CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Mitch Kupchak says the Charlotte Hornets plan to do everything they can to keep three-time All-Star Kemba Walker.

The Hornets' first-year general manager knows it has become a two-sided equation, given that Walker is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and able to choose his next team. Walker, 28, was an All-Star starter this season and averaged a career-high 25.6 points per game, so he's expected to be hot commodity when the free-agent market opens in July.

"I think this is a place that he wants to be, and we'll do everything that we can to bring him back here," Kupchak said Friday. "But he is half of the equation."

For Walker to stay, Kupchak might have to find productive quality pieces to put around him -- and quickly.

They've struggled to do that in the past, with players like Nicolas Batum -- who received a five-year, $120 million contract three years ago -- failing to live up to expectations.

Walker has said in the past that he wants to continue playing for the Hornets and "create something special here" because he loves living in Charlotte. But the 6-foot-1 point guard appeared to slightly back off those statements in recent days, saying repeatedly, "I want to win."

Charlotte has failed to reach the playoffs the past three seasons.

Walker, who led UConn to an NCAA title in 2011, has been to the postseason only twice in his eight NBA seasons and has never gotten out of the first round.

Kupchak said he knows Walker is frustrated with losing. He wants to put talent around his star player that would make the Hornets a consistent playoff contender, but he knows that won't be easy.

The Hornets don't have the money to sign a difference-maker in free agency, so Kupchak said the best option is to acquire talent through a trade.

Jeremy Lamb, the team's second-leading scorer, is an unrestricted free agent, and backup center Frank Kaminsky is a restricted free agent. Kupchak said the Hornets "financially are not as flexible as I would like us to be, so there could be some challenges going forward with our free agents."

Whether anything Kupchak does is enough to convince Walker to re-sign with Charlotte remains to be seen.

But in the meantime, Kupchak went out of his way to make sure Walker knows he's appreciated -- and wanted -- by the Hornets.

"There has not been a player with this franchise like Kemba Walker," Kupchack said of the Hornets' all-time leading scorer. "He is a once-in-a-generation kind of a player and he is fun to watch. He is competitive, he is a good teammate.

"Those are all qualities that I like to see and I know that people in the organization and our fans like to see in players."

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George is officially listed as "day-to-day" with right shoulder soreness, and head coach Billy Donovan is unwilling to speculate on George's availability for Game 1 on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers. But George indicated Friday that regardless of pain, he will be playing.

"It's playoff time, so it's more than this, it's about being out there with my guys," George said. "As much as I can get it a hundred as possible, or close to it, you can expect me out there Sunday."

George sat out the Thunder's regular-season finale on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks after going through a pregame workout and determining the pain was too much to play through. The Thunder practiced Friday, though it was more of a "mental" practice, Donovan said, without much contact for any player.

George has been dealing with soreness in both shoulders for some time now. The original right shoulder soreness began after he took a hit against the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 26. He sat the Thunder's next three games, then returned but took contact on his left side in a game and experienced similar soreness. He was listed as questionable because of left shoulder soreness on March 29 against the Nuggets, but decided to play. He's been keeping heat on his left shoulder during timeouts during games and receiving treatment for both sides.

"Making progress," George said of his right shoulder. "Every day try and get it better and better. And we'll see where we're at come Sunday."

George said recently that the shoulder issues are about taking contact in the wrong spot and it aggravates the injury.

"I'm good," George said after the game on March 29. "Throughout the game, all it takes is one hit and it gets sore, but if I don't get hit in that spot then we're good."

George played through a series of injuries during the postseason last year, having offseason surgery on his left knee and 18-20 ounces of blood drained from his right elbow due to bursitis.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Detroit Pistons star forward Blake Griffin is still day-to-day heading into the postseason, coach Dwane Casey said Friday.

Griffin, who has been dealing with a troublesome left knee, did not play in the regular-season finale Wednesday when Detroit wrapped up a playoff spot by winning at New York.

The NBA playoffs start Saturday, but Detroit opens its series against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night. The extra rest was a bit of a break for the Pistons, who also get two days off before Games 2 and 3.

