Eastern Conference Reserves
Backcourt: Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards; Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
The Washington Wizards have had a disrupted and disappointing season, but it’s not the fault of Bradley Beal. On the back of an insane 37.0 usage percentage he is pouring in 33.3 points per game, nearly four points per game more than anyone else. The organization might be failing him, but he is having a career year.
Trae Young is another offensively explosive guard, and after a somewhat inefficient start he has come on of late. He is getting to the line at an elite rate and hitting 89.1 percent of his foul shots. Perhaps more encouragingly, he has made a three-point improvement to his defensive rating, pushing him to a positive net rating for the first time in his short career. Unsurprisingly, the Atlanta Hawks have a positive net rating and are sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference, a half-game out of fifth.
Frontcourt: Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat; Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks; Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Another disappointing team is the Miami Heat, who have begun the defense of their conference crown with a 9-14 record. While Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic have been either absent or ineffective, Bam Adebayo continues to grow into a superstar. He is the linchpin of both the offense and defense, putting up 20.2 points and a solid 5.2 assists per game. For a team with a negative team net rating, Adebayo’s is +15 per 100 possessions, a seemingly impossible combination.
Khris Middleton plays for a much more successful team, and is yet again have a sublime offensive season. With the Bucks’ depth significantly reduced there has been more pressure on Middleton to make his shots count, and he has. He is shooting 52.1 percent from the field, 44.8 percent from 3-point range and 93.8 percent from the stripe, blowing through the doors of the vaunted “50-40-90” club that he missed last season by a whisker.
Jayson Tatum made his star turn a season ago and is showing it to be no fluke. Still just 22 years old, the forward is scoring 27 points per game and improving as a playmaker, logging a career-best 20.2 assist percentage. His defense has been more hit-or-miss, and he has missed some time, but he deserves this roster slot.
Wild Card: Malcolm Brogdon, Indiana Pacers; Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers lost their bubble star T.J. Warren to a long-term injury after just four games. They traded Victor Oladipo for Caris LeVert only to discover LeVert had a mass on his kidney and required surgery. Jeremy Lamb missed the start of the season rehabbing from an Achilles injury.
All that has meant is other players have stepped up to not only keep Indiana afloat, but fifth in the Eastern Conference. Malcolm Brogdon has continued to grow as a player, leading this team offensively and blowing through his career highs in scoring due to increased volume without the loss of efficiency.
Meanwhile Myles Turner has spearheaded a stout defense by blocking everything in sight, leading the league with 3.6 blocks per game. That is despite breaking a bone in his hand a few weeks ago. The Pacers are ten points better per 100 possessions when Turner plays, a turnaround from his struggles the past few years to translate his defensive impact into team dominance. The Pacers have multiple deserving options, and two of the three (our apologies to Domantas Sabonis) make the cut.
First cuts: James Harden, Brooklyn Nets; Jerami Grant, Detroit Pistons
James Harden is a wonderful offensive player, but he also tanked a team’s on-court and off-court success because he wanted to be traded. Whatever your opinion on player agency, he was not an All-Star player for the first month of the season. He now has 11 games under his belt and counting, and is averaging a near triple-double. By the time we release our final selections he may have played his way onto the team, but I can’t discount his ugly start, one that looks even uglier given the Houston Rockets’ success without him.
Jerami Grant also deserves mention. A dependent role player for most of his career, few expected him to make a leap into an offensive creator. He has translated his efficiency in a low-volume role into efficiency in a high-volume role, an impressive move for the forward. However the Detroit Pistons are terrible, and Grant’s numbers don’t have the overwhelming nature of someone like Beal, so he just misses the cut.
In the Mix: Gordon Hayward, Charlotte Hornets; Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors; Julius Randle, New York Knicks; Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers; Collin Sexton, Cleveland Cavaliers; Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers; Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors; Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic