THE Los Angeles Lakers lost to the New York Knicks on Sunday, 124-123 and LeBron James had maybe the worst quarter of his career to close out the game, going 4 of 15 from the field in the fourth. The Lakers had an 11-point lead with under four minutes to go in the game, then blew it down the stretch, allowing the Knicks to go on a 13-1 run.

To make matters worse, James went up for the game -winning shot, like he has so many times before, but this time it didn’t go in. The shot didn’t even get off. James’ shot was blocked by Mario Hezonja, the Lakers lost and Hezonja pointed at James and laughed.

That, in a nutshell, was a microcosm of a very forgettable season for the Lakers. And it reflects LeBron transitioning to a new part of his career: That of being a mere mortal.

Over the last 10 years (or thereabouts) James has been immortal. Yes, there have been several MVPs and top performers over that time span, but no one has even come close to LeBron (well there’s a guy called Stephen Curry but that’s a different story).

LeBron’s off years, including this one, would be the career year for just about anyone else in the league. This year is almost certainly his worst NBA season since his rookie year, and he’s averaging 27.5 points, 8 assists and 8.5 rebounds with 1.3 steals a game. He’s seventh in Player Efficiency Rating, fifth in scoring, sixth in assists and top 30 in rebounding. He just can’t drag teams (deserving or not) to the NBA finals anymore. Yes, LeBron Raymone James Sr is becoming mortal. A mere human being. One of the very best basketball players ever, but now, somewhere below a demigod.

The Lakers currently trail the LA Clippers by 10.5 games for the eighth and final play-off spot in the Western Conference, meaning James’ personal streaks of 13 straight postseason appearances and eight straight NBA Finals berths are all but finished. Sadly, we may be witnessing the down-side of greatness.

If the play-offs started today, the top 8 leams in both conferences are listed and would be in action:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Pos. Team Win Loss

1 Milwaukee Bucks 53 18

2 Toronto Raptors 50 21

3 Philadelphia 76ers 4 6 25

4 Indiana Pacers 44 28

5 Boston Celtics 43 28

6 Detroit Pistons 36 34

7 Brooklyn Nets 37 36

8 Miami Heat 34 36

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Pos. Team Win Loss

1 GS Warriors 48 22

2 Denver Nuggets 47 22

3 Houston Rockets 45 26

4 Portland Trail Blazers 43 27

5 San Antonio Spurs 42 29

6 OKC Thunder 42 29

7 Utah Jazz 41 29

8 LA Clippers 42 30

JUSTBET NBA CHAMPION 2018-2019CODE TEAM ODDS

101 GS WARRIORS 1.35

102 BOS CELTICS 16.00

103 HOU ROCKETS 10.00

105 PHI 76ERS 15.00

106 TOR RAPTORS 9.00

107 OKC THUNDER 25.00

108 UTA JAZZ 60.00

109 SA SPURS 60.00

110 MIL BUCKS 9.00

114 DEN NUGGETS 25.00

DATE TIME HOME AWAY

22/03/19 19:00 ORL MAGIC MEM GRIZZLIES

19:30 CLE CAVALIERS LA CLIPPERS

NY KNICKS DEN NUGGETS

TOR RAPTORS OKC THUNDER

20:00 HOU ROCKETS SA SPURS

20:30 MIL BUCKS MIA HEAT

22:30 LA LAKERS BRO NETS

23/03/19 18:00 CHA HORNETS BOS CELTICS

19:00 WAS WIZARDS MIA HEAT

19:30 ATL HAWKS PHI 76ers

20:00 CHI BULLS UTAH JAZZ

MEM GRIZZLIES MIN TIMBERWOLVES

20:30 GS WARRIORS DAL MAVERICKS

22:00 DET PISTONS POR T BLAZERS

SAC KINGS PHO SUNS

24/03/19 12:00 NY KNICKS LA CLIPPERS

16:30 MIL BUCKS CLE CAVALIERS

17:00 IND PACERS DEN NUGGETS

18:00 TOR RAPTORS CHA HORNETS

19:00 NO PELICANS HOU ROCKETS

19:30 BOS CELTICS SA SPURS

20:30 GS EWARRIORS DET PISTOINS

21:30 LA LAKERS SAC KINGS