HurricaneDij's Top 7 NBA Surprises Through One Month

[HurricaneDij39]

*in no order

-Vince Carter, Memphis Grizzlies - Amazingly, he's still in the league, and still playing an important bench role for a Memphis team that has 11 wins heading into December. Heading into tonight's game, Vince was averaging 9.3 points per game and hasn't embarrassed himself with a 38.9% field goal percentage. Not eye-popping numbers by any means, but the guy IS GOING TO BE 40 in January. Enough said. Carter will once again become a free agent next summer and is said to be looking to play one more season after this one. How cool would it be if he spent his 20th and final NBA season in Toronto where it all began?

-Victor Oladipo, Oklahoma City Thunder - Yours truly had him ranked #46 in my preseason Top 50 NBA Players list, so we knew he could play. But, could we ever have envisioned him growing into a new role this quickly? On the season, Oladipo is averaging 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 41.4 percent from three. The latter was his big weakness. He put up 25/6/6 in a recent win over Washington. Don't sleep on him for an All-Star bid. If Oladipo continues to play like this, he will prove to be worth every penny of that $84 million extension he recently signed.

-Mason Plumlee, Portland Trail Blazers - Yes, he still struggles a bit on the defensive end. But, he continued to improve his game in levels we hasn't seen while he was at Duke. The last three seasons, he has raised his assists average from 0.9 to 2.8 to 4.8 this season and has become one of the more diverse starting centers in the NBA.

-Avery Bradley, Boston Celtics - We all knew he was a stud defender, but this season has has become an all-around player, averaging career highs in both scoring (17.7) and rebounding (7.8) and remains the heart and soul of a solid contender in the Eastern Conference.

-Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets - The year off did him good. Already capable of defending three positions, he is currently leading Denver with 18.2 points per game while shooting a career-high 47.1% from the field. With one full year left on his contract and a player option for the 2018-19 season, his trade value is as high as it's ever going to be, and Denver needs to cash in come February.

-Jameer Nelson, Denver Nuggets - After a shooting freeze to begin the 2015-16 season and now 34 heading into this season, one had to question how much Nelson had left in the tank. He has answered those questions and then some, averaging 9.7 points and 4.4 assists while continuing to draw in defenses with his crafty play. As a part-Nuggets fan, Boston's Terry Rozier would be my top target in a trade for Wilson Chandler, but Nelson remains a more-than capable placeholder to spare playing time from the continued project in Emmanuel Mudiay.

-Rodney Stuckey, Indiana Pacers - Stuckey is an example of a player that has had to work for his accomplishments in the NBA. After playing his college ball at tiny Eastern Washington and a tumultuous Detroit career that was plagued by seizures and a whirlwind of coaches, Stuckey signed with the Pacers on a one-year deal in 2014 for the veteran minimum. His final season with the Pistons in 2013-14, at least in my opinion, was his most effective. He averaged 13.9 points per game in just under 27 minutes a night while limiting his three-point attempts to 88, and unlikely trend for a player that becomes further along in his career. Now 30 and coming of a 2015-16 season that was limited by a bone bruise in his foot, surely he doesn't have a great deal left, right? Think again. After returning from a hamstring strain, Stuckey scored 21 points against Golden State on 11/21 and added 18 more in a win over Brooklyn. He offers size for the Pacers over Monta Ellis at the SG position is averaging 8.7 points per game overall. Don't be afraid to start him, Mr. McMillan. That would make Ellis a top-tier playmaker off the bench. Stay healthy, Rodney.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxl1b3YAhLc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxl1b3YAhLc
Take It All Away/Shove It In My Face :: HurricaneDij's Top 7 NBA Surprises (Through One Month of the 2016-17 Season)

 

[wildturkey]

I will totally sleep on Oladipo's All Star bid

 

[HurricaneDij39]

I will totally sleep on Oladipo's All Star bid

Right, let's just make the All-Star Game a rematch of Christmas Day and make it between all Cavs and all Warriors.

Or better yet, let's just make it an old-timers game between the 2011 Heat and the 2011 Lakers...That of course, is assuming Lamar Odom passes the drug test that allows him to play in the game.

 

[CitySushi]

My top 7, also in no order:

1) James Harden being the assist leader so far.

