The latter half of the NBA season has begun, and as the playoff race heats up, several unexpected twists have already shifted the league’s balance of power. A handful of star players—once in contention for top season awards—have been sidelined for the remainder of the season, stripping their individual accolades off the table. Meanwhile, some teams have decided to shut down their key contributors altogether and focus on the draft.
Let's take a look at a few notable changes and see what fans can expect as we get closer to the post-season:
With a lingering knee injury clouding Embiid’s return, many in Sixers media now believe this could signal the end of “The Process” era altogether. In another painful blow to fans, the often-injured, former MVP has appeared in just 19 games—an underwhelming total for the eleven-year veteran, who by the season's end will have missed more games than he's played throughout his career. This leaves the Sixers caught in a difficult middle ground; they aren't bad enough to tank and land a top draft pick nor deep enough to make a legitimate playoff run. On the bright side, Maxey remains healthy, and Paul George has decided to put more energy into basketball rather than his podcast—for now. But with a host of nagging injuries (Lowry, Yabusele, Eric Gordon) and the loss of star rookie Jared McCain, it’s undeniably tough to root for the Sixers these days.
The Mavericks quickly emerged as Western Conference favorites following a sensational trade deadline, which you can read more about here. However, an untimely setback in their frontcourt has now left Mavs fans reliant on...Dwight Powell—a fan favorite but hardly the defensive anchor you want heading into the postseason. So when will
reinforcements arrive? Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively appear poised to make timely comebacks, and Dante Exum—who’s played just 10 games—is determined to stay on the floor. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis projects a return in roughly two weeks—though fans can’t help but find his latest injury all too familiar. The Brow has been determined to quell load-management rumors over the last few seasons, and his hip injury FEELS legit, but the question remains: can Davis stay healthy long-term? Only time will tell.
Thursday dealt a crushing blow to Spurs fans when Wembanyama was ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a rare shoulder injury—one that apparently mirrors the same condition that prematurely ended Chris Bosh’s career. Until this setback, the Spurs looked like a solid play-in contender bolstered by versatile two-way players like Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle, and an offense that became even more dangerous following the addition of De’Aaron Fox. Now, fans will have to wait until October to see this team’s true potential. Here's hoping the team can put together some entertaining basketball over the next couple of months, but with a disheartening 3-0 record since the injury, it’s hard to imagine this squad making it past the play-in.
Hawks fans were happy to see Ice Trae snag a spot in the All Star Game, but is the team anywhere near as competitive as it was with Jaylen Johnson? The star forward averaged career highs of 19 points per game, ten rebounds, and five assists before suffering a season ending shoulder injury. Where does that leave Trae Young—surrounded by role players. With Dejounte Murray getting shipped off to Louisiana and Bogdanovic touching down in Los Angeles, Trae doesn't have much help at the moment. Even defensive stalwart Clint Capela is a far cry from the double-double machine that once led the league in rebounding. Despite these setbacks, Young continues to impress, dishing out 11 assists per game and finally cracking the 40% field goal mark. Still, Hawks fans are in a precarious spot, hoping their number one overall pick blossoms into a franchise-caliber talent who can help return this team—and Trae—back to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Speaking of Dejounte Murray—prayers up for a swift recovery. Sidelined by a torn achilles tendon, CJ McCollum has been forced to shoulder both guard roles, and it shows. A 15-43 record is the best the team can muster now, but the team undoubtedly has the talent to do more than this. Pelicans fans got what they wanted most, Zion FINALLY on the court balling out, even if it's been just 21 games. Paired with budding star Trey Murphy III and Yves Missi, a relentless glass cleaner with a bright future, the roster looks solid on paper. Yet the loss of Herb Jones, alongside chronic on and off health issues among the entire roster, makes it difficult to see how this team benefited at all from the Brandon Ingram trade.
Fans may have written these teams off, but the NBA is no stranger to surprises—any one of these underdogs could still shock us by clinching a playoff berth. Meanwhile, the squads that have dodged the injury bug are geared up for a playoff war, ready to go straight for the jugular. We’ll be bringing you in-depth coverage on which contenders are best positioned to come out on top, so stay tuned.
And with that, the fourth quarter is up 🏁
Until next time!
JP
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