Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. The first quarter of the NBA season is nearly completed, already, and the conferences are starting to take shape. In the West we can clearly see some separation between those that are really good, average and absolutely terrible. The East is not as obvious but at least we’ll know we’ll have an exciting run up to the Playoffs. In this week of thanksgiving, we have picked 5 things this season that we are thankful for because they have made the season more interesting early on. Get ready for your All-NBA Team of the Week!
PICK #1
Our first pick of the week is the rule changes. Stepping away from always favoring the offensive player has massively improved the quality of the product. Adam Silver and the NBA can pat themselves on the back for this one. By not favouring foul-hunting stars, they have completely changed the game. Guys are no longer jumping into each other when they can’t get an easy shot off and it took away a lot of frustration for defenders and opposing fans. Obviously, the likes of James Harden and Trae Young were not happy with the change but after a couple of weeks, they were able to adjust their moves as well and are performing at the top of their game.
The biggest result of the changes we can see in the total length of the game. In earlier seasons, the average game could last somewhere between 2 to 3 hours but this year we have seen games finish up in under 2 hours. The speed of the game makes it more appealing for general fans, because let’s face it, who wants to watch a 3 hour Minnesota-OKC game on an average Tuesday night? Knowing that it’ll wrap up in a couple of hours makes it a lot more bearable to change the channel.
However, it will be important for the league to keep their referees under control, because the last thing anyone wants is to completely swing back to the ways things were in the 90’s. Don’t get me wrong, I started watching basketball in the 90s and some of my best basketball memories happened in the 90s but I believe that we need to find a balance between “Jordan Rules” and the “Harden Foul”. Right now, we seem to have found that balance, so let’s try to keep it this way.
PICK #2
Our second pick of the week is the strength of the Eastern Conference teams. Basically, there are 13 teams in the East that have a shot at qualifying for the Playoffs. 13! That is unseen! Granted, not all 13 will be able to keep this fight up to the end, especially when these teams, like Cleveand, get hit by injuries, but for now, it is very interesting to follow along. Right now, the Nets sit on top of the ladder, and that is no surprise. They had a bit of a rough start to the season, but once Harden found his feet, they turned that around quickly. The Nets are followed closely by the Bulls and the Heat, two teams that improved themselves in free agency. I expected Miami to be high, but the Bulls are a surprise so far.
You would expect these 3 teams to be well in front of the rest, based on their performances so far this season but they’re not. Between the Nets and number 13, the Pacers, are only 6 games. One bad week for any of these teams, and you’ll find yourself in Play-In territory. And we still have a lot of regular season left to go, so a lot can happen. Ask the Bucks, who started the season with plenty of injuries and have been playing catch-up ever since. Or the Sixers, who led the league until Covid ripped through their roster and they almost had to play with their G-League team. The Hawks started slower than expected and are on the rise as well, winning 7 in a row now.
And that leaves us with some surprises, like the Hornets and the Wizards. Both teams still sit in the top 6 but who knows if they can hold on. The Cavs started the season really well but have dropped back a fair bit now. The Knicks are disappointing, at least, their starters are, the Celtics still have another level they could get to and the Pacers are not quite where they need to be. And finally, the Raptors are outperforming my expectations. Any of these teams can still make it to the Playoffs, any of these teams could drop out of the Play-In games spots. The East is loaded this season and it is fantastic to watch!
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is Steph Curry and the Warriors. To me, the Warriors are the surprise of the season. I expected to be better than last year, but to lead the entire league after a quarter of the season? I didn’t expect that. Yes, people point at the amount of home versus road games and the quality of the schedule but the reality is that the Warriors will only get better this season. At least, that was my prediction at the start of the season. Slowly build towards a lethal playoff team. This team is already lethal and Klay still needs to come back.
And it is not just the return of Klay, this team has a lot of assets they could use to make some moves before the trade deadline, if they would choose to. With Wiseman, Kaminga and Moody, they have 3 top-10 picks out of the last 2 drafts that surely would interest plenty of teams around the league. They have veteran roleplayers that have shown the league they are not finished yet, like Porter and Bjelica. Andrew Wiggins is finally balling out, being the second or third guy on a team suits him better than leading a roster. Add to this their first round draft picks in the next couple of drafts and the Warriors can put quite a package on the trade table.
