Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
What’s good, family. It’s your boy Sykes here to usher you into this weekend of NBA basketball. But first, a quick question.
Is LeBron James an All-NBA player this season? It feels like, for the first time in a long time, he’s in danger of missing that nod after hitting that mark in every year but his rookie season so far.
But James is officially done for the season with two games left to go. He’ll finish with averages of 30.3 points per game, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists on incredible efficiency. His 26.2 PER is extremely impressive for anyone — let alone a 37 year old.
But the Lakers still stink. They’re missing the playoffs completely. While his numbers are great, it’s fair to say his complete body of work didn’t contribute to winning. That has to matter in these conversations, right?
But the All-NBA rosters are filled with the 15 best players in the NBA from that season — plain and simple. It doesn’t feel like there are 15 players in the NBA better than LeBron James right now. He might not be at the front of that list anymore, but he certainly isn’t off it. At least, it doesn’t feel like that anyway.
I don’t have a vote, thankfully, so I don’t have to decide this. But if it were up to me? He’d probably still make the team. None of us can be mad if anyone leaves him off, though. And that, in itself, is quite the shocker.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
The 76ers do not want to see the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs. Not only because they may lose their best wing defender in Matisse Thybulle for a few games, but also because the Raptors might actually just be better, my colleague Prince Grimes writes.
The key here is James Harden, who just has not been himself. Like, at all. Not even himself from just a few weeks ago.
When Harden is at the top of his game, the Sixers have the two best players between these teams. But he’s been anything but that in the majority of his time with Philly. Harden was phenomenal in his first four games with the Sixers. In the 16 games since, he’s shooting under 36% from the field and under 30% from three. He’s still giving them 20 points and 10 assists – including 15 assists Thursday – but the Sixers are in big trouble if this version of Harden shows up in the playoffs.
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Nets (-8.5, -370) vs. Cavaliers (+280), O/U 232.5, 7:30 PM ET
Don’t look now, but the Nets have a real shot at avoiding that 8th seed and moving up to 7th with a win against the Cavs. They’d have the same record at 43-28 and would own the tiebreaker with a 3-1 season series lead.
No idea how this turns out. The Nets have shown us all season that you can’t really trust them too much. But one thing we do know about them? They do score well and while being average on defense. So pound that over.
Who’s in and out?
—Kristaps Porzingis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are both out in Washington for tanking rest.
—LeBron James is out for the rest of the season, so he won’t play tonight against the Thunder.
—Evan Mobley is expected to return for the Cavaliers tonight but is listed as a game-time decision.
Shootaround
—The homie Cole Huff gives us a definitive ranking of the teams currently left in the NBA’s play-in tournament.
—My guy Bryan Kalbrosky spoke with Dr. J about a bunch of things, but really the lead is that he spoke with Dr. J. Because that’s always incredible.
—James Harden is struggling with the lack of spacing on the 76ers team. Who could’ve seen this coming?
—LeBron James wants to play with Steph Curry but Steph Curry doesn’t seem to want to play with LeBron.
That’s a wrap, folks! Have a great weekend.