The NBA preseason is over and if you blinked, you might have missed it. You may not have been able to pay attention to the rest of the league if you only followed your team during this week and a half introduction to basketball, but have no fear. I’m here to recap the preseason wins, losses, and plenty of injuries.
Let’s begin with everyone’s least favorite team- the Golden State Warriors
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They played four games in total under the new abbreviated preseason format, and won two. Revel in those losses now if you’re not a Warriors fan, because I just don’t see many more coming in the regular season. One night saw Golden State putting up 142 points and if that doesn’t terrify you I’m not sure what does. Granted it was against a Chinese team, but that could easily be your favorite NBA team. The Warriors may lose a few battles along the way but barring an act of God, they’ve probably already won the war.
The new look Los Angeles Lakers played six games and squeaked out only two wins.
- The bigger picture though is King Kyle Kuzma. A product of the D’Angelo Russell trade before the draft, that kid has proven that he can stand in the spotlight of Hollywood. Averaging 19.2 points per game and 60% shooting, Kuz is electrifying a city in need of a new hero. With Lonzo Ball sidelined by an ankle injury, he showcased his versatility and demanded more minutes on the court. The only possible downside to the Kuzma hype in LA was looked into by The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor. He looked at Kuzma’s stats at Utah and pointed out how streaky he can be, going from 19% shooting to 50% within the span of a few games. Lakers fans will probably take a little inconsistency here and there if it means they have a chance of having a better season than they have in the recent past.
Another notable flash of greatness through preseason came from young Jamal Murray.
- He led the Denver Nuggets to back to back wins over Kuzma and the Lakers in preseason, dropping 20 points in one of these games. Murray was making 43% of all the shots he took throughout preseason and he could prove to be very useful to his team if he can keep this up.
The man with the money and the golden tweets- Joel Embiid has played a minimum amount of minutes thus far in the league, but each time he does get time on the court it’s highlight reel worthy.
- Preseason was no different. The big man only clocked 15 minutes on October 11, but he scored 22 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, assisted three times, and had two blocks. The Sixers’ decision to give Embiid a $148 million dollar contract extension raised some eyebrows but if he keeps writing such stat lines, Philly’s process will have finally paid off.
The preseason statistics were varied because different teams played more than others, while their star players rested during some of the matchups as well. Here is a roundup of the names that were at the top of some lists.
- On the offensive side of things, the San Antonio Spurs had the highest percentage of field goals made, coming in at 51%. The Golden State Warriors made 48% of their shots, while the Washington Wizards came in third place with 47%.
- On the defensive end of things, there were plenty of teams that were able to hold their opponents under 100 points. The Oklahoma City Thunder came in first, only allowing 94 points per game. The Boston Celtics allowed 96 points per game, while the Memphis Grizzlies allowed 95 points per game.
- Individual scoring leaders who played all 6 preseason games were Damian Lillard of Portland (21.8ppg), Kyle Kuzma of Los Angeles (17.3ppg), and CJ McCollum of Portland (14.5ppg).
- When it came to dishing out the ball to teammates during games, Ben Simmons of Philadelphia (5.3apg) and Dennis Smith Jr. of Dallas (4.0apg) had the most passes among players who participated in 6 games. James Harden of Houston (10.3 apg) and Stephen Curry of Golden State (4.3 apg) only played four games in preseason. Lonzo Ball of Los Angeles was averaging 6.0 assists per game after only two games, before his injury.
- Part of the game is playing tough, but that sometimes ends in injury. Many fans cringed as their favorite players went down during preseason because of a bad play. With a shorter preaseason, some of these stars will still be healing when the season begins, while others will come back sooner rather than later. Kawhi Leonard (quad), Kris Dunn (dislocated finger), De’Aaron Fox (bruised back), Lonzo Ball (sprained ankle), Dante Exum (separated shoulder), Julius Randle (back spasms), and LeBron James (sprained ankle) all suffered injuries during preseason.
With all that said, unless you are a fan of the Utah Jazz or the Boston Celtics (who were undefeated), I’m sure we are all ready to forget these games and begin the real competition. Hang in there NBA fans, the 2017-2018 regular season begins on tonight, Tuesday October 17!
