The Miami Dolphins continued their veteran purge Sunday, trading Kiko Alonso to the New Orleans Saints for linebacker Vince Biegel, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The NFL Network was first to report the trade.

This comes just one day after the Dolphins traded left tackle Laremy Tunsil, receiver Kenny Stills, a 2020 fourth-round pick and a 2021 sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans for a 2020 first-round pick, 2021 first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick, tackle Julien Davenport and cornerback Johnson Bademosi.

Alonso seemed set to move on, as he lost his role as a full-time linebacker in Dolphins coach Brian Flores' new scheme. Alonso cleaned out his locker Friday after returning for Miami's preseason finale at New Orleans, a source told ESPN, preparing for the end of his three-year Dolphins tenure.

Alonso, who was acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles via trade three years ago, started all 46 games he played in Miami, leading the team in tackles two of three seasons. He had 125 tackles and three interceptions last season.

Alonso, the 2013 Pro Football Writers of America defensive rookie of the year, has now been traded three times in his career (Buffalo to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Miami, Miami to New Orleans).

For the Dolphins, this is about moving on from a player who was no longer a fit for their defense or their long-term future. They gain salary-cap space in the process.

The Dolphins have 30 players on their roster who are 25 years or under, including 13 rookies. The youth movement is fully underway.

Miami found a hidden gem in linebacker Sam Eguavoen this offseason. Eguavoen, who spent the past three seasons in the CFL, played well enough to earn a starting spot in the Dolphins' defense.

Alonso, 29, missed all of training camp and preseason with an undisclosed injury, only returning to practice in the waning days of August. Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker also became the center of Miami's defense, taking more of a leadership and communication role.

A handful of other former starters -- safety T.J. McDonald, defensive tackle Akeem Spence and right tackle Jordan Mills -- were released over the past week by the rebuilding Dolphins.

Biegel, 26, has primarily been a special-teams asset with the Saints in 2018 and the Green Bay Packers in 2017. He was drafted in the fourth round out of Wisconsin in 2017, but the Packers released him in his second season.

The 6-foot-3, 246-pounder was being used as both a linebacker and edge rusher this summer in New Orleans, showing his versatility.

It's unclear how the Saints plan to use Alonso, who played the Will linebacker spot in 2018 after previously playing Mike linebacker. The Saints had a lot of success in 2018 with their starting trio of Will linebacker Demario Davis, Mike linebacker Alex Anzalone and Sam linebacker A.J. Klein. Both Anzalone and top backup Craig Robertson have been dealing with unspecified injuries this summer.

Maybe, just maybe, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is that good. Maybe Auburn is capable of another special season under coach Gus Malzahn, and Oregon isn't the Pac-12's best hope.

Or maybe it was all just another August mirage.

Week 1 guarantees knee-jerk reactions and things you think you know -- but storylines do emerge, spotlighting players and teams that pique the interest of the 13 members of the College Football Playoff selection committee.

Yes, it's early. But guess what? It counts, from Tennessee's mortifying home loss against Georgia State to Boise State's stunning 18-point comeback against Florida State to Auburn's thrilling victory over Oregon to highlight Saturday. Remember, the committee doesn't just evaluate the playoff contenders; it scrutinizes their opponents, too (Iowa State needed triple overtime to beat Northern Iowa, Mizzou lost to Wyoming and Ole Miss lost to Memphis 15-10).

We haven't even seen the Big 12 on the big stage yet, but that will change Sunday when Oklahoma hosts Houston (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC and ESPN App), and Texas hosts LSU in Week 2 (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC and ESPN App). Notre Dame at Louisville will officially punctuate Week 1 on Labor Day (8 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN App).

The heart of the season began Saturday, though, and these are the biggest playoff questions that arose:

1. Does Ohio State have a championship-caliber quarterback? Fields, a transfer from Georgia, looked spectacular in his debut, accounting for five touchdowns -- the most in a player's first game in Ohio State history -- in a 45-21 win over Florida Atlantic.

Repeat: Florida Atlantic.

If Fields can duplicate that eye-popping success (he went 7-of-9 for 115 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter, and his average pass went 17.7 yards) against the likes of Michigan State's defense, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan, then the Buckeyes will wow us under Ryan Day. Fields certainly has the supporting cast for another Ohio State run at the top four, but Day didn't hesitate Saturday to list what the quarterback can improve upon.

"Protections, reads, decisions," Day said. "Lots to build from off of today. I thought overall, though, game management was decent. There was one time where he scrambled out and took a sack; could have just thrown it away. ... So overall a lot to learn from."

While Ohio State should beat Cincinnati next weekend, don't underestimate the challenge. The Bearcats will likely be feeling confident after holding UCLA to 62 rushing yards and forcing four turnovers in a 24-14 win.

"All aspects of my game can get better," Fields said. "I'm just going to get back in the film room and see what mistakes we had and just fix those and get ready for Cincinnati."

