Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe made his first rehab start on Tuesday night, playing for Double-A Somerset and it was a bit of a mixed bag.
Volpe finished the game going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, but he was going up against one of the best pitchers in the league, Zack Wheeler.
The Phillies ace was making a rehab start of his own, and the right-hander struck Volpe out swinging on three pitches. In Volpe’s second at-bat, he put up more of a fight. Volpe worked the count full and fouled off a couple of pitches before Wheeler finally got the young infielder to strike out swinging on a nasty sweeper.
In the field, Volpe made every play hit to him at shortstop. Rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery, Volpe is showing no effects of the injury that hampered his offensive and defensive performance in 2025. He was eventually pulled after five innings.
Volpe had his worst statistical season last year, batting .212 with 19 home runs and a career-low .272 OBP. He also had a career-high 19 errors in the field.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Volpe will play about three to five innings in his first couple of starts before building him up. The Yankees skipper said that Volpe has had more than 50 live at-bats in the Yankees complex in Tampa and has put in a lot of work at shortstop, so he considers Volpe ahead of where players are at when spring training begins.
Anthony Volpe fields his first chance in his first rehab appearance for Somerset pic.twitter.com/mi70G9ozE7
Yankees top prospect George Lombard Jr. was also playing in Somerset on Tuesday and started at third base to pair with Volpe. Lombard was a victim of a Wheeler strikeout in the first inning, going down in six pitches. But the second at-bat, he launched a 3-1 pitch deep to right-center field, but the ball died at the wall and was caught for the first out of the fourth inning.
Lombard has had a hot start to his Double-A season. He entered Tuesday’s game hitting .464 with five doubles, two home runs and four RBI in seven games.
NBA general managers and scouts are heading home from the 2026 men’s NCAA Tournament with plenty to think about after three weeks of incredible action on the court. Now they have to figure out which March Madness performances are indicators of future greatness and which are more of a mirage.
The 2026 NBA draft is expected to take place in late June. In USA TODAY’s latest mock draft , Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance is expected to go in the first round after declaring on Tuesday. Here’s how USA TODAY currently projects the Forward’s draft night will play out.
Our draft order is based on ESPN’s projected records and factors in trades, including swaps and protections.
Jayden Quaintance 2026 NBA Draft prediction: Pick No. 17 overall, Charlotte Hornets (via Suns)
Kalbrosky’s Analysis:
Jayden Quaintance recorded just one start during his sophomore campaign as he recovered from a torn ACL, meniscus and fractured knee. The big man is still one of the youngest players in this class, but he has shown flashes during his time at Arizona State and Kentucky. When healthy, he is arguably the most talented defender in this draft class and could help a team that desperately needs frontcourt help, like the Hornets. But health may cause some concern for evaluators.
NBA general managers and scouts are heading home from the 2026 men’s NCAA Tournament with plenty to think about after three weeks of incredible action on the court. Now they have to figure out which March Madness performances are indicators of future greatness and which are more of a mirage.
The 2026 NBA draft is expected to take place in late June. In USA TODAY’s latest mock draft, Baylor’s Cameron Carr is expected to go in the first round after declaring on Tuesday. Here’s how USA TODAY currently projects the Guard’s draft night will play out.
Our draft order is based on Tankathon.com and factors in trades, including swaps and protections.
Cameron Carr 2026 NBA Draft prediction: Pick No. 27 overall, Boston Celtics
Kalbrosky’s Analysis:
One of the players who improved his draft stock the most this season was Baylor junior Cameron Carr. The All-Big 12 wing brings athleticism and shooting and, per Bart Torvik, he was the only player to make at least 40 field goals that were dunks and more than 60 field goals that were 3-pointers this season. Baylor outscored opponents by an additional 28.5 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor relative to when he was not, via CBB Analytics, which ranked as the fourth-most of any high-major player in the NCAA.
NBA general managers and scouts are heading home from the 2026 men’s NCAA Tournament with plenty to think about after three weeks of incredible action on the court. Now they have to figure out which March Madness performances are indicators of future greatness and which are more of a mirage.
Our draft order is based on Tankathon.com and factors in trades, including swaps and protections.
