Playoff Picture: Where all 15 East teams stand after All-Star break

The NBA season resumes on Thursday after an action-packed All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City. Here’s how the Eastern Conference playoff picture stands with the Play-In Tournament less than two months away.

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In The Playoffs

Boston Celtics

The Finals runner-up team always has high expectations for the next season. All that experience from the previous spring, plus a thirst unquenched can add up to a potent mix. It worked that way for Phoenix last season (until meeting Dallas in the West semifinals, anyway) and it’s working so far for the Celtics.

Last season, Boston lost for the 17th time by Christmas. This season, it might not lose its 18th until March. The roster is loaded and anyone unimpressed that the Celtics added only Mike Muscala at the deadline might have been taking the rest of the roster for granted. This team is stacked.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have developed in full, All-Stars both but more than that as hungry team leaders. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart has been missing in body (13 absences) but not in spirit as Boston ranks fourth in defensive rating (110.6) and even better when Robert Williams III is on the floor.

Al Horford at age 36 is taking and making the most 3-pointers of his life, while defending his position well. Derrick White is held in higher regard at TD Garden than in opposing markets and he’s shown an uncanny knack for shot-blocking. Malcolm Brogdon is a Sixth Man candidate, not far off another 50/40/90 shooting season like his 2018-19 work.

Then there’s coach Joe Mazzulla, about as placid and un-All Star-like as we’ve seen work the showcase event in recent years. Doesn’t matter, though, any more than his long leash between timeouts with these guys and overreliance at times on his starters. Mazzulla is a leader for Coach of the Year honors because the Celtics have stayed on track despite the circumstances of his promotion. And just as they thrived under a rookie head coach last year (Ime Udoka), they’re doing it again, so no big deal, right? It could make for a very big deal in June.

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Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee hit the All-Star break having won 12 games in a row, and its 41-17 record was notably better than the previous two seasons at a similar point (35-23, 36-22). So the Bucks are on track and where they want to be with 24 games remaining? Well, not exactly.

The biggest concern was Giannis Antetokounmpo’s sprained right wrist. An exam in New York Monday revealed no serious damage but his wrist still has to mend, with a layoff of several games possible. Just like the Greek Freak’s ever-nagging right knee soreness, this injury will be monitored by the team’s trainers so he’s at peak possible performance for the postseason. But any nights off could ding Milwaukee’s seeding ambitions (it is 6-5 when Giannis is out).

Then there’s Khris Middleton, who got the kid-glove treatment through January (only 12 appearances due to wrist surgery recovery and knee soreness). He was playing his way back, until he missed two of three games heading into the break. Backslide? If it’s serious enough that 10 days between games for him isn’t R&R enough, this is a looming problem for the Bucks. His absence cost them in the seven-game elimination by Boston last spring and they’d be right back in that predicament again.

The Bucks did add two veterans in or just before the break who could be termed Rusty and Rustier. Jae Crowder came in a trade from Phoenix, his holdout there meaning he hasn’t played since May 15, 2022. Milwaukee views him as a P.J. Tucker play alike, enough of a 3-point threat to complement its other shooters while providing burly defense against opponents’ top threats.

Then there’s 7-footer Meyers Leonard, who hasn’t played since he used a slur during a video game livestream while already sidelined with an injury in Miami. The Bucks like his size and his shooting touch, but Leonard’s last NBA action come on Jan. 9, 2021. He’ll turn 31 on Feb. 27.

Milwaukee isn’t thrilling anyone offensively (22nd, 112.7) and its shooting ranks 23rd overall, 15th from the arc. But the Bucks are second in defense (109.6) and defend mostly without fouling (league-fewest 18.4 per game). Brook Lopez and Jrue Holiday anchor all that defense, and Bobby Portis is a worthy double-double Sixth Man candidate. This is an East finalist, at least, if healthy.

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Philadelphia 76ers

The big-picture ingredients are there: Joel Embiid is playing at an MVP level, James Harden has harnessed his skills to fit his team and the Sixers are Top 10 across the board (sixth offensively, six defensively, fourth in net rating of 4.0).

The Sixers went 13-3 in the final month heading into the All-Star break, seven of the victories coming on the road. They’re 22-13 within the East. Their 3-point game has perked up from last season, with the league’s fourth-best accuracy, and they’re outscoring foes by about four points per game from deep.

