Dallas Mavericks
Resolution: Trade for Otto Porter Jr.
A trade for Otto Porter Jr. would benefit the financially-ailing Wizards as well as the Mavericks, who could be looking to make a very unexpected push into the playoffs. A potential deal could look like the expiring contract of at least Wesley Matthews for two years (and a player option) of Porter Jr. This would make the Wizards more financially flexible in the years to come instead of being locked into the big three they have. This deal works well for the Mavericks too, as they attempt to provide Luka Doncic with stability as his young career begins to blossom.
Denver Nuggets
Resolution: Prove you belong
The top-seeded Denver Nuggets have three games remaining with Golden State Warriors, two with the Houston Rockets, and a game with the Thunder. Those six games will determine if the Nuggets are a legitimate contender or if they are on the cusp of being one. The Nuggets play their lone home game against Golden State on January 15, so we should get a fairly early taste of how they match up with the defending champions.
Golden State Warriors
Resolution: Plug up the holes
For the first time in a long time, the Warriors look vulnerable. Draymond Green is averaging just 7.3 ppg and Klay Thompson is converting just 34% of his three-point shots. Couple all of that with the drama between Draymond Green and Kevin Durant earlier in the year and you have a team that looks like it may need Durant and Curry to play like their MVP selves to regain the dominance that the Warriors have played with the past few years. Of course, if DeMarcus Cousins returns for the Warriors this season, it may not matter how many points the Warriors score or with what percentage they do it with.
Houston Rockets
Resolution: Figure out how to play offense
Depending on who you ask, James Harden is either the most electrifying or most boring player in the league. There is no doubt he made his mark on NBA history when he scored 400 points in just 10 games, but the Rockets offense is designed so he literally puts up 40 a game every night. The complaint with Harden is that all he does is take the ball in an isolation offense, step back, make a three-point shot, and repeat (sometimes, he even shoots free throws!). Mike D’Antoni is known for having high-scoring offenses, and it is disappointing that even he has fallen into the trap of just letting Harden play one-on-one every game. Maybe the Rockets are saving their offense for when Chris Paul comes back and/or for the playoffs.
Los Angeles Clippers
Resolution: Right the ship
The Clippers are 4-6 in their last ten games and got cold just as the rest of the Western Conference began to heat up. With no real star on the team, unless you count Tobias Harris, the Clippers had been wildly exceeding expectations to start the season and even boasted the second-best record in the West for a while. Hopefully, this is not a regression to where the Clippers talent indicates they should be and Doc Rivers can turn things around with a squad that has shown the ability to hang with some of the top teams in the league.
Los Angeles Lakers
Resolution: Push to make the Lakers THE free agency destination
LeBron James made it no secret about his desire to play with Anthony Davis a couple of weeks ago. Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard have also popped up in free agency targets for the Lakers. Leonard is unlikely, but Durant has been known to glom onto teams he thinks he can win with. Davis could join the team in two years, but guys like Jimmy Butler, Khris Middleton and Tobias Harris would all improve this team dramatically when next to LeBron. For now, the biggest thing Magic Johnson needs to do is decide who goes and who stays while LeBron goes on a league-wide recruiting spree.
Memphis Grizzlies
Resolution: Fix Kyle Anderson
The Grizzlies said goodbye to Tyreke Evans and hello to Kyle Anderson from the Spurs. However, Anderson has not lived up to expectations from his days playing for Gregg Popovich. In almost 30 minutes per game, Anderson is scoring just 7.8 ppg and making just 28% of his three-point shots. The Grizzlies are a team that is desperate for offense outside of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, and with Chandler Parsons just now coming back, the Grizzlies are in a tough spot with a good and young (25 years) Anderson who is not developing the way he should.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Resolution: Make your record reflect your talent
The Timberwolves are perhaps one of, if not the, most disappointing teams in the league this year. After making the playoffs last year and pulling two starters from the 76ers for a troublesome Jimmy Butler, the Timberwolves find themselves at just 17-20 so far this season. Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Robert Covington, Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague should be better than this. KAT will be an All-Star, Covington could possibly win Defensive Player of the Year in addition to another the defensive first team, and Rose is putting up his best numbers in years and looking at a possible Sixth Man award. The Timberwolves need to figure out how to win games, because this roster is truly going to waste.
New Orleans Pelicans
Resolution: Convince Anthony Davis to stay
The Pelicans are about to be at a crossroad with Anthony Davis. It seems like the Celtics-Lakers rivalry is spilling over into who can snag Anthony Davis. Both teams have the assets to make a deal for a player who has been a top-3 player in the league for years, but do the Pelicans think they can keep him? Davis certainly deserves better than being ahead of only the Suns in the West, but the Pelicans have shown promise against some of the top competition in the league. Why doesn’t a star join Davis in New Orleans? If the Pelicans demonstrate they are willing to sacrifice to compete, perhaps that could keep Davis, who has stated in the past he wants to win a championship in New Orleans.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Resolution: Weather the Storm with Westbrook
Westbrook seemingly jumped out of his slump against Dallas the other night, but the Thunder need to be prepared for the next time he goes cold. The Thunder will lose in the playoffs if a team is able to force Westbrook into some cold shooting. Paul George needs to be ready to step up in the playoffs, where he was unable to last season. The Thunder are overall in a good position, and if this is their biggest concern, they will be fine in the regular season.
Phoenix Suns
Resolution: Get the number one overall pick again
What do you want me to say? The Suns are getting destroyed once again despite adding Deandre Ayton to their team. Ryan Anderson’s $30 million contract will expire at the end of next season, which will help the cap situation. But at this point, the Suns need to continue to tank.
Portland Trail Blazers
Resolution: Move into homecourt advantages for the first round
The Trail Blazers are basically locked into the roster they have now for a couple more years and this group already looks like they could make a splash in the playoffs. However, the Blazers are 14-6 at home and just 8-10 on the road. The Blazers need to earn home court advantage in if they hope to advance in the playoffs. They are currently tied with the Rockets in the standings, but a tie-breaker has them as the fifth seed in the West.
Sacramento Kings
Resolution: Continue to develop De’Aaron Fox
De’Aaron Fox is looking more and more like the best point guard from his draft class. The Kings may be 2.5 games from the playoffs, but I don’t see the Spurs or Lakers relinquishing their positions and I expect the Jazz, Mavericks, and possibly Timberwolves to make a push for a playoff run. The Kings look ahead of schedule, but for now, they need to keep their heads down, not look at the standings, and give Fox everything he needs to improve for next season. Fox is currently out-shooting, rebounding, scoring, and assisting his numbers from last year by a significant mark and big things are in his future.
San Antonio Spurs
Resolution: Make the playoffs
The Spurs missed the playoffs last year for the first time in an eternity by league standards. This year, the Spurs are led by DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge and are beginning to separate themselves from the lottery teams in the West, as they have won 7 of their last 10 games. Making the playoffs is a fair expectation of this team given their personnel and coach.
Utah Jazz
Resolution: Find the spark from last year
The Utah Jazz have essentially the same roster as last season (plus Kyle Korver) but they are not seeing the results and success they did a season ago. Donovan Mitchell appears to be a in a bit of a sophomore slump, as his stats are about the same but with lower shooting percentages from the field and three-point range. Rudy Gobert has continued to progress at a top level, but without long range firepower outside of Korver, Ingles and sometimes Jae Crowder, the Jazz are lacking the spark that made them so fun to watch just one season ago.
