1 Word To Describe Every NBA Team with 2 Weeks Left
If you need any proof that time flies when watching grown adults dribble a spherical piece of synthetic rubber up and down shock-absorptive maple hardwood floors, look no further than the NBA schedule.
Just a couple of weeks separate us from the end of the regular season. And before we shift into play-in and playoff mode, it makes sense to take real-time temperature checks of all 30 teams as they enter this year's closing kick.
Multiple sources confirmed via a Signal group chat to which I was accidentally added that coming up with one word to describe the current state of each squad is the best possible way to complete this exercise. So, that's exactly what we're going to do.
Selected words will seek to spotlight an immediate or bigger-picture feeling, storyline, development, fact of life, whatever's relevant to each franchise. There is just one rule: Once a word is used for one team, it cannot be included again. This is naturally intimidating. Fortunately, Etsy sells customized word-of-the-day toilet paper.
Atlanta Hawks: Intriguing
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Favorable matchups have allowed the Atlanta Hawks to fatten up their win column during the month of March. That can make it difficult to determine what about their performance is worth harping on to close the year, let alone wondering how it impacts the future.
Yet, Atlanta has propped up a top-five offense since the start of February. The feat is made all the more impressive knowing Jalen Johnson (shoulder) has not played a single minute during this stretch, and that Trae Young is far from the most efficient, quickest or healthiest (Achilles) version of himself.
Some untenably hot three-point shooting is a driving force, most notably from Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu. The rest of the offensive portfolio is worth taking at face value.
Young's playmaking artistry persists, even when he's not 100 percent, particularly when it comes to generating looks for others at the rim. Daniels' vision going downhill is well served in an offense doing a better job spacing the floor and pushing the pace. Zaccharie Risacher is making a late play for Rookie of the Year with deadeye shooting and surgical off-ball movement.
Building an elite offense around Young isn't necessarily an accomplishment. Except in this case, the Hawks are doing it without a true second in command—and with personnel who can be part of a better defense.
Boston Celtics: Reigning
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Somewhat lost between a $6-plus billion dollar sale as well as concerns over Jrue Holiday's offense, Jaylen Brown's shooting, Kristaps Porziņģis' health, Jayson Tatum's ankle and moments of stagnancy is a simple-yet-salient truth: The defending champion Boston Celtics are ridiculously good and absolutely capable of winning it all again.
Pick nits as you must. Boston might win 60 games for the second consecutive season while flirting with a top-five offense and defense. And its biggest threat to the Eastern Conference throne, the Cleveland Cavaliers, has shown some cracks since the middle of March.
Save the questions about the financial sustainability of this core for the offseason. And holster any playoff doubts until they actually rear themselves. Until proven otherwise, these Celtics are the champs.
Brooklyn Nets: Five
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After outperforming expectations at nearly every turn this season, the Brooklyn Nets are striking that happy medium between competitive pluckiness and much-needed losing.
While they now hover around the bottom five in net rating, they hardly play like it. Head coach Jordi Fernandez is chaperoning a team that's feisty on defense and experimental at the other end. There may be late-season performances worth monitoring. Ziaire Williams, Tyrese Martin, Trendon Watford—just to name a few.
These silver linings, along with that hotter-than-expected start to open the season, are not torpedoing the Nets' lottery odds. Finishing with a bottom-four record and top-shelf No. 1 pick chances is out of the question. Brooklyn, though, is well positioned to close the year with the fifth-worst record. It just has to hold off the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.
Charlotte Hornets: Distant
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Another year marred by injuries makes it difficult to draw profound conclusions for the Charlotte Hornets. Then again, it also underscores the distance separating them from anything resembling a finished product.
LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller are the only two blue-chip building blocks on the roster. That was true this time last. And neither has progressed in a course-altering way since.
Miller showed traces of offensive improvement before a right wrist injury ended his season but still faces questions about his on-ball separation and rim pressure. LaMelo's efficiency can be painted as collateral damage of a bare-bones roster. His continued lack of defensive discipline cannot.
Charlotte has no sure things beyond Miller and LaMelo—neither of whom, mind you, is a sure thing as it pertains to directional pole stars. Tidjane Salaun has turned in a rookie year to forget. Mark Williams has battled injuries, was almost traded and remains uninspiring as a defensive presence in the middle. Miles Bridges isn't changing any team's fate.
