NFL

• Ravens 27, Saints 13
  • It’s pretty impressive that Baltimore has been successful on offense with a ragtag group of receivers, but Lamar Jackson’s talent, and John Harbaugh’s catering of his offense to fit Jackson’s talent is a big reason why. The play the Ravens are squeezing out of 36-year-old Calais Campbell and 33-year-old Justin Houston has been impressive as well. Houston has 8.5 sacks thus far, giving him 110.5 for his career — an underrated one at that. The Ravens’ final eight games are about as easy as one could ask for, so the team finishing 12-5 or 13-4 isn’t out of the question.
  • The Saints need to find their groove at some point. 3-6 is obviously a bad place to be, and an even worse place when lacking a first-round pick, which is the case for New Orleans. Andy Dalton hasn’t been terrible, but perhaps Dennis Allen should look into going back to Jameis Winston. Chris Olave, who recorded six catches for 71 yards last night, continues to be a bright spot, as does the play of the ageless Demario Davis. Other than that, the Saints have issues, but fortunately, there’s time to rectify them. New Orleans sits just 1.0 games out of first place in the NFC South.
• Colts fire head coach Frank Reich and hire Jeff Saturday as interim head coach
  • Reich had a decent run as the franchise’s head coach, but this change makes sense. The team has been pretty bad all year, so getting a new voice to guide the Colts is sensible, especially because a new starting quarterback is likely to be in place starting in 2023. Saturday is a confusing hire, but the Colts are in a position where they can take some risks.

NBA

• Wizards 108, Hornets 100
  • It’s extremely rare for a player to be an obvious bust so early in his rookie season, but that’s the case for Johnny Davis. I wasn’t high on Davis as a prospect, and he’s proven me right, shooting just 28.6% from the floor and struggling mightily on defense. Washington has been giving minutes to youngster Jordan Goodwin over Davis, and it’s paid off, as Goodwin has surprised a bit.
  • Dennis Smith is coming back down to Earth after an unsustainable start, and the Hornets have cratered to 3-8 as a result. Smith went 1-11 in this game.
• Rockets 134, Magic 127
  • The elephant in the room for the Rockets remains the fact Jabari Smith stinks, but Houston still has some interesting pieces. Jalen Green had an excellent game last night, tallying 34 points, and the Rockets also have Kevin Porter and Alperen Sengun to be excited about.
  • A 2-9 start isn’t what Orlando was probably hoping for, but the team has Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner honing the forward positions — a duo that should be one the best forward combinations in the NBA some day.
• Pistons 112, Thunder 103
  • It didn’t make sense to me that the Thunder were favored in this contest. The Pistons are the better team and were playing at home. The Pistons, despite being bad, have an interesting starting five, and will be able to add to it with another high draft pick or two, plus cap space, in the future.
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is awesome, and he was a one-man show in this game. 33 points, seven rebounds, and five assists last night for Oklahoma City’s point guard.
• Pacers 129, Pelicans 122
  • Indiana is 5-5, so it shouldn’t be thinking too much about selling the farm, but the trade value of its two obvious pieces to move, Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, certainly went up after this game. Turner went for 37 points, 12 boards, and three blocks last night.
• 76ers 100, Suns 88
  • Tyrese Maxey has had a good breakout season, averaging 23.6 PPG, but I’d like to see more consistency out of the guard. Maxey shot just 4-18 yesterday.
  • Apparently, the Suns may struggle to score without Cameron Johnson, especially if Chris Paul continues to be a near non-factor in the scoring column. In Johnson’s place, Cameron Payne needs to step up, and Phoenix should look into involving Deandre Ayton more.
• Hawks 117, Bucks 98
  • I liked AJ Griffin as a prospect, and he showed his shooting prowess in this tilt, going for 24 points on 10 made field goals.
• Trail Blazers 110, Heat 107
  • Portland’s backcourt of Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons is deadly on offense, and may be so good that the team’s lack of defense doesn’t matter as much as it maybe should. Lillard and Simons are combining for over 50 PPG.
  • I doubt the Heat finish below .500, but at 4-7, Miami shouldn’t be too confident about its prospects of contending. The team is lacking juice, and Bam Adebayo continues to be overrated, as his versatility on defense is overvalued. Also, Miami’s undersized center is nearly averaged more turnovers per game than assists per game.
• Celtics 109, Grizzlies 106
  • Jayson Tatum is getting some MVP talk, which isn’t fair to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, who are both far superior players to Tatum. With that said, Tatum is having an amazing season, and was stellar last night, scoring 39 points with good defense.
• Knicks 120, Timberwolves 107
  • This game featured good Julius Randle, who went for 31 points on just 15 field goals attempts — a surprisingly efficient game for him. The Knicks, at best, will be mediocre this year, but having Randle, Jalen Brunson, and RJ Barrett all have good games together is a positive sign for New York.
• Nuggets 115, Spurs 109
  • The Spurs are young and lacking in the talent department, but I was taken aback when I saw they were leading the league in APG. In fact, San Antonio has five rotation players averaging 3.0 or more APG.
• Mavericks 96, Nets 94
  • Did Seth Curry become washed up overnight? I know Curry is coming off an injury, but he’s given Brooklyn nothing over 45 minutes thus far. The Nets need his help, particularly with Kyrie Irving suspended.
• Warriors 116, Kings 113
  • At 4-7, Golden State has had an uneven start, but don’t blame Stephen Curry. Curry scored 47 points last night, and is having one of his best seasons so far. Curry is the fourth-best player in basketball, behind just Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic.
  • It’s early in the season, but Keegan Murray has already smashed into the rookie wall. After a sizzling start, Murray has shot 11-35 over his past four contests. It appears this will be the 17th consecutive year Sacramento misses the playoffs.
• Jazz 139, Lakers 116
  • No team in the NBA has more wins than Utah, a shocking development after the Jazz dealt Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Bojan Bogdanovic away this past offseason. If the Celtics knew about the Ime Udoka situation prior to Will Hardy taking the Utah head coaching job, then shame on them, as Hardy is showing to be a solid coach.
• Clippers 119, Cavaliers 117
  • The Clippers have struggled with being undersized this season, but LA used it to its advantage last night, shooting efficiently from the field and forcing Cleveland into 17 turnovers. This is the formula for the Clippers, who were outrebounded 48-31 by the Cavaliers in this game.