Hannes Steinbach 2026 NBA Draft prediction: Pick No. 19 overall, San Antonio Spurs (via Hawks)
Kalbrosky’s Analysis:
German big man Hannes Steinbach is a name worth watching in the 2026 NBA Draft. While his team missed the tournament, the All-Big Ten post is an instinctive rebounder with great hands, including an absurd 24 rebounds against USC on March 4. Additionally, the center is one of the more prolific pick-and-roll finishers in college basketball. He shined during the FIBA U19 World Cup, too, and scouts love that he is a smart basketball player who can make great reads. Steinbach could make an excellent backup to Victor Wembanyama.
But the NBA Playoffs are no strangers to surprises. Just last year, we saw the Indiana Pacers reach the finals as a 5-seed, nearly taking down the heavily favored Thunder for the title. No one expected that. We’ve seen mutliple play-in teams reach their conference championships as well. Even the 2023 Miami Heat reached the finals despite entering the postseason as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed.
That is to say that the NBA playoffs aren’t as predictable as they may seem. That’s why several experts have different opinions on what will happen. Here’s a quick breakdown of numerous predictions from around the internet:
Kram writes, “Oklahoma City and San Antonio could spark a decade-long rivalry this spring, after the Spurs beat the reigning champs in four out of five meetings this season. Oklahoma City has crucial playoff experience and the best clutch scorer in the NBA on its side. But San Antonio presents real matchup problems for the champs because of its athleticism, guard play and game-changing force at center.”
He continues, “It’s possible that Wembanyama can’t handle many more minutes because of his aggressive style of play. He looked noticeably fatigued when he reached 40 minutes in San Antonio’s thrilling overtime loss in Denver this month. But Wembanyama doesn’t need to play 40 minutes at altitude every game in the playoffs, and he successfully exceeded 35 minutes 10 times this season. In those games, he averaged 30.7 points, 14.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.0 blocks while making 44% of his 7.3 3-point attempts and 86% of his 9.6 free throw attempts. That’s not evidence of a consistent problem playing big minutes; if anything, it’s the opposite, and Wembanyama’s stats have been even better when he has increased his workload.”
He predicts the Spurs to win in six games, then take care of the Boston Celtics in six as well.
CBS Sports: 4 of 6 experts predict Celtics to emerge from the East
While the Western Conference is littered with different picks from CBS Sports’ panel of experts, the East doesn’t have as much variety, with two-thirds of their panel picking Boston to represent the conference in the Finals.
Funny enough though, only one of them has the Celtics winning it all. Jack Maloney is the the only person to predict a victory for the Eastern Conference, picking Boston to defeat the Thunder.
Maloney writes, “The Thunder would surely be favored in a Finals matchup against the Celtics, and could very well win. But Boston has defied the odds at every turn over the past seven months, and will cap a storybook season with an upset over the reigning champs.”
Former NBA head coach Avery Johnson says that the Thunder remind him “of what [they] built in San Antonio.”
He also believes that whoever comes out of the Western Conference between the Spurs and Thunder should win the championship. He specifically predicts the Thunder to win in six games over Boston.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) and Rockets center Clint Capela (30) battle for a rebound during a game last month in Houston. Ayton leads the Lakers in rebounding at 8.0 per game. (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
Rebounding was not a strength of the Lakers over the course of the regular season. Rebounding was a strength of the Houston Rockets during the 2025-26 campaign.
So, on their first day of practice Tuesday for Game 1 of the first round Saturday at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers worked diligently on rebounding drills, knowing full well that will be one of the keys against the Rockets.
The Lakers were the fourth-worst rebounding team in the NBA, averaging 41.0 per game. The Rockets were the top rebounding team in the league, getting 48.1 overall and 15.0 on the offensive end.
And one of the Lakers’ better rebounders, Luka Doncic, won’t be available because he’s dealing with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain that he went to Spain for treatment. Doncic is second on the Lakers in rebounding at 7.7 per game. His starting backcourt mate, Austin Reaves, also is a good rebounder but he also won’t play because of a Grade 2 left oblique strain. Reaves is averaging 4.7 rebounds per game.
“They’re out indefinitely,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said about Doncic and Reaves.
Redick then gave a simple answer for how the Lakers have to deal with the Rockets in the best-of-seven series.
“Again, taking care of the basketball and boxing out. That’s the series,” Redick said. “Scheme, personnel, obviously important, but if we don’t take care of the ball and we don’t box out, we’re not gonna win the series.
