In his first week 2022-2023 NBA season It is already part of history and so far there have been big surprises. Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers they are the only teams that still don’t know what it means to lose, while The Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers are yet to win.
Some of these early season trends mean more than others. However, there are some overreactions that could be sustained throughout the course. It is time to analyze them.
subscribe to NBA League Pass to see all matches: United States | The rest of the world
Benedict Maturin is emerging as a Rookie of the Year candidate
There have been plenty of promising starts for some of the year’s rookies. Jaden Ivey was able to get to the rim with ease with the Pistons, Keegan Murray has more than fulfilled in the Kings and Shaedon Sharpe He has shown that explosive athleticism that made him one of the top picks for the Trail Blazers’ latest Draft.
However, the two big favorites for Rookie of the Year are, so far, Paolo Banchero and Benedict Mathurin. The No. 1 Draft was extremely NBA-ready, with great size and scoring ability, and is averaging 22.8 ppg
But Mathurin, #6 in the latest Draft, has stolen the spotlight this start.
Mathurin was absolutely fearless coming off the bench for the Pacers, averaging 22.3 points per night. Also, His 6-of-13 three-point streak (42.9%) allowed him to enjoy big moments.
The most impressive thing about the Canadian’s game is his tenacity to get to the basket against much bigger opponents. He was a whirlwind in transition who constantly looked for contact. Most rookies coming into the league do so trying to keep their cool, Mathurin has imposed his will on games. There is absolutely no fear of failure in the way he plays.
Danny Ainge’s problem: The Utah Jazz have a very good team
The Utah Jazz started the season as the team with the third-worst winning record according to Las Vegas sportsbooks with 23.5 wins. It was to be expected that after the defeat Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Royce O’Neale and Bojan Bogdanovic they were going to get carried away and add bad results. Surprisingly, they got off to a 3-0 start before losing in Game 4 to the Houston Rockets.
It’s not like Utah beat weak opponents, because they beat the Nuggets on day one, beat the Timberwolves in overtime, and repeated the feat against the Pelicans. Even his defeat is justified for it happened on the second night of a back to back
If those from Salt Lake City want to rebuild with the Draft in mind they should start moving some of their veterans around soon. Mike Conley remains a solid veteran point guard, Jordan Clarkson averaged 18.5 points per game and Jared Vanderbilt was the league’s best defensive player, according to this statistic.
But the real star was Lauri Markkanen.
The Finn’s career has been a rollercoaster ride. He filled his role with the Bulls after trading Jimmy Butler during the 2017 Draft, but was disappointing in his first four years in the league and Chicago fired him rather than re-sign him. The Cavs later moved him after a solid year, and now it looks like he might be ready to take off.
Markkanen has always been a decent shooter, but it’s not even his shooting that has fueled his strong start this season. After a great Eurobasket, the Finn seems to be a much more balanced scorer this year.
Lauri Markkanen is averaging 24 per game and leads the Jazz 3-0. Must be hot shooting, right?
He’s actually frozen from the 3, making only 30% of his attempts (that % will go up). He has added much more than spot-up shots to his game. pic.twitter.com/6hBELXkLvV
— StephNoh (@StephNoh) October 24, 2022
The Utah Jazz probably won’t trade Markkanen. At 25, he fits the bill for the next version of the team. Rookie Walker Kessler has also excelled as an interior rim protector. However, they have to get rid of other veterans to try to get them Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson.
The Lakers should consider sitting Russell Westbrook
The Lakers were swept by the Warriors to open the season, lost to the fledgling Clippers and blew a 7-point late-period lead against the Blazers to start the season 0-3.
How to blow a seven-point lead with less than two minutes remaining, from the Los Angeles Lakers: pic.twitter.com/9YedsGUqXa
— StephNoh (@StephNoh) October 24, 2022
The main issue around the Californians was apparently the complete lack of shooting. They won’t stay inside 20.2% from triple throughout the season, but they got rid of most of their good shooters and couldn’t replace them with anyone up to the task.
Russell Westbrook doesn’t deserve the level of hate he gets from the fans, but the harsh truth is that he doesn’t fit in with this team at all. He opened the stretch hitting just 29% of his shots, including 1-of-12 from long range.
To be clear, Russ He alone is not responsible for anyone else on the Lakers being able to produce offensively. Only two players on the roster (Max Christie and Matt Ryan) are shooting over 30% from 3-point range in this start among those with 6+ shots.
Westbrook still has plenty of gas in the tank. His defense has been solid and he can still attack the rim to break down opposing defenses. But his game is useless on this star-studded, shooter-deprived team. Maybe it’s time to consider shipping to Russ home until the team can find a possible trade.
The Pelicans could be a threat in the Playoffs
The Pelicans have had an extremely impressive start to the season. After posting blowout wins against the Nets and Hornets, they fell in overtime to the Utah Jazz. This narrow defeat also had to do with me Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson were forced to withdraw from the match due to minor injuries. Nonetheless, NOLA fought back and beat the Mavs without their two stars.
Ingram has been one of the most underrated stars in the league recently. His mid-range jump shot is deadly: he’s connected on 46% over the past two seasons. He is part of the elite that reaches these latitudes and is one of the best scorers in the NBA.
Meanwhile, Zion looked as good as he did before his injuries. Adding an All-NBA talent to a team that went 13-10 after the All-Star break has made the Pelicans a very dangerous team.
However, the least expected for the team was the development of Trey Murphy. He has opened the season shooting an incredible 60% from 3 after finishing his rookie year shooting 38%.
Extremely high difficulty level three by Trey Murphy. On the go with instant release. This species is not normal pic.twitter.com/mC82GDLeDg
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) October 20, 2022
The Pelicans have one of the deepest teams in the league, have size on the wings and punish the rebound a lot. It could easily be a team with home-court advantage in the Western Conference at the end of the season.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the NBA or its organizations.
