Los Angeles Lakers – Warriors Pen

Evaluating All 30 NBA Teams Before the Playoffs

middlben001 Uncategorized March 28, 2023Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Playoffs, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Piladelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Sports, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards 0 Comment

The playoffs are less than 15 games away and some teams still haven’t found their groove. The standings could change dramatically in the coming days, as the 4-12 seeds in the west are all within 4 games of each other. There have been many surprises this season, from blockbuster trades, to shake ups in the standings, so let’s take a look at everything that’s happened this season team by team.

The Western Conference

Pacific Division

Sacramento Kings: The Sacramento Kings have jumped from a team not even in the play-in last year, to the two seed and they have De’Aaron Fox and Domontas Sabonis to thank for that because they have been huge for them this year.

Phoenix Suns: The Phoenix Suns are currently in the 4 seed, but that doesn’t tell their full story. They recently acquired Kevin Durant, but he has only played in a handful of games due to a sprained ankle during warm ups that is keeping him sidelined, they are looking deadly once Durant comes back.

Los Angeles Clippers: The Los Angeles Clippers are tied with the Suns, and it seems that when both their stars, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard play, they are pretty good, unfortunately they will be without one of them for the next 2-3 weeks so they could be done for.

Golden State Warriors: Next we have the Golden State Warriors who are a game behind the Clippers and have been an interesting story this season. They have gone from the 3 seed and winning the championship last year, to the 6 seed and only two more wins on the road, as they have losses at home.

Los Angeles Lakers: The last team in the Pacific Division is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have had a similar story to last season, struggling to get anything going, but with the acquisition of D’Angelo and other pieces, they could make some noise if they can make it into the playoffs and get LeBron James back from injury, which could be soon.

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets: The Denver Nuggets are another team that has been surprising this year, they have gone from the 6 seed to 1 seed in just a year, thanks to fabulous play once again from two time MVP Nikola Jokic who is looking to become just the fourth player ever to win three consecutively, but also from Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr, who have both constantly been injured in the past. They have also clinched a playoff spot.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired Rudy Gobert during the off season, but he hasn’t quite clicked with the team, and they sit at the 7 seed for the second year in a row.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Right now the OKC Thunder are the 11 seed, but they have had stellar play from guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as well as Josh Giddey and their rookies. They look to improve with their many, many picks they can use as trade pieces or to draft players, but also make it into the play-in.

Utah Jazz: The Utah Jazz started out with the league on notice, even without Donovan Mitchel and Rudy Gobert, but they have slowed down tremendously and are on the outside of the play-in looking in, but only a half game from it, and have seen the growth of Lauri Markkanen into a star.

Portland Trail Blazers: The Portland Trail Blazers don’t have CJ McCollum anymore, but it seems they have found a replacement in Anfernee Simons, despite this, they have still struggled and are a bottom three team in the west.

Southwest Division

Memphis Grizzlies: The Memphis Grizzlies are in the same spot they were last season, the 2 seed, have clinched a playoff spot, and they have almost everyone back, Ja Morant is back from his suspension, and Stephen Adams could be back if they make a run in the playoffs.

Dallas Mavericks: The Dallas Mavericks, who were looked at as potential contenders, are currently in the play-in and Kyrie continues to be injured, and even with him the team has not performed well.

New Orleans Pelicans: The New Orleans Pelicans are another team that started out hot, but have really struggled recently, possibly because Zion Williamson is once again injured, they are currently the 9 seed and in the play-in.

San Antonio Spurs: Everyone knew the San Antonio Spurs would be bad, after they traded away their best players, Jakob Poeltl and Dejounte Murray, but they are really bad, sitting at the 14 seed with only 19 wins.

Houston Rockets: The Houston Rockets are also incredibly bad, at the bottom team in the west with 18 wins, but on the bright side, their young core continues to grow.

The Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Philadelphia 76ers: The Philadelphia 76ers are on a roll right now, winning 8 games straight, Joel Embiid in MVP conversations, and James Harden leading the league in assists, they sit at the 3 seed and have clinched a playoff spot.

Boston Celtics: The Boston Celtics are currently a half game up on the 76ers, and they are the 2 seed and are looking to make it back to the finals for the second year in a row, and have some pretty good chances too.

New York Knicks: The New York Knicks have surprised the league this year. After not even making the playoffs last year, they have played well with the same roster, besides the acquisition of Jalen Brunson in the off season, they sit at the 5 seed, but have struggled recently with Brunson being out.

Brooklyn Nets: The Brooklyn Nets started out the season looking like contenders again, until they blew the team up right before the trade deadline, sending Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks and Kevin Durant to the Suns. Since then they have struggled, but acquisition Mikal Bridges has shone on his new team, they sit at the 7 seed, which is probably around where they will sit until the end of the season.

Toronto Raptors: The Toronto Raptors have had a downgraded season compared to last year, not really changing anything about the roster, they are currently sitting at the 9 seed.

Central Division

Milwaukee Bucks: The Milwaukee Bucks are looking good, once again, sitting atop the conference looking to win their second title in three years and have clinched a playoff spot.

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking dangerous, both right now and for the future of the franchise. Their young core will continue to grow and they are already extremely good, sitting at the 4 seed.