One sore spot has been transition defense – Philadelphia is getting stung for 16.1 fast-break points per game, third most in the league. And it ranks 28th in rebounding as well, despite Embiid’s 10.2 nightly.

Then there’s the remaining schedule, featuring teams with a cumulative .540 winning percentage. In March, Philadelphia will play on the road in 11 of its 17 games, with only seven of its final 22 at home.

Embiid also is averaging 33.1 points, launching 20.5 shots and logging 34.9 minutes – all career highs. He has missed 12 games and probably will need to miss more in hopes of avoiding a blowout. Harden missed 14 games early in the season, but returned Dec. 5 – the Sixers are 26-8 since then. His absence from the All-Star Game might have hurt his feelings but it won’t hurt his bounce for the home stretch.

The Tyrese Maxey-De’Anthony Melton starting slot still is sorting itself out. Offense? Defense? Both? Tobias Harris’ shooting (44.2%) and scoring (10.1 ppg) turned frosty in February, but coach Doc Rivers said the 12-year veteran forward would work through it.

GM Daryl Morey’s moves at the trade deadline and in the buyout market brought in Jalen McDaniels from Charlotte, picked up Dewayne Dedmon and dunk champ G Leaguer Mac McClung, while shipping Matisse Thybulle to Portland. Rivers values Dedmon for big matchups, and hopes McDaniels can be a versatile defender on par with his younger brother Jaden in Minnesota, while offering more length than Thybulle.

Add it all up and the Sixers have the look of a team that could come out of the East – or topple early, depending on seedings and matchups.

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Cleveland Cavaliers

There’s no way around it, the Cavaliers had high hopes at this point last season, coming out of the All-Star break at 35-23 and in fourth place in the East. Then they went 9-15, slid back into the Play-In Tournament and got double-eliminated by the Nets and the Hawks.

So there’s no way around Cleveland’s ambitions now. An assured playoff spot, i.e, top six, is imperative and a top-four berth for at least home court in the first round seems vital. This is a different, more mature team now but one that can draw motivation for what did not go its way last spring.

At 38-23, closer to No. 3 Philadelphia than No. 5 Brooklyn, the Cavaliers have a bit of a cushion that they naturally don’t want to need. They closed in a 7-1 rush to the break.

Nobody has defended better than Cleveland so far this season (No. 1, 109.3) and the Cavaliers’ net rating of 5.8 is second in the association only to Boston. More traditionally, the Cavs are allowing the fewest points per game (106.1) and are 18-1 on the nights they have bottled up the opposition to 99 points or less.

Meanwhile, 26 of their 38 victories pre-break were blowouts of 10+ points. They’ve shown strong comeback ability, winning 10 times after trailing through three quarters and 12 in which they were behind by 10 points or more. And they’re a Top 10 team offensively (115.0) while playing at the league’s slowest pace (96.0).

“We have a high-level understanding of who we are,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said before the break.

The Cavs have the second-youngest roster in the NBA behind OKC, with a core of Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland growing from a year ago. This time, they have coalesced around All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, who has had one of the best post-relocation seasons in recent memory. He is averaging 27.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.48 assists, enjoying the big men behind him defensively (Mobley and Allen) as surely as he did Rudy Gobert all those years in Utah. When Mitchell scored 71 against Chicago Jan. 2, he became only the fourth player in NBA history to post at least 20 field goals and 20 free throws in a game (joining Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Devin Booker).

Cleveland’s reliable bench got a little thinner with Kevin Love’s buyout, but the veteran had fallen out of the rotation in recent weeks. This team is poised for its next step, which means a best-of-seven rather than a 1-1-and-done.

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Miami Heat

Overachievement is simply an achievement for Miami, which expects itself to exceed others’ expectations. Consider, for instance, their tenacity – the Heat have been within five points in the final five minutes 41 times, going 23-18 in those games. Despite a net rating of minus-0.1, they hit the break five games over .500 at 32-27. Now they are poised for a stretch push over their final 23 games to climb over New York and Brooklyn at least.

Miami addressed an obvious need on the buyout market, adding bigs Kevin Love and free agent Cody Zeller. With versatile and roaming defensive whiz Bam Adebayo as its 6-foot-9 starting center, the Heat have ranked 27th in rebounding and last in shot-blocking. Its defense has been riddled for 44.9 points in the paint on average, third most in the league.

