We’re Halfway There:
Unprofessional Opinions on the First Half of the NBA Season
Can you believe it dear reader? This NBA season has flown by! This whole year has flown by!
This will be my 10th entry since I’ve brought back the Wrant. I want to thank everyone who has been reading faithfully. I hope my inane ramblings have brought some sort of joy to your life. Now that Tik Tok has been banned in the USA, I know most of you will be turning to me for entertainment. I’ll do my best to fill the void. There won’t be any viral challenges or synchronized dances, but I will encourage you to listen to Fleetwood Mac, so at least that will remain the same.
Now, without further ado, it’s time for my:
Totally Unprofessional Review
4 observations of the first half of the 2024-25 NBA Season.
Cloudy Skies
The biggest surprise of this year, at least to me, has been the awful play of the Phoenix Suns. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker helped lead the USA to a gold medal in the Olympics in France over the summer, but it seems that success has not carried over to Phoenix. Durant and Booker are averaging 27 and 25 points respectively, and Bradley Beal, despite having one of the worst contracts in the league, is adding 17 points. The Suns currently sit at 11th place in the West with a record of 21-20. While they are a great offensive team, the Suns struggle on defense. They score 113 points per game as a team, but their opponents are scoring 114 points, good for 20th place in the NBA. The Suns are very close to a rebuild, which is good for Houston, Washington and Brooklyn - these three teams own the Suns first round picks until 2030, taking away the Sun's ability to rebuild. Having to go into a rebuild without having control of your own first round picks is extremely hard and I predict that the Suns will be major players in this year's trade season. Unless they can get some help, the Sun may be permanently setting in Phoenix for the foreseeable future.
Can’t Handle the Heat
Death, taxes, and Jimmy Butler being disgruntled - the three inevitabilities of life. I’ll admit, I loved his antics at first. The story of him taking the third string in Minnesota and beating the starters while yelling “Y’all need me!” is in the annals of NBA offseason legend history, along with the Clippers holding DeAndre Jordan hostage and the LeBron James Banana Boat Team. Jimmy has led the Heat to the NBA Finals twice, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 Bubble Championship and again losing in 2023 to the Denver Nuggets. He is undoubtedly one of the best players in the Association. However, at this point, Jimmy Butler is just becoming tiresome. I think Jimmy is a fantastic player, I wanted him to come to Houston and play with James Harden, but his me first attitude has become old. Stories that he butted heads with Philadelphia coach Brett Brown surfaced after he left Philly in free agency and it seems that the pattern is continuing in Miami. He has told reporters that he finds no joy in playing basketball in Miami anymore and his body language on the court is completely dreadful. He wants to be traded, but if I’m Heat President and NBA Godfather Pat Riley, I would call Jimmy’s bluff and not trade him - make him put his money where his mouth is - you play your contract or you don’t get paid. It’s time to grow up Jimmy.
The Hawks take Flight
I love Trae Young. The Atlanta Hawks were 7-12 going into December. Santa came to the Hawks early, however, and they started the Holiday Season with a 6 game winning streak. They are currently 22-19, are 6th place in the East, and are in the middle of a three game winning streak. They are 4-1 against the top 2 seeds in East, Boston and Cleveland. Trae is averaging 23 points and an NBA best 11.8 assists. Jalen Johnson, De’Andre Hunter and Daeqwon Plowden are all adding 19 points a game while Clint Capela locks down the paint and catches lobs from Ice Trae. Trae’s propensity to play the heel, especially against the New York Knicks, makes him one of my absolute favorite players to watch. He loves the spotlight and he loves to rile up opposing fanbases. I’m not sure how far the Hawks will go in the playoffs, but they will be must watch TV as soon as the lights come on.
The Sound of Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an absolute machine. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is playing at an All-NBA level, and he is my pick for MVP. Averaging a league best 31.6 points, Shai is putting the league on notice: The West runs through Oklahoma City. Shai isn’t doing it alone though. Isaiah Harenstein has stepped up in the absence of Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams is averaging 20 points. Luguentz Dort has vastly improved his 3 point shooting percentage, shooting 42% this year, a huge improvement over his career average of 35% all while remaining a fantastic defensive force. The Thunder recently played the #1 Seed in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and put up a 134 - 114 win. You heard it here first, dear readers, I believe the Thunder will raise the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the year as your NBA Champions.
Walker’s Weekly Wrecommendations
Each week I’m gonna review and recommend random things - TV shows, music, or a restaurant. Whatever I feel like. This is my blog.
This week's Triple W is Fleetwood Mac’s 11th studio album “Rumors”. Hey, I told you I’d encourage you to listen to more Fleetwood Mac. Rumors was released in 1977, winning the Grammy for Album of the Year and is widely considered the band’s Magnum Opus. The albums four singles, "Go Your Own Way", "Dreams", "Don't Stop", and "You Make Loving Fun" all reached the Billboard Top 10 and songs like “The Chain” and “Gold Dust Woman” all come together to make Rumors one of the greatest albums of all time.
NEXT WEEK: Walker’s Wranting’s presents “Good Job Rockets”