1. The Philadelphia 76ers were an unknown factor heading into the engine change. How would their players convert over? Turns out, their stars swapped jobs. Jabari Parker took a massive hit, as his passing and ball handling were too poor for the engine to give him as many touches. Lonzo Ball, on the other hand, transformed into a top 3 point guard in the league. This, along with Moritz Wagner's impressive conversion, have made them one of the most deadly teams in the league. They support the #2 offense in the league, and are 2 whole assists ahead of the 2nd place team in Assists-Per-Game. They right now stand 2nd in the Eastern Conference, behind the massive juggernauts the Boston Celtics. With Lonzo Ball's expiring contract, one would hope that the 76ers jump on maxing him out, less another team pick him up.
2. Speaking of the Boston Celtics, they've continued their dominance. In spite of their GM's constant complaints, his team has the best record in the NBA, and are on a 9 game win streak. They've won 13 out of the last 14 games, and are the clear favourites to win it all. The Celtics are lead by second year forward Miles Bridges and multiple time all-star DeAaron Fox. Miles Bridges has exploded in his second season(all credit goes to the engine change), increasing all his box score numbers, besides blocks-per-game. DeAaron Fox, on the other hand, has also been elite. Although going down in points-per-game, Fox brings up the secondary scoring of the Celtics well, and dominates using his speed and agility. Unfortunately, the Celtics may not be looking to resign him in the offseason, so Fox may be looking for a new team.
3. Entering the engine change, many wondered how controversial star Stanley Johnson Jr. would fair. Some thought he'd convert fine, while many others believed his foul drawing antics wouldn't serve him well in the new engine. This season, SJJ have silenced the haters again, as he leads one of the best Eastern Conference teams, the Detroit Pistons. He's been a consistent double-double machine, averaging 22.4/11 per game. Their top 4 line-ups all include him, and for good reason. SJJ has been the catalyst to the Pistons finding their success.
4. Ever since the Kevin Knox trade, he's shown why he was deserving of a top 15 pick. In his first game for the Thunder, he showed off his elite foul drawing and adept scoring, as he dropped a 20/2/5 in a win against the Spurs. Continuing from there, he showed his dominance, and in 24 games in the season, he's averaged a surprising 21.5 Points-Per-Game, 4.1 Rebounds-Per-Game, and 3.3 Assists-Per-Game. Knox's scoring was never a question, it was whether or not they'd contribute to winning basketball was the issue. For now though, the Thunder continue to lose games. Regardless, Knox has clearly cemented himself into the future of the Thunder organization.
5. The Milwaukee Bucks are an enigma. On one hand, they have one of the worst offenses in the league. They struggle to get any efficient offense, and their ball movement across the team is often poor. On the other hand, the Bucks have one of the best defenses in the league, anchored by lanky wing defender Brandon Ingram and elite rebounding big Wendell Carter. Ingram, although not the scorer that everyone wanted him to be, has shown that he could be an elite 2nd option to any superstar, as his skills complement superstar scorers. He doesn't have the talent to be the #1 man on the offense, but often takes the #1 man on defense. Carter is an inefficient scorer but incredible rebounder. He leads the league in total rebounds; He has over 100 rebounds more than the closest total rebounder, Anthony Davis. This leads me to believe that if they had an elite scorer, say Morant explodes in his second season or they bring in an elite scorer via free agency, they could easily contend for a playoff spot in the tight and compact Eastern Conference.
2020, 2023, 2027
