With the stretch run of the 2024-25 NBA season upon us, time is running out for every team to address their most pressing issues.
Postseason hopefuls must shore up weaknesses, while lottery-bound squads playing out the string need to start positioning themselves for offseason change. Whether gunning for a top postseason seed, evaluating young talent while tanking or just trying to determine the next steps in the franchise's development, every team has questions to answer.
These are the ones they should focus on first.
Atlanta Hawks: How good is the core?
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Itโll be impossible for the Atlanta Hawks to answer it because Jalen Johnson is out for the season, but the question that should be top of mind for the franchise has to do with the fit and quality of next yearโs likely starting lineup.
Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu will finish the season having played just 37 possessions together, the equivalent of roughly one half of a single game. Thatโs not nearly enough time to gauge the cohesion and effectiveness of the group thatโll probably determine whether anything beyond a Play-In berth is possible over the next couple of seasons.
The Hawks donโt control any of their next three first-round picks, which means the group on hand is unlikely to change muchโbarring a trade.
With Risacher playing his best ball of the season over the last six weeks and Okongwu recently testing his limits as a three-point shooter, itโs getting easier to see the vision here. Weโll have to wait until 2025-26 to see if it comes fully into focus.
Boston Celtics: Is Jrue Holiday going to hit his threes?
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Jrue Holidayโs per-36 stats are all pretty closely in line with the ones he produced last season, and his two-point field-goal percentage (57.0 percent) is actually better than the 52.6 percent he shot inside the arc last year.
But for a Boston Celtics team carrying no-questions-asked contender bona fides, the tiniest imperfections matter most. Theyโre the ones that elite opponents, like the ones Boston figures to face en route to another Finals appearance, will fixate on and exploit. Thatโs why Holidayโs slippage as a three-point shooter matters so much.
After canning a career-best 42.9 percent of his triples last season, Holiday is down to 34.3 percent in 2024-25, a precipitous drop that doesnโt even come close to his career average of 36.9 percent. Opponents in search of the few weak links in the Celticsโ makeup are already aware of the issue, and weโve seen teams like the Memphis Grizzlies sag off Holiday to clog up actions elsewhere on the floor. If the veteran guard canโt reaffirm his status as a dangerous shooter, Boston could have issues in the postseason.
Brooklyn Nets: What comes after culture?
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Itโs clear head coach Jordi Fernandez and a cast of scrappy Brooklyn Nets players have established a culture amid plenty of losses this season. The Nets play harder than any tanking team has a right to, and even as theyโve settled into the lower reaches of the standings, theyโve still shown themselves to be capable of hustling their way to surprising wins over the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers (March 10) and Atlanta Hawks (March 16).
Brooklyn is in something of a sweet spot. The Utah Jazz won a little too much over their two rebuilding seasons prior to this one, and it cost them draft position. The Nets arenโt having quite so much damaging success, but theyโve even more firmly committed to a hard-playing, rugged, relentlessly competitive style.
Now, and as the Nets progress into the offseason, the tricky part arises. Theyโll need to preserve the identity theyโve created while upgrading the talent. Can Brooklyn hold onto its principles when its roster features fewer fringe NBA contributors fighting for their careers?
Charlotte Hornets: Who's off the table?
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Presumably, second-year wing and former No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller isnโt going anywhere. Beyond him, though, itโs hard to find a member of the Charlotte Hornets whose exit would feel shocking.
That extends to LaMelo Ball.
The runway leading to competitive basketball feels long in Charlotte. Most of the teamโs decisions this season seemed motivated by long-term concerns. From the attempted Mark Williams trade to a handful of exchanges that brought aboard bad money with draft equity attached, the Hornets made the sort of future-focused moves that signaled a patient approach.
That means breakups with virtually every current player are possible.
Ball could grow impatient and look for a way out, or the Hornets might decide the picks and cost-controlled pieces they could net in a Ball trade make more sense for their plans. Either way, itโs not hard to imagine one of the leagueโs worst teams deciding to take yet another step back by trading what few established vets it has.
