They break down the best teams in the NBA. 3: 17 The first week of the NBA season was filled with big-time performances and upsets. Ja Morant and Paolo Banchero got off to strong starts as the Memphis Grizzles star scored 49 points against the Houston Rockets on Friday night and the Magic player on Wednesday became the first rookies since 2008 to debut with at least 25 points, 5 assists, 5 boards and 2 steals. The Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz went through significant player personnel changes during the off-season. The Celtics are without suspended coach Ime Udoka and center Robert Williams III and the Jazz are working under a first-year head coach. The Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers didn't win a game in the first week of the season. The biggest moments, surprises and reactions so far have been reflected on by our NBA Insiders. Kevin Pelton wonders if the Jazz should be broken up. Supposedly tanking the season after trading their two stars, the Jazz started the season with three wins, including one against Rudy Gobert's Minnesota Timberwolves. It's only three games, but it does feel like Utah should at least see how good this group is before making a big deal out of it. John Wall appeared to be like John Wall. After a year away, it was difficult to know what to expect from the newest LA Clipper, so it was great to see him come back with fresh legs. The Wall looked like what the Clippers needed off the bench and at point guard. The Utah Jazz, fresh off trading four starters, have as many wins as I anticipated by Thanksgiving. It's shocking to open with three wins over teams that made the playoffs. The Jazz are working hard for their new coach. Markkanen is off to a great start, along with other young trade additions, and they have the potential to finish in the lottery. The 76ers are off to a 0-3 start, including a loss to the Spurs. I was expecting James Harden to play at a higher level this season than he did last year. He has. Thus far, they have taken turns pulling the air out of the room, instead of Harden's strong play in the backcourt. Two guys who can each put up huge numbers, that's all. The 76ers are 0-3 in the season. The NBA team in Philadelphia has yet to win a game this season and the Eagles are the only team in the league without a loss. They expected to compete for top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency, not bottom five. If the 76ers don't beat Indiana at home on Monday, this is going to get really ugly, really fast. MacMahon said it was amusing. C'mon, how could you not be amused when Russell Westbrook blamed a one-game preseason stint as a reserve for a hamstring issue that suddenly healed when he was back in the starting lineup? It's amazing that the man who blamed sitting in the fourth quarter for a brief bout with "back tightness" last season is still alive. The biggest factor in the poor roster fit was the push for the Westbrook trade, which was accurately pointed out by James. It's Predictable. There were flaws in the Lakers' roster that were obvious to anyone paying attention. The poor outside shooting of the Lakers was a fatal flaw. The answer so far is that the Lakers aren't a trade away from being a contender. The person is sad. This isn't one of the good, talented and interesting teams that the NBA has to offer. I don't think James will be a good excuse to stay up late to watch the West Coast games. For the 12th season, the league's best players are ranked by the network. See which stars vaulted to the top and which fell down. The international stars are on the rise.
• NBArank 6-10: How far LeBron and KD fell
• NBArank 11-25: L.A. duo and rising Wolves
• NBArank 26-100: Russ, Ben and a host of Qs
• Debate! LeBron's ranking and top-10 tweaks
Whose start to the season has been the biggest surprise?
The Lakers' opening week was ____.
Predictable is the word Bontemps uses. The team is not very good. James is one of the greatest players of all time, but he is approaching his 38th birthday in December. Over the past four years, Anthony Davis has missed large chunks of games. There is a fit next to James. There is no shortage of bad 3-point shooters on the roster. Rational observers expected this team to be in the back half of the play-in mix. This week didn't change that view.
Foreseeable? Davis' move to center is a feather in the cap of new coach Darvin Ham, who made several moves to improve their defense. The team was aware that it didn't do enough to improve shooting. In the first two games, the starting backcourt went a combined 1-for-18 from the field and a combined 3-for-20 from 3-point range.
There is a roller coaster. The Nets beat the Raptors with a quality win. After a terrible opener, Irving scored 30 against Toronto. Brooklyn's ceiling is high because they have Kevin Durant and Irving, two of the best offensive players in the world.
There's a warning. If the Nets want to contend, they must improve their interior defense. The Nets have gotten full games from their All-Star trio and they are learning to play together. In the first game of the series, the team was dominated in the interior by the big front line of Zion, Brandon, and Valanciunas, who combined for over 70 points. Toronto's small-ball front line of Scottie Barnes and O.G. Anunoby combined for 64 points and 24 boards.
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Predictable is the word Bontemps uses. It's hard to say much off two games, but will use "predictable" here as well. The Nets looked better against the Raptors in their second game, another team that doesn't have a lot of interior strength. We will see what happens this week when the Nets play the Memphis, Milwaukee, and Dallas Mavericks. The results of those games will tell us a lot about this team.
Pelton is fine Brooklyn is likely to be mired near the bottom of the defensive rating rankings all season, but beating the Raptors was impressive and the Nets will shoot better than they have so far. There is no reason for anyone to panic.
It's intriguing. It's going to be interesting to watch this team, so sign me up. They are exciting superstars to watch. Simmons appears to be up and down. Even though the roster is a bit ill-fitting, the talent is still there. I don't know where this team is going.
Pelton has a person named Mitchell. Mitchell has played at a top 10 level thus far and apologized to the Atlanta Hawks' Dejounte Murray. In Mitchell's first three games in Cleveland, he has averaged 33.3 points and 7.0 assists while making 50% of his 2 point attempts and 42% of his 3 point attempts. Without injured All-Star teammate, Mitchell lifted the Cavaliers to a pair of victories.
The front-runner for Sixth Man of the Year was Christian Wood. In his first two games, he scored at least 25 points. He is scoring at a better rate than a point per minute. He said the word fun five times in a three-minute media session.
I could pick one of the many terrific rookies in this year's class, but I would rather go with Wood, who has 50 points in 49 minutes through two games. The pending free agent will be fine if he keeps performing like this regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench.
The person is Mitchell. An eye injury to Garland means we haven't really seen the Cavs at their full potential yet, but a pair of 30-point games to kick off his Cleveland career has been a good reminder. He appears to be a good fit on this roster.
The addition of Murray to the Hawks' backcourt makes them a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks have the most dynamic backcourt in the league. Murray averaged 20 points and 10 assists last week, and everyone noticed the offense. Murray brings a lot to the Hawks' perimeter defense. The Hawks have one of the league's better defensive units when he's in the starting lineup.
I would sign up for seven more Mavericks vs Suns games. Philadelphia should probably win a game first before we talk about potential playoffs.
There's a chance that the two players will combine for 92 points and 31 rebound in a game, and that's why I said the Bucks vs 76ers. Let's talk about the Warriors and Lakers. If they meet in the playoffs, it will be an indication that the Lakers have gotten their act together, likely made trade(s) that better balance their roster, and that they have stayed healthy enough to make it.
Last week, I watched the game in person and it was fun. Two teams with lots of talent and vastly different play styles, with Cleveland featuring two little guards next to twin towers, and Toronto rolling out a team full of 6-foot-8 guys, would make for a great match up in the playoffs. We would like to see it.
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Buck's. The Eastern Conference game they played Thursday night was ugly and ended with a final score of 90-88. They need to go at each other in the playoffs.
The Golden State Warriors are a team from Denver. There was a very different version of the Nuggets in the opening round of the playoffs. Michael Porter Jr. made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points. Newcomers Bruce Brown Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope combined for 37 points as the Denver Broncos defeated the Philadelphia 76ers. Let's go back and forth with Denver.
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