CLEVELAND — As the flakes tumbled from the night sky, turning Huntington Bank Field into a snow globe, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson dropped back and let it fly.

The pass, thrown with anticipation, found receiver Calvin Austin III on time and on target in the end zone for the go-ahead, 23-yard touchdown. After failing to score a touchdown for more than seven consecutive quarters dating to Week 10 against the Washington Commanders, Pittsburgh had scored two in less than two minutes to take a one-point lead over the Cleveland Browns with 6:15 remaining.

.@DangeRussWilson ➡️ @CalvinAustinIII for six!!!!

📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/ucLP4kE2cM

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 22, 2024

It was a miraculous comeback. Until it wasn’t.

“The game is never won until you get on the bus,” Austin said after the game. “So it was definitely an emotional moment (after the touchdown). We were all hype and stuff. But we knew we had an inspired team that was about to get the ball back.”

As it turned out, the Browns got the ball back not once, but twice.

The Steelers’ defense did its job the first time, forcing backup quarterback Jameis Winston into an errant pass that cornerback Donte Jackson intercepted with 4:22 to go. But after Pittsburgh went three-and-out — with Justin Fields in for Wilson at quarterback on second and third down — and Corliss Waitman shanked a punt for the first time as a Steeler, the defense couldn’t get off the field again.

Cleveland got the ball back with 3:22 remaining and drove 45 yards in nine plays. The Browns capped the sequence with a 2-yard Nick Chubb touchdown with 57 seconds remaining, then batted down Wilson’s Hail Mary as time expired to stun the Steelers, 24-19.

A team that made a statement by beating the Baltimore Ravens just four days earlier dropped to 8-3, leaving the door open in the competitive AFC North.

“Missed opportunities,” defensive co-captain Cameron Hayward said. “We have to eat it. They made more plays at the end. Some of that stuff we can have some head-scratching about what was on display. Just take it, move on. I know everybody is pretty pissed off about the loss.”

The weighty moments at the end of the game loom large: coach Mike Tomlin’s decision to accept an illegal touching penalty that gave the Browns a second crack at third down on the final drive, then spending a timeout that would be needed later; the coverage on the ensuing third-and-6 conversion; the decision to tackle Chubb on the 2-yard line with more than 90 seconds remaining instead of letting him score to preserve time and get the ball back.

But the reality is this game was lost much earlier, on the other side of the ball.

“We beat ourselves with a lot of mistakes,” Austin said. “That takes all 11 looking in the mirror and just continuing to push details. They’re a good team. Got to give them credit. But at the end of the day, we just got to perform better.”

Two weeks ago, when Wilson erased a 10-point, second-half deficit against the Commanders, it appeared the offense had finally figured it out after years of instability and inconsistency. At the time, the veteran signal caller had led the Steelers to 31.7 points and 382 total yards per game through three starts. If the offense continued along the same trajectory, it was reasonable to consider the Steelers legitimate Super Bowl contenders that could stand toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen.

But it hasn’t continued.

If those first three games showed the explosive upside of Wilson’s moonball, his veteran presence and his ability to make checks at the line of scrimmage, the past two have revealed many of the Steelers’ offensive warts.

It’s certainly not all on Wilson. However, sacks are becoming problematic, putting the offense behind the chains. This was an obvious area of concern the minute the Steelers signed Wilson, considering he led the NFL in sacks taken in two of the previous five seasons. Initially, when he took over for Fields in Week 7, the Steelers did well enough to protect Wilson that it wasn’t a major red flag.

However, in the first half alone on Thursday, Wilson was sacked four times, as the Browns kept the Steelers’ offensive line off balance with stunts and games up front. Three of those sacks came from Myles Garrett, including a strip-sack that set the Browns up on a short field.

Myles strips the ball and we recover it 🙌😤 #PITvsCLE | @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/36WalR8R8h

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 22, 2024

Even beyond the negative plays, Pittsburgh’s offense has become too boom or bust. Yes, once again, Wilson’s deep shot was a catalyst. He connected with Austin on a 46-yard bomb up the seam, hit Van Jefferson on a 35-yard gain and found George Pickens for 31 yards. Those big plays helped bolster what was a solid stat line from Wilson, as he completed 21 of 28 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions for a 116.7 passer rating.

The problem is, when the Steelers aren’t producing touchdowns on these deep shots, they’re having a hard time finishing drives. The issues emerged on the opening drive. On third down, Wilson took an 8-yard sack on third-and-2, turning a potential 50-yard field goal attempt into a 58-yarder that the reliable Chris Boswell missed.

