The 50 of Wembanyama, the GSW fairytale and the lack of Jokic: the report of the last week of the NBA.
Welcome to 8 Wedgesthe column that will come out every week to tell you about the most important and interesting things that happened in the NBA, the most fascinating basketball league in the world. The structure is very simple: four or five noteworthy events and related comments. Happy reading and happy NBA everyone!
I primi 50 in Wembanyama
Thursday, the 14th, at the Frost Bank Center of San Antonio, a legendary match took place. Victor Wembanyama feasted against the Washington Wizards, posting a personal 50-point game career-highwith 18/29 from the field and above all an impressive 8/16 and 3. A figure that is already astonishing in itself, but it is even more so when combined with the fact that in the last 4 Wemby has shot 48% from behind the arc. He made his compatriot completely crazy in defense Alex Sarr2nd pick of the 2024 Draft, scoring triples in his face, ridiculing him while dribbling and thanks to his footwork. Coach Brian Keefe also tried to stem him by putting Valanciunas, who has a few more years of experience, against him, but the tune hasn’t changed.
Support Sportellate: associates
Our work is based on the commitment and passion of a young editorial team. Through the association you help us grow and always improve the quality of the content.
Join now!
What is impressive is not only that he can do all this at 20 years old, but also that it only took him 26 minutes, the fastest ever to reach 50. Despite this, there are still many aspects to be refined within his game; one above all laziness from which he sometimes gets kidnapped. Aware of the fact that his 3-point shot is an almost indisputable weapon, Wemby occasionally “sits down” and is satisfied with a triple, even if it is marked, instead of perhaps attacking the mismatch or find a more elaborate solution. It’s becoming one increasingly common trend in the NBA that of seeing sequences of actions, even prolonged ones, in which one does nothing but take the rebound, run in transition, shoot a triple without thinking too much, return to defense and so on, but see him do it to one of 2 ,24 has a certain effect.
Are we sure that the Golden Era is really over?
Lauri Markkanen was supposed to arrive in the summer, then there was talk of Paul George, but in the end nothing was done about either of them. The team has changed compared to last year and the additions from the transfer market have arrived, but nothing that could suggest this start. With 11 victories and only 3 defeats Golden State holds the best record in the West, is the third team that scores the most on average and the second that scores the most three-pointers. Of course, so far they have had a rather easy calendar, but once again we must recognize the greatness and merit of the giant who sits on the bench.
Kuminga, Moody, Kyle Anderson, Podziemski: thanks to the depth of the roster Steve Kerr he can indulge himself in combining an avalanche of different quintets, unlike last year when there was the opposite problem, and keep very large rotations, even with 10/11 players. This way he can afford to preserve Curry and keep it under 30′ on average; How many teams would be able to perform so well with their superstar sitting so many minutes on the bench? There is certainly an explanation for the results obtained so far Buddy Hieldwho is currently over-performing and it is clear that he will not be able to maintain this pace for 82 games, but from what we have seen so far the Bahamian is not making us regret captain Klay’s summer departure, on the contrary. Plus there’s still evaluating De’Anthony Melton, who has only played three games so far. Many players and a few minutes each, and as long as things go well, everyone is fine. In short, it seems the last hour of these Golde State Warriors has not yet arrived. After all, as long as Steph is there, there is hope.
Celtics: any hiccups?
At this start of the season i Boston Celticsthat is to say the reigning NBA champions, did not seem like the steamrolling team we admired in the previous Regular Season. The roster remains intact, so what changes? First, the absence of Kristaps Porzingis it is a very hard blow because it exposes the Celtics to forced choices and rotations such as giving many minutes to Al Horford and in the races where he is also missing they find a lot of space Nehemiah Queta e Luke Kornet. If the Portuguese is carving out a very good role for himself and shows signs of continuous improvement, the same cannot be said of the green and white number 40, who is too slow on his feet and very difficult to provide the rim protection that Boston needs. Also not helping is the lack of what was expected Xavier Tillmaninitially in Mazzulla’s rotations and now he has dropped out of it a bit due to a very erratic three-point shot.