“They were No. 4 in scoring opportunities. We were No. 23, so we don’t have the luxury with Luka and AR out of getting drilled in scoring opportunities every single game. We gotta box out. We’re going to place an emphasis on every drill in practice. We started practice with boxing out today. You gotta put it in their minds. That’s literally the only thing we said about Houston today. Today was about us having a practice, getting sharp with our stuff. Tomorrow, we’ll introduce [Rockets] personnel. Thursday we’ll do our scout, as we would. Friday will be a reinforcement of that scout. Saturday we’ll be good to go. Only thing we did today was box out.”
Lakers 7-foot backup center Jaxson Hayes will be counted to get rebounds. He’ll also spend time dealing with Rockets All-Star center Alperen Sengun, who averages 20.4 points and 8.9 rebounds (3.0 on offense) per game.
Hayes missed the last four games because of left foot soreness, but he was back at practice Tuesday.
“Feeling a lot better,” Hayes said. “It’s nice getting a few days off. Especially with my job, I jump a lot and I run a lot, so it’s hard for me to rest something like that. Getting those days off was very much needed. Very helpful.”
When asked about the box-out drills the Lakers did at practice, Hayes recalled the last time he did such a thing.
“Definitely college, for sure,” Hayes said. “College days with those Texas bigs. Coaches start off the practice where you got to smack somebody. Obviously, we weren’t trying to murder each other out on the boards, but definitely practicing that stuff. Houston is, I think, one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the past 20 years. So, just making sure we’re ready for that.”
The Rockets are a physical team that also plays smothering defense.
Houston allowed 110.0 points per game during the regular season, the fourth-best defensive mark in the league, and held teams to 46.0% shooting, the sixth-best mark in the league.
For Lakers guard Marcus Smart, there is one way to compete with the Rockets on the backboards.
“Will. Willpower,” Smart said. “We’re competitors. We’ve been doing this for a while. We’re doing that at the highest level, right? And they’re going to try to come in and punk us. And if you will allow that, you will be punked. And I don’t think we have any guys that are going to be punked on this team. So, we might not be the most athletic and strongest, but we got to have the most heart.”
The MVP award is one of the most prestigious honors in professional basketball—and one of the most debated. But how is the MVP actually chosen?
🗳️ MVP Voting Process
The MVP is determined by a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters from the U.S. and Canada, as well as a fan vote that counts as one ballot. Each voter selects five players, ranked from first to fifth place. The point system is as follows:
1st place vote: 10 points
2nd place: 7 points
3rd place: 5 points
4th place: 3 points
5th place: 1 point
The player with the highest total point tally at the end of voting is crowned NBA MVP.
📊 What Do Voters Consider?
While there’s no official checklist, MVP voters typically weigh several key factors:
Individual statistics: Points, assists, rebounds, efficiency, advanced metrics like PER or Win Shares
Team success: MVPs are rarely chosen from losing teams and Top 3 seeds are the norm
Narrative and storyline: Voters often reward players overcoming adversity or carrying a franchise
Consistency and availability: Games played, durability, and clutch performance matter
👀 Voter Biases and Trends
Some unofficial trends also influence MVP outcomes:
“Voter fatigue”: Players who’ve already won may need to outperform their own past seasons to win again
New blood bias: Voters sometimes prefer rising stars over repeat winners
Position favoritism: Guards and forwards tend to dominate MVP voting, although that trend has been changing in recent years
📈 NBA MVP trends
Here are some trends you may want to consider before placing a bet on the NBA MVP:
Repeat winners are somewhat common. Jokic’s 2022 win marked the 12th different player to have won the award two (or more) years in a row.
The MVP usually comes from an elite team. Since 1985, only seven MVP winners have come from a team that didn’t finish first or second in its conference.
The award is usually given to a player with a few years of experience. A rookie hasn’t won MVP since Wes Unseld in 1969, and only two MVPs have been 22 or younger (Wes Unseld and Derrick Rose).
Centers have historically dominated the MVP award. While they went on a two-decade drought between Shaquille O’Neal (2000) and Nikola Jokic (2021), centers have now won four of the last five MVPs.
📜NBA MVP betting history
A quick look at recent NBA MVPs and their opening odds.
