Community Shootaround

Community Shootaround: First Half’s Pleasant Surprises, Disappointments

January 11th, 2025 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The fact that Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball has been able to play in 19 games so far this season is an achievement in itself, given that he missed the previous two-and-a-half years while dealing with ongoing knee problems. As Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps write for ESPN.com (Insider link), what’s even more impressive is how impactful Ball has been during his time on the court.

Although his numbers, including 5.8 points per game on .359/.318/.750, don’t look especially strong, Ball is once again making the sorts of winning plays that don’t show up in the box score. Chicago has a +6.9 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -5.0 mark when he’s not.

“Someone is going to get him next year and look smart,” one executive said to ESPN of Ball, who is on an expiring contract.

Ball is among several players identified by Windhorst and Bontemps as the pleasant surprises of the first half of the 2024/25 NBA season. Here are a few more of the names on that list:

Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks: “He’s been everything the Knicks were hoping for and more, and his absence has left a larger hole than the Wolves would’ve ever thought,” a scout told ESPN.
Cade Cunningham, Pistons: “When the Pistons gave him the max, there were quite a few people who thought it was a risk, and he’s been very strong,” a general manager said.
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs: “What he’s doing is just ridiculous,” an executive said. “Say whatever you want about him meeting expectations; if he gets that roster to the playoffs, he should get MVP votes. And he might.”
Norman Powell, Clippers: “He’s gotten more minutes and shots, but no one would’ve believed he’d take this leap at this stage of his career,” an exec said to ESPN.

James Harden (Clippers), Dyson Daniels (Hawks), and Cameron Johnson (Nets) are among the others mentioned by ESPN’s duo.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, Heat teammates Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez, and Sixers center Joel Embiid are among the season’s biggest disappointments, as identified by Windhorst, Bontemps, and the sources they spoke to. Here are a few more of the players in that group:

Paul George, Sixers: “Philly probably knew there was a chance they’d have a rough PG year on this contract but they probably thought it would be year four — not year one,” an executive said.
Kyle Kuzma, Wizards: “I know he’s dealt with an injury,” one scout told ESPN, “but I think this has been the most disappointing season of his career.”
Scoot Henderson, Trail Blazers: “I thought it was a guarantee he’d play much better this year than last and show some things,” an exec said. “I’ve been wrong. His numbers are down, and the eye (test) confirms it.”

We want to know what you think.

Which NBA players have you been most pleasantly surprised or disappointed by so far this season? Are there any names on ESPN’s lists – or scouts’ and executives’ comments – that you strongly agree or disagree with?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: Lakers’ Season

January 6th, 2025 at 8:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There’s still a month to go before the trade deadline arrives, but the Lakers have gotten the jump on the competition.

Late last month, they acquired forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton from the Nets in exchange for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks.

Finney-Smith was the centerpiece of the deal for the Lakers. They were seeking a forward who could upgrade their defense and also space the floor.

Thus far, coach JJ Redick has used Finney-Smith off the bench in four games since the deal was completed. The Lakers have a 2-2 record during that stretch. Milton has also received second-unit minutes.

The Lakers’ hopes in the Western Conference still rely on the health and steady contributions of Anthony Davis and LeBron James, as well as the perimeter shooting of Austin Reaves.

Rui Hachimura, Max Christie, rookie Dalton Knecht, and Gabe Vincent are the other players who have received steady minutes. The Lakers have played well since moving Christie into the starting lineup. Knecht has cooled off after a strong start. They’re hopeful of getting a boost soon from forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who has yet to play this season due to foot and knee ailments.

Statistically, the Lakers rank among the top 10 in field goal percentage and fewest turnovers. However, they’re a middling three-point shooting team and they’re in bottom 10 in rebounding and defensive field goal percentage.

The deal with the Nets gave the Lakers some relief below the second tax apron and they still have some draft capital to offer in future deals — a pair of 2025 second-rounders, first-rounders in 2029 and 2031, and first-round pick swaps in 2026, 2028, and 2030.

They don’t have any players with expiring contracts who are making $4MM or more, so they’ll have to be more creative to make another deal.

That brings us to today’s topic: Did the Lakers improve their postseason prospects enough with the addition of Finney-Smith? If not, what other upgrades do they need to make to become true contenders again?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Christmas Day Games

December 25th, 2024 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Merry Christmas from the Hoops Rumors staff!