Chicago Bulls: The Chicago Bulls, who were the six seed last year, are currently a game and a half into the play-in at the 10 seed and have struggled, and similarly to the Raptors they haven’t changed anything about the roster and Lonzo Ball continues to be unable to play due to injury.

Indiana Pacers: The Indiana Pacers aren’t exactly in a winning situation, but could make it into the play-in if things play out right. Tyrese Haliburton has been great and rookie Bennedict Mathurin has too, so Indiana could be playoff bound once again in the coming years.

Detroit Pistons: The Detroit Pistons are the worst team in the conference, at the 15 seed, and Cade Cunningham has been out for most of the year, so they still look to rebuild and gain more young pieces.

Southeast Division

Miami Heat: The Heat, who were the 1 seed last season, are sitting at the 6 seed, only a half game up on the Nets, which is causing some frustration within the organization.

Atlanta Hawks: The Atlanta Hawks acquired Dejounte Murray during the off season, and it hasn’t changed much, they still sit at the 8 seed.

Washington Wizards: The Washington Wizards are in a tough situation, their core is getting older, they don’t have many young pieces, but they also aren’t good, and are currently the 12 seed, so they either need to go all in or rebuild the team.

Orlando Magic: The Orlando Magic have struggled, which is to be expected, but rookie Paolo Banchero has looked amazing, and Markelle Fultz has started to grow as he actually plays. Jonathan Isaac, who hasn’t played for multiple seasons, came back for a few games then went out with injury again, so hopefully he can get healthy, and this team could be dangerous in the future, they are the 13 seed.

Charlotte Hornets: The Charlotte Hornets have about half the amount of wins they had last season right now, due to LaMelo Ball spending extensive time sitting out with injury and the loss of Miles Bridges during the off season, the Hornets organization needs to figure something out because it’s not working right now, they are sitting at the 14 seed.

Why is team chemistry more important than overall talent?

Kade Daniels Uncategorized November 28, 2021November 29, 2021Basketball, Chemistry, Lakers, Lebron James, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Pro teams, Sports, Superstars, team sports, Teamwork 0 Comment

The 2021-2022 Lakers squad has had a very dissapointing start to this season, as of writing this article they are 10-11. What is the reason for their struggle, and has this happened before?

There are 2 keys to success in the NBA nowadays. The first one is skill and stardom. Every team should be built around a superstar, a guy you see as the future and leader of the squad. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo is that guy. A guy who draws a lot of attention and night in and out consistently puts up very good numbers.

The second key is chemistry. All of the talent you may have means nothing if none of it works together. A team like the Phoenix Suns may not have the biggest stars in the league, but they still made it to the NBA Finals last season due to their impressive chemistry. A team that plays better together is better than a team that plays the best by themselves. Kevin Durant once said, “Chemistry is important. If you like your teammates, it’s going to be easier to play with them on the court”.

Going into this season, the Lakers were the team to watch. They were expected to match up against the Nets in the NBA Finals for a fantastic matchup. However, the Lakers have been very disappointing thus far. The Lakers are a measly 10-11, and it seems every week they play worse and worse teams and continue to lose. What is the reason for these losses, you may ask?

It’s quite noticeable when you watch Lakers games what their issue is: they don’t know how to play as a unit. I don’t even watch basketball, and even I can notice it. There is too much stardom in Los Angeles and not enough chemistry to go around. Guys like Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, and Russell Westbrook all on the same team are not working well. All 4 of those guys are players to build a team around. All of them would be leading scorers on most teams in the league. All of them want the ball, and when one player takes too many shots, the other guys become useless. They need to learn how to distribute all of their talents equally around and use all of their strengths to combine them.

Unfortunately, if everyone can’t figure it out, they may end up trading people away. Fill some weaknesses the Lakers have and not have as many stars on the floor at once. This is the unfortunate route they may have to take, but it is very much an option.

Now, the Lakers are not the only example of this. In the NBA’s entire history this happens essentially every year. The Nets are last season’s example and have had the same issue this season as well. The Big 3 the Nets traded for and signed, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden have not played well together. All 3 of them shoot the ball too much. However, James and Kevin have started to figure it out, Kyrie has left them behind. Kyrie has not been allowed to play due to his unwillingness to get the COVID-19 Vaccine, and Kevin and James are being good teammates and not being negative towards Irving. Kevin says, “He’s a part of our team”.

It begs the question, does chemistry mean more than talent? Yes, teams that have very good chemistry have always done better than extremely talented teams. Take the 2020 Milwaukee Bucks for example. Giannis Antetokounmpo was the biggest name in the Finals for that squad, but other than that, there was not much star power. But, everyone knew their role. Jrue Holiday knew he was not going to be the scoring point guard, and so he focused on his biggest strength, that being his defense. The same is not said for Khris Middleton however, as he was expected to be the best 3 point shooter on that team, and he was. All of these parts came together and formed a championship team. Even their opponents in the Finals had great chemistry and were built similarly to Milwaukee, but the Bucks were bigger and stronger and ended up winning.

Time and time again it has been proved that teams with better chemistry will win more games than a team with extraordinary talent. If all the parts come together, they can form a special squad. But, the teams that have the right amount of talent and chemistry, become dynasties and can go down as some of the greatest teams of all time.