clippers (age 40; entering his 21st season): Paul is back with the Clippers in a much different role than when he first arrived in 2011. One of the greatest point guards ever is now a reserve, but we have to appreciate one of the most impactful “little” guys in NBA history.
• Kyle Lowry, 76ers (age 39; entering his 20th season): One of the steadiest players of his generation has been a leader for a long time. He no longer has to be one of the best players on his team, but the six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion is likely to have his number retired in Toronto one day.
• Mike Conley, Timberwolves (age 37; entering his 19th season): Another point guard with longevity. He long wore the title of being underrated while playing in Memphis and made his only All-Star appearance in 2021.
• Kevin Durant, Rockets (turns 37 next week; entering his 18th season): How wild is it that a team is counting on adding a player from the 2007 draft to make them title contenders? That’s just how good Durant is. At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him playing at a high level for up to 20 years, too.
• Steph Curry, Warriors (age 37; entering his 17th season): The greatest shooter we’ve ever seen is still the best shooter in the NBA. The Warriors’ addition of Jimmy Butler in February at the trade deadline may have extended Curry’s championship window. The Warriors were 30-11 with Butler to finish the season and in the playoffs before Curry was injured in the second round series against Minnesota.
• James Harden, Clippers (age 36; entering his 17th season): Even when he was young, I thought Harden had an “old man game.” It’s served him well as he continues to use his strength and scoring ability to continue playing at an All-Star level.
• Jrue Holiday, Trail Blazers (age 35; entering his 17th season): Another guard from the 2009 NBA Draft class. That’s impressive longevity, especially for someone who’s made his name being one of the NBA’s elite defenders. Shouldn’t he be a liability by now? Apparently not, and if not for the NBA’s salary cap rules and Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury, it’s hard to fathom Boston would have traded such a valuable player.
(Top photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)