Boston Celtics – Kemba Walker’s Knee
The knee has been a constant issue all season long for the Celtic’s all-star point guard. Walker played through the injury for most of the season and fans were happy to hear his reassuring statements about his health as the team first headed to Orlando. Concerns have risen again though after Walker appeared in one of Boston’s three scrimmages- and he only played nine minutes in that one scrimmage. To be fair, it did seem that he was moving fluidly in those nine minutes and head coach Brad Stevens has been backing the positive statements about his health, but it would be a devastating blow to a Celtics team that has hopes to make it far in the playoffs.
Luckily for Celtics fans though, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have proven before that they can play well in the postseason without their starting point guard. And they have only grown as players since then. Tatum proved this season that he is capable of playing like a top player in the league for long stretches of time, meanwhile Brown put together two really good performances in the scrimmages he logged minutes in, including a 21 point effort on 7/13 shooting, 3/6 from three. Obviously, the hope is that Walker is able to play every game until the season is done, but even if he doesn’t, a Tatum and Brown duo shouldn’t disappoint.
Brooklyn Nets – Can They Hold the 7th Seed?
As of now, the Nets currently hold the 7th seed in the east. The 76ers have the 6th seed and are eight and a half games ahead of them, meanwhile the Orlando Magic are right behind Brooklyn by half a game. Now, whether they end up playing the Milwaukee Bucks or the Toronto Raptors doesn’t really matter much. I don’t think anyone will give them a realistic chance in either series, but considering all of the players that are not currently in Orlando for health reasons, it would be a very impressive feat for those who are there to hold off the Magic from a better first round matchup.
Now, if the Nets do find their way to enough wins to maintain that 7th seed, I would assume that Caris LeVert has something to do with it. LeVert was just starting to break out last season. He was averaging just under 20 points per game over the season’s first 14 games before suffering a significant injury to his foot. He would come back later that season but clearly was still in rehab mode. This season, LeVert took a smaller role and in turn didn’t have to score as much, but now, considering that 40-year-old Jamal Crawford may be the second best scorer the Nets have in the bubble, expect LeVert to have the green light while putting up big scoring numbers. Because he is fully capable. Don’t forget about how he scored 51 points on the Celtics just a few games before the season was suspended.
Dallas Mavericks – Will the Offense Transition to Orlando?
Believe it or not, but this Mavericks team will go down in the history books as the team with the best offensive rating in NBA history. Yep, they were even better than last season’s Warriors which included Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson. Dallas’ rating of 116.7 makes them the only team to ever top 116.0 for a full season. All while being led by a second-year soon to be star in Luka Dončić. It’s scary to think what this team may have in store for the future.
There are still questions that remain though for this team in the seeding games. Obviously, you have to ask yourself, did this break in play also put a break in some sort of rhythm that the team may have had over the regular season? We’ve never seen a multiple month break in a season before so no one really knows if rested players necessarily means better or worse offense. And even if their offense is somewhat close to what it was before the break, it’s a common trend for very good offensive minded teams to struggle in the playoffs, where defenses usually tighten up and possessions are longer as teams put more effort into each and every play. But again, we’ve never seen an offense this good in all of NBA history.
Denver Nuggets – Figuring Out Rotations
The Nuggets only had eight players available for their first two scrimmages which made things difficult for head coach Mike Malone. We saw some interesting lineups including all-star center Nikola Jokić at point guard and there was enough Bol Bol to ignite a whole rookie of the year campaign on Twitter. The third scrimmage featured more of the usual roster including their first round draft pick, Michael Porter Jr. Porter Jr. missed most of the season while still recovering from an injury, but in the few games he did play before the season got suspended, MPJ was showing true promise into becoming not only a good role player but a starter caliber player at worst.
Why may this be an issue, you might ask. Well, even prior to adding Michael Porter Jr. and Bol Bol to the lineup, the Nuggets already routinely went 10 or 11 players deep night in and night out. Now, during the regular season, this is great because this means a team should be able to get quality production while keeping players well rested. In the playoffs though, it’s typical for teams to cut down their rotation to eight or nine players, maybe swapping some players in between each series for matchup purposes. So it will be in Mike Malone’s best interest to take these eight seeding games to figure everything out because there are about 13 players worthy of playoff minutes on the roster. If you ask me, I would assume that we won’t be seeing much of Porter Jr. or Bol, simply for the reason of them both being rookies, although they will probably see more minutes throughout the seeding games.
