23rd in offence (110.9), 13th in defence (113.2), 21st in net rating (-2.4), 20th in eFG% (53.3)
Last few: L vs. ORL, L vs. DET, W vs. MIA
The Hawks are the only team that could allow 148 points one night & hold a team to 86 points the next night, which is exactly what they did in their back-to-back set against the Pistons & Lakers.
Fun fact: Atlanta is 10th in defensive rating since the deadline on February 6th, holding teams to 112.0 points per 100 possessions.
They ranked 16th in defensive rating in 51 games before the deadline.
4th in offence (118.8), 5th in defence (109.7), 3rd in net rating (9.1), 7th in eFG% (55.8), won 5 straight
Last few: W at PHI, W vs. NYK
Celtics have won 5 straight & all five wins have come by 10 or more points. They’ve led by at least 20 points in each of their last 5. Cool, cool, cool.
Fun fact: Celtics are holding teams to 100.2 points (104.6 points per 100) & the defence extends past these 5 games.
You have heard the phrase defence leads to offence but it’s truly a case of the chicken or the egg with the Celtics. Before this stretch of 10 games, the Celtics were allowing 116.0 points over the last 9 games that they shot below 34% from three.
They held them to 103.2 points when they shot 34% or better from three.
27th in offence (108.7), 22nd in defence (114.9), 27th in net rating (-6.2), 25th in eFG% (51.9)
Last few: L vs. CLE, W at PHI, L at WAS
Brooklyn is 1-2 after the break & their one win came against the Process. Nets went into the break winning 6 of 7 games & holding teams to 95.4 points.
Red Flag (or fun fact): Nets have played the Hornets twice, Sixers twice & the Wizards twice over their last 10 games so league ranking starts should be taken with a grain of salt.
Their next 3 games are coming against the Thunder, Blazers & Pistons so the level of competition is very, very different.
28th in offence (108.2), 14th in defence (113.4), 24th in net rating (-5.3), 29th in eFG% (50.7), lost 3 straight
Last few: W at LAL, L at DEN, L at POR, L at SAC
So the Hornets have been outscored by 95 points in their last 2 games & 109 points since the All-Star break.
Red Flag: even for a tanking team, it’s extremely difficult for a team to lose by 40 points in back-to-back games. How difficult? It’s only happened three times in NBA history.
Sixers in 1994, Sixers in 2014 & now the Hornets in 2025.
18th in offence (112.2), 27th in defence (116.0), 23rd in net rating (-3.9), 10th in eFG% (55.5)
Last few: L at NYK, L vs. PHX, W at PHI
If you’re still reading after seeing notes about the Nets & Hornets, please keep reading while we talk about the Bulls. Bulls ended a 6-game losing streak with their 32-point win against the Sixers on Monday (you can read more about this later).
Fun fact: the Bulls have hit at least 18 threes in every game since the break & are taking 47.0 threes per game in the last 3. They’ve made a combined 21 more threes than their opponent in this span.
It’s kept them in games too – they took the Knicks to overtime, lost by 4 to the Suns after a 13-point lead & led by as much as 50 against the Sixers.
1st in offence (121.8), 8th in defence (111.6), 2nd in net rating (10.2), 1st in eFG% (58.8), won 7 straight
Last few: W at BKN, W vs. NYK, W vs. MEM
Cleveland has won 11 of their last 12 games.
The fun fact: they have a 17.1 net rating in the last 12, best in the NBA. It’s 3.1 points better than the Thunder’s 14.1 net rating over that same span.
The Cavs ranked 12th in defence through their first 45 games this season, allowing 112.1 points per 100 possessions. What are they holding teams to in the last 12? 107.9 points per 100.
Teams are only taking 21.5 shots at the rim against the Cavs, down from 25.5 in the first 45 games.
7th in offence (115.4), 15th in defence (113.5), 10th in net rating (1.9), 11th in eFG% (55.3)
Last few: W vs. NOP, L at GSW
Mavs lost by 24 to the new look Warriors on Sunday, ending a 3-game win streak. They play the Lakers tonight, in what is going to be Luka Doncic’s first game against the Mavs since the trade.
I found some fun facts for Mavs/Lakers tonight that will be posted on the TheSteinLine.