The Steelers, who rank 26th in success rate (37.2 percent, per TruMedia) since Wilson took over, tried to use every resource available to keep the offense going. However, another first-half drive was halted on the 40-yard line. This time, they deployed Fields on a fourth-and-2 QB keeper, failing and turning the ball over on downs. The offense also fizzled at the 30 (made field goal), its own 46 (failed fourth-and-1 run by Jaylen Warren) and the Cleveland 9-yard line (made field goal).

“We had some really good, explosive plays down the field, throwing the ball with Van (Jefferson) — he made some great catches — and Calvin (Austin),” Wilson said. “And then we got stalled for whatever reasons. We’ve got to watch the film and see what that was. … We needed one or two more plays.”

Complicating matters is the unique quarterback dynamic. After utilizing the Fields package for three plays on Sunday against the Ravens, the Steelers featured their mobile QB on seven snaps (plus an eighth that didn’t happen because of a false start) on Thursday.

The results were mixed. After coming up short on fourth down early in the game, Fields provided a second-half spark when he kept the ball on a zone read and raced 30 yards along the right sideline. That played helped jump-start the offense, and later in the same drive, the threat of Fields keeping the ball on the zone read helped Warren burst into the end zone to snap the Steelers’ touchdown-less skid and kindle the rally.

Jaylen Warren in for the TD! The @Steelers answer right back.#PITvsCLE on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/aDPce0i8CM

— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2024

The Steelers also put the ball in Fields’ hands in a four-minute situation with the lead. It was a reasonable time to play the running quarterback, with the Steelers trying to burn the clock. However, on third-and-4, his deep shot for Pickens sailed incomplete, stopping the clock and giving the Browns plenty of time to score the go-ahead touchdown.

Asked if he would have liked to be in the game in that critical moment, Wilson was somewhat transparent.

“Listen, I always want to be in there,” he said. “That’s just the competitor in me. But at the same time, we have great trust in Justin, our team, our coaches and everything we’re doing.”

It’s also not the easiest challenge for Fields. He said after the game that he felt “kind of stiff” on his 30-yard run after standing on the sideline for the entirety of the second and third quarters, adding he felt he could have scored on the play. Asked if it’s difficult to enter the game mid-stream and virtually without warning, Fields admitted it is.

“But at the end of the day, that’s what my job is,” he said. “So you can’t complain. Anytime I get a chance and an opportunity to go on the field and help my team, I’m happy to do it.”

Sitting behind a keyboard and watching the game from the press box, it’s honestly hard to say what the right balance should be. Fields has often been the Steelers’ best offensive weapon, and his mobility might be able to help them rectify their red zone woes. Using both quarterbacks allows the Steelers to adjust on the fly if the offense needs a jolt or if the opposing pass rush is becoming too big of a factor. On the other hand, it does seem that, at times, rotating quarterbacks can disrupt the passers’ rhythm and timing.

Still, it’s important to remember that the Steelers got to 8-2 thanks to the contributions of both players. If they’re going to prove that this two-game stretch of offensive woes was a blip on the radar, and that this offense can in fact provide an edge in the postseason, they’re probably going to need to continue to use both.

Finding that right balance and rediscovering a way to finish drives will help determine how far this offense — and the team as a whole — goes.

“We’ve got a lot of football left,” Wilson said. “We’ve got a lot of opportunities to respond in the highest way, highest level. I think that everything that we want is still in front of us.”

(Photo of Russell Wilson: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)

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We’re about a month into the NBA season, and while the injury bug has bitten nearly every team in one way or another, there are other worries that are worth … well, worrying about.

The Athletic asked its NBA staff for each team’s biggest concern at this point. The responses covered the full spectrum, from free-throw shooting and poor depth to well-known names not yet producing at the levels we’ve come to expect in recent years. (Stats and records are through Wednesday’s games.)

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics

Rim protection: This is a fresh concern. It might be a short-term one since the Celtics ranked near the league leaders in rim protection last season and should soon welcome back 7-foot-2 shot blocker Kristaps Porziņģis. But Boston has been gashed for layups and dunks recently, especially in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks and an all-too-close win against the Toronto Raptors. Joe Mazzulla said his team needs to improve its individual defense and rebounding. The Celtics might just be suffering symptoms of a mild championship hangover. — Jay King

Brooklyn Nets

Nic Claxton’s back issue: The Nets got off to a surprisingly solid start, even as Claxton slowly worked his way into the rotation after a preseason hamstring injury. But now he is out again with a lingering back strain. The team wants to build an identity while the front office ideally wants to get the top pick in the draft. They’re achieving both at the moment, and there is a lot to be excited about if Cam Thomas is making a leap. But Claxton is one of the Nets’ cornerstones, and they need him to stay healthy and keep improving if this rebuild is going anywhere down the road. — Jared Weiss