The Celtics’ game plan could also be one of the reasons for this somewhat slow start. Focusing a lot on archery makes the performance of Tatum and teammates: high percentages translate into large and agile victories, but matches in which the shot is difficult to enter lead to complicated matches that sometimes turn into defeats. In the four games this week, Boston has limped a bit: first of all, it lost atNBA Cup debut against the Atlanta Hawks without Trae Young and Bogdanovic, after which he won well on the Nets’ court and needed a buzzer beater by Jayson Tatum in overtime against the Toronto Raptors. Then came the beautiful victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers who until then were undefeated and with a record of 15-0. A winhowever, with two sides: on the one hand the excellent first half, on the other a second half in which Boston squandered the 21-point lead. Obviously no moments of panic or defeatism: the Boston Celtics remain healthy if they are healthy the best roster in the league and they too go through some dark moments in the Regular Season, as is normal.
Nikola Jokic, more than a superstar
Let’s play a game: remove a star from any NBA roster. They will certainly worsen both their basketball and their results, but we are sure they will do as they do Denver Nuggets without Nikola Jokic? The Serbian center missed the last three games for personal reasons due to the birth of his second child and in these games the Colorado franchise twice failed to even reach 100 points. Compared to last season, Denver has lost an important player in Caldwell-Pope and will have to do without DaRon Holmes for the entire season, the big man they chose with the 22nd pick in the draft. Furthermore, they are also doing without Aaron Gordon, but the feeling is that without Nikola Jokic they are a team that is unlikely to qualify for the play-in, while with him on the pitch they continue to be almost a contender. In Memphis they managed to raise their heads and won the match thanks to a very good performance by Jamal Murray and the two hundredth triple double by Russell Westbrook in his career, but the game against the Pelicans and the one against the Grizzlies (they played twice in a row in Memphis) remain concerning in the long run as it seems that you can’t give Nikola Jokic any rest at all.
Phoenix, everything was fine and then?
Here too we find ourselves talking about absences and it is a real shame. The Suns had started their season very well and were at the top of the Western Conference with an excellent record of nine wins and two losses. And then? What happened? They got hurt before Kevin Durant and then Bradley Beal. The former Nets player was having an incredible season and was rightly also in the conversation to be one of the candidates for the MVP title. He averaged 27.6 points per game (43% from three points and 55% from the field), 6.6 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.4 blocks. The contribution he made both defensively and offensively was out of the ordinary. Beal was also doing very well: 18 points per game with 38% from beyond the arc and 48% from the field, as well as 1.4 steals per game along with a block. What has worsened the most due to their absences is him spacing given that Phoenix often has players on the field who are unreliable shooters or others who just don’t have the three-point shot in their repertoire. The Suns have lost all four games played this week also thanks to a Devin Booker almost unrecognizable who only played well against Minnesota and in the other three he averaged less than 16 points.
Jared McCain, a new hope
In casa Sixers va everything in rolls. Record of 2-12 so far, the worst in the entire league, and team alchemy that appears far from idyllic, given the latest statements by Tyrese Maxey addressed to Joel Embiid. But today we are not here to talk about that. Let’s talk instead about the only positive note of this start of the season, namely the rookie chosen at #16, which we had already mentioned something about here. His 34-point, 10-assist, 6-of-13 three-point performance against the Cavs first in his class opened the eyes of many to him. Thanks to the absences of these first matches, Jared immediately had space in coach Nurse’s rotations, showing himself disciplined and determined on the pitch. In the last four games, in which he even earned his place in the quintet, he held his own excellent percentages: 50% from the field, 46% from three points and 100% from free throws (he is at 32/32 on the season). Among newcomers to the NBA, McCain is first in points, first in triples made and fifth in assists. He and his neighbor from Draft Dalton Knechtthe 17th pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, currently seem to be the two main candidates for the title of rookie of the year.
Flash news from the NBA world:
• Sir Kyle Hines is a new member of the Brooklyn Nets coaching staff.
• We have the first sixty-five of the season: despite the 60 points (franchise record) scored by De’Aaron Fox, however, his Kings had to surrender to the T’Wolves.
• James Harden surpassed Ray Allen’s 2,973 career three-pointers in the NBA and is now second of all time in this ranking, behind only Stephen Curry.
