The NBA season is nearing its end, with teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences fiercely battling for the top six seed positions in the playoffs. This year's playoff competition promises to be exceptionally intense, as each team strives for a higher ranking. The stakes are high, and every game carries significant weight as teams jockey for playoff positioning.
Read Also...:
World Athletics Indoor Championships 2025: Who is competing, how to watch & key timings
03-21, 2025
Bulgaria 1-2 Republic of Ireland: Republic can do 'a little better' after Bulgaria win - Hallgrimsson
03-21, 2025
Emma Raducanu: Vladimir Platenik coach partnership ended over 'stress and pressure'
03-21, 2025
Salford beat Giants for first Super League win
03-21, 2025Australian player Dyson Daniels continues to contribute outstanding defensive statistics. Simultaneously, veteran players LeBron James and Stephen Curry have rekindled their championship aspirations due to their teams' trade maneuvers. With the playoffs just weeks away, here are some key focal points to watch. These developments set the stage for an exciting conclusion to the regular season and a thrilling playoff run.
Dyson Daniels' performance has been described as unseen in decades. Without exaggeration, Dyson Daniels is now one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. While the Atlanta Hawks currently have a middling record (33-36 at the time of writing, placing them seventh in the Eastern Conference), Daniels is undoubtedly a major discovery this season. His defensive prowess has been a bright spot for the team.
Daniels has earned the moniker "The Great Barrier Thief" for his steal abilities throughout the season, consistently racking up impressive steal numbers. The 22-year-old Bendigo native has amassed 194 steals this season, the most since Chris Paul recorded 216 steals in the 2008-09 season. Daniels is currently averaging 3 steals per game, the highest average since Alvin Robertson contributed 3.04 steals per game for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1990-91 season. If he maintains his current pace, he will easily surpass Paul's record. Daniels' impact on the defensive end is undeniable.
The 203cm Daniels has proven to be the perfect complement to All-Star point guard Trae Young, who is not exactly known for his defense, to say the least. To date, Daniels has featured in four of the Hawks' most effective five-man lineups, all of which have played at least 50 minutes together, and he will almost certainly be named to one of this season's NBA All-Defensive Teams. Since joining Atlanta, Daniels has improved in almost every other facet of the game. He is currently posting career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks, and is also shooting a career-best 34.5% from three-point range. Daniels is currently still playing out his rookie contract but is expected to receive a significant pay raise in his next contract, whether that is from the Hawks or another team. His all-around improvement has made him a valuable asset for the Hawks.
LeBron and Stephen's championship window reopens. Two trades have not only impacted the two teams but have also had a huge impact on the entire league. The first week of February saw seismic changes in the NBA, with the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Luka Dončić in a clandestine trade with the Dallas Mavericks, a deal that still feels surreal more than a month later. At the time of executing the Dončić trade, the Lakers were 28-19, and they have since skyrocketed to fourth in the Western Conference with a 42-25 record. When fully healthy, Dončić joins LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Jaxson Hayes in the Lakers' starting five, and so far, this lineup has been a revelation, outscoring opponents by 22.2 points per 100 possessions in their 44 minutes together. The Lakers have become a force to be reckoned with.
The Slovenian is the best playmaker James has partnered with in his 22 seasons, and the reduced offensive pressure has allowed James to ratchet up his defensive intensity to levels not seen in years. Watching James play, it is clear that the prospect of adding another championship, potentially as early as this season, has invigorated him. In the 10 games since the All-Star break, James (the league's oldest player at 40 years old) is averaging 28.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 6.4 assists. Days after the Lakers acquired Dončić, the Golden State Warriors were revitalized by the acquisition of six-time All-Star forward Jimmy Butler, who joined the Warriors after falling out with the Miami Heat. The Warriors were 25-26 at the time of completing the Butler trade, and they have been one of the league's best teams since he joined, going 15-3 in the past month. These acquisitions have injected new life into the Lakers and Warriors, respectively.
