New York, Nov 23 (EFE).- With just one month of the season already in the rearview, the NBA, which this Thursday takes a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, is already beginning to outline its favorites for the title with some scary Boston Celtics.
Furthermore, two novelties have marked these first weeks of competition: the Wembanyama phenomenon and the emergence of the NBA Cup.
Boston asks for a step
There is a world left and last year they started the same and ended up deflating in the playoffs, but the Celtics have started this season with excellent feelings, an imposing feeling of power and the best balance in the league (leaders of the East with 12-3) .
Jayson Tatum (sometimes we forget his precocity but he is only 25 years old) commands a superb squad with key additions this summer such as Kristaps Porzingis, who has fit in wonderfully in Boston, and Jrue Holiday, who covers – and improves – the void left by Marcus Smart.
With Jaylen Brown, under scrutiny for his record renewal of 304 million for five years, Derrick White and the tireless Al Horford, Boston has the best six-man unit in the NBA and only raises certain doubts due to the depth and quality of its bench .
On the other hand, the Bucks, the other titan of the East forged this summer, have started with ups and downs despite a solid 10-5 record.
With glimpses of what the magnificent duo Giannis Antetokounmpo-Damian Lillard can give, Milwaukee also accumulates questions about its coach Adrian Griffin, the physical condition of Khris Middleton and the cracks in its defense.
In the West, a priori a more open conference than the East, the Denver Nuggets (10-5) have begun the defense of their title with an enviable chemistry, despite Jamal Murray’s injury, and a stratospheric Nikola Jokic on the verge averaging a triple-double (27.5 points, 13.1 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game).
Positive and negative surprises
Not all ring hopefuls have started with smiles from ear to ear.
There are the Phoenix Suns (9-6), who have already played almost 20% of their regular season games but have not yet seen their golden trio on the court at the same time: Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
The Grizzlies had a very complicated situation with Ja Morant’s 25-game suspension, but the situation in Memphis, with a chilling 3-11 record, has gone from serious to critical.
Also worrying is the 7-9 status of the Golden State Warriors with Stephen Curry as support while Klay Thompson and Draymond Green seem to be declining.
On the other hand, the fantastic finish last season of the Lakers (9-7) and their reinforcements seemed to announce important things for the Angelenos, but so far the only reliable thing is the performance of a LeBron James determined to defy the passage of time ( 25.7 points on average about to turn 39).
Things are not going great either for their neighbors in Los Angeles, the Clippers (6-7) with a lot of work ahead of them to fit the pieces – and the egos – of a squad with perhaps too many names in capital letters: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George , Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
Precisely the departure of ‘The Beard’ seemed to herald a liquidation in Philadelphia, but the Sixers (10-5) have responded with astonishing solvency to that crisis thanks to the step forward of Tyrese Maxey to support Joel Embiid.
And let no one forget the Miami Heat (10-5), finalists last year and who, as always without making much noise, have won nine of their last ten games.
However, the main surprises so far have come from the West, with Anthony Edwards’ exciting Minnesota Timberwolves (first with 11-3) that finally meet the expectations of their talent and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder ( seconds with 11-4) already ready to assault the elite.
Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks (10-5), the Orlando Magic (10-5 with five wins in a row), the Indiana Pacers (8-6), the most explosive attack in the league and which , with Tyrese Haliburton as an agitator, already have the ticket for the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Expectation for the Cup and for ‘Wemby’
This new tournament with which the NBA is experimenting with the cup format has debuted, leaving a very good impression and an incontestable conclusion: almost never have games been seen in November with so much at stake.
Ignoring the controversial design of the courts, the NBA In-Season Tournament has provided very exciting duels and doses of controversy. In addition, some teams, like the Pacers and the Lakers, have taken it so seriously that they are already in the playoffs for the NBA Cup.
“I don’t really know what’s going on, but you know something is going on,” Lillard summed up the hype surrounding this tournament.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said something similar: “It’s essentially a playoff atmosphere.”
While waiting to see who is crowned in Las Vegas in December, there is one name that, above all, has reigned in this first month of the NBA: that of Victor Wembanyama.
The 19-year-old French prodigy has caused a sensation wherever he has gone with his 2.24m height and his skill more typical of a point guard or shooting guard than a center.
Fans rub their eyes day after day at his spectacular plays and ‘Wemby’, despite the irregularity typical of a ‘rookie’, averages 18.8 points (43% on field goals), 9.5 rebounds and 2, 6 blocks per match.
Those who for now have not lived up to the generational talent of the number one in the draft have been the San Antonio Spurs, from whom not much was expected this season but who are bottom of the West (3-12) with 10 consecutive losses .
David Villafranca
(c) EFE Agency
2023-11-23 19:06:21
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