The Minnesota Timberwolves have emerged as a surprise championship contender in the Western Conference while the Los Angeles Clippers are surging up the standings.
The Detroit Pistons, on the other hand, find themselves on the other end of the spectrum and staring down the possibility of making NBA history for all the wrong reasons.
Plus — Dante Exum is making the most of his opportunity at Dallas. So what comes next when the Mavericks are finally healthy?
That and more in the latest edition of Talking Points!
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Morant returns from suspension next week | 01:03
ARE THE PISTONS ACTUALLY GOING ANYWHERE?
Maybe to the record books at this rate?
It is already a franchise-record 23 straight losses at the moment for the Pistons, who languish in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-24 record.
For the record, the 76ers currently hold the record for the worst losing skid in the NBA after dropping 28-straight regular-season games over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Just six more losses and this Detroit team will go down in history for all the wrong reasons.
So, just how likely is it that the Pistons will do just that? Well, obviously given the way they are playing you’d have to say it is well within reach at this point.
There are some winnable games coming up though, starting with the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz this week.
Utah though is far from an easy beat despite its 9-17 record, only last week beating the Knicks while the Jazz also scored back-to-back wins over the Pelicans last month.
The Hawks, meanwhile, have lost six of their last seven but are averaging the fourth-most points in the league right now (122.4). Detroit, unsurprisingly, rank 28th (108.3).
The Pistons then play the Nets (twice) and Celtics before hosting the Raptors, potentially facing the prospect of bringing in the new year with a record-breaking 29th-straight defeat.
So, what comes next?
That is the biggest question because while the Pistons were hardly expected to make a huge leap this year it is still concerning to see this season effectively become a write-off at this point.
For a team stacked with young talent, led by Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson among others, something still needs to come out of this year, even if it is a lost season.
It sounds like the Pistons could look to the trade market according to James L. Edwards IIIof The Athletic, who reported he is hearing Detroit is interested in OG Anunoby.
“However, it’s possible Detroit will wait to see if it can land Anunoby in the open market next summer — the two-way wing has a player option for next season that he’ll most certainly decline — and avoid giving up some of its young players,” he added.
If there is one thing that could change quickly it is 3-point shooting, with Detroit shooting at a league-worst 32.9 per cent from deep.
The Pistons are getting open shots — they are averaging 18.5 wide-open 3-pointers attempted per game, with NBA’s official stats page defining wide-open as the closer defender being six feet away.
Detroit is only making 34.5 per cent of those shots though, which is second-worst in the league.
It may be a confidence thing and the only way to improve there is to have the shots start to fall and the wins start to tick over.
Bucks blast Pistons in Milwaukee | 01:48
WHAT IS BEHIND THE CLIPPERS’ SUDDEN RESURGENCE?
The beginning of the James Harden experiment in Los Angeles produced more questions than answers.
The Clippers dropped six-straight games since making the blockbuster move and while some rust was only natural as Harden, on an expiring deal woth $35.6 million ($53 million AUD) was integrated into the offence, such a sudden spiral was particularly concerning given the state of the Western Conference.
The six losses saw L.A. drop to 3-7 — the Clippers’ worst start through 10 games since 2010.
Yet after that sixth defeat, a 111-108 loss to reigning champions Denver, Harden saw progress.
“Tonight was definitely another step in the right direction and just keep improving,” he said at the time.
It definitely was the best the Clippers had looked. But at the same time, with the losses piling up it was still hard to buy into just what the team was building.
At that stage it looked like yet another big move that would fail in the short-term and set the franchise back in the long-term too.
Instead, as Harden hinted, that loss to the Nuggets was in fact a step in the right direction as the Clippers went on to win eight of their next nine games and now sit sixth in the West.
Harden also said after that Denver defeat that given he hadn’t had a training camp or preseason he was still in the process of “getting into James Harden shape”.
That has quickly become noticeable with the more time Harden has seen on the court for the Clippers, improving his finishing and general involvement.
You only have to look at L.A.’s most recent win over the Warriors for proof of it.
Harden finished the game with a season-high in points (28), assists (15), 3-pointers (five), free throws (11) and blocks (four), stepping up when the Clippers need him most with Paul George sidelined.
It wasn’t just conditioning that Harden needed. He also needed to build chemistry with Clippers big man Ivica Zubac and was willing to put in the work to do just that.
According to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times, Harden asked Zubac to stick around after morning shoot-around to work on pick-and-rolls.
The results have shown on the court, with the Harden-Zubac pick-and-roll then opening up passes for either George or Kawhi Leonard on the perimeter.
“The comfort level he has running the offence,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on ‘NBA Today’.
“It all flows from the Harden-Zubac pick-and-roll. There is other stuff going around — they’re hunting mismatches, the ball is moving around — but those two, when James Harden got there, it was a mess.
“They had no chemistry. He didn’t know when and where to hit Zu or where Zu liked the ball. And after practice, they worked together… that work is paying off. The ball is starting to move around, Kawhi is starting to attack closeouts, this is a dangerous team right now.”
And of course, getting Harden comfortable in this offence also started with the selfless Russell Westbrook going back to the second unit.
All Harden and the Clippers needed was time, like the veteran point guard kept telling us all.
WHAT DO THE MAVS DO WITH EXUM WHEN KYRIE RETURNS?
Exum was supposed to be just a handy bench piece for Dallas, signed to a two-year contract worth $6.2 million in free agency this summer.
Instead, Exum has proven to be exactly the kind of role player the Mavericks need and in the past week he has also shown he can be even more than that if given the opportunity.
An injury to Kyrie Irving and Boomers teammate Josh Green saw Exum given a starting role and the Mavericks have not lost a game since.
