LOOK: NBA’s unlikely bubble beasts

The NBA 2019-2020 season restart and seeding games have brought out the best and worst of all 22 teams competing.

Some, like the top-ranked Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, have been caught off-guard and have lost games simply because there is not much incentive left to give their best effort before the playoffs come.

Meanwhile, most of the middle- and lower-ranked squads have so far been playing like every game is their last, because every win and loss massively affects their final postseason position or for some, their chances to make it there.

As top stars like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo take their feet off the gas for a short while, other lesser-known players have turned into the Orlando bubble’s most unlikely heroes, and their teams are definitely grateful for their efforts.

TJ Warren, Indiana Pacers

Bubble averages: 33.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.8 blocks, 59% FG, 54% 3PT

Team bubble record: 3-1

Once traded from the Phoenix Suns for cash considerations, 6-foot-8 forward TJ Warren has definitely been money from anywhere on the court for the banged-up Indiana Pacers.

The 26-year-old scorer caught everyone, probably even himself, by surprise when he torched fellow contender Philadelphia 76ers for a career-high 53 points on 20–of29 shooting and 9-of-12 from three in a much-needed 127-121 comeback win.

Proving his eruption was no fluke, Warren then dropped 34 and 32 more points in their next two wins before being checked to 16 points in a loss by no less than his old Suns squad.

Thanks to Warren’s scoring blow-ups, the Pacers are well within striking distance for the 3rd seed in the East, and that is without All-Star Domantas Sabonis in the lineup while fellow All-Star Victor Oladipo is still shaking off rust.

As for the Suns, who have been surprisingly undefeated anyway in the bubble, their cash is still averaging 0 points.

Cameron Payne, Phoenix Suns

Bubble averages: 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 54% FG, 53% 3PT, 20.1 minutes

Team bubble record: 4-0

Speaking of the Suns, here is one late-season pickup who has been a surprisingly vital part of the team’s undefeated start in the bubble, Cameron Payne.

Once known only as Russell Westbrook’s pregame dance partner back with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 25-year-old point guard has earned his place back in the league and is suddenly now the sixth man Phoenix has been desperately looking for.

For a player who has not stepped on an NBA court since January 23, 2019, the 6-foot-3 sparkplug has been bringing the Payne off the bench and the Suns’ opponents are paying the price for it.

If ever the Suns dance their way back to the playoffs, Payne has certainly earned the right to boogie in the bubble.

Gary Trent Jr, Portland Trail Blazers

Bubble averages: 20.3 points, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steal, 59% shooting, 63% 3PT, 32.9 minutes

Team bubble record: 3-1

From one team knocking on the door of the playoffs to another, the Portland Trail Blazers have certainly gotten their money’s worth out of sophomore guard Gary Trent Jr.

Playing behind an established All-Star backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, the 21-year-old scorer has still found his stride and certainly earned every single minute of his extended playing time.

Just in his last game against the 3rd-seeded Denver Nuggets, the 6-foot-5 guard stepped up and dropped 27 points with 7 made threes off the bench as McCollum got ice-cold.

This, of course, was overshadowed but certainly not undervalued by Lillard’s 45-point, 11-triple eruption in the same game.

With multiple teams clawing at their feet in the standings like the Suns, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs, the 9th-seeded Blazers need all the firepower they can have, and Trent has certainly stepped up to the challenge.

Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers

Bubble averages: 22.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.0 blocks, 1.5 steals, 49% FG

Team bubble record: 3-1

Just like Trent, the Blazers have gotten surprising numbers out of their beloved big man Jusuf Nurkic, who made his season debut in the bubble after horrifically breaking his left leg on March 26, 2019.

After more than a year of extensive rehab, the “Bosnian Beast” came back in a huge way with an 18-point, 9-board, 6-block, 5-assist game in his official bubble debut.

He then scored 30 in a tough loss to the Boston Celtics the following game before churning out an 18-point, 19-board game in a much-needed win against the Houston Rockets.

Then in just his fourth game back, he gave 7-foot-2 Nuggets rookie Bol Bol a warm welcome to the league with a thunderous poster jam.

Safe to say, the Blazers’ beast is truly back and unleashed, just in time to make the league remember what they have missed from him this season.

Michael Porter Jr, Denver Nuggets

Bubble averages: 26.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.0 block, 58% shooting, 50% 3PT

Team bubble record: 2-2

Is the future really here?

For months now, basketball pundits have been excited about the unlimited potential of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.

The 6-foot-10, five-star college prospect fell into Denver’s lap with the 14th pick of the 2018 NBA draft due to back injury concerns, which up to this point have been very much valid.

After sitting out the entire 2018-2019 season, Porter has still been in and out of the lineup for the 2019-2020 campaign due to the aforementioned injury issues, but has shown flashes of the talent that once made him a first overall pick candidate.

But in 4 games so far in the Disney bubble, the lanky 21-year-old has been making magic for a Denver side that is still missing practically every main cog except All-NBA center Nikola Jokic.

After a quiet 11-point bubble debut, Porter erupted for a career-high 37 points plus 12 rebounds and hasn’t looked back since.

Already armed to the teeth with tapped and untapped potential, Denver is a gold mine under repair just waiting to flaunt top-quality Nuggets once again.

Once that day comes, then the Western Conference will get even more complicated than it already is. In the midst of that chaos, the fans will surely come out as winners. – Rappler.com