BOBBLEHEAD SPORTS

This NBA season has been surprising, yet predictable and fun, yet boring. This seems contradictory, but if you watch the NBA, you get it. Today we will give every team a letter grade for their first half of the season, starting with the western conference going in order of standings:

WESTERN CONFERENCE 

Minnesota Timberwolves (39-16) A+

The next generation has arrived. Once again mirroring the early years of this franchise’s existence they have built a young core of stars they have no hope of retaining when they all want contracts at the same time. Until then this team led by Shai and surprise superstar Jalen Williams along with standout “rookie” Chet Holmgren will continue their meteoric rise to the top of the conference.

Oklahoma City Thunder (37-17) A+

Los Angeles Clippers (36-17) A

With the James Harden yearly trade request ending with him in LA paired with Kawhi and PG the expectations were sky-high. While the team started off slow they have exploded into contention, with a healthy Kawahi, PG, Harden, and 6th man of the year candidate, Westbrook. They will surely make a run this playoffs and maybe bring the Larry O Brian to the Clippers for the first time ever.

Denver Nuggets (36-19) A-

Coming off an NBA championship there were still questions about the Nuggets such as Jokic’s love for the game or if losing Bruce Brown could have adverse effects on the team. Suffice to say Jokic seems to care quite a lot about basketball and has led his team, despite some concerning losses to contending teams such as back-to-back losses to the Bucks and Kings right before the break. But, my belief is that isn’t an indication of anything wrong with this team, they will make at least the WCF.

Phoenix Suns (33-22) B

The next Kevin Durant superteam is already a playoff team. They added star SG Bradley Beal in an offseason trade as well as getting rid of disgruntled center Deandre Ayton for a playoff-experienced Jusuf Nurkic. Still, for a super team this record does not stand out among the crowd and all three of the stars, Booker, Durant and Beal have all dealt with injuries causing a lower-than-expected record. Still this team is a danger to anybody they face if healthy, which reminds me a lot of the Brooklyn Nets from a few years ago, will they have the same fate?

New Orleans Pelicans (33-22) A-

Bet you didn’t know they were the sixth seed huh? Yep, Zion and Brandon Ingram have led this team to an unexpected and respectable record in the tough Western conference. Still, this team is clearly missing something and has been quite inconsistent this season beating great teams while losing to teams they really should be beating. It’s hard to take them seriously as a contender but perhaps they will force us to in the coming weeks.

Dallas Mavericks (32-23) B+

Luka’s magic has been in full force this year, so much so he is my current favorite to win MVP despite magnificent seasons from SGA and Jokic. Despite this, the Mavs sit as a play-in team currently despite a stellar season from Kyrie and new additions such as Daniel Gafford and underrated PF PJ (Paul) Washington Jr. Come playoff time I would expect no team to want to see Luka in the first round of the playoffs, despite having overwhelming odds against him, Luka is a force to be reckoned with and can compete with any team in any conference.

Sacramento Kings (31-23) B-

Last year’s best offense has begun collapsing back to normalcy and has caused a dip in production from this team despite career-best years from Sabonis and Fox. The Kings should be in prime contention to make a run with one of the best one-two punches in the league but have struggled to really cement themselves like they did last year. I would predict another first-round exit leading to a change in personnel.

Los Angeles Lakers (30-26) D+

Any team with Lebron James on it is a contender so the saying goes. This offseason general manager Rob Pelinka “cooked” in many eyes by signing Christian Wood, Cam Reddish, and most disappointingly of all, Gabe Vincent coming off his finals run with the black magic Miami Heat. These signings have caused nothing but pain for the Lakers to dispute a relatively healthy AD and Lebron paired with a hot D’angelo Russel. The failings of the Lakers have so far kept these so-called contenders towards the play-in despite lofty expectations for greatness. 

Golden State Warriors (27-26) C-

The Dynasty is over, I’m calling it right here. It’s all over and time for the Warriors to make a youth movement towards future star Jonathan Kuminga and what is left of superstar Steph Curry. The Warriors this season have shown no fight to continue contending for championships and the declining play of Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins has essentially kickstarted a youth movement by players like Kuminga and rookie sensation Brandin Podziemski. The Warriors will be a team we don’t hear contention buzz from for a few years, or maybe Curry and company can turn it around with the fountain of youth Lebron found years ago.