Houston Rockets – Eric Gordon’s Injury
The Rockets find themselves in a peculiar place as of now. They’ve been on the brink of reaching the NBA Finals for the past couple of years while being led by their superstar guard, James Harden. And now, they’ve paired him with Russell Westbrook in their latest effort to upgrade the roster around Harden. Without the Warriors to worry about this season, some thought the Rockets would have it easier, yet they currently sit at the 6th seed in the west heading into the seeding games.
The uncertainty doesn’t stop there either. At the trade deadline, the Rockets gave their starting center, Clint Capela, to the Hawks as part of a multi team trade. And they didn’t receive any sort of big man in return. Instead, they opted to go forward pushing the small ball idea to its limit. One of the effects of this decision was the amount of pressure put on the slew of “three and D” players that the Rockets have stockpiled. Especially the starters who will now have to defend against taller opponents for a greater amount of time. What would put even more pressure on the team would be an injury to one of these players and that is what happened in the Rockets last scrimmage on Tuesday. Starting wing, Eric Gordon, suffered an ankle injury that will sideline him a few weeks and most likely take him out of almost every seeding game. It’s now on the Rockets’ bench to fill that void left by the sharpshooting wing.
Indiana Pacers – The Victor Oladipo Situation
Last season, we saw Pacers’ all-star Victor Oladipo miss time with a significant knee injury that lasted into the current season. His return was cut short by the season suspension, but in Oladipo’s case, I think that might’ve been a positive for him. In the 13 games he played, he saw both his FG% and 3P% drop by five points so to be able to get a taste of NBA level play again and then have a couple more months to rehab and get fully healthy should be great for Oladipo’s longevity. Even using the eye test, he looks way smoother and fluid compared to how he played before the suspension.
Now, Oladipo still hasn’t confirmed whether he is actually playing in the seeding games or not. He originally said that he wouldn’t but after feeling good in the scrimmages, he is reconsidering. As for the Pacer’s playoff hopes, all-star forward Domantas Sabonis suffered a foot injury that will cause him to miss the rest of the season. With the Pacers currently tied for the 5th seed with the 76ers, some may think that Oladipo will choose to sit out as it is unlikely the Pacers make it far. I don’t think that’s the case though. Even though he is on contract until the end of next season, there have been plenty of rumors lately about potential trades involving the all-star or potential landing spots for his free agency. With that in mind, I think Oladipo finishes this season to prove to potential suitors that he is the same player he was before the injury, maybe even better. He doesn’t even have to necessarily win a playoff series, he just has to make enough noise.
Los Angeles Clippers – Bubble Absences
NBA Twitter and fans all around got a good laugh out of the Lou Williams situation and his involvement with his hometown Magic City. Whether he was really there just for the food or not, he has to serve a 10 day suspen- uh, I mean quarantine period that will cause him to miss the beginning of the seeding game phase. Meanwhile, the Clippers are also missing starting point guard Patrick Beverly and bench phenom Montrezl Harrell as they are not currently in the bubble and are dealing with private matters back home. Let’s hope for their sake they aren’t stepping foot in any risque eateries either.
As for the players that are in the bubble, all-star forward Paul George has looked to be at his best after having the suspension period to rehab injuries that he had been playing through this season. He’s moving better than he ever has and was knocking down threes at a great rate throughout the scrimmages. On the flipside, Kawhi Leonard is off to a slow start in Orlando. He shot 12/46 from the field over the three game period which is 20% worse than the 46 FG% that he was averaging prior to the suspension. I’ve heard that this is a common thread for Leonard at the start of seasons to start off shooting poorly but with only eight seeding games, it is certainly something to monitor.
(EDIT: I’m finishing this article a day after the Clippers and Lakers faced off. Kawhi looks just fine. Carry on.)
Los Angeles Lakers – Can the Guards Maintain Their Play?
I can’t lie. When the Lakers were playing their normal rotations during their scrimmages, they looked pretty unstoppable. The only other team that I had a similar feeling about were the Bucks, which makes sense as both these teams are at the top of their respective conferences. Obviously, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are two of the top talents in the entire league, and they’re tough to stop, but it will take a team effort to win it all. With the losses of defensive stopper Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo who is known for his great postseason play, the Lakers looked to free agency for their replacements and ended up Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith.
Both Waiters and Smith played great in the Laker’s three scrimmages, as they were consistently some of the most impactful players on the court, especially once the starters were on the bench resting, which is a great sign for Lakers fans. For Waiters, his ability to create shots on his own will be key for a bench that struggled at times to produce offensively when not playing with LeBron. As for Smith, his role may not be as big, but he still provides impactful shooting and defense off the bench and he can still get hot at any moment which he proved in the third scrimmage, where he scored 20 points on 6/7 shooting from three. While this is all promising, it remains unknown if they can continue to produce like this.
