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The 82-game NBA regular season is a grind and although it doesn't feature as the mathematical midway point of the season, the All-Star Weekend does come as a good break for everybody, even for the players and coaches that are a part of the weekend's festivities.
However, this year's All-Star is slightly different from any other year, with two major changes. The quite obvious one is the roster selection for the weekend finale - the All-Star Game - but another underrated change is the shifting of the league's mid-season trade deadline. Earlier it used to be 3 PM on the first Thursday after the All-Star Sunday, whereas, this year it is 10 days before that same mark.
The deadline doesn't normally have anything to do with the weekend, but that changed with last year's trade that saw DeMarcus Cousins being shipped to the New Orleans Pelicans. He was apparently told of the deal while answering questions at the postgame media interaction on Sunday night.
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This year's deadline has infused the league with more storylines with the most prominent one surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers - Are they now favorites in the East? And do they have a chance against the reigning champions - the Golden State Warriors?
However, those questions aren't even on this list. There is no one factor that defines being on this list, instead, it's a combination of factors involving - big name teams, big-name players, success or disappointing stories of the league so far and topical issues.
Note: There is no particular order to these
#10 What's with the Kawhi Leonard situation in San Antonio?
This is really strange.
Kawhi Leonard had sprained his ankle a couple of times in Game 1 of the 2017 Conference Finals and was thus forced out of the series. Heading into the following training camp, his rehab for his right quadriceps injury wasn't going as planned and forced him to miss the first 27 games of the 2017-18 season. It's important to note that Leonard had also missed a few games this season due to a partial tear in his left shoulder.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich had said in prior interviews that he had no clue what was wrong with Leonard's rehab as he took considerably longer than veteran teammate Tony Parker, who returned from the same injury (quads) much before Leonard did.
Till it was about the injury, which is weird too, nobody really pressed the panic button but the team's coverage really took flight when the news of the strained relationship between the player and team came out. About a month back, there were reports that 2014 NBA Finals MVP Leonard's relationship with the team was strained due to his current injury rehab.
This is not something you normally hear coming out of an organization like the Spurs. The franchise has been the definition of success, winning, sacrifice and a no ego attitude over the last two decades.
The Spurs organization hold their cards close so not all details are received through sources or leaks, which makes this matter more interesting because the team has not made anything official other Popovich stating that the team was going to be conservative in its approach and keep Leonard out of action till there was any headway made in his rehab.
#9 What is with all the injuries? The schedule was fixed, right?
Gordon Hayward's injury was a freak one. So leave that one out of this but otherwise, the injury watch should really be concerning for the league. DeMarcus Cousins (ruptured Left Achilles), John Wall (Left Knee), Kevin Love (Left Hand), Kristaps Porzingis (Left ACL) - all big-name players being forced to sit out of the All-Star Game due to their respective injuries.
A couple of these players would be out for quite a while, whereas, Wall and Love will return before the start of the Playoffs but it still begs the questions - Why are there still so many injuries? Wasn't starting to the regular season a couple of weeks before the scheduled start supposed to reduce the toll on the player's bodies, allowing them to play as many games as possible?
And these are only the big names that have gone down. Then there are the mid-tier Playoff teams that are missing key players- Paul Millsap (Denver Nuggets - Left Wrist), Andre Roberson (Oklahoma City Thunder - ruptured left patellar tendon) and Reggie Jackson (Detroit Pistons - Grade 3 right ankle sprain).
Will the progressive Commissioner Adam Silver consider reducing the number of games in the regular season? If the aim was to reduce the physical strain on players' bodies, wouldn't that be the eventual and right step?
#8 Is Isaiah Thomas the 'superstar' done?
The average height in the league is about 6"6', so if you are 5"9' you have got to pack a punch and former Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas might not have that anymore. There's certainly no denying that he can score but can his offense outweigh his defensive lapses anymore?
It's not a question of effort or his drive. It's simple, Thomas is almost a foot shorter than the average player in the league, which makes it easier to shoot over him, pass over him and post him up. He is basically a huge defensive liability, however, during his time with the Celtics, head coach Brad Stevens was able to shield him enough that his offensive contribution outweighed his defensive shortcomings.
