Here in Toronto, daylight is about to return to our lives. Dusk now comes at five o’clock, give or take. But in a few weeks, days will lengthen. We will start to feel less dreary, less achy. More focused.
It’s only fitting that against this backdrop, NBA basketball is returning. We’ve become accustomed to summer offseasons, but winter makes more inherent sense. And as the holidays come to a close, and the New Year rolls around, the season will begin again.
Beginnings are times of promise. Not in the sense of the season of spring, as budding. Instead, the promise that comes before growth, in the idea of openness. Think of the phrase, ‘in the beginning.’ You don’t know what’s coming next; anything can happen. That’s the appeal.
And this season anything can happen. Sure, there’s seeming equality at the top again, with any of a half-dozen teams capable of finishing atop the pack. But so too are the middling teams hopeful of rising, the tankers hopeful in their new draft picks. Nothing has yet been proven wrong. Beginnings are, at heart, hopeful. With no evidence to the contrary, at least on the basketball front. There’s no disappointment, no frustration. You can talk yourself into anything in the beginning.
FOLK
Climbing Old Mountains, Getting Older, Getting Better
Even though I haven’t been in school (high, or post-secondary) for quite some time, my brain maintains the idea that a new year starts in September, not January. The NBA underwent a rapid change of schedule in the past year, and is now attempting demarcation between themselves and other professional sports leagues. Everything is up in the air, all the time, until it isn’t. So, when most everyone in the world is still hunkered down and waiting for this *motions to everything going on in the world* to end, the NBA has once again decided to start something.
This makes me think of Jimmy Butler, whose star rose during the bubble. A man who wants everyone to know that he will stop at nothing to reach the top of the mountain (and is beloved for that mindset), and additionally, a man who loves the climb. It’s been four years since Butler has enjoyed familiarity in an offseason that bleeds into the regular season. Trades, legendary flameouts, free agency drama, and now this -- a return to Miami, his ideal fit, and doing so after a Finals appearance. An expert at beginnings and navigating them, but still in search of the most satisfying ending.
“We feel a great responsibility for Jimmy to win now, instead of pushing this thing down the line.” - Erik Spoelstra
On the court, few are better at the process of beginning or ending a possession as Butler. A double-rip through before gliding toward a rotating big man, and Butler has a deep bag of tricks to choose from. Last year he was most partial to goading defenders into free throws -- and I’d expect a similar trend this year -- but the amount of jump hooks, push shots, floaters, bankers, and baby fadeaways Butler pulls out keep defenses on their heels at all times. He’s also one of the league’s best passers at his position (28.3 AST%). The improvisational bent in Butler’s game makes him one of the most entertaining players to watch in the NBA. And better yet, he might pull out the finger guns and his shit-eating grin after a highlight play.
You’d be hard pressed to find another player in the league who would snake a pick n’ roll, jump-stop in front of Brook Lopez and rise up for a push shot over top, and he did it all series. That’s not a shot that’s drawn up, it’s just Jimmy working downhill. (You can also find a glorious 6-minute video of these shots here.)
Over a quarter of his shots come in that 3-10 foot range, and does the 42-percent he shoots there make it an efficient shot? Not as a stand alone, but it’s great when you consider how many free throws he draws in that area (99th percentile, fouled on 24-percent of his shot attempts!!!) and how many big men will chase or contest him out there leaving wide open duck-ins for Butler’s teammates.
Butler’s unique melding of all the traits of a hard-ass, prankster, workaholic, entrepreneur, classic action hero, and gunslinging vagabond have helped create what I would call a well-deserved cult of personality. Reinforced by the clear fondness he engenders in the people around him, Butler looks primed for his best beginning in awhile.
ZATZMAN
New beginnings in Milwaukee
Though the rest of the league pined for Giannis Antetokounmpo, it was not to be. His re-signing in Milwaukee is an anchor splashing into the league’s ocean, causing ripples that echo into tsunamis on distant shores. Those flooded shores are of course Toronto, Dallas, Miami, Golden State. Perhaps others, although those four were the teams most blatantly angling to pursue him this coming off-season.
