It’s hard to believe, but we are in the final two months of the NBA regular season. Some teams are gearing up for a postseason push while others are just waiting for the season to end and shift their focus to the draft and the prize of Cooper Flagg (maybe?)
Nonetheless, there are a lot of storylines with 28 games remaining. Here are three burning questions I have for the second half of the season.
3) How far can Jimmy Butler take the Warriors?
It was the worst-kept secret in the NBA that Golden State was looking for another star to pair with Stephen Curry and they accomplished that with the acquisition of Butler. The Warriors have gone 3-1 in their four games with Butler so far.
He has averaged 21 points per game, seven rebounds, and five assists. Butler has been exactly what Golden State has been missing next to Curry: someone who can put constant pressure on the rim, playmake, and get to the free-throw line. Those are three things Butler excels at.
In addition to that, Butler is one of the better playoff performers in the league, averaging 27 PPG in his last two postseasons. Him and Curry would be one of the more dangerous duos in the West playoffs.
The Warriors have the eighth easiest remaining schedule in the league and are only 3.5 games back of sixth place. How far can their new dynamic duo take them?
2) Who’s for real in the Western Conference?
The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a warpath to clinch the West’s number one seed, as they are 8.5 games ahead of the second -seeded Memphis Grizzlies. With MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, the Thunder should have no problem clinching homecourt.
Outside of them, the second through fifth seeds in the West are separated by five games. The seventh through tenth seeds are separated by two games. All of these teams have a lot of questions when it comes to their status as contenders.
The Grizzlies have their duo of Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, but do they have enough firepower for a deep run? The Denver Nuggets have won it all before and do have Nikola Jokic, but can his supporting cast be consistent enough?
The Houston Rockets have one of the more elite defenses in the league, but do they have a playoff-ready offense? The Lakers and Clippers both boast star duos, but do they have enough depth?
The second half of the season is where contenders and pretenders are separated and not everyone can contend in a wild, wild West.
1) Are we headed for a Celtics-Cavs East finals?
Despite having stretches of championship hangover, the Celtics have still been one of the league’s most dominant teams this year. They still have their championship nucleus of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White.
They are second in the East with a 39-16 record, third in the league in net rating (9.2), and are in the top five in both offensive and defensive rating, the only team in the NBA with those rankings. However, there is one team in the East threatening to take their crown, and they reside in Northeast Ohio.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are probably the main threat, as they are tied with the Thunder for the best record at 44-10, have the best offensive rating in the NBA (121.9), are second in net rating (10.8), second in field goal percentage (49.8), and are number one in three-point percentage (39.3). They just added De’Andre Hunter and Javonte Green to shore up their wing spot, in addition to having their core four of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.
This Cavs team is legit, and unlike last year, poses a legitimate threat to the Celtics come playoff time. They are only 1-2 against Boston this year but have yet to play them with their full roster. With that said, these two teams seem to be on a collision course to meet in the East finals.