The week leading up to the All-Star break features four lovable lotto affairs.
Monday, Feb. 8
New Orleans vs. Minnesota
An 0-4 week put the nail in NOLA’s coffin in terms of fighting for a playoff spot. A decent record in December and January helped them keep their heads close to the surface for a while, but the Pelicans drowned in the first week of February.
The one bright spot for the Pelicans in yet another lost season has been the continued physical progress of Jrue Holiday, who averaged 18 points and seven dimes to only two turnovers in 29 minutes per game in January while appearing in back-to-backs for the first time this season. Holiday had a 1-for-14 stinker against the Grizzlies to kick off February, but he continues to provide positive production off the bench. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis is obviously the premier matchup in this one, but off the bench I’m looking forward to watching Holiday cover Zach LaVine.
Both of these teams have humorously bad floor-spacing in the starting lineup. Neither Davis nor Towns has any room to breathe on offense to begin games, but Sam Mitchell and Alvin Gentry seem fairly content with that. This past summer, I predicted these two coaches would do well this season. Woops.
Tuesday, Feb. 9
Washington vs. New York
The Wizards begin the week at 10th in the East, 3.5 games back of Detroit for the eight spot in East, with the Hornets hovering in between at 25-26. New York is just below Washington at 23-31. Do-or-die week killed the Knicks’ playoff hopes, but Kristaps Porzingis provides reasons to tune into New York basketball today, tomorrow, and (hopefully) 10 years from now.
The Wizards went down to the Hornets on Saturday, a pivotal loss in a season that’s slipping away. The Knicks are already playing for pride, but Washington is still holding on by the thread of John Wall’s jersey. With so much up in the air this offseason, what happens in the final stretch of games will play a major part in next year’s outlook. More on Washington in a sec.
Wednesday, Feb. 10
Sacramento vs. Philadelphia
The Sixers beat the Kings 110-95 in the first meeting this season, and it’s anyone’s guess whether George Karl will still be coaching the team. If he does make it until Wednesday and Sacramento loses in Philly, that’d likely be the final straw. No way in the world I’m missing out on that.
Thursday, Feb. 10
Washington vs. Milwaukee
Without going 2-0 this week, it’s tough to fathom the Wizards earning a playoff bid. The Bucks are destined for a lottery finish as well. This matchup made the list recently, but there’s more than enough athleticism and familiarity to go around.
Only a handful of clubs can confidently call themselves title contenders this season. The big question for the Bucks and Wizards, as well as the vast majority of teams operating outside of the Bay Area, is: what can we learn about ourselves from these last 30-plus games of the regular season that might help us gain an advantage going forward?
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