March 2025

There were 1,679 posts published in March 2025 (this is page 13 of 168).

Anthony Davis opens up about shock of trade, playing in Dallas: ‘Family is happy. Everybody is happy.’

Anthony Davis pushed to get back on the court in Dallas. From the outside, there were a lot of calls to shut him down, especially with Kyrie Irving out for the season with a torn ACL — why not tank, try and get a better draft seeding and hope for another Dereck Lively II-style pick up? — but Davis wanted to be back on the court. 

AD opened up about that, the trade, life in Dallas and much more in a must-read interview with him by Mark Spears of ESPN’s Andscape.

“We were playing with six, seven, eight guys who were coming in after playing a game 40, 42 minutes drained, tired, having to play back-to-backs, having to come in and still [weight] lift and get their shots [up]. That was a motivator for me. I knew I was going [to come back] just because of the amount of games we had left. And not even that, just the position we were in, too.”

The Mavericks have a one-game lead over the Suns for the No. 10 seed with eight games to play. Dallas also has an easier schedule the rest of the way. The postseason is within reach.

Of course, Davis is in Dallas as part of the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers. Davis, like everyone, did not see this trade coming, but adds that he is happy in Dallas.

“I’m great. I don’t feel it, but a lot of people have been coming to me and telling me they haven’t seen me smile like this in a long time,” Davis told Andscape. “Family is happy. Everybody is happy. It’s the nature of the business. Obviously, the first maybe 48 hours, it was just a shock because I wasn’t expecting it. Nobody was expecting it, so they say. But I know from my side, my team and my family and everybody who works with me, I wasn’t expecting it. Even when I was getting some of the calls [about the trade], I thought guys were playing. But it ended up being true and that first initial [emotion] was more a shock just seeing the position [we were in]; we’re in fifth in the West [Conference], we were rolling…

“And I wasn’t playing [Davis was injured at the time of the trade]. So, I just tried to feel everybody out and just kind of let it happen organically. And now we got a super-tight bond, man with all the guys. So, I’m happy, man. Happy I get to play.”

Davis does get to play — in his time on the court in Dallas you can see how his gravity opens up the court for others. The Mavericks are 2-0 in the games where AD has taken the court since his return, and they are in a good position to hold on to the No. 10 seed. 

That is not enough to calm the storm among Mavericks fans after the trade, but being on the court and helping his team win is all Davis can do — and he’s happy to do it. He’s happy in Dallas, wherever that road ultimately leads.

Yankees hit historic 9 home runs, including 3 from Aaron Judge and 3 off game’s first 3 pitches, to crush Brewers

The New York Yankees got off to a hot start Saturday, opening a home game against the Milwaukee Brewers by hitting three straight home runs off the first three pitches. That was just the start of the onslaught: New York finished with a team-record nine homers — including three from Aaron Judge — in a 20-9 victory over the Brewers.

The Toronto Blue Jays hold the MLB record for home runs in a game with 10, set in 1987. The Yankees, who were using some interesting hardware, joined the Cincinnati Reds (Sept. 4, 1999) as the only other teams with nine. 

New York’s first four homers came against former Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes, who was traded to Milwaukee soon after dropping the ball in New York’s World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt started things off, hitting Cortes’ first pitch of the game. After that, left fielder Cody Bellinger got a solo homer of his own, and then Judge did the same in his at-bat.

Cortes later gave up another solo homer in the inning, letting catcher Austin Wells hit one deep to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead.

The Brewers later went on to score three runs at the top of the second inning, cutting into the Yankees’ early lead, but Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second to bring the score to 7-3. Cortes was relieved during the bottom of the third without recording an out.

His final line: two innings, eight earned runs off six hits, including five home runs, five walks and two strikeouts. That puts his ERA at 36.00.

After Cortes exited in the third, Judge hit a grand slam for his second home run of the game before Jazz Chisholm added one of his own to make it 13-4. Per MLB’s Sarah Langs, seven home runs are the most through three innings in a game in MLB history.

But Judge wasn’t done, hitting yet another home run in the fourth inning, his third of the day and eighth for the Yankees, which is one short of Lou Gehrig’s franchise record for most home runs in a game. Judge was nearly the one who broke it, but ultimately, it was Oswald Peraza with a two-run homer in the seventh for the team’s ninth home run of the day. 

Judge finished the day 4 for 6 with eight RBI, three homers and a double.

In the 2024 World Series, Cortes failed to close out Game 1 and allowed a walk-off grand slam from Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman — the first in World Series history. Per The Athletic, Cortes left Yankee Stadium without speaking to the media.

The Yankees opened up their 2025 season with a 4-2 win over Milwaukee on Thursday.

Memphis Grizzlies fired their coach, now where do they go from here?

What shocked the NBA world was not so much that coach Taylor Jenkins was fired in Memphis — things had been trending that way since last summer when Jenkins was forced to fire his assistants and replace his entire staff — but the timing. The Grizzlies are 44-29, tied for a top-four seed in the West, and have just nine games remaining in the season.

The reaction around the league was primarily “why now?” Also, “How is this making the team better heading into the playoffs?”

