Phoenix Suns (22-23)

It looks all but certain that the Suns are going to miss the play-offs for the 10th year in a row.

The Suns are at least building towards something. Devin Booker is a star – and now an All Star. Deandre Ayton is turning into to an excellent centre (it’s not his fault he was picked over Doncic) who can score at will and shows potential at the other end. He’s just about passable of defence right now. Kelly Oubre is a solid wing or small ball 4. Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are interesting pieces.

As much as they’re trending in the right direction, the Suns path to a play-off spot remains murky. Memphis are ascendant; the Pelicans are deep and talented; the Blazers will surely never be this unhealthy again.

Phoenix need one more top end talent. Perhaps they get that through draft luck?

Sacramento Kings (21-33)

Kings GM Vlade Divac needs to buy himself a kids' chemistry kit or a Meccano set? If he can master those, then perhaps he can move on to constructing something bigger: like an NBA roster. This team has individual talent: a potentially great 3-guard rotation; an explosive offensive big man; a nice complementary 2-way wing/small ball 4. Yet the pieces just don’t fit together. There have been egregious mistakes (Bagley over Doncic) that have certainly set the team back, but that’s the tip of the iceberg.

The club need to make definite directional decisions: do they make big investments in keeping their backcourt together? Is Bagley the man to build around? Is Luke Walton the right man to coach them? Is Divac the man to make those decisions? Is Vivek Ranadive, for that matter?

If Sacramento can get these decisions right – to be very clear, I’m not especially confident - there is a base to build on here.

Golden State Warriors (12-43)

Funnily enough, for a team with a league worst record, the future looks surprisingly bright in Golden State

Next season, they’ll have a core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins. That’s more than handy. Throw in their own pick - which will certainly be in the top 4 – or whatever they can trade it for, mix in a few juicy future picks via Minnesota and suddenly you have a situation similar to Boston, post the fabled Brooklyn heist.

For the remainder of this season, golden State will be looking to give their young supporting players like Eric Paschall and Ky Bowman as many reps as possible, whilst placing a huge emphasis on integrating the talented Wiggins into the ‘Warriors Way’.

Southwest Division

Houston Rockets 34-20 record)

Daryl Morey has gone for the Death or Glory approach. The remainder of Houston’s regular season is going to be a balance between getting as many reps as they can for their new small ball core, against making sure that James Harden is rested for the play-offs and PJ Tucker isn’t worn down by the demands of banging bodies (on defense, at least) down low .

The roster changes have unleashed the best version of Russell Westbrook, careering down a wide open lane with reckless abandon. An aside, how good would Ben Simmons look in the Westbrook role on offense, whilst providing his malleable All-World defense? SWING FOR THE FENCES, DARYL!

Dallas Mavericks (33-22)

The Mavericks rebuild is ahead of schedule, so staying the course is a perfectly reasonable expectation.

On the micro level, coach Rick Carlisle will be looking to further develop the harmony between his two young stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Their chemistry early in the season was clunky, despite the Mavs historic offensive numbers. Injuries to both have impaired their growth: they’ve both played in only 33 of the Mavs 55 games this season, and just 10 of the past 31.

Getting those two more synergised is surely the biggest focus for the Mavs.

Memphis Grizzlies (28-26)

Memphis go into the stretch run enjoying a 4 game lead over Portland for the last playoff seed in the West. Given the Blazers bare bones roster and general inconsistency, Memphis look good value for their spot, despite having the hardest remaining schedule according to Tankathon. But the Blazers will get Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic back shortly. That, combined with a return to form from CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard reigning fire, could make things interesting. The suddenly very dangerous Pellies also loom.

In all honesty, a play-off berth would be wonderful for the rebuilding Grizz, but it’s not the be all and end all. This team is young and on an steep upwards trajectory. If you had offered the Grizzlies brass 40 wins at the seasons outset, they’d have bitten your hand off.

The experience of a tight play-off race, as much as the play-offs themselves, will benefit this young team.

San Antonio Spurs (23-31)

The Spurs famed play-off streak is surely over.

They’re 5 games off the streaking Grizzlies, have the soon to be healthy Blazers ahead of them, and the dangerous Pelicans behind them.

Given their situation, the Spurs should be focusing on their youth. Is Dejounte Murray a cornerstone? Are Derrick White and Jakob Poeltl starting level players? What is Lonnie Walker, exactly?

This being the Spurs, however, it’s very unlikely that Gregg Popovich will turn the team totally over to his youngsters for the remainder of the\is season.

New Orleans Pelicans (23-32)

The now fully operational Pelicans are looming.

They’re still 5.5 games out of the play-offs with both the Spurs and Blazers standing between them and the 8th place Grizzlies – it’s a long shot, for sure. But this team had been claiming some big scalps leading up to the All Star break, including Boston and Indiana. Importantly, they’ve also beaten Portland and Memphis in that time.

If they can somehow upset the odds and grab that final play-off spot, they’ll be a handful for the Lakers in a series that will be appointment viewing.