HANDING OUT GRADES TO ALL 30 TEAMS AS WE
ENTER THE 2019 NBA ALL-STAR BREAK
The NBA All-Star break is officially here, and we’re more
than halfway through the 2018-19 NBA season. By the time each team hits the
floor again for meaningful basketball, there will roughly be 20-some odd games
remaining in the regular season.
Meaning that there’s roughly a quarter left of the NBA year
remaining before the playoffs begin. Generally, the post All-Star break portion
of the season races by as teams get more and more serious, and begin to round
into shape before the post-season.
While there’s been a healthy amount of intrigue through the
regular season this year, there’s no question that the playoffs is when the
league manages to take it up a level. And there are so many variables that have
yet to be settled in that regard.
For example, will the Golden State
Warriors continue to power their way through the West with
little-to-no resistance, or did the Houston
Rockets give the rest of the conference a blueprint on how
to beat them in a series?
Out East, the conference is wide open as we saw at the NBA
Trade Deadline where there was an arms race between the Toronto
Raptors, Philadelphia
76ers and Milwaukee
Bucks. Not to mention that the Boston
Celtics will have a say in who reaches the NBA Finals too.
Before getting too ahead of ourselves, let’s grade how each
team has performed thus far through the 2019 NBA All-Star break.
ATLANTA HAWKS (19-39)
Through the first three quarters of the season, I don’t
think anyone would be surprised with how the Atlanta Hawks have
performed this season. Before the season started, no one expected the Hawks to
compete for a playoff spot in the East. Even though it is clearly the weaker
conference, the Hawks simply don’t have the talent to perform at that level
yet. And that’s OK.
But the great thing that the Hawks did do this season is
find a few players that will help in their rebuild. Trae Young is a player. As is John Collins. I’m sure both of those were
assumed coming into the season. However, one player that was a pleasant
surprise for Atlanta this season was Kevin Huerter.
Huerter, a late first-round pick by the Hawks in the 2018
NBA Draft, is averaging 10 points, three rebounds and three assists on 43
percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from 3-point range
during his rookie season. Atlanta coming away with three building blocks, with
another to come with an expected top 5 pick in the 2019 draft, is a huge
victory.
Grade: C+
BOSTON CELTICS (37-21)
Despite everything that the Boston Celtics have – or haven’t
– accomplished this season, they will still be one of the favorites to come out
of the Eastern Conference once the playoffs begin in a couple months. With that
said, there’s no question that their regular season thus far has been somewhat
disappointing.
Jayson Tatum hasn’t taken the next
step that many expected him to take during his sophomore season, Gordon Hayward hasn’t looked anything
like his former self (but is having a nice start to February) in his first year
back from his injury and there is plenty of
smoke surrounding the potential departure of Kyrie Irving.
The Celtics could salvage this season by making a deep run
in the playoffs and possibly making the NBA Finals but, considering that many
thought this team was going to run through the East this season, they haven’t
been impressive by any means.
Grade: B-
BROOKLYN NETS (30-29)
The Brooklyn Nets have
had a great season thus far, and I don’t think anyone would argue with that
statement at this point in the season. The Nets have surpassed expectations
this season, and are on pace for finishing in the top 6 of the East, which
would include them making the playoffs for the first time since the 2014-15
season.
On top of that, this team has a really nice core in Caris LeVert (who just returned from
injury), Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and D’Angelo Russell. And they will have a ton
of money to spend during free agency this summer, with some big decisions to
make regarding D-Russ.
Not to get ahead of ourselves, the Nets have been great and
fun this season. Something that hasn’t been said about this franchise in a very
long time. The best thing about it all is that this is just the beginning.
Grade: B+
CHARLOTTE HORNETS (27-30)
Through most of the season, the Charlotte
Hornets have been in the top 8 of the Eastern Conference.
And with every passing week, it’s looking more and more like they’re going to
make their return to the playoffs this season – for the first time since the
2015-16 season.
Kemba Walker is still having a career
season in scoring, and having close to career highs in both overall shooting
and 3-point percentage. He’s ruled the Hornets to the top 8 in the East, but
could’ve really used a second star – or even some added help – at the NBA Trade
Deadline.
That’s something the Hornets nearly pulled off as they
pursued Marc Gasol, but ultimately lost out to the
Raptors. Who, ironically, they could end up playing in the first-round of the
playoffs. It’s pretty funny how that happens. Good, not great season for the Hornets.
Will they re-sign Kemba this summer?
