Early Season Reactions

[Merv]

I’m bored flying cross-country so I figured why not write up some fun reactions, maybe a hot take or two since there hasn’t been a podcast. We’ll give the Magic a mini-section at the end to eliminate any bias in the other categories.

Teams Outperforming Expectations
1. Utah Jazz
I gotta be honest, when I saw Ralph get nearly hard-capped and not do anything to make his team better, I thought the Jazz were cooked. There’s a chance they still could be as they’re shooting an astonishing 49.6% FG% as a team which won’t hold over the course of the year. Utah has benefitted thus far from playing a relatively light schedule but the bones are here to be an annoying pest in the west. Maybe I’m a poet, wouldn’t know it. Dahntay Jones has responded to Ralph’s faith with his best numbers yet, scoring a career high 30.2 PPG.
2. Houston Rockets
Did they lose Shaun Livingston and get better? Rondo has been a fun side story to this team as the year has begun. I don’t know if he’s necessarily been good, but to Joe’s point, he’s been a nice shot funnel for Blake and Eddy. I think this performance is relatively sustainable. Brandon Roy may come back to earth but Eddy and Blake should feast in this inside offense while combining for suffocating defense. The Rockets are at 11.0 steals per game, which is pretty amazing.
3. Sacramento Kings
Is the West the best? All 3 teams here will be from the Western Conference. I figured the Jesster was going to take a step back after selling off Tony Parker and Dwyane Wade to start Cory Joseph or Jerryd Bayless, but what do I know. One of the worst PG setups in the league have run out to a 10-3 start. They should be 11-2 but those pesky Magic amirite?

Teams Underperforming Expectations
1. Los Angeles Clippers
Boogie is back! Kobe is gone to free up shots for DeRozan. DRose is up to flat A inside. You’d think this would’ve gone so much better than a 5-12 start. They’re a little light on the wing with Mo Harkless and Eric Gordon playing too many minutes but they should be a little better than this. DeMar is free of Kobe and still only averaging 13.4 PPG, maybe this is just what he is?
2. Portland Trail Blazers
From dominating the West all of the 13-14 regular season to struggling to hit .500. CJ Miles has been a big loss for the wing corps in Portland. I think Michael Redd has officially died, unfortunately for Quady. Al Horford looks pretty nice and Jameer missed 6 games. So there’s still plenty of hope and I think they’ll be due for a bounce back once Quady makes a move or two.
3. Miami Heat
It’s supposed to be Wade County! Where are all the wins!? Miami is currently below Orlando on the standings. Dame Lillard looks like he needs handles Jesus as he’s hitting 3.6 TOV per game. At this stage, you have to hope he either has some crazy camps or morphs into some version of Jamal Crawford. Should be a really interesting prospect to track moving forward. Maybe he doesn’t quite hit as a star. Klay and Wade look phenomenal and Bogut….oh my love for him. Andrew Bogut is a god amongst men in Miami. Not sure why this team hasn’t been better, hopefully they can figure it out.

Breakout Performances
Kirk Hinrich: The Charlotte tank commander is currently starting at PG for the 10-5 76ers. I personally think this is an affront to all things LeBron and he’d demand a trade IRL Ashes! But Kirk has responded with 14.9/4.3/7.7 on blistering .476/.478/.741 splits. He’s still handing the ball to the other team a lot but hey, I figured this guy was horrendous?

Tim Hardaway Jr.: He can’t guard at all, which may be a bigger issue for New Jersey. But he looks every bit of THJ. Basically 20 points per 36 in Y2 on 52.0% FG%! JJ Redick’s replacement on deck?

Glen Rice Jr.: Boy do I wish I took him instead of Anthony Bennett. Another Y2 SG showing out as a scorer. Glen is playing significant minutes for the upstart Dinosaurs. He does have a pretty serious handles issue but he does score. These guys always have their flaws! 15.9/6.4/2.3 on .472/.449/.829 in 28.8 MPG. Really fun prospect in the 6

Festus Ezeli: Maybe I chose wrong? Definitely looks like Hoff did when you look at Kanter. Festus doesn’t really do that much but he does board. 14.2 boards per 36 has been really nice for what is a very thin frontcourt in Milwaukee. Festus is out here fighting for his life, and he’s winning so far.

