Five NBA Storylines to keep an eye on
Welcome, NFL fans. Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles winning the Super Bowl. Now all eyes are on the NBA. Today, I’ll update you on what has happened so far and what you should watch for.
Is the Eastern Conference wide open?
There are those who still think LeBron James will continue to reign as the King of the East. I can’t blame them. LeBron has been in the last seven NBA Finals if you haven’t heard. However, this is the most vulnerable that LeBron and a LeBron James-led team has looked. In the new year, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 6–10. In 14 games in March, LeBron is averaging 23.5 points per game while shooting 22% from three and 67% from the line. His shooting has regressed as has his team. But offense isn’t even the main problem for the Cavs. In January, they gave up almost 115 points a game. That was second worst in the league. They can’t guard anyone and with the way they’ve been playing, they look headed for a first-round exit.
Enter the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors. They’re one and two in the East currently. Boston has one of the best defenses in the league, currently first in defensive rating. Their offense is pretty meh but it doesn’t matter because they’re so elite defensively. Toronto is the only team in the league who is top five in both offensive and defensive rating. A lot of people think it’s the same old story with the Raptors but this team is different. In 2016–2017, around 29% of their field goal attempts were from the three point line. This year, over 36% of their field goal attempts are from the three point line. This makes them a more deadly offense come playoff time.
Right now, I’m inclined to pick the Raptors to win the East. They’re elite on both ends and DeRozan has been playing like an MVP candidate. But, I’m sure Boston will be a tough out and LeBron is Lebron. East should be fun.
Who wins the Rookie of the Year race?
Right now, it’s still Ben Simmons by a pretty decent margin. He’s at just under 17 points a game, eight rebounds a game, and seven assists a game. He’s shooting around 53% from the field. He’s also been so good defensively. There are some good guys behind him too. Donovan Mitchell is averaging just over 19 points a game to lead all rookies. He gives the Jazz that scoring punch they need since Gordon Hayward is in Boston now. He’s been wayyy better than expected. Another guy that’s been way better than expected is Jayson Tatum. He’s giving the Celtics 14 points a night along with over five rebounds. His shooting has regressed some but he’s still shooting a ridiculous 44% from three. He’s also been a much improved defender from what we saw at Duke. The other thing helping his case is that he’s making these great contributions for a team that is the number one seed in the East. Kyle Kuzma is another guy who’s been playing well. He’s giving the Lakers almost 16 points a night. He has all the makings of an elite level scorer as he can score effectively at all three levels on the court. His defense is pretty bad which puts him down the list but he’s just a rookie so its fine. The last guy I want to discuss is Lauri Markkanen. He, like Kyle Kuzma, is on a team far from playoff contention which hurts his chances. However, he’s been really good for the Bulls and a nice get from the Wolves in the Butler trade. He’s giving them 15 and eight each night and shooting about 37% from three on almost 7 threes a game. He’s the perfect stretch four for the modern game.
All these guys are great and this has the makings to be one of the best rookie classes ever. Right now I’d rank it:
- Ben Simmons
- Donovan Mitchell
- Jayson Tatum
- Kyle Kuzma
- Lauri Markkanen
Rockets vs Warriors. Who ya got?
With apologies to the Spurs and the Thunder, I really want to see the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors in the conference finals. They’ve played their three regular season games against each other with the Rockets taking the series, 2–1. In the two games James Harden played in, the Rockets won each and they were some of the best games of the season. If anyone truly has a chance to dethrone the Warriors, it’s the Rockets. Of course, I’d still have my money on the Warriors but the Rockets can really shoot it which could make this a series. James Harden and Chris Paul are two of the top ten players in the league just like Curry and Durant so they can make a series out of it. Also, the Rockets have so many defenders to throw at Golden State like Luc Mbah a Moute, Trevor Ariza, and PJ Tucker. The Warriors and the Rockets are clearly the two best teams in the league and it’d be a shame if we didn’t see them in a seven game series.
What about the rest of the West?
The Spurs and the Timberwolves are pretty comfortable at three and four in the West. It’ll be interesting to see if the Spurs can hold on to that three seed. They’ve done well without Kawhi Leonard but they do miss him. Jimmy Butler has been amazing this year and has shown all the haters that he’s a top ten player in this league. The Wolves are 16.7 points per possession better when he’s on the court than when he’s off. He’s the difference from them being in the lottery. ELITE.
5–10 in the West is where it really gets interesting. The Thunder seemed like they would be in the tier with the Spurs and the Timberwolves but Andre Roberson is out for the season and they’ve lost four of their last five. The Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, and New Orleans Pelicans are all tied in the lost column. Denver has been hot as of late and are winners of their last three. Nikola Jokic is really good and so is Gary Harris but the biggest revelation has been Jamal Murray. He’s becoming the scorer that we saw he had the potential to be. His scoring has jumped from around 10 a game last year to almost 17 a game this year. His number of attempts have gone up but he’s also scoring more efficiently. He’s shooting almost 46% from the field, 38% from three, and a 57.7% true shooting percentage. These are all significantly better than last year. His consistency at the point guard position has really helped Denver while Millsap has been out.
Portland has had a role reversal on offense and defense. They’ve been surprisingly stingy on defense while struggling on offense. Dame and CJ are great but it might be time to think about listening on offers on CJ. You can’t just keep running it back and getting the same result. Something has to change for them. The Pelicans have Anthony Davis, a legitmate MVP candidate, but they just lost their second best player in DeMarcus Cousins. That really sucks because when he went out, they were just starting to find their groove. Jrue Holiday has quietly been great. He’s averaging over 18 points a game on 49% shooting. I think they’ll get in the playoffs.
Los Angeles just lost Blake Griffin but still expect to stay in the playoff picture. They just got Danilo Gallinari back and received Tobias Harris in the trade for Blake. Lou Williams has been awesome but he could be gone at the deadline. They’re also looking to trade DeAndre Jordan. This team could look a lot different next week. Utah is in the 10th spot and they’re three games out of the eighth spot. However, they’re riding high on a six game winning streak. In their last four, they’ve scored over 120 points a game in each. They’ve put themselves square in the playoff races so it’ll be interesting to see what they do at the deadline.
Prediction for the West:
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- San Antonio Spurs
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Denver Nuggets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- New Orleans Pelicans
Real quick. Who are your other award picks?
MVP — James Harden
COY — Brad Stevens
MIP — Victor Oladipo
6MOY — Lou Williams
DPOY — Al Horford
All-NBA First Team:
G — Stephen Curry
G — James Harden
F — LeBron James
F — Giannis Antetokounmpo
C — LaMarcus Aldridge
All-NBA Defensive First Team:
G — Jimmy Butler
G — Paul George (he’s a forward but this just makes it easier)
F — Giannis Antetokounmpo
F — Al Horford
C — Joel Embiid
