The story of this start of the NBA season in the In-Season tournament, for the sole reason that the league wants to force it on us. However, this is not another rant about this mug mockery. It has been doneso let me introduce you to the real stories a quarter of the way through the season: The Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Magic are the hottest team in the league, with eight straight wins, and at 13-5, they are just a half-game behind Boston for the best record in the league. The T-Wolves are just a half-game away from the pole, with a 13-4 mark.
Because I can’t help but criticize this rubbish of a season, let me point out that Minnesota and Orlando each went 3-1 in “group play”, and yet neither advanced . If I can suggest a reasonable tiebreaker going forward, let’s go with overall records.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
Did you know that Anthony Edwards takes 20 shots per game with shooting splits of 46/37/86? This is what a jump looks like. Edwards is averaging career highs in points, rebounds and assists, and all of those shooting percentages are career highs as well.
This led to Karl-Anthony Towns finally accepting reality as his No. 2 option, and he is currently a legitimate contender for the 50/40/90 club at 49/39/91.
The caveat is that you can’t count on Rudy Gobert to stay on the field in the playoffs, and the same goes for Towns, who commits some of the stupidest fouls every night. That said, despite having the fifth-highest foul rate in the league, the Wolves possess the best overall defense in the NBA, holding opponents to a modest 43 percent.
Minnesota also has the second-highest scoring and three-point defense in the league. They’re middle of the pack in terms of forced turnovers, but the results speak to a unit that is consistent and doesn’t need to rely on steals and blocks to get stops.
If Towns and Gobert weren’t constantly giving fans ammunition for insults, they might take the tandem a little more seriously. It’s an easy fix though. Just skip Draymond Green in the Warriors’ next matchup and hope the subsequent suspensions are over before the playoffs.
As for the Orlando Magic, they’re having so much fun that Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony recreated LeBron James and Dwyane Wade’s iconic alley-oop Wednesday night.
While I guarantee the Suggs-Anthony combo won’t have the impact or influence that Wade and James had on Florida basketball, good chemistry is always fun to watch. An injury to Markelle Fultz allowed Jamahl Mosely to discover a guard rotation naturally, with rookie Anthony Black keeping Orlando’s brand of goofy, lanky, efficient players intact.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero is making fewer shots this season than last, but is showing improved accuracy and also a propensity for playmaking. He is the Magic’s leading passer with four and a half per outing. Although he’s still learning ball security, whatever team philosophy Mosley is promoting is working.
Franz Wagner actually leads Orlando in field goal attempts and points per game. If he can improve his efficiency and hit triples to the levels we’ve seen previously, he’ll finish the year averaging well over 20 points per game. The team has a good mix of veterans and youngsters, with plenty of strengths to exploit if they choose.
There aren’t enough minutes for Jonathan Isaac, Goga Bitadze and Wendell Carter Jr. with an already crowded frontcourt, and the same goes for Fultz when it comes to the backcourt. The amount they will receive in return depends on the level of desperation of the suitors. (Currently, the only desperate team winning now is Golden State, but that could certainly change before the deadline.)
There’s a lot of irony in Minnesota and Orlando’s hot starts, so I’m going to do their fans a favor and forgo those callbacks. What I will say is that it’s crazy that we’re almost a quarter of the way through the season. Are these two exciting teams reaching their peak too soon? Maybe.
However, around 20 games is a pretty good sample size, and given the talent, the Magic and Timberwolves feel like legitimate first-round contenders in the field.