We will go too. It’s been NBA season, and as usual, the league has taken no time to gratify our intentions.
LeBron James and the new-look 76ers He lost a ring last night to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are knocking the boots easily on the floor and leaving Victor Wembanyama with a crisis of confidence. Anthony Edwards scored 45 points in an easy victory over the Heat as Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped the Timberwolves left carrying the burden of his new team.
We’re a few days into the marathon and it already feels like we’re content – like anything could happen. But what will happen? What are we to believe in uncultivated times with which figures I will explain?
What follows is a list of specific items (not to be confused with we dare to predict). Here’s a compilation of what you can watch in the NBA this season.
Tyrese Maxey will lead the 76ers in scoring
The Sixers have gotten a little sloppy at times when asked how all these big-name, high-experience players will fit together. Joel Embiid predicted that no one should be sacrificed, while Jaylen Brown insisted, “Not everyone has a team.“It’s good as far as the chemistry of the locker room goes, but in the end who will be the first choice of softball, especially when the team needs a bucket, that’s a little less useful.
Of the starting five, we can safely remove VJ Edgecombe from the main man at the offensive end. The rookie had an excellent season, but the vets will eat before him. Embiid said he wants to prioritize the other end of the floor, where he believes receiving every defensive quality of the game “changes everything for us.” He was wrong. James is happy to go back and lead the scoring drives of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves in Los Angeles last year, and there is every indication that his craft will work well to fill various game-to-game gaps.
That leaves Brown and Tyrese Maxey. Brown is coming off his best season, where he set career highs in points, rebounds and assists per game. But that was due to a Celtics team missing Jayson Tatum for much of the time that Brown desperately needed to lead. The Sixers are in a much different situation.
Like Brown, Maxey also had a stellar last season and was named to the All-NBA first team. He leans in and is the best bet on the Sixers scoring lead. Maxey averaged a career high 28.3 points on just over 21 shots per game. Even if those numbers are down slightly – and it probably will be with all the offensive options at the disposal of the Sixers – he is still one of the fastest players in the NBA with the ball in his hands and a good enough 3-point shooter (running 37.7% from deep) that can have a major impact on or off the ball. Not to mention that opposing defenses will have trouble fielding so many talented teammates. That’s certainly been the case over the past two games as the Sixers led the Cavaliers with 28 points against the Knicks in the opener and 32 in Thursday’s comeback win.
It might not be anyone’s team, but Maxey’s offense should be the one leading the way at the end of the season.
Luka Dončić will take the day off
In a recent letter to Lakers fans, Luka Dončić boldly made his prediction: “No excuses, no off nights.”
It is difficult to say whether his declaration was meant literally or figuratively, but in either case it is forgiven if you believe. First of all, it’s hard to imagine Dončić – who has made moaning about the refs a central part of his persona – suddenly ditching it and playing football soon. There is much more to the trials than to believe that they will change their behavior. (Search for “Luke” and “complain” and watch your computer overheat.) Excuses, expressed as crying about something that his heart has not explained, are some of his things.
That “no nights off” is equally hard to buy. If it means playing more, he appeared in 64 games last year and 50 years ago. Part of Dončić’s missing time in the last two years was due to some unfortunate injuries – he was roaring until last season until his nerves flared before games – as well as an unexpected trade that uprooted him from Dallas and landed him in Los Angeles. Prior, he played 65 or more games in five of his first six seasons. So it’s not impossible to imagine him playing more often – although it’s fair to ask what kind of effort he’ll put in if his total minutes are raised over the course of the season.
For all the promises and gestures, Dončić has been known to spend nights at the defense end.
But hey, maybe it really means this time. After Maverick took him down and questioned his work ethic, he returned to avenge his weakened body. The problem of this time is that he has to prove that he can change. No excuse.
Chet Holmgren will be bullied (until he stands up for himself)
Unfortunately for Chet Holmgren, there’s only one more way to go around. The man had a pretty dark streak in him before, when a graphic made the rounds on social media that he was putting on weight.
If the writers room for The Onion were asked to come up with something in Holmgren, it’s likely they would do much better. Adding insult to injury, Holmgren was tackled by De’Aaron Fox in the open, despite needing the cleats of the guard’s foot to pull him through.
