NBA Takes… with Teresa – An upside down league
The NBA’s third week has been upside down, topsy turvy. Some teams that were in the bottom seven of the Eastern and Western Conferences are surging. And the bubble teams, let’s just say they wouldn’t make the bubble this year.
Talk about topsy/turvy – the New York Knicks (5–3) are in fifth place behind the Boston Celtics while the former champion Toronto Raptors (1–6) are 14th behind the Washington Wizards (2–6). On the west coast, the Golden State Warriors (4–4) are sixth behind the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Houston Rockets (2–6) are 13th behind the San Antonio Spurs. Now I’m not saying things will stay this way, but for right now, I love it.
NBA coaches and their players are returned in great shape with a new resolve, ready to make the changes needed to win! A couple of players of note for me are Julius Randle and Stephen Curry.
Julius Randle
As you know, I’m a Knicks fan. Last season, I was a Knicks fan who couldn’t stand Julius Randle. Actually, I didn’t like my Knicks much either. My goodness, I would scream at him from my living room. “You are not a point forward, you @#$!” Today, I can’t wait to see that smiling face on the court. Julius Randle has made a 360-degree change. He is a point forward now. Gone are the seen turnovers per game and the pointless stats. Kenny Payne, his former coach from Kentucky, must be developing him into the player he needs to be for this team, while Thibodeau is telling him what type of player he better be for this team. Love it!
Stephen Curry
I don’t know if you noticed, Steph hasn’t been Steph for some time now. Last year he was injured. Now that he’s back, there is no Klay Thompson and no Kevin Durant. But you’re Stephen Curry. Did they get it wrong? Did Steph deserve those two NBA Most Valuable Player trophies? The Warriors went from champions to scrubs.
Is Steph the leader of this team? Can he lead this team? Well, I don’t know what got into Steph the other night when Golden State played the Portland Trailblazers. Mr. Curry went off for 62 points on 18 of 31 from the field, 8 of 16 from beyond the arc, and only missed once from the free-throw line, going 18 for 19. In a recent New York Times article, Curry was quoted as saying, “I had an opportunity to assert my will on the game early and create some energy.”
I wonder, do you think Steph was sending a message to Damian Lillard? Something like, “Dame, I heard you were trying to take my place. I am the three-point king of this league, and don’t you forget it.”
NBA this and that
- What is going on with the Portland Trailblazers? The Blazers have everything that is needed to be a top-five team in the league. As of this writing, they are eighth in the western conference. Some say CJ McCollum has to step up. I agree with that, but I also believe there may be trouble in the locker room.
- The Nets this week said Durant would miss four games due to Covid-19 protocol. Durant claimed he had the coronavirus in March of 2020. Can you get Covid twice? Not many doctors believe so, but with this pandemic, you can’t be too sure.
- Speaking of Kevin Durant. I wonder if Kyrie still thinks he’s clutch. During a game against the Washington Wizards, both Kyrie and KD missed the game-winning shot. Wow.
- In other news, the Knicks are still winning. Last five of six games!
Bad news
- The Orlando Magic’s Markelle Fultz tore his ACL this week and is out for the remainder of the season.
- Killian Hayes of the Detroit Pistons suffered a torn hip labrum and is out indefinitely.
- Nets say Kyrie Irving will miss Thursday’s game against the Sixers for personal reasons.
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That’s it for this week’s NBA Takes with Teresa; let’s be safe out there and have a great week!