The same can't be said about Thomas' short stay in Cleveland and with his current team - the Los Angeles Lakers. Last season (76 games), he was ranked 467th (468 total players) in Defensive Real Plus-Minus by ESPN. This season (17 games), over a shorter sample size, he is ranked 480th in a total pool of 488 players.
The modern NBA is not just about the pace and space. It's all about two-way versatility and obviously, the Warriors have led that charge, not just at having as many two-way players as possible but at also showing how to exploit the players on the opposition's squad that can efficiently contribute on only one side of the ball.
We have gone from MVP Thomas to whether he can last in the league and that's primarily because of his size and the defensive liability he brings along with it. His motivation to prove people wrong and rise back to his past status is understandable, given that it's his contract year, but right now, what he is saying in his postgame interviews isn't helping his cause.
#7 Will the Raptors new system function in the Playoffs?
So while the Cavaliers and the Celtics have stolen the headlines for a majority of the season so far, the Toronto Raptors have quietly taken hold of the top spot in the Eastern Conference. They've got some attention but not as much as they deserve.
Given the past couple of seasons, they shouldn't receive a lot of eyebrows either. They've always done well in the regular season, riding the back of their All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, but when the duo slumps in the Playoffs, the team collapses. This campaign, however, the coaching staff and the All-Stars have agreed to a different style of offense, one that isn't heavily dependent on the duo.
The ball moves more, which is clearly evident from this stat:
It's not just the offense but the rise of their bench is also helping to reduce the pressure on their stars. Their reserves have the best defensive rating (100.8) and third-best offensive rating (109.5), thus fielding the best net rating (8.8) among all the benches in the league.
Since the DeRozan-Lowry era began in Toronto, this current team is arguably the deepest but a majority of their supporting cast (Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Jakob Poeltl) are inexperienced or have less/no Playoff experience.
Will they be able to deliver like they have so far?
#6 Should Pelicans re-sign DeMarcus Cousins?
Going by their record, this should have been a no-brainer right? What makes this situation worse is Cousins' Achilles injury.
The New Orleans Pelicans are 26-21 with Cousins and 4-5 when he sits out. So clearly, his value is something the team cannot afford to lose especially with the supporting cast they have around Anthony Davis. If they don't re-sign Cousins, they could probably see Davis jump ship in 2020 with the final year of his contract being a player option.
Right from when 'The Brow' was drafted, the organization has struggled to put a competent team around him. New Orleans already has guaranteed money worth $96 million dollars on their books for next season. At the age of 27, is Cousins willing to sign a short-term deal with a pay cut?
That's the team's best case scenario, right?
Re-signing Cousins isn't the tough part as it is, making the right call on how long his new contract should be. If the Pelicans go all out and sign a five-year deal with him and they still can't seem to shift the needle in terms of success, they might have to start building a team around a short-tempered Cousins after Davis signs elsewhere as a free agent in 2020.
#5 Is Kristaps Porzingis done or is ACL injury bump in the road?
For the first time in four years, the New York Knicks were out for a respectable season on the back of their unicorn - Kristaps Porzingis. If it wasn't for their recent 8-game losing streak, they were standing at a decent 23-28 with 31 games to go but now things don't seem so good.
Just under ten days ago, in a contest against the Milwaukee Bucks at MSG, Porzingis tore the ACL in his left knee after a poster dunk on Giannis Antetokounmpo. He's had successful surgery on it and is already on the road to recovery.
The NBA fraternity calls him a unicorn, largely in part due to his mobility at his height but let's face reality. The skyscrapers of the league, taller than 7"3', have not generally had a long career.
Is Porzingis' ACL injury one of more to come?
I don't intend to sound pessimistic, it's just facts and reality.
Is this why Phil Jackson was shopping Porzingis at the end of the last season?
The average time taken for players to recover and rehab completely from an ACL injury is around 10 months to a year. Take a look at Zach LaVine, who looks like he never lost a step but then again, there's a difference between standing tall at 6"5' and at 7"3'.
#4 Are the Warriors really bad or is it the grind?
The Warriors' 14 losses are the most they've had at the All-Star break over their ongoing four-year Championship contending run. They've had a record of 4-4 over the last eight games heading into the break.
Are they really bad or is the grind of defending their title, which is essentially their fourth straight contending year, taking a mental toll on them?
