LeBron James passed Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on Saturday night.
LeBron James entered Saturday night’s road game against the 76ers needing 18 points to pass Kobe Bryant for third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and the Lakers superstar scored his 33,643rd and 33,644th career points in the third quarter with a layup on a drive to the bucket.
LeBron James gets to the bucket to move up to 3rd on the all-time scoring list! pic.twitter.com/almofNRKrg
Can James eventually become the NBA’s scoring king? At his current scoring rate, it’s likely that James will pass Karl Malone for second in the 2021-22 NBA season – and if he remains healthy and doesn’t see a drop in production, it’s possible that James could surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the same season. It’s a safer bet that James will become the all-time leading scorer if he plays another three full seasons.
Breaking down how long it may take LeBron James to catch Kareem-Abdul Jabbar.
A few years ago when asked about his climb up the NBA’s all-time leading scoring list, LeBron James tried to hammer home the point that he wasn’t a scorer â instead, he’s a playmaker, he told reporters.
Could’ve definitely fooled us.
James is set to pass Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on Saturday night. All he needs is 18 points to do it. He’s sitting at 33,626 ahead of a road game against the 76ers. Bryant is at 33,643.
After tonight, everything gets real. LeBron might reasonably have a claim to being the NBA’s greatest scorer ever. He’s not too far away from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the number one spot.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar:Â 38,387
Karl Malone:Â 36,928
Kobe Bryant:Â 33,643
LeBron James: 33,626
It won’t be easy for James to retire as the NBA’s scoring king â not by any stretch. James is already 35 years old and playing in his 17th NBA season. He’ll probably need to play another three full NBA seasons to break the all-time record .
Through his first 16 seasons, James averaged about 2,033 points per season. If he keeps his 25.2 point per game pace up through the rest of the season, he’ll just fall short of that average with 2,016 total points. That means he’d finish the season with 34,558 points, give or take a few depending on how many games he misses the rest of the year.
If James finishes the season around that mark, he’d need 3,830 points to beat Abdul-Jabbar. At his current pace, James could potentially pass that mark by the end of the 2021-22 season, but that’s assuming his scoring average doesn’t drop, and that he doesn’t miss any games.
If we give him three full seasons to accomplish the task (though the end of the 2022-23 year), he’d just need to average 17 points per game over 75 games per season. At the pace he’s going now? That seems doable.
The Brooklyn Nets unquestionably had a dream offseason when they signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to long-term deals this summer.
This regular season, though? It’s been a struggle to say the least.
They already knew they weren’t going to get Kevin Durant back this season, but they didn’t expect for Kyrie Irving to be out with a shoulder injury for as long as he was.
To add fuel to the fire, the team hasn’t been quite as good when Irving has played. Their overall record is 18-25 this season. They’re 5-12 with their All-Star point guard in the starting lineup and 13-13 when he’s not. Spencer Dinwiddie, who was Irving’s backup, has played like an All-Star as a starter.
The whispers that the team might be better off without Irving have only grown louder. The Nets are ignoring them, though, and they’re leaning in on the Kyrie Irving experience instead. Dinwiddie, who has been starting even after Irving’s return, is going back to the bench.
âIâm told the Nets are moving guard Spencer Dinwiddie to the benchâŚâ
Look, this makes sense from a practical standpoint. Irving is an All-Star. Dinwiddie has been a bench player for most of his career. They signed him to a four year deal â he’s there to stay. If they can’t play together at the same time, the Nets will choose Irving 10 out of 10 times. They probably should.
BUT…this Kyrie thing, man. It’s weird.
This is the third year in a row where his teams have not missed him when he was out.
Two years ago the Celtics went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals after he got hurt. Last year, they looked absolutely miserable playing with him and went 12-3 when he sat.
This year it’s the same story. The Nets have less talent on the floor when Kyrie is out … but they’ve been a .500 level basketball team when he doesn’t play. When he does, they look like a lottery team.
We don’t know how this story is going to end, but boy, does it sound familiar. The big difference here? The Nets have a 7-foot absolute bucket coming next season to look forward to.
Hopefully for Nets fans, that makes all of this worth it.
Previewing Saturday’s Los Angeles Lakers at Philadelphia 76ers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.
