NBA 2016–17: Quick starts and early struggles
The 2016–17 NBA season is less than three weeks in, but most teams have already nine games, and a few have already even played ten. If we think of each NBA season as a lifespan, this season is not old enough to reach its teen years, but it is also not young enough to still be babbling and learning to walk. Definite progress has been made into the season, and trends are starting to be noticed. With that said, let’s take a look at a few of the most surprising teams in the early-season standings:
Los Angeles Lakers: 5–4
Likely the biggest surprise when going around the league standings is seeing the Lakers over .500. For most of the team’s history, being over .500 was to be expected, but in the past few seasons, they’ve been far closer to the cellar than even the 8-seed (where they currently sit). Maybe the best news for Laker fans, though, is that those wins are coming with an overall attitude facelift. Whether you want to credit Luke Walton and his Cali Boy vibes, or more cynically accuse Kobe Bryant of hijacking any positive emotion of the past couple seasons, the overall attitude of the team is noticeably better, and the wins are following.
Right now the Lakers have wins over the Rockets, Hawks and Warriors, three of the best teams in the NBA, and very nice scalps to have on the Lakers mantle as the season goes on. The club really only has one bad loss, as well, as they fell to a 2–6 Mavericks team on Tuesday. And even that loss isn’t too bad considering the Mavs have been a playoff staple for the last decade.
The Lakers have five different players averaging at least 14.0 points per game, and that’s with superstar rookie, Brandon Ingram struggling mightily in his first nine games (6.1 points per game of 36.7 percent shooting). Young studs, D’Angelo Russell (15.6 points and 4.7 assists per game) and Julius Randle (14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game) are seeing their games blossom right in front of the Laker faithful, and veterans Lou Williams and Nick Young are looking better than they have in a long time.
I still wouldn’t count on the Lakers making the playoffs this season, and probably wouldn’t bet on them to finish above .500, but that’s becoming a closer and closer bet. This team looks primed to finish just outside the playoffs (maybe 38 wins), and could look like a potential contender in the West as their younger players get a bit more seasoning.
Dallas Mavericks: 2–6
Everything is off in Dallas this season, as Dirk Nowitzki has only played three games, the team has only won two games, and Mark Cuban had a petty stint of refusing to give several ESPN reporters media credentials. For a franchise that has missed the playoffs only once this millennium, this is borderline front page news.
Now what shouldn’t be shocking given that last paragraph is that the Mavs look like prime candidates for a bounceback. They haven’t lost to a single “bad” team yet, and as noted, they’ve been without their top gun, Dirk, for all but three games.
In fact, looking at their team stats page might actually invigorate Mavs fans a bit, as their big purchase of the offseason, Harrison Barnes, has been outstanding this season, averaging 22.6 points and 6.1 rebounds a game as the top dog with Dirk out. J.J. Barea continues to defy all logic, and Deron Williams has been solid. Two key contributors, Wesley Matthews (28.9 percent) and Justin Anderson (39.7 percent) are bound to start hitting a few more shots sooner than later, and their next four games all look winnable (especially if Horford is still out for Boston).
The Mavs still have warlock, Rick Carlisle, as their coach, but they will need to start getting Ws sooner than later, with a packed Western Conference.
I had the Mavs just on the outside looking in of the playoffs before the season, and this only makes me feel more confident in that pick. I don’t think they will end the season in 14th in the conference, but a playoff miss seems like a definite possibility.
Washington Wizards: 2–6
The Wizards came into this season with plenty of high hopes. They had missed the playoffs in 2015–16, but were just a season removed from a strong 2014–15 campaign in which they took the number five seed in the East, and were a John Wall injury in the playoffs away from looking like the best chance to beat the Cavs. With a 2–6 start, it’s fair to say disappointment has been the word buzzing around the DMV area in regards to the Almost-Bullets this season.
Like the Mavs, however, there are some silver linings.
For one, John Wall is continuing to do John Wall things on a nightly basis. The seventh year (!) point guard out of Kentucky is dropping a career-high 22.3 points a game, while adding 8+ dimes a night. Wall is even shooting his best percentage ever from the field, at 46 percent.
Otto Porter Jr. has also been an early-season revelation, averaging 16.1 points and 8.3 rebounds a night, including maybe the most impressive statline for any player, Wizards or otherwise, this season when he hit the Celtics for 34 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks and no turnovers in a 25-point Washington win.
Looking over the schedule, there is only one bad loss there, as well. Five of the six losses have been to playoff teams from last season, with an 88–86 loss to Orlando being the lone outlier. Even that game can be explained by John Wall being absent, and while it doesn’t speak to the team depth that they can’t beat the Magic without Wall, no one is arguing that this team would have any chance without their talisman point guard.
Bradley Beal is, once again, likely to be the most important piece for Washington. His 36.6 percent shooting (and 29.4 percent from deep) is bound to swing back in a more positive direction sooner than later, but if he settles around 40 percent shooting and 33 percent from deep, that won’t be enough. The Wizards need a healthy Beal, and a healthy Beal shooting around 45 percent from the field and near 40 percent from deep if they want to reach the levels they did in 2014–15.
The Wizards have a stretch of six winnable games starting with an important game on the road in Chicago on Saturday. They will need to reach near .500 by the end, because even though it’s early, they can’t afford to have those losses still piling up.
