There are many stories that evolved post all-star weekend but lets face it... the headline story that has had a firm grip on the NBA has been the Golden State Warriors and their record breaking season. Although I am sure we could go on & on about what they accomplished even after the all-star break; we’ll leave that to the professionals (insert Mr. Adam Jones here). Instead, lets take a look at the top team stories in each conference, giving the least emphasis to Golden State.
THE HEADLINERS:
After hosting all-star weekend, the city of Toronto took it a step further; clinching the top seed in the east. Despite playing without DeMarre Carroll until late March & having their steady center Jonas Valanciunas miss a good amount of time; Dwane Casey rallied his troops to give up only 90.6 PPG (which led the league). With a late season signing of veteran center Jermaine O’Neal, the Raptors are considered a threat by many insiders.
The Cavs made some moves just before the trade deadline, shipping Varejao & Mozgov to Minnesota for Nikola Pekovic & Damjan Rudez (who they later waived) but they did not stop there on their quest to bring a championship to Cleveland. Just two days later they sent the newly acquired Pekovic, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson & a 2016 2nd round pick to Atlanta for sharpshooter Kyle Korver, Tiago Splitter & Thabo Sefolosha. And just two days after that they lost Mo Williams for the remainder of the year to a dislocated patella. 2nd place in the east will only be accepted if they bring home the gold.
Miami remained unable to deal their jagged tempered center Hassan Whiteside but still managed to surprise many with a 3rd place finish in the east. Wade managed to stay relatively healthy and the entire team pitched in at times leading this team to the 4th best defense in the NBA. Goran Dragic looked much like the Dragic of last year through the latter part of the season & Luol Deng started to show glimpses of his former self as well. Slow & steady was the case for the Heat both figuratively & physically.
Despite missing both Brandon Jennings & Reggie Jackson for extended periods of time, Stan Van Gundy sparked something in this young Pistons team (just after the all-star break) that has brought the city of Detroit back to the days of old… & that something is defense. In what seems to be the theme in the east; the Pistons sported the third best defense in the association giving up only 93.2 PPG. Defense by committee was the plan but getting consistency out of Andre Drummond was the key. As he led the league in rebounding; Stan Van Gundy said the reason for their first 50+ win season since 2008 was Andre’s rim protection. Watch out for Detroit basketball in the playoffs as Charles Barkley has picked them to come out of the east… go figure.
The good news… Rose remained healthy & is ready for the playoffs. The bad news… The Bulls finished 3rd in their division behind not only Cleveland but also the Pistons. The real news… the Bulls convinced Ray Allen to join the team for some extra firepower heading into the playoffs. The Bulls looked like they had found their identity in the second half of the season but the injury to Mirotic’s elbow may prove to be more of an issue than imagined as he will not be on the playoff roster. Never the less the Bulls are in the playoffs again, hoping to make noise & pickups of veterans Ray Allen & Samuel Dalembert won’t hurt at all.
THE REST:
Atlanta maintained a 4th seed despite giving away Kyle Korver & Tiago Splitter & not managing to move Teague or Horford. Boston made it in to the playoffs and picked up Spencer Hawes in exchange for Jonas Jerebko along the way. The Knicks are back in the playoffs which is good news even if only as an eight seed. The Hornets were brought back to earth. The Pacers brought back Lance Stephenson. The Bucks & the Wizards seasons went totally wrong & the Magic, Nets & Sixers' seasons went just as expected.
THE HEADLINERS:
NBA record tying 72 wins, 10 losses. NBA record 41-0 at home. Steph Curry… MVP for the 2nd year in a row. Steph Curry... NBA record 12 steals in one game, February 20th. Steph Curry... NBA record 13 threes in one game, March 19th. NBA record 448 threes made in a season. A 15.7 point differential & led the league in PPG, APG, 3MPG, 3PT%, & 2nd in the league in FG% & SPG.
Oklahoma City makes at least one more run before they are possibly left without their two mega stars. Even though a record 61-21 stills sits you 11 games back of 1st place in the west; at least it’s still good for 2nd. Durant & Westbrook carried this Thunder team but it was not just a two-man show. Ibaka, Adams & especially Enes Kanter played major roles in this team’s success. Second only to Golden State in point differential, the Thunder looked unstoppable at times offensively. The only flaw that was shown at times was their defense and the possibility of an injury either of the two stars at any moment.
