NBA: Predicting the top 8 scoring duos of 2021-2022 season
By Dan Knitzer
New Orleans Pelicans
Zion Williamson: 26 points per game
Brandon Ingram: 24 points per game
Like Dame and CJ, this is a duo that really probably should be broken up, ASAP. But I don’t expect it to happen before the deadline, if at all this year. Zion is awesome when he plays, even when he plays 30 pounds over his college weight. And Brandon Ingram has become a really good shooter. It’s that simple. Whether 50 combined points gets them a playoff appearance seems unlikely right now.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Karl-Anthony Towns: 30 points per game
Anthony Edwards: 20 points per game
Who knows which players will actually be on this roster in December. Minnesota remains arguably the best Ben Simmons trade partner, with a package headlined by D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, young player X, and picks. If D’Lo is on the team, he may edge out Edwards in points, but that feels far from certain.
Los Angeles Lakers
Anthony Davis: 26 points per game
LeBron James: 24 points per game
Expect these numbers to change drastically night to night based on which members of the Lakers’ big three rest or play. LeBron has led his team in scoring a hilariously ridiculous 18 consecutive years (his entire career) and I’ve wrongly predicted the end of that streak before.
But as the only member of the big three who doesn’t need to dominate the ball to get buckets, expect AD to be effective in every type of lineup, and play more minutes than LeBron and Russell Westbrook. And with the Lakers defense probably worse than in the AD-LeBron era, those points will be much needed.