We are officially one week into the NBA season and the level of competition across the league has been unreal. It seems like every national TV game has gone to overtime, if not double overtime. Victor Wembanyama is playing a brand of basketball never before seen. Stephen Curry is cooking up his regular dishes. Luka Doncic is averaging 46.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists.
But on some level, none of that is surprising. We knew the Knicks were going to shoot more 3s under Mike Brown (and indeed they are) and we knew the Celtics were probably going to struggle (and indeed they have). But what about the stuff we didn’t see coming? That could be a long list (are the Jazz good?), but I’m going to focus on five of the best first-week surprises.
Austin Reaves is your total-point leader
Reaves’ legit card has long been stamped, but this is something else. Through four games, Reaves is averaging 35.8 PPG. His 143 total points are tied with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for tops in the league entering play Tuesday. He went for 51 on Sunday in a win over the Kings, missing a triple-double by one assist and becoming the first player in history to record at least 50 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on 80% true shooting in a single game.
He then backed that up with 41 on Monday in a loss to the Blazers.
Do the math, and that’s 92 points in about 30 hours for Reaves, who is making quite the bid for a max contract when he becomes a free agent this coming summer. The numbers speak for themselves, but it’s worth noting that Reaves did what he did against the Blazers, even though he was the clear focus of the defense with both Luka Doncic and LeBron James out.
Reaves has racked up a league-leading 51 free throws so far and he’s not grifting. He’s way more shifty than you think and a true tough-shot maker. He’s one of two guys in the league averaging at least 35 points, eight boards and six rebounds (the other is Luka Doncic, who’s only played in two games), and his 57/43/88 shooting splits are scorching by any standard, let alone…
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