1
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Knicks
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The Knicks have lost just three times this month and have won 11 of their last 13. One of the two losses in that stretch was against a really good Minnesota team and without Jalen Brunson or OG Anunoby. Brunson is putting up superhero numbers. Karl-Anthony Towns has reversed his early season shooting slump. Mikal Bridges is having a superb season. You can’t lay off Josh Hart anymore. The bench is producing. God himself couldn’t keep Mitchell Robinson off the offensive glass. Is the defense good enough to win a title? That’s a long way off from being determined. But right now, the Knicks have earned the top PR spot going into a massive head-to-head with the Spurs Wednesday night.
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3
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23-10
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2
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Spurs
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San Antonio had a full straightaway lead on the No. 1 PR spot with their three wins over the Thunder over a two-week stretch. But they blew a tire with two straight losses to Utah and Cleveland. The Spurs get a chance at redemption against New York, which beat them in the NBA Cup final, on Wednesday.
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3
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24-9
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3
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Thunder
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said it: “You don’t lose to a three times in a row in a short span without them being better than you.” That’s the Spurs, who have been unable to hold the momentum of those Thunder wins with two straight losses of their own, but still, OKC can’t be above San Antonio right now. The schedule is getting hard now and they gave up 129 points to the Hawks playing without Trae Young and Jalen Johnson on Monday.
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2
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29-5
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4
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Rockets
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Houston has won three straight beginning with a thorough beating of the Lakers on Christmas in which they grabbed offensive rebounds like they were playing against their little brother and his little punk friends. Tari Eason being back adds yet another great defender and quality 3-point shooter to the mix.
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1
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20-10
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5
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Nuggets
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Just when the Nuggets are all ready to take over the No. 1 spot after a monster 56-16-15 performance from Nikola Jokić in an incredible overtime win over Minnesota, they lose two straight on the Florida trip. Jamal Murray missed a potential game-winner against the Magic and then the Heat spanked them by 24. Now Jokić is out at least four weeks (and probably more than that) with a knee hyperextension. Let’s see how this goes.
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3
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23-10
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6
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Pistons
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Detroit ended a short two-game slide — which included a wire-to-wire loss to the Clippers — with a win over the Lakers on Tuesday. That makes 10 wins in the last 14 for the East’s No. 1 team and what is still the league’s second-best defense.
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—
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25-8
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7
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Celtics
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Jaylen Brown is fighting for the MVP crown among players who have almost no chance of winning the actual MVP. Brown’s streak of 10 straight games with at least 30 points ended on Tuesday but so what. The Celtics beat the Jazz for their 10th win in their last 13 games as they continue to sit as a top-three team in the East.
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2
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20-12
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8
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Timberwolves
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The Wolves have only lost four games since Thanksgiving, and one of those was on Christmas against the Nuggets in which Anthony Edwards had 44 and they led by nine in overtime before ultimately falling to the aforementioned positively preposterous 56-15-14 showing from Jokić. This is a really good team on both ends that has been to two straight conference finals, in case you’ve forgotten, and Rudy Gobert is once again playing elite defense.
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1
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21-13
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9
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Suns
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Phoenix just won’t go away. They hit a tough stretch of schedule and lost to some good teams, but they are taking care of business against the teams they need to beat with five wins in their last six, including a pair over the Warriors and Lakers. This team plays so hard and will steal pretty much any ball within arm’s reach. Kind of a nightmare to play against.
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2
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19-14
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10
|
Cavaliers
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The Christmas loss to the Knicks in which the Cavs let a 17-point lead slip away was a gut punch. But the 3-pointers have been raining down of late and the win over the Spurs on Monday, all things considered, was their most important victory of the season. They have Evan Mobley back and the big four is actually on the court together. Cleveland is only 3-4 this season when that has happened, but historically that foursome has killed opponents. Let’s see if the Cavs can string together a good stretch against what is an extremely tough upcoming schedule.
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5
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19-16
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11
|
Warriors
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The Warriors have won four of five. They looked good in the win over Orlando but that’s not a very good team right now without Franz Wagner or Jalen Suggs. They folded in their one loss during that stretch, coughing up a seven-point lead inside the final two minutes by way of another turnover barrage before losing in overtime to the Raptors.
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6
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18-16
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12
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Lakers
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A win over the Kings was a momentary reprieve from what has been a rough stretch for the Lakers, who have now lost four of their last five after the Pistons turned a close games into a fourth-quarter blowout on Tuesday. L.A.’s defense just doesn’t have it, and with Austin Reaves being out and LeBron James being a net negative player so far, it’s starting to look like the Lakers are going to end up in the play-in range barring a meaningful trade.
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4
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20-11
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13
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Clippers
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Here come the Clippers, who have won five straight (with two of the wins coming over the Rockets and Pistons, which carries real weight) with Kawhi Leonard on a tear. Leonard basically averaged 30 PPG over 12 December games highlighted by an absolutely monster 55 piece in the win over Detroit on Sunday. Now, the five-game win streak was preceded by a five-game losing streak and the Clippers obviously remain in a hole. But they have no incentive to lose with their 2026 first-round pick owed to the Thunder and they’re now just two losses back of the final play-in spot.
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12
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11-21
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14
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Raptors
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If it feels like the Raptors fell off a cliff, well, they kind of did, but when you win 13 out of 14 over a month span, it doesn’t take much to get yourself back into the conversation. Toronto has won three of its last four and is back as a top-four team in the East. Scottie Barnes went full superhero in a win over the Warriors with 23 points, 25 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals for the first 20-20-10 game in franchise history.
