J-Speaks: 2017-18 NBA First-Half Review

The unofficial First Half of the 2017-18 National Basketball regular season has been very exciting. Last season’s NBA Finalists from their respective conferences have had to overcome some challenges on their march to hopefully a fourth clash this June. The boys from “Beantown,” “Clutch City” and “We the North” have displayed a body of work that has given their fans hope of making a serious postseason run towards Mr. Larry O’Brien this spring. One of the most anticipated rookie classes in a little over a decade has lived up to expectations and then some. A plethora of trades at the Feb. 8 trade deadline, 12 in all, the most in the last 30 seasons, is going to have a serious impact the second-half half of this season, and over the next two off-seasons, particularly for the two L.A. squads. Here, through one-word description of these 30 respective NBA teams is the J-Speaks 2017-18 NBA First-Half review

Abbreviation Key, which represents statistics from this season: ppg-points per game; rpg- rebounds per game; spg-steals per game; bpg-block shots per game; FG%-field goal percentage; 3-Pt.%-three-point percentage; opp.-opponent’s, and T-tied.

Eastern Conference 

Atlanta Hawks: 18-41 (5^th Southeast Division) 13-17 at home, 5-24 on the road. 

-103.7 ppg-T-20^th; opp. ppg: 107.8-23^rd; 40.9 rpg-26^th

Only San Antonio Spurs with 20 consecutive playoff appearances have more than the 10 straight by the Atlanta Hawks entering this season. The difference between the two teams is that the Spurs have five titles to speak of, while the Hawks best showing in the postseason was three seasons back when composed 60 wins and reached the Conference Finals where they were swept by the now three-time defending East champion Cleveland Cavaliers. The new General Manager Travis Schlenk, and owner Tony Ressler are now going through the difficult and painful process of “rebuilding,” their team into one that will be back in the postseason and will compete for Conference titles and Larry O’Brien trophies. 

A big part of that building foundation is starting lead guard Dennis Schroder (19.5 ppg-Leads team, 6.3 apg, 46.3 FG%), whose has had his moments, but has much more room to improve as a consistent passer, and leader both on and off the floor for the Hawks.

Schroder’s backcourt partner Kent Bazemore (13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.6 spg-Leads team) has played better after a tough season, the first of a new four-year $70 million deal. For the third straight season though, he is struggling shooting wise connecting on just 41.4 percent of his field goal attempts but is hitting 39.8 percent of his three-point attempts, and 79.8 percent of his free throws. The hope is that he can play at the kind of level like he did at the start of the new year, where he averaged 14.9 points on 46.5 percent from the floor, and 39.2 from three-point range.

Forward John Collins (10.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 58.0 FG%), who Hawks selected with the No. 19 overall pick in June’s draft has been solid and has the look of a guy who can be a real anchor for this team going forward. The organization and head coach Mike Budenholzer hopes turns into the kind of force, or close to it of future Hall of Famer that he saw as an assistant with the Spurs in fellow Wake Forest alum Tim Duncan. 

His fellow front court teammates in second-year forward Taurean Prince (12.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 36.8 3-Pt.%) said to NBATV’s Rick Kamla over the summer that he wants to be an All-Star one day in the NBA. If he can play at the level he did when he scored 30 points with 10 boards, on 12 for 16 from the field, including 5 for 6 from three-point range in a 111-98 loss versus the East leading Toronto Raptors, and when he scored a career-high of 31 points with eight boards, and three steals, on 9 for 17 shooting, including 5 for 9 from distance, and 8 for 8 from the foul line, then maybe.

Veteran Ersan Ilyasova (10.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 45.9 FG%, 35.9 3-Pt.%); and center Dewayne Dedmon, who has averaged career-highs of 10.1 points, 7.5 rpg on 55.7 shooting from the field, and 38.5 from three-point range, and forward Mike Muscala have had their moments.
Dedmon, who the Hawks signed in free agency back in the summer to a salary cap friendly two-year, $14 million deal, missed 19 games with a stress reaction in his left tibia. When he has been healthy, he has been a force as a perimeter shooter, rebounder and shot blocker at the defensive end. 

One other player the Hawks were hoping to have a solid look at this season was second-year forward DeAndre’ Bembry, but a right wrist fracture delayed his start to this season, and he has had to play catchup ever since. 

Several other Hawks that have shown potential are second-year guard Malcolm Delaney (6.2 ppg, 3.0 apg, 35.9 3-Pt.%); rookie Tyler Dorsey (4.8 ppg, 35.8 3-Pt.%), the team’s No. 41 overall selection in the 2017 draft; second-year guard Isaiah Taylor and forward Mike Muscala.

They will have more opportunities for minutes in the second-half of this season as the team bought out the contract of sharp shooting veteran guard Marco Bellinelli, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers this past week. 

The hope with more increased playing time for some of the young players on the roster that they can begin to develop some continuity, which will allow the front office to evaluate and see what they will need to add to the roster going 

In getting some more time on the floor, they will hopefully grasp better what coach Budenholzer wants on the floor. Aside from playing hard every night, these Hawks need to continue to embrace sharing the ball offensively, which they have done ranking No. 5 in assists per game at 23.9. However, they are at the bottom of the league in field goal percentage at 45.0, which is tied for 23^rd. They are a solid three-point shooting team, ranking No. 10 in attempts from three-point range at 30; tied for 11^th in makes per game at 11, and in three-point percentage at 36.6 percent.

Their biggest issue this season has been at the defensive end, where they are ranked 24^th in field goal percentage allowed at 47.1; 29^th in three-point percentage allowed at 37.6; No. 25 in rebound differential at -2.5; and tied for 23^rd in blocks at 4.3. 

While they have struggled overall this season at home, particularly against the East with a 4-13 record at Phillips Arena versus the East, they are 8-3 against the West at home this season. Their 108-82 victory versus the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 6 was their seven win in a row at home against an opponent from the opposite conference and improved their overall record against the Western Conference to 10-11, compared to just 8-30 against the Eastern Conference. 

The inability to consistently make shots is why the Hawks have had their issues scoring the ball consistently this season. When they have scored 110 points or more, they are a decent 10-7 on the season, compared to 6-34 when they don’t.

Schlenk, who came over from the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors front office, and Ressler, who paid over $800 million for the Hawks in 2015, decided in the off-season that just making the playoffs and then having an early exit was getting old and tiresome, and that the best thing was to tear down the roster as well as make a couple of tweaks in the front office, and rebuild it in a cost effective manner.

It began with the stripping of head coach Budenholzer’s title of team president and demoting the man who he had butted head with a season ago Wes Wilcox as the GM.

When Schlenk was with the Warriors, during their rebuilding process, he played a major role in them drafting two-time MVP Stephen Curry, All-Star Klay Thompson, now Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes, and All-Star forward Draymond Green, and wanted to bring that same kind of smart decision making to the Hawks.  

Saying goodbye to All-Stars like Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague, and Al Horford, and solid forward DeMarre Carroll each via free agency, or trade, the past couple of off-seasons while getting nothing in return has been difficult. It will also be difficult to say goodbye to 10 straight playoff appearances, which is second only to the 20 in succession. 

With a new state of the art practice facility, and the reconstruction of Philips Arena, which is described as the second most expensive renovation in NBA history, reportedly roughly worth $200 million set to be done at the start of the 2018-19 season, that will feature a Barbershop, called Swag Shop; a virtual reality golf area called Top Golf; the Zac Brown Social Club, and a night club on the floor behind one of the baskets, the Atlanta Hawks have their eye towards the future.  

That future will require a lot of work as the Hawks (18-42) sustained a 116-93 setback at the Pacers to start the second half of the season.

The current roster consists of nine of the 15 players with one year of experience or less, with the average of 2.3 years of service in the NBA. That makes the Hawks the youngest team in the league, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. 

The hope now is to draft, and sign in free agency the kind of players that will hopefully fit with the guys already here that will put the organization in position to eventually compete and win their first title since 1958, when they were known as the St. Louis Hawks.

“I think we’ve been a mix of young and veteran guys all year,” Coach Budenholzer said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week about how he plans not to favor playing the young guys over the vets still left on the roster the remainder of the season. 

“I think the way we progressed throughout the season-of course when you start the season you think it could be a little different—(but) right now I think the way we’ve played, and the way we continue to play, won’t be that much different.”

Prediction: Hawks will use this season to evaluate their current roster and hope their team will show signs of better things in the future. 

Grade: D+

Boston Celtics: 40-19 (2^nd Atlantic Division; No. 2 Seed in East) 21-11 at home, 19-8 on the road. 

-103.1 ppg-25^th; opp. ppg: 99.6; 44.3 rpg-11^th 

The Boston Celtics hopes of unseating the three-time defending East champion Cavs took a serious hit when their prize free agent minutes into the season suffered an injury and started this season at 0-2 start. That was followed by an unprecedented winning streak that quieted those thoughts. The C’s have come back to Earth in recent weeks, in large part because of their inability to defend, and that their young core players are getting a taste of what it really means to be at the top of team’s scouting reports. While many have considered their start a surprise the C’s have shown through their play that they are a serious “contender.” 

Celtics prized free agent in forward Gordon Hayward was lost minutes into the C’s season opener at the Cavs on Oct. 17, 2017 when he suffered a dislocated left ankle and fracture to his left tibia in the 102-99 loss. There was some hope that Hayward might return this season to provide a spark off the bench to help the Celtics in the postseason, but that happening for the 27-year-old, who signed a four-year $128 million deal to be reunited with his college head coach at Butler University in Brad Stevens is very unlikely.

After that rough 0-2 start the Boston Celtics reeled off 16 straight wins, that consisted of five double-digit comebacks of 13, 16, 17 and 18 points down twice to win a number of those games. 

At one point this season, they had a winning record of 9-8 after trailing by double-digits, which includes two victories where they trailed by 20-plus points in three tries. 

To put that 16-game winning into context, they tied the 1964-65 squad for the fourth longest winning streak for a franchise that has 17 titles to its name. Only the 1959-60 team led by Hall of Famer Bill Russell; the 1981-82 team led by Hall of Famer Larry Bird and the 2007-08 team led by future Hall of Fames Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen have winning streaks longer of 17, 18 and 19 respectably.  

One big reason the 2017-18 Celtics won those 16 games in a row is because of they play consistent defense, leading the league in opponent’s field goal percentage at 43.4 percent and are second in opponent’s three-point percentage surrendering just 34.2 percent from distance.  

The acquisition that Ainge and the organization did make this off-season that has them thinking of winning a title this season and in the future in Kyrie Irving (24.7 ppg 5.0 apg, 48.6 FG%-career-high, 39.7 3-Pt.%) from those defending champion Cavs back in August 2017 has been everything and then some for the Celtics, as their best offensive player, and their leader both on and off the court.   

“There’s still a lot of newness honestly being with a totally different group of guys. It’s an adjustment in itself,” Irving said to host of “NBA: The Jump” Rachel Nichols over the All-Star break. “Individually. Trying to bridge that gap with the group and be my best self with our group. It’s been awesome, trying at times but well worth it. I’m glad that I took chance on what I wanted to do within my career.”

Fellow All-Star in center Al Horford (13.3 ppg) has been just as efficient with his play on the court as well as with his leadership. The 10-year veteran, who signed with the Celtics last season is their leader in rebounds per game (7.7), assists (5.1), field goal percentage (50.8), blocks shots (1.2) and three-point percentage (43.6). 

Forward Marcus Morris (12.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 37.0 3-Pt.%), who the Celtics acquired from the Detroit Pistons for guard Avery Bradley in a move to make salary cap space to sign Hayward back in the summer, he has given the Celtics that necessary toughness, grit, and versatility on both ends off the bench.

Before June’s draft, the C’s and general manager Danny Ainge traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for their 2017 First-Round pick, No. 3 overall, and a conditional First-Round pick in 2018, or 2019. 

Rookie forward Jayson Tatum (13.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) the No. 3 overall pick out of Duke Celtics GM Danny Ainge traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for as well as getting a conditional First-Round pick in 2018 for 2019, has used his solid showing during the Las Vegas Summer League, as a spring board to a solid rookie season, where he is shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 42.7 percent from three-point range. 

Second-year forward Jaylen Brown (14.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 37.8 3-Pt.%); rookie center Daniel Theis (5.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 52.2 FG%); reserve guards Terry Rozier (10.1 ppg-career-high, 4.5 rpg, 37.4 3-Pt.%), and defensive ace on the perimeter Marcus Smart (10.1 ppg, 4.7 apg) have shown steady growth, especially this season.

In fact, when Irving missed a couple of games because of a quad injury in late January, Rozier stepped up in his stead at the starting lead guard spot. He had the first triple-double of his career in his first start with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, along with two blocks and two steals in the C’s 103-73 victory versus the New York Knicks on Jan. 31.

He followed that up with a career-high of 31 points on 11 for 18 shooting, including 6 for 8 from three-point range in the team’s 119-110 win versus the Hawks. Rozier became the first player in NBA history to follow up a triple-double with a 30-plus point effort in his first two starts of his NBA career.  

“It just worked out perfect for me,” Rozier said after the game. “I got to knock down some shots in the beginning of the game. Hit the open man. I’m always going to get in there and rebound. Just a great night.”

While they have improved their issues rebounding the basketball, the Celtics are still in the middle of the pack in rebound differential at a +0.1. They are in the middle of the pack in block shots per game at 4.7; No. 21 in steals per game at 7.1 and tied for 19^th in forced turnovers per game at 13.5. 

That is one of the reason’s the Celtics signed center Greg Monroe, who was bought out by the Phoenix Suns earlier this month. They hope he can be a solid compliment to Horford, Theis and Aron Baynes in the paint on both ends with his ability to score, especially at the basket and facing, while also providing another efficient passer.   

“I think it’s a great pickup for us,” Morris said earlier this month. “Veteran player, knows how to play the game. He’s been around the league a while, so I think he’ll add to our size down low, scoring ability. I think it’s a great pick up.” 

“He’s a big body. Even if he’s not scoring, he’s carving space for other guys to be able to drive. He’s well-respected around the league so that goes a long way. I think he’s going to be a great piece for us going forward.” 

Since their 16-game winning streak, which concluded with a 104-98 loss at the Miami Heat on Nov. 22, 2017, the Celtics have come back to Earth a little bit going 24-17, which is still very good, but they have fallen out of first place in the East to the Toronto Raptors who beat them 111-91 at the Air Canada Center on Feb 6. 

The reigning Atlantic Division champions trail their rivals by two games, three on the loss side for No. 1 spot in the East. 

One thing that head coach Brad Stevens said once the streak concluded though is the Celtics are not as good as that streak, but the resolve they have shown during it is a sign of the potential of this group. 

“We’re not as good as the 16-game winning streak, but we do have a lot of resolve, and I can’t say enough about our guys will to come back,” Stevens said after the game when his team’s comeback from a double-digit deficit fell short, and the streak concluded back in November 2017. “It’s incredible to think we were able to erase that lead that quickly and give ourselves at least a chance.” 

“We have to get better. We have to get better with what we’re trying to do…Looking at that 16 straight is a little bit of a mirage. So, we know we have to get better.”

The other team that the C’s are weary of are the Cavs, who despite leading by 6.5 games for the No. 2 spot in the East, have lost two of their first three meetings against them, including their most recent on Feb. 11 where the new look Cavs blew them out in the Celtic’s own gym 121-99. They did not give the TD Garden faithful anything to smile about three days later when the Los Angeles Clippers hung 129 points on the Celtics in a 10-point loss on national television. 

The Celtics allowed the Clippers to shoot 50 percent from the floor, 11 for 29 from three-point range, and 26 assists, while being outscored 34-25 in the first quarter, and 36-28 in the fourth quarter.

One big reason the Celtics’ defense has slipped in recent games has been the absence of Smart, who has missed the past 11 games because of a laceration in his right hand that he sustained when he punched a glass picture frame out of frustration at the team’s hotel following the team’s 108-107 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 23 when he missed a last second shot. 

Other than their overtime victory at the Washington Wizards 110-104 on Feb. 8, where they improved to 17-12 when trailing at intermission the Celtics have lost three straight, and four of their last five games entering the All-Star break. 

The Celtics (43-19) back on track on Friday night with a 110-98 win at the Detroit Pistons, which put end to their three-game skid and improved them to 27-3 when holding their opponent under 100 points. 

Offensively, the C’s shot 48.2 percent; 17 for 39 from three-point range; had 30 assists and just 11 turnovers and outscored the Pistons bench 65-21. Defensively, they held the Pistons on their home floor to 43.5 percent shooting and had eight steals, and five blocks.

Smart returned for the Celtics from his 11-game absence and had 12 points and said after the win, “Before the game, I was actually a little nervous. It felt like my first game of my NBA career.” “It felt good to be back out there with the team.” 

The Boston Celtics, who got pasted the Knicks 121-112 on their home turf on Saturday night have exceeded expectations, including their own this season if you consider that they entered this season with just five returning players from last season’s roster that lost the Cavs in the Conference Finals in five games last spring. They lost Hayward, who they thought was going to be the Robin to Irving’s role as Batman. The likes of Tatum, Rozier, Smart and Brown have taken solid steps this season. 

The question for them in the second half of this season is can the likes of Tatum, Brown and Rozier be effective as this season winds down and in the playoffs on both ends? Also, can Irving and Horford anchor the Celtics, especially offensively in the playoffs against the Raptors or Cavs along the way?

When asked by Nichols how confident Irving is that he will be wearing a Celtics jersey and holding up a Larry O’Brien trophy, his answer was, “Something I think about every day. Think about it every day.” 

Prediction: The Celtics will finish a top the East, either in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. They will fall to the Cavs whether it is in the Semifinals or Conference Finals. 

Grade: B-

Brooklyn Nets: 19-40 (5^th Atlantic Division) 13-28 at home, 7-34 on the road. 

-105.4 ppg-16^th; opp. ppg: 109.6-25^th; 45.2 rpg-4^th    

In any rebuilding project in pro sports, the most important part of it is making progress. Seeing the players on the roster progress, especially when opportunity presents itself to get more playing time. Also, that the team is progressing in terms of their level of competitive spirit and aptitude from practice to game action. The Brooklyn Nets in Year two of this rebuild have made “steady” progress. The young players from last season, as well as their newest ones via trade, and the draft have improved. That some creative work by second-year GM Sean Marks and head coach Kenny Atkinson the Nets has gotten the Nets to be within two games of last year’s win total and signs that this “steady” progress is a sign of hopefully better days ahead. 

That progress hit a serious snag to start this season when supposed starting lead guard Jeremy Lin ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee in the team’s season opening 140-131 loss at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 18, 2017. This after missing 46 games last season due to injury.

If that wasn’t enough, in late November 2017, the Nets’ prized acquisition in guard D’Angelo Russell (15.7 ppg-Leads team, 4.6 apg), who Marks was acquired along with center Timofey Mozgov from the Lakers for All-Star center, Brook Lopez, and the No. 27 pick in June’s draft had arthroscopic knee surgery. 

The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft was shelved for 32 games, where the Nets won just 11 of those games that he missed. 

He made his return in on Jan. 19 where he played 14 minutes, scoring just one point, going 0 for 5 from the floor in 14 minutes. His best performance scoring wise since his return is a 21-point effort he had in a 138-128 double-overtime Nets’ loss versus the New Orleans Pelicans, where he hit 5 three-pointers in 13 attempts but was just 7 for 18 overall from the field. Russell’s most solid overall performance came in the Nets last game prior to the All-Star break with 18 points and nine assists on 7 for 14 from the field in a 108-013 loss versus the Indiana Pacers. 

In his first start since Nov. 11, 2017, Russell had 19 points and five assists in 32 minutes in the Nets (19-41) 111-96 loss on Thursday night at the Charlotte Hornets in both teams’ first game following the All-Star break. It was the eighth straight defeat for the Nets.

The absence of Russell and Lin is how current starting lead guard Spencer Dinwiddie got some serious playing time and he has taken full advantage. The former Second-Round pick out of University of Colorado by the Detroit Pistons in 2014 is having a breakout season with career-highs of 13.6 points and 6.7 assists, even though he is shooting just 38.8 percent from the field, and 33.8 from three-point range. 

He got a measure of revenge against the team that drafted him when he hit a game-winning floater with 0.9 seconds left to give the Nets a 101-100 win at the Pistons on Jan. 21, which ended a four-game losing streak in Detroit. 

“That was a heck of a shot,” Atkinson, whose team won in their first visit to Little Caesars Arena after going just 8 and 44 in their 29 seasons visiting the Palace of Auburn Hills said of Dinwiddie’s game-winner. “I’m happy for Spencer, because he was here, obviously, but I’m happier for the team. I wasn’t sure we had the poise and understanding to get a win like this.” 

Also taking advantage of the injuries to the projected starting backcourt was second-year guard Caris LeVert, who has missed the last four games because of a right knee sprain. The No. 20 overall pick out of Michigan in June 2016 has risen his scoring from 8.2 points per contest to 11.6, though he is shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 33.5 from three-point range, and 69.3 from the foul line. 

One player who has made serious progress has been forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (14.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 47.2 FG%), who been shelved for 10 straight games due to a right groin injury. In his first two seasons, the No. 23 overall pick in 2015, whose team is just 2-11 without him this season had 10 total double-doubles in his first two seasons. He’s garnered seven this season and has been able to adjust to playing power forward for the first time in his career. 

Coach Atkinson said after the Nets’ loss at the Hornets that both Hollis-Jefferson and LeVert will be back in the lineup for Monday’s contest against the Chicago Bulls. 

“I know that’s not an NBA official term-hopeful-but I’m going to stay with hopeful,” Atkinson said after game. “They both worked out pretty hard again (Thursday) morning, but we’ll see how they look (Friday).”

Another trade the Nets made in the off-season was with the Portland Trail Blazers, where they got sharp shooting guard Allen Crabbe (12.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 36.3 3-Pt.%), who they signed to an offer sheet last off-season when he was a restricted free agent the summer prior. 

The Nets highest paid player has been up and down in terms of his shooting at just 39.7 percent from the field, and just 36.3 from three-point range, but has played much better this month with averages of 18.0 points per game on 44.8 from the floor, and 40.6 from distance, while grabbing 4.7 boards. 

Prior to this month, the most Crabbe had scored in a game this season is 25, which came in a 118-111 loss on Jan. 19 against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, where he was 9 for 19 from the floor, including 6 for 11 from three-point land, with seven rebounds.

He had three games of 20 points on the nose in January, doing so in back-to-back games in a 114-113 loss versus the Raptors on Jan. 8, hitting 4 for 6 from distance, and two nights later at the Pistons in a 114-80 loss, where he hit 5 for 9 from long range. 

Crabbe scored 19 of his career-high 34 points in the fourth quarter of a 115-106 loss at the Pistons on Feb. 7, where he was 13 for 22 shooting, including 6 for 14 from three-point range. That was followed with 28 points, going 8 for 18 from long range in the 10-point double overtime loss versus the Pelicans. He had 24 points in the five-point setback, the Nets seventh in succession on Wednesday. 

Another sharp shooter that has developed as this season has progressed is fourth-year forward out of the University of Virginia Joe Harris, who has averaged career-highs of 10.5 points per contest on 47.3 percent from the floor, and 39.8 from three-point range. 

His marksmanship of 51.6 percent in January is the highest from three-point range in Nets history. That is better than the 49 percent of All-Star guard Deron Williams in Feb. 2013, making 25 for 51 from distance and former New Jersey Net Kerry Kittles, who also shot 49 percent, 25 for 51 from the three-point line in March 2000.

In June 2017, the Nets used their No. 1 pick they received from the Wizards in the Bojan Bogdanovic deal last February to selected center Jarrett Allen (7.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 58.6 FG%) at No. 22 overall. He has really progressed as this season has gone on as a rebounder, and finisher at the basket. He averaged 4.0. 4.4, 6.9 and 8.8 points per game over the first four months of the season, he is up now to 12.7 points per game, along with 6.7 rebounds this month on 61.7 from the field. In nine starts at center, Allen has averaged 13.0 points and seven boards on 66.7 percent from the floor. 

In another trade with a division rival, the Nets acquired veteran forward DeMarre Carroll (13.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg-Leads team, 35.8 3-Pt.%), who has provided steady veteran guidance and sharp shooting to Atkinson’s squad. The same can also be said for forward/center Quincy Acy (5.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg), and the addition of forward Daunte Cunningham, who the Nets acquired at the trade deadline on Feb. 8. 

Back on Dec. 7, 2017 the Nets made another swing for the fence when they acquired center Jahlil Okafor from the Philadelphia 76ers along with guard Nik Stauskas in exchange for veteran forward Trevor Booker. 

It has been a rough go around for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft, as Okafor (6.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, in 22 games w/Nets) has appeared in just two games this season with the Sixers. When he first got to the Nets, he appeared in just once in his first 14 games, but has gotten steadier playing time, and has shown flashes of the player that averaged 17.5 points, and seven rebounds as a rookie in 2015-16. 

“This trade provides us with a good opportunity to bring in two young players who were high picks in recent drafts and give them a chance to succeed in our system,” Marks said in a statement back in early December 2017.

Back on Jan. 27 in the Nets’ 111-97 loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves, Okafor had 21 points, and six rebounds in 24 minutes. In the Nets 110-105 victory at the Hawks, he had 17 points in just 12 minutes of work. In a 123-113 setback versus the Houston Rockets on Feb. 6, Okafor contributed 15 points, and six boards in 25 minutes. 

While he only put up modest numbers of eight points and three boards in 14 minutes against his old team, Okafor made a key basket to begin a decisive spurt that helped the Nets take down the Sixers 116-108 back on Jan. 31 to snap a four-game losing streak. 

“You get traded you want to put up numbers and get the win at the end of the day,” Russell said after the game, “and we got that win for him.”

At the All-Star break, the Brooklyn Nets stand as mentioned earlier just a win shy of their entire total a season ago. Coach Atkinson, and GM Sean Marks have a group of players that are developing and have brought an attitude to the floor of competing every night.

While it has not resulted in many victories, with seven straight defeats and 11 losses their last 12 at the break, they have created a team identity of a team that is on ball movement, and player movement, perimeter shooting, and consistent competitive effort from practice to game time.

While they have a long way to go to becoming not just the better team than their Tri-State and division rivals the New York Knicks, who swept them in the regular season series 4-0, they do have a plan of gathering assets, developing players in the fold with head coach Kenny Atkinson leading that effort along with his assistants Jacque Vaughn, Chris Fleming, Bret Biermaier, Adam Harrington, Jordan Ott, Mat Batiste, and Travon Bryant.  

Four summers back, the Nets took a major gamble in acquiring for All-Star forwards Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce from the Celtics and sent their Atlantic Division rivals three No. 1 draft picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

That move has them in the position they currently stand but their plan has yielded some results.

How this plan works moving forward will determine if the Nets will make it back to becoming a playoff team in the East. 

Prediction: Continued development by the likes of LeVert, Hollis-Jefferson, Harris, Russell, Allen, and Dinwiddie will be key in putting the Nets in better position for promising years to come.  

Grade: D+

Charlotte Hornets: 24-33 (3^rd Southeast Division) 15-15 at home, 9-18 on the road.

-106.0 ppg-14^th; opp. ppg: 106.6-17^th; 45.6 rpg-3^rd  

Two summers ago, the Charlotte Hornets made a major investment into their own free agents, massive financial investments. Those signings have not yielded stellar results and the team has taken a step back from the one that was one game away from the Semifinals the prior spring. Even with another stellar season by their two-time All-Star lead guard, the acquisition of a former perennial All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year recipient, and the hype of selecting one of the best shooters in this past June’s draft, the Hornets have simply “regressed.”

Last season, Kemba Walker (22.9 ppg-Leads team, 5.8 apg-Leads team, 37.9 3-Pt.%) had break out season, and earned his first All-Star appearance. He earned his second straight appearance as an injury replacement for Team LeBron with the season-ending ACL injury to Knicks’ forward/center Kristaps Porzingis. 

Even with his stellar play, there was a point in leading up to the trade deadline that Walker might be traded. 

Team owner and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan had acknowledged to the Charlotte Observer in their Jan. 22 edition that he would listen to offers for Walker but said they would only take an All-Star in return. 

“I’m not looking to trade Kemba, but I would listen to opportunities,” Jordan said to the newspaper. 

He added, “It’s not like we are shopping him. We would not just give him up. I love Kemba Walker. I would not trade him for anything but an All-Star player.”

Walker, who set the all-time mark for three-pointer made in franchise history, not at 950 in the Hornets 115-110 at the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 4, surpassing team color analyst Dell Curry said in response to the trade report, “I’m over it.” “I’m not even thinking about it anymore. I just want to win.” 

While Walker has had a consistent run, the same cannot be said for the supporting cast around him.

Swingman, Nicolas Batum (12.0 ppg), 4.3 rpg, 4.7 apg) who missed the first 12 games of this season because of an injured elbow has had another rough shooting season hitting just 41.3 percent of his shots, and just 32.5 from three-point range. The 10-year vet who re-signed to a five-year $120 million deal two summers ago, has shot only 40.3 percent from the field overall, and just 33.3 percent from distance a season ago.  

While forward Marvin Williams (11.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg,), who turned his most productive season since 2008-09 two seasons back into a new four-year $54.5 million contract is shooting 47.0 percent from the field, and a career-high of 42.6 from three-point range this season, he is averaging just 9.4 points, his lowest since a 7.4 scoring average in 2014-15.  

While his scoring has been okay off the bench, third-year sharp shooting forward/center Frank Kaminsky (10.5 ppg), has continued to struggle making shots consistently hitting just 41.2 percent from the floor this season, and just 33.5 from three-point range. 

The Hornets had high expectations that the No. 11 overall pick out of University of Kentucky Malik Monk and forward Dwayne Bacon would provide energy and scoring off the bench, but Monk (5.0 ppg) has struggled hitting just 33.5 percent from the field, and only 33.9 from three-point range. Not having center Cody Zeller (7.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 50.8 FG%), who has missed 27 games due to surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He was in the first of a new four-year, $56 million deal.

The Hornets also had to deal with the absence of their head coach as Steve Clifford needed to take some time away from the team to get a handle on the headaches he was suffering from sleep deprivation as assistant coach Steven Silas took over on an interim basis. 

The team went 9-21 without Clifford, who returned to the sidelines of the Hornets in their record setting 77-point first half in their 133-109 defeat versus the Wizards. 

The two saving graces for the Hornets in a rough season has been the breakout season of reserve guard Jeremy Lamb (13.5 ppg, 44.8 FG%, 35.0 3-Pt.%), where he has scored 15-plus points on 22 occasions this season is the only consistent scoring the Hornets have gotten off their bench this season.  

The play of their prized acquisition of eight-time All-Star center and three-time Defensive Player of the Year recipient Dwight Howard (15.8 ppg, 12.6 rpg-4^th NBA, 1.6 bpg-7^th NBA, 54.1 FG%), whose 36 double-doubles at the unofficial midway point are No. 5 in “The Association.” 

From Jan. 13-Jan. 27, Howard put together eight straight games of grabbing 15-plus rebounds and blocking two-plus shots. He became just the fifth center to register 10-plus points, 15-plus boards, and two-plus blocks since the 1985-86 season. Howard, who has done this for the second time in his career joined Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal and Dikembe Mutombo. 

If the Hornets had a better record, he might have joined Walker in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday night, where he has not been an All-Star selection in now four years. 

He and Walker really showed out Thursday night versus the Nets as Walker had 14 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter with seven assists, going 12 for 22 from the field, including 4 for 8 from three-point range as the Hornets (27-33) defeated the Nets 111-96 to win their second straight as they outscored the Nets 31-22 in the fourth. Howard had his 37^th double-double of the season 15 points and a season-high 24 rebounds. 

The solid play of 32-year-old Howard this season has pleasantly surprised Coach Clifford, who was an assistant on current head coach of the Detroit Pistons Stan Van Gundy when both coached Howard with the Orlando Magic, where Howard’s career began, who has had both knee and back surgery. 

“You’re talking about a guy that’s had major knee surgery and major back surgery,” Clifford said after the team’s win versus the Nets about Howard. “You’d never know it.”

Also, a healthy Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (9.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg 50.6 FG%), who may not be spectacular in terms of his statistics, but is solid productive player, particularly defensively. 

A 106-98 loss at the Clippers on New Year’s Eve 2017 had the Hornets at 13-23 and sinking fast this season. They responded to start 2018 with a 10-6 mark, but a third skid of at least four straight defeats from Feb. 5-11 put them back into a hole that they are going to have a devil of a time getting out of. 

Their 104-102 win before the All-Star break at the Orlando Magic, their 10^th straight win against them has at least given the Hornets some semblance of confidence for a second half run. 

“This was a huge win,” Walker, whose team won in Orlando for the 11^th time in their last 13 visits. said after the game. “This gets us one step closer. I know we say take them one game at a time, but this is huge coming right before the break.”

The Hornets victory over the Nets coming out of the break marked the first game since GM Rich Cho was relieved of his duties last week. Assistant GM Buzz Peterson has assumed the position in an interim role. 

In one of his last acts, Cho and the organization acquired center Willy Hernangomez from the Knicks and sent them center Johnny O’Bryant, a 2020, and 2021 Second-Round picks.

The Hornets garnered their fourth straight win, and second following the break with a huge 122-105 win at the Wizards on Friday night and on Sunday afternoon took down the Pistons at home 114-98.  

While the Hornets currently sit four games out of the No. 8 and final playoff spot, that is currently occupied by the Miami Heat, their latest victory over the Pistons gives them the regular season series 2-1. Meaning that if comes down to a tie breaker if the Hornets can continue their winning ways they hold all the cards against the boys from the “Motor City.” They do not hold all the cards against the Heat as they lost all three meetings against them this season. 

If the Hornets have plan any hopes of getting into the postseason for the first time in two years, they are going to need Walker, Howard, and Lamb to lead them on both ends, but somehow Batum, Williams, and Kaminsky must provide more in the scoring department, otherwise it will be another rough end for team owner Michael Jordan and the next GM. 

Prediction: Hornets will fall short of another playoff appearance. 

Grade: D-

Chicago Bulls: 20-37 (5^th Central Division) 13-16 at home, 7-21 on the road. 

-103.3 ppg-24^th; opp. ppg: 109.2-24^th; 44.7 rpg-7^th    

When the Chicago Bulls traded All-Star Jimmy Butler this off-season, it was clear the team was putting itself in position to rebuild. The start of that process did not go so well as in training camp, two key players got into a major scuffle where one of those players got his jaw broken and was shelved to start the season, while the player who broke his teammates jaw was suspended. Once the regular season came around, the Bulls got off to the kind of start where it looked like this rebuild was going to be a very long one. Since then, the Bulls have become a team that has simply “clicked,” while they are figuring out how to become a playoff perennial again. 

The season got off to a very rough start for the Chicago Bulls who began 3-20, including 10 straight losses from Nov. 19-Dec. 6, 2017. They were playing like a team was going to be in the Draft Lottery for the next handful of years.

The makings of this rough beginning started during training camp when forwards Nikola Mirotic got into a fight during training camp during practice on Oct. 17, 2017 where Mirotic sustained facial fractures, as well as a concussion, putting him on the shelf to start the season. The Bulls suspended Portis team the first eight games for his role in the incident. 

After that rough start the Bulls got back on track with a seven-game winning streak from Dec. 8-20, 2017, and a stretch of 10 wins in the last 13 games to close out 2017, which ironically enough began with the return of Mirotic. 

That streak began with a 119-111 overtime win at the Hornets on Dec. 8, 2017 where Mirotic contributed six points in 14 minutes of action. 

That stretch consisted of wins versus the mighty Celtics 108-85 on Dec. 11, 2017; a 103-100 win versus the Utah Jazz on Dec. 13; two wins at the Milwaukee Bucks, 115-109 two nights later, and 115-106 Dec. 26, 2017; a 117-115 victory versus the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 18, 2017; and a 119-107 win versus the Indiana Pacers. 

There was a point when it was thought that Mirotic and Portis (12.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 47.0 FG%) would never reconcile the horrible event that took place. Slowly but surely, they found a way to reach a happy medium. They went from not speaking to each other for weeks after the incident, with the speculation of them both never playing in the “Windy City” ever again, to Mirotic finally accepting an apology from Portis through the media in early December 2017. While it is still unknown whether they spoke privately, their chemistry on the court was very much on display, where it culminated in the two exchanging several high-fives and fist pounds after making successful plays on both ends. 

While what has transpired between the two dynamic forwards was a surprise to it was not for head coach Fred Hoiberg. 

