Miles Bridges has been among the biggest surprises of the 2021-22 NBA season

With about a dozen games in the books, we take a look at the five biggest surprises so far during the 2021-22 NBA season.

5. THIBS' KNICKS ARE PULLING UP

If you tuned out New York Knicks basketball after the 2021 NBA Playoffs and were only just catching up with them now, you’d be blown away by the on-court transformation. After sputtering to a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Hawks because nobody on the team aside from Julius Randle could create a shot with the ball in their hands, the Knicks suddenly find themselves one of the top pull-up shooting teams in the NBA.

After attempting 25.1 pull up field goals per game last season (the lion's share taken by Randle), the Knicks are now leading the entire NBA at 32.1 (poetically, just ahead of the second ranked Atlanta Hawks). While Tom Thibodeau surely can’t be pleased by the slipping effort on defense, the Knicks are third on offense and seem likely to remain near the top because of their distributed off-the-dribble attack.

4. THE WIZARDS ARE LEGIT GOOD

In most NBA trades, the team that gets the star wins, because consolidating talent is the name of the game for teams that want to compete. But the Washington Wizards trading Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers is bucking that trend.

By adding Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell in the deal, the Wizards added two starters and a leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate. They also used the salary cap space they created to sign Spencer Dinwiddie.

Suddenly the Wizards have a deep rotation of quality NBA players, and Wes Unseld Jr. has the team humming on both ends. The Wizards are fifth on defense, and eighth on offense, and they have wins over the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and Atlanta Hawks. Bradley Beal has yet to find his rhythm. but when he does, the ceiling on this Wizards team might be higher than any but the most optimistic fans might have hoped.

3. THE SIXERS OFFENSE BY COMMITTEE

The Philadelphia 76ers have been beset by a series of calamities. Ben Simmons is still nowhere close to returning to action, and now Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, and Joel Embiid are all struggling with positive COVID-19 diagnoses. Seth Curry also missed their game against the Bucks with a foot injury. But for the players that are still on the court? This has been an incredible display of grit and competence.

Andre Drummond has performed admirably both as Embiid’s backup and as the active starting center. Tyrese Maxey is blossoming into a starting-caliber point guard, and is currently shooting 74% at the rim. Georges Niang has an effective field goal percentage of 58.1%.

With a +7.1 point differential, the team is playing at a 58-win pace, despite missing 80% of their starting lineup. If this version of the Sixers can keep holding the line until the starters return, then the Sixers might come out stronger for it in the end.

2. MILES BRIDGES IS A FUTURE STAR

Opinions on the Charlotte Hornets were all over the map headed into this year. John Hollinger at The Athletic pegged them for 29 wins, oddsmakers had them at 38.5, and Zach Lowe of ESPN was even more bullish than that. It was universally agreed though, that the failure or success of the Hornets would depend on internal development of their young star player.

No, not that young star player as it turned out. LaMelo Ball has been incandescent on offense (even if he still has glaring issues on the other end), but it has been the transformation of Miles Bridges that has driven what little success Charlotte has had so far this season.

Bridges is averaging 22.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 52.1 eFG%. He’s the runaway favorite right now to win Most Improved Player, shifting from complementary piece to part of the franchise core in just 10 games. He’s looking like a future star.

1. THE BULLS GETTING IT DONE ON DEFENSE

Like many others, I was skeptical of the Chicago Bulls' defense this season. But incredibly, the Bulls not only surviving on that end, they are thriving. The Bulls currently rank fourth in defensive rating, per Cleaning the Glass, and are getting contributions from all over the roster. While there remain limitations with some of the starters, Zach LaVine has shown the commitment that he did in Tokyo playing for Team USA, and the additions of Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball have made the Bulls point of attack defense downright daunting.

They’re also getting quality defensive minutes from Javonte Green, Derrick Jones Jr., and hometown kid Ayo Dosunmu. And while the Bulls are getting some help with opponents missing 3s at a high rate, they’re also one of the league leaders in limiting opponent 3-point attempts, a stat that usually sustains over the long haul. The Bulls' defense might not stay top-5 level, but they’re likely better than average, which makes Chicago a scary Eastern Conference out.