15 observations from the first 2 weeks of the NBA season

A most unusual NBA season tipped off with a wildly unpredictable first two weeks. It may be too early to make any bold proclamations based on that hectic start, but there are a number of emerging trends we can monitor as the season progresses.

Same old Sixers?

It's easy to assume Philadelphia's league-best record has been fueled by the additional shooting and spacing around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, which Daryl Morey and Doc Rivers clearly prioritized in the offseason. But that assumption would be wrong.

Philly's 3-point percentage is actually down slightly from last season (though the team's rate of 3-point attempts is up), while the Sixers continue to turn the ball over with the same alarming frequency (bottom five in turnover rate) they have throughout the Simmons and Embiid era. The result has been a familiar, middle-of-the-pack (15th-ranked) offense, so what gives?

The 76ers' defense is finally living up to the hype that comes with being able to deploy Embiid, Simmons, and a ton of length, as Philly's currently the only team allowing less than one point per possession. It's worth noting, however, that the Sixers have had the benefit of playing a soft and anemic schedule.

Morey and Rivers still have things to sort out on the offensive end, and acquiring a true initiator should be top of mind if the Sixers are to reach their championship-level ceiling, but playing up to their devastating defensive capabilities is a great start.

On that topic ...

A big man for MVP?

No player has been more integral to Philly's defensive dominance than Embiid, so it should come as no surprise that the Sixers' only loss thus far came in the lone game he sat out. Embiid's been the best player on the best team through two weeks of the season, averaging 23.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, three assists, 1.7 blocks, and a steal in less than 32 minutes per game.

Yet Embiid hasn't even been the most productive center in the league.

Nikola Jokic, who usually starts slow and plays himself into shape as the season progresses, has exploded out of the gate, averaging 22.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, and a league-leading 12.8 assists on 62-44-82 shooting, with the Nuggets performing 27.8 points per 100 possessions better when their star big man's on the court.

If Denver had won more than two of its first six games, The Joker would easily be our way-too-early MVP. In any event, between hot starts for Embiid and Jokic, it's not a stretch to envision 2021 marking the first time a center wins the Maurice Podoloff Trophy since 2000 (Shaquille O'Neal).

Welcome back, Warriors

I hope no one hopped off the bandwagon two games into the season. As plenty of contenders in both conferences stumbled out of the blocks, Golden State managed a tidy 4-3 record, thanks in large part to the two remaining pillars of the team's glory years.

Steph Curry's 62-point explosion Sunday night got the headlines, but don't discount how massive Draymond Green's return has been. It's no surprise that Curry's return to form has come with Green back in the lineup.

The former Defensive Player of the Year isn't just the Warriors' emotional heartbeat; Green's the connector for much of what they do on both ends of the court. At his fully engaged best, he remains a dominant defensive player whose mere presence can make an otherwise ordinary defensive unit look special on any given possession.

On the offensive end, Green's playmaking and general basketball brilliance is just what the Warriors needed to unlock the magic of Curry. After an opening-night loss, I noted that in Klay Thompson's absence, the Green-less Warriors aren't good enough or smart enough to create space for Curry, or to make the most of the space Curry creates for them. That's not the case with Green on the court, as his screening, passing, and direction ensure Golden State gets the most out of every possession.

Though he's only played in three of seven games, Green's 17 assists are more than all but two Warriors (Curry and Brad Wanamaker), he's one of three Warriors with a positive plus-minus, and he already ranks top five leaguewide in charges drawn (three).

Don't sleep on Nets' D

The Nets have only won three of seven, Spencer Dinwiddie might be done for the season, Kevin Durant is probably out another three games beyond Tuesday due to contact tracing, and at some point, they're gonna have to cut into DeAndre Jordan's minutes. And yet, I still feel fine about picking Brooklyn to come out of the East.

Durant and Kyrie Irving look phenomenal, and even without Dinwiddie, the star duo still has a deep collection of supporting talent. Furthermore, despite the one-way roster construction and ugly defensive numbers on the surface, Brooklyn's defense has actually held up fine.

Entering Tuesday (before Durant's quarantine-related absence began), the Nets ranked a stunning second in opponents' effective field-goal percentage. Brooklyn's less defensively capable perimeter players have mostly done a good job of running opponents off the 3-point line (seventh in opponents' 3-point attempt rate) and into the orbit of Durant, Jarrett Allen, and Jordan, where the Nets' bigs have limited opposing teams to a bottom-eight mark in finishing within 3 feet of the rim.

The Nets' only major defensive issue at this point is that they've proven incapable of closing possessions with a rebound, ranking dead last in defensive rebound rate. Still, if Brooklyn continues to keep it simple on defense, and Durant and Irving continue to do their thing at the other end, this team can definitely live up to the hype come playoff time.

