LaMelo Ball goes from goat to hero as Hornets oust Heat in overtime

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🏀 Five things to know Wednesday

1. Hornets pull out a wild win to eliminate Heat, and Trail Blazers reach the playoffs. Those upstart Hornets moved one step closer to their first playoff berth since 2016 when they knocked the Heat out of the Play-In Tournament in an overtime thriller. Miami had to operate without Bam Adebayo for more than half the game after he injured his back on a play Erik Spoelstra said should have resulted in an ejection for LaMelo Ball, who, in overtime, went from goat to hero in 12 seconds. In the West, the Trail Blazers took the No. 7 seed and will face the Spurs after getting 41 points from Deni Avdija to defeat the Suns in the night’s second play-in game. This is not the end of the road for Phoenix, though, as it gets a second crack at securing a spot in the playoffs with a do-or-die game on Friday against tonight’s Clippers-Warriors winner. 
2. Atlético Madrid and PSG advanced to the UEFA Champions League semifinals. Half of the four-team semifinal field is set after Tuesday’s second-leg action, and those squads will learn their opponents today (you can watch both remaining quarterfinals at 3 p.m. PT on Paramount+). PSG completed a 4-0 shutout of Liverpool on aggregate with yesterday’s 2-0 win, dealing another blow to the Reds’ disastrous season. Barcelona, meanwhile, fell short of a Champions League title with another early elimination despite Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Spanish rival Atlético Madrid. Before today’s slate gets underway, take a look at our picks and predictions.
3. Javier Mascherano stepped down as Inter Miami CF coach. Citing personal reasons, Mascherano announced his departure from the club less than a quarter of the way through his second year at the helm. It is a shocking exit that comes on the heels of Miami’s first MLS Cup championship, leaving Guillermo Hoyos in charge as interim coach. This also marks the second change in leadership since Lionel Messi joined the roster in 2023.
4. The 16-team Stanley Cup Playoffs field is set. All that’s left to decide before the start of the NHL postseason is seeding. Only two days’ worth of regular-season games are left, so we’ll have a complete bracket and schedule by the end of the week. But for now, check out the teams that have clinched spots in the playoffs and where they would slot into the field if the season ended this second.
5. Sherrone Moore was sentenced to 18 months probation. The former Michigan football coach appeared in court again on Monday when a court announced his punishment for the December incident that unfolded upon his firing. He was sentenced for two misdemeanor charges (trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device) after two others were dismissed as part of his no-contest plea agreement. In addition to his probation, Moore must also pay a $1,000 fine, continue mental health treatment, submit to drug and alcohol tests and refrain from contact with the victim of his confrontation.

🔢 Do not miss this: NBA postseason player rankings

The first 13 seeds in the NBA Playoffs are already accounted for, and three more are up for grabs in the rest of the Play-In Tournament. This is the time of year when the world’s biggest stars shine the brightest, and every team that is still alive needs its top contributors to be at their best on just about every given night.

The top championship contenders, logically, have more firepower than the rest. That is evident in our ranking of the top 50 players in the postseason, as the Spurs, Thunder and Nuggets account for the three players in Tier 1.

I’ll show you the players in the top and bottom tiers, but you’ll need to check out Sam Quinn’s excellent work to see the rest and to find out where exactly they stand from Nos. 1-50.

• Tier 1: Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama
• Tier 11: Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jarrett Allen, Jrue Holiday

Here’s a hint: Quinn is still extremely high on Jokić even though he has not been the same since his midseason knee injury.

• Quinn: “The turnovers — especially in transition — went way up. His 3-point shooting dropped roughly a dozen percentage points, his floater went from completely unstoppable to merely very good, and his defense, always a concern, became, at times, downright alarming.”

🔮 Way-too-early 2027 WNBA mock draft

It has only been less than 48 hours since college stars like Lauren Betts heard their names called at the WNBA Draft, but we’re already turning our attention to 2027. Who will follow Azzi Fudd as the next No. 1 overall pick? Jack Maloney says that even though USC‘s JuJu Watkins missed all of last season with a torn ACL, she is the obvious favorite to be the first player off the board.

• Maloney: “Watkins still has two years of college eligibility, but it’s hard to see her staying in school longer than she needs to under the new WNBA CBA. Assuming she declares, she is the clear option at No. 1. Standing 6-foot-2, Watkins is a two-way force who can create her own shot at will, and was on her way to one of the best collegiate careers ever prior to her knee injury.”

Watkins thus goes No. 1 overall in our way-too-early WNBA mock draft. Behind her, the order is far from determined. This could be one of the greatest draft classes ever with its deep stable of high-scoring standouts and a never-before-seen type of prospect in 7-foot-3 Chinese center Zhang Ziyu.

While we don’t have Zhang in the top five of our mock draft, you’ll want to see where she landed. Speaking of the top five, here they are:

1. JuJu Watkins, USC
2. Madison Booker, Texas
3. S’Mya Nichols, Kansas
4. Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
5. Mikaylah Williams, LSU

🏈 College football best- and worst-case scenarios

With the season still months away, optimism runs high for fans of the best college football teams. Brad Crawford charted the best and worst likely outcomes for the teams sitting in our early top 25 rankings.

As many as seven teams can reasonably feel as though an undefeated regular season is within reach. But what if things don’t go according to plan? We saw last year at Penn State that a team with national championship goals can fall on its face and barely even make a bowl game.

So who are the next Nittany Lions? Texas might be the most volatile of the 2026 championship hopefuls. Crawford says they could finish as poorly as 8-4.

• Crawford: “Steve Sarkisian gets the pressure ramped up on him in a major way if Texas wins eight games as a preseason top-10 team and heads back to the Citrus Bowl, well short of title aspirations. There’s a chance the Longhorns have the top two players in the 2027 NFL Draft with Arch Manning and Colin Simmons leading both sides of the football, but the schedule has landmines.”

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

⚾ Guardians at Cardinals, 1:15 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ UEFA Champions League: Sporting CP at Arsenal, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid at Bayern Munich, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚾ Cubs at Phillies, 6:40 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
⚾ Royals at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. on MLB Network
🏒 Red Wings at Panthers, 7 p.m. on TNT
⚾ Angels at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. on Peacock
🏀 NBA Play-In: Magic at 76ers, 7:30 p.m. on Prime Video
⚽ CONCACAF Champions Cup: Deportivo Toluca FC at LA Galaxy, 9:06 p.m. on FS1
🏀 NBA Play-In: Warriors at Clippers, 10 p.m. on Prime Video
⚾ Mets at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ CONCACAF Champions Cup: Tigres UANL at Seattle Sounders FC, 11:30 p.m. on FS1