Serie A clubs voted to keep the number of clubs in the Italian top division at 20, the league said on Monday after their shareholders' meeting in Milan.

Only four clubs voted in favour of a reduction to 18 clubs in Serie A -- Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan and AS Roma -- and the number of clubs will remain at 20, as it has been since the 2004-05 season.

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The top clubs had pushed for the reduction in an effort to reduce the number of games played and increase the quality of football on offer but needed a majority of 14 in order to pass the reform.

The attempt by Juve, Milan, Inter and Roma to reduce the league size was criticised by directors from other teams.

"I think the attitude of [the clubs in question] was wrong," Urbino Cairo, Torino president, said to reporters after the meeting. "I would say what they wanted to do seemed like a super league."

Milan president Paolo Scaroni made the case for reducing the number of teams to reporters prior to the meeting and vote.

"In reality, clubs like us who play international competitions and who have many players called up by the national teams complain about too many matches," Scaroni said.

"The players play the continental tournaments, their national team matches, the Italian Cup and the league. All this leads to a load of matches that becomes unbearable and which is the cause of many injuries.

"We have already had 18 teams in the league before. In fact I also remember it at 16."

A proposal for reforms was also approved which will be presented at the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Italian football federation (FIGC) in March.

The Italian league is pushing for more autonomy from the FIGC, similar to the Premier League in England.

"Currently, the system does not give Serie A the autonomy and decision-making weight it should have with respect to economic weight," Serie A president Lorenzo Casini said after a meeting of Serie A clubs last week.

Milan's Scaroni added to the league president's message on Monday.

"We in Serie A, who finance the entire game of Italian football, have 12% of the power within the Federation, which creates an endless cycle of frustration," he said.

Mauricio Pochettino said match-winner Conor Gallagher is "priceless" to Chelsea after his two goals helped them to a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday evening.

Chelsea went into the break 1-0 down after Jefferson Lerma's wondergoal in the first half, but Gallagher scored just a minute into the second half and then a 91st minute winner to break Palace's resolve. Enzo Fernández added a third in the 94th minute of the match as Chelsea came away from Selhurst Park with three points.

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Gallagher's first saw him finish well off a Malo Gusto cross, while for the second he slotted home neatly from the edge of the box to give Chelsea the win.

"I think he's a player with a great commitment to the team, always trying to compensate every single situation," Pochettino said of Gallagher. "It's priceless to have a player like him. I'm so happy for him as it's a victory we needed."

Gallagher was linked with a move away from Chelsea in the January transfer window but he stayed put. With his contract up at the end of next season, Gallagher's long-term future is uncertain, but Pochettino says Gallagher never entertained any thought of moving away from the club last month.

"Always he decided, what he said to me was that he wanted to stay at Chelsea," Pochettino said. "But it's about him and the club. I am not [worried about] these types of things, he has another year on his contract. But that's a matter for him and the club."

Pochettino said the club would assess the severity of Thiago Silva's groin injury on Tuesday after he was forced off after 61 minutes, and said Malo Gusto was fatigued rather than injured later on.

Pochettino's side headed into this match in inconsistent form. In their prior three matches, they defeats in the Premier League to Liverpool and Wolves but their last match saw them put together an impressive 3-1 victory at Aston Villa in the FA Cup. The challenge on this trip to Selhurst Park was to play like they did against Villa, and not like they did in their last two Premier League outings.

Chelsea dominated possession in the first half but only managed one shot off target, but then found a clinical edge in the second half once Pochettino had shifted to two up front with Christopher Nkunku coming on at half-time for Noni Madueke.

From there they put together their match-winning performance, playing with the same type of intensity they did against Villa. The challenge for Chelsea is to continue searching for a 90-minute showing. "That's the consistency which we need to change," Pochettino said.

"We need to start the game a different way, we need to try to be consistent to play and perform always in the way how we performed against Aston Villa. It's not easy, but that's the challenge. We needed the three points and I'm very pleased."

Chelsea now travel to Manchester City on Sunday and then have the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on February 25.

