NBA: 5 big takeaways from the 2020-21 opening week
5 takeaways from the opening week of the 2020-21 NBA season
The NBA season has tipped off, and there have been plenty of storylines to follow in the early season. There has been a trio of 44-point performances, coming from Ja Morant, CJ McCollum, and James Harden.
NBA Christmas Day was full of blowouts, as the Heat, Bucks, Nets, Lakers, and Clippers all cruised to victories.
Sunday night featured one of the most lopsided victories of all time: the Dallas Mavericks held an NBA-record 50-point halftime lead en route to a 124-73 victory against the LA Clippers.
The pandemic has already affected play, postponing a game and causing the Houston Rockets to compete with just nine players against the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday night. Here are five things we’ve learned throughout the first week of the 2020-21 NBA season.
5. James Harden still provides more excitement on the court than off
It feels silly to give the winless Houston Rockets a nod here after losing both games this week, but James Hardens’ individual performances have been worthy of discussion.
Harden has been the talk of the offseason. After it was reported that he wanted out of Houston, his name has dominated NBA discussions. First came discussions of where he’d end up, with the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers often topping the lists. Next came the Rockets trading Russell Westbrook for John Wall, a move which many assumed was meant to appease Harden. Reportedly it didn’t, as Harden’s list of preferred landing spots grew.
In fact, Harden’s inevitable departure is so omnipresent that the TNT crew even managed to make a hypothetical Harden trade their biggest talking point during the halftime discussion of the Brooklyn Nets vs. the Golden State Warriors — the first game of the season, and one in which Harden wasn’t involved whatsoever.
Over the weekend, it was nice to see Harden provide an immediate reminder of exactly why his name garners so much discussion, in an astonishing overtime battle with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Amidst dealing with their disgruntled star, the Houston Rockets have been hit hardest by the coronavirus in this young season. A positive test postponed their opening game, and ensuing contact tracing caused them to be without John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Gordon, and three other players for Saturday’s contest against Portland.
Ironically, after all the drama, Harden suited up for the first Rockets game of the season with only eight teammates available, as most of the team’s main rotation sidelined because of the virus. Harden responded by putting up, all things considered, one of his best regular-season performances as a pro.
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Harden showed off his two best skills, scoring and playmaking, and reminded everyone why he’s in consideration for best in the league at both of those things. Harden went back-and-forth trading buckets with CJ McCollum, as each would end up with 44 points on the night. Astonishingly, with his roster decimated, Harden was also able to add a whopping 17 assists to his scoring output.
Seventeen assists tied a regular-season career-high for Harden, a mark which he’s hit eight times. In the overtime loss, Harden proved that it doesn’t matter who he’s sharing the court with, he is going to get buckets and put his teammates in positions to score.
It will be interesting to see if Harden continues playing at this level and how that will affect his trade value. Maybe the Rockets click with Wall and Boogie back and realize they have just as much talent on their roster as other teams in the Western Conference outside of Los Angeles. Or, Harden insists on a change in scenery and another contender will deal for him in an attempt to close the gap.