With the all-star break behind us, the NBA is looking ahead to the playoffs as they enter the final stretch of the regular season.

So much has already happened this campaign, but there are still many questions left to be answered.

Will superstars return? Will superstars sit at home? Are we seeing some new contenders out East?

Here are storylines to follow through the second half of the NBA season.

It has been just nine months since Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. An injury of that magnitude typically means at least a year on the shelf, but that may not be the case for the Celtics superstar.

Tatum has been rehabbing at an unheard-of pace and was recently assigned to the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine where he will be a limited participant in practice. There, he participated in his first five-on-five scrimmage with other players.

All signs point to Tatum being close to full health.

The six-time all-star refused to say if he’ll be back or not, but his return would, without a doubt, make the Celtics the best team in the East. Boston, led by Jaylen Brown, already sits second in the Eastern Conference with a 35-19 record — a level of success nobody saw coming. It appeared the Celtics were heading toward a reset year after unloading Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Jrue Holiday in the offseason, but that hasn’t been the case.

With all the victories, the Celtics decided to buy at the trade deadline and brought in former all-star Nikola Vucevic to lock down the centre position. Tatum, who averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, six assists and 1.1 steals in 2024-25, would slot right into the lineup alongside Brown and Vucevic for a playoff push.

Did the Cavaliers make a mistake?

The Cleveland Cavaliers had one of the biggest shocks of the trade deadline when they sent Darius Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for James Harden. It was a bold win-now move for Cleveland as they paired up a former MVP with Donovan Mitchell.

The move very well could work out for Cleveland, but there is a chance everything could go wrong. Harden is 11 years older than Garland, and he holds a player option for next season, so he could very well leave in free agency. Harden has become known for frequently switching teams over the past few years, with Cleveland being his fourth team since 2020.

Harden has also had very little playoff success in his lengthy career; he’s reached the NBA Finals just once, and it was as a sixth man for the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2011-12. Since then, he’s made it past the second round just twice in 13 seasons.

The six-foot-eight guard holds career playoff averages of 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists on 42.5 per cent shooting from the field and 34 per cent from three. These aren’t bad numbers by any means, but they fall short of the standard Harden has been held to throughout his career.

Adding a player who has never won anything to a team that has notoriously choked in the postseason since LeBron James departed, just feels like a recipe for disaster.

Are the Raptors contenders or pretenders?

The Toronto Raptors were expected to be good this season with the addition of Brandon Ingram to complement a talented starting unit; however, not many expected them to perform at this level.

The Raptors sit fifth in the Eastern Conference at 32-23, had an emphatic nine-game win streak in November, and had two representatives in the all-star game in Ingram and Scottie Barnes. They have just clicked and have had a lot of success despite multiple injuries hampering their lineup, including one to starting centre Jakob Poeltl, who recently missed 24 games with a back issue.

So, to many, it would appear the Raptors are back to being one of the East’s elite teams, but there are still some issues that cannot be ignored. The main issue is their offence. They lack cutters and shot creation and have also been inconsistent from three all season.

Another major problem for Toronto is its lack of size in the frontcourt. Beyond the seven-foot Poeltl, there is no other player on the roster above six-foot-nine. The Raptors have tried to work around this with a combination of Collin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili getting reps at the five, but if they run into Jalen Duren, Jarrett Allen or Joel Embiid in the playoffs they could be in heaps of trouble.

Maybe Darko Rajakovic will find a way to make things work, but only time will tell if Toronto can recapture the 2019 magic or go back to the drawing board.

Will Giannis Antetokounmpo play again this season?

The problems between the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been stealing headlines all year. One second, they hate each other, then they love each other, before going right back to hating.

It appeared the breakup was imminent at the trade deadline, but the Bucks ultimately decided to hold on to the two-time MVP, and transitioned to buying to improve the roster for a playoff push. A questionable move considering Antetokounmpo was reportedly “ready for a new home.”

Despite Antetokounmpo remaining in Milwaukee, he hasn’t returned to the court as he recovers from his second calf strain of the season. The Bucks are also nowhere near competing and sit 12th in the East.

With the Bucks struggling and the sweepstakes for Antetokounmpo expected to pick back up this summer, it doesn’t really make sense for the Greek Freak to rush back onto the court. Antetokounmpo is still a top-five player in the NBA, but it doesn’t appear that even he can help the Bucks, and further injury would hurt his trade value.

If the Bucks want to be smart about things, they’d let Antetokounmpo sit for the remaining games and ensure they can receive the best possible return for him come the off-season.

The reigning NBA Champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, picked up right where they left off last season as they opened the year with a 24-1 record. They looked beyond dominant, and it appeared they would cruise to back-to-back titles, but it doesn’t present as easy as many may have thought.

Since Dec. 13, they’ve accumulated 13 losses, and their first-place lead in the West has shrunk to just three games over the San Antonio Spurs. Injuries have also begun to pile up. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is currently sidelined with an abdominal injury, and Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein have all missed extended periods throughout the season.

The three losses to the Spurs this season cannot be ignored, and could mess with the Thunder’s confidence come the postseason if the two sides match up.

Even with a rocky couple of months, the Thunder are still without a doubt the best team in the NBA, and their depth is off the charts. They even added at the deadline with former Duke Blue Devil Jared McCain.

So even with the recent losses and injury trouble, if the Thunder are healthy come playoffs, there is a real chance we could see the first back-to-back champs since the Golden State Warriors in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Can LeBron find his old form before the postseason?

When you talk about the greatest of all time, the debate typically revolves around Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

James appeared to be looking for the edge over Jordan with his longevity, playing at a superstar level through 22 seasons in the NBA. However, now in his 23rd campaign, it appears Father Time may have finally caught up with The King.

The 41-year-old is averaging 22 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 30.5 per cent from three. Both his points per game average and three-point shooting percentage are the lowest of his career since his rookie season in 2003-04.

James also missed the start of the season for the first time in his career due to a sciatica issue, and for the first time in over two decades, he wasn’t named as an all-star starter.

It makes sense that at his age, he won’t be as productive as he once was, and he’s playing behind Luka Doncic, who is currently leading the league in scoring. However, the Los Angeles Lakers need James to find just a smidge of the player he used to be if they have any hopes of competing with teams like the Thunder, Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Here’s something that hasn’t been said maybe ever: the Charlotte Hornets are one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

On Jan. 21, the Hornets were sitting at 16-28 following a loss to the Cavaliers, it seemed like any other loss, but it clearly changed something in that Hornets’ locker room. Following that defeat, Charlotte embarked on a nine-game win streak and has won 10 of its last 11 contests.

The Hornets improved their record to 26-29 and have jumped into an Eastern Conference play-in spot. That 10-1 record since Jan. 22 is the best in the NBA, and they are also boasting the fifth-best net-rating (10.2) in the league during that span.

Charlotte’s young core of Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel and Ryan Kalkbrenner have all been clicking. Miller has been putting up 22.2 points per game on 44.5 per cent shooting during this recent streak, and his 11.6 plus/minus is the eighth best league-wide.

The Hornets even added to their roster at the trade deadline by bringing in Coby White from the Chicago Bulls, who should slot in as a spark plug off the bench.

Charlotte’s 15 wins in 2026 are tied for the most in the NBA. If this success carries on through the remainder of the season, the Hornets’ rebuild may finally be over.