The Pelicans have reason to breathe easier after Yves Missi’s scary-looking left knee injury turned out to be a bone bruise, not something worse. Missi had to be carried off the floor Friday night after colliding with teammate Zion Williamson, but an MRI cleared up the biggest concern. Coach Jamahl Mosley said he let the team know at Saturday’s film session, and the news brought relief.
Missi has earned that reaction. He’s coming off a strong preseason and opened the year against Indiana with 13 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 30 minutes. Mosley has even been talking about him like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
“I thought Yves was incredible,” Mosley said after Wednesday’s game. “Absolutely incredible.
Everything we’ve talked about him being and doing was exactly what he showed. Being able to protect the rim, being able to get out in transition.
In the pick and roll, being able to cover for others as the low man. He did a lot of very good things for us tonight.
His energy and his effort is exactly what we are going to continue to need from him on a nightly basis.”
New Orleans hasn’t put a timetable on Missi’s return, so the frontcourt minutes will have to be sorted out without him for now. Mosley said the Pelicans will go with a “committee” approach, and the options are Derik Queen, Karlo Matkovic and DeAndre Jordan.
“We have a talented roster. It’s even more talented when it’s tied together,” Mosley added.
“Because guys are going to have to step in and step up in big moments. Small pieces from each one being able to give a little more than they gave the night before.
On any given night, it can be anybody’s number called.”
Elsewhere in the Southwest Division, Walter Clayton is already on his third team as he starts his second NBA season, and he sounds happy about landing with Dallas. After being waived by Memphis, he signed a two-way deal with the Mavericks on Wednesday and chose them over several other suitors. Clayton pointed to the mix of youth and experience around him as part of the appeal.
“Obviously, we’ve got some younger guys and then we’ve got some very older guys that we can learn from who have been doing it for a while,” he said. “So I think it’s just a good group, good core. I think we can make something special out of here.”
In Houston, the Rockets are banking on a bigger, faster version of themselves to keep pace with the West’s best. Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports reports that the team believes its offseason additions, plus the returns of Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams from injury, give it a real shot. Ime Udoka has pushed the offense toward a quicker tempo, and the roster now has more lineup flexibility to match.
VanVleet sees the logic.
“We got so many different weapons and lineups this year, so it gives everybody more possessions and opportunities,” VanVleet said. “We’ve been a huge possession team over the last few years and we thought that playing fast can create more advantages, especially early on in a season. Our defense leads to easy offense, so just creates easier baskets.”
The Spurs, meanwhile, are still searching for answers after stumbling to an unexpected 0-2 start. In Friday’s loss to Houston, their new three-guard starting group of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper continued to have trouble, finishing minus-11 in the 11 minutes they shared the floor. Iko noted that the offense is leaning too heavily on Victor Wembanyama, whose shot hasn’t been there through the first two games, and San Antonio still needs more three-point help beyond Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie.
In Other News...
Spurs First Win May Have Changed Wemby's Backup Picture
The Spurs first win of the season came with a little extra intrigue in the frontcourt, as San Antonio topped Dallas 122-106 behind Victor Wembanyamas all-around effort. Wembanyama scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added five steals while setting the tone with aggressive work in the paint, the kind of performance that reminded everyone how central he is to everything San Antonio wants to do.
But the bigger long-term note for the Spurs may have been the debut of Tarris Reed, who got into the rotation and logged six minutes in the middle. Reed finished with two points and three rebounds, a small sample but enough to hint at a possible path as a backup option for Wembanyama, which is the sort of development San Antonio will be watching closely as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Harper Sends A Clear Message After Spurs' 0-2 Start
A slow start can feel louder in San Antonio when expectations are high, and Dylan Harper was quick to address it after the Spurs opened the 2026-27 regular season 0-2. With the franchise still carrying the weight of last seasons run to the NBA Finals, Harper acknowledged the rough opening stretch but tried to steady the mood by reminding everyone that the schedule is long and the group is still working through adjustments.
Harpers message was less about the two-game record than about keeping the bigger picture in view. He voiced confidence that the Spurs will settle in, improve and bounce back as the season unfolds, a familiar early-season refrain but one that matters when a contender is trying to find its footing before the losses start to linger. [Read more 🡒]
Wemby Showed Up But Spurs Already Have An Early Problem
Victor Wembanyama did enough to give San Antonio a chance, finishing with 25 points and 13 rebounds, but the Spurs still came up short in a 114-110 loss to Houston. The Rockets got the last word when Amen Thompson blocked Wembanyamas final shot attempt, a play that summed up how tight this one was and how little margin the Spurs had to work with down the stretch.
San Antonio is only two games into the season, so there is no reason to overreact, but the 0-2 start does put an early spotlight on the details that decide close games. The Spurs have talked about being encouraged by their progress, and Wembanyamas production is clearly part of that, yet this loss also showed how quickly a promising night can slip away when one late possession goes against them. [Read more 🡒]