Hello to the five people reading this! Wanted to introduce Coast to Coast Weekly, my weekly NBA article going over what is happening in the league. With this week, I am writing about the winners and losers through the first week or so of the NBA season. There has been a lot of good basketball already so far this season… but also a lot of bad. With such a small sample size, it’s hard to look at these results and view them as how the season will actually play out. I’m simply noting who has done well so far and who needs to pick it up, so that way you can keep an eye out for these things as the season go on. Is it small sample size, or is it the start of a trend? Only time will tell, but here are some early season observations in the forms of winners and losers.

Winner: New Coaches

1. A lot of casual fans that I know question how much a head coach can impact the game in basketball. This was literally a direct quote from my friend the other night while I was watching hoops on discord: “Do they have plays in basketball?”.  He asked this question because I was explaining to him how JJ Redick has made his presence felt for the Lakers, implementing more off ball movement, and emphasizing rebounding on the defensive boards. As a Lakers fan, I was dreading this season going into it. But now, the Lakers play with way more energy and life than last year. 

While it may be premature to call them title contenders, they at least have become more fun to watch, which I am grateful for. I mean this guy JJ has Anthony Davis leading the league in PPG! JJ is not the only new coach to make an immediate impact, however. Former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson joined the Cavs this offseason and has them at 6-0 so far. He is playing Dean Wade more than J.B. Bickerstaff did, who seems to be fitting well as that 5th guy in the Cavs starting lineup. He also has Evan Mobley playing way more aggressively, granted to mixed results, but he is empowering him to bring the ball up the court, getting him to take more 3’s and look more confident in doing so, which leads to him pump faking and taking 1 dribble to the rim. Coach Budenholzer has the Suns top 10 in defensive rating, something I never would have thought to be possible before the season. The Suns have been playing KD at the 5 late in games, which has increased the number of players who can pass, shoot, and dribble on offense, while also increasing the defensive versatility on the other end. He is trusting Ryan Dunn, the Suns’ 1st round pick, in key stretches this season, which has been paying out massively. Everybody knew entering the draft that Dunn could compete defensively on the NBA level, but the question was if he could shoot well enough to stay on the court. In his college career, Ryan Dunn shot 24% from 3, far below league average in the NBA. In 5 games, which is a small sample size, he is shooting 44% from 3(!) on 5 3PA per game. While the Nets, Hornets, Pistons, and Wizards aren’t impressing anyone with their record, these teams have all played with more effort than last season and have played competitive in damn near every game. There are obvious roster limitations with these teams, but that hasn’t stopped them from coming out and playing hard. They won’t make any noise in the playoffs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if these teams get some wins in March over playoff teams that have a major impact on the standings. Everybody rolls an eye when they get a new boss, regardless of your job. So for these guys to get such buy-in so far this season is super impressive, and I can’t wait to see if these guys can keep it up as the season goes on.

Loser: Buck’s Future

When the Bucks traded for Damien Lillard a little over a year ago, there was a lot to be optimistic about in Milwaukee. For starters, Dame is by far the best player that Giannis has ever played with. They also had a new coach in Adrian Griffin, who spoke a lot about how he was going to make this team more versatile on both ends. Giannis had just signed a contract extension to stay a Buck, and life was good. Flash forward to now, where the Bucks are now coached by Doc Rivers after firing Griffin 43 games into the season last year. Middleton has yet to play this year, as he is coming off of double ankle surgery, something that almost seems made up by The Onion. Dame’s counting stats are good, but he is just looking for his own shot and isn’t doing anything to create for others. Giannis is also looking for his own shot a lot, settling for mid-range jumpers when he should never be taking a shot outside of the paint. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the Bucks will continue to play at the 1-5 pace. But where is the pathway to this team being a title contender? Let’s look at the offseason additions, the biggest reason why I thought the Bucks would be elite this year. I thought this was going to be the year that the bucks finally had depth, but boy has that not been the case. Gary Trent Jr has been disappointing on offense. Delon Wright can play for a 5 minute stretch and I cannot notice him 1 time that whole stretch. Prince has been okay, but he is playing more minute than you would want him to since Middleton is out. The Bucks young players have been non-existent so far. I mean, Dame and Giannis combined for 75 points on Saturday night… AND THEY STILL LOST. So the depth has been absolutely atrocious on offense. On defense? This team ranks bottom 10 in defensive rating, and more importantly are 2nd to last in opponent turnovers. That means they are not able to get as many easy buckets on offense, which allows them to be set more on defense. It’s starting to look like there is a chance this could end poorly, and Giannis might end his career on another team. Just absolutely miserable vibes here, and I really hope they can turn it around.