Chicago Bulls: Is Josh Giddey worth $30 million per year?
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In discussing soon-to-be restricted free agent Josh Giddeyโs next contract, ESPNโs Brian Windhorst noted that โthe going rate for a starting point guard in the NBA is around $30 millionโ per year.
Though it would have seemed impossible as he struggled for most of the season, Giddey has played well enough recently to make the Bulls think about such a high pay rate. Since the All-Star break, Giddey is averaging 23.1 points, 10.9 rebounds and 8.4 assists while posting a 65.5 true shooting percentage.
All of the same concerns about Giddeyโs lack of athleticism and inability to defend any position on the floor persist, but those numbers are hard to ignore.
Ultimately, the market will set Giddeyโs value. If he doesnโt get an offer sheet in the range of $30 million per year, the Bulls can put the squeeze on and hope to retain the 23-year-old at a more reasonable rate. But itโs also possible theyโll be put to a tough decision on a player with plenty of bugs to go along with his features.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Can they keep their edge?
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Barring a calamity, the Cleveland Cavaliers have the Eastโs No. 1 seed sewn up, leaving them with relatively little to play for over the next few weeks. Sure, itโd be nice to nudge up as close to 70 wins as possible in order to secure home-court advantage through the Finals. But even that might not be too difficult because the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder have an even bigger lead on the No. 2 seed chasing them and could throttle way down prior to the playoffs.
The Cavs will need to strike a balance between staying sharp and not overtaxing themselves ahead of what they hope is a deep postseason run. They seemed to swing too far toward the chill-out end of the competitive spectrum in accumulating three straight losses to the Magic, Clippers and Kings this past week.
Cleveland faces questions about its fitness as a contender because its current core has never made it out of the second round. Late-season stumbles provide critics with the opportunity to nitpick.
Between now and mid-April, the Cavs have to make sure they set themselves up for success when the games matter mostโall while tuning out the noise and continuing to quiet their doubters.
Dallas Mavericks: Is employing Nico Harrison untenable?
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These days, you might hear โFire Nicoโ chants breaking out at coffee shops, knitting circles and the school drop-off line if youโre anywhere in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In the wake of the Luka Donฤiฤ trade that seemed to set off a cascade of calamities for the Mavericks, discontent is that pervasive.
Itโs hard to fathom how Harrison, personally, can ever win back the fansโ favor. More importantly, the entire organization is at risk of permanently losing a large swath of its support. Maybe if Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving had stayed healthy, Dallas could have gone on a run this year and, to some extent, softened the blow of Donฤiฤโs departure. But that didnโt happen, and things are now unimaginably bleak.
At some point, Dallas will have to confront the possibility that while moving on from Harrison canโt undo the damage, it might be the only way to communicate to fans that the organization is listening to them.
Cynically, the Mavs may not feel compelled to assuage their supporters if tickets keep selling and profits continue rolling in. But if widespread discontent persists and eventually hurts the bottom line, cutting ties with Harrison might be the best way to turn the page.
Denver Nuggets: Is the supporting cast actually underrated?
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At no point in a rational basketball argument involving the Denver Nuggets should anyone suggest Nikola Jokiฤโs role needs to be smaller. When youโve got the best offensive player in the world, you run everything through him, trusting heโll make the best use of the players around him.
Thatโs the recipe that not only won the Nuggets a title but also inflated the values of guys like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown, neither of whom has ever looked as good as when they played with Jokiฤ.
But with Jamal Murray hitting game-winners, Aaron Gordon racking up a season-high 38 points in a Jokiฤ-less win over the Warriors and Russell Westbrook returning to his triple-double roots in that same victory, itโs worth asking whether some of Denverโs ancillary pieces could stand to stretch their games a little.
If nothing else, it could give opposing playoff defenses something different to think about while also allowing Jokiฤ, whoโs missed time recently with an elbow injury, the occasional breather.
