Yearly Archive 2024年12月24日

With the Oklahoma City Thunder defeating the Houston Rockets in the NBA Cup semifinals round and looking to play the Milwaukee Bucks in the championship game, OKC now finds themselves atop of this week’s NBA power rankings.

Despite not having the best record in the league, their tremendous play on both offense and defense during the regular season and the in-season tournament has propelled the Thunder over all other teams.

OKC Thunder place first in NBA power rankings
As week nine of the NBA season comes to fruition, various teams find themselves around the same spots where others have taken either drastic rises or falls. For the OKC Thunder, they have consistently been within the top-five all year long, and for the first time this season, place first in the power rankings:

5 straight wins by double-digits and a spot in the #EmiratesNBACup Championship gets the Thunder to No. 1 🔥

Check out @johnschuhmann’s full NBA App Power Rankings below!

📰 https://t.co/0TZbWIyIxO pic.twitter.com/ZK8c947QMZ

— NBA (@NBA) December 16, 2024
Due to their five-game win streak and opportunity to win the second-ever NBA Cup title, the Thunder are atop of the NBA mountain. Much of these wins and overall success, however, would not be possible without their incredible defense.

With the best defensive rating in the entire league and leading the NBA in both steals and deflections, Oklahoma City is adding their name to a very exclusive list of all-time NBA teams. As stated by John Schuhmann in ‘Power Rankings, Week 9: Thunder take over No. 1; Bucks move into Top 10’, OKC is holding their opponents to historically low scores:

Over the previous 28 seasons for which we have play-by-play data, the best defense belonged to the 2003-04 San Antonio Spurs, who allowed 8.3 fewer points per 100 possessions than the league average. The Thunder have been much better than that, allowing 9.4 fewer than the league average.

If the Thunder are able to keep up this type of play game-in and game-out, they may have a great chance at solidifying themselves at the top of the power rankings for the foreseeable future.

First, however, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company have to prepare for a talented Milwaukee Bucks team headed by Giannis Antetokounmpo tomorrow, Dec. 16, at 8:30 PM EST.

The Boston Celtics pretty much have the perfect team, but there might be a way to upgrade it. According to Chicago Bulls insider Joe Cowley, the Bulls are expected to aggressively shop star guard Lonzo Ball at the trade deadline.

This season, Ball is averaging five points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal per game. While this doesn’t seem like much, keep in mind he’s coming off two seasons of not playing due to injury.

Ball would be a great pickup to increase the playmaking of the bench. He would be an extra guard to allow Payton Pritchard to focus more on scoring, and Ball playmaking.

While Ball would be a playmaker first, he can still score, and in the Celtics’ style. The Celtics love to shoot from deep, and with a career 36% from three, he would fit in perfectly.

Ball is also a great defender, with his steal per game and his height, he would be able to guard at least three positions effectively.

Should the Celtics consider him? Absolutely, as long as they can make him work with their payroll. They might have to give up Al Horford and some picks, but it could be worth it.

If Milwaukee could only add one player before the deadline, it would behoove the Bucks to bring someone in who can defend multiple positions at a high level.

On Monday, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz listed Marcus Smart as the top player Milwaukee should prioritize acquiring before February 6.

“An 8-2 record over their last 10 games has erased any thoughts of the Milwaukee Bucks being sellers at the deadline,” Swartz said.

“The focus should be on flipping a struggling Khris Middleton along with some sweeteners to improve this roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.”

“Smart is still a high-level defender who would help a Bucks team that only ranks 14th overall this season. Few players could provide more intel on the Boston Celtics in a potential playoff series as well.”

Imagine a Bucks-Celtics playoff series in which Smart has the opportunity for revenge against the team that traded him. It would be NBA cinema. The Bucks probably still don’t have enough to beat Boston in a series, but adding Smart would give them a much better chance.

Dallas could steer clear of Butler and instead opt to bring in a cheaper (and younger) option on the wing. Kyle Kuzma of the Washington Wizards (and formerly of the Lakers) would be a nice addition to the Mavs offense, as noted in a new report on Monday by Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz.

