Never Too Early NBA Overreactions

By Noah Powell

We all know that the NBA season is the epitome of a journey. Usually, the season is 82 games consisting of a tremendous amount of ebbs and flows. Due to the recent bubble finish of the 2019-2020 season, the 2020-2021 season will consist of 72 games, 10 games shorter than the norm. Don’t let 10 fewer games fool you, this season is still going to be a journey. With that being said, we are now two weeks into the season going on three, and it wouldn’t be right not to have extremely early overreactions.

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So let’s get right to it. Payton Pritchard, point guard for the Boston Celtics, will be this season's rookie of the year. Pritchard was the 26th pick in the 2021 NBA draft and was pretty much a head-scratcher pick. Of all the big names selected he was supposed to be someone that contributes the least and maybe becomes a decent role player later on in his career as he develops. Well… Pritchard had other plans. 

Pritchard is averaging 8.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 3.1 APG, all off of shooting 54% from the field, which is the best among any rookie with over seven games played, and is also shooting 42% from beyond the arc. To complement his stats, he is coming off a huge 23 point, eight assist game for the Celtics when top guards Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, and Jeff Teague were all inactive. When Pritchard is on the court the Celtics are plus-11 and they are minus-15 with him off it, further showing his value.

Yeah, you can say James Wiseman and Tyrese Haliburton have better numbers right now, but they are on bad teams where they were expected to contribute immediately anyway. Pritchard has fought his way into the lineup and is helping a championship contender win games. When you have a star player of the team in Jaylen Brown, who is having an outstanding season himself, the “GOAT,” you have to believe that this kid has more tricks up his sleeve. 

Be sure to hop on the wagon now before it's too late.

Nikola Jokic. Not only is he the best center in the NBA, but he will also be this season’s MVP. Although the Nuggets are off to a slower start than they would’ve liked, 3-4, Jokic has been nothing short of amazing. There has been nothing on the court that he can’t do, the Nuggets play through him in every way possible. He is averaging an astonishing 24 PPG, 11 RPG, and 11 APG while shooting 61% from the field. To bring more light to these numbers, Jokic is usually known to be a slow starter to the season and has already brought his point-scoring average up 10 points and his assists up 5 from his usual early-season play. Seeing how the Nuggets played in the bubble, it is safe to assume that they will find a rhythm and start playing much better basketball, and with that Jokic numbers will only continue to rise. 

The Phoenix Suns will be a top 3 team in the West and will be serious contenders for a spot in the Finals. The Suns are off to a 5-2 start, with three out of four wins coming against the Pelicans, Jazz, Nuggets, and Clippers. Even though they lost to the Clippers, they showed major resilience as a team overcoming a 31 point deficit and only losing by five. 

Defensively, the Suns have wreaked havoc for everyone they have played. They have a DefRtg, points allowed per 100 possessions, of 103.4 which ranks third in the league. Their starting unit, consisting of the big three of Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton, has not completely gelled yet offensively, but they still are ranked 13th in OffRtg, points scored per 100 possessions. No newly formed team usually starts picture-perfect, but the fact they are getting a lot of help from their bench is something that should scare everyone in the West. As you expect, the starting unit will find their groove, combined with their depth, this team is going to be an issue.

Now that I’ve gotten all the positive and happy predictions out the way, what’s an overreaction article without some negativity?

Nick Nurse and the Raptors are a thing of the past. After their 2019-2020 NBA title, followed up with a surprisingly dominant season last year without Kawhi, we have seen an extreme fall from grace. This team is 1-5 with not a glimmer of hope in sight. They still have been effective on the defensive end for the most part, besides their extreme inability to stop the corner three, but offensively they are a disaster. Pascal Siakam is a shell of who he was. He is no longer looking for his shots in the paint and has faced disciplinary issues. There is no depth on this team whatsoever, and new addition Aaron Baynes has contributed virtually nothing.

Nurse was on his way to be considered one of the elite coaches in the NBA who can establish a team with whatever pieces he has, but after losing Kawhi, then Ibaka and Gasol in back-to-back seasons, he can’t get his team to put together complete games. It’s looking like it was always about his star's ability to play rather than his ability to coach.

It is Week 2 ½ of the NBA season, so obviously, we know exactly how everything is going to happen now, and what I’ve said in this story is the way it’s going to go. Kidding, of course, take it all with a grain of salt. But I will say that these four different storylines are something worth keeping your eyes on as the season progresses.

Noah is a sports writer for La Tonique.