Brandon Jennings: Oft-maligned for being the other guy in the Tony Parker trade. Brandon is finally stock positive with a fun 2.5 steals per game and his TOVs down to 2.3. He’s shown some efficiency at .450/.434/.822. Maybe Brandon just needed a little time to marinate.

Marreese Speights: WOWOWOWWOWOW. Has anyone seen his stat line in the Queen City? NDL Legend Mo Speights is kind of a bucket and is stock neutral. 14.1/9.3 on 47.5% FG%. What a fun start to the season for Mo, especially when he’s stuck on that insane contract.

Terrence Jones: Tong paid a pretty high price for Terrence and he’s been rewarded thus far. 51.2% FG%, 1.7 stocks per game. Plus 7.4 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 22.6 MPG. Terrence don’t tip well, but he might play well? Fun development in Indy where Terrence stole all of Tristan’s minutes.

Jared Sullinger: Already a double double with 1.6 blocks per game on 47.9% FG%. I wasn’t sure if Jared would translate well to SLN (He might not, the Cavs suck) but this is an intriguing start.

Rajon Rondo: Houston is 10-1 starting him at PG, nuff said

Jarrett Jack: Kipke mentioned it, but this is the Jarrett Jack Nav thought he was paying! A scorching .541/.523/.794 slash as starting PG next to newfound SG Steph Curry. The 2.1 steals to 1.7 turnovers is also nice as Jarrett has made it to B+ defense.

Brook Lopez: Well, his contract is maybe the 2nd worst in SLN. But hey, he’s doing 5.1 blocks per 36, how is that even possible.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: I know it’s not a complete breakout but he’s been really awesome for the staunch defense in Sac. 1.5 steals and 2.4 blocks. Could he be like a shot funnel version of AK47? Would that be even better? Good get for Jesse in return for Parker. Middleton and Beal haven’t been too shabby either.

Al Horford: Contract year, you know? 17.1/10.2 and 2.4 blocks with just 1.7 TOV on .479/.471/.821 and his 3PAr continues to climb. Can’t wait to offer him a max this offseason!

Josh Smith: Back from the dead, assholes!! I think PeterSuns saved Josh Smith, the long 2 is alive and well with the Joker. Probably reeks of a sell high right now as fast as you can, but the stocks are super fun.

Bring Out Yer Dead!!
RIP to the following:
Michael Redd
Chris Kaman
Kris Clack
Shane Battier
Jason Hart
Kobe Bryant

Real or Not
Al Horford - Real
Josh Smith - Not
Jarret Jack - Not
Utah Jazz - Not
Sacramento Kings - Not, until they make a ton of trades
Hawks Slump - Real
Nets Slump - Not
Raptors as Central champs - Not
Midwest as the best division - Real
Western Conference playoff already set - Real

Gambling Props
Kyrie Incidents - O/U 2.5
Atlantic Division Champs - Celtics +150, 76ers -100
Central Division Champs - Bucks +100, Raptors +200, Pistons +200, Bulls +250, Hornets +300, Pacers +450, Hawks +600
Midwest Division Champs - Rockets +100, Nuggets +100, Mavericks +150, Jazz +200, Spurs +200
Pacific Division Champs - Blazers +200, Kings +200, Suns +300, Clippers +800
Knicks Wins - O/U 12.5

All Things Magic
Boy, Mahcus Smaht is pretty nice. He’s not very efficient but he’s wrecked a few opposing PGs, has more steals than turnovers, and has had multiple 6 steal games.
Psycho T is maybe better than ZBo? He should’ve gotten some run on those KD teams because he fouls out people and puts up fun lines.
Shawn Marion, still really good, would love to not have him.
Kenneth Faried is cool and quite productive when he gets to play, open to moving him.

[jwoo]

this is a good column format

should i invite zach lowe to the league

[SoNicks]

this is a good column format

should i invite zach lowe to the league

Only if we can get Heimers boy Olden a team too

[GrundleSauce]

Lack of faith in the jazz. Whatever. Never had faith in the sonics either!

[Merv]

Lack of faith in the jazz. Whatever. Never had faith in the sonics either!

Many Man

[mantypas/CavsCzar]

I agree, the Cavs do indeed suck

[heimer]

nothing like a kick in the nuts after getting kicked in the nuts

[Hoff]

Both Festus and Henson look good but Kanter’s per 36 is 13ppg and 12.8rpg at a 48.4% clip

[Kipke]

375 RP