The first week of the 2020-21 NBA season offered up a handful of interesting tidbits, but nothing that could be taken too seriously. Now two weeks in, more considered questions are beginning to be asked.

The Denver Nuggets have started poorly prompting some serious questions as to whether they can snap out of their defence-free funk. 

Conversely, the Atlanta Hawks are shooting their way into the early playoff conversation. Can they keep it up for 72 games?

Nobody's quite sure of what is going on with James Harden and the Rockets, but that hasn't stopped the speculation. Meanwhile we should never have doubted a certain long-range sniper in the Bay Area. While there's an element of the unknown with Harden, Steph Curry was always, inevitably, going to produce the goods.

With two weeks of NBA action now in the books, let's take a closer look at some of the league's over-arching storylines. 

RELATED: Trouble In Brooklyn- What's Going On With The Nets? 

Denver Nuggets: Defenseless

There's always a promising team that starts surprisingly slow before hitting their straps and ending the season roughly where most expected.

The Utah Jazz put their name forward last season, while this season's prime candidate appears to be the Nuggets. There's little doubt that Denver have at least ticked the 'start surprisingly slow' box at 2-4, especially as many as pegged them as a potential top-four seed prior to the season tipping off.

While their sloppy start is surprising, what's far less of a surprise is a defence which went into the season with plenty of question marks and which has indeed hampered them. 

Losing Jerami Grant and Torey Craig left a sizeable hole in the Nuggets wing defence and while Michael Porter Jr. has started four games this season, Denver's worst fears already seem to have come to fruition. Sure  Porter Jr. said all of the right things  before the season tipped of, though in reality, he was proving to be a liability on the worst defensive team in the NBA before being ruled out for "multiple games" due to health and safety protocols.

The Nuggets now rank second-last in defensive rating allowing 115.8 points per 100 possessions, while scoring and conceding 116 points per game.

Nuggets defense recap: pic.twitter.com/fOw5B4PTb4

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) December 30, 2020

Again, like their pre-season projections, Porter's play about sums things up. He's performed as expected on the offensive end for 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 67% effective field goal shooting. While his 114.7 offensive rating sits alongside the likes of Tobias Harris and Seth Curry, his defensive numbers undo so much of the good he's managed with the ball. Of the 144 players averaging over 25 minutes per game, Porter Jr's 122.8 defensive rating ranks 139th.

The Nuggets are 11.2 points worse off with Porter Jr. on the floor per 100 possessions, with Nikola Jokic (+27.8), Gary Harris (+13.0), Jamal Murray (+18.8) all posting positive numbers, while Will Barton (+7.2), looms as Porter's possible replacement.

It's of course not all on Porter. The Nuggets are a poor defensive team overall right now but this is unlikely to be a genuine reflection of their season by the end of it. The youngster is where they can begin to turn things around.

The Hawks are flying

We talked about the Atlanta Hawks speeding up their rebuild  before the season tipped off. 

Attack, attack, attack and settling for any defensive improvements being considered a bonus ended up as the main takeaways. Well, the Hawks are certainly going all-out on the offensive end while still leaving their defence largely up to chance.

Only the Milwaukee Bucks (119.5) can lay claim to a better offensive rating than Atlanta's 118.1. The Hawk's 40% shooting from deep is good for third in the league, while 38.3%of Atlanta's points are coming from three-point land (5th-most). Interestingly, Trae Young's shooting 3.5 fewer times from beyond the arc himself, though the Hawks' 38.3 attempts per game as a team ranks 7th overall and is up from 36.1 per-game figure from last season.

Cooler than a polar bear's toenails 🥶#TrueToAtlanta x @TheTraeYoung pic.twitter.com/p25nIRiJTk

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 4, 2021

The issue is in a below-average, 18th-ranked 109.4 defensive rating. The Hawks are allowing their opposition to shoot from open (4-6 feet) or wide open (6+ feet) 49.5 times per game, with only the Pelicans, Grizzlies, Bulls and Kings allowing opposition shooters so much, so frequently.

It's all going better than planned for the Hawks at the moment. Their additions have improved the team on the offensive end, while they're doing enough to win games defensively. They look like a genuine playoff prospect in the Eastern Conference right now.

James Harden: The good, the bad, the possibilities

Choosing to avoid the exhausting James Harden story last week, his level of play on the offensive end can't be ignored. Despite spending his pre-season putting a different kind of shot up in the clubs, The Beard is piling up numbers to start the 2020-21 season.

Game 1: 44 pts, 4 rebs, 17 asts, 12/21 FG
Game 2: 34 pts, 6 rebs, 8 asts, 10/16 FG
Game 3: 33 pts, 6 rebs, 8 asts, 10/24 FG

The lack of basketball shots going up before the opening game may have something to do with it. Harden's shot chart clearly shows where he likes to go to work, and build into the new season.

Harden changes the dynamic of the Rockets. Only Luka Doncic records a higher usage rate than Harden, with the Rockets executing a 121.1 offensive rating with him on the floor, which is significantly better than their 110.8 offensive rating overall.

However, it's not all good with Harden. He has built an unfavourable reputation as a lazy defender over the years, with much of the criticism justified. Yet after spending the last two seasons forcing people to rethink the preconceived idea that he's a poor defender, Harden has dished up the worst defensive rating of all players averaging over 25 minutes so far this season. 

Questions over his commitment to the team pop up regularly given his current demands off the court. Harden's effort on the defensive end provides the answers, though. Ultimately, it's a matter of where to, not when Harden leaves.

Curry Cooking

The man played five games last season. 

428 days passed in between his fifth and final game in 2019 and his first in 2020.

Still, Steph Curry was afforded little time to get back to his best. Some had the Golden State Warriors done and dusted after he made just two of his first 20 shots from deep. Despite hanging 36 points on the Chicago Bulls in his third game of the season, it was the Bulls...

Then Curry started cooking.

- 62 points
- 18/31 FG
- 8/16 3FG
- 5 rebounds
- 4 assists

You could tell early on that it would be one of 'those' nights for the 2-time MVP. He whipped around a screen before draining a three to start, dizzied his defender with a flurry of dribbles for his second, and stepped back behind the three-point line before draining his third. 

Steph Curry in the last 24 hrs 🔥🔥
• 92 points
• 14 rebounds
• 12 assists#NBA #DubNation #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/Rz78IgKQ8Q

— Stats Insider (@StatsInsider) January 5, 2021

His eighth three for points 59, 60 and 61 about summed up Curry's night.

It should also end any speculation that Curry's "done", "washed" or whatever other foolishness has circulated NBA discussions recently.

Chef Curry's kitchen is open for the 2020-21 NBA season.