While games were going on Wednesday night, Thursday officially kicks off the second half of the NBA season, and we’ve only got two months until it’s time to prepare for the (hopeful) first NBA playoffs that won’t be broadcasted inside a Disney World bubble. Fans and prognosticators alike have seen just what each and every team in the NBA is capable of in the span of 36 games, and there’s more of an aforementioned knowledge obtained that covers the simple truth that this pandemic was going to make things a lot more tedious to overcome than expected.
A litany of storylines have written themselves out in the first half of the season, and a lot of those just so happen to pertain to the two teams leading in their respective conferences. By keeping and maintaining their pedigree atop the Western hierarchy, are the Utah Jazz for real as a legitimate threat to overthrow the Lakers as the West’s best team? Can the Philadelphia 76ers survive in the vaunted Eastern Conference while the burgeoning Brooklyn Nets get even more multiplicative in offensive firepower?
And below them, various questions that have to do with the top four to five teams in both conferences have yet to be answered: while their records may not indicate it right now, just how intimidating are the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and Los Angeles Clippers to the team that leads the league in wins and, statistically, average win margin? In the East, would it be hogwash to write off teams like the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, and Charlotte Hornets for their impeded starts due to lingering injuries to integral pieces or the COVID-19 pandemic directly affecting their ability to effectively compete in games?
This Power Rankings article is going to be slightly different from weeks prior, as we’ll feature the storylines that all 30 teams are involved in, as well as their statistical advantages, or disadvantages, that have impacted their season.
Let’s get into it.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. Utah Jazz (27-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
Biggest storyline: Are the Utah Jazz the best team in the NBA, or was the first half of the season just a quick jump out of the blocks that will result in a stumbled finish through the second-half tape?
When we last visited the Jazz, they were flying high and confident heading into the break with the best record in the NBA. They posted statistical accolades that would supplant that take too: being fourth in the NBA in both total offensive and defensive rating, third in 3PT shooting (percentage-wise), and first in point differential and average win margin (+8.8) would make that case a little more believable. Rudy Gobert was all but a lock for his third Defensive Player of the Year award, Quin Snyder was only to go through the formalities of being named Coach of the Year, and Donovan Mitchell played his way into his first All-NBA First Team selection.
But as is the case with the NBA: it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Utah starts their second half of the season with the easiest schedule in the league, with a 2.5-game advantage over the Phoenix Suns for the best record in the West. This will likely ease their path to attaining the best record in the regular season since it’s likely opposing candidates for the best record in their conference will opt for resting their stars a little more than regulated in preparation for the long haul of the postseason.
But the theory of it taking until the Conference Finals to face their biggest adversaries of the Lakers or Clippers in the Finals will likely be debunked, for they’re likely to see at least one of them in the Conference Semifinals with the Phoenix Suns surprisingly appearing at second in the Western standings.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Philadelphia 76ers (24-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)
Biggest storyline: Is COVID-19 through with the Philadelphia 76ers, and if so, are they as offensively sound enough to maintain that conference lead against teams in the East that are getting healthier and growing in talent?
There’s a shortlist of teams that have been excessively tampered with by the onsetting of the pandemic, and the 76ers inconveniently top that list. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid were reportedly in close contact with a COVID-positive barber prior to playing in this past Sunday’s All-Star Game and were disallowed to even set foot inside State Farm Arena amidst concerns of potentially infecting the field of All-Star Teammates and colleagues that would have to go home to their respective organizations, and we’d have a general idea of how that would negatively snowball and hurt other team’s chances of winning. It’s being reported that the two stars will be quarantined until the weekend, and won’t be with their team as they visit Chicago, Washington, and play host to the Spurs.
So as they solve their own Health and Safety Protocol issues, injury concerns, and offensive inconsistencies, the question remains: is Philly still capable of fending off what’s becoming a deafening roar from that of the Brooklyn Nets, who last Sunday signed Blake Griffin after his contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons?
If the answer to that question is “watch Joel Embiid work”, then well, points are made. You know what you’re getting from the consensus-favored lock for MVP: how’s 30.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists off 52 percent shooting from the field and 41.6 percent shooting from downtown for his MVP argument? However, aside from the heroics Embiid posts on a nightly occurrence, Philadelphia is the 14th-ranked team in the NBA in terms of offensive rating, and their offseason acquisitions to address their need for outside shooting have underperformed.