New York Knicks

Lack of free throws: I could go with the defense here, but I think that’ll improve with more time and the eventual return of Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks rank 29th in the NBA in free-throw attempts per game (19.1). For a team that shoots a lot of 2-pointers — efficiently, I should add — and has a head coach who emphasizes shooting 3s, getting to the rim and free-throw attempts, it’s a bit concerning New York doesn’t visit the charity stripe more. Mikal Bridges has only taken 11 free throws this season, despite the majority of his shot attempts coming from inside the arc. — James L. Edwards III

Philadelphia 76ers

Can they get healthy and on the same page?: The Sixers are stuck in a spiral that seems inescapable at the moment. Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey shared the floor together for the first time Wednesday, a game that George left early because of an injury to the same knee he hurt in the preseason. Their only two wins came in overtime, so they are a few bounces away from being completely winless. They’re already at the team meeting stage of the season. The supporting cast has struggled to shoot and rebound. There simply has not been the spark to overcome adversity that defines a season. — Jared Weiss

Toronto Raptors

No chance to build chemistry: RJ Barrett had an AC joint injury. Pelvic and elbow injuries have kept Immanuel Quickley to two and a half games. Scottie Barnes suffered an orbital bone fracture early in the second week of the season. The Raptors schedule was always going to be tough to start the year. However, the presumptive starting lineup, which also features Jakob Poeltl and emerging sophomore Gradey Dick, has played zero minutes. Even if you are rebuilding, you want your core pieces to get big minutes against good teams. The Raptors are missing out on that opportunity. — Eric Koreen

Central Division

Chicago Bulls

Team defense: After trading Alex Caruso this offseason, the Bulls knew their defense would suffer, but Chicago is on the cusp of ranking among the bottom-three teams in defense. Without a single elite defender, and absent appropriate size, Chicago knows its fortunes will be difficult to change. The Bulls are attempting to overcome their defensive limitations by playing faster and launching more 3-pointers. But they’ve compounded their issues with turnovers and cold shooting nights. — Darnell Mayberry

Cleveland Cavaliers

How about … none?: Seriously, they deserve this moment. Only a few teams have done what the Cavs did — win their first 15 games — and historically speaking, those teams wound up in the NBA Finals. It’s OK to say this team has no glaring concerns. Take a bow. If you insist, there are some issues to keep an eye on, like wing depth (the Cavs have a bunch of them, but will they hold up in the playoffs?), defensive rebounding and serviceable bigs off the bench. We just can’t, with a straight face, call any of these items concerns right now. — Joe Vardon

Detroit Pistons

Turnovers: The Pistons entered Thursday tied with the Bulls for 20th in the NBA in turnovers per game. Cade Cunningham is Detroit’s primary ballhandler and fourth in the league in assists per game, but he leads the NBA in total turnovers. Turnovers are to be expected with a team this young, but Cunningham is the head of the snake. Once he and the Pistons value the basketball on each possession, there should be fewer close games that keep Detroit fans on the edge of their seats. — Hunter Patterson

Indiana Pacers

Tyrese Haliburton: My guy can’t shoot right now. Haliburton is making just 37.5 percent of his shots overall and is chucking it at an abysmal 28.4 percent from 3-point range. These are both, easily, career lows, and for what it’s worth, his 82 percent shooting at the foul line also is a career worst. The Pacers have better players and more depth, and Haliburton’s ability to push the pace and find the open man are still paramount (his assists are down too). But for the Pacers to be good, he has to play at his usual All-Star level. — Joe Vardon

Tyrese Haliburton has struggled shooting in the first month of the season. (Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images)

Milwaukee Bucks

Khris Middleton’s health: During training camp, Middleton told The Athletic that he needed to play in at least 70 games to consider this a successful season for himself. The Bucks are 15 games through their schedule and he has still not felt confident enough to get on the floor for five-on-five activities. The Bucks have rebounded well from their 2-8 start by winning four of their past five games, but it will be difficult to compete for a championship without a healthy Middleton. — Eric Nehm

Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks

Trae Young: You can nitpick about Atlanta’s defense or the shooting on the wings or the backup point guard situation, but none of that matters if Young isn’t playing at an All-Star level. And while he’s leading the league in assists, he’s also struggled mightily to score, shooting just 38 percent on the season and failing to get off a shot in two last-shot situations that both ended in Hawks losses. While Young historically has been a slow starter, his Achilles tendinitis to begin the season adds to the concern level this time around. — John Hollinger

