An offseason of anger for the Los Angeles Dodgers again boiled over Monday as third baseman Justin Turner took aim at Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.

Turner took umbrage with the commissioner's characterization of the World Series trophy a day after Manfred called it a "piece of metal" when talking with ESPN's Karl Ravech about the possibility of stripping the Houston Astros of their 2017 title.

"I don't know if the commissioner has ever won anything in his life," Turner told reporters Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Maybe he hasn't. But the reason every guy's in this room, the reason every guy is working out all offseason, and showing up to camp early and putting in all the time and effort is specifically for that trophy, which, by the way, is called the commissioner's trophy.

"So for him to devalue it the way he did yesterday just tells me how out of touch he is with the players in this game. At this point the only thing devaluing that trophy is that it says 'commissioner' on it."

Turner remains displeased with the punishment meted out by MLB in the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal. Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch were suspended for a year and ultimately fired by the team, yet no active players were disciplined.

"Now anyone who goes forward and cheats to win a World Series," Turner said, "they can live with themselves knowing that, 'Oh, it's OK. ... We'll cheat in the World Series and bring the title back to L.A. Screw [manager] Dave Roberts and screw [general manager] Andrew [Friedman]. It's just those guys losing their jobs. I still get to be called a champion the rest of my life.' So the precedent was set by him yesterday in this case."

Turner added that he doesn't think Manfred did enough to uncover everything the Astros may have been doing in their sign-stealing scheme. The league's investigation revealed a system in which the Astros were able to decipher a catcher's signs in real time and relay them to the batter via bangs on a trash can.

"I think it all comes down to everyone keeps saying, 'The facts, the facts. You don't know the facts. These are the facts,'" Turner said. "I don't think anyone knows the facts. I think everyone just wants to hear all the facts. And I think that the commissioner didn't do a good job of revealing all the facts to us. I still think there's some stuff we don't know."

Turner is the latest member of the Dodgers, losers of the 2017 World Series to the Astros, to sound off about Houston.

Closer Kenley Jansen called the Astros' cheating "worse than steroids." Right-hander Ross Stripling said he would "lean toward yes" when asked whether he'd bean a Houston player if he were given the chance in a game. And reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger went scorched earth, going as far as to say the Astros stole the 2017 World Series from the Dodgers and that Houston second baseman Jose Altuve stole the AL MVP award that year from Aaron Judge of the Yankees.

ON A VARNISHED floor in a 1970s prefab metal building, Joe Gilbert pushes his broom back and forth, back and forth in the quiet Barnsdall High School gym.

Slightly hunched with a weathered face and tightly cropped white hair that takes 10 minutes to trim -- "Timed it the other day," he says -- Gilbert, 87, keeps a brisk pace so he can make sure the place is tidy and ready.

His final lap complete, Gilbert stashes the broom and flips on the overhead lights in Joe Gilbert Fieldhouse. Soon, the girls' basketball players arrive for a scrimmage on this unseasonably chilly October day. A chorus of "Hi, Gilb!" precedes the drumbeat of dribbles.

Gilbert lugged 3,907 varsity coaching victories into his 66th year at this tiny school in Northeast Oklahoma. The National Federation of State High School Associations can't find anyone with more. It also can't find anyone who can match his longevity at the same school. Gilbert took the job in 1954, back when there were 48 states and Elvis Presley was launching his music career, and never left.

He has coached baseball, softball, basketball (boys' and girls') and football. He has coached during the terms of 12 U.S. presidents. He has coached three generations of Barnsdall families. One of the players on his first boys' basketball team went on to become an assistant secretary of defense under George W. Bush. One of his baseball players won the Jim Thorpe Award as the state's top male high school athlete.

But winds of change blow in this former oil boomtown. Gilbert used to teach physical education and health and served as the school's athletic director. Until recently, Gilbert walked the two blocks to school from his one-story home on Main Street. Until now, Gilbert always coached multiple sports, even doubling up with boys' and girls' basketball during the winter and baseball and softball in the spring. This year, he's down to just one.

Gilbert spent much of the winter dodging a question with the agility of a much younger man. Could the man who helped shape the future for thousands of Barnsdall's children, the man who has been the face of their shrinking community, the man with the most wins in the history of high school sports, be ready to walk off the court for good?

THE 1959 DISTRICT boys' basketball playoff game was slipping away from the Barnsdall Panthers, and with it the end of senior captain Thomas Hall's high school hoops career. He wasn't handling it well. Hall flailed around the court in the futile hope that sheer energy could somehow prevent what appeared to be certain defeat.

Hall had been a 120-pound incoming freshman who believed he was too small to play football. So he approached the high school's new basketball and baseball coach and expressed his desire to play both sports.

"All you've got to do is try," Gilbert told him. "Give me everything you've got."

Now, with the clock tick, tick, ticking toward zero, Gilbert subbed out Hall, who crash-landed onto the bench. "Coach," he blurted. "I can't get up. I gave it all I've got."

"That's all I could ever expect," Gilbert replied.

It's a memory Hall took with him to his graduation from the Naval Academy, through 60 missions in Vietnam before retiring as a two-star rear admiral, and to his appointment as assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs under George W. Bush and his service under Barack Obama.

"I gave it everything I had because of him," says Hall, now retired in Jacksonville, Florida. "And whatever success I've had I owe to him. ... He was my role model."