Winner: Celtics’ Repeat Chances

 I could talk about the other teams in the East who have disappointed so far, but they will be mentioned with the losers. For this, I *gags* have to give praise to the Boston Celtics. Tatum has been super locked in, playing even better than he did in his championship year. His 3-point shot appears to be back after it faded down the stretch last season, and he is taking more 3s than he ever has per game in his career. That is also a team wide trend, as the Celtics are currently shooting 50 3s per game, far higher than last year’s league leading 42.5. Payton Pritchard has been a bucket off the bench, averaging 15.7 points per game in 28 MPG off the bench so far. And all this has been happening with Jaylen Brown struggling with his shot so far and no Porzingis. The Celtics are 5-1 so far and should get to 60 wins this season.

Loser: 76ers’ Health

1. This situation reminds me a lot of the 49ers with McCaffrey. A lot of people drafted CMC number 1 in fantasy because he was questionable for week 1, meaning even if he didn’t play this week, he was likely to play week 2. It is now week 9, and CMC has yet to play a single game. Back to Philly, where the 76ers have played 4 games and Joel Embiid and Paul George have played in none of them. We all know that this team is not going anywhere without those 2, and you can see that on the court this season. Other than watching Tyrese Maxey get buckets, this team has been one of the worst watches so far, often not making it into my Multiview quad box. They should eventually get them both back, but it is a concern that they still have yet to play a regular season game together. It will take time for Embiid and Maxey to get used to playing with George, so they need to get in as many reps as they can during the regular season so that they are on the same page come playoff time. I hope we see them sooner rather than later, as Philly could be the best chance an East team has at knocking off Boston when healthy. I am not as upset as Philadelphia Inquirer writer Marcus Hayes, who recently said this.

 “Joel Embiid consistently points to the birth of his son, Arthur, as the major inflection point in his basketball career. He often says that he wants to be great to leave a legacy for the boy named after his little brother, who tragically dies in an automobile accident when Embiid was in his first year as a 76er. Well, in order to be great at your job, you first have to show up for work. Embiid has been great at just the opposite. Now in his 11th season, he consistently has been in poor condition.” 

This is one of the most unhinged things I have ever read in an article and is an absolutely disgusting thing to say about Embiid, who has been the face of the franchise for about a decade now. That being said, I do think that Joel Embiid has the skills to be the best player in the league but has yet to put it together in the playoffs. I really want to see that from Embiid, who seems to be a lighthearted guy who is easy to root for. It’s a long season, but so far it is about as poor of a start as the 76res could have imagined.

Winner: Buddy Hield

Buddy Hield, the Bahamian Klay Thompson? The Warriors are 4-1, have been blowing out teams, and lead the league in team assists. The ball is moving, lots of guys are contributing, and one of the biggest contributors has been Buddy Hield. The 76ers traded for Buddy last year, hoping that he would be a key floor spacer and microwave scorer off the bench. He went on to average 5.5 ppg in his 1st career playoff series, and it tanked his value for his upcoming free agency. Enter Golden State, who snagged up Hield on a 4 year, 38 million dollar contract. Less than 10 million a year for one of the best shooters in the league, heading to Golden State? This is something that we should have seen coming if we are being honest. So far, he is averaging 22.2 ppg while making over half of his 3s on 9.7 attempts per game. He is playing the Klay Thompson role even better than Klay did last season so far and could be the key to the Warriors going on a run this year. I still think this team needs to do an all in trade to get an elite wing player, but when you nail the value contracts you sign players to, that certainly makes other players tradeable. It is super early, but if Buddy can keep this up, he is on pace for a career best year in his 9th year in the league. I am rooting for him, as I have always been a Buddy Hield truther dating back to his Oklahoma days.

Loser: My Zach Edey ROY Prediction

I was all in on Zach Edey for rookie of the year. He was coming off an amazing year at Purdue, got drafted to a team that should be in the playoff mix, and he was set to have a big role right out of the gate. He looked good when he did play in summer league, showing improved lateral quickness and straight domination on offense in the paint. We even saw flashes in the preseason, with him giving veteran starting centers the work in the post. But so far, he has been the most disappointing rookie given these expectations. For starters, he fouled out in 14 minutes in his first career NBA game. Through 7 games, he has one 10 rebound game despite being 7’5’’. Other than pick and rolls, he has really struggled to score on offense and has only 3 blocks so far. He might improve as the season goes on, but for someone who is a 22-year-old rookie with his size and college resume, I really thought he would be good right out the gate. I’ll give him more time, but there is a chance this pick was a huge whiff from the Grizzlies.

Winner: Gradey Dick and the Raptors Offense

 Dick has done such a great job of penetrating, finding all sorts of different angles to finish around the rim. Okay, got it out of my system. There is no way you expected me to talk about Gradey Dick for the 1st time and not say something disgusting. Are you still reading? Cool, now we can actually talk ball. The Toronto Raptors offense has been the biggest surprise of the season so far. I emphasize the offense, because the defense has been atrocious, and they are still losing games. But the offense? Currently 5th in PPG and 3rd in assists per game. There isn’t any one thing that they have been excelling at, and Scottie Barnes’ 3-point shot has fallen off this face of the earth. So how has this been happening? I would contribute this to 3 players: first, RJ Barrett, who has only played in 4 games but has averaged 28.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists (wut). I need to see more of a sample size from RJ, but he has played out of his mind so far. I’m not too sure if he can continue this, but I hope he does. Davion Mitchell is another player who has helped, averaging a career high in assists and doing a great job of organizing the offense. But the main reason the Raptors are scoring points is the improvement of Gradey Dick. Check out his stats last year compared to how has performed so far this season, look at the jump that he has taken.

