Le Journal

Kevin Feige locks in!

Nothing doing. The Brooklyn Nets returned home to face a revitalized Phoenix Suns team on Monday night. Brooklyn battled, but the Suns were too much to handle. The L was their second in a row and dropped the Nets to 2-9 in January. The opponent tonight… boy I don’t know. The New York Knicks walked in to this season with championship expectations and an Eastern Conference that was theirs for the taking. After winning the NBA Cup, it looked like they were on the road to a top seed and a run of good feelings. And then … things fell apart in a hurry. They got embarrassed at home on MLK Day on national tv against the Dallas Mavericks and have lost four straight games and eight out of their last ten. In fact, the Nets and Knicks have the same record over the last 11: 2-9. The sky isn’t falling, but things aren’t pretty on 33rd and 7th right now. Where to follow the game Ah we’ve got a full house tonight. YES Network and MSG on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. ESPN Radio and WFAN on radio. Tip after 7:30 p.m. ET. Injuries Day’ron Sharpe is questionable. Ben Saraf remains with Long Island. Nothing doing for the Knicks. The game New York won the first two meetings in November. The season series wraps up in March. There will be tons of scoring in this one. In January, the Knicks’ team defensive rating is 118.4, 27th in the league. After a great December, the Nets’ defense has fallen off a cliff as they’re allowing 121.3 points per 100 possessions, 29th in the league. Considering how talented this Knicks team is on both sides of the ball, that’s unacceptable and as Josh Hart said in postgame, he and his teammates have to “be professional.” Eek. Speaking of players that need to be better, Mikal Bridges, welcome to the big time! When he got his wish to get out of Brooklyn a few summers ago, he wanted to go to a team that could compete and be on a team that’s one of the centers of attention in the NBA. He’s gotten his wish and when you struggle on the Knicks, that attention becomes a pain to deal with. We mentioned the defense falling off a cliff earlier, and he + OG Anunoby were supposed to be the top dogs on that side of the ball that would lock up elite perimeter players. If Bridges doesn’t turn things around on that side, things are going to get really rough for him. Can Noah Clowney do it again? The last time he played the Knicks, he set career highs in points (31) and 3- pointers made (seven). Clowney’s had a good season for the most part, but there have been some rough patches every so often. He only grabbed one rebound against the Suns on Monday, and the Nets will need all the help they can get on the glass when Hart and Mitchell Robinson are on the court. A game like this will be a great test of his progress this season. If Brooklyn wants to end their record 12-game losing streak against the Knicks, they’re going to need a big outing from Michael Porter Jr. MPJ returned to action after a day off on Sunday and led the team in scoring with 23 points. With the Knicks defense being a wreck right now and Porter Jr having the ability to heat up at a moment’s notice, tonight could be the right mix for an All-Star showing. The Nets will also need to slow down Jalen Brunson. JB was named an All-Star starter on Monday, and it’s a well deserved honor for the franchise guard. He’s got bigger things to worry about these days, such as ensuring his team is on the same page and playing basketball that meets the expectations of a title contender. For the Nets, having Drake Powell chase Brunson around will be a great test for the rookie and one they’re excited to see. Powell has played well in his minutes and is carving out a solid role for himself on this team. A big time outing tonight will give him a boost as we enter the dog days of the season. And there’s another rivalry we should mention: that between the two head coaches, Jordi Fernandez and Mike Brown. Fernandez started off his career in the U.S. as youth coach who worked with Brown’s son.…

Everyone and their mother knows that the Chargers’ biggest need this offseason is reinforcements along the interior offensive line. However, there are still plenty of draft analysts that believe the Bolts could stand to upgrade the interior of their defensive line. To be quite honest, I’m not entirely sure where this pressing need seems to be coming from. The Chargers finished the 2025 regular season as the eight-best defense against the run. Veteran Teair Tart had arguably the best season of his career and it’s highly unlikely he plays elsewhere given that LA is the only place he’s played up to this level (they’re also no doubt the team will give him his worth this offseason). The team also just drafted Jamaree Caldwell in the third round a year ago and he played as the other starter in the middle for most of the season. Still, ESPN’s Mel Kiper believes the Bolts need an upgraded presence along the interior, it’s just not the side of the ball that most fans would agree with. In his first mock of the year for the 2026 draft, Kiper has the Chargers taking Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods with the 22nd-overall pick. “Woods looked like a top-10 pick heading into the season, but the production dipped, and here he is outside the top 20,“ says Kiper. ”The Chargers won’t complain, though. They would love to bring in a talented 3-technique with strength and versatility. At his best, Woods can wreck an opponent’s game plan. Can coach Jim Harbaugh (and maybe defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, if he isn’t hired elsewhere as a head coach) get Woods’ game back to that level? If so, he’d be a really good replacement for free agent Teair Tart.“ The 6’4, 310-pound Woods was seen as the top defensive tackle in the draft prior to the 2025 season. However, after recording eight tackles for loss and three sacks a year ago, those numbers dropped to 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks this season which is not what you want to see from a player projected to go early on day one. A fun fact: Woods was used as a goal-line back for the Tigers in 2025, earning eight carries for 15 yards and scoring twice. New Scott Matlock 2.0? One can hope. Clemson DT Peter Woods is a nightmare for offensive linemen.Super violent hands that shock & shed blocks instantly + elite get-off to dominate one-on-one in the run game. A refined pass-rush arsenal that disrupts QBs from the interior with serious power and quickness. He can… pic.twitter.com/Vvnkr6Zvvy— Josh Benzo (@JoshBenzo) January 9, 2026 Is this a pick you would like to see the Chargers make in April? Is offensive guard or center simply too high of a priority to consider anything else in the first round? Let us know all of your thoughts below!

He-Man is here!