Zion Williamson was finally living up to everything the Pelicans hoped he could be before latest heartbreaking injury

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Prince J. Grimes.

What’s up hoops fans. Prince here with your Wednesday edition of Layup Lines, and I was really hoping to come here excited to talk about Tuesday’s play-in games.

I know everyone isn’t a fan of the play-in tournament, but I am. It raises the stakes of end-of-season games as teams try to avoid those bottom four seeds, and it gives us fans some elimination scenarios to look forward to before the real playoffs even begin. I love it.

Unfortunately, I don’t have that excitement today. The Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors didn’t give us much to talk about in a 9-10 game that ended in a blowout — other than Klay Thompson’s brick-fest, which has inevitably led to more talk about whether Golden State’s dynasty is over. And the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans almost delivered in the 7th-place game, but then Zion Williamson was injured in the most critical moment and it’s hard not to feel like we were robbed of something special.

Williamson had 40 points, 11 rebounds and five assists before leaving late in the fourth quarter of a tied game. The Pelicans ended up losing by four, leaving them with one last opportunity to make the playoffs in an elimination game against the Kings. And the latest on Williamson’s injury is just heartbreaking.

Williamson will miss Friday’s game against Sacramento with a hamstring injury, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday. And I’m not sure the Pelicans can win without him. Even if they do, Williamson won’t be re-evaluated for two weeks, Shams Charania reported. The Pelicans would have to play the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder without him. They’re cooked.

In his fifth year since being drafted first overall, Williamson was finally playing in a game with real stakes and living up to the hype, potentially on the way to clinching his first career playoff appearance — against LeBron James and former Pelicans franchise cornerstone Anthony Davis, no less. Instead, his injury problems popped back up at the worst possible time and his season is probably over.

After such a promising year, all the questions about his health and how far he can lead the Pels will be back next season. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.

Jontay Porter is done in the NBA

The NBA’s worst fears when it comes to the Jontay Porter investigation were confirmed Wednesday, as the Toronto Raptors center was found to have violated league rules on sports betting.

Not only did Porter provide confidential information to known sports bettors and limit his performance in at least one game to help them win, he actually bet on NBA games himself, which is obviously a big no-no. He even bet on games involving his own organization.

The investigation is ongoing, but the NBA found enough evidence to ban Porter from the league. Here are the five biggest takeaways from the league’s release:

• Jontay Porter is permanantely banned from the NBA
• He bet on NBA games through an associate’s account
• He bet on his own team to lose, though no games he played in
• He helped associates who were known bettors by providing confidential health information and limiting his participation in at least one game
• The NBA is sharing its findings with federal prosecutors

Having an NBA player do things to influence the outcome of games for the sake of betting is obviously a huge problem for the NBA, as it creates integrity issues. So, the suspension was absolutely necessary. Hopefully, it was enough to deter something similar from happening in the future.

One to Watch

(All odds via BetMGM)

Miami Heat (+185) at Philadelphia 76ers (-5.5; -250), 7 p.m. ET

Atlanta Hawks (+125) at Chicago Bulls (-3.5; -150), 9:30 p.m. ET

Tonight, it’s the Eastern Conference’s turn in the play-in tournament. Hopefully these teams can give us a little bit more joy than the West.

Check out the FTW staff’s picks for each game here.

Shootaround

— Charles Barkley and Shaq roasted Kendrick Perkins for questioning how much basketball they watch

— Joel Embiid has a heartwarming reason for why he chose to play for Team USA in the Olympics

— Klay Thompson stopped and soaked it all in before heading to the Warriors locker room after their loss

— The NBA’s new participation rule has these 14 stars ineligible for end-of-season awards

That’s it from me y’all. Enjoy tonight’s games.