The primary few weeks of the 2024-25 NBA season are within the books and there have been some fascinating storylines growing already.
Some groups that followers and consultants anticipated to be flying excessive are struggling mightily, whereas different groups have come out of nowhere to appear like a drive to be reckoned with.
Listed below are 5 issues we have realized from the opening weeks of the season.
1. Dyson Daniels is changing into a defensive monster
When the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks engaged in a blockbuster commerce this summer time, the headline act was Dejounte Murray heading to the Pelicans.
Australia’s Dyson Daniels was a throw-in despatched to the Hawks together with EJ Liddell, Larry Nance Jr, Cody Zeller and two future first-round picks.
Within the early a part of this season, Daniels has proven why he’s an asset to be coveted, as effectively.
Daniels’s arrival in Atlanta hasn’t led to the Hawks being an absolute juggernaut — on the time of writing, the Hawks are eighth within the East with a 5-7 document — however his particular person defensive work has been one of the best of his brief profession.
The 21-year-old has began each sport to this point this season and has racked up an unbelievable 3.6 steals per sport, effectively above his profession common of 1.2. He’s at the moment the NBA’s premier ball hawk. Dribble round him with out concentrating or throw a lazy go and Daniels manages to get his mitts on the ball, setting off a Hawks transition play.
Daniels has recorded an unbelievable 19 steals in his final three outings, the final of which got here alongside 28 factors and 7 assists because the Hawks upset the Boston Celtics on the highway minus star level guard Trae Younger. He’s simply the fourth participant in NBA historical past to have three straight video games of six or extra steals.
The 36 steals Daniels has recorded by way of his first 10 video games this season are probably the most recorded by a single participant in such a stretch since Allen Iverson did it in 2003.
Daniels has slotted in properly alongside Younger in Atlanta’s back-court, with the remainder of the beginning line-up rounded out by Clint Capela, Jalen Johnson and the primary decide on this 12 months’s draft, Zaccharie Risacher.
Regardless of being the league’s fourth-worst defensive staff by way of the primary couple of weeks, the Hawks starters have proved to be a sturdy defensive unit by way of 104 minutes collectively. The starters boast a defensive score of 108, which might rank inside the highest 5 defences within the NBA.
Daniels has been current in Atlanta’s three most-used line-ups to this point this season, two of which have blown opponents off the courtroom in restricted minutes.
There’s nonetheless room to enhance for the Aussie. Daniels’s outdoors shot, which can decide how profitable his subsequent contract is, nonetheless stays shaky (he is capturing 27 per cent from three-point vary this season).
Whereas Daniels is in a few of Atlanta’s greatest line-ups, he’s additionally current in a few of Atlanta’s worst line-ups. Nevertheless, it is early and line-up knowledge can fluctuate wildly from sport to sport at this level within the season.
Nonetheless, it has been a superb begin for the younger Aussie, who’s little question hopeful Atlanta will likely be his long-term residence.
2. Ben Simmons reveals a pulse after being benched
The Brooklyn Nets have been one of many shock packets of the early season beneath new head coach Jordi Fernandez.
Fernandez has the Nets taking part in a tenacious model of basketball that sees them choosing up opposing guards the size of the courtroom, the form of stuff that’s normally reserved for faculty basketball.
The tactic is rare but it surely has allowed the Nets to punch effectively above their weight this season. Twice within the final week, the Nets have threatened to document upset wins over the 9-2 Boston Celtics and the 12-0 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Fernandez opened the season beginning Ben Simmons earlier than opting to maneuver the Aussie to the bench, and the transfer has offered immediate dividends. Brooklyn’s new beginning 5 of Dennis Schroder, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton, Cam Johnson and Cam Thomas is outscoring opponents by 13.2 factors per 100 possessions in 98 minutes on the courtroom.
In his second sport since coming off the bench, Simmons confirmed why he nonetheless has worth across the league and why he is prone to get one other contract after this 12 months regardless of a torturous three-year run coming into this season.
Simmons remains to be reluctant to shoot the basketball — his 4.6 shot makes an attempt per sport are a profession low — however he has misplaced not one of the passing abilities that make him such a singular participant at his measurement.
Within the Nets’ 107-105 win over the Pelicans this week, Simmons got here off the bench and dished out 12 assists in simply 22 minutes of play, with the primary 10 of these coming inside 12 minutes.
