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Hot Take Cannon: The Timberwolves surge is very real, the Suns are very good and more from around the NBA

What’s up, family! FTW’s NBA Hot Take Cannon is back with more goodies for you to snack on.

We’re about one fourth of the way into the season so far with teams starting to either hit or creep closer to that 20 game mark. The small sample size theater that we had to start the season is morphing into the league’s new reality.

So you know what that means — there’s plenty to discuss today. We’re going to get in on the Lakers and Clippers, the Suns being awesome and more.

But before we do that, let’s talk a little bit about the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves are actually good! But they'll have a hard time keeping it up

The Timberwolves, man. They’re actually good. In the first time in quite a long time the Timberwolves are actually good.

Don’t look now, but they’ve got the NBA’s fourth-best defense and the 6th best net rating in the league so far. The Wolves are on a five-game winning streak and, at bare minimum, look like a sure bet for the NBA’s play-in so far.

But they might actually be a bit better than that? Chris Finch has stumbled upon a starting lineup that might actually be the best lineup in the NBA — period. The combo of Patrick Bevlery, Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell, Jared Vanderbilt and Karl-Anthony Towns has a net rating of 48.3 in 92 minutes played together.

That’s playoff team stuff right there. And it’s not fluke. Why? Because Patrick Beverley is steering the ship on defense.

These guys all hustle. They move on a rope together and Beverley is vicious at the point of attack.

But that’s exactly why they’re going to struggle to keep this up. Beverley has been incredibly good for the Wolves so far and has set the tone for their defensive play.

But he’s also out now for, at least, two weeks with an adductor strain.

The Wolves’ luck, man. That’s awful. Just when they struck gold, something like this happens. Josh Okogie is fine, but he’s not the two-way presence Beverley is and struggles on offense. Malik Beasley is in a deep slump, so just sliding him in on the wing and moving Russell to point doesn’t help offensively, either.

The Wolves will have to find a way to figure this out. They can certainly do it, but it won’t be easy.

For Minnesota fans’ sakes, I hope they do.

We should really be talking Suns more

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a team actually make it to the NBA Finals and be talked about less the next year. It feels like we’re collectively ignoring the Suns more than we did the Raptors after they won the title in 2019 (which was also ridiculous).

But Phoneix has won 15 straight after stumbling out the gate a bit. Devin Booker looks like an All-NBA caliber player, Chris Paul is, well, Chris Paul and they’re just doing everything at a high level.

Their execution is just always flawless, no matter who is involved in the play.

Obviously, the Warriors have been a huge story in the NBA so far this season, and rightfully so. But the Suns look like they’re just as good.

Let’s start treating them like it.

The Clippers > The Lakers?

I think…I think the Clippers might be the NBA’s best LA team? Ok, look, just hear me out.

Listen, man. It’s early. I know it’s early. And the season isn’t even close to being done yet. There are just roughly 60 more games to be played.

But the Clippers look good right now, man. They’ve legitimately got the second best defense in the NBA. Paul George’s shooting splits have dipped a bit, but he’s still been a legitimate top 15 player so far. And when you combine that with the Clippers defense, you got a top 4-ish seed in the West.

The Lakers? Boy, they’re a mess. They just beat the Pacers by the skin of their teeth and needed a God mode overtime period from LeBron James to get it done.

That’s been the story for them all season. They’ve been unhealthy and they need superhuman performances from stars to win. Russell Westbrook has looked uneven. Anthony Davis hasn’t looked like the Anthony Davis we’re used to. It’s just been a struggle.

Things can change. We’ll see who the kings of the Crypt(o.com Arena) are when the end of the year gets here. Me? I’m leaning Clippers.

The NBA's short suspensions are fine

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I think people are complaining a bit too much about the NBA’s recent suspensions.

So here’s the deal. We’ve seen two incidents where extra curricular violence has occurred in the middle of NBA games. That’s what happened with Nikola Jokic. That’s also what happened with LeBron James last week.

And, as a result, both players were only suspended for one game. Isaiah Stewart actually got two for trying to run 50 people over to get to LeBron.

The NBA got that exactly right. The only complaint I have is that Stewart probably was suspended for a game longer than he should’ve been, but otherwise they’ve handled it perfectly.

There’s no reason to overreact to players having these incidents. Things get heated in the midst of the game. And when that happens, these incidents occur. Nip it in the bud with a fine and suspension and keep it pushing. That’s what this should always be.

That’s what the NBA ultimately did. Good on them for it.

 

This is not an offensive foul

This is really just an excuse for me to post this Anthony Edwards dunk again. I’m sure you absolutely agree with the sentiment, though.

Ban the ref. Do it.

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