Let's pass the ball around the key of week 1 in the NBA season.
Daniel Waddleton
Oct 30th, 2023
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The NBA is back and in full swing! The first week of the season is obviously not a time to overact, but it's always so much fun to get a new look at all the players and teams in the league.
You never know what your going to get in week 1, so for me it's always one of my favorite weeks in the entire season. There's never a lack of chaos.
So let's get this thing started, the first every "Around the Key Weekly" is here and will be back every Monday for the next 34 weeks!
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Team of the Week: Denver Nuggets
I tried so hard to find another team to give this to. In no way shape or form did I want the first team of the week this year to be the defending champs. I kept going through all the teams I watched and how they performed, and it just kept bringing me right back to Denver.
Through 1-week Jokic just appears to be in a tier of his own among the league’s top players, as his control of the game is unmatched by any other superstar. He continues to make everything look so effortless, even though he is annihilating teams on a nightly basis.
The rest of the team has picked up right where they left off in June right behind Jokic. While playing an extremely tough first 3 games (Lakers, @Grizzlies, @Thunder) the Nuggets are 3-0 while also being 1st in Net Rating. When it comes to “strength of record” in week 1, nobody should be ranked ahead of Denver.
As great as Jamal Murray was to close last season, it still might’ve all just been his “first year off surgery” year and is poised to be even BETTER this season.
The emergence of “Michael Rodman Jr” has been a scary sight for the league as well. Michael Porter Jr is averaging 11 rebounds right now, a massive jump for his 5.5 last season. If it wasn’t hard enough to stop the Nuggets already, now if you hold them to a missed shot they have three near 7 footers crashing the glass.
While they only rank 12th in the league in offensive rebound percentage so far, they rank 2nd in effective field goal percentage, so if they didn’t make so many shots I’d have to imagine they would rank higher.
And good luck grabbing an offensive rebound of our own, because they have 2 players (Jokic and Porter) who rank in the top 6 in the league in defensive rebound percentage.
While the Nuggets stars are being stars (KCP and one of my leagues favorite players Aaron Gordon have also looked great), the even bigger story coming out of week 1 for the Nuggets might be their bench mob.
They have not missed a beat without last seasons 6th man Bruce Brown and other reliable bench option Jeff Green thanks to a plethora of young and athletic wings who have been fierce on the defensive end. Look at the way the second unit was flying around on defense opening night.
The biggest single player surprise so far in the early season for the Nuggets has been 2nd year forward Peyton Watson, who already looks like he has All-Defensive team potential. This roster might actually be even better then last season and I’m calling my shot now, this team is winning 60+ games this year.
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NOT the team of the week: Houston Rockets
The “phase 2” Rockets are not off to the best start. A road loss in Orlando and a loss to the Warriors isn’t anything to be too worried about with a new team, but losing to a project Spurs team is not great especially when you consider their schedule coming up is brutal.
This team went out in the offseason and spent heavy on veterans with playoff pedigree hoping that head coach Ime Udoka could turn the culture around in Houston fast. Through one week, it’s a work in progress.
This team ranks 29th in points per game and the defense that Houston hoped would be much improved this season is still bottom third in the league. They are fouling at a crazy rate right now ranking 29th in fouls per game with over 23 a game which makes defense extremely difficult.
When I was watching the game Sunday night in Golden State, the Rockets actually hung tough for most of the game. The biggest issue I saw was late in the game it just doesn’t feel like they have a guy that they trust to be comfortable running late game offense.
It was no shock to me that after the game when I checked their offensive rating in clutch time they ranked 22nd out of 28 teams who have played in clutch time this week (score within 5 points with five minutes or less in game).
While I like Van Vleet’s game, even back to his Raptors days he’s never been the best late game decision maker and operator. A lot of his best moments were when he was playing alongside Kyle Lowry and even back with Kawhi Leonard. And for Jalen Green well, he hasn’t been at his best in the 4th quarter this season.
I assume they are hoping that Alperen Sengun can someday command that role as a guy they can run offense through late game. Or maybe even Amen Thompson, who is far away right now but showed flashes of a real playmaking point guard in his short stint at summer league.
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Player of the Week: Tyrese Maxey
My goal for this category is to use every player only once all season, and assuming Harden is returning for at least a little while coming up here I think this is the best chance to use Tyrese Maxey has player of the week.
