BY CONNOR MENDEL
The NBA is finally back. With the Cleveland Cavaliers as the returning NBA champs, watchers are excited to see how their season enfolds. As the season kicked off Oct. 25, there are many new exciting, young players to keep an eye on throughout the season. The number one overall draft pick was Ben Simmons, forward, from LSU to the Philadelphia 76ers. Expecting big things from him went down the drain when he broke his right foot. Yet to play in any games so far, the 76ers are 4-14. Key players to watch are Nikola Jokic for the Denver Nuggets who was drafted second round in 2014. He made his debut for them last year and had a solid rookie season.
Next on the list is Gary Harris, also on the Denver Nuggets. Improving on his shooting and getting him into the starting lineup should make a very interesting year, not only for him, but for the young Nuggets team. Third on the list is Doug McDermott, a stud from Creighton University, who had an awful rookie season with a knee injury limiting him to only 36 games. Now with Dwayne Wade and Rajon Rondo on the Chicago Bulls, they look to have a very good year with the help of McDermott. Jabari Parker falls into fourth with a disappointing rookie year and a torn ACL. Parker came back and played a full season last year, but he did not perform his best. Training hard in the off season, getting his shooting better and focusing on defense has made it seem like he will have an explosive year.
Last but not least is Devin Booker from the Phoenix Suns. His rookie season coming off the bench averages 13.8 points in 27.7 minutes per game. With Eric Bledsoe getting injured and Booker coming into the starting lineup, he proved to the whole team that he could become an NBA superstar. Before turning 20 years old, he has six games in the NBA where he has scored 30 or more points. Besides these players coming to stand out, Kevin Durant made his way to Oakland, California, to join Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
“I am unfazed by Durant going to the Warriors because he is soft, I think he ruined his career for going,” said Clay Wagner, 11, when asked about the free agency. “I want to watch Chris Anderson, aka The Birdman, play for the defending NBA champs.”
Molly Palecek, 11, “I did not really care because the Cavs will still destroy the Warriors. Also, I am really excited to watch the second round pick, Brandon Ingram to play this season. He is from Duke, and I love Duke so I am interested to see how well he performs on the big stage.”
Overall, the NBA should be really interesting to watch this year. With a lot of young players looking to show off their talent. It should also be a fun, exciting year to watch your own NBA champs, The Cleveland Cavaliers.
