10 biggest surprises of the early 2016-17 NBA season

https://youtu.be/uWzi1Em88JI

Are the Lakers good?

Even the homerest of Laker homers wouldn’t have said their team would be over .500 after 15 games. Or that Nick Young would have started all 15 of games and played well. But they are, and he is.

New head coach Luke Walton has sped things up. The team’s fifth in pace (possessions a team uses per game), and last season they were 16th. It’s paid off big time.

They finished last season 29th in offensive efficiency. As of now, they rank seventh in that stat. They were ranked dead last in field goal percentage and three-point percentage last season, and now they’re ranked in the top-ten in both categories.

https://youtu.be/U-3j0Sna6Ys

The most incredible detail about their offensive turnaround is that it’s being done with the same core group of youngsters that won just 17 games last season.

So was Kobe Bryant holding these guys back or is Luke Walton just a better coach than Byron Scott?

The haters would love to put this all on the Black Mamba, but Scott was the worst coach in the NBA last season. He was terrible with the young players and his outdated methods never stood a chance.