It’s been a little over a week or so since the tip-off of the 2019-20 NBA season, and we are starting to see why fans were excited about this one. With Kawhi’s free agency move, we can see how the league has become balanced. There’s a new, slendered form of “superteams” that has entered the NBA, so now almost every team has a duo of superstars. There are the big-named duos, like Kawhi and Paul George, or Lebron and AD or Westbrook and Harden. After the 3 or 4 games each team has played, it’s clear that there are some lesser known duos in this league that are playing like superstars. Luka Doncic and Porzingis have shown their European connection by both playing beautiful together on both ends of the floor. CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard are still dominating together on the Trailblazers, each averaging around 22 a piece. For the first week of the NBA, here’s the recap:
The Good. The Hawks, led by Trae Young look dominant. He said he shapes his game like Curry’s, and hot damn he wasn’t lying. Over two games he’s averaging 38.5 a game, alongside 9 assists and 7 boards. The Wolves look like clockwork with KAT at their side. The big-man is playing at an MVP pace, shooting well, rebounding the rock and finding teammates whenever he isn’t able to score. Demar Derozan and Lamarcus Aldridge are tied with the Wolves, as the small forward and center have carried the Spurs to a 3-0 record. In the East, the 76ers have been playing well as a team as mostly the starters, Embiid, Simmons and Harris, have been contributing to their team’s success.
And The Bad. The Nets, a team that is deemed for success on paper, start with a struggle as they begin the season 1-2, with Kyrie scoring 50, then 26, then 37. Which is crazy to think that a man can average 37 a game and not win all of them. The Kings, projected to finally start taking strides to becoming a solid, playoff team..until Marvin Bagley fractured his thumb. Buddy Heild and De’Aaron Fox are going to be tested in the upcoming weeks to see if they can mature into a respected NBA duo. Just as any NBA fan thought, the Lakers are looking solid with Lebron and AD running the floor especially without Kuzma, however they suffered a tough loss versus Kawhi and the Clippers. They look like they’re in mid-season form, playing hounding defense and shooting the lights out from all over the floor.
Can’t forget about The Ugly. Welp, it’s finally happened. The Warriors flat out stink. 3 games in and D’Angelo Russell and Curry have played well, despite Russell’s ejection, but they don’t seem to click as well as they do with Klay on the floor. Unless they can establish an offense where Curry can do as Harden does and isolate himself to score or assist on every play, this might be the first shaky season for the Warriors in a long time. The Pelicans, now without Zion (and will be for a while) are 0-4 and just seem to need that presence of extra force, as each game has been close for them.
Published by Mike Effe
TheBuzzedBeat 