Here’s a preview:
Here’s a quick list of Luka Doncic’s highest scoring games, regular season & playoffs:
73 PTS on 33 shots, 10 REB & 7 AST against the Hawks last January
60 PTS on 31 shots, 21 REB & 10 AST against the Knicks in 2022
53 PTS on 24 shots, 8 REB & 5 AST against the Pistons in 2023
51 PTS on 26 shots, 9 REB & 6 AST against the Clippers in 2022
51 PTS on 29 shots, 6 REB, 9 AST against the Spurs in 2022
50 PTS on 30 shots, 8 REB & 10 AST against the Rockets in 2022
50 PTS on 25 shots, 6 REB & 15 AST against the Suns in 2023
I share this because there’s a chance we’re adding to this list.
3rd in offence (119.4), 18th in defence (113.7), 6th in net rating (5.7), 2nd in eFG% (57.5)
Last few: W vs. CHA, L vs. LAL, W at IND
I just want to say that assist gate is not a Nuggets problem but a league-wide issue.
It’s entirely possible the Lakers have given the league a blueprint to guarding Jokic, after they held him to 12 points on 7 shots on Saturday. But probably not.
Red Flag (it’s a fun fact): Jokic leads the NBA with 104.6 touches this season & the Lakers said absolutely not on Saturday. They held him to just 82 touches, in addition to sending doubles/triples at him every possession.
15th in offence (112.6), 12th in defence (113.1), 16th in net rating (-0.4), 16th in eFG% (54.0), won 7 straight
Last few: W at SAS, W at ATL, W vs. LAC
Do you know what you were doing the last time the Pistons won 7 in a row? I think I was in my first year of university. The 2024-25 Pistons have won 7 games in a row for the first time since 2015 – Cade Cunningham was a 13-year-old.
Fun fact: Detroit’s reached 32 wins so far this season, more wins than they had in the last 2 seasons combined (31).
They have a 121.6 offensive rating in February, 5th best in the NBA. They’ve scored over 120 points in 7 of 10 games this month – they only had 14 such games all last season.
17th in offence (112.3), 10th in defence (112.0), 15th in net rating (0.3), 23rd in eFG% (52.9), won 3 straight
Last few: W at SAC, W vs. DAL
I’m just going to give you an update on the Jimmy Butler III era every newsletter btw.
The Warriors are 5-1 in the Butler era. Small sample size theatre, but they’re also 1 of 3 teams to rank top-6 in offensive & defensive rating in the last 6 games.
We know the free throw differential & Butler’s impact on the Warriors’ free throw rate.
Fun fact: Steph Curry is averaging 29.0 points on 40.0% from three in his 6 games with Butler. He averaged 25.6 points on 30.3% shooting in 5 games prior.
Curry shot 26.7% on open threes in five games before Jimmy. He’s shooting 39.6% on open threes in 6 games with him.
13th in offence (113.8), 4th in defence (109.3), 7th in net rating (4.5), 27th in eFG% (51.1)
Last few: W vs. MIN, L at UTA
Rockets are 4th in defensive rating this season but rank 13th in defence over their last 9 games without Fred VanVleet.
Red Flag: Houston is 5-7 without VanVleet this season & are not nearly as organized on offence or defence without him.
For example, they’re giving up 20.0 points off 14.9 turnovers in 12 games without him, up from 14.7 points off 13.5 turnovers with him.
10th in offence (114.3), 19th in defence (114.0), 14th in net rating (0.3), 6th in eFG% (56.0)
Last few: W vs. MEM, W vs. LAC, L vs. DEN
Indiana is 16-6 in 2025 and are 1 of 5 teams to rank top-10 in offence & defence in that span.
Fun fact: Pacers are 18-2 when Tyrese Haliburton scores 20+ points this season.
They’re +10.9 in those 20 games & -4.7 in 35 games when he doesn’t score 20.
20th in offence (111.4), 2nd in defence (108.3), 9th in net rating (3.0), 14th in eFG% (54.2), lost 3 straight
Last few: L at MIL, L at IND, L at DET
If you were wondering why the Clippers have lost 3 straight, the answer is pretty simple.
Norman Powell has missed 3 straight with knee soreness, Kawhi Leonard has missed 3 of the last 4.
Red Flag: Clippers are 6-14 against the top-10 teams in the NBA & 12-19 against teams .500 and better this season.
They own the 6th hardest remaining strength of schedule in the NBA.
