Life is improving for Lakers’ LeBron James, Warriors’ Stephen Curry; might MLB reinstate Pete Rose?

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👍 Good morning to all, but especially to …

LeBRON JAMES AND STEPHEN CURRY

New Year’s Eve seems like forever ago, although the calendar tells us it was less than nine weeks ago. Back then, LeBron James and Stephen Curry were leading play-in teams, with the 18-14 Lakers holding the seventh slot and the 10th-place Warriors sitting at 16-16. That — as they say — was so 2024.

Today’s Western Conference standings finds the Lakers (37-21) in second place, just percentage points ahead of the Nuggets (39-22) after their loss to the Celtics, and the Warriors (32-28) having spent yesterday morning in sixth and this morning in seventh place. Fans (of these clubs) can thank the improvements to the trade deadline moves that brought Luka Dončić to Los Angeles (9-2 since the deadline) and Jimmy Butler to Golden State (7-3 since the deadline).

And while these moves certainly did lift the Lakers and Warriors, our Colin Ward-Henninger has a great piece breaking down just how much these moves have benefitted James and Curry personally.

• Ward-Henninger: “At the trade deadline, however, both James and Curry received gifts — Luka Dončić and Jimmy Butler — that could ultimately extend their careers and further add to their seemingly unending lists of accolades. Since they began playing their new co-stars, both James and Curry have experienced significant boosts in production and efficiency, and the Lakers and Warriors look like legitimate threats in the Western Conference.”

James and Dončić are settling in, and things could not be going better for the league’s oldest player. With Dončić now shouldering much of the playmaking responsibilities, the 40-year-old James has been benefitting from rest and some easy looks. And in the Bay, Curry is shooting markedly better with Butler in Golden State than he was before the trade — 51.4% vs. 43.1% on all field goals and 42.6% vs. 38.9% on 3s.

Sure, all of this is a relatively small sample size, but getting older veterans like James and Curry bonfide experienced playoff combatants, who’ve both taken their previous teams to the NBA Finals, should only serve as tantalizing possibilities for when the playoffs begin next month.

Honorable mentions

And not such a good morning for …

ELITE-LEVEL WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL TEAMS

You like upsets? Well, you’ve come to the right place. It was a brutal weekend (or last week) for more than a couple top-flight programs. Let’s start with No. 2 UCLA, which entered the weekend with just one loss on the season, and again had no answer for JuJu Watkins (30 points) and No. 4 USC on Saturday night.

Now, you could say that a 4 beating a 2 isn’t that much of an upset, but the sequel to the Battle for Los Angeles didn’t change the narrative for host UCLA, who also lost at USC two weeks earlier. Bruins coach Cori Close was so frustrated by the mere sight of the stat sheet that she crumpled it up into a ball right there on a dais. The victory gave the Trojans’ program its first regular-season title since 1994, much to the delight of SC product Cheryl Miller … and the disgust of UCLA alum brother Reggie Miller.

Beyond that game, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Tennessee and LSU all ended their regular seasons with consecutive losses. Even worse for the Tigers, leading scorer Flau’Jae Johnson has been shut down through the SEC Tournament due to shin inflammation. (Look for Connecticut and USC to be among the beneficiaries from all of the upheaval.)

Not so honorable mentions

⚾ MLB reviewing petition to reinstate late Pete Rose

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is in the process of reviewing a petition from the family of the late Pete Rose, requesting that the game’s all-time hits leader be reinstated, according to a story from ESPN. If successful, the petition would likely pave the way for Rose, who died last September the age of 83, to presumably become eligible for election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

In 1989, Rose was banned from the game and future consideration of admission into Cooperstown for betting on Cincinnati Reds games while he played for and managed the team. Despite staunch denials, Rose eventually admitted to his actions in his 2004 autobiography. Rose spent 19 of his 24 major-league seasons with his hometown Reds, collecting an MLB record of 4,256 hits. 

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has also weighed in on the matter, posting on social media on Friday that he will be issuing “a complete pardon,” although it’s unclear how that action would alter any future baseball-related decisions since Rose was never charged with a crime relative to the betting scandal. 

🏀 St. John’s wins first outright Big East crown in 40 years

The St. John’s faithful were partying like it was 1985 at Madison Square Garden Saturday, and for good reason given the Red Storm earned the school’s first outright Big East title since the 1984-85 season. Behind their physical brand of ball, Rick Pitino’s squad put the clamps down on Seton Hall for a comfortable 71-61 victory.

After the game, red and white confetti rained down upon the jubilant fans and the coach, who donned a white suit for the occasion. Some might say that such a look in New York City in early March is “a choice,” but given that Pitino has collected more wins in back-to-back seasons than any other coach since 1999-2000, I say let the man whatever he wants. As for delving into more of the on-court action, let’s kick it to our Kyle Boone.

• Boone: “The way they have won has been textbook Pitino with defense and a veer away from relying on 3-pointers even as basketball has more broadly accepted and leaned into firing from distance. Following the win the Johnnies rank No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom.com and have the second worst 3-point percentage and second-lowest 3-point rate among major conference teams.”

And here’s more men’s college basketball content from the weekend:

Bracketology | Tomorrow’s Top 25 Today | Top 25 And 1 | Texas Tech tops Kansas … at Kansas! | Tennessee buzzer-beater downs Alabama

🏈 Final thoughts off NFL Combine

Another combine is in the books, but our NFL crew has it all broken down for you. Here’s a quick snapshot:

📺 What we’re watching Monday

🏀 Wake Forest at No. 2 Duke (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Islanders at Rangers, 7 p.m. on NHL Network
🏀 Unrivaled, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Rockets at Thunder, 8 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 Pistons at Jazz, 9 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 Kansas at No. 4 Houston (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN