NBA dynamic duos: Which are rocking, struggling?

Keane: I feel like we need to post a Trigger Warning for fans of the Kings and Knicks on this one –- poor Marvin Bagley just has to sit, work on his battle raps, and rehab with De’Aaron Fox as his team collapses under the unsteady hand of Luke Walton in Sacramento. Big free-agent acquisitions Dwayne Dedmon and Cory Joseph are already failing in their attempt to replace the youngsters, and by the time this duo is back together, they might have a brand-new coach in Sacramento! 

Meanwhile, Mills and Perry are certainly elite at job security. Mills became the GM in 2013, watched the Knicks go 117-211 for four years, and then got promoted to team president! Mills and Perry dropping a surprise joint news conference to throw coach David Fizdale under the team bus was an elite Knicks front-office stunt, a two-man game that evoked John Stockton and Karl Malone. Clearly, Steve Mills is the James Harden of front offices -– he found some loophole that’s made him unfireable, and he’s about to outlast his fifth coach, despite using his double-max contract cap space to sign five power forwards this summer.

Speaking of Steve Mills mistakes, Kristaps Porzingis is struggling in Dallas. The Mavericks went all-in on KP last year, trading young players and picks and erasing Mills’ terrible Tim Hardaway contract from the Knicks’ books, before giving the big Latvian five years and $158 million during the summer. 

I still have faith the pairing will work eventually, since a Doncic-Porzingis pick-and-roll really should be unstoppable. But KP still isn’t taking advantage when a smaller player guards him in the post. He’s never going to be as good as Luka, who’s averaging 28.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists as a 20-year-old. But keep in mind Porzingis had a 20-month layoff from competitive basketball. Once he gets comfortable with contact and his legs get their spring back, he'll pull his weight. Maybe he won’t be a Scottie Pippen, but he could be a Kevin Love. 

Keane: As for other struggling duos, the Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum pairing has led Portland to a 4-8 start, just before the team goes on a six-game road trip. Is there hope for them to bounce back? Or is it time to think about breaking up the partnership?

Heery:  Fair points on Porzingis. He’s far too talented and too physically gifted to not develop into an All-Star if he stays healthy. Speaking of talent, Portland has plenty of it, but it’s certainly not fitting together well. If the Blazers aren’t careful, they’re going to walk up sometime in the near future and realize they’re 7-8 games out of the playoff picture with half a season to go and the trade deadline approaching. At that point, they’ll have to decide whether it’s worth dealing McCollum (who is eligible to be traded January 29), prized prospect Anfernee Simons or future first-round picks to try to save this season or waste a season of Lillard’s apex. 

With Dame playing at a prime Steph Curry level early this season, it would be idiotic and disloyal to him to not be all-in every year of his remaining prime. If Portland is willing to part with assets, there are some intriguing forwards out there who could certainly help them -- Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Love and Aaron Gordon, to name a few. Get Dame some damn help!

There’s some more dynamic duos out there -- Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons with the Sixers and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s left side of his body and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s right side of his body. I’ll let you touch on that if you want, but I want to talk about the surprise duo of the early season: Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins of the Timberwolves. We know KAT is super-talented, but we didn’t know he would get in fights and play with a chip on his shoulder this season (credit the ghost of Jimmy Butler). And we certainly didn’t expect Wiggins to suddenly develop into a lead ball-handler who's averaging nearly 26 points, five boards and four assists.

Is there a more surprising star duo in the league right now?

Keane: Like most of America, I’d given up on Maple Jordan before this season, but it’s possible we were all too hasty to call Wiggins a bust. He’s so physically gifted and so fast that his previous struggles were especially frustrating, but this season he’s playing a smarter brand of basketball. He’s nearly doubled his assist rate and has cut his turnovers by a third, and he’s replaced a lot of his long twos and mid-range shots with shots much closer to the basket. You’re not going to believe this, but close shots are much easier to make! It also leads to more foul shots.

I thought Wiggins would end up a sixth man this season, but I failed to consider the negative effect Butler may have had on the young Wolves. Coupled with former Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau, who also clashed with the players, it must feel like Towns and Wiggins got out of a bad relationship. No wonder they’re playing with more confidence –- they don’t have two people constantly screaming at them anymore, and Wiggins has shown he can close almost as well as Butler. They’re playing fast and taking advantage of their youth and athleticism. Wiggins is still a work in progress on defense, but Towns has been a force on both ends, thanks to Robert Covington covering for mistakes and athletic young defenders like Josh Okogie. If Minnesota can start hitting threes around their duo, it's going to be a tough out in the playoffs.

Keane: Finally, while we’re talking about duos, which NBA star most needs a sidekick? I’m not counting Kyrie, who’s just waiting for Kevin Durant to get healthy and his third eye to open. Who is most in need of a partner, either via trade or a Wiggins-like development spike from a teammate?

Heery: In the West, Denver's Nikola Jokic could use a sidekick star, especially one who can create off the dribble. I was kind of hopeful that Jamal Murray would make a leap this season, after his solid playoff run last spring, but he seems like the same player he was last season. I hadn’t thought of this much, but CJ McCollum would be a great fit alongside the Joker. Maybe a Michael Porter Jr. and Malik Beasley-centered deal could work for both teams come early February.  

In the East, the gritty Heat are fun for now, but Jimmy Butler needs a contemporary star if Miami wants to make a deep playoff run. Not sure who that would be at this point -- CP3, perhaps? --- but for now, I’m just going to enjoy the Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro injection into the Heat’s backcourt. That and the “who fed Dion Waiters a weed gummy?” investigation.