Solace can be found in the front office's approach. Executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson is catering to the long game. But the Hornets seem more than one significant player away from having their 2024-25 Detroit Pistons moment. That substantially increases the pressure on them to nail this year's draft pick—and their entire offseason.
Chicago Bulls: Confusing
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If you thought moving Zach LaVine coupled with the high-volume losing immediately thereafter signaled the Chicago Bulls were bottoming out once and for all, you are forgiven. You are still wrong. But you are forgiven.
In their first 15 games following the LaVine trade, the Bulls went 4-11 and posted a bottom-five net rating. Since then, though, they have emerged as...one of the hottest teams in the NBA, flirting with a top-10 offense and top-five defense.
March performances in the Association cannot be trusted. Josh Giddey isn't suddenly headed for the three-point contest. Rookie Matas Buzelis isn't going to win Defensive Player of the Year. Dalen Terry isn't a future superstar hiding in plain sight. So on and so forth.
At the same time, everybody from Coby White and Nikola Vučević to the Bulls bench is balling. Vooch himself seemingly wants to stick around long term. The vibes are...good. And also probably still aimless. But mostly good. For now. Confusingly, if inexplicably, so.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Burdened
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The Cleveland Cavaliers' regular-season success is unimpeachable. They are deep, versatile and well-coached, with the top-end talent and synergy to win it all.
At pretty much any other point in the year, "dominant" or its closest synonyms would be their most suitable descriptor. Fueled in part by a mini mid-March skid, we are instead reminded that believe-it-when-see-it-during-the-playoffs skepticism endures.
Are opposing offenses specifically targeting Evan Mobley? Which of their primary reserves can stay on the floor during the postseason (non-De'Andre Hunter division)? Are they finally cooling off from three?
Cleveland is one of the league's three best teams and an inarguable championship contender—and will now face the inquisitive pressure that comes with it.
Dallas Mavericks: Shallow
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Rolling with "conflicted" as the Dallas Mavericks weigh whether to prioritize proximity to the play-in or the optimization draft-lottery odds might work here. Yet that implies they have a say in the matter.
They don't.
Dallas is almost literally in danger of running out of playable bodies on any given night. Injuries have ripped through the roster, leaving even the most checked-out fans to wonder how many games of eligibility remain for two-way players Kessler Edwards, Kai Jones and Brandon Williams.
Anthony Davis' return gives the Mavs some cover. But their daily injury reports are Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix length.
Never mind beating out the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers for the Western Conference's No. 10 seed and the right to lose during the play-in tournament. Dallas will be lucky to finish the season with a lineup's worth of healthy players on the docket.
Denver Nuggets: Familiar
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None of us need a crash course in how reliant the Denver Nuggets are upon Nikola Jokić. We're getting one anyway.
Left ankle injuries sidelined the three-time MVP from Mar. 17 until Mar. 26. The Nuggets, not surprisingly, played topsy-turvy basketball during that time.
Now, Jamal Murray missed the team's first two games without Jokić. The Nuggets picked up a road win over the Golden State Warriors without both stars and then rode a Murray Flurry to a victory against the Houston Rockets. Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Peyton Watson are proving to be independent bright spots (when available) as well.
That somehow renders this latest stretch proof of how far Denver's current core has come since the start of the season and just how critical Jokić remains to elevating it not just to title contention, but actual relevance.
Detroit Pistons: Arrived
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There is no better story in the NBA this season than these Detroit Pistons. Even if you do not believe their 2024-25 campaign amounts to a macro arrival, it still serves as Cade Cunningham’s entry into stardom. Everything from the playmaking and scoring package to the defense and rebounding is just better.
Enough is happening around him to treat this year as an organizational emergence. Ausar Thompson has leveled up his playmaking and inside-the-arc scoring in recent weeks amid different usage. Jalen Duren is an active participant in the league’s stingiest defense since Feb. 1, even if questions about his baseline rim protection remain.
Isaiah Stewart would be an All-Defense staple if he logged more minutes. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has carved out developmental reps for rookie Ron Holland II despite raised expectations. Malik Beasley is on a season-long heater. The list goes on.
Detroit is now tasked with gauging its progress relative to the playoff crucible and deciding how to handle the offseason. That will go a long way toward determining long-term vibes and viability. Frankly, though, just inserting itself into the “How do we take that next step from good to great?” is its own arrival.
