You’d be forgiven if, a quarter of the way through the season (yes), you haven’t given the following teams that much attention. Maybe your main rooting interest has been struggling, and it’s taken all your psychic energy to will them through the slump. Better yet, maybe your team is thriving and you’ve been enjoying the ride. Maybe you’re still looking for a team to get behind, in which case, the following three franchises would make great options.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks being on this list has not alleviated my general wariness of the Hawks as a whole, but they’ve been playing through some of the things that make me doubt them. First, the Hawks love to play up. That is, they tend to excel against technically better and markedly more skilled teams; teams farther along the competitive timeline that I always get they feeling Atlanta would rather emulate than put the work in to be at the same level with.
This season, the Hawks are still playing up — they’ve beat the best in conference Cavaliers twice — but they’re recognizing what should be easy wins, like against the Charlotte Hornets. With Trae Young injured and in and out of the lineup, Atlanta’s bench has provided some of the most needed and entertaining offensive bursts in the league, with De’Andre Hunter back with a vengeance after being out for 10 games with a knee injury. Hunter’s regularly putting up 20-plus points per night, and hounding the glass.
Atlanta has a string of high-low games this week, facing the Pelicans, Bucks, Lakers and Nuggets, which should be an ample test to whether they can play and stay consistent.
San Antonio Spurs
Even coming out of a learning (to be generous) season last year, the Spurs were a lot of fun to watch. Victor Wembanyama’s acclimatization to the league on a young team with a lot of gas, learning in real time under Gregg Popovich, felt like no stakes basketball purity. The Spurs still have shades of that but what’s been more exciting is their eagerness to compete, and willingness to take the tough lessons in losses.
San Antonio has used the In-Season Tournament as an early season accelerant, bouncing back after a loss to the Lakers to go on and win the rest of their NBA Cup games. Their bracket is a crowded one, also shared by OKC and the Suns (in a three-way tie for first with the Spurs), but the momentum of the Tournament feels real for San Antonio and if they beat Phoenix on Tuesday, they advance.
To boot, Wembanyama’s also on track to set a new league record. He’s averaging 3+ blocks and 3+ three-pointers so far this season, and would be the first athlete in NBA history to do so if he keeps it up.
L.A. Clippers
Norman Powell. I kind of would like to leave the reasons to watch the Clippers at that, but I’ll flesh it out for you.
After being sidelined six game with an injury, Powell came back to drop 28 points against the Nuggets last night, a nice little amuse bouche to James Harden’s 37. In the same game, Harden also became the second player in NBA history to make 3,000 three-pointers, and passed LeBron James to earn the most career games with at least 30 points and ten assists. The Beard’s accolades aside, the Clippers have managed to make meaningful headway for themselves in a densely competitive conference after losing Paul George, being without Kawhi Leonard, and facing a string of injuries. Ivica Zubac has been a beast, with a recent six-game string of double-doubles, and Powell is already making a strong case for All-Star consideration.
For a team many considered a write-off, the Clippers are determined to compete.
