10 Storylines for After the All-Star Break

With 25 games left in the regular season, there is still a lot to learn.

I will admit that I was wrong.

This was the best All-Star weekend that I have ever watched. It had it all. Stephen A. Smith got a technical foul in the celebrity game. The Rising Stars challenge showcased the bright future of the league. The Skills Challenge displayed the craftiness of big man Bam Adebayo. The 3-Point Contest was clinched on the last shot from Buddy Hield. The Dunk Contest was littered with 50s and ended in controversy.

And the All-Star game was everything and more that fans had clamored for for years — players cared. The Elam Ending was a smashing success. Players yelled at refs for fouls, goaded others into charging fouls, played lockdown defense, and ended on the final bucket.

It was an excellent pause for the rockfight that’s about to ensue for the regular season’s final 25 games. The playoff race is largely settled, barring a few teams on the fence and others jockeying for better seeds. The bottom-dwellers will race even faster to the very bottom. Here are 10 storylines to look out for the remainder of the regular season:

The race for the No. 2 seeds

The No. 1 seeds are all but locked up by the Bucks and the Lakers. But the difference between getting a No. 2 vs the No. 3 seed is an ocean. In the East, the Raptors occupy that spot after bulldozing teams en route to 15 straight wins. The Celtics are nipping at their heels and the Heat aren’t lurking too far behind. The difference between pacing a Pacers team that could break out at any moment compared to the Kyrie-less Nets is gargantuan. Getting that 2-spot will be a subtle race to watch out for.

In the West, the Nuggets sit at No. 2, with the Clippers sitting only one game behind them. Common sense would suggest that a healthy Clippers team that added more depth will assume that spot sooner than later. But the Nuggets would certainly be wise to turn up the pace down the stretch. Playing the 7-seed, Mavericks who lost their best roll man Dwight Powell for the year would be a much more favorable matchup than a sneaky Thunder team.

The Raptors’ legitimacy

Who thought Toronto would be able to replicate anything close to last year’s magic? This team lost one of the best two-way players in the game and the Bucks got stronger. They have battled injuries. Yet they still managed to pull off a 15-game win streak and surpass 40 wins before the end of February. Nick Nurse should be the heavy favorite for Coach of the Year. Pascal Siakam has a viable case to repeat as the Most Improved Player of the Year. With playoff experience and quality minutes from back-end guys like Terrance Davis and Chris Boucher could be pivotal in reaching the finals once again. Milwaukee isn’t a shoo-in.

Cavaliers’ Dysfunction

News broke of John Beilein’s imminent departure during Saturday’s All-Star game, and it was the first time Cleveland had been relevant during All-Star weekend in a long time. It is unfortunate to see Beilein resign halfway into year one of a five-year deal, a stain on an otherwise pristine coaching career. Beilein isn’t blameless. He struggled to transition to the NBA lifestyle, and supposedly lost favor amongst his team as early as December. He created a further chasm by calling his players “thugs” after he claimed to have meant “slugs”. He had to drop all of his patented offensive sets to adapt to NBA competition. But Beilein was dealt a losing hand to begin with. He was coaching two teams at once — disgruntled veterans and clueless rookies who, by the way, also were not that talented. What was the plan supposed to be? Trading for Andre Drummond appeared to be a final lifeline, but the move was much ado about nothing. Having covered Beilein while he was at Michigan, it is unfortunate that this stint is the latest impression of his coaching prowess.

Now, the Cavaliers are bad and on their second coach. Even worse, they are still financially strapped with the monstrous contracts of Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Drummond. Cleveland is one ping pong ball away from not having LeBron James and being one of the worst franchises in all of sports.

Houston’s big small issue … or solution

The Rockets’ small-ball experiment with PJ Tucker at center has been captivating yet well-to-do. Tucker is an immovable object down low no matter who he is matched up against. And the Rockets’ size actually helps them switch quickly and throw off opposing defenses. And, of course, their pace is unmatched and everyone knows their role. The result has had mixed results so far — losses to the Suns and Jazz and wins over the Lakers and Celtics — that portends a competitive outlook in the playoffs. Recent additions of DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Green are adequate backups that fit the small-ball lineup, but they hardly move the needle. The Rockets have solidified their rotation, and it remains to be seen how it will hold up in the home stretch. More importantly, it remains to be seen if it would suffice against, say, Rudy Gobert in a seven-game series.

