Biggest surprises and disappointments from the first half of the NBA season

The Dallas Mavericks acquiring the draft rights to Luka Doncic last June currently looks like one of the smartest trades in recent NBA history, as the 19-year-old has exceeded even the highest expectations that fans and outside observers had for him. Per ESPN, Doncic became the first teenager to post a 30-point triple-double and to tally multiple triple-doubles in NBA history, and he is also the only teen to ever score over 1,100 points before an All-Star break. As Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report wrote, Doncic recently claimed scoring in the NBA is easier for him than it was in Europe. That's a scary thought for opposing defenses. 

Back in September, multiple writers and outlets suggested Carmelo Anthony could win Sixth Man of the Year featuring for the Houston Rockets. Anthony's tenure with the club lasted 10 games, and he's currently a free agent after the Chicago Bulls waived him in January following a trade with Houston. While the 34-year-old is routinely linked with the Los Angeles Lakers due to his relationship with LeBron James, he's unsigned as of Feb. 13. 

As Berry Tramel of NewsOK.com pointed out in early February, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Derrick Rose is a candidate to win both Comeback Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year. The one-time MVP hasn't completely turned the clock back to 2011, but he's on pace to have his best scoring season since the 2011-12 campaign. Over his first 40 appearances, Rose tallied 13 starts and averaged 18.4 PPG, 4.8 APG and 28.7 MIN. 

According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com back in October, the Cleveland Cavaliers absolutely were planning on chasing a playoff berth despite LeBron James signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer. That's downright comical this winter, as the team is responsible for one of the worst records in the league. Losing Kevin Love to a toe injury for half the campaign certainly didn't help, but the current state of the Cavs offers yet another reminder James probably should've won MVP last year and just about every season this decade. 

Ahead of the fall, plenty within the basketball community understood Milwaukee Bucks unicorn Giannis Antetokounmpo  would eventually compete for an MVP award. That "eventually" is occurring before our eyes on a nightly basis, as the Bucks are enjoying what Dan Shafer of the Milwaukee Record referred to as "their best season in decades." As of Feb. 12, Milwaukee was holding the league's best record, and Antetokounmpo is averaging career bests in PPG (27.1), RPG (12.6) and APG (5.9). 

Clearly, the NBA isn't hurting for cash or for attention from broadcasters and other outlets. With that said, LeBron James playing home games out west apparently has affected the league's overall ratings. In January, Bobby Burack of The Big Lead asked why the NBA's ratings woes weren't a bigger story. As Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports pointed out, the Alliance of American Football debut outdrew a game between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 9. 

The Detroit Pistons probably won't do much come April, but that shouldn't prevent Blake Griffin from receiving praise for his career season. After 53 games, Griffin was averaging 26.2 PPG, a personal high for his NBA tenure, while shooting 47.8 percent from the field. He's getting to the line more often than we've seen from him since the 2013-14 campaign, and he's proving to be more than simply somebody capable of using his tremendous athleticism to bully his way to points. Maybe the Pistons would have been better off cashing in on trading Griffin this winter. 

The New York Knicks were always going to be a dumpster fire without Kristaps Porzingis in the lineup, but it's particularly sad times at Madison Square Garden these days. After dropping a road game to the Cleveland Cavaliers — the Cavs! — on Febr. 11, the Knicks set a single-season franchise record by losing for the 17th consecutive time. Don't worry, though, New York fans: During the 2000s, this organization banking on signing the most coveted free agent of the summer has never ended poorly.

Perhaps nobody should have been too surprised or disappointed by the way Jimmy Butler's time with the Minnesota Timberwolves came to an end last fall. After all, Tom Thibodeau knew what he was getting in the outspoken superstar. Butler electing to sign elsewhere and play in a larger market was always a possibility heading into next offseason, but his tantrum that preceded his forced exit to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he quickly complained about his role in that offense, sent Minnesota into a tailspin from which the club hasn't yet recovered. 

Apparently somebody forgot to tell Kristaps Porzingis that the New York Knicks (allegedly) aren't interested in winning this season without him on the floor. Porzingis orchestrating a trade to the Dallas Mavericks was an unfortunate conclusion to his stint with a team tanking ahead of this coming summer, as we never saw him feature with the likes of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, assuming those two are on the team's radar, while playing home games at MSG. 

