By Zach Harper | The Athletic, 2026-02-23 15:08:31
每周一，我们都会为您带来 NBA 的最新动态。本周，我们将为全明星赛后的每支球队给出一个评分。随着比赛重新开打，我们可以审视各支球队本赛季至今的表现。各队的表现是否达到了预期？剩余赛季的前景又如何？
我们还准备了“NBA 行情报告”的扩展版，这是《The Bounce》专栏每周一的固定内容。那是我们可以免费订阅的 NBA 通讯，每天都会发送到您的收件箱。
大回顾：30 支球队评分
很重要的一点是，大家不要把全明星赛后的这段赛季称为“下半赛季”。事实并非如此。每支球队在结束休整回归时，剩下的比赛都已不足 30 场。这意味着现在正式进入了“冲刺阶段”。或者对于那些正在摆烂的球队来说，这叫“冲刺漫步”——因为他们会声称核心球员因伤赛季报销，去动一个可能去年夏天就该做的手术。据传是这样！
无论如何，冲刺阶段的开始是给所有 30 支球队打分的绝佳时机。这就是我们今天在“NBA 回顾”中要做的事情。
东部联盟
1. 底特律活塞 (42-13)： 对于这支球队在季后赛系列赛中的进攻上限，我仍有很多疑问，但他们显然是整个赛季东部表现最好的球队。对于两年前还只是一支 14 胜的球队来说，这成绩相当了不起。评分：A+
2. 波士顿凯尔特人 (37-19)： 在失去了阿尔·霍福德 (Al Horford)、克里斯塔普斯·波尔津吉斯 (Kristaps Porziņģis)、卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 和朱·霍勒迪 (Jrue Holiday)（外加缺阵至今的杰森·塔图姆 (Jayson Tatum)）的情况下，依然保持东部第二的战绩，这是一个非凡的成就。你很难对凯尔特人有更高的要求了。评分：A+
3. 纽约尼克斯 (37-21)： 在向联盟顶级战绩冲击的过程中，尼克斯的表现并不算稳定。他们理应领跑东部，但他们在对阵底特律时的表现（0胜3负，场均净负28分）确实让人摸不着头脑。评分：A-
4. 克利夫兰骑士 (36-22)： 我们可能得把上赛季骑士的形象从脑海中抹去了。这支骑士队目前状态正佳，而且詹姆斯·哈登 (James Harden) 的加入让许多人对他们在季后赛的大干一场充满期待。评分：B
5. 多伦多猛龙 (34-23)： 去年夏天，所有人都批评猛龙的阵容太贵了，但他们凭借防守和两位全明星球员注入了动力。如果这支球队能赢下一轮季后赛，他们会乐不可支。评分：A-
6. 费城 76 人 (31-26)： 上赛季 76 人阵中多名大将缺阵，在决定摆烂之前简直是一场灾难。这支 76 人队虽然仍未从乔尔·恩比德 (Joel Embiid) 和保罗·乔治 (Paul George) 那里得到持续的稳定性，但泰瑞斯·马克西 (Tyrese Maxey) 及其队友们表现得非常成功。评分：A
7. 奥兰多魔术 (30-26)： 这支球队本赛季的表现远低于预期，甚至不再拥有一流的防守。是的，魔术队确实遭遇了伤病，但他们不能把表现不佳全归咎于此。他们只是还不够好。评分：D-
8. 迈阿密热火 (31-27)： 热火彻底改变了他们的打法（他们达到了队史最快节奏），这给他们带来了动力。但归根结底，这依然取决于他们的防守是否出色，以及如何解决巴姆·阿德巴约 (Bam Adebayo) 和凯莱尔·韦尔 (Kel’el Ware) 的共存问题。评分：B
9. 亚特兰大老鹰 (28-31)： 他们做出了重大改变，送走了特雷·杨 (Trae Young)。这是正确的决定，但这支球队从未接近过他们今年夏天所谓的“东部黑马”地位。他们依然还是那支老鹰。评分：C-
10. 夏洛特黄蜂 (27-31)： 黄蜂从 7 胜 18 负一跃成为了东部最有趣、最令人意外且最具威胁的球队之一。查尔斯·李 (Charles Lee) 扭转了这支球队的局面，最终战绩如何已经不重要了。这是一个横空出世的巨大成功案例。评分：A
11. 密尔沃基雄鹿 (24-31)： 相比场上的表现，雄鹿面临更多关于交易扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo) 的质疑。这套阵容很糟糕，但仍有机会打进附加赛，寄希望于扬尼斯能拯救他们。评分：C+