Griffin played 75 games this season, his most since 2013-14, when he was with the LA Clippers. He averaged a career-high 24.5 points per game, along with 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists. He also made a career-high 189 3-pointers, shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc.

With the firing of Luke Walton on Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers have two different jobs to fill -- but only one head-coaching position available.

The first responsibility: get a buy-in from LeBron James in the final years of his prolific career. James' presence on the roster is a blessing to any coach, but it also complicates the job. LeBron has an extremely high threshold for credibility, and a coach must have it upon arrival and fortify it constantly to maintain James' respect.

But if the Lakers enter the 2019-20 season as a team for which Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and a lottery pick fulfill crucial functions on the floor, the second task at hand is another thing entirely. These are young players still adjusting to the NBA game. Even if the Lakers reel in an additional max player, their development likely will be essential to the Lakers' future.

Managing a 17-year generational superstar and full-scale player development program are two very different projects, and finding someone who can capably serve two masters -- LeBron and youth -- is a difficult undertaking. There's a reason James has historically preferred to be surrounded by veterans: Focusing on basic education is a drag when you see the game with LeBron's perception.

Conversations with league insiders reveal several candidates for both gigs. But the pair of job descriptions diverge so profoundly that it's hard to identify coaches who have it all -- an ability to relate to James, a passion for player development, and a pedigree that would satisfy both LeBron and management. Whom the Lakers target will say a lot about the order of those priorities as they move forward.

This franchise stands at a historic rock bottom -- no team has lost more over the past six seasons. The next head coach, who will be the Lakers' fourth in a little more than five years, will assume the spotlight with one imperative: Make it stop.

Tyronn Lue

If the Lakers know that next season's roster will be composed much like James' Miami Heat teams and those of his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lue emerges as a logical top candidate. According to a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, he is a front-runner for the job. The former Cavs coach won a championship with James in 2016 over a 73-win Warriors team, an incontrovertible achievement that James honors. Coming up as an NBA assistant, Lue earned his bones as a tactician, first and foremost. Whether he's drawing up sets out of timeouts, or installing counters on the fly in crucial postseason games, Lue's high-IQ basketball brain speaks to James. Lue also is willing to challenge James in front of the team at selective moments if, say, James insists on a strategy that runs counter to Lue's preferred gameplan.

While he's a fit for a well-seasoned group of vets led by LeBron, Lue isn't a builder of cultures, nor is he an innate teacher who will verse 22-year-olds in the study of NBA basketball. Some of those who admire him believe that, at his next stop, Lue will need to build and manage a coaching staff with greater intention than he did in Cleveland. Doing so will help him grow into a more process-oriented head coach, developing a quality that, while always important, is vital with a roster of different ages and constituencies.

Jason Kidd | Mark Jackson

There exists a popular perception around the league that James values former players who are more inclined to provide support and act as a sounding board than establish their own structure. The thinking goes that "coaching LeBron" means coaching around LeBron, or deferring to him.

LeBron undoubtedly wants a coach whose basketball knowledge he respects, and that basketball knowledge will be best demonstrated by installing an offensive system whose defining feature is LeBron's intuition with the ball in his hand. Both Kidd (a Hall of Famer whom James admires) and Jackson are names that have circulated as potential successors to Walton since LeBron arrived in Los Angeles.

One conventional belief from those familiar with the LeBron-coach dynamic holds that the Lakers would be wise to choose a name with LeBron's imprimatur because the pressure would be on LeBron to make the relationship work. The counterargument says that these are exactly the kinds of political considerations that will further doom an organization that seems to value names and intrigue more than expertise and process.

Doc Rivers

When asked for an ideal candidate, multiple NBA insiders -- including executives, coaches and a high-profile active player -- recommended the LA Clippers' head coach. His name circulated so widely in NBA circles that he had to publicly temper rumors a few weeks ago.

Those who named Rivers, who is under contract with the Clippers, noted he'd have James' immediate respect at the outset -- for a championship, for his Xs & Os (which routinely gave LeBron teams fits in their East clashes), and also for his performance leading a transient Clippers team through two seasons in flux and to an improbable playoff berth.

