The Lakers Without LeBron? So Far… Not Great.

LeBron James is out, and the Lakers already look lost without him. Their first test came Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets, and they failed.

Despite Luka Dončić dropping a 22-point, 12-rebound, 12-assist triple-double, L.A. fell 111-108 in a game where Brooklyn made sure every single thing Dončić did was a struggle. The Nets threw double-teams, switched coverages, and dared the rest of the Lakers to beat them.

And this is the problem. When superstars get blitzed by defenses, their teammates have to capitalize on the open looks and mismatches that come from it. The Lakers didn’t, and it cost them the game.

Now it only gets harder. The Lakers are staring down a brutal six-game stretch against Milwaukee, Denver, Phoenix, San Antonio, Denver again, and Milwaukee again. They’ve already dropped to third in the West, and Memphis and Houston are right on their heels. If they can’t figure things out quickly, they could be tumbling down the standings fast.

LeBron will be out at least one to two weeks. The Lakers have zero time to feel sorry for themselves, because the West won’t wait.

Jokić Is Playing the Best Basketball of His Life

At this point, it’s getting hard to find new ways to describe Nikola Jokić. He’s averaging a triple-double for the first time in his career. He’s shooting more threes than ever and hitting them at a career-best 43%. He’s No. 3 in scoring, No. 3 in rebounds, No. 2 in assists.

And on Friday night, he made NBA history. In Denver’s 149-141 OT win over Phoenix, Jokić recorded the first-ever 30-point, 20-rebound, 20-assist game.

Despite that, Jokić is still as humble as ever. When asked about the MVP race, which has become a two-man battle between him and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokić’s response was classic:

But let’s be real, if Jokić keeps putting up numbers like this, how could he not win MVP?

Another Wild Night in the Pacers-Bucks Rivalry

Whenever Indiana and Milwaukee meet, something ridiculous seems to happen. It could be feuding over a game ball, an unexpected NBA Cup upset, or, in this case, an ending so wild it might shake up the playoff race entirely.

With just over six seconds left, the Bucks had control. A missed Indiana free throw kept them ahead by one, and Damian Lillard calmly knocked down two more to extend the lead to three. It should’ve been a simple finish. No way they were losing in regulation.

And then Tyrese Haliburton happened.

With 3.2 seconds left, Indiana lined up for an inbound play that looked chaotic to anyone unfamiliar with it. Four players spread out in the backcourt, moving in ways designed to cause confusion. It worked perfectly. Haliburton caught the pass, turned, and fired a deep three just as Giannis Antetokounmpo lunged toward him.

The shot dropped. The whistle blew. A four-point play.

One free throw later, the Pacers had stolen the game. The Bucks walked off stunned, and the Eastern Conference standings suddenly had a new wrinkle. The Pacers and Bucks now have identical records, and with Detroit wedged right between them, the race for home-court advantage in the first round just got a lot more complicated.

This might be a one-off moment, or it might be the play that decides seeding when the playoffs roll around. Either way, Milwaukee and Indiana just added another chapter to what has quietly become one of the most entertaining rivalries in the league.

Amen Thompson’s Injury Brings Back the Stat-Padding Debate

Few topics in basketball get people fired up like stat-padding. It’s the kind of thing that’s been around forever, but every once in a while, it resurfaces in a way that sparks debate all over again. That’s exactly what’s happening now after Amen Thompson’s latest injury.

The Rockets were up by 35 points late in the fourth quarter. The game was over. But Thompson was sitting at nine rebounds, just one shy of a triple-double, and he was still on the floor. He took a pull-up jumper in the lane, landed awkwardly on a defender’s foot, and immediately limped back on defense. Moments later, he was out of the game and heading straight to the locker room.

Now he’s expected to miss 10 to 14 days. Would this have happened if he wasn’t still in the game? Maybe. Maybe not. But there’s no question that he had no real reason to be on the floor other than chasing that final rebound.  At some point, teams have to ask whether an extra stat line is worth the risk. For Houston, it just cost them one of their best young players for at least two weeks.

WNBA Players Hint at Potential Work Stoppage Over CBA Talks

Tensions are rising in the WNBA, and if things don’t change soon, a work stoppage could be on the horizon. Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier recently revealed that players are actively discussing the possibility of a lockout as they continue negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). While Collier made it clear that “no one wants” to shut the league down, she also emphasized that players are “prepared for any possibility right now.”

The current CBA is set to expire at the end of the 2025 season after the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) officially opted out last October. This move, led by WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, was a bold statement. The message was clear: the players want and demand more.

Since then, however, negotiations have been eerily quiet. Preliminary talks began in December, but there’s been little progress reported. And based on recent comments from players like Angel Reese and DiJonai Carrington, patience is wearing thin.

Reese, speaking with Carrington on her podcast earlier this month, didn’t hold back.

The league’s recent rise in popularity, largely fueled by young stars like Reese, Caitlin Clark, and Aliyah Boston, has put the WNBA in a unique position. More eyes are on the game than ever before, yet player salaries remain a fraction of what their male counterparts earn. While some improvements have been made, like the introduction of charter flights, players believe they deserve a much bigger share of the league’s growing success.

With the 2025 deadline looming, the next few months could be pivotal in shaping the future of the WNBA. If the league and its players can’t find common ground, basketball fans might be in for an offseason unlike any other.

That’s all for today, thanks for reading.

We’ll see you on Wednesday!

— The Players Unlimited Team