Here we are – a quarter of the way through the 2021 NBA season. And while we are already 1/4 of the way into this season, some teams have still only played 15 games. Tons of games have been postponed already in hopes of being rescheduled throughout the year. The NBA was smart in only releasing the first half of the schedule in preparation for all of this madness that is referred to as Corona. I think the NBA has done a great job thus far on handling the COVID-19 protocols and keeping a safe environment for the players and staff. And on a positive note, it seems the league is moving in the right direction with the recent announcement of a possible All-Star game.
With all that said, this season has been very entertaining to watch and there have been a few things that have caught me by surprise.
I’ll start with #3 —
#3 James Harden to Brooklyn
While we all sat there and watched the Harden-Houston drama play out, did we really believe he would end up in Brooklyn? With KD and Kyrie? No… this was a mere dream in the fantasy basketball world for fans to think that these 3 would come together and form one of the most offensive minded trios of all time. A few weeks into the season, Shams had a few tweets leading up to this tweet…
This goliath FOUR team trade sent;
- Harden to Brooklyn
- Victor Oladipo to Houston
- Caris Levert to Indiana
- Tauren Prince and Jarrett Allen to Cleveland
There is no doubt that this trade shocked the entire NBA world, and we shall see if it leads to Harden’s wish – an NBA championship.
#2 Pelicans/Mavericks off to horrendous starts
I think most basketball fans had the expectation that the Pelicans and Mavericks would be in playoff contention this year. I know it’s still only a quarter into the season and a lot can change, but these two teams are pretty much at the bottom of the Western Conference right now. I’m going to give my thoughts on both. I’ll start with the Pelicans;
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pels got off to a great start to the season with a 6-4 record. Since then, they’ve gone 1-8. A lot of those games the Pelicans have been up in and have given up a strong lead in the second half. They’ve also lost to some of the worst teams in the league (T Wolves, Kings, Hornets), yet somehow they’ve beaten the Bucks twice. I am still hopeful for the Pelicans to turn this season around. After all, they did get two new starters in Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams & they also got a new coach which brings a whole new game plan to the table. I believe the Pelicans just need some time for everything to come together, but if things don’t change soon, then we could potentially see this team make a big move.
Mavericks
After the Mavs made the playoffs last season, I thought this season they would be a lock in the West. They are currently sitting at 8-13. They haven’t had an easy schedule, but it is the wild west after all… every team in this conference is good. I think this team needs to trade for a solid center if they want to turn things around. Andre Drummond? Willy Cauley Stein is not cutting it, and you can’t start Porzingis at center against all teams. The Mavs are one of the best teams in the league when it comes to offense, but if they want to win games they’re going to have to come together on defense.
#1 Jokic and Joel lead the MVP race
Okay, this is the BIGGEST surprise this season. Two centers are in the lead for MVP. Just a few years ago, when the Warriors were winning their championships and creating their dynasty all the media was talking about was how the center position is dying and that there will be no true centers in the league before long. Well, would you look at that, it’s 2021 and the two most valuable players are centers.
Jokic is putting up historic numbers averaging 26.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, & 8.6 APG.
The crazy stat about Jokic though is his on/off – for Jokic the Nuggets are +13.2 Offensive Rating when he’s on vs off.. this team literally runs everything through Jokic.
Embiid is doing it both offensively and defensively averaging 28.3 PPG, 11.1 RPG, & 1.3 BPG.
The 76ers are the #1 team in the Eastern conference right now. When Joel plays – this team is 15-2. When he doesn’t – they are 0-4.
These two players are the most valuable players for their respective teams this year and it shows. It is just surprising that they both happen to be centers “basketballs dying position”.
