2017-18 NBA Regular Season: 10 pleasant surprises

The 2017-18 NBA regular season campaign is drawing to a halt, and this 6-month spell of NBA basketball has been as captivating as any in recent memory.

LeBron James continues to demonstrate basketball excellence at a different elevation than the rest of the field, which continues to persevere to reach the levels set by The King in today's day and age of basketball.

This season, much of the NBA landscape changed due to a plethora of game-changing offseason moves.

Chris Paul's trade to Houston Rockets, Kyrie Irving's trade to the Boston Celtics, Jimmy Butler's move to Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder's acquisition of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were some of the blockbuster moves responsible for this.

There are a number of storylines that got fans all excited and pleasantly surprised - there were many more phenomena to get excited about than despair about. Here, we list down an unranked list of 10 such surprising things from this NBA season.

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#10 Houston Rockets' dominance

Houston Rockets have the best record in the NBA right now

The Houston Rockets made what is probably the best trade deal of the summer of 2017 right at the start of the free agency window.

Way back in June, Daryl Morey traded Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Sam Dekker, Darrun Hillard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer and a protected 2018 first-round pick for Chris Paul - making it an 8 players-for-1 trade that beat the previous record held by the Kevin Garnett trade to the Celtics (which was 7-for-1).

The skeptics rose their heads and began questioning how well two ball-hungry guards would fit in alongside each other, but Mike D'Antoni (who could probably become the first head coach to win Coach of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons) made light of the situation.

Plugging Chris Paul into the lineup required a couple of cosmetic adjustments from both the players, but with the talent level involved, the Rockets took virtually no time off for growing pains and have held on to the best record in the league for over 50 games, and are currently 64-16 with a whopping win percentage of 80%.

Many people may have foreseen such a seamless transition for Paul, but they surely didn't anticipate the manner in which the Rockets have dominated the league for the whole duration.

They have embarked on 2 separate winning streaks of 14 games or more, and 3 streaks of 11 wins or more, and own a 2-1 regular season record against the Warriors (2-0 with both teams having their full complement of starters).

At this point in the season, it is difficult to look beyond the Rockets as secondary favorites after the Golden State Warriors.

#9 Toronto Raptors locking up the No. 1 seed in the East

DeMar DeRozan has been money for the Raptors this year

Unlike 2 seasons ago, when the Toronto Raptors had a 56-26 record but were not favorites to progress through their Conference playoffs by any means, they look good value for the #1 seeding which they've locked up this season.

This seeding is important since it gives them homecourt advantage through their Conference run, which could be crucial against the likes of Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers - teams who they could run into as early as the second round.

The Raptors currently own a 58-22 record and their overall play at both ends of the court suggests a significant improvement on their play from recent seasons. They are ranked 3rd in offensive efficiency, 5th in defensive efficiency and 3rd in net rating, and they pass the eye test as one of the best teams in the league on both ends of the floor.

The most surprising development is the progress that the Raptors have made in terms of running a modern NBA offense. They have taken significant touches away from DeRozan and Lowry, allowing the rest of their role players to step up - which they have done, big time.

They run a number of unconventional plays now and allow all their players the freedom to handle the rock during possessions and make plays one-on-one.

#8 Boston Celtics rallying from the Gordon Hayward injury

Hayward suffered one of the worst in-game injuries in recent memory in his first game as a Celtic

One of the best stories to emerge from this campaign is the heartening way in which the Boston Celtics rallied from the loss of Gordon Hayward - their brand-new free agent signing who was also their best two-way player at the time.

The Celtics embarked on a 16-game winning streak early in the season, and have made the #2 seed their very own following a remarkable campaign.

During this run, they have missed the likes of Kyrie Irving (who will be missing the rest of this season), Al Horford, Marcus Morris, Daniel Theis and Jaylen Brown for varying periods, but they've still managed to remain competent thanks to their league-leading defense.

Coach Brad Stevens is probably the favorite to win his first Coach of the Year award, and with good reason.

The Celtics boast an enviable record of 29-17 in clutch games, and during the time that he was available, Kyrie Irving was sensational for them. Expect them to be favorites to get out of the East with a full-strength roster next season, if the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continue to develop the way they have.

