James Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, where he joins fellow weirdos stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. We are awaiting word as to whether the Nets will be allowed to play with three basketballs on the court to accommodate three of the highest usage rates in all of the NBA.
This, plus the East may finally be better than the West, COVID is kinda wrecking the season, and we shed a tear for the 2021 Spurs.
The Milwaukee Bucks are still great and still play ugly basketball.
There is lots to like about the Bucks. Smallest NBA city (or second-smallest? We await the 2020 Census results). Two-time defending MVP. Various Lopezes and Connaughtons and Middletons who play well in a scheme that is, in essence, “five guys stand behind 3-point line until Giannis lowers his shoulder and knocks three defenders over as he leans out to dunk, flat-footed, from the foul line.” (Or until Giannis decides to brick a 3.)
And that is my problem with this team. Their offense is ugly. Their star gets away with Harden amounts of non-calls, travels, and ticky-tack fouls. And we’re all just waiting for them to be dropped by Boston in the playoffs.
Moving on.
The LA Lakers are winning the West. Again.
BuT MaTt tHe JaZz ArE iN 1St PlaCE In ThE WeST.
Tell me that in May.
The 76ers didn’t crater? And are kind of good?
Among the job transitions of the offseason was the LA Clippers’ long-tenured Doc Rivers being dumped. Doc then headed for the opening in Philadelphia. And SURPRISE, good coach is pretty good at minimizing gaps in player skill sets.
We are 22 games in and the Sixers are in 1st place in the East. Embiid is putting up MVP numbers (30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block per game). Ben Simmons looks playable. Philly is fun to watch!
COVID is really depleting rosters.
Go to your sports site of choice. Click on a random NBA game. Go to the list of injuries. Think about how an NBA team roster looks with 5 players per team sitting out on safety protocols. I guess it’s a good thing if you want to see your old college favorites play for 15 minutes with a -30 net rating.
I miss the bubble.
The Nets are this year’s accumulation of top-10 talent that no one wants to watch.
Pile of superstars sign with or leverage trades to the same team. Growing pains as new coach figures out usage rates and schemes. Growing pains when some of those players spend way too much time vaguebooking and passive-aggressively talking about their teammates in interviews. But ultimately, team will win a ton of games and will probably sink your favorite team by making ten three-pointers in a row in the 4th quarter. Team will eventually be routed by the Lakers in 5 games in the Finals.
Brooklyn is that team. Moving on.
Here comes the Sun(s)
The Phoenix Suns are fun, although they seem to struggle against teams with an elite center. Nevertheless, this team has Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton, so you’ll never want for showstopper moments.
Also, a shout out to WVU alum Jevon Carter. Happy to see him on a cool team.
Everyone else is as expected, more or less.
There are too many teams to recap everyone’s season. Just go watch the games, my peeps! NBA League pass is $150 for the rest of the season, and will likely drop in price again in a few weeks. Or if you are cool with always watching some permutation of Lakers/Clippers/Warriors/Bucks/Celtics, use your cable login to watch games on ESPN and TNT.
Playoff-quality teams not mentioned above: Clippers, Pacers, Nuggets, Celtics
Sad trombones not mentioned above: Spurs, Raptors, Heat, Mavericks
Everyone else: Go to theringer.com or your local newspaper of record.