The stars will be out on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena when the Philadelphia 76ers roll into town to take on the Los Angeles Lakers.
After sitting out the second leg of Monday's back-to-back against the Miami Heat, superstar duo Joel Embiid and James Harden should be back in the line-up for the 44-27 76ers as they jostle with the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics for the Eastern Conference two seed.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are fighting to keep their head above water, with their 31-41 record leaving them five games behind the eight seed Los Angeles Clippers as they prepare for the impending play-in tournament.
The Sixers are in the midst of a stylistic metamorphosis since the arrival of Harden at the All-Star break, completely re-shaping their offensive profile.
As was expected, the 76ers' free-throw rate (FTR) skyrocketed when it paired arguably the two greatest shooting-foul magnets of this generation.
Their 0.259 FTR – which means Philadelphia was shooting free throws on nearly 26 per cent of their possessions prior to Harden's arrival – was good for fourth in the NBA, with the Houston Rockets leading that category at 0.291.
While league-wide FTR is significantly up since the All-Star break, primarily due to it being artificially low to start the season as referees cracked down on players milking free throws, the 76ers have taken it to the extreme, leading the league at 0.374 following Harden's arrival – with only Philly and the New York Knicks (0.363) above third-placed Denver's 0.310.
No team has posted a FTR higher than 0.374 since Harden and Dwight Howard's 2013-14 Houston Rockets (0.386)
To say the 76ers have relied on free throws to sustain their scoring production is an understatement – since the trade, their 41.4 points in the paint per 100 possessions is the worst in the league, all while the offense revolves around a seven-foot-two behemoth in Embiid.
As has been the case with Harden's teams, specifically during his tenure in Houston, his offenses will live and die with free throws and three-pointers, with the 76ers upping their long-range attempts from 31.7 per 100 possessions to 35.6, moving from 26th in the league up to 11th.
It is irrefutable that Harden has changed this offense but, while Philadelphia's offensive efficiency has increased from 111 points per 100 possessions up to 115.4, their attack remains the 14th-best as league-wide efficiency is up across the board due to shooting fouls increasing and teams finding their rhythm.
On the other side, the Lakers are learning to live without injured centrepiece Anthony Davis, and the numbers have not been pretty on both ends.
Lacking a true interior presence since the All-Star break, the Lakers' FTR has plummeted from eighth in the league (0.251) to 26th (0.239), and their once-vaunted defense has become one of the league's worst.
As well as being 27th in overall defensive efficiency since the All-Star break, the Lakers are the league's second-worst team when it comes to allowing points in the paint.
So what happens when a movable object – the Lakers' paint defence – meets a stoppable force – Philadelphia's paint scoring?
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Philadelphia 76ers – Joel Embiid
While Harden is a former MVP, Embiid is the favourite for this year's award, and his level of play is usually the deciding factor in whether the 76ers win or lose.
In wins this season, Embiid is averaging 31.7 points and 4.6 assists on 51 per cent shooting from the field, with those numbers dropping to 25.9 points and 3.7 assists on 43 per cent shooting in losses.
Los Angeles Lakers – LeBron James
Simply put, since the All-Star break, the Lakers only win when James dominates.
In that period, the Lakers have a record of 4-9 when James plays, with the four-time champion averaging 45 points, 9.3 rebounds and seven assists in the four wins.
KEY BATTLE – Who wants to run?
A glaring weakness of both teams since the All-Star break has been transition defense, with the Lakers dead last, allowing 18.7 fastbreak points per 100 possessions.
The 76ers have not been much better, coming in at 28th, allowing 16.6 per 100 possessions.
Philadelphia have been criticised for being slow, while the Lakers have been criticised for being old, but which team is going to take advantage?
The Lakers appear more equipped to play an up-tempo style, coming in at fifth in the NBA in fastbreak points per game (14.9), and it is worth noting that no player has more fastbreak dunks this season than LeBron James' 36.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The 76ers won this season's only meeting, coming away with a 105-87 home win in a January game where Anthony Davis played, and played well for the Lakers in the critical absence of James.
Philadelphia won both meetings in the 2020-21 season, with the Lakers' last triumph coming on March 3, 2020.
LeBron's Lakers move up to the seventh seed, Brunson drops career-high 48 in Knicks win
The Los Angeles Lakers collected their fifth win from their past six games as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 123-111 away from home on Friday.
Lakers center Anthony Davis was the star of the show, piling up a game-high 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting while adding a game-high 17 rebounds and an equal team-high two blocks.
Superstar running-mate LeBron James was not as his offensive best, shooting seven-of-19 from the field, but he found a way to contribute with 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal to go with his 18 points.
The Timberwolves actually led by 10 at half-time, but the Lakers came out of the break and produced a 35-18 third period to snatch control of the contest.
