Hoop Talk - The NBA Roundup for December 7

Written by Zeke Perez Jr.

(Getty Images)

​Basketball season is already a quarter of the way over. While the season is still young, the fate of many teams has begun to take shape. As teams jockey to separate from the pack, or in some cases try to dig out of a hole before it gets too deep, here are some key storylines to keep an eye on in an already exciting season.
 
Are we on the brink of 'Warriors v. Cavaliers: The Trilogy'?
In 2015, the Golden State Warriors capped off a monster season with a convincing championship run, besting the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. In 2016, the Cavaliers turned Cleveland into Believeland, winning the rematch and their first title in franchise history. Both teams are starting off the new season as if they want to make the NBA Finals a “best two out of three” affair. The Warriors are in first place in the tough Western Conference with an 18-3 record. The Cavs are keeping pace, leading the Eastern Conference with a 14-5 mark. In typical Warriors fashion, Golden State leads the NBA in shooting the ball, dropping a blistering 120.2 points per game. On the other side, LeBron is doing LeBron things, putting up solid numbers across the stat line. There’s no doubt that these teams will stake their claim to top seeds in their respective conferences and, if it’s up to them, we likely may be treated to Part III of this battle on the biggest stage come June.
 
A number of teams look different, but which new-look team looks best?
Dwyane Wade wasn’t in South Beach. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah moved from The Windy City to The Big Apple. Kevin Durant wasn’t wearing a Thunder jersey. Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett weren’t wearing jerseys at all. The 2016-17 season felt like a Bizarro World version of the NBA when it started. Now, over twenty games in, the new-normal is starting to feel normal. Teams are adapting to their new identities, some thriving and some faltering. The Miami Heat are struggling without D-Wade, the face of their franchise for thirteen years. A 3-seed in last year’s playoffs, Miami is stumbling out of the gate at 7-14. Meanwhile, Wade is contributing 19.8 points a game and adding unquantifiable leadership, mentoring, and stability to the Chicago Bulls (though he has missed a few games due to injuries). To no one’s surprise, the San Antonio Spurs are proving to be a well-coached, well-oiled machine even without The Big Fundamental, Tim Duncan. The Spurs are off to a 18-4 start. Over in Oklahoma City, what once belonged to the Durant-Westbrook dynamic duo, the Thunder are now Russell Westbrook’s team alone. Westbrook is tearing up the stat sheets with MVP-caliber numbers, averaging a triple-double, with 31.0 points, 11.3 assists, and 10.9 rebounds per game. It’s much too early to declare any team a winner or loser when it comes to their new pieces, but some teams are having an easier time putting together the puzzle than others are.
 
Can the Denver Nuggets cement an identity?
The Denver Nuggets and Coach Mike Malone are riding the young roster roller-coaster. The good wins, the bad losses, and the ugly heartbreakers have all started to pile up for this young squad in a frustratingly inconsistent start to the season. The team has had difficulty putting away close games late, squandering last minute leads to the Blazers, Grizzlies, Thunder, and Raptors, going on to lose at the buzzer or in overtime. They’ve shown flashes of greatness in other games, racking up convincing wins against the Celtics, Pelicans, Suns, and Jazz. They’ve also looked really bad in their not-so-close losses, getting rocked by the Pistons and Jazz (twice each already) and the Warriors. Much of the ugliness can be attributed to confusion with the roster. Malone has had challenges finding the right personnel combination for various situations. Are the Nuggets looking to be a team that relies on their bigs, playing Jokic and Nurkic together? Do they have anyone that can take the big shots late? Can they find anyone to rely on as the next-man-up to overcome the injuries hitting early in the season? Do they need to trade some of their depth for a bona fide superstar or should they stand pat and grow over time? Until they can answer these questions and create an identity for themselves, the 8-13 Nuggets may see their early season struggles stick around.
 
Are this year’s Los Angeles Clippers the real deal?
The Lob City squad put themselves on the map back in 2011 and have been competitive ever since. But while they have transformed into perennial contenders, they have yet to become closers. In each of the past five seasons, the Clippers have finished between third and fifth in the Western Conference, but they have failed to make it past the second round of the playoffs in any of those years. Can they finally turn the corner this season? They’re off to a good start, sitting among the top teams in the Western Conference and the NBA as a whole with a 16-6 record. They’ll face stiff competition in the West down the stretch, but it seems likely that they’ll finish in the top four. DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul are among the top five in the NBA in rebounds and assists/steals per game, respectively. If Jordan, Paul, and Blake Griffin can maintain their current level of play, the Clippers may finally make a push to the Western Conference Finals this year.  
 
Also in L.A., can the Lakers keep their momentum going?
In a Tale of Two Teams in one city, it has been the best of times for the Los Angeles Clippers and it has been the worst of times for the Los Angeles Lakers. While that feels really strange to say, it’s been true for the past few years as the Lakers have struggled. Things are starting to look up though. Twenty-three games into the season, the Lakers ten wins are already more than half as many as they had all of last year (not a particularly hard feat to accomplish given that they only mustered seventeen wins last season). They’re not quite ready to contend just yet, but they are moving in the right direction. 

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