Monty Williams

Williams, who currently serves on Brett Brown's staff with the Philadelphia 76ers, has a strong reputation for character and five years of experience in the first chair with the New Orleans Pelicans. He is also a central candidate for the job, according to Wojnarowski's report.

Williams is a coach with a penchant for structure and a gift for communicating with players, from transcendent superstars to 15th men. He's a serious person with whom LeBron James can have a serious conversations, when the need arises.

The Lakers' coaching search must take into account an inconvenient reality: James will turn 35 this December and now plays in an unforgiving Western Conference. Any notion that the job demands little more than a steady hand to manage LeBron's workload and expectations is dangerous. If the Lakers aspire to a strong playoff seeding, they can't waste a month or two not building good habits. They can't phone it in defensively, or wing it in the half court with LeBron as a last resort. In short, the Lakers' next head coach will have to emphasize detail at a much greater level than LeBron, a basketball savant, prefers. It's the only way to ensure his teammates, old and young, can compensate for the higher degree of difficulty.

If the Lakers still have to rely on the maturation of the young core in 2020, they will need a coach who excels at player development in addition to LeBron account management. Given what's at stake, it would be ill-advised for the Lakers to hire a head coach for the one player on the team who doesn't require hands-on coaching while ignoring those whose growth will determine the team's fate, even if that one player is LeBron James.

Are there head-coaching candidates who can split the difference for the Lakers -- establish credibility and authority with LeBron and simultaneously create an environment where young players can grow?

Darvin Ham

An apt place to start would be the staff of Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. In recent years, Budenholzer has cultivated a program that's development-heavy, yet one that's efficient, individually tailored and not at all tedious -- a big plus for vets. Both Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder and Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson have graduated from Budenholzer's branch of Spurs U.

Ham, a lead assistant on Budenholzer's current Bucks staff, is an interesting case study. He brings a balance of skills, having served under Budenholzer for six seasons and mastered the day-to-day structure that brings out the best in teams like the league-leading Bucks. He would assemble a smart staff of skilled tacticians and communicators and run a tight ship -- but one without busywork. Though Ham didn't have the career of a Kidd or Jackson, he has established a reputation in recent years as an assistant with an exceptional bedside manner, someone who can speak tough truths to players, irrespective of their standing.

If the goal is to create a world where James feels his needs are being met and where Kyle Kuzma is learning how to play a consistent brand of NBA defense, Ham might represent that middle ground. He has the temperament and presence to inspire and challenge both men. He has also previously worked for the Lakers as an assistant coach for two seasons.

Juwan Howard

Like Ham, Howard hails from one of the most respected benches in the league -- Erik Spoelstra's coaching staff in Miami. For six seasons, Howard has aided in player development and evolved into one of the most reliable members of the tight-knit Heat family.

There isn't a more disciplined organization in the NBA, and Spoelstra is a process junkie. Those in Miami say Howard's gravitas as a coach, already present on Day 1, has only grown over time. He has developed a passion for the craft and has honed his tactical knowledge. Is Howard the basketball brainiac LeBron demands? It's hard to say, but the sense from those who know is that, provided he takes the task of staffing his bench seriously, he'd be afforded the benefit of the doubt.

Ime Udoka

There might not be a figure in basketball who commands more of James' respect than Gregg Popovich. What if the Spurs coach called James to tell him Udoka, a San Antonio assistant coach, is the right man for the job?

Udoka, an NBA journeyman like Ham, has honed his skills and reputation for seven years on the Spurs' bench, where he serves as the connective tissue between the staff and players, both veterans and projects. Udoka is a worker bee whose poise and measured nature would breathe a fresh ethic into an insular Lakers franchise that's been run by organizational courtiers for too long.

Jarron Collins

Those who have worked with James say that basketball intellect is the ultimate prerequisite for the job, and that's an area in which Collins excels in Golden State. One of the brightest young basketball minds in the league's assistant ranks, Collins shined in his first head-coaching interview last summer for the Atlanta Hawks job. James could be confident that when Collins draws up a play out of a timeout or calls for a coverage scheme, it's a well-conceived idea.

The former reserve big man is generally mild-mannered, not unlike Walton -- more Brad Stevens in demeanor than Gregg Popovich. Is that an asset or detriment for a role in the brightest of spotlights?

