Soaring up, Crashing Down - 6 NBA early season surprises and shocks

Before the season began, NBA fans and analysts such as myself had rough premonitions of how the future could unfold, of which teams would perform well and which ones will disappoint. While those at the top (Warriors) and the bottom (76ers) have fallen in their predictable places, there has been a lot of unforeseen movement of teams in the middle.

Click here for my post on SportsKeeda, on the teams soaring up and crashing down in surprises and shocks early in the 2015-16 NBA season.

Stumble, stutter, and baby steps forward: What we learned from Satnam Singh's Summer League experience

Back home in India, there was breathless anticipation and the heaviest weight of expectation on the number 52 pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, Satnam Singh Bhamara. This was not entirely unexpected, of course, because Satnam just so happened to be the first Indian citizen to be drafted into the NBA, after the Dallas Mavericks picked him late in the second round. But in contrast to the hype back home, NBA scouts, coaches, and most of the learned basketball media were had little or no expectations of the 7-foot-2 when he was named in the Mavericks' squad for the Summer League in Las Vegas. Most insiders believed that Satnam was too raw and inexperienced for this level of the game, and expected little more than him to trip over his own feet at the Summer League.

Unfortunately, the first few seconds of his NBA-lite action in Vegas was a rude awakening that left the critics smirking with self-satisfaction. When he checked in against the New Orleans Pelicans, his first shot was blocked by 6-9 Jarvis Varnado. Minutes later, he actually did trip on his own feet on the defensive end. He may have been the biggest guy on the court, but the 19-year-old looked, well, 19-years-old, confused, and perhaps a little intimidated by the moment.

But the great thing about good basketball players is that the game can provide them almost instant redemption. Satnam got back on his feet and got back to the play, brushing past the early nerves. He ended up playing 11 minutes in his debut, taking three shots, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in the limited time.

By the time the Summer League ended for the Mavericks - they were knocked out at the tournament's Quarter Final stage by the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday - Satnam had played bit minutes in five of Dallas' six games and showed hints of his potential, including games against the Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Lakers, D-League Select, and Hawks. He played an average of seven minutes per game at the Summer League, scoring 2.6 points and grabbing 2.4 rebounds per game. While the likes of Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson shone brightly for the Mavericks in Vegas, Satnam's bit play went mostly unnoticed and didn't contribute much to the team's fortunes.

And yet, even in his small way, Satnam did enough to leave an encouraging impression on the minds of the same scouts and coaches who may have had been skeptics earlier. He showed intelligence when cutting to the post, finishing strong around the basket, communicating with his teammates on defense, and generally, making the most of his small moments. There were stumbles and there were stutters, but Satnam took baby steps forward each game, and showed flashes of promise on both ends of the floor.

"I thought Satnam played pretty well," said Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to Mavs Moneyball at the end of the team's Summer League campaign, "He raised a lot of eyes. I think people didn't expect him to move as well and be as skilled as he is. I think he comported himself very well."

More from the Mavs Moneyball piece by Doyle Rader:

Mavericks Summer League head coach Kaleb Canales isn't hesitant to point out what he is doing well in Las Vegas.
"His communication on defense has been great," Canales said, "He's been aggressive. He's not shy which is a positive I think. He's not afraid to attack on offense. And on defense he's been talking pick and roll coverages but also hitting the boards."

"It's NBA 101," Canales said of where Singh is. "From terminology to system and in terms of concepts and principles, he's learning step by step in this process. It's a long journey for him ahead."
Luckily, everyone with the organization is on the same page about Singh. He isn't ready for the NBA. The Mavericks didn't draft him with the expectation that he would have an impact right away. He's a project player.
Next season he will play for the Texas Legends, the Mavericks' D-League affiliate, so he can continue to develop. Steven Kyler of Basketball Insiders tells Mavs Moneyball that the Legends will bring in former Maverick DeSagana Diop to mentor and work with Singh.

As for Singh, he already feels that he is up to the challenge.
"I think it's good to work with these guys," he said about his teammates and coaches. "When I was here [in the first game] and we were really close with some D-League [players] I said, ‘Of course I can play with these guys. My body is ready for these guys ... I'm here. I'm ready.'"

Earlier in the same article, Mark Cuban explicitly stated what the rest of us have been thinking: "I don't see him playing in the NBA this year," he said, "We'll give him time to develop."

This is fine, and this is to be expected. Satnam isn't one of the top rookies that came out shining at the Summer Leagues, like Emmanuel Mudiay, Mario Hezonja, or Kristaps Porzignis. He won't be expected to contribute to his team straight away like them, and even if he improves to an NBA level, he won't be expected to be a game-changer.

