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Photo: AP, AFP, USA TODAY Sports – Illustration by Scanpix / BasketNews.lt
AP Photo, AFP, USA TODAY Sports – Illustration by Scanpix / BasketNews.lt
Right after a hiatus of just over two months, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is back again.
An unprecedented start to the season, in which spectators will not yet be admitted in most stadiums, as well as a new format that has hardly been touched by the Orlando bubble.
For the first time we will see a duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and Luka Dončičius will run for the historic achievement.
All this and more, in the intrigue review of the next NBA season of the website BasketNews.lt.
Will Luka Dončičius become regular season MVP?
This season is the last time that Dončičius could become the youngest MVP in NBA history, and at least the sportsbooks think the Dallas Mavericks star will do it: Slovenia is considered a favorite to pick up the prize.
There really is a basis for that. Already last season, 21-year-old Dončičius scored on average after 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists, so expecting an average of 30 points doesn’t seem like a utopia.
Still, the biggest factor will be the Mavericks’ own results. The Dallas team will likely have to take at least third place in the West for Dončičius to seriously claim this prestigious award. The last time Mavs was that high was 10 years ago, in 2010-2011. in the season in which he also won an NBA title.
Slovenia will certainly not lack competition. There is no doubt that in the regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks with Gianny Antetocounmp will drive contestants to despair, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry return from injuries, and there are at least two clubs in Los Angeles with strong talent fighting for the top spots. .
Dončič will need luck, but Slovenian Wunderkind already have enough to be considered a serious contender to claim the NBA regular season MVP.
Domantas Sabonis’ role with the new Pacers coach
The Pacers, who have been out of the first round of the playoffs for the last five years, have decided to make a difference and revolutionize the coaching staff. This is how Nate Bjorkgren came to Indiana from the Toronto Raptors. What will this mean for last season’s team leader Domantas Sabonis?
“We will play more modern basketball,” Sabonis said as soon as training camp began.
And sure enough, the modernity of the Pacers begins to be felt when you look at the three-point chart. In three friendly games, the Pacers threw 42 three-point games per game, seventh in the entire league.
By comparison, the Indiana team made 28 long shots last season and was at the bottom of the NBA table by that number.
It’s the long pitches that are most felt in Sabonis’s game so far. The Lithuanian shot 8 3-pointers (2.7 average) in the friendly match cycle, but only hit one. That three-point average would be the highest in a forward’s career in the NBA.
Bjorkgren continues to let Sabonis do what he does best: rack up points in the penalty area. Lietuvis also maintains team leader status and was the Pacers’ most productive player in the setup stage.
Sure, taking three friendlies is ridiculous given the length of the NBA season, but for now, that’s all we can get an impression of the Pacers’ new quarterback.
However, encouraging Sabonis to attack from afar has a positive effect, because after perfecting this element, Domantas’ attack arsenal will become broader and more universal, allowing Lithuania to take a step further.
The return of the great stars
This season we will also have stars who have not played for a long time on the parquet. Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins have not played official games since June 2019, and John Wall has not played since December 2018.
Stephen Curry, who broke his arm in October last year, could also be included. The Golden State Warriors star managed to step onto the field in March, but then the NBA and the rest of the world closed due to the pandemic, and the Warriors did not participate in the restart of the season, so Curry’s vacation lasted longer.
For now at least, Durant, who has returned from an Achilles tendon injury, looks very optimistic, averaging 20 points and 4.5 rebounds in two friendlies. The attacker attacked from the game at 50 percent. accuracy.
The Nets star has also shown that he can put up without much trouble. Probably the only thing that got stuck was the loss of speed, but knowing how long Durant didn’t play, that’s perfectly normal.
It is to be expected that the basketball player maintains a high level throughout the season, since at least until now we have been able to see a very good version of Durant.
Durant’s new teammate, Kyrie Irving, went almost 11 months without basketball. The defender was last on the basketball court on February 2, when he suffered a knee injury in a game with the Washington Wizards.
The trauma wasn’t too bad, so the outlook in the preseason game was, unsurprisingly, good. Irving played just over 22 minutes in two friendly games, but recorded 17.5 points (56 percent trit.), 4.5 assists and 4 rebounds.
At least for now, the Durant-Irving duo are not looking bad, but let’s not forget that two games were played. The only thing that can set foot is Irving’s basketball-related little extracurricular activities. The basketball player has been making headlines lately for his speeches and rituals performed before the Celtics game.
Wallas is also pleasantly surprised. The player who was traded to the Houston Rockets did not play due to the heel operation, and managed to remove the Achilles tendon during rehab.
