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Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you are all well with this week’s issue.
Please excuse the week-long hiatus from our newsletter as we head into the New Year. But there was a good reason for it: During the holidays, I capped off the best, most fulfilling years of my adult life by asking the woman I loved to marry me. and she saidWith that in mind, we couldn’t be more excited about all the surprises in store for 2023.
With the regular season at the halfway point this week, I thought it would be worthwhile to run through a few questions that surprised me the most and that I’d like to know the answers to as we head into the second half of the wide-open NBA campaign. looks like
What I don’t really see happening
Michael McLoone/USA TODAY Sports
Cliff-Falling Bucks Offense: We knew that without Khris Middleton’s primary hub, the Milwaukee offense might take a while to hum.He missed the playoffs with an injury, leaving the Bucks to give Giannis Antetokounmpo and Drew Holiday. Relying too much, they lost seven games in a row to Boston.Middleton returned to the floor early last month. However, after his seven games where he averaged 11 points on his 32.5% shooting percentage, his sprained ankle and apparent knee injury kept him out for nearly four weeks at this point. rice field. when will he come back.
At one point, the lack of firepower the Bucks lacked without him didn’t feel like much of a concern. recorded a whopping 117.3 points per 100 possessions during the regular season. (Both scorers were playing and amassing over 120 points per 100, so they were particularly lethal.)
But this season went in a different direction. Antetokounmpo is still an MVP candidate, but the team could give him more attention. His efficiency as a roll man has dropped considerably as deep down free he struggles hard on his throw line. The Bucks, who were in the top three on the offense last year, are suddenly in 25th place this season. Part of that is his poor shooting from 3-pointers on the bench compared to last season. But there’s no denying that much of it stems from the Middleton-sized holes in Milwaukee’s lineup.
Obviously I don’t want to see Middleton come back before he’s ready and suffer another injury because his body is in danger. I worry about groups.
The Cavaliers have the best defense in the NBA so far. It was fair from Jump Street to think that Cleveland could be a factor in the East this season. Take a solid young core and add a relatively young star who can score 71 points in a single match and you’re in the conversation of candidates for that conference.
But what wasn’t so clear about the Cavaliers was what their defense would look like. bottom. But can these two defensively cover the pair of 6’1″ guards of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell? Mobley held the shooter behind the points, according to NBA stats, the player is 6.5 points behind them.The team is also one of the slowest playing teams in the NBA. Ranks near the top of the league for most shots contested per game regardless of which shot actually defends. On the night, this is a great sign. And no team has as few points per hundred possessions as Cleveland.
Some of the teams we thought were bad were actually decent: Even with Utah losing 7 of 8 games, it’s amazing that the Jazz are the only team in the West to finish 3 weeks into November. Not bad for a team that has two franchises disposed of his players.
Amid recent struggles, the Jazz are just one game away from 10th place in the final play-in spot. Utah’s half game was Oklahoma City, where he was able to record an 18-22 mark, his 10 of those wins being the young Thunder coming back to win after trailing in his double digits . Observe carefully enough and you’ll start to see that something is actually being made in that club. Next year could be really interesting.
Then there’s Tyrese Halliburton, who is more than worthy of a first-time All-Star, and the Pacers, who are 23-18 and don’t even need a play-in round to reach the postseason so far. .
Myles Turner is in the middle of his best season. Benedict Maturin, he could be second in the Rookie of the Year voting. Andrew Nemhard, who scored a win against the Lakers earlier in the season, also deserves All-Rookie consideration. The Pacers, in addition to being a winning club, are incredibly fun.
Frankly, it’s great that all of this is happening in a season that many of us are anticipating for Victor Wenbanyama.
What happens to _______?
Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAYSports
Timberwolves: When Karl-Anthony Towns went down, I thought Minnesota’s best-case scenario was to find elements that worked without him so they could have a better rhythm once he returned. Things looked bleak during the six-game slide to close out the calendar year, to say the least.But now, the T-Wolves have beaten the low-ranking Pistons in his five-game winning streak contest, which starts in 2023 Wednesday. have a chance to compete with D’Angelo Russell is playing much better after a heady start to the season. Anthony Edwards appears to be fully responsible and as if he has a clearer sense of what to do. And the defense, backed by Rudy Gobert, is finally starting to lock in. For now, avoiding a few tough questions and keeping the team afloat until Towns returns later in the season might be enough.
Raptors: Heading into this campaign, I thought Toronto was a safe bet to make the leap. The organization looks relatively fearless, with a coach who does a great job. Even though Pascal Siakam has had a great year, they put him 1.5 games behind him in the Bulls in 10th place, 17 to where he is 23. direction. Many teams will be interested in what Toronto has to offer, but whatever the Raptors give back, Masai Ujiri will have the assets he needs to make his own play in the future.
Suns: Over the past few years, Phoenix has managed to stay fitter than just about everyone in the NBA when it comes to the top end of the rotation. Ayton started in a total of 90 games, recording nearly 1,500 minutes in the regular season. Add in injuries to replacements Cam Johnson, Paul and Booker and there’s something the Suns have long avoided. The season was made much more difficult due to injuries. Especially after the strangest and possibly flattest Game 7 performance of all time, how will this club find a way to get over the hump of the last two seasons?
Two things that shouldn’t surprise me: Nikola Jokić’s MVP contender and Jacque Vaughn
Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports
We thought there was no realistic way for the Joker to win MVP for the third year in a row, but here we are, Jokic sets a career-best efficiency on the field, averaging a triple-double of 25 points and 10.8 boards, 9.7 assists — as the #1 Nuggets team. And while he does, MVP nominees Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Zion Williamson are all missing out on significant time, narrowing the pool of realistic contenders for the award.
Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum were also great, so I think it will take a lot of effort for him to get it again. He’s very talented and shows how great a player he is. He became the fourth player in league history to achieve the feat, being the only three Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Larry Bird to win three in a row.
Aside from that, I’m not going to applaud the organization for causing one self-harm after another, but a big shout out to Nets coach Jack Vaughan for helping turn things around quickly in Brooklyn. The Nets, who have won 18 of their last 20 games, are 1.5 games behind the leader and look like contenders.
After all, being overtaken by the job of a man who had never coached before and almost seeing the team bypass him again for a coach who was just under investigation with another team, rusty Ben Simmons, etc. Needless headlines swirl as Kyrie Irving kicks off the season. Especially since he seems like someone who wants his work to speak for itself, which is refreshing after the endless rumblings of coming out of the organization for the wrong reasons.
The coaches face a huge test of having to work out a game plan for a while without Durant, who played at MVP level. Depending on how well he can navigate it, Vaughan should be near the top of most Coach of the Year lists at the end of the season.
Meat and potatoes: Good reading from SI and elsewhere this week
Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports
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