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25. Atlanta Hawks (21)
It feels fitting that last Friday—as the NFL world fixated on measurements at the scouting combine—the 6’2″, 180-pound Trae Young would set the NBA world on fire.
He logged nearly 56 minutes of a quadruple-overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls, tallying 49 points on 17-of-33 shooting (6-of-13 from deep), 16 assists and eight rebounds along the way. It was the league’s first 49-point, 10-assist effort from a freshman since Earl Monroe in 1968.
“You can say what you want to about size, but when you’re the most dangerous person on the court, it doesn’t matter,” Young told Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill. “Size was never a factor growing up. College, I faced the same criticism. In the NBA, same thing.”
Young’s critics are growing quieter by the second. He’s been the eighth-best scorer since the All-Star break (28.5 points per game), and if you’re curious how those Stephen Curry comps are coming alone, Young has topped the two-time MVP in points, shooting from all three levels and assists over this stretch.
24. Chicago Bulls (23)
What a week for Zach LaVine. The award-winning aerial artist opened with a 47-point, nine-assist, nine-rebound eruption in that marathon win over the Hawks. Then, he punctuated it with 39 points in Wednesday’s one-point win over the Philadelphia 76ers, sealed by his own double-clutch layup in the closing seconds.
But let’s be real—there’s no better story in basketball right now than near-featured-scorer Robin Lopez. Over his last 11 outings, the 30-year-old is nearly doubling his career output with 17.4 points per game on 61.1 percent shooting. Eat your heart out, Brook!
23. Charlotte Hornets (20)
The Charlotte Hornets—or more specifically, Kemba Walker—needed some type of trade-deadline relief, but it never came. They’ve been running on fumes ever since.
This is a 3-7 team since the deadline and one that’s as uncomfortably reliant on Walker’s production as ever. Charlotte got just two 13-plus-point games from a non-Walker starter over the past 1-2 week, which is especially frustrating when a repurposed Jeremy Lamb and a resurgent Frank Kaminsky suddenly seem capable of giving this group a legitimate bench.
22. Washington Wizards (26)
The Eastern Conference is something, isn’t it? The Washington Wizards lost nine of their first 11 games this season, have only won eight times away from home all year, haven’t had John Wall since December, moved then-highest-paid player Otto Porter Jr. at the trade deadline and still sit just three games back of the eighth seed after a 2-1 week.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs,” Bradley Beal told reporters after Wednesday’s 132-123 win over the Mavericks. “Until the fat lady sings at the end of the year, we’ve got to keep pushing forward.”
Beal is doing everything he can to make that happen—including jamming on 7’2″ Salah Mejri. In six games since the All-Star break, Beal is averaging 32.2 points on 53.8 percent shooting, 6.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds.
21. New Orleans Pelicans (24)
Despite publicizing a plan to reduce his minutes, the New Orleans Pelicans are quickly learning they can’t survive without Jrue Holiday. Dating back to the trade deadline—when the Pelicans opted to keep Anthony Davis and ensure an awkward ending to the season—New Orleans’ difference with and without Holiday is an enormous 24.4 points per 100 possessions.
Holiday has been more good than great in this stretch (22.3 points and 6.3 assists per game), but it shows how little support there is around him when Davis is only playing half the game (if at all). Still, Holiday can make things happen, like scoring 59 total points between consecutive road wins over the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz.
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