Houston Rockets
Observation: It may take some time, but this young Rockets team has a lot of potential
Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba, and Josh Christopher were the four first-round draft picks of the Houston Rockets this year and while all four possess a ton of potential for the future success of this organization, the Rockets are going to be a work in progress all year long.
There will be nights like they had during their season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves and then there will be nights when they are on the winning side of things, but overall, expectations should not be too high for this team.
Aside from player development, the challenge for Houston this season is going to be finding ways to add talent assets for the future success of this organization. John Wall, Eric Gordon, and Danuel House Jr. are just three of the veteran players who could be moved at some point during the season, but nonetheless, all the attention will be on the young players a part of this roster.
Jalen Green is still a Rookie of the Year candidate, Kevin Porter Jr. is going to continue to get better and Christian Wood could cement himself as a top big man in the league this year, so there is a lot to look forward to player-wise for Houston fans this season, but winning is something that may not come too often for this team.
Indiana Pacers
Observation: Chris Duarte is a REAL Rookie of the Year Candidate
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green are the two rookies everyone is classifying as the two potential Rookie of the Year candidates, but Chris Duarte has entered this conversation in a big way. Getting the start in his first-ever NBA game due to injuries on the Pacers’ roster, Duarte was huge for the Pacers, scoring 27 points on 6-9 three-point shooting!
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Many were surprised to see Chris Duarte fall to 13th overall in the laps of the Indiana Pacers during the NBA Draft this year and while he is an older rookie, there are a lot of similarities with him to that of Malcolm Brogdon when he came out of Virginia in 2016. Brogdon entered the league as an older rookie that not many teams were willing to take a chance on and he went on to win Rookie of the Year.
Now on the same team as Brogdon and even having some shades of Klay Thompson in his game, this is just the beginning for Chris Duarte’s growth as a starting shooting guard in this league. Injuries are going to play a big role in how the Indiana Pacers’ season potentially plays out, but they struck gold with this kid!
This loss to Charlotte was definitely one the Pacers would want back, as they led by 21 points at one point in the second half, but the emergence of Duarte was definitely a major bright spot for them.
Los Angeles Clippers
Observation: Terance Mann will be the difference-maker for the Clippers this season
Not having Kawhi Leonard for at least the first five months of the 2021-22 season is definitely going to have a negative effect on the Clippers as a whole because he is a Top-10 player in the league when healthy, but they do have the depth to be able to continue being a contender without him.
It is going to be interesting to see how they stack up against the likes of the Lakers, Warriors, Suns, Jazz, and Nuggets in the Western Conference, but one guy to keep an eye on is Terance Mann.
He broke out in a big way in the postseason for Los Angeles last season, scoring 39 points in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Jazz to send the Clippers to their first-ever Western Conference Finals and Mann had a strong performance against the Warriors on Thursday night.
In 39 minutes off the bench, Terance Mann scored 11 points, had 7 rebounds, and was, for the most part, terrific on defense all night. Ty Lue put the 25-year-old on Stephen Curry for the vast majority of the game and while Curry went off, Mann really did hold his own against the 2x MVP for the vast majority of the game.
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In total, Curry scored 35 points in the first and fourth quarters combined, only scoring a combined 10 points during the second and third quarters when Terance Mann really began to zero in on guarding the All-Star.
With Leonard out, Mann is going to get a lot of time to prove his worth to the Clippers this season, making him the ultimate x-factor for this team in terms of being a championship-worthy team once again. If he can continue to improve both on offense and defense, the Clippers will be just fine this season without their best player.
Los Angeles Lakers
Observation: They have a ton of experienced talent, but it will take time for the Lakers to be their best
LeBron James and Anthony Davis each had 30-point, 10-rebound double-doubles on Opening Night, but the Lakers and their star-studded roster fell to the Golden State Warriors. Outside of LeBron and AD, it was really hard to find consistent play for Frank Vogel and the Lakers’ coaching staff, as nobody else scored in double-figures.
In fact, Avery Bradley and DeAndre Jordan were the only other players besides James and Davis to shoot over 50% from the floor in the game, but Jordan was 1-1 from the floor and Bradley was 2-3 from the floor.
Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony were anti-climatic in their debuts as Lakers, but there is nothing to be worried about for Los Angeles.
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They are going to lose some games this year and they were without some key contributors in Wayne Ellington, Kendrick Nunn, Trevor Ariza, and Talen Horton-Tucker, all of which are outright now with injuries. This Lakers team was built for the playoffs and with three All-Stars in LeBron, AD and Westbrook, they are going to be just fine.
Memphis Grizzlies
Observation: Ja Morant is going to be an All-Star this season
Ja Morant is the best player on the Memphis Grizzlies roster and he was spectacular to open the season in Memphis, scoring 37 points and also recording 6 rebounds plus 6 assists.
With one of the most explosive first steps in the league and leaping abilities better than anyone else, there really is no stopping Morant when he gets going and he may very well live up to his own words of calling himself a “Top-5 point guard” in the league, as he told HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto before the season began.
Not only was Morant spectacular in their season opener, but really nobody played bad for the Grizzlies against the Cavs. Desmond Bane and De’Anthony Melton, two guys in the starting lineup due to injuries, scored 22 and 20 points respectively and Jaren Jackson Jr. recorded one of the best +/- on the team Wednesday night, as he recorded 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
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The Grizzlies are not going anywhere but up in the Western Conference and after claiming the 8-seed via the play-in tournament last year, this team could actually wind up earning an actual spot in the playoffs as a Top-6 seed out West.
