Atlanta Hawks: Begin the rebuilding

The Hawks seem to be in some sort of rebuilding mode. After dealing Al Horford to the Celtics and Jeff Teague to the Pacers in the summer, they have recently traded sharpshooter Kyle Korver to the Cavs. Reports are now coming through that it is likely Millsap will be leaving before the trade deadline. The Hawks must now start the rebuilding, creating around younger players, and hoping to be a title contender in the future.

Boston Celtics: Fix their biggest problems

If the Celtics want to give the Cavaliers a problem later in the playoffs, they have to fix their three point shooting and defensive rebouding. In December 2016, the Celtics connected on less than 34% of their threes. The Celtics are also close to last in defensive rebouding, and need to pick up a big man to prevent offensive rebounds.

Brooklyn Nets: Find their final starting lineup

With Jeremy Lin injured and only having played 12 games, the Nets have gone through 12 different units in just 31 games. The coaching staff need to find a way to get a consistent lineup in to start the game. You can assume Brook Lopez and Bojan Bogdanovic are going to start, but the rest of the lineup is still up for grabs.

Charlotte Hornets: Be a dark horse in the eastern conference playoffs

The Hornets are currently fifth in the East one game behind the Hawks. No one really expected them to be this high up. Come playoff time, the Hornets should aim to challenge the East’s big guys, such as the Raptors, Cavs, or Celtics. If Kemba Walker can stay healthy, the Hornets may be able to spoil a team’s chances at a championship.

Chicago Bulls: Fix this Rondo situation

Rajon Rondo was brought into the Bulls in the summer, looking to be the starting point guard. In the last three games, this has changed. He has received a DNP(Did Not Play) from Fred Hoiberg. Apparently, the Bulls coaching staff has spoken with Rondo about his attitude, and Rondo has said that he will “absolutely” look for other teams if he does not get playing time with the Bulls.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Get a point guard for their championship run

Even LeBron James has said it. “We gotta get a point guard. It’s my last time saying it.” They need someone to back up Kyrie Irving when he is resting. Kay Felder is just a rookie, and when playoffs come, the Cavs might not feel as comfortable with the 5’7 Felder out there. The Cavs need to look for someone like Chalmers to fulfill LeBron’s and the team’s wishes.

Dallas Mavericks: Avoid isolation and attack the rim

The Mavericks’ offense often gets stagnant, going into iso-mode, with either Harrison Barnes or Dirk Nowitzki. They need to play more team ball, and attack the rim. Barnes should not average less than five drives per game, as he does now. They are last in shots around the restricted area, and 29th in free throws taken.

Denver Nuggets: Continue the rebuild

There is not much for the Nuggets to do here. They just got to continue to build around Mudiay, Jokic, and Nurkic. If they can bolster that bench of theirs a bit, they may make the playoffs in a few years. But for now, just continue what you’re doing, Denver.

Detroit Pistons: Sneak into that 8 seed

Right now, the Pistons sit at the 11th seed. This is largely due to the fact that Reggie Jackson was out for the beginning of the season. The Pistons need to find a way to sneak into that 8 seed spot, and perhaps challenge the Cavs in the first round. Andre Drummond also needs to find a way to make his free throws.

Golden State Warriors: Find the REAL Stephen Curry

With the addition of Kevin Durant, Curry has seemed to have taken a back seat. He also seems bit frustrated, as he has said he wants the Warriors to run more pick and rolls for him. Other than getting Steph back, the Warriors still sit atop the Western Conference with the best record in the league. So not many changes are really needed for them.

Houston Rockets: Continue what you are doing

No one expected the Rockets to be at the third seed in the West, at a blistering 29-9 record. This is all behind James Harden’s MVP caliber season, and the fact that Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, and Harden are all splashing threes. They just need to continue what they are doing. If they can limit their turnovers a little bit more, and show more effort on defense, they can give the Warriors and Spurs a run for their money.

Indiana Pacers: Improve efficiency

The pacers defense is 17th in defensive efficiency, but the offense is also 19th. That is just unacceptable when you have the likes of Paul George and Miles Turner. Paul George is going to have to put this team on his back when they get into the playoffs. They are still over .500, and should try and stay above that.

