Just like every year, there will be some interesting storylines in the NBA during the second half of the season.
One key storyline involves the MVP race. Last year’s winner, Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, has been out with a knee injury, which puts his candidacy for the award in jeopardy due to the new 65-game eligibility rule for major awards. If Embiid is not eligible, it opens up a spot for other top players like power forward Giannis Antentekumpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, point guard Shai Gilgeous- Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, guard Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, and forward Jayson Tatum of the Celtics.
Another key storyline involves whether the teams that are leading in the standings will be able to continue dominating or if some others will rise up. Boasting the best record in the NBA right now with 43 wins and just 12 losses are the Celtics, a team that has a strong roster that should allow them to be in the mix for the title. With players like Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics are primed for the playoffs. In the west, you have to look at the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are first in the conference and have the second best record in the league. They are led by 4-time all star Karl Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, who just made his second all-star game. Whether these two teams can keep it up remains to be seen, but they are certainly in a good spot right now.
Another key storyline is who will walk away with the Rookie of The Year award. There are two primary contenders right now in Victor Wembenyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder. As of right now, Holmgren is winning the race since his team is winning and currently sits in second place in the west while the Spurs are stuck in last place. We’ll have to see how the rest of the season plays out, but it is Holmgren’s award for now.
One final storyline to look at is how the trade deadline will affect teams, especially those that made moves. This year’s trade deadline was pretty underwhelming, however, as no major moves were made and no real big names changed teams. According to Ben Golliver of The Washington Post, “The NBA’s trade deadline passed Thursday without any earth-shattering blockbusters: No current all-stars changed teams, and Dejounte Murray remained with the Atlanta Hawks after weeks of reported interest from the Los Angeles Lakers.” There were not any big trades and only minor moves such as P.J Washington going to the Mavericks and Grant Williams and Seth Curry going to the Hornets and also Patrick Beverly going to the Bucks for Cameron Payne and a 2027 second round pick to the 76ers, we’ll see how this overall lack of movement will affect teams the rest of the season.