Detroit Pistons: Is Jalen Duren a building block?
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Cade Cunningham removed any lingering doubts about his fitness as a cornerstone by vaulting into All-NBA contention during a breakout 2024-25 campaign. The Detroit Pistons have โthe guyโ now, the key element in building a sustainable winner.
Jalen Duren is making his own case on that front.
An excellent rebounder and interior finisher who grades out about as well as possible (on offense) for a center who canโt stretch the floor, Duren has recently upped his game on D. Thatโs not to say heโs the reason for the Pistonsโ impressive play on that end. Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson deserve acknowledgement there, but Durenโs block rate is up to the 70th percentile among bigs and he completely owns the glass.
At the same time, opponents are hitting almost 70.0 percent of their shots inside six feet when Duren is the primary defender, a terrible number for a center. Though heโs been better overall on D, Duren, eligible for an extension this summer, still doesnโt rate as objectively good on that end.
The Pistons have to decide whether his recent growth is a hint that even more is on the way.
Golden State Warriors: Can Jonathan Kuminga chip in?
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Jonathan Kuminga wants to be an on-ball superstar, and thereโs an outside shot he can become one of those someday. The Golden State Warriors want him to help out in less conspicuous ways.
This tension, which has largely defined the Kuminga-Dubs relationship, is even more interesting now that the Warriors are surging after the Jimmy Butler trade. Butlerโs arrival slotted everyoneโMoses Moody, Gary Payton II, Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Quinten Postโinto their ideal roles, seemingly sprinkling fairy dust across the roster that magically improved everyone.
Kuminga just recently returned from a 31-game injury absence and must prove he, too, can integrate into the role-playing ecosystem as a support piece for Butler, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
Typically more engaged as a starter, and doubly focused when he knows heโs going to occupy a high-usage role, Kuminga, ahead of restricted free agency, must show he can contribute as a cutter, defender, rebounder and ball-mover.ย
Houston Rockets: Is the clutch scoring fixable?
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If all you care about is their record (not a ridiculous position to take when success is officially measured by wins and losses), the Houston Rockets are the best clutch team in the league. Theyโve won an NBA-high 23 games that featured โclose and lateโ circumstances, defined as the score being within five points in the final five minutes.
Look a little deeper, and youโll note that Houstonโs clutch record comes with a negative net rating and some of the worst late-game offensive numbers in the league.
The Rockets have been lucky to win as many games as they have, and their inability to generate good looks in the moments that matter most is a red flag.
If Houston canโt get buckets against dialed-in defenses down the stretch of regular-season games, itโs a good indicator itโll have a hard time in the playoffs.
This isnโt news to anyone whoโs watched Houston this year and/or paid attention to the numbers. For the Rockets to be taken seriously, they need to see Fred VanVleet, Alperen Sengรผn, Jalen Green and even Amen Thompson prove they can produce offensively when the stakes are highest.
Indiana Pacers: Can they hit the offensive glass?
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Itโs always a good idea to keep opposing offenses out of transition. The Indiana Pacers do that better than anyone, holding teams to a league-low 12.5 percent transition frequency. The standard trade-off of getting back on D applies, though. When the priority is curtailing opposing fast breaks, it means conceding control of the glass.
Indy is the second-worst offensive-rebounding team in the NBA.
Given the teamโs personnel, which features relatively few good rebounders anyway, the bargain makes sense.
Postseason play is different. Transition opportunities dry up across the board, which may remove one of the Pacersโ key advantages. Indiana could test out a more aggressive approach on the offensive glass as the season winds down, knowing its conservative โget-backโ defense may not bring the same value in April.
LA Clippers: Can Kawhi Leonard handle a heavier load?
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Staying on brand, Kawhi Leonard is keeping his recent return to form quiet.
Unless youโre a diehard Clips fan, youโve probably missed one of the seasonโs most intriguing recent developments. After looking extremely rusty in his January return to action, Leonard has gradually scaled up his playing time and effectivenessโto the point that he now looks very much like the All-NBA force he once was.
