Week 23 recap and Roze's 5 Things

Standings

Eastern Conference

1. Cleveland Cavaliers 59-15
2. Boston Celtics 55-19
3. New York Knicks 46-27
4. Indiana Pacers 43-31
5. Detroit Pistons 42-32
6. Milwaukee Bucks 40-33
7. Orlando Magic 36-39
8. Atlanta Hawks 35-38
9. Chicago Bulls 33-41
10. Miami Heat 33-41
11. Toronto Raptors 27-47
12. Brooklyn Nets 24-51
13. Philadelphia 76ers 23-51
14. Charlotte Hornets 18-55
15. Washington Wizards16-58

Western Conference

2. Houston Rockets 48-26

3. Denver Nuggets 47-28

4. Los Angeles Laker 45-29

5. Memphis Grizzlies 44-30

6. LA Clippers 42-31

7. Golden State Warriors 42-31

8. Minnesota Timberwolves 42-32

9. Dallas Mavericks 37-38

10. Sacramento Kings 36-38

11. Phoenix Suns 35-39

12. Portland Trail Blazers 32-42

13. San Antonio Spurs 31-42

14. New Orleans Pelicans 20-54

15. Utah Jazz 16-59

Reaction 

In the Eastern Conference, the Cavs extend their lead over the Celtics for the 1 seed while Boston keeps the Knicks at bay in the 3 spot. The Pacers despite, losing the Lakes on a buzzer-beater this week stay at 4th while the Pistons climb into the 5th seed. The Bucks remain safe from the play-in after they clinched a postseason berth, however they'll be without Damian Lillard for the rest of the season most likely. The Magic remain a game ahead of the Hawks for the 7th seed in the play-in, while the Bulls have overtaken the Heat for the 9th seed. The Raptors stay a 11th while the Nets and 76ers have officially been eliminated from postseason contention. The Hornets and Wizards continue their tank. 

In the Western Conference, the Thunder extend their lead over the Cavaliers for home-court in the finals, while the Rockets stay in the 2nd seed. The Nuggets and Lakers hold the home court advantages in the postseason for now while the Grizzlies and Clippers, who are 8-2 in their last 10 games, stay off of the play-in. The Warriors and Timberwolves hold home court advantage for the play-in games while the Mavericks, who are 4-0 with Anthony Davis climb into the 9th seed, and the Kings round out the play-in teams. The Suns fall out of the play-in after losing their last two games, while the Blazers fall behind after dropping their last 3 games. The Spurs are a game behind the Blazers and the Pelicans and Jazz have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. 

News recap

Tuesday, March 25th 

Damian Lillard will be out for an indefinite amount of time with deep vein thrombosis in his calf. 

Friday, March 28th 

The Memphis Grizzlies have fired Taylor Jenkins. 

Jake LaRavia will miss 7-10 days with a thumb injury. 

LaMelo Ball will miss the remainder of the regular season with wrist and ankle injuries. He will get surgery on these injuries but should not compromise his offseason in any way. 

Roze’s 5 Things 

• How impressive is Lebron’s scoring streak?

This is a fairly easy answer, but it’s incredible to think about, considering it is 1,283 games at this point in his career. He’s been the model of consistency throughout his entire career, and it’s even crazier to think about when looking at the stats behind the streak as well. Lots of guys in the NBA can have an off night where they score less than 10 points and don’t have other ways to affect the game. This does not seem to be the case with Lebron James. Whether it is getting to the free-throw line, mid-post, or to the basket. It seems like he never has all aspects of his game missing all at once, and that is the reason why he’s been able to keep this streak alive. James probably doesn’t get credit enough for the scorer he is and the versatility he’s shown throughout his career. He’s always been able to improve facets of his game that are needed, and it’s unbelievable to see this happen over his career.  

• Which team deserves the 1st overall pick?

There’s a handful of teams that want the first overall pick and are bad, in all honesty. Cooper Flagg’s performance throughout the NCAA Tournament has only furthers his hold on being the number 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft held in late June, but what’s the team that deserves him the most? Some would argue the Wizards, but the recent decisions could say otherwise, with them giving Bradley Beal a no-trade clause and wrecking havoc across the entire NBA for that decision. Utah is another team; however, being fined $100,000 for failing the player participation policy doesn’t look great in the lottery gods. Maybe it is the Raptors, the Nets, or the Pelicans. I think the Pelicans have the best argument with the injury-riddled season they have had to deal with, but maybe the 76ers, with their disaster of a season, see themselves get some ping pong balls to bounce their way. There’s a case for everyone, but ultimately, whoever gets the 1st overall pick is getting a bona fide superstar in the making.  

• Which teams need home-court the most in the post-season?

A couple of teams come to mind, but I think it starts with the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference. Not that they are in jeopardy of losing the first overall seed from the Celtics, but it’s clear this team needs 4 out of the 7 games to be in Cleveland. It’ll help ease the nerves of some guys who have never had a deep postseason run and a team that’s struggled at times on the road this season, mainly in March. Another team is probably the Pistons. I think the Pistons using the home court to their advantage could be a great thing for them and add to the pressure of other teams trying to beat them. The Pistons have also been very good at home this season, making it a tough place to play in the postseason. In the Western Conference, I think the Grizzlies and Rockets are teams that need to have home-court advantage for the postseason. Both teams are younger, but the Grizzlies' recent head coaching change should be able to give them some familiarity with home court. The Rockets are simple: they play much better at home than on the road. Having a younger team can be an experience of some growing pains in the postseason with unexpectedness, however, them getting home-court advantage can help them to calm down during high-pressure situations. 

• Is the 65-game minimum a good thing?

I think it is because it gets guys to play and allows for guys on play a limited amount of games not to always be an All-NBA team or anything else associated with it. Allowing guys to just play 50 games and then collect a fat payday because of it makes it so available to take into account when determining awards. Playing at least 20 minutes a game in 65 games in a season is the requirement, and I think it is great for the NBA. Cases such as Tyrese Haliburton's were hard to watch because of how he rushed his injury back last season, and it affected him going into this season as well, but it’s good to see this requirement implemented and rewarding players for staying healthy throughout the regular season. 

• Banchero, the scorer, is coming back.

The last 15 games for Paolo Banchero have really shown his ability to score at all three levels, something that many believed was possible when he was the 1st overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft. The season for him has been up and down at times because of the injuries; however, during March, he’s gotten back to putting the ball in the cup more frequently. In his last 15 games played, he’s averaging 30.8 points per game on 51.6% shooting from the floor and 37.5% from 3 on 6.4 attempts a game. Banchero’s shot creation has gotten much better over the last month as well. It felt like in January and February, he was taking much harder than necessary shots with someone his size. He’s starting to use his unique size and handle to gather more space and create easier shots. He’s shooting an eFG of 54.4% when dribbling 3-6 times before shooting. He’s also improved his % of unassisted shots to 66.7% compared to 59.3% earlier in the season. The 10-14 feet range is another place Banchero has gotten much better in converting recently, 54.7% of his shots from that range and now at 68.8% less than 5 feet, an area I think he should dominate. On the season, he’s 45.7% and 64.2% from those areas on the floor. Banchero, I think, has real potential to get All-NBA consideration for a 6-8-year stretch in his career. However, to get to this level, he’ll need to become a more polished scorer, and he’s starting to turn the corner recently in this department.