Week 12 recap and Roze's 5 Things

Standings

Eastern Conference 

1. Cleveland Cavaliers 33-4
2. Boston Celtics 27-11
3. New York Knicks 26-14
4. Orlando Magic 22-18
5. Milwaukee Bucks 20-17
6. Miami Heat 20-17
7. Indiana Pacers 21-18
8. Detroit Pistons 20-19
9. Atlanta Hawks 19-19
10. Chicago Bulls 18-21
11. Philadelphia 76ers 15-21
12. Brooklyn Nets 13-25
13. Charlotte Hornets 8-27 
14. Toronto Raptors 8-31
15. Washington Wizards 6-30

Western Conference 

1. Oklahoma City Thunder 31-6
2. Houston Rockets 25-12
3. Memphis Grizzlies 25-14
4. Denver Nuggets 23-15
5. Dallas Mavericks 22-17
6. Los Angeles Lakers 20-16
7. LA Clippers 20-17
8. Minnesota Timberwolves 20-18
9. Sacramento Kings 20-19
10. Golden State Warriors 19-19
11. Phoenix Suns 18-19
12. San Antonio Spurs 18-19
13. Portland Trail Blazers 13-25
14. Utah Jazz 9-28
15. New Orleans Pelicans 8-31

Reaction 

In the Eastern Conference the top 5 teams remain unchanged with Cavaliers, Celtics, Knicks, Magic, and Bucks staying in those spots. However, the Bucks have gained ground after the Magic have gone 4-6 in their last 10 games. The Heat have won 3 straight games and sit at 20-17 and the Pacers have won 5 games moving them into the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference.  The Pistons move above .500, while the Hawks have fallen to the 9th seed after a rough stretch. the Bulls round out the play-in teams, while the 76ers ae still tying to catch them. The Nets, Hornets, Raptors, Wizards round out the bottom of the East. 

In the Western Conference, the Thunder continue to hold their lead while the Rockets have jumped into the 2nd seed after winning their last 3 games. The grizzlies are third after a win versus the Timberwolves in their last game and the Nuggets are 4th going 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Mavericks move into the 5th seed and the Lakers and Clippers stay where they are after they both had games cancelled due to the LA wildfires. The Timberwolves, Kings, and Warriors round out the play-in teams. The Kings have won their last 7 games under new head coach Doug Christie. The Suns move into 11th after the Spurs take  tumble and are in 12th. The Blazers, Jazz, and Pelicans round out the bottom of the Conference. 

News Recap 

Monday, January 6th

Jonathan Kuminga will be out for 3 weeks with a sprained ankle. 

Thursday, January 9th 

Rookie Jared McCain will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. He suffered a torn meniscus earlier in the season. 

Friday, January 10th 

Herb Jones will miss an extended period of time with a right labrum tear in his shoulder. 

Rookie Ajay Mitchell will miss 10-12 weeks with a toe injury. 

Roze’s 5 Things 

1. Who is the best team in the NBA right now?

In the last week, we have seen matchups from some of the top teams in the NBA. The Thunder and Celtics matched up last Sunday with the Thunder winning 105-92. On Wednesday the Cavaliers and Thunder played against each other with the Cavaliers winning 129-122. This means we have seen matchups from every top team so far. Now for the ultimate question, Who is the best team? I will categorize this in a simple scenario. Who would I select if I were to take all my money and place it on a team to win a 7-game series versus anyone in the NBA? My answer would be the Boston Celtics. They were my preseason pick to win it all and if anything last Sunday’s loss against the Thunder did reinforce my decision. Sure, the Celtics aren’t shooting great, but the defense looked good and they still generated very good shots. I also think people are putting too much into single games as well. I think the Celtics have the highest ceiling of any team in the NBA right now and it takes some odd-ball things to occur to beat them. They’re 27-11, the Thunder are 31-6, and the Cavaliers are 33-4, but I still think the ceiling for the Celtics is higher than both those teams. Sure, the Celtics are going to have off nights similar to those they’ve had recently, but I don’t think a team in the NBA can consistently force it to happen 4 out of 7 games come June. 

2. The Celtics cold shooting and what it means for the postseason. 

I’ll address the shooting woes of the Celtics during this current stretch they are on, now. In the last 15 games, the Celtics are shooting 34.9% from three, 22nd in the NBA in that time frame. They are 1st in the NBA in 3-pointers attempted in that period with 47.2. So what does this mean in the postseason? Well for starters it is clear if the Celtics wish to win an NBA championship they’re going to need to make three-pointers. Vs the Thunder, they were 9/46 from 3. However, 36 shots according to tracking data were considered open or wide open. To it simple is the Celtics missed some shots they usually make. I mentioned in the last thing that they are still my favorite to win the NBA championship, but they do make shots. The defense can be seen as spotty as well leaving them prone to opposing teams going on big runs when they are missing. However, when they are rolling and making shots it’s virtually impossible to stop. People could look at their attempts as settled and I think versus the Kings they settled a little bit instead of attacking the basket when they were missing shots. If they aren't making shots in 4 out of 7 games in the postseason then it’s hard to see them winning a championship this year. 

3. The Evan Mobley jump is here to stay. 

Evan Mobley had his best game this year when he matched up against Isaiah Hartenstein and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. He had 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists in the 129-122 win. The numbers don’t jump off the page, but having a +8 while on the floor is awesome for Cleveland and is something head coach Kenny Atkinson wanted to get from Mobley going into this year. He’s bringing the ball up the floor, he’s making plays out of the short roll, he’s making catch-and-shoot threes and it is wonderful for the Cavaliers. He’s their best defensive player and Atkinson even put him in isolation at times versus Hartenstein and asked him to go make a play with the shot clock ticking down. It was awesome to see for himself. This year he’s shooting 45.3% on catch-and-shoot threes, he’s shooting a career-high 62% from inside the arc this year, and a career-high in assists this year as well. Everything Mobley is doing translates to winning for the Cavaliers this year. 

4. Can the Knicks win with only their offense?

The Knicks are a very good team, I would have them as the 5th best NBA team currently, however, they need to improve their defense if they want to win a championship. The Karl Anthony-Towns early season defensive woes have improved, but Mikal Bridges also struggled and it eventually led to a lot of the Knicks teams struggling as well. Since the early season and the 9-game winning streak, it saw Mikal Bridges make some shots and the overall team defense improve. In the last 10 games, they boast a 110 defensive rating good for 7th in that period. The ball screen coverage has improved and the overall rebounding is getting a little bit better as well. Both areas the Knicks struggled with earlier in the year. The offense is elite, but can they get the defense into the top 10, currently 15th at a 112 rating, which would signal a contender. I think the Knicks are very good, but if the defense slips a little it’ll be hard for them to compete against the best in the NBA.  

5. Jaren Jackson Jr. offensive revolution. 

If you have not been paying attention to Jaren Jackson Jr. this season you’re missing out. He puts up 23 points a game, 6.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks. He’s doing this on 50.6% shooting from the field and 34.7% from 3. He has completely shifted his game and doing some awesome things for Memphis this year. He’s mainly improved the mid-range game this year. He’s shooting 48.8% from 10-14 feet has hit some nice pull-ups off screens and shooting 45.1% on pull-ups overall this year. The passing has seen an uptick as well with the fast-paced Grizzlies flying up and down the floor. It’s been fun to see him play some point forward. Bigs are having issues staying in front of him and wings are getting put in the basket with his post-ups. After having a rough season last year shooting it’s nice to see him have a career year shooting overall and scoring in a variety of ways as well.