Golden State Warriors: Reinvigorated
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Landing Jimmy Butler in advance of the trade deadline has given the Golden State Warriors a significantly higher ceiling. They may not be the most menacing contender, but their path to the conference finals and beyond is no longer an impossibility.
Stephen Curry’s pelvic injury has reiterated his importance to tying everything together. The Jonathan Kuminga reintegration has also added a curveball that will either undermine or advance the agenda.
Golden State is nevertheless floating around the top 10 of offense and top five of defense since Butler’s debut. His rim pressure and affinity for contact has spearheaded a league-high free-throw-attempt rate during this time (up from 29th), and the Warriors overall are still winning the minutes he logs without Steph.
If these Dubs are not a caps-lock contender, they have at least thrown their hat into the second-or-third-best-team-in-the-West ring.
Houston Rockets: Giant
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Reflecting on the Houston Rockets' annihilation of expectations this season has become standard fare. They are now entering the phase of their competitive arc in which we need to see what happens during the playoffs before analyzing what comes next. Until then, let us live in the moment.
"Giant" is a nod to the increasing frequency with which they're deploying Steven Adams and Alperen Şengün together. After logging just 12 minutes through the end of February, the duo has amassed more than 100 since the start of March.
Houston is crushing it during these stints, at both ends of the floor, while grabbing nearly 50 percent of its own misses. That last part is absurd—and critical. This gargantuan combination helps offset the team's enduring lack of conventional half-court creation and spacing as well as its recent decline in transition volume.
Whether the Adams-and-Şengün setup can sustain through the postseason remains to be seen. One way or the other, it sure looks like we're going to find out.
Indiana Pacers: Underestimated
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Most default to the New York Knicks as the third-best team in the Eastern Conference. It feels too early for the Detroit Pistons and too late for the Milwaukee Bucks, particularly after the news that Damian Lillard will be out indefinitely with deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in his right calf.
Before you make any final decisions on the tippy top of the East’s power structure, allow the Indiana Pacers to offer their consideration.
This team can be maddening at times. So few victories seem to come easily; even fewer games feel…typical. (See: The ending to their Wednesday night loss against the Los Angeles Lakers).
Inconsistencies and flaws in mind, the Pacers are quietly sustaining a tantalizing near-peak, replete with a top-10 defense since Feb. 1.
Tyrese Haliburton is playing like an MVP candidate, Pascal Siakam will garner his own All-NBA consideration, and the rotation is teeming with functional depth—optionality that should translate to the postseason. And while Indy’s defensive concerns aren’t going anywhere, it has cobbled together enough success with its core lineups and some secondary combinations to stake its claim to the air just beneath the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Los Angeles Clippers: Lurking
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The Los Angeles Clippers have officially entrenched themselves as the consummate "If they just get to the playoffs healthy..." squad. That is a borderline banner achievement when considering how many people (*sheepishly raises hand*) declared them dead on arrival before the season.
Los Angeles' defense needs no unpacking—other than to acknowledge that Ivica Zubac deserves to make an All-Defense team, and that Kris Dunn keeps rival assistant coaches up at night. The offense for so long looked like it would be this team's undoing. It is rapidly becoming a strength, placing in the top seven of points per possession since the trade deadline.
Bogdan Bogdanović looks more like himself since coming over from the Atlanta Hawks. His long-range touch is back, and he's torching twine after taking live dribbles inside the arc. James Harden gave us all an ankle-injury scare but remains made of Teflon and is mostly tearing it up. Kawhi Leonard is playing—and oft-dominating when he's not the sole focus of the offense.
No-big lineups remain effective, including with Ben Simmons. Norman Powell has recaptured his outside shot. Derrick Jones Jr. is hitting threes. Nicolas Batum and Amir Coffey provide steadying hands off the bench.
Picture-perfect health cannot be assumed for any team headlined by Leonard. If the Clippers get anything close to it this spring, though, they could be a sleeping giant out west.
Los Angeles Lakers: Mysterious
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Incumbent star power suggests the Los Angeles Lakers are a real threat in the Western Conference. LeBron James and Luka Dončić are playoff killers, both single-handedly capable of dissecting matchups in ways that tilt entire series.
Surprisingly frisky defense lent itself to the same conclusion from mid-January through pretty much all of February. That same defense has become a liability for most of March. LeBron missing time with a groin injury adds noise to the equation, and the Lakers defense has still outperformed its offense since Dončić made his debut.
