When More is Less, and Less is More

Sometimes, life gifts us with some difficult situations that would later crank out unexpected results. We witnessed this with mild frequency in the NBA’s 1st round playoffs. While we saw most of the expected teams move forward to the 2nd round, we also saw some less-endowed teams move up as well. In some cases, teams that have paraded supposedly stronger line-ups this year have not performed as expected, and have instead been forced to pack up and take the exit door. While there were some cases as well when teams that have had a significant drop in talent have shown a refreshing resilience, and instead, have produced quite encouraging improvements.

Take the case of the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks were considered a dark horse team for the championship, with the acquisition of lights-out shooter Damian Lillard from the Portland Trailblazers at the start of the season. The Bucks may have lost veteran defender, Jrue Holiday, in that blockbuster merry-go-round of players; but by and large, the Bucks were tagged as the biggest winner in that trade. Game-time Dame was supposed to provide the added firepower to open up driving lanes for Giannis, and push the team over the top once again. But toward the middle of the season, it seemed that the team could not get revved up enough to give the eastern frontrunning Boston Celtics a run for their money. And by the end of the regular season, the Bucks had sunk to a vulnerable and under-achieving 3rd in the Eastern Conference, far from what was expected of them. And what further aggravated their situation was the injury to resident superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, toward the end of the regular season. Their season was abruptly terminated in the 1st round of the playoffs, after a 4-2 beating they absorbed from the younger, faster, hungrier yet less-talented Indiana Pacers. This shows us that sometimes, acquiring more talent may not necessarily translate to more successes as well.

Next, consider the case of the Phoenix Suns. The Suns were a dangerous team last year, almost upending the eventual champs, Denver Nuggets, in the playoffs’ 2nd round. This year, the Suns acquired another lethal scorer in Bradley Beal, but lost Chris Paul in the trade. They also traded resident big man, Deandre Ayton, for Portland’s Jusuf Nurkic. They may have lost their top point guard in Chris, but cage afficionados once again rated this a clear win for the Suns, as Beal would team up with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as arguably the deadliest shooting trio in the league today. But apparently, this is easier said than done. Injuries deflated this otherwise unholy triumvirate, giving them little time to jell. The upcoming Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that didn’t even reach the playoffs last year, would sweep the Suns 4-0 quite convincingly. Again, here’s another case of achieving less successes with more talent.

Another case of acquiring more, but achieving less is that of the LA Clippers. The Clippers were cruising at 4th-5th place in the West, and were quite excited with the erstwhile injured Kawhi Leonard now looking fit and ready to rejoin the fray. Things appeared rosy for the team now. Unfortunately, Kawhi’s presence did not provide a positive result for the team. After the smoke of battle cleared, the Clippers found themselves booted out by a now-fully adjusted Dallas Mavericks, 4-2. Ironically, the Clippers had registered its 2 wins when Kawhi had not suited up. And it lost the 2 games when Kawhi played. It seems that Kawhi’s presence has not helped the team at all. What is clear in this case is that the team was far better off without Kawhi than they were with him. At that particular time. Perhaps if they had gotten more time to jell, things would have gotten better for the team.

Two teams, however, have shown uncanny resilience and have even improved their standings despite the injuries or departure of some name players.

The New York Knicks have had a bad end-of-season, with the injuries to 2 top players, Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanovich. It would have been so easy to say “we’re done for the season”, with the loss of the 2 starters. But Jalen Brunson would have none of that. Brunson would lead an undermanned Knicks team to the 2nd round of the playoffs, beating an Embiid-powered Phila 76ers team 4-2. A case of achieving more with less.

Another team, while having lost in the first round, also showed us that despite the flight of a known superstar, they can still improve their game. The Philadelphia 76ers, having lost their star point guard James Harden in the off-season, were expected to fall far below the standings. Instead, they found an unlikely new hero in Tyrese Maxey. Maxey won Most Improved Player, and even became an All-Star this year, making Harden’s absence easier to digest. Even though the Sixers eventually lost to the Knicks, they have proven that losing superstars can be providential for some teams as well. In this case, it has led to the full maturity of Maxey. Another example of achieving more with less.

What lesson/s do we learn from the varied results of these 5 teams?

Perhaps the main point to be learned here is that acquisition of players is not as easy as addition or subtraction. When the Bucks traded Holiday for Lillard, they focused on the points Lillard would provide. However, they failed to see that Lillard could very well be a redundancy to Kris Middleton, who is also known as a deadly shooter. They also failed to see that as Holiday left, he would pack up his tough-as-nails perimeter defense as well.

Same with the Beal for Paul trade. While the Suns would benefit from the projected points-avalanche that Beal could provide, they failed to see that Beal was a carbon copy of Devin Booker, and that he could just take away plenty of ball touches for Booker and Kevin Durant. Plus they would lose the court generalship of Chris Paul. Similar to the case of the Bucks, the Suns traded away their point guard asset for another shooter, a Booker carbon copy.

As for the Clippers, Kawhi may be the best player in the team, but for so long as he has not jelled enough with the rest of his teammates, he will not be able to optimize his talents. This reminds us of what happened to Harden himself, when he joined the Clippers. The Clippers lost the first 5 games Harden played in. But after adjustments were made, and after a clear acceptance by all the members of the team, Harden would eventually land the starting point guard role. Once the team chemistry was acquired, the Clippers would start to move up the western conference totem pole. In the case of Kawhi, the apparent lack of team chemistry upon his re-entry played in the minds of the Clipper players, and it made it next to impossible for them to win the series.

All 3 teams had similar situations where they thought they had better scorers, and thus, better chances of winning. All 3 teams failed to see that the addition of more scorers may not necessarily add value, but may instead provide undue tension within the team. Undue tension that would disrupt the team’s chemistry and cohesion.

As for the Knicks and the Sixers, the injuries and departure of name players have instead forced the players to help each other and work even harder. Showcasing great team chemistry, the Knicks in particular have thrived, with 3 ex-college buddies – Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo – locking arms to keep the Knicks’ season alive.

Team chemistry then is that intangible ingredient that will make or unmake a team. It refers to the synergy, cohesion and healthy relationships among teammates. It provides the supportive environment that leads to cooperation, and ultimately, success. Thus, in a team sport like basketball, the acquisition of star players may not necessarily ensure success. Players have to fit in, they have to gain the trust and confidence of everyone in the team. In the cases of the Knicks, playing with lesser firepower did not seem to faze them. Instead, they closed ranks. In the end, they succeeded. This is a wonderful lesson on team chemistry, for it is that most critical yet unseen factor that could lead to peak performance.

Cover photo courtesy of ESPN. Other photos courtesy of x.com, Dallas Morning News, BasketballNews.com, Brew Hoop, Bleacher Report, AP News and Sports Illustrated.