NBA: The Good, Bad & Whelming

Doc Brown must’ve hijacked the entire NBA and took the league back to the 1980s in his Delorean because these scores are clearly reminiscent of the fast pace Bird & Magic era. But the gag is, they didn't even score this much back then, thanks Basketball Reference! Currently the league scoring average is 112.3 points per game and there are 14 players averaging 25+ points with Stephen Curry topping the list at 33.0. With the way things have unfolded so far it is possible for this entire list to continue it’s current trajectory. Surely sometime during the season these numbers are going to average out to maybe six scorers. But whose to say it will? The average pace is up, overall points are up, but turnover percentage is at a historic low. Needless to say we are in a new era of NBA basketball and it is amazing to see.

The Good: Kawhi Leonard Is Back: The Toronto Raptors are no longer your friendly neighborhood dinosaurs, no these are Turok level predators right here. The LeBronto Raptors are no more with way-too-early MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard at the helm. The Raptors are no means at their full strength because their best player isn’t even 100% but the eye test says they're going to be special. Kawhi is averaging 26.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists and he’s still shaking off some rust. They have length, they have size (which gives them the ability to switch 1-5,) a fantastic bench, a top-10 point guard, and an elite player who can get his at will. Currently Toronto is 9-1 with their only loss coming from Milwaukee who have also found a new identity of their own.

The Good: Coach Bud and The New Look Bucks: Milwaukee is a completely new team under Coach Budenholzer. The ball moves, the Bucks take way more threes, and their defense is the second best in the league right now. At no point last season did Milwaukee ever have a defensive rating good enough for second in the league. Last season the Bucks were ranked 14th in assists, this year they're 2nd. Seriously, the differences are like night and day. During the 2014-15 season Coach Bud lead the Hawks to a 60-22 record, which was good for first in the Eastern Conference, and also top eight in both offensive and defensive rating. If he could do that with the Hawks without Giannis Antetokounmpo then imagine what the Bucks can do when they got their stride. Get it Bucks? Stride? Nevermind...

The Good: Storylines Galore: This year is chock full of storylines and it is a sight to behold. Zach LaVine is tearing it up for Chicago becoming only the second player in Bulls history to score 30+ points in four consecutive games to start the season. De'Aaron Fox is looking like a budding star in Sacramento who just became the youngest player to post 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists in a game. Nikola Jokic is a force, Damian Lillard is on a tear, scoring is off the charts everywhere, there's parity in the East, the rookie class is looking like the deepest it has been in years, playoff teams are struggling, and much more! Seriously, if your interest only lies on the marquee matchups then you are missing out on some good basketball my friend.

The Good: Steph’s Gonna Steph: At this point there's nothing that we can say about Steph Curry that hasn’t already been said but this guy is a phenomenal basketball player. The narrative is that Curry is just a shooter but you don't average 33.0 points simply being able to shoot. It helps but it's not the reason. Curry is a fantastic finisher around the rim, elite off ball, terrific rebounder (for his size), and despite his portrayal on defense is actually above average. But all that is beside the point, Curry is also averaging 5.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists on 54.9 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from downtown. Steph is blowing his unanimous MVP season out the water and not to mention he is making, yes making, six threes a game. What the f*ck!

The Bad: Houston We Have An Actual Problem: The Rockets are a bad ball club right now and there seems to be a mini panic in the front office. Houston has reportedly offered the Timberwolves four first round picks for Jimmy “You Need Me” Butler. One reason why that’s a horrible idea: Brooklyn. Brooklyn’s then GM, Billy King infamously traded away four first round picks for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett who were much past their primes. Houston is trying to go full Billy King and you never go full Billy King. If there’s one thing every NBA GM, fantasy league GM, 2K GM or whoever should’ve learned from King is that you never offer four first round picks for anybody, not even Jimmy Butler. There is no need for an explanation why that's a bad idea, you just don’t.

Lethargic is one way to describe Houston on both ends of the floor. Their defense is especially horrid are 25th in defensive rating at 115.6 partly because they traded away two of their best defenders in Luc Mbah a Moute and Trevor Ariza. Clint Capela is supposed to be their defensive anchor but looks content after his well deserved contract. And then you add Carmelo Anthony to the mix, who has never been a strong defender, and what you have is a team searching for answers. Honestly last season may have been their last chance to win it all but that’s another topic. The Rockets sit at the 13th seed in the Western Conference with a 3-5 record, just one season after winning 60+ games. There's still time to turn it around, but for now, the Rockets look bad.

The Bad: No More Magic for the Wizards: It might be time to break up this thing in Washington because it’s not working and the start of this season couldn't be any more evident. The Wizards are off to an awful start with a 2-7 record and are currently tied for 13th place in the Eastern Conference. To be fair, both Ian Mahinmi and Dwight Howard have been out with injuries, which hurts them inside and especially on the boards. Washington is scraping the bottom in cleaning the glass on both defense and offense. Seeding doesn't matter much at all right now either but there are some red flags. Otto Porter has taken a step back so far to start and if Washington is going to make any noise they're going to need him to at least hit his averages from a season ago.

Porter’s shooting splits are down across the board which accurately portrayed him as highly efficient. Porter shot 50.3 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from deep last year. This year he's well below those marks at 41.4 percent and 27.6 percent respectively. John Wall has a lot to carry on both sides of the floor but that is the burden you carry when you’re the team's best player. Offensively the ball doesn't much without Wall’s say-so and that's a slight problem. He's currently averaging a modest 7.1 assists by his standards but with nearly four turnovers a game. With a team so limited offensively there has to be more care for the ball on his part. Washington has lacked depth for years and it's biting them with two of their best players off to slow starts.

The Whelming: Lakers Need Some Time: Many pundits expected the Lakers to need to find time to get and become a cohesive unit, which is why LA isn’t grouped in the bad category, but boy do they need time. Shooting is essential for any team to thrive in today’s NBA and they lack the one thing that allows LeBron James to thrive in the manner that he does. Despite their lack of three-point threats they're fifth in offensive rating. Sky’s the limit if they could space the floor effectively. Speaking of effectiveness, JaVale McGee has been terrific for LA as the singular big man. Their lack of depth at the five spot has left them exposed in the paint when he’s out of the game. For all Kyle Kuzma does he’s not a center or an adept defender to be your last line defense.

Sure LeBron could theoretically play center but why would he do that at this stage in his career? LA needs a center bad if they want to be everything James moved to LA for. Rajon Rondo has one of the best IQs in the game but if LA wants to be as good as they can be he may have to take a backseat to Lonzo Ball. Ball played well when Rondo was out with his suspension but has seemingly reverted back to uncertainty and pensiveness. Luke Walton needs to unleash Lonzo and let him his play his game, everyone will be better for it. Not to mention this team is still young. Often times they look as though they’re playing rec ball and LeBron is trying his hardest not to get upset because he knows better. As the season goes on the dust will settle but as of right now they look frantic.

The Whelming: Can the Process be Trusted: Philadelphia certainly isn't off to the start many had expected them to be coming into the season and it's hard to truly point the finger as to what their issues are but on the same token it isn't time to panic. Joel Embiid is a top five player at his position and Ben Simmons is a young Magic Johnson in the making and with those two steering the ship good things will happen. Markelle Fultz isn't damaged goods and shame on whoever gave up on this young man so early but the Sixers aren't doing him any favors by not letting him build his confidence. More opportunities need to be created for him to thrive, especially if he's coming off the bench. Philly is just 6-5 and is 3.5 games back of first place in the Eastern Conference.

Photo Credit: NBC Sports.