2. Is the Pac-12 in for more heartbreak? Washington. Stanford. Utah. Washington State. All ranked, all winners, but none facing the expectations and national spotlight like Oregon, which lost a 27-21 nail-biter to Auburn. In the final 16 seconds, Auburn freshman quarterback Bo Nix might have changed the path of the Pac-12 with two incredible passes, the second a 26-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 9 seconds to go.

In its entirety, the league was hardly a failure in Week 1 -- USC capped the night with a 31-23 win over reigning Mountain West champs Fresno State -- but there was so much pressure on Oregon to represent the entire conference that the one result looms larger than the rest. While it doesn't knock the Ducks or the league out of the playoff, it was a missed opportunity to at least earn more serious consideration and respect.

"I think our guys all recognize our goals are still in front of us," coach Mario Cristobal said. "We have a really good group of leaders, and our program is built from the inside out. ... We build it on the right stuff. So when situations like this hit, you're prepared to bounce back."

Pac-12 teams are now 0-10 and have been outscored by an average 15.5 points in their past 10 games against ranked SEC teams, dating to 2008.

Stanford's 17-7 win over Northwestern, last season's Big Ten West champion, and Utah's 30-12 win over rival BYU in the Holy War should carry weight within the committee meeting room, but won't resonate as much as an Oregon victory over Auburn would have. Washington also left no room for doubt in its 47-14 win over Eastern Washington.

With nonconference games against Hawai'i and BYU, though, Washington needs the rest of the Pac-12 to be strong -- including Oregon.

3. Does the SEC need to be worried about strength of schedule? There's no doubting the playoff power of Alabama and Georgia, and Auburn's win over Oregon was another boost for the SEC West -- and the league needed it. Tennessee certainly didn't help with its loss to 25-point underdog Georgia State. The separation between the SEC heavyweights and the rest of the league was evident on Saturday. Yes, Memphis is good, but Ole Miss should have been able to muster more than 10 points against the Tigers. South Carolina also squandered a lead and lost to North Carolina 24-20 in the return of Tar Heels coach Mack Brown. Wyoming beat Missouri 37-31.

4. Is Boise State the new Group of 5 favorite? This was wild. The Broncos, thanks in large part to a true freshman quarterback, battled back from an 18-point deficit to beat Florida State 36-31. It was a stellar performance by Boise's Hank Bachmeier, who finished with 407 passing yards.

It was also an epic debacle by Florida State, which scored 31 points in the first half and then nada in the second. The Noles had back-to-back fumbles and just 68 yards in the second half. It was a devastating start for embattled coach Willie Taggart, but it was exactly what Boise State needed to enter the New Year's Six discussion immediately.

The highest-ranked Group of 5 conference champion is guaranteed a spot in a New Year's bowl, and according to ESPN's Football Power Index, the Broncos are favored to win each of their remaining games.

Don't forget about Memphis, though, which also earned a Power 5 victory Saturday, against Ole Miss. The only game FPI gives the Tigers less than a 50% chance to win is the regular-season finale against Cincinnati (46.2%).

Oh, what a Saturday it was for all the SEC haters, all the folks so gleefully watching each subsequent embarrassment with thumbs tapping away on Twitter, unleashing another wave of insults as the mighty fell.

North Carolina, 2-9 last season, rallies to top South Carolina. Must've been that grueling month of camp going up against SEC practice squads that wore down the Gamecocks.

Georgia State, 2-10 in 2018, pulls one of the most shocking upsets in recent SEC history, upending Tennessee. Guess the Vols should've hired any of the 46 other coaches they interviewed before Jeremy Pruitt.

Ole Miss falls to Memphis? Missouri comes up short against Wyoming? Hard to fault them. They probably just weren't all that into winning those games. After all, sometimes it just means ... not that much.

The SEC makes it so easy, with all the chest-thumping and rah-rah conference superiority, so it's hard to fault all the doormats in Pac-12 country or the little brothers in the ACC for gloating.

And then Auburn has to go and ruin everybody's fun. Why, Bo Nix? Have you no sense of humor?

No, Week 1 was not a good one for the preeminent conference in college football. Kelly Bryant was supposed to make Missouri a contender, but he can't play defense. South Carolina's schedule is brutal, but the date with supposedly over-the-hill Mack Brown was supposed to be an easy win. Now a bowl game looks like a long shot. The juice Rich Rodriguez managed to create for Ole Miss? A big, fat zero in the first half. And Tennessee. Oh, Tennessee. Bless your heart.

Even a handful of the wins were less than encouraging. Florida hardly looked like a top-10 team in its escape act against Miami. Arkansas narrowly edged FCS Portland State. Kentucky and Mississippi State struggled to pull away from lesser competition, too. Alabama had a lackluster first half against Duke, and Georgia had a bummer of a second half against Vandy. Long story short, it's not going to be a fun week of practice for most SEC players.

And then there's Auburn.

