It really doesn’t seem that long ago since the Milwaukee Bucks surprised everyone as they waltzed through the postseason, making it all the way to the NBA finals. It was an extremely entertaining championship final series, in which the Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns 4-2. But they didn’t get off to the best of starts, having gone 2-0 down in their opening two games, before they turned their luck around to win four games on the bounce.
Here we are though, a few months down the line and we’re already back to it with the 2021-2022 NBA season now well underway. However, many NBA experts may have expected the Bucks to build on last season’s success, they’re actually having a bit of a torrid start to their campaign.But with that being said you can always find good NBA picks and take advantage, as their luck is sure to turn around soon.
So far this season, they have won five and lost six, and some of the games they’re losing, they should be doing much better in. You expect the odd loss here and there against top sides like the Miami Heat who demolished the Bucks 137-95 in Game Two. But, a team that has just won the NBA finals should be doing much better than losing games against the likes of the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs.
However, they’re not letting the poor start to the campaign get them down. With Pat Connaughton stating: “We’ve had a lot of different combinations and we’ve got a decent amount of new guys this year…It feels similar to last year when we struggled a little bit at the beginning of the season because continuity doesn’t happen overnight”.
Not every team is having a poor start to their season though, with many teams in impressive form right now. But who are the teams that have had the best start so far? And could they be in contention to take the Buck’s crown later in the postseason? Let’s take a look.
Golden State Warriors
Probably the most in-form team of the season so far, the Warriors are currently 9-1 and are on a five game winning streak. They’ve had some tough competition so far as well, beating two top teams from LA in the Clippers and the Lakers. Their one loss was an upset and came against the Memphis Grizzlies, and they only lost that by three points in overtime. So as it goes, they’ve done incredibly well and were just four points off having a perfect record.
One reason for their impressive form this season is their defence, it has been extremely solid at times, with even Steph Curry explaining how important the impact of Draymond Green has been to CBS Sports: “It’s everything. It’s identity. It’s the versatility of being able to, obviously, guard a lot of different positions. It’s showing up in terms of our efficiency every single night, giving teams difficulty just finding looks. His presence and his IQ just always shows up”.
Miami Heat
The Heat much like the Warriors, top their conference, and that too is down to an impressive start to the 2021-22 season. Whilst their form hasn’t been as good as that of Golden State’s, having only won seven games and lost three, they’ve still managed to get a good foothold on the season, and are setting themselves up for an easy passage to the playoffs next year.
If they want to be successful though, they are going to have to keep cooler heads than they did against the Denver Nuggets earlier this week. When reigning MVP Nikola Jokic forcefully pushed the Heat’s Markieff Morris in the back, it can be hard not to retaliate in the moment, but the players should’ve left it to the referee. Instead, Jimmy Butler was found to be trying to escalate the situation, and refusing to take part in an NBA security interview. For that he was fined $30,000, but if they continue to act that way through the rest of the season, punishments could become harsher further down the line.
Phoenix Suns
Whilst their initial start to the season didn’t go all that well, losing three out of their opening four fixtures, last season’s beaten finalists have turned it around. Currently on a five game winning streak after a disastrous start, they’re slowly climbing their way back up the Western Conference rankings. It seems they have finally recaptured the form that nearly took them all the way last season.
That said, it isn’t like the Suns have been blowing their opposition away, with their biggest win on their current streak being by 12 points. What has really helped is they seem to have fixed some of the leaks in their defense, not allowing people to break quickly against them by picking up players before they get the chance to create something. It’s a long way to go, yet, but the Suns are definitely on an upward trajectory.
Final Words
If all three teams can keep their season form going, there is no doubt they will all likely be in contention for the playoffs this season. But there are plenty of other teams who have equally as good of a record so far. Time will weed out those who are riding their luck, and the teams with genuine talent and skill will prevail, and we definitely see these three teams being in that second category.