NBA Power Rankings: Stretch-run questions for each team

Can the Warriors become the best team ever? If you don’t think the Warriors are beating the 1995-96 Bulls’ record of 72-10 by now, you really must be kidding yourself. It’s going to happen. If they then proceed to win the title, this team will go down in history as one of the greatest in NBA history — if not the best, period.

Should the Spurs continue to chase the Warriors? While there’s a chance the Spurs could catch the Warriors, the wiser course of action would be to allow Golden State to chase history while San Antonio does its best to ensure all personnel, particularly Tim Duncan, is ready for what appears to be an inevitable Western Conference finals clash with the Dubs.

Can LeBron James make it to a sixth straight Finals? While it’s easy to say that the Cavaliers will walk back into the Finals given their superiority over the East, the conference is still very competitive and to make six straight Finals — extending his record — would be an absolutely Herculean feat.

Can the Thunder tighten up on defence? OKC has a championship-level offence and two MVP candidates on their roster in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but they don’t play strong enough defence to hang with San Antonio and Golden State. Can they improve this in time?

Will standing pat at the deadline work out? The Raptors appear to be banking on DeMarre Carroll being back healthy and just as effective as he was before he got hurt. This makes sense on paper, but given Carroll’s injury problems this season there’s a chance this could blow up in their faces.

Can the Clippers stabilize themselves in time? When Blake Griffin comes back from injury and subsequent suspension there won’t be all that much time for L.A. to get its act together and be ready for a deep playoff run. Off-court distraction has been the name of the game for the club this season and it’s costing them.

Is Lance Stephenson the offensive spark Memphis needed? Trading Jeff Green for Stephenson seems like a weird move, but with Memphis’ unique blend of personalities this could work well. With Marc Gasol done for the season, the Grizzlies will require much more offensive punch and Stephenson could give it to them coming off the bench.

Can the Celtics hold onto home-court seeding? Barring a catastrophic collapse, Boston is playoff-bound this season. The real question is whether they can hold onto one of those top four seeds and play their first-round matchup with home-court advantage. This would be significant as the Celtics play much better at home.

Will Chris Bosh be able to return? Once again the scary issue of blood clots is preventing Bosh from playing. Will this issue resolve in time for the playoffs? Will it ever be resolved? If not, there’s a chance Bosh may have to retire prematurely.

Can Paul George elevate his game even further? While this may be impossible given the fact Indiana elected to stand pat at the deadline, the key weakness of the guys around George simply not being good enough remains for this club. Therefore, if they want to make some post-season noise, George may need to reach a whole other level of excellence.

Will the league regret the Damian Lillard all-star snub? Did you see what Lillard did to the Warriors? Watch out. An angry Dame is an awesome Dame.

Can the Hornets hold onto their playoff spot? Outside of the Cavaliers and Raptors, almost all of the East is tightly packed together with a number of legitimate threats to make the post-season. Charlotte’s had a fine season, but with teams like the Pistons and Wizards upgrading at the deadline and on the outside looking in right now, it’s hard to see the Hornets being able to stand their ground all the way.

Is this Atlanta’s last run? Rumours were swirling at the deadline that the Hawks were looking to break up their core, but in the end they decided to give it another shot with their key personnel. If Atlanta can’t get it done this season, will the fire sale be back on in the off-season?

Is this Dirk’s last rodeo? While Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour has been commanding the headlines, another all-time great from Bryant’s era, Dirk Nowitzki, could also be looking to hang up the sneakers. The big German has a player option for next season that he may consider declining and choose to ride off into the sunset.

Can Utah sneak into the playoffs? The best playoff race down the stretch will definitely be that scramble at the No. 7, 8, 9 seeds in the West. At the moment the Jazz are on the outside looking in, but they have talent and will to get in. They want it, so let’s see them do it.

Can the Bulls get healthy in time? Joakim Noah’s out for the season, and Nikola Mirotic and Jimmy Butler aren’t expected back until around mid-March. This Bulls team is a lot better than its record indicates, it just needs to not have key players injured all the time.

Will Morris make the Wizards a contender? The move for Markieff Morris was a surprising one from Washington and, with Bradley Beal playing well again, things are on the up for the Wizards. If they get hot, they could shoot up the East standings and be a scary first-round playoff opponent.

Will the Rockets regret not trading Dwight Howard? Howard’s numbers this season have been pretty good, but he can opt out of his deal in the off-season and looks like he wants a change of scenery. The Rockets are nowhere near the team they were last season so holding onto him for a deep playoff run seems unfeasible, particularly when they could’ve gotten something for him at the deadline.

Will Harris be a difference-maker? The Donatas Motiejunas deal got rescinded, meaning the Pistons’ splashy move to acquire Tobias Harris from the Magic a few days before the deadline will be even more important. He’s got a ton of talent, but who knows if he’ll work well in Detroit.

Will we see another insane Davis game again this season? Anthony Davis’ 59-point, 20-rebound performance was one for the ages. Unfortunately, his team is awful, so while there’s not much for New Orleans to look forward to other than the draft for now, there’s always hope The Brow will go off for another 50-20 game.

Can Denver prevent its pick from being taken? The Raptors own the lesser of the Nuggets and Knicks picks in this year’s draft. At the moment, Denver’s pick would not be taken, something they probably want to ensure given where they are from a team-building aspect right now.

Will Kidd return to Bucks’ sideline? Jason Kidd has proven himself to be quite a capable coach, and while the Bucks are just on the cusp of being out of it, should Kidd return from a chronic hip injury that’s keeping him out indefinitely it would be a boost of confidence to the team.

Will Karl-Anthony Towns win rookie of the year? If he continues doing what he’s doing now, this award is a lock.

Will the Magic’s decision to trade Harris become clearer? The first reaction to Orlando trading Tobias Harris for what appeared to be a pretty blah haul was one of confusion. A week later it still doesn’t make much sense.

Will George Karl still be coaching by the end of the season? Even though the Kings supposedly smoothed things out after announcing Karl would be staying on, Sacramento’s management seems to be a fickle one, so there’s a chance he could get canned.

Will the Knicks get back into the playoff hunt? Currently trending downward, the Knicks’ odds at the post-season are dimming every day. However, this team does compete hard and rookie Kristaps Porzingis has re-invigorated the fan base. They could make a run at the No. 8 seed.

Will the Nets gift Ben Simmons to the Celtics? Sitting on the fourth-worst record in the league, Brooklyn could sink even lower and potentially win the lottery, a selection that would then belong to the Celtics. Yikes.

Will they reach 15 wins? Philly right now has just eight wins in 55 games played. That’s approximately only one win every seven games. Based on this number and looking at the rest of their schedule, the 76ers are going to fall short of that mark.

How much more extravagant will Kobe’s farewell tour get? The final leg of Bryant’s last season is upon us and the reality that he won’t be playing again should really start to set in. How nuts will the tributes and gifts he receives be now through his final game?

Will the Suns successfully tank to last place? Phoenix’s haul in the Markieff Morris trade was underwhelming to say the least, but that’s OK because this team is going down the gutter gleefully with visions of Ben Simmons dancing in their heads.