But, there is a pattern of thought that should be respected that says say some advanced analytics don’t provide a bevy of context but just the latent, objective narrative. Heading into the break, Ben Simmons’ uptick in aggression on the offensive end, notable in the fifth-year guard scoring a career-high 42 points against the Utah Jazz in a road loss. When Simmons is inconspicuously fighting for his own shot instead of just being the facilitator, it does wonders for the Sixers’ spacing and Doc Rivers’ offense. He keeps that up in the second half, Philly stays healthy, and well, they’re a dangerously different team. But their second All-Star’s productivity on the scoring side of the game could predicate just how much of a success – or slip-up – this first season with Doc Rivers calling the shots could be.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Brooklyn Nets (24-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)
Biggest storyline: Can the Nets keep everyone healthy, fresh, and rested, but at the same time on the court enough to build malleable chemistry heading into the playoffs?
When we last saw these Nets, they had just seen an eight-game winning streak come to an end but in retrospect, had won nine of their last 10 as the league’s No. 1 offense that scored an average of 121.1 points per game off an insane team-wide average Field Goal percentage of 50%. Individually, we talk about 50/40/90 scorers, but this team nearly fully embodies that with team-wide 50/40/80 shooting splits. They’re only getting better and more comfortable playing with one another in this uber-spacious system devised by Head Coach Steve Nash and a slew of assistant coaches headlined by Mike D’Antoni.
And it seems like they’re fully intent of banking on this season’s aspirations of achieving a title in this ensemble’s first season together: they went and pulled the trigger to get five-time All-Star and former All-NBA mainstay Blake Griffin to bolster their already overwhelming offensive output. Chemistry and its direct funnel into success is the largest question that permeates the mind of Nets skeptics who don’t quite think their roster is complete enough to go blow-for-blow against the game’s absolute best, as they’re still missing a reliable roll threat and rim protector, as well as a sixth man and predominant floor general that directs traffic once their three stars sit.
But if the Nets solve the puzzles of finishing the roster leading up to the March 25th Trade Deadline that’ll translate to their defensive inefficiencies as well as the incorporation of new offensive parts, it’s only a matter of time until this team that is 0.5 games out of first place finishes with either the best record in the East or finishes in the conference’s top two seeds at the least.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Los Angeles Lakers (24-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)
Biggest storyline: Even with Anthony Davis returning from Achilles Tendinosis soon, does the LeBron James MVP campaign take a backseat to staying rested and healthy heading into the playoffs?
While it might seem grabbing the West’s top seed is an utmost priority, a favorable path back to the Finals while every part of Rob Pelinka’s championship roster is healthy and available for the second half of the season seems like the safest route for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. If the regular season were to be suspended right now (which we don’t hope happens again since it was *literally* this time last year) Tinseltown’s team would currently be the fourth seed heading into the playoffs, but that might not be to their advantage, since they wouldn’t have a predominant home-court advantage heading into the postseason.
Last year’s effort to secure that advantage was for nothing, as the rest of the season played itself out in the neutral bubble. And the Lakers got their franchise’s But with government restrictions easing across the country and, potentially, in the state of California which could allow a generous amount of fans back inside the Staples Center at one point in this year’s regular-season or playoffs, could that be enough incentive to push these Lakers to win as many games as possible? Would that prompt Head Coach Frank Vogel to make the decision to keep LeBron James on the floor (who’s only sat out one game this season for rest reasons) with his high usage and average of 34 minutes per game?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Phoenix Suns (24-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)
Biggest storyline: While it seems the Suns are a lock to get into the postseason for the first time since 2010, how will they operate under the microscope as a top-two team in the West with the Lakers and Clippers grasping at their seed, and just how far with the tandem of Chris Paul and Devin Booker take them in their first year together?
Phoenix entered the break with the second-best record in the Western Conference, and was just getting to scratch the surface of their potential on both ends of the ball. Engineered by the elder architect Chris Paul, this organizational resurgence now has them behind the Jazz for the second-best record in all of the NBA.