It's probably the latter unless the team opens up with some lackluster play even after the break, which is highly unlikely, given the talent and structure they have in place.
Take a look back at every team in the past, since the 1980's, that was contending (having won at least one) for four straight years. There's a reason the last team to win four straight titles was way back in the 1960's. There's a reason that twice since the Los Angeles Lakers of the early 2000's, teams have come close to three-peating but didn't (2011 Lakers, 2014 Miami Heat).
It is very tough, especially once the team has realized that only the Playoffs matter. That's when the regular season is taken for granted but that's also when you establish good habits as a team. Sometimes, it's also a lack of motivation.
I'm not saying the Warriors are going to cruise to a championship like they did in the 2017 Playoffs. The Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Spurs will certainly have something to say about that. All I'm saying is maybe it's too early to judge that they are slipping or that we must overlook their recent performances considering the fact that they are going for their third title in four years.
#3 Can the Lakers really do something with that cap space?
Cleveland stole the show at the mid-season trade deadline. Of their many moves, was a critical one they had made with the Lakers. The deal involved sending Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and the team's 2018 first round pick in exchange for Jordan Clarkson and hometown kid Larry Nance Jr.
It was a win-win trade with both parties benefitting from it and being able to accomplish their respective goals. While the Cavaliers' goals were to be more competitive and have better locker room chemistry, the Tinsel town franchise was more concerned with making cap room.
Dealing Clarkson's remaining 2-years and $25.9 million contract, the Lakers were able to open up cap space that allows them to sign two max free agents this coming offseason. It not only allows them to sign both this summer, but one could be in 2018 and the other in 2019.
If they were to renounce their rights to Julius Randle's contract for next year as well as waive and then stretch Luol Deng's remaining 2-year $36.8 million contract, the franchise could have as much as $70 million in cap space.
The Lakers have gone from having bad books to being players in the summer but are they going to be able to sign any legit max free agent this offseason?
Given his injury, they should avoid signing Cousins. Nobody knows what either of Paul George or LeBron James are doing regarding their plans to come to LA. These are the biggest FA's on the market this year.
If they can't land anyone, will they trade for a max player? Or will they give their young core another year and look to sign some max player in 2019?
Only time will tell.
#2 Harden's the MVP but will he show up this time in the Playoffs?
Unless James Harden suffers an injury and LeBron James leads to the new-look Cavaliers to a resurgence in the second half of the season, the Beard has pretty much got the MVP award to his name. It's his award to lose. His numbers and efficiency combined with the team's now league-leading record leave no player as a worthy competitor for the award.
After two unsuccessful MVP-worthy seasons in 2015 and 2017, Harden might finally have the award handed to him but is that enough?
Harden is an amazing offensive talent yet over the course of his basketball career, he's had multiple personal collapses in high-pressure moments - 2012 NBA Finals, 2015 Conference Finals and in Game 6 of the 2017 Western Conference Semi-Finals. Avid Rockets' supporters might argue that he now has another Hall of Fame worthy point guard in Chris Paul with him but CP3 doesn't really have ANY Conference Finals experience to boast off about.
Will they take care of their respective demons by teaming up and sharing the pressure load?
Whatever it might be, Harden needs to have a good game when it really matters in this postseason to validate himself and get rid of the choker tag.
#1 Where is LeBron going? Is he going? Does he know?
How the Cavaliers management and ownership reacted to the team's loss in the 2017 Finals, with respect to roster construction for the next season, began the reports and rumors of James possibly leaving the team by option out of his player option in 2018.
Up until the midseason trade deadline when Cleveland dealt six players in exchange for four, there was endless chatter surrounding James' possible decision in the upcoming offseason. And as the Cavs continued to struggle from late December onwards, there was quite an evident drop in effort on the part of James during games, which only empowered the rumors.
Now, will the Cavaliers' new GM Koby Altman and his midseason trades swing the narrative?
The team's taken on more money on their books but they have gotten younger, more athletic and have acquired players that are more defensively equipped. More importantly, they all (Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood and George Hill) come with some new energy and no egos.
GM Altman has made Cleveland a more favorable destination for James to stay rather than going to any other place whether that's Houston, Philadephia or Los Angeles.