Besides, he averaged a decent 30 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds this week on I guess an alright 50/56/91 shooting split. I guess he also took care of the ball a little this week, because according to cleaning the glass he has a 4.3% turnover percentage, which is in the 100 percentile of point guards...
If you couldn’t already tell, I’m being sarcastic. Not only was it not “settling” by giving Maxey player of the week, but he actually might’ve been the most impressive player in the league based on his projection coming in. If Harden does end up being traded soon, Maxey looks like a lock to be this season’s most improved player.
Let me bore you real quick with my favorite thing ever, some advanced stats. Tyreese Maxey is 4th in offensive box plus minus trailing only Steph, Luka, and Mitchell, good company. He’s 3rd in offensive win shares trailing only Steph and Luka. And he’s 8th in player efficiency rating, an advanced stat that is known to favor big men and hurt smaller guards.
Without James Harden, the new Nick Nurse offense of off ball moment, dribble handoffs, and pushing the ball in transition has completely unlocked the super speedy Maxey and he is clearly thriving.
In these clips you see some of what I’m talking about. A team that ranked almost dead last in dribble hand offs last year is now 3rd in the league, and it’s created plays like this.
Last year Tyreese Maxey was one of the most prolific players in transition with his speed, but Philly never pushed the ball with Harden. Expect to see a lot more plays like this now this season.
This specific play just stuck out to me when I was watching this game. No handoffs or fast break but I just thought it once again showed how deadly Maxey's speed is in any scenario.
Dear James Harden,
Either buy into the new Nick Nurse offense that allows Maxey to cook, or never come back to Philly because this is a lot of fun.
. . .
Win of the Week: Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry and the Warriors absolutely ripped the hearts out of the Kings last year in the first round of the postseason. Game 7 in Sacramento, sold out crowd, ready to light the beam as they advance to the second round for the first time since 2004. Not only did Steph Curry drop 50 on their home court to send them home, but he had a lot to say as the game was coming to an end.
Between that and the Draymond Green and Domantas Sabonis incidents, it’s safe to assume the Kings had this national televised Friday night game circled on their calendar since the summer. Well, they will have to wait till next week now to get their revenge because Steph Curry did it again. Curry dropped 41 along with a “night-night” dagger 3 to knock off the Kings 122-114.
We didn’t know what to expect from this Warriors team out of the gate between an aging roster, no Draymond, and especially because of the Chris Paul experiment. Well after just barely losing to the Suns they came out in a hostile road environment and got a win vs a very good team.
I’ve been impressed with this team so far this season as they seem to have that Warriors continuity back after moving on from Jordan Poole, and Chris Paul has done everything he can to fit in with this Warriors team.
On Sunday vs Houston we got our first look at Chris Paul off the bench, and not only did he embrace it, but he was a +22 in 27 minutes. This team might be better than we all anticipated.
. . .
Performance of the Week: Devin Booker
I’m aware of what Luka did on Friday night, but I just can’t get over how good Booker looked on National TV opening night. Devin Booker on the road vs what looks like it’s going to be a very good warriors team absolutely worked them.
The way Booker played in the Nuggets series last year clearly was no fluke, because on Tuesday night he was the best player on the court that he shared with former MVP's Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Booker posted a 32 point, 8 assist, 6 rebound performance against Golden State, with 61/37/100 shooting splits.
While Booker looked as good as ever scoring the basketball, what was most impressive in my opinion was the start of the “Point Guard Booker” era in Phoenix. In his 37 minutes, 36.4% of his teammates made baskets were his assists, which if he kept that pace all season it would be the highest of his career.
According to Cleaning the Glass, Booker's assist to usage ratio (how often a player got an assist given how much they had the ball) was 1.17, which if he kept that pace all season would be BY FAR the highest of his career. And this is all while playing with one of the greatest iso scorers ever in Kevin Durant.
My favorite play of the whole game from him out of everything he did was this pass to the corner late in the game up 1, where in past year’s he probably isn’t even looking for this pass and takes a contested mid-range jumper, or just kicks it quick to Gordon on the wing. By using his scoring ability to set up others, he is truly evolving into an all around superstar.
I’ve never seen Booker have this much control of an offense from a playmaker perspective, as even when he wasn’t playing along side Chris Paul and had the ball more as a facilitator, he’s never looked this comfortable. No matter what Golden State did to try to throw him off, he seemed completely unfazed.
Every time they tried to get Andrew Wiggins to crowd him he either shook him off as he set up the offense, or blew right by him. Anytime they tried to double Booker in the pick and roll, he stayed calm and made the right play.