Barring postponements in previous weeks due to the pandemic affecting their season, the Suns finished the first half with a 8-2 run in their last 10 games, but a bigger area of concern has to do with an increasingly difficult schedule that’ll obviously feature some battles against the likes of the Lakers and Clippers, who are both insistent on finishing top-three in the Conference at year’s end even if their abridged plans of Load Management alter their plans of giving 100% effort in the final two months of the regular season. They ended up going a combined 2-1 against the Lakers and Clippers in the first half of the season, but it remains if they’ll replicate that success in the second half.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Los Angeles Clippers (24-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)
Biggest storyline: Much like the Lakers, where keeping a sense of synergy is paramount, how much will Tyronn Lue prioritize health for full optimization of their stars? And will they make a move at the deadline to acquire a guard?
Much of the criticism toward the Clippers stems from lineup and roster incompletion, and what usually isn’t doubted is how dominant the Clippers are when they’re at full strength. Because when Paul George and Kawhi Leonard share the floor, they score in multitudes as the second-highest scoring duo in the NBA. As a team, prior to their first-half-ending loss to the Wizards on the road, they led the NBA in 3PT% at 41.8, and were tied for fourth in the NBA in shooting percentage from the field.
The Clips are a team with two dominant stretch wings that can score on anyone and lock up on the other end, but a major adjustment they’ll have to make in order to crack the top two in the conference is being able to finish in the clutch. Evident in their loss to the Bucks a couple of weeks ago, where they couldn’t score a point in the game’s final four minutes as Leonard and George got too stagnant on the offensive end when the system ran through them.
However, it’d be the most optimal solution to keep Leonard and George on the floor as much as possible, since rest and recuperation leading up to the playoffs did them in during them blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the Orlando Bubble’s Western Conference Semifinals was in part due to their lack of established roles in closing out games. L.A. is also a name to watch as the Trade Deadline nears, since it’s more than possible they scavenge for a veteran point guard to make their own shot and control the tempo of the floor for the second unit.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Milwaukee Bucks (22-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)
Biggest storyline: Can the Bucks stay healthy and find a consistent groove leading into what should be a deep playoff run?
While a first All-Star Game MVP award was certainly a welcomed addition to the growing legacy of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 35 points on a perfect 16-of-16 night with three 3PTs made in the NBA’s 70th annual midseason classic, now is the time to hunker down and get to business, especially since their first half had it’s uneven share of pitfalls. As the Greek Freek continues to play at an Elite level, the Bucks return from a break that saw enter into with a nauseating 128-97 loss to the Denver Nuggets at home for their 14th loss of the year and their fourth loss in ten contests.
One game later though, they’d fight tooth and nail to beat the Memphis Grizzlies via a score of 112-111, thanks to a stepback game-winner by Jrue Holiday, their guard they traded Eric Bledsoe away for, and the guard they hope can stay COVID-free and physically healthy the rest of the way.
More than ever, consistency to help build the reputation of a Mike Budenholzer-coached team that has, for two seasons straight, produced the league’s best record as a top-three staple in the offensive and defensive rating departments, is more than required if these Bucks want to put up a fight against the likes of Philadelphia and Brooklyn.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Portland Trail Blazers (21-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)
Biggest storyline: Will these Blazers get healthy enough to go on a run with Damian Lillard’s help before playoff time, and can they improve on the defensive end?
It’s as if it’s a case of Deja Vu from last year – Lillard has to carry the weight of a franchise like a cargo ship carries Amazon packages as they tend to their ailments to some of their most important players. But this year, it’s been the story of “Logo Lillard” as he has kept these injured Portland Trail Blazers (who, in all accords, are 28th in total defensive rating) afloat with the seventh-best offensive rating, and his nightly effort is commendable, to put it euphemistically. Over the course of the season’s first half, Lillard has put forth his own MVP campaign, scoring 29.8 points, dishing 8 assists and grabbing 4.3 rebounds off 45 percent shooting and 38 percent from deep, and no one has a higher offensive rating in the clutch than him.
While he may have entered the break with the highest amount of shot attempts per game and the highest usage rate of his career, you’d have to factor in that those advanced statistical anomalies are warranted when your backcourt cohort CJ McCollum had been nursing a broken bone in his foot for nearly two months, and your go-to rim protector had been rehabbing from a broken hand. So, what he’s done since they started racking up DNPs has been phenomenal.
It’s scary to fathom just how arduous of an opponent they’ll be once their guys are off the injury report and on the floor. If and when they get healthy, they’ll become more dangerous as each game passes with more time on the floor together.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Denver Nuggets (21-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)
Biggest storyline: Who does Mike Malone give the nod to for the Nuggets’ third-most reliable scorer?