12. 芝加哥公牛 (24-34)： 公牛虽然还没有完全致力于彻底重建，但他们已经迈出了重要的一步。除了约什·吉迪 (Josh Giddey) 和马塔斯·布泽利斯 (Matas Buzelis) 之外，我不知道他们最好的未来资产是什么，但看起来他们已经接受了现实。评分：C-
13. 华盛顿奇才 (16-40)： 奇才本赛季通过交易得到安东尼·戴维斯 (Anthony Davis) 和杨引起了轰动。我们不知道是否能看到他们穿上华盛顿的球衣，但他们确实在队中。球队的其他部分展示了一些不错的成长，但战绩依然糟糕到让乐透抽签之夜变得至关重要。评分：C
14. 布鲁克林篮网 (15-41)： 篮网本赛季本就打算摆烂，但我认为人们希望能看到他们的一些进步。相反，我们只是确认了小迈克尔·波特 (Michael Porter Jr.) 具备得分能力，而我们对他们的“五人新秀组”仍不确定。评分：D+
15. 印第安纳步行者 (15-43)： 步行者本不应该这么糟糕，但他们为了明年的竞争，做了一笔大买卖，得到了伊维察·祖巴茨 (Ivica Zubac)。如果能在这个选秀顺位选到心仪球员，那么这个赛季的一切努力就都值得了。评分：D
西部联盟
1. 俄克拉荷马城雷霆 (44-14)： 尽管面临一些关键球员伤病，但这依然是西部最好的球队。但从赛季初那种无懈可击的神之光环，变成现在“仅仅”是一支优秀的球队，确实让评分有所下降。评分：A-
谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 虽然受伤，但俄克拉荷马城仍保住了西部头名的位置。(Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)
2. 圣安东尼奥马刺 (40-16)： 他们在文班亚马缺阵了几周的情况下，依然在向分区最佳战绩发起冲刺。马刺的这一跨越远超预期，从现在开始的一切都像是锦上添花。评分：A+
3. 丹佛掘金 (36-22)： 你必须考虑到掘金遭受了多少伤病，在有这么多伤病的情况下给 A- 可能有点严苛。他们依然拥有争冠预期，但我们需要再次看到他们达到精英水准。评分：A-
4. 休斯顿火箭 (34-21)： 这支火箭队感觉有些不对劲。得到凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant) 是个不需要思考的决定，但我们并没有看到他们提升到比上赛季更高的水平。他们真的需要一个强有力的收官。评分：B
5. 洛杉矶湖人 (34-21)： 在看战绩之前，湖人一直显得非常平庸。是的，伤病满营，但即使三名最好的球员同时在场，球队表现也不理想。我对该对他们有什么期待感到非常困惑。评分：B
6. 明尼苏达森林狼 (35-23)： 狼队依然会把太多本该赢下的比赛送给弱旅，但安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 的进步和朱利叶斯·兰德尔 (Julius Randle) 重新找回的状态非常精彩。我们将看看这是否意味着他们能再次在季后赛走得很远。评分：B+
7. 菲尼克斯太阳 (33-25)： 先是德文·布克 (Devin Booker) 受伤，现在又是狄龙·布鲁克斯 (Dillon Brooks) 受伤，这基本上摧毁了他们在季后赛真正威胁对手的机会。我不知道太阳的这个赛季还能好到哪去，尤其是考虑到最初的预期那么低。评分：A
8. 金州勇士 (30-27)： 甚至在吉米·巴特勒 (Jimmy Butler) 受伤之前，这支勇士队大多数晚上看起来也相当平庸。现在随着斯蒂芬·库里 (Steph Curry) 饱受膝伤困扰，勇士可能会掉进附加赛第 9 对第 10 的决斗中。评分：C
9. 波特兰开拓者 (28-30)： 开拓者本赛季表现起伏不定，后场遭遇了大量伤病。然而，他们还是进入了附加赛区，而且球员们正在恢复健康，这还是在他们的主教练离职休假的情况下完成的。评分：B
10. 洛杉矶快船 (27-30)： 快船经历了一个尴尬的开局，但随后近乎完美地扭转了局面。接着他们交易走了哈登和祖巴茨。我完全不知道接下来的比赛对他们有什么期待，但我很享受科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard) 提醒所有人他依然是精英球员的过程。评分：C+