“Exum is playing at a high level right now on both ends and with the injuries it’s given him confidence and you can see that,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said after the team’s win over the Lakers, where he scored a season-high 26 points.
“Not just shooting 3s but I thought attacking the basket in the fourth quarter… his IQ is extremely high and he knows how to play the right way.”
Exum’s hustle plays on defence are obviously helpful for a Mavericks team that needed all the help it could get last year on that end of the floor.
But on offence he is also consistently making plays, both driving and passing the ball to help open up the floor while Exum has also shot 56 per cent from downtown this month.
All of this is to say, why fix something if it isn’t broken? Obviously Irving will regain his starting spot when he returns but surely Exum has earned a prominent role alongside him.
The obvious solution, if that was the case, would see Exum replace Derrick Jones Jr. in the starting five although the 26-year-old had an impressive 18-point game against Portland in his last start.
Exum SHINES as Mavs dismantle Lakers | 01:45
Plus, with Irving and Doncic as the team’s two primary ballhandlers maybe it makes more sense to have him running the second unit or it could even simply be match-up dependant from here on out.
Either way, it is a good headache to have for Kidd, who said Exum is “playing like a max player” right now.
“It’s a beautiful thing to watch,” added Kidd, according to Mavericks beat writer Grant Afseth
“Everything that he’s getting right now, he deserves. The expectations were off the charts for him when he was drafted at 18, but sometimes it just takes people a little bit longer.”
EMBIID IS ON A TEAR…BUT ARE WE REALLY APPRECIATING IT ENOUGH?
Joel Embiid is on a historic tear right now, putting up 11-straight games with 30 or more points — a career high for the Sixers big man and a franchise record.
But has Embiid become so good that we have now taken his greatness for granted?
Honestly, the numbers speak volumes to just how dominant Embiid has been backing up last season’s MVP campaign, starting with the fact he has more points (752) than minutes played (746).
If that isn’t enough, what about 10 straight games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds?
Embiid is doing it on both ends of the floor and making it look deceptively easy in the process, like he did on Saturday with 35 points and 13 rebounds against the Pistons.
Like he did against the Hornets as the reigning MVP scored 42 points and 15 rebounds in 30 minutes.
Sure, those are two of the worst teams in the NBA right now but obviously Embiid has been doing it against better opposition throughout the season too.
Plus, beating up on lesser opposition with ease is again something that looks easy but is not always a guarantee even from the league’s best, especially if complacency creeps in.
Embiid though has looked locked in this season from the very start, with teammate Tyrese Maxey declaring he is “getting better”.
“Which is scary,” the young guard added.
“… We appreciate him and he’s got all it takes to be great.”
Marcus Morris Sr., meanwhile, described Embiid as a “special player”.
“I haven’t seen anything like that. Somebody, like 7-foot-1, push the break, shoot the 3, post up, and defend,” he said.
Former teammate JJ Redick said that when it comes to Embiid’s dominance, the way he is able to draw fouls is particularly underrated given what it does for his teammates.
“Joel Embiid is arguably having the best season of his career this year,” Redick said on his podcast.
“… I think about when I played with Joel Embiid, the way Brett Brown had my rotations for those two years. I would generally play the first six or seven minutes of the first quarter.
“I would then sit out two or three minutes and come in the last two-and-a-half, three minutes. Guess what?
“Every single time I came back in we were in the bonus because Joel Embiid had got us there. And so when I came back in, guess what? If you put your hands on me when I’m coming off a screen, I’m figuring out a way to get fouled. I was always cognisant of that playing with Joel, his ability to get us to the bonus.”
HOW DID THE TIMBERWOLVES TURN THINGS AROUND?
If you’re trying to understand how the Minnesota Timberwolves have surged to a 19-5 record and emerged as a genuine Western Conference contender, you don’t have to look far.
One quote from Karl-Anthony Towns speaks volumes to the new mindset that has made Minnesota one of the best teams in basketball so far.
Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore asked Towns about his 25-shot performance against the Pacers and specifically what it has been like not being called on to put up that sort of production more consistently.
According to Moore, Towns simply said he is “not the sun, but one of the planets” now.
“We’ve got a lot of great players in here,” added Towns.
“And my job is to figure out how to obviously be aggressive and maximise my talents for the team, but also in those talents, how can I make everyone better?”
It comes after Towns erupted for a season-high 40 points off those 25 shots in the 127-109 win over the Pacers, with Wolves coach Chris Finch describing the star big man’s efficiency as his “superpower” post-game.
There were MVP chants as Towns went to the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
The best thing about the Timberwolves right now though is the fact that every night there could be a different ‘MVP’ — at least for the team itself. It’s not just KAT.
Rudy Gobert is returning to the kind of form that starts to justify Minnesota’s trade with Utah, dominating in the paint on offence and making his presence felt too in defence.
Anthony Edwards, meanwhile, has continued to improve every year, slowly but surely becoming the emerging superstar we now see today, scoring 37 points in the win over Indiana.
Then there are some of the ancillary pieces around them — the “planets” that Towns referred to. In the latest game against the Pacers it was 10 assists off the bench from Kyle Anderson while Naz Reid had 17 points.
Jaden McDaniels, meanwhile, has battled injuries this year but will only add to the young talent the Timberwolves boast when healthy while Mike Conley has been a dependable veteran presence.
“This is one of the best teams on the planet,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said after his team’s loss to Minnesota.
These guys have really got it going here. The building is alive, the environment is way different than it used to be.”
“I take my hat off to Tim Connelly and this operation and everything they’ve done [with] the new ownership group. This is a different feeling place where they’ve got some real stars.
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