Nix, the true freshman legacy, got his first start and looked shaky early, only to deliver an absolute gut punch on the Tigers' final drive. His touchdown pass to secure the win with only nine seconds to play was something to behold, from the gutsy play call by Gus Malzahn to let his freshman sling it even though the Tigers were well into field goal territory, to the confidence Nix showed in his receiver to high-point a ball and come down with the catch. It's easy to close your eyes and envision a day, three months into the future, when all the talking heads are reminiscing about how that throw turned Auburn into a legitimate contender.

It could go the other way, of course. Auburn beat Washington last year in a similarly hard-fought game, and the end result was a mediocre season that included an ugly loss to Tennessee. So maybe history repeats itself. Maybe.

For now though, the SEC can turn the page on its worst week in years with the knowledge that it has Auburn and Alabama, LSU and Georgia, Texas A&M and, heck, maybe even Florida still carrying water. So what if Wyoming would finish third in the SEC East? There's no reason to keep counting past No. 2 anyway, and the odds of the SEC putting multiple teams into the playoff this year didn't change a bit with Week 1's brutality in Knoxville and Laramie and Charlotte.

Of course, none of that should stop you from laughing at Tennessee, either. After all, it's not every day Georgia State beats a Power 5 team. Actually, there has never been another day Georgia State beat a Power 5 team. Now that's funny.

Week 1 buy, sell, hold

Buy: Illinois

OK, so Illini fans probably don't need to book those hotel rooms in Pasadena, but Lovie Smith's team posted a dominant 42-3 win over Akron, with former Michigan QB Brandon Peters throwing three touchdown passes. And while you might shrug at a thumping of Akron, Illinois hadn't beaten an FBS team by more than three touchdowns or had a QB toss three touchdowns in a game since 2015. No, Illinois isn't winning the Big Ten, but this looks like a potential bowl team in 2019.

Sell: Quick fixes

Perhaps there are better days ahead at Florida State or Tennessee, but an offseason's worth of hopes sure feel misplaced now. Both Willie Taggart and Jeremy Pruitt aimed to assuage concerns following 2018's five-win campaigns by bringing in new, big-name offensive coordinators, and neither showed vast improvement. With Kendal Briles calling plays, FSU had a solid first half against Boise State, but its final nine drives included seven punts, a fumble and a turnover on downs. Tennessee looked lifeless under Jim Chaney, with the ground game failing to crack 100 yards. It's a good reminder that coaches can help, but they're not the guys on the field.

Hold: The Pac-12

Just like a year ago, Auburn upended the Pac-12's highest-ranked team on a neutral field in Week 1. In 2018, that just about ended any hopes for a playoff berth on the West Coast, but this year feels a little different. Utah got off to a strong start with a win over BYU. Washington looked sharp working in a bevy of new faces against FCS foe Eastern Washington. USC could force its way into the mix, too. So yeah, there was the brutal end for the Ducks and some awful losses for Arizona and UCLA and some ugly performances by Stanford and Cal, but the season isn't over. Yet.

Buy: True freshman QBs

Years from now, it'll seem crazy we ever thought starting a true freshman quarterback was a bad thing. From Trevor Lawrence to Jake Fromm, there's history now that suggests that you can not only win with a freshman, you can win big, and on Saturday, there were plenty of fireworks from the new kids. Boise State's Hank Bachmeier waltzed into Tallahassee and utterly demolished Florida State's defense, throwing 51 times for 407 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Sam Howell (once a Florida State commit) led a huge second-half comeback for North Carolina, finishing with 245 pass yards and two touchdowns, and Arizona State's Jayden Daniels threw for 284 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in a win over Kent State.

And then there's Nix, who struggled early but ended the game with the biggest TD pass in the past five years for Auburn, a lob into the hands of Seth Williams with nine seconds to play. The lone loss by a true freshman belongs to Brett Gabbert at Miami (Ohio), who actually looked pretty good against Iowa, throwing for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

Sell: Dan Mullen as the best old guy dancer in college football

Mullen's moves during a Week 1 win last year gave hope to middle-aged guys everywhere, but they pale in comparison to Mack Brown's ability to get jiggy with it. Ever wonder what your grandfather would look like at a Bruno Mars concert? Wonder no more. (Also, did Mack throw a little Macarena in there? Nice.)

Mack Brown, the legendary coach with legendary moves ? pic.twitter.com/OgF4KDs1Vk

— ESPN (@espn) September 1, 2019

Week 1 at the sportsbook

• Hunter Johnson needed to make a play to give Northwestern a chance at a win, but bettors on the Wildcats (6.5-point underdogs) wish he'd have just taken a knee. With less than a minute to play and Northwestern trailing by three, Johnson was sacked and fumbled, and Stanford's Jordan Fox recovered in the end zone to secure a 17-7 Cardinal win. Worse, a Northwestern lineman had a good shot at the fumble, which had he recovered would've resulted in a safety -- and a 1.5-point cover for the Wildcats.

• There probably weren't too many folks with Georgia State money-line tickets, but, boy, did it pay out big. The Panthers' outright win paid 12-to-1. Before that game, SEC teams favored by at least 24 points were 129-4 in the past 15 seasons.