Grade: C+
CHICAGO BULLS (14-44)
The Chicago Bulls made
some questionable decisions during the off-season, and as it turns out they
didn’t pay off. The Bulls are on pace to finish as one of the bottom 5 teams in
the NBA, and might be the worst overall team (in terms of their immediate
future).
Zach LaVine has been fine this season,
but they still don’t have a clear star on the roster and their big-name
off-season acquisition of Jabari Parker pretty much blew up in
their face. Maybe this team gets lucky and wins the lottery and lands Zion
Williamson. But, probably not.
The only reason that the Bulls don’t have a failing grade is
because of the deal that they managed to pull off at the NBA Trade Deadline,
where they swapped Bobby Portis (who they probably
weren’t going to sign anyway) and Parker to the Wizards for Otto Porter Jr., a talented young wing
who could grow alongside this team’s core.
Grade: D+
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (12-46)
It’s tough to grade a team like the Cleveland
Cavaliers. Entering this season, there wasn’t many expectations
placed on this team, especially after losing LeBron James during the off-season. With
that said, the Cavs are on pace to finish as one of the three worst teams in
the NBA, but the return of Kevin Love could hurt that.
Assuming that they do get a top 3 pick, though, they could
get right back into the mix in the East. This is a top heavy draft, and if they
get one of the top 3, they could have their next franchise player. Collin Sexton has been a bit of a
disappointment this season, and the fact that this team could trade J.R. Smith or Tristan Thompson at the trade deadline
was a disappointment too.
This team could be one the verge of a major facelift during
the off-season, and, quite frankly, that might be the best course of action for
this team.
Grade: D
DALLAS MAVERICKS (26-31)
The Dallas
Mavericks have been one of the most interesting teams this
season, and half of the reason why has nothing to do with anything that they’ve
accomplished on the court. Sure, Luka Doncic has been absolutely
spectacular this season, and is on pace to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year.
But their trade deadline move for Kristaps Porzingis is what really
gives the Mavs a high grade at the NBA All-Star break. Even though they moved
their entire opening night starting lineup (with the exception of Doncic), the
Mavs’ future is now in great hands.
Assuming that Porzingis returns to 100 percent next season,
the duo of him and Doncic is going to be one of the most intriguing ones
heading into the season. If nothing else, they will attract eye balls, and sell
a ton of tickets. I can’t hate on that.
Grade: A
DENVER NUGGETS (39-18)
The Denver
Nuggets have surprised the masses this season and have
taken the Western Conference by storm. The fact that they’ve been on a tear for
pretty much the entire season, despite battling the injury bug early on in the
year, is quite impressive
The big question, of course, is whether or not they’ll be
able to translate their regular season success into the playoffs. But,
especially for a team like the Nuggets, that doesn’t generally have these types
of seasons, that’s good problem to have.
As the playoffs begin in a couple of months the Nuggets are
going to be one team that many casual fans will be introduced to. And with the
way they play, I don’t think anyone will have a problem with that. Could they
be a real threat to the Warriors in a seven-game series, though?
Grade: A
DETROIT PISTONS (26-30)
The Detroit
Pistons, led by Blake Griffin, have had an OK season. They
haven’t been great by any means, but the fact that they’re competing for a
playoff spot once again in the Eastern Conference is a good sign for this team
moving forward.
If this team makes the playoffs, considering the move that
they made last season for Griffin, it would be a huge gut punch. This team made
the move for Griffin to compete for, at the very least, a playoff spot. So far,
the only reason why they’re even if contention for the top 8 in the conference
is because after the top 6 it’s been pretty weak.
The Pistons get a passing grade for now, but they better
have enough to beat out the likes of the Heat, Magic and Wizards for that last
spot in the East playoffs. They need it.
Grade: C+
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (41-16)
The Golden State
Warriors are still one of the most dominant teams in the
NBA, despite not having the best of seasons. They’re still on pace to win
60-plus games this season, and will likely be the favorites to come out of the
West, but I don’t think it’ll be easy by any means.
On top of all that, there are already plenty of rumors
surrounding the upcoming summer, where Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant will likely both hit free
agency. With that said, expect another NBA Championship run before all that
outside noise actually becoming reality.
I can’t really knock the Warriors for not being as great as
we’re used to seeing them. This is year three of the core (with Durant), and it
was only going to get more and more difficult since the original incarnation.
The fact that they’re still the overwhelming favorites to win the championship
says all you need to know about this team.
Grade: A-
HOUSTON ROCKETS (33-24)
There’s no question that the Houston
Rockets had a rough start to their season, and a big reason
why is due to losing a couple of their rotation pieces in the off-season and
fighting through the injury bug. Both Chris Paul and James Harden missed multiple games
early on this season, and the team is still trying to calibrate itself.