As usual, the NBA has a five-game slate on tap for Christmas Day, with many of the league’s top teams and biggest stars in action on December 25. Here’s today’s schedule:

11:00 am CT: San Antonio Spurs (15-14) at New York Knicks (19-10)
1:30 pm CT: Minnesota Timberwolves (14-14) at Dallas Mavericks (19-10)
4:00 pm CT: Philadelphia 76ers (10-17) at Boston Celtics (22-7)
7:00 pm CT: Los Angeles Lakers (16-13) at Golden State Warriors (15-13)
9:30 pm CT: Denver Nuggets (16-11) at Phoenix Suns (14-14)

While the goal on Christmas Day is generally to showcase some of the day’s biggest stars and best teams, this year’s schedule is a little lacking in the latter.

Despite featuring seven teams from the Western Conference, today’s slate of games doesn’t include any of the West’s top three seeds, the Thunder, Rockets, and Grizzlies. While Houston and Memphis weren’t necessarily expected to be this good, Oklahoma City’s absence is conspicuous, given that the Thunder were the No. 1 seed in the West last season.

Over in the East, we’ve got the No. 2 and 3 seeds in action today, but the NBA’s best team, the 26-4 Cavaliers, won’t be part of the Christmas Day slate. Instead, the third Eastern club is the 12th-seeded Sixers, who have been plagued by injuries but at least will have their big three available on Wednesday — Tyrese Maxey and Paul George aren’t on the injury report, and Joel Embiid is listed as available.

Despite the absence of so many top teams, each matchup still has something going for it, with plenty of star power on display.

The afternoon will feature rising phenom Victor Wembanyama visiting Madison Square Garden and the streaking Knicks, who have won four games in a row; a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals between the Timberwolves and Mavericks, who should have star guards Kyrie Irving (available) and Luka Doncic (probable) active today; and those aforementioned three Sixers stars going up against the defending champions in Boston.

The first evening contest between the Lakers and Warriors pits the No. 7 seed in the West against No. 8, but it also could be one of the last few times that NBA legends LeBron James and Stephen Curry face one another. James is considered questionable due to left foot injury management, but I’d be shocked if he didn’t play. A couple more would-be Western contenders who have had up-and-down starts will wrap up the day when the Nuggets visit Phoenix in a game that will feature a pair of former MVPs in Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant.

We want to know what you think. Are there any teams you wish were or weren’t part of today’s schedule? Which of these five games are you most looking forward to? Which five teams are you picking to win this year’s Christmas Day matchups?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in, and feel free to use it as an open thread to discuss today’s games.

Community Shootaround: Pistons’ Postseason Chances

December 24th, 2024 at 7:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons won only 14 games last season, their worst mark in franchise history. With a new head coach and revamped front office, they’re no longer a laughingstock.

In many games last season, the Pistons looked overmatched from the opening tip. Thanks to some veteran upgrades, they’ve put up a fight in most games this season.

Following road wins against the Suns and Lakers, Detroit is now just one shy of last season’s win total at 13-17. Cade Cunningham (23.9 points, 9.7 assists, and 7.0 rebounds per game) is playing at an All-Star level.

Backcourt partner Jaden Ivey (17.4 PPG, 4.2 APG, 4.2 RPG) has played with more confidence under new coach J.B. Bickerstaff. President of basketball operations Trajan Langdon signed or traded for Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley to complement the team’s young core. Those additions have made a major difference.

Beasley, in particular, has proved to be a bargain signing on a one-year deal. He’s averaging 16.6 points per game, mostly off the bench, while making 41.6 percent of his three-pointers.

Naturally, those vets could be dealt for assets, but that’s not a given. There’s value in learning how to win and perhaps getting a taste of the postseason.

The latter is not far-fetched. The Pistons are currently tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference, which would get them one of the last two play-in spots.

Detroit has posted some other solid wins this season. The Pistons have notched two overtime victories over the Heat, a home win over the Lakers and road victories against the Pacers and Knicks.

Most of the teams behind them are either in tank mode or simply awful. Among that group, only the Sixers figure to move up the standings. On the flip side, the Bulls and Hawks could slide down the standings, depending on what they decide to do in the trade market.

That brings us to today’s topic: Will the Pistons, last season’s worst team, qualify for the play-in tournament? Should they hold onto to the veterans who have improved the team or should they look to deal them for assets?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: 2024/25 NBA MVP Race

December 22nd, 2024 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

As we relayed on Friday, three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic led the way in the first MVP straw poll conducted by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps for the 2024/25 season. However, while Jokic earned 57 first-place votes from the 100 media members polled by Bontemps, it’s clearly a three-player race at this point.

Jokic totaled 827 total points in the voting, with Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at 678 points and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo at 643. Gilgeous-Alexander received 24 first-place votes, while Antetokounmpo got 19 — no other player earned a single first-place vote, and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was the only other player to even claim a second-place vote (he got three).