The final thing I will say about Booker, although he's not the best defender ever he really competes on that end. Over the past couple seasons he has become one of my favorite players to watch and I think he has the chance to take a top 5 leap this season.
. . .
New Team Debut: Damian Lillard
Yeah, Dame looked really bad on Sunday vs the Hawks, but don't let that make you forget what an epic Bucks debut it was for him on Thursday night.
The Bucks fan got their first taste of "Dame Time" in the season opener vs the 76ers when he scored 14 of his 39 points in the 4th quarter Thursday night. The highlight of the night came when Lillard hit this extremally tough shot over Kelly Oubre to give the Bucks a 5 point cushion.
While that was the highlight of his night, what will be less talked about but was probably more important was Lillard's ability to draw fouls and get to the free throw line especially late in the game. Not only is it easy points in the hardest time to score of the game, but it gives your defense the opportunity to set up on the other end.
During Jrue Holiday's time in Milwaukee, he never accumulated more then 10 free throws in a single game. It's not that it's necessarily a problem that he doesn't go to the line more often, but Lillard being able to go to the line 17 times in a game while being a 90% free throw shooter is extremely valuable. Especially late in the game like I said when defenses are the most locked in and focused, it helps when you have a guy who can draw fouls like this.
Dame's 3pt shooting does still look a little shaky compared to what we are accustomed too, but hopefully it just has to do with him needing more time to get his legs underneath him after as he called it a very "different" off-season as far as training.
I also must say, it was very cool late in the game to see Giannis giving up the ball to Lillard and basically telling him "this is what you do, go finish this". Giannis being a 2-time MVP and former Finals MVP I wasn't sure how he would feel deferring late in games, but early on that doesn't appear to be an issue.
The Dame Lillard era has officially begun in Milwaukee!
. . .
Pick ‘n’ Wall: Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren
I gave this duo a mention in my "23 teams who can’t win the finals” piece from the preseason because I anticipated it being a story early on this year. Well, here we are early in the year and it’s a story!
Cade Cunningham is healthy again and has looked the part of a former first overall pick so far this year with total command of the offense. For a team that looks like it might struggle a little bit on offense this year based on personnel, one of the only real great offensive options this Pistons team has had in this early season has been the pick ‘n’ roll of Cunningham and running mate Jalen Duren.
Duren despite only being 19 years old has felt like a man among boys through one week of the season. He's shooting 80% from the field (albeit almost all shots at the rim, still super impressive though), and is averaging a whopping 15.3 rebounds a game! He's doing it on both ends of the glass because his 16.5% offensive rebound percentage ranks in the 97th percentile of centers in the league.
The part I want to most highlight of his game here is how well of a fit he has been with Cade Cunningham in pick 'n' roll offense. For a team that doesn't exactly have the best spacing playing Killian Hayes and Ausar Thompson a lot of minutes, and playing a lot of two big lineups, Cade and Duren still find a way to make this one of the best pick and roll pairing in the league so far.
Here you see just a simple high ball screen where Cade is able to get his defender on his back. From there Bulls center Andre Drummond is playing more of a drop in coverage and Cade is able to get deep enough into the paint to where he can freeze Drummond as now he's trying to defend both the floater and lob. Cade then throws a pretty lob to Duren who showcases his impressive leaping ability for the dunk.
In this next clip you see the same high ball screen look, but this time Bulls center Nikola Vucevic comes up to the level of the screen and picks up Cunningham above the 3 point line. Cade throws a really nice and early pocket pass to the rolling Duren, who showcases an improved playmaking ability this season finding the cutting Ausar Thompson for a dunk.
This was also a nice job by Thompson because if you notice throughout the whole action Zach Lavine is just sitting on the weak side block not worried about Thompson's 3pt shooting ability. So instead of not moving and having Duren pass him a low percentage corner 3 for him to take, he dives to the rim on the Duren catch and it leads to a dunk.
On this final clip, Cade and Duren once again run a high ball screen, and this time Bulls center Drummond is prepared to completely blitz Cade coming off the screen. As Duren sees this happening he quickly slips the screen before making contact and Cade quickly hit's him down the lane with a jump pass. Duren without even taking a dribble just dunks right over two defenders with ease.
