The first week of an NBA season can often be the craziest. As many teams in the NBA adjust to their new circumstances, growing pains become a common occurrence and it can lead to some pretty unexpected losses.
Today was just one of those days as, amazingly, four of the league’s best teams got blown out by teams many would argue are not better than them. The Clippers lost by 51 to the Mavericks, the Nets lost by 2 to a lottery-bound Hornets team, the Sixers got destroyed by a superstar-less Cavs team, and the Milwaukee Bucks got swamped by 20 against the New York Knicks.
It was a pretty shocking day, all-in-all, and not even Magic Johnson could stay silent.
I just happened to turn away from the football games and thought I was seeing things. The Mavericks were up 77-27 over the Clippers at halftime…. pic.twitter.com/pMXPYb4yV8
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) December 27, 2020
The NBA is going to be so exciting this year!! Look at what happened tonight…the Hornets beat the Nets, the Knicks blew out the Bucks, and the Cavaliers blew out the Sixers.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) December 28, 2020
One quick look at the standings will reveal even more surprises. The Cavs, Pacers, and Magic are currently tied for the NBA’s best record while the Rockets, Warriors, and Nuggets reside near the bottom.
So, what do we make of all this? For now, nothing. It’s a 72-game season and a few games are hardly enough to predict which teams will be successful and which teams will not. There is more than enough time for things to change, and they probably will.
Still, if we’ve learned anything, it’s that this league is full of surprises, and not even the best teams are immune from a really bad loss.
