NBA teams are running out of chances to improve their standing.
With a little more than three weeks left in the 2024-25 regular season, it’s teams like the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers that are keeping pace, and even thriving — albeit in very different ways.
The Lakers are relying on Luka Dončić to carry the load while LeBron James remains out with a left groin injury, while the Celtics have continued to embody a team-first mentality — something that has proven valuable as injuries have recently mounted.
Here are the winners and losers from Week 21 of the 2024-25 NBA season.
WINNERS
Rockets move into No. 2 spot in West
Houston had lost 11 of 16 games at one stretch last month. Yet, capitalizing on a softer portion of their schedule, the Rockets (45-23) have now won eight in a row and hold a one-game margin on the two-seed in the West. Houston is getting contributions from all over its roster, with five different leading scorers during the winning streak.
That this surge has happened mostly with forward Amen Thompson (foot) sidelined hints that the Rockets can keep it going; over the past eight games, Houston’s offensive rating of 121.9 ranks fifth-best in the NBA. Yet, unquestionably, the Rockets need to show they can beat the best in the West. With two games left against the Nuggets, two against the Lakers, and one against the Thunder, Warriors and Clippers, they’ll have their chances to prove that.
Lurking Celtics chugging along
Will Boston (50-19) catch the Cleveland Cavaliers (56-13) for the top seed in the Eastern Conference? Almost certainly not. Yet, the defending champions have weathered a stretch in which Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porziņģis, Derrick White and Al Horford have missed games, maintaining their grasp on the second seed in the East.
The Celtics have felt like a team lurking all season, waiting to hit their stride. And with the NBA’s second-easiest remaining schedule, according to tankathon.com, that may continue up until the start of the playoffs. Still, because the Celtics share the ball so well, and because they have so much talent, they remain one of the truly elite teams in the NBA.
Lakers stay alive despite LeBron James injury
Even though LeBron James has missed the past five games, the Lakers have won three consecutive and are getting by with Luka Dončić anchoring the offense. Wednesday night’s victory over the Nuggets was particularly momentous; it marked the last time the teams would play in the 2024-25 regular season, and the victory gave the Lakers a very slight edge in the Western Conference standings.
The Lakers raced to a 46-29 lead after the first quarter, marking their highest-scoring first period of the season. Dončić, who finished with a game-high 31 points, recorded 21 of those in the first quarter alone, a season-high for points in any quarter. It got so bad for the Nuggets that the Lakers could even rest Dončić for the entire fourth quarter.
LOSERS
Flaws keeps coming up in Cavaliers losses
Though it’s tough to seriously call them a loser, given their comfortable position atop the Eastern Conference, Cleveland’s inconsistency on the glass this season could prove to be a weakness teams can exploit in the postseason. The Cavaliers have lost only 13 games, but they’re on a three-game losing streak after dropping Wednesday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings. They have been outrebounded in all but two of their defeats this season. Worse yet, it has been by an average margin of 5.54 rebounds per game. Many of these are offensive rebounds the Cavaliers allow, yielding to second-chance points. In fact, in losses, Cleveland ranks dead last in the NBA in opposing offensive rebound percentage (33.7%).
Tuesday night, the Clippers demolished the Cavs in the second half, outscoring them 64-46 after halftime. It’s no surprise, given that Cleveland lost the rebounding battle overall, 49-29.
Nuggets squander chance to gain ground in West
With LeBron James sidelined with a left groin injury, things were setting up nicely for the Nuggets to take control of the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yet, the Nuggets (44-26) have lost four of their past seven, including a crucial defeat Wednesday night against the Lakers that moved Denver into the fourth seed.
Granted, Nikola Jokić (right elbow) and Jamal Murray (right ankle) have each missed the past two games,
And while, yes, Denver absolutely needs Jokić and Murray to be healthy and engaged, it’s Denver’s defense that is the larger concern; over the past 10 games, the Nuggets rank 25th in the NBA in points per 100 possessions (120.3).
No end in sight for Heat woes in post-Butler era
The Heat (29-40) are in the middle of the longest losing streak of the Erik Spoelstra era, nine games, the longest active slide in the NBA. Making matters worse, Miami simply cannot find ways to close games. Wednesday’s loss against the Pistons marked the 12th time this season — most in the NBA — that any team has lost when leading a game at any point in the fourth quarter.
The truly painful point for Heat faithful is that the Golden State Warriors, in games that Jimmy Butler has played since being traded from Miami, are 15-3.
