NBA: Week 1 insights
I had more built up anticipation coming into this year than I have in a long time, mainly because the Bulls are actually respectable and will have a fighting chance this year, but also just because the league keeps getting more and more exciting.
There is a slough of players who are on their last leg, players who have defined this generation on basketball, left lasting impressions on the game, who are in their final years. Players like Lebron, Curry, and KD, all of which were perennial finals MVP candidates for a good stretch of time, the bulk of their careers are behind them and we only have so much time left to appreciate their game. Give them their roses.
On the flip side, there is all this young talent just waiting to take hold of the reigns. Luka, Trey, Ja, Tatum, Lavine, all guys who are drooling over the opportunity to create that next great dynasty, the rookie classes from the last couple of years have been loaded with talent, Jalen Green is going to break the internet, Mobley is already making his mark, and we haven’t even had the chance to see Cade play yet. Lamelo and Anthony Edwards are both building with their respective teams, it is all very exciting, and each new wave of talent takes the NBA to new heights.
This past week all of the teams got to showcase what they can be in games that mattered. I am absolutely stoked to be able to say the Bulls, after coming off an undefeated pre-season, have yet to lose this year after getting out to an early 3-0 start. We haven’t played anyone all that great as of yet, but we are winning the games we are supposed to win and that is exciting. Ayo has been the biggest surprise for me, he is getting a chance with Coby out of the line-up and he is taking advantage. He has some growing to do but the kid has potential. Our team in general just out hustles other teams, Lonzo and Caruso are electric on the defensive end, and our offense as a whole is spring loaded, I don’t think we have hit our potential yet, still working out some quirks, but when that spring is released, holy shit, look out league.
The Lakers have been… not great. They definitely look like they are going to need some time to gel, and if this carries on for too long look for LeGM to start making moves. Overall, I think these guys will hit their stride and come the back half of the year, nobody is going to want to mess with them.
The undefeated teams: Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves.
All are looking good, I think the biggest surprise on that list is the Hornets, kudos to them for taking on the Nets this weekend and coming out on top. The Timberwolves, Bulls, and Jazz haven’t faced great competition yet, but we will get a better idea of their stature as this week plays out.
The defeated teams: Detroit Pistons, OKC Thunder, LA Clippers.
We sort of expected this from the Pistons and Thunder, but what’s going on Clippers? I don’t think they will be making next weeks list, but not a great start for a pre-season finals favorite (not the favorite but they were up there). I expect the Pistons will get on track once Cade comes back, they will become a bit more dangerous adding another level of scoring/playmaking, I still don’t expect much from them or the Thunder this year though. From what I have seen of the Thunder, Giddey seems to be playing well and of course SGA, but this team will take some time to come together.
Having watched 1 week of basketball, I like the Warriors a lot more than the Lakers to make it out of West, the Nets are not as scary as a 2 headed monster but still dangerous, the Bucks seem to be the favorite still in the East after week 1.
The 76ers are still a force, and if they can get some value for Ben Simmons, sheesh. Watch out. I think Embiid is playing mad, using all of this drama as fuel on the court, almost as if to prove to Simmons why the team runs through him. He has absolutely no reason to prove that any further, but that is what he seems to be doing. I am still eating up all of that drama as it unfolds and am curious to see how things will shake out. I can’t really see Simmons in another jersey and of the teams willing to make moves, I can’t see anything that reallllly makes sense. I think when there is a trade, there is going to be some surprises despite all of the thousands of scenarios that have been thrown out there.
After one week, I still think Jalen Green is the ROY, especially since we haven’t seen Cade, nobody else is really standing out on the level Green is. My MVP vote pre-season was on Luka, it still is, but Steph is making a case early on. If I were to go back and adjust my Finals prediction based on this week, I would put the Warriors in the West, and honestly, either the Bucks or 76ers from the East. The 76ers might be better without Simmons…. I said it.
Here are my picks for tonight’s action:
Celtics -1
Pacers +2
Pistons +11.5
Heat -13
Bulls -1.5
Pelicans +5.5
Nuggets -10
Clippers -3
Season Record: 25-14-1
Off to a pretty solid start, let’s see if I can keep this pace up!
Alright that’s all for now, I am stoked for another week of NBA action, looking forward to the Bulls game tonight. I am a little nervous about these Raptors, I don’t want to believe they could hand us our first loss, but they have a lot of hustle guys on that team, I just hope our offense clicks and we can get out ahead early. I probably will not pick against the Bulls all year.
Let me know if there is anything you would like to see in these articles, otherwise you will just keep getting my rambling analysis and other random shit I come up with. Have a great week, I’ll put out some power rankings later this week as more games unfold, if you made it this far as always thanks for reading, this is All Net.