Fast Break: Amid the madness, the NBA manages to mystify
The Kyrie Irving experiment has claimed yet another victim. The Dallas Mavericks are the latest team to incur his wrath, falling from the No. 5 seed on Jan. 14 to 11th place play-in territory by late March. The Mavericks have gone 9-13 since Irving joined the team Feb. 9, going 4-8 when he and fellow star Luka Dončić shared the floor together. Many would have expected this with Irving’s (ahem) “interesting” NBA past.
However, this time it’s different. After all, this isn’t the result of Irving’s off-court antics on Instagram or finger-pointing in the locker room. Nope, this time the blame lies with his on-court performance. This shouldn’t be possible, considering the eight-time All-Star has contributed the same offensive statistics in Dallas that have made him a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame in fifteen years or so. His playstyle should have worked wonders with Dončić, who finally has a productive offensive No. 2 by his side. And yet, Dallas continues to lose. So why is this happening?
It’s actually rather simple: The NBA is broken and doesn’t make any sense.
I made sure to specify “NBA” and not just “basketball” there, since the college game is pretty stable and makes logical sense consistently. Ok, this year’s Final Four of a No. 4 seed, two No. 5 seeds and a No. 9 seed might not be the best example. But, for the most part, college basketball plays out how one would expect, with the good teams managing to perform nicely while bad teams, well, don’t.
The NBA doesn’t operate like this, though, and the Mavericks are the perfect example of this phenomenon. A roster teeming with talent, an owner willing to spend a plethora of money to win and a decently competent coach should be a combination that guarantees a playoff spot. Somehow, someway, the Mavericks defy simple logic.
This goes both ways, too. The Denver Nuggets currently control the top spot in the Western Conference, but the statistics don’t seem to agree. Their defense is league average, their offense is rather slow, being 23rd in pace, and they regularly have Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the starting lineup. That doesn’t scream “winning combination” to me.
The Nuggets are a No. 1 seed because of one man and one man only: Nikola Jokić. The Serbian center is captaining his squad to a top-two finish in the West for the fifth straight season, doing so by dominating the floor in the wackiest and least-athletic-looking way possible. He very well may end up winning his third straight MVP as well. Jokić is an enigma that, just like the Nuggets themselves, has yet to be figured out — at least in the regular season.
In even more puzzling matters, the Washington Wizards look to finish in near play-in-but-not-quite territory once again, which certainly begs the question: Why? It’s scripture across the league that long-term success is built upon a few years of futility. Be awful for a few years and you’ll likely draft some young talent that will boost you to the top of the standings relatively soon.
Look at the Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers and practically every team in contention today — they were once the jokes of the NBA not long ago. The Wizards, however, refuse to tank, which you think would garner some respect from me. It doesn’t. Normally, I’d commend this form of spitting in the face of common opinion. If you must resort to ignorance to prove a point like Washington has, however, then you’ve lost my support.
In their defense, I shouldn’t just point a finger at the Wizards. The Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers deserve some derision for their general refusal to fall into a top-three draft pick. Yet, Washington is the monarch of mediocrity and has been in that position for far too long.
As a Wizards fan, I have been begging this organization to blow the roster up ever since they traded John Wall. But, as long as they consistently roll out a lineup of Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis, Washington will never get that sweet, sweet No. 1 draft pick. Most fans, including myself, would even settle for the No. 2 if necessary.
Speaking of those first two selections, they may be more valuable than ever, as Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson make a generational 1-2 punch atop this year’s draft leaderboard. The French-born Wembanyama is a Tyrannosaurus Rex, who, barring injury, will dominate the league for the next two decades.
We’ve never quite seen a player like Wembanyama, whose combination of elite guard-like dribble moves and shooting combined with absurd rim protection is the archetype for the future of the NBA. Oh yeah, and he’s 7 feet 4 inches. He’s the best prospect since LeBron James 20 years ago, and he definitely deserves that title.
Henderson is nothing to scoff at either. The former five-star recruit played 19 games for the G-League Ignite before being shut down Mar. 14. But, in that short period of time, he managed to shoot up every draft board across the country. Henderson is an athletic specimen who can completely take over games with his explosiveness while also exhibiting an extremely high game IQ for a 19-year-old point guard.
I’d say he reminds me a bit of Derrick Rose, but probably more like Russell Westbrook because: A) he has a more similar play style and B) they both look absolutely enraged whenever they step on the floor. Henderson would likely be the top choice in the majority of drafts, but Wembanyama had to go and mess it up for him. How dare he.
The Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs have completely embraced the tank and all stand a 14% chance at seizing the top selection. Whoever gets second probably won’t be too upset either. All I know is, Washington likely won’t be inserting Wembanyama or Henderson into their lineups next year. And with that, I’ll be looking ahead to 2024, with my hopes as low as ever.
In my next column, hopefully these questions will have been answered. Will the Mavericks manage to get hot and soar into postseason contention? Maybe. Did I write this entire column to call out the Wizards? Also maybe. Nevertheless, the regular season will be over, and I’ll get into my sure-to-busted playoff predictions.
Dominic Varela is a sophomore writing about all things NBA as the playoffs draw ever closer. His column “Fast Break” runs every other Thursday.