Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Welcome back to the Bag Meter! For those of you who are new to this series, we go over a team/player who’s excelling (In Their Bag), one who’s facing some minor problems (Bag Lookin’ Shallow), and then one with a major issue that needs to be addressed (No Bag).

In Their Bag

Luka Doncic

There were so many players and teams I could’ve put in this category, but how could I not go with Luka Doncic? Luka is playing the best basketball of his life right now and is the biggest reason why the Lakers are surging up the standings. They’ve won nine of their last 10 and now hold the 3rd seed in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. In Luka’s past 10 games, he has averaged 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. He joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average 40 points on the road for six straight games. That’s not him just playing at an amazing level; that’s him playing at a historic level. And it’s not only his offense he’s taken to the next level, but surprisingly, his defense as well. When you watch him play, he has very long and consistent stretches where he’s given a legitimate effort on defense and has stayed in front of his matchup. Something we haven’t seen from him since the very beginning of the season. And this shows up in the stat sheet as well. Over his past 10 games, Luka has averaged 2.5 steals, which would easily put him as the league leader in steals per game if he maintained that pace for the entire season. Now the only question is, will Luka Doncic be able to take this effort and energy into the playoffs?

Bag Lookin’ Shallow

New York Knicks

The Knicks have struggled to find their rhythm for most of the season. Yes, there have been times when the Knicks have looked amazing, but they’ve never really maintained any form of consistency. Karl-Anthony Towns hasn’t performed up to expectations, and their franchise cornerstone has been one of the worst defenders in the NBA. Once the playoffs roll around, if they haven’t found their stride, they’re not going to get very far. They will face teams that played at an elite level for the whole year, or at least the entire second half of the season, like the Pistons, Cavaliers, and Celtics. Not to mention, Jalen Brunson’s defense can very possibly get exposed in the playoffs, much like how Trae Young’s has consistently been exposed in the playoffs. However, there’s a reason why they’re in this category and not in the No Bag category. While they have shown some reasons to worry, we can’t forget that they got to the conference finals just last year and knocked out the defending champs in the process. We’ll just have to wait and see if the Knicks are going to find some momentum heading into the playoffs.

No Bag

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic just got humiliated against the Toronto Raptors, a team which they are also competing with in the middle of the Eastern Conference. They lost 139 – 87 while also surrendering a 31 – 0 run, the longest unanswered scoring run in the play-by-play era. This is a Magic team that’s just one year removed from having the second-best defense in the entire NBA. When they traded for Desmond Bane in the offseason, they gave up control of four first-round picks. That’s the kind of trade you make when you’re one piece away from making a championship, and that piece is supposed to take you over the hump. Instead, the Magic have regressed significantly from last year and will probably play in the play-in tournament this year unless they get bounced before the second round.