9th in offence (114.6), 16th in defence (113.6), 13th in net rating (1.0), 9th in eFG% (55.6), won 2 straight
Last few: L vs. CHA, W at POR, W at DEN
Imagine teams planning to win the non-LeBron minutes but Luka Doncic is waiting to check in for him. Some small sample size theatre here, but here are some rotation numbers from Saturday:
Fun fact: Lakers were +7 in 19 minutes with both James & Doncic on court, +13 in 11.5 minutes with Doncic on without James & +2 in 14 minutes with James on without Doncic.
They only played 3 minutes & 19 seconds without either player & those minutes came in garbage time.
5th in offence (118.1), 7th in defence (110.8), 4th in net rating (7.3), 5th in eFG% (56.2)
Last few: L at IND, W at ORL, L at CLE
Memphis went 2-4 on their 5-game “road trip” that started before the break. 3 of their 4 losses came by 10 or more points, something they’d only done five times before this trip.
Red Flag: Grizzlies have a 114.4 defensive rating on the road this season, including a 116.3 defensive rating on this trip.
21st in offence (111.2), 9th in defence (111.9), 17th in net rating (-0.7), 19th in eFG% (53.5), lost 2 straight
Last few: W at TOR, L at MIL, L at ATL
Miami is full of red flags. There’s something to be said that everyone watching, including the players I think, know that they’re about to blow a double-digit lead.
Red Flag: Heat have blown 14 double-digit leads this season, 2nd most in the NBA. Five of those came in February.
If they’d won just half of those games, Heat would be 33-23 & 4th in the East.
12th in offence (113.9), 11th in defence (112.7), 11th in net rating (1.2), 4th in eFG% (56.3), won 4 straight
Last few: W vs. LAC, W at WAS, W vs. MIA
Bucks have won 4 straight but 2 of those 4 wins came against the Wizards & the Heat. They won all 4 by single digits.
Red Flag: Milwaukee has the 5th hardest remaining strength of schedule in the NBA, calculated using opponents’ current win percentage.
They have 8 games remaining against the top-8 teams in the NBA (CLE, OKC, BOS, MEM, NYK, DEN, LAL).
Bucks are 1-11 against those teams so far this season.
14th in offence (113.8), 6th in defence (110.5), 8th in net rating (3.3), 13th in eFG% (55.0)
Last few: L at HOU, L vs. OKC, W at OKC
Minnesota, oh how fun you’ve been to watch.
On Monday night, the Timberwolves overcame a 25-point deficit & beat the Thunder in overtime. It was tied for the largest comeback win in franchise history.
Fun fact: Wolves were down 14 with 3:41 left & Anthony Edwards subbed out. Minnesota held the Thunder to 0 points on 0-for-9 shooting over final stretch to force overtime.
Edwards didn’t sub back in until there was 1:48 left in overtime.
26th in offence (109.5), 30th in defence (118.6), 29th in net rating (-9.1), 26th in eFG% (51.5)
Last few: L at DAL, W vs. SAS
New Orleans beat a Spurs team on Sunday that combined to shoot 33.0% from the field.
Fun fact: Zion Williamson is averaging 25.5 points on 59.4% shooting in his last 2 games, scoring 19.0 points in the paint.
2nd in offence (119.6), 17th in defence (113.7), 5th in net rating (5.9), 3rd in eFG% (56.6), lost 2 straight
Last few: W vs. CHI, L at CLE, L at BOS
You know what red flag I’m going to use here. We’ve all seen it.
Red Flag: New York is 0-5 against the Celtics & Cavs this season, the two teams ahead of them in the East standings.
They’ve been outscored by a combined 106 points in those 5 games held to under 110 points in all 5 games.
For context, Knicks own the 5th best offensive rating in the NBA this season.
6th in offence (117.5), 1st in defence (104.2), 1st in net rating (13.3), 12th in eFG% (55.1)
Last few: W at UTA, W at MIN, L vs. MIN
OKC blew a 25-point lead on Monday night. There’s really only incredible things to say about the Thunder but Monday night’s loss was a little bit concerning.
Red flag: OKC’s been within 5 points in the last 5 minutes of a league-low 18 games this season. They’re 10-8 in those games. If you do some quick math, that means 8 of the Thunder’s 11 losses have come when they game is within 5 in the last 5 minutes.
Oklahoma City has a 113.5 defensive rating in the clutch this season, 21st in the NBA.
