Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. Basketball is back! The regular season started up almost 2 weeks ago now and we have already seen some spectacular things around the NBA courts. The Hornets are one of the most exciting teams in the league right now, which I anticipated but I did not expect them to put so many wins on the board early on. On the other end of the ladder, the Nets are struggling a lot more than anticipated. Mainly because James Harden isn’t playing anywhere near his normal level. The Suns and the Lakers are average, the Spurs and Pelicans are really struggling early on, and most expected to be mid-table teams like the Bulls, the Knicks and the Grizzlies are surprisingly strong early on. As usual, we have selected our five favourite players from around the league in the last week. We try to pick 2 guards, 2 wings and a center but sometimes, certain players force us to change our line-up. Get ready for your All-NBA Team of the Week!
PICK #1
Our first pick of the week is Steph Curry from the Golden State Warriors. Steph is not waiting for Klay. He knows that a good start to the season means that the Warriors will have more time to ease Klay back in when he returns. Their mission is to qualify for the Playoffs early, and then focus on fitting Klay back in. In the meantime, Jordan Poole is proving to be a worthy replacement. The Warriors are 4 and 1, and playing OKC later today so it’s safe to assume that when this goes live, they’ll be 5 and 1. A great start to the season from a team that was tipped to start slowly.
Steph started the season scorching hot, averaging over 30 points per game, 8 rebounds and nearly 7 assists per game. It is clear that during the offseason, he has built on his exceptional form from last season and will not risk losing out on another season without Playoff basketball. Curry and the Warriors have missed out on the Playoffs the last 2 seasons, and are more than ready to break that streak. Even if he has to do it on his own, Steph will make it happen. He is shooting more 3’s per game than in his previous seasons and is not as accurate yet as in previous seasons. If he keeps shooting this many AND lifts his shooting percentage over 40%, he will be on track for another historic season.
The Warriors clearly did their homework in the offseason. The new pieces they brought in around Steph and Draymond fit better than last year. Otto Porter and Bjelica bring that extra bit of experience they needed around the young guys and Iguodala seems 3 years younger again. To that they added some quality rookies, an Andrew Wiggins who seems more comfortable in his role as second or third fiddle on this team and a fearless Jordan Poole. He just shoots, and shoots, and shoots. If he can get a more consistent shot, he’ll become another massive shooting threat on this already loaded shooting team. If they can keep this form for a while, they’ll have plenty of time to slowly slot Klay back into the line-up when he’s ready and the Warriors will be a force to reckon with in the Playoffs.
PICK #2
Our second pick of the week is Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls. In the words of Trey Kerby from the No Dunks Podcast: “The Bulls Are Back!” Zach LaVine is leading his herd of hungry teammates to victory after victory. The Bulls are 4 and 1 with wins against the Pistons twice, the Pelicans and the Raptors. Against the Knicks, they only just missed out on the win by a point after fighting back from a 13-point deficit and keeping the Knicks scoreless in the last 3 minutes of the game. And that is exactly where the Bulls are surprising us this season, on the defensive end.
The Bulls are the fourth best defensive team in the league after 5 games, averaging less than 100 points against them. Considering their roster, that is a massive feat. With DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and LaVine they have incredible firepower on the offensive end but defensively? They are not known for going the extra mile to stop their man. But this season is different, everybody seems to be pulling their weight and Zach had already shown us at the Olympics that he actually can defend quite well. And with Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball, the Bulls did sign 2 pitbulls around the perimeter to help the bigger guys inside.
Obviously, 5 games is a very small sample size and especially against 3 of the worst teams in the league. But the Bulls have a gruelling schedule coming up, with games against the Jazz, Celtics, Sixers twice, Nets, Mavs and a 5-game road trip to some of the best teams in the West. If they’re still an over 500 win team, then we’ll really be able to say that the Bulls are back. But for now, it is exciting to see Zach LaVine play for his next big contract. With 25 points per game, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, he is on track to have the biggest year of his career. Let’s hope he can finish it with a well-deserved first appearance in the Playoffs.
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies. If Ja plays well, the Grizzlies play well, if he doesn’t, well, you fill in the blank. Ja Morant is the heart and soul of this team and he thrives on proving people wrong about him. Last season, the Grizzlies had a great season, and they were rewarded with a Playoff appearance for it, but overall the buzz around the Grizzlies was minimal. Ja was one of the best point guards in the league but his performances were put by the wayside as rookies LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards took over the spotlight. Ja had something to prove this season and he started the season all guns blazing.