Charlotte Hornets

When will Mark Williams play again?: The Hornets are reaching an anniversary they don’t want: Dec. 8 will mark a year since Williams last played in a game. The 15th pick in the 2022 draft has played in just 62 games in his career. He missed most of last season with a back injury. This year, it’s been a left foot issue. Williams has been productive when he has played and could be a key piece for Charlotte in its rebuild, but the Hornets need to see him back on the floor to know that. — Mike Vorkunov

Miami Heat

Terry Rozier’s start: After their failed pursuit of Damian Lillard in the summer of 2023, Miami’s big move to bolster its backcourt was trading Kyle Lowry and a lottery-protected 2027 first-round pick to Charlotte for Terry Rozier. The 30-year-old got off to a decent start after his arrival in South Beach, but he missed the 2024 playoffs due to a neck injury, and he’s off to a rough start this season as the Heat have stumbled to a 6-7 mark. Rozier’s averaging 12.9 points and 3.7 assists on 38 percent shooting. Miami needs to be more explosive on offense to compete with teams such as Boston and Cleveland at the top of the Eastern Conference. Rozier has to play a key role in the offense taking another step. — Will Guillory

Orlando Magic

3-point shooting: Orlando has done an admirable job overcoming the absence of injured star Paolo Banchero. But the team still struggles to score in the half court and struggles to hit long-range shots. The Magic rank last in 3-point shooting percentage, making only 30.5 percent of their attempts. They remain competitive because of their outstanding defense, coaching, cohesiveness and home-court advantage. They have a lot of positives going for them. But as their shooting woes in last year’s playoffs demonstrated, their inability to convert from beyond the arc is an Achilles heel. — Josh Robbins

Washington Wizards

Can they keep players engaged?: Still early in their rebuild, the Wizards need to finish at or near the bottom of the NBA standings to enhance their 2025 draft lottery chances. It sounds ghoulish to say, but they’re on the right track with a 2-11 record. That said, for any team, losing a lot of games (and by wide margins too) can cause collateral damage, especially to veteran players who grow impatient with losing and potentially with young players who could fall into bad habits. Can coach Brian Keefe and the team leaders keep Washington’s older players positive and the young players on the right developmental track? — Josh Robbins

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets

Same song: The Nuggets are going to win 50 games and be relevant come playoff time. But can they get over the hump this season? Do they have the quality depth to survive when all-everything Nikola Jokić is not on the floor? That’s what terminated their playoff run last season. Can it be different this time around? — Tony Jones

GO DEEPER

Without Nikola Jokić, the Nuggets have looked alarmingly helpless

Minnesota Timberwolves

Defense: The Timberwolves had the best defense in the NBA by a country mile last season, riding it all the way to the Western Conference finals. Rudy Gobert was Defensive Player of the Year and flanked by a trio of the best perimeter defenders in the league in Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Anthony Edwards. Of those four players, only Alexander-Walker has resembled what he was last season. Gobert has said he isn’t playing up to his standards at the rim, McDaniels hasn’t been anywhere close to the disrupter on the perimeter and Edwards has often looked inattentive and unfocused on that end. If the Wolves are going to overcome a sluggish start, those three guys have to get their defensive teeth back. — Jon Krawczynski

Oklahoma City Thunder

Alex Caruso’s shooting: Caruso scored a season-high 17 points during the recent win over the Trail Blazers. The Thunder are hoping that trend continues. For all the talk of the Caruso-for-Josh Giddey swap in Oklahoma City, neither side is seeing dividends yet. Giddey has struggled leading the Bulls offense and Caruso can’t find the net from beyond the 3-point arc, shooting just 21 percent from deep. And worse, defenders are straying all the way off him when he lines the perimeter. Caruso made more than 40 percent of his 3s in Chicago a season ago. If he continues to miss at this rate, he could become ill-fitting on a roster with shooting everywhere. But if he begins to look like himself again, at a bare minimum hitting open jumpers, the Thunder are in a better place. — Fred Katz

Alex Caruso puts up a jumper against the Hawks last month. (Joshua Gateley / Getty Images)

Portland Trail Blazers

Deni Avdija’s shot: The Blazers big offseason acquisition is off to a flat shooting start, which played a part in him losing his starting job 10 games into the season. After making a career-best 37.4 percent of his 3-pointers last season in Washington, Avdija has made only 13 of 50 in Portland (26 percent). With Shaedon Sharpe flourishing now that he is back from injury, Avdija’s minutes also have dipped slightly. He has provided value with his smarts, defense and passing, but when the Blazers gave up two first-round picks, two second-round picks and Malcolm Brogdon, they thought they were also getting a shooter on the rise. And maybe that is coming: Avdija in the last four games has made nearly half (7 of 15) of his 3-pointers. — Jason Quick

