2 days Ago By Tim Reynolds
The trade deadline has passed . The All-Star break is about to end. Luka Dončić is with the Los Angeles Lakers .
Jimmy Butler is with the Golden State Warriors . Anthony Davis is with the Dallas Mavericks, though it’s unknown when he’ll play again . The dust has settled.
It’s time for the stretch run. Here comes the fun part of the season. Every team has between 26 and 30 games remaining in this 71⁄2-week sprint to the April 13 finish line, with play resuming Wednesday when the Charlotte Hornets face the Lakers.
And teams will point to recent history as proof that just getting into the playoffs means anything can happen: Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8 seeds have made it to the conference finals in the last two years alone. “I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said the Warriors’ Stephen Curry, now a two-time All-Star Game MVP .
“It’s basically a playoff game every single night, and that usually brings the best out of you.” Some teams can go ahead and start planning for the playoffs. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers are both 44-10, tied for the best record in the league.
The defending champion Boston Celtics, currently No. 2 in the Eastern Conference, remain on pace to obliterate league records for 3-pointers made and attempted in a season. The Thunder, Cavaliers, Celtics, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Lakers all have winning percentages over .
600, which is an excellent sign — 132 of the last 133 teams to reach the break with such a record have wound up making the postseason. “We have obviously a pretty good basketball team,” said Thunder All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the current MVP favorite. “We have a little bit more experience.
We have an opportunity to, for sure, win an NBA championship. Now we’re going to have to earn it.” Then there’s the other end of the spectrum: the teams that are out of the mix.
Over the last 20 seasons, 98.8% of the teams that had winning percentages under .400 at the break wound up missing the playoffs.
If that form holds, that eliminates the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Hornets, Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards. So based on the numbers, that means seven teams are in, seven teams are out — and 16 teams remain in the middle, fighting for the last nine playoff spots. Five of those will be clinched on or before the end of the regular season on April 13.
Four others will be won in the play-in tournament later that week. “The last 25 to 30 games are really important for everyone,” said Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, the league’s new 3-point shootout champion . “We’ve got a new group, in a sense, and we’re going to hit the ground running.
It’s going to happen fast. Everything is going to matter throughout this next month and a half.” The Heat traded Butler to the Warriors, getting back Andrew Wiggins in return.
The San Antonio Spurs landed De’Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings, and the Los Angeles Clippers — who have barely had Kawhi Leonard available this season, though he’s playing now — figure they’re right in the mix to challenge as well. “We’ve got a really good chance,” Clippers All-Star guard James Harden said. “We added some shooting, we added some defense and obviously with a healthy Kawhi we’ve got a chance to compete with anybody.
So it’s just finding out how we want to play and attacking it.” The Milwaukee Bucks added Kyle Kuzma, moving Khris Middleton — a Bucks mainstay for years — to the Wizards in that deal. And the Phoenix Suns didn’t trade Kevin Durant, a sign the Suns are hoping their star trio of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal can make a push.
“We’re all figuring it out, man,” Durant said. “We’ve got 28, 29 games to go to figure it out. That’s the fun part, trying to figure out how to get out of a slump.
” Davis’ injury obviously isn’t great for the Mavericks, especially compounded by a rash of other injuries to the Dallas big-man corps. Dončić still is working his way back into form after a calf issue, so he and LeBron James likely will need some time to figure out the best way for this new star duo to work. Butler went to the Warriors with hopes of being the jolt that gets Curry, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr back to title contention.
But a lot of teams have hope. And they all know now’s the time to make a move. Let the stretch run begin.
“Twenty-seven games or so left to make a push,” Curry said. “All we want is just to get into a playoff series and have a fighting chance to be a tough out against anybody in the West, and we have a good opportunity in front of us to do that.”.
