The second-half of the 2024-25 NBA season is ready to tip off. Here are five questions to consider:
5. Can De’Aaron Fox help the San Antonio Spurs to the playoffs?
The Spurs were expected to be improved in Victor Wembanyama’s second season. Wembanyama made the All-Star team for the first time and San Antonio (23-29) has already won more games than last year (22-60). However, the Spurs are 12th in the Western Conference standings. The addition of De’Aaron Fox may accelerate their development. Fox, 27, is a proven scorer and playmaker who takes some pressure off 39-year-old Chris Paul. A young core of Wembanyama, Fox, Devin Vassell, and Stephon Castle looks exciting. Something else to watch is the possible return of Gregg Popovich, who has been out since suffering a stroke on Nov. 2.
4. Do the Golden State Warriors have anything left in the tank?
Golden State (28-27) is hellbent on maximizing Steph Curry’s golden NBA years. Curry, 36, is not the player he used to be. His three-point shooting percentage (39.0) is the third-worst of his career, and his overall shooting percentage is the second-worst (43.3). Still, no player is more terrifying down the stretch of a close game. Warriors management made the bold choice to trade for disgruntled superstar Jimmy Butler, who also has a lot of mileage on his 35-year-old legs. Butler is still an efficient scorer (54.0% overall field-goal shooter) who gets to the free-throw line (11.1 attempts per game). Butler, Curry, and Draymond Green are all past their prime. Green, however, disagrees.
“We are going to win the championship. It’s going to happen… I’m going to follow Jimmy Butler. I’m going to follow Steph Curry. And we’re going to follow those two guys right to a championship.” – Draymond Green on the Warriors 🏀🎙️ #NBA pic.twitter.com/ouF4sJhWbJ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 17, 2025
3. Will the Cleveland Cavaliers beat out the Boston Celtics for the top seed in the East?
Last year, the Boston Celtics were the NBA’s best team and rolled through the playoffs. This year, there is a little more competition. The Cleveland Cavaliers (44-10) start the second half with a 5.5-game lead over the defending champion. The Cavaliers have been dominant, particularly at home (25-4). They also could be better after picking up De’Andre Hunter, who was averaging a career-best 19 points for the Atlanta Hawks. Still, Boston doesn’t necessarily need homecourt advantage to reach the NBA Finals again. They’re a league-best 22-6 on the road and have won two of the three meetings with Cleveland this season.
2. Who will win the MVP award?
Nikola Jokić has been the best basketball player on the planet since 2020. He has finished first or second in the MVP voting the previous four seasons. You could argue that he should have four consecutive MVPs. This season, Jokić leads the league in player efficiency rating (33.52), is third in scoring (29.8 points per game), second in assists (10.2), and fourth in rebounding (12.6), steals (1.8), and three-point shooting (45.0%). Those stats should easily make him the favorite. However, voters tend to get fatigued nominating the same guy. So, despite Jokić’s excellence, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could win it. Oklahoma City has the best record in the West, and SGA is the NBA’s top scorer (32.5).
1. How will LeBron and Luka coexist?
The Los Angeles Lakers made one of the biggest trades in the league history by acquiring Luka Dončić. While it might not result in a championship this season, it does set up the Lakers for life after LeBron James. It will be fascinating to see LeBron and Luka figure things out on the fly because both are ball-dominant players. How efficiently will the offense run? Who will take the majority of shots during crunch time? Does James take a step back to allow his new teammate to flourish? There are a lot of questions, and it’s up to them and rookie coach JJ Redick to find the answers.
