Team of the week
The Indiana Pacers put an end to the Cleveland Cavaliers' 12-game winning streak on Sunday, demonstrating what we had already seen last season, but too little of this year, perfect team play.
Not a single player scored more than 20 points, not a single player stood out individually, but a 15-point victory over the best team in the NBA was registered nonetheless.
Last season, the Pacers surprised everyone by reaching the Eastern Conference final. It is a bit of a fluke for many, with a slow start to the season, but the Pacers have now won six games in a row, putting them in fifth place in the East.
Tyrese Haliburton has seen his number of assists drop and is generally less convincing than last season but the team around him knows how to raise their game. Nobody will want to face Indiana in the playoffs, that's for sure.
Underachievers of the week
The Philadelphia 76ers started the season with high expectations. The arrival of Paul George to form a 'Big Three' with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey should have enabled Philly to once again play a leading role in the title race. The famous 'Process' was launched in 2013, and there is still not a single conference final to be had since then.
But the repeated injuries to Embiid - who hasn't played all week and has only started 13 out of 37 games this season - have dampened hopes of a run. The revelation of the season and favourite for Rookie of the Year, Jared McCain, is also injured and will not return this season.
What's more, the team is in the doldrums, having only beaten the Wizards last week, falling to the New Orleans Pelicans and the Magic, two teams who are also struggling with injuries.
The loss to the Magic was symbolic. Orlando have only just got back Paolo Banchero, who was injured in the first week of the competition, and are still without Franz Wagner, but are still managing to hold on to fourth place.
Philly, for their part, are in freefall - 11th and three wins away from play-in qualification, which would be a lesser evil than failing to make it at all. We'll be keeping an eye on them during the trade deadline.
Player of the week
We'd given up on Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls as a whole - the soft underbelly franchise par excellence in recent seasons. That's still the case, with a negative balance sheet while clinging on to 10th place in the East.
However, despite their rebounding still not being extraordinary, there have been some improvements recently in terms of the level of play and their All-Star LaVine has had a lot to do with it.
LaVine has now scored 30 points or more in six straight games, as many as he has since the start of the season! And he's still shooting 50% or more, proof of his new-found confidence. He's back in the top 20 scorers this season, his natural place.
One question remains: LaVine seems to have got his hands back on the Bulls' reins - is this to show him off for a forthcoming trade? He's been mentioned in rumours for some time now, so he too will be one to watch at the trade deadline.
Play of the week
While many have talked about the windmill of a certain LeBron James, here we prefer Trae Young's special move - a feint pass behind the back to catch the defence out, two more steps to gain momentum and a perfectly sent alley-oop for Clint Capela.
It was the perfect way to make a difference in a second. On his way to the title of best passer, 'Ice Trae' is not just efficient, he's brilliant.
Story of the week
The Utah Jazz have no objective this season other than to develop their young players. One of them is Isaiah Collier, a star at youth level who has been on the back foot ever since.
Playing against the Nets, he had his best game with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. But above all, he had a huge scare at the start of the fourth quarter with a big fall after a dunk.
More spectacular than anything else, but still, it was enough to stop the game. Not for Collier, though, who got his revenge by scoring the game-winner like a great player does to give the Jazz a rare victory. He's a youngster to watch going forward.