You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 3/11/25
powered byJotCast
ARTHUR HILL
11:00
Welcome to this week's chat. We'll start with a question on LeBron and the Lakers.
Mark
11:00
Are the Lakers at risk of losing a top-6 spot if LeBron misses more than 1-2 weeks? Will that injury affect their chance of a deep playoff run even if he's back before the end of the season?
ARTHUR HILL
11:10
L.A. has been playing so well since the Luka Doncic trade that it's easy to overlook the fact that the West race is getting tighter. The Warriors have won nine of their last 10 to move into sixth place, the Timberwolves have won five in a row and the Clippers have a three-game winning streak with four winnable games upcoming. Last night's loss to Brooklyn was concerning for the Lakers, but they should have enough of a cushion to hold onto a top-six seed even if LeBron is out longer than expected. The bigger concern is how well LeBron will hold up in the postseason. The injury he suffered wasn't due to contact. He was making a simple post move when he felt the strain. LeBron has been amazingly durable for a 40-year-old, but it won't be easy to maintain that during the intensity of playoff basketball. If he gets hurt again, I don't think Luka will be enough to carry them considering the quality of competition in the West.
MVP race
11:11
SGA Vs. Jokic -- who you got?
ARTHUR HILL
11:23
It's definitely a two-man race this year, and both players are worthy based on the stats they've put up and their value to their respective teams. It's incredible that Jokic, who already has three MVP awards, is probably in the midst of his best season. His 28.9 points, 13 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game has him among the league leaders in all three categories. The Nuggets have lost numerous rotation players from their 2023 title team, but Jokic has carried them to the second-best record in the West and the fourth-best in the league. Gilgeous-Alexander has been equally impressive, giving the Thunder a legitimate star to carry them in close games. He's the league's top scorer at 32.7 PPG and he's doing it efficiently, shooting 52.5% from the field and 37.3% from long distance. I would probably pick Jokic, but voter fatigue will work in SGA's favor because voters eventually get tired of picking the same guy every year. I expect Shai to get the trophy.
Dallas Mavs
11:23
Should we be tanking the rest of the way or trying to hold on to the 10th spot? I feel like tanking might be the best long term move but I don't think finishing 10th would be terrible either since we'd probably still end up in the lottery
ARTHUR HILL
11:32
There aren't a lot of advantages for the Mavericks to start tanking this late in the season. There's only a slight difference in draft position between sneaking into the play-in tournament and narrowly missing it. Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively could be healthy enough to return soon, which makes Dallas at least a little bit dangerous as a play-in opponent. The lead over Phoenix is back to 2 1/2 games after last night, and the Suns have a rough schedule the rest of the way. There are a lot of angry Mavericks fans who probably wouldn't react well to a tank after all that has happened over the past six weeks. The team's best option is to try to reach the postseason and give them something to cheer about.
Guest
11:32
Will one of the teams that made a big deadline trade win this year's championship? Warriors (Butler), Lakers (Luka) or Cavs (Hunter)?
ARTHUR HILL
11:40
The Cavaliers have the best shot among those three, but they already had good title odds before acquiring Hunter. He's a nice addition in Cleveland, but he hasn't been franchise altering like Butler or Doncic. Those players have changed the trajectory for their teams beyond the rest of this season. Luka gives the Lakers a franchise player to build around once LeBron is retired. They can make a serious effort to restructure the front court this summer and will probably find a better option than Mark Williams. Butler extends the Warriors' title window a little longer and makes it easier to justify more spending, including whatever it will take to keep Jonathan Kuminga. The Thunder and Nuggets are still on a different level in the West, but Doncic and Butler have greatly changed how teams will view the Lakers and Warriors as playoff opponents.
JD
11:40
Which team is gonna tank the hardest down the stretch, the Raptors, 76ers or Nets? The difference in odds depending on where those teams finish in the lottery could be pretty big
ARTHUR HILL
11:52
All three teams have 22 wins at this point, which slots them fifth through seventh in the lottery. It's probably too late in the season for any of them to move into the top four, which is occupied by the Pelicans, Jazz, Hornets and Wizards. The Sixers have the strongest incentive to tank because their first-round pick will go to Oklahoma City if it falls outside the top six. Joel Embiid is already out for the season, and Paul George and Tyrese Maxey are dealing with injuries that will limit their availability. Coach Nick Nurse has started cutting back on minutes for Andre Drummond, Guerschon Yabusele and Kelly Oubre. The Sixers have an incentive to lose as much as possible, and they probably will for the rest of the season.
Nico harrison
11:52
Is it possible I made not just the worst deadline trade but the worst two? If I hadn't made that Caleb Martin trade, I could've had a healthy Grimes for the last month and wouldn't have been so close to the hardcap
ARTHUR HILL
12:02
The Martin trade seemed like a minor deal at the time, but its effects have added to the growing misery in Dallas. There was no way to know that Kyrie Irving would be lost for the season with a torn ACL, and Grimes would have been a nice replacement as a guard who can handle the ball and score. Martin was injured when the Mavs got him, and he's only recently been able to contribute. Harrison couldn't have expected the whirlwind of injuries that have left his team barely able to field an active roster, but he should have been more mindful of the chances he was taking considering how close they already were to the hard cap. Of course the Grimes deal gets completely overshadowed by the Doncic trade, so it won't be remembered, but it was another bad decision.
Thanks for another week of great questions. We'll talk again next Tuesday.
Connecting…