By Stephen Garner

We are officially nine days away from the NBA play-in tournament and 13 days away from the 2020-2021 playoffs. NBS has you covered as teams jockey for positioning.

1.) Play-In Quarrels

For all the comments (yes, I’m speaking to LeBron and Mark Cuban) regarding the play-in tournament, it’s keeping the season competitive through the finish line. 

In years past, teams openly or secretly made exit plans for both vacation and the draft post-All-Star weekend. 

The NBA eliminated this manipulating, which made for ugly basketball. More franchises see this opportunity as a chance to make the playoffs or, at the very least, gauge where they are in high-leverage games ahead of the offseason. 

Now ⅔’s of the league will have a chance at playoff glory. 

The NBA raised the overall level of competition and gifted franchises postseason opportunities (which is a pitch to fans as states allow more gatherings). 

The final dynamic is how ratings and returns for the league stack up in response to the new format.

Last season, as the Blazers recovered and snatched the 8th seed from the Grizzlies, the NBA deemed the process a success in competition and viewership. 

As it stands, the play-in already served its purpose as we see teams sweat to solidify their positioning with a single-digit number of games left on the docket. 

2.) Mavericks Ascending

Roughly three weeks since Cuban’s concerns, the Mavericks responded, and their fears of play-in perils subsided.

Essentially, since Cuban’s remarks in mid-April,  they’ve been the 4th best team in the league. 

In that stretch, they coupled the league’s 5th-best offense with the 6th-best defense.

Yes, they’ve played defense as a collective. Dallas resolved their concerns at the right time, and its roster incrementally works towards reaching its potential and expectations. 

They’re currently 5th in the West and are two games up on the struggling Lakers.

3.) Health Over Chemistry?

Speaking of the Lakers, we will know a lot about the fate of their season by Tuesday night.

Their next two games: 

• vs. Phoenix Sunday night on NBA TV at 9 pm
• vs. Knicks Tuesday night on TNT at 9 pm

They could plant themselves north of the Play-In, or they could sink within reach of the surging Warriors (winners of 3 of their last 4).

They are currently without LeBron (likely until early next week), Dennis Schroeder for the foreseeable future, and Talen Horton-Tucker (calf).

On top of these concerns, Anthony Davis had an ill-timed ankle injury to the same foot that sidelined him for 30 games earlier this season. He then experienced back spasms and exited Thursday’s 118-94 loss, although he recovered with 36 points Friday.

LA can’t get healthy, and the playoffs loom, they will almost have to forgo developing chemistry before the regular season’s conclusion.

Public perception and confirmed comments from the Lakers and staff members suggest that the Lakers want to have every player available. La feels that they almost don’t care about the route they take in defending their title, so long as they have a full-strength roster.

That thought and feeling slowly dissipated as LeBron returned to the sideline earlier this week.

With LA’s most recent loss, they’re 1.5 games behind 6th place Portland, and now the Blazers own the tiebreaker.

4.) Dominance in Denver

In just over a month since Jamal Murray’s injury, the Nuggets are 10-3. They also have the 9th-best offense and the 4th-best defense in that period.

Without the services of Monte Morris and Will Barton, they’ve done more than stay afloat. Even more, they’ve now without PJ Dozier due to an Adductor injury. 

I wrote about MPJ and his ascension before Murray’s injury in early April, then what would be expected of him sans Murray. 

75.7% at the rim, shooting 54/44/77 – eFG% of 64.2 (98th percentile 🤯) averaging 18.2 on the season, MPJ has officially arrived. He's up to 24.8 PPG since Murray went down
pic.twitter.com/dNruzlgl41

— Stephen PridGeon ☯️🏁 (@StayTrueSDot3) April 27, 2021

He’s been nothing less than stellar this season and will have a spotlight to “show and prove” come the postseason.

Alongside the likely MVP Nikola Jokic, who averages 27.5 PPG, 11 RPG, and 6.8 APG in Murray’s absence, Denver is making it happen.

Of their seven Porter-Gordon-Jokic lineup combinations sans Murray, offensively, they are producing in the 96th percentile. Defensively, those lineups are middling at 112.5 points allowed per 100 possessions. That +8.7 point differential with those lineup combinations finishes in the 92nd percentile amongst the league, though. 

Additionally, their bench lineups are a +10.5 in differential when Jokic rests. They’re getting it done defensively, to the tune of a 98th percentile finish, only allowing 102.9 points per 100 possession. With two-man frontcourt pairings of Millsap, Green, McGee, and Hartenstein, that group is stingy. Dozier is a massive part of that success on the wing. He, newly acquired Austin Rivers, and Shaq Harrison are performing stoutly on the perimeter defensively. They’re extending leads and, collectively, give credence to the thought that they can make it past a first-round matchup.

5.) Amazing Anthony

Anthony Edwards is one of the most intriguing rookies of the past decade. 

His season started slowly as he worked through the acclimation to NBA speed and the distance difference between college 3s and the NBA 3-point line. 

He’s begun to figure pro basketball out, however. 

Through his patience and diligence, he’s grown to be excellent.

Since the All-Star break, he averages 23.7 PPG, and you can see his feel for the game growing. In his 13 games since the break, he averages 25+ PPG, including two 42-point eruptions.

In this game vs. Memphis, someone needed to be the driving force as KAT was in foul trouble for the Wolves. The rookie stepped up and asserted himself to the tune of 16 in the 3rd quarter.

This 42-point display came with 8-9 shooting from downtown as he became the youngest player in NBA history to make 150 3’s in one season.

It was one of those turning-point moments where he demonstrated his growth.

His approach and how he carries himself on the floor constantly reassures that he will be a star. It’s a matter of time. He has that type of flair and energy about him on the floor.

Already with a few dunks that will rank as some of the season’s best, you see the dynamic that this young man possesses. He even garnered the respect of Hall of Famers like Dwyane Wade, whom experts compared to Edwards coming out of the Draft.

It’s an honor to be looked up too by the next generation of athletes. We all have had “that” guy that made us wanna mimic them and we all dream of one day becoming better than “that” guy. I would love to see Ant-Man set a higher bar than I have! https://t.co/pLfy9hFkw3

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) February 17, 2021

If the Wolves keep their big three of he, Towns, and Russell together long enough to develop chemistry, they could see their franchise’s fortunes rebound.

Special Shout-out:

Congratulations to Carmelo Anthony, who passed Elvin Hayes to enter the top ten in scoring all-time.

This mark was a fantastic feat for someone who was wrongfully on the brink of being out of the league just over a year ago. 

One of the best to ever do it, Carmelo has continued to prosper through the disrespect. An all-time great scorer and player. Stay Melo!

Big Sunday Game

• Miami @ Boston on ESPN @ noon CST; Boston is currently up 1-0 in the season series (107-105 on January 6th). This match will determine their season series, as the Celtics are a game back of Miami. 

Enjoy a great Mother’s Day weekend! The league is sure to present plenty of drama to indulge in as it nears the postseason.

*All stats and information come from basketball-reference or cleaningtheglass unless stated otherwise and are accurate entering play on 5.7.21*