Plenty could change between now and the end of the regular season, and injury luck is always a factor, but it seems highly likely at this point that one of Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, or Antetokounmpo will be named this season’s Most Valuable Player. Here are their cases so far:

Nikola Jokic:

As usual, the Nuggets center has been an advanced-stats star. He leads the NBA in player efficiency rating (31.9), win shares per 48 minutes (.287), box plus/minus (12.8), and value over replacement player (3.0).

Of course, Jokic’s traditional stats look awfully impressive too. His 31.0 points per game would be a career best, as would his league-leading 50.0% mark on three-point attempts. He’s nearly averaging a triple-double, with 13.0 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game.

The main knock against Jokic at this point is that his Nuggets are fighting to stay out of play-in territory — they’re currently tied for sixth in the Western Conference at 14-11. But it’s hard to blame the big man for that modest record. Denver has a +9.7 net rating in his 819 minutes on the court, while their net rating in the 391 minutes he hasn’t played is a brutal -14.3.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.3 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game with a 50.8% field goal percentage, a very strong mark for a guard. He’s also the only player in the NBA who is averaging at least two steals and one block per contest.

The fact that MVPs historically come from teams at or near the top of the standings works in SGA’s favor — his Thunder are 22-5, which is the second-best record in the league and the top mark in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City has a three-game lead in the conference standings on the No. 2 Rockets.

While his supporting cast is certainly stronger than Jokic’s, Gilgeous-Alexander has obviously had a huge hand in OKC’s success. The team has a +15.5 net rating in his 935 minutes and a +1.5 mark in 361 minutes without him on the floor.

The Thunder star also ranks first in the NBA in defensive win shares (2.0) and total win shares (5.4), while placing just behind Jokic in WS/48, BPM, and VORP. His only real weakness is his subpar three-point rate of 33.5% on 6.3 attempts per night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo:

No NBA player has averaged more points per game this season than Antetokounmpo (32.7), who is also among the league leaders in rebounds per game (11.6). The Bucks forward also fills the box score with 6.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per night, along with a career-best field goal percentage of 61.3%.

Giannis is right there with Jokic in terms of PER (31.8) and ranks third behind Jokic and SGA in BPM (9.1) and VORP (2.4). He earns extra points for pulling the Bucks out of an early-season hole, but as a result of that slow start, the team is still just 15-12, fifth in the Eastern Conference. That won’t help his case, so the Bucks will have to keep winning.

Antetokounmpo’s on/off-court numbers are also surprisingly unflattering compared to his top two MVP competitors. Milwaukee’s net rating is essentially the same with him on the court (+1.4) as it is when he’s not playing (+1.3).

We want to know what you think. Which of these three players would you be your MVP pick right now? Which one do you expect to lead the MVP race as the season progresses? Outside of this trio, which player do you think has the best chance to make a run at this season’s MVP award?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: 2024/25 NBA Rookie Class

November 20th, 2024 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Leading up to the 2024 NBA draft, we heard over and over again that the class didn’t feature the type of star-level talent at the top that we’d seen in recent years, when No. 1 overall picks like Victor Wembanyama and Paolo Banchero went on to earn Rookie of the Year awards. The common refrain was that some of 2024’s top prospects had the ability to eventually become impact players, but none were likely to be immediate difference-makers.

[RELATED: 2024 NBA Draft Results]

So far, that has certainly been the case for the players drafted with the top few picks in June.

Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick, is shooting just 38.6% from the field and 25.0% on three-pointers. Wizards center Alex Sarr is among the NBA’s leaders in blocked shots (2.1 per game), but the No. 2 overall pick has been ineffective on offense, with a 35.1% field goal percentage, including 20.3% from beyond the arc. No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard has found playing time hard to come by with the Rockets and has averaged a modest 3.7 points in 11.9 minutes per game.

Still, while the top 2024 picks aren’t exactly off to red-hot starts, there are a handful of rookies who have exceeded expectations this fall. A pair of non-lottery selections lead the way — Jared McCain of the Sixers and Dalton Knecht of the Lakers, who were drafted 16th and 17th respectively, are already making teams regret passing on them.

McCain has been one of the few bright spots for a 2-11 Sixers team, averaging 25.2 points per game on .482/.441/1.000 shooting in six appearances since becoming a regular rotation player. Knecht had a monster night on Tuesday to lead the Lakers over the Jazz, racking up 37 points and matching an NBA rookie record with nine three-pointers. He has now averaged 24.3 PPG on .673/.677/.857 shooting in his past four outings.

