NBA Weekly: Cleveland Cavaliers remain undefeated, Booker shines for the Suns
Team of the Week
It comes as a complete surprise that the best team in the East is not Boston but the Cleveland Cavaliers, one of only two teams to finish the week unbeaten, along with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference. Not that the Cavs aren't underdogs, because after getting through one round of the playoffs and only falling to the eventual champions, you can have ambitions.
But translating those ambitions into success is something else entirely: four wins, including a thrashing of the Lakers and LeBron James, a win against the Knicks, and another over the Bucks, who were trying to get back on track - see below - but ended up losing thanks to a game-winning shot from Donovan Mitchell.
Of course, it's only the start of the season, but with the second-highest offensive rating, this highest net rating and fifth-highest defensive rating, the numbers are all pointing in the right direction. But more importantly, it's the franchise's best start to a season since the 2015-2016 campaign - the year of the title. Suffice it to say, that Cleveland are already starting to look like title contenders this season.
Underachievers of the Week
The Bucks, who we talked about last week, are in the worst shape of their lives. Not a single win last week. Admittedly, their performance in the 114-113 defeat by the Cavs was much better, but the fact remains that Milwaukee are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and need to win quickly. The team is now 19-25 since they hired Doc Rivers as head coach. Meanwhile, Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, who Rivers replaced on the Bucks, is currently 5-1 with his new squad.
But another team is already losing momentum. The Los Angeles Clippers' win in Denver had raised the prospect of a good season, even without knowing when Kawhi Leonard would return (and if he would). But since then, the Clippers have lost three in a row, including an embarrassing loss to the Blazers. There's no need to panic, but nothing exciting was on show last week.
Player of the Week
The Suns got their season off to a flying start, and while Kevin Durant was starting strong, Devin Booker's awakening had a lot to do with it. The All-Star dominated the two meetings between the two LA teams last week, putting up 40 points against the Clippers - a much-needed warm-up and a fine week averaging 33.6 points.
Above all, Booker is already at 40% behind the arc, with more than eight attempts per game. But he is present in all areas of the game and has never been afraid to take important shots. Phoenix are under a lot of pressure this season from media wondering if they're real contenders or not, and, so far, they are making sure the league is put on notice.
Play of the Week
There's nothing like a good old poster, and Christian Braun's poster is well worth a look. As is so often the case, Rudy Gobert is on the wrong side of the photo, but that's probably because he has the courage to stand up and attempt a block. It's a miss this time, but it makes for some thrilling action. Fans questioned how Gobert wasn't tossed from the game for grabbing Braun by the neck and tossing him to the side, sparking many debates as to why Gobert developed such a negative reputation among players and fans alike.
Story of the Week
Joel Embiid has yet to set foot on the court this season, but he's already making news by shoving a journalist who had written a slam piece that involved Embiid's late brother. But it's better to talk about a legend this week. Vince Carter has finally had his Toronto Raptors jersey retired, and deservedly so.
Founded in 1995, the Raptors had never before removed a jersey from the ceiling of Scotiabank Arena. So they had to start with the one that really put the franchise on the map. Damon Stoudamire and Marcus Camby may have been the team's first big names at its inception, but it was Air Canada who was their first star.
And before possibly paying tribute to Chris Bosh or some of the architects of the 2019 title, this first retired jersey had to be that of an icon of the game. It was enough to bring back a few memories, including of course the Slam Dunk Contest 2000. It's always nice for someone whose career was brought to an abrupt halt in the middle of Covid without him being able to say goodbye.