Mike Krzyzewski

Anyone who has ever spent a moment of their life in the craft has at some point contemplated what it would be like to coach a talent like LeBron James for a team with the prestige of the Los Angeles Lakers. As awfully as the organization has performed in recent years, a call from the Lakers would still warrant attention, even if the recipient of that call were Krzyzewski.

A pitch from the Lakers (and possibly LeBron) to the Duke coach could sound something like this: The NCAA is about to implode. Now is the time to enshrine your legacy, and name your successor who can grapple with these new realities so that you don't have to. Come to Los Angeles, where you can vest into a share of the most valuable franchise in basketball and coach the generation's best player in his golden years.

It's hard to conceive of James undermining Krzyzewski, the man James has said he'd like to coach his son. James and Krzyzewski would be tethered together in a common pursuit -- the belief that greatness, when compounded by experience, has no expiration date. There's little evidence Krzyzewski has any interest in moving to the NBA at age 72, but this is precisely the kind of narrative the Lakers love to spool.

The more likely scenario is that the Lakers are presented with no perfect options. Apart from James, the composition of their roster is uncertain. There are assistant, G League and college coaches who thrive in player development and would coach up James' teammates, but can they match wits with LeBron, who can recall from memory every play of every opponent in the league? There are coaches who can play horse whisperer to LeBron, but the job of winning with him requires far more than that now, and it's unclear how amenable James will be to a hands-on approach.

Whichever path they pursue, the Lakers should resist the urge to treat their hire like a product that needs to be sold. If the right coach happens to be a big name, then so be it. If it happens to be a member of the Lakers family in good standing, that's fine, too. But too often of late, the Lakers have viewed the task of team-building as an exercise in brand management, an opportunity to win a press conference or fan sentiment, rather than a statement of intent. They have the power to change that.

LOS ANGELES -- A tumultuous week continued for the Los Angeles Lakers as the team announced that it has mutually parted ways with head coach Luke Walton on Friday.

This comes just four days after Magic Johnson left the franchise reeling by shockingly deciding to step down as president of basketball operations on Tuesday night. Walton finished his third season as head coach with a frustrating and disappointing 37-45 record in a season that began with massive expectations following LeBron James' arrival. Walton leaves the team with two years remaining on his five-year deal.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Ty Lue is a strong frontrunner to replace Walton and that Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams joins Lue as the central candidates in the Lakers search, according to league sources.

"We would like to thank Luke for his dedicated service over the last three years," said Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka in a team statement. "We wish Luke and his family the best of luck moving forward."

Walton, who went 98-148 in his three seasons as head coach, thanked the franchise and controlling owner Jeanie Buss, who was a staunch supporter of Walton.

"I want to thank Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for giving me the opportunity to coach the Lakers," said Walton. "This franchise and the city will always be special to me and my family."

The Lakers had some cursory discussions with Walton's representatives on Wednesday in which both sides discussed if there was a way forward, multiple sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. The conversations didn't go very far, however, as it was obvious the Lakers had planned to fire Walton before Johnson abruptly stepped down on Tuesday night.

When James and his agent Rich Paul met with Johnson and Pelinka last Saturday, sources told Shelburne it was considered an exit interview and Walton was not present.

Walton's job security had been something many executives, coaches and agents speculated about since the start of the season not only because the Lakers had the makings of a flawed roster but also that Walton wasn't hired by Johnson and Pelinka. Walton was hired in 2016 by then Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss and then general manager Mitch Kupchak.

In his decision to step down, Johnson explained that he was considering firing Walton on Wednesday when the Lakers held their exit interviews but did not want to "disappoint" Buss and get in the way of her relationship with Walton and in the process hurt his own relationship with Buss.

Charged with trying to blend a roster constructed with eclectic veterans on one-year contracts and a core group of young prospects still learning how to play all around James with a plethora of ballhandlers but not enough shooting, Walton had what many felt was the most daunting job in the NBA.