This is sort of the point. These Lakers are...weird. They battle turnover issues despite having two of the best game managers in league history. Their lack of size begets frenetic, verging on dominant, efforts for stretches at a time. Then, on other occasions, smaller lineups seem as if they could be the team's undoing.
Are the Lakers actually contenders? That we can ask the question qualifies as overachievement relative to preseason expectations. The answer nevertheless remains elusive.
Memphis Grizzlies: Sliding
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Entering the trade deadline, the Memphis Grizzlies owned the Association's third-best net rating, on the backs of a top-five offense and defense, as well as the West's second-best record. Since then, they are below .500, with a league-average offense and bottom-10 defense, and have slipped a couple notches in the standings. Not even their blowout win over the Utah Jazz unfolded without issue.
Memphis is not at risk of falling outside the top six barring a complete collapse. Certain issues can also be attributed to injuries. Santi Aldama (calf) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (ankle) both missed time during this stretch. Ja Morant is dealing with a hamstring injury. Brandon Clarke is done for the year, again, after suffering a PCL strain in his right knee.
Injuries still don't account for everything. Plenty of the Grizzlies' issues span the entire season. The same ol' concerns plague the offense. (I.E. Do they have enough outside transition?) The defensive rebounding is shaky. Opponents are smoking them on the break.
So many already had Memphis penciled in as a paper tiger after not doing enough over the offseason and then doing nothing at the deadline. It is getting harder by the day to dismiss that stance.
Miami Heat: Unclutch
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Did I just make up a word? You're damn right. But only because it turns out "Crunch Time Charlatans" is actually three words. Who knew?
The Miami Heat are at a clear top-end talent deficit and have been for much of this season. (Disgruntled Jimmy Butler counted as two role players.) They are not so barren that they should be late-game pushovers.
Miami owns the league's second-worst crunch-time net rating, trailing only the Utah Jazz, who are invested in losing games. The Heat have also blown more double-digit leads this season than any other team, per Keerthika Uthayakumar, author of the Fun Facts & Red Flags newsletter.
Tyler Herro's clutch struggles aren't helping matters. When you consider the dearth of other primary options, his inefficiency is the biggest problem of all. Out of the almost 60 players with at least 10 crunch-time appearances and a usage rate of 30 or higher, only Khris Middleton has a lower true shooting percentage.
Bam Adebayo is not especially efficient or aggressive in these situations, either. He is fourth on the team in clutch usage rate.
This is not a problem that can be fixed with the current personnel. Just as well, too. The Heat's season won't last beyond the play-in. But after a second straight year ranking as one of the NBA's five worst crunch-time squads, it may be time to retool, if not overhaul, the offense's makeup this summer.
Milwaukee Bucks: Deflated
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Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (blood clots) in his right calf and is out indefinitely. Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst said "doctors have indicated that his situation is very unlikely to occur again," and a league source told The Athletic's Sam Amick and Eric Nehm that "there is a great deal of optimism" Lillard will suit up again this season.
With the mega caveat that yours truly has zero medical background, this feels like a wildly optimistic timeline. Victor Wembanyama was shut down just before returning from the All-Star break with DVT and won't play again this year. Ausar Thompson missed the final 19 games of last season and then the first 18 of this year after being diagnosed with DVT.
Milwaukee is at a different stage of its timeline than the current San Antonio Spurs and the 2023-24 Detroit Pistons. Medical issues cannot always be evaluated in a vacuum. Maybe Lillard can return in time for the playoffs.
Regardless, the likelihood he misses the postseason and the Bucks are left to continue elevating the importance of Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. is higher than it was before. That is beyond deflating. Especially when we've yet to see Dame and Giannis Antetokounmpo take the floor together in the playoffs.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Infuriating
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Right when you are ready to quit the Minnesota Timberwolves, they pull you back in. Shortly after that, they rip out your heart. Then they return it, in better condition, while bear-hugging you. And then they hock a loogie in your face.
This team's ability to tantalize and torment is unparalleled. Minnesota plays down to the level of its opponents perhaps more than any other team—but continues to get up for the Big Ones.
Only the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder have better net ratings against top-10 opponents. The Timberwolves somehow have a losing record in those games...and a lower crunch-time winning percentage than the Washington Wizards. (Yes, those Wizards.)
