Through an 82 game season, a lot of interesting stories can take place throughout the NBA. However, most outlets would lead you to believe that not much happens outside of LeBron James and the upcoming Free Agency period. This limited spectrum of coverage leaves out a lot of interesting storylines. The purpose of this article is to shine some light onto a few interesting storylines that never make it to the public's attention.
Using LeBron James in the cover image may seem counterintuitive, but I promise it'll make sense right about now:
1.) A Playoff-less LeBron James is a win-win for him and the NBA.
Think the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning.
When Manning was sidelined and eventually cut due to a neck injury, the Colts were lucky enough to turn a seemingly terrible situation into their rebuild behind a new young face--Andrew Luck. Meanwhile, Manning found himself in a favorable situation, quarterbacking for the Denver Broncos. One generational quarterback and a Super Bowl ring later, both Manning and the Colts can look back on the situation as beneficial.
The same premise exists for LeBron James and the NBA.
James has been the league's golden boy for the last decade and has successfully carried that torch by making eight consecutive Finals. However, James, now 34, is set to miss his first playoffs since the 2004-05 season, and that golden boy torch is starting to fade out.
The LeBron James-Michael Jordan comparison/debate has been used so much it has reached syllabus week's ice breaker levels of tired conversation. But in terms of marketability for the NBA, LeBron's impact on the league's fanbase is only comparable to Jordan, and that could spell bad news for the likes of Adam Silver. When Jordan retired for the first time in 1993, league TV viewership went from a 17.9 rating in the '93 Finals to 12.4 in 1994 and 13.9 in 1995. Ratings couldn't come close to Jordan despite huge factors like all-time greats Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal and Patrick Ewing and the market of a city like New York. Upon Jordan's return, TV ratings shot back up to 16.7, 16.8 and a record 18.7 in the next three finals, only to plummet to 11.3 after Jordan's next retirement.
With the Lakers missing the playoffs this year, the NBA as the ability to act with the future in mind and rebuild the league's image around its bevy of young stars.
Lebron, on the other hand, will finally get the opportunity to rest. At 10,049 minutes played, James is the only player in basketball's history to tally over 10,000 minutes of post-season play and trails only Dirk Nowitski's 51,030 regular season minutes with 45,997. Although James has seemed indestructible throughout his career, this season's groin injury proved an actual offseason could do The King some good.
2.) Blake Griffin is the NBA's best power forward.
Before the crucifixion begins and SoundSports gets grouped in with clickbait sports sites, take into account that this statement is being made due to Anthony Davis being in trade purgatory and Giannis Antetokounmpo not identifying as any set position(his pronouns are God/Greek Freak/Son of Zeus).
If it weren't for Griffin being hidden by the Detroit Pistons' stench, the 29-year-old would be drawing genuine First-Team All-NBA buzz. Averaging 25.3 points per game with a 36 percent conversion of his 7 nightly three-point attempts, Griffin is posting a career scoring numbers as the Pistons' main weapon of attack.
In fact, Griffin has dragged the Pistons to a five-game winning streak and has them sitting comfortably in the Eastern Conference playoff race. As the Pistons look prime to square off against either the Sixers or the Raptors, all signs point to Griffin going out with gaudy numbers; in his three games against the Sixers this season, Griffin dropped 50, 38 and 31, and the forward averaged 28.5 against the Toronto Raptors.
It would come as no surprise if Griffin puts on a show in the playoffs, much like he has all season.
3.) Gordon Hayward is the X-factor of the Eastern Conference.
Albeit in limited sampling size, Hayward is posting his most impressive numbers of the season averaging 13.2 points on over 60 percent shooting from the field. The Celtics have won four of those six games, including a 33-point blowout win against the Warriors.
In their first matchup, the Warriors called Hayward "a liability" on both ends of the court. In their second match, Hayward dropped 30 points on 75 percent shooting off-the-bench.
Anyone who has watched Hayward play this season knows that performances like the one against the Warriors occur once a month, but it's not at all far fetched to see Hayward consistently posting numbers like the ones he followed up that 30-point game with--12 points on 60 percent shooting and 15 points on 6-8 shooting.
The Celtics are a different team when Hayward contributes; Boston has proved just that as they have won 24 of the 31 games in which Hayward scored double-digits. If Boston gets an aggressive Hayward going into post-season play, the East will have to worry about the monster the world saw coming since last year.
4.) Zach LaVine is a franchise player.
Player A averages 23.8/4.4/4.6 and posts an 18.85 PER
Player B averages 20.3/6.8/3.6 and posts a 19.09 PER
Player C averages 25.1/6.7/4.1 and posts a 19.12 PER
Player C is on a 5-year/$158 million max-contract. Player B is nearing a contract of at least $20 million a year. Player A is on a 4-year/$78 million contract. The players post almost identical numbers and have equal impacts on the game, yet each player is a very different situation with a very different public opinion on their game. An article comparing the three is coming soon, but for now:
Player A is Zach LaVine, and he's one of the best young guards in the NBA(foreshadowing to another future article). For those who don't enjoy watching 19-49 basketball, LaVine's athleticism matched with his developed skill makes Chicago basketball somewhat watchable.
In LaVine's last 10 games he is averaging 26.9 points and has led the lowly Bulls to a winning 6-4 record. Despite his perception as nothing more than a volume scorer, LaVine is showing that he has the talent to lead a franchise to success.
5.) Again, Trae Young is really good.
I feel like this story has been said before, but I really want to stress this point; Trae Young is an offensive superstar in the making. With the Hawks being 23-45 and the world still caught up in Luka Doncic, it's not too late to hop on the Young bandwagon.
"Things are really starting to slow down for me," said Young. That statement looks truer than ever, as the 20-year-old has routinely averaged 26.1 points, 9 assists and 4.8 rebounds, in his last ten outings. From a 49-point game to recording his first triple-double, Young is making a strong late-season push for Rookie of the Year.
The impressive outings have earned Young the very marketable nickname of "Ice Trae", and he's bringing a confident swagger to the game to match. Let this serve as my final plea: please hop on the Trae Young bandwagon before the Hawks pair him with a top pick in a few months. The Luka bandwagon is already full, and the Ayton bandwagon looks like it plays Solange the whole ride(I love Solange).