For a guy who's as prolific of a scorer as Harden is, he's been amazing as a distributor this season. Despite his still lackluster defense, overall he's a huge net plus for the Rockets. Being now the Point Guard for the Rockets, has put a lot more weight on his shoulders and so far he's doing exception. The only thing I worry about with him is how fresh is, come end of the year. He's doing so much for the Rockets right now that I hope he doesn't get worn out.

2) How bad Indiana has been so far.

Yes I realize that Paul George has been out for quite a while now, but even with him there they were playing terrible basketball. The more alarming thing for me is that they've turned into a horrible defensive team. That might have a lot to do with the smaller lineups they run and having Jefferson, Teague and Monta out there. I had them pegged as a top 3 seed, with possibly being upwards of 2. They'd be lucky to turn into a playoff team right now.

3) Bobcats playing well.

Having your 3 best bigs as Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminksy, you would think that they would be near the bottom of the league. Yet here they are at 11-8, in large part to Kemba and Batum. Having MKG back helps their defense a lot too. I think at best they're a first round exit, but Kemba has been really good this year.

4) Lakers.

I mean, if anyone predicted they'd be 10-10 through 20 games, that would be considered a massive win for the Lakers. They're probably one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA after being pretty unwatchable the last few years. Luke has done a great job of empowering his players and getting their best night-in and night-out. I still expect some regression to happen, but if they use this year to get in some great development for Ingram, Russell and Randle, the Lakers are in really good shape going forward.

5) Joel Embiid is an absolute beast.

Anyone who predicted he would be this good, this fast, would be lying. He had all the potential coming out of college but after 2 full years of not playing competitive basketball, you would think there would be a large learning curve with him. He looks like the real deal. If he can stay healthy, he could be eventually mentioned in the same conversation as AD and KAT. He's that good and that skilled

6) Minnesota's terrible start.

I thought Thibs, a healthy KAT and some overall improvement from the team would help them jump into the playoff conversation. Yet here they sit at 5-13. Their defense is still really bad, which is surprising because that's Thibs strength. I have a feeling they'll be big players in the trade market this year and it won't just be Rubio potentially on the move.

7) Brook Lopez: 3 Point Sniper

Wait when did this happen. He attempted a total of 7, 3-pointers in his first 6 years, missing all of them. Then in the next two years he was 1-10 and 2-14.

Then this year he's already attempted 93 3-point attempts, hitting 35 of them for a 37.6% clip. He's AVERAGING 5.8 three point attempts per game. For comparison sake, JJ Redick is averaging 5.3 attempts per game. Brook went 0-100 real quick on this one.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

My top 7, also in no order:

1) James Harden being the assist leader so far.

For a guy who's as prolific of a scorer as Harden is, he's been amazing as a distributor this season. Despite his still lackluster defense, overall he's a huge net plus for the Rockets. Being now the Point Guard for the Rockets, has put a lot more weight on his shoulders and so far he's doing exception. The only thing I worry about with him is how fresh is, come end of the year. He's doing so much for the Rockets right now that I hope he doesn't get worn out.

2) How bad Indiana has been so far.

Yes I realize that Paul George has been out for quite a while now, but even with him there they were playing terrible basketball. The more alarming thing for me is that they've turned into a horrible defensive team. That might have a lot to do with the smaller lineups they run and having Jefferson, Teague and Monta out there. I had them pegged as a top 3 seed, with possibly being upwards of 2. They'd be lucky to turn into a playoff team right now.

3) Bobcats playing well.

Having your 3 best bigs as Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminksy, you would think that they would be near the bottom of the league. Yet here they are at 11-8, in large part to Kemba and Batum. Having MKG back helps their defense a lot too. I think at best they're a first round exit, but Kemba has been really good this year.

4) Lakers.

I mean, if anyone predicted they'd be 10-10 through 20 games, that would be considered a massive win for the Lakers. They're probably one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA after being pretty unwatchable the last few years. Luke has done a great job of empowering his players and getting their best night-in and night-out. I still expect some regression to happen, but if they use this year to get in some great development for Ingram, Russell and Randle, the Lakers are in really good shape going forward.

5) Joel Embiid is an absolute beast.

Anyone who predicted he would be this good, this fast, would be lying. He had all the potential coming out of college but after 2 full years of not playing competitive basketball, you would think there would be a large learning curve with him. He looks like the real deal. If he can stay healthy, he could be eventually mentioned in the same conversation as AD and KAT. He's that good and that skilled

6) Minnesota's terrible start.

