When Gordon Hayward went down in shocking fashion in the first quarter of his first game as a Boston Celtic, many -- myself included -- immediately dismissed Brad Stevens' club.
Hayward left an up-and-coming Jazz team for four years and $127 million from the Grousbecks, Danny Ainge and the Celtics organization, and before the brass could take their seats on Opening Night, their big-money acquisition was done for the year. It was one of the most bizarre and devastating moments I've ever seen in an NBA regular season game.
That left Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and a bunch of young, unproven unknowns. Well, those "young" -- rookie Jayson Tatum, sophomore Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart -- and "unproven" (Aron Baynes and Terry Rozier) ballers are kicking some serious ass through 14 games. After starting 0-2 with temporary shock from the Hayward injury, Kyrie's youngbloods have, incredibly, rattled off 12 consecutive victories.
But more on the C's later; let's get to some other stunners, first...
Let's recap the facts, here:
1. Eric Bledsoe's contract with the Phoenix Suns was worth five years and $70,000,000.
2. He is making $14,500,000 this season.
3. He was on a young team with developing talent in Devin Booker (who scored 70 points in an NBA game), T.J. Warren, Alex Len, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss, Tyler Ulis, Dragan Bender and Mike James. This was not a dead-end situation. This is an organization that is drafting and developing young talent.
4. Eric Bledsoe inexplicably tweeted, "I Dont wanna be here." What a gutless coward, hiding behind social media. What an unbelievably unprofessional jackass.
5. Then, continuing to showcase his cowardice, he backtracked saying, "I was at a hair salon." Supposedly, he was with his girlfriend and didn't want to be there anymore. Well, thankfully, the Suns brass didn't buy into his lies.
With Bledsoe on the floor, the Suns opened the season 0-3 with two shockingly-bad blowouts: 124-76 to the Blazers and 130-88 to the Clippers. Their offense was completely stagnant, as Bledsoe was unable to create efficient offense for himself or his teammates, despite being the veteran floor general of the club.
Beginning with game 4 -- Phoenix's first without Bledsoe's cancerous attitude and presence -- the Suns won four out of their next five, with James running the point, playing with passion and positive energy, and spreading the ball around to Booker, Warren, Jackson, Chriss and Len. Phoenix has some hope now.
As for Bledsoe...can you imagine making almost $15 million per year and whining like a little baby? Can you imagine complaining when your incredibly high-paying job is to play basketball?
Eric Bledsoe has no perspective on life. He doesn't see the big picture. The Phoenix Suns are better without him, and I hope he tanks the Milwaukee Bucks. I would never welcome a loser like that on my roster.
Get rid of Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony, and everything just fixes itself, huh?
Haha, well, it isn't quite that easy, but addition-by-subtraction can be a very real phenomenon.
After an alarmingly-slow start with Ramon Sessions and Ron Baker splitting point guard duties, head coach Jeff Hornacek finally realized that crafty veteran Jarrett Jack and rookie Frank Ntilikina are his best options at that position (which I pointed out prior to the season).
Once the 1-spot stabilized, New York's best players -- Kristaps Porzingis, Enes Kanter and Tim Hardaway, Jr. -- took their games to the next level. "KP" is a very early frontrunner for league MVP, along with "The Beard" James Harden of the Rockets and DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins of the improving Pelicans. Kanter has always been a double-double machine when he gets the minutes, and Hardaway is a confident isolation scorer.
Porzingis has been making an astonishing impact on both ends of the floor, and as long as he stays healthy, there's no question he'll (continue to) become one of the premier all-around basketball players on the planet. He's long, athletic, skilled, determined and incredibly mature for his age. The stratosphere's the limit for this kid. Or whatever is really, really high up.
As I type, the Knicks just coughed up a huge lead to LeBron James and the Cavs. This was a particularly brutal loss, but overall, things are still looking up for New York and its fans.
Speaking of LeBron and the Cavs...
I'll admit it, heading into the season, I didn't think any team in the East could reach the NBA Finals except the Cavs or Celtics. Now, Cleveland is 7-7 at the bottom of the Eastern playoff seeding, and I have reason to believe the Celtics, Pistons, Wizards and Raptors have just as good a chance to come out of the East as Tyronn Lue's club. Here's why:
1. The Cavs need Isaiah Thomas back...badly: He's not expected to return until January, and who knows if he'll be the dynamic "IT2" we came to admire with the feel-good Celtics? It's all just speculation at this point. And what about the chemistry with LeBron -- will it be there? How long will it take? Will they be ready to close games, collectively, in the postseason when everyone will be gunning for them?
2. Jae Crowder has been an absolute disaster: Rumors had the Celtics balking on a Crowder-for-Jimmy Butler trade, now the former is averaging 8.1 PPG on 37.5% shooting from the floor. He looks fat, slow and unprepared. You shouldn't get worse when you're on the court with LeBron and Dwyane Wade, two of the best and most unselfish teammates in NBA history. Crowder's lack of conditioning and production are two undeniable concerns.
3. The Kardashians killed another professional basketball player: Tristan Thompson is hurt and at this point, he sucks anyway. He's averaging 4.4 PPG in 21.6 minutes while shooting 45% from the free throw line.
4. No one is protecting the rim, defensively: LeBron and Wade are the best shotblockers on the team, and well, that says a lot. Cleveland needs an athletic presence in the paint.
In the end, it will simply be a matter of LeBron + Isaiah's health. Stan Van Gundy's Pistons are determined and clicking (10-3 record), Markieff Morris is back from injury to join John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter, and we know DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas always find their way into the postseason mix.
This won't be a cakewalk for the Cavs.
Look, I'm gonna be honest with you, it's 11:01 p.m. EST and both my energy and inspiration levels are dropping dramatically by the second.
I'll be concise -- the Thunder need to improve their depth. Paul George and Carmelo Anthony have played reasonably well given expected transitional growing pains, but Russell Westbrook has been wildly inefficient and no one produces outside of their big three.
OKC's bench reminds me of last year's Clippers, with a bunch of washed up, low-upside players including Raymond Felton and Patrick Patterson. Last year the Clippers had Felton, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass and Alan Anderson. The NBA is getting younger, faster and more explosive -- you don't want a bunch of old dudes hobblin' around, clutching their knees.
Presto! Sam Presti needs to make some magic for his team at the deadline later this season. If he doesn't upgrade options 4 through 8 on his roster, the Thunder could EASILY miss the playoffs.
Yup, even better than the mighty Warriors and Rockets. It's as simple as this: Danny Ainge is a genius, Brad Stevens is a future Hall of Fame head coach, Kyrie Irving's leadership has been incredible, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have developed faster than anyone could have possibly imagined, Al Horford is as steady as they come, and Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier and Aron Baynes hustle their friggin' asses off.
This is a team. This is basketball the way it's supposed to be played.
LeBron's Cavs stumbling...
Kyrie's Celtics rising...
That makes me smirk. I'm not the only one, right?
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