In his first 11 games after the All-Star break, Leonard averaged 24.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists on a 48.8/42.0/72.1 shooting split. Perhaps most importantly, he logged an average of 35.5 minutes during that 11-game run.
Now, with the postseason just around the corner, the Clippers need to determine whether Leonard can add more on-ball reps and shots to his minutes. James Harden has run the offense all season, but a healthy Leonard is a clearly superior option.
Put it this way: Opposing playoff defenses are a lot more frightened by the idea of a first-option Leonard than they are by anything Harden does.
Los Angeles Lakers: Is the defense going to hold up?
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Los Angeles Lakers opponents are shooting 35.6 percent on wide-open threes (no defender within six feet of the shooter) since Feb. 1. Thatโs the third-lowest mark in the league, and it stands as Exhibit A in any skepticโs case against the Lakersโ shocking defensive surge, most of which has happened since losing Anthony Davis and Max Christie.
For the most part, opponent three-point accuracy is out of the defenseโs control. Thatโs especially true for wide-open shots. So it stands to reason that, as the Lakersโ opponents start hitting their triples (particularly the uncontested ones) at expected rates, a broader defensive regression will follow.
Head coach JJ Redick has deployed some impressive tactics on D this season, Dorian Finney-Smith has been a force and a run of good defense this long deserves to be respected. But the Lakers are going to need to prove over the next few weeks that their defensive efficiency, which ranks fourth in the league since Feb. 1, can withstand normalized opponent shooting.
Memphis Grizzlies: Can they score in half-court sets?
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Allow the Memphis Grizzlies to run at your own risk. No team adds more points per 100 possessions in transition.
Slow Memphis down, though, and the scoring dries up to an alarming degree.
The Grizzlies appear to be a middling offense in the halfcourt, where they rank 14th. But that number is bound to sink in the playoffs when opponents double down on keeping the Grizz off the glass. Neutralize Memphisโ No. 2 offensive rebound rate, and a shaky slowed-down attack could collapse entirely.
The Grizzlies are a top-10 defense, and keeping them from running at a high frequency is easier said than done. Nonetheless, itโs clear that Memphis has a flaw in need of fixing before the playoffs begin. Teams that canโt score reliably against a set defense tend to bow out of the postseason early.
Miami Heat: Who can fix the offense?
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The Miami Heatโs offensive woes have reached a crisis point. Over the last few weeks, the Heat have scored at the leagueโs lowest rate, endured a season-long nine-game losing streak and plunged down the East standings.
Though unlikely to miss the Play-In, Miamiโs offline offense is now profiling as a long-term concern.
Despite Tyler Herroโs efficiency gains this season, the Heat donโt have a heavily used lineup that scores at league-average rates. Two of their three most common quintets put up points at rates that rank in the fourth and 15th percentile, respectively. As uncomfortable as Jimmy Butlerโs presence was this season, at least he helped keep Miamiโs attack respectable. Now, as the team looks ahead to next year, itโs hard to figure out where it'll find the extra scoring punch it needs.
Milwaukee Bucks: Why doesn't the Dame-Giannis duo work?
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The Milwaukee Bucks score 115.7 points per 100 possessions when Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo share the floor, a figure that rates above the teamโs overall offensive efficiency of 113.6, but one that would also rank just eighth league-wide this season.
Thatโs not good enough.
The true contendersโthink of the Thunder, Celtics, Cavaliers and Nuggetsโall push past the 120.0 mark on offense when their best players are on the floor. In fact, those four teams all score at least 118.0 points per 100 possessions overall.
The synergy between Lillard and Antetokounmpo is actually worse than it was last year, when their shared minutes produced a contention-worthy 121.5 offensive rating.
If the Bucks canโt figure out how to dominate when their top two offensive threats are in the game, they wonโt get out of the second round.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Is the surge legit?
