First off, let me welcome to 1204 a new writer/contributor, JJ Louis. An expert in many sports, we are excited to have JJ writing for us. You can check him out every week as one of the voices of the Buzz podcast. Now, let’s get down to the business of the NBA. We answered some questions about how the league looks after the first quarter of the season.
1) Name a few teams from each conference that have surprised you in a good way so far through the quarter mark in the season.
Louis: For the East, I’d say some good surprises have been the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, and the Orlando Magic, with an honorable mention to the Detroit Pistons. While each team’s record aren’t noteworthy, the teams play with a brand of basketball that everyone has bought into. Entering the season, no one could have imagined that a team led solely by “Cardiac Kemba” could compete night in, and night out. Same goes for a team like the Orlando Magic, who were on such a decline that Aaron Gordon was on the trading block as recent as last summer. And for Brooklyn; get well soon Caris LeVert. Kenny Atkinson has those young boys competing! The West, for similar reasons, I’d have to say Memphis, Sacramento, and Dallas. All projected lottery teams, all beating title contenders. Amazing.
Gumas: The team that immediately comes to mind for me is the Sacramento Kings. I thought they would be somewhat of a dumpster fire this year but thanks to the renaissance of Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox they have managed to win some games out of the gate. The other Western Conference team I’d say is the Clippers. I thought they would be on the outside looking in when it came time for the playoffs, but as of right now they are one of the top seeds in the West and play a nice brand of basketball. Shout out to Memphis also. The East, I’m very surprised with Milwaukee. It shows how much coaching makes a difference because their main pieces are the same as last year, although some depth added, except they play much better basketball on both sides of the court. Surprisingly, I’m also surprised with Toronto. I didn’t anticipate the difference between Leonard and DeRozen to be as impactful as it has been. They look like a team that can make a finals push.
2) Name a few teams from each conference that have been a disappointment thus far.
Louis: A few of the title contenders quite honestly. Boston in the East; Houston in the West. I think that expectations did both of these teams in. You both get so close to the promise-land and then fail. It lingers. They both believed that they could only go up from there. Integrating clashing styles like Melo in Houston or Kyrie’s one-on one prowess with a team oriented Boston lineup had its fair share of red flags. It’s just unfortunate that it has all hit at once.
Gumas: As it sits today, the Utah Jazz are the second worst team in the Western Conference. I thought they would be building off their success last year, but they just haven’t been able to click on all cylinders yet. The Pelicans are also on the outside looking in if the season ended today and given their dominate performance in the first round of the playoffs last year, I thought they may push a mid seed in the West. The East is easy, two teams jump off the page at me, the Celtics and the Wizards. The Celtics were a trendy pick (including mine) for the finals this year and a team that could possibly upset the Warriors. However, this season has been far too up and down for a team with that much talent. Their starting unit has looked disengaged at times and Brad Stevens has failed to put together his optimal lineups yet. Still plenty of time to figure it all out, but I can’t help but wonder if this slow start has already cost them a top 2 seed in the East. The Wizards have been the dumpster fire of the NBA thus far, from the 1-7 start, to the locker room/practice fights, to whatever is going on with Dwight Howards glutes. The team easily has enough talent to make the playoffs, but now it sounds like they will be shipping out their main pieces come mid season.
3) Toronto is currently sitting in the top seed in the Eastern conference, do you think they will end up representing the East in the finals based on what you’ve seen? If not, who?
Louis: I believe Toronto will remain steady, edging out an eventual hot streak from a team, maybe the Bucks or Celtics, at the end. Kawhi in Toronto has lived up to the hype, but is still working to get back into form. And with eyes all on him, I’m sure they’ll go through growing pains with a streaky backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Danny Green, but they will easily be a early-to-mid 50 win team, which should be enough.
Gumas: I picked the Celtics before the season and I think I will stick with them for now. They still have the most talented top to bottom roster in the Eastern Conference. The teams with the most talent in the NBA usually win. However, if they don’t get the one seed, which I think is all but lost for them at this point, I have serious doubts they will make it out of the East. Even last year the Celtics were a mere 1-7 on the road in the playoffs.
4) The West has been a mess so far, do you still consider Golden State the favorites given their drama with Draymond Green and Kevin Durant?
Louis: The Warriors as it stands are the most proven act in the West. All other teams that have shown signs thus far either don’t have the depth to combat them, or have settled in as a good “season” team who may underperform in the playoffs. I still think Houston may be a high seed, but I do believe there’s no contest.
Gumas: I still consider Golden State the favorite until someone actually beats them. Drama or boredom shouldn’t phase them, they can flip a switch any second when healthy. They don’t even need the top seed as they proved last year. If they are healthy come playoff time, or even just the second round, they will still be going to the Finals.
5) Give me one player from each conference that’s been playing better than you expected.
