It has been a full week since the National Basketball Association (NBA) season resumed following the All-Star break, but there has not yet been enough games to truly affect the jostling for play-off positions. The teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences are still tightly bunched from positions one through to 13 and the final placings may come down to the last few weeks in the regular season.

Resuming from the break, which happened just after a very busy trade deadline, there have been a number of substantial events which may factor significantly into the final seedings in the respective conferences. Here’s a few of the more telling happenings.

Russell Westbrook, who was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers and ended up signing with the Los Angeles Clippers, made his debut with his new team last Friday (February 24) against the Sacramento Kings and contributed significantly (17 points, 14 assists) to a breathtaking duel that turned out to be the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. However, the double overtime game, with Sacramento repeatedly coming from behind, ended with Westbrook fouling out in the second overtime and the Clippers losing 176-175. The Clippers have since lost to the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves, a dismal 0-3 start for Westbrookat at his new address, raising obvious questions.

The Kings, on the other hand, have been on a tear, currently sitting third in the West after missing the play-offs for 16 straight years, the longest such drought in NBA history. The Kings and Clippers also scored the third- and fourth-most points, respectively, in a game in NBA history, trailing only the Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets 186-184 triple-overtime game on December 13, 1983, as the most.

Coming off a seemingly positive trade deadline, the Lakers looked poised to make an impression during the final stretch of the NBA regular season. Anthony Davis has regained his form as one of the league’s most dominant big men, the NBA’s all-time scoring leader LeBron James (averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 6.9 assists per game) appears to have found a new lease on life, while new additions Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt are making their presence felt. And last Sunday, when they turned an apparent blowout into a thrilling win, it seemed to be lining up for the 12th-placed Lakers to push their way into the play-in or even the top six in a crowded Western Conference.

The Lakers rallied from a 27-point deficit against the Dallas Mavericks (now bolstered with the addition of Kyrie Irving) to win 111-108. This matched the largest comeback win in LeBron’s career and the largest comeback win in the league this season. NBA teams were 138-0 this season when leading by 27 or more points before Sunday. Unfortunately, the win came with a price as LeBron came up limping in the third quarter and was not available for Tuesday’s encounter, when the Lakers got dismantled by Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies (121-109). A date for LeBron’s return has not been disclosed, but the Lakers are precariously perched and are in danger of missing the play-offs for the second year running.

And speaking of the Mavericks, the Kyrie-Luka (Doncic) experiment is in its infancy, but the duo is 1-4 playing together and questions are being raised about their pairing. More so following a 122-124 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday (February 28), two days after they allowed that huge Lakers’ comeback, despite Doncic scoring 39 points (on his 24th birthday) and Kyrie chipping in with 16. That was the Pacers’ second straight road win after going two months without one, an 11-game skid. Maybe the Kyrie-Luka pairing will work — the jury is still out — but the Mavericks sit seventh in the Western Conference and have a bit of wiggle room to play with.

The Milwaukee Bucks took their 14-game win streak into New York on Tuesday night to dangle it in front of the Brooklyn Nets in the expectation to improve to 15. The Bucks welcomed back Giannis Antetokounmpo after getting injured in the final game before the All-Star break, and following a slow start, he went into beast mode, scoring 33 points and nabbing 15 rebounds in the 118-104 win. The Bucks are looking invincible at the moment, overtaking the Boston Celtics for the best record in the NBA and getting high-quality performances from Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez.

For the record, the Lakers have the longest regular season winning streak in NBA history at 33 straight games. The streak occurred in the 1972 season, during which they beat their opponents by an average of 16.0 points. And speaking of streaks, the San Antonio Spurs had been on a 16-game losing streak until Tuesday night’s 102-94 victory over the Utah Jazz, while the Houston Rockets are now riding a 10-game losing streak after a 133-112 beatdown on Tuesday night at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.

This weekend’s games will feature every NBA team at least once, and a few are especially mouthwatering. Firstly, the top two seeds in the West square off tonight when the first-placed Nuggets welcome the second-placed Memphis Grizzlies into Ball Arena. The Nuggets will be aiming to avenge a 112-94 defeat that was suffered in late February.

Then tomorrow, Saturday, the streaking Bucks will put their league-leading record up against the Philadelphia 76ers, who currently occupy third place in the East. The Bucks are 8-2 against these opponents over their last 10 meetings and there is no indication that this one won’t go in Milwaukee’s favour. And a much-anticipated clash will be featured early Sunday afternoon when the Mavericks welcome the Phoenix Suns into American Airlines Arena, where Kyrie will meet Kevin Durant for the first time since they parted ways as teammates in Brooklyn last month — no marketing necessary to sell this one.

A number of teams have dug in and have done well for themselves, while teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets are trending in the wrong direction, but everything in-between promises to be fire. Twenty-six games are on tap this weekend and almost everyone has play-off implications. “That’s Game.”

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NBA CHAMPION 2023

TeamOdds

Boston Celtics3.80

Phoenix Suns5.20

Milwaukee Bucks6.00

Denver Nuggets7.80

Los Angeles Clippers10.00

Philadelphia 76ers12.00

Golden State Warriors16.00

Memphis Grizzlies17.00

Dallas Mavericks18.00

Cleveland Cavaliers26.00

*Only Top 10 odds shown (see website for full list)

Note: Odds are subject to change