(The original text was published on October 27. The content of the article is the opinion of sports pictorial experts, which does not represent the translator’s point of view)
The NBA new season has been playing for more than a week. Experts from Sports Illustrated have discussed the development of the early season. What do you pay most attention to about each team and each player?
Which team surprised you most at the beginning of the season?
Howard Beck: The most obvious ones are Spurs and jazz. They should have played for Wen banama, but they have always won. But for me, what surprised me most was the performance of the pioneers. First, Spurs and jazz will not last long. Second, I am happy to see Lillard find himself in a good lineup. Anfinny-Simmons had a faint feeling of becoming a star. Hart and Grant brought great defensive advantages to the Blazers. Most importantly, I am very happy to see Lillard, one of the most exciting talents in the league, releasing offensive fire again after he missed most of the matches due to abdominal injuries last season, hit key shots. Maybe it’s too early to say it now, but this pioneer really has a chance to fight back to the playoffs.
John Gonzalez: that must be jazz. Do you have any comments? President Xiao Hua has said countless times that he is worried that the team will rot for Wen banyama. As a result, a team that everyone thought was going to lay flat completely achieved a record of 4 wins and 1 loss at the beginning of the season and a beautiful away victory, defeated the pelican, which everyone is optimistic about. I don’t know if Danny Anji expected this when he sent Gobel and Mitchell away, but it seems that he did leave enough capable players in jazz, and the squad strength was not as bad as expected.
Chris Herring: Jazz is really interesting! Many of us have made the mistake of equating “reconstruction” and “youth”. Jazz is mainly composed of veterans, and there are many players who are very interested in other teams. It was only a matter of time before Danny Anji sent them away, probably waiting for the desired offer. Almost all jazz players were playing with a sense of pride, especially Sexton, who had just recovered from the tear of the anterior ligament, and veteran Conley and Guy, they suffered a lot of criticism when the team was in a bad state in the playoffs last year. Without Gobel, Jazz had the worst performance in limiting the score in the restricted area. However, the situation will get better sooner or later, and the Jazz’s current performance is still very good.
Robin Lundberg: Pelican. Of course, teams like Spurs and Jazz must play better than expected, but this has something to do with the small sample size. And pelicans, although I know they will be strong this season, their level is higher than I expected. Now I will put pelicans in the ranks of the championship team.
Rohan Nadkarni: who else is the answer to this question besides jazz? Jazz took off the two best players in the team and then provided a bigger stage for the role players. Although the move made the jazz seem to have many fighting players, they did not look like a cohesive team. However, this is exactly what makes this team very interesting, and the connection between the players is enough to beat teams like Timberwolves and nuggets. Malcanin is an unexpected joy. Perhaps jazz’s current state is unsustainable, but at least it is still far from being rotten.
Which team disappointed you most at the beginning of the season?
Howard Beck:76 people. Of course, the Lakers’ problem is the biggest. Everything related to James will be magnified, which is normal. However, the situation of the Lakers is predictable, and no one expects them to play well. And 76 people? They are regarded as competitors of the Championship. Enbide is a perennial MVP candidate, Harden is a former MVP winner, and Maxi is a new star with strong development momentum, in addition, there are strong signings of Tucker and Melton during the off-season. I don’t know which situation is more worrying, which is to lose back to back to the eastern competitors Celtic and Bucks, which they should have defeated, or to the Spurs who went to the lottery area. 76 people look chaotic at present. Fortunately, the season has just begun.
John Gonzalez: the performance of many championship teams was disappointing, including 76 people and the heat, but I think the Lakers disappointed me most. They are the front team of NBA and Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, but at present they are totally screwed up at the box office. James looks incredible, and Davis can keep his waist straight, but apart from them, the team’s lineup is simply a disaster, and the situation of Wei Shao is difficult to maintain. Anyone who has expectations for the Lakers during the preseason will now be disappointed.
Chris Herring:76 people, no other answers. Harden participated in the complete training camp and kept his figure well. In the eyes of many experts, the operation and recruitment of 76 people during the off-season is one of the best. The problem of 76 people this time had nothing to do with Simmons. It was indeed a little difficult to play in the early stage, but 76 people could lose to Spurs and were dragged to the last moment by the Pacers. The conversion defense of 76 people looks like a mess, and so does the offensive rebound. Usually, it is difficult for these two people to perform badly at the same time.
Robin Lundberg:76 people. Although I have never thought that 76 people can really win the championship, their performance now is really worrying. The Lakers don’t have enough talent. Everyone knows that basketable nets is still in the running-in period, with only 76 people. I don’t think they can find any excuse.
Rohan Nadkarni: Although basketable nets is also very disappointing, I will still choose 76 people. At least basketable nets can find excuses, not only a series of farces during the offseason, but also Simmons needs time to get back to the state. What’s the excuse for 76 people to start like this? The balance between Harden and enbede is not good, and the defensive end is a pity. Although 76 people met some strong opponents at the beginning of the season, as a team striving for the championship, is the current state still much worse.
So far, which off-season offer has impressed you most?
