The Bulls regained their excitement and showed a good quality game. Guarding the warriors is revelation. Westbrook disaster, yellow-purple far from a team
After 66 games in 12 days, the NBA preseason is over, the last step before the regular season, which begins on the Italian evening between Tuesday and Wednesday. Lots of technical information for coaches, bombastic scores, spectacular games and generally very little defense. Five undefeated teams including the Golden State Warriors and the Chicago Bulls, new protagonists and some disappointments like the Lakers and the Blazers. Here are our ups and flops ahead of the 2021 season.
above: Jordan Poole (warrior)
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The Warriors, coached by Steve Kerr, were undoubtedly among the best teams this preseason, not only because of their impeccable record – 5 wins and 0 losses – but above all because of the quality and naturalness of the basketball that is expressed on the pitch. The cover man for the Dubs is not Steph Curry – 41 points were scored in the last game against Portland – but the guard Jordan Poole from Milwaukee, always present and with a lasting and positive effect, especially in the semi-offensive. . For him 21.8 points with 50.6% shot, 3.4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 recovery in 22.6 minutes on average. Creative from dribbling, fast and unpredictable in his movements, constantly improving in three-point shooting (36.4% of the arc with 3.2 triples per game) and above all very functional in basketball, which Kerr confesses.
above: Tyler Herro (heat)
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Tyler Herro’s third NBA season could be the definitive blast after a brilliant start and a tougher, more problematic second year. The Miami Heat’s sixth man had a great preseason, showing improvements in all aspects of the game, including physique and athleticism. Herro is an evolving player who appears to have found greater wholeness in the game’s creation phase, in addition to demonstrated proficiency that goes well beyond “simple” three-point shooting. His preseason numbers say 22.4 points in 27 minutes averaged, with 51.3% on the field and 44.8% in three (out of nearly 6 triples attempted per game), 4.8 rebounds and 3.2.5 Assists. Miami finished preseason 1: 1 and Herro showed that he could potentially be critical to the team’s balance if he gets off the bench. Do we already have a possible candidate for the sixth man of the year?
oben: Chicago Bulls
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Four wins in as many games – which count for the right thing, must be emphasized – but above all a renewed enthusiasm for the team and a significant improvement in the overall quality of the squad, enriched in the offseason by important players such as DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo-Ball . Chicago has already shown good basketball and hinted at a concrete and competitive team identity within the Eastern Conference. Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic now have a sideline, which can be seen both aesthetically and functionally in the basketball ideas of coach Billy Donovan. Take a moment to take care of the Bulls without thinking about it for a second too long. The Chicago Clear Present is not an illusion.
Flop: Los Angeles Lakers
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Zero wins in six games played, little or very little team chemistry and a defense that is far below the usual – already very humble – preseason canons. The Lakers struggled to produce a basketball full of content and meaning, going a little beyond their champions’ natural talent and a few small breakouts in transition, and seemed to expect next to nothing from these friendly officials, which helped Start building something for the regular season. The emblem of this yellow-purple preseason is new signing Russell Westbrook, undisputed leader in this phase in terms of sales (5.8 per game), well below 40% in shooting and almost always balanced overall. So much confusion, in a nutshell, and a collective structure that is still well locked in watertight compartments.
Flop: Charlotte Hornets
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Let’s get to the preseason losses (1-3 records) that we’ve learned to weigh, but not the bad numbers. The sensational debacle against the Dallas Mavericks on the Italian night between Wednesday and Thursday, a terrifying 127-59, is one of the most miserable pages in the history of the Hornets. A point of enormous lowliness and technical rarity that can only radically darken the performance of the boys trained by James Borrego in the pre-season. Paradoxically, it is almost less painful to lose 68 points than it is to have only scored 59 points in the entire game. A preseason for Charlotte that is easy to forget.
Flop: the Portland pioneers
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Four defeats in four games played, the last attack in the championship for points scored (91.3 on average) and a defense far from any criterion of sufficiency. The Blazers certainly haven’t done their best this preseason due to a lack of brilliance and versatility, especially in the attacking half, historically the strongest side of the house. Behind these numbers, and in the analysis of the game that Damian Lillard and his companions shyly expressed, there are a thousand extenuating circumstances to be considered and many considerations to be made. New head coach Chauncey Billups will surely have time – hopefully – and a way to better understand his players, make himself understood, and find a workable way to keep the team at the competitive level they deserve.
