LeBron James continues to set records, even though he is currently in the middle of the longest injury recovery process of his career. The PWCC Marketplace sold one of his rookie cards, a 2003-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection rookie patch autograph card for $5.2 million. That made his card the most expensive basketball card ever sold, tying the all-time mark for the most expensive card of any kind. That was a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, also sold through PWCC in January. James passed Luka Doncic’s one-of-one Panini National Treasures rookie patch autograph card sold in March.
For some news stories that will have more of an impact on your online NBA betting, keep reading.
NBA News: The Rumor Mill
Houston’s Wall likely done for season
Houston Rockets point guard John Wall is likely out for the rest of the season with a strained right hamstring. Sources say Wall’s injury is at Grade 2, which generally requires three weeks or so of recovery. Houston is out of the NBA postseason conversation, so the Rockets will not hurry him back. In 40 games with the Rockets this season, Wall scored 20.6 points and dealt out 6.9 assists per game, shooting 40.4% from the floor. Houston has the league’s worst record (15-46) as they get a rebuilding project underway. Wall missed a season and a half because of Achilles tendon and heel injuries, and this season he has missed several games because of swelling within his left knee. The team grabbed Wall and a protected first-round pick from Washington via trade right before training camp began. He is owed $91.7 million on his max deal over the next two years.
Utah’s Gobert blames himself for loss in Minnesota
The Minnesota Timberwolves have beaten the Utah Jazz twice in three nights — so the worst team in the West has beaten the best team two times in a row. The Jazz continue to struggle offensively without Donovan Mitchel, an All-Star who is on the shelf with a sprained ankle. Even so, at the end of Monday’s game, the Jazz had a chance to win. Rudy Gobert was guarding Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, who was at the free throw line. Towns set a screen for Anthony Edwards, and Gobert switched with Mike Conley, but then Gobert ran away from his new man, D’Angelo Russell, moving toward Towns. Ricky Rubio got the ball to Russell, who had an easy layup. Now Phoenix is just one game behind Utah for the best record in the Western Conference. Can the Jazz shake off these silly mistakes?
Cavaliers’ injury woes continue
In Sunday’s loss to the Washington Wizards, Cleveland forward Larry Nance Jr broke his right thumb, just one of a few Cleveland injuries in the 112-96 loss. Guard Matthew Dellavedova needed four stitches when he took an accidental head-butt, and he had a neck strain as well. Forward Lamar Stevens and center Isaiah Hartenstein both went down with concussions against Washington, joining top scorer Collin Sexton in the concussion protocol. This is just more in a series of bad news for the Cavaliers on the injury front.
NBA encountering referee shortage
Currently, ten NBA referees are unavailable to officiate games. One is on the shelf with an injury, while the other nine are out due to COVID-19 related issues. All ten are supposed to return in May, because the injured referee will be back, and the other nine will be back from contact tracing. The league uses greater caution with officials than it does with players. As a result, more games have been called with two officials, instead of three, and several referees have moved up from the G League to call NBA games. In a normal season, a G League official might expect to call between six and eight NBA games, but this year that number has approached 25, and teams are starting to notice. League metrics indicate that the officials are doing a better job than in a normal season, but teams do not necessarily agree, with general managers pointing out the officials’ overall lack of experience this season.
NBA Betting Odds
Love betting NBA basketball? | Xbet Sportsbook offers up to date NBA lines
