Darnell Sallins
February 19, 2025, 9:15AM
All-Star Weekend is over and now the second act of the NBA season begins tonight as the Charlotte Hornets visit the Los Angeles Lakers. As the second act begins, here is where the league stands currently:
The Cleveland Cavaliers tops the East at 44-10
The Oklahoma City Thunder tops the West at 44-10
Eastern Conference
In the East, the Boston Celtics still remain the team to beat even though the Cavs own the top spot. The Celtics hold the 2-1 advance over the Cavs including their last meeting back on February 4 where the Celtics won 112-105 in Cleveland. They one more meeting left, on February 28 in Boston in which the Cavs must show that they can contend with the champs in the champs' building. The Cavs have split the first two meeting with the Indiana Pacers, each winning on the opposing team's court. They have two meeting in April to close out the season.
The New York Knicks currently third in the East followed by the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks to round out the top 5. For the Knicks, it's the same story, health and bodies. 36-18 are the Knicks and only three players on the team have played more than 50 games, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby both played 49 games thus missing five games already. Can those guys remain healthy through this second act of the season? Then, the other concern, Tom Thibodeau lack of usage of his bench. The Knicks' starters average more than 35 minutes per game led by Bridges at 38.2 minutes per game. Miles McBride and Precious Achiuwa are the only bench players that averages more than 20 minutes per game. Will Thibideau's seven-man rotation be enough for the Knicks?
For the Pacers, they are still the "little" brother in the East. They won the regular series over the Celtics 2-1, but can they repeat in the postseason? Boston swept Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. However, the Knicks took the regular series from the Pacers 2-1. Can the Pacers take last season's East Finals run and make it known that they here to compete with the big dogs?
Western Conference
In the West, the best team in the West is the top team in the West, Oklahoma City Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in line for MVP honors, leading the NBA in scoring with 32.5 points per game. The Thunder are the fifth best scoring offense at 117.8 points per game and the best scoring defense in the NBA allowing 104.9 points per game.
Second in the west is the Memphis Grizzlies at 36-18. The Grizzlies are the most prolific offense in the NBA, scoring a league best 123.3 points per game. The Grizzlies are second in rebounding at 47.8 per game and fourth in assists at 29.1 per game. The only question for the Grizzlies is can they stay healthy? Ja Morant has only played 32 games this season. Desmond Bane has played 43 games. Grizzlies' first-round pick Zach Edey has played 40 games. All three players have missed more than 10 games this season.
All eyes, however, will be in the city of Angeles as the Los Angeles Lakers will have LeBron James and Luka Doncic for the second act of the season. Currently fifth in the West and people are buzzing in shocked that Luka is joining LeBron in LA as Anthony Davis joined Kyrie Irving in Dallas for the Mavericks. LeBron is currently questionable with a foot/ankle discomfort that ended his 20-year All-Star appearance this past weekend. How will Luka implement himself with LeBron and the Lakers?
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