NSL- Week One Top Five countdown

It�s back, the NSL is back in full swing and we finally have games to talk about and stats break down. All the anticipation from the offseason is over and we have some incredible individual performances and stunning storylines to break down after our first week of games. Here�s our countdown, from 5 to 1, of the biggest surprises and newsworthy stories from the first week of NSL action. Let�s take a look at the hot topics of the world�s greatest league, the NSL.

5. Chicago go Owen Four

Starting off the countdown with a lowlight, the Bulls had one the most remarkable off-season�s in recent memory as they put together an impeccable roster headlined by dynamic duo Anthony Davis and star scorer Bradley Beal. With both stars healthy in week one, the Bulls were expected to fly out of the gates but how did they perform in week one?

Most GMs would�ve predicted a 4-0 week for the Bulls as they came up against OKC, Brooklyn, Houston and New York, worst case scenario a split of 2-2 seems reasonable. Who would�ve thought key absences of John Wall, Hassan Whiteside and Eric Gordon would cause such a ripple effect sending the Bulls into an 0-4 shock start. GM Merencio will be working hard to unlock the Beal-Davis potential in week two as they see more playing time together and await the return of reinforcements John Wall and Whiteside who remain out for at least another week. A positive start to week two will be of the utmost importance for the confidence of this franchise as GM Merencio will shuffle the positions and playbook for the big week coming.

 

4. New York, New York  Brooklyn!

The Mecca of Basketball is Madison Square Garden but there�s a party going on across town in Barclays Center too. That�s right, everyone in the New York area are popping the Champaign because between the two teams there is not a single loss! NOT ONE. New York are 4-0, Brooklyn are 4-0. The cross-town rivals are set to meet in week 3, meaning we need the win streaks to last one more week in order to give the league what they want to see, BATTLE OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE. But let�s not get too far ahead of ourselves, what�s been happening in these two stunning franchises in week 1?

In Brooklyn it�s all about the guard-play (which we will look at later), as they carve through the defences with aggressive inside-outside play from Jamal Murray and D�Angelo Russell. The Murray-Russell duo averaged over 62 points per game as they�ve downed quality opposition including Orlando, Miami, Chicago and Utah in the first week.

New York Knicks? More like New York Quicks. They like the game to be over quickly, large deficits early in the game is what they�re all about. The Knicks have played beautiful basketball in week 1, relying on multiple options to get past Minnesota, Cleveland, Chicago and Indiana. Fox, Ingram and Vucevic have all featured on the top scorers list this week and they look like a team with a number of ways to win. Rival GM�s have uttered sentences such as �Vucevic is the best big in the game,� and �Everyone deserves a Vuc,� while GM Smokey continues to play it coy and downplay their success, �we are not good.�

One thing is for sure, it�s sunny and carefree in New York after week 1.

3. Steph Curry is good at basketball

Why do people always forget that Steph Curry is good at basketball?! He�s not good, he�s amazing and perhaps the best in the game.

Denver were the toast of the NSL early in the offseason after bringing the one-man-team to town in a blockbuster deal which gave Denver a core consisting of the SPLASH brothers, Porter Jr and DPOY candidate Myles Turner. Then the toasting turned to drowning sorrows as Klay went down with a heart crushing injury during training camp. Now the sorrows are toasts again as Curry has been UNSTOPPABLE to begin the year.

Through week 1 he averaged 38 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 6 threes per contest as Denver went 3-1 in the opening round. HOLY SMOKES. Their outside play looked as good as any team we�ve seen in the first two years of action as Curry regularly shot above 60% from outside, while inviting big men Myles Turner and Michael Porter Jr to the party when opposition teams threw a double at Steph.

So here we are in week one already throwing the annual �Steph Curry is good at basketball� rally. Welcome to the show.


2. The Top 10 list dominated by Power Forwards?

After the first week of play the list of top 10 players in the MVP race was dominated by the Power Forward position. Three of the top four players played the PF all week- Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and star point guard/ shooting guard/ small forward turned apparent big Luka Doncic (masterstroke?). Amongst names rounding out the 10 and playing the Power Forward position were Nikola Vucevic and Karl Anthony-Towns and Bam Adebayo sitting just outside the 10. The dominance of the top 10 has this writer wondering, IS THE PF THE MOST IMPORTANT POSITION IN THE GAME?

Without disrespecting Giannis, Durant, Vucevic and Towns who all had incredible weeks and will surely continue to draw praise throughout the season, let�s have a look at the stroke of genius by GM Craig to play Luka Doncic at the PF.

Luka�s numbers have him perched as the leader of the MVP race with a PER rating of +45.43 on a young and undefeated team. Throughout week one Luka averaged 38 points, 6.6 assists, 2.4 steals (on a team that hustled that stat), 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 threes per. He shot over 60% from the field and 100% from the line, wasting no opportunities to score with efficiency.

The stroke of genius here was putting Luka on the arc against bigger players and letting him use his ball handling wizardry to get by anyone in front of him. He was a headache in every match up and, to put things into perspective, his WORST performance came in a blowout win where he played only 23 mins against OKC� He scored 36, had 5 assists and 4 steals. Unbelievable. Opposing GMs better have a strategy when it comes to facing PF Luka and the Charlotte Hornets.

 

1.D�Angelo Russell makes the leap and small ball runs the league!

We�ve already talked about Brooklyn and their wonderful start to the season. GM Breece deserves a pat on the back for getting his boys focused and firing from the outset and he�s clearly been crunching the numbers and running sims in his school holiday break. Well done. The real talking point on this Brooklyn roster is the emergence of D�Angelo Russell as an off-ball scorer playing the Shooting Guard position.

Russell is the highest ranked Shooting Guard in the league and sitting 5^th in the MVP race after the first week. His PER rating across the first 4 games was a staggering +38 and his numbers tell the story. D-Lo averaged 37.5 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 threes on 60% shooting. He only played 35 mins per contest as Brooklyn stormed to a 4-0 start using their run and gun approach. Russell�s averages would look more impressive if you looked solely at his first 3 games where he put up over 40 in each contest.

The emergence of Russell as a week one MVP candidate, as well as the dominance from Steph Curry and smaller guards has the league wondering if �SMALL BALL� IS THE WAY OF THE FUTURE IN THE NSL? Even smallball critics like GM Klemm have been seen in the Discord thread shopping assets such as Harrison Barnes (thought he was on the Spurs?) to find the next offensive-minded pocket rocket.

As the numbers continue to play out we will see if D�Angelo is an MVP calibre player and we will see if the small ball approach can be a successful one in the NSL.