Mike D. Sykes, II
August 16, 2024 4:45 pm ET
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe hereto get itdelivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes
Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had an excellent week and have an even better week ahead of you.
Let’s talk about the Celtics. They have an opportunity to do something pretty special next year.
The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors were one of the most dominant teams in recent history. They finished the regular season at 73-9. Remember, that team also started the season on a 24-game winning streak, which is still the longest in NBA history.
With the way the schedule looks, Boston might have a similar run next season.
Now, let me be clear. I’m prettyapathetic about the whole schedule release thing. Every team is going to play every team, so there’snot really that much to get excited about.
Of course, some excellent games on the schedule will pique your interest. And the schedule release videos are also pretty fun, too. But the schedule itself? Not that interesting.
But when you look at the way the Celtics start to the season, the possibility of Boston having a historic run seems pretty easy. Some notes:
- According to Positive Residual’s stats database, the Celtics have the fourth easiest schedule in the NBA next season.
- Boston will play only 10 games against playoff teams in its first 25 games, three of which will be against the Bucks.
- Boston also has only 13 back-to-back games, which is tied with the Bulls, Mavericks, Lakers, Trail Blazers, and Magic for the fewest in the NBA.
Boston will have to play on the road a lot early next season, but 13 of its first 25 games will be at home to start the year. The C’s will get a lot of home cooking as we head toward December.
Now, look. I’m not guaranteeing this team will win 70 games or more next season. That’s a hard thing to do — it’s why it’s only happened twice in the league’s history. It takes a lot of luck to make it happen.
But considering how historically dominant Boston was last season and how easy the schedule is this season, if there will be another team to do it anytime soon, it’ll be the 2024-25 Boston Celtics.
Noah Lyles is the gift that keeps on giving
Mandatory Credit: Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports
Now, the NBA and the NFL have beef with Noah Lyles.
The Olympic champion sprinter has struck up a beef with the Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill after saying that Super Bowl winners aren’t world champions.
Sound familiar?
He also acted like he forgot who Tyreek Hill was during an interview, which is hilarious.
🎥 Noah Lyles doesn’t seem to know who Tyreek Hill is 👀
“What’s the cheetah guy from football? Well, I can’t remember his name.” (@NBCSports) #GoFins https://t.co/06nMApFKhr pic.twitter.com/COtOekXORf
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) August 16, 2024
This man has found a way to unite fanbases from the NBA and NFL. He’s a legend for that alone.
Keep trolling, Noah. It’s bringing us together more than ever before.
Wemby is no longer the best NBA 2k rookie ever
Last season, Victor Wembanyama made video game history in NBA 2k (if that’s a thing?) as the best-rated rookie the game has ever seen. He was rated at 84, which felt extremely high at the time. He certainly backed it up with his play, though.
That honor is no longer his anymore. It’s been overtaken by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who both are being rated as 90 overall rookies in the game on the WNBA side.
Making a name for themselves in the W 😤
The top-rated WNBA rookies starting out in #NBA2K25! What will their ratings be by the end of the season? 🤔#2KRatings | #BallOverEverything pic.twitter.com/VYLVfhvsDF
— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 15, 2024
I won’t lie — this rating feels kind of outrageous. Don’t get me wrong: Both Reese and Clark are awesome. They’re both legitimately All-Stars in the WNBA and fantastic players.
But this puts them in a tier with, say, the best 20 or so players in the W. Despite their recent stellar play, I’m not quite sure we’re there just yet with either of them.
Regardless, they’re the best rookies in 2k history now. Move over, Vic. You’re no longer at the top of the tower.
Shootaround
— LeBron James had the time of his life in Germany while belting out some Adele. What a vibe. Bryan Kalbrosky has more.
— Kelsey Mitchell’s answer on Indianapolis hosting the WNBA All-Star game next season is top tier hilarious. Meg Hall has more.
— Royce White was never an NBA star. Don’t let anyone say otherwise.
— Here are the 8 best schedule release videos from NBA teams around the league.
That’s a wrap. Thanks so much for reading, folks! We appreciate you. Have a fantastic weekend.
Peace.
-Sykes ✌️