11. 孟菲斯灰熊 (21-34)： 灰熊已经放弃了这个赛季，在交易截止日送走小贾伦·杰克逊 (Jaren Jackson Jr.) 后，彻底转向了球员培养模式。如果可以的话，他们甚至想把贾·莫兰特 (Ja Morant) 也送走。现在的一切都是为了给他们的年轻人寻找发展路径。评分：C-
12. 达拉斯独行侠 (20-36)： 他们在场上的表现变得惨不忍睹，交易走了戴维斯并让凯里·欧文 (Kyrie Irving) 全赛季停战。然而，库珀·弗拉格 (Cooper Flagg) 确实是顶级天赋，而且他们解雇了前总经理尼科·哈里森 (Nico Harrison)。总的来说，这对独行侠球迷来说可能是场胜利。评分：D+
13. 犹他爵士 (18-39)： 爵士以一种如此露骨的方式拥抱摆烂，以至于导致了 50 万美元的罚款。他们需要保住欠雷霆的那个选秀权（前八顺位保护），但我们确实看到了阵容中一些年轻球员令人振奋的成长。评分：C-
14. 新奥尔良鹈鹕 (16-42)： 鹈鹕原本希望能表现出色，甚至把首轮签交易给亚特兰大来以此博一把。除了赢球，他们的年轻球员展示了很多东西。今年，甚至连伤病都不能成为他们输球的借口了。评分：F
15. 萨克拉门托国王 (12-46)： 没伤病的时候，这队很烂；有伤病的时候，这队依然很烂。他们跌到了以往任何一支国王队都未曾达到的新低。如果这次选秀选不准，前景将会变得非常暗淡。评分：F
行情报告扩展版：全明星版
圣安东尼奥马刺。 马刺是 NBA 目前状态最火热的球队，已经取得了八连胜。他们距离榜首的雷霆仅差三个胜场，且拥有胜负关系优势。这支马刺队在攻防两端都表现出色。其进攻端的压迫感几乎和防守端一样令人窒息。是的，独行侠和国王是这波连胜的“背景板”，但马刺也统治了湖人、太阳以及残阵勇士。他们将在周一晚上带着这波连胜前往底特律。
这是他们本赛季第二次取得八连胜。自 2015-16 赛季取得 13 连胜以来，我们还没见过马刺拿到两位数的连胜。马刺已经正式回归联盟顶级球队行列。在格格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 的带领下，这种状态他们曾保持了 22 年，但由于几年前开启了青年军/摆烂模式而不得不推倒重来。年轻球员正在掌舵，老将们提供全方位支持，马刺看起来会比我们预想中更早重返争冠行列。
芝加哥在交易截止日前得到了杰登·艾维 (Jaden Ivey)。现在他因膝盖酸痛缺阵。(Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)
芝加哥公牛。 如果你还在怀疑公牛是否有意为了乐透顺位而摆烂，他们现在已经九连败了。在这九场失利中，有三场的分差在个位数，但公牛在大多数晚上都在被对手血洗。在这波连败中，他们的场均净负分为 16.5 分，考虑到其中有四场比赛恰好输了 16 分，这个数字非常精准。在过去的几周里，他们的防守排在联盟倒数第三，进攻则是倒数第二。
在不考虑乐透抽签变动的情况下，公牛目前握有第 9 顺位的选秀权，但他们的负场数实际上与灰熊（第 8 顺位）持平。而且他们距离乐透赔率第 7 的独行侠也仅差两次失利。公牛刚刚宣布扎克·科林斯 (Zach Collins) 赛季报销，而杰登·艾维 (Jaden Ivey) 将缺席接下来的几周。如果他们的核心球员在赛季剩余时间里没怎么出场，我一点也不会感到惊讶。
克利夫兰骑士。 骑士在过去的 14 场比赛中赢了 12 场，自从得到哈登后取得了 5 胜 1 负。这段赛程中令人印象深刻的是，交易截止日对阵容造成了巨大变动，而且埃文·莫布里 (Evan Mobley) 的出场时间非常有限。骑士告别了德安德烈·亨特 (De’Andre Hunter) 和达里厄斯·加兰 (Darius Garland)，而莫布里在这 14 场比赛中只打了 6 场。多诺万·米切尔 (Donovan Mitchell)、贾莱特·阿伦 (Jarrett Allen) 和杰伦·泰森 (Jaylon Tyson) 在这段时间表现极其出色，而哈登在加盟克利夫兰的短暂时间里投篮手感火热。