Still, his appearances at the Summer League proved that Satnam is more than just a publicity stunt. Satnam is a genuine NBA project and was a low-risk pick for Dallas at 52nd in the draft. If he can continue progressing and improving, he may earn an important role for the Texas Legends in the D-League, and hopefully, we'll see him back at the Summer League in Vegas a year from now with a bigger and better role. And after that, if the career trajectory continues positively, perhaps the NBA debut wouldn't be too far away.

Too Many MVPs

As the NBA season reaches its climax, who’ll win the crowded MVP race?

This article was first published in my column for Ekalavyas on March 11, 2015. Click here to read the original post.

There are essentially two types of races in every walk of life. The first type is really not a race at all but a massacre, a dominant performance by one individual far and above ahead of all competitors. The second type is the real contest, a neck-to-neck battle between several individuals which is decided only in the final moments.

In recent years, the race to the NBA MVP has been less of a contest and more of a one-man show, with one individual ultimately stamping his dominance over the narrative of an entire regular season. Despite early competition, LeBron James always ended up with the lion’s share of the votes as MVP in four of the last six years. Kevin Durant won 95 percent of available first-place votes en route to last season’s MVP award. Even Derrick Rose’s MVP campaign four years ago was almost a thunderous sweep, as he took 113 of the possible 121 first-place votes in 2011.

But, with about a month to go to the end of the 2014-15 regular season, a curious thing is happening with the NBA: unlike past years, there has been no single alpha dog to rise on the top of the pile. Usually, the MVP race is competitive and debatable till the mid-way point of the season, after which a clear most valuable player emerges on the court and in the mind-set of the fans and media. But, even midway through March, the race this year is still a genuine neck-to-neck contest, with five legitimate challengers emerging from all over the league.

There have been various reasons for this. Until last year, the league’s best players were divided into two talents: those who were named LeBron James and Kevin Durant, and those who were not. The NBA had a lot of great players, but KD and LBJ were great on a historic level. It had seemed as if it would take several more years before someone other than these two would win the MVP award. This season, however, with LeBron starting slow in Cleveland and Durant playing less than half of the games due to injury, other, younger superstars are breaking the duopoly.

A new world order of young stars has arisen in the league, like Stephen Curry and James Harden, who have mastered the art of dominating from the perimeter in unique fashions. This is a league where more three-pointers are being attempted and made every season, and the abilities of Curry and Harden to deftly create the three-point shot for themselves and others is leading to direct success for their teams.

But LeBron James’ all-around brilliance in the last few months is proving that it is never wise to count down the four-time MVP. LeBron is shooting up the MVP charts even as his primary contender in recent years – Kevin Durant – has reeled to injuries this season. Durant’s absence has left the door open for his teammate Russell Westbrook, who has steadied the ship over in Oklahoma City with mind-blowing basketball all season.

None of the players above can afford to take a breather, because out in New Orleans, 21-year-old phenom Anthony Davis is making some history of his own and hoping to crash the future into the present.

As we get closer to the season’s end and playoff seedings become a top priority, expect the MVP contenders to up the ante even further to deliver for their teams. The next five or six weeks are going to provide a breathless race to the finish as a multitude of stars sprint the final lap to stake their claim at the Most Valuable Player award.

Here are the top five contenders, in order of whom I believe has the best claim at the throne right now. Coincidently, all five of these players rank in the top five on the NBA’s scoring list, leading their teams by example on the offensive end every night.

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James Harden: In recent years there has been so much chatter about what Harden can’t do that we have forgotten all the brilliant things that he is actually capable of. Let’s face it: Harden is a relatively poor defender and can spoil the purists of basketball aesthetics by his penchant for flaying and drawing fouls on the opposing end. Harden is averaging 27.1 points per game (second in the league), 7.1 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game, all of which are career-highs, and he has the NBA’s third-highest PIE rating (19.0). He has helped lead the Rockets to a 43-20 record, third-best in the Western Conference at this point.

It is the team success, and Harden’s responsibility for it, that is most remarkable and the strongest argument for why Harden has been more valuable than any other player in the league this season. The Rockets have won over 68 percent of their contests and have done so with Dwight Howard only playing in 32 games. Harden has the league’s best Win Shares, meaning that he has contributed more to adding a number of wins for his team than any other player in the NBA.

