PERRIS, Calif. – Jason McDougal has teamed up with Dwight Cheney to compete in the Nov. 7-9 Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction at Perris Auto Speedway.

McDougal will drive Cheney’s No. 42x alongside teammate and current USAC Sands Chevrolet Southwest Sprint Car Series point leader Brody Roa.

McDougal is one of six drivers this season to win a feature in both the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car and NOS Energy Drink National Midget divisions. McDougal won his second career USAC National Sprint Car feature in June during Eastern Storm at New Jersey’s Bridgeport Speedway.

McDougal has also won his first two career USAC National Midget feature events in 2019, capturing July’s Mid-America Midget Week round at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Neb., then putting on a spectacular show in his drive to victory two weeks ago at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.

McDougal has made two appearances in Cheney’s sprint car this season in USAC/CRA and Southwest Sprint competition. He was sixth at Arizona’s Canyon Speedway Park on March 8, then charged from 13th to fifth the following night at Canyon.

In USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car competition this year, multiple drivers have been in the seat of Cheney’s No. 42, namely Dave Darland and Scotty Weir.

Danny Faria Jr. and Jake Swanson have also wheeled Cheney’s ride on the west coast this year, with Swanson driving the car to fast time during qualifying and a third-place finish at Bakersfield (Calif.) Speedway in May.

Cheney’s No. 42 currently resides fourth in USAC/CRA owner points. Cheney owns two USAC/CRA victories as a car owner, with Darland in 2005 and with Max Adams in 2017.

If you miss seeing Hinako “The Smiling Cinderella” Shibuno take on the world’s best on the LPGA tour, this is your week.

Actually, so is next week.

Shibuno is playing this week’s Taiwan Swinging Skirts on a sponsor’s exemption, and she is also scheduled to play in next week’s Toto Japan Classic as part of the Japanese LPGA entries in the field.

Golf Channel is televising both events.

If she wanted, right now the 20-year-old could be playing the LPGA full time as a member, after winning the Women’s British Open back in August, but she declined to immediately take up the two-year exemption offered and continued to focus on playing the JLPGA. She has until Nov. 18 to notify the LPGA whether she intends to take up membership next season.

“I would like to play the U.S. tour in the future, but definitely not next year,” Shibuno said when she announced earlier this month that she had accepted the Swinging Skirts sponsor’s exemption. She hasn’t revealed this week whether she might still change her mind.

Shibuno won the hearts and minds of so many with her charm and 10,000-watt smile in England. She claimed the AIG Women’s British Open in her first start in an LPGA major and in her first tournament appearance outside Japan. She has won three JLPA titles as a rookie this year. 

That performance in England elevated Shibuno to superstar status in Japan, where she has a huge media following whenever she plays.

“After winning the major championship, people will recognize me on the street and the media will follow me around,” Shibuno said Tuesday in Taiwan. “So, I’m kind of leading sort of a nervous life.”

Retired Japanese golf icon Ai Miyazato said she cried after Shibuno rolled in a clutch 18-foot birdie putt at the 72^nd hole to win in England. Shibuno made her country proud joining Chako Higuchi as the only Japanese players to win major championships. Higuchi won the LPGA Championship in 1977.

Rolex world No. 1 Jin Young Ko has little left to prove this year after clinching Rolex Player of the Years honors, but she has a lot more hardware to try to win.

Ko will join defending champion Nelly Korda among the stars teeing it up this week at the Swinging Skirts Taiwan Championship.

Ko, 24, wrapped up the Rolex Player of the Year award with her tie for ninth at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea last weekend. Nobody can catch her with three LPGA events left in the points-based awards race.

“This was one of the best years of my career and to earn this award is one of the best honors I could ever receive,” said Ko, whose four LPGA titles this season include two major championships. “Some of my golf heroes have won this award, and I can’t believe that my name is now on the same list.”

