Weekend Reflections: Falcons’ Pearce faces six-game ban

What I think about some things I saw over the weekend …

If the police allegations against Falcons rookie James Pearce Jr. are true, then it would mean WNBA player Rickea Jackson is the victim of a violent crime at his hands. That’s the worst part about what police say allegedly happened Saturday night in Miami-Dade County.

As for Pearce’s job, he faces a ban of at least six games by the NFL if the league determines he engaged in behavior prohibited by the personal conduct policy. That’s the baseline punishment for first-time incidents of domestic violence and assault, with further punishment possible for aggravating factors, such as use of a weapon.

Pearce wouldn’t necessarily be in the clear with the NFL if the charges are reduced or dropped. In such cases in the past, the league has handed down punishments after conducting its own investigations.

It would be a big blow to the Falcons if Pearce must sit out six games or more.

Team officials have cited the performance of the young players on defense as a reason for optimism that the team can turn things around in 2026. Pearce is among the best of the group. He set the Falcons rookie record with 10½ sacks in 2025.

Now, he could be facing a minimum six-game suspension. According to a report by WPLG, Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez said Pearce was involved in a domestic dispute with Jackson before fleeing the scene and crashing his vehicle.

Police charged Pearce with two counts of felony aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated stalking, all with a domestic violence designation. He was also charged with aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer, fleeing or eluding police and resisting arrest.

Pearce posted $20,500 bail Sunday and was given a pretrial conditional order to stay away from Jackson. Pearce is presumed innocent under the law. We’ll see what the prosecutor says if and when he is arraigned.

The NFL’s personal conduct policy says players convicted of a crime are subject to punishment but adds that “even if the conduct does not result in a criminal conviction” it can result in discipline. The first item on the list of prohibited conduct includes “dating violence” and “domestic violence.” Also listed are assault and/or battery, stalking and resisting arrest.

In 2021, former Washington running back Derrius Guice was suspended six games by the league for three alleged domestic violence incidents involving his girlfriend. The district attorney dropped a strangulation charge against Guice, and other charges were dropped after he reached a settlement with the woman. Washington released Guice soon after his arrest, and he hasn’t played in the NFL since.

The NFL suspended Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott for six games in 2017. Prosecutors didn’t charge Elliott after he was accused of abusing his girlfriend, but the NFL punished Elliott after a yearlong investigation. Elliott appealed the suspension before later dropping it.

Dyson Daniels’ shooting woes are problem for Hawks

Early in the game against Charlotte on Saturday, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels took a pass in rhythm behind the 3-point line with no defender near him. Daniels set his feet, squared up to the basket and hesitantly launched a shot.

The ball didn’t even hit the rim. There are no official statistics on air balls, but it’s hard to believe that anyone in the league has produced more than Daniels this season. He’s never been a good shooter, but now he’s an atrocious shooter who seemingly has lost all confidence in his jumper.

Daniels has made 10 of 74 3-point attempts (14%) this season. That’s the worst mark in the league among players with at least 70 attempts. Opponents are letting Daniels shoot as many 3s as he wants, and for good reason: NBA tracking data classifies 70 of Daniels’ attempts as “wide-open” (no defender within 6 feet).

Daniels is an elite defender, but the poor shooting makes it difficult to construct lineups that include him. NBA teams can get by with one below-average shooter on the floor. It’s hard to cover for one who is shooting as poorly as Daniels because it messes up the spacing.

Daniels doesn’t score well enough in other ways to make up for the poor shooting. A defensive specialist who’s not much of an offensive threat can be a good complementary player on a contending team, but not a main cog.

Daniels’ four-year, $100 million contract extension kicks in next season. If he can’t find his jumper, that contract goes from being a great bargain for the Hawks to a deal that would have more value for a team with a different roster construction.

Three Hawks starters are shooting league average (36%) or better on 3-pointers: Nickeil Alexander-Walker (38%), Onyeka Okongwu (37%) and Zaccharie Risacher (36%). All are below-average defenders, and those aren’t dead-eye shooting percentages. Playing Daniels with that group is not ideal.

I’m guessing that Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh will address this problem by taking a shooter in the next draft.

The Hawks own the rights to a pick that projects to fall within the first seven. Several of the top prospects have NBA-ready jump shots. The Hawks need rim protection and rebounding, but players with those skills can be acquired at a cheaper cost.

Giannis gets in bed with sports prediction markets

The NBA is reeling from an alleged bet-fixing scheme involving one of its players. Now a superstar is an investor in one of the leading prediction markets.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo sent the NBA into a frenzy when he signaled he was open to a trade. Antetokounmpo stayed put with Milwaukee past the Thursday deadline. The next day, he announced he’s a shareholder in the prediction market operator Kalshi.

That was after there was $23.3 million in trading volume on Kalshi regarding Antetokounmpo’s future. This raised obvious questions about a conflict of interest. A Kalshi spokesperson told The Block the platform’s rules prohibit Antetokounmpo from trading on NBA-related markets or any markets that include him.

That assurance likely will do nothing to prevent some people from believing Antetokounmpo’s investment is shady. The timing of the announcement adds fuel to that fire. Also, sports prediction markets exist in a regulatory gray area.

The platforms operate legally in Georgia and states that prohibit sports gambling. The companies have won court battles at the state level to fend off regulation. So far, federal authorities haven’t intervened.

In the meantime, it’s a bad look for the NBA that Antetokounmpo got in bed with a prediction market immediately after so much money was wagered on his future. The league doesn’t seem to care much about the perception around gambling, even as the feds probe bet-fixing allegations against one of its players.