自哈登加盟以来，骑士还没遇到过太强的对手。在这六场比赛中，他们击败了奇才、篮网和国王。他们险胜了黄蜂——这本该是场轻松的胜利，尽管黄蜂在过去两个月表现好了很多。即便他们在周日完成了逆转，骑士在防守端的表现依然令人担忧。面对一支缺少两名核心球员的雷霆队，他们送出了太多轻松的出手机会。米切尔和哈登搭档外线防守，最终效果可能比米切尔加加兰还要糟糕。但他们需要时间来磨合。
达拉斯独行侠。 独行侠在周日击败步行者，终结了九连败，但除了弗拉格，情况依然相当凄凉。他目前正受到中足扭伤的困扰，所以情况可能会变得更加糟糕。从技术层面讲，这正是他们想要的方向：战绩一路狂跌到底部，从而提高抽到高顺位选秀权的概率。这次“坠毁”的过程竞争会非常激烈，但他们直到 2031 年才能再次掌控自己的首轮签，所以现在是他们追逐乐透签而非球场胜利的最佳时机。
我们知道，一旦他们开始在弗拉格身边配置合适的筹码，他们就再也不会对摆烂感兴趣了。他们的九连败对手全都是强队，所以倒也不算丢脸。接下来的三场比赛，他们将面对篮网、国王和灰熊。这才是真正区分顶级摆烂球队和那些没有胆量彻底推倒重来的球队的时刻。
底特律活塞。 活塞已经取得了五连胜，且在此期间的净胜分非常惊人。他们这五场比赛总共赢了 93 分，其中 53 分来自于对阵尼克斯的两场大胜。这支活塞队正处于极佳的节奏中。很难通过截取赛程段落来分析活塞，因为他们整个赛季都表现得很出色。本赛季他们只有两次遭遇连败。一次发生在感恩节前后，输给了波士顿和奥兰多；另一次发生在圣诞节后，输给了犹他和快船。所以我猜美国重大节假日才是他们输球的时候？圣帕特里克节算吗？（阵亡将士纪念日要是输球，那季后赛时间点可就不太妙了！）
由于“Spectrum 中心大乱斗”事件，杰伦·杜伦 (Jalen Duren) 和艾赛亚·斯图尔特 (Isaiah Stewart) 在这五连胜中只打了两场。活塞本赛季的外线投篮一直很挣扎，但在这次五连胜中，他们的三分命中率达到了 39.1%。如果他们在剩余赛季中能接近这个外线水平，那么关于他们进攻是否能在季后赛有所作为的质疑声将会减弱。
萨克拉门托国王。 本赛季曾几何时，你看着 12 胜 30 负的国王，会觉得这套阵容不该打成这样。也许你觉得他们只是运气不佳。从那以后，他们已经遭遇了 16 连败，创下了队史纪录。国王历史上曾有过一些极其糟糕的球队和赛季，但从未在这么多场比赛中表现得如此差劲。国王可以将此归咎于伤病，但他们也确实陷入了平庸的泥潭。现在的希望寄托在 14% 的概率抽中状元签上。国王上一次拥有状元签还是在 1989 年选中佩维斯·埃里森 (Pervis Ellison)。他们接下来的四个对手分别是灰熊、火箭、独行侠和湖人。与独行侠的“摆烂之战”可能会非常精彩。
密尔沃基雄鹿。 雄鹿希望能找到某种魔力，说服扬尼斯相信他们能带给他争冠的未来。近来，他们在扬尼斯不在场的情况下反而看起来好多了。密尔沃基在过去的八场比赛中赢了六场。在这些比赛中，雄鹿成为了一支进攻巨兽，而最后四场比赛更是加入了卡姆·托马斯 (Cam Thomas)。他为球队提供了一个可靠的得分点，雄鹿一定希望这种额外的火力能让扬尼斯刮目相看。
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：NBA stretch run report cards: Grading all 30 teams after the All-Star break
NBA stretch run report cards: Grading all 30 teams after the All-Star break
Every Monday, we catch you up on the happenings in the NBA. This week, we’re giving out a grade for each team post-All-Star break. Now that we’ve resumed play, we can look at how each team has done this season so far. Are teams performing up to their expectations, and what’s the outlook the rest of the way?