Ko also has already won the Rolex Annika Major Award and is on track for an awards sweep as the frontrunner to win the Vare Trophy for low scoring average and the tour’s money-winning title. 

Ko’s 68.933 scoring average gives her a chance to join Annika Sorenstam as the only players in LPGA history to average better than 69 strokes for an entire season. Sorenstam did it twice. She holds the all-time mark at 68.696, setting it in 2004, though she came up just short of having enough starts to be eligible to win the Vare Trophy that year. She also averaged 69.697 in 2002, winning one of her six Vare trophies.

Korda returns this week to the site of her first LPGA title. She pulled away from Taiwan’s Wei-Ling Hsu in the final round last year and then four months later added a second LPGA title winning the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

“My expectations this week is just to have fun,” Korda said. “It's a different golf course this year. I'm just going to take it day by day and see how it goes.”

Here's a look at what's happening in professional golf this week, and how you can watch it:

PGA Tour

WGC-HSBC Championship 

Thursday-Sunday, Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai China

Course specs: Par 72, 7,264 yards

Purse: $10.25 million

Defending champion: Xander Schauffele

Notables in the field: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari, Kevin Na

Tee times: TBD

TV schedule: Wednesday-Thursday, 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. ET (Golf Channel); Friday-Saturday, 10:30 p.m. - 2:30 a.m. ET (Golf Channel)

Wednesday-Thursday, 10 p.m. – 4 a.m. (Golf Channel); Friday-Saturday final round 10:30 p.m. – 3 a.m. (Golf Channel)

PGA Tour

Bermuda Championship

Thursday-Sunday, Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda

Course specs: Par 71, 6,828 yards

Purse: $3 million

Defending champion: None (inaugural event)

Notables in the field: Lanto Griffin, Maverick McNealy, Peter Uihlein, Fred Funk, Davis Love III, Scottie Scheffler, Doug Ghim

Tee times: TBD

TV schedule: Thursday-Friday 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday 12:30 – 3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)

LPGA

Taiwain Swinging Skirts

Thursday-Sunday, Miramar Golf Country Club, New Taipei City, Taiwain

Course specs: Par 72, 6,437 yards

Purse: $2.2 million

Defending champion: Nelly Korda

Notables in the field: Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko, Hinako Shibuno, Hannah Green, Brooke Henderson, Ariya Jutanugarn, Lydia Ko, Jennifer Kupcho, Jeongeun Lee6, Inbee Park

Tee times: TBD

TV schedule: Thursday 5 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Friday-Saturday 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday 8 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)

College Golf 

East Lake Cup 

Monday-Wednesday, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia

Course specs: Par 72, Mens, 7,413 yards, Women's, 6,240 yards

Women’s Teams: Arizona, Auburn, Duke, Wake Forest  

Men’s Teams: Oklahoma State, Texas, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest 

Tee times: Click here

TV schedule: Monday Stroke Play 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Tuesday Semifinal Matches 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Wednesday Final and Consolation Matches 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. (Golf Channel)

Bulgaria have been fined €75,000 and ordered to play two matches behind closed doors, with one suspended, following the racist abuse that marred their Euro 2020 qualifier against England.

The match on Oct. 14, which England won 6-0, was stopped on multiple occasions due incidents of racist abuse from the crowd in Sofia.

- Ogden: England's faith in three-step protocol was rewarded in Bulgaria

Match referee Ivan Bebek instructed the stadium PA announcer to broadcast a message -- the first step in FIFA's three-step protocol when dealing with such incidents -- after England defender Tyrone Mings complained of being the subject of racist chanting in the 22nd minute.

Bulgaria supporters in the crowd were seen directing monkey chants at England players, doing Nazi salutes and holding up shirts with the UEFA logo and the text "No Respect" -- a reference to the European governing body's "Respect" campaign aimed at curbing racism in the sport.

"Nobody should have to experience what our players did," England manager Gareth Southgate told the BBC after the match. "We followed the protocol.

"We gave two messages -- one that our football did the talking and two, we stopped the game twice.

