Three Big Surprises From The NBA Season So Far
With how loaded the NBA looked this year, we knew it would be wild, but this year has blown expectations out of the water. The season has been full of surprises, with injuries and teams coming out of nowhere to compete. Here are three of the most significant, sound, and nasty surprises in the NBA this year.
3) The Phoenix Suns Being A Disappointment
Look, the Suns are not a bad team by any means. It is hard to be wrong when you have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal on the same team. But given how much was invested into this team to make the roster happen, it has been a massive letdown. The Suns are currently seventh in the west, and while they should make the playoffs reasonably quickly, they were expected to be among the top seeds entering the postseason.
The Suns will have to deal with the red-hot Timberwolves, led by Anthony Edwards, who could very well send KD and the rest of Phoenix packing. Making the playoffs is never wrong, but it is terrible when you give up your entire future to try and contend and look mediocre AT BEST.
2) The Baby Thunder Taking Control
On the opposite side of the spectrum from the Suns is the Thunder. Oklahoma City has the best future in the NBA, with more draft picks than anyone else over the next decade. But this incredible future has not stopped the Thunder from striking earlier than expected.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has become an MVP candidate, averaging over thirty points a game and getting multiple steals a night. Chet Holmgren has been elite defensively and offensively, looking like the only man who can indeed hold a torch to Wembanyama. The depth has also been excellent, as Jaylin Williams, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, and the rest of the young Thunder have been incredible. Already sitting at 55-25 and third in the Western Conference, it only seems like up from here, which is a terrifying thought for the rest of the NBA.
1) Jalen Brunson's MVP Run And The New York Knicks Being Good
The Knicks have been awful for the past two decades, but no longer. Jalen Brunson has brought this team to an entirely new level, seemingly on his own. After the Knicks got confused looks from the entire sports world after giving Brunson a four-year, 104 million-dollar contract, he needed to prove he was worth the money, and he has in spades. Brunson has averaged 28 points, seven assists, and shot 40 percent from three-point range this season while going on dominating runs.
Along with Brunson, Julius Randle was having an All-Star year before the injury, Donte DiVincenzo has turned into an elite sharpshooter, OG Anunoby is one of the best wing defenders in the NBA after getting acquired at the trade deadline, and Josh Hart has done it all for the Knicks. This team has energy, connection, and aura. Jalen Brunson and the Knicks are not meant to be messed with, and they have shocked everyone to try and make a deep playoff run.
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