With that said they’ve been much better as of late and are
currently 4th in the Western Conference standings at the NBA All-Star break. They
are just four games out of the 3rd seed, but at this point it’s likely not
feasible for them to make up that many games with only 20-some odd games
remaining in the regular season.
The Rockets will likely finish as the 4th or 5th seed, and
are probably looking at a second-round playoff series against the Warriors (if
they manage to make it out of the first-round). That won’t be easy.
Grade: B-
INDIANA PACERS (38-20)
After last season, many questioned what to expect from
the Indiana
Pacers this year. They were coming off a surprising
performance in 2017-18, where they finished as the 5th seed in the Eastern
Conference and even took the LeBron-led Cavs to seven games in the first-round
of the playoffs.
Victor Oladipo had a breakout season
and was finally living up to being the No. 2 overall draft pick back in 2013.
The stars were lining up for the Pacers heading into this season, and for much
of the year they picked up where they left off last year. However, it all came
to a halt when Oladipo went down with a season-ending injury a couple weeks
ago.
Despite that, the Pacers are still sitting as the 3rd seed
in the East. They will likely still make the playoffs, but won’t make it pass
the second round. All in all, this has been another successful step for the
Pacers.
Grade: A
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (32-27)
The Los Angeles
Clippers had been sitting in the top 8 of the Western
Conference for most of the season, but it’s looking more and more like they
will eventually fall out of the playoff picture entirely. Especially
considering that the LeBron-led Lakers are currently sitting in the 10th slot
at the moment.
With that said, even if they miss the playoffs, the Clippers
are well positioned for the off-season, where they’re going to have money to
spend and all the wiggle room in the world with a myriad of assets that they
could either trade for a disgruntled star (*cough* Anthony Davis *cough*) or use to clear
even more cap space.
All in all, the Clippers had a solid season considering that
this team sold all of veteran assets over the last season and a half. Los
Angeles will ultimately be judged by what they can or can’t do during the
off-season. Buckle up.
Grade: B-
LOS ANGELES LAKERS (28-29)
The Los Angeles
Lakers will head into the NBA All-Star break out of the top
8 in the Western Conference, and it’s clear that their injuries this season
have finally caught up with the team. They got off to a nice start, and were
just a few games out of the top spot on Christmas Day when they beat the
Warriors.
However, everything has gone wrong since then. LeBron James
missed more than a month with a hamstring injury, and Lonzo Ball is still currently
sidelined with an ankle injury. It’s clear that those two injuries, which
intersected each other, have really had a negative impact, as you would expect,
on the team.
The Lakers will likely still make the playoffs when the
regular season is all said and done, but there’s no question that it’s been a
tough last couple of months for the team under year one of the LeBron James
era.
Grade: C-
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (23-36)
It’s been a rough year for the Memphis
Grizzlies and, really, their only silver lining has been
the play of rookie Jaren Jackson Jr., who appears to be a
real player and a key part to this team’s upcoming rebuild.
Memphis finally decided to move on from Marc Gasol, but the
return wasn’t great. And that was somewhat disappointing. So much so that the
team elected no to move Mike Conley at the NBA Trade Deadline,
in an attempt to try and get something bigger than what they were being
offered.
They couldn’t make two bad trades at the deadline, for the
two faces of their franchise for the last decade. The good news is that the
Grizzlies have finally come to their senses and will embrace the rebuild. Now
the hard part starts.
Grade: D+
MIAMI HEAT (26-30)
Let’s not beat around the bush; the Miami Heat might
be having the worst season in the NBA. It may not reflect that in the
standings, but that only magnifies it more. The Heat are the definition of NBA
purgatory. They are not bad enough to snag a top pick, and aren’t good enough
to make a real difference.
They don’t have any real young building blocks – Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson are nice, but would
have to be your third or fourth best players in order to be a great team. Bam Adebayo has this mystique around
him, but can’t even overtake Hassan Whiteside as the starting
center.
Miami missed on Jimmy Butler at the beginning of the
season, because they didn’t want to part ways with Richardson, reportedly.
Looking back, that’s looking more and more foolish by the hour. Oh, and on top
of all this, the Heat are still in salary cap hell for another two seasons.
Woof.
Grade: F
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (43-14)
Through the NBA All-Star break, the Milwaukee
Bucks have the best record in the NBA, which translates to
them sitting in the top spot of the Eastern Conference. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has a real shot
to win the NBA MVP award this season, the Bucks might possess the biggest
threat to the Warriors.