Butler's arrival has injected the Warriors with boundless defensive energy, with Draymond Green still a menace and Defensive Player of the Year candidate, while also easing the offensive pressure on Stephen Curry. Just as James has been stellar since Dončić's arrival, Curry has also been playing his best basketball since Butler became his teammate. The 37-year-old Curry is averaging 27.2 points since the All-Star break, almost four points higher than his average before the All-Star break. Butler's arrival has added another playmaker to the Warriors, allowing Curry to play to his strengths – relocating after giving up the ball and running around countless screens on any given possession. Curry's improved performance is a testament to Butler's impact.
The Oklahoma City Thunder (56-12) remain the strongest team in the Western Conference (and possibly the entire NBA), but the Lakers and Warriors possess something that the Thunder do not – genuine championship pedigree. The Thunder would still be favored in a series against either the Lakers or Warriors, but they would one hundred percent not want to face an energized James or Curry. The experience and leadership of James and Curry could prove to be invaluable in a playoff setting.
Josh Giddey is thriving as the number one star. In a less-heralded trade at the trade deadline, the Chicago Bulls decided to send Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade that saw De'Aaron Fox move from the Kings to the San Antonio Spurs. The trade appeared puzzling on the surface for the Bulls, who acquired their own 2025 first-round pick from the Spurs, along with Zach Collins, Tre Jones, and Kevin Huerter. However, one of the benefits of the trade was empowering Josh Giddey, who was acquired by the Bulls in a trade before the start of the season. Life in Chicago was initially a little awkward for Giddey, as he shared ball-handling duties with high-usage guards LaVine and Coby White, but the Australian has played some of his best basketball since LaVine's departure. Giddey's increased role has allowed him to showcase his talent.
Giddey has rediscovered the verve he showed in his first two seasons, which he sorely lacked last year as his minutes gradually decreased as the season progressed. In the nine games Giddey has played since the All-Star break, he is averaging 23.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 8.4 assists while shooting over 52% from three-point range. Giddey can play off-ball – he is taking four three-pointers per game and shooting a career-high 37% – but his real value is with the ball in his hands, where he is an excellent floor general. The Bulls – currently 29-39 and ninth in the Eastern Conference – are unlikely to make this year's playoffs, but good things happen when Giddey is on the court. Giddey features in three of the Bulls' four best two-man lineups, with the Bulls outscoring opponents by 28.2 points per 100 possessions in their 161 minutes with Huerter on the court. Giddey's resurgence has been a positive development for the Bulls.
Adding insult to injury for bad seasons. While the competition at the top of the league is always exciting, it is also interesting at this stage of the season to see teams vying for lottery pick positions at the bottom of the NBA. The competition for the number one pick is all the more enticing, as the prize for the winner is Duke University's Cooper Flagg, who many draft experts are predicting will be selected with the first overall pick. The 206cm forward Flagg has been compared to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. A terrific three-level scorer, an excellent rebounder, and a capable playmaker for his size, he is considered to be one of the most polished draft prospects in league history. The Utah Jazz are currently at the bottom of the NBA with a 15-54 record, one game behind the Washington Wizards, who are 15-52. The Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans are the other teams who have not won 20 games to date this season. The race to the bottom is heating up.
At the time of writing, the Philadelphia 76ers, who are fifth-worst in the league with a 23-46 record, are perhaps the most interesting of all the tanking teams. Philadelphia entered the season with hopes of contending for an NBA title, but they have been disappointing, as their star trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey have all struggled to get significant time on the court due to injuries. If the 76ers' pick falls outside the top six in this season's draft, it will be conveyed to the league's best team – the Thunder – due to a 2020 trade in which the 76ers attempted to offload Al Horford's salary by attaching a top-six protected 2025 first-round pick, having signed Horford to a four-year, $109 million deal the season prior. To make matters worse for Philadelphia, Horford only played 28 games for the Thunder before re-signing with the Boston Celtics, where he played a pivotal role in their NBA Finals run last year. Talk about a trade that continues to haunt Philadelphia. The 76ers' misfortunes continue to mount.
