After a perfect five-game homestand, the Nuggets were rewarded by the NBA schedule gods this week with a rare stretch of four days off between games. Their turnaround from an 0-2 start has been among the most surprising developments across the league so far this season, depending on whom you ask. Skepticism surrounding Denver’s 2024-25 roster dates back to well before opening day. Here are five other storylines that have taken me by surprise after three weeks of basketball. 1. Tired: Cavs > Bucks. Wired: Nets > Bucks? Milwaukee took plenty of flak this summer for getting eliminated in the first round of back-to-back seasons during Giannis Antetokounmpo’s prime. I could not bring myself to worry about its status as a contender. Antetokounmpo was dealing with bad-timing injuries both years, I thought. The starting lineup still managed a resoundingly impressive net rating last season amid coaching strife and instability. The Gary Trent Jr. acquisition felt like a potential diamond in the rough. The Bucks were going to be fine. They lost eight of their first 10 games. This start has been a true shock. Giannis is still Giannis. In fact, he leads the league in scoring. Damian Lillard is averaging 26 points and seven assists. But the Bucks can’t guard, Khris Middleton is stuck in injury purgatory, Trent has been benched, and the state of the franchise seems worse off than when Adrian Griffin got fired a year ago. It’s one thing to see other upper-tier Eastern Conference teams such as Cleveland passing them by, even if 13-0 is a little surprising. But Brooklyn? I had the Nets pegged as Cooper Flagg frontrunners. Maybe, with time, they will be, but kudos to former Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez. Not only did he begin his tenure 5-6; he has fallen just short of major upsets against Cleveland, Boston and Denver. I would mention Brooklyn’s win over Milwaukee, too, but apparently, that’s not all that impressive anymore. 2. Jay Huff Mania On a two-way contract with the Nuggets last season, Huff appeared in 20 NBA games for 49 total minutes, spending most of his time with the Grand Rapids Gold. And Denver wasn’t the only team he passed through anonymously. The 27-year-old center has had a cup of coffee with the Lakers and Wizards. He has played Summer League ball for the Rockets and Magic. He’s suddenly finding stardom in Memphis. Huff averaged 10 points and 1.8 blocks off the bench in his first 12 games for the Grizzlies, a meteoric rise that landed him a standard NBA contract. The former G League Defensive Player of the Year is shooting the 3-pointer at a 44% clip. On a team that faced uncertainty in its center rotation and reached for Zach Edey at ninth overall in the draft, Huff has turned into one of the NBA’s feel-good stories of the year in just 15 minutes a night. 3. The West is HOW much better than the East? This might not be a surprise to most people, but I’m not afraid to admit it: I had a hunch the usual expected talent discrepancy between the Western and Eastern conferences might turn out to be overblown this season. I figured, at minimum, the East would look equally top-heavy — that Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Cleveland would rival the five best teams in the West. But entering the first slate of NBA Cup games on Tuesday night, the league standings were stunning: 10 teams above .500 in the West. Two teams above .500 in the East. At that snapshot in the season, the third-place Pacers would not even be a play-in team out West. Most glaringly, the head-to-head record in games between conferences remains dramatically skewed. The West: 35. The East: 15. This could balance out, especially as injuries start to take hold of the season. Star players including Kevin Durant, Chet Holmgren, Ja Morant and Zion Williamson (along with the rest of the Pelicans’ roster) are all facing prolonged absences in the superior conference. Then again, Joel Embiid, Paul George and the 76ers might get investigated another 10 times this season for possible Player Participation Policy violations. 4. MVP stock: AD up, Luka down It should probably come as no surprise that three-time MVP Nikola Jokic looks like a pretty clear favorite to win the award again after three weeks. But the unexpected wrinkle so far is his stiffest competition. Fresh off an NBA Finals run, Luka Doncic had the most momentum coming into the season, but the numbers haven’t been up to standard for him so far. After the Mavericks lost Klay Thompson’s reunion game in the Bay, Doncic was averaging 28.5 points (his lowest in three seasons), 8.1 rebounds (lowest in four seasons) and 7.9 assists (lowest in six seasons) for a below-.500 team. His efficiency has been the worst part: a career-low 41.9% from the field and a 32% start from three. The Mavs keep losing close games in the moments when Doncic is supposed to elevate them. In Denver last weekend, he was overshadowed by Kyrie Irving. Then again, everyone except Jokic was. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Anthony Davis is in play for the scoring title at 30.2 points per game. The Lakers are playing through him offensively, as new coach JJ Redick promised. I see no reason that’s going to stop. The team ranks fifth in offensive rating. (His teammates just need to rise to his level defensively now.) Davis hasn’t had a season like this since New Orleans. He hasn’t had a season like this ever, really. If he stays healthy, he’s no fluke as an MVP candidate. 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On the first night alone, the Hawks stunned the Celtics in Boston on a late bucket, the Trail Blazers caught the Timberwolves sleeping, and the Pistons knocked off the Heat in one of the more memorable endings you’ll ever see. (Speaking of March Madness lore: Erik Spoelstra, meet Chris Webber.) I’m starting to think results like these will be the norm in future editions of the tournament. Genuinely fun stuff. One development that’s not all that surprising: Minnesota’s starting lineup is struggling to acclimate to Julius Randle after the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. The new-look unit has a minus-three net rating while KAT thrives in New York. Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.