On the opposing side, the defeat left Hodgson downbeat. Crystal Palace sit in 15th in the league, five points off the relegation zone, and have star players Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Michael Olise all sidelined.

"I'm not really in the mood if I'm being brutally honest of [talking about] positives and trying to find things to say that would cheer me up, because I don't know what could be said that would cheer me up," Hodgson said post-match.

"What can I say that will cheer the players up? I could possibly say, well, with the players we've got coming back and these guys doing so well, it bodes well for the future with the 14 games we have left.

"But of course we still don't know when Olise, Eze will be back, so we might be battling through like we've done tonight for a few more games before we can look at a team which will threaten the opposition a bit more than we did today."

But despite their poor run of form, Hodgson is adamant the team will survive the drop with January signing Adam Wharton impressing on Monday. Up next is a key match at Everton and then they are at home to Burnley. "It's a bad period but it's been caused by the injury situation," Hodgson said. "It's 14 games [left], a lot of matches and a lot of points and I think we've shown enough.

"So I don't have any concerns, but there is no complacency and points are very necessary to get away from the relegation zone. This group of players are good enough and tonight gave me even more faith and belief."

LONDON -- Chelsea made the short trip to Selhurst Park tasked with finding the consistency that has been missing all season, and injury-time goals from Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernández answered manager Mauricio Pochettino's call, eventually. The 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Monday repaid a performance where Chelsea dominated possession but struggled to turn that into clear-cut chances until those two late hammer blows.

It was the ex-Palace loanee Gallagher who was the thorn in the Eagles' side. After Jefferson Lerma's first-half wondergoal, Gallagher's goal just 90 seconds into the second half drew things level, and he followed that up with his 91st-minute winner, leaving Fernandez's well-taken third to round things off. Those two late knockout punches would have hurt the vocal home fans as much as they delighted the travelling away support.

With Chelsea stuck mid-table and still looking to find a winning formula from their 1 billion outlay under owner Todd Boehly, and with Crystal Palace teetering near the relegation zone and manager Roy Hodgson under pressure, this was always going to be a nervy, tense match. Fans demanded statement performances, and both teams played with an intensity and urgency that underlined its importance. But it was Chelsea and Gallagher who came out on top as Pochettino's second-half substitutions helped produce an end product after a first half where they dominated possession but had no cutting edge.

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Chelsea's season to date has flitted between false starts and frustrating bumps in the road. They've at times threatened to go on a run of form, only to trip up. Their past three matches neatly summed up their erratic form: after shipping eight goals in their defeats to Liverpool and Wolves in the Premier League, they then put together a brilliant 3-1 victory away at Aston Villa in the FA Cup last Wednesday.

Gallagher summed the state of the team well after Monday's game: "There have been some games where we've been brilliant, and some games where we've been terrible, so it's been about getting that consistency." The win was a bit of both in each half, although the win gives Chelsea a chance to finally turn a corner if they can keep it up.

The Blues' erratic form highlights a lack of direction from ownership and the jumbled, young squad that Pochettino is juggling: somewhere in the middle of all their 28 signings since Boehly took ownership of the club is a young team capable of working its way up the table. Now, with back-to-back wins, the question is whether this latest string of form will too fizzle out.

"That's the consistency, which we need to change," Pochettino said after beating Palace. "We need to start the game a different way, we need to try to be consistent to play and perform always in the way how we performed against Aston Villa. It's not easy, but that's the challenge."

The pressure was hardly lighter on the hosts. Palace had won their past two in the league at home, but those were their only victories from their past 14 matches. They came into this also without star players Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi, who had all fallen to injury in the past fortnight. That's their three most influential players absent, alongside long-term absentee Cheikhou Kouyaté.

Hodgson said earlier this week he is enduring the "toughest period of [his] career" -- quite a statement given he's been managing since 1976. And the pre-match noise from those in the boardroom, and on the pitch was the need for the fans to stick by them despite their recent displeasure at the results, team selection and style of play. The fans made their thoughts clear with a banner in the Holmesdale Road end reading: "Weak club culture and direction."