OK, so the Sacramento Kings are probably going to regret not drafting Luka Doncic, but don't let that overshadow that a club that won 27 games a season ago possessed the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs on the morning of Feb. 12. The speedy De'Aaron Fox will win Most Improved Player if people actually vote for a sophomore (they probably won't), and teammate Buddy Hield, who is averaging over 20 points a night, could take that honor home, and he may be the league's most underrated player. 

There are only so many All-Star slots to go around, but it's hardly a controversial notion to suggest Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who's posting a career-high 15.2 PPG, belonged among those selected. Luka Doncic is enjoying a historic rookie campaign and deserved to be featured on a massive and international stage. Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam should be representing the East's second-best club at the All-Star Game. 

As of the morning of the second Tuesday in February, only the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors had more wins than the Indiana Pacers, the club that could quietly go and take the entire Eastern Conference Playoffs. Defense wins championships, or so the saying goes, and Indiana surrenders fewer points per game than any other side. Unfortunately, one can't help but wonder if shutting down Victor Oladipo for longer than 11 games after he suffered an initial knee injury earlier in the season would've been wise. Oladipo ruptured a quad tendon in that same knee in January, and he's out for the remainder of the campaign. 

We're near the point where Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins is no longer a disappointment because of lowered expectations. In January, Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated/The Crossover wondered if Wiggins will ever become what the Timberwolves hoped when the club traded for him in 2014. While he's just turning 23 years old, his All-Star-worthy performances are more one-offs than signs he's taking any leaps, and his propensity for scoring empty points could result in Minnesota looking to sell him to a high bidder before February 2020.

Raise your hands if you predicted last summer  thatTobias Harris would be the key figure in the biggest trade that shook the foundation of the playoff race in February. Now lower your hands, because you're all liars. Harris was in the middle of a career season before the Los Angeles Clippers traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers, and ESPN's Tim Bontemps wrote that deal gives Philly the conference's best starting five. Along with shooting over 43 percent from beyond the arc with the Clippers, Harris averaged a career-high 20.9 PPG in 55 games for Los Angeles. 

Last season's Chicago Bulls won 27 games. This year's version of the team may struggle to reach that mark. Granted, bad luck has haunted the Bulls since Lauri Markkanen suffered an elbow injury in September that sidelined him through the end of November. Still, this franchise needs to embrace two things: the tank and the #FireGarPax hashtag. 

As Erik Garcia Gundersen of USA Today explained, LeBron James named teammate JaVale McGee as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate last fall. The former star of "Shaqtin' a Fool" segments probably won't win that award, but he's produced some stellar defensive outings while averaging over 11 PPG for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign. In January, Berry Tramel of NewsOK.com mentioned McGee as a candidate to win Most Improved Player. 

Throughout the first half of a disappointing season, many believed the Washington Wizards needed to unload John Wall and just about anything else not nailed down and begin anew. No such fire sale occurred, and Wall, who will be 29 years old next September, then ruptured his Achilles tendon in February, which just about sums up the state of the team this winter. Let the rebuild begin. 

Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic picked a rather financially rewarding time to earn a first All-Star Game trip. The 28-year-old set to enter unrestricted free agency in July is posting career highs in PPG (20.5), RPG (12.0) APG (3.8) and BLK (1.2). Per SportsDayDFW.com, the Dallas Mavericks could target Vucevic in the summer to bolster what could be one of the league's most entertaining lineups next October. 

Many will say this is unfair because Trae Young, who is only 20 years old, is actually in the middle of quite a hot streak as of the middle of February and he isn't the person responsible for the Atlanta Hawks trading the rights to Luka Doncic for his rights. The two-time winner of Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month who led the East in numerous categories in January, per NBA.com, recently spoke of his belief that he'll be better than Doncic one day. He'll need to be that to not be viewed as a disappointment for the Hawks. 

There's no more Process. The Philadelphia 76ers shoved all their chips to the middle of the table by going out and getting Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, and the Sixers should evolve into favorites to win the East as their new lineup builds chemistry and earns victories. Realistically, Philadelphia could keep this unit together for more than one run at a title; although there's also something to be said for renting Butler and then letting him roam free to be somebody else's problem. 

