The NBA’s second half got underway with the league coming back in earnest last Thursday, making for a shorter sample size to work off of.
But whether it’s just a short-week abolition after a break or not, there’s been some significant movement near the usually stagnant top of our list this week.
Here’s a look at how we view the league at the moment.
The East’s beasts
Yes, there are two Western Conference teams here in the top tier despite the name. Specifically focusing on the Eastern Conference’s three top teams, though, it looks like they may have already run away with the conference.
After some tepid play early in the season, the Milwaukee Bucks appear to have hit their stride having won eight of their last nine. The Brooklyn Nets have been just like everyone thought they would be when the acquired James Harden with him looking like an MVP candidate, helping lead Brooklyn to 12 wins in their last 13 contests mostly without Kevin Durant in the lineup, and the Philadelphia 76ers have been consistently excellent all season long.
We’ll have to see how Philly fares without its MVP candidate Joel Embiid, who will miss at least two weeks with a bone bruise, but the Sixers should play good enough defence even without Embiid to weather anything that comes their way.
L.A. swooning
The big surprise of the week is the position of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers being bumped from their usual top-tier perch down here in the second level.
But as odd as it may be to see it, the play of the two L.A. clubs hasn’t been the most inspiring of late with both clubs going 4-7 in their last 11 games.
The Lakers, of course, have been without superstar centre Anthony Davis during this time, but he’ll continue to be out for at least another two weeks. They’ll need to find a way get their act together without him at least a little or risk falling down the standings.
As for the Clippers, things seem even worse with Kawhi Leonard publicly calling the team’s inconsistency “very concerning” after the Clippers dropped a game on Sunday to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Whether or not this is just a mid-season swoon happening in L.A. or something more serious is yet to be determined, but the favourites to meet in the Western Conference Final in the pre-season don’t look anything like that quality right now.
LaMelo Ball is the Rookie of the Year
Though the season is only midway finished, it looks like the Rookie of the Year award has already been wrapped up. Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball will win the award, barring anything disastrous happening like an unfortunate injury.
Hornets head coach James Borrego inserted Ball into the starting lineup in the beginning of February and Charlotte has taken off since then, going 10-7 as Ball averages 20 points, 6.8 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game while also shooting a scorching 45.5 per cent from three-point range.
And while the success Charlotte’s seen this season can’t completely be attributed to Ball, a good portion of it can, which is far more than any other rookie this season can say.
Raptors in trouble, but help is on the way
The Toronto Raptors have lost five straight, all without having the services of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw, who have been in the league's health and safety protocols.
Sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference there’s no doubt the Raptors are in trouble, but there’s hope on the horizon that those players -- in particular the three key starters -- could finally return and Toronto could turn things around.
For the sake of Raptors fans, we can only hope that is the case because the odds that significant reinforcements will be on their way via next week’s trade deadline don’t seem likely as, according to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, Kyle Lowry isn’t going to be traded and Norman Powell still seems far too valuable to deal away.
Anthony Edwards is cool
While the Hornets’ Ball will certainly win Rookie of the Year, that isn’t to take away from the accomplishments of No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are the worst team in the NBA, but the flashes of brilliance from Edwards have helped make the Timberwolves at least somewhat watchable this season.
The most recent example of this came on Sunday when Edwards went off for a career-high 34 points on efficient 12-of-24 shooting including a 6-for-14 mark from deep to help Minnesota pick up its ninth win of the season over the Portland Trail Blazers
He isn’t going to win Rookie of the Year, but Edwards’ potential as a big-time scorer in the NBA is immense.
The Houston Rockets
The Rockets have lost 16 in a row, Eric Gordon will miss at least four weeks with a groin strain and the next time P.J. Tucker will play, it will be for another team as the club works to accommodate a trade for him.
Houston, we don’t have a problem -- we have a disaster.