Utah Jazz

Will Hardy: The Jazz coach is so good at his job that, somehow, he still has a zombie roster competitive enough to only have the fourth-worst record in the league. It bodes well for when the Jazz have enough talent to win that Hardy will maximize that talent. He’s a phenomenal coach. But right now, the Utah front office needs about three more losses than the Jazz currently have. — Tony Jones

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks

Crunchtime conundrum: Who knew having too many closers could be this clunky? While the Luka Dončić-Kyrie Irving-Klay Thompson trio has mostly worked well, it’s still quite surprising to see these Mavs drop so many close games with all these elite shot-makers on the payroll. Six of their seven losses have been by seven points or fewer, including a stretch of four in a row (against Phoenix, Denver, Golden State and Utah) in which they lost by a combined eight points. While that’s counterintuitive, to be sure, it’s also a reminder there’s only one ball and their late-game chemistry will have to come over time. That process will be slowed a bit with Dončić sidelined for at least a week due to a wrist injury. The numbers, however, indicate Dallas has been better than its record. — Sam Amick

Houston Rockets

Murky offensive identity: There aren’t many concerns with an 11-5 Rockets team within striking distance of first place in the West, but Houston’s lack of an offensive hierarchy is puzzling. The Rockets want to control the glass, run the floor in transition and defend aggressively without fouling, but the absence of a true pecking order rears its head at the wrong times, especially in crunchtime. Four of their five losses have come in the clutch when their pace and ball movement grinds to a halt. It’s hard to be a pace-and-space unit when you’re 15th in pace and 27th in 3s made per game, and those issues could be fixed with an outlined structure. — Kelly Iko

Memphis Grizzlies

Health: The Grizzlies’ depth has vastly improved from a year ago, enabling Memphis to survive — and even thrive at times — without a full complement of players. That said, the core trio of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. has played exactly one game together, with Morant’s most recent hip injury again raising the question of just how often the Grizzlies can unite their three stars. Morant only played nine games a year ago and just eight so far this year, while Bane has played 58 and 42 the past two campaigns and only seven so far this season. — John Hollinger

New Orleans Pelicans

Is it too late to make noise?: The Pelicans are going through an unprecedented stretch of bad injury luck that’s left the roster decimated the past few weeks. After starting the season 2-0, New Orleans only has two wins in its last 14 games. There will be a few key pieces getting back on the court in the next two weeks. There’s a good chance CJ McCollum, Jordan Hawkins and Herb Jones will all be back in the lineup before the end of November. The Pelicans may start turning things around very soon. But the West is so incredibly deep that it might not matter. This is the wrong season to be playing catch-up. — Will Guillory

GO DEEPER

Pelicans coach Willie Green faces crossroads as injured stars near their return

San Antonio Spurs

Lack of ball penetration: Nearly half of Victor Wembanyama’s shots are coming from the perimeter, up from just 30 percent as a rookie. The Spurs hoist the ninth-most 3s in the league, but to improve on their 20th-ranked offense, they’ll need to diversify their approach. Some of it is circumstantial: Rookie Stephon Castle, a physical downhill threat, is still learning; Tre Jones and Devin Vassell, San Antonio’s most frequent drivers last season, have only recently returned from injury; and Jeremy Sochan, who was fourth, has been sidelined since early November. Maybe reserve Keldon Johnson, who leads the way with 6.6 drives per game, gets more minutes, but it starts and ends with Wembanyama. The Frenchman needs to set the tone. — Kelly Iko

Victor Wembanyama is shooting nearly 34 percent from 3 this season. (Daniel Dunn / Imagn Images)

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

Free-throw shooting: The last time an NBA team shot below 70 percent from the line for a season was five seasons ago when the Knicks did it. The last time a team with a winning record did it was nine seasons ago, when the Pistons did it. The 11-3 Warriors have made only 69.5 percent of their free throws. Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Brandin Podziemski and Kevon Looney are all struggling from the line to varying degrees. They went 9 of 19 collectively in a three-point loss to the Clippers recently. In a conference where the standings margins are expected to be slim, a few free-throw-related losses in the middle months could be the difference between several seeding slots — the third to the seventh, for example — come April. — Anthony Slater