Those were multiple different pick and roll coverages Cade and Duren were able to exploit despite limited spacing in just one game. Now obviously the Chicago Bulls aren't know to be awesome at defending pick and roll but with how young this duo is it's exciting to see them looking this good this early. Catch them while you can because they might not be playing for anything by January!
Also I was just criticizing Ausar Thompson's shooting which is quite the work in progress, but I want to give that guy a shoutout defensively. He has looked unbelievable on that end and somebody with serious All-Defensive upside.
. . .
Reason for Concern: Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura
The two most important players not named LeBron James or Anthony Davis during last years postseason run were Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, and as of right now it looks like that postseason magic has run out on them both.
On opening night against the Nuggets, Hachimura was an absolute mess and it just didn’t feel like they were giving Reaves enough opportunities to do his thing. Against the Suns both Hachimura and Reaves were both playing poor defense and neither closed the game, and on Sunday night in Sacramento Austin Reaves was awful and while Hachimura actually looked solid, head coach Darvin Ham looked like he had no interest in keeping him in for more then just short spurts.
When it comes to Reaves I am much more confident in his ability to turn this around as he may just be a little fatigued after a deep postseason run last year and playing international basketball this summer. He’s a very good and smart player and I believe if we check back in a couple weeks Reaves will look back to normal.
As for Hachimura, I’m a little bit more concerned. The Wizards basically dumped Hachimura for close to nothing last year as they just gave up on their former first round pick. While it appeared he not only found a home in Los Angeles, but has blossomed into a reliable off the bench offensive option, it isn’t inconceivable that last year’s postseason run was just lightning in a bottle.
It’s too early to write off either of them and for what it’s worth, the entire Lakers team has not looked the same as they did last year, but it’s definitely something I will continue to have my eye on as the season progresses.
. . .
Team USA Hangover?
Speaking of Reaves struggles early on maybe being related to playing international basketball, honestly a bunch of the guys who played this summer haven't looked awesome.
Jalen Brunson coming off a career year in New York last season has gotten off to a slow start, Jaren Jackson Jr could be shooting the ball better, Paolo Banchero has not looked great, and even Anthony Edwards has not jumped off the TV early on like many expected him too.
Now all of this could be related to other factors other than playing for Team USA, but it just feels like something worth noting. FIBA was played very close to the start of training camp and in some of these guys cases it seemed to mess up their preseason.
. . .
Too early to start dumping players?
The Portland Trail Blazers probably aren’t totally shocked they are 0-3, but the way in which they are 0-3 is a little concerning. Their best player Anfernee Simons is out for 4-6 weeks with a thumb injury, and there newly paid 150 million dollar forward doesn’t exactly look worth the contract after a few games. Who would’ve thought?
Oh yeah, I did.
Yes I understand the new CBA is coming and therefore contracts are going to be shooting for the stars. I thought Desmond Bane's, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Haliburton's 5 years for 207 million were actually steals for their teams based on where the cap is heading.
I have a lot of Jerami Grant rants that debunk some of the things casual fans think about him after watching him for 60+ games last year, but we will save those for a more appropriate time. Let's get back on topic here.
Continuing down the line, while I have no doubt Scoot Henderson will steadily improve throughout this season, he doesn’t look great right now. Turnover's is a serious issue for him right now and it just doesn't look like he's seeing the floor great. It was also no secret his jump shot was a work in progress but early on, yikes!
And as far as Deandre Ayton is concerned, he might just be completely cooked.
This all leads to my ultimate point. The Blazers should already be looking to be sellers and have two players that anybody in the league would be willing to invest in this season, former Celtics Malcom Brogdan and Robert Williams III. Let’s start with Mr. Brogdan.
The 6th man of the year last season in Boston has gotten off to a good start in Portland, looking good offensively off the bench. Brogdan is averaging nearly 19 points and 4 assists in the early season playing only 26 minutes a game. More importantly then anything he could be an immediate fit with a lot of teams as either a lead guard, or a 6th man that could also be a complimentary player late in games as he’s knocking down 3’s at a 41% clip through 3 games.
A team like the Spurs could make sense if they actually wanted to help Wemby out on offense a little bit with an actual point guard, or teams like Miami or New Orleans who could use a scoring punch off the bench.
I know it seems like Boston kind of just threw him to the curb two different times this off-season, but when he was healthy last year he was great for them and was somebody they were able to count on in the playoffs before the torn tendon in his elbow.
As for Robert Williams, I expect him to garner even more interest than Brodgan in the trade market. While he may a specific skill set, he is an absolute specialist.