Zone defense still will be in fashion in south Florida, but Love’s and Zeller’s size will be welcome, as will their ability to step outside for shots and find cutting teammates.

Within Miami’s wheezy offense, Adebayo has been a breakout contributor. At 21.6 points, it’s his sixth consecutive season boosting his scoring average, and the Heat is 20-11 when he gets at least 20, and 12-16 when he does not.

Of the team’s primary starters, Adebayo is the only one to appear in more than 50 games. Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry have missed 13 each, Tyler Herro 12. Injuries up and down the rotation have hurt the Heat’s continuity, with only one winning streak of at least four games.

Said Butler: “We’ve got 23 to go to get to where we want to get to. It’s all about being healthy, which this break will do for us. … Staying together knowing that reinforcements are on the way and getting our guys back, then it gets real.”

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New York Knicks

You can break New York’s season into three parts: The 10-13 mark through the season’s first quarter, an 8-8 run from Jan. 16 to the All-Star break and a 15-6 stretch in between. Those six weeks from Dec. 4 through Jan. 15 saw the Knicks outscore their opponents by an average of 8.4 points, outrebound them by nearly eight, outshoot them overall and get to the foul line an additional four times. That included an 8-2 road record.

So what was going on before, and what’s been up since? Blame it on the defense. Overall, New York has been mediocre at that end, ranked 15th at 113.6 points per 100 possessions. But during that hot stretch, it cleaned up to 108.8, second-best in the NBA for that period. Before: 26th at 114.2. And since: 25th at 119.1.

The two pillars offensively have been All-Star Julius Randle and point guard Jalen Brunson, who should have been in Salt Lake City. Randle has been old-school good, a low post and mid-range load who averages 24.8 points but takes too many 3-pointers. Brunson has been the best offseason acquisition this side of Donovan Mitchell, playing up to the major contract he signed in free agency. His 23.9 points per game is the highest ever for a Knicks point guard.

Curiously, though, our man John Schuhmann noted this week that as a tandem, Randle and Brunson have a negative net rating. He notes that New York’s bench – Hart, Immanuel Quickley, Isaiah Hartenstein, Miles McBride — has been more effective, typically against opponents’ reserves.

R.J. Barrett is essentially repeating his results from last season, while Josh Hart – a trade-deadline addition from Portland – had a splashy arrival, scoring 51 points on 18-of-29 shooting in his first three Knicks appearances.

The Knicks will be fighting to hang onto the sixth playoff spot, a leap from last season’s 11th place finish and only the franchise’s second postseason appearance in a decade.

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Play-In Hopefuls

Brooklyn Nets

Nice while it lasted. Kind of. Actually, the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving era – with either James Harden or Ben Simmons – was a vast disappointment, with way too little time on the court together, far too few victories and an outrageous amount of drama. That’s over now. But this doesn’t look to be addition by subtraction for the Nets, merely subtraction.

Any dwelling on stats would be misplaced here since we’ve seen two head coaches in Brooklyn, assorted injuries, 17 different starting lineups and now a whole new set of top options. In place of Durant and Irving, Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith – with continued help from Cam Thomas – will carry the attack forward.

But perhaps, the team as a whole is backward.

The pre-break victory over Miami was nice, but this was a team running on adrenaline as newcomers arrived and teammates made introductions. Now the roster is overloaded with guards and wings, redundancies that won’t make it easy for coach Jacques Vaughn to settle on a rotation or for a locker-room pecking order to form.

Oh, and let’s mention the elephant in that room, Simmons. Never mind the trade that looks like a complete bust now. Will Brooklyn ever see the player who vied for Defensive Player of the Year honors while averaging 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists in Philadelphia, with 1.7 steals and 4.9 trips to the line?

The remaining schedule won’t do the Nets any favors – they face nine road games in 11 overall right out of the break. They begin the final kick 6.5 games from 11th place, which would put them out even from the Play-In. It’s not hard to imagine them getting leapfrogged by one, two or more teams, though, backpedaling down the East standings.

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Atlanta Hawks

Nate McMillan became the second coach fired this season (Brooklyn’s Steve Nash was the first), but Hawks management wants it to be a course correction, not a white flag on the season. McMillan often got criticized for not being creative enough offensively – the team ranks in the middle of the pack at 113.7 points per 100 possessions, despite scoring 100+ in an active 34-game streak – and saw his fate sealed when their 24-22 record slid to 29-30 by the break. Defensively, Atlanta ranks a puzzling 21st despite its more frequently used lineup (Clint Capela, John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, Dejounte Murray, Trae Young) posting a 105.9 rating that would rank first in the NBA.

