2022-23 NBA Eastern Conference quarter season grades
Well, that all happened pretty quickly! We’re already at the quarter mark of the NBA season and that means that we can start to make some definitive calls on how NBA teams are travelling with grades that are absolutely guaranteed not to come back and bite this writer on his posterior!
Today we’ll look at the Eastern Conference, with the West to receive their grades later in the week.
A note that these grades are made in relation to a team’s expectations and records are at time of writing (Dec. 10).
Atlanta Hawks (13-12)
Grade: C
There is something that is just not right with the team.
Major offseason acquisition Dejounte Murray has impacted the Hawks’ defense exactly as the front office hoped he would, with Atlanta now decidedly average at that end of the floor instead of the tyre-fire they’ve been over the past few seasons. Offensively, Murray has been able to maintain his numbers though he is, understandably, averaging three fewer assists. The team, however, have struggled when Murray is on the floor without Trae Young, scoring about 10 points less per 100 possessions – a number startlingly close to last year’s figure when Young sat.
The bigger concern, though, is Young and his relationship with the rest of the organisation. His recent run in with coach Nate McMillan is the sort of incident that can split a team in two. Does the team back their star man, or do they baulk at supporting Young given he essentially abandoned the team shortly before a game. Young’s performance in the press conference the next day doesn’t speak well of the young man’s humility, either.
You can’t help but feel that there is a move coming for the Hawks, be it a trade or seeing coach McMillan shoved through the door marked ‘Do one’.
Boston Celtics (21-5)
Grade: A+
The Celtics were expected the build upon an NBA finals appearance and sit atop the Eastern Conference, aided by shrewd offseason additions in Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari. Then they lost their starting centre, Robert Williams, to a long-term injury. Then Gallo went down with a knee. Then they lost both lead assistant coach Will Hardy to Utah and head coach Ime Udoka to, uh….shenanigans.
Boston, though, have played ball like none of that offseason upheaval happened.
They sport – by quite a margin – the NBA’s best record. Their league-leading offense is humming. Their defense has slipped, though Williams’ return should remedy that. Jaylen Brown has taken another step. Jayson Tatum has made The Leap.
In a field that is both deep and tight, the 24-year-old Tatum might be the league’s MVP to this point of the season.
Brooklyn Nets (14-12)
Grade: D+
That grade stands for Drama Plus.
Nobody really knew what the Nets would give us this season, given Kevin Durant’s age, let alone his rather pointed trade demands, Ben Simmons’ ability to actually play basketball and injuries to the supporting cast.
It turns out KD is still amongst the best handful of ballers on the planet. Simmons, after a slow start, appears to be finding his groove and the supporting cast is healthy. What wasn’t on anybody’s bingo cards, was Kyrie Irving coming awfully close to starting a race war.
Even outside of that well covered topic, the Nets roster remains an array of mismatched parts, either too flimsy on defense if they run with shooters or too cramped space wise if they shore of the D.
Whilst nobody will want to play them in a playoff setting, these Nets are surely on their last ride.
Charlotte Hornets (7-18)
Grade: D
If LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and the perma-crocked Gordon Hayward had been healthy for the whole season, the Hornets might be a competent basketball team. Alas, they haven’t and the team is not.
Those injuries are the only thing separating Charlotte from an F.
Without Ball, Charlotte’s half-court and overall offense rank dead last in the NBA and the run-and-gun Hornets are only 27th in transition offense, though that number would surely sky rocket if Ball and the banished Miles Bridges were in uniform.
Steve Clifford is a wonderful defensive coach but even he can’t MacGyver a top 10 defense out of this group.
The reclamation of Dennis Smith Jr.’s career has been a … well, not quite a highlight. Maybe highlight adjacent? It’s a nice footnote.
Chicago Bulls (10-14)
Grade: D-
The Bulls chose their path. They chose … poorly.
In an effort to keep free agent to be Zach LaVine in town, Chicago decided to go all-in. To that end, the Bulls certainly succeeded as their star guard inked a long term deal with the team. In every other facet of the direction shift, they’ve failed.
DeMar DeRozan has tailed off a little from his stellar campaign in 2022 and at age 34 that shouldn’t be a surprise. Unfortunately DeRozan’s biggest impact as a Bull has been to expose LaVine as a clear No. 2 option incapable of carrying a good team by himself.