Instead, Milwaukee wins its own prize. Jon Horst and the Bucks have earned a reprieve.
It’s probably a good thing that a superstar has chosen to remain with the small market team that drafted him. Not good in the big versus small market battle; that story has been written too many times. No, this is a positive for Antetokounmpo’s own agency against the domineering forces of will that make even titanic reigning MVPs seem puny in comparison. ESPN and other league partners have spent the better part of a half decade trying to weasel Antetokounmpo out of Milwaukee. For every dunk he had in the highlight package, there were three segments theorizing where and why Antetokounmpo should run in free agency.
He chose instead to stay. He’s subtly spitting in the eye of the traditional power-brokers of the league. He’s spitting on the analysts who’ve long predicted the demise of the Bucks. He’s spitting on superstars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, all of whom decided for one reason or another they couldn’t win alone. People will call Antetokounmpo old school, but he’s gone beyond that. When did old school superstars have constant, every-day segments breaking down their decisions years in advance? Antetokounmpo faced a uniquely modern path, and he’s blazing a route that hasn’t been chosen since the days of Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant. (Damian Lillard, of course, made the same choice, though with far less fanfare about his impending and eventually nonexistent exit.)
And that’s hopeful for the Bucks! No longer are they playing with an albatross around their necks, making every move with sights set on the short term to desperately convince a superstar of their worth. Now they can build forward with confidence.
The Bucks still have to see how Jrue Holiday fits with the core. They will have to learn how to play offense in the playoffs. There’s plenty to figure out, and that’s the fun of the season. But for the first time, the Bucks have to be hopeful. That’s the power of new beginnings.
Springtime in Atlanta
The Hawks have been bad for a long time. They’ve been fun, yes, but they’ve not been good since the days of Al Horford and Paul Millsap. And the Hawks have finally decided enough is enough, pulled up their spurs, and said it’s finally time to win basketball games again.
Last year, Atlanta showed immense promise. John Collins emerged as an offensive stud, more Amare Stoudemire than perhaps anyone since the great STAT. And he’s shown promise as a shooter. He could pop into a player that drives winning in the future, but in reality, everything rested on Trae Young’s shoulders. Young emerged as a 30-10 guy, which is not normal. Coming into the NBA, he was compared to Steph Curry. But Young is his own star. His greatest skill is his passing, not his shooting; he creates unbelievable looks for anyone and everyone, at all times. Young is speedy enough to slice past anyone, and he’s willing to try any pass. Lobs, bounces, no-looks, sprays, wraparounds: it’s all on the menu.
Part of that meant Young committed a lot of turnovers. Like, most in the league, at 4.8 per game. (He’s committed 7.0 per in the preseason so far, but ignore that. Preseasons mean nothing, at least for already established players.) Furthermore, Young has never been an efficient shooter. Taking easier shots should help. Finally, his defense leaves much to be desired.
Those are the negatives. But Atlanta decided to address those not by demanding even more of Young, but instead by taking the weight off his shoulders with a variety of recent moves. Last season, Atlanta traded for Clint Capela, a solid defender and rim-running center. He’s far and away the best center on the roster. Then in the offseason, the team added Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danillo Gallinari, two elite spot-up shooters who can create for themselves, too.
The Hawks now have enough talent to compete. That can only be a good thing. The pain of long-term tanking can easily result in nothing but protracted pain. *Cough* Sixers *cough* Atlanta is no longer going to be painfully bad. Young can now develop in peace without carrying the weight of a franchise on his 22-year-old shoulders. Don’t get it wrong; the Hawks will only go as far as Young improves on his deficiencies. But they’ll no longer be so glaring. He’ll take easier shots. His miraculous passes will hit the hands of better shooters. Atlanta has a new lease on life. It’s time we start appreciating when teams make an investment in better basketball.
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