NBA Thoughts
NBA thoughts. That is the idea of this post. Just some quick things I want to write down and what is going on in the great National Basketball Association. So here we go.
For starters, the Knicks. Two nights ago the Knicks traveled to Indiana for a rematch of last year’s East Semis. The result, well, it happened to be the same as the outcome of that playoff series last year for the Knicks. The Pacers won dropping the Knicks to a 4-5 record as the Pacers are just at .500 with a record of 5-5. Haliburton who has been in an awful slump as of recently, that can be sort of attributed back to the all-star break last year, had 35 points and 14 assists, on 11-18 from field goal and 40% from 3 in the Pacers win. For the Knicks, yes Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns led the way, both notching 30-point games, but the Knicks still lost by double figures. The Knicks just seem to be going up and down so far this season. They have gone from a win to a loss, to a winning streak of 2, to coming back down with a losing streak of 2. They win again, and then they lose, a pattern that is not good if you want to be a championship contender. Today they play the 76ers in the first group stage games of the NBA In-Season Tournament. I do expect the Knicks to walk away with a win, they can easily beat the 76ers who have been pitiful, but the Knicks need to figure out a consistent winning pattern otherwise they will not contend for a championship in June.
Another matchup that took place two nights ago was between the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons. Two of my favorite players and two players I really want to see succeed, Cade Cunnigham and Jalen Green, battled it out in a great game. Cade Cunnigham was drafted #1 in 2021 and Jalen Green was right after him at #2. Their rivalry started in high school though, as they were both elite 5 stars and great competitors. Of course, Cade Cunnigham was doing all-around Cade Cunnigham things, as he builds his case for his first all-star selection. Jalen Green while not scoring quite as much as usual, still showed his tremendous athleticism, as he and Cade jawed the whole night. The point of this section is that for anyone who labeled Jalen Green or Cade Cunningham as busts, well I suggest you think again. Cade has been in the dumpster fire of Detroit with no real good coaching or deep roster until now. Jalen Green is a man with major raw talent and athleticism that led him to dominate in high school but came to a slower start in the NBA. Both have upsides of superstar status, and I think this season they are both well on their way to achieving that. Cade is 23 years old and is currently averaging 23.1 points on 47.2% efficiency from the field. He is also averaging 7.3 assists and 8.3 rebounds and has Detroit at a 4-7 start. Much better than last year. Jalen Green is averaging 20.3 points on easily worse efficiency than Cade, but his scoring upside is what makes him so promising as the Rockets sit at 7-4 in the West. I think both players are coming into their own, maybe slower than anticipated but they still are on their way. I predict Cade will be an all-star this year, and if Jalen Green gets his ppg and efficiency up, he can also certainly be an all-star.
Finally. The Cleveland Cavilers. I don’t even know what else to say except for the fact that I was wrong about Donovan Mitchell’s situation. The Cavs are 12-0. Truly remarkable for a team that I and almost everyone else thought would be middle of the pack playoff race in the Eastern Conference. Donovan Mitchell is playing great, but it is the players around him like Darius Garland and Evan Mobley that really have this Cavs team going. Garland’s efficiency from FG has been great at 52.6 and Evan Mobley has been a great scoring and rebounding machine as he and Jarrett Allen anchor a very strong Cavs defense. I still think that the Cavs will eventually come back down to earth, but this hot start should have Cavs fans feeling very excited.