After Tuesday’s game, LeBron James was asked about Knecht and admitted that the Lakers drafting him at No. 17 was less about the scouting department finding a diamond in the rough and more about L.A. lucking out, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays.

“The other 16 teams f—ed it up,” James said. “Did anybody watch him? S–t. … You don’t ‘find’ an SEC player of the year.”

Besides McCain and Knecht, there are a few other rookies who have stood out in the early going. The Grizzlies have two of them, with lottery pick Zach Edey averaging 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game as the team’s primary center and second-rounder Jaylen Wells chipping in 11.5 PPG with a .368 3PT% as a rotation mainstay.

Wizards guard Carlton Carrington (10.4 PPG, 5.0 APG, .389 3PT%), Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski (7.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.2 APG), and Suns defensive ace Ryan Dunn are among the other rookies who have made positive first impressions.

We want to know what you think. Have the results through the season’s first four weeks made your change your Rookie of the Year prediction? Are you concerned about any of the top picks in this year’s class or do you think it’s just a matter of time until they start making strides (and shots)? Do you expect McCain and Knecht to continue playing at – or even anywhere near – their current levels? Which player looks to you like the steal of the 2024 draft?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts on this year’s NBA rookie class!

Community Shootaround: Sixers’, Bucks’ Slow Starts

November 17th, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

When the Sixers and Bucks squared off in a nationally televised opener, it was billed as a battle of Eastern Conference heavyweights.

Milwaukee won the game by 15 points with Joel Embiid and Paul George sitting out the contest.

Since that point, both teams have floundered. The Bucks head into the week with a 4-9 record and their other three wins came against Toronto and Utah – the teams that occupy the bottom of their respective conference standings – and Detroit. The Bucks needed a 59-point outburst from Giannis Antetokounmpo and overtime to defeat the Pistons, who would have won in regulation if rookie Ron Holland hadn’t missed two free throws in the final second.

The Sixers, the biggest spenders on the free agent market, have been even worse. They’re 2-10 with both wins coming in overtime.

To be fair, injuries have played a major role. Khris Middleton has yet to make his season debut for the Bucks as he rehabs an ankle injury. Damian Lillard hasn’t played since last Sunday due to a concussion.

The Sixers haven’t seen what their Big Three can do. Embiid has only appeared in two games and George has missed half of their contests. Tyrese Maxey hasn’t played since Nov. 6 due to a hamstring injury.

Despite all that, it’s still eye-opening to see those two franchises near the bottom of the standings a month into the season. There has been speculation that Antetokounmpo may eventually ask for a change of scenery. Until the Bucks start beating better teams, no one can take them seriously.

Philadelphia will undoubtedly get better when Maxey returns but Embiid’s knee issues remain an ongoing concern. The Sixers currently rank last in the NBA in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage.

That brings up to today’s topic: Do you think the Bucks and Sixers will turn things around or will their struggles continue? Which one is more likely to become a contender this season? Do you feel they need to make some moves to change their fortunes or do they just need to have better luck injury-wise?

Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Injuries, Rules Changes

November 10th, 2024 at 7:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Take a look at our top stories in recent days and an obvious pattern emerges.

Kevin Durant, Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Jordan Hawkins, Miles Bridges and Tyrese Maxey have all been sidelined by injuries that will keep them out of action for multiple weeks.

They join the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Brown, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Lonzo Ball, Aaron Gordon, James Wiseman, Kawhi Leonard, Khris Middleton, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Jaylin Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Paolo Banchero, Joel Embiid, Jeremy Sochan, Scottie Barnes and Taylor Hendricks among the notable players currently sidelined by injuries. And we’re only into the first few weeks of the season.

This has become the new norm and arguably the biggest issue confronting the NBA. Despite advanced training methods, fewer back-to-backs, load management and rule changes to discourage physical play and flagrant fouls, players keep breaking down.

We’re not talking about football here, where injuries in a contact sport are inevitable. Research past decades and you’ll see that NBA players rarely missed games. Michael Jordan played 80 or more games 11 times. Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant each appeared in 77 or more regular-season games nine times.

So why can’t today’s players stay on the court? The usual excuse is that the game is more wide open and played at a faster pace. Teams spread the floor and defenders have to cover more ground.

Is it time for the NBA to slow the game down and preserve the players’ bodies? No one benefits when stars are on the bench in street clothes.

What changes can be made? The logical way of making it happen is to put limits on three-point attempts. The league isn’t going to erase the line but it could cap the amount of three-point attempts per game. Or they could have shots beyond the arc only count for three points at certain times of the game, say the last two or three minutes of each quarter. That would bring back more isolation plays and mid-range shooting.

