The NBA season is now over two weeks old, and fans have been gripped by the shocks, injuries, mistakes and comebacks which have dominated the early stages of the new campaign.
Below, Sports Mole takes a look at three key lessons we've learned so far.
1. Cleveland have a long way to go
When LeBron James and Kevin Love decided to sign for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer, the long-suffering franchise were quickly labelled as favourites for the NBA title. Cleveland finally had a team which had the quality required to dominate even the best of sides in the league, and with the big three of James, Love and Kyrie Irving all heading into the season full of confidence, plenty of supporters had joined the Cavaliers bandwagon.
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However, it has been far from easy for head coach David Blatt and his team, who are currently 3-3 for the season. Now, there is certainly no need to jump to conclusions about Cleveland's form. Inevitably, they will improve as the campaign progresses, but dominating the league may take longer than some Cavaliers supporters may have thought a couple of months ago. In the losses to the New York Knicks, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz, there were clear signs that it wasn't clicking for Blatt's side on offense. Assists were hard to come by for the likes of Irving and James, who often seemed to be caught in two minds with the ball in their hands.
Cleveland must quickly decide how they want to win the NBA title. James can be trusted to score as anyone else in the league, but he also proved during his time with the Miami Heat that he can control the whole offense with his ability to pick out teammates and make room for others on the court. If he is handed a bigger role on offense, that would mean Irving must play a supporting role, something that he is not always entirely comfortable with. Cleveland have the best player in the world on their team, though, and Irving must realise soon that increasing the influence of James on the court can only be a good thing for the Cavaliers.
2. James Harden and Steph Curry could be the MVP
Despite the struggles mentioned above, LeBron James is the favourite to take the MVP award away from Kevin Durant this season. His incredible ability and consistency earns him that status, but this season's race to be named the league's best player appears to be very open. Whenever a players enters the MVP discussion, their critics are quickly on the scene to single out the negative aspects of their game, but at this stage of the season, what is the harm in speculating?
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James Harden has joined the NBA's elite since leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to become the main man for the Houston Rockets, and despite the team's difficulties matching the likes of the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference, the 25-year-old's form has been impressive. In the early stages of this season, we've seen that Harden has improved defensively after earning a reputation as a scorer and not a lot else. To be the MVP, your all-round game must be excellent, and even a slight improvement on the defensive end is enough to see Harden's chances of winning the award increased. Unsurprisingly, Harden has been pivotal in Houston's excellent start to the season, and he could be rewarded with a personal honour in 2015.
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However, Harden is not the only player looking to be crowned MVP for the first time. Ever since entering the NBA in 2009, Steph Curry has been brilliant to watch. When the 26-year-old eventually walks away from the game, he's likely to be remembered as one of the best shooters in the NBA's history. There are not many players who can match Curry late in games. He stands up when the Golden State Warriors need him too, and he's always prepared to take the important shots in the fourth quarter. His scoring ability has never been in question, but the challenge for Curry is to now turn the Warriors into genuine title contenders with the help Klay Thompson. Curry will always be a fan favourite, but he is now proving that he is ready to take his game to the next level.
3. Carmelo Anthony may be regretting a missed opportunity
To be fair, after signing a contract worth $129m (£83m) in the summer, Anthony is probably very happy with life right now, but he's in a very different position on the court. Anthony passed the 20,000-point mark in the first week of the season, a statistic which ensures that he will always be remembered by supporters of the NBA, but is he running out of time to be considered one of the greats? Since a shock victory over the Cavaliers on the opening night the Knicks have slipped back into old habits. They've also managed to lose six games a week, with the difficulties adapting to Derek Fisher's triangle offense becoming clear to everyone.
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When his contract with the Knicks expires, Anthony will be 35. Will a championship contender want to sign an ageing Anthony in five years? Of course. He'll still be good enough to score impressively, but at that stage of an NBA career there are no guarantees over form or fitness. For that reason, the Brooklyn-born forward may have missed his best chance to win an NBA title. Even with the arrival of the legendary Phil Jackson as president of basketball operations, head coach Fisher knows his side face a tough battle to reach the playoffs, and a title challenge could be many years away.
In the summer, the likes of the Chicago Bulls and the Rockets wanted to build their team around Anthony's talents, but he resisted the temptation to move in order to keep his family in New York. It's difficult to argue with a decision like that, but his choice to stay at Madison Square Garden means that a title bid will have to wait until the winter of his career.
Callum Mulvihill