Stephen Curry: For the majority of the season, the Golden State Warriors (50-12) have been the NBA’s best team, although the Atlanta Hawks have been neck-to-neck lately. GSW’s success can be largely attributed to the continuing dominance of Stephen Curry, who is enjoying one of his best seasons as a pro with averages of 23.8 points (fifth-best in the league), 7.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game. Curry is also leading the NBA in steals (2.2 spg) and is second in free-throw percentage (90.3 %). Calculating a net rating of the difference a player makes per hundred possessions on both ends of the floor, Curry ranks atop all the players in the league – as a matter of fact, the top five in this statistic are all Warriors! Curry is also ranked fourth in Player Efficiency Rating (18.0) in the NBA.

The Warriors are loaded with talent. Klay Thompson blossomed into an All Star this season, Draymond Green is playing like a Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) candidate while Andrew Bogut mans the middle next to him. Harrison Barnes is back on a road to steady development, and their two highest-paid players – David Lee and Andre Iguodala – are coming off the bench. This team is among the NBA’s best in both defensive and offensive rating. While a lot of credit should to go to the deep pool of talent that surrounds him, Curry is the engine that makes the system run from the point position, creating for himself and others with considerable ease.

LeBron James: Around mid-January, LeBron James returned after taking off eight games, the longest stretch of games missed in all of his career. Until then, the ‘King’s’ return to Cleveland had been questionable, as the team struggled around mediocrity and LeBron looking mortal for the first time in about half a decade. But the rest was exactly the refresher James needed: since his return, James is back to his best, averaging around 27 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds per game, and leading the Cavaliers to 21 wins out of 26. With his help, the Cavs (41-25) are shooting up the East standings and are close to securing second place in the conference.

LeBron has set a high standard for his performances, and even his brilliance is starting to look regular. Through the course of this season, he’s averaging 26.0 points (third-best in the NBA), 7.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds. With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on his side, the Cavs are loaded, and the relative weaker East has given the team and LeBron time to find their rhythm. That rhythm seems to be strumming along beautifully now and LeBron will be hoping that he can stake his claim at a fifth MVP trophy.

Russell Westbrook: We may not survive to see a supernova explode close in front of our eyes, but in Russell Westbrook, we just may have the closest thing. There is nothing in the league like Westbrook, who is playing with an unmatched fierce intensity every night and keeping the Thunder in playoff contention out in the cut-throat West, even in the absence of Kevin Durant. After his career-best 49 point performance vs. the 76ers, Westbrook officially became the league’s leading scorer with a career-high 27.4 points per game. He’s also averaging 7.1 rebounds (career high), and is top five in the league in assists (8.3 apg) and steals (2.1 spg), PIE rating of 19.2%, and countless mean scowls per game. Westbrook has the NBA’s best assist percentage too, meaning he’s creating more often for his teammates than any other player in the league. After his unbelievable 49-16-10 night, he became the first player to collect four consecutive triple-doubles since Michael Jordan.

The only reason that he isn’t a clear MVP favourite is the performance of his team. The Thunder are 35-28 at this point, finding themselves eighth in the West, with the chasing Pelicans tethering right behind them. MVP awards are rarely considered for players struggling for their playoff survival, even though the team has a much better record in the games where he has played (30-18). If Westbrook can help the OKC rise further up the conference – and remain more valuable than his returning teammate Durant – he may well hijack the MVP trophy this year.

Anthony Davis: And before anyone else becomes comfortable, here come ‘The Brow’ to crash the party. It’s true, the Pelicans (36-29) are fighting for a playoff spot right now, but the only reason that this otherwise sub-standard roster finds itself in contention is the 21-year-old prodigy in the middle. Davis is enjoying a monster year, posting the league’s highest PIE rating (19.6) while posting a PER of historical greatness (31.66). He’s scoring 24.5 ppg (fourth-best in the league), leading the lead in blocks (2.8 bpg), and changing the game on both ends of the floor.

Like Westbrook, the numbers are eye-popping and the contributions to win-shares by the player are worth consideration. Unfortunately, also like Westbrook, Davis can’t be seriously considered as a front-runner with a team not in the post-season. But if the Pelicans can finish the season strong (they’ve won 9 of their last 11) and sneak into the playoffs, I believe that Davis definitely becomes a dark-horse contender to become the youngest-ever MVP in history.

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So when the votes are counted at the end of the season, who will win this wacky race? The smart money would be to bet on the players on higher-ranked teams like the Warriors (Curry), Rockets (Harden), or Cavaliers (James). But don’t count out the chances of Westbrook and Davis if they continue to post monster individual performances and help their respective squads make a dramatic late-season surge.

While the eventual outcome remains difficult to predict, one thing’s for sure: with James Harden, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis all playing at a mesmerizingly high level, nearly every night in the NBA for the remainder of the season can provide us with a heroic performance. Brace on tight for greatness!