The Bulls paid a heavy price for Nikola Vucevic. Wendell Carter Jr. is simply a better player than him, now. Not to mention Franz Wagner, the man drafted with a pick that came along with Carter. That’s before we even get to the fact that the Bulls owe Orlando another first rounder, likely to again be a lottery selection in a loaded draft.
Lonzo Ball, so important to the Bulls up-tempo style, has played less basketball than Ben Simmons in the past 12 months.
This is a team that needs to swallow its pride and start over. Their big moves simply have not worked.
Cleveland Cavaliers (16-9)
Grade: A+
Speaking of pushing their chips into the middle of the table, The Cavaliers made their biggest move since the Return of The King in trading for Utah’s All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. The difference between the Bulls and Cavs, though, is that Cleveland made their move from a position of strength rather than desperation.
The Cavaliers already had Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen under contract. Now, with Mitchell on board, they possess the best young core in the NBA.
The Cavs have weathered the absence of Garland to put forward a highly efficient, if painfully deliberate offense and behind the devastating Mobley/Allen combination, a miserly defense.
Surprisingly, Cleveland’s bench – perceived as a weakness given the depth they let go in order to obtain Mitchell – has the best net rating in the entire NBA.
Alarmingly, though, whilst the Cavs have heavily outscore opponents when either Garland or Mitchell are on the floor without the other, they are being outscored when they share the court.
Detroit Pistons (7-20)
Grade: B
Sure, the Pistons’ win/loss record leaves a lot to be desired, but this is a team that wasn’t supposed to win this season, even after the addition of veteran sharp-shooter Bojan Bogdanovic.
This campaign is all about the development of Detroit’s army of youngsters. Cade Cunningham hasn’t played for a month due to a shin injury, but that has allowed third-year guard Killian Hayes to play extended minutes. To the Pistons’ delight, the Frenchman has shown signs of life after looking for all money a lottery bust. Backcourt partner Jaden Ivey has been erratic, though he has shown enough flashes to justify his ‘Westbrook-lite’ draft comparisons.
Isaiah Stewart continues to flash enough outside game (36.3% on four deep attempts per game) to suggest that he can eventually dovetail with the Pistons’ other lottery selected rookie, Jalen Duren, the league’s youngest player. Duren is all upside and has shown enough to suggest he’s going to have a long and productive NBA career.
With Cunningham set to return shortly, the Pistons will continue to blood their young core with the hope of securing another high draft pick a seasons end.
Indiana Pacers (13-12)
Grade: A-
The only factor stopping the Pacers from receiving a surprising A+ mark is that their fantastic early form might be taking them out of the running for prized presumed #1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama.
That said, you can’t argue with what the Pacers have done thus far, with some big scalps claimed through the first six weeks of the season.
Led by the irrepressible Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana are one of the most enjoyable watches in the NBA. Averaging 19.4 points (on outstanding 47/41/86 shooting splits) alongside a league leading eleven assists, Haliburton is driving this young and exciting team forward. He’s a primary reason why Bennedict Mathurin might win 6th Man of the Year as a rookie; why Myles Turner is averaging a career high in points; why Jalen Smith and Aaron Nesmith look like legitimate NBA rotation pieces.
Look, the Pacers surely won’t keep this up. They have, though, shown proof of concept for their young core. This is a team that is on the right path, far quicker than most expected.
Miami Heat (12-14)
Grade: C-
The Heat were not widely expected to repeat as conference top seeds, but to be playing sub .500 ball? Not many would have predicted that, either.
The defense, for so long the #HeatCulture calling card, has been at best mediocre this season, despite Bam Adebayo continuing to be a switchable monster. Their offense has cratered down into the bottom 10.
The Heat have had next to no line-up continuity with somebody of importance always sidelined. You have to wonder, with Kyle Lowry aged 36 and Jimmy Butler 33 (though with Thibs miles ground into his early years in Chicago), if that is the norm for this team, now.
The core four of Lowry, Butler, Adebayo and Tyler Herro, with either the sharp shooting Max Strus or defensive wing Caleb Martin, are strong line-ups. The problem is depth, where the Heat are seeing the impact of so many years drafting late in the piece and/or giving rotation minutes to undrafted project players.
Milwaukee Bucks (18-6)
Grade: A
Ho-hum for many peoples (including this writer) championship favourites.
Milwaukee’s already air-tight defense has only improved this season, now denying above the break three pointers without losing any of their vaunted rim protection. That’s quite the trick! Giannis Antetokounmpo remains a defensive skeleton-key, Jrue Holiday swallows callow guards whole, Brook Lopez is the clubhouse leader for Defensive Player of the Year.
