Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. Something that stood out to me over the last week is how a lot of players that have something to prove this season are standing up and making their statement. For example, someone who is dominating the league on their position, making a claim on this season's MVP and was almost selected for the 2nd time in our Team of the Week, Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia Sixers is finally playing as hard as he can. He is showing that we wants it all this season and if he can keep this up and have his team mates buy into him, they might just do it. All my picks this week, are players that have something to prove this season.
PICK #1
My first pick of the week is Donovan Mitchell, All-Star guard of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are the number two in Western Conference right now, after winning eight games in a row, including victories against the Bucks, Denver and Golden State. The engine behind this winning streak? You guessed it, Donovan Mitchell. He's been leading his team mates with great performances and strong plays on the court. The only time he struggled a bit was against Denver, where he went 0 for 7 from 3 but his team mate Jordan Clarkson stepped up with a great performance off the bench. Clarkson is well on track to put his name on this season's Sixth Man Trophy. It just shows how the Jazz have finally found a rotation that works because all players are doing their part in winning these games.
Mitchell's biggest criticism in his short career has been that he puts up great numbers but that he is just not good enough to carry the Jazz all the way to the Finals. This was repeated this week by Shaq, during a post-game interview on NBA TV with Mitchell after his 36-point effort in a win against the Pelicans. "You are one of my favourite players but you don't have what it takes to get to the next level", Shaq said. Mitchell's response simply was: "Aight...". Donovan Mitchell has been pushed into the role of underdog since his rookie year and he is ready to finally step out of that role this season.
Earlier this week he became the fastest player to make 600 3-pointers, he needed only 240 games. Four games less than Buddy Hield, who held the record before him. Mitchell is hungry to prove that he can lead his team to the Finals, especially after their painful exit from the Play-Offs last season and his team is ready to back him up.
PICK #2
The second pick of the week is Collin Sexton from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs started the season red-hot and surprised pretty much everyone in the league with the backcourt Sexland. Sexton, and his running mate Darius Garland, have stunned some good teams already, like the Sixers and this week the Nets. Twice.
The Nets coming to Ohio was supposed to be the return of the lost son Kyrie Irving. This was only the second time Kyrie played in Cleveland since his trade to Boston three years ago, which got the Cavs the Sexton pick in the 2018 draft, and he was ready to put on a show. Kyrie took the most shots on his star-studded team and ended the game with 37 points. But it all faded in comparison to Collin Sexton's efforts on the other end of the court. Sexton finished with 42 points, 15 of those were in second overtime including four 3's that he shot over the top of Kyrie. A fantastic effort, that he followed up with another win over Brooklyn two days later.
The Cavs are fun to watch and have the numbers to back it up. They're 10 and 8 and sit in sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. Considering where they come from, this is very impressive. It was only last year that Kevin Love was begging to be traded and now he is dancing on the sidelines when SexLand is running hot again. The Cleveland roster is filled with Bigs so we can expect the front office to make some changes soon to fit some more pieces around their backcourt. They did a good job already, pulling in Allen and Prince from the Nets. The Cavs might make it to the Play-Offs this season, and so far, it would be well deserved.
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls. Zach has been playing with a lot of confidence under new head coach Billy Donovan. His numbers are up across the board but his shooting from within the 3-point line stands out, he is getting over 60% on those attempts. And he's averaging just under 40% on about nine 3's per game.
The Bulls had a rough start to the season, trying to implement new ideas in a practically unchanged roster. On top of that they had to miss Markkanen for a while. But LaVine has been playing at All-Star level all season and has pulled his team mates through. Right now, they're 7 and 9 and just outside the top 8 in the East. They're definitely one of the main contenders to get into the Play-In game which is higher than most people expected them to be this season.
This season is important for LaVine, he really has to prove that he is capable of being a number 1 option on a team. At the moment, he is doing just that. He is playing like a superstar and is proving to be one of the most lethal scorers in the NBA. He is involving his team mates more and more into his game and they're grateful for it. They're trusting him to take over games and expect him to finish it for them. The Bulls could end up being a surprise by the end of this season, and if they are, it will be because of Zach LaVine. That, or a contender might come knocking to add him to their championship roster.
PICK #4
My fourth pick is Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets. As one of the best players to ever play the game, KD doesn't need much introduction but he was one of the biggest question marks before the season started, coming off a major injury. But here he is, playing at the same level as before his injury. Only this time he is doing it on his own team, making it even more impressive.
It is his team, of course, but he's not the only good player on the team. After the Harden-Nets trade, Brooklyn had their own version of an East Coast All-Star team. James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are -offensively- 3 of the best players to have ever played the game, and now they're playing on the same team. Their strategy to win games is simple: score at least one bucket more than the opposition. When you have three guys that can score at will, that seems like a pretty good plan of attack but defensively, they will have to stop teams from turning their strategy against them, like Cleveland did this week.
KD and Harden played really well together at the start of the week, putting up unseen numbers for players that have just joined a new team but the return of Kyrie seems to have complicated things a bit. It did make one thing clear to me, though, and that is that KD is definitely the main man on this team and the rest will have to follow.
He is ready to take this team all the way and he won't stop until he has that Championship and Finals MVP on his own team. He is done sharing and will take what is his. For now, I can only see two things that can stop him. Will his body hold up until the end of the season? A ruptured Achilles is not something you shake off easily. And secondly, will his buddy Kyrie be able to keep his cool until the end of the season? Both are huge questions that nobody can answer for now but KD is grinding away, and doesn't let it bother him.
PICK #5
The final pick for the team of the week is Kristaps Porzingis from the Dallas Mavericks. KP is in his second year with the Mavs and, after last season, it has become clear as day that he will have to settle for the number 2 option on this team. His teammate, Luka Doncic, is a generational talent and is almost unstoppable. KP was dubbed "The Unicorn" after being drafted by the New York Knicks and was supposed to be their franchise cornerstone. But the Knicks are the Knicks and now KP is in Dallas, getting comfortable in his new role on this outsider team.
Dallas has been careful so far with their star because KP is injury prone. He has already missed ten games so far this season due to injury or injury management. But the Mavs really need KP playing next to Luka. Together they are so dangerous on the court. Luka's amazing passes seem to find KP every time he is open, and he can shoot it better than any other Big in this league. So far he's averaging 20 points per game and grabbing 8 rebounds.
Together, these two youngsters have a bright future in the NBA and will wreak havoc over the next few years, starting with this season. They'll make it into the Play-Offs again and are aiming higher than last year's painful exit against the Clippers in the first round. Dallas is planning to give everyone a taste of what could happen each year in the next decade. But we need KP to stay healthy!
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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