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The Wolves caught fire when the calendar flipped to March, winning their first eight games of the month (six by double digits). In a blow to those convinced that Julius Randleโs ball-stopping offensive gameโwhich seemed to contribute to some of Minnesotaโs early-season offensive clunkinessโthe power forwardโs return to health on March 2 lines up precisely with his teamโs winning streak.
Randle averaged 18.3 points on 51.0 percent shooting while leading the team with 6.0 assists per game during that eight-game run.ย
Meanwhile, Jaden McDaniels shot 15-of-32 from deep across those two weeks, posting a team-best plus-130 plus-minus in 263 minutes.
Is this some new and improved version of the Wolves, driven by Randleโs facilitation and McDanielsโ dead-eye marksmanship?
Probably not, but any sustained contributions on offense from sources other than Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid will be welcome as Minnesota climbs the standings and starts thinking of playoff matchups.
New Orleans Pelicans: Is this summer the time to trade Zion Williamson?
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Nothing else that happens in this injury-ravaged 2024-25 New Orleans Pelicans season matters much. Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones are done for the year with shoulder injuries, and Dejounte Murrayโs torn Achilles will shelve him for much of next season. Thatโs why the Pelsโ attention has to shift forward to the offseason.
Zion Williamson is looking and playing like the best version of himself, on pace to set career-bests in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals per-36 minutes while also topping 60.0 percent true shooting. That might seem like an argument for keeping him, but itโs really a signal that New Orleans should strike while Zionโs value is high.
Given the amount of money going to overpaid (CJ McCollum) or sidelined (Murray) players next season, the Pels are going to have a hard time competing in the West even if the rest of the group is healthy. Williamson, in particular, should still be viewed as unlikely to make it through a full season.
New Orleans has tried and failed for six years to build a sustainable winner around Williamson. Maybe itโs worth considering another path this summer.
New York Knicks: Can they score without Jalen Brunson?
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Jalen Brunson is still out with an ankle sprain, and the New York Knicks offense is feeling his absence. The removal of the extremely high-usage ball-handler has the Knicks scrambling.
Karl-Anthony Towns told The Athleticโs Fred Katz: โWeโre just trying to find different ways to, like coach says, steal points.โ
Held under the century mark in two of the first four games Brunson missed and toting a 3-3 record since his injury, New Yorkโs point-heist attempts havenโt been very successful. Somewhat surprisingly, the numbers didnโt suggest struggles like this were guaranteed without Brunson in the lineup. The Knicksโ three most-used Brunson-less lineups have all scored at rates above the league average this season. Maybe thatโs because theyโve largely gone against backups, and good shooting luck can skew samples as small as these pretty easily.
Mikal Bridges, Towns and OG Anunoby have a lot of slack to pick up until Brunson returns. And the layoff could be a long one. New York should prioritize getting Brunson as close to 100 percent as possible before the postseason, where itโll be drawing dead if heโs not all the way back.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Can Jalen Williams run the show?
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Oklahoma City is going to post a win total in the mid-to-high 60s, which validates it as a first-tier contenderโalbeit a flawed one.
The Thunder still canโt score when MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out of the game, a problem that moved to the forefront in the 2024 conference semifinals against the Mavericks and still persists today.
For all of his talents, Jalen Williams still hasnโt shown he can run the show without SGA. OKCโs offensive rating is just 110.6, a 25th-percentile figure, with J-Dub on and Gilgeous-Alexander off.
Hope arises when filtering the data to include lineups where Williams and Chet Holmgren are in the game without SGA. Those groups put up a 98th-percentile offensive rating, but they also failed last postseason and havenโt been tested against this yearโs top playoff threats.
OKCโs defense is going to be elite whether Gilgeous-Alexander is playing or not, but that won't matter if its scoring dries up whenever SGA rests.
Orlando Magic: Is the Franz/Paolo overlap a problem?
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Itโs hard to secure the services of a single high-end offensive star, and the Orlando Magic have two. Plenty of teams would happily trade their young cores for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
At the same time, the Magicโs offensive ineptitude raises the question of just how much sense their two best players make together.
