Daily Report – 2/23/26
Yankees
Aaron Boone had to be careful this weekend. He had to make sure he didn’t drive his new, personalized golf cart through the stinky sewage leak at George M. Steinbrenner Field. It was disgusting.
The Yankees kicked off their home Spring Training games with a bang. On Saturday, they defeated the Detroit Tigers 20-3. Perhaps one of their six home runs, including two by Aaron Judge, burst a pipe. Spencer Jones hit one, too, into the parking lot as he showed off his new Shohei Ohtani-esque batting stance.
On the mound, Carlos Lagrange hit 102.4 mph on his fastball, allowing one earned run in 2 2/3 innings. Although the Yankees lost 6-4 to the Mets yesterday, Luis Gil allowed one run and struck out four over 2 2/3 innings. Gil looks to get back on track ahead of the 2026 season. Last season, coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign, a lat strain kept him out until August.
Yesterday, José Caballero went 1-for-2 with a home run and helped turn a double play. He demonstrated his skills on both sides of the ball. With Anthony Volpe expected to begin the season on the injured list, the Yankees will try to get as much as they can out of Caballero. He might even be able to earn the starting role over Volpe.
“That’s out of my control,” Caballero said. “I control what I can control. I’m going to go out there and do my best every day. They make the decision.”
Caballero led the Majors in stolen bases last season, while Volpe led the American League in errors. The Yankees can blame that on Volpe’s shoulder, although throughout the season, they vehemently insisted it wasn’t affecting him. If nothing else, Caballero can help Volpe buy the time he needs to start his season fully healthy.
The Yankees will have a decision to make at shortstop, but for now, they should be happy with what they’ve seen from their starting rotation. Their pitching prospects, including Lagrange, make things more interesting.
Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns is starting to get it. He is beginning to understand his role on the Knicks. It took a while, undoubtedly, but at least for now, Towns is thriving.
For the second time in as many nights, Towns led the Knicks in scoring. His 28-point effort in Chicago helped his team secure a 105-99 win over the Bulls. He shone especially brightly in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, scoring six of the Knicks’ final 11 points as they escaped a Chicago comeback.
All season long, Towns has been the focal point of the criticism surrounding the Knicks. I have critiqued his soft style of play, in which he gets called for fouls, complains to the officials, and opts not to drive through lanes. But because last night was the second game of a back-to-back, the Knicks were without Mitchell Robinson, so Towns played for 32 minutes.
As part of his 28 points, he went 5-for-9 from three-point range, a mark he hasn’t achieved in what feels like forever. Towns is widely regarded as the best shooting big man in the NBA right now, if not all-time. His three-point shooting prowess makes him a multi-dimensional player, but he hasn’t shown all of his skills yet this season.
Evidently, KAT’s confidence has improved since the Detroit Pistons exposed his weaknesses on Thursday night. In yet another episode of Kitten Towns, he did a poor job of matching Detroit’s physical pace, which slowed down his teammates.
But last night, Towns accepted the gift of extra minutes, and he made his head coach proud. In addition to his 28 points, he hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds, plus three steals and eight deflections. He was the Knicks’ best player on both sides of the court, especially in the fourth quarter. It was merely one month ago when, for an extended stretch of games, Mike Brown opted to bench Towns in the fourth quarter.
In the playoffs, Jalen Brunson will endure a lot of double-teams, which has been the case for five straight games. That means Towns has to perform to his job description: The Knicks’ second-best scorer. As Shaquille O’Neal explained to Towns after Saturday’s win over Houston, he has a duty, as a member of the Knicks’ one-two punch, to fill in for Brunson if he can’t perform. Down the stretch this season, and in the playoffs, Towns will need to improve his physicality. He did that yesterday and on Saturday.
After Saturday’s game, Brown told the media that Towns finally feels comfortable in his role. He has what it takes not only to be the Knicks’ second-best scorer but also lead them in scoring. After yesterday’s win, Brown explained why this season has been particularly difficult for Towns and how, as his head coach, he has helped him adjust.
“We don’t call a ton of plays,” Brown said. “Now, you compare his numbers to last year, [Mitchell Robinson] didn’t play in the regular season. KAT averaged 36-37 minutes a game. Mitch is playing now. Landry [Shamet] didn’t play last year. He’s playing. We’re trying to get him up to 17, 22, 23 minutes a game. We’ve got Jose [Alvarado] now. So, when you do that, guys’ minutes are going to go down.
“Not only are guys’ minutes going to go down, but guys’ field goal attempts are going to go down, and all the things that you see impact the game statistically.”
Brown makes a good point. Last year’s Knicks team didn’t have much of a bench. This year, the Knicks have eight or nine players who can make an impact off the bench. Their most recent bench additions are Alvarado and Jeremy Sochan, and Alvarado is a defensive wizard.
This bench depth is why the Knicks parted ways with Guerschon Yabusele, who netted 11 points and 13 rebounds as Chicago’s starting center yesterday. At the trade deadline, the Knicks dealt Yabusele to Chicago for Dalen Terry, whom they flipped, along with two second-round picks, to acquire Alvarado from New Orleans. So far, this trade has paid dividends for New York.
Yabusele’s strong play was part of Chicago’s recipe to challenge the Knicks. Coming off eight straight losses, they took an eight-point lead during the second quarter. The Knicks began the third quarter up by five, but Chicago regained the lead with 3:42 remaining as Matas Buzelis nailed a straightaway three.
OG Anunoby missed a corner three on the Knicks’ next possession, after which they took a timeout. That was when, following a big block by Anunoby, Towns sank his fifth triple of the night, putting the Knicks back in front. He scored the Knicks’ next two points as well, and they led by four with two minutes left.
After a couple of missed threes by both teams, Josh Giddey stole the basketball from Anunoby but missed a three. Nick Richards fouled Towns on the Knicks’ subsequent possession, but Towns missed a first free throw, allowing Giddey to pull Chicago back within three with an and-one layup.
But Giddey couldn’t complete the three-point play, and the Knicks sealed the deal with 26.6 seconds left as Mikal Bridges knocked down a corner three.
The Knicks will play their next game tomorrow at 7:30 PM (6:30 PM CT) when they visit the Cavaliers (MSG, Gotham Sports). The Knicks lead Cleveland by just one game in the Eastern Conference standings. New York can sweep the season series with a win. They don’t have a choice.
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Knicks
