SACRAMENTO KINGS (6-4)
Are the Kings legit? Can they bust through the glass ceiling that is the Western Conference playoff picture?
The answer to these questions is no. Largely because some of the teams lingering below them are too good to not improve, bumping them down in the pecking order. This is the biggest spike of hope for the franchise and fan base since they won 35 games with Boogie Cousins.
But there is promise here. De’Aaron Fox has shown flashes of the type of upside that could really shake the league up in a couple of years. He is an incredible athlete. He can run the floor like a young John Wall, he can pass, his shooting has improved (over 50 percent form the field and 35 percent from three), and he is up to 18.7 points per game.
Buddy Hield has developed lethal accuracy from deep at 48 percent. He still is a bad defender, and someone I would be worried about playing consistent minutes in a playoff series against a competent team. But he’s still 24, and he’s good for what he is right now on this young team. Their offseason acquisition, Nemanja Bjelica, has don well to space the floor and added some fire to the offense. Willie Cauley-Stein and Marvin Bagley III have both been solid.
They will be caught back by the hungry wolves of the West and drop down the rankings especially since most of their wins were against bad teams. They have a monster of a schedule coming up, and we will see how they respond once tested. They just dropped a game to the Bucks and their next ten games or so are against the best teams in the league.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS (4-6)
They are struggling early, as was expected, and characteristic of almost every new early season LeBron team. Next year will really be their time to shine, after having the opportunity to sign a free agent this offseason, and more time to develop a core with identity. The addition of Tyson Chandler should help a little, just to second center to their roster. He is definitely semi-washed, but he’s got enough fight left in him to make a positive impact on this team. And he will because in all of their line ups this year LeBron is their best center defender, and that cannot be true, especially since he is in his apathetic cruise control mode. JaVale McGee has been a pleasant surprise, and playing some of the best ball of his career, but he is not a long term solution. I really hope Mo Wagner gets better soon. I think he can play, and they can really use him.
I am convinced LeBron will make the playoffs until I see evidence suggesting otherwise. They are still hanging around the five hundred mark and have plenty of time to find their way, as long as they do not hit a major skid.
I do not have a lot of meaningful analysis for this team, I’m just doubling down on the fact that they are making the playoffs.
INDIANA PACERS (7-4)
I love watching this team play. They have palpable chemistry. Their offense flows pretty nicely, and I cannot wait to see what this team looks like by the end of the season, but have a couple question marks I want answered.
The first is Myles Turner. He is fine. He can shoot, both threes and mid range, but he is terrible on defense, and is not, that good of a shooter. He seems very pedestrian, and they just gave him an $84 million extension. And a problem, which is a good problem to have considering the situation, is that Domantas Sabonis, his backup, is better than he is. Their closing line up changes from game to game, and it’s just something they need to nail down a bit more firmly.
The other question I have has to do with their anointed star and savior, Victor Oladipo, needs to make another jump. He has plenty of memorable moments, like down the stretch on Saturday night against the Celtics, when he puts all of Indiana on his back and takes home the dub. Even late in the Houston game, despite a costly turnover, he hit big shots and kept them in that game. Right now he’s at 23 points a game, and averaged 23.1 last year. He has been more than they could ask for, but if this team is serious, he will need to make a jump to the elite and post 27 ppg. The best players in the league are over 25. It’s definitely a line of demarcation. Next year might be the season, but that’s really what Indy needs.
Tyreke Evans has fit better than I expected. I want to see Doug McDermott get more involved. I hope Aaron Holliday starts to get a couple more minutes. More to come from this team.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (5-4)
People forgot that Marc Gasol and Mike Connelly are former all-stars, and are still really talented basketball players. Jaron Jackson has looked good, but coaching-wise this team is a mess which is so sad, after watching Fizdale work his magic there for a season-and-change. Because they have such coaching deficiencies, they will not be serious this year, even if they squeak into the playoffs, which is unlikely.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (8-3)
I’m going to say what I have been saying going on two years now, they need to trade CJ McCollum. I know this is coming off of a 40 point night for CJ against the Bucks, where he torched Donte DiVincenzo time and time again. But look, this is the Blazers. Their offense does not have a lot of flow. They ride either CJ or Dame, and if they’re hot they win and if they’re both off, then the game becomes slow and enters a small town right outside of Portland with a flickering sign in front of it that reads “Brick City.”
They have weak safety nets. Jusuf Nurkic is nice, but he is by no means a ringer, and can get burnt on switches or by a more talented big man. He also Their wing rotation is Evan Turner (who really is more of a guard), Al Farouq Aminu, Jake Layman, and Seth Curry; not exactly a murder’s row. And this is a weak spot that plays out time and time again in the playoffs. So, hey Neil Olshey, call Glenn Taylor, or Thibs of Jimmy Butler himself, or whoever is calling the shots in that bassackwards organization, and get this trade done.
It’s dubious that the T-wolves will actually go for this, especially with the reanimation of the corpse of D Rose. I genuinely think that Thibs thinks his roster is one of the best in the league. “We got Derrick and Jimmy and Taj. We’re going to sign Joakim in a week, we’ll slide Karl to the four, and Taj is really more of a three anyway.” Just kidding Thibs didn’t actually say that.
But back the CJ. Trade him. Send out some feelers, unfortunately the market isn’t champing at the bit for an undersized scoring guard, but I think they could figure out a deal that would work.