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The Big Rewind: Grading all 30 teams
It’s important that people don’t call the portion of the season after the All-Star break the “second half of the season.” It’s not. Every team comes out of the break with fewer than 30 games left. That means this is officially “the stretch run.” Or for the teams that are tanking, the “stretch saunter because we’re going to say our best players are out for the rest of the season with a surgery they probably needed in the summer.” Allegedly!
Anyway, the stretch run starting is the perfect time to give out grades to all 30 teams. That’s what we’re doing today in the NBA Rewind.
Eastern Conference
**1. Detroit Pistons (42-13):**I have a lot of questions about how good this team can be offensively in a playoff series, but they’ve so clearly been the best team in the East all season long. Not bad for a 14-win team two years ago. Grade: A+
2. Boston Celtics (37-19): Losing Al Horford, Kristaps Porziņģis, Luke Kornet and Jrue Holiday (plus Jayson Tatum so far) and still having the second-best record in the East is a remarkable feat. I’m not sure you could have asked the Celtics to play better. Grade: A+
3. New York Knicks (37-21): The Knicks haven’t been very consistent in accumulating one of the top records in the NBA. They are supposed to win the East, but their showing against Detroit (0-3, minus-84 point differential) definitely has people scratching their heads. Grade: A-
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (36-22): We probably have to put the image of last season’s Cavs out of our heads. This Cavs team is on a hot streak, though, and the addition of James Harden has many expecting a big playoff run. Grade: B
5. Toronto Raptors (34-23): Everybody criticized the Raptors for being too expensive in the summer, but they’ve been fueled by their defense and two All-Stars. If this team can win a playoff series, it will be on cloud nine. Grade: A-
6. Philadelphia 76ers (31-26): The Sixers missed their guys for so much of last season and were a complete disaster before they decided to tank. This Sixers team still doesn’t have consistency from Joel Embiid and Paul George, yet Tyrese Maxey and company have been very successful. Grade: A
7. Orlando Magic (30-26): This team has played far below expectations this season, and it’s not even an elite defense anymore. Yes, the Magic have had injuries, but they can’t pin their shortcomings on that. They just aren’t good enough. Grade: D-
8. Miami Heat (31-27): The Heat completely changed how they play (they’re the fastest they’ve ever been), and it’s given them a jolt. But it ultimately still comes down to their defense being great and trying to figure out how to play Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware together. Grade: B
9. Atlanta Hawks (28-31): They made a big change in sending out Trae Young. It was the right call, but this team was never close to their “sleeper in the East” status from this summer. They’re still very much the Hawks. Grade: C-
10. Charlotte Hornets (27-31): The Hornets went from 7-18 to one of the most fun and surprisingly dangerous teams in the East. Charles Lee turned this squad around, and the final record won’t matter at all. This is a massive success story out of nowhere. Grade: A
11. Milwaukee Bucks (24-31): The Bucks have been faced with more questions about trading Giannis Antetokounmpo than their play on the court. This roster is bad but still has a chance to be in the Play-In Tournament with the hopes that Giannis will save them. Grade: C+
12. Chicago Bulls (24-34): The Bulls still haven’t completely committed to an outright rebuild, but they took a major step toward it. I have no idea what their best future assets are outside of Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis, but it looks like they’ve embraced their reality. Grade: C-
13. Washington Wizards (16-40): The Wizards made waves this season by trading for Anthony Davis and Young. We have no idea if we’ll see them in a Washington uniform, but they’re on the team. The rest of the team has shown some good development, but it’s still bad enough for lottery night to matter. Grade: C
14. Brooklyn Nets (15-41): The Nets were always determined to be bad this season, but I think people wanted to see some development out of them. Instead, we just confirmed that Michael Porter Jr. can score, and we’re still not sure about their quintet of rookies. Grade: D+
15. Indiana Pacers (15-43): The Pacers probably shouldn’t have been this bad, but they made a big move by getting Ivica Zubac for when they expect to compete next season. Nailing this draft pick will make this season all worth it. Grade: D
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (44-14): This is still the best team in the West, despite dealing with some key injuries. But going from the invincible mystique the Thunder had at the start of the season to “just” a great team now definitely brings the grade down. Grade: A-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is injured, but OKC is holding onto its spot atop the West. (Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)
2. San Antonio Spurs (40-16): They missed Victor Wembanyama for a couple of weeks, and they are still charging toward the best record in the conference. The Spurs are way ahead of schedule with this leap, and everything from here on out is icing on the crepe. Grade: A+