When basketball writers mention a team becoming infected by a losing culture, they probably have the current Phoenix Suns in mind. Rookie center Deandre Ayton is averaging a double-double, but Phoenix drafting him and not Luka Doncic first overall is an unforgivable sin this winter. The tradition of people saying ahead of an offseason there's only one direction for the Suns to travel will continue for another summer. Devin Booker suggesting the Suns are "comfortable" with losing, as Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic wrote, should set off all kinds of alarms within the organization. 

The race to win MVP is a two-man competition James Harden will win coasting to the finish, but Oklahoma City's Paul George deserves more than a few mentions in voting. While Russell Westbrook built condos with bricks at an alarming rate during the opening half of the season, George put OKC on his back during his finest season, tallying career-best marks in PPG (28.7) and RPG (8.0). The 28-year-old was the midseason Defensive Player of the Year, and Dan Devine of The Ringer wrote George "produced like 2013-14 MVP-season Kevin Durant and shot like 2015-16 MVP-season Stephen Curry" over the first six weeks of 2019. 

Thanks to the benefit of hindsight, we now realize all should have been more realistic about Gordon Hayward's return to the Boston Celtics following the horrific and potentially career-altering leg injury he suffered in October 2017. At the end of January, Thomas Lott of The Sporting News wrote that it's taking Hayward "a long time to get back to normal," which is putting it nicely, as the 28-year-old is averaging fewer PPG (10.8) than at any point since his rookie year season back in 2010-11. Boston's advertised dynasty may crumble before it's actually built. 

The Brooklyn Nets continuing to defy odds and punch above their weight regardless of setbacks put in front of them has been both fun to watch and one of the most positive stories of the season. Losing Caris LeVert to a nasty injury for months right as the guard was becoming a revelation for the club and Spencer Dinwiddie going down to a bad thumb couldn't sink what is the city's second-best sports franchise, behind the New York Islanders, at the moment. Brooklyn isn't just eyeing a playoff spot. This team believes it can make a run in the tournament. 

As SBNation's Tom Ziller recently wrote, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook registered 10 straight triple-doubles from Jan. 22 through Feb. 11, and Westbrook's shooting percentage over that time provided some hope his woes from the first half of the season may be behind him. The Thunder need Westbrook to remain more efficient heading into the playoffs, as the club won nine of 10 contests during his hot streak. Paul George is the OKC MVP for the season, but Russ remains the heartbeat of the team's postseason dreams. 

As Jahmal Corner of Reuters wrote in the second week of February, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic seems to understand most casual fans wouldn't pick his team to give the Golden State Warriors much of a fight in a playoff series. Bet against what is currently the second-best side in the Western Conference at your own peril. Both Jokic and Jamal Murray are posting career-best stats — Murray doing so while battling through multiple injuries — and the Nuggets aren't even whole yet, as the team is waiting for Gary Harris to return from a groin problem and for Isaiah Thomas to take the floor for the first time since March 2018. If only the All-Star break could last two weeks for the Nuggets. 

Blame the yips or a mysterious shoulder injury or the stars lining up against Markelle Fultz. It's clear the Philadelphia 76ers believed the 20-year-old guard couldn't be salvaged, as the organization shipped him to the Orlando Magic in February. Any hopes Fultz would repair his broken jumper last offseason have evaporated. It's now unclear if he'll play again before next October. 

It's not every season when the reigning MVP puts his previous campaign to shame, but that's exactly what James Harden is doing this winter. Truth be told, one could dedicate an entire piece to the Houston Rockets guard running away with the scoring title and averaging over 36 points per contest. His most recent noteworthy achievement was extending his streak of scoring no fewer than 30 points to 30 games on Feb. 11. You can go ahead and hand him the MVP award before spring. 

Cleveland fans got used to witnessing LeBron James and those playing alongside him seemingly taking unannounced winter vacations (#JanuaryCavs became a popular hashtag during seasons), and we're sure a healthy and motivated King will do enough to carry the Lakers to the postseason. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that James, er, we mean president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, didn't orchestrate a deal for a superstar such as Anthony Davis. Looks like we'll have to wait until next summer for James to assemble his chosen lineup.