While it seems that it’s unnecessary for a team that’s fresh off of a trip to the Conference Finals to need someone other than Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic to be asked to score more than 20 points a night as the fifth-ranked offense in basketball, they’ll have to look to someone to knock shots down on the wings off the catch following Jamal Murray or Facundo Campazzo breaking down opposing defenses and kicking the rock out to those areas.
Therefore, Michael Porter Jr.’s role could greatly increase in Mike Malone’s offense, due to the ongoing injury plague and the raging pandemic that has kept guys like Gary Harris Jr. and Will Barton out for considerable amounts of time. Porter is averaging nearly 15 points off 50.2 percent shooting and 41.2 percent shooting from downtown, but specifically, his presence on the offensive end is felt when the third-year wing out of Missouri plays with fervent and confidence. Heading into the break, Porter Jr. had acquired five double-doubles in the Nuggets past six games.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. San Antonio Spurs (18-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)
Biggest storyline: Is it time for Gregg Popovich to unleash the youthful part of this roster as opposed to the older pieces of Rudy Gay and Patty Mills?
You could make the argument that DeMar DeRozan was absolutely snubbed from this year’s All-Star Game with his averaged 20 points of 48.4 percent shooting form the field, but what isn’t being largely discussed is the average age of some of their best players — DeRozan, Patty Mills, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Rudy Gay — is 33, which doesn’t quite spell progressive and conditioned heading into the second half of the season.
So it makes sense that, now, the Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge decided to mutually part ways.
We’ve seen that specific lineups on the floor without LaMarcus Aldridge (ex. – DeRozan, Derrick White, DeJounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV, and Jokob Poetl/Trey Lyles) post a significantly better positive net rating, which gives reason to believe that the team was better off either keeping the more tenured big man in secondary units as a bench scorer in order to get out to quicker starts against the West’s best teams, or releasing him. Seems that they picked the latter.
And as their second half of the season begins Wednesday against Dallas, that change might occur sooner than you think, as Pop might commit to his 180-degree turn of negating analytics, opting for a quicker pace to the offense and more threes for the rest of the season to follow the trend of the modern NBA.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. Dallas Mavericks (19-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)
Biggest storyline: Can Kristaps Porzingis earn his keep and prove he’s the second-best player on this team on both ends of the floor, or should a playoff threat like the Mavericks start to look for trade partners in the offseason, or before the Trade Deadline?
As touched on in the last Power Rankings, the Mavericks were 9-9 when Porzingis played (that mark has since improved to 11-9 in the two games prior to the All-Star Break), and a pedestrian 7-7 when he sits. But per the NBA defensive rating ladder for players, he’s still the worst defender in the NBA, and while it’s taken him time to adjust to a regular schedule in lieu of knee surgery rehabilitation, patience could be running thin for the seven-foot stretch big. He has shown significant strides over the past month, but if there’s to be a consistent presence that attracts attention from two-time All-Star Luka Doncic, Porzingis has to be better.
If he doesn’t, the Mavs will likely look to Maxi Kleiber to fulfill Porzingis’ role, who before the break was having a career year from deep, shooting 45 percent from downtown.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. Boston Celtics (19-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)
Biggest storyline: If health and a resurgent Kemba Walker is to be at Boston’s advantage, does General Manager Danny Ainge pull the trigger and use the Trade Player Exception to add shooting depth, or wait until the offseason?
When we last left off with the Celtics, it seemed like the 8.0 magnitude earthquake of a three-game skid had sent the Celtics into an “inescapable purgatory” that was sure to push even the most equanameous to the brink of insanity. And many onlookers frustrated with the Celtics’ downward spiral called for the sacking of Danny Ainge due to his situational inaction from of not getting on the phones to make some team-altering trades.
And then the Celtics stopped the rain from falling, going 6-0 heading into the All-Star break with significant wins against teams like the Pacers, Raptors, and Clippers as a team that entered the week under .500, and finished the first half of the season two games above an even record as the fourth-ranked team in the Eastern Conference. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown would go on to display just how far they’ve progressed during Sunday’s All-Star game, scoring a combined (on opposite teams, of course) 43 points as two of the game’s most noteworthy contributors.
