National Basketball Association

NBA: 5 Things That Are Either Real Or Fake

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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There are a lot of trends that pop up during a typical NBA season, and 2016-17 is no different. Find out if these five are real or fake.

Dec 1, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) loses the ball while driving to the basket in the second quarter against the LA Clippers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA season is a tricky and fickle mistress. Storylines emerge and take over in mere days, and can dissipate just as quickly. It feels like there’s been about 10 different favorites to win MVP this year already, and it was a week or so ago that the Los Angeles Clippers were the best team around.

It’s easy to jump on a bandwagon. NBA Twitter can often turn into a wind tunnel, spinning the same ideas around and around until they sound like facts, even when they aren’t. Storylines aren’t inherently bad — they make it more fun to follow the association.

Sometimes these stories are fact, but other times they’re fiction. It’s important to know which is which and not get caught up in a narrative that doesn’t end up holding true down the road.

To make sure fans don’t get sucked down the rabbit hole early on, we’re going to look at five trends that have popped up and judge them to be either real or fake. The inspiration for this is an old Tyga song called, you guessed it, Real or Fake.

Dec 2, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives past Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) during the second half at the United Center. Chicago won 111-105. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Struggles

The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost three straight games. They were beaten by the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Chicago Bulls. One of those teams is a contender and the other two are Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls, but the Cavs are reigning NBA champions.

So is there cause for concern in Cleveland based on this small rough patch? There shouldn’t be. The Cavaliers lost three straight games in early December last season too, and that one ended up working out pretty well for them.

LeBron James is still far and away the East’s most formidable foe, and Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving aren’t exactly slouches either. Kyrie hasn’t been hitting threes at his usual rate over the last three games and LeBron’s turnovers per game are up over six in that span, but this feels like more of a bump in the road than a significant problem.

The Cavaliers still have a half-game lead on the Toronto Raptors, even with their rough week factored in. This team is the most talented group in their conference, and they’re one good LeBron pep talk away from a dominant run to remind everybody of their alpha dog status in the East.

The Cavaliers’ Rough Stretch: Fake

Next: Boston Celtics

Nov 23, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets power forward Trevor Booker (35) during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Celtics Winning Games

The Boston Celtics had a rough start to their season. They lost four of their first seven games after a summer that saw them add Al Horford and go from a scrappy underdog to a team that is supposed to win a lot of games.

Expectations can be tough, and it looked like Boston was going to fail to live up to theirs at first. The Celtics have then snapped back into form, and currently sit at 11-8, good enough for fourth in the Eastern Conference.

What’s real about the Celtics, their slow start or their recent surge? To find out, all that’s necessary is to glance at Boston’s numbers when Horford is playing. In nine games with Horford, Boston is 6-3. In 10 without him, they’re 5-5.

The Celtics are just as good as everybody expected them to be, while their best player is healthy. Jae Crowder has also battled injuries this season, although he’s been healthier than Horford. With those two on the floor, Boston is outscoring opponents by nearly nine points per 100 possessions, according to NBAwowy.

Boston is legit, as long as Horford, Crowder and company can stay on the floor.

The Celtics Being A Good Team: Real

Next: Los Angeles Clippers

Dec 2, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; LA Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) brings the ball up court against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first quarter at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Clippers Being Elite

Although the Golden State Warriors may have knocked them off the “best team in the NBA” pedestal, the Los Angeles Clippers have still been very good this season. Are they really good enough to compete with the top dogs?

The Clippers had a three-game stretch not unlike the one the Cavs find themselves in the midst of right now. Los Angeles lost to three pretty bad teams, and many jokes were made at the Clippers’ expense, as is tradition. The Clips rebounded by beating the Cavaliers soundly and then handling the New Orleans Pelicans with ease.

To be the best you need to beat the best, and Los Angeles has done that. The Clippers have beaten the San Antonio Spurs, the Toronto Raptors and those Cavs, plus they’re 1-1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Every top team L.A. has went up against, they’ve beaten.

The game that really matters is against the Warriors on Wednesday. That will be a true test for both teams. Even though the Clippers still have wrinkles to figure out, the combination of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan is enough to handle most teams in the NBA. Maybe it’s enough to handle all of them.

The Clippers Being Damn Good: Real

Next: Harden And Westbrook Wrecking Everything

Apr 5, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) shoots the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) defends during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

James Harden And Russell Westbrook Dominating The NBA

James Harden and Russell Westbrook were always good, but right now these two are incredible. Harden is averaging 28.3 points, 11.8 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game, while Westbrook is putting up 31.2 points, 11.3 assists and 10.5 rebounds per game.

Can these two keep up these levels of insane production? Right now they seem unstoppable, but doing so much for a team must take a toll eventually, even if the results in the meantime are excellent.

That’s what logic presents, although both Harden and Westbrook didn’t really see a major decrease in their numbers as the year went on last season. Westbrook’s scoring numbers dipped somewhat, but his rebounds and assists actually picked up in the last few months of the season.

He’s doing more work now, as is Harden, but if these two find some games to rest up during the season and don’t push themselves too hard they might actually keep this insane behavior up. As unlikely as it may seem, these early season dynamos look legit through nearly 20 games.

Harden And Westbrook Tearing Up The League: Real

Next: Los Angeles Lakers

Nov 27, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young (0) celebrates with forward Larry Nance Jr. (7) after a shot against the Atlanta Hawks during the second quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers Being Decent

The Los Angeles Lakers are currently 10-11, which is not exactly an overwhelmingly impressive record. Still, the Lakers were supposed to be terrible this season. That makes them nearly being at .500 through 21 games a pretty good start.