We continue the 82 Burning Questions at #59. That means we have 23 more to go! Let’s get right into it!
59. Will Curry again lead the league in 3-ptm? – Yes
Last year Curry shot 41.1% in the league, which was tied 17th in the league. However, when you look at 3 point attempts, he was 1st in the league by about 30 shots. With no all-star joining the Warriors this year, you expect Curry to shoot the same amount, if not more. If he shoots the most, he is most likely to score the most. So with a pretty good 41.1%, I believe he will lead the league in 3 point shots made.
60. Is Joel Embiid worth $148 Million? – Yes
This is pretty simple with the fact that if Joel Embiid has a season-ending injury, there is a clause in his contract stating that the contract would be voided. If Embiid plays like he has been playing when healthy, of course, he is worth this max deal. If he even has something as bad as a career-ending injury, the 76ers don’t have to pay that $148 million. Either way, the 76ers win.
61. Does Kyrie Irving have the best handles in the league? – Yes
Who else even compares to Kyrie. Kyrie shapes his game around dribbling against a defender in isolation. An argument is Stephen Curry, however, he breaks ankles with the fact that he is a deadly 3-point shooter. If he hits a defender with a pump fake, they are off balance. Therefore there is less dribbling, less skill required to get past the defender. Irving’s game is based on his ball handling skills. If wasn’t good at dribbling, he wouldn’t be close to all-star status.
62. The biggest surprise of GM survey? 2017-18 MVP
Lebron James received 50% of the voting for who will win the 17-18 season MVP. That is pretty surprising considering voters tend to never give the award to Lebron. Plus behind him is Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard. James Harden received only 7% of the votes. No one had Giannis for the MVP, and no one had Westbrook as a repeating MVP. Tell me when you look at those numbers you aren’t surprised. If that was unclear, here are the full numbers below.
Lebron – 50%
Durant – 29%
Leonard – 11%
Harden – 7%
Curry – 4%
Pretty weird when you look at that. To be honest, I thought it would look like this:
Harden – 35%
Leonard – 20%
Giannis – 20%
Westbrook – 10%
Lebron – 5%
Others – 10%
This caught me by surprise and that is why it is my answer to question #62.
63. Which 2nd-year player will take the biggest leap forward? – Jamal Murray
Jamal Murray played ok last year, but never shot that great. At the end of the season, he was .1 PPG away from 10 PPG, while he only shot 33.4% from the 3-point line. After 82 games in the NBA, I think Murray knows what to expect coming from opponents in the NBA. Guards take long times to develop, and with passing big man Millsap coming to the team he is the main shooter.(Yes, I know Millsap is injured for 3 months. At this point when I made this it was before the season started.) If you look at the lineup, Mudiay can’t shoot, Wilson Chandler is not the best, and Millsap and Jokic are superb at passing the ball. The #1 scoring option from the 3-point line is Murray, which leads to touches on the ball. With this in mind, I think he can take a huge leap forward.
64. What phrase will we hear ad nauseam this season? – Chemistry
I have to go with chemistry on this one. Here is the list of chemistry we will be looking at through this season.
Celtics – Irving, Hayward, and Horford
Cavaliers – Thomas, Rose, Wade, James, Crowder, Love, Thompson
Mavericks – Nerlens Noel w/ the whole organization
Nuggets – Millsap and Jokic
Rockets – Paul and Harden
Lakers – Lonzo Ball w/ whole organization
Bucks – Bledsoe w/ whole organization
Timberwolves – Butler, Wiggins, Towns
Pelicans – Cousins and Davis
Pelicans – Rondo w/ whole organization
Thunder – Westbrook, George, Anthony
76ers – Fultz, Simmons, Embiid
*Bold – Major to the topic, we care about this chemistry issues more than others
*Italics – New, Current NBA Issue
65. Which player is under the most pressure? – Lonzo Ball
Lonzo Ball is under pressure to perform. If he ends up being the bust, all the hype was for nothing. All you see in the NBA news is Lonzo Ball and his NBA ____. Kyrie Irving has a different kind of pressure. He has the pressure where he needs to go from great to even greater. Lonzo Ball has the chance to be anywhere from a complete bust to where he is expected, the next Magic Johnson. Pretty big expectations from a young NBA player and that is why I believe he is under the most pressure.
Thanks for reading today’s article and have an amazing rest of your day!
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