Less than two weeks into the NBA season and it’s that time of year when general managers try to convince themselves about the validity of early-season trends.
If their team is firing, this small sample size is indicative of how the rest of the season will turn out.
But if the opening couple of weeks are falling well below expectations, that’s when coaches quickly end up “on the hot seat” and players are on the trading block.
There are some supposed title contenders who are off to sluggish starts and a few fringe championship hopefuls who could be pushing to get into the championship conversation.
Here are a few early-season trends which could turn into dead ends or be how the season plays out when the 82-game regular-season marathon is run and done.
Bucks are in trouble
They have lost four of their first five with their only win coming against a Philadelphia side missing Joel Embiid and Paul George.
Giannis Antetokoumpo continues to rack up huge numbers in the box score but Damian Lillard is looking like his career is heading south in a big way.
Last season he was supposedly not in shape but there is no excuse for his poor returns across the opening five games – he’s averaging a modest 23.2 points by his standards but it’s the 26.7% three-point shooting percentage which should be most concerning along with his already mediocre defence becoming a liability.
Their only hope is Khris Middleton’s return from injury sparking a resurgence otherwise another Doc Rivers coaching experiment looks like it will blow up.
It won’t be long before the Giannis trade speculation starts to heat up. Milwaukee have no young prospects who could pair with their superstar for the latter stages of his career and he won’t want to stick around while they rebuild through the draft so the next few months will be critical to keeping him in Bucks colours for his entire career.
(Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)
Nikola needs help at Nuggets
Nikola Jokic has a habit of being a notoriously slow starter to a season before becoming the best player in the NBA.
This time around he is putting up a 30-point triple double on average each night and Denver are 2-3, needing overtime to topple tanking Toronto and just scraping past bumbling Brooklyn.
Jamal Murray is in a funk, Michael Porter jnr is vastly over-rated and they have shot themselves in the foot by not re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Simmons still won’t shoot
In news that will surprise nobody given it’s become a punchline at the start of every season, Ben Simmons still won’t or perhaps can’t shoot.
After his time at the 76ers cratered after he controversially passed up an open dunk, he has clearly learned nothing with an even worse example earlier this week when Brooklyn faced Milwaukee.
He stole the ball from Lillard and could have easily streaked to the basket for a dunk but was put off by the presence of Brook Lopez, who had all but conceded the two points.
So he passes off to teammate Cam Johnson, who shovels it back and Simmons again panics, ultimately turning the ball over instead of risking getting fouled or missing the shot.
All those pre-season social media clips of Simmons shooting with confidence turned out to be a mirage. Yet again. Can’t wait for next year’s footage.
Meh-ami Heat need revamp
The Heat are like the Dwyane Wade statue – they look good from distance but when you zoom in, they are not what they appear to be.
Wins over Detroit and Charlotte don’t mean much and they were no match for Orlando or New York.
Jimmy Butler’s time at Miami will likely come to an end via a trade during this season unless he can show there’s life left in his 35-year-old legs. As it stands, Miami will be play-in fodder at best unless Pat Riley can find a way to bring in a star in their prime.
OKC might be under-rated
All the pre-season prognostications were that the Thunder would dominate the Western Conference.
It all seemed a little over the top but they could be as good as advertised, if not better.
They were way too strong for Denver first up and then have cruised past four teams not expected to be figuring in the playoffs but the way in which Chet Holmgren has stepped up at centre gives them a secondary go-to guy alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with Jalen Williams scouting around on the wings.
Veteran stars shine in West
Phoenix (4-1), Golden State (4-1) and the LA Lakers (4-2) are off to hot starts.
The Devin and Kevin show is working at the Suns with Booker and Durant firing but whether it’s sustainable remains to be seen.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis have a complementary support cast this season but if either of them gets injured, new coach JJ Redick’s dream start will turn into a nightmare.
The Warriors are surprise packets given Steph Curry hurt his ankle in their third game but they have kept racking up the Ws.
Cavs are legit good
There were doubts aplenty about Cleveland’s unusual configuration heading into this season – two ball-dominant guards in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland and two bigs close to the rim in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Last season they seemed to click when one or two of them were out but this time around all four stars are working in synch and the Cavs have ripped off six straight wins.
They did have a powder puff tip-off with the Raptors, Pistons and Wizards but they have knocked over the Knicks in New York and added the Lakers and Magic to their list of victims.
Magic will struggle without Banchero
It goes without saying that the Magic cannot afford to be without their franchise cornerstone Paolo Banchero.
He was LeBron-like with his size, speed and skill as Orlando shot out of the gates but he is out for at least a month with an abdominal injury and the Magic have little else at the offensive end.
Paul Suttorhttps://https://ift.tt/FNyCkn3 early-season panic meter: Bucks’ value plummets, Jokic needs help and surprise, surprise Simmons won’t shoot
إرسال تعليق