All of that led to the next question: Where do the Grizzlies go from here?

There’s no clear answer to that question. Let’s break it down.

• For its next head coach, Memphis is going to look for its Kenny Atkinson — a head coach who can come in, change the system, empower the right players, and turn a good team (the Cavaliers had been the No. 4 seed two years running) into a contender.

Good luck with that. Cleveland made the leap this season partly because of changes to its offense (more Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, more motion). Memphis already changed its offense this season at the request of the front office, moving away from one heavily reliant on pick-and-rolls to more of a motion offense. Tuomas Iisalo, the interim coach for the remainder of this season, was one of the coaches brought in to lead this new offense (it is similar to what he had run and been successful with in Europe).

• Ja Morant has been frustrated with changes in the offense, a league source told NBC Sports.

That was illustrated well by this quote from a story in The Athletic by Sam Amick, Fred Katz, and Joe Vardon. They talked about Morant’s frustration with an offense taking the ball out of his hands.

One league source who has seen Morant work out with the Grizzlies recently said, “Some days he looks like he’s ready to play, and some days he looks like he doesn’t want to be there … because he hates the offense.”

• Morant also understood these changes came from executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman and the front office, through the new assistant coaches. With that, Morant had Jenkins back, even though he argued with him at points about the offense, the Athletic reports.

• Morant is the face of the Grizzlies, an electric and popular All-Star and All-NBA player, but one who has battled injuries throughout his career (plus had multiple suspensions). Morant has played in just 43 games this season (including missing the last six) but when he does he’s averaging 22.3 points and 7.4 assists a game.

Morant is in the second year of a five-year, $197 million max contract. He has three years, $126.5 million remaining on that deal after this season.

• Morant also is most comfortable in the pick-and-roll, which is why it seemed drafting 7’4″ Zach Edey was a good fit — a big pick setter who can be a threat rolling to the rim. Memphis’ front office has shown that is not the direction it wants the offense to go.

• All this leads to a natural question: Could the Grizzlies trade Morant this offseason? Don’t bet on it, for a couple of reasons. Plus, Kleiman shot this idea down around the trade deadline. From The Athletic.

“I can’t blame other ‘executives’ for fantasizing about us trading Ja,” Kleiman said at the time. “But it’s just that — fantasy. We are not trading Ja… I’m not going to give this nonsense further oxygen and look forward to getting back to basketball.”

At least two league executives, however, questioned the demand for Morant in the trade market.

There would be interest in Morant, but it might not be that robust He’s an expensive point guard with a lengthy injury history who is locked in for north of $40 million a season for three more years and needs the ball in his hands (running a lot of pick-and-roll) to be effective — Morant is not exactly plug-and-play. Morant’s athleticism and ability to get into the paint are unquestioned, but he doesn’t fit everywhere.

• Which leads us back to the coaching search coming this offseason. Kleiman is a smart basketball mind, but he has now played the “fired the coach” card, and if the roster continues to struggle, the issue may not be the coach.

There is unquestionably talent on this roster with Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, promising young players such as Jaylen Wells (one of the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year), Zach Edey and Scottie Pippen Jr. Whether all that talent fits together — and whether there is an Atkinson-esqe coach who can make that happen — are the big questons.

Ones that will be answered this offseason.

Kings vs. Magic Predictions: Odds, expert picks, recent stats, trends and best bets for March 29

It’s Saturday, March 29, and the Sacramento Kings (36-37) and Orlando Magic (35-39) are all set to square off from Kia Center in Orlando.

The Kings are currently 17-18 on the road with a point differential of 0, while the Magic have a 2-8 record in their last ten games at home. Orlando won 130-111 in the only meeting of the season.

Sacramento is 1-4 over the last five games and coming off a seven-game homestand where they went 3-4. Orlando won three of the past four games and four of the last six.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

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Game details & how to watch Kings vs. Magic live today

  • Date: Saturday, March 29, 2025
  • Time: 5:00PM EST
  • Site: Kia Center
  • City: Orlando, FL
  • Network/Streaming:

Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.

Game odds for Kings vs. Magic

The latest odds as of Saturday:

  • Odds: Kings (-112), Magic (-107)
  • Spread:  Kings -1
  • Over/Under: 218 points

That gives the Kings an implied team point total of 109.26, and the Magic 108.74.

Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!

Expert picks & predictions for Saturday’s Kings vs. Magic game

NBC Sports Bet Best Bet

Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans the Magic to win:

“Sacramento is starting a six-game East Coast road trip after playing the last seven at home (3-4 record). I don’t like the travel or setup for Sacramento tonight, so I lean toward the Magic who are a streaky team to bet, but they are 3-1 in the last four and 4-2 in the past six.”

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Kings & Magic game:

  • Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Orlando Magic on the Moneyline.
  • Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Orlando Magic at +1.
  • Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 218.

Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!

Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Kings vs. Magic on Saturday

  • The Kings are 1-4 in their last 5 games
  • The Under is 43-31 in Magic’s games this season
  • The Kings are 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games
  • The Magic have won 5 of their last 7 games, while the Kings have lost 4 straight on the road

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:

– Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)

– Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)

– Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)

– Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)