Despite their misgivings, from the outset, the Palace fans were vocal, the smoke from red flares engulfing Dean Henderson's goal in the first half. It helped create the claustrophobic feeling of this match where resolves were being tested alongside the patience of those in the stands.

Chelsea started from the outset in trying to pick up where they left off from the Villa match, making just one injury-enforced change with Thiago Silva starting in place of injured Benoit Badiashile. But the first half saw Chelsea try the same thing repeatedly to no avail: they controlled the ball in the middle of the pitch, switched it wide, relied on the pace and invention of fullbacks Malo Gusto and Ben Chilwell to get the ball into the box and watched Palace clear the ball.

At the other end, Palace were far more inventive with their front three including new signing Matheus França profiting from the industry of midfielders Adam Wharton -- in his first Premier League start since his big-money January move -- Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma in keeping Chelsea backpedaling. After Mateta had a great chance saved by Dorde Petrovic, their high press eventually paid off, with Lerma blasting home a brilliant 30-yard strike after Noni Madueke and Moisés Caicedo were caught in possession.

Chelsea trudged into the break 1-0 down with an expected goals, or xG, of just 0.06 -- their lowest in a first half since Liverpool humiliated them in January, per ESPN Stats & Information. Meanwhile, Chelsea's 420 completed passes without a shot on goal in the first half was the most in the Premier League since 2003.

But after halftime, it was Chelsea who emerged brighter from the slumber. With Christopher Nkunku a half-time substitute for the frustrated Madueke, the Blues shifted formation to playing with two up front, with Gallagher and Cole Palmer -- ineffectual as a false No. 9 in the first half -- just behind. It clicked immediately with Gusto's cross finding Gallagher in the middle of the box and he finished well to draw the game level.

From there Chelsea kept their stranglehold on the match as Raheem Sterling's introduction (despite a wasted finish off a brilliant through ball) helped bring further intensity leading to Gallagher breaking Palace's resolve with a late winner. Fernandez's injury-time goal as he toyed with Daniel Muñoz only served to rub salt into the wounds.

"The gaffer gave us more structure in their half of the pitch to try and create more chances," Gallagher said. "It was really good from the manager and helped us play better in the second half."

So, it's the second-half Chelsea that the away fans will take away with them. Despite all the possession in the first 45 minutes, it was the second-half group that delivered. Pochettino's tactical switch worked, the inventiveness of Enzo Fernandez was given space to shine and Palmer looked far happier playing slightly deeper off the front two. Gusto and Chilwell ran themselves into the ground while Caicedo grew into the game playing slightly deeper.

But once again, Gallagher -- the man who was constantly linked with moves away from the club -- is the one who stood up when it counted and converted the growing sense of inevitability about this match into reality. It was a potent cocktail and something Pochettino's group can take forward to their next task, a trip to Manchester City on Saturday.

"I think he's a player with a great commitment to the team, always trying to compensate every single situation," Pochettino said of Gallagher. "It's priceless to have a player like him. I'm so happy for him as it's a victory we needed."

The start of the second half was delayed as referee Michael Oliver was having technical issues with his mic and, to fill the void as the players kicked the ball around to keep warm, those in charge of the stadium playlist opted for Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds." Supporters from both sides sang it loud into the chilly south London sky. But out of the two sets of fans, it'll be Chelsea's supporters who are starting to believe that eventually, everything might just be all right.

The Cowboys reached agreement Monday with Mike Zimmer to make the former Minnesota Vikings coach Dallas' new defensive coordinator.

"I'm excited and honored to be back with a great organization," Zimmer told ESPN's Ed Werder. "I'm thrilled to work with Mike McCarthy, for whom I have had a ton of respect in our NFC North days, and to do anything I can do to help the Joneses and the Cowboys."

A source had confirmed to ESPN last week that Zimmer was expected to be hired as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator. But ESPN analyst Rex Ryan, who had talked to the team about the job, said on ESPN's "Postseason NFL Countdown" on Sunday, "I'm not so sure Zimmer has that job right now. I'm not sure about that. I can honestly say I don't believe that's a fact right now."

And on Monday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Cowboys had reached back out to Ryan on Sunday about the position.

