What is Going on in the NBA?: First Month of the 2017-18 Season

What a year we’ve had in the NBA so far! To be honest though like what the actual fuck is going on in this season?  Right now, just to let you know, the top 2 teams in the Eastern Conference are the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. Yes, you read that correctly, not the Cavs, not the Bucks, not the Raptors, those teams are the top 2.  The West is looking more like what it was expected to look like, as the Warriors maintain the lead, and trailing them is the Rockets and several teams a game or two back chasing the 1 spot.  I wanted to explore two things.  One, why are the standings the way they are, and two, who are some players that are really having a standout year so far and who is really playing under expectation?

 

Here are the current standings as of 11/16/17:

 

EAST

Rank	Team Name	W	L	GB	Win Streak
1	Boston Celtics	14	2	–	W14
2	Detroit Pistons	10	4	3	L1
3	Washington Wizards	9	5	4	W4
4	Toronto Raptors	9	5	4	W2
5	New York Knicks	8	6	5	W1
6	Milwaukee Bucks	8	6	5	W4
7	Philadelphia 76ers	8	6	5	W2
8	Orlando Magic	8	7	5.5	L3
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	8	7	5.5	W3
10	Indiana Pacers	7	8	6.5	W1
11	Miami Heat	6	8	7	L2
12	Charlotte Hornets	5	8	7.5	L5
13	Brooklyn Nets	5	9	8	L2
14	Atlanta Hawks	3	12	10.5	W1
15	Chicago Bulls	2	10	10	L5

 

WEST

Rank	Team Name	W	L	GB	Win Streak
1	Houston Rockets	12	4	–	W1
2	Golden State Warriors	11	4	0.5	L1
3	Minnesota Timberwolves	9	5	2	W2
4	San Antonio Spurs	9	6	2.5	L1
5	Portland Trail Blazers	8	6	3	W2
6	Denver Nuggets	8	6	3	L1
7	New Orleans Pelicans	8	7	3.5	L1
8	Memphis Grizzlies	7	7	4	L3
9	Oklahoma City Thunder	7	7	4	W3
10	Utah Jazz	6	9	5.5	L2
11	Los Angeles Lakers	6	9	5.5	L1
12	Los Angeles Clippers	5	8	5.5	L6
13	Phoenix Suns	5	11	6.5	L2
14	Sacramento Kings	3	11	8	L3
15	Dallas Mavericks	2	13	9.5	L3

 

A couple of quick takeaways as to why we see the standings the way they are.  First off, the Celtics are straight out dominating in the East riding a 10 game winning streak since Kyrie Irving told a fan to suck his dick.  The Celtics are where they are because of their defense, something that Brad Stevens prides his team on.  The Celtics currently lead the league with 94.1 Opponent PPG and they are one of 4 teams in the entire NBA that have kept their opponents under 100 PPG this season.  Heading into the West, the Warriors are holding the highest scoring offense currently scoring 117.5 PPG and they lead by 6 points off of the 2nd highest scoring offense in the lead, which is the Houston Rockets.  To get to a team that is extremely surprising is the Detroit Pistons.  They are currently the 4th best record in the entire league and a lot of people are wondering how is that possible.  The reason why is they have one of the best defenses in the league and have gotten tremendous play from everyone including Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson.  They really made a strong jump in acquiring Avery Bradley this offseason and the whole team has worked really well together as a unit.  A team that is struggling is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who need to become a better TEAM.  This team is struggling a ton since they play a ton of isolation ball and are one of the worst teams in ball movement in the league.  They have the tools to be a good team.  Don’t count them out, they just gotta work out some kinks and they will be a full powered steam engine come January.

 

Here are a couple guys who have impressed me and have out performed my expectations this season so far.  

 

 

SF/PF Aaron Gordon, ORL

Gordon is killing it in the NBA so far in his first 10+ games.  He is leading the Magic on their way to a top seed in the East.  He is averaging 18.3 PPG and 7.9 RPG while shooting a beautiful 53.7 FG% and 51.9 3P%.  If he keeps this up you could see Aaron Gordon at All Star Weekend in LA.

 

G/F/Every Position Ben Simmons, PHI

Simmons is absolutely dominating along with co-partner Joel Embiid.  Simmons is tallying 17.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 7.5APG while shooting 49.7% from the field. He is really putting on a show and has played one of the best rookie seasons we have seen so far.  He has been my pick for Rookie of the Year and he is really making me proud.

 

PF/C Kristaps Porzingis, NYK

The Unicorn is absolutely beasting and feasting all over the NBA.  While I felt his production would go up with the departure of Carmelo, I did not imagine he would be playing this well so fast.  Porzingis is averaging 29.5 PPG, 7.3RPG, and 2.2 BPG on his way to the Most Improved Player award.  If he continues to dominate along with Enes Kanter you could see the Knicks squeak into the playoffs.

 

PG/SG Dennis Schroder, ATL

Schroder is averaging nearly 20 points per game (19.8) while grabbing 3.1 RPG and 6.7 APG all while hitting 88% of his shots from the free throw line.  He is in charge of a really struggling Hawks team, but his play could get him into the All Star Game if he keeps it up.  He has played great and hopefully it can translate to wins.

 

Now here are some guys who have either played really extremely under expectation or who are just out right stinking up the joint.

 

 

PG/SG Lonzo Ball, LAL

Yes he is a rookie, but Lonzo has had some real big struggles so far this season.  He is doing well rebounding and passing the ball, but is struggling a ton scoring and even shooting the ball at a high percentage.  He is averaging 9.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 7.2 APG, but his shooting a terrible 31.3 FG% and 25.0% from 3.  His shooting numbers are horrendous and he needs to find a way to fix it fast if he wants to take the Lakers to the playoffs.

 

SG Dwyane Wade, CLE

While the Cavs can’t seem to do much right neither can D-Wade.  He has struggled a ton since joining the Cavs and is on track for the worst season of his career.  Wade is averaging 9.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.7 APG (all set to be worsts for his career) while also shooting .214% from 3.  Wade has been struggling so much he took himself out of the starting lineup.  It seems as though father time has caught up with Wade and the age is really getting to him.  

 

SG/SF Jimmy Butler, MIN

While he is getting less touches playing alongside Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, he still has really under performed.  He is scoring 16.2 PPG while grabbing 5.1 RPG and dishing out 4.7 APG.  While his rebounding and assist numbers have taken just a small dip his scoring is down 7.7 PPG from his 23.9 PPG last season.  He is also down to 42% from the field as opposed to 45% from last season.  While I knew his numbers would go down I still expected Jimmy G. Buckets to score at least 20 PPG.

 

SF/PF Danilo Gallinari, LAC

Gallinari has really not impressed.  He was a big acquisition for this Clippers franchise over the offseason and has not performed as expected.  While he has been through an injury this season he still has not played too well in his games on the floor.  He’s averaging 12.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.0 APG while shooting an atrocious 35.5 FG% and 26.0% from 3.  While the rebounds could be a little better for a guy standing 6’10”, the shooting needs to improve drastically.  For a guy who has driven his game on great shooting it has not been what LA is looking for.  He’s gotta pick it up to help his team contend this season.

 

This season has had a lot going on and I’m excited to see what the rest of the season has in store.  

 

 

Written by Nick Kazandjian