• The over/under for Iowa State and Northern Iowa was a paltry 42 at William Hill US, but the two teams still didn't come close to hitting the total in regulation. After 60 minutes, they were tied at 13. Unfortunately for under bettors, three overtimes followed, and Iowa State prevailed 29-26, making the final total was 55. Another line on our long list of reasons bets should be official at the end of regulation.

• Alabama covered the first-half spread in its first 10 games last season, going into the locker room up an average margin of 29 points. Since then, though, the Tide have gotten off to some shaky starts and are just 1-5 against the spread. They went to the half tied with the Citadel at 10 (seriously, that happened), led Auburn by only three in last year's Iron Bowl, trailed Georgia by seven in the SEC title game and, of course, were getting thumped 31-16 against Clemson in the national championship game. Saturday, the Tide were favored by 23 in the first half against Duke, but were up just 14-3 at the midpoint. The second halves, however, have gone far better.

Lines courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook

UGA/Clemson QB power rankings

1. Justin Fields: In his Ohio State debut, the former Georgia QB who (in ESPN's rankings) also edged out Trevor Lawrence as 2018's top recruit, Fields dominated FAU, accounting for 295 yards and five touchdowns.

2. Trevor Lawrence: He didn't do much with his arm in a win over Georgia Tech, but Lawrence did show he can run a little, which should be a fun little wrinkle for defensive coordinators to consider this season.

3. Jacob Eason: Sure, the opponent wasn't great, but you can't ask for a much better debut than Eason's 349 yards and four touchdown for Washington. Plus with Jake Haener announcing a transfer, Eason now accounts for 50% of the Jakes in the QB room.

4. Jake Fromm: After a fast start, the Georgia offense hit the skids in the second half against Vandy, though the Bulldogs still won with ease. Fromm threw for only 156 yards, the lowest total of his career in a game in which he threw more than 20 passes.

5. Kelly Bryant: He actually played pretty well -- throwing for 423 yards, running for 20 more and tossing two touchdowns -- but you can't lose to Wyoming.

6. Zerrick Cooper: Bryant's former backup at Clemson completed 40-of-52 passes for Jacksonville State but threw two picks and lost 35-14.

7. Hunter Johnson: Clemson's other No. 1-ranked QB recruit turned the ball over three times and was benched at one point for Northwestern. Better days ahead for Johnson, but his debut wasn't a great one.

Heisman top five

1. Travis Etienne, Clemson

Perhaps we've been spending too much time hyping that other Clemson Heisman contender. Etienne was a beast in the Tigers' opener, running for 205 yards and three touchdowns in just 12 carries in a win over Georgia Tech. Etienne had touchdown runs of 48, 14 and 90, which tied a school record for the longest scoring run.

2. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

Duke was no match for Alabama, to no one's surprise. But the Blue Devils actually have a pretty solid secondary, and Tagovailoa absolutely torched the Blue Devils, with only one more incompletion (five) than touchdowns (four).

3. Justin Fields, Ohio State

Five touchdowns in his debut was pretty nice. And let's not forget, Kyler Murray got his Heisman campaign started with a similar performance against FAU last year.

4. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

Sixteen carries, 134 yards, two touchdowns. Not too shabby for a non-Etienne running back.

5. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

Probably not a great sign for your Heisman campaign when a QB's best highlight is a tackle, but credit where is due: Lawrence's take down of Tre Swilling to save a touchdown was pretty darned impressive. Overall, Lawrence's line -- 13-of-23 for 168 yards, two total touchdowns and two picks -- isn't the best start to the season.

Head-scratcher calls of the week

1. The numbers nerds will all tell you that punting is for losers, that coaches should go for it on fourth down almost all the time. David Shaw is not a numbers nerd. Early in the second quarter, K.J. Costello took a sack for a loss of 3 yards. That left Stanford with a fourth-and-10 at the Northwestern 34. Last year, teams converted fourth-and-10 about 39% of the time. Teams beginning a drive between the 30- and 35-yard line scored about 38% of the time. What did Shaw do? Punted. Into the end zone. For a touchback.

2. Mack Brown, on the other hand, wasn't into punting on fourth down. He didn't go for it either, as UNC looked to secure an upset of South Carolina. No, the Tar Heels took a knee on fourth down at midfield with 11 seconds to play, immediately stopping the clock and changing possession. The move clearly showcased Brown's expertise from his time in the TV booth, adding just a bit more drama at the end of the game. Never pick up the clicker when Brown's calling plays.

3. Boise State scored on a seven-play, 69-yard drive to close the gap against Florida State to 31-26. The Seminoles' defense desperately needed a breather. Instead, Kendal Briles called for two deep balls -- both of which fell incomplete. James Blackman was sacked on third down, Florida State punted, and the Broncos scored on the ensuing drive -- and never relinquished the lead.

Honorable mention: USC had a 60-yard kick return negated to open its game against Fresno State because there were two players on the field wearing a No. 7 jersey.

