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The Oklahoma City Thunder's season is on the line on Sunday afternoon.
A slug fest of a seven-game series against the 2023 NBA Champions, the Thunder will have to put together a cohesive game inside Paycom Center.
And now, with the absence of an injury-hindered Aaron Gordon, Denver's odds to win this one have slimmed with him being an integral piece of their core five. Beyond that, the Nuggets will turn to Russell Westbroo k, Payton Watson and Julian Strawther, who strung together an impressive performance to shift momentum in Denver's favor in Game 6.
Though, Gordon on the sidelined provides a pathway for Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams, who hasn' truly competed at his full capabilities in the season. Williams is an impressive and vital piece to this Thunder team, and even against an injured Nuggets, team he will need to improve his play and be on his A-game to close out Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in Game 7.
Williams talent is too high to succumb in what will be the most important game of his career thus far—shooting just 33.7% from the field 21.2% from three in games one through six.
His defense has never wavered in this series, though. It's been steadfast disrupting ball handlers and tallying three steals on two separate occasions to average 1.5 steals to this point. His overarching value is still prevalent even in the absence of offensive efficiency. But in that same breath, a lot of Williams' value can be derived of his two-way a bility, his three-level scoring with the ball in his hands—so Williams has got to turn it around in Sunday's game and beyond if the Thunder advance, and there should be faith in his ability to do that.
Williams knows how to rally a Thunder crowd and knows how to connect with the fan base as a whole—yet he has seen significant criticism from both external and internal groups. Some of it necessary and some of it overbearing. The outside noise is inevitable, but nothing but cheers should be coming from the inside of Paycom Center.
Williams can flip the script on Sunday, recoup and show up when it's needed throughout Game 7—and he's fully capable.
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Bulls' jersey retirement emblematic of franchise's rut
The Chicago Bulls announced they're retiring Derrick Rose's jersey, making him the first player in two decades to receive that honor. That's a sign the last two decades haven't been great for the franchise. Rose, who won the 2011 NBA MVP as a member of the Bulls, will have his No. 1 jersey raised to the rafters of the United Center Jan. 24. That's just shy of 20 years after the Bulls retired Scottie Pippen's No. 33 jersey in February 2006. That's a long stretch without honoring a player, but the Bulls haven't had much success since Pippen left the team after the 1997-98 season. With Pippen and Michael Jordan, the Bulls won six titles in eight seasons. Since then, the team has reached the Eastern Conference Finals only once in 27 seasons. Rose did play for that conference finalist in 2011, but played just 406 games for the Bulls in eight seasons, including one year when he sat out entirely after tearing his ACL in the 2012 playoffs. He was great for his first four seasons, winning Rookie of the Year and making three All-Star teams, but a series of knee injuries derailed his career. In the end, his teams won three playoff series with him. It's not that Rose is unworthy of the honor, especially as a Chicago native who was part of their best team of the 21st century. But it's a bad sign that a guy with four good seasons is their most impressive player since the Jordan Era. Of course, compared to the Bulls' current era, where they've won a single playoff game in the last eight seasons, the Rose era is a golden age. But when Rose's jersey finally gets hung up in the area, it's not just a reminder of his successes as much as it's a reminder of how mediocre the team has been since his departure.
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Micah Parsons showed up for the Dallas Cowboys' preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons in body only. The star pass-rusher showed no spirit and did not dress amid his hold-in for a contract extension. On Thursday, Parsons scrubbed the Cowboys from his social media feed. During Friday's game, he couldn't be bothered to be with his teammates on the sideline watching the whole game. Per a photo posted on X by The Athletic's Jon Machota, Parsons was seen lying down on a trainer's table during the contest. Parsons' actions come amid a turbulent week between his representation and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. In separate interviews, Jones told both Michael Irvin and ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that he did not plan to back down from his agreement with Parsons to work with agent David Mulugheta. During the pregame show on Friday, Jones boasted to 105.3 The Fan that defensive end is where the Cowboys have the most depth on the roster. "Frankly, our defensive ends may be the best depth, where we have the most talent of any position on the field," Jones said via Machota. "I'm excited about our depth and our numbers at pass rusher. ... I'm concerned because of having space on the roster to keep that many of our guys that have pass rushing ability." Following Friday night's game, the Cowboys' preseason is over. The situation between Jones and Parsons is not ideal for first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who is tasked with trimming the roster to 53 players by Tuesday. If Parsons is traded or chooses not to play in Week 1, Schottenheimer is going to have to decide to take away depth from what Jones sees as a weaker part of the team to boost a unit that is without their best player because he won't negotiate with Mulugheta.
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Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has suggested on multiple occasions that he is "one hundred percent" confident he will "be throwing some passes to" wide receiver Terry McLaurin during the 2025 season. It seems Daniels may have had some inside information. NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed Friday that the situation involving the Commanders and McLaurin "is in a better spot than it’s been" since the 29-year-old requested a trade on July 31. "The sides started out pretty far apart," wrote Breer, "so there was a lot of ground to make up. Maybe the deadlines in the next couple of weeks will help push an agreement through." The "pretty far apart" line may be referencing a previous report that claimed "one person with knowledge of McLaurin’s contract negotiations" said he had "asked for more than" the average annual value attached to DK Metcalf's five-year, $150M deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That same story insinuated that Washington may be more comfortable paying McLaurin around $27M or $28M per season via a multiyear extension. Coming off their trip to this year's NFC Championship Game, the Commanders likely won't be trading McLaurin's rights anytime soon. At this point, Washington acquiring a suitable replacement for McLaurin and getting him familiar with the team's offense in time for the Commanders' Week 1 game against the New York Giants is unrealistic. For an article published on Aug. 18, ESPN's Ben Solak wrote that he believed the McLaurin-Commanders standoff would eventually end "with a compromise extension before Week 1." It's unclear what McLaurin will do if this does not occur before the Giants matchup on Sept. 7, but it sounds like the two sides could work something out.
Justin Verlander needs to listen to Father Time despite desire to keep pitching
San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander had another rough outing on Thursday. The future Hall of Famer allowed seven runs on seven hits and a walk over his 4.1 innings, striking out four as the Padres defeated the Giants 8-4. His outing ended a streak where Verlander had allowed one or fewer runs in four of his previous five outings. The 42-year-old Verlander has been inconsistent at best this season, posting a 4.64 ERA and a 1.437 WHIP over his 110.2 innings, striking out 99 batters with 37 walks. This follows an injury-plagued 2024 campaign where Verlander posted 5.48 ERA and a 1.384 WHIP in 90.1 innings. Verlander, meanwhile, insists that he is not done. John Shea of the San Francisco Standard reported that Verlander wants to pitch in 2026. That desire does have a caveat — if Verlander suffers a significant injury, he said he is not interested in a lengthy rehab process to get back on the mound. "The ball’s rolling in the right direction, and I would like to continue pitching. You never know. It’s a fickle game too, but I think the stuff is still there," Verlander said. Verlander had been a workhorse earlier in his career, pitching at least 180 innings in all but one season from 2006 through 2019. He came back from Tommy John surgery that cost him most of 2020 and all of the 2021 season, winning the AL Cy Young award with a major league-leading 1.75 ERA and a 0.829 WHIP over his 175 innings, striking out 185 batters with 25 walks in his age 39 season in 2022. Verlander is a nine-time All-Star, won three Cy Young awards and was named the 2011 AL MVP and the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year. Those innings have taken their toll on Verlander. He has battled injuries over the past few years and has been below replacement level since the start of 2024. While he may want to return in 2026, his body and performance are telling a different story.
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