The lineup that supercharged the Celtics finals run in 2022 was the 2 big lineup of Al Horford and Williams, where on offense Horford could space the floor while Williams put pressure on the rim as a lob threat in the dunkers spot and in pick and rolls. On defense, Williams was often used as a roamer because of his elite ability and timing to block shots while Horford was more of the on ball paint defender.
Williams is once again showing this season that if healthy, he is elite at this combination of skills and could help almost any team right now. A team like the Grizzles would be interesting as they are in desperate need of a center and the shot blocking combo of Jaren Jackson Jr and Robert Williams would be by far the best the league has to offer. I also look at a team like Sacramento who clearly has a lack of defense and shot blocking and could certainly use a guy like Williams.
As a Blazers fan myself, I've loved what I've seen from Williams so far this season and would love to see him be apart of the future as he's only 26 years old on a great contract. However, I realize that between his constant injury risk, and our organizational love for Deandre Ayton, Williams will probably be going out the door at some point this season. Especially because we could certainly fetch at least one 1st round pick and a younger player.
. . .
Play of the Week: Nikola Jokic’s Pass
Luka I’m sorry it’s really nothing personal, but you’re getting snubbed again. As great as your game winning H.O.R.S.E like hook shot from 25 feet was Friday night, this Nikola Jokic pass might already be the play of the year.
I mean at this point, are we even surprised anymore?!?!
. . .
Looking Ahead: Magic and Pacers
Both these teams are 2-0 and look good coming out of week 1. However, the level of competition both these teams have played has been inferior. Neither team has had to play somebody that was expect to be better than them this season (Indiana played Cleveland without Garland, Mitchell, Mobley, and Allen).
This week we will get the opportunity to see both teams in action vs playoff caliber teams and see what’s real and what isn’t.
Indiana gets the Bulls, Celtics, and Cavaliers this week and we will see if the run and gun offense led by league assist leader Tyreese Haliburton can work in the same way vs playoff caliber defenses. Indiana’s 3 point shooting has been lights out to kick off this season ranking 3rd only behind the Thunder and the Clippers.
Whether this Indiana team ends up being a real playoff threat or not, my god are they fun to watch. The combination of 3 point shooting and lob threat's in the Haliburton led fast break is must see TV, even if their defense is like... really bad right now.
These are fast break clips from the 1 quarter of their game from Wednesday night in Washington. A filthy no look pass to the corner from Hali to Bruce Brown for a 3, and then Hali and Obi Toppin's first of many lobs together as a duo.
Orlando gets both the Los Angeles teams on the road this week and we will find out if the depth of young players this team might have is real or not. They are 2-0 despite rookie of the year Paolo Banchero not getting off to the best start, so if he can play better I would not be shocked if they came out and knocked off the Lakers on Monday Night.
I admitting didn't get to end up watching a ton of Magic this week which is why I'm excited for Monday night, but I did happen to watch Franz Wagner drill his first three 3 pointers of the season on Wednesday. Stud.
. . .
Emptying the Notebook
Cam Thomas might just end up averaging 30 every time his team actually lets him play real minutes.
The Clippers certainly didn't beat anybody too impressive, but my god did they dominate in the games they won. Does Kawhi and Paul George play this upcoming weeks back to back?!?!?!?!
Jordan Poole is as hard to watch as ever.
I might've been wrong about Derrick Lively II this season. He looks impressive.
Jimmy Butler already took a rest game a week into the year, Adam Silver make your move sir.
Me and Kevin O'Connor did have Brandon Miller over Scoot Henderson in our pre-draft rankings, just saying...
I really don't get the Jeremy Sochan starting at point guard thing in San Antonio. It makes complete sense to start Wemby's career at the 4, but if your going to do that please just have Sochan come off the bench as a 6th man and let a real point guard like Tre Jones start.
"I thought the Grizzlies were better without Ja???". Not saying they were, but we are really seeing the affects of no Tyus Jones right now. He's now watching Jordan Poole shoot in Washington.
I didn't talk about the Celtics this week because by the looks of it, we are going to be talking about them A LOT for the next 8 months. Best team in the East right now
I've been really tired of Donavan Mitchell's recent playoff performances, and I swear he has more Westbrook in him then people realize with his late game recklessness, but I can't write this whole thing and not mention him. He's been impressive once again for the Cavs to the tune of a 35 point scoring average through week 1.
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