Bucks win NBA Cup; Falcons turn to Michael Penix Jr.; why each CFP team could win it all

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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE NBA CUP CHAMPION MILWAUKEE BUCKS

Time will tell if the Bucks are back, but they certainly looked close to their dominant selves from a few years ago in Tuesday’s 97-81 NBA Cup final win over the Thunder. After an awful start to the season, Milwaukee has won 13 of its last 16 games — even though this one doesn’t count toward the regular-season record.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks, and Damian Lillard added 23 points.
• The offense, featuring 17 for 40 (43%) 3-point shooting, was nice. The defense was stunning. The Thunder scored just 31 points in the second half and shot an abysmal 5 for 32 (16%) from 3 overall. It was Oklahoma City’s fewest 3s in a game this season. 
• The Bucks not only get the trophy, but each player gets over $500,000.

Sam Quinn has NBA Cup winners and losers, and the top winner is an easy pick.

• Quinn: “Winner: Damian Lillard — As this is Lillard’s age-34 season, we are creeping closer and closer to the possibility that he retires without ever winning an end-of-season NBA championship, so on a simple, human level, it’s nice to see an all-time legend hoist a trophy on an NBA court even if it’s not necessarily the trophy he’d prefer. … It’s something, and there was a very real chance that, at least where championships were concerned, Lillard was on his way to retiring with nothing.”

Bill Reiter, meanwhile, says that the NBA Cup is working for commissioner Adam Silver, even if the event needs some tweaking.

👍 Honorable mentions

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

KIRK COUSINS AND THE ATLANTA FALCONS …

In March, the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal, hoping he’d be the long-awaited answer at quarterback Atlanta has desperately looked for since Matt Ryan left town.

Just 14 games later, not only is Cousins not the answer, but he won’t even be on the field. The Falcons benched Cousins for first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. On the surface, it’s a stunning development, but after Monday’s heinous 15-9 win over the Raiders, when Raheem Morris said his team needed better quarterback play, it almost seems necessary. Since Week 10, only Anthony Richardson and Drew Lock have a lower expected points added per dropback.

I wrote about Cousins limiting Atlanta’s offense to the extreme in “Five things we liked and didn’t like in Week 15.”

• “Cousins is throwing 96% of his passes this season from the pocket. The only higher rates on record — since 2017 — belong to Tom Brady (several times) and Philip Rivers.
• Cousins is under center on just 22% of his dropbacks this season. He had never been under 40% prior. …
• Cousins has three scrambles for 16 yards this season. That’s on 480 dropbacks.

This is when you realize he’s a 36-year-old quarterback coming off a torn Achilles. Simply getting under center and/or getting out of the pocket is difficult.”

Here’s how limited the offense was: Atlanta ran the ball on 23 of 24 first-down plays Monday night.

Atlanta is in the playoff mix at 7-7, so Penix doesn’t have much of a cushion. Still, I think he can spark this offense simply by being physically able to move around a bit. Whether he can avoid the mistakes that can plague young quarterbacks is to be determined, but it’s not like Cousins was avoiding mistakes, either.

This may have been a needed move, but it’s a tough one to swallow for both team and player.

As for that gigantic contract, Cody Benjamin examined if Atlanta can get out of it.

… AND WILL LEVIS AND THE TENNESSEE TITANS

The Falcons weren’t the only team to bench the quarterback they hoped would be “the guy” for years to come. The Titans benched Will Levis for Mason Rudolph two days after Levis committed four turnovers in a loss to the Bengals. Rudolph relieved Levis in the third quarter of that game, and now Tennessee is making that change permanent.

Miscues have been the story of Levis’ young career. My colleague Tom Fornelli has a fun stat — “Whoopsy Daisy Rate” that measures how often a quarterback throws an interception or fumbles. I added sacks taken to that equation, and Levis this season has the worst rate on record (since 2007). Some names near him include Deshaun Watson, JaMarcus Russell, Zach Wilson and Brandon Weeden.

