Now 9-2 since trading for Jimmy Butler, the Warriors are emerging from the Play-In pack and threatening to climb further still.
Thursday marks four weeks since an eventful trade deadline.
We’re still getting used to seeing some marquee players in new uniforms, and they’re still getting used to their new teammates and environments. But it’s time for some early returns on a handful of players who were traded in February and are impacting playoff races in both conferences.
Here are some notes, numbers and film on some significant pieces in new places …
1. Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers lost two of Dončić’s first three games (to the Jazz and Hornets), but have since won seven straight (the last six with Dončić in uniform). They’re in second place in the West, with the league’s best record (19-4) and the top-ranked defense (107.9 points allowed per 100 possessions) since Jan. 15.
Number to know: The Lakers have taken 50.5% of their shots from 3-point range in their nine games with Dončić, compared to 39.6% in their 51 games without him.
A bit of film: Since his addition, Dončić leads the team with 83 3-point attempts, but the leader in made 3s (30) is LeBron James, with 11 of those 30 makes having come off Dončić passes. James has shot 45.6% on catch-and-shoot 3s over the last two seasons, up from 36.6% over the previous five.
Dončić is at his best getting downhill and kicking the ball out to open shooters, but if the opposing big is up at the level of the screen, weak-side defenders will need to sink in the paint. And Dončić, like James, has the size and strength to make simple cross-court passes for in-rhythm shots before those defenders can recover back out…
The Lakers are one of two teams with a league-high 22 games left on their schedule. And it’s the second toughest remaining schedule regarding cumulative opponent winning percentage, with 14 of the 22 against teams currently over .500. They’re 19-12 (fourth best) within that group thus far.
A six-game homestand concludes on Thursday with a visit from the Knicks (10 p.m. ET, TNT). The Lakers will then begin a four-game trip in Boston on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
2. Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are 9-2 since adding Butler (including 9-1 with him in uniform), climbing from 11th to sixth in the West.
Number to know: The Warriors have averaged 6.7 fewer turnovers than their opponents over the 10 games Butler has played. That’s an improvement from 0.6 fewer in their 51 games before the Butler addition.
A bit of film: With Butler on the floor, Curry doesn’t have to create every advantage, and can benefit from the advantages created by his new teammate. We saw that in New York on Tuesday, when Butler isolated against Jalen Brunson, drove the left baseline and drew help. Mikal Bridges rotated off of Curry, who got an in-rhythm, catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the right wing …
The Warriors will complete a five-game trip through the Eastern Conference with a visit to Brooklyn on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass). Two nights later, they’ll begin a seven-game homestand with an intriguing matchup against the Pistons (8:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass).
3. De’Andre Hunter, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs are on (another) 12-game winning streak, now 10-0 with Hunter in uniform.
Number to know: Only 28 (11%) of Hunter’s 256 minutes with the Cavs have come with both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on the floor. He’s mostly been used at the four, and the Cavs have outscored their opponents by 20.1 points per 100 possessions in 240 total minutes with Hunter on the floor with only one of the two bigs.
That’s how they’ve closed their three close games in the last six days.
A bit of film: Though he’s played most of his career on the perimeter, Hunter looked comfortable operating in the paint against the Heat’s zone on Wednesday, whether turning and scoring a tough bucket or feeding Mobley in the dunker spot …
The Cavs are on the road for much of the next three weeks, visiting the Hornets on Friday (7 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass) and the Bucks on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). They have the best record (11-3) in games played between the top six teams in the East and will have a rest advantage in Milwaukee.
4. Kyle Kuzma, Milwaukee Bucks
Kuzma isn’t the difference-maker that Butler or Dončić are, and one could argue that he’s in Milwaukee more for financial reasons than basketball ones (his contract is less expensive than Khris Middleton’s, whom the Bucks dealt to land him). But the Bucks are another team that’s been playing well over the last few weeks. They’ve won eight of their last nine games, with the league’s top-ranked defense over that stretch.
Number to know: In his dozen games with Milwaukee, Kuzma has averaged 7.5 points in the paint, what would be the most for a Bucks player not named Giannis Antetokounmpo in the last two seasons.
A bit of film: The Bucks have generally been a team where, if Antetokounmpo wasn’t scoring in the paint, nobody was. Khris Middleton was a more consistent shooter, but Kuzma gives them a little more size on the wing and offers more variety (cutting, attacking) with his offense …
The Bucks’ win over the Mavs on Wednesday was the start of a stretch where they’re playing six of seven games at home, with two huge games against the fifth-place Pacers included. Next up is a weekend back-to-back against the Magic and Cavs.
5. More numbers to know
Some additional notes on players who were dealt at/near the deadline …
- Since De’Aaron Fox joined the Spurs, they’ve been 14.6 points per 100 possessions better with him off the floor (plus-7.9) than with him on the floor (minus-6.7).
- The Kings have outscored opponents by 17.5 points per 100 possessions with Zach LaVine and Jonas Valančiūnas on the floor together. Their new starting lineup with LaVine and Domantas Sabonis had allowed 123.3 per 100, the worst defensive mark among 73 lineups that have played at least 100 minutes.
- In 10 games with the Hawks, Caris LeVert has already been assisted more times by Trae Young (25) than he was by any teammate in 38 games with the Cavs. That’s 4.6 assists per 36 minutes on the floor together, the second highest rate among the 15 Hawks who’ve played at least minutes with Young. The highest belongs to Georges Niang (23 assists, 4.7 per 36).
- Khris Middleton is now 52-for-89 (58.4%) on pull-up 2-pointers, the second best mark among 99 players with at least 75 attempts. That includes a 10-for-18 mark with the Wizards. Middleton (4.4) and Marcus Smart (4.0) lead the Wizards (by a healthy margin) in deflections per 36 minutes since the trade deadline.
- Dennis Schröder has played 77 (39%) of his 195 Pistons minutes alongside Cade Cunningham, with Detroit outscoring its opponents by 20 points per 100 possessions in those 77 minutes.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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