NBA Weekly Recap: Jan. 23

Story posted January 23, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Max Savitt

As the NBA makes its way to the midpoint of the season, playoff races are beginning to heat up as we inch closer to the end of the regular season. This is the point of the season where teams either get it together or fall apart.

This week in the NBA, teams like the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets were able to solidify themselves among the top of their conferences.

On the flip side, teams like the New York Knicks, New Orleans Pelicans, Indiana Pacers and the Portland Trail Blazers had rough weeks and are beginning to slide down in the playoff standings.

The Celtics had another big week of basketball to add to their stacked year so far. The Celtics lost in the NBA finals last season so they are making statements this year.

They got a major revenge win in Boston this week against the defending champs in the Golden State Warriors as they won an overtime duel. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continue their dominance and the Celtics will look to maintain this dominance.

The 76ers were able to climb up to second place in the East as they have started to figure things out. The 76ers have won five games in a row and with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid playing how they are, the 76ers should continue to win many games.

The Nuggets continue to stay hot. Beating the Magic with a buzzer beater by Jokic, the Nuggets sit at the top of the West in the standings and have proven themselves to be the team to beat in the West.

The Knicks are falling apart. It is about that time in the year for the New York Knicks to fall in the standings and run into complete disaster.  The Knicks have lost four games in a row and their losses have come in the fashion of sloppy play.

The Pelicans are one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA. When Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are on the court together the Pelicans come off as huge threats. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, both of these guys are hurt. The Pelicans are trying to play scrappy basketball to steal some wins but without their workhorses, they will continue to sink in the West.

The Indiana Pacers are playing really bad basketball right now. They have a seven game losing streak and have fallen to ninth place in the East. They are now fighting for a spot in the play-in games but they need to fix something fast to get out of this skid.

The Trail Blazers have been fading in the Western conference. They had a good thing going with the production they were getting out of Anfernee Simons as a backup guard, but as his production has gone down, so has the Trail Blazers as a whole.

There isn’t any sparks of fire on that team and I can see them sinking far down in the standings in the West.

Max Savitt is a second-year student majoring in journalism. To contact him, email mrs6929@psu.edu.