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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …
LUKA DONCIC, LEBRON JAMES AND THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Welcome to the Lakers, Luka Doncic. If your debut was any indication of what’s to come, fun times are ahead. With Dirk Nowitzki in attendance, Doncic tallied 14 points, five rebounds and four assists while LeBron James led all scorers with 24 points to go along with seven boards and eight assists as the Lakers crushed the Jazz, 132-113. It’s Los Angeles’ sixth straight win.
Doncic showed some rust in his first game since Christmas, but he still thrilled the crowd with stepbacks, fadeaways and some spectacular passes. It’s only one game, and it was against one of the league’s worst teams, but James has to be ecstatic, Sam Quinn writes.
- Quinn: “James’ experiences with Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving taught him all of the little tricks to playing off of the ball, optimal screening and cutting and misdirection technique. Now he gets to apply all of that knowledge with Doncic by his side. There are certainly other questions here, but the fit between the two principle figures here really shouldn’t be a matter of debate. They’re going to be great together.”
😁 Honorable mentions
- Trae Young and Kyrie Irving replaced Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) and Anthony Davis (adductor), respectively, in the All-Star Game.
- Caitlin Clark praised the Fever‘s offseason.
- Jed York wants Brock Purdy with the 49ers for “a long time.”
- It looks like Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore will be the Timberwolves‘ next owners.
- Auburn remained No. 1 in the men’s basketball AP Top 25, and Alabama jumped to No. 1 in Coaches Poll (No. 2 in the AP). That sets up the first 1-vs.-2 men’s basketball game in SEC history Saturday when the Tigers visit the Crimson Tide.
- On the women’s side, UCLA remains No. 1 in the AP Top 25.
- Adam Finkelstein’s NBA Draftables is a must-read for draft nerds, college basketball fans and NBA fans alike.
- Ichiro Suzuki will throw out the first pitch at Mariners Opening Day.
- The Brewers will wear a Bob Uecker patch on their uniforms.
- Here are the caps 2025 MLB Hall of Famers will have on their plaques.
- These teams closed the 2025 football recruiting cycle strong.
- DJ Durkin got an extension and a raise.
🏀 And not such a good morning for …
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THE DALLAS MAVERICKS
When the Mavericks traded Doncic to the Lakers, one of their justifications was that Davis could lead a dominant and physically imposing frontcourt alongside Daniel Gafford and, eventually, Dereck Lively II.
Then the games since the trade happened: Two days after Davis suffered an adductor strain that will keep him out several weeks in his team debut, Gafford suffered a knee sprain. Keep in mind that Lively is expected to miss several months — perhaps the rest of the regular season — with an ankle fracture. The only other center on the roster, Dwight Powell, is out with a hip injury.
Oh yeah, and then the Mavericks lost to the Kings, 129-128, in overtime, with DeMar DeRozan hitting the game-winner. One Mavs fan was ejected for mouthing “Fire Nico” (referring to GM Nico Harrison) during a karaoke cam.
Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but losing players, losing a game and then watching Doncic and the Lakers win is a tough combination.
😕 Not so honorable mentions
🏈 Super Bowl LIX fallout: Eagles envision dynasty, where do Chiefs go from here?
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Congratulations, friends. We’ve made it through one day of the NFL offseason. Only 200-ish to go!
The Eagles and their fans will spend plenty of that celebrating — the parade is scheduled for Friday — and I loved Jonathan Jones’ story on the champs
- Jones: “From team pictures at the Superdome to the Hilton Riverside on Saturday evening, that quiet confidence could be felt throughout the Eagles organization. … Nobody on the team — check that, no one in the NFL — embodies quiet confidence quite like Jalen Hurts. The Eagles star quarterback played Sunday night like he knew he’d win. When the Chiefs sold out to take away Saquon Barkley, he decided to put on an MVP performance.”
Hurts’ performance set plenty of records, and his coach, Nick Sirianni, is compiling an impressive resume as well, Cody Benjamin notes. Barkley, despite a quiet Super Bowl, had an all-time great season, too.
After two sleeps, my biggest takeaway was just the clear difference in talent level between the Eagles and the Chiefs. Philadelphia dominated both trenches. Philadelphia had better skill position players and was better at every level of the defense. Much of that has come from the draft, and Chris Trapasso outlined how other teams can copy Philadelphia’s prowess in this draft. The thing they can’t copy? The coaching, the talent development, the culture … that’s all uniquely Philly.
Now, everyone’s looking up at the Eagles. That includes the Chiefs. Tyler Sullivan identified moves Kansas City can make this offseason.
Here’s more:
⚽ UEFA Champions League knockout phase expert predictions, best bets
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The UEFA Champions League returns today on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports Golazo Network and YouTube for the first-ever knockout phase. These are the teams that finished ninth-24th during the league phase and now must win a two-leg matchup to make the Round of 16. Four first legs are today:
- Brest vs. PSG
- Sporting Lisbon vs. Borussia Dortmund
- Juventus vs. PSV
- Manchester City vs. Real Madrid
That last matchup is the headliner. Both City and Madrid struggled through the league phase but remain two of the most talented squads in the world. Can the Citizens pull off a shocker amid a subpar season? James Benge has three potential approaches for Pep Guardiola and his team.
“Can they win?” and “Will they win?” are two very different questions, though. Here are our expert picks and best bets, featuring Jonathan Johnson’s pick and Chuck Booth’s best bet.
- Johnson: “Prediction: City 1, Real 1 — This one promises to be tight over two legs with one big name guaranteed to drop out of the Champions League. Given the high stakes, this one will likely be decided in the second leg so expect a score draw to keep things interesting ahead of the return game in Madrid next week.”
- Booth: “Best bet: Real Madrid money line (+185) — It’s rare that you can get a team like Real Madrid at plus odds to win a match and while they may be facing Manchester City, this isn’t the solid City of old. This is a team who are suspect defensively and capable of beating themselves in any given week.”
Here are the squads for every team.
⚾ First MLB Power Rankings of 2025
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Believe it or not, some MLB teams’ pitchers and catchers have already reported, and to celebrate, Matt Snyder has his first MLB Power Rankings of 2025 as well as one thing to look forward to for every team. After all, the offseason is time for optimism, right? There’s a zero in every loss column. Hope springs eternal in spring training, and we’re nearly there.
Here’s Matt’s top five:
- Dodgers — “What I’m most looking forward to: Seeing Shohei Ohtani return to a two-way player.”
- Phillies — “What I’m most looking forward to: Can Kyle Schwarber hit 50 homers?”
- Braves — “What I’m most looking forward to: It’s an easy one, and it’s the return of Ronald Acuña Jr.“
- Yankees — “What I’m most looking forward to: Jazz Chisholm Jr. had 11 homers and 18 steals in his 46 regular-season games for the Yankees. That’s a full-season pace of 39 home runs and 63 stolen bases.”
- Mets — “What I’m most looking forward to: Juan Soto‘s first impression, obviously …”
📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
⚽ We’re watching the UEFA Champions League. Here’s how.
🏀 No. 1 Auburn at Vanderbilt (M), 7 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 No. 3 Florida at No. 22 Mississippi State (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 No. 5 Tennessee at No. 15 Kentucky (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament, 7 p.m. on truTV
🏀 No. 7 Purdue at No. 20 Michigan (M), 7 p.m. on Peacock
🏀 Knicks at Pacers, 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 UConn at No. 24 Creighton (M), 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Grizzlies at Suns, 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV
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