However, Zimmer and the Cowboys agreed to contract terms Monday afternoon. He replaces Dan Quinn, who was hired last week as the Washington Commanders' new coach after a three-year run as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator.

Zimmer, 67, was a Cowboys assistant coach from 1994 to 2006, starting as a defensive assistant, moving to defensive backs in 1995 -- the last season for which Dallas won a Super Bowl -- and serving as the coordinator from 2000 to 2006 under two different head coaches, Dave Campo (2000-02) and Bill Parcells (2003-06).

From 2014 to 2021, Zimmer was head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, compiling a 74-59-1 record that included three playoff appearances. His time in the NFC North made him more familiar with McCarthy, then the Green Bay Packers' coach.

Zimmer is the third defensive coordinator McCarthy will have in five seasons. Mike Nolan handled the job in 2020 but was replaced by Quinn after the Cowboys gave up a franchise-record 473 points. Quinn oversaw a defense that led the NFL in takeaways in 2021 and 2022 while helping the Cowboys to three straight 12-5 seasons and three trips to the playoffs.

ESPN's Todd Archer contributed to this report.

PITTSBURGH -- A year after signing him to a two-year extension, the Steelers released quarterback Mitch Trubisky, the team announced Monday.

The Steelers also released longtime offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor and punter Pressley Harvin on Monday. The moves saved the Steelers nearly $13 million in 2024 salary cap space.

With Trubisky's departure and late-season hero Mason Rudolph scheduled to hit free agency in March, 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett is currently the only quarterback on the Steelers' roster for 2024.

Trubisky, 29, was set to count more than $7 million against the Steelers' cap in 2024 and more than $8 million in 2025. Instead, Trubisky now leaves behind a cap hit of $4.6 million in 2024, saving the Steelers nearly $3 million.

The organization initially signed the Chicago Bears' 2017 No. 2 overall pick on the first day of the 2022 free agency period before drafting Pickett at No. 20 overall a few months later.

After a quarterback competition through training camp, Trubisky started the first four games of the 2022 season before being replaced by Pickett at halftime of the Week 4 game against the New York Jets in an effort to give the stagnant offense a spark.

Playing in relief of an injured Pickett, Trubisky appeared in three more games that season, going 2-1 in those outings. Believing Trubisky to be valuable as a veteran backup and mentor to Pickett, the Steelers then signed him to a new three-year contract in May 2023 worth a total of $19.4 million.

But Trubisky faltered as a backup in 2023 and was eventually benched for Rudolph after throwing three picks to three touchdowns in a three-game stretch while Pickett recovered from an ankle injury and subsequent surgery. As Rudolph gave the offense a spark, Trubisky dressed as the No. 2 quarterback for two games and was inactive for the Week 18 victory over the Baltimore Ravens and the wild-card round loss to the Buffalo Bills.

As a Steeler, Trubisky appeared in 12 games, starting seven of them. He completed 64.1% of his pass attempts and threw eight touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

Okorafor, 26, had one year left on a three-year, $29.5 million contract, and his release saves the Steelers nearly $9 million in cap space. Okorafor started 59 games and appeared in 77 since being selected by the Steelers in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft. Okorafor, though, was benched for rookie first-round pick Broderick Jones after Week 7 and played only a handful of snaps the rest of the season.

Harvin, meanwhile, was a seventh-round selection in 2021 and was inconsistent throughout his three-season Steelers career despite beating out longtime punter Jordan Berry as a rookie. Harvin, 25, finished with a net average of 39.4 yards per punt and an overall average of 43.7.

Memphis Grizzlies forward GG Jackson is inactive for Monday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans due to a violation of a team rule, according to head coach Taylor Jenkins.

Jenkins did not elaborate further on the nature of the violation but said he expected Jackson to be back for Wednesday's game against the Houston Rockets.

