It’s officially 2023, and time is ticking for the Los Angeles Lakers to get in position to make the playoffs — though LeBron James is doing everything he can to give them a chance.
As James closes in on the NBA’s all-time scoring record, he has helped the Lakers win three of their past four games in a stretch that includes back-to-back 40-point performances. James, at 38, is hardly ever off the floor, and he has willed the Lakers from obscurity into the conversation for a play-in spot. Things will get much harder for James & Co. to start the new year, however, as they will run through a gauntlet that includes the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics and a host of other fringe contenders this month.
The Nuggets are the latest team to take over the top spot in the West in what has been a weekly shuffle of potential front-runners. Nikola Jokic is making his claim for a third straight MVP title, as Denver looks capable of overpowering any team — even the mighty Celtics — with Jokic on the floor.
Boston has done just enough to capitalize on the Milwaukee Bucks’ recent slide to retake the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but each week it looks more and more like the Nets are the team to beat in the East — and potentially the entire NBA.
Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.