The current NBA season is now one hundred days old. It is actually 106 for those who are counting, but there were no games on Dec 24 and there were five days of zero games during the All-Star Break. Let’s call it a hundred ‘gamedays’ from the first day of the season up to April 6.
The NBA has done an excellent job this season. Some games were postponed but that is because they are trying to play basketball in a pandemic. Safety protocols are at the highest level this year because last year’s “Bubble Setting” is gone.
The games have been impressive so far. Many buzzer-beaters and great individual performances. Not bad for a league that had little time to rest before the season began.
This is the season recap so far. There are too many situations to mention, so let’s limit this to three thoughts per team.
ATLANTA HAWKS
-They had a bad February, only winning 4 out of 15 games that month.
-Team had to let Coach Lloyd Pierce go which was probably the right move because they won eight-straight games when Nate McMillan took over.
-Memorable Moment: Tony Snell hits a game-winning buzzer beater to sink the Toronto Raptors.
BOSTON CELTICS
–Marcus Smart missed 19 games due to a calf strain which turned out to be a blessing. Smart’s minutes went to Payton Pritchard who showed the team how well he could play.
-Bad First Impression: Evan Fournier, (who was traded to the Celtics) went scoreless in 33 minutes during his first game for the team.
-Memorable Moment: Jayson Tatum makes the game-winning shot in front of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the team’s first game of the season.
BROOKLYN NETS
-Team made one of the biggest moves by adding James Harden.
-Fans started discussing how their big three of Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant would automatically make them the favorites in the Eastern Conference… and then they added Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge.
-The Stat: Durant has only played in 19 games.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS
-They lost LaMelo Ball. He was likely on his way to winning the Rookie of the Year award before his injury.
-More injuries: Gordon Hayward is expected to miss the rest of April due to a sprained foot.
-Memorable Moment: Terry Rozier hits a half-court shot before halftime and would go on to hit the game-winner versus the Golden State Warriors.
CHICAGO BULLS
–Zach LaVine made his first All-Star appearance. His improved play this season should make fans think that he will be back as an All-Star in the future.
-What happened? Since the break, the Bulls have only won 5 out of their last 15 games. One of those wins came against the Nets, who were missing their superstars.
-Bright Future: Nikola Vucevic joins the Bulls. Fans are excited about how the pairing of LaVine and Vucevic will turn out.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
-Memorable Moment: Kevin Porter Jr. was apparently upset and threw food in the locker room. Memories of J.R. Smith throwing soup at an assistant come to mind. There’s something we do not know about in their locker room.
-After playing four games in the first three months of the season, Kevin Love seems to be back from his injury and is playing in consecutive games now.
-Team was doing well in the first month. After they went through a 10-game losing streak, they could not find a rhythm.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
-Memorable Moment: Beat the Los Angeles Clippers by 51 points. Mavericks also had a 50-point lead by halftime.
-Team had a rough stretch last January and even had a win-loss record of 8-13.
-Dallas has turned it around and have won 12 of their last 17 games since the beginning of March.
DENVER NUGGETS
-Slow Start: The Nuggets were near the bottom of the standings during the first few weeks of the season.
-Surprising Moments: Facundo Campazzo and his passing ability. Bol Bol and his dribbling ability.
-New Guy, New Energy: Team has won five in a row since Aaron Gordon‘s arrival.
DETROIT PISTONS
-Better Than Expected: Jerami Grant has been playing well for the Pistons. Fans can relax knowing he is on their team.
-Shocking Moment: Griffin leaves the team to join the Nets… and then shows the world that he can still dunk.
-Memorable Moment: Detroit almost beat the Lakers twice this year. They beat the Lakers during the first meeting of the season but lost nine days later, in overtime.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
-Lost Klay Thompson to injury. This team is different without him.
-Shocking Moment: Draymond Green attempting 30-footers.
-Saddest Moment: At one point in time, the Warriors were down by 61 points in their game versus the Toronto Raptors.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
-Saddest Moment: Seeing coach Stephen Silas speechless and sad after his team lost 20 games in a row.
-Best Moment: Feeling the relief of the Rockets organization when the losing streak ended.
-Expectations: Remember how excited fans were about DeMarcus Cousins playing with John Wall?
INDIANA PACERS
-Surprising Moment: T.J. McConnell had 10 steals in one game.
–Domantas Sabonis was an All-Star replacement and won the Skills Challenge. Sabonis also showed us that he can be a Triple-Double threat.
-The end of the Victor Oladipo era in Indiana.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
-Clippers still have the ability to lose a game after having a double-digit lead.
-Fans are hoping that newly acquired Rajon Rondo can help them during the playoffs.
-The difference between the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers: If the Clippers lose a game with some players missing, everyone will laugh. If the Lakers lose a game with some players missing, everyone will understand.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
-They lost a lot of placing in the standings because of injuries to Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
-Memorable Moment 1: Lakers getting their championship ring in front of the Clippers during opening night.