Regular P is pretty damn good

Don't let the comedic tragedy of Playoff P distract you from the fact that Regular Season P is an elite shooter, or from the fact that a healthy Paul George is still one of the game's top two-way stars.

Finally looking fully healed after his recovery from double shoulder surgery slowed him last season, George is averaging 25.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.7 steals on 51-49-93 shooting. Though Kawhi Leonard remains the Clippers' true alpha and the team's most important player, George has unquestionably been the team's best player through the first two weeks, pacing the Clippers to the top of the West.

Suns can defend, and that's scary

Coming into the season, we said that if the Suns cobbled together a competent defense to complement what should be an elite offense, they could emerge as not just a Western Conference playoff team, but a legitimate contender. Going by the first two weeks, we're looking at a contender.

Between Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, and plenty of shooting, the offense will come. It's the defense that Suns fans should be thrilled about right now. With Ayton continuing to progress as a backline anchor, Mikal Bridges emerging as an early Most Improved Player candidate, Paul handling things on the perimeter, Jae Crowder in the fold, and a sturdy defensive unit on the bench, Phoenix has been menacing. Even Booker (with some guidance from Ayton) is getting in on the action!

It's not just that the Suns sit third in defensive rating. It's that the defensive process and personnel look capable of matching up with any team, led by any star, playing any style.

DeMar DeRozan's an offensive wonder

It's true that DeRozan gives much of it back on the defensive end, and that his throwback, inside-the-arc game makes it trickier to construct a roster around him. But it's also a basketball crime to not fully appreciate the level of offensive mastery he's achieved.

He's a smooth pick-and-roll operator who's now among the league's most capable playmakers. He can play up-tempo in the Spurs' more workable, smaller lineups, but he's also comfortable slowing the game to a crawl if need be. His footwork in the post is impeccable. He has a plethora of moves and counters to get around just about any defender. He's virtually unstoppable getting to his spots and getting his shots off once there. He parades to the free-throw line. He's even made seven of his 15 3-point attempts through six games this season after canning just 16 of 80 total attempts in his first 145 games as a Spur.

Even if that shooting proves unsustainable (it almost certainly will), DeRozan's become an insanely efficient high-volume scorer with or without 3-point range. In 74 games over the last two seasons, DeRozan's averaging 22.1 points and 5.7 assists on 60.3% true shooting.

Toronto's offense is a disaster

The Raptors aren't defending anywhere near the level they're capable of, their depth looks suspect, Nick Nurse's rotations have been puzzling, and a team that used to close out games in its sleep now consistently wets itself in crunch time.

Much of that last point - and the team's disastrous 1-5 start - can be tied to Toronto's offensive anemia.

With Pascal Siakam yet to rediscover the handle, the finishing ability, or the relentlessness that made him a breakout star on the offensive end, the Raptors don't have enough individual shot creation to survive. As undersized guards, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet can only do so much. OG Anunoby's ball-handling still comes and goes. Norman Powell's decision-making with the ball in his hands limits his impact. If Siakam can't consistently create his own offense, the Raptors will need to reach their defensive ceiling just to avoid the East play-in.

There's a reason the Raptors rank 28th in offensive efficiency, only score 0.84 points on possessions that end in isolation, and launch a league-leading 49.9% percent of their field-goal attempts from behind the arc. It's because they can't create or score efficiently enough inside the arc, and it doesn't help that starting center Aron Baynes can't catch the ball or even lay it up right now.

You can see how this team goes through minutes-long stretches without scoring every night, and why a team that went 48-4 when building a double-digit lead last season is already 1-5 in those games this season.

Pelicans need to demand more of Zion

I was going to write about Brandon Ingram making another leap as a go-to NBA star, or how the Pelicans need to keep JJ Redick on the court in lieu of one of their less capable shooters so that Ingram and Zion Williamson receive the spacing they require. But Williamson's defensive indifference is simply too glaring to ignore.

Zion's 20 years old, but youth can only excuse defensive execution, not defensive effort. And this embarrassing effort right here is all too common from New Orleans' franchise player:

Wolves are in trouble ... again

Minnesota profiled as a defensive disaster even with Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup, but with a transcendent offensive force leading a team overflowing with offensive talent, the young Timberwolves at least had the potential to be a fun kind of competitive. So much for that.

Minnesota predictably owns the league's worst defense and has lost four straight games (without Towns) by an average margin of 23.8 points. Towns is week-to-week with a dislocated wrist. D'Angelo Russell is just hoping the Wolves lose ... better? Let's face it: This team is hopeless, as it has been for much of Towns' tenure. Though he shoulders some of that blame and is under contract through 2024, would anyone be shocked if Towns is linked to reported trade demands before the end of the year?

