NBA 25-26 - And so it begins..

[Kingspoint]

NBA is determined to have the LAL in the playoffs. They're taking no chances. They lead by a wide margin Free Throw attempts in the NBA. Tonight they had 44 and the refs fouled out 3 Spurs. 3 Lakers got 5 fouls, but nobody would be given a 6th. This is a recurring theme.

[KoryMac5]

Dallas is in an interesting position. They are once again looking at the lottery…to me it makes sense to look to deal AD for picks and a young player. He is hurt again but still has value amongst the league’s top brass. The problem is trading AD would be an admission of incompetence by Nico Harrison who somehow took a team that made the finals and lit it on fire.

[texasdave]

I cannot understand why there are so many articles about Cooper Flagg not living up expectations after just 10 games. Unless you have unrealistic expectations for the youngest player in the league, that is absurd. He is playing with not much help. He is playing out of position. Yet still he is averaging 13.9 pts, 6.6 boards, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks. That is not bad at all. Tons of players struggle upon entering the NBA. I guess these sites have to get clicks somehow.

[texasdave]

Cooper Flagg last night against the Bucks: 26 pts, 9 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block. Good night for the rookie.

Jalen Green has to be the quietest 20 points a game scorer in a long time. 20 points a game and never gets a mention.

[KoryMac5]

Nico Harrison fired...

Had to happen was the GM that pulled off one of the worst trades in NBA history...took a team that went to the finals, promptly traded a generational talent for an often injured but talented center who feels he is a power forward and the Lakers threw in a future number one pick. That was the return...

Luka is averaging around 40/9/9 and AD is once again hurt.

Dallas doesn't own any of it picks after this season until 2031.

Fired Casey Smith one of the best trainers in the NBA by text while he was with his dying mother.

Had a temporary staircase put out at Mavs games so he didn't have to walk through the crowds to exit...

Mavs had to make a move.

[goreds2]

The rivalry is back! 76ers / Celtics have played three games thus far with a total combined decided by 4 points. I think the announcers said they do not play each other until March of next year.

76ers won this game without Embiid.

[Boston Red]

So the Pacers are really bad, huh? Not even a match for the lowly Jazz.

[texasdave]

Barring injury, I'll take OKC against the field.

[Kingspoint]

Things won’t get any easier for the Pelicans in the near future, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com, who writes that the team is about to begin a five-game home stand against Western Conference opponents that includes matchups with the Lakers, Warriors, Thunder, and Nuggets.

He fails to mention the first game of the homestand tonight against POR, who beat each of those 4 teams already.

- - - Updated - - -

So the Pacers are really bad, huh? Not even a match for the lowly Jazz.

They are injured. Missing 6 Guards.

[Kingspoint]

While the Magic continued their positive play with a 17-pt win in Madison Square Garden, they may have paid a hefty price with an injury to their perennial MVP candidate Paulo Banchero. He'll have an MRI today to determine the severity of the groin injury he suffered with hopefully good news as they continue to climb the standings in the Eastern Conference.

The rest of the teams in the East have a chance to take advantage of the injuries in last night's game as Jalen Brunson left on crutches. How long he'll be out is to be determined, but the loss has to be a great one for the floor general of the Knicks. Josh Hart's dissatisfaction with coming off the bench may give him a Starting role again for a while and in turn give him a boost in production.

Both teams should be ready to live the "next man up" mantra as both teams are deep with talent.

On a side note, Jonathan Issac is unstoppable on the boards again, just like he was last season, and perhaps even more. He knows that his role is to get every rebound and it takes at least two bodies to keep him off the glass, and that isn't enough half the time. He's a positive impact every time he steps onto the floor for Orlando.

[Kingspoint]

Somehow, PHO is 7-5. While there have been many teams talked about regarding their surprisingly good play (CHI, SAS, LAL w/ so many injuries), PHO is one team that hasn't been mentioned. There's still talent there, and they, too had an injury to the main piece in the trade that sent Durant to HOU. But, Green is now contributing, Booker is still Booker, and some minor pieces were added to give the Suns some depth they never had when Durant (and Beal...stop whining Beal...you weren't good even when you were healthy in PHO, and now you're injured for the season in LA...feel lucky that any team was able to overpay you once again for taking up a roster spot) was a member of the team.

[Assembly Hall]

So the Pacers are really bad, huh? Not even a match for the lowly Jazz.

The season was over before it began. I will spend the winter watching CBB and scouring the mock drafts...

[Kingspoint]

The season is 1/8th over. That's a fair chunk of the schedule, enough to make judgements about all of the teams.

While judgements can be made about all of the teams, the results, for the most part, reflect injuries, availability and continuity (or lack of continuity with new teammates) of teams where players already know their roles and teams have had those players available.

