Joel Embiid

There have been frustrations throughout the year with the 76ers not having Joel Embiid, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

Frustrations with the situation? Or frustrations with Embiid? The former is obvious. The latter is major news.

Charania's tone sounds ominous. Why cite sources if merely discussing the natural frustration that comes with a superstar repeatedly getting injured? Still, this report is vague, and I'm not totally sure what to make of it – though I'm definitely keeping a closer eye on Embiid and Philadelphia now.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his first career 50-point game last night, scoring 54 in the Thunder's win over the Jazz.

About time.

Gilgeous-Alexander is only the second player in NBA history to produce multiple 30-point-per-game seasons without dropping 50 in a game before or even during those seasons.

Since Oscar Robertson thrice completed 30-point-per-game seasons before his first 50-point game, World B. Free (1979-80) and Kevin Durant (2010-11) are the only other players to finish even one 30-point-per-game season without first dropping 50 in a game.

Yet, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31.4 points per game two years ago and 30.1 points per game last year while stuck on a career high of 44.

He pushed his career high to 45 earlier this season before really upping the ante yesterday.

Nice to know Gilgeous-Alexander has that ability to completely take over with his scoring.

Of course, this also all just a compliment in disguise. For Gilgeous-Alexander to average so much without insane peaks demonstrates amazing consistency.

Doug Christie

As Nate covered on the pod, the Kings haven't looked that much different under Doug Christie than Mike Brown. They've just been far more effective in the clutch – a small, noisy sample. But as they've won with Christie, their confidence has snowballed.

That was all displayed in a 123-117 victory over the Warriors last night.

Fall behind by 18? Check.

Come back? Check.

Win crunch time? Check.

The victory moved Christie to 10-2 (83%) – a giant jumpy from Brown's 13-18 record (42%).

No interim coach has ever finished a season with his team's record improved by so much – 41 percentage points – from what he inherited.

The 1996-97 Suns went from 0-8 with Cotton Fitzsimmons to 40-34 with Danny Ainge. The 1977-78 SuperSonics went from 5-17 with Bob Hopkins to 42-18 with Lenny Wilkens. But neither Ainge nor Wilkens were interim coaches. Both Phoenix and Seattle gave them the job with the intent they'd hold it long-term.

The interim coach who lifted his team's win percentage the most by the end of the season? Curly Armstrong, who took over the Fort Wayne Pistons after Carl Bennett's 0-6 start in 1948-49 then went 22-32.

In more modern times, it's Paul Silas with the 1999 Hornets. He took over for Dave Cowens, who resigned at 4-11, then went 22-13.

Teams with the largest win-percentage increases under the coach who finished the season from what he inherited, including this year's Kings (interim purple, non-interim black):

Of course, this is still a small sample. Sacramento has 39 games remaining.

Christie must go…

• 39-0 to set the all-time record
• 33-6 to set the all-time record for an interim coach
• 30-9 to set the record for an interim coach in the last 75 years
• 26-13 to remain on this 15-coach leaderboard

Even 26-13 is a monumentally tall task. That's equivalent to a 55-win pace in an 82-game season. Brown's best season in Sacramento wasn't nearly that good.

Doug Christie

Maybe comparing Doug Christie to Mike Brown is unfair.

Just two years ago, Brown became the first person ever to win Coach of the Year unanimously. When the Kings fired Brown, there was widespread outcry. Sacramento succeeded under Brown overall.

But whatever came before him, the Kings are winning under Christie.

A lot.

His 10-2 record (83%) is on pace to be the best ever finish by someone who began as interim coach.

Avery Johnson went 16-2 (89%) in 2004-05, but he was the Mavericks' coach-in-waiting. When Don Nelson resigned, Johnson got prompted for the long haul.

The record for an interim coach is 18-6 (75%) by Mike Woodson for the 2011-12 Knicks.

Best finishing records by coaches who took over in-season, including Christie (interim purple, non-interim black):

Christie must finish:

• 36-3 to set the all-time record
• 29-10 to set the all-time record for an interim coach
• 24-15 to remain on this 15-coach leaderboard

Going 24-15 is equivalent to winning 50 games in an 82-game season. Brown didn't do that in Sacramento, either.

This is all a long way of saying: What the Kings are doing under Christie is extraordinary. But they'll have to keep it up far longer for Christie's record really to stick in rarified air.

Malik Monk

Funny moment in the Kings game last night: Malik Monk had a wide open breakaway and took off for a highlight dunk, bringing the ball to his waist then reverse slamming. He even sent the ball through the rim.

But the basket didn't count.

Before the ball passed through the net – the threshold necessary for a successful field goal – it hit Monk on the head and went back through the rim.

I can't recall ever seeing that before, though officials thought they saw it with James Harden in 2019.

Darius Garland

With the Cavaliers down two to the Rockets and 2.8 seconds left last night, Darius Garland – an 87% free-throw shooter this season – drew a flagrant foul on a 3-pointer…

And missed his first two attempts.

