With nearly a quarter of the NBA’s 82-game regular-season slog now in the books, we, the fans, can begin to gauge the credentials of all thirty contenders. The early rounds of 2023-24 have been a true festival of hoops, galvanised by the inaugural in-season tournament and the performances of familiar and emerging superstars.
The league’s resident boys in green, the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, have resumed their familiar positions at the sharp end of the Eastern Conference. In the offseason, Boston brought in additional perimeter scoring with Kristaps Porzingis, while Milwaukee united mercurial shooter Damian Lillard with two-way powerhouse Giannis Antetokounmpo. Some defensive meltdowns have plagued both teams so far, but their oft-criticised head coaches, Joe Mazzulla and Adrian Griffin respectively, will hope to see sprouts of consistency and cohesion continue to form in the coming months. Both teams boast as balanced a roster as can reasonably be hoped for in this era of ultra-parity, of the standard that will allow them to coast the regular season and rest stars before much anticipated postseason runs.
Out west, it has been business as usual for the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, with an overreliance on the starting unit the only major concern. Teams taking their foot off the gas after a championship triumph is a sporting tale as old as time, but upon Jamal Murray’s return from injury, Denver will be expected to return to the peak ruthlessness exemplified in their playoff run.
In the equation with the Nuggets are the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have recovered from a poor October to head the league with 14 wins thanks to an oppressive, dogged defence. Rudy Gobert has formed a formidable big-man partnership with Karl-Anthony Towns, dispelling much criticism of the decision to unite the two with a blockbuster trade for Gobert. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have thus far lived up to expectations with the introduction of prodigious rookie centre Chet Holmgren. They will be in the mix atop the Western Conference for many years to come.
A word on the Chicago Bulls, a franchise whose iconic status transcends basketball thanks to their dominance of the 1990s with Michael Jordan. Constant feeble losses have been met on X, formely known as Twitter, with impassioned demands to the United Center top brass to “blow it up,” which in NBA parlance means to trade away an ailing established core and gamble on youth and future drafts.
This is what their sworn rivals of old, the Detroit Pistons, seem to be eternally in the process of, with an ongoing run of 16 defeats. On the other hand, the Orlando Magic are bearing the fruits of their erstwhile commitment to “the tank” and are the league’s form side with eight consecutive wins. Bulls fans will take solace from an impressive overtime triumph over the Bucks, where youngsters Patrick Williams and Coby White staked their claims to long-term starting berths.
So, who is best placed to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June based on what we’ve seen in the opening month? My money is provisionally on Nikola Jokic and Denver retaining the crown against Milwaukee in a full seven-game series. Keep an eye on the remainder of this fascinating NBA season!
“Nikola Jokic free throw” by All-Pro Reels is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.