We are two weeks from the end of the regular season, one of the craziest ever (thanks, Nico Harrison!).
Playoff races are tightening, the tanking is reaching new lows, and almost everyone in the league has something to fight for. Today, I wanted to discuss a key question for each team as the playoffs, lottery, and offseason loom.
Oklahoma City
Key Question: Will Shai win MVP?
At 62-12, the Thunder are putting the finishing touches on a historically dominant season. They are several games up on Cleveland and have the first overall seed all but clinched. They should be able to seal the deal while sprinkling in some rest games for the regulars.
The only drama now: can Shai Gilgeous-Alexander break Nikola Jokic’s stranglehold on MVP? Nobody can compete with Jokic’s raw box score and on/off numbers, but advanced metrics have them in a dead heat (if not slightly favoring the OKC guard). The scoring is sublime. He’s averaging more points per possession than anyone on better true shooting than Giannis Antetokounmpo. He's also providing excellent defensive playmaking. Team success is a notable point in SGA’s favor.
Voters will have a hard decision to make.
Cleveland
Key Question: Are the Cavs swooning or catching their breath?
The Cavs are 5-5 in their last 10 games. They had a few guys miss games, but these are still foes they would’ve blown out in December.
Is this anything to worry about? I doubt it. We’ve seen plenty of contenders limp to the finish line, but beating up on whatever vastly inferior team emerges from the play-in (as long as it’s not Orlando, who can provide a beating themselves) is usually a perfect tune-up to the more serious games. At this point, gunning for the first overall seed is likely a lost cause. As long as Cleveland maintains their health, they should have no problems getting back up to speed before the second round starts.
Boston
