By: Adamo Marinelli
December 31st, 2019
We are almost at the halfway mark in the 2019-20 NBA season and so far we have seen some teams exceed their expectations, some teams that have underwhelmed their fans, some teams have been as dominant as we thought they would be and some teams that we all knew wouldn’t have much success.
Powerhouses in the NBA:
Teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Denver Nuggets have all been blessed with plenty of success.
The Lakers are winning games at ease with Lebron James and Anthony Davis and are sitting atop the Western Conference with a 26-7 record despite losing 4 of the last 6 games after winning 17 of 18. Lebron is healthy again and they continue to be good on both sides of the ball even with the Kyle Kuzma social media drama floating around.
The Clippers are another championship favourite this year. Sitting third in the western conference at 23-11, they are a force to be reckoned with, especially with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clippers are finally relevant again and have amazing talent on both sides of the ball, especially on defense with Kawhi Leonard and Pat Beverly. Lakers vs Clippers will be a great playoff series.
In the East, the Bucks are sitting atop the conference for the second consecutive season with a 30-5 record, 5.5 games ahead of the Celtics. I don’t know how it’s possible but I believe the Bucks are better than they were last year. They are dominating the best of opponents, even the Lakers and at one point had an 18 game win streak. They’re looking to avenge their playoff loss last year and get to the finals this season.
The Nuggets are another western conference powerhouse. At 23-9, good for second place in the Western Conference, they are a team with lots of young talent with players like Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray and have proved they can score lots of points and shut down opponents. They have won 9 of their last 10 games and have won several close games this year.
The Boston Celtics are sitting 2nd in the Eastern Conference with a 23-8 record. With lots of young talented players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylon Brown, a healthy Gordon Hayward and a superstar in Kemba Walker, they are able to play great defense and can move the ball around very well and score a lot, especially in transition. They should be championship contenders.
The Philadelphia 76ers are 23-13 and are sitting at 6th place in a very tight eastern conference. They are only 2.5 games behind the 2nd place Celtics. Joel Embiid only gets better every season, Ben Simmons can now hit a three-pointer and is even more lethal as a point guard and Tobias Harris and Al Horford have done well replacing Jimmy Butler. The 76ers are consistent on offense and on defense too.
Teams who exceeded their expectations:
The Houston Rockets have taken a loaded western conference by storm. People didn’t believe Westbrook and Harden - two ball-dominant point guards - would develop chemistry, however, the Rockets used their two superstars to score lots of points; they have only scored less than 100 points once this year. Their supporting cast of Eric Gordon, Clint Capela, and P.J Tucker help the Rockets out defensively. However, they are more of an offensive-minded team.
When the Toronto Raptors lost Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, no-one expected them to be championship contenders, and many people expected them to barely make the playoffs. However, the Raptors are 23-11, 4th place in a talented Eastern Conference, only 1.5 games back of 2nd place. They have continued to win even with Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol injured for significant periods of time. It’s all thanks to Nick Nurse and his defensive-minded mentality, their strong defense leads to transition points.
The Miami Heat faced serious concerns during the summer, even after signing Jimmy Butler. Butler was their only superstar and their core still consisted of guys who couldn’t make the playoffs in a weaker Eastern conference last year. However, they are now 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with a 24-9 record, 5 games back of first place. They have a great offense and defense.
The Dallas Mavericks are 21-12 and 5th place in the Western Conference thanks impart to an MVP caliber season from Luka Doncic, who is averaging 30 points, 10 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game this season, while shooting 62.5% from the field. Team Europe, with Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and Boban Marjanovic have all impacted this team offensively and have given a spark to Dallas fans for a potential long playoff run.
Finally, the Brooklyn Nets even without Kevin Durant - who has been injured all season - have done great with Kyrie Irving. Even after signing both superstars, the expectations weren’t all that high in Brooklyn because of KDs long term injury and how Irving would play considering he wasn’t at his best in Boston. They are sitting at 7th place in a tough Eastern Conference with a record of 16-16. This year isn’t the best, but when healthy, they will be talented for a long time.
Teams that underwhelmed their fans:
The Golden State Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals last season. This season with no KD, no Andre Igoudala, Klay Thompson injured, Steph Curry injured, the Warriors sit dead last in the Western Conference with a 9-26 record. On the bright side, at least their young guys are developing for the future, because this dynasty is over.
The New Orleans Pelicans drafted Zion Williamson, an elite power forward from Duke University, with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. They were expected to compete for a championship this season. However, with Zion getting injured before the season started and only being questionable to make his season debut in January, the Pelicans have too many holes on both sides of the basketball.
The Charlotte Hornets have lots of talent on both sides of the ball, yet cannot find a way to win close games. They are 13-23, 10th place in the east and have lost 6 straight games. They are unable to finish games and struggle in the paint defensively giving up an average of 51.1 points a game and give up almost 18 points a game off turnovers.
Teams that are just bad:
The New York Knicks planned to land Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and planned to land Zion Williamson with the first overall pick. Well, the Knicks lost KD and Kyrie to their southern neighbors and the Pelicans scooped up Zion. Their consolation prize is Canadian R.J. Barrett, Zion’s teammate at Duke and 4 power forwards. They are 14th in the East with a 9-24 record, only ahead of the Hawks. The Lolcow continues. Sell the team, Dolan!
The Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the best dynasties of the 2010s along with the Warriors and Heat. Since Lebron James left before the 2018-19 season, the Cavs have been disappointing. This is their second season finishing in the Eastern Conference basement and are 10-23 with no signs of improving. Although they are 5-5 in the last 10 games, the best stretch of their season. Their core of Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. are aging but they have young players like Darius Garland and Collin Sexton hopefully bring a bright future.
The San Antonio Spurs’ record tells they’ve been having a decent season with a 14-18 record holding onto the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. However, they are stuck between eras and despite losing many of their superstars that brought them success in the early 2010s - like Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobli and Tim Duncan - they refuse to start a complete rebuild with young talent. This may be the first year since 1997 that they miss the playoffs.
There is still more than half a season left in the NBA and lots of time for teams to improve and make a run at the playoffs, contend for a championship or just focus on the future. It will be exciting to see how the rest of the 2019-20 season will unfold. Happy New Year everyone!
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