NBA midseason grades: Cavs acing season, 76ers need improvement

Posted by Admin January 20, 2025 NBA

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The NBA, at midseason, is entirely wide open.

But just because most teams are at (or have surpassed 41 games played) doesn’t mean it’s too early to assess the performance of the entire league.

The NBA hasn’t seen a repeat champion since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors successfully defended their title from the season previous, and it has become evident that the Boston Celtics — winners of last season’s NBA Finals — will have legitimate competition. Namely, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder have each thrived this season, while teams like the Denver Nuggets have heated up.

Boston, meanwhile, still is in excellent position, but the Celtics have stumbled recently, raising questions about their viability to repeat.

Here are grades for every NBA team at the midway point of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Boston Celtics (29-13)

The defending champions have the third-best winning percentage in the NBA, but have lost eight of their last 16 games as they sometimes rely too much on the 3-point shot. Still, Boston has all the pieces to become the first defending champs in six seasons.

Grade: B

New York Knicks (27-16)

It’s not easy incorporating new pieces to an already-established contender, but Tom Thibodeau has made the Knicks an offensive juggernaut, as Karl-Anthony Towns is having a career year.

Grade: A-

Philadelphia 76ers (15-26)

Things had started to look better once Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George all had more time on the floor together, but Philadelphia has lost six consecutive games and nine of their last 11, as Embiid is dealing with yet another injury issue.

Grade: D+

Brooklyn Nets (14-29)

It just seems that the Nets won’t be competitive this season and, with their stash of draft picks, this feels like a team that is just building for the offseason.

Grade: C

Toronto Raptors (10-32)

It’s bad when the most interesting things about Toronto have been Scottie Barnes, the fallout from the Jontay Porter gambling scandal and the team’s ineffective play, stamped by its 54-point loss New Year’s Eve against the Celtics — the most lopsided defeat in franchise history. And yet, just last week, Toronto took down Boston by 13 points.

Grade: D+

Cleveland Cavaliers (35-6)

The Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA, the No. 1 offense, No. 2 net rating, an outstanding starting unit, a deep bench and great coach.

Grade: A

Indiana Pacers (24-19)

The Pacers have overcome a slow start, won eight of their last nine games and are closing in on Milwaukee for fourth place in the East.

Grade: B

Milwaukee Bucks (24-17)

Battling Indiana and Detroit for second place in the division is not where the Bucks expected to be, but a four-game winning streak and winning seven of eight has the Bucks tracking in the right direction.

Grade: B

Detroit Pistons (21-21)

The Pistons are headed for the play-in game at least and possibly a top-six seed, and Cade Cunningham’s production is a significant development.

Grade: B+

Chicago Bulls (18-25)

Not good enough and not bad enough, the Bulls are stuck in no man’s land and in danger of losing their 2025 first-round pick if the pick falls outside of the top 10.

Grade: C-

Orlando Magic (23-21)

Behind defense and the emergence of Jalen Suggs, Jamahl Mosley’s Magic weathered the absences of Paolo Banchero — who has returned — and Franz Wagner (oblique) to stay competitive the East.

Grade: A-

Miami Heat (21-20)

Amid the Jimmy Butler drama, the inconsistent Heat has remained in the play in window. But, in Year Six of the Butler-Bam Adebayo-Tyler Herro build, a transition is becoming necessary.

Grade: C

Atlanta Hawks (22-19)

They’ve had some young players make significant jumps — none more than Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels — but Atlanta can be rather inefficient on offense, despite its ball movement.

Grade: B

Charlotte Hornets (10-28)

LaMelo Ball is in line to start the All-Star game, but Charlotte’s offense is nonetheless broken; Ball’s high-volume shot portfolio — he leads the NBA in attempts per game and 3-point attempts per game — has made Charlotte one-dimensional and inefficient. In fact, the Hornets have the top two players in 3s attempted per game, with Brandon Miller second at 10.9 per. The roster needs help.

Grade: D+

Washington Wizards (6-35)

As they have most of the season, the Wizards are last in offensive rating, defensive rating and net rating. But Washington at least has some young pieces in place that could signal a potential jump in the future.

Grade: D

Oklahoma City Thunder (35-7)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the best team in the West, and like Cleveland, the Thunder have a strong starting unit, a deep bench and one of the league’s top coaches. They have also flourished without one of their best players, Chet Holmgren, who is sidelined with a hip injury.

Grade: A

Denver Nuggets (26-16)

Since an 11-10 start, the Nuggets are 15-6 and have won six of their past seven games.

Grade: B

Minnesota Timberwolves (22-20)

It’s tough to win in the West, and the Timberwolves are proof of that. After reaching the conference finals last season, they’re in a play-in spot today.

Grade: C

Portland Trail Blazers (14-28)

Improving over last season, the Blazers’ rebuild is slowly moving forward under fourth-year coach Chauncey Billups.

Grade: C

Utah Jazz (10-30)

It’s going to be a long few seasons for the Jazz as they map out a future.

Grade: C-

Los Angeles Lakers (22-18)

A middle of the pack team, the Lakers could finish as high as No. 4 or miss the postseason in the West.

Grade: B-

Los Angeles Clippers (24-17)

Kawhi Leonard’s 34-game absence to start the season didn’t help the Clippers.

Grade: B-

Sacramento Kings (22-20)

The Kings fired Mike Brown on Dec. 27 after giving him extension in the offseason and are clinging to a spot in the play-in game format.

Grade: C

Phoenix Suns (21-20)

Playing .500 ball isn’t going to get the Suns anywhere.

Grade: C

Golden State Warriors (21-20)

The Warriors’ 12-3 start has been erased by 17 losses in their past 26 games.

Grade: C

Houston Rockets (28-13)

They’re still incredibly young and still finding their identity. Defense and athleticism have carried them, though they will eventually need to find a little more offensive efficiency, as the Rockets are tied for 25th in the league in true shooting percentage (54.8%).

Grade: A

Memphis Grizzlies (27-15)

Memphis is another young team, and it has gotten excellent contributions from its stellar rookie class in the form of Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey. With Ja Morant fully healthy, this is a team to watch in the second half.

Grade: A-

Dallas Mavericks (23-19)

The Mavericks have faced unfortunate injury issues with Luka Dončić sidelined indefinitely and Kyrie Irving back from a lumbar sprain. A Western Conference championship repeat looks unlikely, as Klay Thompson has been solid, if unspectacular in Dallas.

Grade: B-

San Antonio Spurs (19-22)

The Spurs have found something special in Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama remains a unicorn. San Antonio, at the halfway point of the season, is close to matching its win total from last season. Now it’s time to bolster the roster.

Grade: B

New Orleans Pelicans (11-32)

The team to face the worst injury luck to start the season, the Pelicans could be sellers at the trading deadline. New Orleans is on a little three-game winning streak, however, but it needs to solve the issue of Zion Williamson — who has appeared in just 10 games — and his constant lack of availability.

Grade: D