By owning the league’s best record of 14-2, the Warriors are taking everyone by surprise since they’ve emerged as a viable contender for this season’s NBA championship.
On the other hand, the Lakers aren’t looking like such, although their woes are mainly attributed to them not having a clean bill of health.
In the Eastern Conference, the Wizards have entered into the top four since they’ve only lost five games thus far.
It’s still early in the 2021/22 season and we still have a long way to go. So for now, allow SBOTOP to list down key takeaways that we’ve learned these past few days.
Can the Warriors make a run at another title?
Given their superb performance, it begs the question on whether they can mount another title charge. After all, they’ve been there before – winning three titles in 2015, 2017, and 2018 and making it to five finals overall.
Although a lot has changed since their last finals appearance in 2019, they still have their leaders in Steph Curry and Draymond Green while Klay Thompson is working his way back to 100-per cent, and he should be ready to go in just a few weeks from now.
The Warriors have benefitted from the energy infused by their younger players as Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole have been doing well as complementary pieces, adding athleticism and spark on the offencive end.
Many thought that the Warriors’ championship window has been shut down when Kevin Durant left Golden State to join forces with Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn. But as shown in their recent meeting at the Barclays Center, it looks like Durant made the wrong choice of leaving the Bay Area.
Golden State pummeled Brooklyn with a score of 117-99 as Steph Curry scored a game-high of 37 points and he got four other teammates in double digits. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant was held to 19 points while James Harden had 24 and Bruce Brown had 14.
In these next few days, the Warriors have a relatively easy schedule and we expect their NBA 2021 odds for a title to continue to go on an upward trajectory.
Age and health will always be a concern for Steph Curry and co. But barring any major injuries, they should be poised to make another deep playoff run.
The Lakers are happy to have LeBron James back
Prior to the start of this season, the Lakers were dubbed as the favourites to win the championship because of their acquisition of Russell Westbrook last summer to form their own version of the Big 3.
But their 8-9 record as of the moment indicates that they still have ways to go since they’ve yet to establish their identity on the hardcourt.
It certainly doesn’t help that LeBron James missed time due to injuries and the duo of Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook has yet to fully mesh, although there are some positive things that they can build on.
During his return against the Celtics, James tallied 23 points and six rebounds and the Lakers are hopeful that the King will continue to play to improve his chemistry with Davis and Westbrook.
LeBron James may be slowly declining at a physical level, but he still is one of the smartest players in basketball and he can surely make it work with his co-stars.
Another positive for the Lakers is that Carmelo Anthony has been the sixth man that they needed while Talen Horton-Tucker has played well in these past few games.
Only time will tell if the Lakers can figure it out and they certainly have the pieces to do it, but their health will always remain as a concern.
Solid start for the Wizards
When the Wizards traded away Russell Westbrook to the Lakers last offseason, many believed that they’re a rebuilding team headed to the lottery. However, their NBA 2021 results are saying otherwise.
Washington are off to a 10-5 start with quality wins on their resume, which isn’t bad considering they’re a roster of misfits.
Bradley Beal is still the Wizards’ go-to guy. Montrezl Harrell looks like the player who won the Sixth Man of the Year back in 2019. Kyle Kuzma is nearly averaging a double-double, and Spencer Dinwiddie has been solid at backcourt alongside Beal.
The most impressive thing about their run so far is that they’re ranked top five in the league in defencive rating so far, so kudos to their new head coach Wes Unseld Jr.
The Wizards may not make it deep into the playoffs, but they should be able to avoid the play-in tournament if they’ll keep this up.
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