LA Clippers

Turnovers: One of the reasons the Clippers are hovering around .500 is because they donate possessions like a red kettle is on the floor. Only the Trail Blazers and Jazz average more turnovers per game. And it’s the wrong kind of turnovers, as opponents steal the ball from the Clippers more than any other team. The Clippers can be better than league average on offense if they take better care of the ball, especially in fourth quarters. — Law Murray

Los Angeles Lakers

Depth: The Lakers’ depth was a concern entering the season, and it has grown more problematic since training camp. Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood have yet to return from offseason surgeries. Jaxson Hayes is out with an ankle injury. Anthony Davis is battling plantar fasciitis, an injury that has bothered him since last season. Gabe Vincent and Max Christie have underperformed preseason expectations. Los Angeles is winning enough to stay competitive in the West, but it’s largely been because of production from the starters and D’Angelo Russell. Longer term, the Lakers need to get healthy and/or improve their roster via trade(s). — Jovan Buha

GO DEEPER

Dalton Knecht is on fire — and so are the Lakers

Phoenix Suns

Staying healthy: Through nine games, Phoenix looked great. Then misfortune hit. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal suffered calf strains, and a team that opened 8-1 dropped six of seven. Completely healthy, this team looked like a title contender. Durant played like an MVP candidate. Beal excelled in his role. A rebuilt bench contributed. But it’s not even Thanksgiving, and the Phoenix injury report has become a main storyline. The good news: The Suns showed what was possible. They weren’t perfect, but they had something solid from which to build. The bad: As the league’s second-oldest team at 28.26 years, per NBA.com, the health factor may not go away. — Doug Haller

Sacramento Kings

Star workload: De’Aaron Fox is averaging 37.4 minutes per game. Keegan Murray is at 36.7. Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan are both at 36.5. That gives the Kings’ four out of the NBA’s top 14 players in minutes per game. That’s a ton to ask over the course of an 82-game marathon, especially with Sabonis (in his ninth season) and DeRozan (in his 17th season) already missing time due to back injuries. But that’s the trouble for the Kings, who have injured bench players (Malik Monk, rookie Devin Carter), questionable depth and a voracious hunger from Mike Brown and the organization to wrestle away every possible regular-season win to avoid the Play-In Tournament. Fox, Murray, Sabonis and DeRozan have been very durable players historically. That will be tested. — Anthony Slater

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(Top photo of Paul George and Joel Embiid: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)

HOUSTON — Jamal Shead sat in his locker stall after Houston’s Sweet 16 loss to Duke with a towel draped over his head, trying to answer questions. The locker room felt like a wake: players talking in hushed tones, shocked their run had ended with their indestructible leader sidelined by a sprained ankle. Eventually, Shead couldn’t take it anymore and escaped to the coaches’ locker room.

Shead had grown up in this program, from an unplayable freshman to an All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year as a senior, and the injury forced him to watch the final 26 minutes of his college career from the sidelines as the Blue Devils ground out a 54-51 win.

“I always think about the investment those kids made and how hard I was on them and how hard I pushed them,” Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said months later. “That was Jamal’s last time. I had him for four years, and maybe I’ll have another one, maybe I won’t, but he won’t have another one.”

That night in the coaches’ locker room, head-coach-in-waiting Kellen Sampson, Kelvin’s son, looked at Shead’s ankle and shook his head. “This just keeps happening to us,” he said.

Each of the last three Houston teams since the program’s 2021 Final Four appearance have looked capable of finally bringing Sampson the title that has eluded him in his decorated career. In KenPom.com’s adjusted efficiency margin rankings, the most popular statistical shorthand for measuring college basketball teams, the Cougars have finished No. 2 three years running; this year’s team opened at No. 1. But every NCAA Tournament run since 2021 has ended with what-ifs attached because of deflating injuries.

In 2021-22, leading scorer Marcus Sasser was playing like an All-American when he broke the fifth metatarsal in his foot right before Christmas, a day after starting wing Tramon Mark had season-ending shoulder surgery. The Cougars finished the ‘22-23 regular season ranked No. 1, but Sasser suffered a groin injury during the AAC tournament and aggravated it during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the same game in which Shead hyperextended his knee. Last March against Duke, when Shead rolled his right ankle going up for a layup, Houston was already playing without Jojo Tugler and Terrance Arceneaux, both lost to prior season-ending injuries. The Cougars were controlling the game before Shead’s injury, but they just weren’t the same after.

At 69, Kelvin Sampson is still one of the best coaches in the sport, validated by this late-career run of regular-season dominance.

“When you get to be my age, I think you look at it as, let’s keep doing what we’re doing,” Sampson said this fall. “We don’t need to change anything.”

