March is here, and as we look to warmer weather and longer days, the NBA landscape continues to move. On one end, teams at the bottom are floundering; the
Charlotte Hornets lost four games by an average of 24.5 points, the San Antonio Spurs have veered from playoff contention after
Victor Wembanyama’s season-ending injury, and the Philadephia 76ers’ hopes of contention dashed after
similar news regarding Joel Embiid.
The top end teams, however, continue to have success. And as the separation between the league’s elite and woeful crystallizes ever clear, these teams look to remain a familiar fixture in the remaining weekly recaps.
Cleveland Cavaliers
A moment of déjà vu, as the Cavs stay on the weekly standout list for all the reasons they appeared las week. The East-leading juggernaut ratcheted their win streak to 10 this week, pointed by a
season defining win against the reigning champs in Boston. Donovan Mitchell’s 41-point outburst is a season high mark, and was needed to overcome an early 25-3 first quarter deficit.
Mitchell did not suit up for the Cavs’
most recent win against the Portland Trailblazers, but it was the bench again who carried the team in his absence. Ty Jerome continued his breakout season with 25 points and a season’s best 6 steals, improving his run for sixth man-of-the-year (although still a heavy betting underdog against Boston’s Payton Pritchard and his own teammate De’Andre Hunter).
The Cavs have also not lost since acquiring De’Andre Hunter. In the eight games with him, they’ve won by an average of 18.8 points and have pushed their league-leading offense to yet another height
(127.1 offensive rating over the last 10 games).
Oklahoma City Thunder
It’s puzzling how the team with the NBA’s best net rating has evaded this list thus far. By all accounts, this year’s Thunder squad is a historically impressive team.
Their 12.7 net rating
is second only to the 1996 Bulls (who finished 72-10), and is better than other vaunted all-time teams including the 2017 Warriors (11.6), 2008 Celtics (11.2), and 1971 Bucks (10.9).
They do this through two things: historic output from lead guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and an overwhelming defense that embraces the modern NBA’s need for speed and switchability.
Gilgeous-Alexander is a pillar of consistency. This last week, he’s performed to his average, but when that average is
32 points per game on 54.8 shooting from the field, you’re talking about the kind of season comparable to the likes of Michael Jordan and Steph Curry. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored better than 30 points in 62% of his games this year, and has
failed to eclipse 20 points only once. Combine his offensive volume with the league’s third best defensive rating (104.4) and it’s easy to see why he remains the
heavy odds-on favorite to capture league MVP.
And while Gilgeous-Alexander leads the defense, as a unit, the Thunder are by far and away the most disruptive team in the league. A look at
hustle stats
only confirms this. The Thunder lead the league in deflections by a massive margin. Their 1,304 deflections makes the difference to second place Philadelphia (1,150) similar to that of Philadelphia and 11th ranked Houston (1,010). They also lead the league in loose balls recovered per game (6.0), and charges drawn per game (0.97).
The Thunder will be heavy favorites to make it out of the West, and as the
second youngest team in the NBA (24.7 years), will continue to be among the league’s elite for the foreseeable future.
Los Angeles Lakers
Don’t look now but the Lakers are the second seed in the West. With four wins over key Western conference foes, including back to back wins over the inner-city rival Clippers, the Lakers are surging at the right time. And while the Thunder have made their mark as the conference favorite, the Lakers have steadily improved their standing due to the return of key wing man Jarred Vanderbilt, the acquisition of Dorian Finney-Smith, oh and of course, the trade for one Luka Doncic.
And while Doncic has undoubtedly reinvigorated the team, it hasn’t been his offensive volume that has propelled them. Since his acquisition, Doncic is only averaging
22 points per game on 39% shooting—a far cry from last year’s torrid pace.
What the Lakers have done, however, is clamp teams defensively. During their current six game winning streak, the Lakers have held opponents to 102, 100, 99, 102, 102, and 102 points. It is an impressive run of consistency, especially when the average NBA team scores 113.5 points per game.
And the defensive stats only improve the longer you look back.
Over the last 20 games, the Lakers have posted a 108.9 defensive rating—tops in the NBA. The hounding effort of Vanderbilt and Finney-Smith explain a bulk of that figure, but additional praise must be given to one LeBron James.
Since turning 40, the NBA’s oldest player has used his defense to catapult his chances for yet another All-NBA team.
Head coach JJ Redick has continued to sing his praises on that end.
“LeBron James is playing at an All-NBA defense level—he is,” he remarked. “He doesn’t get scored on in isolation if teams do try to target him. He blows plays up, he’s always in the right position, shifting, recovering.”
With two more critical matchups against the Nuggets this month, the Lakers will look to lean on James’ concerted defensive effort in order to cement their seeding come playoff time.
Stay tuned for more NBA content, including midseason moves, contract updates, and more pieces about every team.
You can “Like” The Game Haus on Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers!