@SECOfficiating comment of the week

We're a little disappointed by the lack of tweets from the new SEC Officiating account on Twitter, but we'll never be disappointed by the replies. Saturday's favorite complaint featured a questionable roughing-the-passer call against Ole Miss, and let's just say it didn't take fans long to chime in.

You have already altered the Ole Miss vs Memphis game... its only the 1st quarter

— Evan Foster (@EvanFos06508829) August 31, 2019

Under-the-radar win of the week

Cincinnati Christian is an NAIA school that played its first football game in 2016. In the three years since, the Eagles were a combined 0-33. Last year, they lost nine of their 11 games by at least 38 points, including defeats of 73-0, 73-7 and 70-14. But you can't keep a good NAIA school down for long, and Cincinnati Christian finally snapped the skid Saturday, toppling mighty (we're guessing) Warner University (which, turns out, is in Florida), 20-17, behind 271 yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Derrick Taylor.

"Our guys have overcome a lot of adversity and have continued to work," head coach (and former West Virginia Mountaineer) Trevor Zeiders said. "They have worked and gotten better, and battled through all of it. I can't say enough about them. Their leadership, their will, and their perseverance has been great."

Under-the-radar play of the week

In the grand scheme of things, the play meant little. Virginia Tech's Zion Debose took a handoff and was stuffed for a loss of a yard. On the tackle were Boston College defenders Marcus Valdez and Richard Yeargin. If that name sounds familiar, that'd be the same Richard Yeargin who appeared destined to be another in the long line of great Clemson defensive ends when he signed with the Tigers in 2014, the same class that included Deshaun Watson. But in the summer of 2017, a car accident resulted in a broken neck, and Yeargin's football career appeared over. Two years later, he was back on the field at BC, a medical marvel, and was in on his first tackle for loss since Nov. 19, 2016.

Mountain Best

The American likes to call itself the sixth member of the Power 5, but the title might actually belong to the Mountain West. How's this for a start to the season? Hawaii tops Arizona in Week 0. Nevada pulls off a stunner on Friday against Purdue. Boise State dominates the second half to beat Florida State in Tallahassee. And Wyoming stuns Missouri in Laramie. Wake Forest's final-minute magic also proved to be the only thing keeping Utah State from adding a fifth win over a Power 5 opponent for the Mountain West. UCLA, Oregon State and Oregon might be a bit nervous for their Week 2 games now, too.

Aged to perfection

The eight Power 5 coaches who are 60 or older went a combined 7-1 in Week 1, with the only loss (David Cutcliffe) coming to another senior (Nick Saban). The wins included victories for Mack Brown and Kansas' Les Miles, both making their debuts with new programs after years out of the game. And while the older coaches in the Group of 5 didn't do quite so well, college football's oldest head coach, Ohio's Frank Solich (74), cruised to a 41-20 win over Rhode Island.

Where's the G?

Reminder to fans everywhere: If you've painted your chest, you can't just wander off for more nachos any time you feel like it. It's called being a good teammate.

Greatest sport. pic.twitter.com/GMbHFvDh6S

— David Ubben (@davidubben) September 1, 2019

You can't go home again

Two years ago, Idaho made the rare decision to leave FBS and drop down a level to FCS. Since then, the Vandals have played three games against FBS teams and it has not gone well. On Saturday, Penn State played the role of tormenter, demolishing Idaho 79-7. That comes after the Vandals lost last year to Fresno State (79-13) and Florida (63-10). So, in three games, Idaho has given up 221 points to FBS opponents. In that same span, seven current FBS teams have allowed fewer, all playing at least 11 games against other FBS opponents, including Clemson, which has surrendered only 204 in 15 such games.

SHANGHAI -- Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum are probably going to win a lot of games with the Boston Celtics over the next few years. Sunday they combined to play important roles in their first consequential win together as Team USA opened the FIBA World Cup with a 88-67 victory over the Czech Republic.

Tatum and Walker combined for 20 points in the first half as the U.S. got some separation after a bit of a sluggish start. The Americans played only five exhibition games -- some of their competition in the tournament played more than 10 -- and had revolving lineups and personnel, which made the start of pool play a bit of a soft open for this roster.

But Tatum has shot the ball well since the group got together for training camp a month ago in Las Vegas, and he drilled two 3-pointers out of the gate to keep that going. Tatum finished with 10 points.

Meanwhile the Czechs' game plan was to attack the smaller Walker with their best player, Tomas Satoransky, who has roughly 6 inches on him. Time after time, Satoransky went to the post to try to push around Walker.

The Chicago Bulls gave Satoransky a three-year, $30 million deal over the summer, in part, because of his ball skills for his size. But then the Celtics gave Walker $140 million because he's a star who is used to playing against size.

Walker (13 points) held his own, poking the ball away several times and not being afraid to foul when he lost leverage. At the other end, his quickness busted the overmatched Czech perimeter repeatedly. His stop-and-go actions and quick side-to-side moves drew "ohs" and "ahs" from the capacity crowd at the Oriental Sports Center.

