USA TODAY International Edition
MVP favorite: Greek Freak
Antetokounmpo has scored at least 30 in each game
Conclusions after Week 1 of the NBA regular season? Are we sure?
We’re sure.
USA TODAY Sports’ NBA insiders offer their unfiltered overreactions to the young season.
The Spurs don’t need Kawhi Leonard — in the regular season: Their 3-0 start against the Timberwolves, Bulls and Raptors without Leonard (right quadriceps tendinopathy) has featured LaMarcus Aldridge and young point guard Dejounte Murray as bright spots while continuing one of the league’s most puzzling trends, as the Spurs are now a combined 17-4 in regularseason games without their perennial MVP candidate since the start of the 2015-16 campaign. Don’t be fooled into thinking they don’t need him come playoff time. Remember last year’s Western Conference finals vs. the Warriors? There remains no clear timeline for Leonard’s return.
Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is the front-runner for MVP: If the Bucks continue to play like this, Antetokounmpo’s rise to best player in the NBA will coincide with team success. Through four games, Antetokounmpo has scored at least 30 points in each, including a career-high 44 points against the Trail Blazers, and is averaging 36.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 steals and shooting 65.9% from the field. He’s turns 23 in December.
Disgruntled Eric Bledsoe could fix all the Knicks’ problems: OK, so even LeBron James himself might struggle to pull off that feat. But according to a person with knowledge of the situation, the unhappy Suns point guard who is on the trading block has serious interest in joining the Knicks. The two teams have spoken about a deal and there is a level of mutual interest, but it remains to be seen what Suns general manager Ryan McDonough is willing to accept in return. The Nuggets are known to be serious suitors for Bledsoe as well, among others. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation. The Knicks, meanwhile, are 0-3 with a home game up next against the Nets on Friday.
Pistons forward Tobias
Harris is an All-Star: The 25year-old is averaging 21 points and 5.8 rebounds and shooting 50% from the field and 39.1% on threes. It looks like coach Stan Van Gundy has decided on Harris as a starter, and it’s working. The Clippers will lead the league in defensive rating: With Patrick Beverley at the point, DeAndre Jordan at center and capable defenders in between, this one might not be a reach. The Clippers hold the NBA’s top spot in this category through three games allowing 86.1 points per 100 possessions and have held opponents under 100 points in all three games thus
far (wins over the Lakers, Suns and Jazz). A quick reminder, though: Last season’s Clippers held opponents to under 100 points in seven of their first eight games, then finished 13th in defensive rating (105.8).
The Magic are a playoff team and Nikola Vucevic is an
All-Star: With a new front office (Jeff Weltman, president of basketball operations, and John Hammond, general manager), the 3-1 Magic are playing for their present and future. Vucevic looks like he is part of both. He’s averaging 23.8 points and 10.3 rebounds and shooting 59.7% from the field and 36.8% on threepointers, and the Magic are killing it from three: 45.5% and 12.8 makes per game from that range. Aaron Gordon’s career-high 41 points plus 14 rebounds in Tuesday’s win vs. the Nets was also impressive.
Chicago’s Lauri Markkanen is a legit contender for rookie of the year: The Bulls forward, along with a slew of talented rookies, including Ben Simmons, Lonzo Ball and Dennis Smith Jr., form a strong rookie class. In
Tuesday’s loss to the Cavaliers, Markkanen had 19 points and made 5-of-8 three-pointers, and LeBron James said, “Can shoot the heck out of the ball. He’s going to continue to get better.” This rookie class could be one of the best and deepest ever. From Ball to Simmons to Smith to Markkanen to De’Aaron Fox to Josh Jackson to Memphis second-round pick Dillon Brooks, 2017-18 rookies have been impressive in the first week. Memphis will be in the
Western Conference finals: At this rate, with a 3-0 mark that is likely to improve to 5-0 after their back-to-back set against the Mavericks, it’s looking that way for coach David Fizdale’s crew. Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and James Ennis III are all playing well, with rookie small forward/ second-rounder Dillon Brooks showing promise (19 points in a win over the Pelicans in the opener). And let the record show that their 142-101 win over New Orleans in the preseason was enough to inspire my 8-year-old son to predict they’ll be in the Finals. When told of said prediction, Conley told USA TODAY Sports, while laughing, “I love it. I love it. I like that prediction. I’m going to hold on to that one.” The Cavs will have odd rotations all season long: With new players (Dwyane Wade, Jeff Green, Derrick Rose, Jae Crowder) to work into the rotation, it will take Cavs coach Ty Lue time to find the right lineups and sometimes those rotations will vary with sporadic minutes for several players. Then he will have to find time for Isaiah Thomas when he returns from a hip injury around Jan. 1. Worth noting: Beyond LeBron James and Kevin Love, Crowder is the key to some of Cleveland’s most successful lineups through four games. Tom Thibodeau’s head will
explode by season’s end: We’re kidding, of course. Sort of. Maybe. Four games and two losses in, Thibodeau’s Timberwolves rank just 28th in the NBA in defensive rating (112.7 points allowed per 100 possessions). Considering Season Two with “Thibs” was supposed to be all about his wellknown defensive principles setting in, and with familiar faces including Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson now around to help with that effort, this just simply won’t do for a team that faces such lofty expectations. Minnesota, which is looking to end its NBA record streak of postseason-less basketball at 13, finished last season 26th in defensive rating.
Note: Records, rankings and statistics through Tuesday’s games