And then the Foxes lay down while kicking man by man. Metaphorically.
It feels like an endless stream of people wanting to get their shot at Holmgren because Victor Wembanyama hasn’t shown much in the Western Conference finals. It’s fair to say that Holmgren didn’t play well in this series. But at this point the hate could have gone further. Holmgren made All-NBA and All-Defensive last season and finished runner-up to Wembanyama for Defensive Player of the Year. And in the opener that the Thunder won in San Antonio, Holmgren looked more aggressive on spurs than he did last season, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Meanwhile, Wemby went 1-for-13 from the floor — and was still deeply upset at Fox’s poor guy.
Holmgren needs to fight back and show the bullies (and crazy writers) that he is not such an easy mark. Meanwhile, someone make that sandwich.
LaMelo Ball doesn’t stop with LaMelo Ball
Ball wasted no time submitting his first entry of the season for Shaqtin’ Stupid.
I came to in a tap-dancing tour against; stop the lack of awareness and belly laugh with the crowd. But it doesn’t matter.
Ja Morant’s startup will not work long-term
After the first game in Portland, Ja Morant told reporters, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” It was good. They stay great in the opener and the Trail Blazers, the rising sun at home. The beginning is good for him, but this is hard to believe in the course of time.
As Charles Barkley noted, two small posts in Morant and Damian Lillard playing together figure to be a problem on the defensive end. Of course, what Barkley said, they won’t be able to “guard anyone” because “they’re two little leprechauns.”
He has a way with words. According to a report from The Athletic in early October, new Blazers coach Micah Nori initially didn’t believe he had much sense starting Morant next to Lillard. Then the order was reversed, and he made time to begin anyway. Beyond the defensive offense, the pairing seems so clunky on the other end. Morant was a highly used player in Memphis who needed athleticism and efficiency to use the ball. Car is a 31.1% 3 point shooter. That doesn’t bode well for the prospect of playing ball and walking the floor. But if he needs the ball, and he does, how can he hit someone like Deni Avdija, who flourished last season when the Blazers ran an offense through him and then faced freedom? On its merits, someone like Jrue Holidays — who can help the team in multiple ways on both ends of the floor without getting in anyone’s way — is a much better fit in a starting lineup with Lillard and Avdija.
But again, what does he deserve? Morant is a big name with two years and $87 million left on his contract. Once the Blazers traded him, it was likely going to be difficult to justify putting that kind of money into the plan for notoriously frugal new owner Tom Dundon. But soon, when the Blazers’ season was set on Wednesday against the Suns, the square peg was jammed into Portland’s starting lineup despite the discomfort.
In Nori’s defense, there are no good options here. Even if it’s a smarter basketball move to bring Morant off the bench and cook with the second unit as a standout and aspiring Sixth Man of the Year candidate, it’s hard to imagine Morant’s ego will accept the assignment. And then instead of chemistry issues in the classroom, you’re potentially dealing with the chemistry locker room issues. This is, however, a guy with a very popular signature shoe that just happened to have a resemblance to the iconic Portland logo added as part of a campaign promoted by the very company that sells his work.
Can’t have a guy in neon lights coming off the bench, it seems. The hall is frequented and infamously located in Portland, but this is more of a royal party.
Yaxel Lendeborg will be your new favorite player (or least)
Lendeborg took on Luka Dončić in the open. Aside from Dončić drawing buzz in the middle of the court, he did almost as well — though they got each other in the process. Cumas mouthy at Doncic on the court, Lendeborg. I have more to say about the high school star following the game.
Very interesting. When it came to speaking his mind, Lendeborg spilled a little on Draymond Green — who, to no one’s surprise, fully confirmed the yawning and urged him to get the two teams together again in Dončić.
This is the first time anyone has written this, but listen to Draymond, kid.
No one will beat Walker Kessler’s new nickname
Walker Kessler had a monster first game for the Bruins, going for 26 points, nine rebounds and two blocks on 12-for-12 shooting from the field against the Warriors. That prompted Shaq to bestow the best new nickname in the game on the postgame show.
Anthony Davis has already had his best moment as a Wizard
This is nothing. Now let him go so he can go out on a high note.