NBA Hits The All-Star Break, Most Surprising And Disappointing Team

By Jordan Long

The NBA is at the All-Star Break, the unofficial halfway point of the season.  The NBA All-Star weekend is going to be different this year due to the COVID 19 Pandemic.  There won’t be a Rising Stars Challenge which is an All-Star Game for 1^st and 2^nd-year players.  Instead of All-Star Saturday night which includes the skills challenge, dunk contest, and 3 point contest, those are going to be on Sunday.  The skills challenge and the 3-point contest take place prior to the All-Star Game.  The dunk contest will be at halftime of the All-Star Game.  All of these events start on Sunday at 4:30 Mountain Time.  With it being the All-Star Break, it’s time for my most surprising and disappointing teams in the NBA.

                The most surprising team is the Phoenix Suns.  The Suns ended last year on an 8 game winning streak playing in the “bubble.”.  Phoenix missed the postseason by 1 game.  Going into this season, the goal was to at least earn the 7^th or 8^th seed.

                Before the season started, the Suns traded for one of the best if not the top point guards in the league, Chris Paul.  This added another “superstar” to the team.  They didn’t need to lean on Devon Booker.  Paul was going to run the offense, find his teammates for open looks at the basket, and score points.  Acquiring Paul might be the piece they needed to make a playoff run.

                The Suns are exceeding expectations.  They stand at 24-11, winning 7 of their last 8 games heading into the break.  The Suns are currently the 2^nd seeded team in the West, 2.5 games behind the Utah Jazz for 1^st. 

                The Suns are getting it done on both ends of the floor.  On offense, they are scoring 113.6 points per game, 12^th in the NBA.  They can shoot the rock from anywhere on the court to make baskets.  Their 3-point percentage is an outstanding 38%, 9^th in the NBA.  When this team is fouled, they make the other team pay.  Their free throw percentage is 83.4% from the line, 2^nd in the whole NBA.   The Suns are one of the top teams for ball movement.  This helps them with wide open shots.  They are 3^rd in the NBA with 27.1 assists per game.

                On defense, they give up 107.1 points per game which may sound high but is 3^rd in the NBA.  They also steal the ball 6.9 times per game helping them start the fast break.

                The only area the Suns need to improve on is rebounding on the defensive end.  They aren’t the best team at boxing out.  They grab 43.5 rebounds per game, 21^st  in the NBA.  The Suns must work on boxing out.  They can’t let teams have easy offensive rebounds for 2^nd or 3^rd chance opportunities.

                The Suns are well on their way to reaching the playoffs and home court advatange for the 1^st round.  If they stay in 2^nd  position in the West, the Suns will have home court for the 2^nd-round as well.   They haven’t made the postseason since 2010.  The way they are going they will end that drought.  Phoenix is the most surprising team in the NBA and it could end up helping Head Coach Monty Williams with the Coach Of The Year.

                The most disappointing team is the Houston Rockets.  This was a team coming off a 44-28 season.  The Rockets even made the playoffs last year as the 5 seed.  Houston was knocked off by the Lakers in the 2^nd-round.  In the offseason, they hired Stephen Silas after Mike D’Antoni stepped down after 4 years.

                It has gone downhill.  The Rockets are 11-23, the 2^nd worst record in the Western Conference.  It didn’t help they traded their “superstar” James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets on January 13^th.  The Rockets are on a 13 game losing streak.

                Nothing seems to be going right for the Rockets.  They score 107.6 points per game, 25^th in the NBA.  When it comes to free throws, they can’t make those either.  Houston shoots 75.6% from the line, 24^th in the NBA. 

                On defense, they permit teams to move the ball and that ball movement allows them to score easy baskets.  Opponents score 112.8 points per game, 9^th worst in the NBA.  The Rockets aren’t able to rebound the ball, giving up 38.3 rebounds per game, 2^nd worst in the NBA. Only the Thunder give up more.  Adding all this up, it shows why the Rockets are struggling this year.  Most likely they will be in the NBA Draft lottery to have one of the better odds of landing the number 1 pick.

                There is still another half of basketball left to be played.  For now, these are the most surprising and disappointing teams in the NBA at the All-Star Break.