The basketball experts do their absolute best to provide accurate projections heading into every the season and while for the most part, they are more accurate than not, there are always at least a couple of surprises that catch everybody off-guard. Here is a look at the biggest surprises from early on in this NBA season.
Detroit Pistons (5-2)
The consensus was that the Pistons were a better team heading into this season than they were the year before but few would have expected them to dominate the way that they have early on. They started the year with five wins in their first six games and have already registered topped the likes of the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls, and then opened a six-game road trip with wins over the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers this past weekend. The tandem of Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond has been among the most dominant in the NBA early on with Jackson averaging a team-high 23.2 points and 5.7 assists per game while Drummond just became the first player to record 90 points or more and 90 rebounds or more in his team’s first five games since Moses Malone did it in 1983-84. The Pistons have been playing at an elite level early on and while a letdown will be expected at some point, it is clear they have been among the biggest early season surprises in the NBA.
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Toronto Raptors (5-2)
Toronto is coming off its best season in franchise history but it was also swept in four games by the Washington Wizards in the opening round of the playoffs. They made a number of changes in the offseason in the hopes of improving but nothing was for certain. However, the Raptors responded with five straight victories to open the year including impressive road wins at Dallas and Oklahoma City. They’ve cooled off a little bit with consecutive losses to the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, but both of those games were on the road at the end of the road trip. Toronto is a team that is still carving out its identity but after a surprisingly strong start, it will be interesting to see whether they will be a top-four team in the Eastern Conference again.
New Orleans Pelicans (0-6)
One team that nobody predicted would stumble out of the gate the way they have is New Orleans. Remember how good they looked in the playoffs last year? They were supposed to be a young team on the rise. However, they’ve opened up the season with six straight losses and might not even get back to the playoffs if they keep this up.
The Pelicans reloaded a cast built around one of the best young superstars in the game in Anthony Davis but the combination of a tough schedule, poor play and a lack of overall familiarity in head coach Alvin Gentry’s system has led to an awful start. New Orleans should be able to find a way to bounce back soon with games against Dallas, New York and Denver coming up. However, they were already facing an uphill climb to get back to the postseason in an absolutely loaded Western Conference and an 0-6 hole to begin the year won’t make things any easier for them.
Memphis Grizzlies (3-4)
Memphis is off to a better start than the Pelicans but few would have expected them to drop four of their first seven games – including a pair of surprising losses to the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz. Remember, this is a team that finished fifth in the West last season and probably needs home-court advantage deep into the playoffs if they want to go anywhere.
The Grizzlies are 2-3 on the road and the biggest surprise is the fact that they rank 17th in the NBA in points allowed per game with an average of 101.7 against. Memphis should find a way to right the ship with Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley leading the way but they have to find a way to get back to their biggest strength which is their defense. If they don’t, head coach Dave Joerger could get the hook very shortly.
