When Boston lost to the Lakers on Thursday, it guaranteed that the Cavaliers will hold the best record in the Eastern Conference through February 2. That, in turn, ensured that Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson will coach one of the four All-Star teams on February 16 in San Francisco, while an assistant on his staff will coach another of those four squads, the NBA announced (Twitter links).
In past seasons, the head coaches for the teams with the best records in the East and West prior to the All-Star break would coach their respective conference in the All-Star Game. It’s a little more complicated this season due to the new four-team format, which is why both Atkinson and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault will be bringing an assistant to All-Star weekend next month.
Here are a few more items of interest from around the Central:
- The Pistons traded their 2021 first-round pick during the 2020 offseason as part of a sign-and-trade deal that sent Christian Wood to Houston. However, that pick included heavy protections and has yet to convey while being traded three more times since then, from Houston to Oklahoma City to New York to Minnesota. As Jared Ramsey of The Detroit Free Press observes, 2025 may be the year that pick finally changes hands — the Timberwolves will receive it if it lands outside of the top 13 and the Pistons are very much in the hunt for a playoff spot in the East at 23-21.
- Prior to Thursday’s matchup with Golden State, Bulls center Nikola Vucevic said he didn’t view the game – against a team rumored to have interest in him – as an audition, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s been many rumors in the past where I then played that certain team I’ve been linked to or not, and it doesn’t really affect me because I don’t think that way,” Vucevic said. If it was a tryout, the veteran big man didn’t exactly ace it, matching his season-low with nine points in a blowout loss to the Warriors, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune.
- In a separate story for the Tribune, Poe wonders if guard Lonzo Ball might end up being the Bulls‘ best trade chip at the February 6 deadline. His injury history is obviously a significant red flag, but Ball is the only one of the team’s highly-paid trade candidates who is on an expiring deal and Chicago has a +7.4 net rating during his minutes this season. In fact, it doesn’t seem as if the Bulls are especially eager to move on from the former No. 2 overall pick, who “quietly commands the locker room,” Poe writes.
i think its crazy that u coach a team to the best record in the first half and then u gotta work for the one vacation — granted its not real work but its not a vacation lol
They should just make Shaq, Kenny, Charles, and Candace the coaches
Golden State’s worst move ever was not replacing Kerr with Kenny. Kenny has really improved as a coach every year. Kerr just goes to low percentage small ball in every possible scenario.
While I still think GSW should get Vooch, I no longer think they need 2 bigs, Post breaking out in that same game vs the Bulls, showing essentially a very similar skillet and game style to Vooch, makes me want GSW just to get Vooch and call it a day, keeping as many youngsters as possible to use as chips for Giannis or KD. I will still continue to be mad at Kerr for not playing 2 of Looney, TJD or Post together in the same rotation, when literally every other team at least runs one “twin towers” lineup. The way Post and Steph connected was huge that game, Post looked so good feeding Steph, and Steph loved it too. Not even mentioning how good Gui and Moody were that game. We knew Moody had it in him, but Gui and Post might actually be interesting guys in this league too, need to see them play that well vs the Lakers tomorrow before I get too excited, but both looked like ballers that game.
Cavs lose to Sixers ……. no Embiid no Mobley.
And…so much for Vucevic to the Warriors. IMO, no chance Kerr allows the trade because Vuch got so badly exposed defensively.
Kerr’s distrust of true bigs is so deep that he had to see indisputable evidence Vucevic would fit. The opposite happened.
Vucevic showed he’s the antithesis of GSW’s style of play. If acquired mid-season, GSW would likely fail to incorporate Vuch, just as with Schroeder. It’s too big a change, with too much risk of total failure.
Bingo !!
Regardless of what Vucevic thought he failed thst audition miserably. Bulls fans are going to be so pissed when their GM makes no moves at the deadline as per usual.