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What we have learnt from the early stages of the NBA season

Steph Curry had an off night, hitting no threes for the first time in 157 games. (Source: Wiki Commons)
Roar Guru
13th November, 2015
2

It’s almost three weeks into the NBA season so let’s look at some of the things that we have learnt so far.

Golden State are on a mission
LeBron James played as well as any human being could have done in last year’s finals, and could have used a supporting cast that wasn’t akin to a local rec centre roster. Cleveland were in some ways unlucky, and there has been talk that the Warriors were lucky to win the title.

That’s not just me talking, but legends like Doc Rivers. Whether they have a chip on their shoulder is debatable, but Golden State seem to be intent on dominating again.

They are defeating opponents by more than 17 points per game and are 10-0, leading the league in shooting efficiency, percentage, points per game, offensive efficiency and assists. It helps that Steph Curry seems permanently in NBA Jam ‘on fire’ mode, making at least a shot a game that defies belief and logic while. He is averaging 33.3 points, 5.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 steals and an absurd 5.2 three pointers per game.

Curry is averaging more triples than three teams are! Write the Warriors off at your own peril.

Kahwi Leonard is on the brink of being a superstar
The Spurs system doesn’t promote stars, but they can exist within (hello Tim Duncan) but for the first time since early in his career, Timmy no longer needs to be the man. Kahwi is averaging career highs in scoring and rebounds, as well as efficiency and usage. He gave us a glimpse into what he could be when he won the Finals MVP two seasons ago and went toe-to-toe with LeBron James. Now he is ready to turn on a full season worth of quality and announce to the world that he is among the best 10 players on the planet.

Atlanta don’t care what you think
The Hawks were the surprise packets of last season, claiming the top seed in the East and advancing to the conference finals before being swept by the Cavaliers. They seem to be a superstar short of being a title team, despite having two elite players in Al Horford and Paul Millsap but didn’t make any major moves in the off-season.

Just ten games into the season, they sit 8-2 behind the stellar play of Horford and Millsap and what must be said has been a soft schedule. Then again, we all looked for reasons to degrade their performance last season and they just kept winning. They will probably do it again this year, despite the fact that we will count them out of any conversation about the elite teams in the league.

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Andre Drummond is a beast
Statistics aren’t everything, but in Drummond’s case they can be taken at face value. He has 18.8 points, 19.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.9 steals.

Drummond is grabbing a rebound every two minutes on the floor and has led the Pistons through a very tough early season schedule to a 5-3 record.

His start is the result in part of a perfect storm being the loss of Greg Monroe and the coaching of Stan Van Gundy. With Monroe leaving town, Drummond has become the centre point of the offense and Van Gundy has implored him to develop his post-game with great effect. Drummond has always been an elite defensive player, he is now adding a high-quality offensive game as he is on the fast-track to becoming one of the NBA’s best big men.

Sacramento are a basket case
Few teams generate as much speculation and negative publicity as the Kings. A passionate fan-base and continued rumours about relocations take up column space off the court, but the on-court has been disastrous as they have failed to navigate a tough start to the season. Star DeMarcus Cousins has been injured and fighting with coach George Karl. Something has to give.

Cousins is looking more and more like a guy who is not worth the continual dramas he brings, and Rajon Rondo probably fits perfectly in SacTown at the moment given the current state of affairs. As far as pure talent goes, Cousins and Rondo are still among the top bracket in the league but the organisation is likely to lose patience with ‘Boogie’ and make a move before too long, whether or not they also choose to sack Karl who looks to be a dead man walking.

The Grit and Grind is gone
The Memphis Grizzlies have captured the imagination of pure basketball fans, snubbing their noses at popular belief and offensive firepower and instead concentrating on half-court basketball. Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley are throwbacks to another era, far from athletic but crafty and fundamentally sound players. They have made the second round of the playoffs in three of the last five seasons and the conference finals once, but they seem to have run out of tricks.

Defensive intensity has been the hallmark of this team as they are always among the leaders in points conceded and defensive efficiency. This year they have slipped to 21st in defensive efficiency and giving up 100.7 points per game, more than 5 points per game more than last season. Their opponents’ rank third in shooting efficiency and true shooting percentage and the Grizz themselves rank dead last in points scored and every major shooting efficiency and percentage statistical category – either the message is getting old, or the roster needs a shake-up.

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A rebuild could be on the cards at Memphis as the new era of efficient, attacking basketball has left the Grizzlies behind.

The Wiz need a spark
Having won a playoff round in each of the last two seasons and with a young, talented squad, Washington looked likely to make the most of a far from difficult early season schedule. Things have not gone to plan, as they have are just 3-4.

After ranking fifth in defensive efficiency and 10th in points conceded per game last season they have slumped to 24th and 29th respectively in those categories. They have conceded 113 points or more in five of their seven games and turning the ball over almost 18 times per game, the most in the NBA.

John Wall and Bradley Beal are combining for almost 8 of those turnovers per game, and while they lead a team far too talented to be down for long the warning signs are loud and clear. Nene and Beal are key components of this team and are currently day-to-day with injuries, but there is no excuse for the way the Wizards have started the season.

Luckily the east is weak enough and the Wizards good enough for them to right the ship but they wouldn’t want to assume that success will come.

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