Hall contributed to Gilbert's 801 wins in baseball and his 649 in boys' basketball. Gilbert also has 1,140 wins in fast-pitch softball, 922 in girls' basketball (counting five this season), 395 in slow-pitch softball and five in football. (On the eve of the 1980 football season, the Panthers' head coach abruptly left for another job. Gilbert reluctantly held down the fort until a replacement was found.) Gilbert's teams have won two state championships -- baseball in 1980 and slow-pitch in the spring of 2013.

By all accounts, the players always came before the numbers for Gilbert.

"I don't think there has been a better ambassador for Barnsdall," says Russell McCauley, a combo guard for Gilbert in the early 1970s, his assistant basketball coach for 20 years until 2003 and his boss as principal before retiring six years ago.

That's why the BHS gym built in 1973 is now named for Gilbert. That's why Barnsdall's athletes and even its competitors refer to him as "the legend." That's why most of the people in town can't imagine him not coaching there.

Says Hall: "I heard a person once say if you stick your finger down in a bucket of water and pull it out, it'll fill up. He's the one person I think if he sticks his finger in a bucket of water and pulls it out, there'll still be a hole that'll never get filled."

A FEW BLOCKS from Gilbert's bungalow on Main Street, a once-active oil pump jack sits smack dab in the middle of the street (traffic can squeeze by carefully on both sides). Dug in 1914, it stopped midpump sometime in the mid-1960s. Nearby businesses are shuttered. The train depot that anchored the town, originally named Bigheart in honor of revered Chief James Bigheart of the Osage, closed years ago.

Barnsdall's population had already dipped below 2,000 back in 1954 when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and a 21-year-old Joe Gilbert accepted a job as the PE and health teacher and was asked to coach multiple sports. Gilbert said he mulled four other job offers before accepting the one at Barnsdall, which included coaching boys' and girls' basketball. (He was completely unfamiliar with the girls' basketball rules in Oklahoma in the 1950s -- six players per side with three each never crossing midcourt.) His starting salary was $2,400, with an additional $500 for coaching.

"This town used to be a pretty good-sized place," Gilbert says. "We had four grocery stores. Two big hotels. A train comes in town. Get on a bus. Had four doctors."

Barnsdall still celebrates Bigheart Day each Memorial Day weekend with a parade down Main Street. Gilbert served as a co-grand marshal one year.

About 10 years ago, Barnsdall, along with many other school districts in Oklahoma, went to a four-day school week to save money. Jimmy Hatfield, who runs Hatfield's Grill on the south edge of town, explains that Barnsdall's economic struggles are no different from those in other area towns -- except for the upswing in Pawhuska.

"They've got the Pioneer Woman," he says of the Food Network star's hometown.

Gilbert grew up some 300 miles away, the second of four siblings in Buffalo, Missouri ("Miz-zou-rah," he pronounces it), during the 1940s, idolizing Stan Musial, Enos "Country" Slaughter and the St. Louis Cardinals. It seemed as if there was always some kind of game going on outside when the weather was nice; there was no television to watch at home.

He was recruited to Northeastern State Teachers College in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to play football and became a four-sport standout at what's now called Northeastern State University.

One member of Gilbert's first girls' basketball team at Barnsdall was Joyce Infield, who was also a cheerleader and in the state honor society. Ten years after Infield graduated, she became Joyce Gilbert. She was a teacher at Barnsdall's elementary school until retiring in 1992, the same year that her husband was inducted into Northeastern State's athletic Hall of Fame. She often supervised the concession stand at her husband's home games and kept the scorebook at his away games.

The Gilberts have owned several family bulldogs over the years, all named Duke, but they never had any children.

"I think we were all his children," McCauley says.

Gilbert laughs at the idea. "I don't know about that."

MILES FROM HOME, hungry and in need of a break, Joe Gilbert parks the bus. The boys' and girls' basketball players beeline for the restaurant's entrance. For years, BHS players have referred to this place as "Gilbert's Steakhouse" -- except they serve burgers and you'd recognize it by the golden arches.

The players jostle in line as if they haven't eaten in days.

One player (take your pick of a name) hangs back. Gilbert recognizes this isn't a case of a player who lacks an appetite. Far from it. Instead, it's a player who lacks the means to buy a burger and a soda. Discreetly, Gilbert pays for the player's meal. The boys and girls climb back onto the bus trading fries and barbs as the Barnsdall brigade heads for home.

Whether in Bartlesville, Glenpool or Skiatook, it's a scene replayed time and time again over the years.

"I'm a lucky guy. I got to do what I liked." Joe Gilbert

No one has tracked the number of burgers bought on the sly or the number of sneakers or cleats or gloves that have been quietly provided to a player who couldn't afford proper equipment. Wilma Logue certainly hasn't kept a ledger, but she could probably venture the best guess. She arrived at Barnsdall High School in 1955 and still teaches AP English; the school library is now named for her.

"His influence has been the glue that has held everything together athletically," Logue says.

It took 25 years -- until 1980, when Jimmy Carter was president -- for Gilbert to claim his first state championship, the Class A boys baseball title. His Panthers edged Fort Cobb High 2-1 in the final. Cleve Javine was the team's senior third baseman and recalls his coach's celebration: "Excited -- for us. ... He didn't really take any of the credit."