“They’re both pros,” he said back in December 2017. “They’re both guys that are going to go out and play with great passion and emotion. You can see it with the way they’re playing out there. I love the way those guys are playing together and hopefully they’ll keep it going. It’s been fun. It’s been fun to watch.”

While the Bulls front office, especially Vice President John Paxson were pleased with what Mirotic gave them on the floor in his return, were they going to pick up his $12.5 million team option, of the two-year contract he signed in August 2017 on his contract for next season?

“Niko’s representatives were consistent over the last several months that they wanted him moved,” Paxson said during a conference call earlier this month. “And they never backed off that stance one bit. I’m sure that given everything that we’d heard from them through the entire process that he just wanted to be elsewhere. This satisfies what we wanted. More than that, it satisfies what we wanted to get out of it in moving him. Again, it fits our timeline, it fits the direction we’re going.”

They answered that question on Feb. 5 when they traded him along with a 2018 Second-Round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for center Omer Asik, veterans guard Tony Allen, who was waived and Jameer Nelson and a Top-5 2018 First-Round pick. 

This trade was able to be completed because the Pelicans agreed to pick up the option on Mirotic’s contract, and that First-Round pick that went to the Bulls was attached to unload the salary of Asik, who is owed $10.5 million this season; $11.2 million next season and $3 million guaranteed salary in 2019-20. 

That First-Round pick is as mentioned is a Top-5 selection this June; a Top-8 in June 2019; a Top-10 in June 2020; and a Top-9 in 2021 according to a league source. If that pick is not conveyed to the Bulls three seasons from now, it will become a Second-Round pick in 2022 and 2023, according to another league source.

The Second-Round pick sent by the Bulls, that was acquired by the Pelicans in a trade for Quincy Pondexter, they will have the right to swap Second-Round picks with them in the 2021 draft, according to a league source.

One of the major headlines for the Bulls this off-season occurred on draft night in June when the Bulls traded Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with the rights to the No. 16 overall pick in center Justin Patton out of the University of Creighton, for guards Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and the rights to the No. 7 overall pick in forward Lauri Markkanen out of the University of Arizona. 

The three players that were acquired from the “Twin Cities” had a lot of questions marks that they have answered as this season has gone on. 

Dunn (13.5 ppg, 6.3 apg, 4.5 rpg, 2.0 spg) the No. 5 overall pick, that really struggled has emerged as this team’s, has displayed the kind of game on both ends of the floor that made him great in his time at the University of Providence.

The floor general of the future for the Chicago Bulls after a slow start to this season has averaged 14.9 points, eight assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals in December 2017; 14.7 points, 7.4 assists, 4.3 boards, and 2.4 steals in nine games in the first month of 2018. 

A concussion from a hard fall he sustained a concussion and two loss front teeth from a hard fall he took in the closing moments of the Bulls 119-112 loss versus the defending champion Warriors. He missed the next 11 games, and the team struggled without him going 3-8. He did return in on Wednesday in the Bulls 122-98 loss versus the Raptors, where Dunn had eight points, three rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes, on 3 for 9 shooting. 

“Right now, it’s just about reconditioning himself, getting himself ready to sustain minutes in an NBA game,” Hoiberg said after the Bulls 105-101 win versus the Magic, one game before Dunn’s return. “He’s just not quite there yet, he’s making progress. He’s still very sore from the increase in workload that he’s been doing this past week.

Markkanen (15.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 35.4 3-Pt.%) is a seven-foot jump shooting big man who has been projected as the “Next Dirk,” in reference to future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks has lived up to those expectations and then some.

While he had his struggles at the Las Vegas Summer League where he shot just 29.3 percent from the field, he has more than made up for that by becoming the fastest player to make 100 or more three-pointers in a single season with 101 at the break and has shown he can mix it up inside with 13 double-doubles this season. 

After a rough start shooting wise connecting on 43.1, 38.3 and 43.2 from the floor the first three months, the recently new dad has hit 47.8 percent from the floor, while connecting on 43.2 percent of his triples in January, where he averaged 17.1 points and 8.4 rebounds, and 43.6 percent this month with a scoring average of 14.8 points and 7.3 boards. 

He, Portis, and veteran center Robin Lopez (12.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 52.7 FG%) had a nice synergy together on the court, especially at the offensive end. 

The one question coming into this season for the Bulls is would LaVine (16.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 37.1 3-Pt.%), who season ended after 47 games in 2016-17 due a torn ACL, be able to return and get back to the dynamic sharp shooter and athletic guard that could jump out of gym with ease? 

The former UCLA Bruin made his anticipated return on Jan. 13 versus the Pistons and scored 14 points hitting 5 for 9 from the field, including 3 for 4 from three-point range in 19 minutes in the team’s 107-105 win. That was followed with 18 points, five boards, and five assists on 7 for 12 shooting in 20 minutes in the Bulls’ 119-111 win versus the Miami Heat.

His next two games however were tough ones as LaVine shot just 4 for 21 combined in losses versus the Warriors on Jan. 17 and at the Hawks, 113-97 loss three nights later. 

While there have been nights that LaVine has looked like the player he was before the ACL, like when he scored 15 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter of the Bulls come from behind win versus his old team the Timberwolves back on Feb. 9, where he hit 12 for 26 from the field, and 10 for 11 from the free throw line, he has had his struggles like when he had 21 points, with nine boards and four assists, but was just 6 for 18 shooting in the team’s 113-103 loss at the Clippers. 

One thing that LaVine, who is shooting 39.9 percent since his return has shown the Bulls is that he is at least getting better, and that they should feel a lot better about giving him a contract extension, which he is eligible for after this season, and as he continues to get healthier, and more confident in his knee, the possibility of that extension gets more real.

At the trade deadline, the Bulls acquired forward Noah Vonleh from the Portland Trail Blazers and cash considerations in exchange for the draft rights to 2007 pick Milocan Rakovic. 

The Bulls in there rebuild add what the feeling was quantity, rather than quality to their training camp roster back in the summer. Those moves of re-signed unproven center Cristian Felicio to a new four-year, $32 million deal has provided a capable backup off the bench. 

The signing of former New York Knick Justin Holiday (13.2 ppg-career-high, 4.5 rpg, 37.4 3-Pt.%) to a two-year $9 million deal has provided a solid guard who has complimented Dunn very well. Claiming off waivers guard David Nwaba (6.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 51.7 FG%) from Lakers has given the Bulls a defender who can check three to four positions as well as solid cutter in the half court on offense. 

The Bulls have also gotten stellar play from second-year guard Denzel Valentine (9.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 37.0 3-Pt.%), and third-year guard Jerian Grant (8.5 ppg, 5.0 apg, 34.3 3-Pt.%), who has averaged 11.3 points, seven assists and 5.2 rebounds on 44.7 percent from the field, and 36.8 from three-point range in February. 

This season got off to a rough start for Chicago Bulls, from the fight between Mirotic and Portis in training camp, to their ugly play on the hardwood, to the questions of Markkanen, Dunn, and LaVine entering the equation. 

They showed some progress in their first game following the All-Star break but were unable to close out the surging Philadelphia 76ers as the Bulls (20-38) outscored their visitors 40-34 in the second quarter but lost 116-115. 

Portis in the loss scored a career-high 38 points, with eight boards off the bench on 15 for 26 shooting, including hitting six of the Bulls 18 triples on the evening. 

“He’s a guy that continues to grow and develop,” Coach Hoiberg said after the game. “It’s been fun to see him shooting the ball without hesitation.”

The return of Mirotic sparked the Bulls turnaround and has given the front office from GM Gar Foreman, Paxson and Hoiberg a new sense of direction to lead the Bulls into the future. While the team has struggled recently dropping 15 of their last 22 games, it seems the foundation is in place for better days ahead. 

If for anything, the Bulls are rebuilding their team the right way through solid selections in the draft; making deals to bring in players that can fit their team. An important part of that in Hoiberg’s eyes is developing a team that can consistently play hard night in and night out, something that has been lacking their last 11 games, where they have lost nine of them. 

To get a good look at some of hopeful building blocks for the future in these final 25 games, the likes of Lopez and Holiday were removed from the starting unit. Both were inactive in the team’s loss versus the Sixers as Felicio and Nwaba, who had 21 points and nine boards on Thursday night started. Guard Cameron Payne-who played in his first game of the season on Thursday night replaced Jerian Grant as the backup point guard. 

“It’s really hard,” Hoiberg said. “It’s hard for Robin, it’s hard for Justin and it’s hard for Jerian, who’s probably making as big a sacrifice as anybody.” 

No matter who plays though, the one thing that will be asked of whoever is one the court for these finals games of this season, Hoiberg will not expect lack of effort on both ends of the floor

“Poor effort,” he said after their 122-98 setback versus the Raptors in their last game before the break on Feb. 14. “I talked to the guys, win or lose you got to walk in the locker room after the game and look each other in the eye and say you were the harder playing team. We were not tonight.”

Prediction: Continued growth and continuity building between Dunn, Markkanen, LaVine, Grant, Valentine, and coach Hoiberg in hopes of becoming a playoff team in the future.

Cleveland Cavaliers: 34-22 (1^st Central Division; No. 3 Seed in East) 20-7 at home, 14-15 on the road. 

-110.2 ppg-5^th; opp. ppg: 110.0-27^th; 41.7 rpg-23^rd 

To say things have not been easy for the three-time defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers is the understatement of the last three seasons. They let their GM in David Griffin walk in the summer. Their new GM in 34-year-old Koby Altman traded their second-best player, who asked for a trade, to their Conference rival who they defeated in five games in the Conference Finals last spring. They got off to a rough start, then righted things only fall back to the same issues. It was getting so bad that they were getting their doors blown off on national television. At a serious crossroads, the Cavs young GM pulled a couple rabbits out of his hat, overhauled the roster, and made them the “favorites,” to win the East again. 

After losing in The Finals to the Warriors for the second time in three seasons, GM David Griffin was not re-signed, and the job went to former assistant GM Koby Altman.

The 34-year-old’s first big move was a tough one in sending All-Star lead guard Kyrie Irving to the Celtics in exchange for All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and Ante Zicic, a protected 2018 First-Round pick (via Nets), and a 2020 Second-Round pick. 

The key part of that trade from the Cavs side in Thomas started this season on the shelf rehabbing from a hip injury he sustained last season and played with during the playoffs.

Prior to that they signed guards Derrick Rose, the 201l league MVP, and Jose Calderon, Jeff Green (10.7 ppg, 48.9 FG%), and Dwyane Wade. 

Their off-season began with Owner Dan Gilbert firing then General Manager David Griffin, and eventually chose 34-year-old Koby Altman to take his place. 

When the new season got underway, the Cavs had a slow start out of the gate, which was to be expected with so many new faces. 

After that 5-7 beginning, which consisted of setbacks to the Nets, Knicks and Hawks, the Cavs reeled of wins in 19 of their next 21 games, which included a 13-game winning streak from Nov. 11-Dec. 6, 2017.

At the head of this snake was four-time league MVP and three-time Finals MVP LeBron James (26.5 ppg-5^th NBA, 8.1 rpg, 8.9 apg-3^rd, NBA, 1.5 spg-Leads team, 54.4 FG%, 36.2 3-Pt.%), whose play was as off the charts as one could think for a guy at age 33, and whose been to seven consecutive NBA Finals. There are not too many players in their 15^th season, and average career-highs like James is in assists per game at 8.9; are averaging the second most rebounds per game in their career at 8.1, as well as the second-best marksmanship from three-point range at 36.2 percent and are tied for second this season in minutes played per game at 37.0. The question was could James, whose name had been out there for league MVP this season keep this up? 

The answer was no. Following a five-game winning streak, and six wins in their next seven games from Dec. 9-Dec. 21, 2017, the Cavs simply just fell off the wagon. 

A loss on Christmas Day 2017 99-92 at the defending champion Warriors, the Cavs proceeded to lose 13 of their next 19 games, and James after averaging 27.8 points, hitting 39 percent of this threes, and 78 percent of his free throws, was scoring a meager 22.8 points, making just 25 percent of his triples and 68 percent of his free throws.  

Even with the return of Thomas, who made his season debut on Jan 2, garnering 17 points in 19 minutes off the bench in the Cavs 127-110 win versus the Portland Trail Blazers, which halted to a three-game losing streak. 

Things unfortunately did not get any better for Thomas or the Cavs as they dropped seven of their next nine games, and 13 of their next 19 games overall dating back to that loss at the Warriors. They were 1-8 versus the Top 6 teams in “The Association,” with a NBA worst -8.5 point-differential since Christmas. 

To put the struggles of the Cavs into context, they went 0-8 in games played on national television, giving up 119.9 points to the opposition, while scoring on average just 10.1 themselves. 

A 102-88 loss at the Celtics on Jan 3 on ESPN. A 133-99 loss on Jan. 11 at the Raptors on TNT. A 118-108 loss on MLK night four days later. A 24-point loss (148-124) versus the Cavs on Jan. 20 on ABC, where James said after the game, “I’ve never in my basketball life gave up 148 points, not even probably playing video games.” 

Three days later, the Cavs dropped another game in front of a national audience with a 114-102 loss at the San Antonio Spurs on TNT. 

One week later, they dropped the ball again in the back end of the home-and-home set with a 125-114 loss at the Pistons on TNT, where the home team outscored their visitors 66-51 in the second half. 

On top of that, the Cavs lost Kevin Love (17.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg-Leads team, 46.3 FG%, 40.4 3-Pt.%), who suffered a non-displaced fracture in the fifth metacarpal of his left hand. While he will not need surgery, the All-Star forward will be out approximately eight weeks and will undergo rehabilitation to heel the injury.

It really got worse when the Cavs were embarrassed on their home floor on Feb. 3 when they suffered a 120-88 loss versus the Rockets, where the Cavs put up 19 points in the second and fourth quarters. 

“They should take us off every nationally televised game for the rest of the season,” a soft-spoken James said after the loss. “We haven’t played good at all and we get our butts kicked every time we play on national television, so I’m at a loss for word.” 

They seemed to get themselves back on track in a local televised contest at the Orlando Magic three nights later where they scored 43 points in the opening stanza and led by as many as 21 points. The good times would not last as the Magic overcame that deficit, by outscoring the Cavs 67-31 in the second half, with the Cavs managing just nine points in the fourth quarter in dropping their 14 game in their last 17 chances 116-98. 

After the game, a lot of stuff got squashed, but a lot of tough words came from one Cavalier not named James. 

“I’m here for the rest of this season right now to try to figure out a way we can still compete,” James, whose team went 6 ½ minutes without a point in the final period said about his feelings of not asking to be traded five days prior to the deadline. “I owe it to my teammates to finish this season out no matter how it ends up. I would never waive my no-trade clause.” 

“I couldn’t give up on my teammates like that. I just couldn’t do it.” “We put too much into the game every single day.” 

Thomas, who had just 11 points on 3 for 13 shooting did not have much optimism about his team after the game when he said, “We got to come together, and it’s like right now, when we hit adversity, we go our separate ways.” “And that’s just how I feel, and it looks like that as well. Guys start to go one-on-one on offense, and defense is every many for himself.”

“Obviously I got to play better, but something needs to be addressed. We continue to play like this, we’re going to continue to lose.”

This is on the heels of his words after the prior loss at the Pistons when Thomas said, “I don’t know the last we got on the floor for a loose ball.” “I know that teams I’ve played on, defense is determined on deflections, steals, loose balls, who’s the hardest working team on that end. We don’t have that right now.” 

With their backs against the wall, the Cavs scratched and clawed their way to a much needed 140-138 overtime win versus the Timberwolves Feb. 7 on ESPN thanks to a last second fade away jumper by James, who finished with his ninth triple-double on the season with 37 points, 15 assists and 10 boards on 16 for 22 from the field, including 5 for 7 from three-point range. 

In the hours leading up the trade deadline, Altman and the Cavs front office were able to swing some deals that completely changed the make of the roster. 

In one deal the Cavs acquired guard Jordan Clarkson (14.6 ppg, 45.3 FG%) and forward Larry Nance, Jr. (8.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 59.3 FG%), the son of former Cavaliers’ forward Larry Nance from the Lakers, in exchange for forward Channing Frye, Thomas and a 2018 Top-3 protected First-Round pick. 

In a three-team deal with the Jazz and Sacramento Kings, the Cavs acquired guard Rodney Hood (16.7 ppg, 39.5 3-Pt.%) from the Jazz, and guard George Hill from the Kings, and sent Crowder and Rose to the Jazz and guard Iman Shumpert to the Kings. 

The team with those additions signaled that Wade was no longer in the cards of the Cavs this season, and he was traded Wade back to the Miami Heat for a Second-Round pick in 2024.

In just 24 hours the Cavs got younger, more athletic, especially on the perimeter on both ends, and above all brought a more positive energy to their locker room that was much needed. 

To bring this point into context, Clarkson when he was with the Lakers had three games this season where he scored 25-plus points off the bench, which is No. 5 in the league. At the No. 2 spot is Hood, who has six such games this season. 

The other thing that happened is James got a spring in his step that was lacking up until what he did against the T’Wolves. 

He followed up that performance with triple-double No. 10 on the season with 22 points, 19 assists and 12 rebounds in the Cavs 123-107 win at the Hawks on Feb. 9. 

Two days later in the first game for Clarkson, Hood, George and Nance, Jr. they combined for 39 points on 19 for 35 shooting, including 8 for 14 from three-point range as the Cavs took down the Celtics in their gym 121-99 on ABC, to take a 2-1 lead in the season series. James came close to his 11^th triple-double on the season with 24 points, 10 assists and eight boards in just 28 minutes. 

Two nights later at the Thunder, the good times continues as the Cavs new additions combined for 48 points on 19 for 47 shooting as the Cavs won 120-112 on TNT. 

To illustrate how much better things have gotten for the Cavs compared to just two weeks ago, their bench before the trades had an average age of 29.1 years, while they were scoring 41 points on 47 percent from the field. The new additions have changed that number to 27.9 years of age and the scoring output has risen to an average of 53 points on 51 percent shooting. 

At the Celtics two Sundays ago, the Cavs shot 54 percent from the field, went 16 for 30 from three-point range as a team and got 52 points from their bench. In their win at the Thunder, the Cavs shot 51 percent from the field, hit another 16 triples in 36 tries and got 51 points from their reserves. Also, in this small sample size, Hood, Clarkson and Nance, Jr. have scored 78 points off the bench in their first two games as Cavaliers. 

As mentioned earlier, the new additions have not only made the Cavs younger, they also brought energy, enthusiasm, and a respect for the game and one of the best players in the game that was really lacking in the Cavs locker room.

“Koby did a heck of a job of understanding what our team needed,” James, who has averaged 30 points, and a league-best 13 assists the last four games heading into the break said about the new additions acquired by Altman. 

“It just wasn’t working out for us, and he felt like obviously he made the changes that he felt best fit our team, and then it’s on me to make sure the new guys that come in that I make them fit in and make it as seamless as possible. That’s my job. This is the third game in a row my voice is gone. So, I’m just trying to have the communication at an all-time high for us. For the new guys and the rest of the guys here as well.”

The addition of Hill particularly gives the Cavs a veteran whose been through some playoff wars particularly against James. Hill has 83 games of playoff experience, with the other 11 coming from Hood, and Hill was the starting lead guard of the 2013 and 2014 Conference Finals teams of the Pacers, who lost in seven and six games to James when he was with the Heat. 

“It’s a blessing,” Hill said to NBATV’s/TNT’s Dennis Scott before the Cavs tilt at the Thunder back on Feb. 13. “I wake up every morning not thinking it’s true. It is, and you know I got to take advantage of the new opportunity and have fun doing it.” 

Another player who has risen his level with more time on the court along with the new addition has been rookie sharp shooting forward Cedi Osman, who in a start at the Hawks had a career-highs of 16 points, six boards, five assists and three steals in the victory at the Hawks. He followed that up with 12 points and five rebounds at the Celtics. 

Over the past three seasons, the Cavs have been a team that has had a lot of drama over the past three seasons, but they manage to make it to The Finals. They especially have had their difficulties to start the new year with a record of 7-8 in January 2017, and a 6-8 in the first month of 2018, after an 11-6 and 13-3 beginning in the first two Januarys that James has been back in Northeast Ohio. 

This January was a little different. As Altman said to reporters in a post-trades conference call on Feb. 8, “We were marching to a slow death, and we didn’t want a part of that.” 

That change was overhauling half the roster at the trade deadline came, and with 26 games left after the break, the Cavs will need to put it all together with this group to put themselves in position to get back to The Finals four a fourth straight season. 

They will need the new addition along with the remaining cast in Green, Tristan Thompson (6.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 60.3 FG%), who missed games earlier in the season because of a calf injury, J.R. Smith (8.5 ppg, 37.6 3-Pt.%), whose shooting 55 percent from distance the last four games and Kyle Korver (9.3 ppg, 45.5 FG%, 43.1 3-Pt.%) to pick up their play.

They will also need to get Love back, who according to a report on Tuesday NBC Sports Kurt Helin is expected to be out another month said he is about two weeks away from getting his cast removed for good and then about another few weeks before he can get back. 

“It’s going to take a few weeks and I get back it’s going to take another month for everybody to get adjusted and get on the same page, but I like what we have,” Love said to Nichols, Amin Elhassan, and Scottie Pippen on the Feb. 16 edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN. 

He added, “This will be my fourth year in Cleveland. I know exactly what the coaching staff wants from me. I know exactly what Ty[ronn] Lue wants from me and then from a player’s stand point LeBron leading the push what he wants from us out there on the floor. So, I think we have a lot of selfless guys. We added selfless guys who play extremely hard.”

Above all, they must get better at the defensive end. Being ranked 27^th in opponent’s field goal percentage at 47.5; 26^th in rebound differential at -2.7; tied for 27^th in block shots at 3.8; and tied for 24^th in steals will not cut it. 

In their first game following the break, the Cavs (35-24) dropped one versus the Washington Wizards 110-103, marking their first loss with the new additions, as Clarkson, Hood, Nance, Jr., and Hill made their home debuts as Cavs. The loss also ended the Cavs four-game winning streak on Thursday night. 

Despite the loss, bringing the Cavs record to 2-1 with the new additions James who had 32 points, nine rebounds and eight assists was very encouraged at what he saw from his teammates. 

“I think we played well tonight, even though we lost,” James, who had 14 points in the fourth quarter said. “I hate losing, obviously, but I think the way we played, the way we shared the ball. Defensively, we were flying around as we and those guys, they just played better than us tonight. I like the start, I like the direction we’re headed.”

They bounced back in a big way on Friday night winning at the Grizzlies 112-89, outscoring them 58-40 in the second half. James garnered his 11^th triple-double of the season with 18 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. Hill, Nance, Jr., and Clarkson had 47 points combined. 

The Cavs however dropped their second game in their last three with a 110-94 loss versus the Spurs on Sunday afternoon on ABC, as they were outscored 60-41 in the second half.

“It’s just communicating, talking,” Clarkson said after the victory in Memphis about he and his new teammates adjusting to each other. “Coaches have us in early before practice running plays. We’re trying to get comfortable with everything still. Trying to get comfortable with all the calls. We’ve got a way to go, but we’re coming.”

It was mentioned before that LeBron James would not waive his no-trade clause when it seemed like the ship is sinking in “The Land.” At season’s end, James can, and will opt out the final year of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent. 

If the Cavs make it to The Finals and give their West opponent a run for their money, or win, James will stay. If they do not make it to The Finals in June or they are run off the floor in The Finals, there is a great chance he will take his talents elsewhere. If that happens, the Cavs at least are in position to move forward, because at the trade deadline, they did not give up that coveted protected lottery pick they got in the Irving deal, that was once owned by the Nets. 

Prediction: Cavs will finish in the Top 3 in the East. They will make it to The Finals but will fall to the Warriors, or the Rockets. 

Grade: B-

Detroit Pistons: 28-29 (4^th Central Division) 19-12 at home, 9-17 on the road.

-103.4 ppg-23^rd; opp. ppg: 103.5-8^th; 42.9 rpg-T-18^th 

The 2017-18 season ushered in a new era for the Detroit Pistons as they moved into Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit, MI. The hope was they would bring a better focus than last season where they missed the postseason after making it the year prior. Things were going well for them early on before an injury to their starting lead guard, inconsistent play on both ends brought them back down to Earth. In need of a spark, the Pistons made a blockbuster trade that brought them a true superstar player that they have not had in a long time. Things began well, but another lapse before the break has them on the outside of the playoff picture. The hope is when the second half of the season begins, they can find some consistency.

A 14-6 mark in the first two months of the season gave some belief in the “Motor City” that the Pistons being in the playoffs was something to believe in, especially when that stretch consisted of wins versus the T’Wolves (122-101) on Oct. 25, 2017; at the Warriors (115-107) Oct. 29, 2017; at the T’Wolves (100-97) on Nov. 19, 2017; at the Thunder (99-98) on Nov. 24, 2017; and at the Celtics (118-108) on Nov. 27, 2017. 

That sparkling beginning by the Pistons lost its shine with an 8-20 mark from Dec. 1, 2017 to Jan. 27, which consisted of a seven and eight-game losing streak, which put them on the outside of the playoffs picture. 

Things began to really go off the rails for them with the loss of starting lead guard Reggie Jackson (14.6 ppg, 5.5 apg, 44.6 FG%), who sustained a serious right ankle sprain in the third quarter of the team’s 107-83 win versus the Pacers on Dec. 26, 2017. 

While the X-Rays were negative, Jackson was diagnosed with a Grade 3 sprain of his right ankle and was reported to be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks, according to a report from the team.

It is the second straight year, the 27-year-old missed significant time due to an injury. A knee injury limited him to 52 games a season ago, which began with him missing the first 21 games after having platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to treat tendinosis and to nurse an Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) in his right thumb. 

Starting in his stead has been Ish Smith (10.7 ppg, 4.5 apg, 47.2 FG%), and while the team has at time functioned better like they did a season ago, the Pistons have gone 9-15 without Jackson. 

When the team was playing solid level earlier in the season, All-Star center Andre Drummond (15.1 ppg, 15.7 rpg-Leads NBA, 1.6 bpg-9^th NBA, 1.6 spg-Leads team, 53.5 FG%), forward Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley, who the team acquired in the off-season from the Celtics in exchange for Marcus Morris were leading the charge. 

The team was also getting solid play from sharp shooting forward Anthony Tolliver (8.1 ppg, 41.1 3-Pt.%), rookie sharp shooter Luke Kennard (6.8 ppg, 4.15 3-Pt.%), guard Langston Galloway (6.4 ppg, 35.4 3-Pt.%) and backup center Eric Moreland.

In need of a spark, the Pistons pulled off a blockbuster deal with the Clippers acquiring forward Blake Griffin (22.2 ppg-Leads team, 8.0 rpg 5.6 apg), along with forward Brice Johnson and center Willie Reed in exchange for Harris, Bradley, center Boban Marjanovic, a 2018 First-Round pick and a 2019 Second-Round pick. 

In Griffin, the Pistons have the player that brings with him star power that they have not had in a long time. Plus, they have a franchise player they can build around who accepts the responsibility of being the anchor of an organization both on and off the floor.

“We are serious about winning, and this is a major move to improve our team,” team owner Tom Goris said in a press release when the trade was made official back on Jan. 29. 

“Blake Griffin is one of the NBA’s elite players, and when you get an opportunity to add that kind of talent you take it.” “He’s a great fit for our organization and will bring a combination of toughness and athleticism that will elevate our team and excite our fans.” 

When the Pistons acquired Griffin, they were mired in an eight-game losing streak entering their home tilt with their division rival the Cavaliers on Jan. 30. 

Before the game, Drummond, who was named an All-Star replacing the injured John Wall of the Wizards said of the addition of Griffin to NBATV’s/TNT’s Dennis Scott, “It’s been a hell of a 24 hours. Real excited to have Blake here Obviously real excited to play with LeBron too. Looking forward to beating them tonight, and we’ll worry about the All-Star Game later.” 

At the Feb. 8 trade deadline, the Pistons acquired veteran guard Jameer Nelson from the Bulls for center Willie Reed, who the Bulls waived. 

In a trade with the Grizzlies, the Pistons acquired forward James Ennis III (7.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 49.0 FG%, 35.1 3-Pt.%) for forward Brice Johnson and 2020 Second-Round pick.

The Pistons defeated the Cavs 125-114 to snap their eight-game skid, where the much- maligned Stanley Johnson (8.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg), who has shot just 37.8 percent from the field this season, scored a career-high 26 points, to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals on 10 for 21 shooting. Drummond, who is second in the league with 42 double-doubles on the season had 21 points, 22 rebounds, along with a career-high seven assists, three steals, and three blocks. Starting forwards Bullock and Tolliver had 22 and 20 points respectably. Smith had 19 points, seven assists and two steals, and Dwight Buycks had 11 points off the bench. 

In his first game as a Piston versus the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 1, Griffin led the way with 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks in the 104-102 win. 

That was one of five games the former Clipper scored over 20 points in his first eight in the “Motor City.” 

After helping lead the team to four of their five straight wins, Griffin against his former team had just 19 points, going 7 for 19 from the field, including 1 for 7 from three-point range in the 108-95 setback. 

While Drummond had 17 rebounds to pace the Pistons, he shot just 5 for 15 from the field, with 12 points, and the team was out-rebounded 57-40, with the Clippers grabbing 14 offensive boards. 

“The most disappointing thing was there is no way we should get out-rebounded by 17,” head coach and team president Stan Van Gundy said after the game. “That just shouldn’t happen.”

After two more setbacks at the Hawks 118-115 two nights later, followed by a 118-103 defeat versus the New Orleans Pelicans a night later, the Pistons swagger was put in the rearview mirror with three straight losses. 

They were able to right the ship before the break with a 104-98 victory on Valentine’s Day, the starters had to finish the game after letting a 30-point lead get all the way down to single digits. 

While they have a new home, the Pistons rank at the bottom of the league in attendance. The team got off to a solid start, but tough times as the season went on put them below the playoff line. They have gone 5-5 since acquiring Griffin, after starting 4-0. 

Their push for that final playoff spot hit a serious snag with the Pistons (28-31) dropping their first game following the break, 110-98 loss versus the Celtics on Friday night. They followed that up with a 114-98 loss at the Hornets on Sunday afternoon, which put them 2.5 games behind the Heat for the No. 8 and final playoff spot. They also lost the season series with the Hornets 2-1, which will come into play as they are just a 1 ½ games behind them in the race for No. 8.

They have a talent All-Star front court duo in Griffin and Drummond, who can do a lot of things down low. The question mark is the cast around them. If coach Van Gundy can get any consistency from Bullock, Johnson, Tolliver, Buycks and get Jackson back from injury then they have a chance to make the playoffs. 

However, if their effort, especially at the start of games does not get better soon, that playoff run will not happen. 

“Everyone had high hopes for us coming out of the break, but we didn’t live up to them tonight,” Drummond, who had his 43 double-double of the season with 15 points and 17 boards said after the loss. ‘We’ve got to go to practice tomorrow and figure out what is going on, because we have a lot of games coming up.” 

Grade: D+

Indiana Pacers: 33-25 (2^nd Central Division; No. 5 Seed in East) 20-11 at home, 13-14 on the road. 

-106.8 ppg-12^th; opp. ppg: 105.5-13^tht; 41.9 rpg-22^nd  

The Indiana Pacers sent shockwaves throughout the entire NBA when they said goodbye to their All-Star franchise player when they dealt him to the Western Conference for basically two role players. In that moment many felt the Pacers would not see the postseason let alone a title contender for a lengthy period of seasons. While their season may be a “surprise” to many, it is not a surprise to the team, thanks in large part to the players they acquired in that blockbuster deal, and the additions they made over the summer. 

On July 6, the Pacers traded swingman Paul George, four-time All-Star to the Oklahoma City Thunder, for former Indiana Hoosier guard Victor Oladipo, and forward Domantas Sabonis.

Many felt that the Thunder came up on the high end of things, however Oladipo and Sabonis have made sure with their play that the Pacers came out well on their end as well. 

Being back in familiar surroundings has brought the best out of the former Hoosier, whose career-high averages of 24.4 points (Leads team), 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.1 steals (No. 3 NBA), on 48.4 percent from the field and 38.1 from three-point range is why he became an All-Star for the first time in his career.

Back on Dec. 10, 2017 he announced to the league he had a chance of earning his first All-Star selection with a career-high of 47 points, with seven boards and six assists, going 15 for 28 from the floor, including 6 for 12 from distance and 11 for 13 from the charity stripe in leading the Pacers to a 126-116 overtime win versus the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 10, 2017.

To put into context the importance of Oladipo, who signed a four-year $84 million contract extension last year to head coach Nate McMillan’s squad, when he has not played this season because of injury, the Pacers are 0-6 this season, with those losses coming by an average of 16.8 points. 

Last season, Domantas Sabonis, the son of overseas legend and former Portland Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis looked played like a rookie that needed a lot of work in his rookie season with the Thunder.

That is not the case this season as he has played with purpose precision and confidence taking his averages in scoring from 5.9 a season ago to 12.1; his rebounding from 3.6 to 8.2, which leads the team; and shooting from 39.9 to 52.5.

A season ago, the No. 11 overall pick out of Gonzaga in 2016 had just two double-doubles, this season, and this season he has had 12 double figure point-rebound games. 

To put his number into clearer context, in the 19 times he has started for the Blue and Gold, Sabonis has averaged 13.1 points and 10.4 boards on 54.0 percent from the field. 

The Pacers also made a couple of under the radar off-season moves that have paid real dividends to their squad, with the additions of veteran floor general Darren Collison (12.8 ppg, 5.3 apg-Leads team, 49.5 FG%, 43.2 3-Pt.%), who has provided a steady hand as the starting point guard. His understudy Cory Joseph (7.7 ppg, 3.2 apg, 36.1 3-Pt.%) has provided a steady hand and veteran leadership to the second unit for the Pacers. 

The addition of sharp shooting forward Bojan Bogdanovic (13.7 ppg, 47.0 FG%, 38.6 3-Pt.%) is a big reason the Pacers are No. 6 in the NBA in three-point percentage at 37.0 percent, even though they are tied for No. 23 in makes from distance at 9.2 this season, and 25^th in attempts at 24.7. 

The Pacers that remained from the overhaul of the roster over the summer have played and meshed well with the new additions.

Starting forward Thaddeus Young (12.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.5 spg, 49.7 FG%, 35.0 3-Pt.%) has been solid. Off the bench, backup center Al Jefferson (6.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 55.3 FG%) has made a solid contribution when given the minutes and starting center Myles Turner (13.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.1 bpg-3^rd NBA, 48.8 FG%, 35.6 3-Pt.%) continues to get better and better game by game.

They just need to keep the No. 11 overall pick in the 2015 draft on the floor as he missed a nine-game stretch from Dec. 10-Dec. 26, 2017 due to an injured right elbow. 

“We’re going to be patient with his return and work him back into the rotation,” coach McMillian said before the Pacers come from behind 114-112 win versus the Orlando Magic. “And Domantas has been doing a pretty good with the starting unit.

Since that contest, Turner’s minutes have gone up and seems to be back in the swing of things now as the second half of the season begins. 

The other player who has really been a spark for the Pacers has been the guy who is referred to as “born ready” in Lance Stephenson (9.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.0 apg), who has been critical to the Pacers second unit production, especially in many of their wins at home, that have been come from behind ones.

To illustrate how effective the seven-year man out of University of Cincinnati, and native of Brooklyn, NY has been at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse compared to on the road, Stephenson averages 11.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists on 45.8 percent from the floor, and 35.3 from three-point range at home, compared to a 7.1 points, 4.5 boards, and 2.8 assists, on 40.4 percent from the field, and 27.3 from distance on the road. 

In a Jan. 12 victory versus the Cavs, Stephenson’s 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench helped the Pacers overcome a 22-point first-half deficit to win 97-95, garnering the team’s third win over the three-time defending East champions. Along with his offensive numbers his energy on both ends gave the Pacers life and frustrated the visitors, who led after the first quarter 34-12. 

So much so, that he baited the normally composed four-time MVP in LeBron James into a technical foul late in the fourth quarter that made a difference. 

“It feels good, but it’s a long season,” a more subdued Stephenson, whose team outscored the Cavs 53-37 in the second-half said after the game in the locker room. “They’re a tough team, but we came out and played smart defense and made the right plays.”

In the early going of the season, the Indiana Pacers had been playing decent basketball giving putting themselves in position to be a part of the postseason mix in the East. However, five straight defeats from Dec. 26, 2017 to Jan. 3 brought them back to .500. Since then they have gone 14-6, which includes three straight wins before the break, and seven wins in their last 10 games. 

