NBA report card: Grading the recent performances of five standout teams
Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and more have their efforts assessed
Wednesday 30 January 2019 05:46, UK
Every Tuesday, we look back over the previous week of NBA action and put five teams under the microscope as we grade their recent performances. Who will be hailed as high-achievers and who needs to do better?
Golden State Warriors (36-14, Wk 15 record 3-0) Grade - A
The Warriors keep on rolling. Week 15 saw them extend their winning run to 10 games - they have since begun week 16 by taking that to 11 - with eye-catching road wins over the LA Lakers, Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics.
"We've been more dialled in the last month than we have all season," said coach Steve Kerr after Monday's win over the Pacers - and it has been showing on the scoreboard.
They averaged 124 points per game in their three week 15 wins - up on their season average and a run that has maintained their lead over the in-form Denver Nuggets at the top of the West.
Stephen Curry continues to dominate headlines as records fall at his feet, but Kerr is getting production from all over. Klay Thompson drained 44 points in the win over the Lakers, Kevin Durant lead them out with 33 against the Celtics, while against the Wizards the team shot more than 56 per cent from the field
The Warriors lead the league in assists and points per game and there's no sign of them slowing down approaching the business end of the season.
Oklahoma City Thunder (31-18, Wk 15 record 4-0) Grade - A
Paul George ramped up his MVP campaign as Player of the Week in the West in week 15 and his efforts helped the Thunder to a perfect 4-0 week which lifted them to third in the conference.
They began with a comprehensive dismantling of the hapless Knicks, before returning home and beating fellow high-flyers Portland 123-114 - George notching 36 points in the win.
A 122-116 win over the New Orleans Pelicans followed two days later, but the Thunder saved the best for last in week 15 with an eye-catching 118-112 win over the high-flying Milwaukee Bucks.
George again scored 36 points against the league leaders as the Thunder claimed their fifth straight win.
The Thunder were superb in clogging up the lane against the Bucks, denying Giannis Antetokounmpo his usual free-scoring avenue, but it was George who did the business at the other end, making 8 of 12 three-pointers and landing a huge dunk on Giannis in the closing minutes.
Houston Rockets (29-20, Wk 15 record 3-1) Grade - B
The Houston Rockets consolidated their place in the Western Conference playoff spots with a solid 3-1 showing in week 15, rebounding from a defeat to Philadelphia with wins over the Knicks, Raptors and Magic.
James Harden continues to power their offence almost single-handedly, scoring 173 points across the four games, including 61 against the Knicks. One quirk of his hot streak is that he went six games and 304 points without an assisted score.
But we've known all about his mastery in isolation for years and the Rockets are unlikely to be concerned with their apparent reliance on one man while he is leading them to big wins in the absence of the injured Chris Paul and Clint Capela.
Sunday's win over Orlando saw Harden extend his run of consecutive 30-plus performances to 23 games - his 36.3 points-per-game average is the highest since Michael Jordan in 1987 - but with Paul now back after five weeks out with a hamstring injury, the burden on The Beard should ease.
The narrow 121-119 win over Toronto was the highlight of the Rockets' week as they jumped out to a 33-20 first quarter lead and held on as the Raptors chipped away.
LA Clippers (28-23, Wk 15 record 3-1) Grade - B+
The Clippers have lifted themselves into the last playoff spot in the West thanks to a 3-1 week.
It didn't start as planned, with a 106-98 defeat at the Dallas Mavericks, but they responded well with victories in Miami and Chicago before returning home to beat Sacramento for the third time this season.
The Clippers are riding the hot form of Tobias Harris, who scored 31 points in Miami and 29 in Chicago, in the absence of the injured Danilo Gallinari. Lou Williams' influence is also important - he scored 31 with 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double on Friday.
Despite the good record on the week, Doc Rivers' side were down on points per game for the season. Their 109.3 average was below their season average of 114.1, suggesting they were at least tightening up at the other end.
That was until a 123-118 defeat to Atlanta Hawks on Monday night to kick off week 16.
New York Knicks (10-39, Wk 15 record 0-4) Grade - E
The Knicks continue to tank and they extended their losing streak to 10 in week 15 with four more defeats.
They opened the week with a 127-109 defeat to Oklahoma City Thunder and after a closer effort to get to within four points of the Rockets, they then failed to get to three figures against the Nets or the Heat. They then kicked off week 16 with a 101-92 loss to Charlotte.
They looked good for a while against the Miami, with a nine-point lead at one point in the second quarter, but the biggest cheer of the night was for the image of Carmelo Anthony - watching his old team as a spectator - on the big screens in the Garden.
Things are not improving any time soon on the east coast, but they will surely be active before trade deadline.
