Week 14 recap and Roze's 5 Things

Conference Standings - Through January 25th  

Eastern Conference

1. Cleveland Cavaliers 36-9
2. Boston Celtics 32-14
3. New York Knicks 30-16
4. Milwaukee Bucks 25-18
5. Indiana Pacers 25-20
6. Detroit Pistons 23-22
7. Orlando Magic 24-23
8. Miami Heat 22-22
9. Atlanta Hawks 22-23
10. Chicago Bulls 19-27
11. Philadelphia 76ers 17-27
12. Brooklyn Nets 14-32
13. Toronto Raptors 13-32
14. Charlotte Hornets 12-30
15. Washington Wizards 6-38

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder 36-8
2. Houston Rockets 30-14
3. Memphis Grizzlies 31-15
4. Denver Nuggets 28-17
5. Los Angeles Lakers 25-18
6. LA Clippers 26-19
7. Minnesota Timberwolves 24-21
8. Phoenix Suns 23-21
9. Dallas Mavericks 24-22
10. Sacramento Kings 23-22
11. Golden State Warriors 22-23
12. San Antonio Spurs 20-23
13. Portland Trail Blazers 17-28
14. New Orleans Pelicans 12-34
15. Utah Jazz 10-33

Reaction 

In the Eastern Conference the Cavaliers have had their roughest stretch of the season after losing three straight games. One of them against the 76ers and the other two versus the Rockets. The Celtics and Knicks stay their 2nd and 3rd seeds, but the Celtics have also seen their roughest stretch as well as they lost by 20+ to the Lakers recently. The Bucks, Pacers, and Pistons stay in the same spots after a calm week for those teams. The Magic snaped their 5 game losing streak with Franz Wagner coming back and scoring 25 4th quarter points for the Magic in their last game. The Heat, Hawks, and Bulls round out the play-in with the Bulls dropping their last two games and 2-8 in their last 10. The 76ers are the closes they have been in the play-in the entire season by only being a game back. As usual the Nets, Raptors, Hornets, and Wizards round out the basement. 

In the Western Conference The Thunder gain sole control and the league's best record for the first time this season. The Rockets took 2 games from the East's best team, but dropped a game to the Pistons with week. The Grizzlies hang 140 on the Pelicans and the Nuggets stay 4th after losing by 30 to the Timberwolves yesterday. The Lakers and Clippers swap spots to round out the top 6. The Suns jump up the 8th spot after going 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Mavericks fall to the 9th seed and the Kings round out the play-in teams. The Warriors are on the outside of the lay-in after losing to the Lakers on Saturday and the Spurs stay in the 12th seed after splitting two games with the Pacers in Paris. The Blazers, Pelicans, and Jazz round out the bottom of the West. 

News Recap 

Monday, January 20th 

Donte DiVincenzo will be out for an indefinite amount of time with an injury to his big toe. 

Draymond Green will be out for 2-3 weeks with a calf strain. 

Tuesday, January 21st

Suns trade their unprotected first-round pick in 2031 for three first-round picks from the Jazz. Jazz will send picks from 2025, 2027, and 2029. The picks will be less favorable for CLE/MIN in 2025 and CLE/MIN/UTA in 2027 and 2029. 

Wednesday, January 22nd

Dereck Lively will be out for 2-3 months with a fracture in his foot. 

Thursday, January 23rd

Brandon Miller is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ligament in his wrist. 

Roze’s 5 Things

1. What is NBA Rivals Week?

Honestly, I didn’t even know this week existed for the NBA, but there’s a lot of potential in it. I liked how ESPN put the triple-header on Saturday without any football in their way. However, they could do better with some of the matchups. I don’t have an issue with the Lebron/Steph rivalry, but I think they marketed it very well throughout the entire week. The only change is needing to have Mavericks and Thunder on national TV because it is clear there’s a hatred those teams have for each other. They have Lakers-Celtics on National T.V. I think they should’ve tried to renew the older rivalries like Heat-Knicks and Pacers-Pistons, but the Rockets and Pistons matching up against each other and specifically Cade-Green matchup was entertaining. I think there’s a lot of promise for the NBA to set true rivalries soon for this week, but very entertaining week overall. 