Howard Beck: as the new starting point guard of the Knicks, Brunson’s performance exceeded everyone’s expectations and led the Knicks to a good start. At the same time, the average personal data field is 20 points, 8.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds are all career high, and the three-point shot percentage is as high as 41%. Brunson’s performance in The Lone Ranger has always been very stable, and occasionally he will play very well. However, there is still a big difference between assisting Dong Qiqi in The Lone Ranger and coming to the Knicks to stir up the beam. The early schedule of the Knicks was not bad, but the performance was really exciting.
John Gonzalez: in the new season, the performance of the Cavaliers in Mitchell was like firing with cannons. In the first three matches, he scored 33.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals, field goal percentage and 49.3 percent, the hit rate of 8 free throws per game was 87.5%. These figures seem to be exaggerated. Almost all of them were typed in the absence of Garland, who was dealing with eye tear injuries, I am still looking forward to seeing the effect of Garland and Mitchell on the court for a long time. Before that, Knight would definitely be excited about the output of Mitchell, even if the sample size was still small.
Chris Herring: bankero, the data performance of the rookie season is historical. He seemed to play comfortably in his position, although he still struggled with the three-point shooting at present, magic has chosen treasure this time, moreover, the addition of the influential flank player Franz Wagner last season made magic excited. Although magic is still losing now, it will be exchanged for a rising star in this year, which will enable magic to be in the leading position of the league for a long time in the future.
Robin Lundberg: Brunson. I don’t think Knicks’s ranking can be maintained, because their schedule will be difficult in the future, but Knicks seems to have finally found the coveted point guard, brunson’s performance has responded to criticism during the off-season period about his signing of a big contract.
Rohan Nadkarni: I think it’s bankero. Many new reinforcements look great. I just like the scoring power brought by this champion show to magic. Bankero is already a scorer with an average of 20 + games. It is very interesting to watch him play with little Wagner. Although Magic’s current record is not good, it is hard not to be excited about the future of magic as long as you have seen the competition.
What is the biggest thing to do at present?
Howard Beck: almost everything. The season has only been played for more than a week, and all critics and fans complain, celebrate or feel suffocated are making a fuss. To be honest, everyone be quiet. It’s too early to discuss a lot of things now, and everything is meaningless. However, except that the Lakers are going to die, this matter is not a big deal, which can be known without watching the game.
John Gonzalez: Adam-Xiao Hua. He has mentioned countless times that this season’s mess is a serious problem, and he feels that he is making a fuss. Wenbanyama is a rare genius. Willing teams will make every effort to get him, and they deserve it. However, the alliance has adjusted the probability of lottery draw, and it does not need to be completely rotten to win the highest probability of winning the first prize. Now it is not 2014.
Chris Herring: The Lakers, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t stink at the ball. In fact, it stinks to death. To some extent, this situation is expected, because almost everyone knows that the Lakers need to trade and do some operations, but they have done nothing. Since the poor performance of the Lakers is expected now, there is no need for us to make a fuss and not seem surprised.
Robin Lundberg: The most dramatic thing happened to Simmons. He started a new chapter in his career basketable nets and sometimes he did not seem to be able to play well. However, long-term absence from competition and back surgery are reasonable excuses. We should have enough patience for Simmons. I think we can make a fair evaluation of Simmons in the next few weeks.
Rohan Nadkarni: it may be everything Simmons faces. Simmons looks not in good condition, but as Owen said, Simmons has never played in NBA since the playoffs in 2021, and is still in the recovery period of back surgery. Simmons needs time to get back to his state, and I still think he has enough talent to solve this problem.
Whose performance is called MVP in the first week of the competition?
John Gonzalez: Although Lillard was injured in the game against the Heat, I still chose him. Before the heat, Lillard and the Blazers took off. They won all the first four games. Lillard averaged 33.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, field goal percentage 50%, the shooting rate of 9 free throws per game was 91.7%. Lillard looked very uncomfortable after making a jump shot in the hot game and soon left the game. I hope the pioneers can be more cautious in considering Lillard’s injury history. When Lillard is in good health and gets back to state, NBA games will be more beautiful.
Chris Herring: I want to vote for siacam. What he did in Raptors looks great and has made great progress. If the season ends today, the MVP is the letter brother, leading the Bucks to win the full victory, averaging 36 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 cap. Even though brother Alphabet’s jump shot is average, it does not affect his unstoppable beast at both ends of each game.
Robin Lundberg: Morant, I can also choose alphabet brother, but in order to add some freshness, I will choose Morant. Morant’s shooting level has been improved and there is no way to limit it. Yogueta can keep this feeling all the time, the grizzly bear really needs to be taken seriously.
Rohan Nadkarni: Brother alphabet is the MVP of the first week’s competition. While scoring 36 points per game, he was also the pioneer of the best defensive team in the league. Brother alphabet was very active on the court and carried a stag forward during Middleton’s recovery. Even if brother alphabet can’t keep this crazy performance, he has a great chance to win his third MVP trophy this season.
Original text: SI Staff
Compile: Li Taibai
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