Even with that solid stretch, GM Kevin Pritchard had thought about doing something at the Feb. 8 trade deadline, but the team came to him asking for him to let the current group assembled finish what they had started. 

“They feel like they are overachieving and had a little bit of a chip on their shoulder,” Pritchard, whose team has averaged 106.6 points on 49.1 percent shooting the last 19 games entering their 121-113 victory versus the New York Knicks on Feb. 11. “They wanted to finish out this out and try to get into the playoffs. That carried a lot of weight with me.”

To avoid any complacency before the All-Star break, the other GM Chad Buchanan said in a group text message with the team after the win over the Knicks for the team to keep its focus entering their final game before the break at the Nets. 

“ ‘Great win. But it’s not over. We still have one more game before the All-Star break,’ and we all responded right then and there. It’s like I said, this is one of the most unified teams I’ve ever been a part of.” 

While it was a struggle, the Pacers managed to win their final game before the break 108-103 at the Nets, thanks to outscoring them 35-24 in the fourth quarter. Oladipo led the way with 25 points. Joseph, starting in place of the injured Collison had 15 points, and 11 rebounds. Former Net Bogdanovic had 14 points. Young had 13 points and seven boards, and off the bench Al Jefferson had 13 points. Turner had 11 points and 14 rebounds. 

The team really took the words of their GM to heart in their first game following the break as the Pacers (34-25) dominated the Hawks 116-93 to win their fourth game in succession, behind the efforts of Young who scored 16 of his 20 points in the opening half. 

Besides the win, the Pacers got back forward Glenn Robinson III, who has been shelved all season because of off-season left ankle surgery. 

Robinson, who started 27 games a season ago, and averaged 6.1 points per game said that he feels that he can best contribute to the team on the defensive end as he has observed from watching games from the sidelines, while doing simple things at the offensive end. 

“I’ve talked to all the coaches about that I think I can be another defender for the team, but on the offensive end I can space the floor and knock down shot,” Robinson, who scored four points, on 2 for 6 shooting in his return said before the game. “I think the biggest thing is my ability to run the floor and play off others.

While it is a surprise that the Pacers are in position to make the playoffs is a surprise to many, it is not to them. The team led by Oladipo, Turner, Young, Stephenson and Bogdanovic came into this season with an us against the world mentality. So far, they are winning, especially at home, where they assured themselves a winning record at home for the 29th straight season, the longest streak in the NBA.

The Pacers right now have the same record as the Wizards, but the loss against the boys from the nation’s capital 111-102 on Feb. 5 is why they are the No. 5 Seed currently, which makes their next two meetings crucial to who will have home court advantage if the two happen to match up in the postseason.

Prediction: The Pacers will make the playoff but will have their season end in the opening round. 

Grade: B-

Miami Heat: 30-28 (2^nd Southeast Division; No. 8 Seed in East) 14-12 at home, 16-16 on the road. 

-100.5 ppg-28^th; opp. ppg: 101.4-3^rd; 42.6 rpg-20^th

In an era where NBA teams feel that assembling All-Star talent will get you to the top, meaning a chance to compete for championships, the Miami Heat developed their own talent, and invested in them, as well as brought in via free agency talent that fit their defensive minded blue collar get after it every day culture. This season that invested talent, despite injuries, a sudden slide before the break and inconsistent nights of putting the ball in the hoop has them in position to make the postseason this time around, and they got a big boost with the return of one of the most important player in franchise history that help build that championship “culture.”

Two players that Heat President Pat Riley and owner Mickey Arison made a major investment in after their stellar season’s a year ago were guard Dion Waiters and James Johnson, a combined $107 million new investment. 

While Johnson (10.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.9 apg, 48.6 FG%) has continued his progression in the Heat program off their bench, Waiters (14.3 ppg) had his season again cut short after 30 games due to a badly injured ankle that required surgery. This is on the heels of him playing in just 46 games last season. 

Another key player while his contract is not up yet but was an important part of the future of the Heat is forward Justise Winslow. Unfortunately, the No. 10 overall pick out of Duke whose season was limited to 18 games because of shoulder surgery has missed 14 games this season because of injury and illness. 

Perhaps the one player that has been shelved at times this season with injury that has had a major impact has been starting center Hassan Whiteside (14.2, ppg, 11.9 rpg-Leads team, 1.7 bpg-Leads team, 55.0 FG%) missed five games in October 2017 because of a knee injury, where the Heat went 2-3 without him. He missed 13 games from Nov. 29-Dec. 23, 2017 with soreness in that same knee, and the team went 7-6 in that stretch. 

While most teams would have some serious struggles with key guys like Winslow, Whiteside, and Waiters down, and that is not to say the Heat had their moments, head coach Erik Spoelstra, the longest tenured coach in the Eastern Conference has found a way to field a team with a specific game plan to get victories without those key players. 

That is because first-time All-Star Goran Dragic (17.4 ppg, 4.7 apg, 36.0 3-Pt.%), Tyler Johnson (11.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 35.2 3-Pt.%), Wayne Ellington (11.2 ppg, 38.7 3-Pt.%), Josh Richardson (13.2 ppg 45.4 FG%, 38.5 3-Pt.%), Kelly Olynyk (11.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 49.5 FG%, 36.8 3-Pt.%) and rookie Bam Adebayo (7.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 54.2 FG%) have stepped up and really play. 

The other factor is the Heat know that the way to winning games ever since Riley came to town nearly two and a half decades ago has been to play defense, and this season is no different. 

They are tied for No. 7 in field goal percentage allowed at 45.2 and are No. 8 in opponent’s three-point percentage at 35.5 percent. When holding the opposition under 100 points, this season, the Heat are 17-7. 

What has held the Heat back this season, especially in a stretch of losing 11 of their last 16, which includes a five-game skid from Jan. 31 to Feb. 9 has been their struggles at the offensive end, where they are 21^st in field goal percentage at 45.2 percent and No. 17 in three-point percentage ad 35.9, despite ranking No. 8 in three-point attempts this season at 30.7 and tied for No. 9 in makes at 11. 

In need of spark, the Heat brought back the most important player in franchise history when at the trade deadline they acquired back future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade (10.9 ppg, 40. rpg, 3.5 apg, 44.7 FG%) in a trade with the Cavs, where they received a 2024 Second-Round pick. 

In hindsight, this righted a wrong that occurred a couple of summers back when Riley did not give Wade the much-deserved legacy contract that future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant got in his final two seasons with the Lakers. Riley decided that it was more important to pay Whiteside, James and James Johnson at that time, and Wade as a result signed with the Bulls, his hometown team. 

While he may not be the D-Wade that helped this franchise win three titles, he has had an impact in his three games back with the team that drafted him 15 years ago. 

He made several key plays in helping the Heat break their five-game losing streak with 91-85 win versus the Bucks on Feb. 9, even though his stat line consisted of just three-points, two boards, two assists in 22 minutes off the bench on hitting a lone three-pointer in six field goal attempts. He had a key block late in the four period that got the Heat over the hump. 

“I would have loved to go 6 for 6, but I was just trying to get used to everything, so I wasn’t worried about that,” Wade said after the win.

“I was worried about getting the win. I felt like I did some positive things on the basketball floor and I felt like I did some negative things on the basketball floor, but I tried to make winning ways defensively and offensively when I got an opportunity and that’s what it’s all about. I’ll definitely get better, and I’ll definitely score the ball more and all of those things at some point. Tonight, I thought was a success because we got the W.” 

One thing that did happen on that night is that love and admiration Wade earned from the fans was on full display when he entered the game off the bench in the opening stanza. Just his mere presence got a rise out of those in attendance at the American Airlines Arena, which teammates Whiteside and Tyler Johnson felt. 

“It felt like a playoff game,” Whiteside, whose team held the Bucks to eight points in the third quarter, and 39 points in the second half said. “The fans were in an uproar. It felt like a playoff game and Miami was just rocking. It hadn’t felt like that in a while here.” 

That adulation was short lived though as the Heat would drop their next decision 115-112 at the Raptors four night later, even though Wade had a double-double of 10 points and 11rebounds, to go along with six assists in 21 minutes. The next night, the Heat had a 24-point lead, but lost at the Philadelphia 76ers 104-102 before the break to drop their second straight. Wade had eight points in the game, and his game-winning three-point attempt fell short, capping a 4 for 13 shooting night. 

While they had a much better offensive showing in their first game following the break, the Heat (31-29) lost a tough game at the New Orleans Pelicans 124-123 in overtime. 

Dragic nearly had a triple-double with 30 points, nine boards and eight assists. Whiteside had 19 points and 16 boards, while Wade had 16 points off the bench. Richardson had 15 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Tyler Johnson also had 15 and James Johnson had 12 points off the bench with two steals and two blocks. 

The Heat stopped their three-game losing streak with a 115-89 win versus the Grizzlies, who they outscored 55-37 in the second half. 

The victory not only ended their skid, but they entered the game with their last 17 contests being decided by a single-digit margin in their last 17 games, three shy of the NBA record. They however lost 12 of those decisions, with the latest coming on Friday night. 

“We’ve been in so many close games,” Tyler Johnson, who paced six players in double figures with 23 points said after the win. “It’s good to finally be able to exhale a little bit.”  

Last season, the Heat just missed making the playoffs, even after going 30-11 in their final 41 games of the season. Right now, they are two games up on the Pistons for the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the East. They have lost two of the first three matchups with the boys from the “Motor City” with a critical matchup at the AAA on Mar. 3 that could play a role in who gets that final spot. 

The Heat have the “culture” and players in place to be a playoff team this season. They also have the most important player in franchise history, and the player who was right in the middle of those title runs back to show the next generation of Heat players the work ethic and focus it will take to get to that point one day.

On top of that, they have the will to put themselves in position to win games as they have shown in recent weeks. They hopefully be on the winning side and they have been going 5-12 in their last 17 game decided by nine points or less prior to their first win following the break. 

Prediction: The Heat will make the playoffs and will put their best foot forward but will be out in opening round.

Grade: C+

Milwaukee Bucks: 32-25 (3^rd Central Division; No. 6 Seed in East) 19-10 at home, 13-15 on the road. 

-104.6 ppg-18^th; opp. ppg: 104.6-11^th; 39.3 rpg-30^th 

The Milwaukee Bucks in the first half of the 2017-18 NBA campaign is an “enigma.” They have one of the Top 5 players in the league, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, who was a Second-Round pick and acquired one of the best floor generals in the league, but the team’s inconsistency resulted in the front office making a coaching change after 45 games. Some of their other talented players have been very inconsistent and their play on both ends has had a lot of people shaking their head. Since the coaching change though, they have played a lot better especially defensively, but the schedule will get a lot tougher 

Last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo, also known as, “The Great Freak,” went from the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2017 to a first-time All-Star in large part by becoming just the fifth player in league history to lead his team in points (22.9), rebounds (8.8), assists (5.4), steals (1.6) and blocks (1.9-6^th NBA) per game, joining Hall of Famers Dave Cowens and Scottie Pippen, and future Hall of Famers in Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James.

Those numbers were also ranked in the Top 20 in the league, while also shooting 52.1 percent from the floor. He has increased his scoring and rebounding for the fifth straight season with a career-high averages of 27.8 points and 10.4 boards, with 4.8 assists on 54.0 percent from the field, which earned him his second straight All-Star appearance, and second straight as a starter.

After garnering 32 double-doubles a season ago, and 33 combined in his first three season, Antetokounmpo has 28 in the first half of the season. 

On Nov. 7, 2017 the Bucks made a major addition in acquiring guard Eric Bledsoe (17.2 ppg, 4.5 apg, 3.6 rpg, 2.2 spg-2^nd NBA, 45.3 FG%) from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for center Greg Monroe, to add another ball handler to go alongside Antetokounmpo as well as another go to scorer. In the early stages of his arrival were 18-13.

Bledsoe was also added to give some extra help to the other top offensive weapon on the Bucks in Khris Middleton (20.0 ppg-career-high, 5.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, 46.3 FG%, 34.6 3-Pt.%), who missed much of the first half of the season with a serious hamstring injury. 

The team unfortunately had the injury bug hit some of their key role players like the 2017 Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon (13.3 ppg), who currently is one the shelf due to a partially torn left quadriceps tendon that was confirmed earlier this month. He had really made great strides in his second season shooting 48.7 percent from the field, and 37.8 from three-point range after shooting respectably 45.7 from the floor and 40.4 from distance in his first season a year ago. In the 20 games he started this season, the man dubbed “The President” for his high-quality character on and off the court has averaged 14.0 points on 50.7 percent from the floor, and 39.5 from distance.

Another key guard on the mend for the Bucks is understudy Matthew Dellavedova, who suffered a right ankle sprain in the Bucks 109-94 win at the Nets.

Also, sharp shooting forward Mirza Teletovic, who back in December 2017 had been experiencing in what the team said was, “unusual fatigue” where he had to be consulted by the team’s physicians. He was diagnosed with pulmonary emboli in both lungs. That along with a knee injury has the 32-year-old on the mend indefinitely and there is no timetable for his return. 

The absence of those key contributors has put a lot of pressure on Antetokounmpo, Bledsoe and Middleton to play big minutes and perform. While the likes of Tony Snell (7.4 ppg, 41.1 3-Pt.%), John Henson (8.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 58.7 FG%), Thon Maker (5.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg), rookie Sterling Brown, and Sean Kilpatrick have had their moments, they have been very inconsistent on both ends. 

That has resulted in the Bucks getting no further than five games above .500 in the early part of this season, and after two straight losses and four losses in their last five games from Jan. 12-20 to the Warriors, Heat twice and the Sixers, the Bucks made a change. 

The fired head coach Jason Kidd, and promoted assistant Joe Prunty to head coach. Kidd found out about losing his job from a text message from Antetokounmpo. 

Both Antetokounmpo and Middleton took the ousting of Kidd, who played a huge part in their development as players here with the Bucks hard. 

Antetokounmpo acknowledge that he called Kidd about 15 minutes before the organization officially notified him that he was getting the axe said, “It’s kind of uncomfortable, especially for a guy like me that—I said, one of my characteristics is that I’m being loyal to the people around me.”

He then said about the impact Kidd had on him, “He was a big part of my success.” “He trusted me, he put the ball in my hands, he motivated me on a daily basis, he pushed me to be great and not to be mediocre…” 

“I was 19 when he came, and he said he was going to put the ball in my hands. The first time I wasn’t ready. I told him, ‘Coach, I’m not ready to create and make plays for the team.’ He said, ‘OK, we’re going to take our time.’ The next year, he put the ball in my hands and I was ready…” 

Middleton, who was acquired by the Bucks in the summer of 2013 for guard Brandon Jennings, who is now with the team’s G-League affiliate said of Kidd’s influence, “He took my game to another level. He took this team to a whole other level. Today was a tough day.”   

“He’s been a great teacher for me. Mostly, I was a spot up shooter. He allowed me to post up and expand my game to pick-and-rolls and driving.”

In their first game under Prunty, the Bucks overcame a 120-point deficit to garner a 109-105 victory versus the Phoenix Suns. 

Middleton, in the absence of Antetokounmpo due to a knee soreness had 35 points on 13 for 19 shooting with six rebounds and two steals. Brogdon had a career-high 32 points hitting 11 of 14 from the field. Bledsoe had 19 points, seven assists and four steals. Henson had 10 points, six boards and three steals. 

The Bucks shot 53.5 percent on the night; were 28 for 37 from the charity stripe; had 14 steals and forced 21 turnovers. 

Since Prunty has taken over, the Bucks entered their final matchup before the break versus the Nuggets ranking No. 1 in “The Association” in points allowed (95.9), opponent’s field goal percentage (42.3) and three-point percentage (28.3); and were tied for third in forced turnovers (15.5). 

Eight of the nine wins though came against teams that will not make the playoffs this spring. Their lone win against a team with a winning record came versus the Sixers, who were without All-Star center Joel Embiid, who sat out to rest. Their first two loses came at the Timberwolves 108-89 on Feb. 1 and at the Heat 91-85 eight days later. 

In their worst defensive performance under Prunty, the Bucks were scorched in their last game before the All-Star break by the Nuggets 134-125 on Feb. 15.

Denver shot 55.3 percent from the field; matched a franchise record and tied the second most three-pointers in NBA history with 24 connections on 40 attempts; had 37 assists and had nine steals, which was part of 16 forced turnovers that resulted in 18 points.

While the loss took some sting out of the Bucks momentum, which saw them get to eight games above .500 for the first time since Feb. 20, 2015, it represented their best start since 2001-02 season. 

They also during this run got forward Jabari Parker back from his second ACL rehab. So far through six games, he is averaging 9.3 points and three boards in 17.7 minutes. His highest point total so far has been 12 points, which he has had twice. 

With all that transpired in the first half of the season for the Bucks, they are right in the thick of the playoffs at No. 6 right now in the East.

They have gotten themselves on track under Prunty, and he has provided a more intense presence on the floor, a complete flip from the calm quiet demeanor of Kidd. It has produced results, but things will not get any easier as seven of their first eight opponents following the All-Star break will be against teams that are currently above the playoff line. 

In their first game following the All-Star break, the Bucks (33-26) earned a hard fought 122-119 victory at the Raptors on Friday night, where they lost 131-127 in OT to start 2018. 

Antetokounmpo had his 29^th double-double on the season with 26 points, 12 boards, six assists and two steals. Bledsoe had 21 points and eight boards. Middleton also had 21 with five rebounds. Terry had 14 off the bench. Maker and Henson had 12 points each, with Henson also grabbing eight rebounds. 

“It was a big gut-check and a big win for us,” Middleton, who had 21 points on the night said after the win, which snapped the Bucks’ five-game losing streak at the Raptors and represented just their third win in their last 18 matchups. “This is the best team in the East and we proved that we could beat them on the road.”

The Bucks came back down to earth though with a 123-121 overtime loss versus the Pelicans on Sunday afternoon, which dropped them to 14-19 against teams over .500 this season and was their first loss in six games this season in games decided by three points or less. They have handled their business against the sub .500 teams compiling a 20-6 mark against them this season. 

The loss dropped the Bucks to the No. 7 Seed now, though they are in a virtual tie with the Sixers for the No. 6 Seed and are just a game behind the Pacers and Wizards, who occupy the No. 5 and No. 4 Seeds respectably and are two games on the loss side behind the No. 3 Seeded Cavs. 

That victory at the Raptors was big for this team’s confidence in a stretch as mentioned where they competition will be stepped up. They also know that it is about the team stepping up their play in the wake of Kidd’s ouster. 

“Once they made the decision, which was a tough one, that they did, they put the onus on the players,” veteran guard Jason Terry said after the victory over the Suns about the Bucks approach going forward under Prunty. “We understand that it’s going to take us as a group collectively.” 

Prediction: Bucks will make the playoffs, but their role players must come back healthy and depending on the matchup will tell if they make it to the Semis or fall in a hard-fought opening round series. 

Grade: B

New York Knicks: 23-36 (4^th Atlantic Division) 16-12 at home, 7-24 on the road. 

-103.7 ppg-T-20^th; opp. ppg: 106.1-16^th 44.2 rpg-12^th

The New York Knicks this summer put the nightmare of a season behind them when they traded their All-Star player to the West and gave the axe to team president Phil Jackson. The put the keys to their future in the one good player that was drafted in Jackson’s tenure and an unknown overseas lead guard. Things were looking up for the boys from the “Big Apple,” but they lost said star player, who was named an All-Star for the first time in his career earlier this month, and now they have a very “uncertain” future. 

Things were looking up at the start of the season for the Knicks led by their now face of the franchise Kristaps Porzingis (22.7 ppg-Leads team-career-high, 6.6 rpg, 2.4 bpg-Leads NBA, 39.5 3-Pt.%), who was averaging 29.3 points in October 2017.

He also had two Robins that were alongside of him in Tim Hardaway, Jr. (16.7 ppg), who averaged 19.2, and 16.7 points in December 2017 and the first month of the new year, and Enes Kanter (14.4 ppg, 10.7 rpg-T-8^th NBA, 60.4 FG%-4^th NBA), who was acquired in the Anthony deal, and tied for 11^th in the league in double-doubles with 29. 

He has had two games this season where he has scored 20-plus points, and grabbed 20-plus rebounds, which consisted of a season-high of 31 points with 22 rebounds in a 105-98 Christmas Day 2017 loss versus the Sixers. He joined Hall of Famers the late Wilt Chamberlin, Bill Russell, and Bob Lanier as the only players to register a 30-20 game on Christmas Day.

Surrounding the Knicks scoring trio are Courtney Lee (13.1 ppg, 44.7 FG%, 40l7 3-Pt.%), who has been solid at the starting shooting guard spot with the best shooting season of his career. Forward Michael Beasley (12.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 50.3 FG%, 38.5 3-Pt.%), who has been impactful off the bench as well as center Kyle O’Quinn (6.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 59.0 FG%) and Lance Thomas. Veteran floor general Jarrett Jack (7.6 ppg, 5.8 apg-Leads team) gave this team a steady hand at the starting point guard spot. His understudy Frank Ntilikina (5.2 ppg) has been productive in his minutes on the floor as a rookie, who was chosen with the No. 8 overall pick in June. 

A 105-103 win at the Pelicans on Dec. 30, 2017 had the Knicks at the .500 mark at 18-18 and with thoughts of making the playoffs for the first time since 2013. 

Like in the past couple of seasons, those playoff dreams went up in smoke, and so this one as the Knicks have gone 5-18 since then, which includes a current eight-game losing streak going into the All-Star break. 

Things only worse for head coach Jeff Hornacek’s team in the fourth of those eight defeats in succession when in their 103-89 on Feb. 9 loss versus the Bucks, Porzingis after a spectacular dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second quarter landed awkwardly out of bounds and fell to the floor grasping his left knee. 

He was helped off the floor and into the locker room where an MRI revealed that Porzingis had torn the ACL in his left knee and he was gone for the season. 

“More than a basketball player, he’s my brother,” Kanter, who had 19 points and 16 boards said after the game about Porzingis. “I don’t want to see anyone going down like that hurting his knee. He’s about to be an All-Star. I’m just going to pray for him tonight. He is the most important part of our family.” 

In the blink of an eye, the Knicks present, and their future all came into question with the loss of their face of the franchise, who did have successful surgery to repair that torn ACL and is expected to be on the shelf for at least 10 months. That means a return for Porzingis would not come until December, but the team according to reports will likely keep him out a bit longer so he can full recover. 

According ESPN’s Stephania Bell, Porzingis returning to full strength or even better than ever will come down to his ability to heal, his adherence to the rehab program, prior injury history, the specific demands of the position he plays and their role on the team. 

“When you start to consider all the different factors that have the potential to influence an athlete’s recovery, it becomes easier to appreciate the reluctance for an organization to issue a firm timetable based on a diagnosis alone,” Bell said in the middle of this month. 

The one thing that is in Porzingis’ favor is that he is just 22 years of age and the hope is for the organization, from new GM Scott Perry, owner James Dolan and coach Hornacek is that he will take a very diligent and focused approach to this grueling rehab that is on the horizon for him. 

“He has a great attitude about it. He knows he’s going to get back,” Hornacek said before the Knicks’ 108-92 loss at the Sixers on Feb. 12. “He knows he’s going to be back better than ever. He wishes it didn’t happen that way, but he’ll be able to learn things from watching the game the rest of this year. He’s a kid who wants to be one of the best. We know he’s going to work hard to get back.” 

To building for the future, the Knicks at the Feb. 8 trade deadline in a three-team deal with the Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks acquired guard Emmanuel Mudiay (8.6 ppg) and sent sharp shooter Doug McDermott to the Mavericks. The Nuggets and Knicks as part of the deal swapped Second-Round pick in this June’s draft, with the Knick receiving the Portland Trail Blazers pick and the Nuggets getting one via the Clippers.  

Since being drafted No. 7 overall by the Nuggets back in 2015, Mudiay has shown flashes of brilliance, but that in nutshell is all that he displayed in his 3 ½ seasons with the Nuggets flashes and the play of Jamal Murray and Gary Harris made him expendable.

On top of that, Mudiay has not developed as a floor general, with only a career average of 4.3 assists currently and throughout the early part of his career has struggled to shoot the basketball, hitting just 40.1 percent from the floor this season. 

What this means for the rest of this season is that the lead guard responsibilities will now be shared between Ntilikina, Mudiay and a recent edition Trey Burke with the odd man out for minutes will be Jack. 

“During my 18 years in the league, I’ve seen so many players where it’s taken time,” Perry said about the acquisition of Mudiay. “Just because a player doesn’t hit the ground and become a star right away or struggles for 3-4 years in a particular place—or places for that matter – doesn’t mean that they can’t become good NBA players.” 

He also said about him his addition of what it means for Ntilikina, “The organization is not down on Frank.” ‘He’s going to be fine. This isn’t in any way negative reflection on him and who we think he’s going to be and who he has an opportunity to be. I’ve said to you many times, he’s a 19-year-old kid who has some very good tools and a lot of upside.”

Perry also said that he believes that Ntilikina and the 21-year-old Mudiay “can share the same backcourt.” 

In the Knicks’ 121-113 loss at the Pacers on Feb. 11, Mudiay in his first game with his new team had 14 points and 10 assists off the bench in 29 minutes but hit just 5 for 14 from the field. Ntilikina had 12 points off the bench in 31 minutes. 

Mudiay joined current ESPN NBA studio analyst Jalen Rose as the only Knicks to have double-digit assists in their debuts. Jalen has the all-time high with 11 assists in his debut for the Orange, White and Blue on Feb. 5, 2006. 

The Knicks (24-37) started the second half of the season with a 120-113 victory at the Magic, sparked by the 26 points and six assists by Burke off the bench, snapping their eight-game losing streak on Thursday night. Hardaway, Jr. had 23 points, while O’Quinn had 14 points and eight boards off the bench. Kanter had a double-double of 12 points and 12 boards. Lee scored 10. 

“I get criticized for not playing defense. I have accepted that in the past. I’m not accepting it now,” Burke said after the win at the Magic on what he needs to do to stick in the league, and hopefully with the Knicks going forward. “I know I’m quick enough to play defense, I have the mentality to play defense and I know I can be a pest on the ball. 

That good feeling did not last as two night later, the Knicks feel versus the Celtics 121-112 as All-Star Kyrie Irving paced the C’s with 15 of his game-high 31 points in the third quarter. 

Burke scored 26 points again off the bench in the defeat. Mudiay had 13 points and six assists but was 4 for 12 from the field. Ntilikina had eight points and five assists off the bench. 

At the start of the new year, the New York Knicks, and their fans that pack Madison Square Garden year in and year out had a glimmer of hope that their playoff drought of four years would conclude with Porzingis as the new face of the franchise. Now as the second half of the season begins they only hope is that Porzingis when he does return gets to as close to the player he was before the ACL injury and can become even better as his career goes on. 

In the meantime, it is up to Perry to see what he has for the rest of this season, so he can figure out who can play alongside Porzingis when he does return. 

“We’re not going to try to do something short-term to jeopardize our opportunity to build [something] sustainable,” Perry, whose team owns all it’s First-Round picks going forward and will have significant salary cap space in the summer of 2019. “We’re going to continue to add talent, we’re going to continue to make moves that are very prudent.” 

Prediction: The Knicks will use the rest of this season to see who will be around to help Porzingis get this team to become a playoff perennial and eventually a champion when he does return. 

Grade: D-

Orlando Magic: 18-39 (4^th Southeast Division) 11-16 at home, 7-23 on the road. 

-105.5 ppg-15^th; opp. ppg: 109.8-26^th; 41.5 rpg-25^th  

It has been five years since All-Star center Dwight Howard left the Orlando Magic when they traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal involving them, the Lakers, and the Sixers. He has played for the Lakers, Rockets, Hawks, and now Hornets, and while has seen action in the postseason, the Magic have had four years of misery, which has consisted of four head coaches; several draft picks that have not lasted more than a season and additions via trade and free agency that have not risen then from the ashes of the East. This summer, the organization made some changes at the top with a new General Manager and President of Basketball Operations in hopes and some veterans to help the current head coach change culture that has been stuck in “mediocrity” for too long. 

The Magic and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alex Martins and Chief Operating Officer owner Richard DeVos back in the off-season named Jeff Weltman, the former GM of the Raptors as their new President of Basketball Operations and named John Hammond, the former GM of the Bucks to the same position in their front office.

Their first order of business was to draft the right player to lift their franchise from the doldrums. The team selected in the June 2017 draft out of their supposed backyard in center Jonathan Isaac (5.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) out of Florida State.

Unfortunately, an ankle injury has limited the Magic’s high draft choice to just 15 games this season, and when he has played, he has only shot just 40.5 percent from the floor. 

The Magic really started their new regime though off very nicely going 8-4, which included wins over the Cavs, Spurs, and Pelicans. 

After that nice start the team lost 23 of their next 27 games, which consisted of two nine-game losing streak from Nov. 11-Nov. 27, 2017, and Dec. 8-Dec. 28, 2017.

Along with losing games, the Magic lost their offensive anchor in starting center Nikola Vucevic (17.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg-Leads team, 49.1 FG%) with a fracture in his left hand he sustained in the opening quarter of the team’s 130-103 loss at the Wizards on Dec. 22, 2017.

Before the Magic’s starting center was shelved because of injury, the Magic lost starting guard Terrence Ross (9.0 ppg), who the team acquired last season injured the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee as well as sustained a non-displaced fracture in the same leg in the team’s 121-108 win versus the Thunder on Nov. 29, 2017. There has been no timetable for his return. 

“I’ve never been part of a team that had so many injuries, and most of them are for quite some time, so it’s very unfortunate,” Vucevic said after the game. “And it happened to me tonight. It sucks. It looks like we can’t catch a break from injuries at all.” 

Following 13-point victory over the Pistons 102-89 on Dec. 28, 2017, the Magic then suffered seven straight losses from Dec. 30, 2017 to Jan. 12. 

The only bright spot in a season that has seen everything go wrong for the Magic has been the play of four-year forward Aaron Gordon, who has had that breakout season the organization has been waiting for out of him.

The No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 draft has averaged career-highs of 18.4 points and 8.3 rebounds on 44.7 percent from the field and a career-best 34.6 from three-point range. He had 20 double-doubles entering his contract season and has put up 12 this season. 

He too has also been on the shelf because of injury missing the last eight games with a strained hip flexor, which kept him out of competing in this year’s Slam Dunk contest at All-Star Weekend in L.A. this past weekend. 

“I was hoping to be healthy enough, but there’s no real reason to push,” Gordon said before the Magic’s 111-109 victory at their division and interstate rival the Heat on Feb. 5. “I’m actually focused on getting more wins for Orlando. We don’t have a lot of wins. That’s my main concern.”

During the Magic’s losing streaks in the early part of the season, they were losing by double-digits. They have gone 6-8 in their last 14 games, which unfortunately includes three straight defeats going into the All-Star break, the Magic have put a better product on the floor and only sustained one double-digit setback of 115-98 versus the Wizards on Feb. 3.

In fact, they had three straight wins following that defeat against the boys from our nation’s capital and four wins in their last five games. 

That includes a 127-105 win versus the Lakers, where the Magic shot 54.3 percent from the field; went 18 for 32 from three-point range; had 28 assists; registered 13 steals, part of 17 forced turnovers that led to 25 points; and scored 13 fast break points.

They broke the game open after intermission taking a three-point deficit and turning it into a 91-81 lead after three quarters, thanks to outscoring their visitors 43-30 in the third. 

With all the injuries to Vucevic, Ross and Gordon, it has come down to the likes of forwards Evan Fournier (17.9 ppg, 46.1 FG%, 38.4 3-Pt.%), and Jonathan Simmons (13.8 ppg-career-high 46.6 FG%); guards D.J. Augustin (8.9 ppg, 39.8 3-Pt.%), Shelvin Mack (5.5 ppg, 3.8 apg) and Arron Afflalo; center Bismack Biyombo (5.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 52.9 FG%) and center Khem Birch stepping up and playing.

Both Gordon and Vucevic returned to the lineup in the team’s first outing after the break, but after a promising night leading 41-31 after the opening quarter, the Magic (18-41) were outscored 89-72 the final three quarters in their 120-113 loss. 

Gordon had nine points and five boards, on 3 for 9 shooting in 28 minutes in his first game since the Magic’s 114-112 loss on Jan. 27 at the Pacers. Vucevic had 19 points and six boards on 8 for 11 shooting in 24 minutes. 

One player that particularly has stepped up during this time is guard Mario Hezonja (8.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 46.9 FG%, 35.0 3-Pt.%), the No. 5 overall pick in 2015 out of Croatia. 

After a slow start to the season where he only averaged 4.5, 2.2 and 9.6 points in the first three months of the season, Hezonja has averaged 10.8 points in January and has averaged this month 17.3 points with 6.3 boards and 2.1 steals on 47.8 percent from the field and 37.8 from three-point range. In 16 games as a starter, he is averaging 15.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals on 49.5 percent from the floor and 38.1 one from distance. 

In a 114-110 loss at the Pistons on Dec. 17, 2017, Hezonja had a career-high of 28 points, along with six boards and three steals, going 10 for 18 from the field, including 8 for 12 from three-point land.  

At the trade deadline, the Magic made a head scratching move in trading their starting point guard Elfrid Payton to the Phoenix Suns at the Feb. 8 trade deadline for a Second-Round pick in this June’s draft via the Grizzlies. 

Considering that this team traded the likes of Tobias Harris, and Victor Oladipo, player that they either drafted or traded for that have gone on to have individual success elsewhere makes you wonder. 

The Magic since trading Dwight Howard have been in proverbial jail in the East. They do however have a star in Gordon, who has played at a high level this season, and will garner a big time contract this off-season. It is up to Weltman, Hammond and the Magic front office to put more around him and the team if they have any hopes of making the playoffs in future seasons. 

Prediction: The Magic will use the rest of this season to get Gordon healthy and playing at the level he did before the injury and see if the rest of the roster outside of maybe Vucevic are keepers. 

Grade: F

Philadelphia 76ers: 30-25 (3^rd Atlantic Division; No. 7 Seed in East) 18-10 at home, 12-15 on the road. 

-107.5 ppg-9^th; opp. ppg: 105.5-14^th; 47.0 rpg-1^st     

For the last four seasons, the Philadelphia 76ers have been the laughing stock of North American professional sports as they have rebuilt their team through what has been dubbed the process. Well this season no one is laughing now as that process after four years of frustration that has featured 28, 10, 18, and 19 victories the last four seasons, the Sixers through the process have now what they hope lead by their starting center, power forward, and point guard, and maybe their Sixth Man, who is on the shelf due to injury right now is the first “step” to perennial playoff appearances and hopefully championships in the future.

After missing his entire rookie season with an acute Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal in that required surgery, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016 Ben Simmons has more than made up for lost time ranking second among rookies in scoring average with 16.4 points; is No. 1 among first-year players in assists per game at 7.3 assists (T-No. 4 NBA); in rebounds at 7.8; and steals at 1.9 (No. 7 NBA), while 52.7 percent shooting.

To further illustrate how the former LSU star and native of Australia is becoming the NBA newest swiss army knife for head coach Brett Brown’s squad, he has garnered 22 double-doubles this season, which is also first among rookies. His six triple-doubles not only No. 1 amongst rookies this season with six triple-doubles, his latest in the 54-game of his first season in the Sixers’ come from behind victory 104-102 versus the Heat on Feb. 14 with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists to go along with four steals is the most since Hall of Famer and current Lakers President of Basketball Operations had seven in his rookie season back in 1979-80. That season he led the Lakers to their first of five titles in nine Finals appearances in the 1980s. 

Those six triple-doubles, with the sixth coming in as mentioned the 54^th game of his young career is the quickest since another Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson back in the 1960-61 season, and two of those six triple-doubles by Simmons have come against the Bulls. 

While he has yet to develop a consistent jump shot or stroke at the foul line, where he is shooting just 56.5 percent, his ability to find the open man, get to the basket in the open court, and half court has been transformative to for the city of “Brotherly Love,” and could have their third Rookie of the Year in nearly the last two decades. 

He made two crucial ones to cap his career-high of 32 points on the night with 05.6 second left as the Sixers (32-25) escaped the “Windy City” with a 116-115 win at the Bulls in their first game following the All-Star break. 

He faced a similar situation as back on Nov. 29, 2017, where Simmons was 15 for 29 from the charity stripe, being put to the line 24 times in the fourth quarter alone. He made 6 of his last 8 as the Sixers, who had a 22-point lead at one time, won 118-113 versus the Washington Wizards. 