Brad Bell was the star. The senior pitcher-shortstop won the state's Jim Thorpe Award in 1979-80 after excelling in football and basketball. Later, he was part of four College World Series teams at Oklahoma State.

"He was very much a teacher," Bell says from his home in Denver. "More than anything, he wanted you to learn from your mistakes."

Sport seasons don't overlap at little BHS. That baseball team began practice on a frigid Sunday in February only hours after many of its players ended their basketball season with a state semifinal loss. Well, baseball practice started that day only after Gilbert and his players reinstalled the outfield fence; the field was used for parking during basketball season.

Gilbert said he had multiple opportunities over the years to leave Barnsdall for a job at a larger high school or a junior college. "And then I looked, and I'd think, 'Sports is sports wherever you're at,'" he says.

The Gilbert approach has been relatively low-key, with humor and honesty mixed with discipline. His go-to motivational phrase? "Get meaner! Eat raw meat!"

"He doesn't have a filter," says Jasmine Shores, a senior on the 2018 and '19 softball teams. "He made practices fun. I loved playing for him."

Some who are unfamiliar with Gilbert's relationship with Barnsdall students are unnerved by how his players address him. It's never "Coach" or "Coach Gilbert." Not even "Joe." It's typically "Gilbert" or "Gilb." BHS T-shirts at last spring's softball state tournament included the hashtag #doitforgilb.

"My goal never was just commitment to one school forever," Gilbert says. "I wasn't trying to prove anything: Just be happy doing whatever you're doing. I'm a lucky guy. I got to do what I liked."

HE COMMANDED THE steering wheel, but Joe Gilbert wasn't happy about where he was headed. An event on his calendar last summer called for attire that could be found in no closet in his house and in no shop in Barnsdall. Begrudgingly, he buckled up for the 40-mile trip to Tulsa and nudged his 2004 Malibu closer to the 200,000-mile mark.

Gilbert had spent 65 years employed at one school. He had shed 20 pounds, down to 170, since his arrival in 1954. He had worn plenty of jackets (mainly of the windbreaker variety for softball and baseball games) and donned plenty of ties (he likes to pay tribute to the game of basketball by wearing a dress shirt and necktie on the sideline). And, by his count, "I've swept more floors and mopped more floors than anybody that ever lived."

But he had attended exactly zero black-tie affairs.

Minutes before the National High School Hall of Fame 2019 induction ceremony in Indianapolis, former major league All-Star (and new Houston Astros manager) Dusty Baker volunteered to help Gilbert put on his bow tie. Gilbert and Baker were two of 12 honorees that night. Former Indiana basketball star Damon Bailey was honored. So too were former NFL All-Pro Derrick Brooks and current WNBA star Seimone Augustus.

Gilbert could only shake his head.

"What's Joe Gilbert from Barnsdall, Oklahoma, doing with these kind of people?" he said. "Ol' country boy from Barnsdall."

THE TEMPERATURE HOVERED near triple digits when the Barnsdall fast-pitch softball team took the field for its first game of the 2019-20 season. For the first time, Joe Gilbert sat out. For the first time, a Barnsdall softball team played a season without Gilbert as its coach.

Gilbert still helped maintain the field and lent his hand with the scheduling, but Brooke Curtis, who had served as Gilbert's assistant for softball and basketball the year before, took over the softball coaching duties this past fall.

"It was different, I'll put it that way," Gilbert says. "I don't know really how to say it. You know that you could still be doing it -- you wanted to -- but you didn't elect to do it."

"He didn't even really come to practice," Curtis says.

"I stayed completely out of the way," Gilbert says.

That's not the case back at the basketball scrimmage on the unseasonably cool October day. Gilbert paces the baseline and chatters, cajoles and coaches his players. Among the players is senior point guard Kyndal LeFlore.

In the stands are two former Gilbert protégés: Kyndal's mom, Mikki LeFlore, and Kyndal's grandfather Dale Javine. "Things he says now is just like hearing him back in the '80s," Mikki says.

But Gilbert notices the passage of time and the change in his players.

"I adjust with the kids, and I study the game a lot," Gilbert says. "I scout, scout and scout some more. The games have gotten a lot faster. And the kids have more things to do; that's the biggest change. Used to be if you played sports in high school, that was it."

Dale Javine, Kyndal LeFlore's 77-year-old grandfather, isn't surprised that his junior high coach from 65 years ago is still at it. "Hadn't buried him yet," he says.

JOE GILBERT SPREADS his lean arms as far as possible, corrals an errant pass, pivots and shoots. The ball swishes through the net. "Play big," he instructs a post player at a recent practice.

The Lady Panthers lug a 5-15 record into Monday's regular-season finale at Caney Valley and are unlikely to advance far in the state playoffs. Injury and illness have left the team with just seven players for much of the season. Plenty of opposing coaches, Gilbert jokes, have gotten payback on him this season.

This past Friday, on Valentine's Day, a group of about 80 "Gilb alumni" gathered at Joe Gilbert Fieldhouse for the team's regular-season finale to pay tribute to their former coach. Principal Sayra Bryant told the crowd she wanted Gilbert to see the impact he has made in Barnsdall over 66 years. She presented him with a new warm-up jacket and a gift card to "Gilbert's Steakhouse."

