Welcome back to your NBA therapy session for week three, and oh boy, do we have a lot of basketball to talk about. We’re starting to see true colors of teams and players. Players like Porzingis and Kyrie and teams like the Cavaliers and the Warriors (sounds weird, just wait). Let’s go ahead and hop in to Richey’s NBA Couch Talk Week Three!
1. Westbrook Doesn’t Get MVP “Royalty”
Last year, Westbrook had a historic triple double filled season, which lead to a well-deserved MVP trophy. In recent history, NBA MVPs get a lot of leeway and calls to go their way, to say the least. This year, however, I don’t think Brodie has gotten the calls he deserves. For one, I think Westbrook is so freakishly athletic that refs don’t see the contact. Now, that might sound dumb, but if you watch him finish around the rim you think that there wasn’t any contact. Also, in his past game against the Kings, there was a horrible “flagrant 1” call (which was later reversed) on Westbrook against Bogdanovic .
I believe that if that was Curry it would have been the other way around, because Curry isn’t seen as an athletic threat. I don’t think the reigning MVP will get that same “Curry” royalty as he should.
2. Porzingis Looking to Dethrone Giannis as the Future Face
Now, obviously there can be more than one face of the NBA, and it’s still very early, but Porzingis has shown something different. A lot has changed for Porzingod, from being booed on draft night to getting his name chanted in Madison Square Garden. Kristaps has been putting up big stat lines and carrying a sub-par Knicks team. I also believe something else puts Porzingis ahead of many other young stars, and that is his grit and tenacity. You can see the mentality and desire to win in his play. Like I said, it’s still early in both of their careers, but I think it would be a hard choice to choose who you want on your team, The Greek Freak or Porzingod. I’m going to link a poll to my twitter and I want to see who you guys would want on your team!
3. Kyrie and The Celtics Were Counted Out Way too Early
The young Celtics squad was counted out as soon as Hayward went out, and I thought people were crazy. Talk of the Celtics dropping to a fifth seed and the season being over was absurd. I think the Celtics have one of the most unique rosters in the league, not the best, but most unique. They have a young run-n-gun type team with a solid, underrated veteran in Al Horford, solid role players, and two promising young studs in Brown and Tatum. Top that off with a close-to-starting-his-prime Kyrie Irving, and you have a dangerous team for the next seven to eight years.
4. Worry About The Cavs and Don’t Worry About The Warriors
Even with the possibly the best offseason ever, the Warriors and the Cavaliers were the preseason NBA Finals predictions. Even before the season started I was questioning that. I believe the Warriors will have more trouble than normal, but I think they can still make it. On the other hand, I don’t have faith in the Cavs. I believe the Cavs have too old of a team that can’t mesh. I also think LeBron has to have a certain type of guard play with him. LeBron is so dominant and can be ball-centric at times, so some guards might not be used to that (D.Rose and IT) and will shut their game down, because they can’t control the ball.
5. Bledsoe to the Bucks
So last week I talked about Bledsoe’s “hair cut or get cut” situation. Well, let’s just say his “hair cut” didn’t cut it (so many puns), and he was traded to the Bucks. The Bucks sent Greg Monroe and a first-round pick back to the Suns in exchange for Bledsoe. I think both teams ended up winning in this trade. Giannis got another player to help him out in scoring and late game situations. The “Buns” Suns got an asset of a first-round pick and a solid veteran in Monroe who can play out the end of his expiring contract (if they don’t cut him or trade him). I think Bledsoe can shine in Milwaukee with the right pieces.
Favorite Moment:
To all you Chicago Bulls fans, I’m sorry. One for being a Bulls fan in general, and for how petty the Bucks are.
Lmao at the Milwaukee Bucks ticket package website. Look for the Bulls. pic.twitter.com/Z7DE0spS7x
— Dolorous Edd (@Kikstiks3) November 8, 2017
You can buy ticket packages for NBA games, and they’ll show the “star” from each opponent. Let’s just say the Bulls haven’t had a star since the GOAT…… Scalabrine. See ya next week
Don’t forget to vote on the poll @IanRPerSources