Well, we just passed the “third-mark” of the season, which as the term implies, was the point when the third of the season was reached… not sure why I created a term and defined when I could have just saved a step, but then again, I live in a world where word count equals money, so here’s 1,000 words about how hungry I am. Just kidding! (Maybe.)
But the NBA season trots along both fast and slow (just the way your mother likes it!_, and if you can already believe it, the half-point (figuring no definition is necessary here) of the 2023-24 season is nearly here and it seems apt to take a look at the season we’ve had thus far and what to expect coming next, like hiding all your Kuminga’s and Moody’s before they’re punched. I actually have to hide myself for that comment, or else the ghost of the broken code will haunt me with a chokehold…
So, I could probably just copy and paste a bunch of Draymond clips and a picture of the Thunder logo and call it a day, but as I spoiled above, the SEO gods demand content. We’ll try and cover every team over multiple parts, but I’ll be honest, I don’t really have a reason to talk about the Hornets… so same as it ever was I guess?
But we can talk about the Pistons! (Makes the sign of the cross.) Despite shedding their historic losing streak against the hapless Raptors, this team has been bad and has earned that mantel with whatever the opposite of style and grace is. So terrible the product, chants of “Sell the team” became common. Despite the state of the team and having just one forward on the entire team, I’m still a big believer in Cade Cunningham (who played his best ball towards the end of the streak) along with Ivey and Duren.
While both the Spurs and Wizards are lucky to have the Pistons do their thing, it should be noted that both of these franchises have done little, which isn’t that big of a surprise. We knew Kuzma and Poole would average like 180 combined shots with mid-results… however Kyle Kuzma could non-ironically make the argument for having a really solid year with his 22.6/6.1/4.2 average slash.
But the arrival of Victor Wembanyama has been both amazing and a disappointment. I mean, not disappointing to me, I urged everyone to take Chet over him almost as much as I mention that I urged everyone to do this, but still, what Wemby has done is nothing short of spectacular averaging over 19 points with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks a game, but still, something feels like its missing. Probably the rest of the Spurs. A lot has been aggregated about Gregg Popovich, and it’s not really my purview to throw shade on a coach unless your named after my favorite garnish (looking at you Darvin Ham) and plus, I just think his surrounding cast is meh. How the Spurs never even once tried to outbid on Austin Reaves or signing a veteran presence like Fred VanVleet may actually turn out being a big deal.
The Celtics are also an interesting team, in that the world must continue hating on New England sports while also submitting that this team is really good and really fun to watch. Both Brown and Tatum are doing their usual thing, but the addition of Kristaps Porzingis and utilizing the most efficient version of him has been paying dividends. The injury-risk still looms, but looks to be another year where the Unicorn silently puts up a solid 20/7/2.
Speaking of title contenders (I refuse to admit that in the same paragraph that has the word “Celtics”) the Thunder are officially part of that conversation. Of course much of that has been fueled by SGA and company sans Gidday (who has actually began to come around on his three-point shot), but a lot of credit has to go to rookie, not-so-much-a-rookie Chet Holmgren whose averaging 18/7/3 with almost three blocks and lot of poise and maturity. While it’s easy to join the hype-train, and yes, even I think they could go for a chip, I still thing that this team needs two more pieces, including a bona fide bigman at the five.
While I hadn’t planned on covering the Grizzlies in this first part, news broke yesterday that Ja Morant will undergo season-ending surgery for a labrum tear which is obviously a huge blow. After losing Steven Adams for the year, and already substantially behind in the play-in race, looks to be a lost year. Too bad, because even though Morant has had some questionable hand gestures and a very unique take on gangster cosplay, the dude can ball and the league is better when he’s on the court and not on IG, but what do I know?
Jay is a longtime Razzball everything who consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell.