"I kind of fell into a gold mine here," Gilbert says, facing his players who helped push his win total to 3,912 this season. "Each boy and girl was very, very important to me whether you sat on the end of the bench or whether you were the top dog."

It feels like a sendoff, but school board president Carl Kelley (naturally, a former Gilbert athlete) says there's an understanding that Gilbert alone will decide when his Barnsdall career will end. And that time is not now, Gilbert says. Not with the way this season has played out. Not yet.

"I've told them that I'm going to coach the girls for one more year," Gilbert says in the days leading up to the home finale. He barely takes a breath before detailing how excited he is about next year's roster.

McKenna Bryant will be a sophomore in 2020-21 and recently told her mom she wants to play her entire high school career for "Gilb." Bryant, basketball mom and Barnsdall principal, did the math and made sure her daughter understood that Gilbert would be 90 years old when she's a senior.

McKenna replied with the speed of a touch pass.

"So?"

With nearly 6.5 million viewers tuned in to an epic dunk-off between Aaron Gordon and Derrick Jones Jr., the 2020 slam dunk contest helped launch each player not only to new heights on the hardwood, but also in the marketing world.

In the aftermath of his narrowly claimed slam dunk contest win, Jones signed a multiyear footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Puma, adding the 6-foot-6 high-flyer to a select group of NBA and WNBA athlete partners with the company.

Jones wore a white and pink Puma Clyde Hardwood sneaker to sync with the Heat's colorful "Vice Nights" jerseys in the contest, while showcasing a variety of between-the-legs and windmill dunks. The brand offered him the endorsement deal shortly after he carried home the trophy on All-Star Saturday Night, which coincided with his 23rd birthday.

"This is a day that I'm going to tell my kids [about]," he said.

Earlier in the week, Gordon landed his own high-profile sneaker deal in anticipation of the dunk contest's platform, signing a signature shoe deal with Chinese brand 361 Degrees.

Puma has circled Jones throughout the season, sending product to South Beach in recent months as the two sides worked toward a deal, and Jones tested the sneakers. With the 2020 slam dunk trophy and a new sneaker deal now in hand, Jones is already looking to defend his title next season in Indianapolis.

"As a kid, I told my father I was going to win one, and I got it," he said. "So I'm going to go get another one next year."

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been elected as a vice president of the National Basketball Players Association.

Irving replaces Pau Gasol on the NBPA executive committee. Gasol's three-year term expired.

"This was the right time for me to run for a leadership position in the NBPA," Irving said. "I have been an observer and a participant in union affairs for a while, but for the most part, I was off on the sidelines, supporting our Executive Committee as they made important decisions. At this point in my career, I wanted to join forces with those guys and take a bigger role outside of the basketball court and within our union."

Irving joins the NBPA's executive committee, which also features Chris Paul (president), Andre Iguodala (first VP), Anthony Tolliver (secretary-treasurer), and vice presidents Bismack Biyombo, Malcolm Brogdon, Jaylen Brown, CJ McCollum and Garrett Temple.

The 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend is in the books, and the second half of the NBA season is upon us. The teams with the two best records were represented by All-Star captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Of the teams without a representative in Chicago, some were taking advantage of much-needed downtime to recover from nagging injuries while others felt their stars were snubbed. Other teams, like the Miami Heat, proved what a threat their young core will be as they compete for top seeding in the West. Here's what our experts are watching as we enter the final two months of the regular season.

Throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Andre' Snellings, Royce Young and Bobby Marks and The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.

Previous rankings: Week 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Training camp | Free agency | Post-Finals

1. Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 46-8
Week 17 ranking: 1

The Bucks' primary mission: Finish the season healthy and playing well, and prepared for the playoffs. They still have a legitimate shot at 70 wins, but their loss to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals last season weighs heavily on the minds of fans, analysts and the team itself. With a 6½-game lead for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, Milwaukee will look to the postseason and focus on winning a title. -- Snellings

This week: @DET, PHI

2. Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 41-12
Week 17 ranking: 2

The Lakers enter the second half of the season with a four-game lead on the second-place Nuggets. Landing the top seed would be very valuable for LeBron James and the Lakers. But keep in mind that it is not out of the realm of possibility for the Clippers to land the fourth seed, which could mean a conference semifinal meeting between the two L.A. teams. -- Spears

This week: MEM, BOS

3. Toronto Raptors
Record: 40-15
Week 17 ranking: 3

The Raptors had their 15-game winning streak snapped in the last game before the All-Star break and currently sit as the second seed in the Eastern Conference. While they are unlikely to catch the top-seeded Bucks, the Raptors are only three games behind the Lakers (41-12) in the loss column for the second-best record in the NBA. With a .727 win percentage and plus-6.3 scoring margin, this season's Raptors are actually slightly ahead of their championship pace (.707 win percentage, plus-5.8 scoring margin) from last season. -- Snellings

This week: PHX, IND

4. Denver Nuggets
Record: 38-17
Week 17 ranking: 4

This season in the West is unlike seasons past, when making sure to be on the opposite side of the bracket's No. 1 seed was a priority. You can't avoid both the Lakers and the Clippers in the second round -- unless they somehow play each other -- so head coach Mike Malone's focus is pretty simple: Spend the next six weeks finding the eight or nine players he trusts most. Denver is solid as one of the West's top four seeds, but preparing for the postseason will be important. -- Young