Jackson, who just turned 19 in December, has been one of the few bright spots this season for an injury-ravaged Grizzlies team. Since he started getting consistent minutes back on Jan. 13, Jackson has averaged 13.4 points while shooting 45.7% from the field and 38.8% from 3. He had a career-high 27 points off the bench in Thursday's loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Jackson agreed on a four-year contract including three guaranteed seasons last week, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. He had been on a two-way deal after being selected in the second round in the 2023 NBA draft out of South Carolina.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- After completing his first practice with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, Spencer Dinwiddie walked off the court and explained to a throng of reporters why he chose to come to L.A. rather than the Dallas Mavericks after being traded to the Toronto Raptors, and subsequently waived last week.

"The two situations kind of felt like this: Let's say you were a kid and you got your ass whupped by the bully," Dinwiddie said. "Dallas would've been like your momma being like, 'It's OK, baby. Don't worry about it.' Lakers are like your dad: 'Nah, you better go out there and fight 'til you win.' You feel me? And I just felt like that was what I needed at the time.

"I'm a big believer in kind of doing what you need to do at whatever time it is."

Dinwiddie was traded from the Brooklyn Nets to Toronto at the deadline, waived and then cleared waivers Saturday afternoon, opening the door for him to sign for the $1.55 million remaining portion of the Lakers' non-tax mid-level exception for the rest of the season.

Returning to Dallas would have been the path of least resistance. He was traded there in February 2022 and helped the team reach the Western Conference finals, teaming with star Luka Doncic and coach Jason Kidd to upset the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the second round by scoring 30 points in Game 7 on Phoenix's home court.

Coming to the Lakers with a coach in Darvin Ham whom he's never played for, a star in the 39-year-old LeBron James who is trying to orchestrate another Finals run and a fanbase that isn't satisfied by anything short of a championship is more of a pressure cooker.

Add in the fact that, as an L.A. native, he'll have personal expectations to perform for the hometown team he grew up cheering for and it's abundantly clear that nothing about this career decision for the 10-year veteran will fly under the radar.

And he's more than OK with that.

"Essentially you're seeing a team that when everything is on the line, they can rise to a level that no other team can get to," Dinwiddie said. "They won the in-season tournament, have played bigtime basketball the past several years. Obviously sometimes it's hard to maintain that throughout a whole season but at the end of the day, they know how to win. That's what you know. Every night they're going to get somebody's best shot just because the name that's on the front of the uniform."

Dinwiddie attended the Lakers' win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and sat with Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka during the game. He said Pelinka made a strong impression on him by making the first phone call he received after he was waived by Toronto and the vibe felt right being around the Lakers, helping him make his decision.

However, it wasn't until Dinwiddie's son, Elijah, got to try on his dad's No. 26 gold uniform made special for him in a child's size by the Lakers when Dinwiddie first visited the practice facility Sunday that it all set in for him.

"He had put [the jersey] on and he was running down the corridor and I was behind him and I was looking at 'Dinwiddie 26' and I was like, 'Oh, damn.' Like, 'It's real,'" Dinwiddie said. "And for your son to be the reason you feel like it's real, that was a really special moment."

Dinwiddie will be available to play against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and Ham, who spent Sunday conducting an individual film session with the 6-6 combo guard and teaching him the basic terminology L.A. uses on its play calls, made it clear he will play him right away. Especially considering Max Christie (right ankle), Gabe Vincent (left knee), Cam Reddish (left knee) and Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot) are all out until after the All-Star break at least, according to the team.

"He's going to acclimate himself really, really well, really soon," Ham said. "Just told him, 'Don't worry about making mistakes'. We'll help talk him through it."

While Dinwiddie has no experience playing with the Lakers, he does have preexisting ties to several members of the team. He was on the Brooklyn Nets with D'Angelo Russell, Taurean Prince and assistant coach Jordan Ott, he played for the Washington Wizards with Rui Hachimura and he played with Christian Wood on the Mavericks.

But he made it clear that Wood wasn't the most influential voice he was listening to when he chose L.A.

"How the hell we going to give C-Wood the credit? Bro, what are we doing?" Dinwiddie said with a laugh. "Look, C-Wood was impactful. ... I'm giving the credit to Bron."

The NBA trade deadline has passed as teams head into the final stretch of the season.

