NBA Swing: What We Learned from Opening Week

Read Time:8 Minute, 0 Second

The Philadelphia 76ers will be fine without James Harden

When the season began, it looked like James Harden would be sticking with the Philadelphia 76ers. Many reports stated that the Los Angeles Clippers were out of trade talks with Philly again as they were more interested in Malcolm Brogdon. Out of nowhere, a trade Harden trade between the Sixers and Clippers broke very early on Tuesday morning. Harden would make it to his preferred destination alongside P.J. Tucker and another player for a package including expiring contracts and draft picks. While many thought the Harden trade would cause the collapse of the Sixers and an inevitable Joel Embiid trade request, it looks like the exact opposite. In the four games Philly has played so far this season, they look like they will be fine without Harden. Embiid’s dominant start to the season has shown why he won MVP last season. In his first four games, Embiid has averaged 30.1 PPG, 11.0 RPG, and 7.0 APG. Tyrese Maxey has stepped up as well, looking like a potential All-Star this season. Maxey has averaged 27.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 5.8 APG. In addition to the two, both Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. (who was signed in anticipation of a Harden trade) are currently averaging over 20.0 PPG. While there is no telling if the four can keep their production on the court, they have shown that Harden leaving will not affect the team. With the numerous expiring contracts Philly acquired, they are set to have more than enough cap space for another superstar next season. Moving on from Harden is without a doubt the best thing that could’ve happened to the Sixers.

The Chicago Bulls are doomed

The Chicago Bulls have been a mess so far this season. Chicago’s opening night saw the team be blown out by the Oklahoma City Thunder, losing by 20 points before having a player’s only meeting. Last Friday saw the Bulls win a very close game against the Raptors thanks to heroics by DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso. The following night would see a career-high 51 points from Zach Lavine and no help from the team when they lost to the Pistons by 16. They would then win another close game against the Pacers, which saw more heroics from DeMar DeRozan. Their last game would see them losing to the Mavs, falling apart in the clutch. The Bulls have had several problems to start their season. Lavine has been dealing with some back issues, Nikola Vucevic has been ignored on the court at times, and Patrick Williams has scored zero points in two games as a starter. The Bulls’ front office continues to make questionable moves, not re-signing or moving DeMar and picking up Dalen Terry’s 3rd-year player option. Many sports media outlets have continued to fuel the flames of a potential Bulls’ collapse, constantly linking Lavine in trade rumors, most recently to the Sixers following the James Harden trade. With several Bulls players acknowledging this is likely the last chance the core has to prove something, the first half of this season means everything to the team. If they continue playing the way they are, the Bulls likely decide to blow it up at the deadline.

This will be a down season for Memphis

One of the biggest disappointments so far this season has been the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis has taken blow after blow since the end of last season and now the team is in panic mode. The major blow to the Grizzlies was the suspension of Ja Morant, who still has another 20 games to serve. Ja’s impact has been sorely missed by the Grizzlies. Even though they traded Marcus Smart and signed Derrick Rose and Desmond Bane is currently averaging 24.6 PPG, they have not been able to fill the void Ja has left. The second major blow to Memphis was losing Steven Adams right before the beginning of the season. Set to miss the entire 2023-24 season, the lack of Adam’s defensive presence can be seen. Memphis has had one of the worst defenses so far this season, with Xavier Tillman being the only player averaging over 8.0 RPG. With Ja not sent to come back until around Christmas at the earliest, Memphis could continue to plummet in the standings before his return. Between November 1st and December 23rd (the first game Ja will be available to play), Memphis has games against Miami, both LA teams, Boston, San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, OKC, and New Orleans, among others. With the Western Conference stacked this season, a few teams are going to miss out on both playoff and play-in contention. At the rate things are going, Memphis could very well be one of those teams that miss playoffs and possibly the play-in as well. Memphis fans can only hope Ja Morant’s return to the court will save the team from

Boston is looking strong while Milwaukee is having growing pains

In the East, many expected two teams to be at the top: Boston and Milwaukee. Both teams had exciting offseasons, adding big pieces to bolster their already stacked teams. Boston added big names including Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday while the Bucks added superstar Damian Lillard in a shock trade. Boston has had a great start to their season, being the only team in the East with four wins at the time of this writing. Their most recent win saw Boston beat the Indiana Pacers by 51 points. Jayson Tatum has looked like a serious MVP contender early in the season while Jaylen Brown continues to show why he earned his big-money contract. Derrick White has slid into the starting lineup perfectly following the Marcus Smart trade and both Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are fitting perfectly in Boston. Another surprise for Boston has been Payton Pritchard, who has had several strong performances off the bench so far this season.

In Milwaukee, there are growing pains. While they’ve had two wins against Miami and Philly, they’ve also had two shocking losses against Atlanta and Toronto. Giannis Antetokounmpo has averaged 24.5 PPG and 8.5 RPG while Damian Lillard has averaged 21.3 PPG, having two disappointing games in their losses. Khris Middleton has not looked great, averaging 7.1 PPG in 16 minutes per game, both the lowest since his rookie season. They also have a new head coach, Adrian Griffin. As expected, their defense is not looking great. While they are far from being in disaster mode, they do need to improve in several aspects if they want to have a strong season. These two teams are expected to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, but anything is possible in the NBA.

Denver is still the best in the West, but are there threats in the West?

In the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets are still the team to beat. Currently sitting at 4-1 in the West, they just lost their first game against the Timberwolves. Even with that loss, Denver still looks strong. Nikola Jokic is averaging a double-double and looking like an MVP contender once again while Jamal Murray is having a solid start to his season, averaging 18.8 PPG and 7.8 APG. Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. are both having a slow start to the season while the bench is putting up decent numbers. Many thought Denver would fall off after losing key role players in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, but Denver remains one of the best in both the conference and league. Denver may have some threats in the stacked Western Conference though.

Dallas currently sits atop the West with a 4-0 record, facing Denver on Friday night. While they haven’t played against the best in the league early this season, they have looked dominant in every performance so far. Luka Doncic has nearly averaged a triple-double while leading the league in scoring. Tim Hardaway Jr. has taken a step up from last season, especially with Kyrie Irving missing the last couple of games. Additions like Grant Williams and Derrick Jones Jr. are great fits with the team after coming from Boston and Chicago. Lastly, Derrick Lively II has been a promising rookie so far. Once Kyrie returns, Dallas could be one of the scariest teams in the West and a serious contender this season. Another potentially serious threat to Denver is Golden State. Even though they have one of the older cores in the league, Steph Curry continues to prove why he’s one of the best players in the league. Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins are off to slow starts but are expected to improve as the season goes on. The biggest surprise for Golden State has been Chris Paul. He has embraced coming off the bench, being a great floor general for the second unit as well as when he shares the floor with Steph and Klay. The Warriors have looked good on the road so far, winning all three of their road games at the time of this writing. Both LA teams have looked strong as well, but there is no telling if they can keep up with aging superstars and constant injuries. Phoenix will easily be one of the scariest teams in the conference once everyone is healthy. Denver may remain the team to beat in the West, but they have more legitimate threats this season.