-Memorable Moment 2: Andre Drummond losing a toe nail during his first game for the Lakers. Ouch!
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
–Ja Morant‘s continued rise makes their games worth watching.
-Memorable Moment: Beat a healthy Clippers team by 28 points.
-Team had 6 postponed games in a span of 13 days due to safety protocols.
MIAMI HEAT
–Trevor Ariza got traded to Miami which made him earn the “Most Traded Player” title. This was trade number 11 for him.
-Had a slow start but regained their composure as the season went along.
–Meyers Leonard got into trouble. Videos of Leonard live-streaming a “Call of Duty” game surfaced and was heard saying a derogatory comment.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
-MVP race is going to be wild. Last year’s winner, Antetokounmpo, is facing a lot of competition this year. There could be five to seven players who deserve that award right now.
–Jrue Holiday got paid. Earned himself a four-year contract extension worth $160 million. Not bad for the newcomer who just joined the team prior to the start of the season.
-The Lopez Separation: Brook Lopez is alone now. Brother Robin left town to join the Washington Wizards.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
-Hard to believe that Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell have played only five games together. Look for that number to increase as a healthy Russell enters the fold.
-Prodigal Son: Ricky Rubio returns to the team that originally drafted him.
-Coach Ryan Saunders was replaced by Chris Finch. A move that got a lot of attention because the team already had a good assistant coach in David Vanterpool.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
–Isaiah Thomas is back. He’s on a 10-day contract right now and everyone is hoping it becomes a full-time deal.
-The Pelicans are currently out of the play-in tournament but their future looks bright with a healthy Zion Williamson.
-Memorable Moments: All those Lonzo Ball to Zion alley-oop dunks.
NEW YORK KNICKS
-Together Again, Part 2: Coach Tom Thibodeau and Derrick Rose are teammates once again. The pair were together in Chicago, Minnesota, and now New York.
-The hype was on Obi Toppin before the season began but that changed as soon as Immanuel Quickley started providing meaningful minutes.
–Julius Randle is having a career year. This had something to do with the Knicks signing Kenny Payne as an assistant coach. Payne already coached Randle during their time in Kentucky.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
-Performed better than expected which made everyone ask “Are they tanking or not?”
-Draft-All-You-Can: The Thunder still keep on adding to their collection of future draft picks.
-Memorable Moment: Luguentz Dort hitting his first career game-winner, against the San Antonio Spurs.
ORLANDO MAGIC
-Time to unload: Team released Vucevic, Gordon, and Fournier.
-Newcomer: Maybe we’ll get to see the real R.J. Hampton.
-Memorable Moment: After unloading their regular star players, the Magic still stole headlines by beating the Clippers.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
-Scary Moment: Joel Embiid bending his knee in the wrong direction. The injury cost him three weeks of playing time.
-Trending Moment: Whether he has a good game or not, Danny Green will start trending on Twitter. The phenomenon cannot be explained.
–Ben Simmons will not start shooting three-pointers anytime soon.
PHOENIX SUNS
–Chris Paul is the man. The Thunder made the playoffs last year because of him and it looks like the Suns are making the playoffs this year because of him.
-The Suns are in second place in the west and no one expected them to be there.
–Devin Booker, Kendall Jenner’s partner, is still having a good season. Someone may have finally ended the “Kardashian Kurse”.
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS
-CJ McCollum missed a lot of time, so their place in the standings could have been better.
-Memorable Moments: Every time Damian Lillard hits a 30-footer.
-Fans will miss Gary Trent Jr. who was traded. However, it looks like the player they got in return, Norman Powell, will be a good asset to the team.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
–Tyrese Haliburton is playing better than expected, which softens the blow of missing out on Luka Doncic back in the 2018 NBA Draft.
-Are they making the playoffs for the first time in 14 years?
-Memorable Moment: Harrison Barnes hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Cavaliers.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
-The Spurs Machinery: They really know how to draft players. Keldon Johnson, Dejounte Murray, and Derrick White are just some of their picks that can contribute right away.
-How many years left in Gregg Popovich’s coaching tank?
-End of the Aldridge era.
TORONTO RAPTORS
-This season will be remembered as the time when the Raptors had no home court.
-All The Heartbreaks: There were probably four instances where Pascal Siakam had a chance to win or tie the game. Raptors lost all four.
-Memorable Moment: Everyone thought Kyle Lowry was going to be traded.
UTAH JAZZ
-They are number one in the standings. No one expected that.
-Team had three All-Stars, with Mike Conley making his first appearance.
-Scary moment: Their plane had an emergency landing due to bird strike.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
-Triple Double Machine: Russell Westbrook.
–Bradley Beal makes an All-Star game appearance. This was a relief even for non-Wizard fans because everyone knows he deserved it last year.
-The John Wall era is over.
These are some of the moments that happened in the last few months and we still have a lot to look forward to. It will be the playoffs again before you know it and the ‘Play-in Games’ will be there to spice things up.
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One Response
Nice article… 🙂