While Johnson preached patience in the preseason knowing that it would take time for the new roster to mesh, Johnson admonished Walton in a meeting just six games into the season. The Hall of Fame point guard was upset with the team's defense and sluggish start but later told the Los Angeles Times and ESPN that Walton would not be fired barring something unforeseen. Johnson, though, said that his relationship with Walton was fine after the incident which he considered overblown.

Walton had the Lakers at 20-14 on Christmas night after a blowout win at Golden State and looking like they were on the verge of coming together. But the wheels came off in spectacular fashion when James and Rajon Rondo were injured during that game, sending the Lakers into a tailspin that they would never recover from.

Suspensions, injuries, never-ending drama, inexcusable losses to bottom-feeding teams and even a buffet of on-court gaffes -- enough to provide the internet with ammunition to come up with a "One Shining Moment" parody -- smothered the Lakers' season and ultimately doomed Walton.

Walton would lose Lonzo Ball (ankle) and Brandon Ingram (blood clot in shoulder) to season ending injuries as the Lakers had James, Ingram and Ball together for a total of only 23 games, going 15-8 during that span. The Lakers missed over 210 games due to injuries and used over 25 different starting lineups this season.

Now, for the fifth time since Phil Jackson last sat on the Lakers' bench in 2010-11, the Lakers will be looking for a new head coach to attempt to revive the proud franchise and take it to the postseason for the first time since 2012-13 season.

The Chicago Cubs placed backup catcher Victor Caratini on the 10-day injured list Friday with a fractured left hamate.

He will have surgery on Monday and is expected to be out up to 4-6 weeks, according to manager Joe Maddon.

"He was pretty upset yesterday (Thursday)," Maddon said. "He knew how well he was playing. It's just really unfortunate."

Caratini, 25, is batting .545 with one double, one homer and four RBI in five games with the Cubs this season. He broke the hand during a swing in his last at-bat Thursday night, a 2-0 Cubs win over the Pirates.

The Cubs recalled catcher Taylor Davis from Triple-A Iowa to back up Willson Contreras. Both Maddon and general manager Jed Hoyer indicated the Cubs may look for outside help at that position while knowing they'll get Caratini back in late May.

"We're probably looking a little bit," Maddon said. "I don't doubt that's true but for right now we're really happy with Davis."

Davis, 29, has played parts of the last two seasons in the big leagues with the Cubs, batting .278 (5-for-18) with one double and three RBI in 13 games. He is 2-for-14 (.143) with one homer and two RBI in four games with Iowa this season.

CHICAGO -- The winds at Wrigley Field were howling out to center field before Friday's game between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels, but the game's best player isn't there to take advantage of them.

Mike Trout, the Angels' two-time American League MVP, remained in Anaheim, California, when his club departed for Chicago on Thursday because of a right groin injury suffered during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week.

The Angels announced that Trout will be re-evaluated Sunday after imaging done Friday showed reduced swelling. Trout has also told the team his injury is improving, the Angels said.

While the cold and windy conditions in Chicago wouldn't have helped the injury, Angels manager Brad Ausmus said that wasn't a factor in the decision to leave Trout behind.

Trout was removed from the Angels' game before the fourth inning on Tuesday after experiencing discomfort. The game's highest-paid player, who signed a record 12-year, $430 million contract extension during spring training, is off to a characteristically strong start. He is hitting .406 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 12 games.

Trout last played at Wrigley Field on Aug. 10, 2016. He has played four career games there, hitting .384 with no homers and one RBI. The venerable ballpark is one of just eight current big league venues at which Trout has not homered.

NEW YORK -- Another day, another New York Yankees star to the injured list.

With 11 other players already on their IL, the Yankees announced Friday afternoon that catcher Gary Sanchez would be joining them, retroactive to Thursday, after suffering a left calf strain earlier this week.

Sanchez will be replaced on the active roster by catcher Kyle Higashioka, who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In five minor league games this year, Higashioka is batting .222 (4-for-18) with four RBIs.

Austin Romine will be the regular starter in Sanchez's absence.

The IL stint comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering both Sanchez and manager Aaron Boone expressed optimism Wednesday that he would be starting Friday's series opener at home against the Chicago White Sox.