And now for the current scenario at hand: Boston is in talks to acquire a lengthy wing that can make plays on both ends of the floor as well as shoot the rock at an efficient clip to assist the core of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and a star guard in Kemba Walker that is slowly returning to his Charlotte form, if the last week going into the break was any indication.
Boston’s Marcus Smart is slated to return for their blockbuster rematch against Brooklyn Thursday, and if the Celtics are intent of running the risk to make such a move now to acquire a lengthy playmaker, the opportunity is there for the Celtics to make yet another deep postseason run.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
13. Miami Heat (18-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)
Biggest storyline: While not graced with the amenity of resting stars heading into the postseason much like NBA Finals counterpart Lakers as the sixth-seeded team in the East, does Miami have enough gas in the tank to make it back to the playoffs?
*Inserts tired Jimmy Butler GIF from the Bubble*
Butler and the Heat are one of two teams that competed for a championship through six games, and are still feeling the brunt fatigue of a short offseason that’s clearly affected the productivity of a Miami squad that, with a few losses, could easily be on the outside looking in during the second-half of the season.
Factor in the COVID-19 protocols making Miami one of the most pandemic-tattered teams in the NBA with annoying injuries to stars in Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Tyler Herro, and you have a team that’s been a shell of their former selves that reached the NBA Finals back in October. Recently though, Miami had won seven of their past 10 games and had started to get hot at the right time, but sustainability might be the biggest thing for them to overcome.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
14. Golden State Warriors (19-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)
Biggest storyline: As the West’s eigth-ranked squad, just how aggressive will the Warriors be at the Trade Deadline to improve areas of need, especially if James Wiseman continues to struggle?
Everyone is going to focus on how Stephen Curry can etch his way onto the shortlist of MVP candidates by getting a talent-developing Warriors team to the playoffs, but the bigger focus should be on (1) Bob Meyers’ aggressiveness toward the Trade Deadline, as it was reported that the Warriors’ General Manager was to be “more open in making calls” as the March 25th deadline nears, and (2) the onward development of rookie James Wiseman, who’s had a bumpy start to his NBA career as he both cannot stay on the court as a result of his wrist injury that kept him out for nearly a month back in January, as well as struggle, and get visibly discouraged in getting into a flow and rhythm in the minutes he plays.
It’s a difficult task for a rookie to learn to grow a comfortability for the pace and nuances on an NBA floor, but twice as much when the 19-year-old is trusted to offer substantial minutes to help get the Warriors back into to the playoffs for the first time in almost two years. If he continues to struggle, Meyers might observe the roster needs for veteran depth at the power forward and center spots.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. New York Knicks (19-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)
Biggest storyline: Can the Knicks keep this magic carpet ride of a season going?
If you ask any rational Knicks fan if this team now would be playoff-caliber this time last year, they’d dismiss the message as trolling. That isn’t happening anymore. The Garden is turning into Eden again, thanks to the play of Julius Randle, who appeared in his first All-Star Weekend festivities since the Rookie-Sophomore game back in 2016 as a first-time All-Star. The skepticism is valid, since the Knicks weren’t supposed to be in the middle of the pack in the East this time post-All-Star break and ahead of teams like the Raptors, Heat and Pacers as they’ve gone 7-3 in their last 10 games leading up to the break.
Fans will wonder if this team can sustain its statistical and record success – the Knicks are still the second-best defensive team in the NBA – and if this is a real, latent playoff team. But if one thing is for real, The Tom Thibodeau – Leon Rose era is off to an infathomable start, and the Knicks are an attraction in New York City again.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
16. Charlotte Hornets (17-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)
Biggest storyline: Just like the Knicks, are the Hornets a serious playoff contender?
It’s more than likely a formality that LaMelo Ball will become the Rookie of the Year at season’s end, as the rookie who plays with the most natural feel for the game has averaged 15.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 6 rebounds in 35 games for a Charlotte team that is currently seventh in the East behind the Knicks. The team around him, however, is in the business of making history and are all having career years in James Borrego’s system.
While they do give up an averaged total of 120 points per game to rank as the 17th-best defensive team, the Hornets walk into the second half of the season only a half-game behind the Heat in the Southeast division as a playoff team with seven scorers who average numbers in double-digits per game. As the 16th ranked offense in basketball, they’ll have to be led by the nightly effort from former Boston Celtics Gordon Hayward (21.5 ppg., 5.4 rpg., 3.9 apg. in an avg. 35 minutes on the floor), who is starting to look like his old Utah self. This is a team that’s capable of reaching the postseason or play-in tournament, but their biggest concern will be consistency in the final two months of the season.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
17. Toronto Raptors (17-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)
Biggest storyline: If this is not the end of the Kyle Lowry era in Toronto, what could they do at the deadline to improve their record and make their path back to the postseason easier?