They’ve had a sensational first year under head coach Mike
Budenholzer, and it’s going to be interesting to see if this team can carry
their regular season success into the playoffs. For many up-and-coming teams,
this year’s playoffs will be the first real test.
The Bucks have made the playoffs before with this core, but
haven’t gotten out of the first-round of the Eastern Conference playoffs since
2000-01. The Bucks have had a great year, but can top it all off by making a
deep run in the post-season.
Grade: A
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (27-30)
The year didn’t start off great for the Minnesota
Timberwolves, who entered training camp with a Jimmy Butler
sized problem on their hands. After they tried to ride it out for a while, the
Wolves eventually traded Butler to the Sixers for Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a second-round
pick.
On top of that, the team elected to move on from team
president and head coach Tom Thibodeau a couple months after the trade. He
simply wasn’t the answer anymore, and the team clearly wanted to move in a
different direction.
All in all, this will be looked back as a lost season for
the Wolves. They have some important decisions to make regarding their future
this season, and have to figure out a way to make Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns work.
Grade: C-
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (26-33)
Let’s be honest about the New Orleans
Pelicans for a minute. For the most part, this season was
largely about finding a way to keep Anthony Davis satisfied with his current
situation in New Orleans. After he requested a trade from the Pelicans, it was
clear that he was now a lost cause, and that the Pelicans had failed in that
aspect.
New Orleans elected not to trade Davis at the NBA Trade
Deadline, holding out hope that they can get a better offer than what the
Lakers came with (potentially from the Celtics). Short of Davis changing his
mind between now and the summer, the Pelicans will be headed into a long
rebuild.
It won’t be pretty, unless New Orleans can pull off a heist
and steal Jayson Tatum from the Celtics. But even then, it will get worse
before it even begins to improve for the Pelicans. Especially in the Western
Conference.
Grade: F
NEW YORK KNICKS (11-47)
I don’t think anyone would argue that the New York
Knicks have had a great season this year, but they’ve made
a few moves this year that sets them up for the potential of a big off-season
this summer. And if they can squarely hit a home run in free agency – and they
will have two max slots – they will be right back in contention in the East.
On top of clearing all the cap space that the Knicks did at
the NBA Trade Deadline – by dealing away Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee – New York is also on
track to finish with the worst record in the NBA this season.
That means that they will have a 14 percent chance at
winning the NBA Draft Lottery and earning the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s
NBA Draft. If they were to achieve that, it would mean selecting (probably)
Zion Williamson.
Grade: C+
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (37-20)
Heading into the NBA All-Star break, the Oklahoma City
Thunder are only one game back of the Nuggets for the
second seed in the Western Conference. Had OKC not started the year off with an
0-4 mark, there’s a case to be made that they would be sitting in the top spot
right now.
Nevertheless, one of the biggest differences for the Thunder
this season has been the play of Paul George. George, one of the best
two-way player in today’s game, has been sensational this season and is very
much in the mix to possibly win the NBA’s MVP award.
Russell Westbrook is still the
triple-double machine that we’ve come to know and love, but without PG there’s
no knowing where this Thunder team would be right now. OKC is looking more and
more like a real threat to the Warriors out West.
Grade: A
ORLANDO MAGIC (27-32)
While the Orlando Magic have
been improved this season, as they are on pace to win the most games in a
season since the 2010-11 season, in which they won 50-plus games and lost in
the first-round of the playoffs, they still don’t have any clear direction.
They have a big decision to make regarding Nikola Vucevic this summer. Vucevic is
having a career year, and is making his first all-star appearance, but doesn’t
really fit in this team’s overall timeline moving forward. The fact that they
didn’t trade him at the deadline, and that they probably won’t get much in any
potential sign-and-trade deal for him in the summer, that’s going to be an
overall loss for this team.
The good news is that they might’ve found their point guard
of the future in Markelle Fultz. They took a flier on him at
the trade deadline, and he’ll finally get a chance to recover and play without
a huge microscope documenting his every move.
Grade: C
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (37-21)
The Philadelphia
76ers have been one of the most active teams in the NBA
this season, in terms of acquiring talent. Since the start of the season, the
Sixers have added two all-star talents in Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris.
Even though the Sixers are currently sitting in the 5th spot
of the Eastern Conference at the moment, you can’t really blame them. They’ve
had solid regular season and have made the moves to give them all the firepower
that they’d need to make a deep playoff run.
With exception to the Markelle Fultz fiasco, the Sixers have
played the last few years almost perfectly. It’s now time for this roster to
translate it to on-the-court success, and that won’t be an easy task to
accomplish in the top heavy East.
Grade: A
PHOENIX SUNS (11-48)
The Phoenix Suns have
been quite a disappointment this season. Considering their low expectations
headed into the season, that’s not easy to do.
