As we close in on the NBA trade deadline (Feb. 8, 3 p.m. ET) trade talks are beginning to heat up around the league.
With just over two weeks left until the deadline, the Miami Heat made a big move Tuesday, sending Kyle Lowry and a protected 2027 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for guard Terry Rozier.
Just last week, the Indiana Pacers made a big move themselves, acquiring Pascal Siakam to pair with MVP candidate Tyrese Haliburton, as the Pacers try to rocket up the Eastern Conference standings.
Will any of it move the needle? Can these deals help Miami and Indiana chase down the NBA’s top contenders? Or will the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets continue to dominate their respective conferences?
Here’s where all 30 teams shake out this week.
Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball and which teams are looking most like title contenders.
Previous rankings: Post-Finals | Nov. 1 | Nov. 8 | Nov. 15 | Nov. 22 | Nov. 29 | Dec. 6 | Dec. 13 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 27 | Jan. 3 | Jan. 10 | Jan. 17
Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE
DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND
LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN
NO | NY | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX
POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTAH | WAS
1. Boston Celtics
2023-24 record: 34-10
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Previous ranking: 1
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Next games: @ MIA (Jan. 25), vs. LAC (Jan. 27), vs. NO (Jan. 29), vs. IND (Jan. 30)
Jayson Tatum is all but certain to be unveiled on Thursday night as one of the three starters in the Eastern Conference frontcourt in next month’s All-Star Game. Even though his numbers have dipped from last season, Tatum is more than deserving of the honor. He has played in almost every game and is averaging 27-8-4 for a Celtics team that ranks in the top five in both offense and defense. — Bontemps
2. Denver Nuggets
2023-24 record: 31-14
While Nikola Jokic continues to post MVP-like numbers, Jamal Murray has turned his play up in January. In search of his first All-Star berth, Murray is averaging 24 points and…
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