Before the season started, a quick glance around the NBA revealed something awfully familiar: The league’s power balance, once again, resided in the Western Conference.
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Not all of those teams will be able to prop themselves up by season’s end. However, it would be foolish to bet against the likes of Durant, Paul and Anthony Davis, three of the best 10 players in the league by any calculation. Accordingly, it would be foolish to think that this balance is anything but temporary.
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The New York Knicks are one of the Eastern Conference teams surpassing admittedly low expectations so far this year. They were 5-6 heading into Tuesday night’s game against Charlotte; they did not win their sixth game last season until they had already lost 36 times. Kristaps Porzingis is one of the most interesting and productive rookies in the league, while some of the Knicks’ low-stakes pickups in the off-season, such as Robin Lopez and Arron Afflalo, are fitting in reasonably. The Knicks not being hilariously awful is a loss for a lot of league-wide observers, but it is probably a good thing for the NBA.
Alas, it is not such a good thing for the Raptors. Via the Andrea Bargnani trade — unofficially, the eighth wonder of the modern world — the Raptors will get the less desirable of the Knicks’ and Nuggets’ first-round pick in 2016. Those teams are a combined 10-11, part of the seemingly endless mushy middle of the league. Significant losing streaks are certainly on the table for both teams. Right now, however, the Raptors’ haul for Bargnani is looking a little less stupendous.
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Stephen Curry’s shooting exploits have been the story of the NBA season so far. His 53-point effort against the Pelicans on Halloween and his 46-point explosion against Minnesota are probably the two signature performances so far. He had hit his 57 three-pointers heading into Tuesday’s game against the Raptors, more than both the Nets and Timberwolves.
Another way to frame Curry’s brilliance: Steve Nash, now a consultant for the Warriors, is widely regarded to be one of the best shooters in league history. He never shot with the frequency that Curry does, and that selectivity helped inflate his numbers. Nash’s best true shooting percentage — a statistic that factors in three-pointers and free throws — in any single season came in 2006-07, at .654.
Having taken the second-most field-goal attempts in the league, Curry is currently at .687.
