NBA Fears Maxey and Wembanyama on Halloween

It’s Halloween, and players all across the league are striking fear into their opponents. This week’s awards include a team that looks completely different, and a player who’s shown an ability to take on whatever his team needs.

Freaky Friday

The Sacramento Kings (1-4) and Chicago Bulls (4-0) swapped bodies, at least that’s what offseason discussions entailed. Sacramento enters its second season with former Bulls DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine and a center, Domantas Sabonis, from Europe. While the expectations were not high, the Kings’ slow start has been surprising. But the Bulls’ start is even more shocking.  As one of the four teams left undefeated, the Bulls beat the Kings Wednesday without leader Coby White. Clearly, they have been the winners of the swap.

Pennywise the Clown

The San Antonio Spurs (5-0) are perfect as the  Frenchman, Victor Wembanyama, terrorizes opponents in different ways: 18 rebounds against the Miami Heat, 31 points on three 3-pointers against the Brooklyn Nets and nine blocks against the New Orleans Pelicans. His ability to shape his game for what the team needs sets him apart. Being 7’5 does not hurt, either. 

Silent Assassins

While no one’s short in the NBA, Milwaukee Bucks’ Ryan Rollins  (4-1) and Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey have been shooting the lights out. Maxey has been leading the upstart 76ers (4-0), who are still undefeated. He scored 28, 43 and 39 points in their three games this week. Rollins, on the other hand, turned up once Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out. Against  Golden State (4-2), he tallied 32 points and eight rebounds. 

Big Three

The big three of Halloween are Freddy Kreager, Jason Voorhees and Mike Myers. For the Heat’s three wins, it’s been Norman Powell, Bam Adebayo and Jaime Jaquez Jr. Having multiple players you can rely on to carry the load allows for balance. The Heat can beat teams in so many ways. If you put Kreager, Voorhees and Myers in one movie, there is no way to stop them all. That’s what opponents are running into with the Heat.

Category: Basketball, Miami Heat, NBA