Walker's performance was part of a strong U.S. defensive effort, which coach Gregg Popovich is hoping will be the bedrock of this team's run toward a third consecutive World Cup title. The Czechs shot only 35% in the first half as the Americans blocked five shots and pressured them out of their offense.

Popovich wants energy from his defense and he kept players fresh, playing 10 of them in the first quarter alone.

In the second half, Donovan Mitchell (16 points) and Harrison Barnes (14 points) provided much of the offensive punch as Team USA expanded the lead and was able to get its first win without much stress.

Star of the game: Walker ended up 6-of-8 from the field for 13 points along with four assists and a steal.

Stat of the game: After going just 2-of-14 from 3-point range in their last exhibition game against Canada, the Americans went 10-of-26 for a much better showing.

Up next: The Americans play their second of three pool games against Turkey on Tuesday (ESPN+, 8:30 a.m. ET). This is a rematch of the 2010 World Championship Game, and the Turkish team is likely the toughest competition in this pool for Team USA. It has three current NBA players: Cedi Osman, Ersan Ilyasova and Furkan Korkmaz, plus former NBA player Semih Erden. Ilyasova had 19 points and made five 3-pointers in Turkey's 19-point win over Japan on Sunday night.

Kevin Pelton's NBA mailbag returns, featuring your questions on how Team USA would do against the rest of the league, how long to believe in potential for high draft picks, gaps between advanced stats and the eye test and veteran players signing international deals.

You can tweet your questions using the hashtag #peltonmailbag or email them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If the USA FIBA roster were an actual team in the NBA, how many wins would you project them to have in 2020? Let's assume in the western conf. Would they have home court in the playoffs? #peltonmailbag

— Bryan Rahija (@bryanrahija) August 27, 2019

Here's a look at how the final USA roster for the FIBA World Cup would rate in my projections based on ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) along with my guess at an NBA-style rotation:

Based on those minutes, this team would be projected for an offense 3.2 points per 100 possessions better than league average (tied with the LA Clippers for third) and a defense 3.1 points per 100 possessions better (tops among teams in this season's projections). The net result is a projected 56.4 wins on average against a neutral schedule, which would lead this year's RPM projections.

This is a good reminder that when we compare this roster to its USA Basketball predecessors, that's a really high bar. There's still a lot of talent on this team. Consider that the roster includes arguably the top four players on the 2019-20 Boston Celtics, whose 47.4-win projection ranks fifth factoring in schedule. If you swapped out the remaining Boston players for the rest of the USA roster, that team would look like a title contender if not favorite based on the surplus of starting-caliber players.

That said, I gave this roster the benefit of treating players as if they were with their current team, which matters because of the adjustment for players who change teams. (Of this group, only Kemba Walker did this summer.) If you instead treat all 12 players as new to their team, the projection drops to 47.2 wins on average with an offense barely better than league average. That probably better reflects the challenge for the U.S. in the World Cup. Even a lesser USA roster is still far more talented than its opponents, but other national teams have superior chemistry after years of playing together in some form or another. Under first-time coach Gregg Popovich, the U.S. has to build that kind of cohesion on the fly.

"What's the statute of limitations on potential for high draft picks?" -- Kevin P.

I was inspired to answer my own question after seeing a report by my former colleague Ian Begley of SNY that Hasheem Thabeet has been playing 5-on-5 with members of the New York Knicks ahead of training camp. Thabeet is still inevitably referred to as the No. 2 pick, but by this stage of his career -- a decade after he was taken between Blake Griffin and James Harden -- that distinction obviously no longer holds any predictive power.

To try to study the question of how a player's draft status loses meaning over time, I looked at a cohort of players who entered the league between 2001 and 2010. For this group, I tried to project their wins above replacement player (WARP) over the next five seasons based on their WARP the previous campaign, age and draft pick. (To quantify draft status in a meaningful way and incorporate undrafted players, I used the average pick value that's part of my consensus draft projections.) Then I went year by year in terms of experience.

Studying the issue this way showed the value of draft pedigree declining over the course of a player's first four seasons in the league. Here are the year-by-year coefficients as well as the difference between a player drafted first, 10th, 31st and undrafted so as to give some context for what it means:

After a player's rookie season, their draft status still tells us a lot about the kind of career they're going to have even after accounting for how they played as a rookie. At the extreme, we'd expect a No. 1 pick to produce nearly 13 more WARP over the next five seasons than an undrafted rookie who performed identically at the same age. The value of potential is still evident after Year 2, but by the end of rookie contracts for first-round picks, the difference between the No. 1 pick and an undrafted player is just three WARP over the next five years. In fact, as soon as Year 3, the value of draft status isn't a statistically significant amount different from zero. So it appears that the statute of limitations on potential in fact runs out pretty quickly.

Where do you see the biggest gap between advanced stats and what you see when you watch the game? #peltonmailbag

— Myles Moose (@MylesMoose) August 29, 2019

I have two answers to this question. The obvious one is defense: the box-score stats we have fail to capture much of what happens on defense, and it's difficult to tease an individual player's influence out of plus-minus data. So inevitably, there's going to be a bigger difference between what I see on defense -- keeping an eye on how players rotate defensively or handle the pick-and-roll -- and those numbers.