Memphis Grizzlies – Maintaining the 8th Seed
One of the NBA’s most exciting and young teams, they are led by rookie of the year hopeful Ja Morant and second year Jaren Jackson Jr. (or Trey J as I call him- can we please get this nickname to stick?). They currently hold a three game lead over the 9th seeded Trail Blazers and hope to maintain their position. Making the playoffs with as young a core as the Grizzlies have would be monumental for the team’s future chances at a championship. Even if they are swept by the Lakers in the first round, just being able to play under the intensity of the playoffs will elevate each player’s game. I personally am interested in what role Josh Jackson is going to play during this run as he showed great potential in the G-League this season and fans have been yelling for him to get another chance at NBA minutes. Other than that, the Grizzlies have shown that they can go bucket for bucket with the best in the league and it will be fun to watch them with a chip on their shoulder and the Pelicans/Blazers hot on their tracks.
Miami Heat – Who’s the Second Scorer?
A lot of preseason takes had the Miami Heat being the surprise team in the east to overproduce and it seems the consensus was right. They are comfortably the 4th seed in the east as of now and are being led by two all-stars in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Other than that, the Heat have a slew of quality rotation players including two rookies in Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro, a second year player in Duncan Robinson, and plenty of vets including Goran Dragić, Meyers Leonard, Andre Igoudala, and you can’t forget Udonis Haslem.
The main reason for the Heat’s success this season has been due to their elite defense anchored by Butler and Adebayo but their offense has been much more streaky and inconsistent. It feels as if their young core has taken turns getting hot and cooling off throughout the year. It started with Nunn, transitioned to Herro, and finished with Robinson. What will be important for them is for one of these three, or even Adebayo, to take the next step in anchoring the second scorer role behind Butler. Because they’ve all proven they can do it for short stretches but when it comes to the playoffs, there needs to be more consistency in the scoring department for the team to make a title run. So monitor the Miami youth.
Milwaukee Bucks – Do They Still Dominate?
They have the best record in the league, the top candidate for the MVP award, and the best defense in the league. The only real question for them is if they can continue to dominate teams the way they had been prior to the league’s suspension. The Bucks were outscoring teams at a historic rate- by an average of 11.2 points per game, and they were already doing a great job of managing their players’ minutes to keep everyone rested. Starting point guard Eric Bledsoe is the only rotational player who is currently unavailable to play for them but prior postseasons are evidence that this information may not even be that bad of news for Buck’s fans. Throughout their three scrimmages, the usual starters looked levels above the other teams as they had previously this season, it’s just a matter of getting the job done this year as time may be running out for Giannis in Milwaukee.
New Orleans Pelicans – The Chase for the 8th Seed
They’ve been the hot topic all season long after drafting phenom Zion Williamson with the first overall pick in the most recent draft. We haven’t seen too much from him though as he has missed most of the season due to injuries and the Pelicans coaching staff taking as much time as possible to make sure he is 100% ready to play. Sometimes being too cautious in the opinion of many NBA fans. Nonetheless, this young and athletic team is looking to catch up to the Memphis Grizzlies who currently hold the 8th seed in the west. I’m not too sure if they will match them in wins but I think the Pelicans are very much capable of at least forcing a play-n tournament based on the wonky rules of the bubble. This means that as long as they can get to the 9th seed, all they have to do is be within four games of the Grizzlies in order to trigger a play in tournament where they would then have to beat Memphis twice before losing once. Certainly doable as long as they unleash Zion on the NBA’s best.
Oklahoma City Thunder – How Far Can Chris Paul Take Them?
Everyone remembers what the Thunder were given for odds to make the playoffs in the preseason. Safe to say they were pretty underrated as they now sit tied for the 5th seed with the team they traded star Russell Westbrook in the offseason. A large part of this production has been due to the veteran leadership of all-star point guard Chris Paul but it hasn’t just been him. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has broken out in his second year with a larger role, Danilo Gallinari seems to have finally found a good fit for his skills as he is having one of the best seasons of his career at 31 years old, Dennis Schröder has quietly made a very strong case for sixth man of the year, and Steven Adams has been the needed anchor and enforcer on both ends of the court, looking to be playing the best basketball of his career.