The race for the top of the Western Conference is tight, as the Minnesota Timberwolves, LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets are separated by just half a game as they jostle for position.

In the Eastern Conference, the NBA-best Boston Celtics have separated themselves from the rest of the contenders. Which team can fight for the No. 2 spot to position itself best for the postseason?

Will the New York Knicks knock through opponents in the East? Can the Los Angeles Lakers or Golden State Warriors salvage their seasons in the West? And can the Miami Heat make another surprising run?

To get ready for the 2023-24 regular season's final two months, our NBA insiders break down the most important races to watch in each conference.

The race for No. 1 in the West, where the champs are lurking

If anyone is going to knock the defending champs off their throne in the West, home-court advantage will be vital.

The Nuggets are 21-4 at home this season -- and went 10-1 inside Ball Arena last postseason on their way to their first championship. They are almost unbeatable in Denver when it matters most. Add the altitude advantage, and Denver could be unstoppable in the playoffs.

Can the Timberwolves and Thunder win the West and perhaps force Denver to have to win on the road in the playoffs? Anthony Edwards is one of the league's next brightest stars, and team president Tim Connelly's gamble on pairing Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert is paying off. The acquisition of Monte Morris stabilizes the Wolves' bench play that much more.

OKC is ready to show that the future is here. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is trying to finish an MVP-worthy campaign strong, and Chet Holmgren could be Rookie of the Year. The Thunder's addition of Gordon Hayward, if he's healthy, could win them the conference's top seed.

Where the Nuggets might lack depth, they make up for it with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and championship experience. They also still have arguably the best starting five in the league. Coach Michael Malone just has to find more consistency from his second unit and keep his starters healthy.

The Clippers perhaps have never been better equipped to win a championship. The healthy duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George has been bolstered by former league MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook. The Clippers entered this season vowing to take the regular season more seriously, and their rise to the top of the West has been stunning following a 3-7 start. The change? They don't rest players or take nights off anymore.

"It means the approach for this season paid off," George said Saturday about what it means for the Clippers to be first in the West. "We haven't [always done that] in years past, but more so knowing what's at stake and the importance of the regular season.

"We just have the roster, we have the personnel, and now we're just putting it all together and we've been healthy."

As of Saturday, all four teams are separated by a single game in the standings. The West's top seed could be decided by the fact that Denver faces Minnesota three times in the final month of the season, twice at home. Their meeting at Denver on April 10 could be season shifting. The Wolves also play the Clippers three more times, starting Monday.

-- Ohm Youngmisuk

The race to avoid the West play-in

The next four teams battling for positioning in the Western Conference are doing so to get a break -- not to fight for their potential playoff lives.

In the play-in tournament's history, the seventh seed has never missed the playoffs. Although last season the Heat entered as the No. 7 seed, lost the first play-in game to the Atlanta Hawks, before winning to enter as the eighth seed... and eventually going to the NBA Finals.

But the No. 8 seed has been split -- three times No. 8 has made the playoffs, and three times that team has failed to make it at all (Golden State Warriors in 2021, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Clippers in 2022).

Winning the fifth and sixth seed also has another built-in benefit of a week of rest and after an 82-game season, having five or six days off between games is certainly a plus.

Of the group, the Dallas Mavericks made the most significant push during the trade deadline acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford -- who combined for 33 points and 14 rebounds in their Dallas' debut in a 146-111 win over the Thunder on Saturday -- while sending out Grant Williams, Seth Curry and Richaun Holmes.

The Phoenix Suns traded for Royce O'Neale and David Roddy in a three-team deal with the Brooklyn Nets and the Memphis Grizzlies. The New Orleans Pelicans stood pat while the only deal the Sacramento Kings made was to trade for Robin Lopez, who was immediately waived for cash.

The Pelicans and Suns play twice in the season's final two weeks -- in New Orleans on April 1 and in Phoenix on April 7. New Orleans will then take on the Kings on April 11 in Sacramento.

Dallas has to travel to Sacramento for a rare back-to-back with two off days in between in the same city on March 26 and 29. The game against New Orleans is the only time the Suns play any of the other three teams in March or April.