Young is the only player in the league averaging at least 25 points and 10 assists, but he’s shooting – overall (42.8%) and from the arc (32.4%) – at his lowest levels since his rookie season. It was well-established that he butted heads with McMillan. Now with a new coaching search underway, management may demand more leadership and accountability from Young.

Atlanta’s unexpected trip to the East finals two years ago either was premature or bred complacency, but the expectations got raised – too high for last year’s or this year’s squad to match. Interim coach Joe Prunty will lead them into the tangle of another play-in unless Hawks GM Landry Fields tries to do what Minnesota pulled off in hiring Chris Finch in 2020-21 and land a long-term McMillan replacement while in-season (former Jazz coach Quin Snyder is but one of several alleged candidates).

The Hawks seem like a lock to become more potent offensively, with 3-point attempts (28th) an obvious fix. There’s room for growth in general, with only Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic older than 26. But inconsistency from the floor all the way up to ownership decisions won’t be fixed in 23 games. So it’s Play-In or bust.

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Washington Wizards

First in war, first in peace, ninth in the NBA East. That’s a variation on the old slogan about the defunct MLB Washington Senators, who annually disappointed their fans before fleeing town for Arlington, Texas in 1971. The Wizards aren’t going anywhere – but that probably applies to their playoff ambitions as well.

At 28-30, Washington seems a cinch to post its biggest victory total in five years (43-39 in 2017-18). They closed out the pre-break schedule by going 10-4. They have a Big 3 that most often has been a fairly dynamic duo: Bradley Beal leads the team at 23.1 ppg but has played only 36, while Kristaps Porzingis (22.8 in 50 games) and Kyle Kuzma (21.4 in 53) have been around for most of the heavy lifting. All three have played together in just 27 of the 58 games, with a 14-13 record.

“I don’t think there’s been enough time together to say that they’re not going to work,” GM Tommy Sheppard said in an interview before All-Star Weekend. “This group hasn’t been together for a calendar year, really, out on the floor.”

Said Kuzma after the trade deadline: “It’s a collective group and it’s not about three players.”

The best support has come from Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert, Monte Morris and Delon Wright, a defense-first guard signed in the summer. The Wizards are 19-10 when he plays.

On the eve of the break, Washington won at Portland and Minnesota, two encouraging results on which to come back to work. But then Beal – six days after scoring 35 against the Timberwolves – did not practice due to a sore right knee.

The schedule should suit these guys, with only nine of the final 24 games away from Capital One Arena. And starting Tuesday, seven of their final 22 will be against Atlanta and Toronto, the rivals with whom they’re grouped in the standings.

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Toronto Raptors

A year ago, the Raptors went 16-9 after the All-Star break to secure the fifth seed in the East, then got dispatched in the first round by Philadelphia. This time the order is even taller. With 23 games remaining – 13 on the road, including seven of their first nine out of the break – a 28-31 record has them realistically just hoping to maintain a Play-In opportunity.

There was no big trade for Toronto at the deadline – Fred VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby still are Raptors – and the acquisition of old pal Jakob Poeltl was a statement of sorts that this season still matters. And they did win five of six right before All-Star Weekend, with Poeltl scoring 30 against Orlando on the getaway night.

The problem for Toronto has been too many nights when this season hasn’t seemed to matter. The offense ranks 11th in points (114.6) per 100 possessions but the shooting has been miserable. This team ranks 28th in overall field-goal percentage, 27th in 3-point success and 27th in true shooting (55.6).

VanVleet has been shooting as much but enjoying it less – he has made fewer than 40% of his shots in every month but one, and then barely (41.8% in January). Pascal Siakam made it to Salt Lake City on the strength of his 25.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 6.1 apg, but he also tops the NBA in minutes logged nightly (37.7). In fact, Toronto’s five most-relied-upon starters all are averaging north of 33 minutes, which suggests potential burnout for somebody heading down the stretch.

As for Toronto’s vision of interchangeable, lanky 6-foot-9 players for switch-o-rama defense, it sits an unremarkable 17th on that end of the court (113.8) so far. Poeltl has shown the flaw in leaning too much that way, his rim protection helping instantly. Having Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. healthy down the stretch would boost the defense as well.

