Written by Matt Zemek at Bloguin
It’s only one month. It’s only one month.
It feels like The Wizard of Oz, as Dorothy says over and over again, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home…”
Say something often enough, with sufficient belief, and the world you long for might appear.
In the 2015-2016 NBA season, can various teams convince themselves that after one month, the world will change in the ways they want? Will the pleasant surprises be able to keep the feel-good carpet ride intact?
Every NBA team played its first game by the time October 28 came to an end. On the morning of November 28, where do we stand?
Here are five facts which might not rate as startling to seasoned NBA observers, but should certainly create a lot of rethinking about the nature of this particular season:
5 – In the East, 10 of the top 11 teams allow under 100 points per game.
If the new season forces teams to quickly develop a rhythm on offense, it doesn’t place fewer demands on defense, which is just as intricate an art. Sure, the Chicago Bulls stand out as a team well above the .500 mark which nevertheless lacks knockdown shooters and does not possess a full complement of offensive talent. Noticeable flaws exist on that roster, especially in relationship to offense and shotmaking. Given that playing the Bulls (which averaged under 100 points a game entering play on Nov. 28) will help one’s defensive averages, one shouldn’t expect a cartload of East teams to allow triple-figure point totals per night. However, 10 of 11? All under 100 at the defensive end?
Brad Stevens’s Celtics are under 100? The offense-first Hawks? The work-in-progress Knicks? That rates as an eye-grabber if not an eye-popper, even though… “It’s only one month. It’s only one month.”
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