The Los Angeles Lakers (36-9) visit the Philadelphia 76ers (29-17) at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET. We analyze the Lakers-76ers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
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Lakers at 76ers: Key injuries
Lakers
PG Rajon Rondo (finger) probable
C JaVale McGee (flu) questionable
PF DeMarcus Cousins (knee) out
PF Anthony Davis (Gluteus) questionable
SF Kyle Kuzma (ankle) probable
76ers
C Joel Embiid (finger) out
SG Josh Richardson (hamstring) out
Lakers at 76ers: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 1 p.m. ET.
The 76ERS (+155) are moneyline underdogs, which is surprising considering they’re a stunning 20-2 at home this season. While they will be without All-Star C Joel Embiid, look for the 76ers to win this game as they have won six in a row at the Wells Fargo Center. Considering the value, it’s hard not to pick the 76ers here.
If taking the 76ers moneyline is too risky for you, consider betting with them on the spread at +4.5 (–106). Philadelphia has done well against the spread at home this season, covering in 12 of 22 games. Despite having some injuries, they should be able to keep this game close â they have the No. 2 ranked scoring defense in the NBA. Look for the 76ERS (+4.5) to cover.
The total for this primetime matchup is 218.5. That feels just about right considering how great each team has been on the defensive side of the ball this season. Both teams are allowing under 106 points per game despite each side facing injuries at the center position. However, look for this game to just hit the OVER (-106) as Embiid and potentially LA’s Anthony Davis miss this contest.
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Previewing Saturday’s Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz sports betting odds, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.
The Dallas Mavericks (28-16) visits Salt Lake City to play the Utah Jazz (31-13) in the Vivint Smart Home Arena at 5:00 p.m. ET. We analyze Mavericks-Jazz odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
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Mavericks at Jazz: Key injuries
MAVERICKS
PFÂ Dwight Powell (Achilles) out
SG Ryan Broekhoff (knee) out
Mavericks at Jazz: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Both squads are playing top-notch basketball at the moment. The Jazz have won 18 of their last 20 games to play themselves into second place in the Western Conference standings, and the Mavericks won five out their previous six games. But the Jazz have won seven straight against the Mavericks at home and I don’t see that streak ending on Saturday. PASS ON A MONEYLINEÂ wager though because we aren’t laying $176 to win $100 if the Jazz win outright.
Letâs back the red-hot Jazz -3.5 (-115) because os their scorching recent performance. Everything is clicking for them at the moment, and now that Mike Conley is back in the lineup they are one of the healthiest teams in the NBA. At home, the Jazz are 7-0 against the spread in their last seven as home favorites and their 17-3 home record is tops in the West. And Utah has dominated Dallas since drafting Donovan Mitchell; the Jazz are 6-1 in games Mitchell plays and he’s scored 20 or more points in five of those. The Jazz also don’t mind working on the weekends; Utah is 7-0 in Saturday games this year.
Additionally, according to bookmakersâ standards the Mavericks have been inconsistent as of late:Â Dallas is 1-7-1 ATS in their last nine games following an ATS win. Home favorites laying 0-4.5 points are 13-8 ATS in games officiated by the crew assigned to Mavericks-Jazz and the Jazz 4-2 ATS when favored 3-4.5 points.
The over/under trends in Mavericks-Jazz point to BETTING OVER 225.5 (-106). Overs are 11-9 in games at Utah and the Mavericks have a 12-7 over/under record on the road. Furthermore, offenses have shown up to play recently in this matchup as the Over is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings. These teams have been putting up a ton of points since the turn of the yearâthe Mavericks-Jazz are scoring a combined 238.6 points per game in January.
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Previewing Saturday’s Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and bets.
The Oklahoma City Thunder (27-19) visit the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-30) Saturday at Target Center. Tip-off is set for shortly after 8 p.m. ET. We analyze the Thunder-Timberwolves sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Thunder at Timberwolves: Key Injuries
Thunder
C Steven Adams (ankle) questionable
SG Terrance Ferguson (personal) questionable
SG Abdel Nader (ankle) questionable
SG Andre Roberson (knee) out
Timberwolves
SF Jake Layman (toe) out
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Thunder at Timberwolves: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11:50 a.m. ET.
Both teams are on the second half of a back-to-back. The THUNDER (-128) beat the Atlanta Hawks 140-111 for a fourth straight win, while the Wolves (+105) lost an eighth straight, falling 131-124 to the Houston Rockets. Minnesota is in a free-fall, having lost nine of its last 10 games and is just 6-16 at home for the season. The surprising Thunder are seventh in the Western Conference, are 7-3 over their last 10 games and are 12-10 on the road.
