The NBA has carved out Christmas Day as a showcase each year, the first day it has games on broadcast television and a chance to show off its star players in front of a mostly captive, national audience. But all the league did by setting up the schedule the way it did Wednesday was showcase just how dreadful several of its big-market clubs are right now.
The Nets, Bulls, Knicks and Lakers all have flopped for various reasons, and though the Bulls came away with a win thanks to the Nets’ ineptitude, it’s clear none of these teams are going to be a factor this season — or potentially anytime soon.
The two New York teams have matching 9-19 records and hardly any draft picks to speak of for the next few seasons after dealing them away. The Nets also have lost All-Star center Brook Lopez for the season with a broken right foot. The Bulls have once again been ravaged by injury, including a second straight knee injury for Derrick Rose, who faces questions over whether he’s going to be able to hold up over the long term.
And then there are the Lakers, who already were expected to be bad this season and now have to wonder about the long-term status of Kobe Bryant, who suffered a fractured kneecap (in the same leg he suffered a ruptured Achilles last season) just weeks after signing a two-year extension for just under $50 million.
Instead of celebrating the league, Christmas Day instead highlighted the glaring omission of some of the NBA’s top teams that reside in small markets. Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix suggested the NBA should’ve made Pacers-Trail Blazers a pay-per-view game to see how much money they could bring in.
They would’ve gotten this writer’s cash, for sure.
(Last week’s rankings in parentheses)
1. Heat (2): Miami is on complete and utter cruise control, winning game after game while periodically resting players and watching LeBron James put one guy after another on a poster. Can we just fast-forward to a Heat-Pacers Eastern Conference Finals?
2. Thunder (1): Can’t stay at No. 1 after losing a home game to the Raptors, but Oklahoma City definitely has things humming on all cylinders. It still remains to be seen if the young bench will step up come playoff time, but they’re undoubtedly playing great team ball.
3. Trail Blazers (3): For those doubting the Trail Blazers, Portland has a terrific chance to prove itself over the next week: they host the Clippers coming off an emotional game at Golden State, then play Miami at home before traveling to Oklahoma City on New Year’s Eve.
4. Pacers (1): Indiana has gotten itself back on track after a pedestrian 6-4 stretch recently. It seems like the growth and development of Lance Stephenson – and just how much more room he has to improve – could be the difference between Indiana ending its season in the conference finals and winning a title.
5. Clippers (4): Don’t get me wrong – the Clippers are a terrific team, led by a great coach in Doc Rivers and stars in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. But now that they have some kind of beef with what seems like half the teams in the NBA, at what point is that about the Clippers?
6. Rockets (9): General manager Daryl Morey didn’t do anyone any favors by hanging onto Omer Asik, ensuring more episodes of the league’s longest-running drama, but Houston picked up another win over San Antonio on Christmas night and Dwight Howard continues to look better every day.
7. Suns (8): Jeff Hornacek is the runaway choice for Coach of the Year. The Suns, expected to be among the league’s worst, are now looking like a lock playoff team.
8. Mavericks (11):Â Another candidate: Rick Carlisle has once again done a terrific job, turning Monta Ellis into a much more efficient and dangerous player while helping Dallas regain its status as a legitimate force in the West.
9. Warriors (11): Nice win for the Warriors over the Clippers in the finale of a long and bad slate of Christmas Day games, but questions still remain about this team. The biggest one: What’s their best lineup? It seems like it doesn’t include David Lee, but he’s not going to the bench anytime soon.
10. Spurs (6): It still seems impossible to doubt the Spurs will be a huge factor in the West come playoff time. But this bears watching: San Antonio is now 0-6 against the Trail Blazers, Rockets, Thunder and Clippers – the four highest-ranked teams in the West.
11. Hawks (13): This Hawks team is fun to watch, between an athletic and versatile frontline of Al Horford and Paul Millsap, improved play at the point by Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver’s beautiful stroke from behind the 3-point arc.
