All Quiet on the Western Front

Or

The Good get Better, the Great are become Gods

Just over a week of NBA action is in the books, and it was an absolute doozy. Welcome back everybody (I missed all 3 of you), I had intended to write a couple different pieces over the summer but it didn’t end up happening. One of which was my report back on the Knicks Summer League, Pre-Season and Free Agency moves, and I expect a lot of that material will work its way into my weekly Knicks update posts but at this point a dedicated post seems silly.

The other I wanted to write was about the NYPD police brutality case involving Hawks wing Thabo Sefolosha, which Dave Zirin ended up briefinly covering here http://www.thenation.com/article/seven-things-we-learned-from-thabo-sefoloshas-trial/ (Number 6, about the absolutely failure of the sports media to cover this story in a meaningful way). I may still write something on this – particularly as Thabo’s civil suit progresses – but Zirin summarizes the point I was intending well.
Anyway! Without further ado let’s take a look at the some of the stand out records in the West through Nov 4th. I’m going to break these updates down into West/East for the foreseeable future, with an extra healthy heaping of Knicks coverage thrown in because I’m doing my best to watch every game they play this year (and early signs are, they signed the right rookies).

So! Onto the records, starting with the best of the best.

WARRIORS 5-0

The Warriors are a resounding 5 and 0 with their down to the wire win over the LA Clippers last night. Steph Curry is making anyone who second guessed his MVP status (ie the players association voters) look like a damn fool. He has more combined points through 4 games than any player since ‘91 Jordan not to mention the fact that his team is playing so well that he’s sitting in the 4th quarter more often than not. They beat the Grizzlies by a whopping 50 points, the worst loss in franchise history, and recall that for years the star player for the Grizzlies was one “Big Country” Reeves. This bodes poorly for the still playoff bound Grizz, a team that was up 2-1 on the Warriors in the second round just last year. The only bummer here? Coach Kerr has missed the entirety of the season thus far recovering from back surgery and there is no time table for his return. Worse yet, rumours have surfaced that he may not return until after the All Star break.

CLIPPERS 4-1

I’ve never felt so bad for a team that was 4-1. Similar to the Spurs this team’s hot start has been a lot about schedule, but we have good reason to believe that this is the best incarnation of the Clippers in the Chris Paul era. I don’t quite know when I turned the corner on hating the Clippers, but I think it has a lot to do with wanting Chris Paul to get some validation. The loss to the Warriors hurt, and the memes today have been plentiful. But the Clippers were right there and until the Spurs gel they represent the most realistic challenge to the incumbent NBA Champions. Blake Griffin and DJ continue to impress, Austin Rivers has been surprisingly consistent, and JJ Redick is having a career year as usual. We won’t know until June whether it will be enough, but last night confirmed that it is going to be entertaining as hell to watch them take their shot at the throne.

SPURS 3-2

The Spurs have feasted on an easy schedule with wins over the Nets, Celtics, and Knicks their losses coming against the Thunder and at the buzzer against the Wizards. The LMA fit is as awkward as everyone expected it would be to start, and the offense is not running to near its full potential. The Tony Parker decline is real, his averages look better only because he took advantage of the worst starting defensive backcourt in the league (Hello Calderon and Sasha Vujacic!) in what was otherwise a very competitive game with the outmatched Knickerbockers. Is there reason to be concerned? Not really, with other top tier West teams off to shaky starts, Pop will have plenty of time to iron things out as the season progresses and there is nobody more qualified to do just that. And holy hell, Kawhi Leonard is annoying to play against. He shut down KD and Melo in consecutive games and is a serious threat to repeat as DPOY even with Anthony Davis looming.

ROCKETS 2-3

The Rockets, a favourite dark horse championship pick among media members, looked absolutely awful prior to their win over the Thunder. No team has ever lost their first 3 games by 20+ points in a season following a Western Conference Finals appearance. Harden has shot it terribly, Dwight continues to decline and miss games for rest, and the action has looked pretty listless. Kevin McHale has shown himself a good coach in the past, and Ty Lawson is still a great pick up at the price they paid (ie practically nothing), but this team needs to turn it around fast. An overtime win against an up and coming Magic team is nice but this team can and should do better.

PELICANS 0-4

The Pelicans are in real trouble. After an impressive showing against the Warriors in last year’s playoffs and buoyed by the return of former All Star*** Jrue Holiday and introduction of offensive guru Alvin Gentry, some projected the Pelicans to hit in the range of 55 wins. That hope seems already dashed as a string of injuries has absolutely torn the roster to shreds, particularly with the loss of Tyreke Evans. When Toney Douglas is seen as the answer to your prayers, your hopes for a top 4 seed in the West are already over. Anthony Davis, despite putting up numbers, has also shown a disturbing disinterest in some plays that is uncharacteristic of him. Maybe the injuries and the depleted roster are getting to him but if the Pellies are going to stand any chance, he needs to turn into the MVP caliber guy everyone (including me) have anointed him as. And giving 60 million to Omer Asik was quietly one of the two or three worst moves of the off season.

THUNDER 3-2

How much fun are the freaking Thunder? It is an absolute joy to watch Kevin Durant work himself back into form and as happy as the fans are, nobody is happier than Russell Westbrook (who without equivocation, joyously declared KD the best player in the NBA). There’s a real brotherhood here, and Billy Donovan has run some nice offense defense stuff thus far. Dion Waters has outperformed his (admittedly rock bottom) expectations and Kanters defense hasn’t killed them in close ones as much as I thought it might, but more importantly this team has 2 of the 5 best players alive and they are a delight to watch. They went down to the very frisky Raptors and then a got sunk by a surprise return to form by one Derek “They Call Me The Rule” Rose. With another team 3 straight losses might move them to panic, but this team is going to be there in the end. Count on it.

That’ll do it for this week, I’ll do my best to cover some of the lower tier teams next time I circle ‘round to the West.

Next week we’ll break down the Eastern Conference. Are the Raptors for real? Can John Wall garner MVP status? Can the Hornets compete for the 8th seed? Who is giving style advice to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Can a Latvian toothpick with a sweet stroke save a once proud franchise from the garbage heap that is the Atlantic Division?

We’ll see!

Notes:

***Yeah he was playing in the East but still!

I could write a whole other piece on the fun as hell Trailblazers and Timberwolves, and time permitting next time I’ll show them some love. Keep an eye on CJ McCollum as a potential Most Improved Player candidate.