Will the Warriors survive without Steph Curry? The Knicks 7 game win streak, Grizzlies number one seed
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors right now are .500 basketball team sitting at the 11th seed in the west at 15-16. Coming off a championship last season, the Warriors expectations were high as many expected them to repeat as champions. This expectation was there because of the amount of older and younger talent the Warriors had on their roster with Steph, Klay, and Draymond being able to play with young talent like Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman.
However the team has struggled as its been difficult to find lineups where the young guys can get minutes to grow while also trying to win basketball games. Now the Warriors have another problem on their hands with Steph Curry suffering a shoulder injury and will sit out for about a month. This team has gone as far as Steph Curry and without him the Warriors are now in survival mode as they could fall to the point of no return during this stretch without Steph.
New York Knicks
The Knicks are another team that sat at .500 for the majority of the season before they managed to go on a seven game win streak and winning all of their games during week nine of the season. The Knicks are leading the NBA in second chance points with Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein being top five in offensive rebounds across the league.
The Knicks have gotten better on defense and have showed the capability to win close games instead of floundering and not being able to close out those games in the past. Jalen Brunson has been a great pickup for the team giving the Knicks a reliable point guard who can create their own shot on offense. RJ Barrett has also been better after probably being the most disappointing player in the league after getting an extension over the summer. His best game over this stretch being a 27 point outing against the Bulls on Friday.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors have now lost six straight games dropping all of their games this week and are now 13-18 and in the tenth seed in the east. Despite the rise from Pascal Siakim and OG Anunoby this season the team has struggled especially over this stretch of games. Fred VanVleet has been disappointing thus far even though he had back-to-back 39 point games over the past week he is averaging his lowest point total since the 2019 season, the lowest field goal percentage in his career and looks like the miles are taking a toll on him.
Scottie Barnes is in a slump as it seems this season. His stats across the board besides his three point percentage which is only up from .306 percent last season to .316 percent this season which isn't a large jump as it is, the rest of his stats are lackluster. His field goal percentage, points, rebounds, steals are all down this year. These players are supposed to catapult the Raptors to the heights they wanted to reach and so far this year they haven't gotten there.
Philadelphia 76ers
To put it simply Joel Embiid has been on a tear. He is averaging 33 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. He is an absolute monster dropping 50 point games like its nothing and just carrying this sixer team like he has so much in the past. With James Harden back finally it gives the team the maestro they desperately need. They are still without their second option on offense I would say in Tyrese Maxey who is rumored to come back by Christmas.
The sixers have now won five straight and sit at 17-12. I would really like to see this team be consistent and keep the winning going and finally figure out a solid rotation and make this Embiid Harden pairing as deadly as we thought it could be when Harden joined the team.
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are horrible on defense. This team is a mess. Zach Lavine is having issues with the front offense and looks like he is going to be traded. They have lost four straight and they are 11-18 and are the 11th seed in the east.
Lonzo Ball most likely will not be playing this season and the front office has done nothing to make this team better. Simply put it might be time for this team to blow it up after being a playoff team for mutiple years but making no run at a championship.