One month to go: The final push before the NBA playoffs

With only a month left to go in the NBA season, there are so many story lines and final pushes before the off-season begins.

The title contenders are solidified, as Phil Jackson’s “40-20” rule (whereby a team must win 40 games before losing 20 to be considered a title contender) would apply to the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons and reigning champions Oklahoma City Thunder.

This trend has only been defied by 4 champions since 1982, with 3 of those examples having a crucial trade that helped them turn their season around.

Tatum and Brown’s selfless chemistry should produce an environment in which Boston can thrive

No fringe title contenders have made any significant trades, but the Boston Celtics’ first option, Jayson Tatum, has come back from a right Achilles tendon injury that saw him miss the past 298 days. Boston has exceeded expectations, with many predicting they’d tank for a better draft pick. They let go of the ageing Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis to lower their salary cap last summer, and Jaylon Brown has stepped up from being a second option to an MVP-calibre player, currently leading them towards the 2nd seed in the East.

Perhaps Tatum can live up to his once ridiculed nickname, “The Anomaly”, and bring the title back to the Garden. Tatum and Brown’s selfless chemistry, along with the best coaching in the league, should produce an environment in which Boston can thrive without any team balance issues.

The same can’t be said about their bitter rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, whose ball-dominant stars, LeBron James and Luka Dončić, can’t be on the same lineup together. Their combination creates a team balance that is too offensively minded and can’t cover the defensive holes the two create individually, let alone together.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s mind-blowing volume and efficiency are solidifying his case as this generation’s apex guard

The MVP race already seems to be decided, with frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being tipped to win back-to-back awards over three-time winner Nikola Jokic. This was symbolically shown in their last matchup, with Shai dropping a 2.7-second game-winning 3-pointer.

He had 35 points on 77% true shooting percentage alongside 15 assists and no turnovers. His mind-blowing volume and efficiency are solidifying his case as this generation’s apex guard.

Comparatively, Jokic was having a historic season until his injury in late January, where he’s been brought back down to just phenomenal standards.

Everything is still to play for

Victor Wembanyama will certainly win the Defensive Player of the Year Award; he is top in every advanced defensive metric with almost 4 blocks a night, leading the Spurs to the single-handedly to the 3rd best defence in the league.

Everything is still to play for. In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers have regained confidence after acquiring James Harden, along with the favourite New York Knicks, and hot-streaked Orlando Magic, could de-throne Boston’s 2nd seed. There is a clearer top 2 in the competitive West, with the 3rd to the 7th seed all potentially changing in this last month. No matchup is ideal for any of these teams, with incredibly slim margins, often split by squad depth, separating the superior conference. It remains anyone’s to win.