Those 24 chances at the foul line in the final period were an NBA record for one quarter, according to ESPN Stats & Info, and the 29 foul shots overall by the Australian native set a new league mark for rookies. 

Simmons, who finished with 31 points, a career-high 18 rebounds, two blocks and two steals said to NBC Sports Molly Sullivan after the victory that he said to himself when he was sent to the foul line when the Wizards intentionally were fouling him as they made their comeback, “Make the free throws. That’s about it. That doesn’t really phase me. That’s about it.” 

He is also the main reason the Sixers are No. 4 in the NBA in assists per game at 25.6 and are No. 10 in field goal percentage at 46.6 percent. 

Starting Joel Embiid (23.7 ppg-Leads team, 11.1 rpg-T-No. 6 NBA, 1.8 bpg-No. 6 NBA 48.7 FG%), the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft, who missed his first two seasons because of injury, and played in only 31 games last season has been healthy for the most part missing games missing just 11 games, most not playing in back-to-backs has provided the Sixers a presence on offense and defense. He is the emotional and spiritual leader of the Sixers that has captured both the city of Philadelphia and the entire NBA. 

He announced himself during the Sixers West Coast trip in Hollywood, CA in December. In the team’s 109-105 win at the Clippers on Dec. 13, 2017, Embiid had 32 points, a career-high 16 rebounds. Two nights later in front of a national late-night audience on ESPN against the Lakers in the same building, Embiid dominated with a career-high 46 points, the most by a Sixers’ player in 11 years-- 15 rebounds, seven assists, a career-high seven block shots on 14 for 20 from the field, and 16 for 19 from the charity stripe. 

He became the first player with 40 points, seven assists and seven blocks in a game since Hall of Famer and former Sixer Julius “Dr. J.” Erving did for the team against the Pistons in 1982, according to ESPN Stats & Information. 

Simmons in that same game was great himself nearly missing a triple-double with 18 points, 10 assists and nine boards. 

“I was just playing basketball and being aggressive,” the 23-year-old Embiid, who played in his first of hopefully seven All-Star appearances on Sunday night at the Staples Center in L.A. said after the win. “I love L.A.” “I love the Staples Center I wanted to come out here and put on a show.”

In that win at the Bulls on Thursday night, Embiid made even more history as his performance of 30 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals made him just the second player since All-Star Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016 and the first Sixer since Mr. Erving in 1982 to post those numbers. 

Simmons and Embiid’s ability to rebound is why the Sixers lead the league in rebound differential at a +5.1; tied for 10^th in steals at 5.0; and tied for No. 6 in steals per game at 8.3.

While Simmons and Embiid have been the headliners for head coach Brett Brown’s squad, the continuous development of starting forwards Robert Covington (12.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.6 spg, 36.9 3-Pt.%) and Dario Saric (14.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg45.0 FG%, 38.7 3-Pt.%) has made all the difference in the world with their ability to spread the court with their perimeter shooting. 

The addition of J.J. Redick (16.9 ppg, 40.3 3-Pt.%), who signed a one-year $23 million deal and Amir Johnson has provided veteran leadership, toughness, and grit.

Redick’s perimeter shooting along with Covington’s and Saric’s is the reason Embiid and Simmons have the chance to do what they do in the half court offensively, even though they are tied for 14^th in percentage at 36.2; 16^th in attempts at 28.8 and tied for 15^th in makes at 10.4. 

The perimeter shooting and spacing should get even better with the addition of veteran sharp shooter Marco Bellinelli (11.5 ppg, 37.7 3-Pt.%), who was bought out by the Hawks earlier in the month. 

He showed his worth with 17 points, going 7 for 12 from the field, hitting 3 of his 5 three-point attempts in the Sixers win before the break versus the Heat last Wednesday.

One of the things that most good teams have is a second unit that can hold things down when the starters are resting on the bench. The Sixers over the course of the season, the Sixers second unit of Johnson, T.J. McConnell (7.3 ppg, 4.6 apg, 51.1 FG%), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (6.3 ppg), Justin Anderson (6.0 ppg), Richaun Holmes (6.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 52.7 FG%) and Jerryd Bayless (7.9 ppg, 37.0 3-Pt.%) have had their moments, but still have room to improve to be a solid compliment to Embiid, Saric, Covington, Simmons and Redick. 

In the Sixers 108-92 win versus the Knicks, their 10^th win in a row at home and fourth straight win overall on Feb. 12, McConnell had his first career triple-double with 10 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds off the bench, along with six steals. 

McConnell joined Tim Frazier of the Wizards, and John Williams of the then Washington Bullets as the only players the last 30 seasons to register a triple-double of the pine with five-plus steals in the last 30 seasons. 

During his postgame interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Molly Sullivan, Embiid and Covington showered the undrafted guard out of the University of Arizona, and Pittsburgh, PA native with water for his stellar performance. 

McConnell said after the game that Embiid kept egging him on to get the triple-double and the fans in attendance at the Wells Fargo Center reacted with high pitched enthusiasm when he grabbed the 10^th board to complete the triple-double. 

“It was priceless,” McConnel said about the moment. “It speaks volumes about what kind of guys we have. It was an awesome moment.”

“I just think it’s the thing that endears him to all of us,” coach Brown said about his backup guard. “You really respect him. He just plays so hard. He’s a wonderful lesson for so many basketball players for what perseverance and toughness can bring you to.

When the Sixers began this rebuild dubbed “The Process” four years ago, they took a lot of grief from many in the league and across the North American pro sports landscape.

They had to wait on their two best players in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to get healthy. Their now starting power forward in Dario Saric to come back from overseas and had to develop a supporting cast to fit those high draft picks.

Today, everything has fallen into place for a team that has an 11-game home winning streak, and a five-game winning streak overall going into the second half of the season. Simmons has shown he can be a transformative player at the lead guard spot. Embiid's infectious personality and old school game mixed in with some new skill shot making ability from the perimeter have made him one of the most exciting players in the league. 

That streak rose to seven in a row overall, and 12^th in succession at the Wells Fargo Center with a 116-105 win versus the Magic on Saturday afternoon, led by the Embiid’s 30^th double-double on the season of 28 points and 14 rebounds. Simmons had 17 points and seven assists. Redick had 16 points, while Bellinelli had 15 points off the bench. Covington had 12, while Saric added 11. The last time the Sixers won seven in row was from Jan. 6-17, 2009. 

That seven-game winning streak for the Sixers (32-26) was concluded with a 109-94 loss at the Wizards on Sunday night on ESPN, who were outscored 37-20 in the second quarter. 

While they hold the No. 7 spot in the East the Sixers are ½ a game behind the Bucks for the No. 6 spot and just 1 ½ games behind the Pacers and just two games behind the Wizards for the No. 5 and No. 4 Seeds respectably.

A team that has been dominant at home recently would have a serious chance of advancing with home court advantage in the opening round of this postseason, which was unthinkable at the start of the 2017-18 NBA campaign. 

“When I look in the rearview mirror, it’s not as painful as people make it out to be,” Coach Brown said after the win at the Bulls about the team’s growth of their young cast. “Losing stinks and the pain of losing is real, but the things that went into growing young players was really enjoyable for me. The development of young guys, giving them opportunities, explaining life in the NBA, what it takes to stay in the NBA, the culture-stuff that nobody sees.”

One thing the Sixers, who improved to 18-8 when Embiid scores 23-plus points this season must do a better job of as we move down the stretch of this season is value the basketball. Ranking dead last in the NBA with 16.7 miscues per game, with Embiid and Simmons committing four and 3.7 per game. If that continues, the Sixers could see all their hard work in trying to make a playoff run go by the wayside.  

“Our goal is to win,” Simmons said to Kamla. “We set our individual goals to the side and put the team first. I believe that is how you win. As long as we do that, I think we’ll be fine.”

Prediction: The Sixers will end their five-year playoff drought and will give one of the top seeds in East a serious run. If they get home court, they have a serious chance of making it to the Semis

Grade: B-

Toronto Raptors: 41-16 (1st Atlantic Division; No. 1 Seed in East) 24-4 at home, 17-12 on the road. 

-111.9 ppg-3^rd; opp. ppg: 103.4-7^th; 43.6 rpg-15^th  

In three of the past four seasons enter the 2017-18 NBA campaign, the Toronto Raptors have won the Atlantic Division, but have one appearance in the Conference Finals, where the three-time defending East champion the Cavaliers beat them in six games in the 2016 Conference Finals. Last season, the Toronto Raptors on 51 games, marking the first time they had back-to-back seasons of 50-plus wins in franchise history, but they lost in the Semis to those same Cavs. During the off-season Raptors’ President Masai Ujiri and head coach Dwane Casey came to the realization that the team had to alter their philosophy on the offensive end, and they had to get back to becoming a more consistent defensive team. Those adjustments along with the growth of their role players has been worth its weight in gold and made them a “legitimate” threat in the East. 

In the offseason, the team re-signed All-Star lead guard Kyle Lowry (22.4-career-high, 7.0 apg-Led team, 4.8 rpg, 1.5 spg-Led team, 46.4 FG%), who wanted a five-year. The team did not want to make that kind of commitment to a player that would be 36 years of age at the end of the contract Ujiri, and Lowry’s agent were able to meet in the middle and he re-signed a new three-year, $100 million deal.

After averaging a career-high 22.4 points per game, with a team-leading seven assists and 1.5 steals a season ago, Lowry learned that he had to dial some of his offensive game back for the Raptors to become a better team and to his credit, the now five-time All-Star, who earned his second straight start has done that. 

His average of 16.6 points per game are his lowest since his second season with the Raptors in 2014-15, but he is still handing out a team-leading 6.5 assists, while grabbing a career-high 5.7 rebounds per game. While he is shooting just 41.8 percent from the floor this season, he is shooting the second-highest three-point percentage of his 12-year career at 38.9 percent. 

While Lowry has sacrificed some of the offensive load, his backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan (23.7 ppg, 5.2 apg, 3.9 apg), who earned his third straight All-Star appearance, his second straight start, and four overall selection has improved his game to where he has become comfortable taking three-point shots consistently. 

While he did not sacrifice his ability to make mid-range perimeter shots and consistently get to the foul line at the clip of 7.1 per game, where he is hitting 82.7 percent of those attempts, he is averaging 3.5 attempts from three-point range per game this season, connecting on 32.7 percent of those tries. 

When DeRozan has hit multiple three-pointers in a game this season, the Raptors are 18-3. In fact, some of his best scoring nights this season have been when he has made five three-pointers or more. 

He was 6 for 9 from three-point range on his way to a career-high 45 points, on 13 for 21 shooting from the floor and 13 for 15 from the charity stripe in the Raptors 114-109 win at the Sixers on Dec. 21, 2017. 

He topped that on the first day of 2018 when he scored a career-high and franchise single-game record 52 points, going 5 for 9 from distance in leading the Raptors to a 131-127 overtime win versus the Bucks, hitting 17 of his 29 shots overall, and going a perfect 13 for 13 at the foul line.

Two nights later in the team’s 124-115 win at the Bulls, DeRozan had 35 points, going 10 for 20 from the floor, including 5 for 8 from three-point range and 10 for 10 at the foul line.

He hit six more threes in 10 tries, going 11 for 22 overall from the floor, and 7 for 8 from the free throw line in the Raptors 130-105 win versus the Trail Blazers on Feb. 2. 

The Raptors also re-signed forward/center Serge Ibaka (12.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 49.6 FG%, 35.4 3-Pt.%), who they acquired at last season’s trade deadline from the Magic to a three-year $65 million deal. While he has been a solid contributor on offense, the Raptors had hoped he would bring a more consistent presence in the paint at the defensive end, like he earlier in his career with the Thunder when he ranked in the Top 10 in shot blocks per game in the NBA. He has gone from a career-best 3.7 block shots per contest, which led the NBA, to averaging just 1.3 blocks this season. 

Even without that shot blocking, the Raptors defensively have been solid this season ranking fourth in “The Association” in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed at 44.7; No. 5 in opponent’s three-point percentage at 34.8; No. 5 in rebound differential at +0.9; No. 9 in steals; and No. 7 in forced turnovers at 14.6. 

One big reason for the Raptors improved defense especially on the perimeter has been the addition of rookie swingman OG Anunoby (5.9 ppg), who the Raptors selected No. 23 overall out of Indiana in the 2017 draft. 

Head coach Dwane Casey thanks to Ujiri and the front offices careful drafting and signings over the last two off-seasons has a core of players that this season have really taken on added responsibility especially offensively and it has paid off big time. 

Guard Norman Powell (6.0 ppg), who the team signed to a four-year, $42 million contract extension last summer, sharp shooter C.J. Miles (10.2 ppg, 38.9 3-Pt.%) and reserves Pascal Siakam (6.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 48.8 FG%) Jakob Poeltl (6.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 64.9 FG%), Fred VanVleet (8.1 ppg, 41.7 3-Pt.%) and Delon Wright (8.4 ppg, 47.1 FG%, 37.5 3-Pt.%) are a big reason, the Raptors have improved on both ends of the court.

DeRozan’s growth as a three-point shooter, along with the addition of Miles shows how the Raptors have grown into a team that is utilizing the three-point shot, like the rest of the NBA. 

While they are tied for 19^th in percentage at 35.7 percent, they are tied for fourth in attempts at 32.4, and tied for No. 6 in makes at 11.6. 

They also have grown into a team that has gone from a strictly isolation team to one that relies on more ball movement, which has resulted them ranking tied for No. 9 in assists per game at 23.5 per contest. 

In the Raptors fifth consecutive victory at the Hornets 123-103 on Feb. 11, earning coach Casey his 300^th win as Raptors coach, the most in franchise history the reserves outscored the Hornets bench 55-46 with Miles contributing 24 points, going 6 for 9 from three-point range in 18 minutes. VanVleet added 10 points. 

“We been saying we’re the best bench in the league since Day One,” Miles, who have averaged 56.0 points from the bench during the streak said before the start of this season. “And it wasn’t true then, it’s got to be true now.”

“We just got good chemistry.” “We have a lot of fun, play well together. Move the ball. We don’t care who scores, who shoots. We just want to get the shots that guys are supposed to take. That’s all that matters. And it shows.” 

To bring the value that the bench has added to the team into clearer context, when VanVleet scores 10 points or more, the Raptors are 19-3 this season. 

In the Raptors statement victory versus the Cavs 133-99 Jan. 11 on TNT, the second-year guard out of Wichita State had a then career-high 22 points in 24 minutes, going 6 for 8 from three-point range. In the team’s 123-111 win versus the Lakers on Jan. 28, VanVleet established a new career-high of 25 points on 9 for 13 shooting in 20 minutes, going 3 for 4 from distance. 

Wright, the third-year guard out of Utah, whose brother Deron played for the Warriors and Heat in his career in that Jan. 3 win at the Raptors had his first career double-double, with career-highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds, to go along with five assists and four steals, going 10 for 15 shooting, including 4 for 5 from three-point range. 

“The bench really saved us tonight,” coach Casey, whose team rallied from a 10-point deficit at the end of the first quarter 31-21. “We just couldn’t get our mojo going with the first unit, but Delon came in and had a career-high. I really liked the way he was going after rebounds. His overall game sustained us.” 

Lowry and DeRozan in the Raptors 113-88 win versus the Knicks on Feb. 8 had their worst games of the season combined, scoring just 15 total points and eight assists on 4 for 21 shooting. The Raptors won convincingly because of a combined 61 points from the reserves, and the 18 points and 10 rebounds of starting center Jonas Valanciunas. 

Even with the greatness of the supporting cast, the wild card for this team in recent years has been Valanciunas (12.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 56.7 FG%-7^th NBA), who has 17 double-doubles on the season. When he plays at a high level, it is then that the Raptors really separate themselves. 

In the Raptors 129-110 win at the Bucks on Jan. 5, the Lithuanian big man had all 20 of the Raptors 43 points in the deciding third quarter, hitting eight of his nine field goal attempts, and grabbing nine of his 13 rebounds as the team turned a two-point lead at intermission at 61-59 to 104-78 lead after three quarters. 

In the Raptors decisive win versus the Cavs on Jan. 11, Valanciunas had 15 points and a season-high 18 boards. In a rare Raptors loss, he had a season-high of 28 points, with 14 rebounds and four blocks in a 97-93 loss versus the surging Utah Jazz. 

So far everything has come together for the Raptors this season as for the first time in franchise history they are the No. 1 Seed in the East this late in the season thanks to a seven-game winning streak, and nine wins in their last 10 games. They have the best home record in the NBA, winning seven straight going into the break. 

They had 12-game winning streak at the Air Canada Centre, that began Nov. 7, 2017 and was stopped by the Heat 90-89 on Jan. 9. Baring a serious slump, the Raptors will win over 50 games for the third straight season, a first in franchise history.

Whether they capture the Atlantic Division will depend in large part on their regular season series with the rival Celtics, who they will meet one more time this season. They have split the first two games this season.

That said, the Raptors, who are the No. 1 Seed for the first time this late in the season in franchise history will only be judged in the postseason, where they will still have to prove to their naysayers that they have the goods to beat the three-time defending Conference champion Cavs, who swept them 4-0 in the Semis and defeated them in six games as mentioned the year prior in the Conference Finals.  

The Raptors (41-17) lost their first game following the break 122-119 in overtime versus the Bucks on Friday night to be only ½ a game ahead of their division rivals the Celtics for the No. 1 Seed in the East. 

While Casey saw the loss as a teaching moment for the Raptors, Lowry saw it as one that keep the Raptors on their toes as they finish this regular season and march into the postseason as they battle the Celtics for the No. 1 Seed in the East. 

“We didn’t deserve to win,” Casey, whose team was out-rebounded 51-37, including 13-5 on the offensive glass said. “They outworked us, they outplayed us, they outthought us. Whatever adjective you want to use, they did it to us tonight.” 

Lowry, who had 17 points and seven assists in the loss said, “It’s good to have a tough loss like this.” “It kind of re-focuses us. We can get beat on any given night and we’ve got to come out there and play hard every night.”

Prediction: Raptors reach the Conference Finals but fall once again to the Cavs. 

Grade: B+

Washington Wizards: 33-24 (1^st Southeast Division; No. 4 Seed in East) 17-10 at home, 16-14 on the road. 

-107.4 ppg-5^th; opp. ppg: 105.5-15^th; 42.9 rpg-T-18^th 

Talent wise, the Washington Wizards are one of the best teams in the NBA. Their starting five is as good as it gets on paper. They have one of the best backcourts in “The Association.” Last season under their new head coach, they showed what their capabilities are as they fell just one game short of the Conference Finals. Unfortunately, they came into this season full of themselves, and at times pointed the finger at each other for their miss steps both in terms of their play on the hardwood, especially against inferior competition and even in how they communicate with each other. With all their “disfunction,” their goals are in front of them, but not having their floor general until late March is a big hurdle the Wizards are going to have to overcome as they march towards the playoffs. 

On paper, the starting backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal talent wise are one of the best backcourts in the NBA. They can put up numbers like nobody’s business. 

Beal is leading the team in scoring with a career-high average of 23.6 points, along with 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 46.1 percent from the field, and 37.0 from three-point range, earning his first All-Star nod in his sixth NBA season and Wall, who signed a super max deal of a four-year $170 million exception, which will kick in in 2019, and will keep Wall in D.C. through at least 2022 over the summer has been steady with averages of 19.4 points, and a team-leading 9.3 assists, but the five-time All-Star hitting just 41.7 percent from the floor.  

The team though has had its struggles early at just 21-16 to close out 2017. A big part of that is the fact that their inability to win games against inferior competition, where they are just 19-13 against team’s that are under the .500 mark this season. 

A big part of that is the fact that the cohesiveness and togetherness that the Wizards displayed a season ago was not there early on. 

Back in late December 2017, Wall said to The Washington Post that the team is “playing for stats” versus lesser teams. 

Beal echoed those same thoughts by also saying to the D.C. paper, “We think it’s going to be easy, and that’s something that’s been killing us.” 

That has been very evident amongst the other starters. Forward Otto Porter, Jr., (14.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.6 spg-Leads team, 49.1 FG%, 40.4 3-Pt.%) whose break out season in 2016-17 earn the restricted free agent a new four-year, $106 million deal, that the Nets’ first offered, and the Wizards matched this off-season has played okay, but has not progressed into being this team’s solid third scorer to compliment Wall and Beal.

Center Marcin Gortat (8.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg-Leads team, 53.3 FG%), who averaged a double-double a season ago, and nearly a double-double the year prior has seen his production dip to single digits in points, but has rebounded the ball consistently, continues to make a high level of his shot attempts and set great screens to get guys open.

The other starting forward Markieff Morris (10.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 47.3 FG%, 37.8 3-Pt.%), who missed the first seven games of this season because of sports hernia surgery has been solid as well, but not spectacular. 

On paper the Wizards are a team that we expected more from this season, they have had their moments, but every time they have taken one step forward, they would take two steps back. 

This is a team that defeated the East leaders, the Raptors twice of their three meetings this season, 107-96 on Nov. 5, 2017 in Toronto, and 122-119 on Feb. 1. They won at the Celtics, who defeated them in the Semis in seven games last spring 111-103 on Christmas Day 2017. They took down the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-96.

They have also lost to the Nets twice, 103-98 on Dec. 12, 2017 and 119-84 10 days later. They lost both of their meetings to the Dallas Mavericks 113-99 on Nov. 7, 2017, and 98-75 on Jan. 22. Perhaps the two lowest points of the season for the Wizards against an inferior opponent came on Dec. 4, 2017 at the Utah Jazz, where they lost 116-69, with the 47-point defeat representing the second largest margin of defeat in franchise history.

On Jan. 17 at the Hornets when they scored a franchise record 77 points in the opening half in blowing the Wizards out of Spectrum Center 133-109. 

“They punched us and punched us again and punched us again,” head coach Scott Brooks, whose team shot just 28 percent on the night said. “Surprisingly, we didn’t fight back. One of the first times since I’ve been here we didn’t play with fight.”

Brooks, who is in his second season as the head man on the sidelines was even more disappointed after the Hornets loss when he said, “They had everything. Everything they wanted they had,” head coach Scott Brooks, whose team allowed over 30 points in the first (38), second (39) and fourth (31) periods. 

“You just have to find guys that are going to compete.” “It’s not about nothing else. It’s not about shots. It’s not about how many minutes. It’s not about how many shots you get. It’s about competing. We all get paid to compete, regardless.”

The one thing that the Wizards have done after tough losses like these two, they bounced back in a big way in their next contest. Their 106-92 victory at the Portland Trail Blazers on, where Beal scored a career-high 51, hitting a career-best 21 shots on 37 attempts, which included 5 for 12 from three-point range in 43 minutes. Beal’s performance set a new all-time single-game individual record for points scored in “Rip City.” 

After their 24-point loss at the Hornets, the Wizards bounced back with a 122-112 win at the Pistons 48 hours later, where they blew the game open by outscoring the Pistons 45-28 in the third quarter, where they went 16 for 20 shooting from the field, including 6 for 8 from three-point range in the period. 

The Wizards have through some adversity for sure this season from their play on the hardwood; in fighting amongst themselves to where after a team meeting, things seemed to only get worse. 

On top of that, Wall has been dealing with some knee problems where he had to sit out nine games from Nov. 25, 2017 to Dec. 13, 2017, where the team achieved just a 4-5 mark in his absence due to soreness in that knee. 

The team got a little momentum from the return of their All-Star lead guard going 12-9 their next 21 games, but they just seemed to be stuck and then the seemingly worst thing that could happen did. 

Wall at the end of January had arthroscopic knee surgery on his left knee, that was predicted to shelve him for the next six to eight weeks. 

There was a thought that this was the point that was going to take down the Wizards, but instead has gotten them to play at the level we thought they would have played at from the start of this season. 

They have gone 8-3 in the absence of Wall, with victories over the Thunder, Raptors, and Pacers. They even won their three contests over sub .500 teams at the Hawks, at the Magic, at the Bulls, and at the Knicks. 

While Beal has risen his level of play, scoring over 20 points in half of the last 10 games, it has been the play of the entire team that has made all the difference, especially from some of the role players. 

During this time period, coach Brooks has consistency from Porter, Jr., Morris, Mike Scott (9.2 ppg, 55.2 FG%, 42.5 3-Pt.%-career-high), Kelly Oubre, Jr. (11.7 ppg-career-high, 4.7 rpg, 36.6 3-Pt.%), backup center Ian Mahinmi (4.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg), and Wall’s understudy’s Tomas Satoransky (6.0 ppg, 3.1 apg, 52.1 FG%, 46.8 3-Pt.%) and Tim Frazier. 

In the last 10 games, Satoransky, the second-year guard out of Croatia has averaged 10.5 ppg, and 5.4 assists on 55.7 percent shooting from the floor. 

In the team’s 129-104 win at the Hawks on Jan. 27, Frazier had 14 assists and just two turnovers off the bench, while Satoransky had 11 points, and seven assists as the starter hitting 3 for 3 from three-point range. He had a career-high of 25 points, with six assists, and two steals, on 10 for 12 from the field, including 5 for 6 from distance in the 101-90 win at the Bulls on Feb. 10. 

The best illustration of how the Wizards came together was put on full display right before the All-Star break with a 118-113 come from behind win at the Knicks. 

They overcame a 27-point first half deficit, and a 21-point deficit at intermission by outscoring the Knicks 67-41 in the second half, which began by outscoring the home team 39-15 in the third quarter. 

Their comeback from 27 down is the largest deficit overcome to win a game this season. The Wizards used a 42-15 run over an 11 ½ minute span from the second quarter into the third to tie the score at 83-83 with 3:32 left in the third quarter. They shot 17 for 22 from the floor after intermission. 

Beal finished with 36 points, seven assists, three steals, and two blocks on 14 for 22 shooting, including 4 for 7 from three-point range. Porter had 22 points, Mahinmi had 17 points, eight boards and three blocks off the bench. Morris had 13 points and seven boards, and Satoransky had nine points, 11 assists and three blocks shots. 

The Wizards compiled 31 assists, marking the eight time in the 10 games without their starting lead guard, and registered 100 points or more in all 10 games without Wall, going 7-3. 

Knicks guard Tim Hardaway, Jr., who finished the night with 37 points, going 14 for 24 from the floor, including 6 for 9 from distance, had just five points after halftime, and the team after shooting 63 percent in the first half, going 29 for 46 from the floor, shot just 21 percent, going 5 for 23 in the third period. 

Beal said to NBC Sports Washington’s Chris Miller after the win that coach Brooks really chewed his team out during intermission and said that they were “either going to come out and play in the second half or we just going to go on break.” 

“That’s not how we’re built. That’s not how we made. The first half was terrible. Second-half, we just came out with energy. We played physical. Got physical with them and it was a great win.” 

When ask by Miller if he was proud of his offensive aggressiveness in the second half or his defense on Hardaway, Jr., Beal said, “Both.” 

“Mainly shutting him down because I told him I was going to shut him down. He started chirping a little bit. We both started chirping. That’s my man at the end of the day, but I told him he wasn’t going to score for the rest of the game, and he didn’t. So, I take more pride in that then the scoring.” 

In the early stages of Walls absence when the Wizards won five straight that began with that 25-point win at the Hawks on the previously mentioned date of Jan. 27 to their Feb. 5 victory at the Pacers 111-102 a couple of the players made some comments that they are a better team offensively without him. 

Gortat tweeted after the team’s win on Feb. 1 versus the Raptors, “Great ‘team’ victory.” 

Beal said after the win, where he scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half that raised the antennas of many when he said, “everybody eats” when the Wizards share the basketball on offense. 

“It’s was funny to me at first, just to see some of the things that people were saying and certain type of comments,” Wall said to Rachel Nichols on the Feb. 6 edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN. “But I’ve seen these guys put in a lot of work every day, and we always say the motto is next man up no matter what. I think we moved the ball well early in the season, we just couldn’t make shots. And we couldn’t defend at all. I think now guys are stepping up and the first unit and second unit are playing well together.” 

“But it was kind of shocking to hear a couple of people say the ball is moving a lot better, when that’s what I pride myself off of, being more happy when my teammates are scoring than I am.” 

With the trade of guard Sheldon Mac to the Hawks, who waived him, along with cash considerations, the Wizards acquired a 2019 Second-Round pick, and another potential Second-Round pick made a roster spot available, which they filled by signing veteran guard Ramon Sessions, who was waived by the Knicks in January, the eighth team he has played for in his career. 

Sessions, in his second tour of duty with the team played 110 regular-season games for the Wizards back from 2015-16 along with 10 games in the 2015 postseason. His addition will provide additional depth behind Satoransky and Frazier until Wall returns. 

For the past few seasons the Washington Wizards have built themselves into a consistent playoff participant with three appearances in the past four seasons, where they have advanced to the Semis, but no further. They believe in themselves like the top teams in the NBA like the Spurs, Cavs, and Warriors, yet those three teams have rings, and all the Wizards have done is win the Southeast Division a season ago.

They have managed to avoid seeing their season go up in flames thanks to stepping up their level of play without All-Star guard John Wall this season. 

The Wizards (35-25) continued that with a 110-103 win at the Cavs on Thursday night on TNT, to garner their third win in a row and move a season-high 10 games over .500. While they had 29 assists, it was just their third game in the 11 missed by Wall that the team did not compile over 30 assists. They also manage their turnovers committing just 11 miscues for 15 Cavs points, improving to 9-3 without Wall. 

That victory began a stretch for the Wizards playing 14 of their next 15 games against teams in position for the postseason. 

In their lone contest in this stretch against a sub .500 team, the Wizards lost versus the Hornets 122-105 on Friday night, where they had 25 assists, but trailed 36-26 after the first quarter and never gained any traction, trailing by as many as 22. 

The Wizards surrendered 48.9 percent shooting from the floor to the Hornets, who tied a season-high with 17 threes in 39 attempts and gave up 28 points off 14 turnovers.

What should give Wizards fans some solace is that their longest losing streak this season has been two games. The only other teams that can say that are the defending champion Warriors, Raptors, and Minnesota Timberwolves. 

They avoided their second straight loss with a 109-94 win versus the Sixers on Sunday night on ESPN, earning their ninth victory in 12 games without Wall. Earned their eighth consecutive win at the Capital One Arena versus the Sixers, where they registered their sixth game with 30-plus assists in the last 12 games with 35. 

Beal and Porter led the way with 24 and 23 points respectably. Oubre, Jr. contributed 19 points off the bench, going 4 for 7 from three-point range and Gortat had a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards. 

While the Wizards have played well without All-Star guard John Wall, going 13-9 this season let’s be clear, they will go nowhere this season and going forward without him in the lineup.

The quicker they understand that they must keep their petty goals to themselves, and play cohesively like they did last year, then they can be a dangerous team this spring in the postseason. If they do not, they will endure another off-season of what could have been?

Prediction: Wizards will make the playoffs but will fall in the Semis again. 

Grade: C+

Western Conference

Dallas Mavericks: 18-40 (5^th Southwest Division) 11-19 at home, 7-21 on the road. 

-102.1 ppg-26^th; opp. ppg: 104.4-10^th; 40.6 rpg-27^th  

Rebuilding is a painstaking ordeal for a team to deal with, especially for a team that six seasons back was hoisting their first Larry O’Brien trophy in franchise history. Their inability to attract high profile free agents the past few summers is a major reason that the Dallas Mavericks and their owner for nearly two decades Mark Cuban are on the course they are right now. While the Mavericks are going through this “reality,” unlike most teams that have to groom someone to take them into the future, they have done the necessary things to make sure they can get back to a future where they are competing to be the playoff perennial they became at the start of the 2000. Last season the Dallas Mavericks missed the playoffs for just the second time in the last 17 seasons. 

With their first lotter selection in the era of Cuban, the Mavs selected freshmen lead guard Dennis Smith, Jr. (14.8 ppg, 4.9 apg), at No. 9 overall out of North Carolina State in June 2017. 

The 21-year-old has taken the necessary poise and command he displayed during the Las Vegas Summer and brought that into the regular season that is rare for a rookie at the most important position in the league right now.  

What has also been a big help for the former North Carolina State lead guard is having a veteran head coach in Rick Carlisle who played the same position in his playing days to learn from and a veteran like J.J. Barea (11.3 ppg, 6.2 apg, 35.4 3-Pt.%) to lean on. 

Smith, Jr.’s starting backcourt mate Wesley Matthews (12.9 ppg, 38.2 3-Pt.%), while his offensive game has been stagnant in his time with the Mavericks, he has provided leadership and a grit night in and night out that a team needs especially went it is going through a tough season.

On top of that he is playing with the greatest player in franchise history in future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki (12.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 46.2 FG%, 42.9 3-Pt.%), who was basically where Smith, Jr. is now being drafted to help turned a franchise’s misfortunes around. 

When the Wurzburg, West Germany native was drafted No. 9 overall by the Mavericks No. 9 overall by the Bucks, and had his rights acquire the Mavericks from one of the worst teams in the league in the 1990s, and he helped turned them into a playoff perennial and into champions when they beat the Heat in the 2011 Finals in six games to earn their first title in franchise history. 

Along this 20-year journey Nowitzki won league MVP in 2007. Was a 13-time All-Star, selection, and a 12-time All-NBA selection. The Finals MVP in 2011.

Last season, he joined Lakers future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant for most career seasons with one single team in NBA history with 20. Future Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and John Stockton each played 19 seasons with the Spurs, and Jazz respectably. 

The other thing Smith, Jr. has in his favor is that he has a supporting cast around him to grow with in forward Harrison Barnes (18.3 ppg-Leads team, 6.6 rpg-Leads team, 44.9 FG%, 35.0 3-Pt.%), who has grown from being the No. 4 or No. 5 option in the Warriors offensive attack at the start of his career, to the top offensive option in “Big-D.”

Guard Yogi Ferrell (10.2 ppg, 39.1 3-Pt.%) has shown since arriving in Dallas Fort Worth, TX that he can be a solid understudy to Smith, Jr. and be instant offense off the bench. That is also the case for youngsters in Dwight Powell (7.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 60.1 FG%), Maximillian Kleber, and Salah Mejiri.

There has been a couple of draw backs for the Mavericks this season in guard Seth Curry, the brother of the Warriors All-Star lead guard Stephen Curry, who had undergone season-ending surgery on his left tibia earlier this month.

The 27-year-old, who averaged 12.8 points a season ago, on 48.1 percent from the field and the No. 8 ranking of 42.5 from three-point range a season had initially been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left leg in early October 2017. Curry is expected to make a full recovery in 12 to 14 weeks. 

Forward/center Nerlens Noel, who has barely played this season has seemingly been in limbo since the team acquired from the Sixers at the trade deadline a season ago. 

The No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 draft has barely played since coming back from a ligament tear in his thumb and an extended absence was followed up by rumors of the Mavericks possibly buying him out of the one-year deal GM Donnie Nelson and the team signed him to over the summer. 

The former University of Kentucky Wildcat has shown flashes that he could be an impactful rim protect, rebounder and cutter in the half court, but he just has not put it all together and the hope is that he can get back on the court and prove he is worth another deal when with the Mavericks or someone else when he becomes a free agent this summer. 

With improving the team in mind, the Mavericks at the Feb. 8 trade deadline in a three-team deal with the Knicks and Nuggets acquired sharp shooting forward Doug McDermott (7.2 ppg, 45.8 FG%, 37.9 3-Pt.%) and fan favorite in guard Devin Harris, who was part of that 2011 title team was traded to the Nuggets. 

“We like McDermott very much,” Carlisle said before the team’s 130-123 loss versus the Lakers on Feb. 10. “He’s a terrific shooter, great player without the ball, and we definitely view him as a winning player and our kind of guy. We got a Second-Round pick in the deal somewhere in the middle of the second. Most people forecast it to be a deep draft.”

Carlisle also gave his feelings about saying goodbye to Harris, who was a part of that 2011 championship team. 

“As far as Devin leaving, he’s been a loyal foot soldier for the Mavericks organization going back over a decade,” Carlisle said.

“He’s been one of my favorite players to work with in ally my time in this league. We wish him the very best. Denver has got a guy with a lot of experience, and a lot of skill who can really be a difference maker for their situation, so they’re very fortunate. We wish him nothing but the best.” 

Nearly 20 years ago as mentioned, the Dallas Mavericks were the laughing stock in the NBA in the 1990s. Once Cuban bought the team in the early 2000s, and with the help of Nowitzki became a perennial playoff participant, winning 50 games a number of those seasons, which culminated in that prior mentioned title in 2011. 

