Eight 2 Four Presents: All-NBA Team of the Week - Episode 04: Great Players On Not-So-Great Teams

Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. Today, we take a closer look at the best players on the five teams at the bottom of the league. Except for the Grizzlies and the Wizards, most teams have completed 18 games or a quarter of this short season. At the top of the league there are not many surprises so far but that's different at the bottom of the league. The Wizards were expected to fight for a Play-Off spot, like last season, but sit at the bottom of the ladder. Just above them sit the Wolves and the Pistons but that shouldn't be a shock to anyone. The biggest upset of the season so far are the other two teams: the Raptors and the Heat. Coming of last season's NBA Finals, the Heat have been plagued by injuries, their star Jimmy Butler has only been able to play 7 games so far this season, but the Raptors? They have just been bad.

PICK #1

My first pick this week is Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards. Beal needs no introduction, he is by far the best player on a bad team and has been so for a few years now. This season he is leading the league in points, averaging more than 34 points a game. He already had a 60-point game, two 40-point games and another game that he finished with 39 points. What makes these stats even more impressive is that Beal has to do it on his own. Westbrook averages almost 10 assists per game but only has played 10 games. There's a big drop-off after that in assists from Beal's team mates. He has to create his own shot, over and over again. But Beal is a professional and refuses to speak ill of this team mates and his franchise. He did express his frustration after the loss against the Pelicans when he said: "Is the sky blue?" when asked if he was getting frustrated. He made 47 points in that loss, making it now ten straight losses in which Beal scores 40 or more points.

Beal needs help, that is clear. Unfortunately, the guy lined up to be that help this season is now putting up impressive performances in Houston. John Wall was traded before the season for Russell Westbrook, because Wizards' front office saw Wall as a problem. Trading for Westbrook didn't seem like a gamble, in fact, I thought it was a great move from Washington to improve on last season but Westbrook is not his usual self. Whatever happened to him last year during the bubble, Covid and injuries, has really taken a toll on him.

The other players on the team are disappointing as well. Bertans was given a huge contract during free agency but is not shooting nearly as well as he did in the past. Second-year player Rui Hachimura has not made a leap yet. Rookie Advija is doing ok but he will not change the course of a game. On top of that, big man Thomas Bryant got injured, making it even harder for the Wizards to win any games. And finally, contract-tracing has made it really hard for them to even just get a practice in, in between games. Even though they weren't expecting this at the start of the season, the Wizards might be looking at trading Beal really soon. If this situation doesn't improve quickly, Beal's patience will run out.

PICK #2

My second pick for this week's team is Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves. This pick is a bit more difficult to defend because KAT only played 4 games so far this season and none of them were this week. But is anybody else on the Wolves roster playing well enough to be picked for a Team of the Week? D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley lead the team in stats but haven't really impressed anyone yet this season. In the four games KAT played this season, he ended each time with a double-double and tries to push his team to get those wins. It's not a coincidence that the Wolves won 2 of the 4 games that KAT played, half of their total wins for the season.

To say that KAT has had a rough 12 months is more than an understatement. He has lost his mother and six other family members to Covid-19 and on January 19th he tested positive for Covid himself. He hasn't played since and it is unclear when he will return again. There doesn't seem to be anyone else in the team that can stand up and lead this team away from the bottom of the Western Conference. Last season they won the draft lottery and picked Anthony Edwards with the number 1 pick but even he is not playing at the same level as other rookies around the league.

And the worst is yet to come for the Wolves, because it looks very real they'll end up as the worst team in the league this year but chances are high that they won't even end up with a draft pick. They traded their draft pick in the Wiggins-Russell trade with the Warriors last season. It is top-3 protected but chances are that the bottom team doesn't end up in the top-3. As bad as it looks this season, I'm afraid it could look a lot worse next year. Unless KAT returns as the monster he can be and will his team to win some games.

PICK #3

The third pick this week is Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons. He surprised pretty much everyone during free agency when he signed for the Pistons instead of resigning with the Nuggets. Most people were worried he is not capable of being the number 1 on any team but he is proving everyone wrong, being the only bright spark in the Pistons engine. His stats are way up from his career-averages now he is unleashed and he is backing it up by playing efficiently.

He has the same problem as KAT, he doesn't have the team mates to help him win any games. The biggest names on the team, Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose are really struggling to keep their health up. Both players relied on their athleticism during their career to beat opponents and their bodies have caught up with them, I don't want to say they're washed up because they still have their place in the league but they need to be able to play in more supportive roles on a winning roster. Other than those 2, the Pistons are counting on Delon Wright, who came over from the Mavericks and Wayne Ellington, who struggled to come off the bench for the Knicks last season.

The Pistons are doomed to sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, they're the only team so far that everyone has written off to fight for the Play-in game. Hopefully they can surround Grant with some more talent next year or he might start to regret his decision to become the number 1 on a bad team.

PICK #4

The fourth pick this week is OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors. I could have gone with one of their three major players: Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam or Fred VanVleet but because of their horrendous record so far, I have decided to go with their rising star. It has been hard to find the good moments in Raptors games this season. They only have 7 wins out of 19 games, making them the fourth worst team in the league. Every time it looks like they finally turned it around, they lose again.

Back to OG Anunoby. He is averaging almost 15 points per game, nearly double of his young career average. He has really taken a leap this season, and he is showing the Raptors front office that he is the future of the franchise. Knowing that Masai Ujiri is not scared of trading franchise players, Siakam and Lowry could be playing elsewhere by the end of this season.

OG is currently out with a calf strain but is expected to return in either one of the upcoming games against the Magic. He is looking to boost his stats and claim the throne as Prince of the North. If he can, and Siakam, Lowry and VanVleet find their normal form, the Raptors will still make it to the Play-Offs. And if they do, you never know where they can end up.

PICK #5

The final pick this week is Bam Adebayo from the Miami Heat. The Heat were the biggest surprise in the bubble last season, and I'm sure everyone - except Laker-fans - wanted them to take it all the way. But a long, strange season and an incredible run to the Finals took the most out of the Heat. Now, three months later, they're still struggling to get their guys ready to play. Jimmy Butler only managed to play seven games so far this season, most of them at the start of the season when they were running at 50% winning percentage. Once he was out, the Heat started losing most games.

The revelation of last season, for my personally, was Bam Adebayo and he is confirming his abilities this year. In Butler's absence he has stepped up and lead his team as best as he can. He is averaging 20 points, just under 10 rebounds and 5 and a half assists per game. His field goal percentage is nearly 60% and he has managed 2 double-doubles in his last 2 games. He is proving that he will be a real problem for Giannis and Embiid in the near future and the previous finals run will definitely not be his last one. Together with Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro, the Heat have a strong core for the future, when Jimmy decides it is time to move on.

The Heat currently sit fifth from the bottom of the ladder but absolutely nobody is expecting them to stay there. They will find their rhythm later this season and work their way into the Play-Offs, whether it is through the Play-In game or a top six finish. The Heat are never finished and they will keep working until they get what they want.

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!