ESPN: Sad News For Heat As Coach Will Now Join Rival Team For A…

We’re a week out from the 2023-24 NBA trade deadline (Feb. 8, 3 p.m. ET) and, well, a lot can happen between now and then, with the future’s of high-profile players such as Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine and Atlanta Hawks’ Dejounte Murray still up in the air.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have taken a dip in our rankings, after losing to the bottom-dwelling Detroit Pistons last Sunday, giving them their sixth win of the season. And the surging LA Clippers made a statement after blowing out the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics, handing them their second home loss of the season.

Last week was filled with ridiculous scoring outbursts by Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, and Karl-Anthony Towns. As we enter into the second half of the season, can we expect more eye-catching 70-point games? Will the Milwaukee Bucks find their defensive footing with Doc Rivers? And can the Brooklyn Nets make a push in the East with the return of Ben Simmons?

Questions abound as we look to see where every team settles a week before the trade deadline.

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 | Jan. 24

Through the first half of the season, it’s hard to look at the Kristaps Porzingis deal as anything but a huge win for the Celtics. When he is on the court, Boston has a plus-12 net rating  easily the best of any of the core rotation players, and a sign of just how impactful the 7-3 Latvian big man has been to the Celtics, winners of seven of their past 10 games. Porzingis’ ability to both create mismatches offensively and protect the rim defensively has made him a seamless fit in Boston. — Bontemps

The defending champs have won seven of their past nine games, a stretch including handing Boston its first home loss this season, and victories over Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Indiana (twice). Jamal Murray added his fourth 30-point game in his past 11 games with a 35-point outing against Milwaukee. The next game is surely one the Nuggets will be motivated for as they travel to face Oklahoma City, which crushed the Nuggets 119-93 on Dec. 29 in Denver. — Youngmisuk

The Clippers lost for just the third time in January when they had their five-game winning streak snapped in Cleveland on Monday. But that loss didn’t spoil what has been a successful start to this seven-game road trip. The Clippers won back-to-back games at Toronto and Boston, punctuated by a 19-point win in TD Garden. The Clippers led by as much as 36 and handed the Celtics their second home loss in what was L.A.’s most impressive win of the season. Paul George has been playing through a groin issue, though, which is something the team continues to monitor closely as it enters the back half of this road trip in Washington, Detroit, Miami and Atlanta. — Youngmisuk

The Wolves bounced back from a disappointing loss to San Antonio with a victory over Oklahoma City on Monday night, moving back into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. Minnesota has been in or tied for first place in the West for all but one day since Nov. 19, when the Thunder held possession for a day last week. Those two teams and Denver will continue to fight for their place in the standings, as Minnesota hosts Dallas, Orlando and Houston this week before heading on the road. — Collier

After a two-game absence that resulted in the 76ers losing to the Nuggets and Trail Blazers, Joel Embiid returned to the starting lineup Tuesday night against the Warriors. Embiid — who has more points scored than minutes played so far this season, something only Wilt Chamberlain has done for a full season — can miss only five more games to still be eligible for a second straight MVP award. — Bontemps

The Bucks dropped Doc Rivers’ coaching debut Monday against the Nuggets, but Milwaukee has taken a step in the right direction defensively in the past week. In four games since Adrian Griffin was fired as head coach, Milwaukee is giving up 110.9 points per 100 possessions, ninth in the NBA during that span. Monday was the first day of a nine-day, five-game road trip for the Bucks, which continues Wednesday night in Portland for Damian Lillard’s first game there since being traded this summer. — Collier

Rookie of the Year candidate Chet Holmgren had his worst two-game offensive stretch during the Thunder’s back-to-back losses to the Pistons and Timberwolves. He was held to a combined 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting in the losses, which caused Oklahoma City to fall out of first place in the West. Still, Holmgren is averaging 16.7 points on 53.3% shooting, a major factor in the 32-15 Thunder’s success. But Oklahoma City is 2-5 when he fails to score in double digits and 5-8 when he shoots less than 50%. — MacMahon

Break up the Cavs! Not only has Cleveland won 10 out of its past 11 games — including a double-digit comeback against the Clippers — but Darius Garland has been upgraded to questionable to make his return Wednesday from a 19-game absence because of a fractured jaw. The Cavaliers are No. 5 in the East but only 2½ games behind the No. 2 Bucks, whom they’ve beaten twice in the past two weeks. — McMenamin