For the Mavericks to return to the glories years of the early 2000s as well as the early part of this decade, they will need Smith, Jr. the future face of this franchise to use the rest of this season to grow as a player and as a leader. He will also need the likes of Barnes, Curry when he returns next season, Powell, Ferrell, Matthews and hopefully an engaged and focused Noel to grow and mature. 

They will also need to get off to better starts as they have trailed by double-digits in the first quarter in three of the last four games.

That includes losing their first two games following the break at the Los Angeles Lakers 124-102 on ESPN Friday night, where they trailed 32-17 after one. That was followed by a 12-point deficit (35-23) in their 97-90 loss the next night at the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, their fourth straight loss.

Prediction: Smith Jr., Barnes, Matthews, Ferrell, and the others will work to build a foundation that will make the Mavericks playoff perennials again hopefully starting next season.

Grade: C+

Denver Nuggets: 32-26 (3^rd Northwest Division; No. 6 Seed in West) 23-7 at home, 9-19 on the road. 
-107.9 ppg-8^th; opp. ppg: 106.8-20^th; 44.8 rpg-8^th  

Last season, the Denver Nuggets put themselves in position to make the playoffs, only to come up short. Their core of young players really showed that they had to fortitude to at least give themselves a chance to make it to the postseason. In the off-season they added a key veteran in hopes of getting over the hump to make the playoffs, but that said player was shelved because of injury, but that has given opportunity to a draft day acquisition as well as a chance for some of the young core players to step their games up. To the Nuggets credit, they have put themselves in position to “finish” what they did not a season ago. 

A big reason for that the young Nuggets were in position to reach the postseason was the stellar improvement from year one to year two of center Nikola Jokic (16.9 ppg-career-high, 10.6 rpg-10^th NBA, 5.9 apg-career-high, 48.5 FG%, 36.3 3-Pt.%), who went from 16 double-doubles the year before, to 39 a season ago to 24 this season. 

He had six triple-doubles in 2016-17, all coming in the second half of the season, and has five this season, with his latest coming before the break where he had 30 points, 15 rebounds and 17 assists, with two blocks on 11 for 14 from the field in leading the Nuggets to a 134-123 win at the Bucks, which was his third triple-double against him in his three-year NBA career. 

“I just started playing well and making shots,” Jokic said after the win. “I didn’t have any extra motivation or anything like that though. I’m just playing the same way I always play. Maybe I was a little more aggressive tonight, but I’m playing the same.” 

The 17 assists Jokic had in the game at the Bucks were the seventh most in a game this season. He also joined Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Oscar Robertson, the late Wilt Chamberlin, and leading MVP candidate James Harden as the only players to have a triple-double of at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists. 

In an era of teams that have made three-point shooting a major part of their offensive attack and head coach Michael Malone’s squad is no different.

This season, the Nuggets are tied for 10^th in three-point percentage at 36.6; are No. 8 in connections from distance at 11.1; and are No. 9 in attempts at 30.4. 

The Nuggets stellar marksmanship from long range is in large part because many of their players are prolific in knocking down shots three-point range. 

Along the stellar marksmanship of Jokic, second-year lead guard Jamal Murray (16.5 ppg, 46.2 FG%), who has improved greatly in his sophomore season, went from a 33.4 percent three-point shooter, making 115 from long range a season ago to 38.6 percent this season with 114 makes already. 

Fourth-year guard out of Michigan State Gary Harris (17.5 ppg, 1.8 spg-No. 8 NBA 48.4 FG%), who the Nuggets signed to a four-year, $84 million contract extension back in October 2017 has continue to grow as a wing defender, as a scorer overall, especially as a three-point shooter where he went from hitting just 21 as a rookie in 2014-15, to 105 the next year, 107 a season ago, to 129 so far this season, at 39.8 percent. 

Since coming over from the Trail Blazers 3 ½ seasons back in a trade, Will Barton (14.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.1 apg, 36.7 3-Pt.) has found his niche as this team’s instant offense off the bench, and that has been true this season, particularly from three-point range where he has hit 105 trifectas and will break his own career best mark of 112 connections two seasons back at some point in the second half of this season.  

The former Memphis Tiger has especially helped the Nuggets as a starter this season whether at small forward or two guard, where he has averaged 16.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 23 starts this season, on 47.3 percent from the field, and 40.5 from three-point range.  

Those stellar numbers from three-point range are a result of the Nuggets ability to move the ball offensively ranking No. 4 in assists per game this season averaging 24.4; No. 9 overall in field goal percentage, and as a result are connecting on 46.6 percent of their shots to go along with what they do from three-point range. 

Back in the summer, the Nuggets prize addition was four-time All-Star forward Paul Millsap (15.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 44.6 FG%, 34.5 3-Pt.%), who signed a three-year, $90 million deal. 

In Millsap, the Nuggets added an interchangeable forward who has a solid enough perimeter game to play at small forward, and a rugged enough game to post-up, and take his defender to the bucket to play at the power forward.

The front office also thought he would bring the kind of professionalism, toughness, leadership, and consistency at both ends of the floor that made him a great player from his time with the Jazz his first seven seasons in the NBA, to the last four with the Hawks where he earned the respect, appreciation, and trust of all his teammates and the coaching staffs he played for. 

Unfortunately, right wrist surgery has sidelined him the last 31 games. According to reports, the Second-Round pick in 2006 out of Louisiana Tech has made progress in his recovery but is not expected back until mid-March. 

“My intention was to come right back after the All-Star break and get into it, but we have to be smart about it,” Millsap said after practice on Wednesday. “This is my first practice today. Full contact and I have to be smart about my wrist and my body.”

With Millsap on the shelf, the likes of forward Trey Lyles (11.1 ppg-career-high, 5.2 rpg, 49.9 FG%, 40.0 3-Pt.%), and veterans Wilson Chandler (9.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Mason Plumlee (7.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 58.1 FG%), who has been on the shelf due to a right calf strain for recent games and the rest of the team have filled in admirably. 

There is so much depth on the roster that it has been difficult for the likes of forward Darrell Arthur, second-year guard Malik Beasley and forward Juan Hernangomez, and one time starting forward Kenneth Faried (5.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 51.4 FG%) to find minutes. 

Lyles, who the Nuggets acquired during the 2017 draft in June from the Jazz went from a player who barely got off the bench to one that has become a major part coach Malone’s rotation. In fact, on Jan. 5 against his old team, Lyles had career-high of 26 points, seven boards, and two steals off the bench, going 9 for 17 from the field, including 4 for 8 from three-point range in the 99-91 win versus the Jazz. 

“I went out there with the mindset to just play the game,” Lyles, who did not play in seven of the first 10 games of this season said after the win. “It doesn’t matter who it’s going against; luckily it was against them. Another game in the books for me.”  

One of the things coach Malone going back to his first head coaching job with the Sacramento Kings, he always stressed that in order to get consistent minutes on the floor you have to defend. 

That is something that has been an Achilles heel for the Nuggets last season, as well as this season. While they are No. 2 in “The Association in rebound differential at a +3.5, they are dead last, No. 30 in field goal percentage allowed at 47.9; near the bottom in opponent’s three-point percentage at 37.1; tied for 18^th in block shots per contest at 4.6; tied for 14^th in steals at 7.8 and tied for 16^th in forced turnovers at 13.8. 

The other area the Nuggets struggle in is at the charity stripe, where they are 21^st in the league in free throw percentage at 76.2 percent, which is decent today, they are though 16^th in free attempts per game at 21.1. 

It is because of these defensive numbers, and inability to get to the free throw line at a high clip that the Nuggets are a different team at Pepsi Center compared to the road, where they are 10 games under .500. 

The Nuggets have shown some signs of at least giving themselves a chance to win on the road in recent games. 

They only lost by two points (106-104) at the Spurs on Jan. 30 when Barton’s game-winning triple attempt rattled in and out in the final seconds. That is far cry from the 112-80 loss they sustained in the Alamo City 17 days prior. 

On Feb. 10, the Nuggets won at the Phoenix Suns 123-113, when the outscored the home team 61-53 in the second half, which consisted of a 36-15 run to take a double-digit midway through the fourth quarter and never looked back. 

They really made some strides on the road with their previously mentioned victory at the Bucks before the break. The Nuggets in that road win shot 55.3 percent from the field; hit 24 for 40 from three-point range, with the 24 triples tying the second most threes made in a game in NBA history. They had 37 assists and turned 18 Bucks turnovers into 23 points. Recorded six block shots; registered nine steals and had 42 points in the paint. 

The 77 points the Nuggets had in the opening half are the second most in a half for them this season. They had 82 points in the second half of their 146-114 win versus the Pelicans on Nov. 17, 2017. 

At the Feb. 8 trade deadline, the Nuggets added some depth to the roster while taking care of their future in a three-team deal with the Mavericks and Knicks, acquiring veteran Devin Harris (8.4 ppg, 35.0 3-Pt.%) and sending guard Emmanuel Mudiay to the “Big Apple.” The Knicks and Nuggets also swapped Second-Round picks in this June’s draft with the Knicks getting the Lakers 2018 pick and the Nuggets getting Trail Blazers 2018 pick. 

Last season, the Nuggets, who will enter the second half of this season with a three-game winning streak, and six wins their last seven outings lost out on the No. 8 and final playoff spot to the Trail Blazers.

They have put themselves in prime position to right that missed opportunity from a year ago as they stand just percentage point behind the Thunder for the No. 5 spot in the West playoff race but are tied with the Trail Blazers for the No. 7 spot and are a game and a 1/2 game from being on the outside of the playoff picture. 

For them to make the playoffs this spring, the Nuggets will have to make playing better defensive a priority and they will have to steal some games away from Pepsi Center.

While their victory over the Spurs on Friday night following the break 122-119 on Friday night, the Nuggets (33-27) took a major step in hopefully earning their first postseason appearance since 2013, they saw their four-game winning streak end at the hands of the streaking Rockets 119-114 on Sunday night.   

Before the Nuggets contest at the Bucks, coach Malone said about his team correcting their road struggles, “At some point we’re going to have to find ways to win (road) games.” 

He echoed that point to Malone said to NBATV’s Jared Greenberg before the state of the 2017-18 season by saying, “That’s only going to happen if every, and every player fully commits. Buys in and holds each other accountable.” “I’ll know if we’re a playoff team, or a competitive team by how well we defend every single night.”

Prediction: The Nuggets will have their offensive excellence, mixed in with some better defense to carry them to the postseason. 

Grade: B+

Golden State Warriors: 4-14 (1^st Pacific Division; No. 2 Seed in West) 22-7 at home, 22-7 on the road. 

-115.8 ppg-1^st; opp. ppg: 107.7-22^nd; 44.3 rpg-10^th

When you have made it to The NBA Finals for three straight seasons, winning it all in two of the last three, the objective is to try and make it back. That is the mission for the defending NBA champions, and three-time defending Western Conference champions Golden State Warriors. That dream is possible when you have an All-Star “Core 4” like this team has. A “Core 4” that plays unselfishly and blends in with a supporting cast that does care about individual accolades. A head coach who as a player won five titles as a player playing alongside two of the best to ever play the game, and two of the best coaches to ever do it from the sidelines. They have had some minor challenges both internally and from a specific opponent this season, but the Golden State Warriors continue to “navigate” themselves through another 82-game season on a drive towards another title. 

That drives begins with the All-Star “Core 4” of 2015-16 league MVP and five-time All-Star Stephen Curry (26.6 ppg-4^th NBA, 6.5 apg, 5.2 rpg, 1.6 spg-Leads team, 49.0 FG%, 41.3 3-Pt.%), who earned that long overdue super max deal of five years at $201 million dollars over the summer.
The 2014 league MVP, and perennial All-Star Kevin Durant (26.0 ppg-7^th NBA, 6.8 rpg, 5.5 apg-T-career-high, 52.3 FG%, 42.1 3-Pt.%). 

Curry’s “Splash Brother” backcourt mate in four-time All-Star Klay Thompson (20.0 ppg, , 49.4 FG%, 45.4 3-Pt.%-Leads NBA) and three-time All-Star Draymond Green (11.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg-Leads team, 7.3 apg-Leads team, 1.5 bpg, 44.6 FG%). 

For the fourth straight season, the “Core 4” made the All-Star team, which is the most in NBA history. 

What has made the difference for this All-Star group who individual success that it is always been about the team, and how they can make the team better, which has made head coach Steve Kerr’s job a lot easier in his four seasons as Warriors head coach. The result, 67, 73, and 67 wins in his first three seasons as head coach, with a record of 251-53.

That unselfishness is why the Warriors lead the NBA in assists per game at 30.5. Why they are No. 1 in “The Association” in field goal percentage at 51.0 percent; first in three-point percentage at 39.2 percent; first in free throw percentage at 81.1; tied for No. 4 in three-pointer made at 11.7; and No. 11 in attempts from distance at 29.8. 

The Warriors this season are 34-4 when they shoot 50.0 percent or better from the field this season.

Along with playing stellar offense, the Warriors are just as great at playing defense, ranking third in field goal percentage allowed at 44.2; ninth in opponent’s three-point percentage at 35.6; No. 5 in rebounding differential at +2.2 and No. 1 in block shots per game at 7.9.

Before he came to the Warriors as a free agent the prior summer, Durant was a player that had the ability to play defense but did not always put forth the effort consistently while he was with the Thunder.

Last season, he really put forth the effort in becoming a great defensive player both individually and within the scheme of the team. This season, he is the front runner for Defensive Player of the Year with his ability to block shots and be a shot changer at the basket.

Along with the All-Star quartet of Curry, Thompson, Durant, and Green, the Warriors front office of GM Bob Meyers, President Rick Welts, and owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber have done a masterful job of bringing in quality role players via the draft or free agency to surround the Warriors’ stars in the last four seasons. 

Those acquisitions over the past few years consists of starting center ZaZa Pachulia (5.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 59.9 FG%), Andre Igoudala, the 2015 Finals MVP; David West (7.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 61.8 FG%), JaVale McGee, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, Patrick McCaw, Nick Young (6.6 ppg, 39.3 3-Pt.%), Omri Casspi (6.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 58.4 FG%, 50.0 3-Pt.%) and rookie Jordan Bell. 

In fact, Bell, a Second-Round pick that the team acquired his rights from the Bulls for cash consideration the night of the June 2017 draft, has started 11 games for the defending champs, with six of those starts at center. The 6’9” forward out of Oregon averaged 10.0 points and seven boards in those six starts in the middle, shooting 69.2 percent from the field. 

Over these past four seasons where the Warriors have dominated the league, they have hit some rocky times, especially when their “Core 4” has been shelved because of injury. 

Last season, Durant missed 19 games due to a knee injury, and the team went 15-4 in those games, with a point differential of +9.0, being paced by the 28.8 scoring average of Curry.  

When Curry missed 11 games from Dec. 6-Dec. 29, 2017 due to a sprained ankle, the Warriors went 9.2 behind 26.9 points per game average of Durant.

In his first game back versus the Grizzlies on Dec. 30, 2017, Curry had 38 points, going 13 for 17 from the field, including 10 for 13 from three-point range in 26 minutes of the 141-128 win. 

“It was pretty seamless,” Curry, whose 10 makes from distance are a single-game high for a player this season said to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke after the win. “I’ve been watching. “Remembering all the plays and all that stuff.” 

“You just come out aggressive and try to pick up the tempo, and pace. Just got to be aggressive and I think our flow as a team was amazing from the start. And, it really set the tone for how the game was supposed to go.” 

Another Warrior who has missed some time this season with some nicks and bruises has been Green, whose missed eight games this season, including a stretch of five of six in December with a sore right shoulder. When the Warriors emotional leader has been on the shelf this season, the team has gone 8-0. 

Besides having to navigate through injuries, the Warriors have had to battle a case of boredom, where they have on occasion taken their opponent not so seriously, or their level of play has not been up to the standard of a defending champion. 

From Jan. 30 to Feb. 6, the Warriors had dropped three of four and in that stretch between a 119-104 win at the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 2, followed by a 115-108 loss the next night at the Nuggets, the Warriors had committed 39 turnovers.

While they righted the ship with two straight wins versus the Mavericks 121-103 on Feb. 8, followed by a 122-105 win versus the Spurs, Steve Kerr was not pleased with the approach of his team. 

The front end of that rough stretch from their last game of January into February, the Warriors were destroyed at the Jazz 129-99 on Jan. 30. 

Things really came to ahead when the Thunder dominated them on their home turf 125-105 on Feb. 6, where they scored 42 points in the opening stanza and controlled things the entire night, outscoring the home team in the paint 54-40; forcing 25 turnovers that led to 38 points and being held to just 8 for 28 from three-point range. The Warriors also picked up two technical fouls in the game, something that has been a problem throughout the season. 

To bring this into context, Green, the team’s emotional leader and Durant are No. 1 and No. 3 in the league with 15 and 12 technical fouls this season. Only the Thunder with 59, the Phoenix Suns with 54 have been called for more techs than the 52 by the Warriors. 

It had become such an issue, that Meyers spoke to the team about them being too good to let tough calls get in the way of them playing the game.  

Before the team’s Feb. 12 game versus the Suns at Oracle Arena, Kerr changed the lead up to the game having the players gets themselves ready for their home tilt versus the Suns. 

Iguodala ran the morning shootaround, while McGee ran the computer for the team’s film session. 

The night of the game, Iguodala, Green, and West got most of the work designing plays during timeouts, while Kerr and his assistants handled the substitution patterns. 

The plan worked as the Warriors blew the Suns right out of the gym 129-83, who after carrying a 25-24 lead after the first period, scored 37, 37 and 30 points over the final three quarters. 

The Warriors shot 58.4 percent for the night, while holding their visitors to 34.7 percent shooting. The defending champions registered 36 assists; had 32 fast break points to four by the Suns; had 16 block shots; had eight steals and forced 17 turnovers for 20 points, while committing just 12 turnovers themselves. 

“It had to do with me trying to reach my team and I have not reached them the last month,” Kerr said after the win. “They’re tired of hearing my voice. I’m tired of my voice. I wasn’t reaching them, so we figured this was a good night to pull something out of the hat.” 

Kerr added to that by saying, “It’s the players’ team. “It’s their team and they have to take ownership of it. As coaches, our job is to nudge them in the right direction, guide them. We don’t control them. They determine their own fate. I don’t think we’ve focused well the last month. It seemed like the right thing to do.” 

Most coaches probably would not have the guts to try something of this magnitude, but if you really think about it, the idea is something that might have been done by the two coaches Kerr played for in Hall of Famer Phil Jackson, and future Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich of the Spurs, who he won his five titles with. 

One thing is for sure, if the great Michael Jordan had a moment of this magnitude he would have had his Bulls teammate so prepared they might have beaten that opponent by 70. 

What Kerr learned as he has always known, and the rest of the league knows about his team is that they have a group with a high I.Q. and it is not surprising that they got the kind of result they did against an inferior opponent. 

“We have so many smart basketball minds on our team,” Casspi who had 19 points and 10 boards starting in place of Green said after the win. “The guys really used this opportunity to run things they like.” 

When the Warriors are right, they have proven they are unbeatable as they showed in last season’s playoffs going 16-1 on their way to their as mentioned second Larry O’Brien trophy in the last three seasons. They would have three straight had they not blown a 3-1 lead in The Finals to the Cavs the season prior. 

Green, who was suspended for a game in that series and that made all the difference in the world as the Warriors fell in seven games. He picked up a technical foul in the Warriors (46-14) 112-80 victory versus the Thunder on Saturday night. If he gets one more, he will serve an automatic one-game suspension by the league. 

Unlike the last two seasons though, the Warriors this time around have a clear challenger that wants to put an end to their supremacy of the West and the league in the Houston Rockets, who beat them in two of their three meetings this season and are a top the Western Conference as the Second Half of this season is on the horizon. 

They beat them though in the Conference Finals three seasons back in five games to win their first title in 2015. 

The Warriors understand that a season is a marathon, not a sprint. That you cannot skip steps on your journey to a title. While the supporting cast may not be as deep as in years past, and that cast will be out Bell and McCaw for a while due to ankle, and wrist issues respectably. 

In the last four seasons including this one, the Warriors are 43-8 following a loss with Kerr as head coach.

As long the All-Star “Core Four” of Durant, Curry, Thompson and Green, is healthy, and their attitude at the defensive is as cohesive as they are on the offensive end and they do not allow themselves to get distracted by the referees or turnovers, the Warriors will be fine.  

While they got passed the Clippers 134-127 in their first game following the break on Thursday night on TNT behind 44 points from Curry, the Warriors (46-14) flexed their championship muscles in their blowout win versus the Thunder on Saturday night on ABC, thanks to a 31-7 run. 

They held the Thunder to 19 points in the opening quarter; 21 in the third and 14 in the fourth. Scored 25 points off 16 miscues by the visitors. Held them to just 10 fast break points; to 33.0 percent from the field on the night and just 9 for 34 from three-point range. 

The Thunder dominated the Warriors in winning the first two matchups, including winning their first meeting 108-91 on Nov.22, 2017, All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George really had their way.

In the third matchup, George scored just five points on 1 for 14 from the field, including 1 for 9 from three-point range. While Westbrook nearly had a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, he was just 4 for 15 shooting on the night with five turnovers. All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony had 14 points but was just 6 for 17 from the field on the night. 

“We just tried to get a good contest on their shots. They all three great scorers and we know they can get hot at any moment,” Durant, who had 28 points in the game said to ESPN/ABC’s Lisa Salters after the win. “So, we just tried to stick with them. Make them shoot tough shots. Clog the paint up to as well in transition, and also rebound.” 

The Warriors are the defending champions and have the look of a team that wants to defend that title. If there win on Saturday night is a preview of things to come, they will be back in The Finals in June and have a good chance of repeating.

“We’re a championship team. We’re not about to sit here and act like we’re this battered team that had a horrible season and we’re looking for any glimmer of hope,” Green, who had 14 points, eight boards, six assists and two steals in the win versus the Clippers said. “I understand we haven’t been as great as most people expect. We’re still a damn good basketball team so we don’t need no ‘but it’s a step in the right direction.’ You may get that out of someone, but I don’t really roll like that.”

Prediction: The Rockets will give the Warriors a fight in the Western Conference Finals, but they will prevail in six or seven and the defending NBA champions will repeat.   

Grade: B+

Houston Rockets: 44-13 (1^st Southwest Division; No. 1 Seed in West) 23-6 at home, 21-7 on the road. 

-114.1 ppg-2^nd; opp. ppg: 105.4-12^th; 43.6 rpg-16^th 

For five straight seasons, the Houston Rockets have made the playoffs. In three of those five seasons, they were sent home in the opening round. Last season they had a resurrection under their new head coach and had a stellar season but were bounced in the Semifinals by the Spurs. In the off-season, General Manager Daryl Morey who has been known to make bold moves to put the Rockets in position to compete for a championship was very bold this off-season acquiring a perennial All-Star point guard; role players that eat, sleep, and drink defense. Those new additions, the continued rise of their star player as a legitimate front runner for league MVP, the Rockets have proven to be a “serious” threat to the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. 

The Rockets acquisition of nine-time All-Star Chris Paul (19.2 ppg, 8.3 apg, 5.7 rpg-career-high, 1.8 spg-Leads team, 47.0 FG% 39.7 3-Pt.%) from the Clippers over the summer was meet at first with some hesitation because the question was asked how would he and last season’s runner for MVP James Harden, two of the NBA most dynamic ball handlers make this work?

In the beginning, that question was put on hold as Paul was on the shelf for the next 14 games due to soreness in his knee in the season opening win at the Warriors 122-121 on Oct. 17, 2017 after recording only four points, but 11 assists and eight boards in 33 minutes.

Harden as he has done took control of as the driving force of the Rockets offense leading the Rockets to a 11-4 start to the season. 

When Paul did return, he and Harden worked together in perfect harmony and it showed right from the beginning in their second game at the Suns on Nov. 16, 2017 in front of a national televised audience. 

Head coach Mike D’Antoni’s squadron was dominant scoring 90 points, yes 90 points in the opening half as they destroyed the Suns in their own gym 142-116 in front of a late night national television audience on TNT. 

Harden had 23 of his game-high 48 points in the second period. Paul in just 21 minutes of time had a double-double of 11 points, 10 assists and two steals. The Rockets, who had a record breaking season from three-point range a season ago were 21 for 44 from distance and shot 47.8 percent overall on the night from the field. They also were an incredible 35 for 38 from the charity stripe, with Harden going a perfect 18 for 18. They had 27 assists and 22 fast break points.

That question of Harden and Paul being able to play together in the same backcourt was answered with an emphatic yes during this stretch where they went on a 14-game winning streak from the previously mentioned date of Nov. 16-Dec. 18, 2017 with the dynamic backcourt leading the charge. 

Harden was still his dominant as he raised his scoring average for the fifth consecutive season with a league leading 31.3 points per contest. After leading the NBA in assists per contest a season ago, he is No. 2 in assists at 9.0, while averaging 5.1 rebounds and registering the ninth best steals average at 1.8, on 44.8 percent from the field, and the second-best percentage from three-point range of his career at 38.4.

Harden who has been one of the best in the league at not only getting to the foul line but converting once he gets there is No. 1 in free throw attempts per game at 9.9 and in makes at the charity stripe at 8.6. Harden is the also the main reason the Rockets are No. 1 in free throw attempts per game at 26.8; in makes at 20.2; and No. 10 in percentage at 78.7. 

He stated his case as the front runner for league MVP with a record setting performance recording the first 60-point triple-double in NBA history with 60 points, 11 assists and 10 boards, with four steals on 19 for 30 from the field, including 5 for 14 from three-point range, and 17 for 18 from three-point range in the Rockets 114-107 win versus the Magic on Jan. 30. 

Harden, who had 18 points in the fourth quarter, eclipsed the previous franchise single-game record of 57 points by former Rocket and current pregame and postgame team analyst Calvin Murphy that he scored in 1978. 

“I just gave it all I had tonight,” Harden, who had his third triple-double on the season, who did not have his sidekick in Paul, who was absent because of a sore groin said after the win. “We all did. We all fought for 48 minutes, we got key stops when we needed to, and we made big shots.”

The tandem of Paul and Harden, who have led the Rockets to a 29-3 mark when they play together has help to continue the Rockets prowess from distance as they are No. 1 in three-point attempts at 42.8 per game and in makes at 15.7, while being tied for 10^th in percentage at 36.6 percent. 

In their 120-102 victory following the break on Friday night versus the Timberwolves on ESPN, the Rockets (46-13) who drained 14 threes on the evening increased their NBA record of games with at least 10 triples to 54 straight games this season, that is double record set with 27 straight games with at least 10 threes they had a season ago. 

They extended that streak to 56 games with 15 connections from distance in their 119-114 win at the Nuggets on Sunday night, their 12^th straight victory.

To further illustrate how Paul has adjusted his game in his first season with the Rockets, the team is 15-3 when he scores at least 20 points and is 12-1 when he gets at least 10 assists.  

The Rockets supporting cast of shooters has greatly benefited from all the attention Harden and Paul attract from their ability to attack the defense downhill in the open court and in pick-and-rolls in the half court this season. 

Starting forward Ryan Anderson (10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) is shooting 38.7 percent from distance this season, while perimeter defensive ace at the other forward Trevor Ariza (12.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, rpg, 1.5 spg) is making 38.3 percent of this three-pointers this season.

Last season’s Sixth Man of the Year recipient Eric Gordon (18.5 ppg), while is only connecting on 33.4 percent of his triple tries, the No. 7 overall pick by the Clippers in 2008 has already made the second most three-pointers in a season of his career with 154, and is on pace to break his career-best of 246 threes the season prior to the last. 

Even with the offensive wealth the Rockets had a season ago, they were still a team that was very inconsistent at the defensive end, which has been one thing that has been a crutch in the career of Coach D’Antoni. 

The Rockets looked to address that this off-season with the additions of swingman P.J. Tucker (5.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg); forward Luc Mbah a Moute (7.5 ppg, 46.6 FG%) and center Tarik Black to a one-year, $3.3 million. 

Another help to the Rockets improved defense has been the steady emergence of starting center Clint Capela. In his first season, he only averaged 2.7 points and three rebounds. Two years ago, he averaged 7.0 points and 6.4 rebounds. A season ago, the Switzerland native really came along and averaged 12.6 points and 8.1 boards. This season Capela is averaging 14.4 points, 11.1 boards, which is tied for sixth in “The Association,” and his 1.9 block shots per game are not only a career-high but are No. 5 in the league. 

With extensive work with assistant head coach John Lucas, Capela has really been a solid outlet at the rim for Paul and Harden to find, and his ability to finish plays at the basket with strong layups or thunderous dunks is why he leads the NBA in field goal percentage at 65.4. 

The last two seasons, Capela has 25 double-doubles combined, and this season is ninth with 31 double-digits games in points and rebounds. 

He and Nene (7.0 ppg, 59.7 FG%) have meshed well together as the starter and backup respectably in the middle for the Rockets this season.

In the Rockets 130-104 win versus the Nuggets on Feb. 9, Capela had the game of his life with 23 points, and a career-high 25 rebounds, along with two blocks in just 29 minutes.  

The toughness, grit and focus the new additions along with Paul, who seven-time NBA All-Defensive First-Team selection and a two-time All-Defensive Second-Team, and the growth of Capela as a shot blocker and rebounder is why the Rockets are No. 7 in rebounding differential at +2.2 and are tied for 11^th in opponent’s three-point percentage at 36.3 percent.

When Paul, Harden and Capela have been in the lineup for the Rockets this season, they have lost just once in 29 tries. When the Rockets have been without Capela because of injury, the team is just 1-4.  

“Clint is huge for us. He’s vital to everything we do,” Paul, who had 11 points and seven assists on the evening said after the game.

For the first two and a half months, the Rockets were moving along nicely through the season, but after winning 14 straight since Paul’s return, they proceeded to lose five in a row from Dec. 22-Dec. 29, 2017.

They lost those five games versus the Lakers and Clippers, at the Thunder, Celtics, and Wizards by a combined 40 points. In the losses against the Lakers and Clippers, Harden had back-to-back 51-point performances, and it still wasn’t enough to get the Rockets a win. 

The culprit in each of the five losses has been the Rockets inability to defend, surrendering an average of 116.6 points on 49.4 percent from the field. A far cry from the 104.3 points allowed on 46.3 percent in winning 20 out of 21 games from November to early December 2017. 

It took everything they had and then some in the Rockets second go around versus the Lakers, but they found a way to get past them 148-142 in double overtime on New Year’s Eve 2017. 

They won the game, but lost Harden who after scoring 40 points left the game in the fourth quarter with a leg injury, what was later reported to be a strained left hamstring. 

Without their top scoring ace, Paul took over from that point on, finishing with 28 points and 10 assists. Ariza had 26 points on the evening, connecting on 6 for 10 from three-point range. 

Harden would be shelved the next seven games as the Rockets would go 4-3 without the top candidate for league MVP this season. 

When he returned the Rockets won four straight before a tough 115-113 loss at the Pelicans on Jan. 26 on ESPN. 

The Rockets have not lost since garnering 10 consecutive victories going into the All-Star break and overtaking the Warriors for the top seed in the West by half a game, and just one game on the loss side. It marked just the second time in team history that the Rockets had two winning streaks of 10 or more, with the only other one occurring in the 1992-93 season. 

Besides having to compensate for injuries to their star backcourts in certain moments this season to Harden, Paul and Capela, the Rockets have also had to overcome injuries to Mbah a Moute, who missed 14 games earlier in the season because of an injured right shoulder, Gordon missed nearly a handful of games because of a back issue and there have been games that the team has been without Nene as the Rockets want to make sure he is fresh for the playoffs. 

When the team was going through a rough patch of having few bodies for games, they signed veteran guard Gerald Green in late December 2017. The Houston, TX native who was cut by the Bucks before the start of this season had been laying at home on the couch in Boston when the Rockets gave him a call to see if he wanted to sign a 10-day contract with them. He managed to sign in time to suit up at the Celtics on the night of Dec. 28, 2017. The game did not go as planned as he was 0 for 3 shooting, missing both of his three-point attempts and the Rockets lost after leading by as many as 26 points 99-98 on TNT. 

The next night in the 121-103 loss at the Wizards, Green had 18 points, going 6 for 10 shooting, hitting 4 for 6 from three-point range.

After a 10-point performance in the New Year’s Eve double-overtime win versus the Lakers, Green had 27 points, hitting 7 of 10 from three-point ranges in helping the Rockets win at the Magic 116-98 on Jan. 3.

In the Rockets 124-114 loss versus the defending NBA champion Warriors, Green had his best game as a Rocket with 29 points, tying a career-high with 8 threes in 15 tries that evening. He became the first player in franchise history to make seven or more triples in consecutive games. 

As the enter the second half of this season, the Rockets will have two new additions as 36-year-old Joe Johnson, who was waived by the Kings after being traded at the Feb. 8 deadline by the Jazz was signed on the afternoon of Feb. 14. He had nine points and three boards in 32 minutes of work off the bench. 

“Joe is going to fit in great,” coach D’Antoni who played for him with the Suns from 2002-05. “He’s going to be really good, smooth…he can make plays. He’s got some gas left in the tank.” 

To add more depth to their front court, especially behind Capela, the Rockets also signed center Brandan Wright after being he was bought out by the Grizzlies in the middle of February. He was in the final year of his three-year, $18 million contract. 

The Rockets entered this season with a serious mindset of getting to The Finals, which is why they took beating the Top dogs in the East and West with a seriousness a team hungry for a title has taken in the past. They have gone 2-1 versus the Warriors this season and beaten the Spurs, who knocked them out in the Semis 4-2 last spring both meetings this season, and combined have a 6-2 mark against the Warriors, Spurs, Cavs, and Celtics. 

GM Morey has made it no secret he wants to beat the Warriors, and if the team makes it to the Western Conference Finals, he might get that chance. They have put a lot into this season, and the hope is this is only the beginning. A lot will be determined what happens in these playoffs. If the Rockets at least make it to The Finals, the tandem of Harden and Paul will remain together and build a legacy of finally ending the Rockets drought 22 years that their team has not been in The Finals since winning back-to-back titles in 1994-95.

If they fall short of the Western Conference Finals, a place Paul has yet to reach this season, he may take his business elsewhere as he will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

Prediction: Rockets reach the Conference Finals but fall short of their goal of making it to The Finals and then Paul will have to decide to stay in “Clutch City,” for test free agency. 

Grade: A+  

Los Angeles Clippers: 30-26 (2^nd Pacific Division) 16-12 at home, 14-14 on the road. 

-108.0 ppg-7^th; opp. ppg: 107.1-21^st; 43.8 rpg-14^th   

Coming into this season, the Los Angeles Clippers were going to be a little bit different. They traded their All-Star lead guard, and the player that turned them into a championship contender, that had fallen short in their six consecutive postseason appearances of getting at least to the Conference Finals. They re-signed their other All-Star player even though he has had a history of getting injured. Early on, the Clippers seemed to be a team that would be major sellers at the trade deadline and begin the total process of rebuilding. They started winning and gave “hope” that they would not totally sink them out of the playoff picture. 

In the off-season, the Clippers sent the nine-time All-Star Chris Paul to the Rockets for guards Patrick Beverly (12.2 ppg, 40.0 3-Pt.%), and Lou Williams, forward Sam Dekker, center Montrezl Harrell (9.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 61.6 FG%), a 2018 First-Round pick, and cash consideration. 

To add depth to the lead guard spot, the Clippers signed European guard Milos Teodosic (9.2 ppg, 5.2 apg, 34.9 3-Pt.%). 

With Paul gone, this team suddenly belonged to forward Blake Griffin, who opted out of the last year of his deal, and eventually the five-time All-Star re-signed a five-year, $171 million deal to return where he has played his entire career. 

The Clippers also added that legitimate sharp shooting small forward in Danilo Gallinari (16.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) in a three-team deal that involved the Nuggets, and Hawks, sending center Diamond Stone, three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford, and a 2018 protected First-Round pick to the Hawks. 

In June’s draft, they acquired the draft rights of guard Sindarius Thornwell, the No. 48 overall pick out of South Carolina from the Bucks for cash considerations. 

After a 4-0 beginning, the Clippers went through some serious NBA hard knocks with injuries.

In just a short period of time, 60 percent of the Clippers starting quintet sustained injuries that either shelved them for much of the early part of the season or in the case of Beverly the entire season. 

Beverly season concluded after 11 games as he underwent microfracture surgery on Nov. 22, 2017 to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. 