Want to get more Covers content? Add us as aDownloadable NBA Playoff bracket
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2026 NBA Playoffs matchups and results
First Round – East
(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) TBD
Game 1: April 19
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) TBD
Game 1: April 19
(3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks
Game 1: April 18
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Toronto Raptors
Game 1: April 18
First Round – West
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) TBD
Game 1: April 19
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) TBD
Game 1: April 19
(3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves
Game 1: April 18
(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Houston Rockets
Game 1: April 18
2026 NBA Playoffs schedule
Event
Date
NBA Play-In Tournament
April 14-17
NBA Playoffs begin
April 18
NBA Conference Semifinals
TBD
NBA Conference Finals
TBD
NBA Finals Game 1
June 3
NBA Finals Game 2
June 5
NBA Finals Game 3
June 8
NBA Finals Game 4
June 10
NBA Finals Game 5 (if necessary)
June 13
NBA Finals Game 6 (if necessary)
June 16
NBA Finals Game 7 (if necessary)
June 19
NBA playoff format
The NBA playoffs adopt a format designed to favor successful teams while giving underdogs a shot at the championship. Here’s a brief look at the structure:
The postseason begins with a Play-In Tournament featuring the 7th through 10th-ranked teams in each conference. This extends from April 14 to 17.
The NBA Playoffs kick off with the first round on April 18, where the top one to six teams in each conference join the winners of the Play-In.
The matchups are set as No. 1 vs. No. 8 seed, No. 2 vs. No. 7 seed, No. 3 vs. No. 6 seed, and No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed.
Each playoff round, including the Conference Semifinals, Conference Finals, and NBA Finals, features a seven-game series.
In these series, the higher-seeded team hosts Games 1, 2, 5 (if necessary), and 7 (if necessary) following a 2-2-1-1-1 format.
The NBA Finals start on June 3.
Looking for more intel? Our NBA Championship odds breaks down the clubs with the best odds of winning the NBA Finals. And be sure to check out our NBA Finals MVP odds page to see which player is most likely to hoist the Bill Russell Trophy when the dust settles.
Washington Wizards forward Anthony Davis told reporters that he plans to play for the team next season.
“Yeah, I’m under contract,” Davis said with a laugh. “I love my money.”
While playing for the Wizards may be obvious to Davis, he has yet to make his debut since joining the team before the NBA trade deadline in February. Davis played only 20 games this season and last appeared on Jan. 8 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Wizards finished with a league-worst 17-65 record, good for last in the Eastern Conference. They also ended the season on a 10-game losing streak and finished their third consecutive season with 64 or more losses.
Davis said the team is not what people make it seem and that he expects to compete.
“They know that I want to win,” he said. “I’m sure that they want to win as well. Nobody wants to lose. I know we have a lot of young guys, but like I said, I mentioned it about the young guys — how talented they are.”
One of the players Davis expects to help bring a winning culture to the Wizards is Trae Young. Young was also added before this year’s trade deadline in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks. He has also struggled with injuries this season, playing five games for the Wizards and 15 games total before being shut down.
While Davis is optimistic about the Wizards’ future, he understands the difficulty of turning a losing team into a championship contender.
Now sidelined until at least late April, the right-hander spoke to reporters via interpreter on Tuesday and has some rather interesting things to say when discussing his arm fatigue. Per The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, Imai admitted having trouble adjusting to the American lifestyle in baseball and outside of baseball.
When asked for an example, Imai reportedly pointed to when and where the players eat compared to how teams in Japan operate.
Asked what has been difficult outside of baseball, Imai replied through an interpreter: “For example, the travel is different from Japan. The timing when the players eat. In Japan, when they get back to the hotel, they eat their dinner. Here, the players eat at the stadium.” https://t.co/K3YV83NMrF
It’s unclear how eating in the Astros clubhouse can cause excess arm fatigue. It’s also quite possible something is being lost in translation here as well.
That’s a long list of issues for a player to have 2 1/2 weeks into his MLB career. There are, of course, adjustments that every player needs to make while moving from Japan to the U.S., but this is also stuff they should be aware of while considering teams and preparing accordingly.
The biggest adjustment for Japanese pitchers is usually the schedule, where Nippon Professional Baseball starters usually pitch once a week while MLB arms are asked to go one out every five days. The Astros have so prevented Imai from having to pitch on less than five days rest.
Imai is on a contract that guarantees him $54 million through the 2028 season, though he can also opt out after 2026 or 2027.
As much as he’s struggled, his injury was still bad news for a Houston organization that has already seen fellow starting pitchers Hunter Brown (shoulder strain) and Cristian Javier (shoulder strain) hit the IL this season. It’s unclear when any of these pitchers will return, which isn’t ideal considering the Astros have lost eight straight games and are in last place in the AL West with a 6-11 record.