29th in offence (107.2), 3rd in defence (109.0), 20th in net rating (-1.8), 30th in eFG% (50.4)
Last few: W at ATL, L vs. MEM, W vs. WAS
Orlando is 2-1 since the break, holding teams to 101.0 points.
Fun Fact: through all the injuries, Magic have only allowed over a120 points in six games this season, fewest in the NBA.
In fact, they’ve gone 11 straight without letting a team score 120+ points.
19th in offence (111.5), 24th in defence (115.4), 22nd in net rating (-3.9), 21st in eFG% (53.2), lost 8 straight
Last few: L vs. BOS, L vs. BKN, L vs. CHI
Things always end how they start I think. At least that’s what’s happening to the Sixers.
Red Flag: Sixers have lost 8 straight, their longest losing streak since 2016-17.
That was the first season that Embiid played in the NBA.
11th in offence (114.1), 25th in defence (115.7), 19th in net rating (-1.6), 8th in eFG% (55.6)
Last few: L at SAS, W at CHI, L at TOR
I’m re-purposing one of the funniest stats I used during the Raptors/Suns game. If the Suns can check out, so can I!!
Red flag: Toronto had multiple rookies on court for 21.5 minutes on Sunday & were +8 in those minutes. Raptors played a lineup of Mogbo, Shead & Walter for 1:48 in the 3rd quarter, while Durant, Booker & Beal were also on the court – the unit held the Suns to 0 points on 0-for-3 shooting in that span.
Raptors did everything they could to lose before they realized they might as well win.
25th in offence (110.0), 23rd in defence (115.4), 25th in net rating (-5.3), 24th in eFG% (52.0), won 2 straight
Last few: L vs. LAL, W vs. CHA, W at UTA
Toumani Camara. That’s all.
He’s easily been a highlight all season & especially as of late. If you want to have a good time, watch Camara off the ball during Blazers games.
Fun fact: Not only is Camara a menace defensively, he’s shooting 50.0% on 4.0 attempts from three over the last 5 games.
That’s up from 35.3% on 4.1 attempts in his first 50 games.
8th in offence (115.1), 20th in defence (114.0), 12th in net rating (1.0), 15th in eFG% (54.2)
Last few: L vs. GSW, W vs. CHA
Breaking News: the Kings are 1 of 6 teams to have zero clutch minutes played post All-Star.
Fun fact: Kings are 16-16 in the clutch this season – their 32 games are tied for 4th most in the NBA.
16th in offence (112.6), 21st in defence (114.1), 18th in net rating (-1.5), 17th in eFG% (53.9), lost 2 straight
Last few: W vs. PHX, L vs. DET, L at NOP
Somehow, the Spurs shot a combined 33.0% from the field in their loss to the Pelicans. Their starters combined to shoot 25.0% from the field.
Red Flag: Spurs have been outscored by 57 points with De’Aaron Fox on the floor in their last 2 games. That’s the worst differential on the team.
24th in offence (110.1), 26th in defence (115.8), 26th in net rating (-5.7), 22nd in eFG% (53.0)
Last few: L vs. MIA, W vs. PHX
The Raptors keep winning games they’re not supposed to but they’re finally getting to see their core of Barnes, Barrett & Quickley together. Losses are important, but it’s more important to have time to see what the future could look like & give them an opportunity to develop some chemistry.
Fun Fact: They’ve made more threes than their opponents in 4 of the last 6 games, something they only did 14 times through their first 51 games of the season.
Raptors made 13 more threes than the Suns on Sunday, their largest 3-point differential this season.
22nd in offence (111.1), 28th in defence (118.5), 28th in net rating (-7.4), 18th in eFG% (53.6)
Last few: L vs. OKC, W vs. HOU, L vs. POR
Fun fact: After all the trades, the Jazz are now the second youngest team in the NBA.
Here’s the age of their top-5 minute leaders: George – 21, Collier – 20, Markkanen – 27, Filipowski – 21 & Williams - 20.
30th in offence (105.4), 29th in defence (118.6), 30th in net rating (-13.2), 28th in eFG% (50.9)
Last few: L vs. MIL, L at ORL, W vs. BKN
Fun fact: the 10-47 Wizards have been within 5 points in the last 5 minutes of 4 of their last 5 games.
That’s something that only happened in 15 times through their first 52 games.
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