The second match in the punishment handed down is suspended for a probationary period of two years. Bulgaria will also have to display a "No to Racism" banner with the UEFA logo on it.

In addition, the Bulgarian Football Union was fined a further €10,000 for crowd disturbances during the national anthems, with the English Football Association fined €5,000 for the same offence.

The BFU president Borislav Mihaylov resigned following the match, after Prime Minister Boyko Borissov had called for him to step down.

Bulgaria's next home match is against Czech Republic on Nov. 17.

Sri Lanka are likely to become the first team to resume Tests in Pakistan, in December. This time, they appear prepared to send what will be very close to a full-strength team.

Two Sri Lanka Cricket officials described progress on the tour as "very positive". Board CEO Ashley de Silva also said that players - even the seniors who had pulled out of the recent limited-overs tour - have "consented" to touring, following internal discussions. The feedback from the senior players themselves is that while one or two have not fully committed to the tour yet, they are all open to being convinced.

The tour does have one, potentially two, significant hurdles to overcome before SLC confirms it. First, it must be approved by the board's executive committee, which is likely to make its decision "in about a week" according to de Silva. Then, SLC may send another security delegation to sign off on the arrangements. Although the board had commissioned reports on security plans for matches in Karachi and Lahore, ahead of the recent limited-overs series, they had not sent a delegation to Rawalpindi, where the second Test is scheduled to be played. Rawalpindi is the Pakistan military's headquarters.

While all SLC officials stressed that the board wanted to be sure of the security arrangements for themselves, de Silva also described the security plans sent over by the Pakistan Cricket Board as "quite convincing".

Although 10 senior Sri Lanka players had withdrawn from the recent limited-overs tour of Pakistan, almost all of those players are also understood to now be satisfied with the security situation. In addition to the reports provided by both boards, positive feedback from the players who did tour Pakistan last month, is understood to have helped win the senior players over.

More than one player did express apprehension about being confined to hotel rooms for the duration of their stay in Pakistan. But they did not believe that to be a substantial enough reason to refuse to tour.

If the tour goes ahead as per the PCB's plans, these will be the first Tests played in the country in 10 years. Sri Lanka were also the last team to play Tests there; it was the ambush by terrorists on their team bus in Lahore in March 2009 that effectively ended international cricket in Pakistan. Several members of that team were injured in the attack, with Thilan Samaraweera the most seriously hurt among them, taking a bullet to the thigh.

No international cricket was played in Pakistan in the first half of this decade, but cricket has gradually begun to return over the last few years. The return of Test cricket to the country, however, will be the biggest sign that Pakistan is ready to resume normal cricketing relations, instead of having to play their home matches in the UAE.

If the tour goes ahead as currently pencilled, Karachi will host the first Test beginning on December 11 and Rawalpindi will host the second, starting on December 19.

"Do we work in this or I wait til the IPL" - Bookie to Shakib.

Failure to report several approaches from an alleged corruptor Deepak Aggarwal, who was seeking inside information, is why Bangladesh's Test and T20I captain Shakib Al Hassan has been banned by the ICC's anti-corruption unit on Tuesday.

We don't know yet why Shakib, cricket's premier allrounder (he is ranked third in Tests, first in ODIs and second in T20Is in the ICC's player rankings) failed to report the approaches to the ACU, especially as he has previously reported corrupt approaches. But we do know a little about the conversations with Aggarwal that led to this sanction.

November 2017

According to information made public by the ICC, the first time Aggarwal got in touch with Shakib was in November 2017, during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) where he was playing for Dhaka Dynamites. Shakib's contact, the ICC said, was provided to Aggarwal by "another person" who was close to the player. Aggarwal had asked this unnamed person to "provide" him with contacts for players in the 2017 BPL.

Over the course of several Whatsapp messages, Aggarwal tried to instigate a meeting with Shakib.

