First Quarter Grades: Northwest Division

The Northwest Division is up for grabs. The gap between the bottom and the top is less than three games. There are a ton of teams hovering around the .500 mark, indicating it’s been an up-and-down season for most of them.

This is the fifth edition of our First Quarter Grades series, so let’s get into it.

Oklahoma City Thunder 11-13

You’d figure adding two All-Stars to a roster with the league’s MVP on it would improve a team’s chances of getting better, but in this case, not so much. Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony are not jelling in the way most have thought they would by now.

It’s still early, but it just looks like the three don’t fit together on the floor together. Maybe there needs to be some staggering of certain players—though Anthony already shot down the idea of coming off the bench—but something’s got to give here soon. And oddly enough, the Thunder’s expected win-loss record is 14-10 according to Basketball-Reference.

Bright Spot: It’s scary to think how much worse off Oklahoma City would be without Steven Adams. He’s made a world of difference for this team. On both ends of the floor, he’s been brilliant. Per Cleaning The Glass, the Thunder are ranked second in defensive rating (101.6) and he is the anchor of that side of the floor.

Adams is constantly creating extra opportunities as well. As specified by CTG, the “Kiwi Phenom” is hauling in 45.4 percent of his team’s misses, a figure that is in the 100th percentile in OREB%. He’s averaging nearly five offensive rebounds per game and is giving them 13 points per night in extremely efficient fashion.

Biggest Area To Improve: Ultimately the shortcomings fall on Westbrook’s shoulders. He’s simply not playing up to his potential right now. Looking at averages you’d think that’s crazy talk, but it’s true. The offense is too stagnant and, as a result, is suffering. They’re in the bottom five of the NBA in both assists per game (20.9) and effective field goal percentage (50.4). The defense has been great, but if they want to get on the right track, they’ve got to start taking better shots and knocking them down.

First Quarter Grade: D+

Utah Jazz 13-13

Making up for the loss of Gordon Hayward was going to be tough for a team that depended on him so much to handle the scoring load, but Donovan Mitchell has stepped right in and filled that role tremendously. Through highlight reel dunks, a fearless attitude, and an unbridled confidence, it’s been a pleasure to witness a young star blossom before our eyes.

Rudy Gobert was banged up for 11 games, so others were forced to step in and take the challenge. Derrick Favors did that well, averaging 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds on 61 percent from the field during the Frenchman’s absence. Utah is still Utah defensively and is allowing 103.7 points per 100 possessions. Behind Joe Ingles leading the charge, the team is also the third-highest three-point shooting team (38.7%) in the league.

Bright Spot: We talked about Donovan Mitchell and Derrick Favors, but what about the re-emergence of Alec Burks. Here’s a man who hasn’t played more than 42 games in a season for the last three years and has dealt with injuries through the entirety of his career. Over the last five games, he’s shot just under 56 percent and at one point had at least 24 points in three straight games. When on the floor, he increases the Jazz’s offensive rating +12.2.

Biggest Area To Improve: Ricky Rubio has struggled to mesh with the starting five. For some reason, he’s having difficulty with lineups featuring two traditional big men. Whether it’s too much clogging the paint for him to create space or his inability to make entry passes or whatever the case may be, it’s clearly not working. Quin Snyder might have to think about some shifting due to the success of Mitchell.

First Quarter Grade: B-

Portland Trail Blazers 13-11

The Trail Blazers are one of the more curious cases in the NBA. They’ve got the talent to win ball games. They could use a better bench, but overall that starting five is a playoff-worthy unit. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum fit together, Jusuf Nurkic is a great post presence and Al-Farouq Aminu has played tough as a two-way forward.

The defense has surprisingly been the best part of this group collectively. Portland is allowing 102.2 points per 100 possessions, ranking third among all teams in the NBA according to CTG. They’re holding their opponents to 44 percent from the field and have been active on the defensive boards. Their problem as of late has been winning games at home. They’ve dropped three straight games at the Moda Center.

