Author: Dan Latto
The NBA is back and it has kicked off with a bang. We're going to go through all the top performers as well as the early surprises through the first two weeks of the NBA season.
Steph Curry
We have to start off with the Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, one of the top players in the NBA over the last six years. Two years ago, Curry was ruled out for the season after breaking his left hand against the Phoenix Suns. By the time he had returned for the 2020 season, his fellow “splash brother”, Klay Thompson, lost yet another season due to an achilles tear in the preseason. Curry defied all odds and had his best scoring season as a professional with 32 points per game, and led an inexperienced and injured Warriors team to a chance at the playoffs by reaching the play-in game.
He started off this season with a bang, netting his first triple-double since the 2018-2019 playoffs, and secured the season-opening win against the Los Angeles Lakers. Though he got the triple-double, It would end up being his worst shooting performance of the season to date. He quickly bounced back with his best shooting performance as he went 16-25 from the field, 8-13 from three, and scored 45 points to lead the Warriors past the Los Angeles Clippers in a vintage Curry offensive show. Since then, he has been nothing but peak Curry, leading his Warriors team to a 9-1 start to the season, placing them atop the Western Conference. Once again, Curry shows no signs of slowing down, and with Thompson on the verge of making a return to basketball this season, this Warriors team is a contender for the NBA finals once again.
Ja Morant
Next up is the third-year phenom Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies. Morant came into the league as the second pick in the 2019 draft, behind Zion Williamson. Morant has proven to be one of, if not the most explosive player in the NBA right now. His ability to dribble and set up his teammates for easy buckets is up to par with the best point guards in the league and his jumping ability separates him from the pack. He is the centerpiece to a young, up-and-coming Grizzlies team that has achieved a very solid 6-4 start to the season, which marks their best start since the 2018-19 season.
Morant has been a huge part of that early success; he's averaging a career-high 26 points per game, which ranks him fifth in the NBA. He is also tied for seventh in assists. His massive increase in output on the offensive end is a great sign for the Grizzlies, as Jaren Jackson Jr. looks to remain healthy to round out an intimidating duo for years to come. Morant overall though has shown glimpses of unbelievable court vision and highlight playmaking ability, putting on a show even in an overtime loss to a much larger Lakers team. He shot 13-21 from the field, adding an impressive 5-7 from deep, to finish off the game with 40 points, adding another 10 assists in a variety of no-look passes and alley-oops. When people reference the future of the NBA, Ja Morant is at the forefront of that vision and will look to lead his Grizzlies to his second playoff appearance in just three years in the league.
Demar Derozan and Zach Lavine
The Chicago Bulls have gotten off to a raging hot start, after making a variety of off-season moves to bolster a borderline playoff team. The Bulls added former New Orleans Pelican, Lonzo Ball and former Laker Alex Caruso, but the biggest acquisition was a sign and trade with the San Antonio Spurs to acquire DeMar DeRozan. There were many people (including me) that questioned the validity of this small Bulls team but things have clicked early and they look really good.
The offense is led by the newest dynamic duo in the NBA, Zach Lavine and DeRozan. Both players rank top 10 in scoring in the NBA, with Derozan ranking fourth averaging 26.9 points per game. It was Lavine though who got things going for the Bulls, scoring back-to-back 30 point games in great shooting performances from the floor. A big plus for the Bulls is not just the scoring from Lavine, but also the fact that his turnovers have already decreased so far as compared to last season. Last season, he ranked in the bottom 10 in turnovers per game, and he is already down one turnover per game at 2.4 this season, which should be credited to the additions of Ball and Caruso.
DeRozan on the other hand got off to a decent start for the team but has been pure domination in his last three games. He's scored over 30 points in three of his last five games, including back-to-back 37 points performances. His best game so far came in a comeback win for the Bulls against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were up 19 with just about three minutes left in the third when the Bulls began a comeback that resulted in a 14 point victory. DeRozan checked into the game with six minutes left with the Bulls down two and sparked a 20-4 run to close out the victory on the road. The most impressive part to me is his ability to live inside the three-point arc and still put up the numbers that he did, as he shot 15-20 from the field in that performance, while only shooting four three-pointers. The Bulls sit at 7-3 and look to continue their hot start throughout this season with a scary duo brewing in Chicago.
The New Miami Big Three
To finish we'll talk about the hottest team in the NBA, the Miami Heat. Two years ago, Miami stunned the entire NBA by fighting and clawing their way to their first NBA finals appearance since the Lebron James era. The following season, they stumbled in the first round getting swept 4-0 by the Milwaukee Bucks, the very team they upset the year before.
There was a clear need for a true point guard on the team, as Jimmy Butler could not physically do it all, even with some unbelievable performances out of him the last two seasons. To fix this the Heat went out and acquired veteran point guard and former NBA champion, Kyle Lowry. Going into this season, the Heat had Lowry, Butler, and the seemingly ever-improving Bam Adebayo playing, with former all-star Victor Oladipo still rehabbing a knee injury. Not only that, the Heat brought in another former NBA champion and defensive specialist in PJ Tucker. To finish off their offseason splurge, they went and signed another former NBA champion, Markieff Morris. This Miami Heat team on paper, has the perfect balance of young developing talent and veteran players with years of playoff experience. If that is not scary enough, we'll take a look at how this team has done so far.
They opened the season against the defending champion Bucks and absolutely embarrassed them with a 42 point victory, which was the second-largest win and the largest margin of victory in a season opener in franchise history. They stumbled the next game, losing to the Indiana Pacers 102-91. Since then though, they are 6-2, winning by an average of 14.8 points per game. Butler is still carrying the load offensively, leading the team with 25.3 points per game, but the reemergence of Tyler Herro has been the storyline so far for the Heat. He's second on the team in scoring with 20.3 points per game, and he leads the team in three-point percentage at 40%. With the big three mostly established, and guys like Herro and Morris coming off the bench, this Heat team has a really good chance of getting back to the NBA finals, even in an ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.
There are a lot of players and teams playing well early, but these are the players and teams that you should keep an eye on all season. There is a lot of basketball to be played this year, but so far, it looks like this NBA season is shaping up to be a very exciting one.