2. Anthony Edwards struggles from 2. 

Edwards this season has put on a show from the three-point line a new weapon in his scoring arsenal however, the efficiency from 2 has taken a dip as a result of his new shot diet. Edwards is taking 48.2% of his shots from 3 and a career-low 51.8% of his shots from 2. Now he’s shooting 42.5% from 3, which ranks amongst the best in the league, but his scoring average has dropped from last year as well. He’s only making 46.3% of his 2s so far this year.  Specifically, the pull-ups from 2 have been a struggle shooting 33.7% and he’s shooting a career-low 55.2% from inside of the 10 feet. So what is the reason behind all of these numbers? Part of it is the Timberwolves want Edwards to take more threes and he’s done that successfully, now the part where he’s getting to the basket and equally being efficient is the next step. Edwards has also seen an increase in double-teams and blitzes on ball screens this year as well. His impressive playoff run last year has seen teams carry over an extensive defensive scheme to try and slow down the 22-year-old star. The spacing on the Wolves isn’t great with the departure of Karl Anthony-Towns and without DiVincenzo in the lineup recently it’s allowed teams to double-down on clogging the paint for Edwards. Now there is a solution to this as well. I’d still like to see Edwards give up the ball in the doubles, but the attacks in transition to the basket could increase, the rim pressure overall, instead of settling for the mid-range shots could help, and overall developing some of the touch a little bit more. Edwards has insanely explosive jumps and slowing it down last year when he developed his deceleration move could help him keep guys off balance and allow him to finish better inside the arc. 

3. Mark Williams is BACK

Mark Williams has already played in more games this year than last year. However, the recent scoring from him should signal to the Hornets that he is their starting center for the future. In his last 5 games, he has been playing 32.5 minutes a game, part of this is due to Charlotte trading Nick Richards to Phoenix, but it should give Williams confidence that the Hornets see him as a cornerstone of the franchise for now. With Brandon Miller done for the season with a wrist injury, it should allow Williams to start building a connection with LaMelo Ball for the rest of the season. Williams is averaging 15.7 points per game this year, but that has increased in his last 5 games with him averaging 23.2 points per game. He’s also recorded new career-highs in points as well. Williams has a 9”9 stand and reach making it incredibly challenging for opponents to make shots over him and giving Ball a vertical threat on pick-and-rolls as well. Williams has been very good to the short roll with touch around the basket and his post-up game is more creative in using fakes and skills rather than solely relying on his height. His adding of these tools to his bag will provide for better overall development and help put a reliable scoring and lob threat next to Ball and Miller in the future. It’s nice to see Williams back playing basketball after missing almost a year between his last game last year and his first game this year. 

4. Does Dallas have OKC’s number?

It would appear that way as the Mavericks have beaten the Thunder 3 times this season and won the season series 3-1 over the first-place Western Conference team. The Mavericks are currently battling to get out of the play-in race with starters Luka Doncic, and Dereck Lively out for extended periods, but the back-ups for the Mavericks have played well, especially against the Thunder. The Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and both bigs for the losses, but Dallas was without Luka Doncic for the 3 wins. It’s been a weird season series between these two teams and after the play-offs last year, it’s clear there’s no love lost between these two teams. The Mavericks do pose a weird threat to the Thunder that not many teams can create. The Thunder’s defense is very good, but the Mavericks do have guards that can create and make their shot, unlike other teams in the Western Conference. Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie have handled the point guard duties while Luka Doncic has been injured, but Quentin Grimes and PJ Washington have also been very good in their games against the Mavericks, especially Washington. Washington poses a weird matchup for OKC in a way they don’t want to place their centers on him, but the guards and other wings are a little smaller. Washington has been very good in post-up situations and at times taking his man one-on-one in transition. As it stands now the Mavericks are in the play-in and the Thunder lead the West, it could make for an interesting first-round matchup for the playoffs. 

5. Nick Richards is perfect for the Suns (for now)

The Suns are going to be paying 164.4 million dollars in luxury tax this year. That is the most for any team in the NBA. That number would be justified if the Suns could win a playoff series or better yet get in the playoff picture. They’ve made several deals so far this season to help facilitate the talent on the roster. They traded their 2031 first-round pick for 3 first-rounders, and they added a center in Nick Richards who has been awesome. In the 3 games Richards has played he’s averaging 25.8 minutes per game and averaging a double-double. The center position for the Suns has been a rough patch for the Suns so far this season, but Richards has stepped in nicely since entering the roster last week. Richards in the starting lineup has boosted the Suns offensive rating to 117.8 from 112 on the season. The small sample size also has the Suns starting 5 with an offensive rebounding percentage of 38.9%. It’s giving the Suns extra opportunities in the half-court and allowing Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to get as well.