NBA 2018-19: Takeaways from NBA Regular Season Week 7

Week 7 of the NBA 2018-19 season has been a great week for the fans, featuring some really good games, a few uncharacteristic wins and blowout losses.

One of the most surprising wins was for the New York Knicks against the Milwaukee Bucks. Another surprise was the under-fire Washington Wizards beating the Houston Rockets in a come from behind win.

Let us take a look at a few takeaways from the games last week.

#1 Nikola Vucevic is playing like an All-Star

Orlando Magic are in playoff contention this season

Nobody expected the Orlando Magic to be this good. They are 8th in the Eastern Conference with an 11-12 record. They have had a good-news-bad-news stretch that featured a season-series-clinching sweep of the Lakers, nail-biter losses against Toronto and Golden State, and a blowout in Denver.

The reason behind such a rise has been their vastly improved center, Nikola Vucevic. He had shown flashes of his playmaking and three-point shooting abilities last season, but this season has continued to emerge as a bright light in a bad Orlando Magic team and has carried them forward into playoff spots.

The big man for Orlando was thought to be second fiddle to the development of Mo Bamba, who the Magic had drafted in this season's draft. But he has come out all guns blazing, averaging career highs in points scored, rebounds and assists per game.

He is averaging 21 points, 11 rebounds and almost 4 assists per game. The only big men doing better are probably Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He is probably the biggest reason why the Orlando Magic are doing well and will continue to do well as long as he is performing at this level.

#2 Pascal Siakam is a part of a four man core for the Toronto Raptors:

Toronto Raptors seem to have unearthed a gem

Pascal Siakam is an NBA statistician's dream. He is a third-year forward from Cameroon who has taken a massive leap as a jack of all trades who solves all sorts of problems for the Toronto Raptors.

He stepped forward last season as a key cog in the second unit that helped the Raptors to a franchise-record 59 wins. After the Kawhi Leonard trade and the dismissal of ex-head coach Dwayne Casey, Nick Nurse decided to give Siakam a chance alongside the new core of Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Serge Ibaka/Jonas Valancuinas.

This move has paid off immediate and handsome dividends for the Raptors, who have been able to score their opponents off the court. The Raptors are 4-0 for the week including a huge 131-128 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Siakam was amazing in this game, defending really well and also was superb on the offensive end, scoring 26. He was expected to be a low usage, complementary player this season, but he is now enjoying his highest usage ever. Pascal Siakam is not yet Draymond Green, but he certainly has the blueprints to become one.

#3 The Western Conference has no clear winner anymore

Los Angeles Clippers have the perfect blend of rookies and Veterans

The West is a mess of some high-quality talent. There are no definites in the conference anymore. The only thing one can be certain about is that the Phoenix Suns are unimpressive. With the addition of Trevor Ariza, one can be forgiven for thinking they'll be able to compete this season. Instead, the surprise packages of the West have gotta be the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Kings are now at an 11-11 record, which is way more wins than anyone would've predicted, a quarter of a season in. They have been led by a new and improved De'Aaron Fox, alongside the duo of Willie Cayley Stein and Buddy Hield, who have stepped up to the occasion.

The Los Angeles Clippers are 2nd in the Western Conference, tied with the Denver Nuggets for the best record in the West. The Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, favorites to start the season have been underperforming, making the league really entertaining and hard to predict. The Utah Jazz are 14th, just four games behind the #1 team. Topsy turvy and electrifying is how the West is turning out to be.

#4 The Washington Wizards might miss out on the playoffs

Washington Wizards really needs a fresh start — Washington

While the West is an unpredictable maze of teams overperforming and underperforming, the Eastern conference easier to predict, at least five teams are surely going to enter the playoffs.

One would've had naturally assumed to include the Washington Wizards here too. But they have had a torrid start to the season, so much so that they have already had a few bust ups already.

The Wizards had added Dwight Howard in the offseason for a stronger backcourt. But his injuries, which will make him miss another three months, have made them even weaker. Teams are exploiting the lack of fit bodies in the backcourt which is what is making them easy picks against solid teams.

They have won once in the last three games and if they don't find a way to turn it around soon enough, these bunch of players might not be able to play together for long.

#5 Luka Doncic is surely the Rookie of the Year

Luka Doncic is the early Rookie of the Year

The Dallas Mavericks were supposed to be a team still under a rebuilding process. Signing DeAndre Jordan was a good move but it signalled their intent to start winning again this season.

Luka Doncic has been an absolute star this season. He is a 6'6'' point guard who can play against a player like LeBron James on the defensive end while handling the ball and acting as a pass-first player.

The Mavericks are at 11-10 this season, proving their doubters wrong, just like Luka has. They are on an 8-2 run right now, with two wins out of 3, against the Clippers and the Rockets which are huge wins.

They have also had an emphatic win over the Warriors, which has really made people realise how good Luka is and what he brings to the team. Through 19 games, Doncic is averaging 19 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists. He’s also shooting 39.8 percent from deep and has certainly elevated this Mavericks team.