Wood making Pistons look foolish

This was painfully easy to predict for Pistons fans, or for anyone who paid attention to Christian Wood and the Pistons last season.

After Wood finally found his footing as an NBA big man in Detroit, the Pistons allowed one of their few worthwhile young talents to walk as a free agent for less than $14 million per year. Scratch that: To avoid having Wood walk for nothing, Detroit attached a couple draft picks to him in a sign-and-trade with Houston that netted the Pistons Isaiah Stewart, Trevor Ariza, and a 2027 second-rounder. Making matters worse, the Pistons then spent their offseason loading up on big men nowhere near as promising as Wood (depending how high you are on Jerami Grant).

Two weeks into the season, Detroit owns the league's worst record, while Wood is averaging 23.6 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks on 55% shooting. As I've noted countless times, there's a reason perpetually bad teams remain bad.

Free The Beard

It would be nice to see what the Rockets look like with Wood and John Wall getting the chance to log consistent playing time with James Harden, as the trio's played only two games together. It's unlikely, however, that anything could convince Harden to stay in Houston at this point.

But don't let Harden's reckless, maskless behavior fool you into thinking he's not worth the trouble.

Though he went about it in a foolish way, the former MVP is likely just trying to create leverage through chaos. After all, with nearly two full seasons and a massive player option still left on his contract, Harden doesn't have the leverage most disgruntled superstars do (when they demand trades in contract years). And despite being barely engaged on the court, he's still averaging 33 points and 10.8 assists on 67.2% true shooting.

The guy remains an elite offense unto himself, capable of rolling out of bed with 30 and 10. So long as NBA executives remain in the business of winning basketball games, one of them will meet Houston's hefty demands for Harden sooner rather than later.

Are Pacers for real?

Keep an eye on Indiana.

The Pacers aren't very deep, and they're already down T.J. Warren for an indefinite period, but Victor Oladipo looks a lot more like his spry self, Malcolm Brogdon has been phenomenal to start the season, Domantas Sabonis has been one of the league's best big men, and Myles Turner might be pushing Embiid for early Defensive Player of the Year front-runner.

Not to mention, new head coach Nate Bjorkgren modernized the team's shot profile, found a healthy offensive balance among Indiana's top players, and has the Sabonis-Turner pairing finally looking like a workable frontcourt.

Squabble about their postseason ceiling all you want. If the 5-2 Pacers keep piling up early victories while other East contenders trip over themselves, at least one of those East contenders will wind up in the play-in while Indiana prepares for a real playoff series.

SexLand

J.B. Bickerstaff's decision to move Collin Sexton off the ball and have Darius Garland serve as full-time point guard has worked wonders for all involved. Sexton's emerging as one of the league's most prolific and efficient scorers to start the season (after a strong finish to last season), Garland's playing the best ball of his young career, and the Cavaliers look surprisingly competitive.

Cleveland's making real early progress on the defensive end, however, where it's a physical, taxing team to play against, thanks in large part to rookie Isaac Okoro, Larry Nance, and Andre Drummond behind the duo of Sexton and Garland.

The Cavs won't boast a top-two defense all season - probably nowhere near that. Sexton and Garland will come back to earth, at least a little bit. Cleveland likely finishes between 10th and 12th in the East. But this franchise badly needed a reason for optimism, and the team has inspired some early on.

Worst case, Cavs fans can enjoy one of the best duo nicknames of all time.

It's almost enough to make you forget Kevin Love is hurt again.

More blowouts, more parity?

You're not hallucinating or suffering from lockdown fever. The NBA really has been chaotic to start the season, with an unprecedented number of blowouts and a stunning amount of upsets. Things should slowly normalize as the season progresses, but don't expect business as usual in circumstances that are the furthest thing from the usual.

The NBA's coming out of an offseason where some teams went nine months without games and others went 10 weeks. The season itself is both shortened and compressed. There is less practice and recovery time, but teams still need to find rest days for big-minute stars. The continued rise in 3-point reliance makes seismic in-game swings more likely. Few, if any, fans are in the seats. All of this lends itself to more random results in a shorter season where there's less room for error, or at least less time to make up for errors.

In addition, the mini-series in which two teams play each other twice in two or three nights are a recipe for more regular-season parity and more compact standings; it's generally tougher to beat the same team back-to-back than it is to beat an inferior team three or four times spread out over the course of a season.

With the value of home-court advantage shrinking, will the league's top contenders continue to put a similar premium on securing top seeds, or will they be content to avoid the play-in and enter the playoffs healthy in top-six spots?

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's senior NBA writer.