NBA 2021-2022 Mid-Season Surprises
While Covid ravaged teams early in the year and we watched as the Knicks rose, the Bucks fell and all manner of madness ensued, we now near the 2/3rd mark in the NBA season and it might be fun to have a look at the surprises we witnessed this season to date.
Eastern Conference
The Good
Cleveland – Currently 3rd in the Eastern Conference, the Cavs are the surprise story of the year in the East. Generally predicted to finish out of the playoffs, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen and Caris LeVert have all been playing well and ably assisted by formidable rookie Evan Mobley.
Chicago – Currently 2nd in the East no one predicted the Bulls would amount to much this year except Jim. Jim had a hunch that this bunch of disparate pieces were more than the sum of their parts and so far, he has been proven right. Both Zach Lavine and DeMar Derozan are playing career ball and perhaps even better, career team basketball. Like the Raptors, the starters are playing heavy minutes because the bench is thin and providing among the lowest points production in the league. It will be interesting to see how they fare in the playoffs after a full season of long games.
Toronto – Okay, sure the Raptors are currently in 7th, but considering Jim had them at 14th, they have certainly and significantly exceeded expectations. Siakam has returned to prior All Star form, Barnes has been more NBA ready than anticipated and Coach Nick has not been shy to play the heck out of his starters. No team in the NBA gets fewer points from their bench this year than the Raptors. Can they make some noise in the playoffs?
The Bad
Brooklyn – Currently 8th in the Eastern Conference, most pundits had the Nets 1 or 2 in the East and for good reason: talent. No doubt Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden were the most talented Big 3 in the East and probably the league, but unfortunately, their personalities got in the way of that talent and they’ve just lost 11 in a row, the longest losing streak of a team that started above .500. Will they fall out of the playoffs entirely?
Boston – Currently 6th in the East but only due to a league high 8 game winning streak, the Celtics have bumped along all season beating good teams only to lose to bad teams and struggling to find an identity. There was plenty of talk about Tatum and Brown not being able to coexist whatever that means, but the trade deadline found them both still flashing Celtic green. Maybe this winning streak is the start of some consistency?
Detroit – Currently the front runner for the highest lottery odds, the Pistons have underwhelmed in every conceivable manner this season and it seems Cade Cunningham wasn’t enough to right a sinking ship. At some point, someone will have to point to the leadership of this team and someone will be held accountable. How much further will they have to fall before it happens?
There isn’t much to say about the other teams in the East this year except perhaps Atlanta. Most thought they would be in the playoff mix this year and are not. Otherwise, most teams have fallen in line with where they were predicted to – completely the reverse of the West.
Western Conference
The Good
Phoenix – Certainly most people expected Phoenix to do well this year, but no one expected them to dominate. First in the conference, this team hasn’t missed many beats since it all started coming together for them in the Bubble the year before last. This season they seemed to have found another gear. Will they finish the job this year and bring a trophy back to Phoenix?
Golden State – Currently 2nd in the West, Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins have become a deadly combination and only Phoenix is showing the depths of chops to compete against the Warriors. On the season they have beaten the Suns 2 games to 1. What will Klay Thompson do for them when he’s fully back up to speed?
Memphis – Like Cleveland in the East, Memphis is that team that no one saw coming. Riding the blossoming talents of Ja Morant, Memphis have consistently looked like they could go for a deep playoff run. Everyone loves an underdog – could Memphis do something really special this year?
The Bad
LA Lakers – Currently 9th in the West, the Lakers are discovering that the greatest hits of the 2000s don’t cut it in the 2020s. LeBron has faded, Anthony Davis is brilliant but brittle and surprise of surprises, Russell Westbrook remains Russell Westbrook. With no draft picks or trade bait left, what’s to become of the Lakers over the next 5 years?
LA Clippers – Currently 8th in the West and having already flown the white flag, the Clippers have discovered that 1 brittle superstar plus 1 brittle superstar don’t add up to a championship. Sure they’ll give it another go next year because both George and Leonard are signed for several more years. But one has to wonder when they’ll call off the pursuit with these 2 and see what return they can get while they still control the assets.
Certainly the most outrageous surprise in the West is the real probability that neither of the 2 LA teams will be in the playoffs this year – and I’m not talking about the play-ins. But beyond that, the West is full of if not surprises then oddities. Whatever happened to the Pelicans and Zion Williamson? How did Portland implode and is it still imploding? Why are the Rockets still 15th in the West? What is Utah – actually? Definitely the West is stealing the headlines so far this season, but with the Simmons for Harden trade finally done, perhaps we’ll start to see more interesting stories emerge from the East. Fingers crossed.