Utah Jazz (26-30) B-

The Jazz are in a peculiar spot currently sitting at the 11th seed. Despite that not being a good overall place, I struggle to find ways they have failed expectations this year, the team and roster just simply aren’t built for this, but it really isn’t trying to be. The haul of picks they got for Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, this team is set up to be great in the future, like the Thunder were a couple of years ago.

Houston Rockets (24-30) D

Coming into a season with only a top 4 protected pick can help push a team into playoff contention and at the start of the year you would have been forgiven for believing in these Houston Rockets, but alas all good things must end. These current rockets are accomplishing nothing by being out of top-pick contention and out of playoff contention. The big-money signings of Dillon Brooks and Fred Vanvleet have not paid off and a down season from the future face of the franchise Jalen Green has caused this team to be in NBA purgatory and will stay that way until the Nets picks begin to pay off. 

Memphis Grizzlies (20-36) F-  

A season from hell. Beginning with a Ja Morant suspension leading to a Ja Morant injury leading to the entire starting lineup and bench all out with injuries. The season is over, it’s never been more over. Tanking for the draft is the only thing they can do. The one bright side has been seeing these young guys like GG Jackson the second and Vince Williams Jr has been exciting for the future of this team, just not for the present. 

Portland Trail Blazers (15-39) D-

Wow, this team stinks. I think we all knew that going in but my god, this team is just bad all around, bad players, bad coaching, bad aura. They are lucky we all saw this coming after getting nothing substantial for Dame and Jusuf Nurkic. Failure to move off of Ayton and Brogdon this deadline has shed more light on the incompetence of Joe Cronin who was praised this offseason for “not settling”. I bet Blazers fans see it differently now.

San Antonio Spurs (11-44) C

Wembanyama is as advertised. He’s elite on both ends leading the league in blocks while averaging 20 and 10. He will be the face of this league for years to come and they have some building blocks for the future. The Spurs just need an elite PG and this team is set. They may be able to get by tanking and drafting Nikola Topic out of Serbia or trading a pick for Trae Young. Either way being bad is a good thing for this team. Keep doing what you are doing Mr. Wembanyama.

EASTERN CONFERENCE 

Boston Celtics (43-12) A+

How could the team with the best record in the NBA not be A+? The offseason additions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis really cemented the Celtics as a top contender this year. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis are all averaging North of 20 points and are solid as the Celtics’ big three. Everyone expected the Celtics to be this good this season and they are living up to the expectations thus far. 

Cleveland Cavaliers (36-17) A+

Donovan Mitchell is leading the Cavaliers to, what in all likelihood will be another 50-win season. Being 18 and 2 in the last 20 games, this team is HOT. Despite being first-round exits last season, this team is a real contender this year. Donovan Mitchell has stepped up, Max Strus has been playing great defense, and things are falling into place for the Cavs. 

Milwaukee Bucks (35-21) B-

The addition of Damian Lillard was supposed to make this team something that it has only shown glimpses of this season. It was expected for Dame and Giannias to be one of the best duos in the league, but since the new year Dame is shooting only 29.1% from three. Coaching issues certainly have not helped this season. Adrian Griffin was replaced after going 30-13 with the team by Doc Rivers. Since taking over as head coach River’s record is 3-7. On the positive side, the addition of Malik Beasley has done wonders for the Bucs, as he is shooting 44.4% from deep. This team is still a contender due to its star power, but it is nowhere close to its preseason expectations.

New York Knicks (33-22) A

As second-round exits last year, people were expecting the Knicks to achieve a 45+ win record again. Since the start of the season, Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle have been making a strong case for the Knicks being a contending team, but the mid-season addition of OG Anunoby (traded for RG Barrett and Immanuel Quickly) really makes the Knicks look like contenders. Since joining the team right before the start of 2024 the Knicks are 12-2 in games he played.

Philadelphia 76ers (32-22) B+

The 76ers went from having the defending MVP Joel Embiid and former MVP James Harden at the start of the season to having neither. James Harden requested a trade, ending up on the Clippers and Embiid tore his meniscus, which will likely have him out for the remainder of the season. Despite the loss of their two superstars, the 76ers are still winning games which is why they have a B+. Tyrese Maxey has stepped up in place of James Harden and the trade deadline addition of Buddy Hield has helped them keep their heads out of the water without Embiid so far. 

