The brand new NBA season has begun, and now people feel that it may be over? It's unbelievable to think that almost a year ago, the Lakers just beat the Heat in the Finals in the rematch park. When the 21-22 regular season begins on the 21st, part of the pattern of the three seasons that have taken place over the past 12 months will change. Here are 10 erratic, unpredictable players who can influence their own teams in one way or another.
Russell Westbrook
Many people may think that Russell Westbrook is obviously one of the star cores in the Lakers' new season lineup and cannot be the x-factor, but I think the more he strips away the aura of star status on his body, the more beneficial it is for the Lakers. The Lakers have proven they can win the championship with james and Davis duo and without a third superstar. Westbrook's points, assists and usage rates should all drop dramatically this season, and his defensive contributions and support for shooting are key to his impact on the field. Vogel has already given the green light for Westbrook's catch three (though that could be miserable), but hopefully he'll be wiser in dribbling (well.... ）。 If Westbrook can do it, as he did at Houston in the second half of the 2019-20 season, maintain a high degree of discipline in offense, focus on reaching the box basket, and work very both the defensive end and the shooting offense (he should be able to do that), then he could be a plus for the Lakers. If he had done the opposite, the Lakers would have followed the Turtle into the dark sewers.
2. Clay Thompson
Under normal circumstances, Klay Thompson would never be a wobbly x-factor. He is a top priority for three-time champion Golden State Warriors. But the season has not been normal for Thompson and the Warriors, and the team has begun to believe that if Thompson can return to his old form, the team will still have the strength to return to the ranks of title contenders even after two very poor seasons. This needs to be marked with a big question mark. When he can re-play, it may have to wait until after Christmas, about 30 months after his last NBA game, and has been recovering due to his torn anterior cruciate ligament and Achilles tendon. I'd rather wonder what kind of state his defence can get back to – which is important next to Stephen Curry – rather than worrying primarily about his offense. He will always be the legendary shooter in people's hearts. If Thompson can get back to his former self, then when the playoffs are in full swing and he's back to his former bravery, the Warriors believe they can make a big splash on their home field again. But if Thompson can't get to that level after his comeback, they may have to continue desperately not to be reduced to playing the play-offs, unless Jordan Poole can actually take Over Thompson's baton and become the next him, but don't put all your hopes on that.
3. Kristaps Porzingis
I still firmly believe that Porzingis is the second best player in the team besides Doncic, but he is one of the most changed players in the league. When he performs badly, the basic scene is unsightly, and it can even be said that the team may have played better without him. But when he's doing well, he's still a lethal scoring force, with his three-point range pulling up almost infinity. There's a reason Porzingis and Doncic are paired, and it's still so, so tempting for me: Porzingis will be able to pull defenders out of the box for Doncic to attack. If Porzingis can play a great season, the duo's blocking tactics may be unstoppable. I haven't forgotten how well Porzingis did in the park before the injury, and that wasn't a long time ago. While Doncic is a top MVP candidate, Porzingis — assuming he's not traded — is a player Dallas is likely to waver this season.
4. Jarren Jackson Jr
The Grizzlies are currently a single-core team, and that star is Ja Morant. But keep in mind that they may be becoming a double-star team, and the second potential star should be Jaren Jackson Jr. On the offensive end, he's been at that high for the first two seasons before he missed most of last season's games with injuries. In the 2019-20 season, Jackson averaged more than 6 shots per game and shot 40% from three-point range. These are not the fixed three-pointers of the ordinary five-out tactic; he can shoot very fluttery shots on the move. His game was similar to that of Carl-Anthony Downs. Curiously, when Jackson left Michigan State, he was seen as a top defensive player. His arsenal on the offensive end was not played at the time. At the same time, his accumulation of fouls is very crazy, and such a rapid number of fouls is worth pondering by the coaching staff. But having defense is good after all, and if Jackson had played at a high level on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends this season, then Memphis' dual-core team would have become very different.