Simmons’s lack of scoring means he does not function in loads of area, but time and time once more he was capable of thread the needle to search out cutters at will. The spotlight of all of the assists was a right-handed dime in transition which was so completely positioned that teammate Keon Johnson didn’t have to interrupt stride earlier than amassing the ball and slamming it residence.
The Nets outscored the Pelicans by eight factors in Simmons’s 22-minute stint and Fernandez will hope that Simmons can proceed marshalling his bench unit because the season wears on.
3. It is actually 2016 once more as a result of the Cavs and Warriors are cooking
You could possibly be forgiven for pondering 2024 is one other model of 2016 as a result of Donald Trump is again within the Oval Workplace and the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are each taking part in at elite ranges once more.
In response to ESPN’s pre-season odds, the Cavaliers have been ranked the eighth-best probability to win the title, whereas the Warriors have been ranked twelfth. Judging from each groups’ play over the primary few weeks, it could not be a significant shock to see a repeat of the NBA Finals match-up we noticed for 4 consecutive years between 2015 and 2018 subsequent June.
The Cavs have opened the season on a 12-0 run, one of the best profitable streak to start out the season for the reason that Warriors opened the 2015-16 season going 24-0, the longest profitable streak to start out an NBA season.
Golden State, alternatively, has been one of many greatest shock packets within the Western Convention, boasting a 9-2 document that features signature wins at Boston and at Oklahoma Metropolis.
Each the Cavaliers and the Warriors are among the many greatest groups within the NBA by way of the primary couple of weeks of the season. (Getty Pictures: Jason Miller)
There’s a frequent thread between the 2 groups, with new Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson having spent a number of seasons with the Warriors as Steve Kerr’s understudy, and the Kerresque ball motion Atkinson has ushered in at the moment has Cleveland boasting one of the best offence within the NBA.
The Cavs have not simply crushed opponents on this 12-game profitable streak, they’ve blown the doorways off them, with the Warriors one of many casualties in that streak.
Golden State got here into final week’s conflict in Cleveland boasting one of the best defence within the league and located themselves trailing the Cavs 83-42 at half-time. Atkinson has taken a staff that was thought of to be perennial underachievers and turned them right into a authentic contender.
After disappointing seasons final 12 months, each Darius Garland and Evan Mobley appear like they’ve taken mini-leaps. Mobley has been pretty much as good as any large man on the defensive finish whereas Garland has been a crunch-time killer. The Cavs are not over-reliant on Donovan Mitchell because of this.
Each groups have playmakers from the guard spots in addition to large males who can facilitate and play an unselfish model of basketball that’s reliant on gamers being on the transfer on a regular basis. If any participant will get caught, there’s typically an outlet close by courtesy of a teammate chopping ferociously. These kind of offences are nightmares to defend. Swap off for one second as a defender and also you’re watching the ball undergo the basket.
The Warriors have amped up their defence, with Draymond Inexperienced winding again the clock within the early a part of the season, whereas the Warriors’ suite of wing defenders comparable to Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and DeAnthony Melton have largely been glorious on that finish of the ground.
Stephen Curry continues to do Stephen Curry issues regardless of being 36 years of age. Simply months after he lit up France within the gold medal sport on the Olympics, Curry has continued to show he is without doubt one of the league’s apex predators on the offensive finish.
Each the Cavs and Warriors have glorious depth and each Kerr and Atkinson are utterly unafraid of utilising it. Atkinson’s facet discovered itself in a nine-point gap late within the third quarter towards the Bulls this week and obtained again within the sport after he rolled out a line-up that includes not one of the Cavs starters.
It’s nonetheless early on within the season. Shooters on each the Cavs and Warriors are lights out in the intervening time and can cool off at some stage, however the emergence of those two groups as authentic forces has spiced up their respective conferences.
4. The outdated guard is refusing to go quietly into the evening
Final season’s play-offs seemed like they have been ushering within the NBA’s new era.
It was the primary time since 2005 that neither LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Curry featured within the convention semifinals because the likes of Anthony Edwards took centre stage.
Nevertheless, the NBA’s elder statesmen are again and so they’re cooking.
The trio have been pivotal in Staff USA’s comeback win within the gold medal sport, and it seems taking part in on the identical staff collectively for the primary time in a aggressive, non-All-Star sport atmosphere has energised all three.
