So look, it’s still an absolutely joking matter here at Razz while we all sit through the season of “the injury”. Think of the dog in the room on fire meme, that’s us, right here. Sure, it’s not fine, but if we ain’t laughing, it leaves way too much time for crying. An allegory for current times? Isn’t everything? While almost every NBA star is imploding left and right (WHAT IS THIS, AN ASTRONOMY JOKE?), we must emotionally persevere as our fake teams weather the storm. Sans the figurative language, those who have survived and are still active and playing in the NBA (so far…) have put forth a set of results that while not determinative, do kind of lend us content people things to type and meander about. And so besides the really detrimental (both in the real world and fantasy) dearth of unfortunate injuries the league is experiencing, here are some takes I’ve gathered which totally don’t mean much, but what this post presupposes is… what if they do…?
Just to preface, when LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards shared a court together, the Wolves had an offensive rating of 121, which would have put them second best in the league last season. That is not to hammer what I just did about injuries, but that is to question what comes next for Ball and the rest of the team for the next few months. While it was the smallest of sample of sizes, Ball accepted his role as a true two and a complete facilitator so Edwards could do what he’s best at on the offensive end of the floor. With that foundational concept of the offense missing now, is it a just let Ball be Ball offense now? Or will Finch go a different direction? Not that Rudy Gobert is an offensive force, but an Edwards-less team could be an amplifier for both him and Kuminga, but it remains to be seen if Ball can continue to show the patience he was developing. I’m generally positive if he remains healthy, but I could see this getting wild really quick, it’s not like the Wolves have known to be the most stable regular season team… something to monitor for sure.
What is wrong with Nikola Jokic? Is it something lingering from last season… perhaps a busy off-season doing work-outs in Serbia, or is it that he’s just getting a little older, a little slower? I think if you have had the eye-test on it, he does look a bit slower. He’s never been athletic, we know this, and his defense has always been, well, negotiable, but the Nuggets as a team look pretty lifeless out there on both ends, and while it generally needs to start and end with Jamaal Murray working with Jokic, the Joker has looked like an unwilling partner at times. The talking heads are talking about this too, so it’s not like I’m refuting that, but are we really concerned about a fat dude who always relied on savvy and elite play-making after a week? Unless there is a lingering issue from injury, I’d like to wait a bit longer and see if this is just a slow start. The Nuggets have stretches where they look a bit, well, not up to the moment, so maybe it’s just that.
The Thunder are in a difficult spot, but the team has built-in redundancy built in despite losing both Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins. A lot of the focus will be on Jared McCain and for good reason, a legitimate scorer and minutes-eater, there’s definitely an uptick in value for him. But I’m a firm believer that Ajay Mitchell in the long-run will see the best results from the loss of Cason Williams and J-Dub now that Alex Caruso is also ailing a bit.
The top-5 rookies selected in the draft continue to show positive signs in limited time. While we are just starting to see Dybantsa and his funky playstyle, Darryn Peterson has looked okay, Cameron Boozer has done solid things, Caleb Wilson has shown 20/10 potential with Keaton Wagler having poise and patience with a solid 15/4/4.
Beyond that, I think Darius Acuff Jr. has shown flashes on the offensive side and some questionable actions on the defensive side. While we just care about one side of this for fantasy purposes, I do believe Acuff’s defense, or at least how much energy he puts into it will ultimately unlock him as a complete NBA player, increasing his volume on the offense. But the effort, just like in college, appears to be questionable at times and I couldn’t think of a worse environment for him currently.
At the 11th pick, Yaxel Lendeborg has shown incredible production on the court and with his mouth, kinda-sorta turning out to be the second coming of… Jimmy Butler? This is incredible news for the Warriors, they are in dire need of big-man physicality and someone who can let the offense flow with them, just like Green does which helps unlock Curry, which is obviously the key factor to unlocking an entire team. Being the older rookie helps, but having the attitude and on-court energy is a big deal and has already shifted my opinion a bit on what this team and some of the players can do if Steph can maintain 60 games played and Butler can come back at some point to help or help in a trade.
More thoughts to continue as this early season progresses!
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.