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—
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20-15
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15
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76ers
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The Sixers edged Memphis on Monday for their first win of the season with Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George all in the lineup, but a three-game losing streak preceded that victory. Maxey continues his MVP-caliber season and Embiid is averaging north of 30 PPG over his last six. I continue to think this team is an outside threat in the East, but right now the Sixers are treading water at 5-5 over their last 10.
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3
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17-14
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16
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Trail Blazers
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Portland has won five of its last eight and is in the West’s last play-in spot at the moment. They have scored a couple nice wins over Boston and Dallas in their last two. You love to see Shaedon Sharpe scoring 23.5 PPG on 45% 3-point shooting over his last 13 games. Deni Avdija should be a lock for an All-Star nod.
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5
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14-20
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17
|
Magic
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Orlando blew a 21-point lead in a loss to the Raptors on Monday and has now lost seven of its last 11. They did manage to take down the Nuggets with 62 combined points from Desmond Bane and Anthony Black, but without Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs and with Paolo Banchero having his worst season this is a team playing uphill right now.
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7
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19-15
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18
|
Heat
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Miami answered a three-game losing streak with a three-game win streak including a 24-point win over the Nuggets (Jokić got hurt and only played 19 minutes, but still that’s a big win). Miami is hanging around the play-in line, currently No. 7 but tied in the loss column with No. 6 Orlando.
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2
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18-15
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19
|
Nets
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Chances are you have no idea the Nets have won seven of their last 11 games with a bunch of long, switchy guys and a defense that ranked — are you ready for this — No. 1 in the league for the month of December. Michael Porter Jr. continues his All-Star-caliber season. Rookie Egor Demin buried a career-best seven 3-pointers against the Warriors on Monday.
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5
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10-20
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20
|
Bulls
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The Bulls have lost two straight after a five-game win streak that included four wins against the Cavs and Hawks and another against the Sixers. The Bulls are actually a .500 team against plus-.500 opponents. They just went in the tank against a super soft stretch of schedule in late November.
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10
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16-17
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21
|
Mavericks
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Klay Thompson had a clean 3-point look to tie the game against the Blazers at the buzzer but it rimmed off, and with that the Mavs are on a three-game losing streak with Anthony Davis back in street clothes (the Mavs are 4-14 without him this season). The good news is Cooper Flagg is an absolute stud. I’m not sure anything else about this year matters for the Mavericks, and the truth is they should be tanking for the one chance they have to add a second stud next to Flagg via a stacked 2026 draft class.
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3
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12-22
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22
|
Jazz
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It takes some real commitment to properly execute a tank with Lauri Markannen and Keyonte George. Those guys are studs and the Jazz have been a top-eight offense over their last 15 games. Still, losses in five of their last seven helps their cause of keeping their top-eight protected 2026 pick.
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2
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12-20
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23
|
Hornets
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The Hornets are within shouting distance of a play-in spot with an improved defense and some much needed pop from Brandon Miller, who scored a season-high 31 against Milwaukee on Monday.
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1
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11-22
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24
|
Pelicans
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So much for the five-game win streak. The Pelicans have now lost four straight but they have been very competitive against some really tough teams. Jordan Poole missed a 3-pointer that would’ve tied the game vs. the Knicks with six seconds left. Zion had 32 in that game and is averaging 22.5 PPG on 60% shooting for the month of December, mostly off the bench.
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2
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8-27
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25
|
Grizzlies
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Ja Morant returned from a four-game absence over the weekend and put up a season-high 40 points in an overtime loss to Philly on Tuesday. The Grizzlies, who have kept themselves in the play-in race by way of a very soft schedule stretch, really could’ve used that win because the upcoming schedule is murder with two against the Lakers before dates with the Spurs, Suns and Thunder.
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6
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15-18
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26
|
Bucks
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Giannis threw down the windmill dunk heard ’round the world at the conclusion of Milwaukee’s win over Chicago and predictably the Bulls didn’t like it. Nothing like millionaire grown men crying over having their competitive feelings hurt. Unwritten rules are for Little League. If you don’t like someone dunking on you at the end of a loss then don’t lose. Anyway … the Bucks still stink even with a little stretch of three wins in four games against the JV class of the already JV Eastern Conference (Pacers, Bulls and Hornets).
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3
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14-20
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27
|
Hawks
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Remember that feel-good Hawks story that was starting to happen? Yeah, that’s over. Atlanta has lost seven straight since Trae Young returned with a defense that couldn’t stop a nosebleed. Are they going to make a move for Anthony Davis?
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14
|
16-19
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28
|
Kings
|
The Kings have lost 10 of 12, the last two on the L.A. trip by a combined 65 points to the Lakers and Clippers. The only reason to pay any attention to this team is to see who they’re going to trade.
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1
|
8-25
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29
|
Wizards
|
The Wizards, despite winning four of their last eight, still only have seven wins and are currently in line for the highest odds possible for landing the No. 1 overall pick next summer. This is really all that matters as they focus on the development of Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson and Kyshawn George — a young trio that looks halfway promising.
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2
|
8-24
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30
|
Pacers
|
Indiana is on a nine-game losing streak and has been outscored in those games by 126 points. They have the worst record in the league. What else do you want to know?
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2
|
6-28
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