By Jacob Stevenson

We are about two weeks into the early NBA season. Let’s take a look into a couple of the early teams that have either impressed so far this season.

Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers are 7-1 so far this season and have outscored their opponents by 8.8 points per game. 

The Sixers hired Daryl Morey as President of Basketball Operations and hired Doc Rivers as head coach before the season. 

The Sixers then quickly went out and acquired Seth Curry, Danny Green and Dwight Howard to help bolster the back end of their roster. They then used their first-round pick on Tyrese Maxey, a shooting guard out of Kentucky with the 21st pick. 

Philadelphia previously struggled at surrounding offensive shooting around Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. The additions of Curry and Green have so far helped open up and space the court. Another issue that the Sixers had was the drop off in production when Joel Embiid was not on the court. So far, adding Dwight Howard has allowed the Sixers to have a competent backup center which helps them in the minutes Embiid is not on the court. 

Another huge issue for the Sixers last year was the lack of players on the roster who can create shots out of the pick and roll. With Maxey and the development of Shake Milton, the Sixers have quality players this season who can create shots off the bench. Tobias Harris has also had a very good year so far as he looks more comfortable on offense this year and is averaging 19.3 points per game. Harris has improved his field goal percentage from 47.1 to 51.7 this season and his three-point percentage has also improved from 36.7 to 46.5. His rebound is also up from 6.9 to 7.9.

Indiana Pacers

Another team that has impressed so far is the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are currently 6-2 on the year and currently have a 6.8-point differential. They replaced head coach Nate McMillian this offseason with Nate Bjorkgren who was previously an assistant with the Toronto Raptors. 

Victor Oladipo finally looks like he is returning to All-Star form with 20.4 points per game and is providing quality defense. But the biggest reason why the Pacers are off to this great start is the improved play of Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon. Sabonis, an All-Star in 2020, is averaging a career-high in points with 20.8 points per game and 6.4 assists per game. He is averaging double-digit rebounds with 11.4 per game and his field goal percentage is 57.7 percent. 

Brogden has also been awesome this year as he is averaging a career-high in points, averaging 23.6 points per game up from 16.5. His field goal percentage is up from 43.8 last year to 51.8 this year. He is also doing a remarkable job taking care of the ball by only turning the ball over 1.6 times per game. The Pacers so far look like they have two clear All-Stars and if they can continue to have consistent play from their big three, they should expect to have a high seat for the playoffs.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns were playing well in last summer’s bubble, going 8-0 yet unfortunately still did not make the playoffs. The Suns went out and acquired future Hall of Famer Chris Paul this offseason to be their starting point guard and pair with All-Star Devin Booker. 

Phoenix is giving up 102.4 points per game which are the second-lowest in the Western Conference. They are also outscoring opponents by a solid 7.4 points per game while players like DeAndre Ayton have greatly improved on the defensive end of the court. The addition of Jae Crowder has also helped as he provides a much needed veteran presence (like Paul) and offers the ability to guard multiple positions. 

Mikal Bridges has also developed into a potential All-NBA player. The third-year wing from Villanova is a very good 3-and D wing who has helped Phoenix this year. In pick and rolls defended by Bridges and Ayton this season, opponents are scoring an incredibly low 0.71 points per possession. 

While Chris Paul’s scoring is down from 17.6 to 13.3 this season, he has done an incredible job distributing the ball with 8.3 assists to just 1.8 turnovers. 

If the Suns can keep up their quality defense and get Devin Booker going again, they will be a team to watch out for in the West.

Note: Stats are from January 7, 2021.

Jacob is a sports contributor for La Tonique.