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The first week of the NBA’s 2020-21 season is officially on the books, and entertainment has not been lacking as the league embarks on another unprecedented season amid a global pandemic. Rather than play inside a bubble as it did earlier this year in Orlando, the NBA opted to play in local stadiums and try to return to a “normal” season as much as possible beginning on December 22 to keep the line. of traditional time. track.
Since the league decided to start the season so quickly, it led to the shortest offseason in NBA history, and because fans are banned from most stadiums, the games feel like a morning matchup. AAU tournament. However, the season is well underway and the first week of action has seen plenty of head-scratching moments. One example, the Clippers, who did not have Kawhi Leonard, lost by 51 points to the Dallas Mavericks. Another is how the Sacramento Kings are currently tied 3-way for first place in the West after a 3-1 start.
Consider those two honorable mentions, because these five stories below have been the five biggest surprises during the first week of the 2020-21 NBA season.
1. Returning from a serious injury, Kevin Durant is already in shape in the middle of the season.
I don’t care what anyone says, no one could have predicted that Durant would seek this well after breaking his Achilles tendon during the 2019 NBA Finals. That’s already a devastating injury to come back from, then throwing his 7-foot wiry frame and that adds more concern. Yet here we are, a week into the season and KD seems to be picking up right where he left off as a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate capable of easily averaging 30 points per night, around seven boards and being an absolute monster on defending.
His silky smooth jumper has not been affected at all after injury, he appears to be getting the same boost in his shots as before and shows no fear in attacking the rim and finishing through contact. Durant is getting what he wants, just as he was before he fell in June 2019, and he also looks like the unstoppable player he was back then. What’s even scarier is that this is just the beginning for him. Imagine what he will look like after 40 games under his belt this season, or in the postseason when he feels much more comfortable back on the court and in a new team.
The way he’s played in the first week of the season should be scary for the rest of the Eastern Conference, because it appears that Durant hasn’t lost a step.
2. The winless Raptors
So the Raptors are 0-3 to start the season, and while there’s no reason to hit the panic button yet, it’s pretty shocking and a bit confusing as to why this happened. They suffered a close loss to a Spurs team that no one thinks will even come close to the entry game in the West, an opening night loss to the promising young Pelicans team and a third loss to the 76ers. team that looks like a dangerous team in the East right now. Against the Sixers, it was this team’s lack of size with Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol that cost them the win, as Joel Embiid got what he wanted inside against Toronto.
However, there is more here than lack of size on defense. The Raptors have notoriously let their defense lead the offense, but so far this season that has not been the case. In the fourth quarter of that Sixers loss, Toronto managed to score just 17 points, and Fred VanVleet continues to fight through the first three games. If it weren’t for his 27-point performance against the Spurs, his averages would be much lower after combining just 18 points in the other two games.
Kyle Lowry said the team “is not on the same page at the moment” and attributed the problems at the beginning of the season to the addition of several new players and trying to find the identity of this team. The addition of Aron Baynes and Alex Len are the most notable additions, as those two are ideally supposed to make up for the loss of Ibaka and Gasol. Yet through three games, Baynes and Len have not impressed and have been bullied at the post. It probably doesn’t help either that the Raptors were forced to move out and play home games in Tampa, Florida due to Canadian government travel restrictions due to COVID-19. It’s a long season, and if any coach can get a team back on the right track, surely current coach of the year, Nick Nurse, can. But in a shortened season with so many games happening every other day or back, the Raptors will have to quickly correct course to get back to the playoffs by running in the East.
After being traded to the Orlando Magic from Philadelphia before the start of 2019-20, many wondered if a change of scenery would do Fultz any good after having a tumultuous two years with the Sixers, where he played in just 33 games due to injuries. In his first season with the Magic, while his stats were average (12.1 points and 5.1 assists), the fact that he played in 72 games was a big step in the right direction. He’s already been dismissed as a failure after his time in Philadelphia when he couldn’t stay healthy and his change in shooting has greatly alarmed people.
But earlier this season, Fultz is silencing those skeptics. Through four games with the Magic, all of which he has started, the former No. 1 overall pick is averaging 18.3 points, 5.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds. Even better, he has helped lead the Magic to an undefeated record, which is a surprise in itself. In a close win over the Wizards, Fultz became the Magic’s closer, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter alone to lead them to victory. His shooting is still questionable, but he’s making it work for him. He’s also using his size to intimidate smaller defenders and get to the rim where he’s shooting 66.7 percent. It’s still too early to tell if the Fultz performance will hold up throughout the season, or if it’s just a flash in the pan. But right now, he’s making the Magic look smart by signing him to a four-year, $ 37.4 million deal before the start of the season.
4. The Magic and Hawks remain undefeated in the East
Speaking of the Magic, they currently have the best record in the NBA at 4-0, and along with the Hawks they are the only two undefeated teams left standing in the league. No one saw this coming, frankly, whether it’s actually or just a product of a shorter offseason, it’s making the East seem a lot deeper than some initially thought. Of the two teams, Atlanta is probably not that surprising, given that it racked up shooting talent in the offseason that could outperform either team on any given night. It might not be that shocking either considering that the three teams the Hawks beat are the Bulls, Grizzlies and Pistons, none of which made the playoffs last season. Memphis was the toughest opponent Atlanta has faced, and the Grizzlies weren’t even at full strength, as Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow haven’t even debuted this season due to injuries. We’ll have to see the Hawks take on some of the toughest teams in the East before we begin to crown them to reach the postseason.
Among Orlando’s four victories this season, the Heat were the most impressive as the Magic simply outmatched the reigning Eastern Conference champions. Four of the Magic’s five starters scored 15 or more points, with Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon crossing 20 points each. But that victory was on opening night, which cannot be read in that as much as teams are still acclimating to another strange season. Like the Hawks, the Magic beat the bottom of the barrel teams with two wins against the Wizards and another against the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, unlike the Hawks, the Magic were a playoff team a season ago, and they could get there again with most of the same roster. Also, if Fultz is going to play like he has to start the season, then there’s no reason to exclude this team from the East playoffs. Still, it’s incredibly shocking to look at the rankings and see Orlando and Atlanta on top of not just the East, but the entire league right now.
5. Trae Young looks like an MVP candidate
To agree with the Hawks 3-0, Young has performed at a noteworthy level in the MVP race that is too early to tell. He is second in the league in scoring, scoring 34 points, along with 7.3 assists and four rebounds, while shooting 42.1 percent from deep and 53.1 percent from the field. His improvement goes hand in hand with the fact that Atlanta surrounded Young with quality players this offseason, taking some of the burden off him from being the sole focus of the Hawks’ offense. That weight off him has allowed Young to unlock another level of his game, and it’s paying off for the Hawks so far this season.
Now that the defense has to focus on other players around them like Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic, Young has been given more room to operate and is seeing less pressure on the ball from the defense to start the season. It also helps that the Hawks went out and got Rajon Rondo to act as a secondary ball handler, so if Atlanta wanted to, it could take the ball out of Young’s hands and have him operate without the ball. Imagine him flying around screens and unloading a 25-foot bomb, which sounds eerily similar to how the Warriors would use Stephen Curry on streaks when this team was at the height of its powers. It’s no secret that Atlanta has been trying to mold its team into the Warriors image, with Young as Curry. Until now, he looked like an MVP candidate, now we’ll have to see if he can sustain him over the course of a full season.
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