Both Wagner and Banchero are best as on-ball weapons, and neither stretches defenses when playing a supporting role. Wagner, in particular, is wanting in that area. Heโs on track to shoot under 30.0 percent from deep for the second straight year. Even when accounting for a roster that, top to bottom, is short on spacers and playmaking guards, Orlandoโs dreadful shooting and overall offensive performance has to be at least partly attributed to the iffy fit between its stars.
The bar for the Magicโs attack should be low. Its defense is among the leagueโs best, so a merely average performance on the other end might be all thatโs necessary to crack the contender class. This isnโt a call to break up Wagner and Banchero, but Orlando has to fully commit to supporting those two with shooting.
And then, if the offense still stinks, maybe a more serious conversation about the viability of the tandem needs to be had.
Philadelphia 76ers: What to make of Quentin Grimes' heater?
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Quentin Grimes has never done as much on-ball work as he has for the Philadelphia 76ers, and the role seems to agree with him.
At a 26.6 usage percentage, the deadline acquisition is blowing away last yearโs then-career-high of 15.8 percent. With 21.8 points per game since joining the Sixers, Grimes is raising questions about his future role with the team, fit alongside fellow smallish scoring guards Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, and the amount of money it might take to retain him in restricted free agency.
Also potentially worth considering for the Sixers as they weigh Grimesโ value and role going forward: Grimes has now played for four teams in four years. Often, there are non-basketball reasons for that level of nomadic behavior.
The Sixers are in full tank mode, but they need to be thinking hard about which current members of the roster have long-term places on the team. That starts with a mid-breakout Grimes.
Phoenix Suns: Is anyone going to admit failure?
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Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia doesnโt sound like someone who understands when a plan isnโt working. With Phoenix capped out, bereft of future assets and barely in the Play-In mix, he railed against the concept of a rebuild to ESPNโs Tim MacMahon:
""Like, 'Oh, let's rebuild it.' Are you crazy?! You think I'm going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today. I want us to win today, and we're going to try. Although let's say this doesn't work, guess what? Maybe next year we won't be as good, but we're going to try again. Try again with what? The same team, coach and strategy that failed so miserably this year?" "
Itโs one thing to boldly zag (by spending big and mortgaging future picks in trades) when everyone else is zigging under the new CBA. But itโs quite another to stick to that contrarian plan when it so obviously isnโt working.
If the Suns are ever going to win consistently, theyโll first need someone in power to admit the current approach cannot continue.
Portland Trail Blazers: What's the next step?
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Itโs been over two months since the Portland Trail Blazers lost to a lottery-bound opponent, and theyโve also added some stellar victories against playoff competitionโIndy, Orlando, Milwaukee โduring that span. Based on that, itโs fair to conclude the Blazers are now officially a โmiddlingโ team, a solid step forward in the rebuilding process, but one that raises tough questions.
Itโs definitely a positive that the main drivers of the Blazersโ improvement skew young; if Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton were responsible for the teamโs respectable play, itโd be harder to see an upward trajectory for the core.ย
Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan are all 24 or younger.
The rest of this season will be about continuing to let the youth movement take over, whether or not it results in a Play-In berth. From there, Portland has to make decisions on its vets with a renewed sense of urgency. Now that the Blazers know their younger players are worthy of major roles, itโs imperative that the older, costlier pieces be moved elsewhere.
Sacramento Kings: Can another plunge into obscurity be avoided?
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Maybe the Sacramento Kings will advance out of the Play-In and get smoked by a top seed, and maybe they wonโt. Big picture, the results of this season donโt really matter. What should be top of mind for ownership and management is avoiding a return to the dysfunction and revolving-door hires that consigned the Kings to two decades of laughingstock status.