The fact that the Suns have Devin Booker – who in fairness has
missed quite a few games this season – Deandre Ayton (the 2018 first overall
draft pick) and Josh Jackson (fourth overall draft
pick in 2017), and still have the second-worst record in the NBA this season is
not great.
You have to question whether or not Phoenix has actually
turned the corner as a franchise, and wonder why they’re development process
isn’t working. They should be better, but for some reason there not getting the
results that many expected them to get.
Grade: C
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (34-23)
The Portland
Trail Blazers are once again sitting as one of the top 4
seeds in the Western Conference, and have been one of the more consistent teams
this season. Led by the dynamic duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, this
team will ultimately be judged by what they do during the playoffs.
In the past, that’s somewhere the Blazers have really
struggled with. So much so that at times the Blazers don’t look like they’re
built for the playoffs. Perhaps that changes this season, but I can’t help but
think that this team would probably be the underdogs against any other team
currently in the top 8, with exception of the Spurs or Clippers.
Up to now, though, you can’t really knock the Blazers.
They’ve had a pretty good season, and will likely end up hosting a first-round
playoff series.
Grade: B+
SACRAMENTO KINGS (30-27)
Heading into the NBA All-Star break, the Sacramento
Kings are three games over .500 and are just one game back
of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. It’s becoming more
and more a reality that this team could sneak into the playoffs.
And should they do it, it would be quite a story considering
that they would have to beat out the Lakers in order to clinch a spot in the
playoffs. It should also be noted that the Kings haven’t made the playoffs
since the 2005-06 season.
After more than a decade of mediocrity, making the playoffs
would be quite the accomplishment for the Kings. Even more so considering that
no one really expected this type of jump this season from Sacramento.
Grade: B+
SAN ANTONIO SPURS (33-26)
It’s definitely a different era for the San Antonio Spurs and
Gregg Popovich, and there’s a legit question as to what’s next for this
team. DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, while they have been
good this season, are not the future of this team. I don’t think anyone would
argue against that.
With that said, the Spurs don’t exactly have a core of young
players that could take this team to the next level, and that’s the biggest
problem with this franchise right now. Which is probably the biggest reason why
they decided to move Kawhi Leonard, during the off-season, for a
semi-star instead of young talent.
It’s looking more and more like a long rebuild could be in
the cards for the Spurs. Will Pop stick around for it?
Grade: B-
TORONTO RAPTORS (43-16)
The Toronto
Raptors have had as close to a perfect last few months than
a team can have in the NBA. This is a team that acquired Kawhi Leonard, one of
the NBA’s best two-way players when healthy, during the summer and Marc Gasol
last week at the NBA Trade Deadline.
They’ve done everything in their power to take this team to
the next level, and it’s going to be interesting to see if that’s enough for
Kawhi to want to re-sign with the team during the off-season.
The Raptors will be one of a handful teams that will be
favored to come out of the East, and will have a real shot to emerge as a
threat to the Warriors (assuming they come out of the West).
Grade: A
UTAH JAZZ (32-25)
The Utah Jazz have
recovered nicely after their not-so-great start to the season, but considering
that many were predicting this team to finish as one of the top 3 teams in the
Western Conference I can’t help but think that this team has left much to be
desired.
Utah nearly pulled off a deal at the deadline to add more
talent – it was reported that
they were targeting Mike Conley – and he certainly would’ve helped. Now, they
will have to make their move up the standings – and in the playoffs – with
their current roster.
When healthy and at the top of their game, there’s no
question that the Jazz can be one of the most dangerous teams in the Western
Conference. They just haven’t showed that all that much, until recently, this
season.
Grade: B-
WASHINGTON WIZARDS (24-34)
Entering this season, the Washington
Wizards weren’t a popular pick in the East but there were
some that considered them a potential dark horse because of their talented
roster. At the NBA All-Star break, however, the Wizards have more questions
than answers at this point.
In short, John Wall will miss the next 12 months
after rupturing his Achilles tendon (with his supermax extension set to kick in
next season) and the team traded Otto Porter Jr. at the trade deadline for
essentially expiring contracts (Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker).
They are currently three games out of the final playoff spot
in the East, but their future is as bleak as it gets. What will the team decide
to do during the summer? Could they find a team willing to make a move for
Wall? Will they elect to move – or at least listen to offers for – Bradley Beal?
There is so much that needs to be sorted out by the Wizards
this summer, and none of those decisions will be easy. If one thing’s for sure
though, it’s that this season has been pretty much a disaster.
Grade: F
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