Louis: Blake Griffin. I think I’d be hard pressed to find a guy who has grown more as a player in their career than he has. Similar to an A’mare Stoudemire, he came in as an athlete with basic fundamentals, developed them, and is now honing that, becoming a leader in the process. Now do I think anything of their start this season? No Blake has had stints where he looks like a top 10 player. It’s just the question of whether or not his body can hold up. So far it has. For the West, I’d say Tobias Harris. His ceiling to me always resembled a Rudy Gay, a player who I’d believe didn’t fully reach his potential, but still was as good on a night to night basis as anyone. He’s pretty much cracking it right now, and I wouldn’t be surprised with him going beyond that entering his prime.
Gumas: In the East, I’d say Kemba Walker. He’s already had a 60 point game up there and is making his case for a max contract this summer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he straight wills that team to the playoffs this year. The West, I’m going to say the combination of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley (yes, I cheated and picked two, deal with it). They’ve always been talented players, but injuries and age have caught up to them over the past few season. I didn’t think we would be sitting here talking about them as a real playoff team, but if they stay healthy and continue to play at this level, they will surely be in the playoffs.
6) Who do you think the best rookie has been so far?
Louis: Doncic has been the best player on a very competitive Dallas Maverick team. I still see a lot of Hedo Turkoglu in his game (it seems like a slight to Luka, it really isn’t, gotta look back in his Orlando days), but he’s shorter, and more athletic. Couple that in an era that caters to his playing style and you have a star in the making. I’d like to give an honorable mention to Knick rook Alonzo Trier though. He’s played his way into the league and now is a fixture in an NBA rotation.
Gumas: With no disrespect to Jaren Jackson, who has balled, I have to go with Luka Doncic. Yes, I pegged Doncic as a potential bust type player and I’ll fully admit I’m wrong. He’s been fantastic and it’s easy to see how playing in the Spanish League benefited him as a rookie. He looks craftier and more finished than most rookies. It looks to me like Atlanta will be kicking themselves for years for trading him on draft night.
7) This ones just for JJ, because you’re a Knicks fan, give me a couple thoughts on their season so far.
Louis: This has been the best bad season the Knicks probably has ever had. They are not a playoff team. They are a lottery pick team. The difference between all the other years and this one is that they know who they are. They are young. They are inexperienced. However they share a common goal to grow with players competing night in and night out. We have a coach that gives the Knicks an heir of grit. In years prior it wasn’t this way. Players would go to NY with their own baggage and their own agendas, and it would always blow up in managements faces. With 2019 offseason looming, the Knicks have laid a platform; a brand of basketball that could potentially lure a free agent this coming July. For the players there currently, it’s a year long audition to remain put or go to a team with more opportunity, so they play like they have nothing to lose. And for now, that’s all a fan can ask for.
8) We can’t not ask Peter about the 76ers.
Gumas: I’ve been interested to watch how the team has integrated Jimmy Butler. Early on it certainly seemed like he was picking his spots offensively, dipping his toe in the water and getting the temperature before diving in. The Sixers need him to be a little more aggressive than that, especially when Embiid is not on the court. The good part about having two stars with their type of offensive production is that the team should be able to stagger their minutes to minimize the amount of lulls per game. It was also nice to see him grab the bull by the horns on Sunday evening in Brooklyn and carry the team to a victory on a night when they should not have been able to win.
9) Who is the MVP so far.
Louis: There’s a ton of MVP candidates that often have hot streaks to start the year. Blake and Kemba to name a few. Curry would likely be MVP at this rate barring injury. But I’d say the MVP would lean toward Giannis. His team has had the best season success of any candidate this season, and he’s not missing games. He needs a jump shot, yes. But like all good coaches do, Coach Mike Budenholzer has expanded upon his strengths; having him be a 6’11 point forward with shooters abound, and try to minimize his weaknesses; having him create shots/shoot. This has given Coach Bud his own case for Coach of the Year. That is a big confidence boost for Giannis. Time will tell if the Bucks can keep it up. They are steady for now, and Giannis is righting the ship.
Gumas: Many people are going to go with Giannis and while I think that is a fair choice, I’m not sold him as the MVP. His team is doing exceptional and he is the key cog in that machine, but are we really going to give the MVP to a guy that is 4-48 from 3 this year? I also understand that statistically this is his best year in terms of assist, but that’s in large part to him having the ball in his hands far more often than not. So far this year, his assists are up a by a total of 1.1 per game, but his turnovers are up by a whopping 1.3 as well. I can’t give the MVP to a guy that can’t hit a 3, and when he has the ball in his hand, is only slightly more likely to get an assist than a turnover. This leads up to Steph Curry, who made a strong case out of the gate, but as of now is getting taken off my list due to time missed. Before I get to my final two, I’d be sorely mistaken if I didn’t mention Joel Embiid. Averaging 28.1 ppg with 13.3 rpg and 2 bpg is a pretty absurd stat line. 13 games with over 30 points and 10 rebounds is big boy numbers. But he’s just not quite in the class of my final two. Which brings me to 2 guys, Lebron James and Anthony Davis. I just don’t see the voters giving MVP to a guy on a team that misses the playoffs. Given, there’s time for that to change, but I don’t think Davis is making quite as big an impact on the Pelicans as Lebron is the Lakers. It may be cliche to pick Lebron, but why should it be cliche to give the best player in the league the award for being the best player in the league?
By JJ Louis and Peter Gumas
1204 Sports 