Kyle Lowry, the franchise’s third all-time scorer, is slated to become a free agent at the end of this season, but if current reports line up, it’s unlikely he gets moved before the March 25th trade deadline. Toronto has shown their intent to build around a younger core of Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet and while Lowry – who will turn 35 on the exact day of the deadline – is expected to remain in a Raptors uniform. However, Toronto would be remiss to ignore the large market for the All-Star guard, and if, in the hypothetical sense, were to make a trade including Lowry, teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers and more would have their ears and arms wide open to accept the two-way guard.
Should they keep him, Toronto’s trade targets should directly assess their most significant weakness – the lack of a lengthy shot creator that forces opposing coaches to adjust their defensive coverages around. If Norman Powell doesn’t move the needle, they could trade with Orlando in a deal to send a player like Evan Fournier (18.5 ppg., 3.8 apg) to Tampa to assist the likes of Toronto’s talented backcourt.
In order to seriously compete in the vaunted East, another gamechanger with their own role set in stone would make scoring the ball a little easier for the Raps, who own the NBA’s tenth-ranked offense in basketball.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
18. Memphis Grizzlies (17-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)
Biggest storyline: Can a Jaren Jackson Jr. return salvage the season to get the Grizzlies back into the Play-In Tournament?
The Grizzlies saw another return from major injury when Justise Winslow came back from a back injury and is one of Memphis’ most efficient defenders whenever he sets foot on the floor. They’re hoping that it’s more of the same when Jaren Jackson Jr. comes back at some point during the rest of the regular season, now that his knee is nearly healed from meniscus surgery this past summer. And for the Grizzlies, their draft goals from a few seasons ago were to lock in both Ja Morant and “JJJ” as franchise cornerpieces to build a championship roster around them one day.
Well, injuries and additional ailments out of their control have hindered the progression of this duo in the past two years, and with them strengthening the bench by drafting several additions to their frontcourt like Brandon Clarke, Desmond Bane, and Xavier Tillman, the ceiling of these Grizzlies for their longevity and their success this season, is largely incumbent on them staying healthy the rest of the way through.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
19. Chicago Bulls (16-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)
Biggest storyline: Can Zach LaVine keep it up for the Bulls to be deemed qualifiers for the first-ever Eastern play-in tournament?
When we last visited the Bulls, they were ninth in the East with a slender lead over Indiana in the rankings, but were barely treading water in their efforts of getting in the playoff picture for the rest of the year.
But perhaps the largest component of that probability becoming likelier per game – Zach LaVine. The seven-year guard became the tenth Bull in franchise history to be announced as an All-Star and the first since Jimmy Butler earned the same honor in 2017. He joined a legendary list that included the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Joakim Noah, and Derrick Rose, and will look toward the second half of the season to get Chicago’s team back into the postseason for the first time since 2017.
Entering the second half, LaVine’s scoring is the lifeblood of this offense, as he had become the second Bull since Michael Jordan to average 35 points in the span of more than ten games. This is,undoubtedly, his best season as a pro, but it’s to be found out whether up-to-the-minute coaching adjustments of working players in and out of lineups due to injuries and Health and Safety Protocols by first-year Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan pays off in the end.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
20. Indiana Pacers (16-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)
Biggest storyline: Are the Pacers capable of returning to their former playoff-qualifying selves, or have they burned out?
The last time we saw these Pacers, they were winners in only four of their last 10 games. And yes, Domantas Sabonis was selected as an All-Star for the second time, but as a team, they went into a tailspin. The first-half of Nate Bjorkgren’s first year as the Head Coach of the Indiana Pacers was a rather turbulent one, and while other stars like Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner are having decent individual seasons, those offensive and defensive inefficiencies have worn on the Pacers’ season, now appearing as the tenth seed in the East with both the league’s 18th-ranked offense and 13th-ranked defense. Just getting into the postseason is the key for the Pacers, who haven’t won a playoff series since the Paul George days back in 2014.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
21. New Orleans Pelicans (15-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
Biggest storyline: What pieces will get moved in the wake of the March 25 Trade Deadline?