Though Garland made the third and they got the ball back due to Tari Eason's flagrant foul, the Cavs missed their final shot and lost 109-108.

What a stunning collapse at the line by Garland.

That's just the third time in the play-by-play era someone earned three free throws with a chance to take the lead in the final 10 seconds and ended the trip to the line still trailing.

In 2014, Kevin Love missed all three free throws (the third intentionally) with his Timberwolves trailing the Thunder by two and two seconds left.

In 2010, J.R. Smith drew a three-shot foul with 1.5 seconds left and his New Orleans Hornets down two to the New Jersey Nets. He missed the first two free throws then, in classic J.R. Smith fashion, made the third while trying to miss.

All-Stars

John and Nate made their All-Star picks on the pod. Because I use such different criteria, I'm also sharing mine.

Unlike All-NBA (where I pick strictly based on which players provided their teams' with the most value that regular season), I choose All-Stars by simply who are the best players. I'm uninterested in parsing 40-some-game samples for an honor that represents an entire year.

Of course, these 40-some games matter. They're the most-recent sample and not a small one. But they're not everything.

Injuries also factor. The most important ability is availability. But if a player otherwise seems healthy, missing time in this particular stretch since October doesn't carry outsized importance.

What that means for my picks this year:

• Luke Doncic gets in comfortably.
• Kyrie Irving has been awesome this season, but this stretch isn't enough to instill certainty in his availability – at least not when there are so many other elite guards in the West.
• Anthony Edwards gets more forgiveness for experimenting with his game and the bumps along the way. He's still an excellent player, I believe.
• Devin Booker has been disappointing. Also still an excellent player, I believe.
• LeBron James still gets credit for being able to lift his game in high-stakes moments (the type of moments that haven't happened yet this season), though that is waning.
• Jalen Williams vs. Ja Morant vs. Jaren Jackson Jr. was an agonizing decision for the final two West spots.
• Darius Garland has had a better season than Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell is still the better player.
• Shooting is most prone to variance, so I don't punish Trae Young much for his down accuracy. Not when we've seen him shoot better over far longer stretches, not when he's doing so much else right.
• The problem with Franz Wagner isn't that he has missed too much time helping the Magic while sidelined. The problem is I've seen just 25 games of Wagner playing his best basketball. Is that enough to trust?
• Is Wagner even the best player on his own team? Paolo Banchero is another conundrum. He looked special to start the year, but that was just five games. His six games back don't provide much clarity.
• As miserable as his season has been, Joel Embiid still got very serious consideration. He's that good when healthy – and the final East frontcourt spot was relatively soft, Cade Cunningham also drawing serious consideration. Domantas Sabonis would've gotten it if in the East.

My picks:

Western Conference

Starters

• Guard: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Guard: Luka Doncic
• Frontcourt: Nikola Jokic
• Frontcourt: Kevin Durant
• Frontcourt: Victor Wembanyama

Reserves

• Guard: Stephen Curry
• Guard: Anthony Edwards
• Frontcourt: LeBron James
• Frontcourt: Anthony Davis
• Frontcourt: Jaren Jackson Jr.
• Wildcard: Devin Booker
• Wildcard: Jalen Williams

Eastern Conference

Starters

• Guard: Jalen Brunson
• Guard: Donovan Mitchell
• Frontcourt: Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Frontcourt: Jayson Tatum
• Frontcourt: Evan Mobley

Reserves

• Guard: Damian Lillard
• Guard: Trae Young
• Frontcourt: Karl-Anthony Towns
• Frontcourt: Jaylen Brown
• Frontcourt: Moritz Wagner
• Wildcard: Tyrese Haliburton
• Wildcard: Darius Garland

LeBron James-Bronny James

LeBron James and Bronny James declined to participate in the skills challenge at All-Star Weekend, according to Chris Haynes. Bronny also declined an invite to represent the G League in Rising Stars, according to Haynes.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement requires healthy players selected for an "All-Star Skills Competition" (other than the dunk contest*) to participate. The CBA also requires players selected for "a Rookie-Sophomore Game" – i.e., Rising Stars – to play in that.

*Players selected for Rising Stars are not exempt from being required to compete in the dunk contest.

Doesn't seem the league really enforces those clauses. Apparently, not even when the crossover draw of LeBron and Bronny competing together is at stake.

Andre Jackson Jr.

Bucks wing Andre Jackson Jr. will participate in the dunk contest, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, joining Spurs rookie Stephon Castle and Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis.

That leaves only one spot. Will it go to back-to-back reigning dunk-contest champion Mac McClung? He's even in the NBA right now, on a two-way contract with the Magic.

McClung deserves a chance to try for the first three-peat in the event's history. Nate Robinson is the only player to win thrice (2006, 2009, 2010).

But the dunk contest is better with at least some star power in the field. Jackson's inclusion doesn't leave room for both a star – or even full-time starter – and McClung.

Shot clock

The NBA will switch to a circle shot clock, reports The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov, who posted a photo of the new design.

A round shot clock will soon get normalized. But right now, it looks WEIRD.

-Dan Feldman