I'm worried about MEM. Gasol only getting 19 minutes last night. I mean, Memphis obviously has to keep Gasol happy & that's what the Fizdale firing was reportedly about. I doubt Gasol wants to sit out games. If they decide to sit him or limit his minutes tho, that's a very depleted roster. Tyreke Evans is out the door & there's next to nothing on the Grizzlies roster to suggest they can make it to 25 wins. Dillon Brooks & who else???
ATL is another interesting situation. Reportedly Ilyasova won't waive his no trade clause and there's reportedly a lot of interest. If I'm the Hawks, I just sit him for the kid Collins & limit him to a back up role. I think ATL's roster is a little better than a Gasol-less MEM roster. They have more winnable games vs weaker opponents in the East too.
PHX all depends on Booker's health imo.
SAC I actually think the Kings have good young talent. Good enough to pull out a few wins at least. They have a solid group of vets too that when they get minutes keep the Kings in games. I can see the Kings pulling a few upsets like they did with that 12 point rally in the 4th qtr to knock off MIA. We just need De'Aaron Fox to get healthy & stay healthy.
BKN I'm happy they're giving Jarrett Allen time. He'll struggle as all rookies do, but he should be good to pull out a win or two. I still would like to see De'Angelo Russell get back into form. Hopefully, he gets back to his 20+ ppg early season form post ASB because he hasn't shown many flashes the past few weeks. Still, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Nets have just enough talent to stay behind the Mavs. I think they do & them not having any incentive to tank helps a lot. But, they're still not very good.
ORL is the team I actually think is trending towards winning a few games. They have young guys who they're trying to make decisions on. Guys like Elfrid Payton, Mario Hezonja, even Aaron Gordon to a lesser extent. They should get Vucevic back at some point in the 2nd half & Jonathan Isaac too. Their schedule has enough winnable games that I could see them finishing in the 27-29 win range. I'm less worried about the Magic than I am some of the other teams. I mean, they've shown that they have some talent lately & that they're not tanking like with their come from behind win vs CLE last night.
CHI they're a wild card imo. I'm basically holding onto the hope that Zach LaVine's return keeps them behind the Mavs in the worst record race. They're on a 7 game losing streak tho. They've dropped games to SAC & LAL. They seem to always have someone injured, they're weak at PG. They're in perfect position to tank & you'd have to think the front office is thinking the same. Guys like Bobby Portis, Kris Dunn, and Jerian Grant need to prove something tho, and they'll want Markkanen to develop. We have to hope that's enough to keep the Bulls behind the Mavs.
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