Feb 19 2019
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The NBA is a 24/7, 365-day sport. There is no offseason for basketball drama; the league goes through a metamorphosis seemingly every year. Just four months ago, Jimmy Butler was a Timberwolf and Kyrie Irving committed long-term to the Celtics. The trade deadline has come and gone, so the drama regarding player movement should die down temporarily. (I wouldn’t count out Rich Paul, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to spark a new wave of headlines, though.) However, there are still plenty of NBA storylines to monitor after the All-Star break:

Will the Lakers make the playoffs?

Standings found via ESPN.com (updated as of 2/19)

Currently outside of the playoff picture, the Lakers and LeBron James will need to make up serious ground to qualify for the playoffs. Realistically, the Lakers need to climb to the 7 seed and avoid Golden State to pose any sort of threat in the playoffs.

The Lakers were the story of the trade deadline, acquiring Anthony Davis, Reggie Bullock and Mike Muscala. They added some desperately needed shooting and will get Lonzo Ball back soon, but will it be enough?

LeBron hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2005, his second year in the league. I can’t imagine a world where LeBron misses the playoffs, but only time will tell.

The Battle at the Top of the Eastern Conference

Standings found via ESPN.com (updated as of 2/19)

With LeBron out of the picture, the Eastern Conference is suddenly wide open for the first time in nearly a decade. The Bucks, Sixers and Raptors loaded up at the deadline, while the Celtics stayed pat (likely saving their assets for an offseason Anthony Davis trade).

There is a small, but notable gap separating the Bucks and Raptors from the Pacers, Celtics and Sixers. The Victor Oladipo injury essentially eliminates the Pacers as worthy competitors come playoff time. These last 20-25 games will decide who enters the playoffs with home court advantage.

With these four teams so evenly matched, home court becomes uber important in a postseason series. In fact, home teams have won the deciding seventh game a whopping 80% of the time.

The MVP Race

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

The race for the league’s highest individual honor heats up at this time of the season. At the All-Star break, the MVP award looks like a three-man race between James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George. More than likely, one of these three guys will walk away with the award.

However, a few players who could force themselves into the conversation are LeBron, obviously, Stephen Curry and Durant. LeBron “carrying” the Lakers, depending on how high the Lakers climb in the standings, could garner some MVP buzz. A torrid stretch by Curry or Durant, highlighted by a lengthy winning streak or ridiculous scoring binge, could vault either player into the debate.

Tankathon 2019

Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images

Zion Williamson breaks physics each time he steps on the court and Ja Morant is fun as hell. The rest of the Duke crew, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish look like promising prospects. After that, the 2019 draft class disappoints, especially in comparison to recent years. This only increases teams’ motivation to land the top pick.

However, the new lottery odds reduced the advantage of having the league’s worst record. Now, each of the league’s worst three teams with a 14% chance at the #1 overall pick, (the old system broke down the worst three teams at 25%, 19.9%, 13.8%).

The Suns (11-48), Knicks (11-47), Cavs (12-46) and Bulls (14-44) lead the pack thus far. The Knicks seventeen-game losing streak was a master class effort in tanking; the post All-Star break stretch will make for more of the same.

How do the All-NBA teams shake out?

Much like All-Pro nominations carry greater historical significance than Pro Bowl honors in the NFL, the All-NBA teams are the superior measure of who are the best players in the league.

There are five small forwards that are having traditional first team-worthy seasons: LeBron, Durant, Antetokounmpo, George, and Kawhi Leonard. Unfortunately, this means that two of them will be forced onto the second team and one relegated to the third team. It’s entirely possible that LeBron freakin’ James, the guy who has been to eight consecutive NBA Finals, ends up on the third team this season.

For the guards, there seem to be three spots set at this point (First team: Curry and Harden; Second team: Damian Lillard), but the other three are up for grabs. There are an abundance of guys fighting for the three spots including: Irving, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry, Bradley Beal, Kemba Walker, Ben Simmons, Klay Thompson, and Khris Middleton.

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The Golden State Warriors present a dooming sense of inevitability regarding the playoffs; in the meantime, we should all enjoy the home stretch of the regular season.

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TagsMVP NBA playoffs

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