An NBA Thanksgiving: 7 things to be thankful for after 1 month

With the NBA breaking for Thanksgiving, here are seven blessings that teams, players, and fans should be thankful for a month into the season.

A threat to the throne

NBA fans should be thankful for the Los Angeles Clippers putting Cavaliers-Warriors lll in jeopardy. Sure, we'd love to see another Finals rematch, but some drama along the way would be nice. And yes, the Clippers always seem to implode come playoff time, but for now, it looks like they've conjured up a formula for success that could carry them all the way to June. - Chris Walder

PorzinGod

Phil Jackson should be thankful that Sam Hinkie passed up New York's franchise savior in Kristaps Porzingis (Philly selected Jahlil Okafor No. 3 in the 2015 draft, one spot before Porzingis).

Where would the Knicks be without that bit of fortune? Would Jackson still have his job? Outside of drafting the Latvian big man, Jackson's reign has been marred by failure after failure. - William Lou

Philly faith

The Philadelphia 76ers should be thankful they have a win to their name - let alone four. Remember, the Sixers lost 44 consecutive October/November games over parts of the last four seasons, with this year marking the first since 2013 that Philly earned a pre-December win.

Have you seen Joel Embiid's dream shake? Not since Rocky Balboa challenged Apollo Creed at The Spectrum in 1976 has a Philly Thanksgiving been filled with this much hope. - Joseph Casciaro

Labor peace

NBA fans - and anyone who makes a living off the league - should be thankful the labor issue appears to be resolving itself. With the league and the NBPA nearing a new collective bargaining agreement, the specter of a work stoppage is becoming less likely. Given the money involved, hawkish positions on both sides created fear another lockout was possible. In so many ways, the league has never been better or healthier, so why mess with it? - John Chick

All they need is Love

Cleveland should be thankful for Kevin Love. Not every team has someone who can effortlessly model Banana Republic down jackets by day and set an NBA record for points in the first quarter by night.

Love made an absurd 11-of-14 shots and eight threes in Wednesday's opening quarter, needing only one quarter to match his previous high for points with the Cavs (34) - which came, oddly enough, one year ago to the day. Maybe Kevin is finally comfortable in Cleveland, doing what he came to do. Or maybe it's that down-filled yet lightweight, irresistibly cool puffer jacket. - Steph Rogers

Half is better than nothing

The Minnesota Timberwolves should be thankful for the first half of games, as they come firing out of the gates with an average scoring advantage of 9.3 points through two quarters. Unfortunately, they've become notorious for third-quarter collapses, mustering a point differential of minus-8.3 in the frame. That's bad enough to do them in most of the time, and could lead the 4-10 Wolves to a 13th straight playoff-less season. - Victoria Nguyen

A friend for Brow

Anthony Davis should be thankful for Jrue Holiday, as the rejuvenated Pelicans have been unrecognizable since Holiday returned.

After a ghastly 2-10 start, the Pels have gone 4-0 with Holiday in the lineup, outscoring their opponents by an average of 14 points a night. Finally blessed with a dynamic pick-and-roll partner, Davis has scored at least 38 points in three of those four games, and in 63 minutes of shared court time, he and Holiday have produced a preposterous plus-31.6 net rating. For the first three weeks of the season, Davis was shipwrecked on an island; the league's loneliest superstar. Then Holiday answered his distress signal. All is not lost in New Orleans. - Joe Wolfond