With tomorrow marking one week since the start of the new NBA season, there are some eye-catching things from the season's opening games. The usual stars are making their mark, while young talent is emerging. Here are my thoughts below.
1. Kawhi Leading the Cippers
We all know what Kawhi Leonard showed us last season - that he is fully capable of leading his team as far as need be. With Paul George out, he has shown so far this season that he can do everything that is needed.
Leonard has continued to lead the charge for the 2-1 Clippers (who were upended 130-122 by the Phoenix Suns on Saturday), not only displaying a flawless mid-range game, but also showing outstanding passing ability. Screen and rolls with center Ivica Zubac, cross court passes for three pointers, and inside dishes to Montrezl Harrell have all been staples of the first few games, with Leonard averaging 8 assists. In just 28.3 minutes per game, he is averaging 26 points and has flirted with a triple double in the last two games (21/9/5 vs the Warriors, and 27/10/8 vs the Suns).
Building off of last season's dominance, the 28 year old has showed pieces of his game that we did not know he had. On more than one occasion on Saturday, he was triple teamed in the post by Suns defenders.
If that isn't a sign of superstar talent, I don't know what it is. It will be a joy to watch how the Clippers go all season long, especially when George recovers from his shoulder surgery and gets back on the court.
2. The Warriors' Alarming Start
Perhaps most noticeable is how drastically different the Golden State Warriors look. With Kevin Durant gone and Klay Thompson out, these are not the Warriors of the past two seasons or even the last five. Gone is the luxury of having three of the league's best top scorers and shooters, when, in the blink of an eye, they could turn a five point deficit into a ten point lead. Gone is the luxury of having one of the game's top role players and wing defenders (Andre Iguodala) to zone in on the opposition's top talent.
The Warriors are drastically different now. Superstars surrounded by capable veterans has become a team that so far is too reliant on its one remaining superstar - Stephen Curry - with too inexperienced of a supporting cast to pick up the slack. Past vets like David West, Shaun Livingston, and Iguodala are now replaced by a collection of younger players - Jordan Poole, Marquese Chriss, Omari Spellman - whom the bright lights are currently too bright for. They still have Draymond Green, who is one of the game's top defenders and all purpose players. He, though, has never been a go-to player. Glenn Robinson III is a good young future talent, but he is also inexperienced.
Willie Cauley-Stein, a free agent signing from the Sacramento Kings, has yet to play this year due to injury. When he returns, he will become a key presence defensively on the interior - the team is giving up an average of 130.5 over the first two games - and provides an active body who can succeed in pick and rolls with Curry. I also feel that Curry and D'Angelo Russell are still learning to play side by side, and that will take some time. Once they get more comfortable with each other, the team will improve.
3. Brandon Ingram is Looking Like the Player We Thought He Would Be
A lot of times in sports, opportunity is all a player needs to prove just how good he is.
A part of a young and talented group in New Orleans, forward Brandon Ingram has become the Pelicans' go-to guy. Displaying a silky smooth touch, good ball handing and good decision making, Ingram is looking like a serious candidate for the league's Most Improved Player award, and showing why many people thought he would be a better NBA player than Jayson Tatum when they came out of college.
Through the first three games, he is averaging 27.3/9.3 rebounds/4.3 while shooting 52.5% from the field, and 52.6% from three point range. Obviously, these types of numbers will not continue throughout the season, however - if his early games are any indication - he will definitely be in the running for the Most Improved, as he is one of the cornerstones for their future.
4. Karl-Anthony Towns is Dominant
Prior to this season, if you were asked about the top big men in the game, you'd get to Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Nikola Jokic before you'd mention the Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns. In the first few games this year, though, KAT is proving that he not only belongs in the conversation, but that he is near the top.
36/14/3/3/3, 37/15/8/4/2, and 23/11/4/2/1 are the 23 year old's numbers over the first three games. He is a rare talent that checks all five boxes on the stat sheet, and has all around ability that is seldom seen in a man his size. Not only can he rebound and defend the paint, but he has a smooth stroke that he can take to the perimeter with ease, handling ability that is akin to a forward or guard, and is a capable passer. He doesn't seem to have any weaknesses in his overall game, and would be a sure MVP candidate if Minnesota were to somehow get into the playoffs in the loaded Western Conference, which seems unlikely.
If Andrew Wiggins were to take his game up a notch, Towns and he could be one of the top duos in the NBA and lead the Wolves to big things. For now, though, it is Towns' one man show, and he is proving that he can do it all.
5. Russell Westbrook Continues to be the Engine that Makes His Teams Go
When Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors on Independence Day 2016, the Thunder immediately became Russell Westbrook's team, who proceeded to go on a tear for the 2016-2017 season, averaging a triple double for the first time since 1962.
Not only did he do it that year, but he did again the following year, and the year after that. In July, he was traded to the Houston Rockets to join James Harden, who is coming off a 36+ point per game season where many thought he should have won MVP. People were and are skeptical about the pairing, not knowing if or just plain not thinking that having two of the most ball dominant players on the same team would work for team success.
Would Westbrook fall off? Would he be dissatisfied with his role, playing off the ball, playing Robin to Harden's Batman? Two games into this season, though, and Westbrook is proving that no matter where he plays or who he plays with, some things never change.
Rather than play both on the floor for the majority of the game, Rockets' head coach Mike D'Antoni is so far keeping either Westbrook or Harden on the floor with the remaining guys, and playing them together just in spurts. And when he's on the floor, Westbrook is still the lightning rod.
Through the first two games - a loss and a win - Westbrook is averaging 26/13/10, dominating the glass, getting out in transition, and either zooming past the defense for easy finishes or distributing to one of the Rockets' perimeter shooters. In the half court, he has fit passes into tight windows.
There are 80 more games to played, and how the Rockets will gel is yet to be determined. What we do know, though, is that Westbrook can fit in anywhere, and is one of the most dominant players in the game. It will be fascinating to watch he and Harden over the course of the season and how they come together and succeed in a stacked West.
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