Opinion: Bulls, Knicks off to big starts in NBA
November 8, 2021
As the NBA season gets under way, teams are finally getting to prove their true potential and some are showing ugly characteristics.
The Chicago Bulls are playing at a championship level. They have had the biggest team turnaround this season through free agency, signing big names like Demar Derozan and Lonzo Ball.
By adding these two players to Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic, their team has become a championship contender. They did lose Patrick Williams, a Top 5 pick in the 2020 draft, for the season to a wrist injury, but it seems the team will continue to play well without him playing.
Young teams have started to make the league much more competitive. Many future legends of the game are starting to blossom and show their true potential.
The New York Knicks have also made a huge leap from last season with the signing of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier. The Knicks also have had stellar play from R.J. Barrett.
Julius Randle, meanwhile, has shown how he is the future of the Knicks and that last season was not a fluke, but the kind of performance that fans should expect from him every year.
The Memphis Grizzlies are showing that they can compete with any team, as they are the current four seed in the Western Conference. Ja Morant is proving to the world how much of a star he truly is by leading his team to a top seed in only his third year. The Memphis Grizzlies are showing that they can compete with any team — Jacob Staley
With the addition of Steven Adams to handle the rebounds they so badly needed and to control the paint, this team has made one of the biggest leaps of any team with a young core.
The Phoenix Suns, however, are really taking a big step back from last year, as they have gone from an NBA Finals appearance to looking like a play-in team for the playoffs.
Chris Paul is letting his age get to him, as he is beginning to facilitate the ball more rather than try to get himself open for shots. With Deandre Ayton’s future with the team up in the air as they couldn’t extend him this offseason, the Suns better find a quick fix to the situation they have right now.
The other team that was in the finals last year, the Milwaukee Bucks, are in the same place as the Suns.
It seems like the long season is really hitting these two teams hard, since they had a shorter offseason than any other teams in the league. With a shorter recovery time for the players coming off injuries and players who played almost every game last season, the teams are really looking fatigued in close games that are easy to win.
The Brooklyn Nets have shown that Kyrie Irving is the biggest part of the team’s offense. Without him, the team’s spacing has not been good, and without a point guard who can facilitate the floor, they have struggled to create offense.
With the new rule changes implemented, James Harden’s game has been affected, as he is having one of the worst years of his career. The Brooklyn Nets need to get their point guard back, as without him, they are going to continue to struggle for a long time.