After catching Monday's game at Houston, Sanchez served as designated hitter Tuesday night and then came off the bench as a pinch hitter Wednesday. New York was off Thursday.

Boone said he benched Sanchez on Wednesday as a way of trying to give him an extra off day ahead of this weekend's series. The manager also indicated tests were run on Sanchez in Houston after the catcher complained of some calf tightness following Monday's game.

The timing of the move couldn't be worse for the Yankees, who had been getting valuable offensive production from Sanchez. Through just 11 games, Sanchez has 11 hits -- six home runs -- and 11 RBIs. He hit three homers against Baltimore last Sunday -- the first time he hit three in a game in his career.

Seven of his 11 base hits this season also have been for extra bases.

The Yankees officially have 12 players on the IL, including All-Stars Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, Troy Tulowitzki and former MVP Giancarlo Stanton. Miguel Andujar, last year's American League Rookie of the Year runner-up, also is shelved, as is shortstop Didi Gregorius and center fielder Aaron Hicks.

One of the injured Yankees, starting pitcher CC Sabathia, is expected to come off the IL either Friday or Saturday morning. Following rehab from offseason knee and heart procedures, Sabathia is scheduled to make his first start of the season Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

Baseball season is really here, and as we settle in to the daily smorgasbord of storylines and matchups, we wanted to help focus your attention this weekend. We've asked three of our writers the key questions about what to watch for and to make some predictions about what's to come.

Every Jacob deGrom start has become appointment viewing, and the Mets ace faces the Braves this weekend on Sunday Night Baseball (ESPN, 7 p.m.) Which starting pitcher in what season was the most "must-see" of your lifetime?

Eddie Matz: With apologies to 1999 Pedro Martinez and 2016 Max Scherzer, I've got to go with Steve Stone in 1980. I mean, I was in fourth grade and in love with the Orioles, and Stone won 25 games back when wins were everything. And don't get me started on that curveball of his.

David Schoenfield: In 1985, I was 16 and a Mariners fan, but there was nothing like watching 20-year-old Dwight Gooden make major league hitters look like Ogilvie from "Bad News Bears" at the plate. Of course, I lived 3,000 miles from Queens so I didn't exactly get to see Gooden pitch many games that year unless the Mets appeared on the "Game of the Week" or "Monday Night Baseball." (Did "Monday Night Baseball" still exist in 1985?)

That was the year we got cable TV, so I would stay up late to watch the highlights on SportsCenter. Sometimes I would even record the show on VHS tape (ask your parents, kids) just to see how Gooden fared. Otherwise, it was waiting for the box score in the newspaper the next day (ask your parents what a newspaper was as well). And what a season it was: 24-4, 1.53 ERA, 16 complete games and eight shutouts. Somehow, he didn't win MVP honors.

Sam Miller: Stephen Strasburg's 2010 stands out. He was 21, arguably the best pitching prospect in baseball history, barely a year out of college, with a 1.30 ERA in the minors and three pitches that all seemed like they might be the best single pitch in the sport. And then he showed up in the majors and was as good as promised: In his major league debut, he struck out 14 and walked nobody, something that only 62 pitchers in history have ever done in any start in their career. (Sandy Koufax, Tom Seaver, Justin Verlander each did it once; Stras did it in his major league debut!) His FIP in 12 starts as a rookie is the 11th best FIP by a starter in my lifetime, his strikeout rate the 18th best. We were watching the greatest pitcher in history, I was sure of it. As with many things we are sure of, I was wrong, but at the time ...

The Brewers and Dodgers have cooled a bit after great starts as they square off in a rematch of last year's National League Championship Series. Pick one player from each team whose performance will most determine whether his squad gets back to the NLCS -- or beyond.

Matz: Josh Hader. With Jeremy Jeffress on the shelf and Corey Knebel out for the season, the Brewers' bullpen begins and ends with Hader. As for the Dodgers, I don't see them having much of a problem winning the NL West. So really, this question comes down to who has a huge NLDS for them. My spidey senses tell me that it's going to be Kike Hernandez.

