As we pull into the NBA season’s official rest stop, plenty has surprised us.
Klay Thompson had an audacious return to the Warriors. Damian Lillard has been out for a month and a half, yet he’s done more on the court this season than Zion Williamson, who still hasn’t played. We’ve had enough reporting around vaccinations in Brooklyn for a lifetime, and just this past week, James Harden was shipped from the Nets to Philadelphia to become a Sixer.
With All-Star weekend upon us, we’ve broken out the NBA teams and happenings that have caught us off guard most, along with the things that haven’t veered much from the script at all to this point.
What we all should have seen coming, in a good way: Phoenix, Joel Embiid
By any measure, the Suns have been the NBA’s most consistent club for well over a year at this point.
They might have flown under the radar for much of last season despite having two All-Stars. But after coming within two victories of winning it all—then largely running it back roster-wise—there wasn’t much reason to suspect the Suns wouldn't be back in the conversation this season.
After watching the Lakers— !—be tabbed the West favorites by some, the Suns watched the rejuvenated Warriors get more shine to begin the campaign. And then when Phoenix got the media glare, it was because of allegations of racism and misogyny involving owner Robert Sarver, which came to light in a lengthy ESPN report.
But then the Suns went on a blistering tear, taking 18 games in a row between late October and early December. And the group is on fire again, having won 18 of its last 19, with the lone defeat over that span coming two weeks ago in Atlanta. The Suns have quietly opened a 6 1/2–game edge on the second-place Warriors in the standings.
Deandre Ayton, who entered the season as something of a potential question mark from a drama standpoint after not getting the max rookie extension he wanted, has been solid. And even when he hasn’t been able to play, the club’s found success with just about every center it’s used this campaign. The All-Star guards can still get to their spots whenever they want to. Phoenix is great on both ends and beats teams with a workmanlike, Spurs-ian style on a nightly basis.
On the topic of things that happen on a nightly basis: Joel Embiid is flat-out awesome.
He was a preseason MVP pick for some of us who figured he’d be asked to do more than ever in light of not having Ben Simmons, who chose to hold out while demanding a trade (one that’s finally happened, thank God).
While a title is the most obvious goal, like always, Embiid’s solid campaign for MVP is one of the other things at stake now that James Harden is a Sixer. The dynamic between him and Embiid—which so far has involved Harden unsuccessfully trying to teach Embiid how to mimic his patented moonwalk of a stepback—could potentially hinder some of the big man’s statistics. Harden has long been one of the league’s best passers, but he also thrives on a healthy amount of isolation play himself, as does Embiid from the post.
Yet Embiid may relish the occasional breathers: both because he’s been everything to Philly and because it potentially raises the Sixers’ ceiling if Harden can get healthy and play with more gusto now that he’s in the situation he asked for.