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Tuesday in Rivalry Week included the Knicks barely outlasting the Nets in Brooklyn, Jimmy Butler wearing a Suns colorway shoe while losing to Portland at home and Nikola Jokić getting a triple-double in three quarters as the 76ers continue to play like they want Nick Nurse to be fired. It’s NBA Rivalry Week!

Midterm Grades!

First, the West

Almost every team in the league has now hit the 41-game mark on the season, meaning we’ve made it through the first half of 2024-25. Remember how scary midterms were, when you had to bring home your report card? Well, that’s happening with The Bounce! We’ve got the West’s grades here; scroll down for the East’s.

All records are through the first 41 games of the season. Offensive and defensive rankings are from teams’ offensive and defensive ratings (points scored and allowed per 100 possessions), via NBA.com. All stats are through yesterday’s games.

A few quick notes on the grades:

• We’ve seen a big improvement from the Nuggets, as they’ve become healthier and more comfortable in their roles. I’m not sure they still have enough to win the title, but they’re getting real close to the No. 2 seed again.
• The Thunder, Rockets and Grizzlies continue to exceed expectations this season. I don’t think you could ask them to do more at this point.
• Phoenix and Golden State are headed in the wrong direction. And they both might be praying a trade can put them on the title-contending trajectory.

The Last 24

What do we make of Zion Williamson?

🏀 Five years of what? The Pelicans’ franchise centerpiece made his debut five years ago. Things have been disappointing. What’s next for him?

🏀 Power Rankings! The battle between Cleveland (36-6) and OKC continues (35-7). Is there a new No. 1?

⭐ All-Star starters. Our voters at The Athletic shared their All-Star starter ballots. Is Wemby a starter?

🙏 Get well, Pop. Gregg Popovich’s return to the Spurs this season remains uncertain.

🧑‍🍳 Meal prepping. Without Pop around, Victor Wembanyama has stepped up as the Spurs’ dinner host over in Paris. Always read Joe Vardon.

👀 WNBA offseason predictions. Kelsey Plum to the Storm? Satou Sabally to the Liberty? Here are some possibilities. 

📺 Don’t miss this game tonight. Timberwolves (22-21) at Mavericks (23-20), 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or Fubo (try for free). Is it rivalry week without Luka Dončić?

Midterm Grades, Continued!

Eastern Conference is trying its hardest

Here are my midterm grades for the East. (Note: Charlotte is the one team that won’t get to 41 games until this weekend.)

A few quick notes:

• Even though the Magic’s record has fallen off a bit, I still think they are rock-solid with their A grade. They got Paolo Banchero back, and Franz Wagner will hopefully return relatively soon.
• Look at the Pistons! It’s almost like going from a coach who clearly didn’t care to one who wants to improve the team is a massive way of upgrading from season to season. Hunter Patterson has more on Detroit’s strides.
• The Celtics are probably going to be fine, as they showed against Golden State recently. But right now, this team doesn’t look nearly as dangerous as it did last season.
• The Bucks and Pacers have turned things around, so both are now looking very dangerous in a postseason scenario.

On This Date: Buckets

Jan. 22 is a historic day for scoring 

As Damon Sayles of The Athletic eloquently wrote, this is historic a day to get buckets. On this date last year, we had one of the weirdest nights in NBA history. Joel Embiid dropped 70 points on Wemby and the Spurs. It was the 14th game in league history of 70 or more points by a player. It bested Embiid’s previous career high in points by 11, as the Sixers won 133-123 – just an incredibly rare scoring display. But that wasn’t all for that night.

In a different game, Karl-Anthony Towns put 62 points on the Hornets. It was the first time in NBA history we had a player score 70 points on a day when someone else eclipsed the 60-point mark. The Timberwolves didn’t win the game, which made Towns’ performance even weirder, but we saw history we had never seen and would never see again (until four days later, of course, when Dončić had 73 in a win as Devin Booker recorded 62 in a loss on the same night).

The crazy part of all this? None of these were even the best scoring performance we’ve seen on Jan. 22. On this date, back in 2006, Kobe Bryant put up 81 points on the Toronto Raptors. He made 28 of his 46 shots, seven of his 13 3-point attempts and went 18 of 20 from the free-throw line. It marked the second-most points ever scored in an NBA game and one we can see whenever we want to, thanks to the internet.

It still feels surreal 19 years later. Kobe had 26 at halftime. He added another 27 points in the third period. And he scored 28 of the Lakers’ 31 points in the fourth quarter to make history. Only Kobe and Wilt Chamberlain have ever broken the 80-point threshold in a game. Maybe we’ll see another player do it someday — possibly even today!

Deal Before the Deal

Suns gearing up for a big move? 

The Suns and Jazz reportedly made a curious trade yesterday. Phoenix is sending an unprotected 2031 first-round pick to Utah in exchange for three first-round picks. Those picks would be the least favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah in 2025, 2027 and 2029. Now, let’s put our Brian Windhorst index fingers in the air and point them like we just don’t care. Why would this happen?

The prevailing thought is the Suns are looking to make their move for Jimmy Butler and need to throw some first-round picks around in a possible trade with Miami. Dealing an unprotected first in 2031 could end up being extremely valuable, and it’s smart of the Jazz to gamble on Phoenix being really bad by then. The latter won’t care, especially if having Butler in tow means title contention. And there’s the whole thing about getting Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause to go elsewhere in a potential deal.

The Suns can now move their next six draft picks in any of these deals because of this trade. So, they have a lot more flexibility with sending out draft capital. This is a classic “deal before the deal” type of trade. Is Butler’s departure from Miami inevitable?

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(Top photo: Noah Graham  / Getty Images )