Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. Our small sample size is slowly getting bigger and we’re starting to see some shifts in the league. The Warriors are getting stronger every game and the Lakers seem to be getting worse. The Nets have found their groove, and their neighbours from New York City seem to have a better bench than a starting five. The Clippers are deceivingly strong and the Pelicans are a total dumpster fire. We selected five players from teams that have overachieved this week. Some of those were expected, others a total surprise. Get ready for your All-NBA Team of the Week!
PICK #1
Our first pick of the week is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are on a 4 game winning streak, beating the struggling Lakers, the Spurs, the Pelicans and the Kings. Not the most difficult schedule but these are the teams that everybody expected OKC to lose to. These are teams that are going to be fighting for Play-In positions in the West, maybe not so much the Lakers, but the other 3 definitely, and OKC beating these teams puts them in the mix all of a sudden to make the Play-In games. In fact, they’re only 2 games behind a spot in the top 6 right now. Granted, the season is still long and there is plenty of time to tank later on but considering they’re already 4 games up on Houston and New Orleans, and have a roster that really clicks already, the Thunder might be adjusting their goals early on.
SGA is the driving force behind this Thunder team, averaging 22.5 points, over 5 rebounds and nearly 4 and a half assists per game. He has improved every aspect of his game, he is shooting more, especially 3’s, he is grabbing more rebounds and dishing out more dimes than ever before and doing it in 35 minutes per game. If he can lift his shooting averages to what they were last season, he’ll be banking up even more points. Shai is scorching hot right now, and I can’t imagine the Thunder deciding to sit him down halfway through the season like they did last year. Especially because he is not the only one playing at a high level. Luguentz Dort is playing really well, Darius Bazley looks better than last season and rookie Josh Giddey is putting his name in the hat for Rookie of the Year consideration.
This young core is over performing early on, and could change the trajectory for GM Sam Presti and his war chest of draft picks. They have the luxury of creating a winning culture in OKC, letting the young guys play for every win, and still find a way to get to the top of the draft board. With all the pieces he has available, Presti should be able to trade his way to the top pick over the next few drafts. This way, the Thunder could potentially be playing competitive playoff basketball in less than 3 years. And wouldn’t that be a shock to everyone around the league!
PICK #2
Our second pick of the week is Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns. After a difficult start, losing 3 out of 4 games, the Suns have now won 7 games in a row, led by Chris Paul and Devin Booker. Paul started off slow this season, and the whole team suffered. After a very difficult Playoff run last season, with many little injuries, Paul needed time to recover before the start of the season. It took him 4 games to finally find his form and now that he has, the Suns are on fire. Their winning streak has brought them back to the top region of the Western Conference, sitting behind the unbeatable Warriors. It’s the same position they finished in last season, and it is exactly where they want to be.
It’s no secret that Paul is approaching the final stages of his career. At 36 years old, he has over 1,100 games under his belt. There are only 4 other active NBA players that have played more. Obviously LeBron, but also Carmelo, Iguodala and Dwight Howard. But with a contract that could run to 2025, Paul still has plenty of time left to catch up on these guys and to finally add that ring to his massive collection of individual stats. One record he already claimed this season, becoming the first NBA player in history with 20,000 points and 10,000 assists. And with nearly 10,400 assists he is now third in all-time assists for his career, following Jason Kidd, and John Stockton who leads everyone with 15,806 assists. Catching him will be impossible, unless Paul does a Tom Brady and plays well into his 40’s.
But individual stats don’t mean anything unless he has that ring. That is the main goal for the Suns this season. They were so close last year, and most people around the league believe that it was the one and only opportunity for the Suns to get it. There is just too much competition in the West to get to the Finals back to back. But with so many of the contenders in the West struggling early on, it could well be that the Suns get there again after all, given that they can stay healthy themselves. Ayton is listed as questionable for their upcoming game against Houston. Either way, the Suns are hot right now and will try to keep this form right up until the end of June.
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls. After starting the season 6 and 1, they lost twice against the Philly role-players and everybody assumed that the Bulls would come back to Earth and turn into a normal thing. But DeMar DeRozan is refusing to lay down and is, so far, playing the best season out of his career. After those losses, they beat the Nets and Dallas but finished the week with a humble loss against who else but the Warriors. With a West Coast trip to both LA teams, Portland and Denver, the Bulls now have a chance to improve on their record again, since most of those teams are battling through their own struggles. The Clippers and Denver could be tough customers but the Blazers and the Lakers should be a cakewalk for DeRozan, LaVine and the rest.