#7 Improvements shown by a number of sophomore players

Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram have made big strides this season

The rookie class of 2016 was quite underwhelming for the 2016-17 regular season. #1 pick Ben Simmons had a season-ending injury, #2 pick Ingram was shooting poorly and #3 pick Jaylen Brown was not getting minutes in the deep Celtics rotation.

Buddy Hield and Dejounte Murray were the only first-round picks who shone for any length of time, and skeptics dismissed the draft class as one of the weakest in memory.

Things have turned around for these sophomores during this regular season, however.

Brandon Ingram has raised his scoring average by 6.7 points, Jamal Murray by 6.8 points, Kris Dunn by 9.6 points, Domantas Sabonis by 5.8 points and Jaylen Brown has become a legitimate two-way player while stepping up to fill a Gordon Hayward-sized hole in the Celtics roster since game 1 of the season.

Ben Simmons is the favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors, while the likes of Buddy Hield and Malcolm Brogdon have maintained their above-average play. Dejounte Murray has replaced Tony Parker as the San Antonio Spurs' de facto starting point guard and looks like a player with a high ceiling.

Expect these players to continue making noise, as the likes of Murray, Ingram, Brown, Simmons, and Hield look like future All-Stars in the making.

#6 The All-Star game

This year's All-Star game was appreciated by one and all

The All-Star game had been losing its popularity for the past couple of seasons, mostly due to the sheer dominance displayed by a visibly superior Western Conference squad. The NBA decided to step in this season, and on October 3, they announced a revamp of the format for the main attraction of the weekend.

The two teams in play would be stewarded by the two top vote-getters from the Eastern and Western Conferences respectively, and the captains would then get to pick their roster from the rest of the selections (including the starters voted in and the reserves elected by the coaches).

As things transpired, the two most popular players on the planet LeBron James and Steph Curry were voted in as captains. They took their pick of the lot, with LeBron picking Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook on his team while Curry picked James Harden, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo on his.

There were six debutants in Joel Embiid, Victor Oladipo, Goran Dragic, Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Karl-Anthony Towns (Porzingis missed his appearance due to injury).

The game finished with Team LeBron winning 148-145 over Team Steph, and experts praised the rule change which ended up giving fans a treat of a game to watch. Hopefully, this format will continue to be employed - streaming the roster selection live would be even more of an improvement and would give fans some great fodder for internet humor.

#5 The Clippers posting a very good record

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were both traded away by the Clippers front office

The loss of franchise cornerstone Chris Paul was a huge blow to the Clippers' chances of making the playoffs. The Clippers' front office went further along this path and traded Blake Griffin, Willie Reed and Brice Johnson to the Pistons mid-season in exchange for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic and the Pistons' 2018 first-round pick.

Yet, they have been able to secure a credible 42-38 record so far (they would be 8th in the Eastern Conference standings if they qualified in that conference), on the back of some coaching genius pulled by Doc Rivers and the excellent play of Lou Williams, who is a runaway favourite for the 6th Man of the Year award this season.

In Tobias Harris, the Clippers have secured a volume scorer who can light up the scoreboard on his day, and with Patrick Beverley and Danilo Gallinari (hopefully) in better health next season, they could make some noise in the playoff race in April next year too.

#4 The Process marching towards its logical end

Joel 'The Process' Embiid

The Process, as former GM Sam Hinkie infamously put it, has neared completion for the Philadelphia 76ers.

After four seasons down in the doldrums of the lottery, the 76ers find themselves in the 3rd spot with just 2 games left to play, and they might just nab it provided they take their ongoing 14-game winning streak to 16 against the Bucks in their final match of the season.

Their starting five of Ben Simmons, JJ Reddick, Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Joel Embiid is as fearsome a starting five as any in the league (with the exception of the Golden State Warriors).

All five score well above double digits per game and Robert Covington is one of the premier perimeter defenders in the league today (it was his defense that caused LeBron James to net 9 turnovers in the 76ers' 132-130 win over the Cavs).