This week: @OKC, MIN

5. Boston Celtics
Record: 38-16
Week 17 ranking: 5

The final 28 games in the regular season will be all about playoff positioning for Boston. Barring a losing streak -- their longest is three games -- the Celtics, who currently own the No. 3 seed in the East, will likely host their first-round match up. The Celtics are three games ahead of the No. 4 Heat and 2½ games back of the No. 2 Raptors, and there is a distinct advantage to being the No. 2 seed rather than No. 4. In addition to avoiding Milwaukee until the conference finals, leapfrogging the Raptors to claim the No. 2 seed would see Boston likely host Brooklyn, while falling to No. 4 could set up a date with Philadelphia. -- Marks

This week: @MIN, @LAL

6. LA Clippers
Record: 37-18
Week 17 ranking: 6

The Clippers have played 2,655 minutes this season. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have played just 572 of those together. And now Paul George has reinjured his troublesome hamstring, which could cause him to miss a little more time. The Clippers' primary goal down the stretch is simple: Get the top eight rotation players as healthy and as jelled as possible. Because in those 572 minutes that Leonard and George have shared, the Clippers are a plus-9.6 points per 100 possessions. -- Young

This week: SAC

7. Utah Jazz
Record: 36-18
Week 17 ranking: 9

"I know I'm going to be the guy they brought me here to be," Mike Conley told ESPN before he was moved back into the starting lineup. Utah hoped the veteran point guard would be the piece to elevate the Jazz to legitimate contender status, and that's still a possibility. He averaged 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists in four games since rejoining the starting lineup on Feb. 1. -- MacMahon

This week: SAS, HOU

8. Miami Heat
Record: 35-19
Week 17 ranking: 7

Dwyane Wade's jersey will go into the rafters on Feb. 22, a celebration of the Heat's greatest franchise player. That's the first big thing the second half has in store for the Heat, and then it's back to business. Miami is targeting the East's No. 2 seed while integrating the new pieces added at the trade deadline. -- Young

This week: @ATL, CLE

9. Houston Rockets
Record: 34-20
Week 17 ranking: 8

Houston went into the All-Star break fifth in the West standings but within striking distance of the second seed (3½ games back), particularly if Russell Westbrook and James Harden get into an extended groove at the same time. Should home-court advantage for a series or two be a higher priority for Houston than making sure their key players have gas in the tank for the playoffs? Harden and small-ball center P.J. Tucker are the only two on the wrong side of 30 among the 10 players who have logged the most minutes this season. -- MacMahon

This week: @GSW, @UTAH

10. Oklahoma City Thunder
Record: 33-22
Week 17 ranking: 10

Making the playoffs appeared a long shot before the season began, but the Thunder are all but guaranteed at this point (FiveThirtyEight puts OKC at a 99% chance to make the playoffs). Now, they can get greedy. They currently sit at sixth in the West and are 2½ games back of the Rockets (with the tiebreaker) for fifth. It may seem unlikely, but the Thunder have been playing at a high level for three months. They went into the All-Star break winning their eighth consecutive road game, tying a franchise record. -- Young

This week: DEN, SAS

11. Philadelphia 76ers
Record: 34-21
Week 17 ranking: 12

The 76ers could finish the season with a 39-2 home record (they are currently 25-2 at home) and there would still be questions heading into the postseason. The concerns are based on a lack of mental toughness on the road, evident by a 9-19 away record. Some of those questions could be dismissed in the next two weeks. The 76ers will play at Milwaukee on Feb. 22 and head west to face the Clippers and Lakers on March 1 and 3. Philadelphia, however, has only one road win against teams above .500 this season -- the 115-109 win over the Celtics on Dec. 12. -- Marks

This week: BKN, @MIL

12. Dallas Mavericks
Record: 33-22
Week 17 ranking: 11

The developing chemistry between Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis will determine how much of a threat the Mavs are in the playoffs and whether Dallas emerges as a legitimate contender in the near future. They've played together in only 10 of the past 31 games due to injury absences for each, but the duo's dominant performance in a blowout win over the Kings before the All-Star break was definitely encouraging. -- MacMahon

This week: @ORL, @ATL

13. Indiana Pacers
Record: 32-23
Week 17 ranking: 13

The Pacers will spend the rest of this season trying to rediscover their team chemistry around franchise centerpiece Victor Oladipo and build some momentum for the postseason. The Pacers lost six straight games before defeating a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks squad entering the All-Star break, and they have fallen to the sixth seed in the East. When healthy and playing well, however, the Pacers have the ability to challenge any of the potential No. 3 seeds in the East, so their main goal is to find their level before the playoffs begin. -- Snellings

This week: @NYK, @TOR

14. Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 28-26
Week 17 ranking: 14

The Grizzlies have a four-game cushion in the fight for the West's final playoff seed, but Memphis has the most difficult remaining schedule in the NBA with a combined opponents' winning percentage of .554. It's a tremendous developmental opportunity for a rebuilding team with a promising young core -- headlined by Rookie of the Year Award favorite Ja Morant, sophomore star Jaren Jackson Jr. and All-Rookie candidate Brandon Clarke -- to play meaningful games the rest of the season. -- MacMahon