Teodosic, the Clippers projected starting lead guard at the beginning of the season missed 22 games from Oct. 24-Dec. 9, 2017 with a plantar fascia in his left foot. He has missed 29 games in all because of injury. 

“Our goal is to come out of camp, coming out of preseason with our chemistry made up,” Austin said. “Chemistry right now with us is already setting in place. So, I can’t for it to start to work on the floor.”

Gallinari, who was supposed to make up for the perimeter shooting that was gone with the departures of Jamal Crawford, and J.J. Redick in free agency, missed 13 games from Nov. 7-Dec. 6, 2017 because of an injury to his glute. 

The former Nugget and Knicks’ forward, who has had a well-documented injury history showed his worth with 25 points in 36 minutes in the Clippers 113-112 win versus the Wizards. That left glute then shelved him again for 19 games from Dec. 11,2017-Jan. 28.

A right ankle injury kept head coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers son Austin (15.5 ppg-career-high, 39.4 3-Pt.%) out from New Year’s Eve 2017-Feb. 9. 

The one injury that really put the Clippers seemingly behind the eight ball was when Griffin, whose been injury prone over the past three seasons hurt his leg late in the fourth quarter of the team’s 120-115 win versus their Staples Center co-tenants the Lakers when diving for a loose ball and the young Rivers fell on him, and his knee got twisted as he landed on his back. Griffin would be out the next 14 games and the team went 6-8 in his absence. 

When the rash of injuries really kicked in during November 2017, the Clippers endured a nine-game losing streak from Nov. 4-Nov.20, 2017. 

It was here that Beverly before he was lost for the season said to the Los Angeles Times, “This feels like 100 losses. Straight up. This (expletive) is weak. This ain’t how I roll. That ain’t okay.” 

He continued by saying to the Los Angeles based newspaper about the starting unit, “We come on the court like people are supposed to back down because of the name on the back of our jerseys, and that’s not the case. The only thing people are looking at is the name on the front of our jersey, and that’s nine losses in a row.” 

Things got better for the Clippers in the first month of 2018 as they reeled off six straight wins to get them back over the .500 mark at 23-21 and a lot of it had to do with the play of a long time sixth man and a couple of G-League call ups. 

It was during this period that Lou Williams (23.2 ppg-career-high, 5.3 apg-career-high, 37.8 3-Pt.%), who as mentioned earlier came over in the Paul deal from the Rockets that he really stepped up his offensive output. 

In January when the Clippers really hit their stride, he averaged 28.2 points, 6.3 assists on 36.0 percent shooting from three-point range. Dating back to Dec. 22, 2017 to Jan. 15, Williams scored 20 points or more off the bench. 

That string began with 32 points, with seven assists on 10 for 21 shooting including 7 for 11 from three-point range in the Clippers come from behind 128-118 win. On New Year’s Eve 2017 versus the Hornets, Williams had 40 points, and eight assists, on 12 for 21 from the field, hitting 6 for 9 from distance in a 106-98 win. 

Williams had 27 of his career-high 50 points in the third quarter, with seven assists on 16 for 27 from the floor, with half of his baskets coming from three-point range in 16 tries, and a perfect 10 for 10 at the foul line as the Clippers won at the Warriors 125-106 on Jan. 10, to end a 12-game losing streak overall, and an 11-game skid at Oracle Arena. 

Wallace returned to where he starred at the University of California and scored a season-high 22 points. 

“Third quarter, I had a great stretch I had a couple of 15-foot jumpers, rhythm shots and when scorers, when we get shots like that baskets feel extremely big,” Williams said to ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez after the win. “So, tonight was a good night for me, and was able to make shots.”

Williams joined Charles Smith (19910-91); Freeman Williams (1979-80) and Bob McAdoo (four times) as the only players in franchise history to score 50 points in a game. 

After that six-game winning streak, the Clippers finished January four losses in their next six contests and as the trade deadline loomed, owner Steve Ballmer and GM Lawrence Frank and the front office were at a crossroads. Were they going to clean house and trade the likes of Griffin, Jordan and Williams or would they stay intact? 

On Jan. 29, the Clippers in a shocker traded Blake Griffin, along with forward Brice Johnson and center Willie Reed to the Pistons for guard Avery Bradley (14.3 ppg, 36.9 3-Pt.%), forward Tobias Harris (18.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 45.0 FG%, 40.2 3-Pt.%), center Boba Marjanovic, at 2018 First-Round pick and a protected 2019 Second-Round pick. 

At the Feb. 8 trade deadline, Williams did not get traded, and the unrestricted free agent at season’s end signed a new three-year, $24 million contract extension, with the third year being guaranteed for $1.5 million, with a full guarantee if he is not waived by July 15, 2020. 

Williams who has bounced around playing for the Sixers, Hawks, Raptors, Lakers, and Rockets in his career prior to this season acknowledge his appreciation for the Clippers making a long-term commitment to him. 

“I was nice for the organization to commit to me the same way I’ve committed to these guys this year. Williams said the day before the trade deadline. “In years past, these scenarios don’t usually go my way, so it was nice for one to go my way and -for me to end up] somewhere I wanted to be…. It’s just nice to have that one consistent—you know you’re going to be somewhere for an extended period of time.”

Williams, who was earning $7 million in the final year of his previous contract also said about his situation, “I feel like I’m a quality basketball player, and usually quality basketball players don’t get moved so much.” “I understand I had a relatively cheap deal considering the numbers I had. It was an expiring contract, and that’s enticing to teams trying to make playoff runs.”

“I understand the business part of it, but personally it’s like my kids didn’t know who to root for anymore. They were confused—they were walking around with Rockets shorts and Lakers jerseys. They just didn’t know what was going on.”

One person who was happy to have Williams back in the fold was coach Rivers, and he said as much, especially him not making the All-Star team to longtime Clippers play-by-play man Ralph Lawler before their 109-100 victory at the Grizzlies. 

“You got earn it and I thought Lou earned it to be honest,” Rivers said. “Had Blake been healthy, he probably would have been on it, but Blake did not have health. Lou did not have a big enough name.” 

Another player that was likely on the move at the trade deadline two weeks ago but stayed put was starting center DeAndre Jordan (11.8 ppg, 15.0 rpg-2^nd NBA, 65.2 FG%-2^nd NBA). 

In that aforementioned win at the Grizzlies, Jordan made history playing in franchise record 716^th game for the Clippers surpassing Randy Smith. 

“It’s an honor to be around a franchise that long,” Jordan, who is also the franchise leader in rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage said to FOX Sports Prime Ticket’s Kristina Pink before the game. “Honestly A lot of guys haven’t done it, but I’ve been very lucky and fortunate to be healthy, and I’ve been trusted with this franchise. I’ve seen a lot of ups and downs, and it’s all been a journey, but it’s been a great one.”

With 14 wins in their last 20 games, which includes their 128-117 win at the struggling Suns on Friday night to start the second half of their season, where they led 40-18 in the opening period, the Clippers (31-27) are one game behind the Nuggets for the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the playoff spot. 

Considering they traded away the player in Blake Griffin, who was second all-time in points (10,863); third in rebounds (4,686); fifth in assists (2,133) and sixth in games played (504) in late January and that they traded perennial All-Star Chris Paul in the off-season; they had injuries to key players in their starting lineup and their rotation, and they had to call up people from the minor leagues to hold down the fort, the fact that the Clippers are in the position to compete to make the playoffs is a victory in of itself.

They got to this point thanks to not trading a to a 13-year veteran in Lou Williams that got hot at the right time and earned himself a contract extension, and their starting center in DeAndre Jordan who is No. 8 in the league with 32 double-doubles this season. 

Now whether Williams, who is on pace to have the highest scoring average for a reserve since 1983-84 when the Suns’ Eddie Johnson averaged 21.5 points and captured Sixth Man of the Year Award that season sticks around that long, as well as Jordan, who is a free agent at season’s end remains to be seen. 

That said, the Clippers at least have placed themselves in position to build their team going forward with plenty of salary cap room coming this summer and definitely in the summer of 2019. 

Prediction: Williams will be in the running for Sixth Man of the Year. Again. The Clippers will be in a fight for the last playoff spot but will fall short. 

Grade: B

Los Angeles Lakers: 23-34 (3^rd Pacific Division) 17-24 at home, 9-32 on the road. 

-107.3 ppg-11^th; opp. ppg: 110.2-28^th; 46.2 rpg-2^nd    

If you are going by wins and losses, this has been another disappointing season for the 16-time NBA champions the Los Angeles Lakers, who have missed the playoffs four straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history. The emerging talent that has been drafted over the past two drafts shows that better days are ahead for the Purple and Gold and with the front office putting in “diligent and precise work” at the trade deadline and hopefully this off-season has them in prime position to put their best foot forward to attract free agents and acquire talent through the trade market. 

This hopeful resurrection is led by Hall of Famer and now President of Basketball Operations Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who took over the job on Feb. 21, 2017 when he was offered it by Lakers’ Governor Jeanie Buss, and longtime agent of future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant Rob Pelinka was hired as the team’s new GM on Mar. 7, 2017. 

That resurrection began with the selection of Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram with the No. 7 overall and No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 and 2016 draft respectably. 

After a rookie season of growing pains, a year ago, Ingram (16.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.7 apg) has improved greatly, taking his overall shooting percentage from 40.2 a season ago to 46.2 this season, and his three-point shooting from 29.4 percent to 38.0 percent Above all he is confident in his abilities to play all positions from the small forward to at times being the Lakers offensive initiator. 

After missing basically his whole rookie season due to a broken right tibia he sustained in the opener of the 2014-15 season. Two seasons back Randle returned and was wonderful with averages of 11.3 points and 10.2 rebounds. Last year he averaged 13.2 points and 8.6 boards, and this season, he is averaging a career-high of 14.7 points and 7.4 boards, on 55.9 percent shooting, which is eighth in the league.    

In just a matter of months they made moves that gave hope to all Laker fans in the city of L.A., and across the nation. 

The Lakers added to that with the acquisition of the No. 27 pick for the 2017 draft in a trade with the Nets along with Brook Lopez (11.8 ppg) in exchange for guard D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov. That No. 27 pick which has turned out to be the steal of the draft in Kyle Kuzma (15.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 45.0 FG%, 35.8 3-Pt.%). 

Kuzma, who played collegiately for the Utah, took his impressive showing at the Las Vegas Summer League, and has put that on full this display this regular season. In December 2017, Kuzma really showed out with averages of 19.5 points and 7.6 rebounds on 40.0 percent from three-point range. He had three double-doubles in that month also, and scored a career-high 38 points, going 12 for 17 from the field, including 7 for 10 from three-point range in helping the Lakers to a 122-116 win at the Rockets on Dec. 20, 2017. 

Their point guard of the future in Lonzo Ball, who the Lakers took No. 2 overall in last June’s draft out of UCLA, and a Southern California native came in with a lot of hype and prestige, thanks to his loud, never afraid to speak his mind father LaVar has played like a typical rookie. 

He has had some good moments where he has shown to be a triple-double threat, and moments where he has looked like most rookies, where he has had some rough patches. 

The 21-year-old Ball (10.2 ppg, 7.1 apg-Leads team, 7.1 rpg), has especially had his struggles shooting wise in his rookie season at 35.6 percent overall from the field, just 30.3 from three-point range and 48.0 percent from the foul line.

Aside from that, along with the lapses in games where he has looked disengaged, he has authored 10 double-doubles, two triple-doubles and brought an uncanny ability to find open teammates that if he can put it all together has a chance of being a great one for a long time. 

Say what you will about his father LaVar, and how he is promoting his family’s business, “Big Baller Brand,” from his brash, boastful, and at times rude approach to others especially in the media, but he has given his family, and his son a platform that has gained national attention. The only hope is that it does not take away from his son’s primary objective, and that is to be the franchise game changer that lifts the Lakers back into the championship conversation. 

The most important thing for the young Ball to do is for him to get healthy and back on the court as he has been out the last 14 games due to sprained MCL in his left knee. 

A lot has changed though since Ball was last on the hardwood as Randle has played at a more consistent level. Ingram has flourished as the team’s floor general the last seven games, and fellow rookie Josh Hart (6.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 456.8 FG%, 39.7 3-Pt.%), who the Lakers acquired his draft rights in June has racked up double-double, after double-double in his absence as a starter. 

He had three of his five double-doubles on the season in succession this month with 15 points and 14 rebounds in the Lakers 102-99 win at the Nets on Feb. 2. That was followed with a 14 and 11 effort in the team’s 108-104 win at the Thunder and was capped with 15 and 11 in a 112-93 win versus the Suns. 

“They have learned how to play without me,” Ball said recently. “…They know what works: pace and defense.”

Along with selecting Ball, the Lakers also acquired the draft rights to the No. 30 overall pick in guard Josh Hart out of Villanova, and the No. 42 overall selection in center Thomas Bryant out of the University of Indiana from the Jazz for center Tony Bradley out of North Carolina. 

The addition of Lopez over the summer, along with guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (13.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.6 spg-Leads team, 36.1 3-Pt.%) coupled with swingman Corey Brewer has provided the Lakers with a solid veteran presence in the locker room for head coach Luke Walton. 

These players, particularly Lopez and KCP are in the last year of their contracts, which gives the Lakers serious salary cap flexibility to make a serious run at unrestricted free agents this summer. 

The took an even bigger step in that direction at the Feb. 8 trade deadline when they traded reserve guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Larry Nance, Jr. to the Cavs for guard Isaiah Thomas (14.1 ppg, 4.5 apg), forward/center Channing Frye and the Cavs Top 3 protected First-Round pick in this June’s draft. 

The trade was big because it only gave the Lakers a First-Round selection, which they did not have after the acquisition of former two-time MVP Steve Nash back in 2012, it gave the Lakers the team $47 million dollars in cap space and if they make any other moves prior to this summer, they could raise that number to as high as $70 million to spend on two elite free agents this summer or next summer. A big part of that happening is stretching the last part of the four-year, $72 million deal that veteran forward Luol Deng, who is not even playing, and that space can grow to $73 million.

“It was hard for us to give up our two young players, but I don’t want to stay in 11^th place and I don’t want this organization to stay there,” Johnson said after the deals were done two weeks ago. “So, we have to make moves to be able to put us in the playoffs. In position to sign great free agents one day.” 

For that to take place, the current Lakers need to show marked improvement on the court. After a decent start going 5-5 in their first 10 games, they lost 27 of their next 33 games. From Jan. 5 to the All-Star break, they have gone 12-7, with three separate four-game winning streaks, although they finished the unofficial first half of the season with three straight losses, where they gave up 130, 139, and 119 points in losses at the Mavericks, Pelicans, and Timberwolves respectably.

“We got to get out mojo back,” Walton said after the Lakers next to last game before the break at the Pelicans, a 139-117 setback. “We somehow lost it quickly…. We’re just not playing defense.” 

As this second half of the season gets underway, the Lakers have a lot of things on their plate they need to figure out. 

How will the Lakers use Thomas? Will he continue to come off the bench as an offensive spark that the Lakers very much need and close games with Ball at the lead guard spot? Can they play together at times? 

In the Cavs 140-138 overtime win versus the Timberwolves a couple of weeks ago, Thomas, whose former team went 6-9 when he came back from rehabbing his injured hip said afterwards at his locker, “I’m tired of being traded. It’s not a good thing, but I just want to be where I’m wanted.” “I like it here. It hasn’t been as planned, but I definitely want to be here. We have a real chance to win an NBA championship, and I want to be a part of that.” 

Thomas agent Aaron Goodwin said to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com about his client, “He’s worked too hard to get back, and he’s a ball dominant player. It’s LeBron’s ball and this clearly wasn’t working. Koby (Altman) and I have had enough conversations where it was clear, with the way the system was going, it wasn’t beneficial for either party. This is a good opportunity for Isaiah.” 

Thomas showed flashes of his old self with 22 points and six assists on 7 for 12 shooting, including 4 for 8 from three-point range in 31 minutes in his Lakers debut, a 130-123 loss at the Mavericks on Feb. 10. He scored just 10 points total on 4 for 16 shooting and a combined seven assists in the next two games.

In the Lakers next to last game before the break, a 139-117 loss at the Pelicans on Valentine’s Day 2018, he got into a tangle with five minutes into the game with their lead guard Rajon Rondo, a former Celtic himself like Thomas and both were ejected. 

Just last season, Thomas finished fifth in MVP voting. Today, he is player just trying to find a team that wants him as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and the hopes that a team would as he said back up the Brinks truck for his services really has no chance of happening.

The hope for him is to have a good showing the remainder of this season with the Lakers, while at the same time knowing that he is not a part of their future, but just the present. 

“We are both basketball players and know how to play with different types of guys,” Thomas said. [Ball] is a special young talent. He is going to be a special player in this league for years to come. From the outside looking in, watching the Lakers play, he is very good and goes at his own pace, which is a strength to have at a young age.” 

“He is a talented [player], and I can’t wait to get on the floor and compete with him and hopefully win a lot of games.” 

They got the second half of the season off on the right foot with a 124-102 win versus the Mavericks on Friday night on ESPN. Ball in his return from a 15-game absence with that knee injury had nine points, seven boards and six assists in 17 minutes.

“It felt good to just be back on the court, “Ball, who sat out the back end of the back-to-back at the Kings on Saturday night said after the win. “I was just out there playing, having fun. I wasn’t thinking about anything, just playing hard.”

Randle had his second triple-double of the season and the fifth of his career with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the win and earned some serious praise from Coach Walton. 

“He’s been getting much better at letting the game slow down for him,” he said. “He’s starting to get double-teams in the last few games.” 

“We’ve been working on him playing at a better pace once he gets into attack mode, recognizing the double-team and knowing where our shooters and cutters are going to be. I think he just did a really good job tonight of reading the defense.”

The Lakers (25-34) followed that up with a 113-108 win at the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, where Caldwell-Pope had a season-high 34 points, with 17 of them coming in the third quarter as they ended their three-game road losing streak.

It has been a difficult, and straining process in getting the Los Angeles Lakers as a relevant, championship caliber team. The moves that “Magic” Johnson and Rob Pelinka have made over the past few months have given fans of Southern California’s team hope for better days ahead with salary cap space to sign to max contracts to superstar free agents.

They have a set of core players in place in Ball, Ingram, Kuzma and Hart, who the Lakers’ top brass hopes they continue to improve as this season and as their careers progress. How quickly the Lakers become a playoff perennial and hopefully a title contender will depend on who they can snag in free agency this summer with a ton of salary cap space. 

Grade: C+

Memphis Grizzlies: 18-38 (4^th Southwest Division) 13-17 at home, 5-21 on the road. 

-99.2 ppg-29^th; opp. ppg: 102.9-5^th; 40.6 rpg-28^th

For the past few seasons, the Memphis Grizzlies identity was “Grit-N-Grind” where they played tough defense and had their offense centered around their star center and veteran power forward. A lot of that changed over the summer with the departure of some key members of the team the past few seasons. The hope this season that the team could build around their lead guard, and star big man, who received huge pay days the last two off-seasons. However, an injury to their floor general, and the age, and hit the star center took for the ousting of their head coach just 19 games into the season has the Grizzlies “searching” for answer for upcoming seasons. 

Conley (17.1 ppg, 4.1 apg), who had a career-year a season ago, while playing with a seriously injured left heel in recent seasons had season-ending surgery to repair what GM Chris Wallace said, “to smooth a small bone protrusion” in that left heel.

The Grizzlies starting lead guard tried trying to return this season, as he was able to work out in 3-on-3 scrimmages early last month, but his heel just did not get any better and surgery was the only option left. 

“Mike has been extremely diligent as we pursued multiple different approaches to alleviate the pain before deciding surgery was the best solution,” Wallace said in an e-mail to season-ticket holders. The team has gone 11-33 without Conley this season, who shot just 38.1 percent from the field, and 31.2 from three-point range. 

Along with losing their star guard, the Grizzlies after their eighth consecutive loss versus the Nets 98-88 on Nov. 26, 2017, the organization gave the axe to then head coach David Fizdale just 24 hours later. 

What led to the axing of Fizdale, who just last season led the team to the playoffs in his first season and gave the Spurs all they could handle before being ousted in the opening round in six games is starting center Marc Gasol (17.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg-Leads team, 4.0 apg, 1.5 bpg-Leads the team) was on the pine in the fourth quarter when the Grizzlies made after trailing the Nets by as many as 19 points. 

“I don’t know the why,” Gasol who had 18 points in the contest said of not playing down the stretch, later adding: “It’s a first for me, trust me, and I don’t like it one bit. I’m more [ticked] than I can show and frustrated.”

Coach Fizdale, who spoke after Gasol said the decision was based on the second unit playing well and cutting into the deficit. 

“We’ll address it if it needs to be addressed, but it was a pretty simple decision what I did. It’s nothing against him. I’m trying to win a game. I’m desperate,” Fizdale said. 

The team named associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff as the interim head coach, and the team has gone 11-26 under his guidance. 

In the blink of an eye, the Memphis Grizzlies went from a consistent playoff participant, seven straight appearances dating back to 2011, to a team now searching for a core group that will get them back there.  

The Grizzlies hoped that the addition of forward Chandler Parsons (8.6 ppg, 48.6 FG%, 41.7 3-Pt.%) to mega contract of four years at $94 million two summer back was the missing piece for them making some noise in the West.

Injuries have robbed those dreams of becoming a reality a season ago, and he has been a shell of himself playing in just 27 games this season.

It is in moments like this that you hope you have some young talent on the roster that can grow from within to give your team some light at the end of a dark tunnel. 

The likes of rookie forward Dillon Brooks (9.0 ppg, 45.2 FG%, 37,4 3-P.%); starting forward JaMychal Green (9.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 45.9 FG%); reserve guard, now starter Andrew Harrison (8.8 ppg, 35.7 3-Pt.%); second-year guard Wayne Selden (8.3 ppg, 38.1 3-Pt.%); third-year forward Jarrell Martin (6.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 45.0 FG%); guard Ben McLemore; second-year center Deyonta Davis; and rookie forward Ivan Rabb represent that young talent currently on the roster the Grizzlies hope to develop into pieces that can surround Conley, when he comes back and Gasol. 

The one lone bright spot for the Grizzlies this season had been the play of guard Tyreke Evans (19.5 ppg-Leads team, 5.0 apg, 5.1 rpg, 45.5 FG%, 39.5 3-Pt.%), who the team took a one-year flyer on and he has taken full advantage of it. He has been healthy, which was not the case in his time with the Pelicans and has shown off the skills and numbers that made him Rookie of the Year in 2010.  

The team had hoped to speed up their rebuilding process by trading their best and most moveable asset, which is why the Grizzlies shut down Evans for five games in advance of the Feb. 8 trade deadline. 

Unfortunately, Evans was not traded at the deadline as Wallace said the next day that the right offer was never received. 

“Basically, we felt that the offers weren’t sufficient for a player of Tyreke’s caliber and potential,” he said. “And particularly they weren’t sufficient when weighed against the potential benefits of having him here for the rest of the season. So, we decided not to do anything.” 

The one trade the Grizzlies did make was sending forward James Ennis III to the Pistons for forward Brice Johnson and a 2022 Second-Round pick.

Gasol, who the Grizzlies re-signed to a five-year $100 two summers back and Conley earned every cent of those massive contracts, but they were a big reason the team could not re-sign forward Zach Randolph; the ageless swingman Vince Carter; and swingman defensive ace Tony Allen. That is over 3,000 games of experience that were shown the door in the off-season. 

The Grizzlies (18-40), who currently are on a nine-game losing streak following a loss versus the Cavs (112-89) on Friday night, and at the Heat (105-89) on Saturday night have gone from a team in transition to one that is clearly rebuilding. 

The hope now is Conley can get back healthy next season. Gasol can regain his reputation where his game does a lot of the talking. That some of the young players can develop into building blocks for the future and can secure a prime spot in this summer’s supposed deep draft class. 

As far as them “tanking” to get that prime position in the draft lottery this May, team officials, players, and their interim head coach dismissed that idea. 

“We’re not going to change who we are,” Bickerstaff said two weeks ago, adding: “Any time we get on the floor, and there’s a matchup and there’s a ball that’s thrown up and we jump, we’re going to try and win the game.”

Prediction: The Grizzlies will use the rest of this season to see what they have on their current roster in terms of who best fits around Conley and Gasol for the future. 

Grade: D

Minnesota Timberwolves: 36-25 (1^st Northwest Division; No. 4 Seed in West) 24-7 at home, 12-18 on the road. 

-109.7 ppg-13^th; opp. ppg: 106.8-19^th; 41.7 rpg-24^th

How long has it been since the Minnesota Timberwolves made the playoffs? This blogger was in his second-year at Howard University when they made it to the Western Conference Finals and lost to the Lakers in six games. After a miserable season a year ago, Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Tom Thibodeau, went out and added some veterans via trade and free agency, including three prominent ones that played for him when he was with the Bulls. There additions along with the growth of their dynamic young duo has “vaulted” the T’Wolves into a position where they will end the longest current postseason drought in the NBA. 

The addition of All-Star guard Jimmy Butler (22.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.9 spg-T-5^th NBA, 47.6 FG%, 35.8 3-Pt.%) who the T’Woves acquired back on the night of the NBA Draft back in June, along with draft rights to the No. 16 overall pick in center Justin Patton out of Creighton from the Bulls has given the team not just a great offensive player, but a guy that defends and brings leadership and toughness to a team that sorely lacked it a season ago. 

Aside from the 24 points and five boards he had in the team’s 119-111 win versus the Lakers prior to the break on Feb. 15, Butler had two key blocks on a very important sequence late in the game for the T’Wolves who overcame a 15-point second quarter deficit to win. This came on a night where he shot just 7 for 20 from the field, but 10 for 11 from the charity stripe. 

While he may be low key in style, veteran guard Jeff Teague (13.1 ppg, 7.1 apg-Leads team, 37.9 3-Pt.%), who signed a three-year $57 million deal in the off-season has provided a steadiness and poise at the lead guard spot.

He is also someone in his time with the Hawks when Thibs was on the sidelines in Chicago always gave his Bulls teams fits. 

The T’Wolves are 29-20 with Teague has played this season and just 6-5 when he has been absent this season. 

Another former Bull the T’Wolves added in the off-season is forward Taj Gibson (12.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 57.5 FG%), who signed a two-year, $28 million deal in the off-season has brought a blue-collar defensive mindset to the front court as well as steady scoring. 

In that previously mentioned win versus the Lakers Gibson had a career-high of 28 points, seven boards and two blocks.

“What he (Gibson) and Jimmy have brought to the team has really changed things for us,” Thibs said after the win versus the Lakers. “Those guys, they weren’t going to let us lose.”

The biggest thing that Butler and Gibson have brought to the team is the ability to translate the message that Coach Thibs is trying to relay to his team through the bells, and whistles that he screams out in practice, and especially in games. 

Both have also brought an understanding of what it takes to make when you are not a high draft choice like Gibson was at No. 26 in the 2009 draft, and Butler, who was the 30^th and final overall pick in the 2011 draft Bulls. They gained the confidence of coach Thibodeau through flat out hard worked, especially at the defensive end. 

As “NBA: The Jump” host Rachel Nichols put it on Sept. 28, 2017 edition on ESPN about Butler, and Gibson, “They like work. Thibs likes work, and their mission is to spread that to the team.”

That is something both have especially tried to get across to the prior No. 1 overall picks, and the 2015 and 2016 Rookie of the Year recipients respectably in swingman Andrew Wiggins (17.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg), who signed five-year $148 million contract extension on Oct. 11, 2017, and first time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns (20.2 ppg, 12.1 rpg-5^th NBA, 1.5 bpg-10^th NBA, 54.6 FG%, 42.1 3-PT.%). 

Towns, who as mentioned earned his first of what hopes to be many All-Star selections has been a double-double machine since being drafted No. 1 overall three seasons back registering 51, 62 and an NBA-leading 51 double-doubles in the first half of the season. He has continued to mix up his game both in the paint and on the perimeter. After making 101 three-pointers a season ago, the Piscataway, NJ native has made 91 triples already this season. 

While Towns has been a consistent performer, Wiggins has shown flashes of how good he could be on both ends of the court but has had a reputation early in his career of not always bringing it every night. That he has a low motor. 

To bring this point into context, when he has registered five rebounds or more, the T’Wolves are 19-6 this season. When Wiggins has had four assists or more, the team is 6-2. 

On top of that Wiggins must learn to have better shot selection. He is too talented of a player to be shooting 43.8 percent from the field. If he can play at the level he did when he had a season-high of 40 points, with six boards on 16 for 28 from the floor in a rare T’Wolves win on the road 126-118 at the Clippers on Jan. 22, then the T’Wolves will have two perennial All-Stars at the unofficial mid-season classic for years to come.

With the Bulls, Thibs was well known for playing his starters heavy minutes, and that has continued in his time in the “Twin Cities” he brought in some key guys that have made a difference off the bench in Sixth Man extraordinaire in Jamal Crawford (10.1 ppg, 34.1 3-Pt.%) and guard Marcus Georges-Hunt, who have been solid alongside backup center Gorgui Dieng (6.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 49.2 FG%), Nemanja Bjelica (5.7 ppg, 48.8 FG%, 43.3 3-Pt.%) and Teague’s understudy Tyus Jones. 

While the Timberwolves have been a solid offensive team tied for 12^th in the NBA in assists at 22.9 and fourth in field goal percentage at 48.0, they are not that good of a three-point shooting team, ranking 22^nd in percentage at 35.6; tied for last in attempts at 22.2 and next to last, 29^th in makes at 7.8. 

The biggest issues that has driven Thibodeau crazy at times this season is their inability to consistently defend. While the T’Wolves are third in the league in steals per game at 8.7 and in forced turnovers at 15.0, they are next to last in opponent’s field goal percentage at 47.8; tied for 14^th in opponent’s three-point percentage at 36.8; 13^th in rebounding differential at +0.3; tied for 22^nd in block shots per game at 4.3. 

That in ability to defend has especially hurt them on the road, where dating back to start of 2018 the T’Wolves have lost 10 of their last 11 games, surrendering an average of 104 points in those 12 games. 

The best indication of the difference between the T’Wolves this year and last year is the reaction of Butler after the team’s loss to an inferior opponent on the road, being outscored 35-27 in the fourth, and 61-54 in the second half. 

“I’m glad we (expletive) lost, coming in here on our high horse thinking we are a really good team and we haven’t done anything yet,” he said after the game that snapped the then T’Wolves five-game winning streak. “God for us, man. They played better than us.”

The T’Wolves greatest equalizer has been their dominance at home with the second-best record in the league through at the break. They have won 14 of their last 15 at Target Center, which included a 13-game winning streak that was snapped with a 126-108 setback versus the Rockets, who hit 10 three-pointers and outscored the T’Wolves 42-28 in the fourth quarter. 

As the second half of this season commences, the Timberwolves (37-26) are in a very good position to make the playoffs as mentioned earlier for the first time since 2004 and have a good chance to win a postseason series by having homecourt advantage.

They are virtually tied with the Spurs for the No. 3 Seed in West being just one game on the loss side.

However, a rough stretch could drop them completely below the playoff line as they are just two games ahead of teams five through nine in the West.

 “We’re in a good place,” Butler said to TNT’s David Aldridge after the win versus the Lakers before the break. “We’ve won some games. We lost quite a few, but we’re getting better.” 

“We got to get used to playing hard every single possession. Hopefully when we come back from this break we realize how we have to do that.” 

The T’Wolves unfortunately not only lost their first game to following the All-Star break 120-102 at the Rockets Friday night on ESPN, they lost Butler to a knee injury that he sustained in the third quarter of the contest.  

It was then later diagnosed that the All-Star guard needed surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. The team announced that Butler had the surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and that it was successful. He has been ruled out indefinitely. 

“I’ve been around this a long time,” Gibson said on Saturday. “The bright side is it isn’t his ACL, so that’s a good thing.” 

The T’Wolves, who lost for the 11^th straight time at the Rockets bounced back one night later with a 122-104 win versus the Bulls on Saturday night, avenging their defeat at their place 114-113 15 days prior. The T’Wolves victory was powered by outscoring the Bulls 36-22 in the fourth quarter.  

Their commitment to playing better defense, especially without Butler in the lineup and winning their share of games on the road will be the difference in them making the playoffs and having home court advantage or not.

“We needed everyone and everyone to stepped,” Thibodeau said after the win versus the Bulls. He also said about his team without Butler going forward after the loss at the Rockets, where the T’Wolves were outscored 65-48 in the second half “Injuries are an unfortunate part of the NBA.” 

“The next guy has to get up and be ready to get the job done. Every night is a challenge but dealing with your injuries and being mentally tough when you face adversity is a big part of winning. We have to find a way to win.”  

Prediction: Timberwolves will make the playoffs, but where they finish will determine if they have an early exit or if they make it to the Semis, where they will fall. 

Grade: B-

New Orleans Pelicans: 31-26 (3^rd Southwest Division; No. 8 Seed in West) 15-12 at home, 16-14 on the road.

-111.3 ppg-4^th; opp. ppg: 111.2-29^th; 43.5 rpg-17^th 

Last season, the New Orleans Pelicans made a blockbuster deal that netted them a talented All-Star big man to team up alongside their other All-NBA First-Team and fellow All-Star star big-man at last season’s All-Star break. While their cohesiveness did not produce a lot of wins last year, this season it had the Pelicans right in the thick of the playoff race in the rugged Western Conference. The addition of a veteran lead guard alongside the team’s lead guard a season ago has paid tremendous dividends. Things changed greatly though when the man they traded for went down with a season-ending injury and made the road to the playoffs very shaky. But the play of their franchise player has "renewed" that goal of making the playoffs a reality this spring. 

This season, All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, who the team acquired in February 2017 was having one of the best seasons of his career, ranking ninth in scoring at 25.2 and third in rebounding, with a career-best average of 12.9. He was averaging a career-high with 5.4 assists, and a career-high tying averages of 1.6 blocks (8^th NBA) and 1.6 steals (10^th NBA). 

He and superstar Anthony Davis (27.4 ppg-3^rd NBA, 10.7 rpg-T-8^th NBA, 2.1 bpg-2^nd NBA, 54.1 FG%, 36.7 3-Pt.%) showed they could work well together in an era where teams have used smaller lineups. 

Their ability to play off one another, as well as their ability to score inside and out and to make plays for their teammates had a playoff spot basically squared away. 

Complimenting the dynamic All-Stars are lead guard Rajon Rondo (7.5 ppg, 7.3 apg, 46.2 FG%), Jrue Holiday (18.6 ppg, 5.5 apg, 1.5 spg, 48.8 FG%), E’Twaun Moore (12.5 ppg-career-high, 51.2 FG%, 43.3 3-Pt.%); sharp shooting forward Darius Miller (8.2 ppg, 45.9 FG%, 43.0 3-Pt.%) and Ian Clark (5.8 ppg).

The other thing that has helped this team is the fact that Cousins had really matured as a player who was more known for his play, and not the antics that he displayed while with the Sacramento Kings. 

The best example of this is occurred when he registered his third triple-double on the season with 44 points, 23 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with four steals on 13 for 29 from the field, including 5 for 11 from three-point range and 13 for 14 from the free throw line in leading the Pelicans to a 132-128 overtime win versus the Bull on Jan. 22. 

“That type of energy is going to carry us through the remainder of the season,” Cousins, who joined Hall of Famers like the late Wilt Chamberlin, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabba to have at or over 40 points, 20 boards and 10 assists in a game in NBA history said after the win.

He added, “Any given night, it could be somebody’s night, and it so happened to be mine tonight. The next game, it may be somebody else’s night, and we’re going to rally around that guy the same way.” 

Cousins, despite being in foul trouble had his second triple-double in this three-game stretch with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in the Pelicans seventh win in their last eight games in their 115-113 win versus the Rockets 48 hours later. They suffered a huge loss though as Cousins suffered a serious foot injury in the closing seconds of the game, where he had to be carried to the locker room.

It was revealed the next day that Cousins suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon and that required surgery, ending his season, where he is set to become a free agent. 

In the aftermath of a devastating blow to the Pelicans playoff hopes, the team sustained losses in four of its next five following five games losing every way conceivable. 

They lost a 21-point first half lead in a 112-103 loss versus the Clippers, despite 25 points and 17 boards from Davis 48 hours after losing Cousins for the season.

Two nights after that versus the Kings, the Pelicans were dominated inside in their 114-103 loss, as the visitors to the Smoothie King Center out-rebounded the home team 55-42, including 14-2 on the offensive glass and outscored them in the paint 52-42. The Pelicans were outscored over the next three quarters after leading 29-25 after the first quarter. 

