The NBA season is only two weeks old, but there are lots of storylines worth telling already. This time we will focus on the Eastern Conference, as most teams on that Conference have been better than expected – with the exception of maybe the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls.
Here are three teams that have been quite surprising after the first two weeks of the season.
Orlando Magic
Who would have predicted the Orlando Magic would be near the top of the Eastern Conference roughly two weeks into the season? Yes, exactly. No one saw this coming, yet here they are. Frank Vogel has assembled a competitive team on both ends of the court, and the Magic currently have one of the highest winning percentages in the East thanks to a 6-2 record. And they have accomplished that thanks to a high-tempo, high-effort system that allows Orlando to run their opponents out of the building.
Of course, none of this would be possible without a few highlighted performers on offense. And honestly, Orlando has quite a few names to choose from. Aaron Gordon is having the best season of his career as he is averaging 20.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while displaying his usually-insane athleticism near the rim. Evan Fournier averages 22 points per game, and Nikola Vucevic offers 19 points, 8.3 boards and 2.9 assists per contest. As if that wasn’t enough, Jonathon Simmons has shined on a bench role since he averages 15.8 points per game with the second unit.
No one knows if Orlando will be able to maintain this pace during the entire season. But there’s no question they have been very, very good so far.
Cleveland Cavaliers
One could say “why the Cavaliers are listed here considering their record?”. And unfortunately, that’s the reason. The Cavaliers have not been a pleasant surprise, and have stumbled their way to a 3-5 record. That mark has them 13th in the East, above only the Chicago Bulls (1-5) and the Atlanta Hawks (1-7). Is it time to panic in Cleveland, or not yet?
There’s something wrong with the Cavs, but no one seems to know what it is. Derrick Rose has already been hit by the injury bug. Kevin Love looks like a shell of his former self. Tristan Thompson has been so bad, that the fact that he will be out for a month should actually benefit the team. The Cavs are going to make the playoffs either way, that’s not a secret. But they need to figure things out soon. Otherwise, they’ll be at risk to get a low seed come playoff time. That’s not a scenario anyone imagined when they traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics during the offseason.
Detroit Pistons
Last but certainly not least, we have the Detroit ¨Pistons. The Pistons are what some experts could consider a middle-of-the-pack team since they only have a 5-3 record after eight games. But in Detroit’s case, it’s the little things that make their fans be optimistic regarding the franchise’s future.
Detroit reached the playoffs in the 2015-16 season. However, they could not repeat that feat last season. Nobody knew which team would see this year. And they look more like the team that reached the playoffs instead of the one that missed them.
Reggie Jackson has been playing very well, and the point guard is showing his injury-riddled season is in the rearview mirror. Andre Drummond once again looks like one the most dominant big man in the league, and he’s also making free throws since he is shooting a more-than-respectable 70 percent from the charity stripe. And Tobias Harris continues to grow as one of the most skilled, versatile forwards in the league. That’s not a Big Three by any means, but it should be enough to put Detroit back in the playoff picture. And that itself is quite an achievement considering how their season ended a few months ago.