Those five that I previously named are also the best five man lineup out of the 50 total lineups to play 150 minutes or more together this season. When these five play together they have a net rating of +29.9, which to put into context, there are only four other lineups that have a net rating higher than +15. It’s honestly absurd what this lineup has been able to accomplish and if there’s one thing we know about the playoffs is that rotations get tightened and coaches tend to play their best lineups more, which in this case would mean that the Thunder have the best five man lineup in the bubble.
Orlando Magic – How Good is Jonathan Isaac?
The Magic have been stuck in what fans like to call NBA purgatory for some time now. This means they repeatedly finish around the middle of the pack in their conference, limiting how good of a draft pick they get while also usually being bounced in the first round of the playoffs. This year is no different as they will most likely finish as either the seven or eight seed and lose to whoever they play in the first round. What makes this year different though is the amount of potential that some players have on their team. Players like Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic have set the foundation for a winning culture but the attention has shifted to even younger talents.
Orlando took a chance on former first overall pick Markelle Fultz by trading for him last season despite the amount of time he had missed with injuries to start his career. Luckily for them, the trade has seemed to pay out so far as Fultz is only getting better as he gets healthier, and it will be very interesting to see what he can do with a full offseason where he doesn’t have to focus as much on rehabbing. But the player on the roster with much more current excitement is Jonathan Issac. The third year player suffered a knee injury that would have ended his season in any normal year, but the hiatus allowed for him to rehab and come back to play in the bubble. Prior to his injury, many were ready to give Isaac all-defensive team votes and probably even defensive player of the year votes. He was truly in the midst of a breakout season. What excites fans even more though was how well Isaac played in very limited minutes in the one scrimmage he played in. He dropped 13 points and had seven rebounds while only missing one shot in seven minutes. He seemed to have complete control of the game on both ends and finished as a +18, which I’ll remind you, was in seven minutes. Absurd. Just like Fultz, a healthy offseason is going to do wonders.
Philadelphia 76ers – Does Moving Ben Simmons Make Them a True Contender?
The Sixers have been up and down all season. Although they have one of the best defenses in the league led by defensive player of the year candidate Ben Simmons, the more impressive storyline has been their home and road splits. At home, the Sixers have a record of 29-2. Away on the other hand, they are 10-24. Because of that, they find themselves tied for the 5th seed in the east even though many are quick to say that the talent on this team is somewhere closer to the top three in the conference.
One decision that may allow for the team to improve and open up more is moving Ben Simmons from point guard and play initiator to the four spot, where he will work off the ball more and post up more often. We know in the past that Simmons and Joel Embiid have struggled at times with their relative spacing on the floor. This is because when Simmons is doing more work on the inside, it forces Embiid to play outside the arc more which is not where he is most effective. This has been the issue for the Sixers for the past couple of years but we’ll have to wait and see if this latest change is the secret to a championship run.
Phoenix Suns – Mikal Bridges Breakout?
It’s unlikely that the Suns will be making the playoffs but the fact that they were invited to the bubble should be a good end to a promising season. They were one of the teams that started the season red hot and were looking like they may steal a playoff position in the loaded west. But a 25 game suspension to starting center Deandre Ayton put a hamper on any potential playoff pushes. Outside of that, Devin Booker proved that he is still improving as a player as he took another leap forward towards being a star player. Ricky Rubio and Kelly Oubre both proved to be great additions to the starting lineup. The major weak point for this team was that their bench was filled with a lot of young unproven talents, and also outside of Booker and Ayton, there weren’t any scorers.
The future looks bright for one player though. He was dealing with issues in his jumphot prior to the season suspension but Mikal Bridges absolutely killed it in the Sun’s three bubble scrimmages. He shot over 50% from the field and punctuated this with a 26 point, five rebound, and three assist effort in the final scrimmage against a tough Toronto Raptor team. And it wasn’t just offense, Bridges also showed great ability when guarding the other team’s best players. Devin Booker even made a point to say that Bridges is much more than just a “three and D” type player and that there is much more for him to offer to the Suns. It will be interesting to see what the offseason brings for him.
Portland Trail Blazers – The Chase Hunt for the 8th Seed
A lot of people seem to forget that the Trail Blazers made the westerm conference finals last season. They then were one of the most unlucky teams with injuries as they saw both starting forwards and their starting center all fall victim to lengthy periods of absence. Due to the time off though, Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkić have gotten healthy again and they both played great in the Blazer’s three scrimmages. All-star point guard Damian Lillard was on a mission prior to the suspension and they have C.J. McCollum ready to be the second scorer. I personally like the Blazer’s chances better than the Pelicans to catch and pass the Grizzlies, solely based on the fact that the Blazers have done it before. They know what it takes to win when it matters and those other teams haven’t had that experience yet. Will I be surprised though, if the Pelicans or Grizzlies make the eight seed? No, all three teams are deserving and talented enough. I just like Dame and crew’s chances the best.