Schoenfield: Clayton Kershaw is the easy answer for the Dodgers, but it feels like the best answer. The Dodgers are going to score runs, and with their rotation depth, they can win the division with or without Kershaw, especially given the early train wreck that is the Rockies. But to get to a third straight World Series? That's where Kershaw comes in.

For Milwaukee, I'm locked in on Freddy Peralta. Is he a viable option in the rotation? Can he succeed as sub-6-foot right-hander? Can he succeed throwing 80 percent fastballs like he has so far? The early returns are mixed: one not very good start, one of the best starts in Brewers history, one terrible start.

Miller: This is probably not literally the answer, but it feels like the right one, so: Kenley Jansen. All indications are that the Dodgers will have a fairly easy path to the postseason, with tons of overlapping parts inoculating them against injuries or underperformance in both the rotation and lineup. But closers aren't always easily replaced, and ninth-inning collapses are (anecdotally, at least) an infection. If you told me the Dodgers somehow won only 84 games this season, I'd bet a bullpen void was a big part of that.

If you factor in framing stats, Yasmani Grandal has been as good over the past three or four years as Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. He's famous for his streaks -- and folks tend to focus on the cold ones -- but over the course of the season he should be one of the best-hitting catchers in the league, could plausibly erupt for a .900 OPS, and will earn his young pitching staff copious strikes.

The prohibitive American League West favorite Astros are in Seattle to face the first-place Mariners. What are the chances these two will be duking it out for the division come September?

Matz: Zero. The Astros won't be duking it out with anybody. The only dukery will be between the teams that are fighting for second. If Tim Beckham continues to hit .400 and Domingo Santana keeps up his 200-RBI pace and Marco Gonzales never loses again, then maybe the Mariners weasel their way into a wild card. All that said, I picked the A's to finish second in the West and I'm never, ever changing my mind. (Not yet, anyway.)

Schoenfield: Zero? Come on, Eddie, show the M's a little love from the East Coast. The Mashin' Mariners are locked in. Dan Vogelbach is the new Prince Fielder. Mallex Smith and Dee Gordon are the 2019 version of Vince Coleman and Willie McGee (speaking of 1985!). Edwin Encarnacion's parrot loves the Pacific Northwest. If the 2018 A's can push the Astros, maybe the 2019 Mariners can also come out nowhere and do the same. (OK, the Astros won't be duking it out with anybody.)

Miller: Does a kite "duke it out" with the wind? From the kite's perspective, maybe, but the Astros are a gale. They will not write books about the 2019 AL West race. Seattle has managed to trim the Astros' chances of winning the division (according to Baseball Prospectus' playoff odds) from 89 percent to 88, so we can award the Mariners "Kite of the Month" or whatever.

When considering this weekend's schedule, what's the one thing -- a game, an individual matchup, anything -- you most want to see?

Matz: Snellzilla takes Toronto. Last season, Blake Snell dominated the Blue Jays. OK, so he dominated everyone, but the reigning Cy Young was especially lethal against the Jays, posting a 0.54 ERA with 27 K's in 16⅔ innings. Against a 2019 Toronto team that's at or near the bottom of pretty much every offensive category so far, anything is possible. Heck, maybe Snell even gets his first career complete game.

Schoenfield: Astros at Mariners, of course! This will be a tougher test for the Mariners than the White Sox or Royals (or lowly Red Sox). Seattle actually won the season series from Houston last year, 10-9.

Miller: This early in the season, it's especially fun to see the range of outcomes for high-variance starting pitchers (those who are young, who have seemed to be breaking out, who are returning from surgeries, who have incredible stuff/shaky control) begin to narrow. So I'm looking forward to Friday's slate of starters: Jose Urias, Zack Wheeler and Chris Paddack, all of whom contain real ace potential and a bunch of unresolved questions.

PICK 'EM TIME

Last weekend, Mike Trout's OPS posted a ridiculous 2.631 OPS against the Rangers, the third-highest ever for a four-game series. This weekend Trout and the Angels have a three-game set with the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Trout's OPS this weekend: Over or under 1.850?

Matz: As bad as Cubs pitchers have been this season (worst in the NL), no opposing hitter has recorded an OPS that high against them. Not even Christian Yelich. The closest was Ozzie Albies, who posted a 1.667. All of which is to say, 1.850 is a really high number for anyone -- even Trout. I'll take the under.

