Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. This is it people, the end of the line. We have made it. By the time you hear this, the regular season will be finished. We’ve seen very little surprises in this last week, most positions have been decided and we can start focusing our attention on the Play-In games that will take place later this week. Especially the Eastern Conference Play-In games, where Brooklyn look to take that number 7 spot and secure their spot in the Playoffs early on for a series with Milwaukee. But we’ll go into more detail next week. This week, we finish off the regular season going over some of the biggest things we’ve seen throughout the season. Get ready for your All-NBA Team of the Week!
PICK #1
Our first pick of the week is the biggest performance of the season by a team. The Phoenix Suns were the strongest team in the regular season, no doubt about it. They have won 64 games, likely to make it 65 after their last game against Sacramento, and no other team even cracked 60 wins this season. Their winning percentage is nearly .800, that means that they pretty much win 8 out of 10 games, every time they play. They have one of the best offenses in the league and nobody beats them in crunch time. They’re also one of the best defensive teams in the league, only trailing the Celtics in defensive rating on NBA.com. For many, the Suns’ last season was a bit of fluke, they made it all the way through to the Finals based on luck. Well, if anyone still believes the Suns are lucky, it’s time to change your perspective.
The Suns are where they are thanks to meticulous planning in the front office. When GM James Jones took over in Phoenix, first as interim in October 2018 and made permanent in April 2019, the Suns were a mess. They were barely winning any games, Ayton got suspended on drug charges, Booker was perceived around the league as the best example of a “good stat, bad team” player. But then, slowly, things started rolling. The Suns played an average season in the bubble year, which was already a surprise and were invited to Orlando to participate in the “Bubble”. They won 8 games in a row and missed the NBA Bubble Playoffs by a hair. That was the first sign the Suns had turned a corner. In that offseason, they traded for Chris Paul and the rest is history. Banged up after a long season, and some difficult Playoff series, the Suns fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in last year’s Playoffs.
At the start of this season, many are scared to write down the Suns as favourites to come out of the West, especially after losing 3 out of their first 4 games. “The Warriors would get their guys back together, the Jazz could finally make their run, the Lakers have signed Westbrook to complete their big 3 and win another championship.” Looking back on that now, it was all bullshit. The Suns went on an 18 game winning streak, took the lead in the West and never looked back. Yes, the West was disrupted this year and will potentially be stronger next year, but the Suns are here to stay. With Devin Booker and Chris Paul, they have 2 potential MVP’s running the back court. Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton are 2 future Defensive Players of the Year, and especially Bridges should be considered this season. Cam Johnson is a solid candidate for Sixth Player of the Year, and they have the best head coach in the league in Monty Williams. This Suns team is the number 1 candidate to win the NBA Finals this season, and if GM Jones plays his cards right, the Suns could be in the running for the next decade, or at least until Booker is all played out.
PICK #2
Our second pick of the week is the biggest disappointment of the season by a team. The LA Lakers have played a horrible season, especially because at the start they announced they would be able to contend for the title. In the offseason they made a major move, bringing Russell Westbrook to LA, bringing him home, to play alongside AD and LeBron to become the most feared big 3 in years. Well, that scenario didn’t exactly pan out. This Lakers team was mocked all around the league, in every game they played. Rarely, they were able to compete with anyone, and one of the lowlights of the season was in Sacramento, when the home fans, who have seen some bad teams in recent history, were heckling the Lakers and chanting: “you’re as cold as ice” everytime Westbrick took a shot.
The fit just wasn’t right between LeBron and Westbrook, it happens. But looking at everything they sacrificed to bring Westbrook in, more due diligence was necessary. Rumours are going around that it was LeBron who put his foot down and asked for Westbrook. Whether or not that is true shouldn’t matter. LeBron doesn’t own the team or control the franchise. This decision is on the heads of Vice President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss. They should have known this wasn’t the right trade to make and even IF LeBron demanded it, they should have been strong enough to say no. The result of the trade was that the Lakers couldn’t afford to surround their “Big 3” with the role players needed to help. All they could do was sign washed up vets on minimum contracts. Now, Carmelo still proves he has his place in this league, maybe even Dwight, but the likes of Wayne Ellington, Avery Bradley, Kent Bazemore? All good guys in their primes but not the caliber of role player you’d expect on a championship-winning team.
The consequences of this abomination of a season is massive. This will definitely influence the GOAT debate, with Jordan playing in 60 and 82 games in his final seasons with the Wizards at 38/39 and LeBron not even making it to the required 58 to claim the scoring title at 37. It has repercussions on AD, who is losing his status as future superstar of the league. The guy is exceptional when he is healthy, but is he ever healthy? And is he capable of leading a team, if LeBron would ever decide to retire? This season raised more questions than answers for AD. This season is possibly the end of Westbrook in the NBA. People were already wondering in Houston and Washington but he was able to turn it on in time to stop the narrative. This season he couldn’t and even though he has a year left on his contract, chances of him playing again on a winning team are next to nothing. And last, but not least, this will lead to the firing of a very good coach, who was put in an untenable position. Luckily, Frank Vogel has a good reputation around the league and he’ll be able to get another coaching gig. If he was less experienced, his time could have been over forever. It will be interesting to see how the Lakers approach the offseason to fix this massive mess. But in the meantime: 1,2,3 Cancun!
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is the biggest surprise of the season by a team. The Memphis Grizzlies have surprised friend and foe around the league with their fantastic basketball and have brought Grit and Grind back to Memphis. For the first time since 2013, the Grizzlies have a chance to make it to the Western Conference Finals. Back then, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince and the rest were beaten in a 4-0 sweep against the San Antonio Spurs, who went on to lose the NBA Finals to the Heatles. This season, we could see a eerily similar scenario unfold for the Grizzlies, who could go on the Western Conference, get swept by the Suns, who could potentially meet the Heat in the Finals. But that’s just one of many different scenarios.
