Ben Golliver and Michael Pina dig into a depressing weekend of NBA injury news concerning LeBron James and LaMelo Ball. How will the Lakers manage without LeBron James and how far will they slide in the standings? Does the high ankle sprain end his MVP pursuit, and which players are the new favorites? Will top teams try to tank down the stretch to avoid the Lakers in the playoffs? From there, Ben and Michael pay a quick tribute to Ball's sensational rookie year by listing their favorite moments and ranking him compared to his fellow under-23 playmakers. The guys close with a discussion of Aaron Gordon's reported trade request and ponder a listener's question about whether the NBA should seek better competitive balance by mandating that each team can only have one all-star or one player on a max contract. - Learn more about your ad-choices at