The Thunder have won both head-to-head meetings this year, winning 139-127 at home Dec. 6 and 117-104 in Minnesota Jan. 13. Take the visitors for a third straight win in the season series.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Thunder to win returns a profit of $7.80.
The better bet is to back the THUNDER (-1.5, -115) to win by 2 or more points. OKC is 31-15 against the spread overall and 17-5 on the road. Minnesota is just 17-26-2 ATS overall and 5-16-1 at home.
The same $10 bet on the Thunder to win by at least 2 points returns a greater profit of $8.70.
Take the OVER 224.5 (-125) with both sides having played Friday. The two teams combine to average 222 points per game with 223.2 points allowed. The two meetings so far this season went 1-1 against Saturday’s point projection. OKC has a 4-3 over/under on the second half of back-to-backs and Minnesota is 3-3.
Esten’s NBA betting record: 153-129
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Previewing Saturday’s Brooklyn Nets at Detroit Pistons sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis, picks and tips.
On Saturday evening, the Brooklyn Nets (18-25) will take on the Detroit Pistons (17-29) at the Little Caesars Arena at 7:00 p.m. E.T. We analyze the Nets-Pistons sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.
Nets at Pistons: Key injuries
Nets:
SF Kevin Durant (Achilles’) out
C DeAndre Jordan (finger) questionable
C Nicolas Claxton (shoulder) questionable
Pistons:
PF Blake Griffin (knee) out
C Andre Drummond (mouth) questionable
SG Tony Snell (illness) questionable
SG Luke Kennard (knee) out
SG Bruce Brown Jr. (illness) questionable
Nets at Pistons: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The PISTONS (+110) are slight moneyline underdogs in this contest against the Nets on Saturday night. While the Pistons haven’t been great at home this season (9-14), the Nets are in a bad slump as they have lost five straight games. Given that these two teams have a similar record, I like the value of the Pistons here at home as an underdog.
If the moneyline is too risky of a bet for you, consider taking the PISTONS (+2.5) as a small underdog against the spread. While Detroit has covered in just six of their last 20 games, Brooklyn has failed to cover the spread in their last six road contests. Neither of these two teams has been particularly strong against the spread, so give me the points and the home team in this contest.
The total for this Eastern Conference matchup is set at 226.5 points, which feels like a lot considering both of these teams average less than 110 points per game this season. While it’s true that both teams have below-average defenses, 226.5 points feels ambitious considering how streaky each side can be on offense. Expect both teams to come close to 110 points, but for the UNDER to ultimately hit.
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Previewing Saturday’s Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.
The Chicago Bulls (17-30) and Cleveland Cavaliers (12-33) do battle Saturday at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland at 8 p.m. ET. We analyze the Bulls-Cavaliers odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.
Bulls at Cavaliers: Key injuries
Bulls
C Wendell Carter Jr. (ankle) out
PF Daniel Gafford (thumb) out
PF Lauri Markkanen (pelvis) out
SF Otto Porter Jr. (foot) out
PG Max Strus (knee) out
Cavaliers
PG Brandon Knight (knee) out
SG Kevin Porter Jr. (knee) out
SG Dylan Windler (shin) out
C Ante Zizic (illness) out
Bulls at Cavaliers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11:48 a.m. ET.
The BULLS (+100) are slight underdogs against the Cavaliers (-121) on the road, but they have posted a respectable 4-4 SU mark across the past eight outings, alternating wins and losses. They haven’t lost two or more in a row since a six-game slide from Dec.30-Jan. 10. They won at home vs. the Cavs 118-116 just four games ago Jan. 18.
New to sports betting? Every $10 wagered on the Bulls ML will profit $10 if they win.
The BULLS (+1, -106) are 1-1 SU/0-2 ATS against the Cavs this season, losing straight-up at Cleveland Oct. 30 by a 117-111 score. However, the Bulls are 9-4-1 ATS in the past 14 as a road underdog, while going 7-3 ATS in the past 10 overall against losing teams.
Chicago is also 12-5 ATS in the past 17 meetings in this series, and 20-7 ATS in the past 27 meetings in Cleveland.
The OVER 213.5 (-115) is worth a look. The Over has hit in each of the two meetings this season, and has cashed in five of the past six meetings in Cleveland. Plus, the Over is 6-1 in the past seven home games for the Cavs, and 9-3 in the past 12 meetings overall.
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Zion Williamson threw down his first career dunk on Friday night.
Zion Williamson stunned the NBA earlier this week in his long-awaited debut, scoring 17 consecutive points and hitting four threes in a spectacular fourth quarter performance. Williamson and the Pelicans returned to the court on Friday night in a home game against the Nuggets, and it only took a few seconds for Williamson to throw down his first career dunk.
Williamson scored an alley-oop for the Pelicans’ first points, and finished the game with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, along with 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block and 1 turnover in 22 minutes.
Williamson, who is on a strict minutes restriction, sat on the bench for the closing stretch of the game, and coach Alvin Gentry said after the game that he believes the Pelicans are “doing the right thing.”
“I know everybody gets real excited, and I hear every night that I’m the dumbest coach in the world about why would I take the guy out in the game of the last 5 minutes or 6 minutes? So I’ll live with that knowing that we’re doing the right thing.”
Somehow already past the midpoint of the college basketball season, the 2020 NBA Draft is starting to shape up with far more clear rankings.
Somehow already past the midpoint of the college basketball season, the 2020 NBA draft is starting to shape up with far more clear rankings.
As always, we examine the most trusted analysts to give us the best idea of a consensus for what the upcoming draft class will look like in June. The latest 2020 NBA mock drafts from experts at ESPN, CBS Sports, SI.com, Bleacher Report, NBADraft.net, The Athletic and USA Today Sports Media Groupâs Rookie Wire were used for these rankings.
The top four players (Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman and Cole Anthony) have remained the exact same despite none of the latter three players being active for various different reasons.
Meanwhile, Iowa State sophomore point guard Tyrese Haliburton entered the Top 5 and replaced 19-year-old Israeli prospect Deni Avdija â who has not seen much playing time in the Euroleague.
Included below are brief scouting reports for senior guards who have improved their draft stock the most since our last update. These players listed are all four-year NCAA players who could be ready to make the jump to the NBA like Josh Hart and Malcolm Brogdon did in their respective classes.
MARKUS HOWARD, MARQUETTE
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Aggregate Mock Draft Rank: 46
One of the most important things to know about Marquette senior Markus Howard is that despite the fact he has four years of collegiate experience, he is just 20 years old. Few teams operate their offense through one player quite like Golden Eagles do with Howard, who has taken 42.5 percent of their total field goal attempts. Fortunately, the guard brags one of the most efficient and prolific jump shots among all NCAA players. Howard operates well when he is shooting off the catch and off the dribble, which will make him a good fit for almost any offense in the NBA. He is currently averaging 28.4 points per game while shooting 42.5 percent on three-pointers. Similarly, no guard in college has been fouled more often than Howard has thus far. He should be a lock win Big East Player of the Year and should be a strong contender for the National Player of the Year, too. As a pro, he can likely become a spark-plug scoring option off the bench. His draft stock has improved from No. 68 up to No. 46 month-over-month.
PAYTON PRITCHARD, OREGON
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
Aggregate Mock Draft Rank: 47
Oregon senior guard Payton Pritchard was a Top-50 recruit coming into the Pac-12 back in 2016. He attended West Linn High School, where he was able to lead his squad to four consecutive state titles. That accomplishment was an especially impressive feat considering the program had only won the OSAA Boys Basketball Championship once before and it was way back in 1997. He has since played for the Ducks in the Final Four (2017) and also won MVP of the Pac-12 Tournament last season. He is currently averaging 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists with 1.7 steals per game. His assist rate (32.7 percent) is Top 20 among seniors and he has connected on 40.7 percent of his three-pointers. Now more than halfway through the season, he is the heavy favorite to win Pac-12 Player of the Year and could be a sleeper for National Player of the Year as well. He has leaped from No. 96 in December all the way to No. 47 now in January.
SKYLAR MAYS, LSU
Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Aggregate Mock Draft Rank: 57
During his senior year of high school, Skylar Mays was actually teammates with Howard at Findlay Prep. Also on the roster was 2019 first-rounder PJ Washington and Toronto Raptors two-way wing Oshae Brissett. For what it is worth, their roster also had current college basketball standouts Tristan Clark (Baylor) and Lamine Diane (CSUN). Their team has already sent tons of prospects into the NBA and Mays could very well be the next in line. He is a potential 3-and-D threat, averaging 1.4 three-pointers and 2.1 steals per game for the LSU Tigers as an NCAA senior. Meanwhile, LSU’s adjusted offensive rating (116.6) ranks Top 5 in college basketball. Along with Reggie Perry (Mississippi State) as well as Kerry Blackshear Jr. (Florida), Mays has a strong candidacy to win SEC Player of the Year. He has jumped from No. 90 last month to No. 57 this month.