The biggest success for the Grizzlies this season has come because of their team spirit. This team plays together like no other, and they sacrifice themselves for the success of others. That has resulted in a massive 20-4 record without star player Ja Morant. I don’t believe there is another team this season that has performed so well, when their most important player is out. And the Grizzlies don’t have any stars other than Morant. Yes, Jaren Jackson Jr is a star in the making, but he is far from the level Morant is playing on. These Grizzlies are just happy to play together and want to win every time they set foot on the floor. No matter who is playing or who they’re versing. They have brought a college attitude to the NBA, and have already learned not to take themselves too seriously, without underestimating their opponents. Desmond Bane described it best how the Grizzlies feel about anyone when he said that LeBron’s footsteps don’t scare anyone.
Obviously, this Grizzlies team has very little experience in the Playoffs. Last season, they made it to the first round after surviving against the Warriors in the Play-In games, but the Jazz were just too strong for them. It is a big question mark how these young guys will hold up when things actually matter. They will meet the first team out of the Play-In, most likely the Timberwolves or potentially the Clippers. The Wolves themselves don’t have any experience in the Playoffs so that will be a very interesting match-up. But if they do meet the Clippers and all of a sudden PG AND Kawhi return to the court, they could have a problem. But, like I said, these Grizzlies are not scared of anyone and are keen to keep on surprising everyone so hopefully we do see them in a Conference Finals against the Suns. And who knows?
PICK #4
Our fourth pick of the week is the biggest individual accomplishment. Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. This man is your league MVP, no matter what the voting will say. He is the only player in NBA history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season, and many statpadders have tried over the years. And, more importantly, he has led the Denver Nuggets to a Playoff spot. Currently sitting in 6th, tied with the Jazz in 5th, they have a chance to pass the Jazz in the last game of the season. All they need is a win over the Lakers and the Jazz to lose against Portland. Not sure whether or not I’d want to win or not because it will be a choice between Dallas and Golden State, no present either way. But a match up between Jokic and Doncic would be fun for the European fans.
After being in a tight battle with Giannis and Embiid, now that we have pretty much finished the regular season, it is time to decide who will be the league’s MVP. And even now, a lot of opinions are divided. Like I said, to me, this is not a difficult decision to make. Jokic has performed in each and every game he played in and has played more games overall than the other 2. Not to mention, all 3 teams these guys play on have won more or less the same amount of games. Milwaukee will likely finish with 52, Philly with 51 and Denver with 49. Considering Jokic had to carry his team on his own all season, where these other 2 superstars had at least some help, makes it all more impressive. And Jokic leads the league in different obscure stats that make a very compelling case: Win Shares, Value over Replacement Player, Box Score Plus/Minus, Player Efficiency Rating, you name it.
Jokic was drafted by the Nuggets in the second round back in 2014, he was the forty-first pick. Back then, nobody expected him to grow into this guy. He nearly averaged a double double in his first season, finishing with 10 points and 7 rebounds a game. In his following 6 seasons, he only missed out on that double double twice, by less than half of a rebound on both occasions. Jokic has improved year upon year upon year and has now reached the pinnacle of league stardom, at 27 years old. It is too bad that Jamal Murray was injured all season, because it would have been interesting to see where Denver would have finished with him on the court. Surely, this MVP debate wouldn’t be a debate, I’d imagine Denver to sit much much closer to the Suns. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find out next season!
PICK #5
Our fifth pick of the week is the biggest embarrassing story hanging over the league during the season. Players are not playing full seasons, especially star players are sitting out more and more games. After the Board of Governors’ meeting, Adam Silver said that one of his primary concerns is a trend of star players not participating in a full complement of games. Obviously, injuries will always be the main cause of players not being able to play a full season, but I believe there is a bigger issue at hand. Right now, it’s fairly obvious that the players that sit out more games than others, regardless of injuries, are the players with a big influence within their franchise, be it through their importance on the roster or their contract situation. The biggest examples here are Kawhi, LeBron, James Harden, Ben Simmons, and Kyrie, although he really doesn’t care whether or not he is in control. Kyrie does Kyrie.
Players that are getting closer to the end of their contract have less opportunity to sit out, they need to play for their next big paycheck. And if roleplayers would start skipping games on purpose, they’d be out of the league in no time. So, in my eyes, this issue of star players not participating in a full complement of games, as Silver said it, is more an issue between the owners holding on to an 82-game regular season, and the star players claiming they need more rest to be able to win a championship. If we look at it that way, really, the owners need to sit down and decide what is more important to them: 41 home games or the chance at a championship. If the majority goes for the home games, this is what I would expect, then that needs to be made clear in the next CBA, so players are less likely to sit out random games. The result, of course, could be that we see the quality of Playoff basketball drop because star players could be tired. Then again, that might not happen either, I mean, these guys are incredible athletes after all. If they do decide to protect Playoff basketball, then we have taken the first step towards a shortened regular season. I’ve made this point in a previous podcast, less games overall, means more competitive games throughout the season.
I’m not going to give you my solution again, if you want to hear it, listen to the Storytime podcast I recorded a couple of weeks ago. But it is clear that the NBA has reached a breaking point. Nobody is happy, not the owners who are having to deal with angry fans when superstars are not showing up enough, and not the players who get injured more often or are simply too tired to play. The whole Ben Simmons situation this season, and James Harden forcing his way out of 2 teams in the last 2 years, have accelerated the problem. Hopefully we will see a proper solution soon, before we have more similar situations happening around the league. It is possible we could already see something ugly happening this offseason, with either Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell or Bradley Beal forcing their way out of their franchises.
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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