WE have officially reached the midway point of the 2016-17 season. Some teams are living up to the hype and exceeding expectations, others not so much as they plummet towards the bottom of the lottery. Teams will be reviewed at the quarter, halfway and three-quarter mark of the year. Let’s quickly wrap the second portion of the season so far for the teams from the Northwest division.
Utah Jazz (26-16)
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IT has to be there defense. Halfway through the season they are allowing the fewest points per game to opponents at 94.8. Anchored by Rudy Gobert in the middle their defense is what continues to win them basketball games.
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FOR all the good their defense has produced they still struggle to score the ball ranking 3rd last in the NBA with just 99 points each night. If their defense continues to be dominant their offense isn’t a major concern, but if they are serious about doing some damage in the playoffs they need to find a way to score more.
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CAN Gordon Hayward be an All-Star? He is currently having a career year in almost every major statistical area, leading the team in scoring with over 22 a game. The Western Conference is overflowing with talent at the guard spots and while Hayward deserves to be in New Orleans in Feb he might still miss out.
Oklahoma City Thunder (25-17)
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OVER the past month Steven Adams has emerged as a capable player on the offensive end. With Westbrook and Oladipo clearly shouldering most of the workload having Adams provide a scoring punch has been a blessing.
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FOR all the good Westbrook has done many people wonder if his play is hampering the Thunder’s potential success. He ranks 2nd per game for turnovers (5.4) and is shooting the worst percentage out of any of the top 25 leading scorers (42.4%).
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WE live in a world were Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple double. Just let that sink in for a moment. If he doesn’t get any help thought the Thunder’s season may not make it past the 1st round of the playoffs. Can anyone else step up to help OKC translate Russell’s dominance into more team success?
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Portland Trailblazers (18-24)
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OFFENSIVELY the Trailblazers are uber talented led by backcourt dynamo’s Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Their 108.1 points a night is the 6th highest in the league with five players currently averaging double digit PPG (points per game).
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PORTLAND is really bad on defense, like awful. Giving 110.4 average points to opponents every game is going to make it tough to win many games, let alone challenge for a post-season berth.
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IN the first quarterly review I said maybe they should make a trade, but I don’t think that’s the answer. Mainly because they have no pieces or cap flexibility to play with. If they can lock down on defense (questionable) they can put together a string of wins and climb the West standings. Watch this space.
Denver Nuggets (15-23)
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THE past month has seen Nikola Jokic establish himself as the best young player on the youthful Nuggets. In the 12 games he has started since mid December, Jokic averages 17.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists, leading the team in all three categories.
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DEFENSIVELY they struggle to stop other teams to score, leaking the 3rd most average points a game. While they have some young athletic guys on their roster who can contest shots, their is no immediate fix for their defensive woes.
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THIS team is extremely deep, with capable NBA players at every position. Therefore, I think if a trade is to go down towards the deadline the Nuggets would be a perfect third party to get involved. Offloading guys like Nelson, Gallinari and Faried could help their young guys get more minutes and if they can get something decent in return, win-win.
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Minnesota Timberwolves (14-27)
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HAVING three young studs all averaging over 20 points a game is a great sign for any rebuilding group. Wiggins (21.9), Towns (21.8) and LaVine (20.1) are clearly the future of the franchise and with another high lottery pick heading their way the only way is up for the Wolves.
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THEIR bench still continues to plague their success with the reserves averaging a league worst 21.5 points a game. Yuk.
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HOVERING around the .500 mark for the last 5-6 weeks I feel like the Timberwolves are slowly figuring it out. The more time that their core has together under new coach Tom Thibodeau’s the better. Don’t be surprised if they start to put more W’s on the board.
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