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Happy Friday, folks! It’s Sykes, once again, here to send you off into the weekend with another edition of Layup Lines.
I just want to talk about the Sacramento Kings real quick. Yes, that’s right. The Kings.
The vibes are immaculate around this team. Don’t look now, but they’re actually the best team in California. Like, seriously. They’ve got a better record than Stephen Curry’s Warriors, LeBron James’ Lakers and Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers at 8-6 so far this season.
The team seems to vibe with one another well. Mike Brown has injected a winning culture into a franchise that has typically been a losing one for the last two decades, essentially. They’re doing their cool winning beam thing now. It’s just all awesome. You really want to root for this team.
The thing about this is it doesn’t really feel flukey. Every season there are bad teams that start off hot and you’re like “yeah, this is going to cool down at some point.” And the Kings might certainly cool down. But this effort? The passion? The energy? That all feels sustainable.
That’s what has led to the 2nd best offense in the NBA so far behind only the Boston Celtics with a 117.5 offensive rating. De’Aaron Fox looks like a potential All-Star and All-NBA candidate. Domantas Sabonis has been an offensive fulcrum. Kevin Huerter is coming into his own as a secondary playmaker and scorer. Everyone seems to know their role and what they’re supposed to do.
If the season were to end today, the Kings would be in the Play-In as the 8th seed. And, obviously, the year is far from over. There’s plenty of basketball left to be played.
But, man. If you’d told anyone that back in July? They’d probably have laughed at you. But it’s the Kings’ fans who are laughing now.
We’ll see how it all turns out at the season’s end. But, man. I’ll say this — I’m never going to get tired of seeing that purple beam.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Speaking of the Lakers, man. It’s so rough seeing where they are now and comparing it to where they were a few years ago before LeBron James. They had all their assets, a number of talented players and a bright future.
Now, obviously, they’ve won an NBA championship. And they wouldn’t give any of that away for anything. But had they been just a little more stingy and shrewd, they might still have a competent basketball team on their hands.
My colleague, Bryan Kalbrosky, wrote about how both Ivica Zubac and Brook Lopez are balling right now. They’re two of the best defensive big men in the NBA. What do they have in common? They both used to play for the Lakers. They’d be perfect fits on the team now.
“Worse yet, both are natural fives that would allow Anthony Davis to play at the four — where he would prefer to play. Davis, instead, has played out of position for Los Angeles. Lopez played for Lakers head coach Darvin Ham when he was an assistant for the Bucks, and both big men would do well in his defensive-oriented approach.”
Lakers gon’ Laker, I guess?
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
76ers (-1.5, -120) vs. Bucks (+100), O/U 212.5, 8 PM ET
Obviously, this is going to be one of the more fun games of the night. It’s Giannis Antetkonunmpo vs. Joel Embiid. Do I really need to say more? Jrue Holiday may not play, however. And with the Bucks missing a key piece on both ends of the court, they’ll need someone to step up in his absence. I don’t think a lot of scoring will get done in this one, but it’ll be epic anyway. I’m taking the under.
Shootaround
— Jalen Ramsey hilariously called LeBron James out for lying and we love it.
— A massive change in Klay Thompson’s offseason routine might be why he’s struggling.
— There are a number of players making a bunch of noise across the league on new teams. It’s a trend now.
— Stephen A. Smith thinks the Warriors should make a trade and it’s hard to disagree with him.
That’s all, folks! Enjoy the basketball.
