This week in the NBA: Anthony Davis gave us a peek at what could be his ceiling, the Phoenix Suns have risen in the West, the San Antonio Spurs got back in the saddle and the Philadelphia 76ers live on the edge of tomorrow.
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Anthony Davis has emerged from small market oblivion and is now a star in the NBA.
Heading into his third season, many thought it would be a breakout year for the 21-year-old. Well, he is living up to those expectations. Davis is averaging 26.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 2.2 steals per game.
On Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Davis had his signature game thus far in the season. Davis utterly dominated on his way to a career-high 43 points while shooting 16-of-23 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. He also added 14 rebounds, two steals and a solitary block.
If New Orleans is able to muster the eighth seed in the Western Conference, don’t be surprised to see Davis atop many in the MVP ballot. Heck, even if they don’t make the playoffs, he will certainly deserve consideration if he keeps up his current pace.
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The Spurs and Suns have started to put things together. After starting 5-4, both teams have ripped off four wins in a row to get to nine wins on the season.
The Suns have been winning games in a very Spurs-like way: by evenly distributing the scoring burden. There are five Suns that average more than 13 points a game and none that average more than 16 a game.
Isaiah Thomas is an absurdly early contender for the Sixth Man of the Year award, as he is leading the Suns in scoring and hasn’t started a game yet this season.
For their part, the Spurs have righted the ship due to their propensity for sharing in addition to a hot Tony Parker.
San Antonio has had to overcome a poor start to the season by Manu Ginobili by sharing the ball effectively, with six Spurs averaging more than two assists per game. Additionally, Parker is shooting better than 51 percent from the field. Not too shabby for a point guard.
The Spurs will undoubtedly go on a charge toward the top of the Western Conference at some point, but don’t be surprised of these Suns hang around late into the season.
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The 76ers are reprising their role as the worst team in the NBA. The Sixers have won exactly zero of their first 13 games. During last year’s intentionally horrific campaign, they opened the season relatively on fire when they picked up five wins in their first 13 games.
The primary similarity between last year and this year is that their No. 1 draft pick is once again sitting out for the year (Nerlens Noel in 2013-14, and Joel Embiid in 2014-15). What’s different is that Michael Carter-Williams, who was among the few bright spots for Philadelphia last year, has regressed so far in his second season.
MCW can hardly shoulder the burden of bringing this undermanned team back to respectability. Tony Wroten and rookie K.J. McDaniels are doing their part, but as a team the Sixers are at the very bottom in field goal and 3-point shooting percentage.
Nerlens Noel will need to improve off his second double-double of his short career on Saturday night if the Sixers hope to match their win total from a year ago ... if that is in fact the team’s goal this season (which it probably is not).
