The symbolic bar of twenty games exceeded for all NBA teams, it is time to learn the lessons of the first quarter of the season. BasketUSA offers you to do it in five parts: the strongholds, the outsiders, the good surprises, the disappointments and the dunces.
After the strongholds and the outsiders, we are continuing our early season report with the good surprises, the teams which have thwarted the pre-season forecasts, and which constitute a kind of well-muscled soft underbelly, with no less than seven rather nice teams to follow and often spectacular, which stand in a pocket handkerchief, around 50% of victories.
Utah Jazz (14-11)
Their recent series of eight defeats in ten games has brought down the breath (the fault of an abyssal defense at 119.6 points against 100 possessions), but the Jazz of the very young coach Will Hardy (34 years old) is clearly one of the best surprises at the start of the season. With a Lauri Markkanen (22 points, 8 rebounds) who has still not come down from his EuroBasket cloud and a team of “spare parts” who finally form a good mechanism, Utah is aiming for the playoffs after its start to the season. cannon, while we saw them in the shallows.
Fourth best offense in the League, the Jazz play freely. Sometimes it’s a little “chaotic”, as Markkanen recently admitted at JJ redick, but it is the watchword of the coach. With Jordan Clarkson (19 points, 5 assists) playing it collectively and a plethora of various options off the bench, including the swift Collin Sexton (14 points, 3 assists), Utah still keeps its foot on the accelerator, which uses the opposing defenses.
Knowing that we saw them a priori closer to targeting Victor Wembanyama in the next Draft and that they have a decent chance of reaching the playoffs (probably via the play-in), we wonder what Danny Ainge and his staff for the rest…
Sacramento Kings (11-9)
The historic dunces of the Western Conference are fighting back, like their series of 7 rank victories! Fifth best attack at efficiencySacramento is 7th, in the fight with the Jazz and the Warriors for a direct accessit in the playoffs! “Pull out the light ray”the new local fad: a beam of light above the room after each victory!
The Mike Brown paw is already felt in any case, with a rotation well established around the major axis, De’Aaron Fox (24 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) – Domantas Sabonis (17 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists) . Kevin Huerter (16 points, 3 assists) is a real added value and rookie Keegan Murray (11 points, 4 rebounds) is already showing that he can also grow in this ecosystem, supervised by veteran Harrison Barnes (13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), still going strong.
With the walking firecracker that is Malik Monk, even Terence Davis and Davion Mitchell who can also bring the spark off the bench, Sacramento is armed to hold its place in the elite of its conference. And why not even have a new All-Star in Fox. Or even two with Sabonis?
Indiana Pacers (12-10)
If the fratricidal confrontation went wrong against Sacramento this week and they sank last night in Utah, the Pacers do not have to be ashamed of their excellent start to the season. Clearly not expected at such a party (but rather among the tanks), the Indiana franchise is riding the Tyrese Haliburton wave (19 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals).
The former leader of the Kings has clearly passed a milestone this season, the best passer in the League and author of an unprecedented series with a series of games with 40 passes without any lost ball! Announced as an All-Star by many specialists, Haliburton also has at his side an extremely promising rookie in Bennedict Mathurin (19 points, 4 rebounds), elected Rookie of the Month. Enough to give a smile to Pacers fans not spoiled recently, and almost to forget the transfer rumors concerning Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.
Rather spoiled so far, with a fairly cozy and favorable calendar, including a series of five rank victories acquired against rather weak opponents, the Pacers will nevertheless have to close ranks with a month of December not a gift, even though are currently embarking on a perilous “road trip” in the “Wild West”.
Portland Trail Blazers (11-11)
It’s obviously the wrong time to talk about Portland as a good surprise, as the Blazers are in full descent with eight losses in their last nine games. But, starting from afar after a fully assumed “tanking” season, the Oregon franchise started on a very good pace (9 wins in its first 12 games) behind its leader Damian Lillard (26 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds).
Without him, the machine gradually went out of order, despite the efforts of an exemplary Jerami Grant (22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists). Anfernee Simons (24 points, 4 assists) has also had a very good campaign so far, but like his defensive deficiencies, his team has gradually lost track of its method on that side of the field. To see if the return of “Lady” puts the pioneers back on the right track…
Toronto Raptors (11-11)
Apart from OG Anunoby (19 points, 6 rebounds), and rookie Christian Koloko, no Raptors player has played all of the Raptors’ 21 games. And even less the All-Stars of the team: Pascal Siakam (10 missed games) and Fred VanVleet (six missed games). That said, Toronto is comfortably ensconced in the Eastern Conference lead car, in 8th place. It is rather a surprise in view of their injuries.
Indeed, the men of Nick Nurse have made the round back during their series of injuries, a rare team not to have managed to chain more than two victories in a row, while never losing more than two games in a row either. It must be said that they do not miss much on their land, with 8 wins in 10 home games.
In full, the Canadian franchise presents a sacred panoply of wingers to do everything with the sophomore Scottie Barnes (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) who confirms in sequence that he can be a dominant player in the future. The key to their success will ultimately be to keep in shape until next spring.
Washington Wizards (11-12)
With only four wins in their first ten games, the Wizards seemed to be embarking on a season without much ambition once again. But by recently chaining six victories in seven outings, the magicians have once again made people dream with this “Big Three” who can look good when they want: Bradley Beal (24 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds), Kristaps Porzingis (22 points, 9 rebounds) and Kyle Kuzma (21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists).
Moreover, four of these successes had been acquired without Beal, proof that Washington can travel without its No. 1 scorer. Because, defensively, they got into it, passing among the best defenses over this victorious period. But the calendar will spoil with a brutal series of 14 out of the next 19 away games. We will therefore see what the Wizards are made of, and the surprise defeat in Charlotte tonight is not reassuring.
Oklahoma City Thunder (9-13)
After two consecutive seasons stopped before their end, due to injury or to tank, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) is letting go of the horses. If the Pacers placed themselves on the shoulders of Haliburton in the role of leader creator, the Thunder perched him on those of SGA in leader scorer! Playing at an All-Star level, the Canadian can win his team on his own or almost any night.
The concern is that behind, the outside address of the young OKC troop is very random (like this drop to 26% over the last three games for example), knowing that the two other top scorers, Josh Giddey ( 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) and Lu Dort (14 points, 4 rebounds) are precisely not shooting specialists, it is to be expected that the Thunder will come back nicely, and logically, in the ranks in the weeks coming.
