Chris Paul returning for Warriors’ playoff push; Top 2024 NFL Combine storylines

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🏀 Good morning to everyone but especially …

CHRIS PAUL AND THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

With little margin for error in a sprint to the finish, the Warriors are getting a key piece back, and not a moment too soon. Chris Paul, who has not played since Jan. 5 due to a hand injury, is off the injury report and expected to return tonight at the Wizards.

Paul’s overall numbers — 8.9 points per game (his lowest ever) and 7.2 assists per game (his second-lowest ever) on 42.4% shooting (his second-lowest ever) — aren’t anything special, but he’s returning to a Warriors team that looks very different from when he last played. And he’ll fill a crucial role, Sam Quinn writes.

• Quinn: “Paul will likely now play more bench minutes alongside Klay Thompson, and that is a pairing that has largely worked for the Warriors this season. In roughly 500 minutes together so far, the Paul-Thompson duo has outscored opponents by 75 points this season. As a whole, the Warriors have posted a plus-4 net rating in Paul’s minutes this season, which allowed Golden State to survive the notoriously precarious Stephen Curry bench minutes that have plagued the Warriors for years.”

Furthermore, Paul’s return will mean the Warriors (29-27) are the healthiest they’ve been all season with 26 games left. The Warriors are 10th in the West — the last play-in spot — but have won eight of their past 10 and are just a half-game behind the 9th-place Lakers and have a three-game cushion over the 11th-place Jazz.

😁 Honorable mentions

• Shohei Ohtani will make his Dodgers spring training debut today. The Dodgers also traded Manuel Margot to the Twins to bring back Enrique “Kiké” Hernández.
• The Chiefs and Andy Reid are working on making him the highest-paid coach in the NFL.
• The Cardinals reaffirmed their belief in Kyler Murray.
• The Bengals franchise-tagged Tee Higgins, giving the two sides until July 15 to work on a long-term deal. Meanwhile, it looks like no big-name running backs — including Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley — will get the tag.
• The Clippers are getting new uniforms next season, and they’re actually good!
• Rory McIlroy won the ninth edition of The Match.
• The Suns will host NBA All-Star weekend in 2027.
• This will be Zach Edey‘s last season at Purdue.
• College football is close to adopting helmet communications.
• UMass is returning to the MAC in 2025.
• Here are the men’s AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll and women’s AP Top 25.

😕 Not so honorable mentions

• The USWNT lost to Mexico, 2-0 — the team’s first Concacaf loss on home soil in 23 years — to wrap up W Gold Cup group play.
• Draymond Green has thoughts on how to fix the NBA All-Star Game. (I don’t think his suggestions will work)
• Monty Williams blasted the officiating after a non-call in the Pistons‘ last-second loss to the Knicks.
• The NFL is likely to keep the fumble-through-the-end-zone rule.
• The Athletics‘ move to Las Vegas is hitting more speed bumps.
• Amid another health battle, Jeff Jones is retiring.

🏈 NFL Combine predictions and bold takes, plus new mock draft

Some of the biggest names may not be participating in the NFL Combine, but there’s plenty of intrigue as the week gets underway. Participants started arriving in Indianapolis, and before the on-field events begin Thursday, draft experts Josh Edwards, Ryan Wilson and Chris Trapasso answered the biggest questions and discussed top storylines. Ryan says the top storyline is …

• Wilson: “The quarterbacks. It’s always the quarterbacks. No one will care that Caleb Williams has chosen not to throw because he’s the best QB in this class, but just like the Senior Bowl, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix still have something to prove, despite stellar college careers. And J.J. McCarthy, who is getting buzz as a top-10 pick, will have an opportunity to impress teams not only in the interviews but with his athleticism. He wasn’t asked to do a lot at Michigan, but he has special physical tools that many teams think will translate at the next level.”

This quarterback class is supremely talented but really hard to evaluate after Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye as the consensus top three. Then QB4-QB*insert number here* is a wild ride. Do you like the explosive arm of Penix, whose injury history is a concern? The accuracy of Nix, another elder statesman who was the product of a great system? McCarthy, whose upside and questions Wilson hit on? You can make the argument for any of them; I think I’m leaning McCarthy for QB4, but we’re about to learn a lot.

If you’re feeling the need for speed over the slowest part of the offseason, Edwards, Wilson and Trapasso also made predictions for fastest 40 time and plenty more.

We also have …

• Top five prospects at every offensive position
• Top five prospects at every defensive position
• New two-round mock draft from the “With the First Pick” podcast crew

⚾ Ranking MLB’s top 10 starting rotations

We’re one month and one day away from Opening Day, and Matt Snyder’s Power Rankings this week are focused on pitching — specifically the top 10 staffs in the league. Coming in at No. 1 is …

• Snyder: “1. Braves — As good as the Braves were in the regular season last year, some people might be under the misconception that they had everything break right. No, the rotation was injury-riddled and they had to throw some rookies in the fire. The experience gained by Bryce Elder will pay dividends behind aces Spencer Strider and Max Fried. Veterans Charlie Morton and Chris Sale mean it’s a five-deep collection of potential studs. There’s depth, too.”

Meanwhile, the Dodgers — the only team behind Atlanta in Matt’s overall Power Rankings — come in fifth in the staff rankings. Just behind them is another one of MLB’s most expensive teams.

• Snyder: “6. Yankees — Gerrit Cole is the most reliable workhorse in the league and he’s an ace on top of that. On the flip side, the rest of the group of full of volatility in terms of possible outcomes, namely from Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman and Nestor Cortes. In the last few years, though, we’ve seen ace-like runs from all three, meaning there will be stretches when the Yankees look stellar on the mound. The depth could become a big issue, though.”

🏀 Breanna Stewart re-signs with Liberty

After coming up just short of a title in her first year with the Liberty, Breanna Stewart is returning to the Big Apple on a discount, signing a one-year, non-guaranteed, below-max deal.

• Stewart, 29, won her second career MVP and was selected to the All-Star Game, All-WNBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team after averaging a career-high 23 points. She had four 40-point games, a single-season WNBA record.
• The superteam Liberty fell short of their ultimate goal, losing to the Aces in four games in the Finals. Stewart in particular struggled, and she went just 3 of 17 in the clinching Game 4, which New York lost by just one point.
• Stewart was the top free agent in Jack Maloney’s rankings.

The Liberty had used the “core” designation — which came with a one-year maximum contract and gave New York exclusive negotiating rights — on Stewart, so her returning isn’t a surprise. Still, it’s a big step for the Liberty, which also retained Jonquel Jones earlier this offseason. With Stewart and Jones officially returning alongside Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot, New York will be the favorite in the East and a major threat to supplant Las Vegas, the two-time defending champions.

📺 What we’re watching Tuesday

🏀 Davidson at No. 21 Dayton (M), 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 No. 16 Kentucky at Mississippi State (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Cincinnati at No. 1 Houston (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 76ers at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Texas at Texas Tech (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Rockets at Thunder, 10 p.m. on TNT
🏀 San Jose State at No. 20 San Diego State (M), 11 p.m. on CBS Sports Network