I thought Thibs, a healthy KAT and some overall improvement from the team would help them jump into the playoff conversation. Yet here they sit at 5-13. Their defense is still really bad, which is surprising because that's Thibs strength. I have a feeling they'll be big players in the trade market this year and it won't just be Rubio potentially on the move.

7) Brook Lopez: 3 Point Sniper

Wait when did this happen. He attempted a total of 7, 3-pointers in his first 6 years, missing all of them. Then in the next two years he was 1-10 and 2-14.

Then this year he's already attempted 93 3-point attempts, hitting 35 of them for a 37.6% clip. He's AVERAGING 5.8 three point attempts per game. For comparison sake, JJ Redick is averaging 5.3 attempts per game. Brook went 0-100 real quick on this one.

Appreciate the effort here, but I was mostly referring to individual output.

 

[CitySushi]

Appreciate the effort here, but I was mostly referring to individual output.

In my defense, you only listed NBA surprises and nothing in your post suggested it was limited to players.

 

[bksballer89]

In my defense, you only listed NBA surprises and nothing in your post suggested it was limited to players.

This is so true

 

[HurricaneDij39]

In my defense, you only listed NBA surprises and nothing in your post suggested it was limited to players.

Yeah, but I wouldn't call Brook Lopez a surprise though. The threes are nice, but he's still a poor rebounder for a big and hasn't really elevated the play of his team.

 

[DJ]

LAKER NATION UP IN THIS BITCH!!!

 

[DJ]

My top 7, also in no order:

1) James Harden being the assist leader so far.

For a guy who's as prolific of a scorer as Harden is, he's been amazing as a distributor this season. Despite his still lackluster defense, overall he's a huge net plus for the Rockets. Being now the Point Guard for the Rockets, has put a lot more weight on his shoulders and so far he's doing exception. The only thing I worry about with him is how fresh is, come end of the year. He's doing so much for the Rockets right now that I hope he doesn't get worn out.

2) How bad Indiana has been so far.

Yes I realize that Paul George has been out for quite a while now, but even with him there they were playing terrible basketball. The more alarming thing for me is that they've turned into a horrible defensive team. That might have a lot to do with the smaller lineups they run and having Jefferson, Teague and Monta out there. I had them pegged as a top 3 seed, with possibly being upwards of 2. They'd be lucky to turn into a playoff team right now.

3) Bobcats playing well.

Having your 3 best bigs as Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminksy, you would think that they would be near the bottom of the league. Yet here they are at 11-8, in large part to Kemba and Batum. Having MKG back helps their defense a lot too. I think at best they're a first round exit, but Kemba has been really good this year.

4) Lakers.

I mean, if anyone predicted they'd be 10-10 through 20 games, that would be considered a massive win for the Lakers. They're probably one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA after being pretty unwatchable the last few years. Luke has done a great job of empowering his players and getting their best night-in and night-out. I still expect some regression to happen, but if they use this year to get in some great development for Ingram, Russell and Randle, the Lakers are in really good shape going forward.

5) Joel Embiid is an absolute beast.

Anyone who predicted he would be this good, this fast, would be lying. He had all the potential coming out of college but after 2 full years of not playing competitive basketball, you would think there would be a large learning curve with him. He looks like the real deal. If he can stay healthy, he could be eventually mentioned in the same conversation as AD and KAT. He's that good and that skilled

6) Minnesota's terrible start.

I thought Thibs, a healthy KAT and some overall improvement from the team would help them jump into the playoff conversation. Yet here they sit at 5-13. Their defense is still really bad, which is surprising because that's Thibs strength. I have a feeling they'll be big players in the trade market this year and it won't just be Rubio potentially on the move.

7) Brook Lopez: 3 Point Sniper

Wait when did this happen. He attempted a total of 7, 3-pointers in his first 6 years, missing all of them. Then in the next two years he was 1-10 and 2-14.

Then this year he's already attempted 93 3-point attempts, hitting 35 of them for a 37.6% clip. He's AVERAGING 5.8 three point attempts per game. For comparison sake, JJ Redick is averaging 5.3 attempts per game. Brook went 0-100 real quick on this one.

This guy right here is my new BFF on tHoop.

 

[DJ]

oh it has me smiling the fact that you are puffin out your chest regarding the Lakers and the fact that they are .500 and tied for 8th/9th in the West....

oh how the mighty have fallen....

Says the person who predicted we'd win 20-25 games. THAT MAKES ME LMAO.

