The Los Angeles Lakers are still winless this NBA season. With the under-fire Russell Westbrook out of the lineup, the Lakers slumped to their fourth straight defeat as their hopes of contending for another championship this season are quickly fading away.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks are still unbeaten thanks to superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak turned in an MVP-calibre performance to outduel Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets, who are still getting very little from returning All-Star Ben Simmons.
Simmons’ old team, the Philadelphia 76ers, are also having some early-season problems, with another loss putting more pressure on head coach Doc Rivers.
Read on below as SBOTOP lists down the three top takeaways from a stacked 10-game NBA schedule.
Winless Lakers’ woes go beyond Russell Westbrook
The Los Angeles Lakers dropped to 0-4 on the season as they suffered a 110-99 defeat to the Denver Nuggets.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 41 points for the Lakers as they played without starting guard Russell Westbrook, who was dealing with a hamstring injury. Lonnie Walker IV added 15 points, but the Lakers went just 8 of 30 on 3-pointers as a team as their disastrous outside shooting continues even without Russ.
Westbrook has been the butt of many jokes with his poor play this season, and there have been strong calls for new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham to bench him.
But as their loss to the Nuggets shows, the Lakers’ problems go far beyond Russell Westbrook. With 37-year-old LeBron James no longer capable of carrying his team to victory every single night, the Lakers need Anthony Davis to be that top-tier superstar who can lead the team on a nightly basis.
But Davis has sadly fallen short of that level thus far. Meanwhile, the rest of the team is short on talent and just not providing the level of production they need to be competitive.
It should be quite clear at this point that there are serious issues with the Lakers that cannot simply be solved by removing Russell Westbrook from the squad. They also need a significant infusion of talent, but it remains to be seen if the front office is capable of pulling that off in time to save their season.
Giannis still great while Ben Simmons still broken
One of the most anticipated matchups on the NBA schedule was without a doubt Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets going up against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Durant and Giannis had an epic duel in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, which Giannis and the Bucks won en route to claiming the NBA championship.
And the Greek Freak once again got the better of KD and co. as he had a brilliant performance with 43 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. Giannis and Bobby Portis essentially put the entire team on their shoulders as they shot 24 of 39 from the field (61 per cent) while the rest of the Bucks went a mere 15 of 49 (30 per cent).
Giannis, who has now notched back-to-back 40-point games, is looking absolutely dominant once again as the Bucks remain the only unbeaten team in the East. And with All-Star Khris Middleton still to return, the Bucks could very well be in the title hunt once again.
On the other side, Ben Simmons had another brutally underwhelming game. The former All-Star point guard, who missed all of last season with a back injury, finished with 9 assists but had just 4 points on 2-of-7 shooting and made the wrong NBA 2022 highlights after refusing to shoot – to the dismay of teammate Kyrie Irving. Simmons has now scored just 21 points through four games, while committing 18 fouls.
Kevin Durant had another strong game with 33 points – his third 30-point performance in four games – but the Brooklyn Nets (1-3) simply can’t have their supposed third star providing so little if they are to be taken seriously as NBA championship contenders.
Pressure piling on Doc Rivers as Sixers’ struggles continue
Meanwhile, things also aren’t going too well for Ben Simmons’ old team, the Philadelphia 76ers, as they slumped to 1-4 on the season with a 119-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
James Harden, who was traded for Simmons in last season’s blockbuster deal, had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists, and has had a fine start to the season overall.
But things just haven’t been clicking for the Sixers, who made some smart moves in the offseason that improved their NBA 2022 odds of contending for a title.
Two of their key offseason additions, Danuel House Jr. and Montrezl Harrell, have had quite disappointing starts, though, which has severely weakened their bench.
Moreover, the overall defensive effort of the team has been disappointing, with even defensive stalwart Joel Embiid falling off on that end of the court.
In Philly’s defence, their schedule to start the season has been a tough one. Nevertheless, the pressure is now growing on head coach Doc Rivers to turn things around, since team president Daryl Morey will not hesitate to make a change when he thinks it’s necessary.
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