With the Western standings so close, the tiebreakers between the teams will become important -- making the final regular-season head-to-head matchups all the more important.

-- Andrew Lopez

The star-studded fight -- just to reach the postseason

At the time of last season's trade deadline, the Lakers had lost four out of six games. About seven hours after the deadline, with several of their new acquisitions on the sideline in street clothes, they lost again, to fall to 25-31 -- 13th in the Western Conference.

The flurry of trades the Lakers orchestrated fueled an 18-8 run to close the regular season to reach the No. 7 spot in the play-in tournament, where they beat the No. 8 Timberwolves to earn the seventh seed in the first round. The turnaround continued with a berth in the conference finals.

While this year the team has failed to capture the momentum of that playoff run yet, the circumstances were less dire when time ran out on trade season. L.A. had won five out of seven heading into the deadline. Even with a loss to the Nuggets to cap the deadline day, the Lakers' record was 27-26 -- ninth in the West.

"We really like the players on our team and we're confident in this group of players," Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said Thursday after L.A. didn't complete any deals.

To follow up last year's playoff run with another play-in appearance would be disappointing in a sense, but not nearly as devastating as finishing 11th and out of the picture completely.

Perhaps it's foolish to assume they can replicate their performance last spring all over again, but it's not just the Lakers themselves believing they can do it. "I don't want any piece of them in the playoffs," a Western Conference executive told ESPN this week.

Which is similar to the fear that the Warriors still instill in their opponents because of their dynastic history. This season has been tough sledding for them, but would anyone volunteer to play Steph Curry for a series, no matter who is surrounding him?

While we're talking about four teams going for two spots, the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz don't have nearly the same worries as the Lakers and Warriors. Sure, there would be a bit of a sting for Utah after having such a promising stretch -- going 12-2 from mid-December to mid-January -- only to fade in the end. And of course, coach Ime Udoka would obviously prefer to follow up a Finals appearance in his last season in Boston with at least a play-in spot in his first season in Houston.

The Lakers? They're playing with the additional weight of delivering a good enough showing to make LeBron James want to stay in L.A. to close out his career.

The Warriors? They're playing with the burden to show that the curtain hasn't come down on their show just yet and the core of one of the NBA's greatest teams -- Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thomspon -- still shouldn't be messed with.

L.A. and Golden State have played only once so far this season and it was an instant classic, with James' team edging out Curry's, 145-144, in double overtime.

With three more games on the schedule between them -- Feb. 22, March 16 and April 9 -- their matchups figure to only grow in intensity as they jostle with one another for play-in spots.

-- Dave McMenamin

The race for East No. 2, where the Cavs have taken charge

The Celtics have the best record in the NBA and sit comfortably (five games entering Monday) at the top of the Eastern Conference. But whichever team finishes behind them with the No. 2 seed could pose the best challenge to Boston come playoff time.

Currently, that spot belongs to the Cavs, winners of nine in a row and 17 of their past 18 games and arguably the hottest team in the league. Cleveland is still searching for its first playoff series win without LeBron since 1993, but with a defense that ranks second and Donovan Mitchell playing even better than last season, the Cavs have the makeup of a contender in the East.

At the start of the season, the Milwaukee Bucks were considered on the same tier as Boston. Yet, things have not gone smoothly in the first year of the Giannis Antetokounmpo-Damian Lillard pairing and the Bucks replaced their first-year coach Adrian Griffin with Doc Rivers, who has started 2-5 since taking the job.

After the trade deadline, the Knicks garnered the most leaguewide praise for a strong deadline of savvy moves. They've set themselves up for a deep playoff run behind Jalen Brunson, who made his first All-Star team and whose ascension has changed the trajectory of this franchise.

Claiming the No. 2 seed in the East has its share of advantages: a favorable first-round matchup against what looks like a potentially weak play-in field (not including lurking Miami), home court until at least the conference finals and avoiding an early matchup with Boston.

-- Jamal Collier

The race for East Nos. 5-6, starring the conference's biggest wild card

When the season began, the storyline surrounding the Eastern Conference was its depth. Instead, it's been about star injuries as teams embark on the final two months of the regular season.

