NBA 2018-19: 5 Takeaways from week 9 

Portland Trail Blazers v Minnesota Timberwolves
Portland Trail Blazers v Minnesota Timberwolves

Week 9 of the NBA season brought a fair amount of intrigue and streaks with teams moving up and down the standings. It seems every week one team or another is either on the rise or in despair.

Jamal Murray, of the Denver Nuggets, and Russell Westbrook, of the Oklahoma City Thunder, had a tussle in a Nuggets victory over the Thunder. The Boston Celtics might be back, not that they ever left. The Toronto Raptors made a huge statement Wednesday night in Golden State. The Detroit Pistons are fading in the Eastern Conference after a good, if somewhat surprising start.

Butler's arrival in Philadelphia is messing with team chemistry. For the moment, the Toronto Raptors still lead the NBA and the Eastern Conference with a 23-8 record. The Nuggets are percentage points ahead of the Warriors out West at 19-10.

Here are five takeaways from week 9 of the 2018-19 NBA season.


#1 The Minnesota Timberwolves are sliding down the standings

Minnesota Timberwolves v Los Angeles Lakers
Minnesota Timberwolves v Los Angeles Lakers

After trading away a huge contractual and team chemistry headache, in Jimmy Butler, on November 10th, 2019, the Timberwolves have slipped to the second worst record in the Western Conference. Initially, the trade that brought three former Philadelphia 76ers, in Dario Saric, Robert Covington, and Jerryd Bayless, to the Timberwolves' roster fetched great results.

The Timberwolves responded by winning 7 of their next 9 games. They were 11-11 because of that stretch of good play. However, they have been mediocre recently going 2-4 and are currently on a four-game losing streak. The Timberwolves are 2-12 on the road this season.

Saturday night they played the Phoenix Suns, in Phoenix. The Suns own the NBA’s worst won/lost record this season. The Timberwolves lost this match up 107-99 despite great performances.

Karl Anthony-Towns had 29 points and 12 rebounds and Derrick Rose had 25 points on 11/16 shooting off of the bench. Minnesota also got a double-double performance from Dario Saric with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Minnesota shot themselves out of this game Saturday night with a 7/35 performance from long range.

#2 Parity in the Western Conference

San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers
San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers

Last season the Houston Rockets were the best regular season team out West. Their record was 65-17. The Warriors were 58-24. The Trailblazers were well off the pace at 49-33. It is still early this season with 50 or more games to be played but there are 10 teams out West within five games of the Conference-leading Denver Nuggets.

Going into play on Saturday, December 15th, 2018, top ten teams like The Thunder, Lakers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Mavericks and Kings were all on one or two game losing streaks. A four or five-game winning streak or losing streak for any of these teams could shift the balance in the Western Conference standings.

The San Antonio Spurs who had a mediocre start to the season have won four in a row. Those four wins have come at the expense of the Lakers, Clippers, Suns and Jazz. San Antonio sits 10th overall in the West.

They are only 4.5 games out of first. However, on Saturday night, December 15th, 2018 the Spurs lost 98-93 to the Bulls snapping their four-game winning streak. The Spurs did get 29 points and 12 rebounds from LaMarcus Aldridge and 21 points from DeMar DeRozan. The Spurs are now 15-14 on the season.

#3 The Boston Celtics

Detroit Pistons v Boston Celtics
Detroit Pistons v Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics were early season favorites to lead the Eastern Conference and be the pacesetter. These expectations were based on Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returning to the line up after season-ending injuries last year. Their return has not helped Boston in the standings. They started 10-10. However, they are 8-1 in their last 9 games winning 8 straight including victories this week over the Hawks, Wizards and Pelicans.

They did lose Saturday Night 113-104 to the Detroit Pistons. 18-11 the Celtics now find themselves 5th in the Eastern Conference. They are four games behind the Raptors who lead in the Eastern Conference.

Saturday night, the Celtics were without center Al Horford who is out indefinitely with inflammation in his left knee. The Celtics got 26 points from Kyrie Irving and 21 points from Marcus Smart in a losing effort. The Celtics allowed six Pistons’ players to score in double digits led by Blake Griffin with 27.

#4 The Philadelphia 76ers have a chemistry problem

Philadelphia 76ers v Brooklyn Nets
Philadelphia 76ers v Brooklyn Nets

General manager Elton Brand needed to be diligent in figuring out how Jimmy Butler would fit in on his team. The 76ers traded a lot of depth to have a loaded starting five and its hurting more than just their rotation. Joel Embiid has been griping recently about how he’s been used since the arrival of Jimmy Butler.

“I haven’t been myself lately,” said Embiid, who was held out of Friday’s game against the Pistons by coach Brett Brown. “I think it’s mainly because of the way I’ve been used, which is I’m being used as a spacer, I guess, a stretch five, which I’m only shooting [29] percent" from three-point range.
“But it seems like the past couple games, like with the way I play, our setup, [Brown] always has me starting on the perimeter … and it just really frustrates me. My body feels great, and it’s just I haven’t been playing well.”

By adding Butler, the 76ers added a premier scorer who needs shots. Both he and Simmons are creators off of the dribble so their teammates have become catch and shoot options which clearly is not the best use of Embiid's size and strengths on the floor.

After starting 7-3 with Butler the 76ers have lost two games straight. Jimmy Butler also strained his groin in a victory over the Pistons on Monday night.

However, with Butler out of the lineup Embiid had 6 points and 2 rebounds in 29 minutes of play against the Pacers Friday night. Embiid did have a 33 point, 17 rebound and 6 assist performance against the Nets on December 12, 2018 in a losing effort against the Nets. The 76ers will play Sunday afternoon against the Cavaliers.

#5 Pacers on the rise

Indiana v 76ers
Indiana v 76ers

The Indiana Pacers are just 3 games behind the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference. They have a 19-10 record and are 4-1 in their division. The pacers are also 10-4 at home, 13-3 in the Eastern Conference and are on a six-game winning streak. The Pacer are 3rd overall in the East.

This week the Pacers beat the Wizard and Bucks at home. They knocked off the 76ers 113-101 on Friday night in Philadelphia and will play the Knicks at home on Sunday afternoon.

Guard Victor Olapido missed 11 games earlier this season. He returned to the Pacers’ line up on December 12th, 2018 and played 29 minutes recording a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. His return makes Indiana a better team definitely on the rise in the Eastern Conference.

The only negative for the Indiana Pacers is a League sanction of center Myles Turner. Turner made an obscene gesture to the crowd in Philadelphia during the Pacers’ victory over the 76ers. Turner was fined $15,000.00 for his actions.

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Edited by Abhinav Munshi