One of the most exciting leagues each year, one of the most followed and that causes the loudest noise in general, the NBA, came to a forced stop a few weeks ago. Coronavirus, or Covid-19, has caused chaos in the sports world and some of the fans that have felt it the most are the true basketball fans, who were enjoying one of the best, most competitive seasons of the NBA in recent years.
This seemed to be like a good year for LeBron James to win his 4th NBA ring, backed up by the greatness of Anthony Davis and a greatly assembled LA Lakers team. LeBron was even leading the race to NBA MVP when the season stopped. The Milwaukee Bucks are the best team in the league, according to numbers, and were showing off amazing strength and team play, lead by the “Greek Freak”, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Other teams like the Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat or Boston Celtics, in the East, or the LA Clippers, the Denver Nuggets or Houston Rockets, in the West, were giving this season the extra ingredients we were all waiting for, while we got closer and closer to the playoffs.
The NBA has announced that they intend to finish the season, hopefully coming back to action in early June, and moving the NBA Finals to August, considering a probable format change. We all certainly hope this will happen, and we will get to watch the ending of a remarkable season, at least so far. In fact, former players and media have already commented that, if the season were to be completed, we might be in for the best playoff run ever, considering that all the superstars and best teams in the league are getting a 2 month rest, allowing them to get in shape, adjust details, work on the floor and get ready to fight for the ring. This hiatus will definitely help players return in top form and allow veterans like LeBron himself, to get to the playoffs 100% healthy.
These are the individual leaders so far in the 2019-2020 NBA season
– Points per game: James Harden, 34.4 – Houston Rockets
– Rebounds per game: Andre Drummond, 15.2 – Cleveland Cavaliers
– Assists per game: LeBron James, 10.6 – LA Lakers
– Blocks per game: Hassan Whiteside, 3.1 – Portland Trail Blazers
– Steals per game: Ben Simmons, 2.1 – Philadelphia 76’ers
– Field Goal percentage: Mitchell Robinson, 74.2 – New York Knicks
– Three Pointers made: James Harden, 271 – Houston Rockets
– Three Point percentage: George Hill, 48.0 – Milwaukee Bucks
These are the team leaders so far in the 2019-2020 NBA season
– Points per game: Milwaukee Bucks, 118.6
– Rebounds per game: Milwaukee Bucks, 51.7
– Assists per game: Phoenix Suns, 27.2
– Blocks per game: LA Lakers, 6.8
– Steals per game: Chicago Bulls, 10.0
– Field Goal percentage: LA Lakers, 48.5
– Three Pointers made: Dallas Mavericks, 1026
– Three Point percentage: Miami Heat, 38.3
– Free Throw percentage: Phoenix Suns, 82.6
If the NBA playoffs started today, just to have an idea of how things are currently in the league, in the East we would have Bucks vs. Magic, Raptors vs. Nets, Celtics vs. 76’ers and Heat vs. Pacers. In fact, Bucks, Raptors and Celtics had already clinched their playoff spot before the season stopped. In the West, we’d enjoy of Lakers vs. Grizzlies, Clippers vs. Mavericks, Nuggets vs. Rockets and Jazz vs. Thunder. Only the Lakers, so far, had clinched a playoff spot, their first since 2013.
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