The more interesting answer is I think I have a tough time seeing what players aren't doing when I'm watching a game. They can stay out of the way, not make a lot of mistakes and look OK. This is often a standard we apply to rookies. But one of the lessons of plus-minus data is that simply avoiding negative plays isn't enough. Players also need to regularly influence the game in a positive way to be strong contributors.

#peltonmailbag there seems to be an unusual amount of veteran bench players signing international deals rather than finding NBA opportunities. Does the data back that up and what could be possible causes?

— staved (@danielstave) August 26, 2019

I'd had the same observation, influenced by the number of players from my list of best remaining free agents by skill set as of last month who have yet to find NBA teams. (Only four of the 15 players I listed have signed, with Jeremy Lin the latest to sign abroad.)

It's a little tricky to quantify this, but there are 11 players who had at least 1,000 minutes of playing time last season and haven't signed NBA deals so far this offseason. It turns out that number isn't so unusual. There were nine such players around this time last year and a whopping 14 as of the start of September 2017 (not counting a handful of restricted free agents who were at contract impasses with their former teams, who aren't comparable). So I think this is a case where the current examples always seem more salient than past ones, like Monta Ellis going from playing nearly 2,000 minutes in 2016-17 to out of the league the following summer.

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Giants right-hander Reyes Moronta will undergo an MRI on his throwing shoulder after leaving Saturday night's 4-1 loss to the San Diego Padres.

Manager Bruce Bochy said after the game that Moronta suffered an acute shoulder strain.

Moronta fell off the mound and writhed on the grass after throwing a 98-mph fastball to Luis Urias on his third pitch. The reliever delivered a swinging strike, but recoiled with a yell before dropping to the ground. He held his right arm gingerly as he walked off with the help of a trainer.

The 26-year-old came into the game in relief of rookie Logan Webb with two outs in the sixth inning.

"There's no question there's concern. We have to wait for the [MRI] results though,'' Bochy said. "It's a tough break for Reyes. He's one of our guys and I'm sure he's going to be down for a while.''

Moronta was 3-7 with a 2.86 ERA in 55 relief appearances entering Saturday. The second-year player has 70 strikeouts in 56⅔ innings.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

There it is! Or, rather, there it goes! The Minnesota Twins blasted their way into the record books Saturday night, hitting their 263rd, 264th, 265th, 266th, 267th and 268th home runs of the season, breaking the single-season record of 267 set by the New York Yankees way back in ... 2018.

In a game that perhaps perfectly sums up the entire barrage of home runs in 2019, the Twins lost 10-7 to the Tigers, however. It was the first time in franchise history the Twins hit five home runs in a game and lost -- they had been 49-0. (They're not alone in this category this season. Ten other teams have hit at least five home runs and lost, and two of those hit six.)

While it's not a surprise the Yankees' record failed to last, no one would have predicted in March that the Twins would be the first team to beat it. They hit 166 home runs in 2018, ranking just 12th in the American League. Eddie Rosario led the team with 24. This year, they already have six players with at least 24 home runs: Max Kepler (36), Nelson Cruz (34), Rosario (27), Miguel Sano (26), Mitch Garver (26) and C.J. Cron (24). With 27 games to play, the Twins are on pace for 321 home runs -- nearly doubling their total from last season.

In honor of the record-breaking night, let's look at back at the Twins' top 10 home run highlights on the season ... so far:

April 9: Mitch Garver homers twice off Jacob deGrom

Believe it or not, the Twins hit only one home run in their first five games. They then hit six in three games against the Phillies, and broke out against an unlikely pitcher when they hit six home runs in a 14-8 win over the Mets -- three of those coming off deGrom (who entered the game with a 26-inning scoreless streak, which Garver broke with a second-inning home run).

Garver has been a remarkable story. He had a solid season as the primary starter as a 27-year-old rookie in 2018, hitting seven home runs in 302 at-bats. With Jason Castro back from a knee injury and the promise of Willians Astudillo, it looked like a three-way timeshare behind the plate this year.

That's how it started, but Garver started hitting and then kept on hitting and kept on getting more time. He's hitting .273/.353/.619 and has even hit leadoff 20 times, which he did Saturday.

Overall, Twins catchers have hit 39 home runs, so they should be break the MLB record of 43 shared by the 1953 Dodgers (41 by Roy Campanella), 1997 Dodgers (40 by Mike Piazza), 1999 Mets (40 by Piazza) and 2003 Braves (all by Javy Lopez).

April 20: Twins blast eight home runs in a 16-7 win at Baltimore

In the second game of a doubleheader, Garver, Cruz and Jonathan Schoop each hit two home runs. Those are three of the Twins' 29 individual multihomer games of 2019 -- yes, that's another record. Cruz leads the way with six such games and Schoop has five.