January 2018

Bangladesh hosted an ODI tri-series with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. On January 19, Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka and Shakib was Man-of-the-Match. Aggarwal "congratulated" Shakib on his performance and then followed it with a cryptic message that raised ACU eyebrows. "Mr Aggarwal followed this message with a message saying "do we work in this or I wait til the IPL"," the ICC said in the statement.

"The reference to "work" in this message was a reference to him [Shakib] providing Inside Information to Mr Aggarwal."

Shakib never reported this approach either to the ACU, or to any other relevant authority.

Four days later, Aggarwal sent another message, more explicit, to Shakib: "Bro anything in this series?" Once again Shakib opted not to report the approach to the ACU or even the BCB.

April 2018

On April 26, 2018, during IPL 2018, Sunrisers Hyderabad - Shakib's franchise - were playing a home match against Kings XI Punjab. Aggarwal messaged Shakib on the day of the match, and it was during this conversation that Shakib eventually said he wanted to meet Aggarwal.

"He received a WhatsApp message from Mr Aggarwal that day asking him whether a particular player was going to be playing in the game that day, i.e. again asking for Inside Information," the ICC statement said. "Mr Aggarwal continued this conversation with him by talking about bitcoins, dollar accounts and asked him for his dollar account details. During this conversation, he told Mr Aggarwal that he wanted to meet him "first"."

Shakib admitted to the ACU later that he had deleted several other messages from this April 26 Whatsapp conversation. It was then that Shakib grew concerned. However, once again he did not report the approach.

"He confirmed that he had concerns over Mr Aggarwal, feeling he was a bit "dodgy", and that, following their conversations, he had the feeling that Mr Aggarwal was a bookie," the ICC statement said.

The ACU officers interviewed Shakib in person in Bangladesh twice this year - on January 23 and then on August 27.

Shakib readily accepted the charges.

"During these interviews, Mr Al Hasan was cautioned that the answers and information provided by him could be used as evidence to support a charge or charges in relation to a breach of the Code, if they revealed that Mr Al Hasan might have breached the Code, either by acting corruptly himself or by failing to report corrupt approaches or corrupt actions by others. After receiving these cautions, Mr Al Hasan admitted various failures to report approaches made to him to provide Inside Information to Mr Aggarwal."

Netherlands captain Pieter Seelaar has hailed his pace bowling unit as the foundation behind their third straight qualification to the T20 World Cup following their rampant performance in an eight-wicket win over UAE. In particular, Seelaar singled out Man of the Match Brandon Glover and Paul van Meekeren as two players who "are there to give us a bit of firepower" with game-changing ability that has consistently disrupted opposition batting units throughout Netherlands' matches in Dubai.

"As in real X-factor, I would say Paul van Meekeren and Brandon Glover, not just by today," Seelaar said in the post-match press conference when asked who stood out most to him in Dubai. "I think they've bowled superbly well throughout the tournament. Timm van der Gugten started off very well just by doing his change-up. But there was more at the Academy when the wickets were a bit slower. But every time, pretty much every time Paul and Brandon had the ball in their hands, whether it was the Powerplay, whether they had to come back, they would always provide us with that breakthrough.

"Bowling has definitely been our strong suit throughout the tournament. So I would say those two would be our real X-factors for us in this tournament to date. The other thing is we've had five different Man of the Match awards in all our wins. So it's not one or two blokes, it's most of the guys. But definitely those two have been match-winning for us."

Glover claimed Man of the Match honours for his career-best 4 for 12. He built off the early carnage unleashed by van Meekeren, who dismissed UAE's two most threatening batsmen, Rameez Shahzad and Muhammad Usman, off back-to-back balls in the second over. It was another stellar display for van Meekeren who has a habit of turning in his best work in televised tournament matches.

"I think it's more the big occasion rather than the TV games," Seelaar said of van Meekeren's penchant for performances in big moments. "But to be honest, he actually forgot his shoes this morning. So I'm not quite sure he was right on it! To be fair, he bowls well, generally, a lot. I think he had a little bit of a tough period last year.