Indiana Pacers (31-25) A

We may have found ourselves in the early years of the next John Stockton. Tyrese Haliburton has cemented himself as a top-five PG in this league and has led a mediocre team into a historically good offense. Yet even still the Pacers sit as the sixth seed in the East and have been extremely underwhelming since the acquisition of Pascal Siakam. It remains to be seen if an all offense no defense team can actually win in the playoffs or will they share the same fate as last year’s Sacramento Kings?

Miami Heat (30-25) C+

My Miami Heat are extremely confused just like last year, coming off a miraculous finals run they find themselves one game out of the playoffs due to a shocking amount of injuries. Jimmy and Bam have only played 28 games together and if you add Herro that number gets even lower. Another injury to the newest Heat, Terry Rozier, will have him out for a few weeks as well. It just seems nothing can go right for their health as even the newest Heat draft pick and rookie sensation Jamie Jaquez has not been able to stay healthy this season. Still, you can never count this team out and they will be dangerous come playoff time for any team in the East. 

Orlando Magic (30-25) A

Orlando Magic, Orlando Magic. What a song, too bad this team isn’t quite at the point where it is played all the time. The team has a great young core led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, along with a new breakout candidate in Jalen Suggs, who has added to his already stellar defensive game. This team has a bright future but isn’t quite ready right now to compete with the top dogs. 

Chicago Bulls (26-29) F

This front office is a joke. Not seeing the writing in big bold letters on the wall that this core won’t accomplish anything, the Bulls FO decided to keep everything intact for another mediocre season. This will lead to a bad draft pick into another mediocre season. The only bright spot has been MIP award candidate Coby white who has broken out to become this team’s clear best player, despite a good season from Derozan.

Atlanta Hawks (24-31) C

The Hawks are disappointing again. It just doesn’t seem to be working with the core they have. Trae is a superstar and offensive juggernaut, but they have been unable to build a good team around him. Despite a bidding war over Murray, they held onto the core. It doesn’t make a lot of sense unless they think about perhaps getting rid of Trae altogether. The Hawks lack direction and are sitting in the last play-in spot with almost no hope of making any sort of run. They really don’t have enough to not be looking to blow it up even if that means trading Ice Trae away from his city. 

Brooklyn Nets (21-33) D

Brooklyn is a confusing team, sitting on limited draft capital and limited players, and yet are finding a way to not be a bottom 5 team. We have seen that Mikal Bridge is not a first-option type of player. The role players they have like Cam Johnson have not stepped up like they should, and the season is just a wash to be perfectly honest. Not a fun team to talk about or watch play. 

Toronto Raptors (19-36) B

The Raptors have finally entered the rebuilding process by getting rid of long-time Raptor, Pascal Siakam, and Star OG Anunoby for young players like RJ Barret and Immanuel Quickly along with draft capital. The Raptors are not in a spot to contend but unlike the Bulls, their front office isn’t ok with eternal mediocrity. I would expect the Raptors to end near the Hornets for the next few years. Despite that the Raptors don’t actually have their own pick this year if it doesn’t land in the top 6. They have acquired draft capital for their players to compensate for that and should be looking to acquire young talent from around the league for the next few years as they build around All-Star Scottie Barnes. 

Charlotte Hornets (13-41) D

Brandon Miller has come better than advertised. He is sensational and has been the second-best real rookie in the entire league, and people called them stupid for passing on Scoot Henderson. Still, the Hornets have struggled this year due to long term injuries to star Lamelo Ball and up-and-coming center Mark Williams. At the deadline, they got rid of old injured Gordon Hayward and added Tre Man, a young future starter in this league paired with Grant Willaims who they go for PJ Washington. The Hornets are set for the future and should be able to contend in a few years. 

Washington Wizards (9-45) F

Jordan Poole is not James Harden, that can be seen clearly now. Jordan Poole, my pick for the most improved player can’t even manage to be a league-average player. Poole is potentially the worst player in the league who gets real minutes. These Wizards are going to be hovering around 15 wins for the next 5-6 years. 

Detroit Pistons (8-46) F – – – –