With Sunday’s nail-biter of an All-Star game behind us, the second half of the year is here in much the same manner the season began—quickly and relentlessly. Here’s how all 30 teams stack up heading into the final two months of this season, and what they should be focused on going forward.
1. Miami Heat. Stay healthy. Having established themselves as a much more resilient team with better chemistry than they were last year, all the Heat need to do is get to the playoffs without any major injuries.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder. Defend. Coach Scott Brooks has expressed some concerns about the defense, and they can be too reliant on their potent offense. Kendrick Perkins has not been the cure-all, and they need to address that.
3. San Antonio Spurs. Tighten the rotation. Expect coach Gregg Popovich to winnow his rotation down as the second half progresses. The Spurs have gotten nice contributions from a variety of spots, but Popovich uses a short bench in the playoffs.
4. Chicago Bulls. Get Richard Hamilton back. Late-game offense was a problem for the Bulls in last season’s conference finals, and they’re hoping that Hamilton can take pressure off Derrick Rose in those situations. But Hamilton has been out with a groin issue.
5. L.A. Clippers. Add veterans to the bench. Depth is still the most significant issue here, especially with Chauncey Billups out. They don’t have many tradeable parts, but they could make some free-agent moves.
6. Dallas Mavericks. Develop that defensive chemistry. This is a team that has Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry—they can score. But the Mavs defense this year has come around nicely in the absence of Tyson Chandler.
7. Indiana Pacers. Keep hustling. The Pacers have talent, but they have won a lot of games this year by outworking opponents. They can’t look at their 21-12 record and get fat and happy.
8. Orlando Magic. The Magic have fought through adversity and can make one more run with Dwight Howard, and that’s the probable scenario. Or they can trade him and start rebuilding.
9. Atlanta Hawks. Score 89 points. The Hawks play very good defense, and, basically, if they can put up 89 points, they’re going to win. They’re 19-2 when they score 89 or more, and 1-12 when they don’t.
10. Houston Rockets. Stay under the radar. Houston is probably the best 20-14 team no one knows about, especially considering they got off to a 3-7 start. The Rockets will continue to look for roster upgrades, but they seem to work best as a team no one is noticing.
11. Memphis Grizzlies. Get Z-Bo back. For the second straight year, the Grizzlies have held down the fort while a major player was injured. Zach Randolph should return in the coming weeks, and they’ll be primed for a stretch run.
12. L.A. Lakers. Make Kobe Bryant happy. The Lakers have had some embarrassing moments in the last year, and Bryant has grown frustrated. He deserves to be brought in on decisions that affect the team now and in the future.
13. Philadelphia 76ers. Get their legs. The Sixers are deep, and they play a pretty intense style on both ends. But they seemed to run out of gas before the break, averaging just 83.2 points over a five-game losing streak.
14. New York Knicks. Retool around Jeremy Lin. This has been repeated ad nauseum, but the Knicks’ big question remains how to work in star forward Carmelo Anthony with their new-found point-guard sensation. That could define Mike D’Antoni’s tenure as Knicks coach.
15. Minnesota Timberwolves. Win the tight games. Amazingly, 14 of the Timberwolves 34 games have been decided by five points or fewer, and they’re 5-9 in those games. They’re .500, and that is impressive, but they could be even better.
16. Portland Trail Blazers. Wake up Raymond Felton. Coach Nate McMillan gave Felton the keys to the offense early on, but Felton has not been up to the task. He’s been replaced by Jamal Crawford, but Crawford should be this team’s sixth man.
17. Denver Nuggets. Get healthy and finish games. The Nuggets are 4-12 in their last 16, and while some of that can be attributed to injuries, they have also blown too many late leads. This bunch looked like a contender in the West—but only briefly.
18. Golden State Warriors. Make defense a reality, not a slogan. They’ve played better lately, especially with Ekpe Udoh in the lineup. But until Mark Jackson gets them to play the defense he has been preaching, they’ll be lottery-bound.
19. Phoenix Suns. Show some intensity. The Suns are not a contender, of course, but they have underachieved. They will likely hang on to Steve Nash and probably have one final playoff push in them.
20. Boston Celtics. Blow it up. Easy to say, tough to do, and ultimately, Boston is probably stuck with the roster it has, as disappointing as this team has been. Rajon Rondo is the prime trading chip, but why trade a 25-year-old All-Star?
21. Utah Jazz. Decide what to do with Devin Harris. The Jazz have a wealth of big men—Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter. But Harris is not the kind of playmaker best suited to feed them the ball. The Jazz need a point guard.
22. Cleveland Cavaliers. Keep developing Kyrie Irving. In his rookie year, Irving has already become a leader and shows the makings of a franchise cornerstone. They probably won’t make the playoffs, but if they can stay in the hunt and play meaningful games, it will be big for his maturation.
23. Milwaukee Bucks. Figure out the Stephen Jackson situation. The Bucks were hoping Jackson would click with coach Scott Skiles and take on some offensive burden, but it just did not work. Now he wants out, and the Bucks may have to waive him.
24. Detroit Pistons. Push past the summer of ’09. The Pistons overpaid Ben Gordon, and Charlie Villanueva is a bust. But they’ve been revitalized by younger guys like Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight and Jonas Jerebko.
25. Sacramento Kings. Find a point guard. The Kings are pretty well stocked with backcourt players—Marcus Thornton, Tyreke Evans, John Salmons, Jimmer Fredette and now, the emerging Isaiah Thomas—but none are true point men. They can’t take full advantage of DeMarcus Cousins inside without a point guard.
26. Toronto Raptors. Figure out the backcourt. DeMar DeRozan came into the year hoping to take a step toward stardom. He has regressed instead. Jose Calderon, however, has returned to form, giving the Raptors a tough call on whether to keep him or move him.
27. New Jersey Nets. Keep Deron Williams. It still more likely than not that Williams, a free agent this summer, will stay with the Nets. But the roster is thin, and if they can’t add Dwight Howard, they better be able to tell Williams, who will be wooed by the Mavericks, what Plan B is.
28. New Orleans Hornets. Look to the future. The Hornets should get a new owner soon, and he had better be patient. The front office must keep collecting young assets, and Monty Williams needs to keep playing them. That will mean losing now but will help in the long run.
29. Washington Wizards. Identify useful pieces. The Wizards are stacked with players of some talent but with low work ethic and basketball IQ. They need to figure out who falls where, and jettison anyone who does not fit the plan.
30. Charlotte Bobcats. Lose a lot of games, win the lottery, take Anthony Davis. That’s as good a plan as any.
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