For every promising turn, there is a feel-bad analog. Oh, Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo are catching fire? Well, Anthony Edwards' three-point and rim efficiency are dipping and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is going cold.
Fittingly enough, the Wolves have underperformed their point differential more than any other squad. They still feel dangerous, because they are dangerous. It just isn't clear whether the greatest danger they pose is to others or themselves.
New Orleans Pelicans: Searching
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Injuries submarined the New Orleans Pelicans' season before it ever truly started. They have been left searching for something, anything, everything ever since.
Trey Murphy III (shoulder) recently re(joining) Herb Jones (shoulder) and Dejounte Murray (leg) on the long-term injury list only reinforces the precariousness of the Pelicans situation.
They are left to decide whether they've unearthed any mainstays—Yves Missi, Karlo Matković, even Jordan Hawkins—over the course of a season that's never mattered. Yet they also must figure out what direction they're evaluating everyone against.
Is this still Zion Williamson's team moving forward? What type of timeline are the Pelicans operating under if he remains the centerpiece, particularly when Murray's availability next season isn't exactly guaranteed?
Do they view this year's high lottery pick as a means to beefing up the Zion window? Or is it the vessel through which they move on from him? Or scale him down? Can he even scale down? Is Willie Green the right head coach for where they plan to go? Will this front office regime be the one determining what's next for him and the franchise?
Only so many of these questions can be answered before the draft lottery and even thereafter. That is the Pelicans' situation in a nutshell. They are constantly searching for answers, for solutions, for clarity—for the right direction.
New York Knicks: Survival
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Questions galore will define the New York Knicks' closing stretch, playoff run and, invariably, offseason.
Some of these inquiries are familiar. Can the defense be good enough with Karl-Anthony Towns at center? Will head coach Tom Thibodeau's minutes distribution come back to bite this team beyond the since-resolved Mikal Bridges soundbite? Do they have the personnel to take more threes?
Others are relatively new. Should the Knicks rework Josh Hart's place in the rotation? Does Tyler Kolek have a case for real minutes when the roster's at full strength? How much of a staple can the KAT-Mitchell Robinson frontcourt be in the postseason, if at all? Are they capable of beating really good teams?
Oh, and most pivotal of all: How healthy will Jalen Brunson be?
Anyone who talked themselves into Towns as New York's best player has been bathing in Antarctic-cold water since he sprained his right ankle. The Knicks are around .500 during this span, with a top-10 defense, but have seen their offensive efficiency plunge. They are below-average in points per possession, bottom 10 in effective field-goal percentage and struggling more than ever to draw fouls.
Third place in the Eastern Conference is no longer wrapped up thanks to those pesky Indiana Pacers. Brunson's health matters more than seeding, but it's all connected. The Knicks must be focused on surviving what's left of the regular season and hope they'll be healthy and able to explore a peak we've yet to see once the playoffs roll around.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Ready
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Folks around the league apparently don't fear the Oklahoma City Thunder. No amount of depth or defense or Shail Gilgeous-Alexander detonations or aggregate dominance is going to meaningfully change that until they, as resident cloud debaters say, "Do it in the playoffs."
Oklahoma City is ready for the chance to prove its puzzling number of doubters wrong.
That likely even understates the Thunder's preparation. They aren't just ready for another chance. They're ready to actually do it.
Look no further than the biggest knock against them: insufficient offensive options when SGA is on the bench or blitzed by defenses into oblivion. While it's true Oklahoma City struggles to generate points without him, the "without him" becomes less integral during playoff series in which he's off the court for just a couple of minutes each night.
Beyond that, as the Thunder have cobbled together more full-strength(ish) samples, their "fatal flaw" becomes much less, well, fatal. They are pumping in over 1.20 points per possession when at least two of Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are on the court without SGA, per PBP Stats—the equivalent of a top-five offense.
So, yeah, unless you think J-Dub's hip issue will linger into the playoffs, this Oklahoma City team is ready. And then some.
Orlando Magic: Scrapping
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Injuries and (long-)unaddressed offensive issues have damned the once-sleeper-candidate Orlando Magic to play-in territory. Writing off their season as a gap year and looking ahead to the summer and the 2025-26 campaign is seemingly the right call.
Except the Magic aren't going away without a fight.
