The Give and Go: Stretch Run

Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports

The Give and Go is a quick back and forth between Paul Mitchell and Chris St. Jean about a relevant subject in the NBA at that moment.

Paul: We are now effectively at the stretch run of the season, without any more All-Star breaks or trade deadlines to distract us. So as we hunker down for the last 30 games or so remaining in the 2014-15 season, which team(s) are you looking forward to monitoring? Conversely, which team(s) are you down on, either after any trade deadline (in)activity or because of their style of play?

Chris: I think you and I have done a fair job of postponing the ‘contender’ talk until we know what we have with these teams. And I’m not going to go into that conversation here (I’ll reserve that for an hour-long podcast), but one aspect of that conversation that I find particularly compelling, especially in the wake of the trade deadline deals, is Portland.  

In my mind, I’ve been trying to figure out all season long if Portland is a legitimate contender, and they addressed their biggest weakness in a deadline deal that ended up being overshadowed because it happened a couple of hours before the internet exploded. I’ll be particularly interested to see how things work out in Portland.

Will Afflalo embrace a bench role? Will Matthews and Batum get some much needed rest? Will Batum be able to provide any offense whatsoever for the team? Will Aldridge wear down? Can Lillard provide adequate defense at the toughest position in the league? Is their defense the type that can ‘turn up’ in a playoff series? Can their defense win them a big game when the 3’s aren’t falling?

To me that’s the most fascinating thing. Because if Portland is a legitimate contender, then my god the West is going to be a bloodbath.

And it could mean a lot for their future as well. Assuming they lock up Aldridge, they’ll have difficult decisions to make about Matthews and Afflalo. If they make a Finals run, then do both want to come back? And then, how good can this team get next season and the year after? If they get knocked out in the first round and lose both Matthews and Afflalo, then what? I think we know now that they can’t rely on Batum too much, so losing both of them would be a setback for sure.

As for a team I’m down on, I’m not sure about what Milwaukee did. While I think they should be commended for being patient in a season where they had more success than expected, Knight was such an integral part of an already limited offense, that I question the move. And I don’t buy the ‘they wanted to get younger and longer’ argument. Knight is two months younger and his wingspan is a half inch shorter than MCW. It just looks like they were being cheap. Which, hey, that’s fine and all, but I’ll be interested to see how they fare for the rest of the season. I thought they were better with Knight personally. Maybe they’re just making room for Jabari and Giannis to grow into that offensive alpha dog. Time will tell I guess.

What about you Mitchell? What do you find compelling in the post-trade deadline NBA landscape? Who are you disappointed in?

Mitchell: After spending far too many words attempting to break down last Thursday’s trade deadline already, I’ll instead focus on some potential title-contending teams that mostly sat still at the deadline, for better or worse.

As the dueling number one seeds in their respective conferences, the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks seemed to completely check out on the trade market coming out of the All-Star break. Atlanta already achieved the rare “contending team sell-off”, in dealing rookie Adreian Payne to Minnesota for a future first-round pick, but otherwise value their chemistry more than any potential talent upgrades. The acclimation period in adjusting to head coach Mike Budenholzer’s offense could be a factor, with only 25 games left before the playoffs, not to mention any cost in draft picks or players for an Arron Afflalo rental or an Enes Kanter or Reggie Jackson audition. Instead the Hawks will rely on their players’ familiarity with each other and their embracing of their roles that have been defined over the first 2/3rds of the season.

The Warriors are in almost the same situation, except way more expensive. The team has excelled under rookie head coach Steve Kerr and embraced his small-ball concepts, with former-All-Stars Andre Iguodala and David Lee even accepting bench roles behind younger forwards. It’s a complete team without many major holes, outside of maybe backup center in case of another Andrew Bogut injury, but also without many assets after trading their 2017 first-rounder to Utah in the Andris Biedrins trade. Their only concern would be then trimming salary commitments in the future and to clear room for a Draymond Green re-signing this summer, which would probably point to a David Lee (or Iguodala) trade.

Without getting into what it would take to unload the extra year and $15.5 million on Lee’s deal (it would probably involve a lottery-protected first, like with the JaVale McGee-to-Philadelphia trade), the potential loss of a rotation player would have been significant in the grueling Western Conference playoffs. Whereas Chris derided the Milwaukee Bucks for being a bit… frugal with their point guard situation, I’ll give some respect to the Warriors for sucking it up, paying the luxury tax, and making a run this year with a full squad.

Both the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks play an aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball that relies on ball movement to generate open looks from the perimeter, with mobile bigs and ball-hawking guards on the defensive end. Outside of some occasional looks during Atlanta’s 19-game winning streak and Golden State’s nationally televised games on the West Coast, I can’t say I’ve watched many Hawks or Warriors games either on a consistent basis or from beginning to end. That’ll change in the lead-up to the playoffs.

For my most disappointing non-trade deadline teams, I’m looking at a couple of organizations with shaky general managers, dynamic point guards, and huge holes at the wing, with limited means with which to upgrade their teams. The Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Wizards could both have used an Arron Afflalo or even a Tayshaun Prince-type of addition at the deadline, as injury insurance on the wing or just capable bodies with the bench unit. The Clippers would have had to move Jamal Crawford or DeAndre Jordan to match salaries or provide enough value going back in any trade rumor, which would have created further issues, and will look for roster help in the veteran-buyout bin. I’m not sure if the Wizards will have that luxury.

The Washington Wizards have struggled throughout the month of February, losing not only 10 of their last 12 games but also Bradley Beal to a “mild stress reaction in his right fibula.” He’ll try to return tonight in Philadelphia, and the Wizards will need him to come out firing to help solve their recent offensive woes over their last 12 games (25th in points per 100 possession since January 28th, per NBA.com). Outside of Beal, who has missed the last seven, the Wizards are almost entirely healthy - no small feat for a team paying Nene Hilario and Martell Webster. I don’t fault them for not surrendering a future first for an Afflalo or Jeff Green months earlier, but couldn’t they have used the shooting abilities of Jonas Jerebko or Luigi Datome from Detroit and topped Boston’s Tayshaun Prince offer?

Things are starting to get ugly in Washington, with the blame for the team’s poor play falling (rightfully) on GM Ernie Grunfeld’s over-reliance on veterans and head coach Randy Wittman’s old-school offense. The team still sits at 10th overall in offensive rating, despite the recent stumbles, and without any additions at the trade deadline, will continue to hope that its (few) young players continue developing and the vets can provide enough support in big moments. If Beal is hampered by his fibula injury long-term, though, the Wizards won’t make it far in the playoffs with Garrett Temple starting at the off-guard. It might be tough at times over the last month and a half of the season, but the Washington Wizards will be worth watching heading into the playoffs.