Meme Mania: What Every NBA Team Should Be Most Thankful for This Thanksgiving

Before you change into your Thanksgiving Day binge-eating pants, let us first give thanks…to basketball.

Fans of every NBA team have something to be grateful for. Trust me, because more than halfway through this article, yours truly polled the Twitter masses to find out. (Phoenix Suns fans are ferocious, by the way.) 

So to keep those positive vibes flowing, let us now wax appreciation for every franchise, good and bad, in whatever way seems fit. 

       

Atlanta Hawks

Pre-Thanksgiving losing streak notwithstanding, the Atlanta Hawks have been really good this season. And while they are statistically superior on both sides of the ball without Dwight Howard, their veteran center is moving better and competing harder than he has in years. 

For that, along with the rebounding and pick-and-roll presence Howard brings, Atlanta must be thankful.

        

Boston Celtics

Showing thanks to former Brooklyn Nets general manager Billy King was an option here, but that’s too easy. Also: Brooklyn plays hard and is going to wind up with more wins than expected.

Al Horford is of more immediate importance to the Boston Celtics. He missed nine straight games while going through concussion protocol, during which time Boston’s defense nearly imploded.

But the Celtics play like a top-two team on both sides of the floor whenever Horford is in the lineup. His return is terrible news for the rest of the league.

          

Brooklyn Nets

General manager Sean Marks and head coach Kenny Atkinson cannot conjure first-round picks out of thin air, but they have reinvented the atmosphere in Brooklyn. 

These makeshift Nets play hard, move the ball and don’t shy away from mixing up the rotation. They have helped Brook Lopez come into his own as a three-point-shooting shot-blocker. They have unearthed an offensive gem in Sean Kilpatrick. They have turned Rondae Hollis-Jefferson into a terrific passer. They have set up Justin Hamilton to be one of the sweetest-shooting bigs in the league.

Best of all, the Nets aren’t on pace to be the worst team in the league. Relative to preseason expectations, that’s a huge win.

          

Charlotte Hornets

What was that again about Kemba Walker regressing to the mean?

Just one other player is clearing 24 points and five assists per game while burying at least 40 percent of his triples: Stephen Curry. If Walker keeps this up, he’s a shoo-in for his first career All-Star nod.

       

Chicago Bulls

Though the Chicago Bulls rank ninth in points scored per 100 possessions, they are 24th in effective field-goal percentage.

How is that possible? Offensive rebounds.

No team grabs a greater share of their misses than the Bulls. Taj Gibson, Cristiano Felicio, Robin Lopez and Bobby Portis throw their bodies around under the rim, and it has allowed Chicago to collect more second-chance points than any squad other than the Washington Wizards.

         

Cleveland Cavaliers

If you think the Cleveland Cavaliers’ well-oiled machine officially transcends LeBron James, you’re beyond wrong.

Cleveland goes from posting a league-best net rating with him on the floor to notching a bottom-two mark whenever he sits. That free fall holds even when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love play during his stays on the bench, according to NBAWowy.com.

Be happy this guy James is on your side, Cleveland. The reigning champs cannot survive without him.

            

Dallas Mavericks

The good thing about the Dallas Mavericks being the worst team in the league is that they own the rights to their first-round pick.

So, Mavs fans, here’s a picture of owner Mark Cuban cuddling with top prospect Markelle Fultz. 

                   

Denver Nuggets

There’s something exciting about Jamal Murray. It’s not necessarily his three-point shooting or his increasing knack for shimmying between both guard spots. It’s…it’s just there, per Denver Stiffs’ Jeff Morton:

You know…Jamal Murray has that…thing. It’s hard to describe unless you see it but…I can see it’s there.

— Jeff Morton (@KingOfThornton) November 23, 2016

Whatever it is Murray possesses, the Denver Nuggets are lucky to have him aboard—especially with Emmanuel Mudiay taking so long to develop.

         

Detroit Pistons

Reggie Jackson has been cleared for contract drills, per MLive.com’s Aaron McCann. He has yet to play this season after receiving injections for his knee and thumb, but if his six-to-eight-week timetable from Oct. 10 holds true, he’ll be back within 14 days.

Hooray for the Pistons! And for Andre Drummond’s alley-oop totals!

                    

Golden State Warriors

Anyone who wants to get cute and use the Golden State Warriors’ 16th-place defense to rail against their addition of Kevin Durant needs this reality check provided by Dean Oliver, author of Basketball on Paper:

The Warriors’ D efficiency is 20th overall, but actually 10th when it’s not garbage time. Dead last in garbage time (21 pts worse than avg).

— Dean Oliver (@DeanO_Lytics) November 21, 2016

With defense merely an artificial concern, the Warriors can enjoy the fruits of last summer’s salary-cap explosion free from guilt. Kevin Durant has not made them worse. He and Stephen Curry aren’t struggling to coexist.

Believe it or not, the Warriors are going to be just fine.

         

Houston …

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