By the way the first half of the season has gone for the Pelicans, a massive reset button on the schematics of this roster might be exactly what stars Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and others need to navigate the murky waters of this season’s second half. It’s no secret that the offense will gladly run through the three-level scoring of Ingram, who starts the second half of the season averaging 23 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.8 rebounds off 48.9 percent shooting from the field as well as Williamson, the strong, adept finisher at the cup, fervent rebounder and incontainable slasher you can’t keep just one guy on that’s averaging 25.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 0.7 blocks per game.
There’s a blossoming curiosity that certain parts of this roster just don’t mesh, and debates about rotational guards Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe, as well as veteran big man Steven Adams are coming to conclusions that those guys may not be in the final plans of building a competitive roster that’s to do battle with the West’s very best.
And while Ball has posted career-highs in field goal percentage, points per game and three-point percentage this year, he and others like Bledsoe hinder their spacing, making it harder to score and win basketball games. Ball will be a restricted free agent and if David Griffin determines his lack of value added to this team, he, and others, could be on other teams after March 25.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
22. Washington Wizards (14-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)
Biggest storyline: Can the Wizards make the play-in tournament?
It’s not too far-fetched of a question to ask. A 3-12 record to open the season, followed by a COVID-19 outbreak that kept the Wizards off the court for nearly an entire month and the title of the 29th-ranked defensive team in the NBA could be enough for the most loyal players to demand trades, but Washington stayed resilient, now a whole two games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. What’s more encouraging, Bradley Beal shows no signs of stopping as the league’s leading scorer, and Russell Westbrook is back to playing his explosive brand of basketball that bestowed him a league MVP award back in 2017.
Washington has life, but their second-half of the season is no joke; they’ll have play a total of 38 games (some are catch-up games in part of their quarantine periods) and about eight of those games are back-to-backs. It’s difficult, but the possibility o making it back into the playoffs for the first time in four years is enticing enough to push further.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
23. Atlanta Hawks (16-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)
Biggest storyline: Can these Hawks get healthy and advance to the play-in tournament?
Atlanta shook the basketball universe when they let Lloyd Pierce go after nearly three years without a playoff berth, and in his place came Nate McMillan, the former Head coach of the Indiana Pacers. For the second part of this season, Trae Young and the rest of the Hawks will be tasked in being coached by an entirely different coach in McMillan, as he is one who has his own idiosyncrasies that differ from that of Pierce’s.
When we last left off, the Hawks were in the midst of a two-game winning streak, highlighted by their 14-point comeback against the Miami Heat on the road and their 19-point comeback against the Orlando Magic just a few nights after. Injuries are the only thing holding the Hawks back from being a borderline elite team in the scoring department, and in the ball pressure area of need, as they’re still awaiting DeAndre Hunter’s return while Cam Reddish fields trade offers.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
24. Oklahoma City Thunder (15-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)
Biggest storyline: With a playoff berth all but out of the question, how big of sellers will the Thunder be at the Trade Deadline?
While the case can be made that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might have played his way into an All-NBA team member selection, the Thunder are in no means equipped to challenge for a playoff spot with such a deteriorated and talent-inept roster. And yet, their record is better thatn expected at this point in the season, which will likely negate their path to earning a top-four pick in this year’s upcoming draft.
They’ll likely ship off a majority of the pieces they have now in order to achieve additional draft capital, making the process of turning traded players into picks to gather even more first-round selections in the 2021 Draft a little easier. Guys like Al Horford and Mike Muscala, two timely veterans with postseason experience, will likely be available at or before the deadline to help teams that need rim protection and outside shooting.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
25. Sacramento Kings (14-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)
Biggest storyline: is Marvin Bagley III going to remain a King? Is this the beginning of the end for Luke Walton?
The former No. 2 pick and big man out of Duke back in 2018, Bagley has largely underachieved over the span of his NBA career. And while he’s gotten a little more consistent on the offensive end, he’s not directly contributing to wins, as he loses his starting minutes more and more as the games pass by.