Ripping off mid-March victories rings hollow. Doubly so when you get to play the New Orleans Pelicans, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets. But Paolo Banchero has been on a heater for more than a month. The same goes for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Orlando's starting lineup during this span is putting up over 1.21 points per possession—the equivalent of a top-two offense—and the team overall is inching closer to league average. This isn't going to force wholesale championship-landscape recalibrations. When paired with Banchero's re-emergence and a hellfire defense, it does give the Magic postseason-upset potential.
Philadelphia 76ers: Six
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Did you know the Philadelphia 76ers will keep their first-round pick if it lands inside the top six of the lottery? Or have you been living in an alternate universe in which the 2024-25 Sixers aren't a generational disappointment.
Leave the agonizing over Joel Embiid, Paul George, their contracts, their health and how Philly should position itself moving forward until summertime. Everything right now is about that draft pick, the fate of which will assuredly have some level of influence over those aforementioned issues.
Bagging one of the top-four lottery slots is unlikely unless the Charlotte Hornets or New Orleans Pelicans rip off an ill-timed (for them) winning streak. The Sixers are otherwise locked in a battle for the fifth-worst record with the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors. Here would be the odds that they keep their pick depending on where they're most likely to finish:
- No. 5 Lottery Odds: 62.1 percent
- No. 6 Lottery Odds: 47.7 percent
- No. 7 Lottery Odds: 31.9 percent
As you can see, the difference matters. How many fourth quarters will Quentin Grimes need to sit in order to ensure that Philly, ahem, sinks to the occasion?
Phoenix Suns: Late
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Congratulations to the Phoenix Suns for discovering that Oso Ighodaro exists and just generally ratcheting up their give-a-crap factor. It only took until...March.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant give the Suns an air of "Just get them to the postseason and anything's possible." But even if you believe Phoenix reaches and maintains its apex, this probably exaggerates its bandwidth to make any noise.
Ninth place in the Western Conference is the Suns' ceiling. And with the league's toughest remaining schedule, they are far from assured of finishing in the top 10.
Let's assume they do. What about this team, at any point this season, should make us think they have the personnel or defense or give-a-crap factor to do anything other than...lose in four or five games to the Oklahoma City Thunder?
Perhaps it'd be easier to feel differently if the Suns flipped a switch earlier. Or if they did something bigger than add Nick Richards and shed salary in advance of the trade deadline. They didn't. Worse, it probably wouldn't have mattered if they did. They are thoroughly expensive but haphazardly built. Finding another gear in March is too little too late.
Portland Trail Blazers: Hopeful
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Play-in hopes are beginning to fade for the Portland Trail Blazers. This is not unexpected. Their entry into the postseason discourse at all is the real surprise.
It is also encouraging. Portland definitely should have moved or de-emphasized certain players. By and large, though, it has turned heads with those who matter most to the bigger picture.
Deni Avidja has played at a near-All-Star level for the past couple of months. Scoot Henderson has cooled off but made real strides as a decision-maker and scalable fit. The defense is hovering around 10th in points allowed per possession since Feb .1, a stretch that has accentuated the utility of Avdija, rookie Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara.
The Blazers are well-positioned to continue building a legitimate defense as well as a rotation with functional depth. Whether they already have their best player of the future is a separate matter. They have to believe it is Henderson or Avdija or Shaedon Sharpe for them to double-down on this core over the offseason. Otherwise, they must view this year as a step in the right direction rather than definitively clarifying.
Sacramento Kings: Hopeless
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Someday, the Sacramento Kings will stop getting in their own damn way. That is not today. Also: They may never permanently get out of their own way.
Forget the offseason, the handling of the Mike Brown extension and exit, the De'Aaron Fox breakup, the direction they chose when moving him, Domantas Sabonis' could-be wavering commitment, et al. This space could be about any or all of that.
Instead, it's about the return of former general manager Vlade Divac, in an unknown but ominous capacity:
Greg Wissinger of The Kings Herald perfectly encapsulated the inanity at play here:
"It’s beyond absurd, and I’d like to think that even [Kings governor] Vivek [Ranadive] isn’t that dumb, but Vivek has shown us time and time again that we should not overestimate him. The fact that there has even been a serious conversation about this is operational malpractice. And look, I love Vlade Divac. I truly do. I think he’s funny and lovable and I loved his time as a player here. But Vlade-The-GM was one of the worst experiences Kings fans have ever been put through, which is truly saying something."
