True to form, East attracting a crowd
With ‘inconsistent teams,’ standings logjam no surprise
This is a bizarre season for the NBA in a bizarre time for the world.
Most of those who must attend the All-Star Game in Atlanta don’t seem particularly excited by those plans. Arenas across the country are somewhere between almost empty and totally empty because of coronavirus protocols. Game schedules are typically known months in advance; nobody knows what the second week of March looks like yet.
All of this is most unusual.
There is, however, one constant: The Eastern Conference standings are a mess.
Spending any time trying to figure how the East is going to shake out would be a futile undertaking, because it’s clear that the teams themselves have no idea. The Heat won the East last season and have spent zero days over .500 this season. The Bucks — the NBA’s best regular-season team in each of the last two seasons, a team with two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo — just had a streak of five consecutive losses. Every team in the East has had at least one three-game losing streak; 11 of those 15 teams have had multiple threegame slides and the season isn’t even half over.
If all that wasn’t enough, the Western Conference is dominating its friends from the other half of the league. The West is winning 57% of its games against the East. That’s on pace to be the biggest margin since the West won 58.4% in 2014-15 — and virtually assures that the West will win the regular-season series versus the East for the 21st time in the last 22 seasons. The East won four consecutive years against the West from 1995-96 through 1998-99; the only season in which the East beat the West since was 2008-09.
By now, that’s to be expected.
Having only three teams better than one game above .500 entering Tuesday’s games, two months into the season, that’s the big surprise out of the East. The 76ers (20-11) and Nets (20-12) sit atop the East, and the Bucks (18-13) are right in their shadow.
That’s where the ridiculously tight traffic jam starts, with the next 10 teams — the Pacers, Raptors, Celtics, Knicks, Bulls, Hornets, Heat, Hawks, Magic and Wizards — all within 3 ½ games of each other.
Some offer a very simple explanation. “I see a lot of inconsistent teams in the East,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And we’re one of them.”
That being said, there are signs that some teams are figuring it out.
The Nets just went 5-0 on a West road trip, playing most of those games without Kevin Durant. The Raptors started 7-12; they’re 9-3 since. The Bulls and the Heat have already won more games in February than they did in January. The Wizards beat the reigning champion Lakers on Monday night for a fifth consecutive victory, meaning they’re 5-0 since starting 6-17. And the Knicks — this is true and amazing — have a chance at their first winning calendar month since going 8-7 in November 2017.
“We’re striving to become a 48-minute team,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who has already made a sizable impact in his first couple of months in New York. “We’ve got a long way to go.”
The good news is that there’s a lot of time left.
Teams will get their second-half schedules finalized by the NBA this week. Everyone, even those going to Atlanta for the one-day All-Star events on March 7, will get a little bit of a much-needed break after a very hectic first couple of months to the season.
The trade deadline on March 25 will be interesting, because with the play-in tournament happening this year — and 20 teams essentially going to the postseason, even if four will be eliminated in very short order — more teams than usual will technically be in the playoff race.
Put simply, there’s a long way to go. And that means there’s plenty of time for this East logjam to break up a little.
“Anybody that can find some consistency and reliability quicker can find some separation in the standings, but right now that there is not separation,” Spoelstra said. “So what I see is opportunity.”
Jennifer Coleman laughed when asked how she felt about being described as a “dog” by Navy women’s basketball coach Tim Taylor.
“I think what coach Taylor means is that I go hard all the time and really get after it out on the court,” Coleman said. “I’m a very competitive person who is going to do whatever it takes to win. I’m going to fight like crazy to give my team an edge.”
Taylor made that comment after Coleman posted a pair of double-doubles to spark a weekend sweep of Loyola Maryland Feb. 13 and 14. The 5-foot-9 junior guard scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds on Saturday and 24 hours later totaled 15 points and 14 rebounds.
That impressive performance earned Coleman the Patriot League Player of the Week honor for the first time in her career.
In sports parlance, the word Taylor used refers to a player possessing a junkyard dog mentality — stubborn, tough and tenacious. Taken to the extreme, it can also mean being vicious, nasty and savage.
“That’s a universal basketball term for someone you want to go to battle with, someone you know you can count on to make plays,” Taylor said. “That’s the type of person you want on your team. I think it’s probably the highest compliment you can give a competitive athlete.”
Coleman has backed up her determined on-court demeanor with tremendous production, leading Navy in scoring, rebounding and assists. She’s averaging a double-double with 17.8 points and 11.1 boards, while also amassing 33 assists and 18 steals.