This week: @SAC, @LAL

15. Brooklyn Nets
Record: 25-28
Week 17 ranking: 16

How important was the 101-91 win over Toronto that snapped the Raptors' 15-game winning streak? Considering that Brooklyn will enter the final 29 games with 16 games on the road, including three separate road trips of four games, the 10-point win in their last game before the All-Star break could be the difference when it comes to a playoff spot. The win was also significant in that it came without Kyrie Irving. Since the road loss to Washington when Irving was injured, Brooklyn has gone 4-1. Getting Irving healthy for the stretch run of the season could determine whether the Nets are a seven or eight seed. -- Marks

This week: @PHI, @CHA

16. Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 25-31
Week 17 ranking: 15

Just when it looked like this frustrating season was finally starting to turn, with the Blazers getting healthier as Damian Lillard found a supernova gear, Lillard pulled his groin in the last game before the All-Star break. The margin for error is razor thin for No. 9 seed Portland, currently four games back of the West's final playoff spot. Any time without Lillard could be devastating as the Blazers try to close the gap on the No. 8 Grizzlies. -- Young

This week: NOP, DET

17. New Orleans Pelicans
Record: 23-32
Week 17 ranking: 17

The Pelicans have the fourth-easiest remaining schedule, per BPI, and are 5½ games back in the race for the eighth seed in the West. Whether or not New Orleans makes a push for the playoffs, the rest of the season represents an opportunity for a talented young core to develop chemistry. Zion Williamson probably missed too many games to have a real Rookie of the Year Award chance, but he's off to a historically dominant start since making his delayed debut. -- MacMahon

This week: @POR, @GSW

18. San Antonio Spurs
Record: 23-31
Week 17 ranking: 18

The Spurs share the record for the longest streak of consecutive playoff appearances in NBA history with 22, matching a run by the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers. The odds are against San Antonio extending its run to 23 seasons. ESPN's Basketball Power Index gives the Spurs, currently five games behind the eighth-place Grizzlies, only a 16.2% chance to make the playoffs. -- MacMahon

This week: @UTAH, @OKC

19. Orlando Magic
Record: 24-31
Week 17 ranking: 19

The Magic will spend the rest of the regular season trying to hold onto their spot in the playoffs. They are currently two games out of the seventh seed but only three games ahead of the Wizards for the final postseason position. The Magic have been abysmal against teams with winning records this season, winning only five of 29 such contests. The good news is they have the fifth-easiest remaining schedule in the NBA, according to BPI, which could help them get across the finish line and into the playoffs. -- Snellings

This week: DAL

20. Phoenix Suns
Record: 22-33
Week 17 ranking: 21

After opening the season with playoff potential, the Suns enter the second half 6½ games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Suns have not been in the playoffs since 2010, and while Devin Booker became an All-Star for the first time, he has yet to make a postseason appearance. His odds look poor now. -- Spears

This week: @TOR, @CHI

21. Sacramento Kings
Record: 21-33
Week 17 ranking: 20

Keep an eye on point guard De'Aaron Fox, who is still trying to recover from an early-season ankle injury. The All-Star break came at a much-needed time for Fox. The third-year point guard is having issues with tightness in his ankle when he sits for long stretches during games, a source told ESPN. -- Spears

This week: MEM, @LAC

22. Washington Wizards
Record: 20-33
Week 17 ranking: 22

It's probably time for the Wizards to wave goodbye to the hope that they could make a playoff push and redirect their focus to developing their young players and closing the season with some momentum. John Wall is coming back next season, Bradley Beal is a should be All-Star, and Rui Hachimura has a chance to be special. It's still messy, and some things will require an overhaul (like the defensive issues), but the Wizards aren't as far away as their record might make it seem. -- Young

This week: CLE, @CHI

23. Chicago Bulls
Record: 19-36
Week 17 ranking: 23

Can the Bulls keep Zach LaVine happy or could he ultimately seek greener pastures? Despite his team hosting the All-Star Game in Chicago, and him averaging 25.3 points per game, the high-flying guard was hampered by the Bulls' poor record when snubbed from the mid-season classic -- though he did participate in Saturday's 3-point contest. While it doesn't appear LaVine wants out, the Bulls will likely have to add some much-needed talent to their roster to keep him engaged in the direction of the struggling franchise. -- Spears

This week: CHA, PHX, WAS

24. Detroit Pistons
Record: 19-38
Week 17 ranking: 24

The Pistons officially triggered their rebuilding efforts by dealing centerpiece Andre Drummond for cap space and second-round draft picks at the trade deadline. With that move, the Pistons have financial flexibility for next season and a team full of unproven players on an extended tryout for the rest of this season. -- Snellings

This week: MIL, @POR

25. New York Knicks
Record: 17-38
Week 17 ranking: 25

Interim head coach Mike Miller not only has the Knicks with a respectable 13-20 record since he took over in early December, but he is transparent on how he plans to balance the minutes going forward. While the stat sheet might see young players like Kevin Knox or Frank Ntilikina playing only eight minutes, Miller has rightfully pointed out that there are other ways to develop a player than game action.