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Chicago Bulls

The Bulls went through the trade deadline and buyout market and came home with … Patrick Beverley? Bringing in the 34-year-old Chicago native was a desperate move by a front office that has yet to sufficiently address this mostly inert season.

The Bulls were 27-13 last season when point guard Lonzo Ball went out in January 2022 with knee pain. They have gone 45-56 since then, missing his defense, his 3-point shooting and his offensive direction, and he’s been shut down for what’s left of this season. None of the substitutes – Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, Coby White, Goran Dragic – has filled the void. But that doesn’t mean Beverley will, either. It’s hard for a beta player to step in and be a team’s alpha dog. The yapping can get old quickly.

That’s not to say the Bulls weren’t in need of some alpha personality. But the Big 3 of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic aren’t wired that way. They’re combining for 67 points per game but it seems like empty calories on a team that blows big leads, loses to lesser squads, ranks 29th in second-chance points and has gone 2-5 in close ones (three points or fewer) and 1-4 in OT.

Had GM Arturas Karnisovas opted to be a seller at the trade deadline, guys such as DeRozan, Caruso, Vucevic or even LaVine (in what would have been the boldest move) might have helped future acquire assets. Remember, Chicago owes its first-round pick to Orlando unless it lands in the top four. It’s hard to imagine a lot of Bulls fans signing off on another rebuild, however, after only two first-round exits over the past seven years. But backsliding to the Play-In after a respectable sixth-seed finish last year would be only marginally better, unless the Bulls claw their way up through it and rattle Boston or Milwaukee in the first round.

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Indiana Pacers

The Pacers have the makings of a good team. Not just improved, which they are – at 26-34, they already are assured of topping last season’s 25-57 mark.

The roster features a breakout young All-Star in Tyrese Haliburton; two veterans in Myles Turner and Buddy Hield who were coveted by contenders earlier in the season but stayed put through the trade deadline; a lottery pick in 2020, Aaron Nesmith, who got liberated from Boston in the Malcolm Brogdon trade; and two of the brightest rookies in the Class of 2022. Bennedict Mathurin, picked sixth overall, is a candidate for both Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man, making his impact at both ends off Indiana’s bench. Meanwhile, Andrew Nembhard, picked first in the second round (31st overall), ranks second among rookies in assists and fourth in steals.

That’s more than a lot of teams have to work with. And yet, the Pacers are not good. They rank 23rd offensively, 23rd defensively and 26th in net rating (minus-2.8). They start badly, getting outscored by 4.6 points on average in the first quarter (then outscoring foes by 2.0 the rest of the game). And only four teams have been blown out by at least 10 points more than Indiana’s 17 such performances.

The thing is, the Pacers are not bad, either. They’ve alternately been one or the other, stuck somewhere in between a dive to chase lottery balls and a commitment to win and develop with the talent on hand. Their agenda switched early with an 11-4 run after a 1-4 start. Then came a 3-8 skid, followed by an 8-2 burst, and a deflating 2-16 slog from mid-January to mid-February. Beating the Bulls right before the break, with a 24-point comeback, sends Indiana into the home stretch with a one-game winning streak. Seven of their final 22 are against teams that currently have worse records, so the Play-In is possible.

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Orlando Magic

If one opposing broadcast team said it as you followed the Magic around League Pass this season, a half dozen said it: This team is going to be a problem in another year. It is impossible to miss the strides taken by, and the overall development of, Orlando’s longtime bottom-feeding franchise.

With the addition of No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero, who shows no signs of slipping from his perch as Rookie of the Year favorite, a bunch of doodles and scribbles now looks like a full-fledged blueprint for the Magic’s future.

Piece by piece, the front office crew led by Jeff Weltman and John Hammond built a solid supporting cast: Markelle Fultz, Wendell Carter Jr., Cole Anthony, Jonathan Isaac, Gary Harris. They added the likes of Bol Bol, Chuma Okeke and Moritz Wagner, while landing overachiever Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs in the 2021 Draft. Into the middle of that group came Banchero, bringing the size, skills, confidence and work habits desired in a cornerstone guy.

Voila! Over the past two months, Orlando – after starting 1-7 and 5-20 – has gone 19-15. It already has topped last season’s victory total (22) and begins the post-break schedule just four games out of a play-in spot. Only Isaac and Fultz remain from the 2020 team that got bounced in the first round by Milwaukee, in one of the league’s most thorough and swift rebuilds.