5. Robert Williams III
Boston's fourth-year interior line may be the league's biggest x-factor this season. He has the temperament of a defensive monster and is not slack on the offensive end; he pairs him with all these possession players and a very capable passer to be a huge monster that blocks the attack. Boston may play the two-tower lineup of Williams and Horford, but Williams, who has shown the potential of defensive player of the year, lacks the good habit of continuity and stability. If Williams can break out in the new season, the Celtics can use a more traditional high lineup as the final game lineup even in the face of a small lineup (his defensive coverage is not limited to the basket), which will be a big boon for Boston. There are a lot of people who follow the Celtics, and for me Williams is a big reason why I think they have the quality to finish the season as the top four in the East.
6. Taylor Hilo
Taylor Hilo's sluggish performance last year was somewhat exaggerated. Since his rookie season, his stats have been on the rise across the board. The difference is that he is no longer a rookie at all. Newbies tend to be protected by the team. When they play well, the team makes a lot of money. When they can't play well, they hardly draw undue attention and interest from other teams because they're just rookies in the league. In the second year of his career, Hiro's room for maneuver quickly vanished. After he and the Heat made a brilliant break into the 2020 Finals, expectations of him grew and his struggles on the field were amplified. If you take a step back and look at Hiro's two-year-old data sample, he's really great. With Kyle Lowry on board, he doesn't have to be the focal point for the ball. He was the biggest x-factor in the bench and in the backcourt lineup. The sixth man of the year should be his most practical goal at the moment. If he were close to that level, Miami's strength would be very dangerous.
7. DeAndre Hunt
Last season the Hawks played most of the playoff games without DeAndre Hunter, who missed the division semifinals and finals due to torn meniscus. A lot of people don't realize how good Hunter has become. Hunter was selected as a defensive gatekeeper with fixed-point shooting ability, and he quickly became better off with Trae Young's excellent partner, especially his rapidly evolving ability to create his own shooting opportunities. If Hunter continues his offensive upward trend (averaging 15 points per game last season; 119.9 points per 100 shots ranked 77 percent of all players in the league, every 100 shots, from the cleaning the glass website), he could be the point of difference that Atalanta has slightly regressed after experiencing a slightly more than expected playoff performance last year, or validate last season's success by making it to the top contenders in the Eastern Conference.
8. Patrick Williams
If you follow the Bulls' preseason game, you know that this team offense has the must-see all-American live-streaming potential. The question is whether people who disagree can at least stand their ground. That's where Patrick Williams comes in. Williams is already a great offensive role player, can shoot three-pointers, dribbles well (he's also a really good cutter), and he's going to be Chicago's best individual defensive player, so the toughest perimeter tasks of the night will fall on him as well. He won't need to be on his own to prop up Chicago's defense, but if he's really good, you can convince the Bulls to fill the void around him with players like Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan, who wants to be at least defensively neutral.
9. Yusef Nurkic
You can mention Larry Nance Jr. here. The Blazers need to defend (they again look bad defensively in preseason), and Nance is a very good defender. But unless Nurkic stays healthy and comes close to all-Star level performance, the Blazers will still not be a threatening force. He barely has a chance to actually make the Western Conference All-Stars, but I'm talking about 20+10, consistently efficient and so on. Sometimes, Nurkic goes head-to-head with the best big men in the game and looks like he can handle it. That's what Portland needs, if it's not just a dangerous team that ends up relying too much on a diminutive backcourt combination to create and make incredibly tough jump shots.
10. Kelly Oubre
In such a defensively poor Hornets, The Idea and Awareness of the Defensive End of Oubre is better than it really is, if Oubrey can use his athletical talent without having to play many times to gamble on the defensive and lose his position. For him, it's not just a matter of defense. He has good offensive talent and ability. For the Hornets, his offense certainly wasn't as bad as it was last season with the Warriors, when he struggled to adapt to Curry's elusive host line, but if he could recall his time at Phoenix, when he averaged nearly 20 points per game and was a 35 percent three-pointer and able to make a positive defensive impact. Charlotte would be a more practical threat if Oubre could regain its form.