5 Overreactions After The First Two Days Of NBA Basketball
The beginning of an NBA season is a special time for fans around the league. Every fan base, for a short amount of time, believes they have a fighting chance to become an NBA powerhouse.
All offseason long, fans look forward to opening night. It's just one game out of the 82, but it feels like so much more. If your team wins on opening night, that momentum and excitement is amplified. On the flip side, if your team loses, you might as well just end the season already.
This one game will most likely not make or break a team's season, but that is the way it feels. The day after the opening game is filled with overreactions.
Here are five overreactions after the first two nights of NBA basketball:
1. San Antonio Will Finish The Regular Season As The Number One Seed In The West.
Doesn't that mean the Golden State Warriors, the team with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, will not finish with the best record in the West?
That's exactly what that means.
The Spurs went in to Oakland on Tuesday and laid a beat down on one of the most talked about teams in NBA history.
This isn't to say the Warriors are going to be a bad team. This is just to say that the Spurs are going to be really, really good. Kawhi Leonard is the new face of the Spurs and will help carry this team to another 60 win season.
Finishing without the best record in the West may not be the worst thing for the Warriors. By chasing the record for wins last season, Golden State had to play at their peak for the entire year. It was clear to see the run left the Warriors with fatigue in the playoffs.
A 55 to 60 win season may be the best thing for the Warriors.
2. Luke Walton Will Turn The Los Angeles Lakers Into A Playoff Team... THIS YEAR!
The Lakers have been getting progressively worse every season since 2013. The team went from 45 wins in the 2012-13 season to 27, 21 and 17 wins in the next three seasons.
After the team's opening night win over the Houston Rockets, the Lakers look like they will be able to put up points with ease.
Former Lakers forward and current head coach, Luke Walton, had an immense amount of success filling in for Steve Kerr as the head coach in Golden State last season.
Being that Walton isn't too far removed from his playing career, he's able to connect with the players better than a lot of head coaches in the league.
This Lakers team is very young, but they have a lot of talent.
The West is always tough, but this young team led by Walton can pull out around 45 wins and fight for the eighth spot in the playoffs.
3. Sacramento Will Be One Of The Toughest Teams Defensively In The NBA.
Anybody who has watched the Kings over the years knows this team struggles on the defensive side of the ball. However, the team has done a lot to change the defensive mindset this season.
By bringing Dave Joerger, who is a defense first head coach, and players like Matt Barnes and Aaron Afflalo, the Kings will have a defense the team can rely on each and every night.
Sacramento beat the Suns in Phoenix Wednesday night and kept the team under 100 points. The Kings defense was only able to keep the opposition under 100 points just 15 times last season.
If the Kings can buy into Joerger's defensive mentality, Sacramento has the players to shut other teams down. For the team to completely buy in, it would help if the Kings can reel off a handful of wins to start the season.
The improvements on defense will increase the team's wins from last season. The Kings have the potential to reach 40 wins this season.
4. Anthony Davis Will Win The NBA MVP.
Davis put up monster numbers in the opening game against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Unfortunately for Davis and the Pelicans, the team still lost.
The loss wasn't due to a lack of effort from Davis. He had 50 points, 16 rebound, 7 steals and 5 assists in the game.
Since coming into the league, Davis has always been the guy who people say can be the best player in the league, if he stays healthy.
If he stays healthy is the biggest question mark when it comes to his ability. He has the skill to put up 30 points and 15 rebounds per game, but he has a knack of keeping himself off the floor due to injuries.
The obvious choices for MVP every year are Curry, Durant and LeBron James, but this is the year Davis throws himself in that category.
Curry and Durant will take votes away from each other because they are on the same team. James will have votes taken away from him because voters often times don't want to keep giving the MVP to the same person.
If Davis can stay healthy, and fight for a playoff spot, he will win the NBA MVP.
5. Phil Jackson Will Not Be With The New York Knicks At The All-Star Break.
Whether he is fired, or quits, Jackson will be out as the President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks very soon. The team hasn't had the slightest bit of success since Jackson hopped aboard just a few seasons ago.
The Knicks always have high expectations just like every team which plays in New York, but this year's team entered the season with the hope they could finish in the top four of the Eastern Conference.
The team is filled with players past their prime such as Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Carmelo Anthony. To think this team could be relevant in the standings is a mistake.
Jackson has put together a team which could create headlines in the offseason, but won't climb the standings from where the team was last season, which was 13th seed in the East.
With the media and fan pressure in New York, the team will fire Jackson, if he doesn't quit the job before then.