But once the Sampsons returned home and started looking ahead, knowing they would have another team good enough to win a title — everyone of significance, minus Shead, was back — Kellen suggested to his dad they be proactive.

The formula obviously works, but it needed a tweak.

Houston is the most physical team in college basketball for a reason. “You don’t practice soft and play tough,” is the line that defines Sampson’s program, and the preseason sets the tone. Rebounding drills with a bubble on the basket; brick slides, in which players have to hold up bricks while sliding from lane line to lane line; loose-ball drills that resemble a football fumble scrum; inclined sprints in a parking garage.

Last season, all those practices added up. The Cougars started earlier than usual because of a four-game exhibition tour of Australia in August, which granted them 10 official practices in July. By March, Kellen could see the mileage showing: “I thought that our needle got pretty close to empty, a little quicker than we would have wanted.”

How could a perennial contender be better longer into the spring? Kellen looked to LeBron James, who credits low-impact training for his staying power at the top of the basketball world. James has said if he had only one piece of equipment to train with for the rest of his life, it’d be the VersaClimber, an upright full-body workout machine.

This spring Houston purchased five VersaClimbers — specifically modified for taller users — and they arrived in time for summer school. The head coach was receptive to a change but a little worried it’d go against his mantra. “This ain’t cheer camp,” he would say.

Then he saw his players try the VersaClimber.

“And I go, I like the VersaClimber, because they hate it,” Kelvin Sampson said, flashing a big grin. “That thing is a problem. And our guys, it just puts them on their knees.”

“It’s no fun,” senior L.J. Cryer said.

“It’s easily the worst thing I’ve ever done in my life,” J’Wan Roberts said. “Easily. I feel like it hurts more when you get off. When you’re on it, you’re pushing, you’re pushing. But when you get off, it’s like your legs burnt.”

The VersaClimber replaced incline runs in the parking garage. Houston stayed off pavement and spent a couple weeks training in the sand this summer. The staff also consulted with NBA teams on ankle testing protocols and bought a machine for isometrically testing ankle and Achilles strength.

Sampson also wielded time on the VersaClimber as a punishment for mistakes. One of the VersaClimbers has taken up permanent residence in the corner of the practice gym.

When the Cougars went through speed and agility tests this fall, this year’s group posted faster results than any of Sampson’s first 10 teams. With almost an identical roster to last year, it was obvious what the difference maker was.

Sometimes injuries happen, like Shead’s sprained ankle — “purely fate, luck, misfortune,” Kelvin Sampson said — but if these changes could help reduce the chances for injury by even a half a percentage point, then it was worth it.

Houston’s first heavyweight prizefight of the season ended in a 74-69 loss to Auburn, but more are on the way. (Troy Taormina / Imagn Images)

During halftime of an October exhibition game, Sampson narrowed his gaze toward Oklahoma transfer guard Milos Uzan and implored him not to be afraid to shoot. Sampson’s suggestion that Uzan not act like he’s stealing candy from a five-and-dime store got a chuckle from the older folks in the back of the locker room, but it’s doubtful his players were familiar with the old-timey establishments he was referencing.

“Milos from Vegas?” Kellen Sampson said. “No chance.”

Some of his humor might go over the heads of his players, but the elder Sampson does not have any issue connecting with young people, demonstrated by the fact that his late 60s have been the prime of his career.

Sampson is aging like there’s a blockage in the hourglass. At practice, he often has a player stand off to the side as he takes his place and demonstrates what he wants.

“He’s probably the most consistent person I’ve ever met in my life,” said Roberts, who has been at Houston for six years. “Screams like he’s 30. Might be a little slow when he’s walking, but that intensity and fire is still there.”

“I never really thought about coaching at 70 until I turned 69,” Sampson said, chuckling. “Then I realized the next number.”

In 2019 after Houston made its first Sweet 16 trip under Sampson, Kellen worried that his father’s coaching days were numbered because his hips had impacted his quality of life.

“He was starting to have some negative thoughts,” Kellen said. “My grandfather had battled a lot of health issues. He passed when I was 28 (Kellen is 39 now), and I don’t remember my grandfather not having physical health issues. And I think some of that started to worry my dad. Am I following a similar path?”

The pandemic-canceled 2020 postseason provided an opportunity. The forced time away from the gym convinced Sampson he had a window to get surgery and recover.

“That changed everything,” Kellen said.

Now, Sampson rides scooters and bikes when goes to Kellen’s to see his grandchildren. He’ll go down slides in the park. “If you spend any time with him,” Kellen said, “there’s nothing about him which makes you think he’s slowing down.”