"Experience is maybe the best teacher at times, and they're getting some experience as they go through it," Miller said after a loss to Washington. "So, we're going to continue every day to work on development ... and as we said, as we do that it puts us in a position where you have a chance to win games, too. If you say you're focused on development, that doesn't mean you're not trying to win games and you're not trying to improve your overall team." -- Marks

This week: IND

26. Charlotte Hornets
Record: 18-36
Week 17 ranking: 27

Despite being all but eliminated from the playoffs, the remaining 28 games for Charlotte still have meaning. The Hornets have 10 players under the age of 25 to evaluate through the end of the season. For players like Caleb Martin, Jalen McDaniels, Kobi Simmons and Ray Spalding, who don't have guaranteed contracts in 2020-21, the second half is an open audition for next season. Even former lottery pick Malik Monk will be evaluated closely. The 22-year-old will enter the final year of his contract next season. -- Marks

This week: @CHI, BKN

27. Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 16-37
Week 17 ranking: 26

The Timberwolves will spend the rest of this season seeing what they have with their new core of Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell. The first and second picks of the 2015 NBA Draft are both very young -- Towns is barely 24, and Russell will turn 24 later this month -- are both signed through at least the next three seasons. The Timberwolves will likely have another lottery pick in the upcoming draft, and they have both new and young players to test around their nucleus. The rest of this season is all about evaluation and the future. -- Snellings

This week: BOS, @DEN

28. Atlanta Hawks
Record: 15-41
Week 17 ranking: 28

While the trend seems to be going small, the Hawks went big recently by adding Clint Capela and Dewayne Dedmon. The Rockets shopped Capela to a handful of Eastern Conference teams in the hopes of getting smaller, and they received interest from the Celtics. We will see if size is still a factor with the Hawks. -- Spears

This week: MIA, DAL

29. Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 14-40
Week 17 ranking: 30

The 14 wins this season would suggest a regression in the Cavaliers' player development model for former lottery picks Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. However, as general manager Koby Altman told Cleveland.com, "If we're gauging the success of those guys, I'm in a good space. I'm excited about our future because of where they've come from day one -- first game of the season to where they are now and where they're going."

While it is still to be decided if Cleveland's backcourt works, keep in mind that Garland is only 20-years-old (Sexton is 21) and went from playing five games his freshman year at Vanderbilt to 53 this season. -- Marks

This week: @WAS, @MIA

30. Golden State Warriors
Record: 12-43
Week 17 ranking: 29

Should Stephen Curry play or not? The NBA superstar is expected to be evaluated on March 1 after being sidelined with a surgically repaired broken hand. While it would be interesting to see how Curry plays with newcomer Andrew Wiggins, his return could mean more wins for a struggling, injury-plagued team that is vying for the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft. -- Spears

This week: HOU, NOP

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Yoenis Cespedes arrived at spring training and was as silent as his bat has been for most of the past two seasons.

The New York Mets outfielder stepped back toward his locker as the media approached before the team's first full-squad workout on Monday and said, "Not today, not tomorrow, not at all this year," when asked whether he would talk.

A two-time All-Star, Céspedes said he felt no obligation to speak with the media. "Because I don't want to," he explained.

Asked whether he would speak to his fans, he replied: "To my fans, maybe."

Céspedes turned his back to the media, spritzed cologne on and forcefully put the bottle down in his locker.

Céspedes hit and ran but did not break with the outfielders as the horn sounded for the fielders to break into two groups when the Mets took the field for the first time in spring training.

Against reliever Michael Wacha in batting practice, Céspedes turned on a curve and drove it just left of the foul pole in left field -- with home-run distance -- for his best swing of the session.

"This is a big day for him," new manager Luis Rojas said. "He's locked in on his progression. He looked good running today. He's able to do fielding drills right now. ... Going back to the timing when he saw Wacha, he looked good -- almost like he hasn't missed a beat."

The 34-year-old Céspedes won a Gold Glove in 2015 and a Silver Slugger the following year. He has played in only 119 games in the first three seasons of a $110 million, four-year contract, and just 38 since the end of the 2017 season.

He was out for much of 2017 with hamstring strains, then missed more than two months in 2018 due to a strained hip flexor. He homered at Yankee Stadium in his return, then went back on the DL and had surgery to remove bone calcification from his right heel on Aug. 2, 2018, and his left on Oct. 26 of the same year.

While recovering from surgery on his heels last May, Céspedes fractured his right ankle in multiple places in an accident at his ranch just west of the Mets' training complex. He and the Mets agreed in December to an amended contract that cut his base salary from $29.5 million to $6 million. He would raise his pay to $11 million if he has one active day on the major league roster and to $20 million if he has 650 plate appearances -- a figure he has reached just once.

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Andrew McCutchen can speak firsthand about modern medical advancements.

He tore his ACL last year -- and it wasn't the first time.

"I had an ACL injury when I was in high school, so to kind of compare the two, as far as the process goes and the rehab, it's a lot quicker," the Philadelphia outfielder said Monday. "You're doing things a lot faster maybe than you did 16, 17 years ago. At the same time, I'm not 16 and rehabbing. I'm 33 now."

McCutchen played only 59 games last year before going down with a torn ACL in early June. The Phillies finished 81-81, a disappointment in their first season after signing Bryce Harper. Philadelphia replaced manager Gabe Kapler with Joe Girardi and added Zack Wheeler to its rotation. If he can stay healthy, McCutchen could give the team a lift as well.

