The NBA took a collective day off Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks swept through the NBA Cup.
With their victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, players earned a nice payday, but Milwaukee won’t have a chance to catch its breath; on Friday, the red-hot Bucks — winners of 13 of their last 16 games — face the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The losers of the NBA Cup final, the Thunder, will look to bounce back on a Florida road trip that sees them play the Orlando Magic Thursday and the Miami Heat Friday.
And then on Saturday, a pair of teams trying to claw out of a play-in spot in the West, the No. 7 seed Minnesota Timberwolves and No. 8 Golden State Warriors, battle up north.
Here are some takeaways from the eighth week of the NBA regular season.
Surging Bucks looking more and more like legitimate contender
Though their NBA Cup final victory over the Thunder won’t count in the standings, the Bucks (14-11) are playing complete ball on both sides and — suddenly — look like a threat to disrupt the balance of power in the Eastern Conference.
Milwaukee held the Thunder to (technically unofficial) season-lows in points (81), field-goal percentage (33.7%) and 3-point percentage (15.6%).
“We believe we can beat anybody,” coach Doc Rivers said before the NBA Cup championship.
The Bucks have also become more deliberate on offense, slowing down their pace and working the ball in search of higher-percentage shots. In October, Milwaukee ranked sixth in the NBA in pace (102.7 possessions per 48 minutes), 15th in true shooting percentage (57.2%) and 13th in effective field-goal percentage (53.6%). Over the last 15 games, the Bucks rank 21st in pace (98.75), fourth in true shooting (60.8%) and third in effective field-goal percentage (58.1%).
It’s no surprise that Damian Lillard has returned to form and that Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists per game) is playing like an MVP. Sixth man Bobby Portis has also had the occasional big game.
Another boost has been the return of forward Khris Middleton (ankles), who made his season debut Dec. 6. While the scoring hasn’t quite been there yet, Middleton has injected playmaking and ball movement into the offense; he has 23 assists in four games, although he has averaged just 21.3 minutes per game.
Timberwolves reclaim their identity, but issues still linger
Minnesota’s effort was so bad the first month-and-a-half of the NBA season that Anthony Edwards called out his team as “front-runners” and “soft.”
He especially lamented the Timberwolves’ defensive effort.
Over the last seven games, however, no team has come close to Minnesota’s defensive competitiveness. The Timberwolves (14-11) rank first in defensive rating (92.8 points per 100 possessions) over that span while the Thunder — the next closest team — posted a defensive rating of 103.5. By way of comparison, the Timberwolves had posted a defensive rating of 111 during November.
More importantly for Minnesota: it has won six of its last seven.
Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have once again become full-court, on-ball demons, and the Timberwolves have rotated well, clamping perimeter shooters; over the last seven games, the Timberwolves are holding opposing 3-point shooters to a league-worst 28.6% conversion rate, which is seven full percentage points off Minnesota’s mark from November.
The Magic have lost three of their last five. Can they survive until they get healthy?
All signs point to that being the case, which is crazy to say given that their best two players — Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner — have now missed extended time with their respective torn obliques.
Orlando (17-11) is still in a great spot, sitting atop the Southeast Division and in the No. 4 seed in the East. Banchero still appears to be a few weeks away, but he put up jumpers after a recent practice.
The Magic also have a pristine 10-1 record at the KIA Center in Orlando, and they have the league’s third-best defensive rating (106.1).
Orlando has a tough stretch coming up, with games against the Thunder, Celtics, Knicks and two against the Heat, but players like Jalen Suggs, Mo Wagner and rookie Tristan da Silva have each stepped up.
Has the window closed for the Sacramento Kings?
It simply hasn’t worked out for Sacramento (13-14), which sits last in the Pacific Division and is the current No. 12 seed, overall, in the Western Conference. And, as star De’Aaron Fox has openly expressed uncertainty about his future in Sacramento, it’s safe to wonder if a sell-off is on the horizon.
Offseason trade addition DeMar DeRozan (22.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4 assists per game) has been steady, though his numbers have dipped some from last year. But because he finds comfort in the mid-range, and as NBA offenses move more toward the risk-reward of the 3-point shot, the fit in Sacramento has not materialized into victories.
Forward Keegan Murray, who showed he could ignite from 3 during his first two seasons, is averaging career-lows in 3-pointers made (1.7), attempts (5.5) and percentage (29.9%).
The Kings are tied for 21st in 3-point percentage (34.4%), two seasons after they ranked ninth (36.9%).
What’s interesting is that Sacramento has shown it’s capable of explosive, efficient play. Among win-loss splits across all NBA teams, the Kings rank second in the NBA in offensive rating (123.2 points per 100 possessions) and fourth in net rating (plus-14.7 point differential per 100 possessions) during victories.
The Trail Blazers must confront their Scoot Henderson problem
Portland (8-18) is winless in December and has the NBA’s longest active losing streak at six games. More frustratingly for Blazers fans, this rebuild already seems as though it has peaked.
There are some bright spots: rookie Donovan Clingan has been a force on the glass and Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija have been solid. But Henderson — the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2023 — has struggled to find any type of efficiency. Henderson is averaging only 10.8 points per game (down from 14 his rookie season) and is shooting just 27.9% from 3-point range. He’s averaging 2.8 turnovers per game, despite falling out of the starting lineup and playing 25.6 minutes per game, which is a reduction from his rookie total of 28.5.
The issue is magnified on the defensive end, where Henderson is tied for 460th in the league in defensive rating (118.8) among players averaging at least 20 minutes per game.
Henderson, though, is still just 20 years old and has plenty of athleticism. It’s incumbent on Chauncey Billups and the coaching staff to get him to play looser and more efficiently, or drastic changes could be forthcoming.