The Lakers’ quest this final month of the season has been quite straightforward: never win. L.A. only keeps its pick if it wins a choice in the top three in the NBA draft lottery. In order to boost its odds of winning a top-three pick in the lottery, the Lakers need to be as bad as possible. (The Lakers also lose their unprotected 2019 pick if they don’t keep their 2017 pick.)
Oh no! The Lakers won!
Good morning. We have that and more in Monday’s NBA newsletter.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Suns are the only team that can mess with the Lakers’ quest: Phoenix is almost as bad as L.A., but not quite. Until the past month, when the Suns have lost a dozen straight, narrowing the gap. Going into Sunday, the Suns had 22 wins with five games remaining. The Lakers had 21 wins with six games left.
The Lakers beat the Grizzlies. (It turns out even ultra-serious Memphis is susceptible to the Day Game on Sunday After An Off-Day In L.A. flu. The Suns lost to the Rockets without James Harden. That puts both teams at 22 wins.
Unless Phoenix wins more games than L.A. in the final 10 days of the season, the Lakers’ odds of keeping their pick will go down from 55 percent to 45 or 50 percent, depending on whether we end up with a tie. That doesn’t seem like much. But rest assured: it is.
Scores Galore ...
BOS 110, NYK 94
CHA 113, OKC 101
MEM 103, LAL 108
DAL 109, MIL 105
UTA 103, SAS 109
CHI 117, NOP 110
PHI 105, TOR 113
ATL 82, BKN 91
DEN 116, MIA 113
IND 130, CLE 135 (2OT)
WAS 115, GSW 139
HOU 123, PHX 116
... And Plenty More
Paul Flannery went deep on Giannis Antetokounmpo for this week’s Sunday Shootaround. A player who was once a League Pass fever dream has become an All-NBA talent by the age of 22. Just an incredible story.
The Cavaliers are still just a half-game back for No. 1 after a playoff-like marathon win over the Pacers. (Just when Paul George starts to lose me, he pulls me right back!) The East overall remains a mess. Four teams have clinched spots, but either Boston or Cleveland could be No. 1 and either Toronto or Washington (losers of three straight) could be No. 3. The Bucks need two more wins to clinch a spot, but six teams are vying for the next three spots. It’s real crazy!
Meanwhile, the only drama in the West is whether the Jazz or Clippers will get home-court advantage in the first round.
Back to Cavs-Pacers: LeBron and Tristan Thompson were super mad at each other after a blown coverage on PG-13 in overtime. Like THEY MIGHT FIGHT mad. LeBron apologized for showing up Thompson after the game.
You want drama? Here’s Mike Rutherford on Monday’s narrative-rich NCAA national title game between Gonzaga and North Carolina. And here’s Ricky O’Donnell on how Gonzaga is no longer the Cinderella you once knew.
The Women’s Final Four was INSANE. Dawn Staley’s South Carolina ended up winning the title two days after Mississippi State ended UConn’s 111-game winning streak in dramatic fashion. Some people complain that watching a hegemonic sport is boring. Agree or not, you must admit it makes the eventual fall of Goliath incredibly engrossing.
The 2017 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class was announced on Saturday to literally no fanfare. Tracy McGrady is the biggest name to be inducted.
Russell Westbrook tried to make a five-point play. It didn’t work, but I appreciate the attempt.
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: Derrick Rose, knee injury, out for the season.
Here are the Bulls doing something actually fun for a change. And here are the Bulls doing something good for Chicago.
Lance Stephenson compared his return to the Pacers to Michael Jordan’s return to the NBA. Of course.
It is extremely rude to save the ball from going out of bounds on your team by throwing it off an opponent’s face.
Potatoes are passé. Now the cool kids are asking NBA players to sign toasters.
Speaking of Warriors up to their old tricks: Draymond Green punched James Harden’s injured wrist, claiming it was in retaliation for a pinch.
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