3. Denver Nuggets (36-22): You have to factor in how much the Nuggets have dealt with injuries, and maybe giving them an A- with those injuries is a little harsh. They still have championship expectations, but we need to see the elite level again. Grade: A-
4. Houston Rockets (34-21): Something feels off with this Rockets team. Adding Kevin Durant was a no-brainer, but we are not seeing them look like they’ve taken it to a higher level than last season. They could really use a strong finish. Grade: B
5. Los Angeles Lakers (34-21): The Lakers have been highly mediocre until you look at their record. Yes, the injuries have been all over the place, but the team isn’t good with its three best players on the floor together. I’m truly baffled about what to expect with them. Grade: B
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (35-23): The Wolves still give away too many games to teams they’re supposed to beat, but Anthony Edwards’ improvement and Julius Randle’s renewed play have been brilliant. We’ll see if it means another deep playoff run. Grade: B+
7. Phoenix Suns (33-25): The injuries to Devin Booker (before) and now Dillon Brooks have mostly ruined their chances to really make teams nervous in the playoffs. I’m not sure how much better this Suns’ season could have gone, especially with such low expectations. Grade: A
8. Golden State Warriors (30-27): Even before the Jimmy Butler injury, this Warriors team looked pretty average most nights. Now with Steph Curry nursing a knee injury, the Warriors will probably fall into the No. 9 vs. No. 10 Play-In matchup. Grade: C
9. Portland Trail Blazers (28-30): The Blazers have been so inconsistent this season, and they’ve dealt with a ton of injuries to their backcourt. And yet, they’re in the Play-In and kind of getting healthy, and this is all with their coach on leave. Grade: B
10. LA Clippers (27-30): The Clippers had an embarrassing start but turned it around almost perfectly. Then they traded away Harden and Zubac. I have no idea what to expect from them the rest of the way, but I’m enjoying Kawhi Leonard reminding everybody how elite he is. Grade: C+
11. Memphis Grizzlies (21-34): The Grizzlies bailed on this season and moved completely toward development when they traded Jaren Jackson Jr. at the deadline. They would have moved Ja Morant, too, if they could. Now it’s all about figuring out the path for their young guys. Grade: C-
12. Dallas Mavericks (20-36): They’ve become atrocious on the court, traded away Davis and shut down Kyrie Irving for the entire season. However, Cooper Flagg is the real deal, and they fired former GM Nico Harrison. Probably a win for the Mavs fans overall. Grade: D+
13. Utah Jazz (18-39): The Jazz have embraced tanking in such an egregious way that it led to a half-million-dollar fine. They need to protect their pick owed to OKC (top eight), but we’ve seen some really encouraging development from some young guys on the roster. Grade: C-
14. New Orleans Pelicans (16-42): The Pelicans were hoping to be good and even banked on it by trading away their first-round pick to Atlanta. They’ve shown a lot from their young players, except when it comes to winning games. This year, it’s not even the injuries that are making them lose. Grade: F
15. Sacramento Kings (12-46): This team was awful when injuries didn’t happen. This team was awful when the injuries did happen. They’ve reached new lows that no other Kings team has fallen to before. If they don’t nail this draft pick, it’s going to get really dark. Grade: F
Stock Report Extended: All-Star Edition
San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are the hottest team in the NBA, winning eight straight games. They’re within three games of OKC for the top spot, and San Antonio has the tiebreaker. This Spurs team is doing it on both ends of the floor. Its offense has been nearly as suffocating as its defense. Yes, the Mavs and Kings have been a part of this win streak, but the Spurs also dominated the Lakers, Suns and whatever is left of the Warriors. They’ll take this win streak into Detroit on Monday night.
This is their second eight-game win streak of the season. We haven’t seen a double-digit win streak from the Spurs since the 2015-16 season, when they won 13 in a row. The Spurs have officially regained their form as one of the best teams in the league. It’s something they held onto for 22 years under Gregg Popovich but had to restart by adopting the youth/tanking movement years ago. The young players are driving the ship, the veterans are supporting everything and the Spurs look like they’ll be contending sooner than we expected.
Chicago acquired Jaden Ivey ahead of the trade deadline. Now he’s out due to knee soreness. (Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)
Chicago Bulls. In case you were wondering whether the Bulls are interested in tanking toward some lottery help, they’ve now lost nine straight. Three of these nine losses have been by single digits, but the Bulls are getting annihilated most nights. Their average margin of defeat during this streak is 16.5 points, which is pretty dead-on considering they have four different losses in this streak by exactly 16 points. Their defense has been the third-worst in the NBA over the last couple of weeks, and their offense has been the second-worst.
