NBA recap: Five things we learnt from week 14

A look back at last week's action

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Magic and Raptors form shows importance of London game

Since the thrilling overtime game between Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors in London a fortnight ago the two teams have gone in opposite directions in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are boasting two players in this year’s All-Star game and are currently on an 11-game win streak, the best in franchise history. They have won seven straight at home, including four victories against sides occupying play-off spots and blow out wins against Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat. In contrast, Orlando lost six straight games following that defeat at the O2 before finally breaking their losing streak with last night’s win against Boston.

It’s been a tough run for Scott Skiles’ side which included two losses in overtime, but it has meant they now sit 3.5 games back from the eighth seed and their record go from 20-17 to 21-25. Two of those defeats were against sides below .500, most disappointingly against a Philadelphia 76ers side that have won just seven of their 48 regular season games. Their next eight games are all against sides sitting play-off spots including games against three of the top four sides in the West. They missed a real opportunity to win against the Raptors at the O2 with Victor Oladipo failing to convert a three-point attempt for the win in normal time and the momentum they lost from that game has caused a slide that may ultimately cost them a play-off spot come April.

Casey more deserving of being All-Star coach than Lue

After David Blatt’s firing as the Cavaliers head coach, the NBA was left with a dilemma as to who should coach the Eastern Conference at this year’s All-Star game. Tyronn Lue was the man chosen despite having only coached his new side for three games when the decision was made. It is an odd situation that has unsurprisingly not occurred before, with Blatt boasting the best record in the East before being fired so close to the game. Lue will have coached the Cavs for 11 games when the All-Star weekend starts but for an award that is supposed to be prestigious, there are some that feel it should have been given to another one of the coaches.

The man that many feel should have been awarded the honour is the Raptors coach Dwane Casey. Casey has led his side to their best ever win streak in the NBA and they are just two wins back from the Cavaliers as the second best team in the East. Add to the fact that the All-Star game is in Toronto and he seems to be a more worthy candidate for the job. In truth it is just an exhibition match, but the prestige that comes with being awarded as the Conference head coach does not mean much if Lue is given the honour after coaching in the league for just 11 games.

It’s time for Atlanta to move on

There have been numerous trade rumours surrounding Atlanta’s point-guards Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder following the Hawks failure to replicate last season’s form. Teague has suffered with an ankle injury this season and Mike Budenholzer’s side have been far worse off, losing five of their last six games and slipping to a 27-22 record. They have been unlucky in losing three of those games by a margin of less than five points, but blowouts this week against conference rivals Miami and Indiana have shown just how far off challenging for the Eastern title this Hawks side is.

Teague will be an attractive proposition for a number of franchises that do not have an elite point-guard, and they may decide to promote Schroder to the starting line-up to replace him. But Schroder is still young and has shown his inconsistencies again this season. With Paul Millsap and Al Horford entering their later years in the league, the Hawks must decide whether to make a trade to try and push for a championship now or if they want to build for the future. In reality, they are way off the likes of Golden State, San Antonio or Cleveland, and they are nowhere near the side that had a 60-22 record last season.

Damian Lillard snubbed… again

The All-Star reserves were named this week and the biggest snub was undoubtedly Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard. The 25-year-old has led his side to a 23-26 record and the eighth seed in the packed Western Conference despite Portland losing four of their starters from last season. Many expected them to finish way out of the play-off picture but Lillard has transformed this side they have won eight of their last 10 to move ahead of Sacramento and Utah. He is currently averaging 24.2 points per game – sixth best in the NBA – to go with 7.1 assists per game and he’ll feel desperately unlucky to again miss out on an All-Star appearance.

He did feature last year after being called up as one of a number of injury replacements, but will feel that his form has warranted a call up this time around. Lillard is desperately unlucky to be in the Western Conference with three superstar point guards in Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul. He’s performing to a similar level of Kyle Lowry who is starting for the Eastern Conference but is just suffering from being in the loaded West. His impact on this Blazers side should not be underestimated and he will undoubtedly be an All-Star for many years to come.

Nightmare season continues in Phoenix

Phoenix’s decision to fire Jeff Hornacek has come as no real surprise after the woeful season that they have endured. They came into the year with play-off aspirations after being unlucky to miss out in the past two seasons, but have lost 19 of their last 21 games to sit 13th in the Western Conference with a miserable 14-35 record. Injuries to star backcourt performers Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe have been a huge loss, but even before they suffered the setbacks they fell well short of pre-season expectations.

Hornacek was well liked by the Suns organisation but despite being given a vote of confidence last month, they have decided a change was required after a 14th consecutive road loss in Dallas. They have a crucial seven game home stand coming up that will define their season in terms of making a post season push, but with games against Golden State, San Antonio and Oklahoma City it is impossible to see them turning things around quickly. Don’t be surprised to see the Suns finish with less than 30 wins this season and have a chance of picking up a decent pick in next year’s draft lottery.