Post All-Star Break: Surging Squads

Nine teams have dominated out of the gates, with each squad only losing 1 game since the All-Star break. How have they done it?

The Celtics have been the number one defense in the NBA over the last couple months, and their dominance continues into March, winning five of six since the break.

The other firm Eastern Conference contenders pictured in Miami, Philly, and Milwaukee have gone 6-1, 5-1, and 4-1, respectively.

Out west, the Nuggets and Mavericks continue to inch closer towards home court advantage positioning as they look to catch Utah and Golden State, with the latter squad very much struggling as of late. Denver has gone 6-1 and Dallas 5-1 over the stretch.

Minnesota has occupied the 7 seed for a while now, and is increasing their lead over the Clippers for the home court advantage play-in scenario. They have gone 6-1 since February 24th, and have done so with their high-octane offense, which leads the league in pace at 104.43.

The last two Western Conference teams that qualify in our surging squads are the Clippers and Pelicans.

The Clippers have had an incredible run without their stars, and have won by committee, led by consistent scoring from Reggie Jackson as well as contributions from Marcus Morris Sr., Terance Mann, and Ivica Zubac. They sit in the 8 seed and are five games up on the Lakers.

The Pelicans are the surprise team on this list as they've won four of their last five, positioning themselves only a game back of the Lakers for the 9 seed. The only game they lost in that stretch was an overtime thriller against Denver.

The combined record of all these teams post All-Star break is a whopping 45-9, and can be attributed to their Net Rating.

Surprise, surprise! The New Orleans Pelicans are currently the best team in basketball. New Orleans beat Phoenix and Utah during this run, and held their own against a very good Denver team. Convincing blowout victories over the Lakers and Kings (New Orleans outscored the two California squads 250-190) are key factors in their net rating being as high as it is over the last five games. How long they can keep this run going will be intriguing to watch, but the scoring duo of Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum is eye candy for basketball fans. Ingram has recorded the team high in scoring over the last three games, and McCollum did so the six games prior, notching 181 total points during that period.

Minnesota, in their pleasant surprise of a season, is second in NETRTG since February 24th, with a 12.8 rating. The Wolves are 8 games over .500 and are riding a 5 game win streak, led by Karl-Anthony Towns, who is averaging 27.8 points and 9.8 rebounds over those games. With 7 of their remaining 16 games being against sub .500 teams, Minnesota is looking towards the postseason where they will be underdogs against whoever they play. Things will be interesting if they can sustain their winning ways come April.

The rest of the squads in the green box are accustomed to playoff basketball. Their goals extend beyond making the Play-In Tournament or the actual playoffs, and their combination of strong offense and defense, if sustained, can challenge slumping contenders like Golden State and Chicago.

March has only just begun, but playoff NBA basketball will be here in a snap. These teams must hold firm in the standings and be ready and battle-tested against the other elites who are also ramping up for the home stretch of the 2022 NBA season.