The Bulls currently hold the ninth spot in the draft without any lottery movement, but they’re actually tied in the loss column with Memphis (holding the eighth spot). And they’re just two losses “behind” the Mavs for seventh in the lottery odds. The Bulls just announced Zach Collins is done for the season, and Jaden Ivey is going to miss the next couple of weeks. I’d be shocked if their main players see a lot of time the rest of the season.
Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs have won 12 of their last 14, and they’re 5-1 since acquiring Harden. The impressive things about this stretch are the upheaval the trade deadline threw at the roster and how little they’ve had Evan Mobley on the court. The Cavs said goodbye to De’Andre Hunter and Darius Garland, and Mobley has only played in six of these 14 games. Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Jaylon Tyson have been tremendous during this stretch, and Harden has shot lights out in the brief time he’s been in Cleveland.
The Cavs haven’t faced the toughest opponents since Harden got there. They beat the Wizards, Nets and Kings during this six-game stretch. They barely beat Charlotte, which they’re supposed to do, although the Hornets have been much better the last two months. Even though they made a comeback on Sunday, the Cavs showed some concerns with how this team might look defensively. They gave up so many easy and open looks to an OKC team missing its two best players. Mitchell and Harden defending the perimeter together might end up being worse than Mitchell and Garland. But they need time to jell.
Dallas Mavericks**.** The Mavs beat the Pacers on Sunday to snap a nine-game losing streak, but things have still been pretty bleak outside of Flagg. He’s injured with a mid-foot sprain, so things could get a lot uglier. Technically, this is exactly where they want to be headed: plummeting toward the bottom of the standings so they can improve their chances at landing high in the lottery. The traffic jam in that free-fall will be intense, but they don’t control their first-round pick again until 2031, so this is the prime spot for them to chase the lottery balls instead of wins on the court.
We know once they start putting the right pieces around Flagg, they won’t have any interest in tanking anyway. Their nine-game losing streak was all against good opponents, so it’s not like they embarrassed themselves. Their next three games are against Brooklyn, Sacramento and Memphis. These are where the true tankers separate themselves from the franchises that don’t have the stomach to truly lean into it.
Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have won five straight, and their point differential during that streak is enormous. They’ve won those five games by a total of 93 points, and 53 of that point differential comes from two games against the Knicks. This Pistons team is in a tremendous groove. It’s kind of difficult to carve up sections of the season to examine the Pistons because they’ve been good the entire season. They’ve only lost back-to-back games twice this season. It happened right around Thanksgiving with losses to Boston and Orlando. Then it happened again right after Christmas with losses to Utah and the Clippers. So I guess major U.S. holidays are the time to expect it? Does St. Patrick’s Day count as that? (Memorial Day would be bad timing with the postseason!)
Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart have only played in two of these five games of the win streak because of the Wreck ‘Em at the Spectrum incident. The Pistons have struggled a lot shooting the ball from outside this season, but they’re making 39.1 percent of their 3-pointers in this win streak. If they even approach that level of outside shooting the rest of the way, a lot of the questions about their offense being playoff-ready will get quiet.
Sacramento Kings. There was a point this season when you’d look at the Kings at 12-30, thinking that this is not the season they were expecting to have with that roster. Maybe you thought they’ve had some tough luck. Since then, they’ve lost 16 straight games, which is a franchise record. The Kings have had some horrendous teams and seasons in their history, and yet they’ve never been this bad for so many games. The Kings have some injuries to blame, but they’ve also sunk into just how bad they can be. The hope is that the 14 percent chance of winning the lottery will come through for them. The last time the Kings had the No. 1 pick was when they selected Pervis Ellison in 1989. Their next four games are in Memphis, Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles for the Lakers. The tank battle with Dallas could be special.
Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are hoping to find some level of magic to convince Giannis that he can trust them with his future for championship contention. As of late, they’ve looked a lot better without him on the court. Milwaukee has won six of its last eight games. The Bucks have been an offensive juggernaut in these games, and the last four have happened with the addition of Cam Thomas. He’s giving them a legitimate scorer to add to the mix, and the Bucks have to be hoping this added offensive punch will make Giannis raise an eyebrow or two.
By Zach Harper, via The Athletic