Oklahoma City Thunder
Mid-season grade: A+
Just like every other team in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder has had to face some adversity during the first half of this season. However, this is a team that has continued to respond in a successful manner at every turn. I'm not sure there are many other teams in the league that you can confidently say that about. No Isaiah Hartenstein to begin the year. No problem. Losing Chet Holmgren for a few months? it's almost as if the team hasn't blinked or missed a beat. The Thunder are proving with every passing day that they might be the best team in the league.
Of course, none of that matters if this team falls flat on their face in the postseason. But that's another story for another day. At least for now, this is a team that should feel confident about how they've managed to play through the first half of the season. The Thunder have passed every test so far and have the look of a team that is finally ready to get over the hump in the Western Conference. And considering the West is pretty wide open at the moment, the Thunder could be on the verge of a special run in the postseason.
Orlando Magic
Mid-season grade: B-
The Orlando Magic have been a pretty solid team during the first half of this season. Considering the way they ended last year, the Magic being a top 6 seed in the Eastern Conference standings at the midway point of the season is pretty much what most expected them to be. It's hard to feel strongly either way about this team with the way they've performed throughout the first 40-ish games of the regular season. However, this team still has much to prove moving forward.
The injuries to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner were not ideal and completely threw a wrench at this team to begin the season. It will be interesting to see how this team operates or recovers during the second half of the year. If they want to make some noise in the East playoffs, they're probably going to have to figure out a way to fight out of that sixth seed, which would feed them into a first-round playoff matchup against the New York Knicks. That can't be a spot the Magic would feel strongly about heading into the NBA Playoffs. It's been a good, but not great first half of the season for Orlando.