We’re a week out from the 2023-24 NBA trade deadline (Feb. 8, 3 p.m. ET) and, well, a lot can happen between now and then, with the future’s of high-profile players such as Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine and Atlanta Hawks’ Dejounte Murray still up in the air.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have taken a dip in our rankings, after losing to the bottom-dwelling Detroit Pistons last Sunday, giving them their sixth win of the season. And the surging LA Clippers made a statement after blowing out the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics, handing them their second home loss of the season.
Last week was filled with ridiculous scoring outbursts by Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, and Karl-Anthony Towns. As we enter into the second half of the season, can we expect more eye-catching 70-point games? Will the Milwaukee Bucks find their defensive footing with Doc Rivers? And can the Brooklyn Nets make a push in the East with the return of Ben Simmons?
Questions abound as we look to see where every team settles a week before the trade deadline.
Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball and which teams are looking most like title contenders.
Through the first half of the season, it’s hard to look at the Kristaps Porzingis deal as anything but a huge win for the Celtics. When he is on the court, Boston has a plus-12 net rating — easily the best of any of the core rotation players, and a sign of just how impactful the 7-3 Latvian big man has been to the Celtics, winners of seven of their past 10 games. Porzingis’ ability to both create mismatches offensively and protect the rim defensively has made him a seamless fit in Boston. — Bontemps
The defending champs have won seven of their past nine games, a stretch including their first win at Boston this season and victories over Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Indiana (twice). Jamal Murray added his fourth 30-point game in his past 11 games with a 35-point outing against Milwaukee. The next game is surely one the Nuggets will be motivated for as they travel to face Oklahoma City, which crushed the Nuggets 119-93 on Dec. 29 in Denver. — Youngmisuk
The Clippers lost for just the third time in January when they had their five-game winning streak snapped in Cleveland on Monday. But that loss didn’t spoil what has been a successful start to this seven-game road trip. The Clippers won back-to-back games at Toronto and Boston, punctuated by a 19-point win in TD Garden. The Clippers led by as much as 36 and handed the Celtics their second home loss in what was L.A.’s most impressive win of the season. Paul George has been playing through a groin issue, though, which is something the team continues to monitor closely as it enters the back half of this road trip in Washington, Detroit, Miami and Atlanta. — Youngmisuk
