Published
4 years agoon
Beware the overreaction.
It’s an easy trap to fall into at this time of year: Look at the early numbers in the NBA, extrapolate those over 82 games and envision the statistically improbable somehow becoming real.
Don’t do it.
Atlanta’s Trae Young is averaging 38.5 points per game right now which won’t hold up over an entire season. Same goes for Houston’s James Harden, who isn’t going to stay at his current shooting rate of 24% from the field and 12% from 3-point range. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t going to foul out of every game, either.
And Golden State isn’t going to go 0-82.
The Warriors may be the biggest disappointment of the first week of this NBA season, blown out by 19 at home to the Los Angeles Clippers and then by 28 — a game where the deficit was as much as 42 — on Sunday at Oklahoma City.
“We’re just not that good right now,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “I don’t know a better way to frame that for you. I could try in Spanish, but I’m not really that good in Spanish.”
They haven’t just lost. They haven’t even led yet — not for a single second. They got down 14-0 in the opener to the Clippers, then 8-0 to the Thunder.
Champions of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas don’t get rings. They get T-shirts.
Memphis won the title this past summer, and Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins — who decided to coach the team in Las Vegas as well — keeps his championship shirt in his wardrobe rotation as a reminder of what happened over those two weeks.
“I bust it out every now and then,” Jenkins said.
The next championship will be a little bit tougher.
Jenkins is one of two first-time NBA coaches this season, with Cleveland’s John Beilein being the other. Beilein is 66 and went to the Final Four twice with Michigan. Jenkins is 35 and his most notable experience as a head coach before now was in the G League.
No one asks Beilein if he’s ready for the NBA. Jenkins — who has studied under Gregg Popovich and Mike Budenholzer — has heard that question a lot.
“I’ve been preparing,” Jenkins said.
He knows he still has a ton to learn, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel prepared for where he is.
A game to watch each day this week:
California Assembly to Meet in NBA Arena for New Session
LeBron, Lakers on the Cusp of Reaching West Finals
Police Largely Silent as Outrage Builds Over Blake Shooting
A 2nd Day of NBA Playoff Games Halted Over Racial Injustice
Led by NBA, Athletes Again Put Focus on Racial Justice
Boycott: NBA Playoff Games Called Off Amid Player Protest