The first half of the NBA season has ended! Man, was that fast. At this point in the season NBA teams are either trying to win games in order to get into the playoffs or lose games in order to get a higher pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Please join us as we take a division by division look at the NBA and what you might be able to expect for the rest of the regular season.
Pacific
Golden State Warriors: They may or may not be the best team in the NBA but they are still pretty darn good. They rank either first or second in every team stat except turnovers where they are the second worst team in the league. They are first in the Pacific by a large margin but are just 6-4 over their last ten games. The Warriors have dominated over .500 teams (25-10) as well as under .500 teams (19-4) and I suppose it doesn’t matter who they play over their final 24 games of the 2017-2018 campaign. They are just a very good basketball team.
Prediction: Barring any serious injuries the Warriors should finish the regular season as the two seed in the West.
Los Angeles Clippers: In a move that took the entire NBA by surprise the Clippers traded away face of the franchise Blake Griffin to the Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley and Boban Marjanovic and believe it or the Clippers are still in the playoff hunt. The Clippers currently are sitting in second place in the Pacific Division and are the ninth seed in the West. They enter the second half on a three game winning streak and have won seven of their past ten games. The Clippers are a top 15 team in offensive and defensive efficiency and have a much better record against under .500 teams (20-6) .than they do against teams over .500 (10-20). Unfortunately for the Clippers 19 of their remaining 26 games are against teams with winning records.
Prediction: The schedule for the Clippers is too difficult for them to make the playoffs this season.
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers are in a great spot…..for next season. Unfortunately they still have to finish this season. The Lakers enter the second half of the season on a three game losing streak with a bunch of decisions to make. Isaiah Thomas and Brook Lopez will be an unrestricted Free Agents at the close of the season; do they keep him or let them walk? The Lakers also need to figure out how to stop turning the ball over as they are 29th in the NBA with 16 giveaways a game. The Lakers have had some success against below .500 teams (14-8) and that’s not a good thing for a tanking team like the Lakers.
Prediction: The Lakers have a great opportunity to let their young guys prove themselves as they have little else to play for this season.
Sacramento Kings: The Kings are another Pacific Division team that has decided losing is the best way towards a brighter future. Unfortunately for them they have perfected the art of losing and haven’t had a winning season in a dozen years. The Kings have decided to play their youth the rest of the way and they enter the second half of the season with a 4-6 record in their last ten games. The Kings are dead last in offensive efficiency and second to last in defensive efficiency so it’s no wonder they’ve only won 18 games this season. The Kings are just as bad against winning teams (10-28) as they are against losing teams (8-11). The Kings have 25 games remaining this season and have ten games against teams under .500 and I am quite sure they will find a way to lose 20 of their last 25 games.
Prediction: They are going to fight the Suns for last place in the West.
Phoenix Suns: The Suns are currently in last place in the Pacific Division and haven’t had a winning season since 2013-2014. It may be a while before they have another one and they enter the second half of the season As you can imagine the Suns are 29th in offensive efficiency and dead last on the defensive side of things. They are a top five team in free throw attempts so at least they know how to get to the rack. The Suns have played 37 of their 49 games this season against teams with winning records (7-30) and are a much better against losing teams ( 11-11). 14 of the Suns final 22 games are against teams with above .500 records so there is a good chance the Suns will be able to vie for the worst record in the NBA.
Prediction: Please shut down Devin Booker before he winds up getting himself seriously hurt.
Up Next: The Northwest Division
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