The unofficial second half of the 2021-22 NBA season gets going Thursday evening with seven games, including a huge Eastern Conference matchup between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets.
This is the start of what promises to be a frantic finish back east with the top-five seeds all within 2.5 games of one another.
Out west, the defending conference champion Phoenix Suns will likely have to navigate through the remainder of the regular season without Chris Paul (thumb injury). Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers appear to be a hot mess with frustration boiling over internally.
Below, we look at the top-five league-wide storylines around the Assocation as the NBA season gets going once again.
Related: Sportsnaut’s NBA power rankings
Chris Paul’s injury and impact on the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix’ final regular-season game will come April 10 against the Sacramento Kings. Based on this, Paul likely won’t be back until the playoffs start. The future Hall of Famer is slated to be evaluated again in 6-8 weeks after suffering a fractured thumb in the Suns’ final “first half” outing against his former Houston Rockets squad.
This is no small thing. Sure Phoenix boasts a 6.5-game lead over the Golden State Warriors out west. With 24 games remaining, that’s going to be hard for Phoenix to blow. Even then, the Suns’ backup point guard situation has been an issue all season. Hence, why they acquired Aaron Holiday in a trade with the Washington Wizards. Other options on the roster leave a lot to be desired.
- Cameron Payne stats (2021-22): 10.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, 40% shooting
- Elfrid Payton stats (2021-22): 3.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 39% shooting
Related: Phoenix Suns need Mikal Bridges to stepup in Chris Paul’s absence
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the lack of Paul’s ball-distribution skills will impact Phoenix moving forward. In fact, it has already had an impact on the team’s championship odds. With half of their games remaining against winning teams, this could very well derail Pheonix’ hopes of home-court advantage throughout the NBA Playoffs.
NBA blockbuster trade, impact on Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers
One of the biggest in-season blockbuster trades in NBA history took place on February 10 when the Philadelphia 76ers sent disgruntled three-time All-Star Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets as the centerpiece in a package for former NBA MVP James Harden. It shook the foundation of the Association in a big way.
Heading into the post All-Star portion of the schedule, there’s so many storylines here. Simmons has been ramping up his activities afer sitting out the entire season with Philadelphia for “personal reasons.” He hopes to make his Nets debut March 10 when Philadelphia hosts Brooklyn. Imagine the scenario there.
There’s also every reason to believe that two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant will be on the court for that game. He’s making his way back from a sprained MCL in the knee. Can the trio of Durant, Simmons and Kyrie Irving lead a struggling Nets team into contention? It’s a huge question.
Related: Winners/losers from Ben Simmons-James Harden blockbuster
As for Philadelphia, any objective observer would view Harden as a better fit with NBA MVP candidate Joel Embiid than Simmons. There’s a reason why Embiid trolled Simmons following the blockbuster trade. As for Embiid, he has Philadelphia playing tremendous basketball as the all-world center continues to dominate.
- Joel Embiid stats (past 25 games): 33.4 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 4.7 APG, 53% shooting
The question here is whether Philadelphia is looking at this season’s iteration of Harden or not. He played horrible defense in Brooklyn. He’s currently sidelined to a hamstring injury and has yet to make his debut with Philadelphia. That will tell us what we need to know about Philadelphia’s championship aspirations moving forward.
Can the Golden State Warriors mesh in time?
Since an awe-inspiring 27-6 start to the season, Golden State boasts a pedestrian 15-11 record. The one common denominator here has been the absence of Draymond Green. He’s been sidelined to a back injury and hopes to be back within the month.
- Warriors record with Draymond Green: 28-6
- Warriors record without Draymond Green: 14-11
Equally as notable as Green’s importance to the Warriors is the fact that he has not played a game with Klay Thompson since June 13 of 2019. It will be almost three years that the two have suited up with one another when Green returns. That’s insane.
A lot has changed since Green and Thompson played together. Sure the Warriors are top-end contenders. They have an all-time great in Stephen Curry still playing tremendous basketball.
However, there’s other pieces in place that need to mesh here. That includes Jordan Poole being relied on to provide scoring from the bench and the continued emergence of teenager Jonathan Kuminga. It’s also noteworthy that Green, Thompson and fellow All-Star Andrew Wiggins have never played a game together as teammates. How will that look?
Related: NBA Playoff and championship predictions
The Boston Celtics’ emergence as NBA title contenders
For a while there, it looked like Boston would be in the play-in tournament for a second consecutive season. While this could still be the case, first-year head coach Ime Udoka has this squad playing absolutely tremendous basketball.
It starts on the defensive end of the court with Boston having yielded less than 100 points in nine of its final 13 games heading into the NBA All-Star Break. Meanwhile, the combination of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are providing that scoring punch.
- Jayson Tatum stats (2021-22): 25.7 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 4.2 APG, 43% shooting, 33% three-point
- Jaylen Brown stats (2021-22): 23.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.3 APG, 46% shooting, 35% three-point
In the midst of a stretch that has seen them go 18-7 since a 16-19 start to the season, these Celtics have been among the best teams in the NBA. Can they keep it up moving forward?
Related: Top 50 NBA players of 2022
Los Angeles Lakers’ struggles and internal drama
At the start of the season, not a single objective observer had Los Angeles with a 27-31 record and as the ninth seed out west. The team acquired former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook and brought on other aging stars to help fill out the rotation.
The results have been disastrous with Westbrook struggling to fit in. Anthony Davis is once again sidelined to injury. All-time great LeBron James has dealt with injuries himself. The backdrop here is a perceived rift between King James and Los Angeles’ brass leading up to the NBA trade deadline. Perhaps as a message to James himself, the Lakers were quiet.
This isn’t a team built for a first-round exit or the play-in tournament. Anything short of a deep run in the NBA Playoffs will be seen as a major disappointment.
It could also lead to further questions about James’ future in Southern California after the future Hall of Famer admitted he’ll close out his career playing with his son, wherever that might be. With James eligble for an extension this summer and free agency following the 2022-23 season, how the remainder of the campaign plays out could tell us about whether he wants to be in Los Angeles moving forward.