Survival Guide for Watching NBA's Worst Teams Down the Stretch
If you're one of the lucky ones, part of a select group whose NBA allegiances lie with the title-chasing elite—the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks or Cleveland Cavaliers, for example—your stretch-run concerns are simple: good health and a little luck through late June.
Of course, if you're among the lucky ones now, you probably also suffered through prolonged periods of poorer fortune. The days of following busted-up, directionless, smoldering-tire-fire versions of those very same contenders aren't so far behind.
Sustaining fandom through the lows is difficult, as followers of the NBA's worst current teams know all too well.
Consider what follows an attempt to extend hope to the hopeless, a contention that there's still entertainment and meaning left in a season that, for many teams, might feel like an empty exercise.
Cheer up: There's still a lot worth watching—even if your favorite terrible team makes you want to avert your eyes sometimes.
Los Angeles Lakers
Jordan Clarkson's Progress
A massive caveat right off the bat: Somebody has to get numbers on bad teams, so it's always dangerous to judge a player who's producing by default.
Still, rookie Jordan Clarkson's emergence for the Los Angeles Lakers is worth watching. After averaging 13.8 points, four assists and 3.6 rebounds per game in February, Clarkson's role and scoring numbers have continued to rise in March.
He's drawn glowing reviews from the opposition, including Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, per Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times:
"Early in the year, like a lot of rookies, he was inconsistent and unsure, wasn't sure what his game was. Now you look at him, when you go for 25 against Mike Conley in Memphis, and you've got a pretty substantial lead in the fourth quarter, you're getting it done. He's doing a great job.
"
We won't know for sure if Clarkson is the real deal until he's playing in games that actually matter, but his performance at least feels real right now. With the Lakers in desperate need of talent (especially the homegrown, inexpensive variety), Clarkson should warrant tons of interest and scrutiny for the rest of the season.
What's the Plan Here?
This isn't meant as a dig; we're sticking with positives here. But if you're a Lakers fan, you've got to be curious to see what kind of system head coach Byron Scott plans to install.
We know he's not big on the three-point shot and that he's got mixed feelings about the pick-and-roll. When you marginalize those two modern-day mainstays, what's that leave in the way of offensive options?
The answer is unclear, but with Kobe Bryant sidelined for the rest of the year and Scott free to play whomever and however he wants down the stretch, we should at least get an idea of what he envisions the Lakers' style and identity to be.
New York Knicks
The Lottery
Let's get this out of the way: The very first thing New York Knicks fans should be watching right now is college basketball. New York currently has the best odds to nab the No. 1 overall pick, which means getting their choice of Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns or even D'Angelo Russell.
And if none of those options intrigues the Knicks, perhaps they'll consider trading their first-rounder, according to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst (via Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com), in which case Knicks fans should still be watching something other than their team.
If a potential trade is out there, that means checking in on...oh, let's just say DeMarcus Cousins, becomes a priority.
The System
Of the currently active players on New York's roster, you could maybe argue two of them—Langston Galloway and Tim Hardaway Jr.—will have roles in the team's long-term plans. That means there's not much point in watching for individual development. Instead, Knicks fans should be paying attention to the effectiveness of the system—and those implementing it.
Do the Knicks appear to be grasping the nuances of the triangle? Is head coach Derek Fisher having success as a teacher, a game-manager and strategist?
New York's ongoing race to the bottom will make it difficult to gauge progress on those fronts, but it's vital that the offense and coach take strides as the season winds down, because neither appears to be going anywhere.
So if Fisher and the triangle are going to be Knicks staples, monitoring their effectiveness will be vital.
Philadelphia 76ers
Nerlens Noel Justifying the Process
You could probably make the case that the Philadelphia 76ers play harder than any other team discussed so far, which is reason enough to keep watching them through April.
But Nerlens Noel's growth into a legitimate defensive star and potential franchise cornerstone is an even bigger draw. A strong February has given way to a career-best early March, with Noel averaging personal highs in scoring and playing time while grabbing an ungodly number of steals.
Noel is active, long and apparently figuring out the finer points of playing team defense. It was only a matter of time (and health) before the most talented player in the 2013 NBA draft realized his potential, and it's beginning to look like Noel's future will be extremely bright.