As a graduate assistant at Michigan State In 1979, Sampson and Tom Izzo used to roll out baskets to a parking lot, get some string and erasable paint and line off courts for summer camp. Early in his head coaching career, Sampson did everything because he didn’t have much help. At Montana Tech, his assistant coach (a volunteer) couldn’t even travel to road games because there wasn’t room in the van, which Sampson drove. Once he landed in bigger jobs at Washington State, Oklahoma and finally Indiana, he still wanted to be involved with everything.

Kellen is convinced his father’s late-career ascent was a direct result of being forced out at Indiana in 2008 and landing in the NBA as an assistant coach.

“A six-year recharge,” Kellen said. “Away from the cauldron, away from being the governor. He got off the hamster wheel where everything was just this endless cycle of perpetual work. He got a chance to spend some time without all of the intense pressure and scrutiny all the time, and the daily beatdown of being in the top tier.”

When Sampson returned to college, he surrounded himself with people he knew and trusted — including his son and the backcourt from his 2002 Final Four team — and the staff has seen few changes in 11 years. Lamar coach Alvin Brooks is the only assistant coach who has left, and eight of the staffers on his original staff are still at Houston.

“One of the signs of him getting older is that he just doesn’t care about things he can’t control anymore,” Kellen said. “I’m choosing not to worry about that. I’m choosing happy every day.”

Sampson’s zen-ish approach has also allowed him not to let the recent bad injury luck consume him. He quotes an old Tiger Woods line: “Keep getting to the back nine with a chance to win, eventually things will go your way.”

The Cougars get to the back nine just about every March. Their 2018 tourney team, the first under Sampson, was the only one not to make the second weekend, and it lost on a buzzer beater to eventual national runner-up Michigan in the second round.

Sampson believes almost every team he’s had since has been good enough to win the title, with one exception: the 2021 team that actually made the Final Four.

“We weren’t better than Baylor,” he said. “They were different. Best team we’ve played against in the 10 years I’ve been here. But this team, if this team stays healthy…”

Sampson’s mind wandered off to his rotation and how he’s trying to get Arceneaux, working his way back into game action after an Achilles tear, to trust that he’s going to be OK.

“I’ve realized it’s not good enough to be good enough,” he said. “You’ve got to be good enough and fortune has to smile your way sometime.”

The question is: How many more shots does he have left?

Sampson won’t give a number. “I think at some point all coaches have to think about what’s best for the game,” he said. “I want to be a good coach. I don’t want to be an old coach.”

Kellen has been the coach-in-waiting since 2023, which has kept him from even considering other opportunities that have arisen in recent years.

“Regardless of what’s waiting for me when I become a head coach. I’m never going to get these years with my dad back,” Kellen said. “I’m wagering big and I’d do it 100 times over that I’m going to cherish and love these years I’m getting with my dad way more than whatever extra years I would have had sitting in the big chair. I’m getting to extend time with my hero.”

Kellen’s sister Lauren isn’t going to give a number either, but the one change she’s noticed in her dad is that he smiles easier now. She saw Rob Gray, the star of the 2018 team, as the first senior who started to savor every moment once February hit. “I would say dad’s the same way,” she said. “You feel things more acutely. The joy is bigger. The heartbreak.”

The pain Sampson felt last March was not for himself, he said; it’s always for the players, especially his seniors.

Sampson gets another chance, and he would love to win that elusive title, but thinking about it won’t help.

“Just do the best you can, but do the best you can,” he said. “Do not not do the best you can. That’s important that you do that, because I owe it to these kids. I owe it to them. And that’s why, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’ve done everything I can to help them, put them in the best position so they can win.”

With an experienced and talented lineup returning, Sampson’s Cougars will again be a Big 12 and national championship factor. (Thomas B. Shea / Imagn Images)

This summer on a lazy Saturday afternoon, Sampson was at his office with his grandchildren when someone stopped by and told him that his former players in town training for The Basketball Tournament were playing at the arena.

Sampson and his grandchildren hustled over to the Fertita Center for what felt like a reunion.

“It was like a picture of what this program is about,” he said. “Because that doesn’t happen at every school. But in some ways that’s your championship is the program you built. I know what stage we’re on and our opportunities that we have and I hope we make it. I just know how hard it is.”

This year again promises to be a grind — Houston is one of six Big 12 teams in the Top 25 and will play at least two Final Four hopefuls before conference play begins. Kellen, meanwhile, does not shy away from the urgency that is felt to make sure his dad cuts down a net on the final Monday of the season before he turns in his whistle:

“Every second, every day. One VersaClimber at a time.”

(Top photo: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)