Los Angeles Clippers: Take advantage of your last chance at a championship

This may be the Clippers last chance at a chip, as their window is slowly closing. Chris Paul is getting old, facing some injuries. Blake Griffin is also facing injuries, and he may be gone in the offseason. Paul Pierce is going to retire next season as well. Even JJ Redick will be a free agent. The Clippers need to take this last chance to challenge the rest of the West.

Los Angeles Lakers: Nothing

Just let your youngsters grow, and do not let them go. Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and DeAngelo Russel all are very young. They also have a great coach in Luke Walton. If the Lakers just wait a few years, and let the young players develop, and surround them with a few veterans, they could make a playoff run in a few years.

Memphis Grizzlies: Get the offense going

The Grizzlies have the league worst field goal percentage, and are second last in points per 100 possessions. Still, they are having a good season, and are the only team to beat the Warriors not once but twice this season. That has to say something about this Grizzlies’ team.

Miami Heat: Get others going

The Heat have started rebuilding, but their lifeline is Goran Dragic, a 31 year old. Soon, they will have to trade him for some picks, and get some more prospects in the draft. This means others need to start help carrying the load. Tyler Johnson needs to take more of a point guard role, Winslow needs to get healthy, and then anchor the defense, and Josh Richardson needs to continue to shoot well.

Milwaukee Bucks: Better Late Game Offense

Of the Bucks 29 games, 17 have entered crunch time, and they are a league worst 7-10 in these. They also have a league worst offense late in the 4th quarter, and shoot 15% from three at these teams. That needs to be fixed if they want to win a playoff series, as Giannis and Parker need to be able to close out those games.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Stagger Lavine, Wiggins, and Towns

The Wolves need to change their lineups. This is what they need. The Wolves need to make Lavine play without Wiggins, as he can carry this team on his own at many times. Then Wiggins can carry the offense on a different lineup. The Wolves are playing the two together too much, as their talent is being wasted.

New York Knicks: Run offense through Porzingis

The Knicks need to run their offense less through Melo, and more through the 7 foot shooter. Melo has shown signs of slowing down, and the offense does not run near as many plays for Porzingis. He has shown us that he has the range and the skillset to make plays. If the Knicks can get Porzingis to play more at the 5, we may see more production from him.

New Orleans Pelicans: Less ISO

Yes, having Anthony Davis on your team is very enticing for you to run many isolation plays for him. But basketball is a team sport, and the others need to get involved. The Pels are 16th in passing, and that needs to go up. More off ball screens and ball movement needs to happen.

Orlanda Magic: Trade Vucevic

There is just no way this guy can fit on this team. He, nor Bismack Biyombo or Serge Ibaka, wants to sit on the bench. Vucevic is also having the second lowest effective field goal percentage, and the Magic just need to find a way to trade him. They should then begin to build around their great frontcourt and maybe target a few guards.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Get Westbrook some help

I mean, come on, the man is averaging a triple double and his team is still losing games. He needs help. Yes, Steven Adams and Oladipo have been great, but its just not enough. They need another scorer: someone who can carry some scoring load. Trading for a shooter like Omri Casspi or a scorer like Rudy Gay would really help Russell Westbrook.

Philadelphia 76ers: Fix the Frontcourt

They have so many big men, and they need to trade some to bolster their backcourt. You can expect Okafor and Noel will be traded soon. Embiid is just too good, and you can expect them to keep the future All Star. The 76ers also have Richaun Holmes, Ersan Ilyasova, and Dario Saric. They need to figure out a way to fix that.

Phoenix Suns: Build around Devin Booker

Not much else you can in this situation. Just let Booker grow and develop, and build around him as needed. Keep Bledsoe, but it is likely that Brandon Knight will want out. Also, play Dragan Bender more, as he has been extremely productive this season.

Portland Trailblazers: More Evan Turner in the point guard role

To win more games, Damian Lillard and CJ Mocollum need to be play off the ball. Their catch and shoot shooting percentages should be a lot higher than 18/24%. This means that Evan Turner needs to go back to his Boston Celtics days: handling the ball more. This means that CJ and Dame should be recieving a lot of passes in catch and shoot opportunites from Turner.