"This year, especially later on in the season, he started to bowl with some real gas. I think this whole tournament, whether the games have been [on TV] or not, he's been fast, he's been nasty. And to change it up with skills later on in the innings, that is something you don't come across very often. But I think Paulie has just bowled superbly well throughout the tournament. And yeah, probably the TV brings the best out of him."

"He actually forgot his shoes this morning. So I'm not quite sure he was right on it! To be fair, he bowls well, generally, a lot." Pieter Seelar on Paul van Meekeren

Netherlands had entered the tournament winning just two of their previous 11 T20Is. However, many of those losses came with under-strength squads that were hit either by injury or unavailability due to County Cricket commitments. But Seelaar said he was confident his side could produce winning results in Dubai once they got their best XI on the field.

"We struggled with keeping 11 fit guys on the park," Seelaar said. "But in saying that, I think we also probably looked to experiment too much with our bowling and batting rather than sticking to what we do best. After that [Oman pentangular] tournament, we had our plans nailed down properly.

"Going back to what I said about having a structured gameplan, that has [been] what we have been doing and executing in this tournament very well. Still not quite the 100 percent game. I mean bowling a team out for 80 and chasing it two-down is close to 100 percent, but we still haven't hit our full straps. I think we can do a little better and the semi-final is the perfect opportunity."

Netherlands will come up against Group B winners Ireland in that semi-final. Netherlands have historically held the upper hand against Ireland in ICC tournament play. Most fans remember the famous chase in 2014 at Sylhet, but Netherlands also won convincingly in the 2015 T20 World Cup Qualifier semi-final at Malahide as well as at the 2016 T20 World Cup in India. Seelaar is quietly confident that his side can do enough to win against their European rival on Friday.

"One advantage is that we've played at the [Dubai] stadium quite a bit," Seelaar said of his side's matches compared to Ireland playing all of their group games in Abu Dhabi. "I think that counts for something. Ireland-Holland have been very close games in recent times and I'm looking forward to the challenge and I'm sure Ireland will be as well. We're going to do our analysis work a little bit. Obviously we know them quite well. We're gonna see how it goes, but semi-finals are always a little different and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

NEW YORK -- Al Bianchi, who played for the Philadelphia 76ers and was later an NBA coach and executive, has died. He was 87.

The New York Knicks said Bianchi died in Arizona of natural causes. He was the team's general manager from 1987-91, signing future All-Star John Starks.

Bianchi was an original member of the 76ers, starting his 10-year career with the Syracuse Nationals in 1956-57 and remaining with the team following its move to Philadelphia.

He spent two seasons as coach of the Seattle SuperSonics before moving over to the ABA, where he was the Coach of the Year in 1970-71 with the Virginia Squires. Bianchi also had two stints as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns and one season with Chicago.

Which NBA teams and players have surprised the most after one week of basketball? Who have been the biggest disappointments?

Only four teams (the Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets) remain undefeated, and the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans are still looking for victories.

Our experts answer the big questions about the season so far, including big takeaways, best rookies and do-over predictions.

More: NBA Power Rankings | Reunion tour

1. What has been your biggest takeaway from the first week of games?

Bobby Marks: Three teams projected to finish at the bottom of their conferences -- Minnesota, Cleveland and Phoenix -- failed to get the message. The general manager of a playoff squad told me last week that the teams with new head coaches and low expectations are the ones you do not want to face early in the season. Teams with a fresh start can surprise before the middle part of the season, when losing becomes a habit and players start looking toward the offseason.

Royce Young: It was hard not to leave the arena somewhat affected by the Golden State Warriors' dismal performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. Their first half was one of the worst you're ever going to see an NBA team play, in all facets: rebounding, defense, turnovers, shooting, dribbling, running, walking. The Warriors rallied Monday against New Orleans, and they are dealing with injuries at key spots, but the abrupt fall from clear contender to this is still jarring.

