NBA Talking Points

The business end of the NBA regular season has been fairly action-packed in recent weeks and the race towards the postseason is just enthralling. Here are some points to ponder as we look back on the week that was and head into the week ahead.

Warriors’ Form is Plummeting

The Golden State Warriors are looking a shadow of the team that blew the league away early on in the season. They are on a five-game losing streak and have only won two of their last 10 games. That is a terrible slide and one that looked highly unlikely when they were cruising. With Draymond Green having missed a large amount of time on court due to an ongoing back issue the Warriors’ defence has crumbled. There is still hope that when he comes back and is potentially joined by sophomore centre James Wiseman, the Warriors could normalise their defensive shape and make a play for another championship. There are no guarantees but Golden State need a serious reset.

Nets Could Be In For A Torrid End To The Season

It seems like struggle and toil is the order of the day for some of the favourites in the NBA. The Brooklyn Nets have been down-right terrible for large portions of the season as Kevin Durant was out with a knee problem, James Harden was also struggling with a leg issue and Kyrie Irving’s vaccine status had prevented him from playing in home games. Harden has since left the Nets, Durant and back but Irving is still a part-time player until New York changes the vaccine mandate. KD’s return hasn’t arrested Brooklyn’s slide though, they’ve lost to the Heat and Celtics despite Durant scoring 31 and 37 in those respective games. The Nets are 9^th in the Eastern Conference and will need a turnaround in fortunes to get them back on track. They need it fast.

Heat Look Dangerous

The Miami Heat are feasting in the league right now. They lead the Eastern Conference and are three games ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers in the standings. They have an 8-2 record in their last ten games. Tyler Herro is playing some of the best basketball of his life and looks a shoo-in for the 6^th Man of the Year award. The Heat are… red hot right now. They have all of their front line players back and have also welcomed back Victor Oladipo from his long injury lay-off. The stars are aligning and it could actually be a surprisingly good time to be a Miami Heat fan. They are built to win and they are winning right now.