Judging by all of that, I'm putting out there my Top-7 in the NBA for right now.

1. OKC is an easy call as they are healthier than they were last season and are the most role-defined team in the league (only loss being to a very attacking and disruptive POR team)

2. DEN is an easy #2 call as they've won 9 of 10 (only loss to that same disruptive and attacking POR team that held them to 10 points fewer than any of their other 9 games during this streak, while also holding Jokic to his fewest points over this stretch). Over the last 6 games the Joker has gone where no man has gone before with 35/12/11 averages on 60% shooting.

3. DET is the most disrespected team in the NBA and Cade Cunningham is the NBA's MVP so far this season despite all that Jokic has accomplished. Jalen Duren has become everything I thought he could be when I was hoping the Blazers would draft him instead of letting him fall into the teens to DET. They are loaded with talent, though a backup PG is needed as there will be a time when Cunningham gets hurt. It happens to all teams and it will happen to them, too. DET doesn't have to shoot better than their opponents. They use the tried and true method of getting more opportunities than their opponents by dominating the Offensive glass (3rd in the NBA in OFF REB efficiency) and forcing Turnovers (4th in the NBA in Turnover efficiency). It's not all Cunningham. It's a team-wide effort.

4. HOU has the 3rd best Point Differential in the NBA, but most of that is because 60% of their games have been played against the Eastern Conference where they've feasted to a 5-1 record. They are only 2-2 in the West where DET is 4-0 against the West. There's a huge gap between the Top-3 teams in the NBA right now and HOU. Of the Top-9 teams in the WEST, the Rockets are the only team that isn't above .500 against it's Conference opponents. That said, it's been amazing how Idoka has come up with lineups to try to win games without Vanvleet. HOU is gathering the information needed before deciding to plunge into the Point Guard trade when the opportunity begins next month. Making HOU's schedule even softer so far this season is the fact that they've played fewer games than any other team, so they've gotten more rest than anyone else, too.

5. NYK are better than the rest of the West at this point, though the loss of Brunson is going to put this to a test quickly. Like the Pistons, they are undefeated against the West, they dominate the Offensive glass (5th in NBA) and forcing turnovers (6th in NBA), thus giving them opportunity to win when they have a cold shooting night. Even with the loss of Brunson, they should maintain their shot-attempt dominance over other teams.

6. SAS are about to add Fox to the mix. That gives them the edge of the #7 team. While most of the Spurs success has been due to feasting on the East where they are 4-0 versus 4-3 against the West, they've still shown enough early returns to warrant a Top-7 placement in the cream-of-the-crop standings. They are winning with with Offense (#4 in EFG%, #8 in Free Throw attempts, and #7 in Off Reb). Adding pace and Offense with Fox and they should not only be able to maintain this level of Offense, but get better at it.

7. MIN leads the NBA in eFG%, 5.6% greater than their opponents. They have the players and style of play who can maintain this.

The next group of seven has teams (MIA (#1 in PACE)/CLE (#2 in Forcing TO's)) who arguably could be better than MIN or SAS right now, and I'll post another ranking when the season has passed its quarter-mark.

I love the style of play the NBA is morphing into. It's the fast-paced attacking at both ends of the floor designed to get open looks and higher FG% attempts. It leads to more turnovers on both ends because of the PACE, but it's by design as the forced turnovers lead to better shot attempts on Offense. It's the same PACE that most of the teams played from the mid-70's to the early to mid-'80's. It's fun to watch.

Upcoming games this week that will be great to watch:

THUR:
TOR @ CLE

FRI:
MIA @ NYK
PHI @ DET
POR @ HOU
GSW @ SAS

SAT:
LAL@MIL
DEN@MIN

SUN:
ORL@HOU
ATL@PHO

MON:
MIL@CLE
NYK@MIA
CHI@DEN

TUE:
GSW@ORL
DET@ATL
PHO@POR

WED:
HOU@CLE
TOR@PHI
GSW@MIA
CHI@POR

THUR:
PHI@MIL
ATL@SAS

[Kingspoint]

Good news for ORL...

2:20 pm: An MRI confirmed that Banchero has a left groin strain, tweets Shams Charania of ESPN. According to Charania, the forward has been ruled out for Friday’s game vs. Brooklyn and will continue to be evaluated daily beyond that. The update suggests that Banchero avoided a major injury.

[Kingspoint]

Rockets guard Reed Sheppard, who has taken on more responsibilities this season following Fred VanVleet‘s torn ACL, has had his three best performances of the fall within the past week, averaging 17.7 points in 26.7 minutes per game on .645/.619/.855 shooting during that stretch.