“The Dallas Mavericks made the list as one of the four franchises that Butler’s agent Bernie Lee “expressed in league circles” that he was open to joining, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania,” Swartz said.

“The Mavs don’t have a lot of trade assets assuming they want to keep a core of Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and Dereck Lively II together. If the Heat value P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Jaden Hardy and a 2031 first-round pick, however, a deal isn’t impossible.”

“Kuzma would come at a discount given his down year (15.8 points, 27.6 percent from three) but should be far better playing alongside stars in Dallas than rookies in Washington.”

The 29-year-old Kuzma is in year two of a four-year, $90 million contract.

In recent reports, Bobby Portis’ expendability was revealed. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, “Sources confirmed to ESPN that Milwaukee had a deal in place last season to send Portis to Dallas for Grant Williams.”

Clearly, Portis is a name to monitor as the trade deadline approaches. A trade between the two teams could look similar to the following:

Bucks receive: Nicolas Batum, Kris Dunn, Amir Coffey, PJ Tucker, Kobe Brown

Clippers receive: Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, AJ Johnson, Chris Livingston, Tyler Smith, 2031 second-round pick

Batum and Coffey are impactful floor-spacers to surround Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Batum is a connective passer who also is a switchable defender with his combination of mobility paired with his 6-foot-8 frame. The veteran French wing is shooting 37.3 percent from three this season, with 79 percent of his attempts are from distance. Meanwhile, Coffey is shooting 41.4 percent from three.

Dunn would be the Bucks’ long-awaited lockdown perimeter defender–he is grabbing 1.7 steals per game on the year. While his shooting isn’t a strength, he offers reliable ball-handling and creation ability. Additionally, Brown is a swing at a 24-year old former first-round pick who could grow into a useful role, but is unproven at the moment. Tucker has yet to appear in a game this season and appears disgruntled on the Clippers.

The 39-year old veteran could get one last championship run in with his former Bucks squad as retirement is on the horizon.

The Clippers motivation to agree to this deal would be to acquire more youth. Adding 2024 first-round pick AJ Johnson, along with 2024 second-round pick Tyler Smith and 2023 second-round pick Chris Livingston would accomplish this goal.

The 2031 second-rounder is included purely as a sweetener due to the potential lopsidedness of the exchange. Connaughton is involved due to salary-matching purposes while Portis could slot in coach Ty Lue’s rotation as the sixth-man bucket-getter that he is. As is, the Clippers seemingly lack firepower off the bench.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been surrounded by trade rumors for the past month. Some experts believe they will be active on the trade market prior to the NBA Trade Deadline on February 6th.

If they decide to be active on the trade market, they will have to be cautious with cap space. The Wolves will have a difficult decision to make. Will they take responsibility for their botched pre-season trade? It’s been clear for the entire first quarter of the season that the New York Knicks won the Karl-Anthony Towns trade.

Should they put newly acquired Julius Randle or Donte DiVincenzo on the trading block or should they pivot and move different pieces?

Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report suggests a new trade target that would be a less harmful trade. One player that was listed for the Wolves was New Orleans Pelicans guard Javonte Green.

Much like the Wolves, they haven’t reached expectations this season. As their team recovers to full health, they’ll be active to move some pieces around to push for the playoffs as well. For New Orleans, moving an expiring contract like Green’s would be a low risk move, but a player like Green would fit well with Minnesota. He would give them a veteran option for the second unit in the backcourt.

A player that the Wolves could offer is Nickeil Alexander-Walker. With the Wolves’ lack of financial flexibility, he would also be a low-risk trade.

“Assuming this core stays intact, the Wolves may be looking at Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s $4.3 million salary as the biggest deal they’d have to fit other contracts into,” Swartz wrote.

While all these trade rumors with Minnesota typically surrounding Randle and DiVincenzo, it may be more realistic for them to consider a trade that doesn’t have the potential to collapse. They went in all on the Towns trade, so the Wolves will have to be extra vigilant for their next move.