The improvement is dramatic. Through those first 25 games, the Magic had a 108.7 offensive rating, a 115.3 defensive rating and a net of minus-6.6. In the past 34, they have boosted the first to 113.3, shaved the second to 112.9 and pushed into the black (0.4) for a seven-point swing in net rating.

Banchero is back in central Florida after participating in the Rising Stars and Skills events in Salt Lake City and was jazzed by rubbing elbows with the game’s biggest stars. “I left there feeling motivated because of some of the stuff they said to me,” he said. “Getting validation from them was all I needed to hear.”

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Lottery Bound

Charlotte Hornets

As if things weren’t difficult enough this season for the 17-43 Hornets, they got the news Wednesday that scorer extraordinaire Kevin Durant is targeting Phoenix’s visit to Charlotte next Wednesday for his return from the MCL sprain he suffered in early January.

When it rains, it pours. Charlotte has been beset by injuries itself, with seven guys well into double figures in games missed: LaMelo Ball 27, Gordon Hayward 26, Kelly Oubre Jr. 25, Terry Rozier 11, Dennis Smith Jr. 22, Mark Williams 10 and Cody Martin 53. Then there’s Miles Bridges, who led the team in scoring a year ago but has not played while under NBA investigation of a domestic assault incident. (Bridges reached a plea agreement in November for three years of probation with no jail time.)

That’s the biggest explanation for a team that by Feb. 3 had lost as many games (39) as it had in all of 2021-22. After 60 games last season, the Hornets were 29-31 on their way to 43-49 and a play-in cameo. And there likely won’t be a 14-8 finishing kick this time.

As you’d expect from a Steve Clifford-coached team, the defense (25th) is faring better than the offense (29th) but that’s faint praise. The Hornets have used 15 different starting lineups, only one for more than eight games.

There have been some bright spots along the way, such as Ball’s all-around play and the development of youngsters JT Thor and Williams. Still, when Charlotte won its final two games before the break, it matched its season high for winning streaks, one of four such times.

“It’s really good for us,” Smith Jr. said of the getaway victory over similarly sputtering San Antonio. “We are finally – well, I can’t even sway that we are getting healthy. Right when we started getting healthy, everybody started falling back again.”

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Detroit Pistons

The Pistons return from the All-Star break having lost five of their last six and having a better record (15-44) than only San Antonio (14-45) and Houston (13-45). That might be good for Detroit fans focusing on super-Euro prospect Victor Wembanyama, but it’s a hurdle for this team’s coaching staff, which at least wants to see effort and progress over the final 23.

“We’re kind of in the doldrums,” coach Dwane Casey said before the break. “We still have to improve. We still have to get better. We still have to grow.”

Any serious notions of W-L progress got scuttled quickly when guard Cade Cunningham’s season ended with shin surgery after just 12 games. Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 Draft, had rallied after opening his rookie season with an injury and he was doing even better (19.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 6.0 apg) through those dozen games.

The Pistons were only 3-9 after Cunningham’s last appearance and a similar 12-35 since, with a season-high of two victories in a row back before Thanksgiving. But it stalled the master plan, shifting the ball duties to this year’s prize rookie, Jaden Ivey.

The fifth overall pick out of Purdue, Ivey went from Cunningham’s backcourt sidekick to being force-fed in his teammate’s role. The results have been choppy, but the super-quick Ivey is among the league’s top newcomers at 15.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists. Ivey’s scoring and usage rate (24.0) are only a bit behind top rookies Paolo Banchero and Bennedict Mathurin.

When a team plays 123 games under .500 for four consecutive seasons, as the Pistons have, it figures there would be other young talent on hand. That’s the case with Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes, and it was the case with Saddiq Bey until they sent him out at the trade deadline.

Another bright spot in a murky season has been center Jalen Duren, the youngest player in the league and the No. 13 pick. Duren has been a sponge, with natural instincts as an offensive rebounder. His 170 rank seventh in the league and are the main reason Detroit ranks 10th in second-chance points.

The Pistons didn’t trade vets Bojan Bogdanovic or Alec Burks at the deadline, wanting their influence around the youngsters. And that now includes James Wiseman, acquired from Golden State. His still untapped potential is intriguing but gives Detroit a logjam up front. Of such projects are lottery-bound seasons made.

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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