An Anthony Edwards three-pointer early in the fourth period cut the Lakers' lead to nine, but from that point Davis would score 15 of Los Angeles' next 17 points, taking over when his team needed him most.
It was a disappointing performance from Edwards, finishing four-of-16 from the field for 11 points. Karl-Anthony Towns was strong with 23 points (eight-of-18), and Mike Conley led the Wolves with 25 (seven-of-11) and seven assists.
It was a costly loss for Minnesota, as they could have begun threatening the sixth-seeded Warriors with a win, but instead dropped down to ninth at 39-39.
The Lakers (39-38) jumped two spots up to seventh, and are just 1.5 games behind Golden State (41-37).
Brunson outduels Mitchell in Cleveland
Jalen Brunson put together one of the best games of his career as he carried the New York Knicks to a 130-116 victory on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Brunson set a new career-high with 48 points on 18-of-32 shooting, and he also dished nine assists. It is the fourth time this season he has scored at least 40 points after never scoring more than 34 during his four years in Dallas.
Donovan Mitchell was determined to match Brunson every step of the way, dropping 23 points in the first quarter on his way to 42 (16-of-23) for the game, but Cleveland fell away in a disappointing 25-14 fourth period.
Barring any major losing streak from either of these teams the rest of the regular season, Cleveland will host New York as the Eastern Conference's four-five first-round playoff matchup.
Banchero bullies the Wizards
Number one draft pick Paolo Banchero showed why he is the future of the Orlando Magic after a dominant display in a 116-109 road win over the Washington Wizards.
Banchero, the runaway Rookie of the Year favourite, scored a game-high 30 points, blocked a game-high three shots and snatched down a team-high 12 rebounds, while also leading the Magic with six assists.
Fellow number one pick Markelle Fultz was similarly impressive, shooting 11-of-15 from the field for his 25 points, six rebounds and four assists, while 21-year-old talent Franz Wagner chipped in 20 points (eight-of-14).
Sinner snaps Alcaraz's win streak, books Miami Open final against Medvedev
Jannik Sinner is through to the Miami Open decider after eliminating world number one Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-2 in Friday's semi-final.
Sinner, 21, has enjoyed a terrific start to 2023. Since the beginning of the Australian Open, the Italian has only lost three matches – to Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alcaraz.
He avenged his defeat to Tsitsipas with a straight sets win at the Rotterdam Open, and he has now got one back on Alcaraz after their three-hour war of attrition.
Both players created exactly 12 break point opportunities, and Sinner's 26 unforced errors were only one less than Alcaraz's 27, but the Spanish 19-year-old committed an uncharacteristic nine double faults. The loss snapped Alcaraz's 10-match winning streak.
The victory gives Sinner his second appearance in the Miami Open final after losing the 2021 edition to Hubert Hurkacz, and he now joins Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the only players to ever reach the final here twice before turning 22.
Sinner will get a chance to avenge his only other loss this year in the final after Daniil Medvedev booked his spot with a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 victory over Russian compatriot Karen Khachanov.
Incredibly, Khachanov lost despite hitting 53 winners and only 11 unforced errors, and he ended up edging the total point count 93-88, but he could only convert two of his six break point opportunities, while Medvedev converted two out of four.
The win means Medvedev is the first player since Roger Federer in 2019 to reach the final of both the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open in the same season, and he is the first since Federer in 2006 to reach five ATP finals before the clay court season begins.
Kvitova defeats Cirstea to join Rybakina in the Miami Open final
Petra Kvitova is through to her 41st WTA singles final after defeating Sorana Cirstea 7-5 6-4 in Friday's Miami Open semi-final.
Kvitova, 33, already has 29 singles titles under her belt, including eight at the WTA 1000 level. Despite showing she can still compete with the best – making the final at the 2019 Dubai Championships, the 2020 Qatar Open and the 2022 Cincinnati Open, her last WTA 1000 victory came at the 2018 Madrid Open.
Against Romania's Cirstea – who came into the contest with nine wins from her past 10 matches – Czech veteran Kvitova was put on the back foot early as her serve was broken to go 5-2 down.
But she saved two set points, and used that momentum to ignite a run of seven consecutive games, taking the first set and the early break in the second as a result.
Kvitova did not allow Cirstea to produce a single break point opportunity in the second set, winning 75 per cent (21-of-28) of her total service points to slam the door shut.
With the win, Kvitova joined Chris Evert and Serena Williams as the only women to ever reach the Miami Open final after turning 33 years old, booking her place against the hottest talent on the tour – Elena Rybakina – in the decider.
Rybakina has won her past 13 matches, and is looking to become the fifth woman to ever complete the Sunshine Double after eliminating both world number one Iga Swiatek and world number two Aryna Sabalenka to lift the Indian Wells Open title.
Mar 28, 2023 NBA
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