In three games, the defender recorded statistics of 16.3 points and 5.3 assists and how in the old days successful forays into the penalty area tore the defense of the opponents apart. In the preparation phase, Wall didn’t look like a basketball player who hadn’t played for two years.
A successful comeback from Curry can also be expected. The Warriors’ star’s injury wasn’t as bad as Duranto’s or Wallo’s.
Curry’s rehab also came about because the club had no need to rush their leader – the Warriors were looking for the best possible call-up in this year’s rookie trade, so wins weren’t the primary goal.
The preseason games do not promise anything bad. Curry posted stats of 22.7 points (39 percent trit.), 3.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 interceptions.
Perhaps the most serious is Cousins’ situation. The midfielder had already returned after an Achilles tendon injury, but shortly before 2019-2020. at the beginning of the season he was also torn at the cruciate ligaments.
In the preseason game, Cousins seemed to slow down and stop being so mobile, but it would be hard to expect anything else after such injuries.
However, the center posted pretty solid stats and averaged 10.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 17 minutes. Not to mention, Cousinsas attacked from an incredible 46 percent. accuracy.
Of course, this is just a preseason game and it wouldn’t be worth drawing great conclusions from such encounters, but we must not forget what kind of talents these basketball players are and most of them are positive ahead of the season.
New access control system
The NBA has decided that the 10th team in the conference will also be able to fight for a place in the playoffs. We’ve already seen the extra tournament in the Orlando bubble, when the Portland Trail Blazers in eighth place took on the Memphis Grizzlies in ninth place.
The Blazers team had to win once to make the playoffs. This is the Portland team and they did it and made the playoffs. Still, the system will be a little different than next season.
Initially, the seventh and eighth places in the conference will meet and play a match. The winner of the duel will occupy the seventh place in the final classification.
The other couple will meet with the 9th and 10th place clubs at the conference. The winner of this match will advance to the decisive stage, where they will meet for eighth place with the team that lost the match for seventh place. Only one match will be played in the duel for eighth place.
This order will be applied to both conferences, and the difference in victories will not be seen, like last season.
Without a doubt, such a system brings a lot of intrigue in the fight for the playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks, who had a great offseason and Russell Westbrook’s Washington Wizards, failed to make the top eight last season in the Eastern Conference.
The Detroit Pistons, who attracted ambitious free agents, or the Charlotte Hornets, who invited Gordon Hayward, can also fire up the sauna.
Nuotr. USA Today Sports-Scanpix
As usual, the meat grinder is even bigger in the Western Conference.
Last season, the Golden State Warriors left Curry, Grizzlies in eighth position for most of the season.
Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans played just 24 games last season, with Eric Bledsoe, Steven Adams and George Hill on hand.
Not to mention the San Antonio Spurs, who always stay close to the top eight, last season was the first time the Texas team failed to make the playoffs after a 22-year layoff.
And we’re just talking here about teams that didn’t play in the playoffs last season. Knowing that practically everything will be determined by a single game, both in Eastern and Western conferences, the team that is in 10th position can jump to the playoffs.
Will Giannis Antetokounmpo finally prove his MVP level in the playoffs?
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has dominated the regular season for the past several years, has won two MVP awards in a row. There is no doubt that this year he will also request the third such evaluation.
However, with the arrival of the playoffs, Antetocounmp’s aura of dominance evaporates. 2019 After finding an antidote, the Raptors built a strong defensive wall for the Greek in the penalty area. The Miami Heat applied a similar tactic in the second round of this year’s playoffs.
Bulldozer Giannis, who is not restricted in the regular season, could be eliminated by a more solid hit. 2019 The Bucks star shot 64 percent in the playoffs accuracy and three-point 32%. Last season, the fines were carried out by 58 percent, while the three-point fines, by 32 percent.
Nuotr. AFP-Scanpix
The Greek has already demonstrated a modified penalty kick technique in this year’s preseason game, but at least so far this innovation isn’t paying off much. Antetokounmpo’s fines were made at 50 percent. fines.
The basketball player himself believes that the stars overcome suffering.
“I am a realistic person. You have to suffer to win the title. One of the best basketball players, Michael Jordan, played in the playoffs and suffered. He was eliminated and frustrated, but he went through it all and won 6 titles. It takes time to win the title, ”Antetokounmpo said after signing a new contract with the Bucks.
Of course, a successful march into the playoffs with the help of solid teammates is inevitable. Whether the Bucks have won the championship this season is another matter, but there is no doubt that Giannis will want to strip the player from the regular season as soon as possible.
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