Andrew Lopez: The East might be a little bit deeper than we thought. Philadelphia and Milwaukee were expected to waltz to the conference finals, but that might not be the case. The defending champion Raptors aren't going away easily. Miami is quietly cooking down in South Beach. Trae Young has looked mighty good, and Detroit might even make some noise with the way Derrick Rose and Andre Drummond are playing.

Tim Bontemps: The 76ers are going to win a lot of games in very ugly fashion. Philadelphia's size across the board gives the team a chance to end this season with the NBA's best defense, which will likely need to be the case given that Philly can't shoot. The Sixers have gone 31-for-104 from deep so far, but with their size and defense, it isn't going to matter most nights.

Kevin Pelton: NBA teams are pushing the pace even further. This time last year, there were an average of 105.4 possessions per 48 minutes for each team, portending the league's jump over 100 possessions per 48-minute game for the first time in nearly three decades. That's up again so far this year, with an average of 106.3 possessions per 48 minutes. Although pace tends to drop over the course of the season, we're still likely in for our fastest season in recent memory.

2. What has been the biggest surprise so far?

Lopez: Stop me if you've heard this before, but it looks like early reports of the Spurs' demise have been greatly exaggerated. Every season, people try to say the end of the Spurs is imminent, and every season, San Antonio seems to bounce right back. San Antonio went 3-0 in the opening week, and FiveThirtyEight still gives the team just a 15% chance to make the playoffs.

Marks: The Suns. Their biggest offseason addition was not Ricky Rubio, Dario Saric, Aron Baynes or Kelly Oubre. That honor goes to new head coach Monty Williams. In Saturday's win against the LA Clippers without Rubio and Deandre Ayton, Williams used the next-man-up approach in steering the team to a win. Remember this is the same Phoenix that didn't win its second game until Nov. 2 last year.

Young: I predicted they'd get the East's last playoff spot, but the Atlanta Hawks look like they're taking a real step forward. For every young team, it has to come at some point ... or not at all. The Hawks look like a group of young, talented players who are developing while learning how to win. Trae Young has a great chance to be an All-Star, and 40 wins doesn't feel at all unattainable.

Pelton: Even though I was higher on the Suns than most because of their strong statistical projections, I didn't expect them to start 2-2 against a difficult schedule with a win over the Clippers and a pair of one-point losses to Denver and Utah. Phoenix has been shockingly competent on defense and has thus far survived Ayton's suspension without missing a beat.

Bontemps: Miami Heat rookie Kendrick Nunn. Nunn's going from barely starting in the G League last season to averaging more than 22 PPG is the latest impressive success story for Miami's player development department. Even when Jimmy Butler comes back following the birth of his child, Nunn will be a starter or remain a core part of Miami's rotation.

(Nunn ended up in the G League after going undrafted in 2018 in part because of a 2016 guilty plea to a lesser charge of misdemeanor battery stemming from an incident in which a woman told police that he choked her during a dispute over an unpaid debt. Nunn denied choking her but admitted to pouring water on her head during the argument.)

3. What has been the biggest disappointment so far?

Pelton: Despite a comfortable win Monday over a short-handed Pelicans squad, I'm still going with the Warriors, who have the NBA's third-worst point differential (minus-12.0 PPG). Although hot opponent 3-point shooting isn't sustainable and Golden State will get healthier in the frontcourt, the lack of competitive fight in the team's first two losses was shocking to see. It forced Steve Kerr to play his "break glass in case of emergency" option and turn to Draymond Green at center far earlier than he wanted.

Lopez: I didn't know where to put the Kings before the season, but I didn't think they'd end up getting blown out by the Suns on opening night. The Kings followed that with a 10-point loss to Portland before a 113-81 loss to Utah. Sacramento put up a fight against Denver on Monday before falling to 0-4. Things don't look so bright in Sactown early this season.