Curry stays as incandescent a scorer because the NBA has and he’s by no means, ever distant from a game-changing flurry of factors. In Golden State’s thrilling win over Dallas on Wednesday, he was dormant for a lot of the ultimate quarter earlier than happening a private 12-0 run to ice the sport, capping it with a three-pointer and his now-iconic “evening evening” celebration.
Durant was taking part in at an MVP stage, averaging 27.6 factors on 43 per cent from lengthy vary in his first 9 appearances earlier than being sidelined with a calf harm (extra on that later).
After being unceremoniously swept by Edwards’s Timberwolves final season, Durant has returned with a vengeance and has his Phoenix Suns equal prime of the West with a 9-2 document.
It was a season to overlook final 12 months for the Suns star trio of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, however the trio look way more in sync this 12 months beneath new head coach Mike Budenholzer, who coached the Milwaukee Bucks to the title simply three years in the past.
Then there’s James, the one man Father Time can not appear to come up with. The person has been within the league for thus lengthy that he’s actually teammates along with his personal son.
There are two LeBron James’s within the NBA now, however Senior continues to be the highest canine. (AP: Eric Thayer)
It’s laborious to imagine James is popping 40 in simply over a month’s time, but nonetheless stays so very important to the whole Lakers operation. James not has the explosiveness he as soon as had in his prime years, however nonetheless stays as impactful a participant as there’s within the NBA.
It has been a uneven begin to the season for LA beneath new head coach JJ Redick, who’s in his first teaching job ever. The Lakers have been largely glorious at residence and largely terrible on the highway and have a 6-4 document to this point.
James definitely has to select his spots now greater than ever, the one signal that Father Time has gotten to him to at the least some extent. He has taken a step again as a scorer this 12 months, letting Anthony Davis prepared the ground in that regard, however that doesn’t imply he is any much less impactful.
Given he’s the league’s all-time main pointscorer, it’s simple to overlook James stays one of many league’s greatest-ever passers as effectively.
He has tallied in extra of 10 assists in 4 of his final 5 video games, with the final two video games yielding two straight triple doubles.
Within the listing of the ten oldest gamers to have recorded triple doubles, James owns eight of them. Karl Malone is the oldest participant in NBA historical past to document a triple double, doing so at 40 years and 127 days of age. It’s a document that will not stand lengthy if James continues on this vein of kind.
James could also be into his twenty second season, however he stays the league’s greatest conductor, who is ready to get the entire different 9 gamers on the courtroom taking part in on the tempo greatest suited to him and his teammates. He does this higher than another participant within the NBA.
Certainly some day we could have a league with out this iconic trio being the torchbearers. That day does not seem like precisely across the nook simply but.
5. The NBA formally has an harm downside
The joy that comes with the beginning of the common season has been watered down considerably by a spate of accidents within the opening weeks.
Clippers followers have been among the many first to be impacted when Kawhi Leonard’s coaching camp was halted by the most recent in a protracted line of mysterious accidents for the two-time Finals MVP. Leonard is but to play a sport this season and seems unclear when he’ll return.
The Boston Celtics are with out one of many pivotal items of their title-winning staff, with Latvian large man Kristaps Porzingis anticipated to be dominated out till at the least December because of a knee harm.
After being battered by accidents final season, the Memphis Grizzlies have been snake-bitten as soon as once more, with Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Marcus Sensible all lacking time within the early a part of the season.
Kevin Durant headlines a bunch of NBA stars to have gone down with soft-tissue accidents within the first few weeks of this season. (Getty Pictures: Chris Coduto)
Considerably worryingly for the NBA, a variety of gamers are out with soft-tissue accidents, with Pelicans star Zion Williamson and 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey each out with hamstring accidents. Durant is part of this group, lacking with a calf pressure, as we beforehand talked about.
The soft-tissue accidents are maybe an indication the NBA must overhaul its pre-season to make sure its greatest gamers are in premium form come opening evening. Too typically, these video games are merely seen as exhibitions with a number of big-name gamers sitting out a number of pre-season video games earlier than being rolled out for giant minutes the second the season begins.
A few the NBA’s younger studs have additionally suffered unlucky accidents, additional dampening the vibes.
Paolo Banchero was wrecking worlds for the Orlando Magic earlier than he was recognized with a torn indirect, whereas Chet Holmgren was proving himself as among the best defensive bigs within the league earlier than taking place with a hip fracture after a tough fall on this week’s loss to the Warriors.
There’s loads of expertise to go round, however the NBA wants all its stars on the ground sooner quite than later.
