The NBA season is still in its infancy, and most things seen now should be taken with a grain of salt.  Like last year, some records, good and bad, only two weeks into action can be misleading.  This part of the season is purely for enjoyment.  Making accurate predictions based on the limited sample size is no easy task.  Beware of buying or selling off all your stocks on a team now.

At this moment, the defending champions (Bucks) have 6-6 record and are eighth in the east.  It’s difficult for any team to establish a rhythm when key cogs are missing.  Starting center Brook Lopez has missed nine straight games since the opener because of lingering back pain.  Jrue Holiday has missed six outings due to a left ankle injury before his return Friday in the loss at home to the Knicks.   Khris Middleton was absent six consecutive nights in health and safety protocols, too.    

Eventually, the champs will get Lopez and Middleton back and most likely return to competing at a championship level.  But for now, they’re without a shot-blocker who can lure opposing bigs to the perimeter and another guy capable of scoring in all three areas in the halfcourt.  It would be unwise to forget about this group amid the surge of the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and the early surprises of the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers.  All of that may not last forever.  

The Atlanta Hawks are another squad whose record may not paint an accurate representation of the team.  Sitting on a 4-8 record, the Hawks’ have not had as much success as last season getting to the free-throw line.  They were fourth in attempts in 2021, but this year are 21st in the league in that category.  

Much of this has to do with Trae Young not adjusting yet to the new rule changes implemented by the NBA.  Young can no longer deceive the refs by hooking a defender’s arm with his off-hand or abruptly stopping when an opponent is on his trail, causing contact.  

Luckily for Young, he doesn’t need cheap tricks to get to the line.  His speed, long-range ability, and tight handle allow him to roam anywhere on the court offensively, and defenders usually bite when they sense he is loading up for a jumper.  

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To earn more contact, #11 might need to take a higher volume of his shots closer to the rim instead of looking for jump shot fouls.  Through 10 games, he is attempting 18.5% of attempts within 3-10 feet of the hoop.  It’s a slight increase from last season’s mark of 16.2%, but then he had more liberties away from the basket with his defender. 

The dip in free-throws attempts is impacting Atlanta’s defense as well.  Usually, after the final free throw, the team retreating has a good view of where the ball is coming from, which allows an opportunity for positioning.   The lower rate of charity stripe shots also prevents Atlanta from disturbing the other team’s offensive flow.  It’s not easy to keep the same synchronicity when the opponent keeps stopping the clock. 

Concerning the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s stunning they are currently first in the east while their disgruntled All-Star Ben Simmons refuses to play.  The squad’s absent playmaker is a defensive stalwart, yet to this point, the group has barely missed a beat on this side of the court without his versatility.  Philadelphia is the sixth-best of 30 teams in defensive field goal percentage, and they hold opponents to only 102.6 points per game, per NBA.com. 

There’s no reason to believe the organization’s quarrel with Simmons will end soon.  The fact this headache is still a distraction makes it more impressive the team has operated so efficiently without someone who eats up $33 million of the group’s annual salary cap. 

Another factor making this a head-scratcher is that Joel Embiid has at moments played through pain in his right knee, per ESPN.  Since Ramona Shelburne’s report, the 76ers have been more conservative with their big-man’s health.   

Conventional wisdom screams the 76ers stellar start to the season is unsustainable, but as of now, in regards to Philadelphia, all I’m left with is an 8-4 record. Strange things happen early in a season.

 As Jim Morrison of The Doors once sang, “Take it as it comes.”

The cavalier attitude the 76ers are showing towards Joel Embiid’s health is a sign of their cracked morales.  Concerns about his long-term durability have evaporated while Ben Simmons is absent with “personal” reasons, and the team attempts its best effort at a respectable record.

Desperation must be high for Philadelphia, or else no one would dare risk the health of a player whose body betrays him at least once a year. In fairness, Philly drew a terrible hand with the schedule because they have to play 10 postseason teams in their first month’s 17 games.  Sitting on a 4-2 record, the 76ers have gambled on five of those nights with Embiid’s knee.

Following a win in the season opener at New Orleans, Embiid could not walk for two days, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.  Enough said.  He shouldn’t be cleared for competition until the pain in his knee is gone.  Willingly sending him out to play is greasy and likely hazardous to the injured area.  Keep in mind that Embiid suffered a lateral tear in his right meniscus during the 2021 playoffs, which he unwisely played through and opted out of surgery in the offseason. 

It’s early in the 76ers campaign, but Phillies star big-man’s numbers are down across the board, and I don’t think the Monstars have anything to do with it.  More probable, it’s connected to the mindless decision to suit him up and the team’s lack of a QB present. Embiid reportedly feels the need to compete because Simmons is M.I.A., and he thinks this is what leadership is.  

