Ten things to watch in second half Expect big trades and exciting playoff races in both conferences
It's halftime in the NBA. Officially, Thursday night's Cleveland at Toronto game was the 615th on the NBA schedule for this season — the exact midway point on the 1,230-game regular-season slate. Everyone tends to call what follows the AllStar Game as the second half, but it's more like twothirds of the season that will be in the books before that showcase in Los Angeles next month.
Here's a look at 10 storylines for the second half: leading the NBA.
The Warriors have already lost more regularseason games at home (six) than they did in all of last season (five), but also are the only team that hasn't so much as lost two in a row this season.
Translation: Still the overwhelming favorites for a third title in four years. would be a fifth time. How much energy will he need to reserve in the second half to have the best shot at reaching the NBA Finals for an eighth straight year? done two seasons ago — isn't in jeopardy. But this could finally be the year where he makes more 3s than 2s: Right now, he's made 116 3-pointers, 130 2-pointers. (He was so close two years ago, making 403 2-pointers.)
Watch the rebounding race: The Clippers' DeAndre Jordan (15.1) leads Detroit's Andre Drummond (15.0) by the slimmest of margins.
For MVP, the vote could be close: Harden, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Antetokounmpo all clearly deserve consideration.
It's a new format for the All-Star Game this season, with captains picking teams in what will surely lead to some wildly overblown stories about how this person didn't pick that person and whatever.
Most players in the league will get about a week off, and everyone is assured at least three full off days between games — after the All-Star Game on Feb. 18, no teams are back in action until Feb. 22.