Utah Jazz Is Struggling During Mid-season Slump. But How It Fares In Postseason Only Thing That Matters.

Catcher Brian Serven was called up and catcher Dom Nunez sent down before the Rockies hosted the Giants Tuesday night at Coors Field. The roster moves, according to manager Bud Black, had two primary objectives. First, the Rockies want to see what the 27-year-old Serven can do against major-leaguers. Second, they want to give Nunez more at-bats. “His at-bats have not been a lot,” Black said, referring to the fact that Nunez has just 36 plate appearances in 12 games.

Since the day he joined the Chicago Bears a little more than two years ago, Jaylon Johnson has emphasized the biggest prerequisite for top-tier cornerbacks. “Have a short memory,” he said again Tuesday. So perhaps it was apropos that when Johnson was asked about making notable individual growth during a 2021 season full of failure by the Bears defense, he couldn’t remember the pronounced struggles. “What made our pass defense not very good?” Johnson asked with genuine curiosity.

When the Chicago Cubs drafted Brandon Hughes in 2007, the 16th-round pick hoped one day to roam the outfield at Wrigley Field. He finally got to do that Tuesday during batting practice. Except Hughes’ first big-league call-up came as a pitcher and not an outfielder. The 26-year-old left-hander converted to pitching in 2019 and quickly ascended through the Cubs farm system.

For the Orlando Magic, the next few days will be a significant step in a month-long process that’ll culminate with the June 23 NBA draft. The NBA draft combine, which takes place Wednesday through Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, offers the Magic their most comprehensive look, up to this point, at the prospects they’re considering selecting in the June 23 draft. The combine is more than simply physical measurements, medicals, on-court drills and scrimmages — although that information is helpful. During the season, teams are allowed to scout prospects but aren’t allowed to contact them. Like most teams that didn’t already start hosting pre-draft workouts, the combine will be the Magic’s first opportunity to interview and have one-on-one interactions with prospects. It offers them a chance to get to know the prospect as more than just a basketball player. This can go a long way in determining who gets invited for a workout at the team’s facility or who ends up higher on a team’s draft board. Teams are allowed to interview a maximum of 20 players at the combine, while each player is allowed to interview with a maximum of 13 teams.

A potentially seismic shift hit the Eastern Conference finals less than three hours prior to Tuesday night’s start of Game 1 at FTX Arena, when the Boston Celtics announced that forward Al Horford had entered NBA health-and-safety protocols and would be out for the series opener against the Miami Heat. The designation not only had Horford out for Tuesday’s start of the best-of-seven series, but also, based on the NBA’s required quarantine in such cases, possibly out for Thursday night’s Game 2 at FTX Arena and Saturday’s Game 3 at TD Garden. “We found out about Al about two hours ago,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said, less than two hours before tipoff. Udoka indicated that upcoming testing results could impact the timing of a Horford return. “He’s feeling fine,” Udoka said, “and we’ll go from there, wait to see results of tests and future tests.” Udoka said he was unaware of any contact-tracing issues with others on the team. It is the third time this season Horford, 35, has entered NBA protocols. In addition, the Celtics announced that a second starter, point guard Marcus Smart, would miss the series opener due to the right mid-foot sprain sustained during Sunday’s Game 7 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks that advanced them to the East finals against the Heat. Smart was listed as questionable earlier in the day.

Dylan Cease had to deal with traffic in every inning of Tuesday’s start against the Kansas City Royals. The Chicago White Sox right-hander made the big pitches each time. Cease allowed seven hits and struck out nine in 5⅔ innings, leading the Sox to a 3-0 victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Kauffman Stadium. “(The Royals) did a really good job of getting on,” Cease said.