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Eastern Conference bottom feeders to watch down the stretch
Terrence Ross of the Orlando Magic dunks against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the game on March 11, 2017 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.  Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images

Eastern Conference bottom feeders to watch down the stretch

We’re less than a month away from the end of the NBA’s regular season, so it’s time to focus our attention on the teams who won’t play in this year’s postseason. We’ll have at least four more games for each of the 16 playoff teams, so use these last 15 or so games to check out some of the NBA’s best young players who aren’t in a position to lead their teams to the playoffs.

Today finishes our two-part series where we look at the four non-playoff teams to watch for the remainder of the regular season. We end the series with the Eastern Conference bottom feeders to check out down the stretch.

Philadelphia 76ers


Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric in action against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 6, 2017. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

We began the season excited for Joel Embiid to finally get his NBA start, and when he did see the floor, he didn’t disappoint. Until he was sidelined for the season with injuries, it appeared that he would run away with the NBA’s ROY award. Due to his limit restrictions and the number of games he sat, it’s certain that he won’t win the award, but the ROY is probably still in the City of Brotherly Love. Dario Saric has been playing out of his mind as of late, and a strong finish to the season could wrap up the award for the 76ers other stand out youngster.

During the 76ers recent West Coast swing which featured games against both the Clippers and Warriors (both losses, but Philly was competitive in both), Saric averaged 25 and 7 while shooting 44 percent from three-point range. During that same trip out west, another rookie, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, showed that he can be a key piece in the 76ers rebuilding process. After a strong showing against the Lakers (18 points on 11 shots with three boards and three dimes), head coach Brett Brown has decided to keep him in the starting lineup, at least in the immediate future.

With at least one lottery pick this summer and possibly another if the Lakers fall out of the top three, the 76ers have an awfully bright future. Embiid will return and last year’s top pick, Ben Simmons will be back from his foot injury. While the 76ers have one of the league’s worst records, they’ve shown signs of improvement and only look to improve with new roster additions and natural growth from their young guns. If Simmons is as good as advertised at the NBA level and they draft the right guy, Philly’s core could grow into real contenders in the Eastern Conference in a few years.

These are the best games to watch Philly for the rest of the season:

  • 3/22: @ Oklahoma City Thunder (League Pass)
  • 3/29: v. Atlanta Hawks (League Pass)
  • 4/08: v. Milwaukee Bucks (League Pass)

New York Knicks


Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) shoots in front of New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) during the third quarter on March 8, 2017. Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Of all of the floundering teams this season, the Knicks have the least amount of youth they can use to point to brighter days in the future. The core of the team features a plethora of guys who are all at least 27 years old. Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings, Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee and Lance Thomas are six of the seven who have played at least 20 minutes per game this year for the Knicks. Despite some obvious talent among those mentioned, the Knicks have failed to perform up to preseason expectations. Injuries and coaching hasn’t helped, but a lottery team without little youth doesn’t bode well for year-over-year improvement.

The only player left out above is Kristaps Porzingis, who has been an absolute joy to watch and began the season on a tear. Through the end of November, Porzingis was averaging 21 and 7 on just under 50 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent shooting from three. He shoots over smaller defenders, beats bigger defenders off the dribble and feeds off the Madison Square Garden crowd as well as any Knick since the turn of the millennium. Porzingis is built for the big city, but the team isn’t built for him.

Another name to watch out for as this season ends and the Knicks look forward to next year is Willy Hernangomez. The young center hasn’t been perfect, but his per 36 numbers, 15 and 14 with a block, are promising, and at age 22, he could be the perfect frontcourt complement to the flourishing Porzingis. The Knicks are going to have to figure out their identity and make a decision on how long Anthony is going to be a part of their future, but with Porzingis and Hernangomez, there is at least a start in what direction this franchise can go. If you want to catch a glimpse of Kristaps and Willy, these are the games to watch:

  • 3/20: @ Los Angeles Clippers (TNT)
  • 4/02: v. Boston Celtics (ABC)
  • 4/09: v. Toronto Raptors (NBA TV)

Orlando Magic


Orlando Magic forward Terrence Ross is worth watching for the dunks alone the rest of the season. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

The Orlando Magic are a mess. They have a poorly constructed roster with no real organizational philosophy that gives you the feeling that things are going to turn around in central Florida. Their record isn’t far off the pace the 76ers are on, but 24 wins while trusting the process feels a whole lot better than 24 wins when you’re still searching for a process to trust. If there was any silver lining for these Magic is that these kids are young, and there are some pieces they can grow with or trade to improve the roster.

Aaron Gordon is the most recognizable player on this Magic team because of his dunk contest performance a couple of years ago, but he’s still growing into his game. He’s averaging 11 and 5 on the season, and while his scoring is up, his shooting is down across the board. Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic lead the team in scoring while Elfrid Payton is becoming a better point guard with every game. Payton still has a lot of room for improvement, but he recorded three triple-doubles in his last five games and ranks top 20 in both assist and rebound rate, something only matched by Chris Paul and Jeff Teague this season. His 3-point shooting remains an issue, but Payton could become a top-20 point guard in a league of fantastic floor generals if he continues to improve everywhere else.

If you’re not going to watch the Magic for anything else, tune in for the dunks. Orlando traded Serge Ibaka at the deadline and netted Terrence Ross, one of the league’s best in-game dunkers. Pair him with Gordon and Mario Hezonia, who literally came into the league looking to dunk on anyone willing to stand under a rim, and you have maybe the best dunking trio in the NBA right now. Check out the Magic before the season ends in these three games:

  • 3/20: v. Philadelphia 76ers (League Pass)
  • 3/29: v. Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA TV)
  • 4/12: v. Detroit Pistons

Brooklyn Nets


Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Caris LeVert (22) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center on March 14, 2017. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

I remember looking at the Brooklyn Nets’ media day photos wondering who the hell any of those guys were. Nearly six months later, the Nets have the worst record in the NBA, which is what you’d expect from a roster featuring Brook Lopez, Jeremy Lin and the sports world’s biggest collection of question marks. The franchise’s biggest win of the season was a 120-112 victory the same night they hosted “Biggie Night” against the New York Knicks. Other than that, there have been very little highlights for these Nets, but the future isn’t as dark as their away jerseys.

There is a youth movement happening in Brooklyn that’s going to take a bit longer to develop than teams like the 76ers, Timberwolves and Lakers, but it’s happening in a real way. Caris LeVert didn’t play for the first 20 games of the season, but he was moved into the starting lineup after the All-Star break and has shown flashes of a guy who can be really special in the NBA. In March, he’s averaging 10 and three on nearly 60 percent shooting, 40 percent from three.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Isaiah Whitehead have both been great for the Nets, too. RHJ lost his starting job in December, but after returning as the full-time starter in February, he’s been averaging about nine points and 6.5 rebounds per night. Whitehead is going to be much more of a project, but many in the Nets organization weren’t even sure if he could play at the NBA level at the beginning of the year and now they see him as a solid role player. While the Nets are a long ways away from looking like a real basketball team, they have a trio of young guys trending upward that the team can build around heading into the 2017-18 season.

Catch the Nets in these games before the year ends:

  • 3/17 v. Boston Celtics (League Pass)
  • 3/23 v. Phoenix Suns (NBA TV)
  • 4/08 v. Chicago Bulls (NBA TV)

More must-reads:

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