NBA

The 5 Biggest Takeaways From The 2022-23 NBA Season So Far

Zach Wolpin Sports Editor

Updated27 Oct 2022

We’re still less than 10 games into the 2022-23 NBA season and there’s been a lot of intriguing storylines and news. Title-contenders have lost to teams who were not thought of highly coming into the season.

The Portland Trailblazers and New Orleans Pelicans have had favorable starts to the season and may be playing better early on than some predicted. On the flip side, the LA Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, teams with a lot of big names, have not had as much success.

Let’s take a look at the five biggest takeaways from the 2022-23 NBA season thus far.

Only four games tonight… yet we have SIX top 10 scorers in action!

🔥 Ja
🔥 Luka
🔥 KD
🔥 Fox
🔥 Shai
🔥 Steph

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— NBA (@NBA) October 27, 2022

5 biggest takeaways from the NBA season thus far

1. The San Antonio Spurs are thriving

NBA analysts did not have the Spurs ranked highly in the preseason. They lost their best player, Dejoiunte Murray, in a offseason trade to the Atlanta Hawks. Despite that, the Spurs are 3-2 to start the season after impressive wins against the Sixers and Timberwolves. San Antonio has a young roster that’s not full of names that casual fans may know of like Tre Jones and Joshua Primo.

Leading the team in scoring this season is Keldon Johnson with (21.8) points per game. He is just 23 years old and will play a big role for the Spurs. They’ll host the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at 8:30pm.

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We currently lead the league in assists with 30.8 APG. pic.twitter.com/cbIPE9khSQ

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 27, 2022

2. LA Lakers offense is BAD!

Who knew that the Lakers offense could be even worse than some were predicting it to be. Their three-point shooting is near the very bottom of all NBA teams right now. As a team, the Lakers are averaging 37 three-pointers per game and are only making them at a 22 percent clip.

That plays a huge factor in why the team is 0-4 to start the season after a 110-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets last night. Luckily, their defense has been able to make up for their lack of offensive production. They currently have the fourth highest team defensive efficiency rating in the NBA.

3. Ja Morant is looking like a real MVP candidate

Memphis Grizzlies all-star Ja Morant is one of the more exciting players in the NBA. Every time he touches the ball a highlight play is waiting to happen. He’s averaging a scorching 35.2 points along with 7.0 assists per game. Morant has had 34 or more points in three of the Grizzlies four games this season.

He’s quickly becoming the complete package if he can keep up his elite three-point shooting we’ve seen early on. The 2021-22 Most Improved Player of the Year had a career 36 percent three-point coming into the season. Through four games he’s shot the three at exactly 60 percent as well as 55 percent from the field. If he continues this kind of production, you could see Morant holding the MVP trophy at the end of the season.

catch us on that late night tip.

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— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) October 27, 2022

4. New Orleans Pelicans look like a playoff team

The Pelicans are first place in the Southwest Division after a 3-1 start to the season. New Orleans has a well-balanced lineup that provides a lot of spark on both sides of the ball. On Tuesday, the team was without Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Herbert Jones, but still found a way to win vs the Mavericks.

New Orleans has three players who are scoring 20 or more points per game. They are Brandon Ingram (22.0), Zion Williamson (22.0), and CJ McCollum (21.0). Additionally, the team has six players who average at least one steal per game. If they can keep this up, the Pelicans could be one of the final teams standing come playoffs.

5. Milwaukee looks ready to head back to the Finals

The Milwaukee Bucks put on a dominant showing last night to improve to 3-0 with a 110-99 win vs the Nets. Leading the team is Giannis Antetokounmpo who’s had to handle a lot of the scoring duties while Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton miss some time. Regardless, Antetokounmpo is a top three player in the NBA and is a two-time MVP for a reason.

Giannis averages (36.0) points and (13.0) rebounds per game. The next highest scorer for the Bucks is Bobby Portis with (14.7) per. Milwaukee is dominant on defense and that’s why they’ve been able to survive with some of their key offensive players out. The Bucks look hot to start the season and will only get better once the team is fully healthy.