Bright Spot: As a team, the Blazers are hitting 37.5 percent of their threes and holding their competition to less than nine perimeter makes per game. Four guys on the squad—Pat Connaughton, Shabazz Napier, McCollum, and Aminu—are all shooting over 42 percent from deep. They’re also forcing opponents to play isolation basketball, as teams average just 18 assists per game against them.

Biggest Area To Improve: Portland doesn’t run nearly enough. It’s unacceptable to be averaging a lowly four points in transition per game. Despite the great defense, nobody is being aggressive enough to try and force turnovers and create fastbreak opportunities. That and the lack of ball movement on offense—51.4 percent of their made field goals have come unassisted—has really hurt their chances.

First Quarter Grade: C-

Denver Nuggets 13-11

It took a minute, but Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap made strides in their chemistry with one another in the Nuggets frontcourt. They started out the month of November 7-3 and looked to be in a good groove. Then, Millsap went down with a left wrist injury and since that point, it’s gone a little sideways.

They’ve got a top 10 offense and a bottom 10 defense. Referencing CTG, Denver opponents have a 55.5 percent effective field goal percentage, which is the second-highest conversion rate in the NBA. They’re also turning it over at a high rate. It seems that they’re simply not consistent enough on both sides of the court, and that has to change if they want to compete heavily in the division and Western Conference as a whole. Another problem—their schedule has been the easiest in the NBA to this point.

Bright Spot: Jokic has done his part on the glass and as a primary scorer. He’s even stepped it up on the defensive side of the ball as well, so he’ll be missed with this latest injury. Gary Harris has probably been the most consistent player for the Nuggets this year and means a ton to the team on both ends. Either Jamal Murray or Will Barton can go off at any time as well, which is why the guards on this team are so crucial.

Biggest Area To Improve: Consistency, defense, and effort away from the Pepsi Center.

Michael Malone couldn’t have put it any better on Wednesday after a disappointing performance against the New Orleans Pelicans: “They didn’t feel us, we didn’t take it personally,” he told reporters. “They kicked our ass. It’s becoming the same story every single night. And until our guys start taking it personal, until our guys start understanding the importance of playing defense and guarding your man 1-on-1. Forget playoffs. That is a word we should not use with this team.

“We’re a bad basketball team on the road,” Malone continued. “We’re a very good team at home. Unfortunately, in the NBA, you have to play 41 games on the road and right now we are a bad road team.”

First Quarter Grade: C-

Minnesota Timberwolves 15-11

For all intents and purposes, the Timberwolves are in decent shape. As per usual, Tom Thibodeau is riding his starters heavily to give him at least 35 minutes per night with little time allocated to the second unit. The offense has clicked well and places fifth in the league with a 110.7 OTRG (per CTG). When they’re not giving Karl-Anthony Towns or Taj Gibson touches in the low post, they’re still getting good looks and attacking the basket at will.

Defensively, the story has been quite the opposite. Judging from both body language and the statistics, Towns has looked lost. He doesn’t rotate or react and seems to lose his man too much. The conundrum is, however, that he’s too valuable of a threat to keep off the floor. As it has been for the majority of his career, Jeff Teague is taking care of the basketball and orchestrating the plays beautifully, but opposing guards are taking advantage of his defensive shortcomings at the same time.

Bright Spot: To no surprise, Gibson and Butler have fit into Thibodeau’s scheme like a glove. They’re used to the heavy workloads and have produced when on the floor. As specified by CTG, Gibson’s net rating is in the 98th percentile in the league with a +22.2 and Butler’s is in the 97th percentile with a +20.3. If their efforts can translate to the others, then Minnesota will be in good shape moving forward.

Biggest Area To Improve: In this league, you’ve got to be able to shoot the three, and the Timberwolves aren’t getting nearly enough shots up beyond the arc. They’ve attempted 22.7 perimeter shots per game, which is the second-lowest average in the NBA. Their most glaring issue, however, is opponents putting up 46 points in the paint per game. The brunt of that responsibility falls directly on Towns and the big men.

First Quarter Grade: B-