The Phillies held their first workout with the full squad Monday. McCutchen said he plans to be ready for opening day.

"I'm doing everything. I don't have any limitations. It's just about going out there and doing everything at 100%," he said. "Some things I'm doing pretty good, some things I'm still working on."

Girardi said McCutchen isn't where he was at this time last year, simply because he's now coming off an inury.

"Every week we're going to make an evaluation of where he's at, and what he's ready to handle the next week," Girardi said. "I know he hit out on the field today and did those type of things."

McCutchen was the National League's MVP in 2013, when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was traded to San Francisco in 2018, then was dealt to the New York Yankees toward the end of that season. He signed with the Phillies before last season.

McCutchen's batting average has slipped since his days as an MVP candidate, but his durability hasn't really been an issue. Before last season, he had played in at least 153 games in eight of the previous nine years.

He hit .256 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI in his abbreviated 2019. The injury snapped a streak of eight straight seasons with at least 20 home runs.

He played mostly left field but spent some time in center as well. He says the injury shouldn't prevent him from playing center if needed.

The Phillies were in first place in the NL East when McCutchen hurt his left knee during a rundown June 3 at San Diego, but he downplayed the idea that his absence was what derailed the season.

"It's nice to think, `Oh, it was because I stopped playing, got injured.' I don't think that really," he said. "I think it's just us as a full team together, just kind of having to grow."

McCutchen likened the Phillies' 2019 season to LeBron James' first season with the Miami Heat after teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Heat made it to the NBA Finals but lost.

"They had the squad. They had the superstar team," he said. "They didn't pan out the way people expected it, but they stayed together."

Game notes
All-Star C J.T. Realmuto says he isn't too concerned about the outcome of his arbitration hearing. He requested $12.4 million and the Phillies offered $10 million. "I'm either making 10 or 12 million dollars. I'll be happy either way," he said. "I'm blessed to get to do what I do for a living for a lot of money." Like McCutchen, Realmuto was in his first season with Philadelphia last year. He set career highs with 25 homers and 83 RBI and won a Gold Glove.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno acknowledges he scrapped the proposed trade that would have landed Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling from the Dodgers.

Moreno also says the Angels can make an even bigger trade for an elite starting pitcher if they get a chance this season.

Moreno covered many topics in his annual informal conversation with reporters on the training fields outside Tempe Diablo Stadium. He is excited about the potential impact of $245 million third baseman Anthony Rendon and optimistic about his pitching staff's ability to improve after a poor season.

Moreno also is eager to move on from the scuttled trade that would have sent infielder Luis Rengifo and a prospect to the Dodgers for Pederson and Stripling earlier this month.

Both veterans likely would have played immediately for the Angels, but Moreno called off the talks around the deal while the Dodgers' blockbuster deal with Boston was delayed for several days.

"It wasn't all impatience," Moreno said. "There were other things involved, too. ... I just would rather not talk about it. That wasn't going to happen, and it's not happening."

Later in the interview, Moreno said he realized Angels fans wanted more information about what went down.

"There's a lot of things that people would like to know, and they're not going to know," Moreno said. "It's water under the bridge. We've moved on."

Moreno has previously acknowledged he has a temper that sometimes affects his decision-making, but he was calm and upbeat throughout his discussion of the potential deal and the Angels' prospects for the upcoming season, which appear considerably brighter than they were last year.

The Angels added Rendon at third base to an already solid lineup, and they added starters Dylan Bundy and Julio Teheran after they struck out on the biggest free-agent pitchers on the market -- including Gerrit Cole.

Moreno has come to terms with the Angels' failed pursuit of Cole, an Orange County native who agreed to a $324 million, nine-year deal with the Yankees, the most guaranteed money for a pitcher.

"We had a substantial offer on the table, but we were sort of walking in there knowing no matter what we did, we were going to get outbid," Moreno said. "We had a pretty big number out there."

Moreno also admitted that the Angels' recent struggles hurt them. Los Angeles hasn't made the postseason since 2014 and hasn't won a playoff game since 2009.

"One of the things we knew early on was that he wanted a ring, and wanted to go somewhere where he had the best chance," Moreno said. "He grew up being a Yankee fan. We did our homework and spent a lot of time. We had a great conversation. They're nice people. And the Yankees gave him nine years."

Instead, the Angels made a hefty commitment to Rendon for fewer years.

"We just felt that our money, in the long term, would be better spent on Rendon, who was arguably the best position player available," Moreno said. "We haven't had a third baseman here in a long time."

He said the Angels aren't done looking to improve their rotation after last season's profound struggles, although Shohei Ohtani's return to two-way play should make a major impact. Moreno claims the Angels will be aggressive in looking for a difference-making starter.

"We have the financial flexibility to add a starting pitcher, but we're looking for a pitcher that can substantially help us, and not a four or five (starter)," he said.

Leicester hooker Tom Youngs has been cited for allegedly punching Wasps forward Will Rowlands.

The incident involving the 33-year-old ex-England forward happened in the 53rd-minute of Saturday's 18-9 Premiership win at Welford Road.

If he is found guilty by an RFU panel on Tuesday he could face a suspension.

The starting point for a low-end offence is a two-week ban, rising to six weeks for a mid-range offence and 10 weeks for the most serious.