 

[CitySushi]

oh it has me smiling the fact that you are puffin out your chest regarding the Lakers and the fact that they are .500 and tied for 8th/9th in the West....

oh how the mighty have fallen....

Anytime a team exceeds expectation that's progress. If you were puffing your chest out previously about Kyrie's development before Lebron and that championship, you'd be a hypocrite for chastising someone for being happy about improvement.

 

[DJ]

And for the record.....it doesn't matter that we're .500.


Like Sushi said this is a talented and exc

Anytime a team exceeds expectation that's progress. If you were puffing your chest out previously about Kyrie's development before Lebron and that championship, you'd be a hypocrite for chastising someone for being happy about improvement.

THIS RIGHT MOTHERFUCKING HERE FROM AN UNBIASED SOURCE.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Says the person who predicted we'd win 20-25 games. THAT MAKES ME LMAO.

hey- you or any other Lakers fan could have taken my bet but no one had the cojones to...now THAT makes me laugh.

hey- i wish ya luck. I was a HUGe advocate for the Lakers to draft Russell over Okafor and was also a huge advocate for Julius Randle when he came into the draft. Maybe sometime in the next couple years they might even be a factor in the West and relevant.

until then- enjoy watching the Cavs make the NBA Finals for the better part of half decade +.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Anytime a team exceeds expectation that's progress. If you were puffing your chest out previously about Kyrie's development before Lebron and that championship, you'd be a hypocrite for chastising someone for being happy about improvement.

hey like i said- i like a lot of players on the team.

i just think its funny a Lakers fan bragging about being .500....this is certainly not your father's NBA.

its good for the NBA that in todays NBA- where you are does not matter NEARLy as much as how good you are as a mgmt. team/ownership group.

 

[CitySushi]

hey like i said- i like a lot of players on the team.

i just think its funny a Lakers fan bragging about being .500....this is certainly not your father's NBA.

As a Warrior fan who Lakers fans shit on for years, even I don't hold it against them nearly as hard as you do. I do recall that the Lakers did win a few ships back in the 2000's. So that was definitely, not my father's NBA.

 

[WiggyRuss]

As a Warrior fan who Lakers fans shit on for years, even I don't hold it against them nearly as hard as you do. I do recall that the Lakers did win a few ships back in the 2000's. So that was definitely, not my father's NBA.

whati meant by that- and obviously you didnt get the picture- is that many of the inherent advantages the Lakers enjoyed years ago have been systematically rooted out or mitigated.

And i suppose you are righti nthe time frame- in 2007 Dwight and LeBron were the 2 most marketable players in the league and they were in Cleveland and Orlando.

My basic point is- that you dont have to play in certain places in order to be a huge star anymore like you used to. The financial advantages the Lakers enjoyed are not what they used to be. The collective bargaining agreement is MUCH MUCH more slanted to parity then it used to be---- now the merits of a team's ownership and front office mean much much more than simply if you are in LA or New York.- and of course that is what we have seen. Its no coincidence the worst two years in the history of the Lakers franchise have been the previous 2 years to this one.

I think they picked the right guys though for the most part and it should work out eventually as long as they are patient- but still being quite a bit away from actual relevance and contention.

 

[trojanfan12]

Another good thread fucked up by Wiggy.

 

[trojanfan12]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the biggest single surprise in the NBA (perhaps in NBA history).

Not only is Nick Young playing well...he's playing defense.

 

[tlance]

I am not sure why Oladipo is listed as a surprise. His numbers this year are actually down from last season in every major statistical category except points (16.0 - 17.3). Many were expecting him to break out this year, but it simply has not happened. The reason probably has more to do with OKC's offense and the fact that Westbrook always has the ball, but still.

Oladipo's chances of making the all star team are almost nil when you consider that he is competing for a spot with:

Westbrook
Harden
Curry
Lillard
Paul

Who are all locks to make it from the 1 and 2 spots. This does not even begin to consider the next tier of guys like Klay, McCollum, Booker, Wiggins, etc., who would certainly be ahead of Dipo too. That again is not a knock on Dipo, but you have to post a lot bigger numbers than 17 4 and 3 to break into the West all star discussion if you are a guard.

Lastly, and I only bring this up because the conversation seems to be based on stats, but you could make the case that Oladipo has actually been somewhat disappointing from a numbers standpoint. Many fantasy basketball sites had Oladipo rated a top 25 player preseason. He has not come close to producing at that level.