Whatever goodwill the Kings built up by seemingly running themselves like a half-competent franchise for a finite period of time is gone. This team no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt, if it ever did. Sacramento decision-makers are the epitome of aimless self-sabotage. The fanbase deserves much better—or at least the slightest, faintest hints of organizational coherence.
San Antonio Spurs: Visualizing
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Victor Wembanyama's season-ending blood clot diagnosis coming out of the All-Star break foisted the San Antonio Spurs into the Land of the Hypothetical. De'Aaron Fox's surgery on his left pinkie finger sent them even further in that direction.
San Antonio has virtually no information on how all of its most important players fit. Fox, Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell will finish the season having logged fewer than 50 possessions together.
Depending on your vantage point, this either ruins the latest developments or renders them that much more tantalizing for what they could mean when the Spurs reach full strength.
Castle has seen his efficiency trend slightly upward amid heavier usage. Vassell has found his groove after an uneven few months. Keldon Johnson is hitting threes. Jeremy Sochan has again upped his efficiency around the basket. Lineups with him at the 5 alongside the aforementioned three are killing it.
Visualizing what this all means to a rotation built around Fox and Wemby isn't easy. But many of the individual and collective developments make it a worthwhile task.
Toronto Raptors: Projecting
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Don't let the Toronto Raptors' in-game rotations fool you. This is not a tank that's supposed to last.
Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley have been paid. Jakob Poeltl, too. Brandon Ingram was acquired and then paid himself. The pressure will be on the Raptors to re-enter the Eastern Conference's playoff fold next season.
That is an awkward place to be when you're vying for a bottom-five record. But there are moments in which Toronto looks ready for it.
The Raptors defense has gone somewhat unnoticed for much of this season. Their ball pressure is bonkers, their personnel malleable, their activity around the basket crescendoing (including among non-bigs). They are first in points allowed per possession during March and eighth since Feb. 1.
Toronto's offense is a distinct work in progress, even when Barnes does his best superstar impressions. But it is figuring out how to leverage him and Quickley together and has crushed the minutes that duo logs alongside Poeltl.
Projecting ahead is difficult without seeing Ingram in action. If the Raptors' defense and top-of-the-roster synergy are any indication, it's also a good problem to have.
Utah Jazz: Desperation
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Flagrant tanking incites a lot of different opinions about the integrity of the game. The Utah Jazz have paid little attention to the fallout from their late-season, er, roster management. They have no choice.
None of the league's other four worst teams are as desperate for a face of the future. Peak Lauri Markkanen does not—and is not supposed to—fit the bill. Extended flickers and flashes from Isaiah Collier, Kyle Filipowski, Brice Sensabaugh, Keyonte George and Walker "Shoots Threes Now" Kessler are valuable information. Not one of them has ever put together a protracted stretch worthy of being considered tent-pole material.
The levels to which Utah has stooped to not just keep pace with but, as of now, out-tank the field reflect as much. Other teams in their vicinity needn't have that much urgency. The Charlotte Hornets have LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, the New Orleans Pelicans have Zion Williamson, and the Washington Wizards have Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr.
These players are not surefire primary cornerstones. They are all at least reasonable options. The Jazz have more at stake than even the mishmash Brooklyn Nets, who are much earlier into their rebuilding phase.
A bottom-four record amid flattened lottery odds isn't necessarily enough. Finishing dead last ensures their pick can fall no lower than fifth, as opposed to No. 6, No. 7 or No. 8. It sounds somewhat trivial, but in Utah's case, every possible detail, however seemingly small, matters.
Washington Wizards: Learning
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Bottom-four teams are a hotbed for mockery. The Washington Wizards are no different. They are also among those finding value in the losing—which, by the way, they've done less in recent weeks.
There is no way to measure the value of Marcus Smart (and Malcolm Brogdon) talking and imparting wisdom onto to the kids, except to say these moments look and feel cool and useful:
Washington is doing a nice job of experimenting with purpose. This is not the Utah Jazz having Walker Kessler burp out eight three-point attempts against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Alex Sarr is being given more time and space to explore the full scope of his offensive usage. Ditto for Bub Carrington's on-ball utility.
The end result isn't always pretty, though the Wizards' defensive activity has ticked up. The good parts aren't even necessarily sustainable. But this is a team that's found a way to trial-by-fire its most important long-term players without actually overextending them or leaving them entirely to their own devices.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
Unless otherwise cited, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac. Draft-pick obligations via RealGM.