Bontemps: I was out on the Pacers to begin with, but this has been a truly dreadful start. Two losses to the Detroit Pistons without Blake Griffin and being blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers -- perhaps the league's worst team -- is far from the way the Pacers hoped to start, even with Victor Oladipo sidelined. The Pacers badly miss Bojan Bogdanovic, and they've continued their blah offensive performances from the previous season. They have several more soft games coming up to try to get themselves right. Indiana better do it quickly.

Young: Zion Williamson's injury. The Pelicans mostly have been competitive without him, but not having Zion has been a major bummer for them and the league. The Pelicans need to tread some water in the weeks they'll be without him, or they risk falling into a tough hole in a deep Western Conference. That's especially important for a young team trying to find its way.

Marks: Sacramento. The Kings look more like a team that will be analyzing lottery combinations than one competing for a final playoff spot. They rank near the bottom in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Even the backcourt of the future of De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield looks less than formidable. Because the Kings have been so poor on defense, they can't generate as many fast break points as they did last season, when they ranked first in the league.

4. Which rookie has made the best first impression?

Pelton: Nunn has made the most of his opportunity as a starter in Miami, averaging 22.3 PPG while making 58% of his 2-point attempts and 42% of his 3s. I'd like to see Nunn look to make more plays for teammates, but that won't matter if he remains so efficient as a scorer.

Lopez: Yeah, take a bow, Kendrick Nunn. He showed out in the preseason with a 40-point contest against Houston and has made the most of Jimmy Butler's paternity leave with efficient shooting in 31.7 minutes per night.

Marks: Agreed on Nunn. His play -- and the early returns on Tyler Herro -- make veteran guard Dion Waiters expendable, though Waiters is likely close to untradable.

Bontemps: Nunn has been terrific, but I can't help but pick Ja Morant after watching what he did again the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Not only did Morant make a game-tying shot late in regulation, but he also blocked Kyrie Irving's potential game-winning jumper and assisted Jae Crowder on the clincher in overtime. The Grizzlies are in good hands with him running the show for years to come.

Young: Morant's closing sequence in regulation against Kyrie and the Nets is going to stick in a lot of people's minds all the way to Rookie of the Year voting. That's the kind of early statement that can build momentum and carry throughout the season. One less splashy name: Rui Hachimura, who looks smooth and versatile as a hybrid 3/4 in Washington.

5. You get one preseason prediction do-over. What is it?

Bontemps: I thought the Bulls had a chance to be pretty good and contend for a playoff spot. That isn't looking so hot after they lost to the Hornets, barely beat the Grizzlies, got pounded at home by the Raptors and blew a lead against the Knicks. Unless things change quickly, this could be another lost season for Chicago.

Young: The Warriors making the playoffs. It feels knee-jerky, but like I said, I was affected seeing it firsthand. If things get worse, there has to be some consideration to peeling back, resting Steph Curry and Draymond Green periodically and tanking the season. It takes all pressure off Klay Thompson to return quickly, letting the team focus on the young players and target a lottery pick to prepare for a retool.

Lopez: Before Zion Williamson's knee injury, he was my pick for Rookie of the Year. Then I changed it to Michael Porter Jr. With my third shot at this, let me move on to Morant. In his first three games, Morant is averaging 18 points and six assists per game while shooting 51.2% overall and 50% from 3. Perhaps the most impressive thing has been his basketball IQ. His dish to Crowder for the game winner on Sunday was a veteran move.

Marks: Although my early July prediction of Golden State not making the playoffs is trending toward likely, I've missed the mark (so far) on the Kings getting in. If there were a do-over, Sacramento would be out, and the Mavericks would get the nod. Luka Doncic looks like an All-Star, and the return of Kristaps Porzingis has the Mavericks with two bona fide franchise players. This roster is deep enough to sustain an injury and still compete in the West for a 7- or 8-seed.

Pelton: If I were picking my eight West playoff teams today, I wouldn't include the Warriors.

More: NBA Power Rankings | Reunion tour