12. Wizards (14):Â Bradley Beal returns to the lineup and the Wizards go out and win three consecutive games. When Beal, John Wall, Nene and Marcin Gortat are healthy, you can make a strong case for the Wizards being the fourth best team in the East.
13. Nuggets (7): Losses in five of their last six games – including four of those five losses at home – isn’t a great look for Brian Shaw’s team. The Nuggets have faded out of a playoff spot, though they do have a decent stretch of winnable games on the horizon.
14. Timberwolves (12): Tough weekend in Los Angeles for Minnesota, losing to a beatable Lakers team and then giving away a game against the Clippers. They sit just three games out of a playoff spot after a brutal opening schedule.
15. Pelicans (16):Â The Pelicans managed to stay within three games of the final playoff spot in the loaded West, and now Anthony Davis is back in the lineup. Can they make up the gap? Probably not.
16. Bobcats (17): With Steve Clifford at the helm, it looks more and more likely the Bobcats are going to find their way into a playoff spot. Another Coach of the Year-worthy job.
17. Pistons (15): They had a rough weekend, losing to Charlotte and Houston, but the Pistons continue to have one of the league’s brighter futures behind their promising young combination of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond.
18. Raptors (23): If Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri isn’t careful – and gets rid of Kyle Lowry soon – Toronto will have a chance to gain a stranglehold on its division while being on pace for a mid-30 win season. The Atlantic Division, everybody!
19. Lakers (19): It’s now seven straight weeks at No. 19 for the Lakers, losers of three straight, continuing to muddle along a few games under .500. Now 3.5 games out of a playoff spot, that gap looks like it’s only going to get wider.
20. Grizzlies (21): Zach Randolph helped lead the Grizzlies to a win over the Knicks on Saturday, but it’s hard to see this team making any kind of substantial push for a playoff spot — even when Marc Gasol comes back — with their lack of outside shooting and scoring punch.
21. Bulls (28): Tom Thibodeau still has these Bulls playing hard, despite all of their injuries. Now only percentage points behind the Celtics for eighth place in the East, they will likely find their way into the playoffs.
22. Cavaliers (18): With losses in four of their last five games, the Cavaliers have negated the momentum they generated by putting together a three-game winning streak earlier this month.
23. Celtics (20): Now losers of three straight – and with Rajon Rondo announcing recently he’s out for at least another month, if not longer – it appears the Celtics may be settling down to their level.
24. Jazz (25): The Jazz are now 7-12 with Trey Burke in the lineup, including wins over Phoenix, Houston and Denver.
25. Kings (26): The Kings are now 2-5 since Rudy Gay arrived in Sacramento, though he’s taking several less shots per game and being a bit more efficient since leaving Toronto.
26. 76ers (29): This is more an indictment of the teams below them than a credit to the Sixers, who are a dreadful 1-12 on the road. But they’re capable of being an entertaining team to watch when rookie Michael Carter-Williams is going well.
27. Knicks (24): After leading the league in minutes played through the first 27 games of the season, it seemed inevitable Carmelo Anthony would miss time at some point, given he’s sat out at least 10 games in four of the last five years, but the Knicks could ill afford to lose him now.
28. Nets (22): With a 9-19 record, Brook Lopez out for the season, a four-game losing streak and a road trip to Indiana, San Antonio and Oklahoma City looming, let’s just say that things aren’t looking good for the Nets. You can’t even guarantee them a win against the hapless Bucks at home Friday night.
29. Magic (27): Orlando was on its way to getting destroyed at home by the Knicks, of all teams, when Anthony’s ankle injury gave them a chance to get back into it. But the Magic are succeeding in their goal of getting into the high lottery one more time.
30. Bucks (30): To give Bucks fans something to smile about, your weekly Giannis Antetokounmpo update: In four games as a starter, the Greek Freak is averaging 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field.