NBA: First-half grades for all 30 teams - ESPN

The NBA recently passed its midway point of the regular season, with every team having played at least 41 of their 82 games. As the Feb. 8 trade deadline and All-Star break approach, it's a good time to take stock of how teams have performed relative to expectations entering the season and which ones need to course-correct.

Broadly speaking, a C grade reflects a performance meeting expectations, as evaluated by win-loss record and underlying metrics, including point differential, that are more predictive of how the rest of the season will go. I also considered factors like player development and how teams are set up for postseason success.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers are the three teams exceeding expectations — earning an A grade.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the Detroit Pistons' record 28-game losing streak earned them the only F. Let's mark in the grades for the other teams in between those extremes.

Minnesota Timberwolves
Grade: A

It's telling of Minnesota's sad history that the Timberwolves have already beaten their final win total in four of the past 10 seasons, and will soon top their 31 wins in 2016-17. Going back deeper, Minnesota has had home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs just twice in franchise history, making the battle for the top spot in the West all the more competitive. Credit Chris Finch and his players for making the Rudy Gobert-Karl-Anthony Towns pairing work after limited playing time together last season.

Oklahoma City Thunder
Grade: A

I wrote earlier this week about how much the Thunder are exceeding expectations with one of the West's top records, and even more so with the NBA's third-best point differential. The