DeRozan is averaging 25 points per game, 5.5 rebounds and nearly 4 assists. He’s shooting a lot more 3’s than throughout his career and making them at a much higher percentage. He has completely transformed his game and is looking a lot more like the DeRozan who was an East Coast All-Star when he played in Toronto. Maybe the weather in San Antonio was too nice for him and he prefers the colder climate? He is definitely bringing the heat to Chicago. His passion on the court is pushing his teammates to career highs themselves and the Bulls are looking more and more like Playoff candidates as we’re progressing through the season.
And Playoff basketball is what the city of Chicago is craving. It’s been 5 years since the Bulls made the Playoffs and 7 since they made it past the first round. It has been more than 10 years ago since Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng lost against the Heatles. And we’ll continue without touching on the double three peat in the 90’s, go watch the Last Dance on Netflix if you want more details there. The city of Chicago has been frustrated for nearly 20 years and I’m not saying that this team will change everything but at least there is hope again in the windy city. And if they don’t get where they need to be, at least they have the pieces now to make better moves.
PICK #4
Our fourth pick of the week is Montrezl Harrell of the Washington Wizards. The Wizards are possibly the biggest surprise of the season so far, winning their last 4 games and leading the Eastern Conference. Yes, you heard that right, they are on top of their Conference. Less than three years ago, this team had no prospects and no future. Their salary cap was held hostage by an injured superstar. Obviously, John Wall didn’t injure himself on purpose but he had the biggest salary on the team and played not a single minute since the start of 2019. When the Wizards appointed Tommy Sheppard as new GM in April 2019, things changed. He selected Rui Hachimura in his first draft, traded the untradeable John Wall for Russell Westbrook in his second offseason and now this year, he flipped the Westbrook contract to the Lakers for 3 fantastic role players. It is safe to say that Tommy Sheppard is a genius.
One of those role players is Montrezl Harrell, who made a name for himself by slamming the door on the Clippers and signing for the Lakers. He was also the guy who blames Kawhi and PG for the bad chemistry on that Clippers team. He was never able to insert himself in that Lakers team and he wasn’t the same guy that won Sixth Man of the Year earlier. When the Westbrook trade came about, Harrell was very excited to get another chance to prove himself, well away from LA. Together with Kyle Kuzma and KCP, he is now proving to be very valuable for the Wizards. Coming off the bench he is averaging 18 points per game, 9 rebounds and nearly 2 assists. These are better numbers than when he became Sixth Man.
Without Beal, they won against Orlando earlier today, after beating the Bucks and the Cavs earlier in the week. Harrell is not the only one performing at high level, with Kuzma and Dinwiddie playing exceptionally as well. This is the first time in years that Bradley Beal has some support around him. Yes, last year with Westbrook, things went well in the second half of the season but this is different. The Wizards are playing as a team, with Harrell absolutely dominating on the second unit. This roster is deep, it is young, and it is built perfectly to help Beal win some games. No, they’re not a contender yet, but at the speed Tommy Sheppard is upgrading this team, it won’t take long.
PICK #5
Our fifth pick of the week is Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are missing Jamal Murray this season and are relying on Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Junior to get to the Playoffs. They even signed MPJ to $145 million over 5 years to prove their confidence in the young guy. But, as it happens enough in Denver, disaster struck. MPJ hadn't been playing like himself at all since the start of the season and it turns out that he has re-injured his back. An injury that kept him off the court his entire rookie season. Denver had to go back to the drawing board this week, and rethink their strategy to make it to the Playoffs.
And that strategy is simple, get the ball to Joker. Jokic is averaging 25 points per game, 14 rebounds and 6 assists. He is playing better than last season, when he won the MVP, and he is doing it in less minutes on the court too. Jokic is more aggressive, more present and more dominant than ever before, because he has to be. In that sense, these injuries have come at a perfect time, because Jokic is ready to be that dominant force in, and around, the arc. That he is more aggressive we saw against Miami, where he retaliated on a cheap shot from Markieff Morris, shoving him in the back. The response of someone who wants to send out a message that he is not to be messed with, someone who is ready to take it all the way. He did get ejected and a suspension as punishment but that didn’t bother The Joker.
Without his 2 elite companions, Jokic needs his other teammates to step up. And in the game against Indiana, when Jokic was suspended, they showed us that they are ready to back up the big man. In a tight game, Will Barton was very accurate from deep, and scored a total of 30 points, including 6 of 9 from deep. And Aaron Gordon, even though he didn’t score much against the Pacers, has already shown us this season that his athleticism and effort on the court goes a long way. I’m not worried about this Denver team, Jokic and the rest will get this team to the Playoffs, and when Murray and MPJ return, they will be ready to make a run at the title. Maybe not this year, but soon enough.
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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