Time for the NBA to end the Conference/Division divide

This year, the balance of power between the West and the East is simply bordering on ridiculousness. 10 teams in the West have a winning record so far, while the East only boast of two. It's time for the NBA to be done with conferences and divisions altogether. Teams should play each other an equal number of times all season, without division or conference biases. Rank playoff spots based on record alone, and not conference or division. It’s time to reward excellence, not mediocrity.

Click here to read full feature.

Fantastic, Fast, Four – Holiday, Lillard, Rubio, & Wall are the breathtaking future of the NBA

This feature was first published as the cover story in the 110th edition (2013 - No. 13) of SLAM China Magazine. Here is my original English version of the story.

Bring together the ingredients of the perfect point guard. You can ask for floor vision, leadership, ability to take the outside shot, ability to drive in and create, the ability to score, the ability to dish, and oh, the speed. Lots and lots of speed. And when four of the most exciting young point guards assembled under one roof, all of the ingredients came together like a perfect mosaic to create the breathtaking future of the NBA.

So what more can you ask for? An All Star, a Rookie of the Year, a number one draft pick, and perhaps the most exciting European player of All Time. Over the past week, Jrue Holiday (newly traded to the New Orleans Pelicans), Damian Lillard (Portland Trailblazers), Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves) and John Wall (Washington Wizards) were all in Beijing and all together under one roof. At an average of less than 23 years, these four point maestros are the fast and furious future of the league.

SLAM caught up with all four with quick-fire questions to see how each one completes the puzzle and develops into the perfect point guard.

SLAM: Jrue: How much of a challenge is it to move on to a new team in the off-season and be leader in the backcourt, with new coaches and new teammates?

Holiday: I have had a lot of different coaches in my life already, and I have faith that the coaching staff will help in making the transition easy.

SLAM: Jrue, How do you see yourself fitting into the Pelicans offense?

Holiday: I think it’s gonna be easy. Need to study their game, watch them play, and I’ll take what they have, that’s my style of game. I think everyone’s gonna be happy in the system, we’ll use many screen-and-rolls, a lot of pick and rolls, I can hit the threes going around the big men and going around the guards.

SLAM: Damian, Congrats on the Rookie of the Year award. Did you start off last season actively aiming to be the league’s ROY?

Lillard: It was definitely a goal of mine. Like I always said, I always set out to be productive. I played a lot of minutes, so the opportunity was already given to me. I just wanted to take advantage of it as much as I could.

SLAM: Damian, What is going to be the challenge ahead to get into the playoff picture for the Trailblazers?

Lillard: I think we need to improve defensively. Now we have a year under our belt playing together. We know each other a little bit better so we should be better because of that. As long as we make the improvements we need to defensively, I think we’ll be a better team. Hopefully, we can find a way to get into the playoffs.

SLAM: Ricky, It was a tough finish for you guys with all the injuries at the end of last season. How good can the Timberwolves be at full health in the upcoming year?

Ricky Rubio: We’re still working and we’re still building a team, but I think we have something going on. I’ve very excited for the next season to see if everybody can be healthy and we can get to the playoffs. That was our goal for the last two years. We couldn’t reach it for many reasons, and one of them was too many injuries. I’m working hard this summer to improve my game.

SLAM: Ricky, What goal do you choose of achieving first – An Olympic Gold or an NBA championship?

Rubio: I can’t pick between those two. I’m a winner and I want to win, so I’ll choose both.

SLAM: John, Your Wizards started the last season slow, but once you got back, you became one of the top teams in the East. What are your expectations going forward for the next season?

Wall: I personally feel that to be a great point guard in this league, you just gonna win, so my goal is to make the playoffs.

SLAM: John, What was the biggest challenge coming from an injury like you had early last season?

Wall: The biggest challenge is being mentally prepared, being mentally strong, just fighting through it when you know you can’t play. I wanted to do a good job being a leader for my team, to be like a coach on the sidelines.

SLAM: Personally, how do you plan to improve your own game over this off-season to get to the next level?

Holiday: I’d like to see myself in the All Star Game again and hopefully make it to the playoffs. I think that’s the ultimate goal: to get to the playoffs and win championships.

Lillard: I think I just have to expect more for myself. I of course have to work on my game. I have to get my percentages up, work on finishing better, on new ways to score, and find a way to make my teammates better. If I can do those things and everybody else also improves their game, then we should be a playoff team.

Rubio: It’s a very important off-season for me. Last year I was hurt and I couldn’t get good workout for my knee. This year, I’m really focused on working on my body, and in getting stronger, and after that, improve my jump-shot and get ready for the next season.