The Pelicans also continued the bad pattern of being outscored in the third quarter, which they were 29-23 in the loss versus the Kings. 

“We’ve got to find a solution to that,” head coach Alvin Gentry said after the game. “We’ve gone out and changed some of the things that were doing. We’ve tried to get ball movement. We got back and look at the tape. I can’t get it figured out.”

They were able to stop the bleeding temporarily with a 114-100 win at the Thunder on Feb. 2 thanks to the 43 points of Davis, along with 10 rebounds, and three steals on 17 for 34 shooting. 

Davis on this night surpassed current Warriors forward David West as the all-time leading scorer in franchise history. 

“Humbling,” Davis, who has scored 8,893 points in a Pelicans uniform to date said to FOX Sports New Orleans’ Jennifer Hale after the win. “Huge accomplishment for me and my team. Without them it wouldn’t be possible. They put me in the right spots and trusted me to make plays. And even when I am off they tell me keep shooting, and it’s all a credit to them.”

The good times did not last as the team lost its next three and had lost 5 of 6 since losing Cousins. 

In need of some reinforcements, the Pelicans front office acquired sharp shooting forward Nikola Mirotic (16.5 ppg-career-high, 6.9 rpg-career-high, 47.4 FG%, 42.9 3-Pt.%-career-high) and a Second-Round pick from the Bulls for center Omer Asik, guard Tony Allen, guard Jameer Nelson, and a protected 2018 First-Round pick. 

The team also added veteran forward/center Emeka Okafor to bring depth and experience to the front court. 

In his first game with the team, Mirotic off the bench had 18 points and 12 rebounds and four steals, going 6 for 13 shooting, including 3 for 8 from three-point range in the Pelicans 118-107 loss at the T’Wolves on Feb. 3. 

After two games where he totaled 17 points and seven boards on 7 for 23 from the field, Mirotic and the entire Pelicans roster got a huge 138-128 overtime win at the Nets, despite squandering a 28-point lead at one point in the contest. 

Davis led the way with a game-high 44 points, with 17 rebounds, six steals and three blocks on 16 for 35 shooting. Rondo had a triple-double of 25 points, 12 assists and 10 boards, while Holiday had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Mirotic also had a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds, along with five blocks. Moore rounded the starting quintet in double figures with 12 points. 

The Pelicans two nights later took down the Pistons in their gym 118-103 thanks to 38 points and 10 rebounds from Davis, while Holiday had his own double-double of 21 points and 12 assists, with two steals. Mirotic off the bench had another double-double of 21 points and 12 boards hitting 4 for 8 from three-point range. Miller had 12 points off the bench as well, hitting 4 for 7 from deep. 

The Pelicans ended the first half of the season with a serious exclamation point with a franchise record 46 first quarter points in a 139-117 win versus the Lakers on Valentine’s Day. 

They registered 35 assists on 53 field goals, while shooting 53.5 percent on the night. They made 14 triples; out-rebounded the Lakers 51-44, including 12-7 on the offensive glass; forced 20 turnovers, which included 13 steals that led to 29 points; had 28 fast break points and 66 points in the paint. 

Davis had 31 of his 42 points in the opening half, including 23 in the second quarter. He also had 15 rebounds, three steals and two blocks, which gave him his 11^th career 40-point, 15-rebound game. Only Hall of Famer and NBATV/NBA on TNT studio analyst Shaquille O’Neal with 19 has the most 40/15 games in the last 35 seasons. Holiday had 24 points, 11 assists and four steals. Miller had 19 points off the bench hitting 4 for 6 from three-point range, while Mirotic had 16 points off the pine with seven boards, two steals and two blocks. Moore added 14. 

After a rough patch without Cousins the Pelicans, who moved to 4-5 since losing their starting center for the rest of the season with the previously mentioned torn left Achilles have gotten back on track with three straight wins before the break and stand one game ahead of the Clippers, and 1 ½ games ahead of the surging Jazz for that No. 8 and final playoff spot. 

For them, the second half of the season is about playing cohesive and with energy on both ends of the court night in and night out. Getting off to better starts after intermission and to get consistent scoring balance between Davis and the rest of team. 

That is exactly what took place in the Pelicans two wins following the break where they needed bonus basketball to pull them out. 

In their 124-123 win in overtime versus the Heat on Friday night, Davis had 45 points, 17 rebounds, five steals and five block shots. Holiday had 29 points, nine assists and seven boards. Ian Clark had a season-high 21 points off the bench, while Mirotic chipped in with 10 points and nine boards. 

The Pelicans overcame an 18-point deficit early in the second half to garner a 123-121 overtime win at the Bucks to garner a season-high fifth straight win and improved to an NBA best 7-2 in overtime on the season. 

Holiday paced five Pelicans double figure scorers with 36 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Davis had his 33^rd double-double of the season with 27 points and 13 boards. Rondo also had a double-double of 16 points and 12 assists, while Mirotic had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Moore had 11 points.

The playoffs are right there for Pelicans (33-26) to seize as they are currently in the No. 6 spot in the West, just a ½ game behind the No. 5 Seeded Trail Blazers.

Getting there though without Cousins will not be an easy task, and no one understands that better than Davis, who he and Davis were on pace to be the first duo to average 25 points and 10 rebounds ever.  

“It goes back to A.D. before DeMarcus,” Davis said to Nichols over All-Star weekend. “A lot of minutes. Weight of the world on your shoulders. You have to carry the team on your back. You almost got to get 40 every night to give us a chance to win.” 

“(Spots) three through 10 is all right there, so we want to make sure we in the mix. We can’t let this thing go away.” 

Prediction: The Pelicans will make the playoffs but whether they get past the opening round will depend on who they match up with. 

Grade: B-

Oklahoma City Thunder: 33-26 (2^nd Northwest Division; No. 5 Seed in West) 20-10 at home, 13-16 on the road. 

-106.6 ppg-13^th; opp. ppg: 103.2-16^th; 44.8 rpg-6^th   

Last season the Oklahoma City Thunder had the league MVP guide them to the playoffs when the entire NBA world thought they were going to land flat on their face when 2014 league MVP Kevin Durant left in free agency to join the current defending champion Warriors. This off-season, GM Sam Presti got the reigning MVP some serious help in the form of two perennial All-Stars who are hungry to win, as well as some solid role players. Things were rocky to start but the Thunder righted themselves. The newest version of the “Big Three” figured out their roles in terms of scoring and who gets what shots when and what at first seemed like a mismatch of a team is one that is “focused” on making this season a meaningful one. 

When the Thunder acquired now five-time All-Star Paul George and then 10-time All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony on Sept. 25, 2017 to team up with seven-time All-Star and reigning league MVP Russell Westbrook, they immediately became a team that vaulted themselves into one that had the possibility of challenging the Warriors. 

At the start of this season though, that was not the case as the three stars had their difficulties trying to co-exist together with one basketball that had to be shared three different ways at the offensive end.

As a result, the Thunder were just 8-12 through the first 20 games of this season averaging 102.3 points per game; shooting just 44 percent from the field and only a plus three-point differential. They were 0-9 in games decided by eight points or less, and 0-4 in games decided by five points or less. 

One game that was a microcosm of their early season struggles was their 104-101 setback at the Spurs on Nov. 17, 2017 where they had a 23-point lead but were outscored 89-69 over the final three quarters. 

A similar collapse took place 14 days prior when on Nov. 3, 2017 versus the Celtics the Thunder blew an 18-point advantage in a 101-94 loss. 

After a tough loss at the Magic 121-108 on Dec. 29, 2017, the questions came will Westbrook, George and Anthony figure this thing out before the Feb. 8 trade deadline? Would George, who is a free agent when the Thunder’s season ends want to stay? Would Anthony want to opt out of the final year of his deal and become a free agent at season’s end? 

Westbrook stepped up his leadership by taking responsibility for the early struggles and that things will get corrected starting with him. 

“It’s my responsibility to make sure we’re ready to play on both sides of the ball,” he said after the loss. “To get us out of this funk we’ve got to lock in. That starts with me and I’ll take ownership because I’ve been here (and) I know the standards we set.”

Beginning with a 111-107 win versus the T’Wolves, the Thunder began a stretch where they won 17 of their next 25 games from Dec. 1, 2017 to Jan. 17. They raised their scoring average to 106.0 points on 46 percent from the field and raised their point differential to a +4.0. 

The Thunder also did a better job of winning games decided by single digits going 10-3 in games decided by eight points or less. In games decided by three or less in this stretch, the Thunder went 7-3. 

The newest “Big Three” during this stretch also got the pecking order in terms of their ability not step on one another’s toes on offense. 

Westbrook (25.3 ppg-8^th NBA, 10.4 apg-Leads NBA, 9.4 rpg, 1.9 spg-5^th NBA) has gotten back to the all-around player that does it all from scoring, rebounding, passing and being a straight up pest at the defensive end and a coming at you every second at the offensive end. 

After setting a new single-season record for triple-doubles with 42, passing Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson’s 41 in the 1961-62 season a season ago and becoming the first player since the “Big O” to average a triple-double in a single season, Westbrook, whose leading the NBA in triple-doubles on the season with 18 has put himself in position to do so again. , in leading his team back into the playoffs, and winning league MVP for the first time in his career. 

George (22.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 44.8 FG%) has emerged as the second option to where he is hitting a career-best 43.1 percent of his three-pointers and is 20 triples shy of tying his career-high of 210 makes that he had in 2015-16. On top of that, he has become an even better perimeter defender with a career-high and league leading average in steals per game at 2.2 and has put himself in the running for Defensive Player of the Year. 

While he is averaging career-lows in scoring per game (17.2), rebounds per contest (5.9) and shooting percentage (41.3), Anthony has slowly accepted his role and allowed himself to be in the role former All-Star Chris Bosh was in his four seasons with the Heat when he was with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. 

Unlike his last four seasons with the Knicks he will be in a place where he has not been, the playoffs. 

Things seemed to be going smoothly at last for the Thunder with six straight wins entering their showdown at the Pistons on Jan. 27. During this latest run, the Thunder were second in “The Association” in points per game (114.7); No. 1 in offensive rebounds (17.2) and in second-chance points (18.2); No. 6 in points in the paint (51.0); seventh in free throw attempts (25); and 10^th in field goal percentage (47.2). 

The Thunder managed to win at the Pistons 121-108 behind Westbrook’s triple-double of 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. George had 26 points going 4 for 7 from three-point range and 10 for 12 from the charity stripe, with three steals. Anthony had 21 points and became the 21^st player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points for their career. 

“It’s a special moment,” Anthony said. ‘To kind of know what it took to get to this point and the amount of work that put in to get to this point, the teammates that I’ve played with over the years, and for me to still be at a point in my career where I still have a lot more to go.” 

The Thunder did suffer a tough loss in this game though as starting shooting guard and defensive perimeter ace Andre Roberson (5.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg), who injured his knee in the third quarter of the win. 

It was later revealed a day later that the 26-year-old Roberson, who has spent his entire career with the Thunder since being drafted out of University of Colorado suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his left leg. After being examined by trainers for several moments before being taken off the court on a stretcher. 

“He’s certainly a huge loss,” Thunder head coach Billy Donovan said after the game about Roberson, who missed eight games earlier in the season with patellar tendinitis in his left knee. “Everyone’s been able to see that since he’s kinda come back to us and what he’s been able to do defensively. And he’s found a way to be, offensively, a really effective player for us.” 

Since the loss or Roberson, the Thunder have lost 6 of 10 games entering the break, which included four straight losses after learning he was lost for the season from Jan. 30-Feb. 4. 

To put the loss of Roberson into context, the Thunder have surrendered 110 points or more on five occasions and lost four of those games. 

He was a major reason along with George and Westbrook the Thunder are the NBA leader in steals per game this season at 9.1 and No. 2 in forced turnovers at 15.1. They were tied for second in the league in rebounding differential at +3.5 and tied for 10^th in block shots at 5.0. 

Without Roberson, that means more will be expected from the likes of starting center Steven Adams, who is averaging career-highs of 14.0 points and 9.1 rebounds on 62.6 percent from the field, with 22 double-doubles in the first half of the season. 

Reserve forward Jerami Grant (7.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 51.2 FG%), reserve guards Raymond Felton (7.0 ppg, 34.0 3-Pt.%) Alex Abrines (4.8 ppg, 37.3 3-Pt.%), Patrick Patterson, Raymond Felton rookie Terrance Ferguson, and second-year forward Josh Huestis will also have to provide more on both ends of the floor. 

“The coaches spend so much time scouting that they want to take as much time as possible to thank about it,” Huestis said about the rotation at shooting guard before the team’s 121-114 Valentine’s night tilt at the Grizzlies. 

“For me, it’s not that big a deal, because I stay ready. If I go into every single day ready for whatever the situation may be, then I have no problem either stepping into a starting role or coming off the bench.”  

With all that has happened to the Thunder this season, they are one good run from being as high as third in the West. A rough stretch could seem them drop out of the playoff picture entirely. 

The Thunder (34-27) needed a three-pointer at the buzzer by Westbrook, who notched his league leading 18^th triple-double on the season of 17 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to escape with a 110-107 win at the Kings. 

After winning their first two matchups against the defending champion Warriors, they were simply blown off the Oracle Arena floor 112-80 on Saturday night on ABC, that was not only their third loss in their last five games but dropped them to the No. 7 spot in the West and are just ½ a game in front of the Nuggets for the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the West. 

For them, it is all about the trio of Westbrook, George and Anthony keeping a balance of knowing when to take shots while getting their teammates involved in the game. Doing the things on both sides of the ball that work.

For the role players like Adams, Abrines, Raymond Felton and the rest to make shots when the big three draw double teams from the opposition, but also winning games their supposed to win.  

How this season finishes will go a long way in deciding if George and Anthony want to continue and finish their careers with the Thunder. 

Prediction: Thunder will make the playoffs, but where they finish will determine if they will make it to the Semifinals or if they will have a quick exit in the opening round. 

Grade: B

Phoenix Suns: 18-41 (5^th Pacific Division) 9-21 at home, 9-20 on the road. 

-103.9 ppg-19^th; opp. ppg: 112.8-30^th; 43.9 rpg-13^th

It is one thing to say you are going to rebuild with young players. It is another thing when those young players are not old enough or just old enough to be of legal age to be in a hotel bar. It is another thing to base your future on those young players who either get better or be a complete bust. This is where the Phoenix Suns and their front office brass of Owner Robert Sarver, and GM Ryan McDonough, find themselves. While they have a budding young star at shooting guard, the rest of the cast has yet to establish themselves as keepers. In a season that has had a lot of rough moments, like a coaching change just games into the 2017-18 NBA campaign the hope is that some of these players with the guidance of the two veteran voices on the roster can “evolve” into a group that can become a playoff perennial soon.  

When you talk about the best young sharp shooters and scorers in the game, the Suns’ Devin Booker (24.2 ppg-Leads team, 38.3 3-Pt.%) is the first name to come to mind, especially after last season when he had a game for the ages becoming just the sixth player in NBA history to reach 70 points, going 21 for 40 from the floor, 4 for 11 from three-point range, and 24 for 26 from the free throw line in the Suns 130-120 setback at the Boston Celtics on Mar. 24, 2017, which was also the most points scored against the Celtics ever. 

Booker also became the youngest player ever, according to the Elias Sports Bureau to score 60-plus points in NBA history. He topped legends, and Hall of Famers Jerry West, who scored 63 points at the age of 23 on Jan. 1, 1962; David Thompson, who dropped 73 points at the age of 23 on Apr. 9, 1978; and the great Michael Jordan, who at 24-years-old scored 61 points twice on Mar. 4, 1987, and Apr. 16, 1987. 

Booker growth in his first two seasons has gotten the attention of three of the best to ever play on the hardwood. 

“I love Devin Booker man… You better watch out for that boy because he is nice. He next-I’m telling you,” is how 2017 Finals MVP Finals MVP Kevin Durant of the Warriors described the sharp shooter. 

Four-time league MVP of the Cavs LeBron James said, ‘If it’s someone who is under the radar right now that I believe is going to be really, really, really good, All-Star player in the league-It’s Devin Booker.” 

Future Hall of Famer, and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant said of the sharp shooter, “I think he’s fantastic…I think he has the right attitude. He has the right competitive spirit.”

Booker has carried that momentum into this season with 16 games of 30-plus points, with his highest being a 43-point performance in a 118-111 loss at the Trail Blazers, where he was 14 for 29 from the field, including 5 for 12 from three-point range and 1 for 10 from the foul line with eight assists, six boards and two steals. 

He has also become a more all-around player averaging 4.8 assists, and 4.4 rebounds this season. To put into context how important he is to the Suns this season, they are 15-31 with him in the lineup, which is not that great, but they are just 3-12 when he has missed time because of injury. 

His growth along with the break out season of fourth-year forward TJ Warren (19.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg 50.0 FG%), who has five double-doubles this season, compared to six total his first three seasons has been the only bright spot what has been a dismal season for the Suns, who are celebrating their 50^th season of existence. 

It began with three blowout losses in their first three games of the season, and that resulted in head coach Earl Watson getting the axe. In his stead on an interim basis has been Jay Triano, who has made some headway with the main young players, even though the wins have not followed. He has allowed this young group to make their mistakes and trying to learn from them.  

Eric Bledsoe, whose scoring and assists averages have improved in all four of his seasons in the “Valley of the Sun,” but his stats have not risen the Suns out of the West basement. 

After sending a tweet out that gave the impression he no longer wanted to be a part of the team was dealt to the Bucks back in early November 2017 for center Greg Monroe, who was waived at the start of this month. 

With the veteran gone, the team deciphered in the early part of this season between undrafted rookie Mike James (10.4 ppg, 3.8 apg in 32 games w/Suns), second-year guard Tyler Ulis (6.8 ppg, 3.9 apg), Isaiah Canaan (9.1 ppg, 4.0 apg) and Troy Daniels (8.4 ppg, 39.9 3-Pt.%). 

For all three players, neither one of them was a pure point guard who can run a team. They were more of the kind of guards who liked to shoot early and often. James was let go in December 2017. 

Canaan sustained a fractured left ankle in the team’s 102-88 win versus the Mavericks, that required surgery and there is no timetable for his return. Daniels, whose had six games this year of making five triples or more in a game is more a point guard by his size as he is strictly a shooter.

It is that hole at the lead guard spot that led the Suns at the trade deadline to acquire Elfrid Payton (13.5 ppg, 6.4 apg, 4.2 rpg, 52.4 FG%) at the Feb 8 trade deadline for the Grizzlies 2018 Second-Round pick. What the four-year guard may lack in shooting ability, he has shown throughout his career the ability to make plays for others; attack the basket to score for himself or find the open man and he can defend. 

The No. 10 overall pick out of Louisiana-Lafayette has already made his mark in three with the team prior to the break. 

Payton had 19 points, nine assists and six boards in the Suns’ 123-113 loss versus the Nuggets. He followed that up with 29 points, eight boards and five assists on 11 for 18 shooting in the 129-83 setback at the defending champion Warriors. In the team’s last game before the break. Payton had his first triple-double on the season and the ninth of his career with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in the Suns 107-97 loss at the Jazz. 

One very important aspect that Payton brought to his new team is leadership, which he demonstrated with reporters after the Suns’ seven consecutive loss, where they were outscored 35-26 in the fourth quarter. 

“Our competitiveness was at a high level through the whole game,” he said. “They made a run and we were able to combat that and stop the bleeding. That’s something I haven’t seen in the last two games for the most part.”

Payton came over to his new team with something to prove because he felt like the Magic gave up on him as he was dealt for basically a bottle of Gatorade and a bag of potato chips in referring to that Second-Round pick. 

The Suns front office brass hopes that the likes of their young forwards in Marquese Chriss (6.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Dragen Bender, Alex Len, and rookie forward Josh Jackson (11.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg) can elevate their level of focus to that of Payton for the second half of this season. 

Jackson showed a great deal of the athleticism on both ends, and his high-IQ during the Las Vegas Summer League that had him high on a lot of the respective NBA d0raft boards.

In the early stages of this season, the No. 4 overall pick out of University of Kansas was averaging 10.3, 8.8 and 8.7 points and 3.7, 3.8 and 3.1 boards, on 36.6, 40.1 and 35.7 percent from the floor in October, November, and December 2017 respectably. What also is a factor in is that he was playing 25, 20 and 21.7 minutes over those first three months. 

With averages of 24.1 and 31.8 minutes in January and February, Jackson’s production has risen to 14.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in January on 43.6 percent from the floor. In this month, he is averaging 17.6 points and 6.3 boards on 44.9 percent. 

For Jackson, it is about him becoming a consistent jump shooter. If he develops a three-point stroke, great. He must though really work on his jump shot as his career goes on, or he will have no chance of being great in the NBA. 

Chriss has shown flashes of ability to play this game. His performance of 15 points and 12 rebounds played a big role in the Suns winning 102-88 versus the Mavericks.

Dec. 26, 2017, the No. 8 overall pick in 2016, whose draft rights were acquired from the Kings on draft night had six points and 13 boards in the team’s win at the Grizzlies.

On Oct. 23, 2017 versus his hometown team the Kings, Chriss had a season-high 19 points as the Suns won 117-115.  

The talent is there, and it is just Chriss having the commitment and focus to bring it every night. It also comes down to respecting the head coach as well as the assistant coaches and not getting to verbal shouting matches like Chriss did following an 129-97 loss versus the Jazz earlier this month, according to a league that told ESPN.

An argument occurred over a postgame routine Chriss is required to do, according to that source. He was suspended for the team’s tilt versus the Hornets GM McDonough confirmed to Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. 

“He violated a team rule,” he said. “He probably won’t be with us for the game tomorrow. He’s a good kid who had a bad moment. We look forward to seeing him on Monday morning, so we can turn the page and move on.” 

Since being drafted No. 4 overall in 2016 by the Suns, Bender (6.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg) has simply struggled and has yet to earn any consistent playing time.

While he has made some strides this season, shooting 37.9 percent from three-point range this season, he has not taken that ultimate step of breaking into the starting lineup and having an impact. 

The same thing can be said for Len (8.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 56.5 FG%), who is averaging a career-high in rebounds per game in the season but has not taken the step of being a consistent scorer. 

When the Suns drafted him No. 5 overall in 2013 out of Maryland, they hoped the Ukraine native would blossom into a major force in the paint on both ends of the floor.  

Two years ago, Len had a career-high 19 double-doubles in 2015-16. He has 19 combined the last two seasons, with 8 coming in this one. He had 13 points and 12 boards in a Suns 97-88 victory versus the Jazz on Oct. 25, 2017.

Len had a season-high of 21 points with 13 rebounds, hitting 11 for 12 from the foul line in a 128-112 loss at the Magic.

Eight days later in a 122-113 win at the Lakers, he had 17 points, 18 rebounds. On Dec. 16, 2017 in a 108-106 victory by the Suns at the T’Wolves, Len had 12 points, 19 rebounds and six assists. Two nights later in a 97-91 win at the Mavericks, Len had 14 points and 14 boards.

Earlier this season, the Suns could have given Len a contract extension as his rookie deal is almost up. The fact that nothing has happened is a sign that the organization feels it is not a priority to take care of him now. He now has the rest of this season to prove he is worthy of another investment by the Suns. 

What has also set the Suns back this season is undrafted forward/center and Phoenix native Alan forward/center Alan Williams, who really came on at the end of last season with averages of 11.0 points, and 10.1 rebounds in March, on 47.1 shooting from the field, and 10.8 points, and 7.3 boards, on 54.5 percent from the floor in April. That earned him a three-year $17 million extension. 

Unfortunately for Williams, who earned a three-year $17 million contract extension had right knee surgery before the start of the season and has not played at all. 

It is in times like these you hope to have a veteran presence in your locker room. The Suns have perhaps the two gentlemen that you want to have during this rebuilding process in center Tyson Chandler (6.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg-Leads team, 62.4 FG%) and Jared Dudley. 

Whether they play no minutes, one minute or 20 minutes, these are two men who have played in the NBA for 17 and 11 years respectably, and they have been a part of some good teams, title teams in the case of Chandler, who helped the Mavericks win the title in 2011 and they have been part of teams like this one, who is trying to build itself into a playoff perennial and hopefully a champion. 

The 50^th season of Phoenix Suns basketball has been one that they would like to put in the rearview mirror.

They have had some losses this season where they have not been very competitive. Some of their talented guys the organization had high expectations for not named Devin Booker have been a disappointment so far. 

The Suns (18-43), who are currently on a nine-game losing streak after dropping their first two following the All-Star break are still in the beginning stages of rebuilding their roster. 

The hope for GM McDonough and Owner Robert Sarver for the rest of this season is to find the right combination of players to continue their path to becoming a playoff perennial.

They also need to find out who is willing to make the commitment to becoming a great pro. They did not display that in their 129-83 setback at the Warriors on Feb. 12, their fourth loss this season by 40-plus points. 

The Suns took some serious offense to the fact that the players did most of the coaching during the game, and they felt disrespected by that. 

“It was disrespectful,” Daniels said after the game. “I don’t think it’s hard to coach those guys though. So, I think anybody can do it.” 

It is games of that nature that you can either be salty or you can use as motivation to where take that moment of disrespect in your mind and get better. 

It is a moment that NBATV’s Sam Mitchell, who played and coach in the NBA with the Raptors and Timberwolves capsuled in a very poignant perspective that all the young Suns should adhered too going for this season and beyond. 

“The NBA is a no mercy league,” he said during the Feb. 13 edition of NBATV’s “Gametime.”

“I’ve been a part of teams where we’ve come into town and gotten beaten by 50 [points] and the thing that you talk to your players about, especially the young team, ‘Remember this day. How an opposing coach let their players run the huddle, coach the game.’ Those things got to fuel in the off-season to work on your game and get better…” 

“What all those Phoenix Suns young players realize the NBA is no mercy and no one is going to take pity on you. No one is going to take it easy on you. If they can embarrass you, they’re going to do it. They’re going to put their foot on you and bury you.” 

Prediction: The Suns will continue to marvel and enjoy the growth of Devin Booker and along the way see what Suns players want to grow and be the Robins to his Batman 

Grade: F

Portland Trail Blazers: 32-26 (3^rd Northwest Division; No. 7 Seed West) 17-11 at home, 15-15 on the road.  

-105.0 ppg-17^th; opp. ppg: 103.9-9^th; 44.9 rpg-5^th

They have one of the most potent backcourt duos in “The Association” an All-Star lead guard that is the engine of the team, and a shooting guard who continues to impressive with his ability to put the ball in the basket. A lack of a consistent third option has been something that has kept the Portland Trail Blazers from making any serious noise in the West the past couple of seasons. They thought they solved that issue with the acquisition of the man dubbed the “Bosnian Beast” last season that turned their season around. He has been inconsistent along with the rest of the team. That said, the Portland Trail Blazers thanks to their consistency at the defensive end, playing better at home and getting their share of victories on the road has “provided” a chance at making the playoffs again in the crowded West. 

The heart and soul of the Portland Trail Blazers offensive attack is the starting guards Damian Lillard (26.1 ppg-6^th NBA, 6.5 apg-Leads team, 4.5 rpg-career-high, 44.6 FG%-career-high, 36.9 3-Pt.%) and C.J. McCollum (21.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 45.2 FG%, 42.4 3-Pt.%), who seemingly get better and better every night they take the floor. 

This season, both did something that has never been done in the long history of franchise that calls “Rip City” home. They both scored 50 points in a game this season.

McCollum scored a career-high 50 points, with a franchise record 28 of his team’s 43 first quarter points coming in the opening period on a career-best 18 field goals in 25 tries, including 6 for 9 from three-point and 8 for 8 on the foul line as the Trail Blazers won 124-108 versus the Bulls on Jan. 31.

The No. 10 overall pick in the 2013 draft joined Lillard, Damon Stoudamire, Brandon Roy, Andre Miller, Clyde Drexler, and Geoff Petrie as the only seven players in Trail Blazers’ history to score half the century mark.  

What made this night even more special is that five-year pro out of Lehigh University score 50 in three quarters and had this performance with his 92-year-old aunt, who was visiting from Ohio in the stands of the Moda Center. 

“During the game I was thinking she probably thinks this is a really good game to come to,” McCollum, who joined Rockets’ star James Harden as the only players this season to score 50-points in three quarters said while laughing to NBC Sports Northwest’s Brooke Olzendam after the win. 

McCollum’s final tally fell nine points shy of the team record 59 points Lillard, who had 13 points and seven assists on the evening set last season. 

“I’m not into chasing records, man. I just want to win,” McCollum said to Olzendam. “Even throughout the game, I looked up and I was like, I can get 40. And then Ed (Davis) was like, ‘No, you need 50.’ And Dame was like, ‘Get 50.’ So, I was like, ‘OK, I’ll get 50 if you guys want me to.” 

Nine days later, Lillard had 50 points in leading his team to a 118-100 win at the Kings, their second win in succession. 

It was the first time Trail Blazers franchise history that two different players scored 50 points or more in the same season. It also marked the 11^th time that a Trail Blazers’ player scored 50-plus in a game, with Lillard accomplishing that feet for the fourth time. 

He joined his teammate McCollum, Warriors All-Star guard Klay Thompson to score 50 points in under 30 minutes on the court in NBA history. Lillard also joined McCollum and Harden to score 50 points through three quarters this season. 

“I think sometimes you got to be more aggressive. I think it’s as simple as that,” Lillard, who was 16 for 26 from the field, including 8 for 13 from three-point range and 10 for 10 at the foul line said to Olzendam after the game about his offensive approach during the game. “Coming into tonight, I knew it was huge opportunity for us on a back-to-back to get another win. We’re trying to keep building in the right direction and I thought our team did a great job.”  

The offensive output from Lillard and McCollum was a perfect deodorant early in the season for head coach Terry Stotts squad that had its issues putting the ball in the basket. 

In the first two months of the season, the Trail Blazers inconsistency at the offensive end is why they were just one game above .500 at 18-17 at the close of 2017. 

In going 11-5 to start 2018, including their defeat on Feb. 2 at the Raptors, the Trail Blazers scored over 100 points 16 straight games. When they scored 110 or more during this stretch, the Trail Blazers were 8-3. 

Last season, the Trail Blazers near the trade deadline acquired from the Denver Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic 14.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg-Leads team, 47.9 FG%) to provide inside scoring and a presence in the paint on both ends. 

The team went 14-6 with Nurkic in the lineup and 17-6 down the stretch of the season to go from 11-games under .500 to overtaking the Nuggets as the No. 8 Seed in the West.

In 20 games with the Trail Blazers, 19 of them as a starter, the “Bosnian Beast” averaged 15.2 points, 10.4 boards and 1.9 block shots on 50.8 percent from the field, garnering nine of his 13 double-doubles.

While his numbers have been okay in terms of his scoring and rebounding this season, which includes 14 double-doubles, Nurkic has not had the same kind of impact that he had as the Trail Blazers No. 3 scorer last season.

The same can be said for the rest of the team, but they have had their moments this season where they have in their own way stepped up on the offensive end. 

There was some intrigue of rookies in center Zach Collins and forward Caleb Swanigan could come in and provide some scoring and rebounding off the bench. They are rookies and to expect them to come in, even though they were taken high with Collins at No. 10 overall out of Gonzaga by the Kings and the Trail Blazers acquired his draft and Swanigan at No. 26 out of Purdue and they had their moments, particularly Collins that is a lot to ask

The other offensive options in Al-Farouq Aminu (9.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 39.9 3-Pt.%) can light a match from distance at a moment notice, but like last season, he has missed 14 games this season because of injury.

Swingman Evan Turner (8.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg) is a player who can do a lot of things but scoring consistently is not one of them, as he is only shooting 44.4 percent from the field. 

When it comes to bring energy, from getting offensive rebounds, and at times scoring off those, forward/center Ed Davis (5.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 57.8 FG%) can do that with the best of them, but do not count on him to consistently score out of the low post.

On four occasions this season, Davis had garnered a double-double, with a season-highs of 15 points along with 13 rebounds coming in the team’s 117-108 win at the Mavericks on Jan. 20. That was coming off 11 points and 10 boards in the Trail Blazers 123-114 win versus the Timberwolves. He had 10 points and 12 rebounds in the Trail Blazers win versus the Pelicans on Oct. 24, 2017. 

When it comes to guard on the perimeter and making threes off Lillard and McCollum’s drive-and-kicks, forward Maurice Harkless (5.6 ppg, 46.3 FG%, 35.6 3-Pt.%) can do it with the best of them. He just has not been called upon to provide that kind of offensive output consistently. 

With Lillard and McCollum playing a lot of minutes, their understudy’s Pat Connaughton (6.2 ppg, 44.3 FG%, 37.0 3-Pt.%) and Shabazz Napier (9.2 ppg, 39.9 3-Pt.%) have done well in relief and have had their moments. 

In the previously mentioned Trail Blazers victory versus the Bulls, Connaughton off the bench had 16 points in 22 minutes. In the team’s 103-91 win at the Knicks on Nov. 27, 2017, the 2015 Second-Round pick out of Notre Dame had 17 points in 26 minutes. A season-high of 18 points by Connaughton came in a 120-103 loss at the Timberwolves on Jan. 14. 

In the Trail Blazers 117-106 victory at the Thunder on Jan. 9, McCollum had 27 points and seven assists and Napier had his third game of 21 points in place of Lillard who was out due to injury. 

The second unit of Collins, Connaughton, Harkless, Davis and Noah Vonleh combined for 32 points and 19 rebounds. 

“This was a very good win, because of how good Oklahoma City is,” coach Stotts, whose team outscored the Thunder 34-26 in the third quarter to get some breathing room said. “I didn’t think we played particularly well in the first half and we managed to have a lead and the third quarter was really good on both ends…and the second unit was able to keep us going at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Napier had his third of five straight games in double-figures with 21 points, five assists and three steals in 35 minutes in the Trail Blazers 95-92 win at the Lakers on Dec. 23, 2017. He was 8 for 18 shooting, including 4 for 7 from three-point range. Harkless led the way with 13 off his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, going 9 for 16 from the field. Collins had 11 points, six boards and two blocks in 31 minutes. 

Napier registered 15 of his season-high of 23 points in the fourth quarter place as the Trail Blazers, who outscored their visitors 42-25 in the fourth quarter took down the Sixers 114-110 on Dec. 28, 2017 on TNT. McCollum led the way with 34 points as the team snapped a six-game home losing streak without Lillard, who was shelved a third straight game with a strained left hamstring. The Trail Blazers got 27 points combined off the bench from Davis, Harkless and Connaughton.

“The good thing about basketball is they say you’ve got the next game, but you always have two halves,” Napier, who helped the Trail Blazers overcome an 18-point deficit in the third and a 13-point deficit after three quarters said. “I felt like I was kind of lethargic out there in the first half and I felt like basically it can’t get any worse, so I just went out there and tried to be positive.” 

Unlike the past couple of seasons, this Trail Blazers squad plays consistent defense, ranking No. 4 in opponent’s field goal percentage at 44.7; No. 9 in rebounding differential at +1.9 and tied for No. 8 in shot blocks per game at 5.1. 

That has more than made up for a team that in the past four seasons under coach Stotts was a Top 10 rated offense. 

Speaking of offense, the Trail Blazers have gotten that from Lillard going into the All-Star break. Besides his previously mentioned 50 points at the Kings, he had 39 points in the loss versus the Jazz. He came back with 44 points, overtaking the 50-point night from All-Star Kevin Durant as the Trail Blazers won versus the defending champion Warriors 123-117, snapping a seven-game losing streak, which includes last season’s 4-0 sweep in the opening round of the 2017 playoffs. 

That victory versus the Warriors was big for the Trail Blazers (33-26) as they enter the break in the No. 7 spot, but in a virtual tie for No. 6 with Nuggets. The good fortune for the Trail Blazers as the stretch run of the 2017-18 NBA campaign begins is that over the last two seasons they are 35-19 in the second half. 

Unlike years past the Trail Blazers (34-26) are not relying on their offense to carry them but they are playing consistent defense and that showed in their first game following the break with a 100-81 win over the surging Jazz, avoiding a third straight loss to their division rivals. 

They held the Jazz to 42.5 percent from the floor on the night; to 6 for 25 from three-point range; had 11 steals and forced 20 turnovers, leading to 22 points. After scoring 30 points in the opening frame, the Jazz scored 17 points in each of the next three quarters. 