But they don’t need it right now. Steph Curry is playing at MVP level and absolutely killing it out there. This is the season he will show everyone that he doesn’t need the help of another superstar to win a title. Just like in 2015, before KD showed up. The Championships he shared with KD, meant he had to share the glory as well. And haters started a narrative that Steph couldn’t do it on his own. This year, especially after 2 lost seasons, Steph is hungry. He wants it more than anyone else this year and the Warriors will do what they can to make it happen. And it will be great to watch!
PICK #4
Our fourth pick of the week is struggling contenders. The Nets took a while to get going, the Bucks are still playing catch-up, the Suns were 1 and 3 before winning 15 games in a row, the Sixers and the Nuggets are plummeting in the standings due to covid-woes and injuries, but most of all, the Lakers are really struggling to turn it on. Of course, you would hope every team to be playing to the best of their abilities but for the excitement during the season, a bit of struggle only adds to the tension. If these Championship contenders still need to battle for position at the end of the season, more games will be fun to watch.
The Nets have already turned it around and sit on top of the ladder in the East. The Bucks are on their way, winning 6 in a row and back in a Playoff spot. The Suns have returned to the second spot in the West and look stronger than ever. As you can tell, most of these contenders have already put a stop to their struggles and placed themselves back into contention. For the Nuggets, this might be a lost season, and the Sixers, I’m sure, will return to the top as well once they have their full roster back and deal with Ben Simmons.
That leaves us with the Lakers. They’re the only team with Championship dreams that can’t seem to figure out how to win the easiest games. Faster than ever before, this team has turned into a Westbrook team. They win when he is good, but lose when he’s not. And unfortunately, he hasn’t been that great yet this season. But as we all know, Westbrook starts slow. I’m expecting these Lakers to be at full steam after Christmas, finally showing us what kind of team they can be. Their biggest problem though, will be their positioning. Right now, they sit in 8th place. Where will they be once they get going? How much ground will they need to cover? That’s what makes struggling contenders so interesting to watch!
PICK #5
Our fifth pick of the week are coaching changes. I’m not an advocate for high turnover among coaches but I do encourage teams bringing in fresh eyes to maximize their roster potential. There were 7 coaching changes before the start of this season and we saw 1 coach fired earlier this month. Even for someone who encourages fresh eyes, that’s a lot of changes. This doesn’t mean that these are all new coaches in the NBA. No, the Pacers signed Rick Carlisle, who left Dallas, and Dallas ended up signing Jason Kidd who had a stint as Head Coach in Minnesota before. And, of course, the Kings assigned Alvin Gentry as interim-coach after firing Luke Walton. But for the other ones, this is their first go as a head coach.
Ime Udoka in Boston, who gained experience as an assistant under Pop at San Antonio and Team USA. Willie Green in New Orleans, who made it to the NBA Finals 4 out of his 5 years as assistant coach for the Warriors and the Suns. Jamahl Mosley in Orlando, overlooked by his team of 7 years Dallas and put down by his former head coach Carlisle but deserving to have his turn at the wheel nonetheless. Chauncey Billups in Portland, finally settling for a future on the bench after trying out in front offices and media positions after his successful career as a player. And Wes Unseld Jr in Washington, who is following in his father’s footsteps after 16 long years as an assistant around the league.
Unfortunately, for some of these guys their fate may already be sealed. If they can’t perform with their new teams and get the sack, they might not be able to coach in the NBA again. The most recent example is Nate Bjorkgren who was fired from the Pacers last season and is unlikely to get another opportunity as head coach in the NBA. Mostly in danger are Mosley in Orlando and Green in New Orleans. And you can add Stephen Silas in Houston as a second year coach to that list. But they have to take the risk to get their opportunity to show they are good coaches. As long as we get to see good basketball coming out of those places, we know the coach is not the problem and it only contributes to the excitement around the league.
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!
Comments