There could be plenty of player movement in the NBA with the trade deadline set for next Thursday, February 10th. There are a few teams that will be looking to make acquisitions to strengthen their roster for a deep playoff run, while others will be looking to shake things up just to qualify for the postseason.
As we head into February, there are a few teams around the league that are trending in the wrong direction that had some expectations coming into the season. In the Eastern Conference, the team that sticks out the most is the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn is riding a season-long four-game losing streak and has dropped to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. They are playing without Kevin Durant, who has an MCL sprain, which has led to this slide. James Harden is battling hamstring and hand soreness, while Kyrie Irving is still only eligible to play in road games outside of New York and Toronto.
The top of the conference is crowded, as the Nets are only two games out of first place, but an extended losing streak isn’t going to make anyone feel good. Their crosstown rivals, the New York Knicks, are also on a low.
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New York had a brutal road trip, going 0-3 against the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. A victory last weekend over the LA Clippers is all that was keeping the team from being on a seven-game losing streak.
They got a much-needed victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night and are hoping to create some positive momentum. They are a half-game behind the Atlanta Hawks for 10th place, tied with another skidding team in the Washington Wizards.
Washington had a strong start to the season but reality has hit them hard. They are riding a five-game losing streak and are without their best player in Bradley Beal.
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Over in the Western Conference, two presumed powers are struggling mightily. The Utah Jazz has lost five in a row and 11 out of their last 13 games. Donovan Mitchell has missed seven consecutive games with a concussion and Rudy Gobert has missed four with a calf injury.
To make matters worse, they also lost Joe Ingles to a torn ACL in Sunday’s game. Ingles is a key member of their second unit and someone they were looking to trade ahead of the deadline to upgrade the defense in their starting five.
Utah has slipped to fourth place in the standings and is only one game ahead of the surging Denver Nuggets. But, they are in a much better position than the Los Angeles Lakers, who are on yet another losing streak.
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Los Angeles has lost three in a row, all without LeBron James, who is dealing with some knee soreness. Even when James is in the lineup the Lakers haven’t been very good this season, so playing without him, they are among the worst teams in the league.
The Lakers have lost seven of their last 10 games, but thanks to the ineptitude of the lower half of the Western Conference, they are still five games clear of missing the NBA Play-In Tournament. But, with each passing day, Frank Vogel’s seat gets a little hotter, as his job is being evaluated on a game-to-game basis.
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