Desean Hawkins for MVP?
Okay, maybe not MVP as long as AD is in the league, but man, he is the force leading the way for the 8-0 Magic. It feels a little reminiscent of the years leading up to JNR's recent championship where Wiggins was the sole driving force on a team. Is Hawkins potentially the next Andrew Wiggins? Probably not, but what he is doing is for lack of a better term magical. If False9 can add some talent to his already developing core before everyone's payday, we won't be having these surprised reactions to the Magic leading the Atlantic division every year.
The Raptors are Really Back
Unlike Tiger Woods, the Raptors are finally back! Movers and shakers this off-season, Giannis Antetokounmpo has taken a lead role on this team. Off the bench, D'angelo Russell is bringing a statsheet off the bench. The depth is real, the talent is real. We haven't even talked about Bjorn Ironside taking the reigns as the new king of the north (Sorry Joffrey). If this team was in any other division other than the Atlantic, they would be front-runners for division champions. PUT IT ON THE BOARD.
Garbageman is Chicken Little
All off-season he claimed the sky was falling in Chicago, but here we are looking at the Bulls at the top of the Central Division 8 games into the season. These one-loss Bulls are being led by a combo 1-2-3 punch on the perimeter with Smith, Westbrook, and Haugh scoring over 60 of the teams average 113 points per game. This trio is efficiently causing havoc for opposing guards. We haven't even mentioned the defensive nightmare Vernon Desantis has become down low.
The West is Horribad
While teams are pulling their hair out trying to be in the top 3 of their respective divisions in the East, the West... well we only have 5 over-.500 teams. When will teams out West step up the game... some day the west will be scary again. What happened to the Lakers? With the Suns and Kings losing key pieces of their rotations, you would easily assume the Lakers would waltz to the top... welp. That leads into my next point...
KANGZ
You can take the Snek out the Kings but you can't take the WIN out of the Kings. After Duren pulled some truly trash moves this free agency, the Kings organization as a whole struggled to keep their heads up. But now they can stand tall and proud. Top 5 defense on the court. But the real story here is Erik Haynes saying "FRYE Duren, Give me the ball". He's averaging 20.8, 11.6 and a whopping 4.7 BLOCKS PER GAME. WOWZERS. We knew Haynes would be good, but jeez, this is scary. He isn't even at the top of his potential... that's the scariest part. Kings aren't going anyway. Shout out, by the way, to Kyrie for coming BACK (unlike Tiger).
Changing of the Guard?
Al Horford, at the age of 59, is still blue/blue, and he's still putting up starter level stat lines (13p/9r/2b). But another name is emerging in Houston: Aaron Gordon. He's taking a bit of the weight off of Horford's decrepit shoulders and showing the fans that there can be a future beyond Horford's retirement... assuming Horford retires before Gordon.
Daniel West for MIP
I'm a little partial to this fella since he was a Buck last season, but talk about a steal of a contract. 22ppg (on 51% from the field), 7.6rpg, 1.7bpg for $9.7mil this season. That's a great deal. Both he and Broomfield (another throwback Buck) are the 2 bright spots on the lowly Heat, even outshining this season's rookie Cliff Paugh and the forever-yellow World B Free. Logpmess, check you SLOEbox
The Sixers Won't Win A Championship
Now that I've gotten your attention, Scott.... I'm lying. They probably will. But free throws are going to be a problem for them. With so many foul-prone players on one squad, the Sixers will need to figure out the perfect gameplan to mitigate foul trouble. That said, they'll be outscoring the hell out of everyone once they all gel at some point in the near future. END IS NIGH. #SimSeason
Ps - Is Tiger back yet?