MB35 is playing at an average of 26 minutes per game, not ideal for the Kings’ first-round selection they entrusted to have an entire championship team built around at some point in his career. His 14.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and one assist off 50 percent shooting and 37 percent shooting from downtown isn’t all that impressive, and it’s festering into an indictment on Head Coach Luke Walton, who himself is on the hot seat and could be let go during the second part of this season. At least there’s Tyrese Haliburton, though.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
26. Cleveland Cavaliers (14-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)
Biggest storyline: Can these Cavaliers find an identity?
At first, a 3-0 start was met with optimism, for it seemed that Koby Altman drafted and scouted seamlessly when he went ahead and selected Isaac Okoro with the fifth-overall selection, a lengthy wing scorer with projections as lofty as the heights to Paul George. And then one loss snowballed into ten-straight losses in the month of February. And then the Cavs went four for five heading into the All-Star break, ultimately keeping them within arms reach of challenging the Indiana Pacers for the eleventh seed in the East. It makes zero sense to me as well.
Now the question stands: if these Cavs can consistently find a way to win basketball, do they decide to keep Kevin Love on the team to help provide spacing for Collin Sexton, Darius Garland and rookie Isaac Okoro during their progression? Or do you chalk up this season and opt for selecting a top-three player in the draft.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
27. Orlando Magic (13-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)
Biggest storyline: Just how much is General Manager John Hammon willing to give away heading into the Trade Deadline?
As one of the more mediocre franchise in all of sports right now, bad luck and injuries have played a big role in the destruction of their 2020-21 season. And so it seems like they won’t be making it back into the playoff picture for the third year in a row, now with the second-worst record in the East with only four wins in their last 10 games. They’ve made it loud and clear they’re not shipping off lone All-Star Nikola Vucevic, but at the same time they’re still not winning games.
It’ll have to be an executive decision for higher-ups in the Magic’s organization on whether to move the likes of Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier (as mentioned earlier), and Vuc to better supplant some youthful help as they wait for Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz to recover from their ACL tears heading into next year.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
28. Houston Rockets (11-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)
Biggest storyline: In the second half of the season, can the Rockets find a way to generate offense when Christian Wood isn’t on the floor?
When All-Star hopeful Christian Wood sprained his ankle, all hope of his Rockets being deemed competitive enough just went out of the window. Currently on the cusp of extending their losing streak from 13 games to 14 games, it’s apparent that these Rockets are in the midst of a massive talent overhaul as they not only wait for Wood’s eventual return, but at some point, thy’ll want to be able to score the rock with effectiveness while their best player is down.
Houston is still the 27th-ranked offense in basketball, only scoring 105.7 points per 100 possessions and while they could use Wood to return to fix some of the team’s most salient issues, their priority should be to look towards the draft and the Trade Deadline as they look for landing spots for players like Victor Oladipo, PJ Tucker and Eric Gordon.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
29. Detroit Pistons (10-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)
Biggest storyline: Should Pistons fans “Trust the Process” and be patient with this young team’s development?
General Manager Troy Weaver knew exactly what he was getting himself into. This rebuild was not going to happen overnight, and certainly, it wouldn’t be a gradual rebuild with wins coming from the woodwork. Now that the buyout with Blake Griffin is complete, with the star forward now headed to Brooklyn to up their chances of winning an NBA title, these Pistons are keen on getting the young pieces here already as confident and prepared as they’ll need to be for seasons beyond this year. Should they decide not to move reliable infrastructure designed to be built around for their future, players like Jerami Grant, rookie Saddiq Bey, and veterans Josh Jackson and Isiah Stewart are all to play in the team-wide aspect of development, so that one day they’ll be able to challenge for a playoff spot.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
30. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-29, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)
Biggest storyline: How do they build momentum heading into next season?
This season has been a bit of a mess for the team that selected first in last year’s NBA Draft. Whether it be the nagging injuries keeping their best players out, pandemic halting basketball activities, or sudden coaching changes, it just hasn’t been pretty. While Karl Anthony-Towns remains a loyal centerpiece and focal point, it seems that the pairing of he and his good friend D’Angelo Russell hasn’t gotten off to the quick start folks were assuming they’d be on when they first joined forces.
There is promise beyond Towns though; Malik Beasley is experiencing a career year scoring the rock as a primary initiator, and Anthony Edwards, should he fix the consistency issue that’s relatively normal for rookies at this point in the season, has the potential to be one of the game’s most dominant two-way players. This second half of the season should be a time used to further establish that chemistry between each other so that a playoff push in the coming years seems likely.
Photo Cred: Fox Sports 1430