In terms of the tape? He has been way more decisive, catching and firing right away or pump faking and getting to the rim quick. If the paint is too crowded, he has done a better job of finding the right pass to the opposite wing. They are empowering Gradey to fire up lots of shots, which has netted impressive results so far. The Raptors still have a long way to go before competing, but the future is brighter than what I thought it was, and big Dick is the biggest reason for that.

Loser: The Bam Adebayo Offensive Leap

1.  It was all set up. He was coming off another Olympics appearance, where he played valuable minutes as a backup center. He shot 3s during this time and towards the end of the regular season last year, which made me think the range was expanding. Jimmy Butler is a year older, coming off an injury riddled season where he wasn’t super aggressive on offense when he did play. This was going to be the year Bam averages 25 a game and takes 2-4 3 pointers per game. 

Unfortunately, not only have we not seen a jump, but he has actually regressed so far. Entering Saturday, he was averaging his lowest counting stats since his 2nd year in the league, shooting 40% from the field and had yet to make a 3 this season in 8 attempts. He hasn’t been aggressive in getting his shot off, currently averaging 9.5 shots per game. With 2 shots per game being catch and shoot 3 pointers, that means he has only taken 7.5 shots per game inside the arc, which is far too low for someone of his talent level. He needs to get that number up to at least 10, but really should be closer to 15. On Saturday night, the Bam I was hoping to see before the season finally showed up. He shot 12-24 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc in a Heat win over the Wizards in Mexico. He finished the game with 32 points, something that hopefully will become the new norm instead of an outlier performance. If the Heat are still to compete this season, they need Bam to play like this consistently. Otherwise, they might as well trade Jimmy Butler now while they still can and embrace a rebuild.

Winner: The Defense Being Played in OKC

I heard lots of people telling me before the season that the Thunder were going to be far and away the best defense in the league, and I just couldn’t see it. I thought they were going to be good for sure, but I thought that the lack of size would give them matchup problems against certain lineups, leading to them slipping a little in the overall defensive ranks. Boy, do I look wrong so far. They lead the league in opponent points per game, defensive rating, steals, blocks, 5th in lowest opponent points in the paint, top half of the league in opponent 2nd chance points, points off turnovers, and points on fastbreak. Their opponents are shooting 39.4% from the field! From what I have seen, the versatility on their lineups defensively have been the biggest reason for this. For starters, they have 8 players under 6’7’’ who play over 15 minutes per game. This allows them to have fresh bodies guarding the team’s primary and secondary ball handlers all game long. They also are able to quickly move the ball once they get steals, leading to easy buckets that then allow the defense to get set up on the other end. The Thunder have the 3rd lowest turnover percentage in the league as well, which means they aren’t allowing teams to get easy buckets on the fast break. 

The guards have been the main driving factor in the defense playing well, but even if they do let someone get by, Chet has done an amazing job of cleaning things up in the paint. He currently leads the league in blocks and opposing players are only shooting 47% in the restricted area against him. To force opponents to make less than half of their shots from layup range is absolutely insane. This team has been dominating on the defensive side of the ball so far, and it looks like this trend should continue for the rest of the season.

Loser: Tyrese Haliburton

1. This one hurts to write, because I love the way that Haliburton plays the game. He is one of the most unselfish players in the league and seems to be a good guy based off of any interviews or podcasts I have seen him in. He is coming off an Olympics appearance in which he barely played, but still got the last laugh.

Halliburton is exactly the type of player I like to root for. That is why his slow start to the season has been so disappointing to see. He didn’t play as well the 2nd half of last season and had a very up and down playoffs. But the hope was that once this season started, he would go back to the Haliburton we saw to start the season last year. Unfortunately, that has not been the case so far. He is averaging 14 points and 7 assists on 34-24-78 shooting splits. To me, there are 2 reasons for this. First, he is shooting more 3’s per game than he ever has before. When over half of your shot attempts are 3 pointers, it makes you extremely predictable. The other reason? He seems to be getting trapped up top in the halfcourt more often. When he has to give up the ball early, he usually either waits for them to pass right back, comes to get the ball, or just stands there. He needs to be more active off of that double, either cutting to the free throw line and allowing the guy in the corner to rise up or cut all the way through and allow the offense to flow naturally. The other thing he can do is try to split the double or run past it more often. The prescription from Doctor Coop is simple: More mid-range shots, and overall, just more aggressiveness in getting his own shot. Once he becomes a threat to score downhill again, it should open up passing lanes for teammates and allow the Pacers offense to look like they did last season.