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Last week’s ranking in parentheses.
30. New York Knicks (30)
Kevin Knox is running more pick-and-roll, expanding his offensive game while also improving his accuracy from deep. Over his last 11 games, the rookie is averaging 18.6 points per game and shooting 39.4 percent from deep.
Noah Vonleh is another bright spot. He’s led the Knicks in rebounding during each of the last six games, is shooting 39.7 percent from three and has shown the ability to stick with mobile opposing bigs on D. It’s hard to know if he’s part of New York’s long-term plans, but it’s starting to seem like Vonleh, now playing for his fourth team in five seasons, has figured things out.
The Knicks haven’t. They’ve lost eight straight and are a league-worst 2-13 since December 1.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (29)
Tristan Thompson and Rodney Hood both returned from injury on Wednesday, but they couldn’t do nearly enough to avoid a 117-92 loss to the Heat, Cleveland’s seventh consecutive defeat. The Cavs’ eight wins are the fewest in the league.
Maybe this is unfair to head coach Larry Drew, who’s obviously been dealt a bad hand, but comments like this, delivered to reporters after Wednesday’s blowout, just scream “There’s no talent here, and I’m out of ideas!”:
“We’ve got to be grimy as far as our style of play. We can’t play cute. We can’t play pretty. We’ve got to get on the floor for loose balls. We’ve got to get our body on people when they go in (the lane). We’ve got to do all the little things, which add up to be big things.”
Cleveland could do all the little, medium-sized and big things in the world, and they’d still be lucky to crack the 20-win mark this season.
28. Atlanta Hawks (27)
Trae Young is adopting a less-is-more approach. He’s attempted an average of 11.2 shots in his last five games and is shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from deep in that span. He’s still shooting just 27.7 percent from three-point range on the year, but he’s getting pickier about his looks.
The Hawks continued to unsubtly tank this week, playing Dewayne Dedmon and Alex Len together for stretches during Wednesday’s loss to the Wizards. Nothing accomplishes self-sabotage like pairing two conventional bigs in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta went 2-2 this week but remain the worst offense in the league (non-Bulls division).
27. Chicago Bulls (28)
The Bulls may not be the worst team in the league, but they’re easily the toughest to watch. Head coach Jim Boylen has killed any semblance of a transition game, emphasizing a slowed-down approach in an effort to keep things simple. It’s very on-brand for Boylen, who has enforced the discipline and old-school principles of a bygone era.
Chicago is dead last in offensive efficiency since Boylen’s first game in charge on Dec. 4, and the deliberate style isn’t curbing mistakes. The Bulls’ turnover rate was lower under Fred Hoiberg.
I guess the upside is an improved defense that ranks in the top 12 since Boylen took over, but Chicago is playing a constricted, stuffy style that doesn’t fit its personnel and, not to be overlooked, cannot be remotely fun. Don’t discount the negative impact that might have on free agency, and don’t be surprised if we get another mutiny sometime soon.
Lighter note: If you’re tired of Robin Lopez abusing mascots, we’ll never be friends.
26. Phoenix Suns (25)
The Suns dumped four straight home games this week, despite Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker looking decidedly cornerstone-ish lately.
Ayton is averaging 20.1 points and 12.6 rebounds on 62.6 percent shooting since Dec. 13. In that same stretch, Booker produced per-game averages of 29.3 points, 8.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds. While Phoenix seems irrationally concerned with winning games at this stage of its rebuild, seeing those two increase performance and add facets as the season progresses will matter much more.
Phoenix has lost four straight and six of its last seven.
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