NBA: Early Season Impressions
The NBA is full of surprises and the start of 2017-18 season has been no different. It’s entirely too early to crown any one team champions or any team the winner of the next lottery because habits die and averages will level out. But in the meantime I'm here to discuss the good, the bad and the whelming (we'll get to that later).
THE GOOD:
Orlando Magic: If you asked anyone, even the most die-hard NBA fan, no one would have guessed that the Magic would be sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings. Although we're only about two weeks into the regular NBA season, the Magic have been really impressive. Orlando is 4-1 with confidence building wins over both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs. Their only loss (121-125) came from the Brooklyn Nets where Nikola Vucevic put up a monster stat line going for 41 points and 12 rebounds. Despite being an average three-point shooting team last season Orlando has found a way to be ranked first in terms of percentage (.459) and holding their opponents to a league best (.273) from deep. The Magic look to be more focused on the defensive end while maintaining a fast pace and shooting lights out from deep. Let's hope it lasts.
Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers have been by far been the most impressive team in this early part of the season. As we all know, the Clippers traded away Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets but the Clippers are playing inspired basketball like Paul never left. How is it that the Clippers managed to lose the point guard gold standard in Paul but manage to only lose one game so far? Two answers: Defense and Blake Griffin. Griffin is back to do doing Blake Griffin things, averaging 24.8 points and 9.6 rebounds which has L.A. sitting at 4-1. The Clippers also hold the league’s best defense and I can’t come up with any idea why the trend won't continue. It may be a stretch for L.A. to continue to defend as well as they have for 77 more games but stranger things have happened. Per 100 possessions the Clippers boast a defensive rating of 95.1 and smother their opponents by only allowing 44.3 percent on two-point attempts. With Deandre Jordan perched down low and All-NBA defender in Patrick Beverly it’s easy to see why the Clippers are so good defensively.
Memphis Grizzlies: We all thought it was an end to Grit & Grind basketball with departures from fan favorites Tony Allen and Zach Randolph but not so fast, Memphis clearly has something to say. It's not Golden State but rather the Memphis Grizzlies who are at the top of the Western Conference at 5-1. The Grizzlies beat the reigning champs 111-101 which saw both Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant ejected, which is probably one of Adam Silver's biggest nightmares. They've also beat the Houston Rockets twice and they've done it by controlling the pace and slowing the game way down. But what's even more impressive is the scoring from the bench. Memphis is currently sixth in bench scoring at 41.0 point per game. Chandler Parsons is finally healthy and is now being used as a stretch four to add spacing and improve scoring opportunities. Tyreke Evans also headlines the bench with scoring 12.3 points per contest while only playing 23.0 minutes a night. Mike Conley Jr. hasn't been playing particularly well, shooting only 40.3 percent from the field but when he finds his shot the Grizzlies will surely be a dangerous team no one will want to face.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: Technically Giannis Antetokounmpo could be added to an ugly list because his play has been downright disgusting (in a good way), the Greek Freak is on another level right now. I know it's entirely too early for MVP talk but Giannis would have all first place votes, sorry Steph. The 23-year-old Milwaukee Bucks superstar is averaging 35.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 2.3 steals on 62.4 percent from the field. Simply put, that stat line is UGLY. No one else on the roster is averaging close to 20 points and the closest is sophomore guard Malcolm Brogdon with 15.8 points per game. It is absolutely scary how closely Antetokounmpo resembles LeBron James during his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers and if Giannis ever develops a consistent jumper, the league will be his for the taking. In describing Giannis, Kevin Durant said, “…he could end up being the best player to ever play if he really wanted to.” That's high praise coming from a player who is widely considered the second best player in the league.
THE BAD:
Phoenix Suns: The Suns are a bad basketball team but that was to be expected. The only real addition to their roster was rookie Josh Jackson which means the Suns are relatively the same squad they were last year. Although Jackson is a great talent, he isn't the type of talent to alter the direction a franchise that drastically. The front office ended up firing head coach Earl Watson who probably overstayed his welcome anyway. He was never the right guy to develop the Sun’s young talent because he never truly invested in the youth movement and he just always seemed like an interim anyway. To make matters worse Eric Bledsoe - the Suns best player depending on who you ask - requested a trade by no longer wishing to be with the team via Twitter. Bledsoe seems like the type of player who wants to win and he can definitely help a contender in a myriad of ways. Winning is just something Phoenix is not currently or consistently capable of doing. Realistically, Eric Bledsoe should've been traded during the draft or some time over the summer. At 28, Bledsoe no longer fits with the Suns young core but the front office has run into issues because their asking price is too high, the other teams don’t want to part with their young assets, although there is much value in Bledsoe. Not to mention, Bledsoe is essentially injury prone but hopefully a new change of scenery can change all that.
Markelle Fultz's Shooting Form: In recent Philadelphia Sixers tradition, injury has once again befell its top draft pick. Your guess is as good as mine as to why Philadelphia allowed the No. 1 draft pick in Markelle Fultz to play with a bum shoulder, but oddly enough he did appear in five games coming off the bench. Maybe they thought it would just go away? Apparently it hasn't and has only been a hindrance to Fultz's performance. Fultz has always been an average free throw shooter, only converting 64.9 percent of his attempts in college due to poor mechanics, but it has gotten much worse in the pros. Fultz, who is also a great three point shooter in terms of percentage (.410), hasn't even attempted a single shot from beyond the arc. That is cause for concern. As of Sunday, October 29, the Philadelphia Sixers announced that Fultz is out indefinitely and will be reevaluated in three weeks. Honestly, Fultz shouldn't have ever played if they knew he was injured. He should've been shut down to begin the season until he reached 100 percent. Hopefully he'll return to the court sooner rather than later.
THE WHELMING:
Denver Nuggets: Thanks to Robin of Young Justice, whelming and whelmed will be words to describe teams or players who are basically performing very average, not necessarily exceeding expectations but also not playing absolutely terrible. The first team to get this distinction will be the Denver Nuggets. One could argue that the Nuggets are underwhelming at the moment but one must also remember they weren't necessarily a great team to begin with. The addition of Paul Millsap should've propelled Denver into the upper echelon of the league but there are a few factors holding them back such as the lead guard spot. Emmanuel Mudiay isn't the guard for Denver. After two years of trying he just doesn't fit and has been relegated to coming off the bench. The problem is they really don';t have any playmakers. Nikola Jokic might be their best playmaker but he works from the post. Jamal Murray is the next bet for playing the one but that’s not something he’s ever excelled at. We'll see how it goes but right now it’s more of an act out of necessity. With so much firepower on their roster Denver should be playing better but Jokic and Millsap also have yet to gel. Although an extremely small sample size when they are both on the court they boast a 95.4 offensive rating. That’s very average for two players who seem like they should fit perfectly together.
Championship Level Defense: Both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors have been whelming on defense. Only reason why their isn't a cause for concern is because they both are expected to compete for a fourth straight time in the NBA Finals come June 2018. If Cleveland and Golden State went all out defensively in the first two weeks they'd be exhausted come playoff time. I'd say Golden State is struggling due to lack of effort while Cleveland just doesn't have the personnel but that doesn't mean they won't get better as they finally get healthy. Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said his team forgot five plays coming out of timeouts in a 120-117 win against the Washington Wizards. That doesn't sound like a team that's dialed in and committed to the regular season. On the other hand, the Cavs just aren't healthy. With no true point in the lineup, LeBron James has started at the one spot forcing him out of position and sliding everyone over. Kevin Love tried to play center but it was far too taxing on his body. When the Cavs finally get healthy, their defense should get better.
Photo Credit: NBC & Sports Illustrated.
