With the NBA regular season officially wrapping up this past Sunday, we have had the chance to salivate at the out at the potential NBA playoff matchups that are awaiting us in a couple of days. In saying that, I feel we should definitely talk about what happened during the regular season as well, as there were some players who were surprised with their play; good and bad. With that being said, let’s take a look at some players who either exceeded or disappointed fans when it came to their play this past season.
DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan proved to everybody this year what many knew all along; he’s an elite scorer who can lead a team to the playoffs, and possibly, deep into the later rounds. Although that hasn’t come to fruition as of yet, the Bulls will be taking on the Bucks in the first round, and although I have my money on Giannis and the Bucks, I know for certain that DeRozan will cause trouble for the Bucks.
The Compton, California native finished the season with 27.9 points per game while leading the Bulls to the #6 seed in the super-stacked Eastern Conference. With a scoring rampage, DeRozan brought his name back into the spotlight after a couple of years spent in San Antonio. It seems playing under Popovich has paid off for DeRozan, who has become once again an elite scorer to be feared.
Russell Westbrook
Look, Westbrook has been my favorite player since I started watching basketball back in high school. I’ve even modeled my game after his intensity and physical prowess on the court. No one could have guessed that the Lakers experiment could have gone so south, so fast, but it did.
Westbrook is still an amazing player, L. A just doesn’t fit his playing style. He needs to go to a young and exciting team that optimizes their offense by pushing the ball forward and playing intense every play. Westbrook is going to bounce back, I know it!
Kevin Love
The Cavaliers forward was honestly the most surprising player for me this season, as it seems he finally found his way once again on the Cavaliers. The Cavs big-man averaged just over 13.5 points per game, while also corraling just over 7 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Although these stats may not stand out too much from seasons past, it was his ability to lead the young core of the Cavaliers that really stood out to fans throughout the season.
Love looked much more engaged and it seemed he had a bit more hustle in his step. Whatever he did, it certainly worked, as the Cavaliers, we’re able to make the play-in tournament. This may not seem like a lot but this is also coming from a team that was slated to finish in the cellar of the Eastern Conference. K Love, good on you!
Dejounte Murray
Spurs fans can get together and rejoice as Dejounte Murray seems to have finally had his breakout season for San Antonio. The 25-year-old guard averaged 21.1 points, a whopping 8.3 rebounds, and 9.2 assists, all while leading the ailing Spurs to a last-minute play-in tournament position. Impressive, very impressive!
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Murray is now the man in San Antonio, and it seems that he will just keep building on his performance from this season heading into future years. The Spurs lost to the Pelicans last night but I have my money on Murray and the Spurs to come away with a huge lesson from it and carry that into next season as well.
Julius Randle
Randle is playing in arguably the biggest sports media market in the world; New York City, and in 2020-2021, he lived up to the hype that accompanied playing in such a market. Randle had an MVP-caliber season, and it looked like the Knicks had finally found the perfect person to lead them back to the playoffs for some deep runs that are well overdue in NYC. However, all good things don’t last, and it seems that once Randle got paid, his game dropped off quite a bit.
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That’s not to say that Randle wasn’t good for the Knicks this past season. He played quite well, and was one of the best Knicks on the floor, but compared to his previous season’s accomplishments, it was quite a way away from what he had accomplished. If he can channel some of that New York energy early next season, I think he can carry that momentum into becoming a solid #2 option for the Knicks heading forward.
And that’s a wrap! Who surprised you the most this past NBA season? Let me know in the comment below!