Sacramento Kings: Let go of Cousins

He does not want to be there. The Kings are having a great season, but Cousins is unhappy, and letting him go seems inevitable. They just have to do the same as many other teams: start from scratch and just rebuild. They may have to go through a few tough seasons, but it will eventually pay out.

San Antonio Spurs: Same thing they have been doing for years

The Spurs are just one of those teams that will always be there, and they just need to continue with that. They have a great franchise player in Kawhi Leanord, with other dominating players like Lamarcus Aldridge. They just need to continue what they have been doing. Just listen to Poppovich.

Toronto Raptors: Get a big time pickup

The Raptors need to get someone big. Someone good. They just cannot have Pascal Siakam starting during the playoffs. Now they need to target Paul Millsap. They need to fill that 4 spot, and they need someone to help them compete with the Cavs. Using the team they have right now just will not be enough if they make it to the conference finals

Utah Jazz: Find a way to stop the injuries

Injuries have been really hurting this team. Coming into the season, the starting lineup was supposed to be Hill-Hood-Hayward-Favors-Gobert. This lineup has only started one game so far. Their most used lineup has only 85 minutes of playing time. They need to pray that the injuries clear up before playoffs come.

Washington Wizards: More small ball

Believe it or not, Otto Porter is actually great at playing the 4. The Wizards average 114.3 points per 100 possessions with Porter at the power forward position. This leaves a great scorer in Markieff Morris to play the 3. Then you can get Gortat in at center, with the tandem of Beal and Wall in the backcourt. That is a deadly lineup.

Cavaliers’ keys to beating the Warriors:

1. Crowd the paint and crash the boards – After the Warriors gave up Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli to free up cap space to acquire Kevin Durant, many assumed teams would try to expose their lack of size in the paint. The Cavaliers are perfectly primed to do so, with Tristan Thompson averaging almost 4 offensive rebounds per game. When Zaza Pachulia is in for the Warriors, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving should look to attack the basket. If the Cavs can use the Warriors lack of size to their advantage, they can inch closer to a win on Christmas Day.

 

2. Get the role players going– The Cavaliers bench is going to be huge against the Warriors. Iman Shumpert is going to have to continue his brilliance, shooting 42% from three, and he is going to have to make his jumpshots. Channing Frye has been great this year, averaging 10 points and shooting 45% from three. Frye is a bit of a liability on the defensive end, but he can make up for it on offense. With JR Smith out, Shumpert, Frye, Jefferson, Dunleavy, and Liggins are going to have to make up for the loss of his offensive threat.

 

3. Make Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant work on the defensive end – This one is extremely obvious, but extremely important. We can assume that Stephen Curry will either guard Kyrie Irving, or be switched onto him. Irving must make Curry work on defense in hope that he will be a but tired on the offensive end. Same thing for Kevin Durant, who will be guarding LeBron James. James needs to make Durant work on defense. These two matchups of Irving-Curry and Durant-James will keep many viewers on the edge of their seats.

 

Warriors’ keys to beating the Cavaliers:

1. Others have to make shots–  We can expect that the Cavaliers’ defense will be focused on stopping Durant, Curry, and Klay from scoring. This means that others are going to have to step up. Draymond is going to have to pick up his scoring, as he is shooting 32% from three and averaging only 10 points. Javale McGee is going to have to active in the paint, and Ian Clark has to continue his impressive shooting this season. The Warriors bench will have to step up to give their stars a much needed boost.

 

2. Make LeBron James work hard on the defensive end – Another obvious one, yet very important. In the 2016 Finals, LeBron James was either guarding Draymond Green or Harrison Barnes. Neither are near the caliber of Kevin Durant. James was able to stay active on offense in the Finals because of the lack of needed effort of defense from him. With Durant on the Warriors, they have to make James work hard on defense, in hope that he may not be as productive on offense.

 

3. Guard the Cavaliers three point shot – The Cavaliers are shooting the three-ball the second best in the league, behind only the Rockets. They are averaging almost 14 threes per game, and much of their offense runs through shooting threes. For the Warriors, it’s simple: stop the Cavaliers’ three ball = win the game. That is easier said than done though. It will be an extremely exciting Christmas Day for NBA fans.