Sacramento Kings – Young Talent
Although they are currently tied with the New Orleans Pelicans and are three and a half games out of the 8th seed, it is unlikely that the Kings will be making it to the playoffs, as their roster is not as talented as those teams around them. They have plenty of scorers available, even with the loss of Marvin Bagley Jr. for the rest of the season, and they are definitely capable of putting up points with the best teams in the league, but it will be a matter of them getting hot at the right time. Players to watch for the Kings include De’Arron Fox who will look to improve upon hsi already great third season in which he is averaging over 20 points per game, and Bogdan Bogdanović who is set to be a free agent after this season concludes. Many teams will be watching him and set to offer him as he is a great scorer off the bench. Kings will have to make a decision on him as well since he is an unrestricted free agent.
San Antonio Spurs – Also Young Talent
Unfortunately, the Spurs most likely will not be setting a new NBA record for consecutive playoff appearances as they find themselves as the current 12th seed, four games behind the 8th seeded Grizzlies. It doesn’t help that their second leading scorer, LaMarcus Aldridge, will not be making an appearance in the bubble. The positive spin of this is that head coach Greg Popovich seems more willing to let the younger players with future potential get more minutes and exposure in the league. The likes of Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker, and hopefully rookie Keldon Johnson, should see action and give Spurs fans hope for next season. Because who knows, Popovich may push for another big name in free agency and make one last title push before retiring.
Toronto Raptors – Can Pascal Siakam Be the Guy?
After the departure of Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, not many people gave the Raptors any chance of being successful this season. But the reigning champs have proven themselves time and time again, and are somehow still being underrated as the 2nd seed in the east? They still have their veteran leaders in all-star Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka. They have plenty of young talent in Terence Davis, OG Anunoby, and Norman Powell. And most importantly, they have a rising star in Pascal Siakam who, similar to Jayson Tatum, has proven that he can succeed as the number one option on a team in the regular season.
But it takes a special player to be the guy in the postseason as well. Siakam averaged 19 points per game as Leonard’s second scorer in last year’s playoffs which is a great sign but now that defenses will be more keyed on him, it will take a stronger effort from both Siakam and head coach Nick Nurse to get the looks they want for him to be able to continue to produce the way he has this season. Obviously, no matter how Siakam does, the Raptors still have one of the best supporting casts in the league and will be a tough out no matter what, but Siakam will be the key to their championship run.
Utah Jazz – Rudy Gobert’s Role
The Jazz have been at the top of the headlines for the past couple months, and usually for all the wrong reasons. It’s been rumored that all-star center Rudy Gobert’s actions at the start of the pandemic that in part helped suspend the league have fractured his relationship with fellow all-star Donovan Mitchell. The story very much seemed to be true at first but as time went on, I think both players realized that in order to win they’ll need each other. This seemed evident based on how the two played during their scrimmages, as they had the usual chemistry that we have seen throughout their careers playing together.
With the loss of Bojan Bogdanović for the rest of the season, more attention has shifted to what the Jazz will be doing next season as both Gobert and Mitchell have expiring contracts after the 2021 season. It’s unlikely that both players will receive a max contract from the Jazz so the front office will use the end of this season to help determine the future. In my opinion, Mitchell should be the candidate based on the fact that his ceiling remains much higher than Gobert’s, along with the fact that there have been multiple playoff series where Gobert has been played off the court. But this also brings up the possibility of trading the former two time defensive player of the year, which carries plenty more interest into tracking the Jazz.
Washington Wizards – Young Talent, Again
If you’re a Wizards fan, you’re most likely already thinking about next season, dreaming of a potential lineup with all-star John Wall returning to the lineup with fellow all-star Bradley Beal and sharpshooter Davis Bertans, assuming he is re-signed. As for the team in the bubble though, expectations are so low that any sort of production should be welcome with open arms. Players like rookie Rui Hachimura, Troy Brown Jr., Isaac Bonga, and Thomas Bryant should have more of a green light to freelance and show off their skill sets which could end up being exciting. Just don’t expect much noise in terms of affecting the rest of the season though, unless they pull off an upset that changes the landscape of the seeding for the playoffs.
-Noah Kokkinos
All stats used are from basketball-reference.com or NBA.com.
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