A Big Stretch & Other News
The next couple of weeks, as we approach the trade deadline, are going to go a long way to determining the shape of the top of the Eastern Conference. After tonight's action, the Boston Celtics lead the Milwaukee Bucks by four games, and the Philadelphia 76ers by five games. That's a solid lead for the C's, but it's also come while the Bucks and 76ers have played the second- and third-easiest schedules in the NBA, according to the venerable John Schumann of NBA.com. Could that mean the C's are due to get even more breathing room?
Tonight, the Bucks started a stretch where they will play eight of 11 games on the road. Entering the game, they were 9-8. Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't play, which was curious given that 1) it was a national TV game and 2) Milwaukee hadn't played since Sunday. We'll see if the team gets fined. But the result was ugly, they lost by 40 points to drop to an even 9-9 on the road. Their next two road games are in Detroit, but after that they have home games against Cleveland and New Orleans, and then head out on a five-game road trip that starts in Denver and ends in Phoenix, and has a back-to-back that will take them from Dallas to Utah. Not a cakewalk, especially considering Utah beat them a week and a half ago in Milwaukee.
Philly is also about to set off on the road. They have played 22 home games against just 17 road games thus far. They're 10-7 on the road, and after a southeast swing down to Orlando and Charlotte, they'll return home for a single home game vs. the Spurs, before setting off on a five-game road trip of their own. The trip starts in Indiana, heads to Denver, and then they get three games – at Portland, Golden State, and Utah – in four nights.
Philly finishes their trip on Feb. 1st, and Milwaukee on Feb. 6th, just ahead of the trade deadline on Feb. 8th. Between now and Feb. 6th, the C's have nine contests of their own, six of which come at home. The home-road split is obviously far more preferable, but the teams they'll play are just as difficult. Denver comes to town on Friday, and then they head off on a Texas-Miami swing against Houston, Dallas, and Miami. Usually, the C's don't escape that trip unscathed. Then they get four tough home games – both LA teams, New Orleans, and Indiana – before finishing with a home game vs. Memphis.
If the C's are able to maintain or extend their lead over Milwaukee and Philly throughout these next three weeks, it may force them to make moves they don't want to make. In Philly's case, it's worth noting that while they are currently the three seed, they're closer to being the seven seed than they are the one seed. Given that they are headed for a tough road trip and that Indiana and New York have improved, Cleveland is on a roll, and Jimmy Butler is finally back in the lineup for Miami, it just seems worth mentioning.
Either way, these next three weeks should be an interesting and important stretch of the schedule.
Indiana and Toronto Do Well in Siakam Trade
Indiana upgraded their starting lineup in a big way with their trade for Pascal Siakam today. Their starting lineup has now become even more malleable. At full strength, they can roll out Tyrese Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith at the guards, with Buddy Hield, Siakam, and Myles Turner in the front court. That lineup has a much better offensive and defensive balance, and most importantly getting Siakam should make them more dynamic in the half court at the end of games when it gets harder to run.
Their bench should remain just as stubbornly potent. Benedict Mathurin should remain the sixth man, with Andrew Nembhard, Jalen Smith, TJ McConnell, Obi Toppin, and Isaiah Jackson all solid reserves, to say nothing of rookie Jarace Walker. Indiana will be heard from this season and the next couple of seasons. This is the best they have been in a long time. And while three first rounders and Bruce Brown is not exactly bargain basement prices, they needed to pay that price in order to keep Toronto from trading Siakam to Dallas, Sacramento, or Philly.
On Toronto's side, I think there's a lot to like too. Three first round picks is a nice piece of business, even if they all end up in the 20s, and I love Brown. I think the Nuggets miss him tremendously. And at 27 years old, he fits in better with Toronto's new core than did Siakam. That new core – Scottie Barnes (age 22), RJ Barrett (23), and Immanuel Quickley (24) – now have a veteran in Brown with championship bonafides who is never afraid of the moment. I think he'll play well off of the more ball-dominant trio, but he is also fully capable of running the offense when needed.
Amazon Just Back Doored Its Way into the NBA
There has been talk that the NBA would carve out an exclusive night for Amazon in their new media rights deal. I have had my fingers crossed that that will not happen, but in the meantime, Amazon went ahead and figured out its own way to further its sports streaming business by buying Diamond Sports, which broadcast half the league's games under the Bally Sports banner.
On the one hand, Diamond battling bankruptcy was going to become an issue for MLB, the NBA, and the NHL very soon. MLB already had to take over broadcasting San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks games last season. On the other hand, there's no way this ends well for these leagues. Amazon now has extreme leverage over the coverage of the NBA. At a minimum, they're going to put these games on Amazon Prime. Perhaps I'm doomcasting, but I could see them killing the potency of NBA League Pass, forcing those 15 teams off of League Pass and requiring customers to subscribe to Amazon Prime in order to watch them at all.
We'll see, but the acquisition fits in on how I see Amazon – they don't want to control one business, they want to control all businesses. And with the rights to broadcast one-third of MLB and NHL teams, and half of the NBA, plus their Thursday Night deal with the NFL, they're well on their way to sports broadcasting domination, and we're all worse off for it.
Philly Misses Out Again
With OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam traded, and Kawhi Leonard signed to an extension, it's been a bad few weeks for the Sixers. They have cleared a cornucopia of cap space for this coming summer, but they are running out of players to give it to. Obviously, trades come out of nowhere in the NBA every summer, but from a free agent perspective, the two biggest players still on the board are Paul George and Jrue Holiday, and odds are good they stay with their respective teams. Well, OK, also James Harden, but that seems unlikely. So does LeBron James.
Of course, the Sixers could run it back, re-sign Tyrese Maxey, De'Anthony Melton, and add vets/complimentary players like Mike Conley, Grayson Allen, Malik Monk, and/or Buddy Hield and be just as potent as they are this season, but that's not the sort of thing that they've been crowing about making. Daryl Morey is patient, and has pulled plenty of rabbits out of his hat over the years, but Anunoby, Siakam, and/or Leonard all would have fit incredibly well on this Sixers team.