There are moments in the second half of the season where you just have to find a to win, and that is what the Trail Blazers did on Saturday night when Lillard scored points 39 and 40 on a driving layup with 00.9 seconds left as the Trail Blazers rallied from a 15-point deficit to earn a 1061-04 win extending their winning streak to three games and climbing all the way up to the No. 5 spot in the West. They are now just 1 ½ games behind the T’Wolves for the No. 4 spot. 

This is the kind of win that can spring board a team to big things, something Lillard feels the team gained with their victory before the break versus the Warriors. 

“Just going into the break, the standings in the West are real tight right now and we just needed this win going into the break for good momentum against a really good team, defending champs,” Lillard said to ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth after their victory versus the Warriors. “For confidence and our rhythm. Just our momentum going into the second half of the season.”

Prediction: Trail Blazers will make the playoff in the bottom half of the West. If they matchup with either the Rockets or Warriors. They will be swept. Against anyone else, it will go six games and they have a chance of advancing. 

Grade: B

Sacramento Kings: 18-39 (4^th Pacific Division) 8-17 at home, 10-22 on the road. 

-98.7 ppg-30^th; opp. ppg: 106.7-18^th; 40.3 rpg-29^th 

The great teams in the NBA have one very important thing, stability. Stability in the front office. Stability of the coaching staff, especially at head coach and stability with the roster. That is something that for over a decade has been sorely lacking in California’s capital city. A summer of trades, signing of veteran free agents and drafting of young talented, focused players has the Sacramento Kings in better position to rebuild the roster properly. 

In the draft the Kings selections came from programs that are used to winning and competing in the NCA Tournament in March and turning their players into draft prospects that project at the next levels.

At No. 5 in June’s draft, the Kings selected out of the University of Kentucky guard De’Aaron Fox (11.3 ppg, 4.3 apg), who possessed blazing speed with the ball and quickness to get from point A to point B. He has brought that in his rookie season, but has to improve his jump shooting range, where he is only shooting 41.0 percent overall from the field, and just 32.6 percent from three-point range. 

In the first part of this season, Fox averaged just 8.6 and 7.4 points in November and December 2017. He has pickup his scoring with averages of 14.1, along with 5.2 assists in January, and a 13.1 scoring output with 4.7 assists this month. However, his shooting difficulties continued with averages of 42.4 percent from the floor in the first month of 2018 and just 40.5 from the floor this month so far. 

At No. 15 in June’s draft, the Kings chose Justin Jackson (6.0 ppg) out of North Carolina and Frank Mason III (7.5 ppg, 40.9 3-Pt.%), who was picked in the Second-Round have had some nice moments, but too have struggled with their shooting, with both connecting on 42.7 and 38.4 percent respectably from the field. While Mason has adjusted to making three-point shots consistently at 40.9 percent, Jackson still has work to put in as he is just a 29.9 percent shooter from deep. 

The one rookie that has showed out this season has been Bogdan Bogdanovic (11.3 ppg, 46.2 FG%), whose three-point shooting and overall consistent play has made him a top-three option off head coach Dave Joerger’s bench. 

These three players along with second-year guard Buddy Hield (12.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 43.0 3-Pt.%), second-year forward Skal Labissiere (7.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 46.3 FG%) and third-year center Willie Cauley-Stein (12.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 495. FG%) gives the Kings a young nucleus that still needs some seasoning but has shown flashes that if they can put it all together have a chance of being special. 

Hield, who was acquired in the DeMarcus Cousins’ deal along with Bogdanovic are two main reasons why the Kings who have been a great offensive team this season, are No. 2 in the NBA in three-point percentage at 38.3 percent.

In return, the Kings got now second-year guard Buddy Hield (10.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 39.1 3-Pt.%), who showed flashes that he could be a core player for the Kings going forward, with a 15.1-point average in 25 games with the Kings, on 48.0 percent from the field, and 42.8 from three-point range. 

Last season, Labissiere closed the season well with averages of 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, on 57.7 shooting in April 2017. He had an okay start with averages of 11.3 points and 5.3 boards in October. He tailed off in November and December 2017 with averages of 6.4 and 5.3 points respectably. He performed a little better in January averaging 9.9 points and 6.5 boards but has barely played this month. 

Cauley-Stein has shown the potential to be a solid rebounder and shot blocker in the early stages of his career, and this season has shown the ability to score, but still has a long way to go. 

The one rookie the Kings hope to get a look at next year is forward Harry Giles. The No. 20 overall pick in the 2017 draft, who tore both his ACLs in high school had another knee surgery that shelved him the first 11 games of his collegiate career at Duke University.  When he was healthy at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia a lot of NBA executives that had him at the No. 1 slot on their draft boards. Giles was a player with freakish athleticism where he could score at the rim; had a high motor and was an excellent shot blocker. The Kings hope that continued work with their training staff will continue as they said back in October 2017 continue to work on getting Giles though a “focus on a measured and sustained progression plan designed to improve physical strength in his surgically repaired knees.” 

The one good thing about all these young Kings players is that they have some of best veterans in the game to learn how to have a long and productive NBA career. 

In free agency, the Kings’ GM Vlade Divac used $72 million in the organization’s war chest to sign guard George Hill forward Zach Randolph (14.9 ppg-Leads team, 7.1 rpg-Leads team, 48.5 FG%), who is reunited with Joerger, who was his coach with the Grizzlies and the ageless forward/guard Vince Carter. 

Randolph has brought a toughness and scoring ability on the box and those teachings he is passing on two Cauley-Stein. Some nights it has rubbed off, and other nights it is a work in progress. 

In the early part of this season, Hill started the season at the lead guard spot with Fox coming off the bench or they started in the same backcourt together. 

At the trade deadline, the organization felt if Fox was going to grow into being the lead guard of this team for the future, they decided that process needed to begin now. So, they dealt Hill at the trade deadline in a three-team deal to the Cavs and Jazz, with Hill going to Northeast Ohio to team up with LeBron James. The Kings received veteran guard Joe Johnson, who they waived, veteran guard Iman Shumpert, who has yet to play recovering from a foot injury. They also received a 2020 Second-Round pick and cash considerations. 

While Carter, who is in the twilight of his career is serving as more of an inspiration as supposed a productive day-to-day player, the 41-year-old who NBA on TNT studio analyst used to call “Half Man, Half Amazing” has given us some turn back the clock moments of when he was at the height of his powers early in his career with the Raptors and the then New Jersey Nets. 

In the Kings best win of the year when they pulled off a 109-95 win versus the three-time Eastern Conference champion Cavs on Dec. 27, 2017, Carter had a season-high 24 points, going 10 for 12 from the field, including 4 for 5 from three-point range in 30 minutes off the bench. 

It was the first time in NBA history that a reserve at 40-plus-years-of-age had at least 20 points in a game, according to the Kings. 

Cauley-Stein and Bogdanovic also had big games off the bench scoring 17 and 16 points respectably. Cauley-Stein also had nine boards, while Bogdanovic went 6 for 9 from the field, which included three three-pointers. 

“The shot was falling tonight but it was our ball movement, and the ball found the open guy,” Carter, who made a triple to close the third quarter to give the Kings an 85-80 after three quarters said. “It just made it fun to watch. If we play that way we could be a pretty good basketball team.”

Some other worthy wins the Kings have had to this point in the season against current playoff teams consist of a season sweep of the Sixers 109-108 on Nov. 9, 2017 and 101-95 on Dec. 19, 2017. 

An 86-82 victory versus the Trail Blazers on Nov. 17, 2017. A 110-106 win at the Warriors, which ended an eight-game losing streak at Oracle Arena. 

A 106-98 victory versus the Nuggets, where Carter scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth period, while also grabbing eight boards, and registering two steals. Fox had 18 points and seven assists, and Cauley-Stein had 17 points, while registering an NBA season-high seven steals. Hield had 14 points and five boards, hitting 4 for 9 from distance. Labissiere had 12 points and three blocks, while Koufos had 12 points and seven boards and Bogdanovic had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench.

“Just being ready and active, being in the right spots on defense,” Cauley-Stein said about his career-high in getting seven steals. “That’ll happen. It’s big. It feels good.”

The Kings also have scored two wins in the house of the Pelicans. They garnered a 116-109 overtime victory on Dec. 8, 2017 led by the season-high of 35 points and 13 rebounds of Randolph, on 14 for 22 shooting, including a career-high five threes in nine tries. Hield had 18 points off the bench, going 4 for 5 from distance. Fox added 14 and two steals and Mason III had 12 and five rebounds off the bench. 

The Kings out-rebounded the Pelicans 62-43; compiled 12 steals and forced 17 turnovers that led to 22 points. 

In their 114-103 victory on Jan. 30, Randolph dominated again with 26 points and 12 boards, Koufos also had a double-double with 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as the Kings turned 14 offensive boards in 26 second chance points, without allowing any to the home team. The Kings won also thanks to outscoring the Pelicans 53-41 in the second half as well as outscoring them over the final three quarters. 

Fox had 15 points, six boards and four assists, while Temple added 15 and six assists off the bench. 

“We are playing better, Randolph said of the Kings victory. “Everyone is getting an opportunity and we’re taking advantage of it. We are just playing hard and that is all we can do.” 

The Sacramento Kings performed another cosmetic procedure to their roster that would make the best plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills, CA green with envy. They have looked good in spurts this season, garnering wins against worthy opponents. They nearly did it again in their first game following the break, before losing at the buzzer versus the Thunder 110-107 when Westbrook broke the hearts of the Kings and the fans at Golden 1 Center. 

The likes of Fox, Cauley-Stein, Hield, Bogdanovic, Jackson, Labissiere, and Mason III can use these victories to make themselves into a core group that will get the Kings back to the postseason sooner rather than later. 

“We’re starting at ground zero, and we know there’s a lot of heavy lifting to do, but we feel like everybody in the community knows there’s a direction we’re going. We’re all in it together. Headed in a very defined direction,” Joerger said to NBATV’s Jared Greenberg before the start of this season. 

“We might take some losses, but we’re going to go out, and we’re going to compete. We’re going to learn how to compete together. We’re going to learn how to work together, and hopefully when you come into a practice in January, you won’t know if we’re 20-20, 10-30, or 30-10. There’s just that vibe in there that when you come to work, we’re going to get out work in, and we’re going to have a good time doing it.”  

Prediction: The Kings will continue to show patience while they guide their young group of players with help from the veteran players as they tried to build the foundation of a team that will be a perennial playoff participant. 

Grade: C-

San Antonio Spurs: 35-24 (2^nd Southwest Division; No. 3 Seed in West) 22-6 at home, 13-18 on the road. 

-101.6 ppg-27^th; opp. ppg: 98.5-1^st; 44.4 rpg-9^th

They have won 50-plus games for 18 straight seasons. Have made the playoffs for 20 consecutive seasons, winning five Larry O’Brien trophies in that span. They have been led by four future Hall of Famers who they drafted and developed, and they have developed a culture based on defense, accountability, respect for the team, themselves individually and collectively and an offensive philosophy based on ball movement and man movement. The resurrection of a prized free agent and native Texan three summers back, and the emergence of some new Spurs has masked the injuries in a season that has been “different” for the five-time champion San Antonio Spurs. 

MVP candidate last season and 2014 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard (16.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 46.8 FG%) missed the first 26 games of this season due to right quad tendinopathy.  

When he returned to the lineup on Dec. 9, 2017, the thought was he would play his way into shape and eventually would be the guy who many have called the best two-way player in the game. 

After playing in just nine games, the organization decided to shut down All-Star forward indefinitely. 

According to an ESPN report from Michael C. Wright, Leonard told the organization that on various occasions during his rehabilitation process that he was not feeling confident in his ability to play through his injury and that he should be shut down for the remainder of the season. 

The Spurs medical staff had cleared the No. 15 overall pick in 2011 out of San Diego State University to return to the lineup prior to his season debut on Dec. 12, 2017 in the Spurs 95-89 setback at the Mavericks, according to sources close to the situation, who said that the he bears the burden of determining when he will be prepared to play again. 

Earlier this week, head coach Gregg Popovich, who normally does not discuss the health of his players to the media did not mix words about the status of his star player’s return to action. 

“Well, we only have X amount of games left in the season, and he’s still not ready to do,” he said to reporters on Wednesday.” “If by some chance he is, It’s gonna be pretty late into the season; and it’s going to be a pretty tough decision—how late to bring somebody back. So that’s why I’m just trying to be honest and logical. I’ll be surprised if he gets back this year.” 

Most teams would struggle without guy whose is a two-time All-NBA First-Team selection; A two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner and as mentioned the Finals MVP of 2014 when the Spurs took down LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the Heat in five games. 

Even without Leonard, a big reason the Spurs are No. 3 in the West currently is because of consistent and dominant play of LaMarcus Aldridge (22.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 50.3 FG%), who earned his sixth All-Star selection last month. 

Last spring, Aldridge was a shell of himself especially in the Conference Finals where he flat out looked finished. In fact, it got to the point that he wanted out of the Alamo City. 

Over the summer, he and Popovich had a heart-to-heart conversation to get back on the same page and become the player that was a 20-plus per game scorer he developed into when he was with the Trail Blazers for nine seasons. 

That heart-to-heart conversation worked as Aldridge has produced more games of 20-plus point games this season (35) than he did in his inaugural season in with the Spurs in 2015-16, when he had 31 such games in 74 appearances. He has also registered 10 games of 30 points or more and has more double-doubles this season with 21, than the 18 he had all last season.

“L.A. is the reason we’ve kept a pretty good record and stayed in the hunt with so many injuries, in-and-outs Kawhi and Tony (Parker) being gone so long,” coach Popovich said of the play of Aldridge after the team’s 100-95 win at the Nets on Jan. 17, where he had 34 points. “It’s L.A. every night. Maybe somebody else will step up with him, but he’s been a warrior for sure. We’d be in deep kimchi if he isn’t playing the way he is.”

Besides Leonard being on the shelf to start the season, All-Star guard Tony Parker missed the first 19 games of the season recovering from a torn right quadriceps tendon on May 3, 2017 against the Rockets in Game 2 of the Semis that required surgery. 

He returned sooner than expected when he made his season debut on Nov. 27, 2017 versus the Mavericks. Parker in his 17^th season, all with the Spurs had six points in 14 minutes in the 115-108 victory. 

He admitted that he was emotional wreck before his first game of the season, which was also his 1,144 game of his career.  

“It’s funny because I was talking with Pop before the game asking, ‘What do you want me to do?’” Parker said. “He was like, just be aggressive, just be yourself, just penetrate and see what happens. So, I just went to the paint, that’s what I do best.” 

After starting 2018 with a 25-12 mark after a 93-79 loss at the Pistons on Dec. 30, 2017, the Spurs went 5-4 from Jan. 2-Jan. 19. 

It was here that Popovich decided that a change needed to be made and that move was having second-year guard Dejounte Murray (7.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) replacing Parker as the starting lead guard for the five-time champions. 

Parker and Popovich met before the team’s 94-86 loss versus the Pacers on Jan. 21 with coach Pop telling Parker he “he thought it was time” to go with someone new in the starting unit. 

It marked the 21^st time Parker came off the bench and the first time since 2010 postseason against the Mavericks. 

“I was like, ‘Oh no problem,” Parker said in an upbeat way to Popovich’s decision. “Just like Manu [Ginobili], just like Pau [Gasol], that day’s going to come. And if Pop sees something that is good for the team, I’ll try to do my best. I support Pop’s decision, and I’ll try to help [Murray] out as best I can and try to be the best I can in that second unit with Manu and Patty [Mills].” 

In his first game off the bench in nearly eight years, Parker had 12 points going 5 for 10 shooting with five assists. 

What the injuries have forced the Spurs to do what they do best, play with what they have and play together on both ends of the court. 

The previously mentioned Gasol (10.7 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 46.2 FG%, 39.8 3-Pt.%) continues to just get the job done for the Spurs, even in year No. 17, where he has garnered 13 double-doubles. The same can be said for Ginobili (9.2 ppg), who answers the call whenever his phone rings in his 16^th season. 

Whether he has started or come off the bench, veteran guard Patty Mills (9.6 ppg, 39.0 3-Pt.%) is always at the ready to come and make big shots, especially three-point shots at the drop of a hat.

Speaking of making shots from distance, that is Danny Green (8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg 37.5 3-Pt%) has provided, along with great perimeter defense since joining the Spurs in 2010-11.   

In his four seasons with the Spurs, forward Kyle Anderson (8.2ppg, 5.7 rpg, 51.9 FG%) never knows if or when he is going to play. That said, when he does play he plays well. He does it at his own pace. He is reliable on both ends of the court and makes winning plays. 

In the 46 games he has started, he has averaged 8.5 points and 5.7 rebounds on 52.6 percent shooting. 

Mills, Green, and Anderson may not have the eye popping numbers that perhaps they might have had if they played for another team, but their contributions they make on a nightly basis without a lot of fanfare is how the Spurs have won no matter if their star players like Parker, Ginobili, and Leonard, and before that future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, and Hall of Famer David Robinson were in the lineup or not in the Popovich era. You know your role, you accept that role and you perform it at a high level. 

That is what has happened for the newest Spurs in Rudy Gay (11.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 47.6 FG%), Bryn Forbes (7.5 ppg, 37.4 3-Pt.%), Joffrey Lauvergne and Brandon Paul. 

As mentioned earlier, one of the staples of the Spurs in the Popovich era is the play tremendous defense, and this season is no different. 

They are No. 6 in field goal percentage allowed surrendering just 45.1 percent shooting; No. 5 in opponent’s three-point percentage at 35.0 percent; No. 8 in rebounding differential at +2.1; and tied for No. 3 in the league in block shots per game at 5.5. 

To put how good the Spurs have been defensively into context, they allowed less than 100 points for 23 straight seasons, dating back to the 1995-96 NBA campaign. That is more than the Trail Blazers, who did for 18 straight seasons from the 1994-95 to 2011-12, and more than the Jazz, who did for 15 straight seasons from 1993-94 to 2007-08. 

To further illustrate the Spurs greatness, they have had 20 straight winning seasons, and are No. 1 all-time among the four major North American pro sports (NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB in winning 60 percent of their games. They also have had 20 straight seasons where t

There is one mark that might be in jeopardy for the Spurs though. Since 1996-97, they have had a winning road record and unless they go 8-2 the rest of the way, this will be their first season since Popovich took over they will not have an above .500 record away from the AT&T Center. 

After dropping their first game following the break at the Nuggets 122-119, the Spurs (36-25) bounced back with a huge 110-94 victory at the Cavs on Sunday afternoon on ABC, to improve to 14-19 on the road and snap a four-game losing streak. 

For a team that has seen their defense slip in recent games, they outscored the Cavs 60-41 in the second half after trailing 53-50 at intermission. They Spurs also held the Cavaliers to 41.8 percent shooting on the afternoon, and just 8 for 34 from three-point range. Scored 29 points off 16 Cavs turnovers, despite being outscored 50-34 in the paint and 28-15 in fast break points. They did go 25 for 32 at the charity stripe, while the Cavs were just 10 for 14. 

The Spurs have had 124 games missed combined between Leonard, Parker, Gay, who returned on Sunday after being on the shelf because of retrocalcaneal bursitis, Ginobili and Aldridge due to injury this season. 

The Warriors are the defending champions and the Rockets have been unbelievable this season. Yet the Spurs with all the injuries, and inconsistent play on the road are right there in the mix at No. 3. 

No matter if Leonard comes back or not, the Spurs will due like they always done under 

Coach Popovich, prepare and play regardless who is on the floor. 

As he said to the NBA on ABC crew of commentators Mark Jones, Hubie Brown, and Israel Gutierrez before Sunday’s victory at the Cavs, “This is the group that we have moving forward. These are who we are going to roll with and no more hoping or wishing. This is what we got coming down the stretch.” 

Prediction: Spurs will make the playoffs. Will lose though in the Semis, if Leonard returns this season or not. 

Grade: B- 

Utah Jazz: 30-28 (5th Northwest Division) 18-9 at home, 12-19 on the road. 

-103.5 ppg-22^nd; opp. ppg: 101.7-4^th; 42.1 rpg-21^st   

Their franchise player left in free agency to rejoin his former college coach in “Beantown.” Their supposed starting point guard hurt his shoulder in preseason and was expected not to play this season. Even with their new additions, which includes one of the elite passers in the game, the loss of their franchise player seemed to doom the boys from Salt Lake City, UT from making it back to the playoffs, especially when they lost their starting center a couple of times this season due to a knee injury. The emergence of a rookie out of nowhere, the return of said starting center and their longest winning streak in nearly a decade has the Utah Jazz in “contention” to make it back to the playoffs.  

The date of July 14, 2017 will be remembered as first time All-Star a season ago Gordon Hayward signed with the Boston Celtics as an unrestricted free agent. To add insult to injury, guard Dante Exum sustained a separated left shoulder, as well as ligament on a drive to the hoop in Friday’s 112-102 preseason loss versus the Suns on Oct. 6, 2017 and has yet to play this season. 

The acquisitions of guard Ricky Rubio (12.0 ppg-career-high, 5.2 apg-Leads team, 1.7 spg-Leads team) from the Timberwolves, for a Top 14 protected 2018 First-Round pick; the re-signing of Joe Ingles (10.9 ppg, 4.2 apg, 46.3 FG%, 44.8 3-Pt.%-Leads NBA), who re-signed a new four-year, $52 million deal; the additions of forward Jonas Jerebko (5.8 ppg, 46.1 FG%, 42.2-3-Pt.%), to a two-year deal, worth $8.2 million; forward/guard Thabo Sefolosha (8.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 49.2 FG%, 38.1 3-Pt.%), at $11 million for two years will bring another veteran who can still guard some of the most lethal perimeter scorers in the NBA and forward Ekpe Udoh, at two-years for $6.5 million did not exactly scream nice work to the Jazz front office

Neither did the signing of rookie swingman Royce O’Neal, at $3.8 million for two years will give this team depth in front court or the addition of guard Donovan Mitchell, the No. 13 overall pick out of Louisville in June’s draft, whose rights were dealt from the Nuggets for the rights to the No. 24 pick in forward Tyler Lydon, and third-year forward Trey Lyles.

Mitchell’s (19.7 ppg-Leads team, 1.5 spg, 35.8 3-Pt.%) solid showing in the 2017 Las Vegas Summer League was only a sign of things to come as he has taken the NBA by storm. 

After a quiet October 2017 where he averaged just 9.3 ppg on 28.6 from three-point range, he rose that scoring average to 18.1, connecting on 37.5 of his triples in November 2017. In December, the 21-year-old averaged 23.1 points, hitting 50.7 overall from the floor and 35.8 from distance. He began 2018 by averaging 22.2 points per game and 1.5 steals on 45.0 percent from the floor and in February has averaged 22.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 41.4 percent from three-point range. 

Since he became a starter at guard, Mitchell is averaging 20.6 points, 3.7 boards and 3.8 assists on 44.7 percent from the floor, 36.0 percent from the three-point arc, while hitting 83.9 percent of his free throws. 

After registering six games of 20-plus points, with his highest entering December 2017 being of 28 points in a Jazz 112-103 win versus the Trail Blazers on Nov. 1, 2017 he announced himself to the league with a career-high 41 points on 13 for 25 shooting, including 6 for 12 from three-point range and 9 for 11 from the foul line in leading the Jazz to a 114-108 win versus the Pelicans. 

In putting up the most points in a single game by a Jazz rookie, surpassing a fellow Louisville Cardinal Darrell Griffith, who scored a then rookie mark 38 in 1981. 

“I don’t have any words, to be honest,” Mitchell, who became the seventh rookie in franchise history to score 30-plus and the first rookie to score 40 since Blake Griffin of the Pistons did it six years ago said. “I had Jonas in my ear saying keep taking those shots. Even shots that may not always be good shots, he says keep being aggressive. Coach’s (Quin Snyder) saying it. Everybody’s saying it. 

The Jazz followed that victory with a thrashing of the Wizards 116-69, who were led by Alec Burks who scored 27 points on the night, recording his third game in succession scoring 20 or more, representing his best string since scoring 20 or more three straight games back in February 2014. 

This also represented the last time the Jazz, who were 13-11 following that win versus the Wizards would above the .500 mark as the finished 2017 losing 10 of their next 13 games. 

A big reason for that string of losses was the loss of starting center Rudy Gobert (12.6 ppg, 10.1 rpg-Leads team, 2.3 bpg-Leads team, 58.8 FG%), who was shelved for 16 consecutive games because of a left knee injury sustained in the Jazz’s 107-95 victory at the Celtics on Dec. 15, 2017. It was the second knee injury Gobert sustained in the early part of the season with him suffering a contusion in the right knee in the third quarter of the Jazz’s 84-74 loss versus the Heat on Nov. 10, 2017. 

The knee contusion shelved the guy nicknamed the “Stifle Tower” for 11 games, but the team held serve going 7-4. The left knee injury that had Gobert on the shelf for 15 games, the Jazz went just 4-11. 

In his return on Jan. 19, Gobert had 23 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in 30 minutes, but the Jazz lost versus the Knicks 117-115. 

At 18-27, head coach Quin Snyder’s squad was staring at a lost season that had the Jazz lottery bound. 

After splitting their next two games, the Jazz picked themselves up and put together an 11-game winning streak to finish out the first half of the season from Jan. 24-Feb. 14. 

It started with a hard fought 98-95 overtime victory at the Pistons where Gobert and Mitchell led six players in double-figures with 15 points each. Ingles had 13 points, and seven assists, hitting 3 for 7 from three-point range. Rubio had 11 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Jazz really hit their stride during this winning streak with victories of 97-93 at the Raptors on Jan. 26 and a resounding 129-99 victory versus the defending champion Warriors. 

In their victory at the Raptors, Mitchell had 26 points hitting 4 for 7 from three-point range. Gobert had 18 points, 15 rebounds and three block shots. Rubio had 14 points, six boards and six assists, with two steals. Ingles had 11, hitting three more triples and Favors had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Jazz defense, which they have been known for over the past two seasons, held the dynamic Raptors backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to a combined 24 points on 9 for 36 shooting, including 0 for 7 from three-point range. The Raptors on the night shot just 38.9 percent, and an abysmal 7 for 27 from three-point range. 

In their take down of the Warriors four nights later, the Jazz outscored the Warriors 60-43 in the second half behind the 23 points, 11 assists and five boards on 9 for 16 shooting from Rubio, who outplayed two-time league MVP Stephen Curry, who had just 14 points on 4 for 13 shooting, including 1 for 7 from distance. Mitchell and Ingles had 20 points each, with Ingles going 6 for 8 from three-point distance. Favors had a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Jazz had 30 points in three of the four quarters with 35 in the first, and 34 in the second and third respectably. Shot 58.2 percent on the night; out-rebounded the visitors 52-42; had 16 steals, forcing 18 turnovers, that led to 14 points and outscored the Warriors 58-46 in the paint. 

“Shooting is an equalizer,” Coach Snyder said after the win. “I thought we come out, Joe Ingles set the tone with the confidence with which he shot the ball.”

“You aren’t able to beat those guys if you don’t shoot it well and we haven’t been able to beat them and it’s because they’re really good.”

After a dominant victory at the Suns 129-97 on Feb. 2, where Mitchell had 40 points, going 7 for 9 from three-point range, the Jazz on the back end of a back-to-back took down the Spurs on their home turf 120-111, led by the season-high of 34 points by Rubio with nine assists on 11 for 14 shooting, and 9 for 10 from the foul line. 

The Jazz got things going in the open period going 5 for 8 from three-point range, with two triples coming from Rubio. O’Neale who had been getting much playing time had a stellar game with a career-high 18 points with five boards, five assists and three steals off the bench, hitting all four of his threes in 32 minutes off the bench. 

The Jazz offense was at its peak two nights later at the Pelicans, scoring over 30 points in three of the four quarters in their 133-109 win, their sixth in succession.

Rubio led the way with 20 points and 11 assists. Gobert had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Favors had 19 points and seven boards. Ingles had 18 points, going 4 for 5 from distance. O’Neale had 13 points and six boards off the bench, which made up for the 1 for 6 shooting night for two points from Mitchell, who was feeling ill. 

While the Jazz have put some stellar offensive numbers during their winning streak, they have always framed who they are as a team on the defensive end and while statistically they are not that way this season, coach Snyder has never strayed away from that as their identity. 

They put that on display on Feb. 7 with their seventh win in a row at the Grizzlies 92-88, as the Jazz held them to 42.0 percent from the floor on the night; 8 for 23 from three-point range; out-rebounded them 52-44 and forced 16 turnovers that led to 17 points. 

That overcame a night where they had 20 turnovers, that led to 16 points; had just 14 assists and shot 6 for 22 from three-point range. The Jazz also made their free throws going 28 for 33, while the Grizzlies were just 12 for 16. 

The growth of O’Neale and Mitchell as this has progressed made the Jazz comfortable to make a move at the trade deadline on Feb. 8 where they sent guard Rodney Hood in a three-team deal with the Cavs and Kings to Northeast Ohio and received back forward Jae Crowder (9.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg) from the Cavs, as well as guard Derrick Rose, who they waived. 

While the Jazz said goodbye to a player that had played well for them and really grew this season, even though he missed some games due to injury, the addition of Crowder gives the Jazz a veteran presence who can defend and shoot, especially from three-point range. 

“He’s really versatile defensively and can play really two through four with switches and physicality,” Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said in a story written by Eric Woodyard of The Dessert News. “We did a lot of analytical work, we did intel, we did medical, we got out coaches to see potential fit and rotations and you start adding those up and sticking to your core fundamentals and principles.”  

“We think over time it will be a good move, but we do have to admit that there’s a lot of unknown and certainly we’ll be judged on the results. 

While Crowder continued the shooting struggles that he had in his time with the Cavs, he has managed to give the Jazz some offense in his five games with the team scoring in double-figures. 

In his first game with the team, he had 15 points and five boards off the bench, hitting three triples as the Jazz won at the Trail Blazers 115-96 on Feb. 11, ending their nine-game home winning streak, and extending their overall winning streak to nine.

The Jazz held the Trail Blazers to 40.7 percent in their third victory over them this season, holding them to 18 and 19 points in the second and third quarters respectably. They out-rebounded the home team 61-40, including 16-6 on the offensive glass; out-scored them 16-8 in fast break points and in the paint 44-30. with Exum likely down for the upcoming season, will get minutes right from the jump for head coach Quin Snyder. 

The Jazz reached their 10^th win in a row with a come from behind victory versus the Spurs 101-99 one night later where the Jazz after getting outscored 29-15 in the third quarter rallying from a 13-point deficit early in the fourth period. 

Mitchell, who was 9 for 28 on the night for 25 points, hit the go-ahead jumper with 39.2 second left to not only extend his team’s winning streak, but moved them over the .500 mark for the first time in more than two months, thanks to outscoring the Spurs 32-22 in the fourth quarter. 

In the final seconds, O’Neale prevented Spurs All-Star guard Manu Ginobili from getting a clean shot off in the final seconds that preserved the victory. 

The Jazz finished off the first half of their season with a 107-97 win versus the Suns on Valentine’s night. 

Even with their 11-game winning streak entering the second half of the season, the Jazz (31-29) were still in ninth place in the West. 

Their winning streak was stopped versus the Trail Blazers 100-81 on Thursday night, where the Jazz scored 17 points in the second, third and fourth quarter. They shot just 42.3 percent from the field; committed 20 turnovers for 22 points by the visitors and made just 6 for 25 from three-point range. 

The Jazz turned things around on Saturday night with a 97-90 win versus the struggling Mavericks, who despite scoring 58 points over the next three quarters, and shot just 40.0 percent on the evening, held the Mavericks to 41.0 percent from the floor. Had 26 assists and just 12 turnovers. Outscored the Mavericks in the paint 46-30 and registered 15 fast break points. 

At the start of this season, the Utah Jazz were in a bad place with the loss of Gordon Hayward in free agency, and the loss of guard Dante Exum to injury. 

The emergence of Mitchell and O’Neale, the return to health of Gobert, the sharp shooting of Ingles, the addition of Crowder at the trade deadline, and not trading Favors has the Jazz in the mix for a playoff spot.

Currently, they are in the No. 10 spot trailing the Nuggets by two games for that No. 8 spot. That in of itself is a win for this group. Whether they make it, will depend on how well they keep playing, and if they can get some help from the teams in front of them.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a new season,” Coach Snyder said before the Jazz’s loss versus the Trail Blazers. “But it’s a new segment to this season. We want to continue to do the thing we’ve done well. We want to continue to improve. There isn’t anything magical about the next game other than it’s the next game.”

Grade: B

Information, quotes and statistics are courtesy of www.espn.go.com/nba/standings/statistics/teams; NBATV/TNT Insider David Aldridge’s Off-Season Rankings: Top 10 Middle 10 and Bottom 10 from Aug.8; www.nba.com/news/30-teams-30-days-2017-18 by Shaun Powell from Sept. 1-Sept. 30, 2017; en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki-of all 30 NBA teams; 2017-18 NBATV “Team Preview” of all 30 NBA teams hosted by Jared Greenberg, Rick Kamla, Kristen Ledlow, Matt Winer, Greg Anthony, Grant Hill, Rick Fox, Isiah Thomas, Stu Jackson, Steve Smith, Dennis Scott and Brent Barry; 2017-18 NBA.com’s Midseason Report Card of all 30 teams by Steve Aschburner, Shaun Powell, Sekou Smith, and John Schuhmann; www.nba.com/scores/previews;

www.landofbasketball.com/all_time_leaders/clippers/leaders.htm;

https://www.foxsports.com/nba/team-stats?season+=2017&category=MISC&group=stats  

NBA trades courtesy of NBA.com; 11/18/17 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern, Steve Smith and Brendan Haywood; 11/21/17 6 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime” with Casey Stern, Sam Mitchell and Drew Gooden; 11/21/17 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Brian Windhorst, and Israel Gutierrez; 11/22/17 2 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Kristen Ledlow, Dennis Scott and Sam Mitchell; 11/30/17 2 a.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols; Ramona Shelburne and Kevin Arnovitz; 12/28/17 NBA news from ESPN Bottom Line news crawl; 12/19/17 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Matt Winer, Mike Fratello and Caron Butler; 12/27/17 7:30 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Chris Webber, Isiah Thomas and Kevin McHale; 12/31/17 12:30 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Matt Winer, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood; 1/27/18 1 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern, Steve Smith and Brendan Haywood; 1/27/18 5 p.m. game Oklahoma City Thunder versus Detroit Pistons on FOX Sports Oklahoma with Brian Davis, Michael Cage and Nick Gallo; 1/31/18 10 p.m. game Chicago Bulls versus Portland Trail Blazers on NBC Sports Northwest with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam; 2/3/18 6 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern, Steve Smith and Brendan Haywood;

 2/6/18 10:30 p.m. game Oklahoma City Thunder versus Golden State Warriors on “Players Only” TNT, presented by State Farm with Greg Anthony, Richard “Rip” Hamilton, Reggie Miller and Dennis Scott; 2/7/18 8 p.m. game Minnesota Timberwolves versus Cleveland Cavaliers on ESPN, presented by State Farm with Ryan Ruocco, Hubie Brown and Cassidy Hubbarth; 2/7/18 10:30 p.m. game San Antonio Spurs versus Phoenix Suns on ESPN, presented by State Farm with Dave Pasch, and Doris Burke; 2/14/18 3 p.m. edition  “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Brian Windhorst and Tracy McGrady;

2/12/18 7 p.m. game New York Knicks versus Philadelphia 76ers on Madison Square Garden Network with Mike Breen, Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Rebecca Haarlow; 2/14/18 1 a.m. “Players Only: Postgame Show” on TNT, presented by Kia with Chris Webber, Isiah Thomas, Baron Davis and Shaquille O’Neal; 2/15/18 2 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Chris Miles, Steve Smith and Tony Delk; 2/15/18 8 p.m. game Denver Nuggets versus Milwaukee Bucks on FOX Sports Wisconsin with Jim Paschke, John McLaughlin, Telly Hughes and Sophia Minnaert; 2/15/18 9 p.m. game Los Angeles Lakers versus Minnesota Timberwolves on TNT, presented by State Farm with Kevin Harlan, Greg Anthony and David Aldridge; 2/15/18 11:30 p.m. edition of “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal; 2/22/18 8 p.m. game Philadelphia 76ers versus Chicago Bulls NBC Sports Philadelphia with Mark Zumoff, Alaa Abdelnaby, and Molly Sullivan; 2/22/18 TNT “NBA Tip-Off,” presented by Autotrader with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal; and 2/25/18 3:30 p.m. game San Antonio Spurs versus Cleveland Cavaliers on ABC with Mark Jones, Hubie Brown and Israel Gutierrez