With some wheeling and astute dealing, Bryan Colangelo has added to the weak Philadelphia bench through the course of the season, as they now have TJ McConnell, Amir Johnson, Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova to call upon when their starters take a breather.

Since his comeback, Markelle Fultz has been a dynamic presence off the Sixers' bench, and his role could grow in the playoffs given his ability to score in a variety of ways.

Expect the 76ers to be a match for any team in the Eastern Conference playoffs this season.

#3 Utah Jazz rise from the ashes

Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell have combined to bring success to Utah Jazz

On the 22nd of January, the Utah Jazz lost 90-104 to the Atlanta Hawks to fall to a 19-28 record for the season. Dennis Schroder and Co., comprising probably the worst roster in the NBA, had torched a mediocre Utah defense on the way to what was a rare blowout win.

Skeptics were clamoring for the Jazz to enter the tank race, and indeed it seemed like their front office had a decision on their hands.

They took everyone by surprise, however, beating the Toronto Raptors 98-93 before annihilating the Golden State Warriors 129-99. They have won 28 of their last 33 games and have become the 4th seed in the Western Conference playoff picture to lock up a berth in the postseason.

Ever since Gobert's return, the Jazz have had the best defense in the league, and have conceded in excess of 100 points in only 9 out of their last 36 games.

Despite losing contributors like Rodney Hood and Joe Johnson, they have been unfazed at the offensive end and have actually integrated Jae Crowder into their setup pretty well as their power forward off the bench.

The Jazz, at this point, are the team to avoid in the Western Conference playoffs brackets.

#2 The 2017 NBA draft class

2017 NBA First Round Draft Picks

While there was enough anticipation for the incoming rookie class this season, and a number of experts expected a deep draft class, what we have seen from rookies this season is way beyond even those lofty expectations.

The draft class of 2017 has already started to make a significant impact in the NBA - some of these players are doing it with teams that will have homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Donovan Mitchell is a frontrunner in the Rookie of the Year discussions, and he's scoring an average of 20.5 points per game as the star scorer for the Utah Jazz team currently occupying 4th place in the Western Conference standings.

Jayson Tatum, another frontrunner, has shown all the guile and composure of a multiple All-Star on the way to putting up extremely efficient numbers for the #2-seeded Boston Celtics.

Kyle Kuzma and Lauri Markkanen have been impressive right from the get-go. Josh Jackson, Lonzo Ball and Dennis Smith Jr all look like players with the potential to be franchise cornerstones in the not-so-distant future.

The likes of Josh Hart, John Collins, Jarrett Allen and Jordan Bell have all displayed great defensive acumen and energy whenever they've gotten the chance. Markelle Fultz, after missing out nearly the entire regular season, will be a key component of the 76ers' playoff rotations.

All things said and done, NBA fans can't get enough of this draft class, which has the potential to be as momentous and unique as its predecessors from 1984, 1996 and 2003.

#1 The Indiana Pacers

Oladipo reacts after scoring a 3-pointer against the Memphis Grizzlies

To say that the Indiana Pacers have overachieved this season would probably be the understatement of the year.

Renowned analytics firm FiveThirtyEight, among other experts, projected the Pacers as one of the worst teams in the league, predicting a record of 32-50 and a 10th-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Instead, the Pacers find themselves sitting pretty with the 5th seed in the standings virtually locked up.

The Pacers made the most of a sticky roster situation following Paul George's declaration that he was looking to play in Los Angeles.

Landing Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in a trade deal with the Thunder was huge for the Pacers, as both players have made impressive progressions in their career trajectories, with Oladipo cracking an All-Star team and a possible All-NBA selection while leading the league in steals this season.

Darren Collison (a shrewd free agent signing), Myles Turner (trending upward definitely in his 3rd NBA season) and Thaddeus Young have all been solid contributors who've chipped in with crucial buckets down the stretch for the Pacers, making them a team not over-reliant on a single player.

From the bench, Lance Stephenson has been an above-average playmaker, while Bojan Bogdanovic has also been a solid contributor, making 40.2% of his 3s in 4.8 attempts per game. The Pacers have an opportunity to make some real noise in the playoffs once more this season, and most neutral NBA fans would be rooting for them.