That's certainly the case for the group of teams battling for the Nos. 5-8 spots in the East, a quartet led by the Philadelphia 76ers.

There is no bigger question across the NBA over the rest of the regular season than if the league's reigning MVP, Joel Embiid, will be able to return to the floor for Philadelphia this season. If he can, the 76ers have a chance to contend for a title. If he can't, it's uncertain if they'll even make the playoffs.

The other team lurking in this range is the defending East champion Miami Heat,who, like last year, are currently sitting in a play-in spot. The chances of replicating a Finals run from there are slim, so the goal will be to push up into the top six.

However, Miami has dealt with injuries all season, including a shoulder injury to Josh Richardson on Sunday that had him in a sling postgame and what looked like a potentially serious knee injury to recently acquired Terry Rozier.

And then there are the young upstart teams in this mix: the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic. Both have been out of the playoff mix recently, both are powered by young All-Stars in Tyrese Haliburton and Paolo Banchero and both would love to get into the top 6 in the East and avoid the play-in.

Making the playoffs for either of those teams will make this season a successful one. And with the injuries in Philly and Miami, getting into the top 6 is within the realm of possibility.

-- Tim Bontemps

The race for the bottom of the East bracket

Even after watching the Heat beat the odds to reach the 2023 NBA Finals from a play-in spot, this season's race for the bottom of the East's play-in bracket isn't the most compelling battle we've seen.

The Chicago Bulls, Hawks, Nets and Raptors were among the biggest "will they or won't they?" teams at the trade deadline. All four have losing records and negative net ratings, meaning they could've opted to unload talent and collect draft picks.

The Raptors, currently in 12th, had already turned the page by dealing OG Anunoby (to New York) and Pascal Siakam (to Indiana) to build around All-Star Scottie Barnes. The free-falling Nets, in 11th, have dropped 16 of their last 21 games. Chicago and Atlanta, in ninth and 10th, respectively, stood pat at the deadline, even though they've repeatedly landed in the middle of the pack -- with no true threat of contention -- the past few years.

Because the Bulls and Hawks currently hold the final two play-in spots, and both kept their rosters precisely the same, they might be the safest picks to finish there, too. Chicago and Atlanta do have the toughest remaining schedules of these four teams.

The NBA's middle is an unenviable place to be, but on some level, with Chicago and Atlanta having plenty of experience operating from this very spot, it almost seems comfortable.

-- Chris Herring

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The San Diego Padres' uncertain outfield mix received slightly more clarity on Monday, when the team agreed to bring back utility player Jurickson Profar on a one-year, $1 million contract.

The Padres began spring training with only two outfielders on their 40-man roster in Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jose Azocar, the latter of whom has been at most a part-time starter against left-handed pitchers. Profar, whose deal is still pending the completion of a physical exam, has extensive experience in left field and can also play first base, yet another position of need.

A 30-year-old switch-hitter who has played everywhere except catcher, Profar slashed .241/.326/.403 while getting close to regular playing time from 2018 to 2022. He signed a one-year, $7.75 million deal with the division rival Colorado Rockies last March and struggled through a .689 OPS and eight home runs in 111 games, then was released in late August and picked back up by the Padres shortly thereafter, posting an OPS of .776 for the final 14 games of the 2023 regular season.

Profar followed a down year by playing 21 games in the Dominican winter league, during which he played primarily first base and left field, the positions he is most likely to occupy in San Diego. Profar currently stands to get a lot of playing time, but the Padres are expected to add more bats in the coming weeks. Manager Mike Shildt said the outfield mix is "wide open," with shortstop prospect Jackson Merrill -- ranked 12th by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel -- expected to see some time in the outfield this spring.

Shildt watched some of Profar's games in the Dominican Republic and called him a "good glue guy to have back."

"It's hard to quantify, otherwise we would have this thing figured out in our game," Shildt said. "But having the experience of knowing how important clubhouses are, knowing how important positive guys that also can share truths with everybody around him, hold guys accountable in a good way -- Jurickson brings that."