"His progression has been amazing," Luc Mbah a Moute said of Noel, via Dei Lynam of NBCPhiladelphia.com. "To see him grow as a player and find his game in this league is great. Early in the season he was struggling and trying to find himself. Now he understands what he can do and how he can best help the team."
If you weren't already in on Noel, now's the time.
Sacramento Kings
Karl's Culture Change
The timing to talk about a culture change in Sacramento isn't ideal after the Kings snoozed through a 130-105 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, but repairing years of organizational damage will be the No. 1 job for new head coach George Karl.
Forget enlivening the offense; Karl's toughest task will be stamping out the pervasive victimhood and whining that have held the Kings back for the last few years.
He's speaking out about it, which is a start, via Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee:
"We lead the league in free throws and we still want more. You’ve got to earn your free throws, and I think you have to do that by playing great basketball, playing good flow basketball and playing basketball together. ..
We don’t do enough of that to merit due respect from the whistle. Every team struggles, and when we get that losing mentality we want to play blame and shame. What we have to do is just play basketball.
"
The Kings want to become a respected franchise, which means they'll have to act like one that deserves respect. Keeping an eye on Karl's efforts to that end will be fascinating.
Cousins the Facilitator
So will seeing how Cousins functions as a decision-maker.
One of the principal offensive tweaks of Karl's early tenure has been to put the ball in Boogie's hands—particularly away from the low block which he's dominated all year.
It's a calculated gamble, one that could maximize Cousins' skill as a passer. But it also comes with risks; Cousins is tied for the league lead with 4.3 turnovers per game.
There's no doubt that the Kings need to use Cousins' talents to make life easier for other players on offense. Giving him the rock more often will draw increased defensive attention, which should free up shooters and cutters in Karl's more motion-heavy offense. If Cousins can take advantage of that attention by finding teammates, Sacramento could really be onto something.
We'll see how things go during these final few weeks.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Andrew. Christian. Wiggins.
Enough said.
Well, almost enough.
Though the focus of everything Minnesota Timberwolves remains Wiggins, there's also the feel-good angle of Kevin Garnett's probable swan song with his original team. Seeing him in that T-Wolves jersey is a gift, and you can practically feel the home crowd's good vibes coming through broadcasts whenever KG is on the floor.
Together, Garnett and Wiggins represent the respective past and future in Minnesota. They make the present pretty enthralling, too.
Denver Nuggets
Melvin Hunt's Audition
Interim head coach Melvin Hunt was viewed as an elite coaching prospect in the seasons leading up to this one. He was voted the second-best assistant in the league in the 2013 general manager survey.
According to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post, he's living up to that billing: "Hunt is fulfilling the potential NBA insiders saw then. He has the Nuggets humming again. They are hard to guard again. They are competitive in a way they weren't for the majority of this season."
Now, the Nuggets may be wary of hiring a highly respected assistant with a reputation for connecting with players after seeing what Brian Shaw did for them over the last one-and-a-half seasons. But Hunt is getting results right now, and if they hold up, Denver might have the guy it needs in place.
Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Corey Brewer, who played under Hunt with the Nuggets, said, “I’m not saying for sure it’s going to be here, but I’m certain he’s going to be a good head coach. He just has to get a chance. He knows his players. He knows how to coach. And he has a system."
Denver is 3-2 since firing Shaw on March 3. Kenneth Faried has looked bouncier, and the offense is flowing more smoothly. If Hunt can keep this up down the stretch, the Nuggets might hit the offseason with more hope than expected.
Nurkic Shenanigans
First of all, great band name.
Second, strictly for entertainment's sake, keep an eye on Jusuf Nurkic during the stretch run. His injured ankle, which has kept him sidelined since late February, will have to cooperate, though.
He taunts stars like Cousins and picks up technicals for shaming floppers. In addition to a devil-may-care approach to decorum, he's also pretty good, ranking second among rookies in both rebounds and blocks per game.
Of course, he also leads first-year players in personal fouls, but that's just part of his charm.
Nurkic has a chance to be a piece of Denver's core, which on its own makes him worth watching. He's also liable to incite a brawl and/or crack up viewers with his irreverent confidence. Either way, he's fun.
And perhaps that's the best note to close with: The stretch run doesn't have to be a gloomy affair. It's still basketball, there are still compelling angles to enjoy and developmental arcs to root for.
But more than anything, weird and unexpected things are likelier to happen for teams with little to play for.
Enjoy the show.