Tennessee got a new coach, a new offensive line and several new offensive playmakers hoping to set Levis up for success. It didn’t work. Jordan Dajani assessed where Tennessee goes from here.

👍 Not so honorable mentions

⚾ Yankees acquire Cody Bellinger from Cubs

The Yankees‘ big-name offseason continues. The Bronx Bombers acquired Cody Bellinger and $5 million from the Cubs for right-handed reliever Cody Poteet.

• It’s a cost-saving move for Chicago considering Bellinger’s $27.5 million salary in 2025 and $25 million salary in 2026 (or a $5 million buyout).
• Bellinger was the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year and 2019 NL MVP with the Dodgers, but a downturn in both production and health ensued.
• He hit free agency two offseasons ago and had a strong 2023 with the Cubs (.307/.356/.525, 26 home runs, 97 RBI, 95 runs, 20 steals), but a big payday never materialized last offseason, and he returned to Chicago on a one-year deal with two player options. His 2024 wasn’t as strong.
• Bellinger became expendable especially after the Cubs acquired star right fielder Kyle Tucker from the Astros. The Yankees had been circling on Bellinger for a while.
• The Yankees’ offseason haul includes Bellinger, closer Devin Williams and starter Max Fried. Of course, the Juan Soto rejection still stings, but those are quality additions.

Cody Bellinger, it should be noted, is the son of Clay Bellinger, who won two World Series while donning pinstripes. But the Yankees earn an “A” in R.J. Anderson’s trade grades for much more than sentimentality.

• Anderson: “Defensively, he’ll seemingly start the season in center field, where he’s reliably graded as average or better throughout his career. That not only should improve the Yankees defense, but also gives Aaron Judge an easier defensive assignment. … The real draw here for the Yankees is at the plate. Bellinger ought to benefit from being a left-handed hitter with lift-and-pull tendencies playing his home games in a ballpark that tends to reward the profile.”

🏈 NFL Power Rankings: New No. 1 as Lions fall amid injuries

The NFL world can be cruel, and the Lions’ spate of injuries is the latest example. Following a 48-42 loss to the Bills that saw three starters get hurt, Detroit fell from the top spot in Pete Prisco’s NFL Power Rankings. Here’s the top five:

1. Chiefs (previous: 2)
2. Eagles (3)
3. Bills (5)
4. Lions (1)
5. Vikings (4)

Jordan wonders how worried we should be about Detroit.

Though the Buccaneers jumped just two spots from 14th to 12th, Pete is really impressed with the NFC South leaders. After a blowout home loss against the Packers, the Seahawks experienced the biggest fall, going from 10th to 15th.

🏈 Why each College Football Playoff team can win it all

We’re two days away from the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff kicking off, and the coming weeks will feature unprecedented drama for a sport that’s always had a flair for the dramatic.

Brandon Marcello has one reason each team could win it all, and, especially after the Big Ten Championship, I can’t get a potential Penn State run out of my head.

• Marcello: “(6) Penn State: Favorable draw, matchups — Even in defeat, Penn State proved itself worthy of a top-five ranking in a 45-37 loss against unquestioned No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten Championship. Quarterback Drew Allar was stellar until a late interception sealed the loss for the Nittany Lions, and Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton both eclipsed 100 yards rushing. Should Penn State beat SMU, next up will be Boise State and then potentially Georgia in the semifinals.”

And how’s this for drama? Tom Fornelli says Texas has a Quinn Ewers problem, and Arch Manning is the answer.

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

🏈 Boca Raton Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. James Madison, 5:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Creighton at Georgetown (M), 6:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Xavier at No. 11 UConn (M), 7 p.m. on FS1
🏒 Flyers at Red Wings, 7 p.m. on truTV/TNT
🏈 LA Bowl: Cal vs. No. 24 UNLV, 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 6 Alabama at North Dakota (M), 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Butler at No. 9 Marquette (M), 9 p.m. on FS1
🏀 No. 14 Oklahoma vs. No. 24 Michigan (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN2
🏒 Panthers at Wild, 9:30 p.m. on TNT