On the other side of the ball, the Bucks are yet to really click, which is scary. Khris Middleton only made his season debut a week ago after off-season wrist surgery. As he get back up to speed, expect Milwaukee’s offensive efficiency to make a notable jump for its current rank of 21st in the league.
New York Knicks (12-13)
Grade: C
The Knicks were in need of direction and the big money deal thrown at Jalen Brunson was supposed to provide that on court leadership. To be fair, Brunson has played fairly well individually, though he’s not nearly good enough to act as the saviour of a franchise that appears to be forever doomed to mediocrity.
No other Knick has made any significant stride forward this season. Julius Randle’s sole all NBA campaign looks increasingly like a fluke. RJ Barrett has plateaued. Quentin Grimes – deemed too valuable to be included in any potential Donovan Mitchell deals – has looked terrible since returning from injury.
Knicks gonna Knick.
How long, by the way, until Tom Thibodeau’s job is in question?
Orlando Magic (6-20)
Grade: B+
The Magic probably expected to have garnered a few more wins by this stage of the season, though they won’t be too disappointed at the chance to luck into another top two pick.
Should Orlando, currently sporting the league’s worst record, land pick two and take Scoot Henderson, they’ll finally have the point guard to round out their line-up. The man who can step in where Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Markelle Fultz have all failed. Should they get the top pick in back-to-back years? Oh my…
Last week I wrote about the death of ‘small ball’ citing the Magic as a portents to what the team of the very near future could look like.
Dear reader, I’m literally salivating like a Pavlovian canine over the thought of this line-up:
PG – Franz Wagner (6’9”)
SG – Bol Bol (7’2”)
SF – Victor Wembanyama (7’4”)
PF – Paolo Banchero (6’10”)
C – Wendell Carter Jr. (6’10”)
May the basketball gods have mercy on us all.
Philadelphia 76ers (12-12)
Grade: C
An even record is not where the Sixers, stocked up with former Houston Rockets who, in theory, would fit snugly around the Joel Embiid/James Harden pairing, intend to be.
The Sixers do have some mitigation, though. Embiid, Harden and exciting youngster Tyrese Maxey have missed significant portions of the young season. Without those three on the floor, the Sixers are merely an average side. Philadelphia have put up a sterling defensive effort without their offensive stars available. The much maligned Tobias Harris has also stepped up as a go-to scorer.
Embiid is now back and playing at a borderline MVP level. With Harden easing his way back into shape and Maxey due to return shortly, the Sixers could go on a bit of a run, here. Or, given it’s the Sixers, they could lose seven of their next nine.
Nothing is off the table with this team.
Toronto Raptors (13-12)
Grade: B-
As you might expect from a team made up of long, rangy wings and a serial pest in Fred VanVleet, the Raptors are a menace on defense. Their one genuine weakness – rim protection – looks to have a developing solution in rookie big man Christian Koloko. OG Anunoby has turned into prime Kawhi Leonard, scaring the daylights out of his mark.
A 13-12 record, though, is not quite what the Raptors would have hoped for at this point of their campaign. Star man Pascal Siakam, who has taken another huge leap this season, has missed time. Gary Trent Jr. has also failed to live up to his usual standards to the point where he is now coming off the bench after having his effort levels publicly questioned by coach Nick Nurse.
The Raptors should be fine, assuming they maintain decent health. This team is stacked and will want to push for a top four place in the East.
Washington Wizards (11-14)
Grade: B-
I’m genuinely torn as to how to grade the Wizards.
Should I be pleased that they’re finally back to some level of respectability? That Kristaps Porzingis finally looks healthy and is playing excellent ball? That Kyle Kuzma is in career best form? That Monte Morris looks better than expected as a starter? That Brad Beal – when not sidelined with various niggles – looks something close to his formidable best?
Alternatively, should I be concerned that Washington’s solid start to the campaign will only fuel ownerships belief that winning between 37 and 42 games every season from here to eternity is a good thing?
I’m going to shade towards the former, simply because I really like these players. I enjoy watching them and they all seem like really good dudes. Kuzma, especially. Even the youngsters (Rui Hachimura, Corey Kispert, Deni Avdiji … though not Johnny Davis) are fun to watch!
It’s superficial, I know, but I’m going to let Wizards fans (another group that deserves a little bit of happiness) enjoy their relative success without me hashing their collective buzz.
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