Embiid is a victim of Philly’s gross incompetence at protecting its players and their inability to build a winner.  The 76ers once sat #21 for two seasons while he recovered from recurring foot injuries before making his pro debut.  For multiple years, Embiid didn’t play back-to-backs either. Yet now, they’ve suckered their All-Star center into competing when it’s not in the best interest of his future, despite how handsomely he is paid.  

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It wouldn’t have been necessary to manipulate Embiid if Philadelphia had pulled the trigger in a trade, giving up Simmons to Indiana for Malcolm Brogdon and their first-round pick, per Jason Dumas of KRON4 News.  Brogdon is one of 13 players in history to earn a spot on the 50-40-90 Club, and he is a solid scorer, averaging over 23 points a game.  That FRP could have come in handy down the road for the 76ers if the Pacers continue losing as they are currently 1-6 and last in the conference. 

On Oct. 8, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported Philadelphia wasn’t interested in a package including Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert.  Considering the mess the Simmons situation has morphed into, it’s hard to believe the 76ers will be offered a deal as sweet. If this proposed negotiation were executed, Philadelphia’s defense would probably suffer, losing Simmons’ versatility.  But they would have gained two outside scoring threats, and the days of playing 4-on-5 would have been over, and maybe #21 would feel comfortable catching a break.

The 76ers doctors should take the Hippocratic Oath seriously to prevent any harm from coming to Embiid’s knee.  The right thing to do is sit him until he’s 100%.  Even if it angers him, the team has a responsibility to protect Embiid from himself.

The ungrateful always forget what misery feels like as soon as they have the upper hand.  These foul characters complicate the job of others and make them uncomfortable because they can’t get out of their own way. Cheap fools are usually destined to repeat their blunders and in short order, are back at the bottom where they belong. 

I wish I could say it’s inconceivable that Deandre Ayton hasn’t received his max extension, but the Suns are owned by this slipperiest eel of the negotiating table, Robert Sarver. He once infamously played hardball with Joe Johnson in 2005, electing to finish the year before financially compensating an up-and-coming All-Star.  Iso Joe left that summer in a sign-and-trade to the Atlanta Hawks and had his best seasons away from Phoenix.    

He even ruffled the feathers of one of the classiest players in the league, Goran Dragic, by signing Isaiah Thomas and then extending his inferior backcourt mate, Eric Bledsoe, months after the Slovenian guard’s All-NBA season. The Dragon was clever and likely knew that in his contract year, with his role and production gashed, playing under those circumstances would cost him serious money in free agency.  Dragic then went rogue and spilled his frustrations to the media, expediting his exit in 2015.

The Suns missed the playoffs every season from 2011 until 2020 and started multiple rebuilds.  In their first attempt at miserably constructing a winner, they were fortunate 12 teams passed on Devin Booker.  In fairness, Booker wasn’t expected to be first or probably top five because he wasn’t a starter at Kentucky.  Yet, it’s more of an indictment on the “scouting” of all the other clubs if the best marksman of the draft (2015) slipped that low.  Again, in hindsight, the Suns were fortunate he was available. 

A couple of years later, Sarver hired James Jones as Vice President of Basketball Ops while extending Ryan McDonough, then general manager.  In 2018, Phoenix won the draft lottery, subsequently picking Ayton, the most coveted player in college basketball.

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Ayton performed well in his rookie campaign, averaging a double-double on one of the worst teams in the NBA.  That year he was overshadowed by the mesmerizing season Luka Doncic had for the Dallas Mavericks, as he ran away with the Rookie of the Year award.  Despite the arrival of Dallas’ generational talent, Ayton impressively displayed high proficiency in his craft.  It usually takes longer for big men to develop, but he’s been a player long before he laced them up professionally.  

Ayton’s size cannot be taught.  Meanwhile, Sarver and the Suns are treating one of their franchise cornerstones like 7-footers grow on trees.  Every other team in need of an upgrade at center would melt at the possibility of acquiring a matchup nightmare like #22.

The Phoenix Suns are playing a dangerous game letting their unhappy big-man arrive at restricted free agency in summer 2022.  The organization can hide all it wants under the premise that it was a business decision, but they risk Ayton interpreting his lack of a deal as a personal matter.  The Suns extended Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges and Landry Shamet, who was just traded to Phoenix this offseason, before paying Ayton.  Ayton’s role is arguably the most pivotal behind Booker’s.

In 2021, Phoenix won the West and came two wins shy of an NBA title.  To ensure the Suns stay in the mix for years to come, they will need to pay Ayton every dollar he is looking for past this season.

But this is Sarver, a man who in so many ways, cannot be trusted.  He is the type of guy who, as local hero Greta Rogers said at the Phoenix City Council in 2018, “He’s so tight, he squeaks when he walks.”

Roger’s called out Sarver because he had the nerve to request $150 million worth of tax-payer renovations for the Footprint Center while the team had an abysmal record the year before.

Some people’s ignorance cannot be helped.  No matter how many times they stumble at the same obstacle, fools are destined to repeat the past.