The NBA Christmas Day quintuple-header offered some star performances and interesting results, but the calendar rolls on with a full weekend slate.
On Friday, fans will get a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Indiana Pacers, winners of six of their last seven, visit the Boston Celtics, who will try to snap out of their first losing streak of the season.
Also on Friday, an interesting East-West matchup will be on show as the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Denver Nuggets.
Meanwhile, things won’t be easy for the Golden State Warriors, who have lost 11 of their last 14; they have games Friday against the 17-13 Clippers, Saturday against the 15-14 Suns and Monday against the 26-4 Cavaliers.
Here are some takeaways from the eighth week of the NBA regular season.
The Cavaliers have staying power; here’s how they can get even better
Cleveland (26-4) has proved it is not a fluke and that coach Kenny Atkinson’s plan to space the floor has paid off in an ultra-efficient offense. Yet, as good as the Cavs have been, posting the league’s best winning percentage (.867) over the first two months of the season, there’s one weakness that — if remedied — could make them even better.
The Cavaliers have lost the rebounding battle in each of their four losses. Cleveland has been outrebounded in those games by a margin of eight rebounds per game. In losses, Cleveland’s rebounding percentage is 45.9%; in their victories, that metric is 4.2 percentage points higher.
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs still need some more help
The Spurs’ recent stretch suggests they are far better than previous seasons, especially as Victor Wembanyama continues to develop as an elite offensive weapon, but this stretch also suggests San Antonio (15-15) is still a piece or two away.
Wembanyama was already a generational defender, with his ability to block, alter and even prevent opponents from considering certain shots. But now he’s blossoming as an inside-out scorer with range, slashing ability and a silky smooth shot. Wembanyama is averaging 35 points over his last four games, including 5.8 made 3 pointers in that span.
Now, some may protest the volume at which he’s shooting 3s, but he’s lacing them at a 44.2% clip over his last four games.
The issue is San Antonio (15-15) has won just two of those games, and Wembanyama isn’t getting a ton of help. The Spurs have had four different players to be second on the team in scoring in each of the last four games; on the surface, that suggests depth and can be a positive. Those players, however, averaged just 19.3 points per game in that span.
San Antonio has some nice, young pieces like rookie Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan. That alone won’t be enough to compete in the loaded West.
Celtics are on a two-game losing streak. Are there big-picture concerns?
This marks the first time all season that Boston (22-8) has lost two in a row, but it’s hard to take a pessimistic view from this stretch. In many ways, this feels like a similar issue that befell the Celtics last season — as much as someone can say that a dominant team that rolled through the playoffs had an issue.
But Boston, at times, can play complacent, almost as if they get bored of beating up on teams. Take Monday night’s loss against the Magic. The Celtics held a 15-point lead against an Orlando squad without its two best players in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Boston, which often relies too much on the 3-point shot, went just 8-of-33 (24.2%) from beyond the arc, and let their lead slip away in the third quarter.
Christmas evening against the 76ers was a different story. Philadelphia built a big lead in the second quarter, and the Celtics were forced to claw back the rest of the way. Defensive effort during an 18-2 Sixers run in the fourth quarter was not up to Boston’s typical standard.
The NBA season is long. Teams sometimes fall into ruts. Boston has shown it is fully capable of overcoming any midseason doldrums.
Pacers have (finally) found their rhythm and have done so in a very characteristic way
The Pacers (15-15) have won five in a row and six of seven, and they’ve reinvested in a philosophy from last year that launched their deep postseason run. Indiana is once again protecting the ball and passing it around with intention; over the last five games, the Pacers rank first in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.67), assist ratio (22.5) and turnover percentage (12%).
Compare those numbers to Indiana’s totals from the entire season: 1.92 (11th), 19.8 (tied for seventh) and 14.3% (13th). All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton has led that charge, though backup T.J. McConnell has been key off the bench.
Indiana’s players are also getting to their spots more efficiently and moving well without the ball. Over the last five games, Pacers assists are creating an average of 10.2 more points per game against their season totals.
What’s interesting is the Pacers have also done something very uncharacteristic: They’re slowing down.
Over the last five games, they rank 16th in pace (99.8), one season after ranking second (102.16).
Logjam in the middle of the West is compelling, and the margin for error is slim
On Christmas morning, the Lakers were the No. 7 seed, the Warriors were No. 8, the Spurs No. 9, the Timberwolves 10th and Suns 11th. By the end of the night, Los Angeles had beat Golden State, Phoenix beat Denver — which remained the fifth seed — and San Antonio lost to the Knicks.
By the end of the night, different teams were sitting in seeds No. 6 through 11 than had been the night previous. It’s a microcosm of the parity in the Western Conference and how little separates the teams in the middle of the pack.
It also suggests that health, consistency and continuity will be paramount for teams in, and on the fringes, of that play-in range.
For teams like the Suns, who have battled injury issues to their Big Three and as Devin Booker (groin) missed another game, and for teams with aging stars like the Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, this is perhaps magnified.
The biggest certainty here is as the season progresses, and the standings tighten, it should make for a compelling race to get to that coveted six-seed.