“I think Coleman may be the most complete guard in the league — she’s just so talented and multidimensional,” Army coach Dave Magarity said. “Watching on tape, it seems like Coleman does things so effortlessly. She’s very athletic and explosive, but also has such great natural instincts. I think that’s what separates her from other players.”
With Coleman as the catalyst, Navy has exceeded expectations so far this season. Picked to finish last among 10 schools in the preseason Patriot League poll, the Midshipmen
are in contention to capture the South Division crown going into the final week of the regular season.
American currently sits atop the South Division standings with a 5-1 record, but Navy controls its own destiny with three games remaining. The Midshipmen (5-2) can take a major step toward overtaking the Eagles when the schools meet Wednesday night at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.
If Navy beats American then wins one of two games against Loyola Maryland, it would win the South Division and earn a top three seed for the Patriot League Tournament.
Coleman has notched a double-double in six of the eight games she’s played this season and now has 15 for her career. The Richmond, Virginia, native has flirted with a triple-double, coming up three assists shy earlier this season against Morgan State.
“Jenn has become more consistent in all aspects of her game,” Taylor said. “We pretty much know what we’re going to get out of her from game to game, which is reassuring from a coaching perspective.”
Taylor had a long talk with Coleman about shot selection after she went 5-for-17 from the field in a loss to Army. She responded by shooting 62% (18 of 29) in the two games against Loyola.
“We talked about being more mindful of keeping the entire team in rhythm. Coming down and taking quick shots doesn’t allow that to happen,” Taylor said. “Coming down and pulling up for a jumper on four straight
possessions … that’s not good for the team. As a point guard, you have got to facilitate. You have to run the offense so other players touch the ball.”
There’s been no need for Taylor to address rebounding with Coleman, whose instincts in that department cannot be taught. Coleman reminds Taylor of Dennis Rodman, an undersized power forward who ranks among the all-time greatest rebounders in NBA history.
“Jenn just has an innate ability to track the ball coming off the basket. She is also very aggressive in going after the ball in the air,” Taylor said.
Coleman has watched videos of Rodman plying his trade while capturing multiple championships with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls. She remembers hearing Michael Jordan talk about Rodman’s nose for the ball and work ethic with regard to getting position and boxing out.
“Really, it’s just desire and want-to. Going after rebounds is just something that comes second nature,” Coleman said.
Coleman burst onto the scene as plebe by leading Navy in scoring (13.1 points), rebounding (8.2) and assists (2.9). She was a third team Patriot League All-Rookie selection and seemingly headed for a prolific career.
Her sophomore season, however, was one to forget for Coleman, who suffered a concussion during the nonconference portion of the schedule then was declared academically ineligible at the beginning of the spring semester.
“Those were some of the toughest times I’ve been through. I dealt with a lot of adversity last season,” Coleman acknowledged. “Fortunately, I had my parents and family behind me every step of the way. I’m also blessed to have some great mentors here at the academy, some professors and advisors that helped me get on track and stay focused.”
Coleman improved her academic standing enough to get reinstated toward the end of the Patriot League portion of the schedule. She played in the last five games.
Shortly after being hired in April, Taylor spoke with Coleman and never once asked about what happened the 2019-20 season. The former Virginia and North Carolina assistant wanted all the Navy women’s basketball players to start off with a clean slate.
“In the first conversation I had with Jenn, all I said was that I expect you to go to class, expect you to get good grades,” Taylor said. “If you want to be a great basketball player, it’s not just about what happens on the court. You have to be a great student and a great person as well.”
What Coleman remembers most about that initial talk was Taylor’s vow to truly care and show constant support.
“Coach Taylor kept saying ‘I believe in you’ over and over. Sometimes, all it takes is someone believing in you,” she said. “I know coach Taylor and the rest of the staff have my back.”
Coleman is still chasing that elusive triple-double and won’t be satisfied until accomplishing that goal. She also wants to improve as a 3-point shooter as she’s not pleased with career percentage of 33.8 from beyond the arc.
“Miss Coleman has a long way to go to reach her full potential,” Taylor said. “I really wish Jenn was a freshman so this staff could see where we could take her.
“Just this season we’ve seen her midrange game really develop because we made some tweaks to it. There is so much more that Jenn can bring to the table.”
Taylor described Coleman as a “willing learner who welcomes being challenged and wants to get better.”