The full-strength Clippers

The Clippers have been enigmatic this year. They started as preseason title contenders and still are, but something still seems to be missing. They haven’t been truly healthy almost all year. Paul George appears to be suffering lingering effects from injuries and is not playing to his potential. But Kawhi Leonard and the rest are. They added even more depth with Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson, who both provide above-average scoring punches and the bulldog mentality that the team has embraced. Los Angeles is pushing for the No. 2 seed and seem in good position to snatch it from the Nuggets. Will the Clippers, at full-strength, be the title-contending team that we all expected?

Ja Morant’s ROY Candidacy

Ja Morant is certainly the Rookie of the Year this season, right? That is right, don’t second guess it. Detractors and fanboys will point to how the Pelicans have performed Zion Williamson’s debut. Yes, Williamson has been spectacular and certainly deserves to be in the discuss if he wills New Orleans into the playoffs. But playing 35 games should be an automatic disqualification, no matter how dominant Zion is. Morant has posted an 18-point, 8-assist stat line with solid efficiency for an 18.4 PER. He is already one of the league’s best facilitators and does something SC Top Ten-worthy every night. And he is the leader on a Grizzlies team that was supposed to continue being a moribund franchise. They sit above .500 and in the playoff hunt. Morant would have to really mess up to not be the Rookie of the Year.

Sixers’ playoff momentum

Philadelphia was among experts preseason favorites to make the Championship this year. On paper, they appeared to have the most talented staring 5 in the league. The results are yet to materialize. The odd fit between Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid has been exacerbated more than ever. Al Horford’s age has shown in the first year of his mammoth contract, and it took 50-plus games to move him to the bench in favor of more shooting with Furkan Korkmaz. Shooting is still an issue, but the Sixers have demonstrated flashes of brilliance and will always be the bigger, defensive bulwarks on the court. Fans call them “playoff built”, which doesn’t really make sense. But I get it. When the season is on the line, defense matters and the Sixers have enough time to hit their stride before the playoffs.

The fortified Heat

The Heat were already in the No. 3 spot and one of the league’s best surprises this year. Jimmy Butler has been the leader that everyone besides Bulls, Timberwolves, and Sixers fans thought he could be. Bam Adebayo has turned into a star. Miami scraped the bottom of the barrel and is getting high-level production from Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro, Goran Dragic, Derrick Jones Jr. And then Pat Riley does what Pat Riley does and he acquired Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder from the Grizzlies. Their wing defense is stronger. They can still space the floor. The Heat could be scary entering the playoffs.

Race to the bottom

For the remainder of the season, there isn’t much to look forward to for about half the teams in the league. If you’re not making the playoffs, you know that by now, so tanking becomes the modus operandi. The Knicks learned the hard way that you can’t tank your way into an elite player, but it seems they have tried again anyway. The Warriors are shaping up to be in the best spot to get the pick of the litter, because we can’t have nice things. The Detroit Pistons are the teams that have most blatantly laid their cards on the table following the trade of Andre Drummond and buyout of Reggie Jackson. Blake Griffin is the Fresh Prince meme of him looking around an empty house. This isn’t something to really look forward to. If the Bulls are playing the Hornets please don’t watch for your own sanity. It will be a wait-and-see for how things shake out at the bottom.

Will there be a consensus No. 1 draft pick?

We know tanking doesn’t work. It does, however, get you in the ballpark of where you want to be. But this year, there is still no consensus No. 1 pick like Zion Williamson and Deandre Ayton were the past two seasons. Anthony Edwards has been the most common name thrown around, but he doesn’t possess any standout qualities that suggest future stardom. Cole Anthony is one of the best shooters coming out of college, but has an erratic style of play. Do you really want LaMelo Ball? Or the next Kings-and-Luka team that passes on Deni Avdija? At this rate, having the No. 1 pick is nice consolation rather than a solution to poor performance. With a weak 2020 free agent class, there isn’t much wiggle room for this year’s bottom-feeders to improve for next season.