May 23: Twins blast eight home runs in a 16-7 win in Anaheim

The Twins had another eight-homer game with an identical winning score. This came during a stretch in which the Twins won 11 of 12 games and belted 31 home runs. And none of those games were against the Orioles. Minnesota became only the second team with two eight-homer games in one season, joining the 2005 Rangers. To show how impressive the Twins have been, at this point they had hit 98 home runs in 49 games, a season pace of 324 -- so they've basically maintained a consistent 320-homer pace all season. "We've had some games this season where we have hit a lot of homers," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "It's not as if our guys go up there swinging for the fences." Hmm.

June 6: Max Kepler crushes three home runs

This was the Max Kepler Game as the Twins beat the Indians 5-4 with Kepler hitting all three home runs off Trevor Bauer as he went 4-for-4 with a walk and four RBIs. Kepler had entered the game hitless in his previous 21 at-bats. He had a chance for a fourth home run in the ninth inning against Cleveland reliever Josh Smith, but he could manage only an infield single. "Some days you don't see the ball great. Other days you see it like a beach ball," Kepler said.

June 18: Kepler ties score in bottom of 13th

Or maybe this was the Max Kepler Game. Facing the Red Sox, Kepler didn't even enter until the sixth inning, but then he did this: tied the score with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, led off the bottom of the 13th with a tying home run, won it with an RBI single in the 17th for a 4-3 victory. His home run in this game is the Twins' only extra-inning long ball so far.

July 25: Nelson Cruz hits three home runs

The old man can still bring it. This was part of a seven-homer week for Cruz as he homered in five straight games, including three times -- all off Lucas Giolito -- in a 10-3 win over the White Sox. Cruz had two shots at a fourth home run but struck out and flew out.

Aug. 3: Nelson Cruz hits three home runs ... again

In an 11-3 win over the Royals, Cruz hit another three.

Aug. 5: Miguel Sano hits walk-off home run

In a 5-3 win over the Braves, Sano entered as a pinch hitter with two outs and a runner on in the bottom of the ninth, and delivered the Twins' only walk-off home run of 2019.

Aug. 13: Marwin Gonzalez homers off Josh Hader

Down 5-4 in the top of the eighth, the Twins got two on with two outs and the Brewers brought in the All-Star left-hander to flip the switch-hitting Gonzalez over to his right side. He jumped all over a first-pitch fastball.

Aug. 31: Mitch Garver hits the record-breaker

OK, maybe it was a bit anticlimactic in the 10-7 loss for the #BombaSquad, but here it is:

2️⃣6️⃣8️⃣ pic.twitter.com/mNC58pnaNO

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 1, 2019

Twins home runs by month:
March/April: 50
May: 56
June: 51
July: 52
August: 59

The single-season leaders:
2019 Twins: 268
2018 Yankees: 267
1997 Mariners: 264
2005 Rangers: 260

Oh, by the way, the Twins better not slow down in September. The Yankees are within striking distance with 254 home runs.

Olympic marathoner clocks 3:07:20 to break the world record and lead a GB 1-2 in Romania

Britain’s Aly Dixon has won gold at the IAU 50km World Championships in Brasov, Romania, also breaking the world record for the distance in her very first ultra marathon.

The Olympic marathoner clocked 3:07:20 to take the title on Sunday, leading a GB one-two ahead of Helen Davies, who ran 3:09:16. Spain’s Alicia Perez claimed bronze in 3:15:09.

Top 3 Women (provisional results)
1. Alyson Dixon (GBR) 3.07.20
2. Helen Davies (GBR) 3.09.16
3. Alicia Perez (ESP) 3.15.09 pic.twitter.com/zHXJeXeref

— IAU (@iaunews) September 1, 2019

Another individual medal for the GB team was claimed by Dan Nash as he finished third in 2:49:01 in a men’s race won by Spain’s Iraitz Arrospide in 2:47:42. South Africa’s Lungile Gongqa was second in 2:48:26.

Nash’s time improves the GB record of 2:53:41 set by former Olympic marathoner Jeff Norman in 1985.

A total of 17 athletes finished inside three hours in the men’s event, including Nash’s team-mates Paul Martelletti (2:55:39) and Alex Milne (2:56:20), who placed 14th and 15th respectively.

Kevin Rojas clocked 3:01:22 in 20th.

Behind Dixon and Davies, Julie Briscoe completed the team scoring for GB, clocking 3:22:57 in ninth, while Hannah Oldroyd ran 3:26:00 for 12th and Dani Nimmock clocked 3:30:22 for 20th.

Dixon, who has a best of 2:29:06 for 26.2 miles, or 42.195km, led from the start and went through 23km in 85 minutes before clocking 2:32:58 through the 41km checkpoint.

Crossing the finish line with 3:07:20 on the clock, the 40-year-old takes more than a minute off the previous world record of 3:08:39 set by South Africa’s Frith van der Merwe in 1989.

Dixon will be returning to the roads next weekend with another world record in mind as she attempts to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest superhero to run a half-marathon. Back on home soil, she’ll race the Simplyhealth Great North Run dressed as Wonder Woman.

More to follow…