Wall: Just be working every day in the summer to improve my jump-shot, and finishing on floaters to make myself a better player.

SLAM: So who is the fastest out of all four of you?

Holiday: I think John’s probably the fastest. John’s an incredible athlete; you have to play against him to see it. And then, it’s probably me.

Lillard: Probably me and John Wall.

Rubio: I have to go with… Me! [Laughs]… I dunno, we have to compete and see who is better.

Wall: I’m the quickest, I’m not the fastest!

SLAM: And who in the group is the toughest for you to defend?

Holiday: They all bring something really different. John is fast, strong, gets to the basket. Ricky Rubio, obviously is very deceptive: he can throw the ball behind your back and all of a sudden, somebody’s open! And Damian can score from just anywhere on the court.

Lillard: John is pretty good, but Jrue Holiday is probably the toughest, because he’s the biggest.

Rubio: All three are tough! I can’t pick one, but if I had to say, I’ll say… Jrue!

Wall: I’ll probably say Dame [Lillard]. Dame is a very good young player and probably one of the toughest to play against.

SLAM: Who is the best point guard in the NBA right now?  

Lillard: Before he got hurt I think it was Derrick Rose, but right now it’s probably Chris Paul.

Rubio: Before the injury, I think Derrick Rose was on another level. When I played against him, he was the toughest one to guard. Now we’ll see how he’ll recover. It was good for him to take a year off and be ready. I suffered the same injury and I know that it’s very tough. So yes, I’ll say, number one is still Derrick Rose.

Wall: It’s very tough, depends on what you need from what point guard. Every other point guard gives you something different.

SLAM: What do you need to do in your game to get to number one?

Lillard: I think I can be a better floor general, make the game easier for my teammates, control the pace of the game better. The top point guards are an extension of the coach on the floor and I think I can do a good job of playing the point guard position, but it takes experience to grow into the ‘coach on the floor’ role.

Wall: Just keep improving, like I said earlier, on my jump-shots, floaters. Just watch every aspect of my game and work every day.

SLAM: Which player as a youngster did you idolize or model or game after?

Lillard: When I was younger I really like Allen Iverson, so if there was anyone that did model my game after, it was him.

Rubio: [Long Pause] I like basketball and I like to watch all kind of players. But especially if I had to name one, I’d name Steve Nash. There’s a lot of Magic Johnson. There’s a lot of great point guards in this league!

Wall: My favourite player was Allen Iverson growing up. But I want leave behind my own legacy so people remember John Wall.

SLAM: If you could pick any player in the NBA to throw a lob up to, who would it be?

Holiday: Probably Blake Griffin

Lillard: LeBron.

Rubio: Um… [Long Pause]… I would say… I’m think about a lot of names… Vince Carter… In his prime, Vince Carter.

Wall: Blake Griffin.

SLAM: What is your secret weapon?

Holiday: It might be my jump-shot.

Lillard: My athleticism.

Rubio: It’s a secret, I can’t tell you!

Wall: Can’t tell you, it’s undercover.

SLAM: And what is your kryptonite?

Holiday: That’s kinda tough: I’m trying to model my game so I don’t really have one.

Lillard: I’m not even sure man. I probably don’t have one.

Rubio: I can’t tell you that either. If I tell you my kryptonite then they’re gonna stop me!

Wall: If there’s one thing that can hold me back, it’s myself. I’m the only person that can hold myself back.

SLAM: With so many NBA events happening in China over the summer, it seems that the off-season is the ‘in-season’ in China. What do you think about the growing interest of the game here?

Holiday: I think it’s awesome. I think basketball is definitely a world sport, and the NBA is kind of the hierarchy of that. So just being able to come here and to interact with fans who will probably never get to see us in person, it’s awesome. They’re excited for us to come over here and it makes me personally feel good and makes me wanna come back!

Lillard: The sport is growing here and it’s a great opportunity for us to come over here and experience how passionate the fans here are. They are huge fans of us and they don’t have access to us the way the people in America do. For us to come over here, it’s an experience for us and the fans. It’s amazing to see how much they know about us here. I see people wearing my jersey, knowing my first name. It’s just mind-blowing.

Rubio: It’s awesome. That’s why I was really excited to come here. I came here in 2008 (Olympics): I knew basketball was huge here, and I think it’s even bigger now. I love basketball and I like when people are excited about it. Fans of China are the best ones at that – they’re excited to watch basketball and we feel that, so we too are excited to be here. 

Wall: This is my first time to China and it’s great to be here in this tour as China Basketball also gets bigger and bigger. There’s no better time to be here.