Early Season Headlines

Were close to 10 games into the season and there have been fireworks all over the association. A head coach has been fired, Gordon Hayward is out for the year, The MVP is Greek Freak’s to lose, The Nuggets look like a lost team on offense, Orlando is the second ranked offense after 7 games and Cleveland doesn’t know how to play defense. Here are a few storylines that have caught my eye from the first few weeks of the season.

Teams not expected to do well are off to great starts: If you were to tell me that Orlando and Detroit were going to be tied with the best record in the East after two weeks into the season I would have thought you needed to be in a padded cell. Reggie Jackson looks like himself finally, Andre Drummond is playing solid; Tobias Harris is doing his best NBA Jam impersonation and Anthony Tolliver is leading the bench unit giving the Pistons some hope. Orlando’s offense is cooking with gas and looks like a team that will be a run and gun style offense. This has been needed and finally the players that can fit this style, Aaron Gordon looks like a monster shooting three’s getting to the rim at will and beating players off the dribble. Jonathan Simmons has been as good as advertised and will be taking Terrance Ross’s starting job soon. All of this without Elfred Payton and his passing ability. Once Peyton comes back this will throw kerosene on the fire and get Orlando scoring close to 115 per game well into the season.

Ben Simmons looks unstoppable: The former first overall pick is off to blazing start and the duo with big man Joel Embiid is looking deadly. Simmons is showing the uncanny court awareness of a long-standing veteran guard that can conduct an offense in his sleep. The shooting might not be there but the passing ability, getting to the rim, leading the fast break and the pick and roll with him and Embiid looks like Penny Hardaway and Shaq. This will last throughout the season with no signs of Embiid slowing down this will prompt the Sixers to make the playoffs in a wide open Eastern Conference.

Where is Eric Bledsoe going? That is a question that Denver and Milwaukee would love to find out. Phoenix said they are motivated to do a deal and will wait for the best offer, Milwaukee can give Malcolm Brogdon, Greg Monroe’s expiring for Bledsoe and two second round picks. Monroe is an upgrade from Alex Len and the Suns would get there point guard of the future they covet. Denver is a wild card team that needs Bledsoe so why not offer Wilson Chandler, Juan Hernangomez and a protected first round pick. This solves the power forward void Phoenix currently has and they get a look at a young center who has potential. Either way a trade needs to happen to send Bledsoe off to a winning situation and let Devin Booker get more chances at being the dynamic play maker they want him to be