DeโAaron Foxโs exit, triggered by his lack of faith in the organizationโs ability to build a sustainable winner, was a massive warning sign, coming on the heels of a hasty Mike Brown firing. Now Domantas Sabonis is entertaining the same doubts that Fox was, and reports from Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of the Athletic suggest organizational chaos could be on the horizon.ย
Kings fans have endured more than their share of instability and mismanagement. Everything Sacramento does from now until the start of next season needs to be about avoiding another 20 years of ineptitude.ย
San Antonio Spurs: How much is too much for Stephon Castle?
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DeโAaron Foxโs season-ending finger surgery put him on the shelf next to Victor Wembanyama, opening up a glut of touch time and offensive agency for the rest of the San Antonio Spurs. Itโll be fascinating to see what Stephon Castle does with his share.
Having spent all season with Chris Paul and some with Fox, Castle has had few opportunities to fill the decision-maker role on offense. Though heโs shown flashes of brilliance as an attacking wing, secondary facilitator and on-ball defenderโrole player stuff, basicallyโitโs still far too early to close the book on him as a higher-usage playmaker.
The Spurs should still try to insulate Castle as much as they reasonably can; this isnโt a throw-him-to-the-wolves situation. But some rough stretches during an experimental on-ball phase might not be the worst thing for Castleโs long-term development. If he can handle a more prominent offensive role, itโll give San Antonio more roster-building options as it tries to fashion the right kind of supporting cast for Wemby.
Toronto Raptors: How does Brandon Ingram fit?
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The money, in the form of a three-year, $120 million extension signed right after his arrival via trade, is already spent. So itโs not like the Toronto Raptors need to see Brandon Ingram playing alongside Scottie Barnes and the rest of the teamโs core before deciding how much heโs worth in free agency.ย
Itโd still be nice to know how Torontoโs major deadline acquisition looks next to its other top players.
As the weeks pass, the Raptors continue a pretty egregious tank job and Ingramโs time on the shelf moves beyond the three-month mark, itโs hard to imagine him returning before next year. Maybe thatโs the wisest moveโboth from the lottery-odds and asset-preservation standpoints.ย
Still, the Raptors could benefit from getting even the briefest glimpse of Ingram, Barnes and Immanuel Quickley on the floor together. At least then theyโd have some sense of potential issues ahead of next seasonโs training camp.
Utah Jazz: How long is this going to take?
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Rookies Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski have played more total minutes than anyone else on the Utah Jazz since the All-Star break, which is both the correct approach for a tanking team and a condemnation of the rest of the (slightly older) young talent on the roster.
Collier, for one, has overtaken second-year guard Keyonte George as the teamโs starting point guard. Both he and George have displayed crippling inefficiency as shooters. Filipowskiโs offense intrigues, but his defensive struggles (third percentile Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus) make it hard to imagine him contributing to a winner.
Thatโs all to say Utah, despite enduring its third straight rebuilding season, still has nothing approximating a foundation.
That has to concern everyone from the front office to the fan base.
Clearing the books, losing on purpose and hitting on high draft picks is the surest way to construct a sustainable winner. The Jazz have yet to succeed at the third step in that process, which will push their rebuild timeline back at least another couple of years.
Washington Wizards: What is Alex Sarr's offensive role?
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The easy answer to most questions like this is some version of โitโs too early to tell.โ But Washington Wizards rookie Alex Sarrโs offensive profile is uncommonly hazy.
If his three-point shooting has finally settled in after enduring some wild month-to-month swings earlier in the year, Sarr can at least provide value as a spacer. His 38.6 percent clip from deep since the All-Star break is more than good enough to pull a defender out of the lane.
Unfortunately for Washington, Sarrโs interior finishing has been so consistently poor that most opponents can get away with stashing a guard on him, mitigating his value as a floor-stretcher.
On the year, Sarrโs 46.5 effective field-goal percentage, dragged down by abysmal conversion rates at the rim and on short mid-rangers, ranks in just the fifth percentile among bigs. Easy to push off his mark and lacking touch around the bucket, Sarr has miles to go before heโs even a passable finisher.
If he never reaches even that modest level, itโll make the Wizardsโ offensive buildout trickier than theyโd like it to be.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.
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