NBA Daily: Post All-Star Breakouts

With the first half of the NBA season under wraps, some teams have taken longer to come out of their shells than others. The trade deadline is rapidly approaching, currently set for Thursday, March 25, and is sure to define the course of action for several teams. Let’s take a look at which teams are poised for big second-half runs as the regular season ramps up then winds down.

Miami HEAT

Miami’s bad luck to begin the season is a combination of several factors, headlined by the shortest offseason in league history. Injuries to Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and several others, along with the failure to recoup the skill lost when Jae Crowder departed for the Phoenix Suns, have also played a significant role in the rough early start.

Whatever the case may be, Miami has a chance to right the ship with ease. For starters, a fully healthy HEAT team is scary — Miami is 14-8 when Jimmy Butler plays and 4-10 when he sits. Furthermore, there’s reason to believe that the team will once again be aggressive at the midseason trade deadline, much like last season when it acquired Crowder, Andre Iguodala and Solomon Hill.

That isn’t to say the HEAT will make a big splash, but small moves around the edges help build contenders and sift through the pieces that will be around for a long run for Miami. An underrated aspect of success will come through the league’s lessened restrictions on two-way contract players, allowing coach Erik Spoelstra to clearly define his rotation as Miami has historically gotten significant production from its two-way players.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets were already playing fantastic basketball, an offensive marvel if there ever was one. To add yet another offensive-minded piece in Blake Griffin — broken down extensively here at Basketball Insiders — adds another layer to an already fantastic basketball team.

Jeff Green and Kevin Durant have been dealing with injury while Nicolas Claxton and Reggie Perry aren’t quite ready for a consistent workload in the power forward rotation, though both should shine very soon. Adding Griffin made sense and, though he’s struggled thus far this season, he’s a high-level passer if nothing else. Keep in mind he’s only two years removed from an All-Star appearance while averaging 24.5 points per game.

If that wasn’t scary enough, Griffin signed for the minimum, meaning that the Nets have their full $5.7 million disabled player exception from Spencer Dinwiddie, Dinwiddie himself as a trade chip and the mid-level exception to use to fill out the roster. Perhaps Andre Drummond becomes available on the buyout market. Or, maybe, the team is able to snag a good and healthy player in exchange for Dinwiddie. The options are infinite, a painful realization for the rest of the league.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks struggled to start the season but have quickly turned their year around, evidenced by winning three straight and eight of 10 entering the All-Star break. Luka Doncic is playing on another level right now, while Kristaps Porzingis has unlocked more of his offensive potential and Josh Richardson is becoming the wing the team thought they traded for in the offseason. The team will surely add more to its rotation, but it’s already beginning to click on offense.

Even Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson are playing at their peaks off the bench, while the team is playing excitedly in transition. If Dallas is able to add to that offensive punch while improving its defense, there’s no telling what kind of run the team could make in the postseason. It sure helps that Dallas has the second-easiest remaining schedule.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets have been sluggish to start the season, no doubt, but they’re tied for the longest win streak in the league with four-straight and have the potential to knock anyone off. That said, there are many questions surrounding this team, such as determining the trajectory of Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray or the play of Gary Harris.

Nikola Jokic, however, is playing at an MVP level and the team is getting nice contributions off its bench from rookies Zeke Nnaji, R.J. Hampton and Facundo Campazzo. Bradley Beal may be a pipe-dream acquisition, but those rookies could be part of a package that brings in some serious talent on the wings or gives the team a reliable backup center.

Look for Denver to be aggressive in the trade market with all of its assets. But with or without a trade, Murray’s improved play in the last couple weeks gives Denver the means to make a post-All-Star run.

Sacramento Kings

One of these teams is not like the others. But the Kings have an opportunity to get right back into the mix of things, especially considering the play-in games for the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds for each conference. Sacramento is 14-22, 2-8 in its last 10 games, but don’t forget that it was right in the thick of the playoff mix earlier in the season.

The Kings are the owners of the seventh-easiest remaining schedule but have plenty of kinks left to sort out, especially if coach Luke Walton is still onboard. However, rookie Tyrese Haliburton is only getting better and there’s a significant chance that he joins the starting lineup sooner or later.

On the other hand, the team is set up to be a seller at the trade deadline, which might make it seem like the team would fall out of the playoff picture. But sometimes teams can experience addition by subtraction. The team could ship out any number of its veterans and earn young pieces in return while opening up opportunities for other young members on the roster.

There’s a significant chance that Sacramento doesn’t capitalize on this stretch but, along with teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards, it does have a legitimate shot at a play-in game.

Honorable mentions: Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards

A quick speed round, but both Atlanta and Washington have the means to make postseason bids. Saying that about the Wizards just a couple of weeks ago would have caused most to laugh, but Beal and company are on a roll, shockingly just 1.5 games out of a play-in game. The team can ride improved injury luck, better play from pieces such as Russell Westbrook and Davis Bertans and further growth from Deni Avdija and Rui Hachimura.

The Hawks have no excuse not to make a late run after the team gets healthy. The team recently returned Bogdan Bogdanovic and should return De’Andre Hunter soon. That doesn’t even touch on Kris Dunn’s upcoming debut for the team and strong play from Danilo Gallinari. The Hawks are 2-0 after firing then-head coach Lloyd Pierce and are seemingly having the most fun they’ve had on the court all season.

As teams are gearing up for postseason runs, more teams will define themselves as sellers or buyers in the coming weeks. Be sure to check back with Basketball Insiders for all the latest coverage of the NBA trade deadline!