The NBA is off to a fast start this year. Every team has opened their season with impressive feats that could give a look into how these teams will perform throughout this 82 game marathon.
The Denver Nuggets have looked like a strong candidate, potentially repeating their success as NBA champions. While there should be lots of competition to compete with the Nuggets, not everyone has displayed the same level of play.
The Chicago Bulls are just one of these teams to have not impressed. This was evident when following their 124-104 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a players-only meeting was called. This is not an ideal start to the season and one would hope that the meeting will have a positive impact on the team going forward. With forward Demar DeRozan in the final year of his contract and it becoming unlikely he signs an extension, the Bulls could be sellers at the trade deadline. Forward Patrick Williams has struggled this season and has never developed into the premier 3&D wing that the Bulls had hoped for when they drafted him. This will be a tough year for the Bulls and it could lead to a rebuild.
No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama entered this season as the most hyped prospect in the NBA since LeBron James. So far, Wembanyama has flashed his potential by scoring 15 points against the Dallas Mavericks with nine of those coming in the fourth quarter. Although he stands at 7’3’’ the Spurs have chosen to play him at the power forward spot instead of center to protect him physically due to his slender frame. Wembanyama has been able to have an effect on defenses by using his wingspan to block shots. Through his first three games, he is averaging 1.7 blocks per game, 4.7 turnovers per game and almost 16 points per game.
In the offseason, the NBA announced that they will be debuting their new in-season tournament. This will begin on Nov. 3rd and end on Dec. 9th. The teams have been divided up into three groups of five from the Eastern Conference and three groups of five from the Western Conference. In these groups, each team will play the other four teams in their group. Games will be played every Tuesday and Friday from Nov. 3 to Nov. 28 to determine their tournament record. This will lead to the teams winning the group stage advancing to the knockout stage. The tournament will also include two teams from each conference that hold the best record from their group. The teams that advance will then play single elimination games to move on throughout the tournament before the quarter finals and finals are played at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Three games to look out for week two are the New York Knicks facing the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 PM on ESPN on Friday Nov. 3rd, the Golden State Warriors battling the Denver Nuggets on ESPN at 10:00 PM on Nov. 8th and the Oklahoma City Thunder taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers at 8:00 PM on Nov. 8th.
