Heading into the 2014-15 season, the biggest storyline without question was whether LeBron James was leaving Dwyane Wade, Pat Riley and South Beach to go back to Cleveland. With the All-Star Game now less than a week away, we’ve learned that many subplots have actually garnered more recognition than the King’s return home.
Here are the three biggest surprises from this season so far.
1. Golden State and Atlanta have the top two records in the league
Nobody saw this coming. The Golden State Warriors are running the West, leading the Memphis Grizzlies by three games and the Hawks are seven games up on the second seeded Toronto Raptors.
The Warriors are an offensive juggernaut (first in points per game) and have the best backcourt in the game with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, both who can drop 50 on any given night. Curry is the odds-on favorite to win MVP, Thompson is a candidate for Most Improved Player and Steve Kerr (along with Mike Budenholzer) is in the running for Coach of the Year. As teammates, Curry and Thompson will battle it out on Saturday night as well in the Foot Locker Three Point Contest.
Meanwhile, the Hawks are built like last year’s NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. They don’t have a certified superstar but they do have incredible depth throughout the roster with little to no weaknesses. The main reason they can make a deep playoff run: they play exceptionally well as a unit and they’re committed on the defensive end (ranked fourth in points allowed). They also just beat the Warriors at home on Friday.
(What makes the Hawks so impossible to stop? See here.)
2. Pau Gasol‘s resurgence as an All-Star
Gasol was left for dead last year with the Los Angeles Lakers, playing without the injured Kobe Bryant en route to one of their worst seasons in franchise history. Jim Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak didn’t believe he could be an integral part of a Kobe-led team anymore, so the Spaniard opted to pursue a better opportunity to win a championship.
The 34-year-old Gasol is putting up even better numbers this year than what he did in 2010, the last Lakers championship season. This year, he’s averaging 18.1 points, 12.0 rebounds and a career-high 2.2 blocks. He’s given coach Tom Thibodeau a bonafide offensive weapon in the post for the first time in his Chicago coaching days.
Paired up front with Joakim Noah, the Bulls can only hope they have enough between Gasol, a healthy Derrick Rose and fellow All-Star Jimmy Butler to bring The Windy City it’s first Larry O’Brien trophy since the end of Michael Jordan‘s reign in 1998.
3. The Milwaukee Bucks are back into playoff contention
In Jason Kidd‘s first year with the franchise, the Bucks have gone from holding the worst record in the league last season (15-67) to currently the sixth seed in the East (28-23). This is with the no. 2 pick in the draft, Jabari Parker, only playing in 25 games due to a torn ACL. Parker was expected to be the face of the franchise and be a major contributor from day one.
The Bucks haven’t made the playoffs since the 2009-10 season but with the lack of quality teams in the conference, they’ll likely finish in the top six.
That’s because point guard Brandon Knight has been a borderline All-Star, leading the team in scoring at 17.9 points per game. “The Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo has worlds of potential and is just scratching the surface of his 6’11” perimeter game. Going forward, the Bucks will be in good shape with a young, improving roster under Kidd as coach, who continues to learn on the fly.
(Check the weekly HoopsHabit Awards Watch here).
Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time
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