NBA Rumors: 20 Shocking revelations from the first quarter of the 24-25 season
NBA Rumors: Breaking down 20 of the most shocking revelations that we've learned through the first quarter of the 2024-25 NBA season.
At this point in the NBA season, most teams have played roughly 20 regular season games. From an objective perspective, that means we've arrived at the first-quarter mark of the season. While there is still much regular season to be played, we've gotten to the point where we can truly begin to draw some fair conclusions. The 20-game mark is genuinely the point where we have enough information gathered to make some revelations about the young season either way. If nothing else, it's a pretty strong sample size of games that have been played.
In this article, we'll explore a few trends that have remained constant throughout the first 20 games of the regular season in a way where we can begin to describe them as shocking revelations about the 2024-25 NBA campaign.
Donovan Mitchell made the right decision to sign long-term in Cleveland
During the offseason, one of the bigger stories revolved around whether Donovan Mitchell would end up signing a long-term extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers or not. At least through the first quarter of this season, it appears his decision to commit long-term to the Cavaliers was the right move all along. It's hard to question Mitchell's offseason decision when the Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA.
I'm not sure how sustainable the Cavaliers' excellent play this season will be in the long run but there is plenty of reason to believe that Mitchell has been proven right so far. The Cavaliers have been playing excellent basketball to begin the season and have managed to keep pace with the Boston Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Oklahoma City Thunder may not miss Chet Holmgren
When Chet Holmgren suffered an injury that will keep him out a few months, there was a belief that the Oklahoma City Thunder were going to take a bit of a step back in the Western Conference. At least through the first nine games played without Holmgren, that hasn't been the case just yet.
In nine games with Holmgren out of the lineup, the Thunder haven't missed much of a beat. They're 8-1 in those games and have the same look of a contender even with Holmgren. I'm sure there will be a point where the Thunder, at the very least, need his depth. However, at least for now, the Thunder have done a good job of surviving without him.