With games against Cleveland, the Clippers, Lakers, Portland and the Warriors, nobody expected the Grizzlies to sit at plus 500 after 5 games, and yet, they are. And it could have been more if the Lakers, especially Carmeo Anthony, didn’t have an incredible shooting night against them. Ja is leading the league, alongside Curry, in points per game, averaging over 30 points per game. Considering he only attempts half the amount of 3’s of Curry, that is pretty impressive. Add 5 rebounds a game for a small guard and nearly 8 assists that could have been a lot more if his teammates made more of those open 3’s he gets them, this guy is on a mission to place himself in that MVP conversation. And if the Grizzlies can finish in the top 6, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be considered for the MVP.
With games against Miami, and Denver twice, the Grizzlies are probably set for a small losing streak but after that they have a stretch of 10 games that they could easily win, with the games against Phoenix and the Jazz as exceptions. This Grizzly team has improved over last year, maybe not with new names, but the existing names have gotten better. That means a top 6 spot is not unrealistic. But it will be hard. Their biggest issue last season is that they couldn’t string together a couple of wins. They were always hovering around that 500 mark. If they can go on a little winning streak early this season, that could give this young team the confidence they need to break through their ceiling early.
PICK #4
Our fourth pick of the week is Miles Bridges of the Charlotte Hornets. Going into his fourth year in the league, this big guy was due for a breakout season. And what a start to the season he had, finishing 3 out of 6 games with 30+ points, averaging over 25 points per game so far. Adding LaMelo Ball to this roster last season was a stroke of genius from the front office, and at the start of this season, that is still proving to be true. LaMelo and Bridges find each other so easily and the big man really benefits from LaMelo’s incredible passing ability. And they haven’t had the easiest of schedules either, blowing past Indiana and the Nets and only losing to Boston in overtime.
I felt really strongly about this Charlotte team as my top pick for “league-pass team of the season”. With Ball and Bridges, alongside Scary Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward, this team has a decent core. They’re not strong enough to really compete for a Playoff spot but they are good enough to make every game hard for every team they come up against. Kelly Oubre Jr might not be ready to play for a superteam, like the Warriors, but a mid-table team like the Hornets suits him fine. And for some reason, Ish Smith has turned into one of the best guards of the league in his 12th year and on his 12th team. It is finally coming together for Ish.
The Hornets were able to stay up the ladder in the Eastern Conference for quite a while last season, competing with the Knicks and the Hawks for that 4th spot. Eventually they dropped to the 10th spot, only just beating the Bulls for that last Play-In game position. Realistically, that will be the same position for them again this season but everything depends on the health of Hayward. If he stays healthy all season, they might surprise some people, but if he gets injured early, they might not even make it that high. But in the meantime, we should just enjoy the great basketball Bridges and Ball play in Charlotte.
PICK #5
Our fifth pick of the week is Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves. It seems like the Timberwolves have finally turned a corner. They have a young core of players, led by Karl-Anthony Towns and sophomore Anthony Edwards. And they are winning. After 4 games they are 3 and 1, including a win over NBA Champions Milwaukee Bucks. KAT is averaging 28 points per game and is finally playing up to his potential. After years of losing and personal struggle, this has to be the season for KAT to break through and put his name next to those of Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.
Of course, we are looking at a small sample size, but KAT’s stats are up in almost every category. He is shooting a better average, lifting his points per game total, he sees the game better, raising his assists and probably most important of all, he is trying on defense. Fighting for rebounds, blocking his opponents at the ring and grabbing steals where he can. KAT and his team mates are finally ready to show the league that they are not the silly franchise that always dangles at the bottom of the standings. They have come to play, and anything under a Play-In game position will be considered a failed season.
The biggest storyline for the Wolves this offseason, except for the dramas in the front office, was if Anthony Edwards would dethrone KAT as the main man in this franchise. Granted, the first few games of the season haven’t really answered that question but both players seem happy to share the spotlight. As long as they both play well, it doesn’t really matter who’s team it really is but this might become a factor down the line. Until then, the Wolves will have plenty of changes to prove they are legit, with games against Denver, Orlando and the Clippers twice at home, followed by a rough West Coast road trip. Let’s catch up with them again after that!
This is our All-NBA team of the Week. Please share our podcast and give us 5 stars. If you have any questions, you can contact the show on eight2fouroffice@gmail.com. Thank you for listening, ballers out!
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