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The NBA Cup final eight is set, but the top two teams in this ranking never made it out of group play. However, No. 3 and 4 will be representing the West.
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1. Cleveland Cavaliers (19-3, Last Week No. 2). Cleveland is back on top of these rankings after beating Boston last week — a game that was not a playoff preview (for either team), but it is a sign of how things are coming together this season for the Cavaliers. Another sign of that? The way the Cavaliers are finding a spot for 27-year-old Ty Jerome off the bench, he is averaging 11.8 points a game and shooting an insane 50% on 3-pointers (3.1 attempts a game). Kenny Atkinson has found a way to get the most out of Jerome, and that has been the case for about every player on the Cavaliers roster this season.
2. Boston Celtics (17-4, LW 1). In the past two seasons (in a tribute to the Celtics’ depth), there wasn’t much of a difference when Jayson Tatum was on or off the court. This season the Celtics +213 in Tatum’s 764 minutes on the court and +3 when he is off the court. That is a steep drop-off, which might help Tatum’s MVP case, but it is not something that Joe Mazzula wants to see. Boston getting healthy should change that. The Celtics went 3-1 in NBA Cup play with a +23 point differential, but that wasn’t enough to catch Orlando for the Wild Card (the Magic were +45).
3. Houston Rockets (15-7, LW 4). Any lingering doubts from casuals about the Rockets’ legitimacy should have been answered this past week with a win against the Thunder and advancing to the knockout round of the NBA Cup. What’s fueling the Rockets’ rise? Defense. And athleticism. The Rockets have the third-best defense in the NBA this season, and getting stops allows their young athletes to get out and run — Houston is fifth in the league in percentage of possessions that started in transition (via Cleaning the Glass). Ime Udoka will get a z of credit for that and is in the mix for NBA Coach of the Year. However, in the short term, he’s going to be writing a check to the league after getting ejected and then saying postgame, “I told him ‘Get some f****** glasses. Open your…
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Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-12-04 23:27:00
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