The steady Spurs flew under the radar as usual. After their blistering start, Coach Pop (in Coach Pop fashion) rested his players many times throughout the latter part of the season, landing them in the 3 seed instead of the second although I’m sure no one is really stressing that. Kawhi continued his climb to the upper echelon and the Spurs faithful continued to do what they do best... win. Aldridge looks ready for the playoffs and Coach Pop got a good look at Boban Marjanovic & Jonathon Simmons late in the season (don’t be surprised if they see action in the playoffs).
Dwight Howard is still a Rocket & after a lackluster first half, the Rockets caught fire after the all-star break losing only 6 games afterward. James Harden was still the motor offensively but a re-emphasis on defense from interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff seemed to be the steering wheel. Houston slowed down their tempo a bit and stood pat on any trade deadline moves & it looks to have paid off heading into the playoffs.
After the Blake Griffin saga and the Clippers managing to win without him; they found themselves stumbling into the playoffs as a 7th seed after losing 21 of their final 29. Despite Chris Paul playing like an MVP, the Clippers lacked consistency from anyone else, especially when J.J. Redick was out for the month of March. LAC moved Jamal Crawford to Dallas for Devin Harris & was able to unload Lance Stephenson to Indy to get C.J. Miles & Lavoy Allen in return but they both missed most of the second half of the year due to injury. Hampered by many other injuries, not counting their time without Blake really sent them spiraling. But now they are healthy & hopefully they can salvage this season.
THE REST:
The Kings fought their way into the playoffs with George Karl, DeMarcus Cousins & Rajon Rondo but without Rudy Gay (out for the year with a torn Achilles). The Grizzlies grinded their way to 5th place with both Gasol & Randolph missing time, but they did sign Larry Sanders at season’s end. The Blazers snuck in at the eight spot as the Mavs fell out of contention after an injury riddled second half to the season. The Nuggets, T’Wolves, Jazz, Pelicans & Suns all dwelled the bottom as hard as humanly possible. And the Lake Show managed to lose their swag (dealing Nick Young to the 76ers) along with Kobe “Farewell Tour”.
| NBA League Leaders - Updated: Apr 13, 2016 |
| Points Per Game | PPG | Assists Per Game | APG |
 | 1. Stephen Curry | 27.3 |  | 1. Rajon Rondo | 10.2 |
| 2. Kevin Durant | 26.9 | 2. Russell Westbrook | 9.8 |
| 3. Lebron James | 25.9 | 3. John Wall | 7.8 |
| 4. Damian Lillard | 24.1 | 4. Chris Paul | 7.8 |
| 5. Demar DeRozan | 24.0 | 5. Ricky Rubio | 7.6 |
| Rebounds Per Game | RPG | Steals Per Game | SPG |
 | 1. Andre Drummond | 15.5 | | 1. Rajon Rondo | 2.0 |
| 2. DeAndre Jordan | 13.8 | 2. Stephen Curry | 2.0 |
| 3. Kevin Love | 12.7 | 3. Damian Lillard | 1.9 |
| 4. Pau Gasol | 12.2 | 4. Kemba Walker | 1.8 |
| 5. Demarcus Cousins | 12.0 | 5. Russell Westbrook | 1.7 |
| Bocks Per Game | BPG | Field Goal Percentage | FG% |
 | 1. DeAndre Jordan | 3.9 | | 1. DeAndre Jordan | .646 |
| 2. Andre Drummond | 2.9 | 2. Kenneth Faried | .585 |
| 3. Anthony Davis | 2.8 | 3. Andre Drummond | .583 |
| 4. Hassan Whiteside | 2.7 | 4. Dwight Howard | .579 |
| 5. Dwight Howard | 2.6 | 5. Enes Kanter | .576 |
| Three Point Percentage | 3PT% | Free Throw Percentage | FT% |
| 1. Stephen Curry | .466 | | 1. Stephen Curry | .921 |
| 2. J.J. Redick | .464 | 2. Kyle Korver | .913 |
| 3. Klay Thompson | .454 | 3. Kevin Martin | .897 |
| 4. Kyle Korver | .449 | 4. Isaiah Thomas | .884 |
| 5. Khris Middleton | .445 | 5. Chris Paul | .882 |