Schoenfield: Under. But a good under as he goes 0-for-0 with 14 walks for a mere 1.000 OPS.

Miller: Under, because no matter how much you like a guy, 1.850 is ridiculous. In his best year, Barry Bonds' OPS on three-ball counts was only 1.700. We should have picked a lower number.

Three of baseball's best starters take the hill this weekend: Max Scherzer vs. Pittsburgh, Blake Snell at Toronto, Jacob deGrom at Atlanta.

Total runs allowed by Scherzer, Snell and deGrom: Over or under 5.5?

Matz: Trick question. Scherzer might not start after getting drilled in the leg by a liner in his last outing. Under, please.

Schoenfield: Under.

Miller: Snell's going to take a no-hitter into the seventh. Under.

What's your pick for Sunday night's game -- the Mets, with deGrom coming off his first bad start in a millenium, or the Braves and their young studs?

Matz: It's Max Fried's last start before Passover begins. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but as history has shown us time and again (and most recently in the last World Baseball Classic), never bet against the Jewish people. Braves, please.

Schoenfield: I love what Max Fried has done his past two starts, but that win against Colorado came against a lineup that more resembled the Albuquerque Isotopes than the Rockies. I'll take the Mets.

Miller: Mets.

TWO TRUE OUTCOMES

Each week, we'll ask our panelists to choose one hitter they think will hit the most home runs and one pitcher they think will record the most strikeouts in the coming weekend. Panelists can pick a player only once for the season. We'll keep a running tally -- and invite you to play along at home.

HOME RUN HITTERS

Matz: J.D. Martinez

Miller: Tommy Pham

Schoenfield: Aaron Judge

STRIKEOUT PITCHERS

Matz: Blake Snell

Miller: Justin Verlander

Schoenfield: Dwight Gooden -- err, Gerrit Cole

The Olympic and world medallist on the importance of finding new passion and moving forward when an athletics career comes to an end

Life evolves for me. The retired sportsperson – you’re always having to reinvent yourself. I have three children, I have 13-year-old twin boys, so I’m busy! But work wise I run a business with Steve Backley and we do a variety of things ranging from speaking at conferences for whole days, we have a property business and I have a fitness range of bikes and treadmills with Argos. So putting them together, it’s all around performance.

No week is the same. It’s never straightforward. That’s good but I miss one thing – when I was an athlete you had absolute clarity of what you were doing and your goal. I knew the day, the time and the place of the Olympic final – every day was planned to move towards that point and that focus, with other people, was wonderful. I don’t have that in my life any more and I do miss it. So I have to find that a bit more with Steve and we work at it but it will never be the same as trying to win Olympic medals.

I will never complain because I think we have done okay and I think for some people it’s a really tough struggle. I was very fortunate that when I retired I was very high profile so opportunities came my way and I took them, whereas some people don’t get those opportunities. There are a lot of Olympic medallists now – you can’t all be on TV, you can’t all be corporate speakers. I really feel for athletes who retire and feel, ‘what do I do now? No one is helping me.’

Advice for a successful sporting retirement

We did sport because it was our passion. If you can find another passion then you’ll be okay. But it’s quite hard to do that.

You’ve got to step back. Take the time to think about who you are, not who the athlete is. I never did that and I made a lot of mistakes. Find something else that you could get passionate about.

If you can incorporate your sporting career in that, like I have done, then you’re very fortunate. If you can find something else to get passionate about and apply all of the things you learnt as an athlete, which is hard work, training, team work, goal-setting – all the things we took for granted.

Setting a goal is a natural thing for somebody who does sport but not everybody thinks like that. So take that and take it into an environment – whether you set up your own business or whether you go and work with other people – but don’t look back, don’t dwell on the past too much.

That’s easy for me to say because my past is still who I am. People don’t come up to me because of what I am doing now, they come up to me because of what I did 30 years ago, so it will always be with me. But in my head, I am thinking forward as a person, as an athlete does. I’m not dwelling on my past. I’m lucky to have that past but I’m moving forward. I think you’ve got to keep moving forward.