{"id":336263,"date":"2025-10-27T15:01:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T15:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/336263\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T15:01:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T15:01:38","slug":"early-season-nba-trends-are-the-thunder-on-74-win-watch-already","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/336263\/","title":{"rendered":"Early-season NBA trends: Are the Thunder on 74-win watch already?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bounce Newslette<\/b>r<\/strong>\u00a0\":basketball:\"\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Since the start of the 2021-22 season, there have been 18 games in which a player blocked eight or more shots<\/a>. Two players have multiple games like that. Brook Lopez has two. Victor Wembanyama has nine. That\u2019s right. He has half of them<\/strong>. By the way, he entered the NBA in 2023. He\u2019s also the only player to have at least 100 points and 18 blocks in the first three games of a season. Wemby\u2019s world.<\/p>\n

NBA stock report<\/p>\n

The Thunder, Spurs and 76ers (!) are thriving<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every Monday during the regular season, we detail the best and worst trends in the NBA. It can be teams or players or minutia that we\u2019re tracking throughout the league. And sometimes, it\u2019s just a ridiculous moment that caught everybody\u2019s eye. Let\u2019s dive right into the ups and downs of the league, as we look at the latest NBA Stock Report.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 Oklahoma City Thunder (3-0)<\/strong>. I mean\u2026 duh? OKC started its season with Houston, Indiana and Atlanta. It\u2019s not shocking that the Thunder are 3-0. They won 68 games and the title last season. It\u2019s a little shocking that their first two games went to double overtime, since they set the record for double-digit wins last season. Maybe they\u2019re just trying out what a close game feels like? The Thunder look pretty impressive, and they\u2019ve done this without Jalen Williams, their second-best player<\/strong>. We should already be on 74-win watch for them.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc9\u00a0 Orlando Magic\u2019s offense<\/strong>. The Magic have started 1-2 on the season, and I\u2019ve liked their offense through none of those three games. Despite acquiring Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones this summer, the Magic still have no flow or rhythm to their offense. They don\u2019t share the ball much or have much movement throughout. Less than half of their buckets have been assisted (second-worst in the NBA). Orlando\u2019s offense looks just as constipated as last season.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8\u00a0 San Antonio Spurs (3-0)<\/strong>. It hasn\u2019t been the toughest schedule with Dallas, New Orleans and Brooklyn, but the Spurs look pretty good across the board. And we have to remember two things here: 1) De\u2019Aaron Fox is still out (hamstring); and 2) you have to pile up wins any way you can in the West. Taking advantage of the easier games is a sign of a team making a move forward. Oh, yeah, and Wemby is averaging 33.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 6.0 blocks through the first three games<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc9\u00a0 Boston Celtics (0-3).<\/strong> We knew this was going to be a much tougher season than anything they\u2019ve dealt with in roughly a decade, but the Celtics are winless after the first week. They are by far the worst defensive rebounding team so far, and they\u2019re likely going to stay there all season. The roster-gutting left them without big men who can rebound. If you want to watch Joe Mazzulla be upset, then check out the questions about the rebounding all season long. He was already frustrated answering that in preseason.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 Philadelphia 76ers (2-0)<\/strong>. We\u2019re talking baby steps here, and there is a bit of drama with Joel Embiid being frustrated with the minutes restriction. However, the 76ers being 2-0 after their first two games is significant when compared to last season. Paul George hasn\u2019t been in the lineup yet, and Embiid has been limited to 40 minutes total in those first two games. But the backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe has been crushing opponents.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc9 Houston Rockets (0-2)<\/strong>. Nothing too alarming for the Rockets, but it is a disappointing start to the season. They had a few chances to ruin the Thunder\u2019s ring night before losing in double overtime. Then they were abysmal on offense against the Detroit Pistons in their home debut. Things haven\u2019t been seamless with Kevin Durant in tow to start the season, and aside from Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn making plays, sharing the ball has been rough.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcc8 Viral moments<\/strong>. On Friday night, the Celtics were in New York to take on the Knicks. The Knicks won, but a viral moment got much more attention. Jaylen Brown\u2019s spray-on hairline rubbed off onto OG Anunoby\u2019s white jersey.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Last 24<\/p>\n

NBA hasn\u2019t helped players in gambling climate<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f Not enough. <\/strong>The aforementioned Brown spoke out about the NBA\u2019s gambling crisis. \u201c<\/strong>I don\u2019t think they took players into consideration<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Harsh reality. <\/strong>Did Chauncey Billups have everybody fooled? Jason Quick recaps a chilling courtroom scene<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Luka hurting. <\/strong>After a fantastic start to the season, Luka Don\u010di\u0107 is now hurt. He\u2019ll be out for a week<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

5\ufe0f\u20e31\ufe0f\u20e3 Lake Show. <\/strong>The Lakers still don\u2019t have LeBron either. ButAustin Reaves dropped a career-best 51 points against Sacramento<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcaa Freak Diesel? <\/strong>Giannis Antetokounmpo is off to a ridiculous start.He\u2019s channeling his inner Shaq<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa7 Tuning in. <\/strong>Today\u2019s \u201cNBA Daily\u201d discusses the gambling scandal and some early on-court red flags<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!<\/a>)\u00a0and catch out-of-market games on\u00a0League Pass<\/a>.<\/p>\n

BIDS scores<\/p>\n

Zion dunked on Wemby; Flagg gets first poster<\/strong><\/p>\n

One consequence of The Bounce not happening on the weekends is we can be left with a lot of big-time dunks to sort through when we get to Monday. With our Bounce Index Dunk System (BIDS)<\/a>, we have two dunks from this weekend to catch up on. We\u2019d do all of the big dunks, but we have to keep this email size down in order for your reading\/viewing experience to be maximized.<\/p>\n

Just know that the Onyeka Okongwu poster on Chet Holmgren<\/a> and Miles Bridges dunking all over the Wizards<\/a> will be judged at a later date. Let\u2019s start with Zion Williamson doing what so few people have been able to do so far. That\u2019s dunk on Victor Wembanyama, which happened on Friday night.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n