The first week of the NBA season is officially over and we have learned absolutely nothing. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make our strongest opinions public anyway. Small sample sizes be damned, let’s enjoy some hot takes and overreactions.
The Phoenix Suns will have the worst defense in NBA history
It hasn’t been pretty in the desert so far, this season. The Suns finally pulled out a win on Monday night, just eking by the Kings at home to improve to 1-3 on the season (before blowing out the Jazz a few days later) but their start to the season has been nothing short of disappointing even with the low expectations. They’ve been blown out twice and lost to the Lakers at home on a back-to-back.
Things won’t get better. The Suns were forced to fire coach Earl Watson after only three games. Eric Bledsoe is on the way after a not-so-cryptic tweet about the state of the team and the Suns won’t be getting veterans that will help the team win in return. The Suns’ lack of effort on defense is telling – this team gave up before the season even began. There’s high potential for the Suns to be the worst defense in NBA history. Their 108.3 defensive rating is actually relatively tame but this team does not have many (any?) good defenders and they don’t try. That’s a terrible combination.
D’Angelo Russell will be an All-Star as the Nets reach the playoffs
Russell was one of the most controversial players in the league during his time with the Lakers despite it being his first two seasons in the league. He never got a perfect situation in LA, whether it was Byron Scott, Kobe’s farewell tour, or a change of roles under Luke Walton. Now, he’s been set free by the Nets’ free-flowing organization, given the reigns to Kenny Atkinson’s high-paced offense with Jeremy Lin’s injury.
So far, Russell hasn’t disappointed. He’s averaging 21 points per game on a 57.8 true shooting percentage and adding seven assists as the lead man in Brooklyn. He would be the sixth player to put up those points and assist numbers at 21 or younger if he keeps it up. The flashes he showed in LA are coming together in his third year as a pro, leaving Lakers fans (read: me) lamenting the trade that sent him to Brooklyn. The Eastern Conference lost several of its biggest stars over the offseason and there are multiple teams tanking to bottom out for a chance at a pick. The Nets don’t owe their pick and Russell has something to prove. The time is right for this prediction to come true.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the MVP and record multiple 5×5 games
The first part of this one doesn’t even feel like a hot take. Has anyone ever been more impressive to start the season? The Greek Freak is averaging 36.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals, and one block per game and taking over games on both ends of the court. The Bucks are only 3-2 but in a considerably weaker Eastern Conference, Giannis can feast on bottom-feeders as Milwaukee looks to be the upstart team to dethrone The King in Cleveland. Obviously, those numbers won’t be sustained throughout the entire year, but this is year two of Giannis being an absolute freak and doing it all for the Bucks. He’s only getting better.
As for the second part, look at those numbers again. It would almost be disappointing if Antetokounmpo isn’t able to piece together multiple games of recording at least five units of each of those categories.
Golden State Warriors won’t repeat
Alright, let’s make it spicy in here.
Look, on paper, the Warriors are still the best team in basketball and they might even be deeper and more talented than last year. But something seems off with them to start the year. They’re only 3-2, Stephen Curry is throwing mouth guards at people, Kevin Durant is flipping them off but not really, and they’re giving up leads they’re accustomed to holding.
Losing to the Rockets and Grizzlies isn’t exactly a disaster but it’s the way they’ve lost those games. The Western Conference is a bloodbath. The Rockets, Thunder, and Spurs are all waiting to pounce on a weaker Golden State team. Even the more upstart teams in the West have the potential to pull off an upset if they catch a few lucky breaks.
The Warriors not winning the title would be a huge upset but it’s not completely unreasonable to imagine the drama of the team and the (mostly earned and deserved) arrogance and entitlement of its stars to lead to some funky business down the stretch of the postseason.
(For the record I don’t actually believe this one but where’s the fun in that? Speak it into existence, LaVar Ball style.)
Now my hot takes might not have been enough so let’s turn to Twitter, the bastion of overreaction, for some help:
https://twitter.com/ABernucca/status/922692202698035200
Ben Simmons is the ROY and it will take a Herculean effort to steal it from him.
— Justin Jett (@JustinJett_) October 24, 2017
Just a couple of Ben Simmons stans on the Def Pen squad. The Sixers forward/point guard/”A Player Has No Position” has been phenomenal to start his actual playing career, even dropping a triple-double in the Sixers’ first win of the season against the Pistons. He’s definitely the favorite to win the award right now.
As for Bernucca’s Mike James comment: that’s a bit of an understatement. He’s both the best Mike and the best James in NBA history.
John Collins is going to be the best big man in basketball in a few months. https://t.co/DViXyvyAqj
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) October 24, 2017
Who?
Wolves win the Northwest (does it count if I said this before the season too)
— David Naylor (@ProfCedar) October 24, 2017
Gonna be tough with the Thunder in there (Why are the Thunder in the Northwest Division? RIP Seattle) but it should be a close race. Wolves got a step up with that gnarly banked-in buzzer beater from Andrew Wiggins but they’ve had some disappointing losses with Jimmy Butler out of the lineup due to injury. Imagine the tiebreaker coming down to the second game of the season.
Move the Knicks to Seattle
— Nick Arguelles (@Nick_Argue) October 24, 2017
I’m just going to leave that there.