We’ve seen recent rules changes improve MLB play, most notably the pitch clock, which had led to shorter games and less dead time.

That brings up to today’s topic: What steps should the NBA take to address the epidemic of injuries? What kind of rules changes or other methods would you suggest to reduce the amount of missed games?

Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: NBA’s Last Two Undefeated Teams

November 5th, 2024 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA season tipped off two weeks ago today and 28 of the league’s 30 teams have lost at least once since then. In fact, 25 of 30 have already dropped at least three games.

One team in each conference still has an unblemished record though, with the Cavaliers leading the Eastern Conference at 8-0 while the Thunder sit atop the Western Conference at 7-0.

Oklahoma City’s performance so far is probably less of a surprise, given that the team’s projected over/under of 56.5 wins during the preseason was four games ahead of any other Western team — we knew the Thunder were going to be really good.

Still, OKC deserves kudos for living up to the hype in the early going despite missing top offseason free agent addition Isaiah Hartenstein, who has yet to make his regular season Thunder debut due to a fractured hand.

Even without Hartenstein, the club has the NBA’s best net rating (+17.1), buoyed by a defensive rating (93.8) that is over eight points per 100 possessions better than that of the second-place Warriors (102.1). The Thunder have won every single one of their games so far by at least 12 points, going 4-0 on the road and 3-0 at home.

Their schedule has certainly helped. Four of the Thunder’s seven wins have come against lottery teams from last season (the Bulls, Hawks, Spurs, and Trail Blazers), while two others have come against teams who have key players injured (the Clippers and Magic). OKC’s most impressive win was its season-opening victory in Denver against a Nuggets team that hasn’t quite looked like itself in the early going.

Still, the Thunder have easily handled the opponents across the floor from them, which is all you can ask for. As they look to extend their win streak, they’ll visit Denver again on Wednesday before beginning a six-game homestand that includes matchups against the Rockets (this Friday), Warriors (Nov. 10), Clippers (Nov. 11), Pelicans (Nov. 13), Suns (Nov. 15), and Mavericks (Nov. 17).

Over in the East, the Cavaliers were considered a potential top-four seed, but few were counting on them to come out of the gates quite like this.

The Cavs have had the NBA’s second-best offense (121.0 rating) and its fifth-best defense (108.3) so far, for an overall net rating of +12.7. They rank atop the league in true shooting percentage (63.0%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.28-to-1).

Like the Thunder, Cleveland has been missing a key rotation player – starting small forward Max Strus – but has done a good job of getting by in his absence, with Dean Wade, Caris LeVert, Sam Merrill, and Isaac Okoro all providing solid minutes on the wing, while Ty Jerome has thrived as the team’s backup point guard after missing nearly all of last season due to an ankle injury.

The Cavs’ schedule to open the season was somewhat soft, with their first three victories coming against Toronto, Detroit, and Washington. They’ve also benefited from getting to play the Magic (without Banchero) and the struggling Bucks (twice) at the right time. But they had good wins over the Knicks (in New York) and the Lakers (by 24 points).

The Cavs will be in New Orleans on Wednesday before hosting the Warriors and Nets for a back-to-back set on Friday and Saturday. Next week, they play in Chicago (Nov. 11) and Philadelphia (Nov. 13), then return home to face the Bulls (Nov. 15) and Hornets (Nov. 17).

We want to hear your early impressions of the league’s two remaining undefeated teams.

When do you expect the Thunder and Cavaliers to take their first loss? Could they stay perfect for another week or two? Are their hot starts the beginning of big seasons in Oklahoma City and Cleveland, or do you expect the two clubs to start sliding in the standings a little after their win streaks come to an end? Has their play this fall made you any more bullish about their chances to get past the second round of the playoffs in the spring?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: Early-Season Trends

November 2nd, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA season tipped off just 11 days ago, which means it’s still far too early to draw any sweeping conclusions about anything that’s happened so far.

Still, a quick glance at the standings reveals some expected outcomes. The defending-champion Celtics are off to another strong start, at 5-1. The Thunder, widely projected to be the top team in the West, are the only undefeated club left in the conference at 5-0.

On the other end of the spectrum, projected lottery teams like the Trail Blazers (2-4) and Jazz (0-5) sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, while the Raptors and Pistons (both 1-5) bring up the rear in the East.

There are a few records that are a little more surprising, however. We figured the Cavaliers would be among the East’s contenders, but they’ve been even better than expected in the early going — their 6-0 mark is the NBA’s best record.

Other would-be contenders in the East, like the Pacers (2-4) and Bucks (1-4) are off to far slower starts. Milwaukee’s performance, in particular, has been troubling, given the underwhelming way their season ended in 2023/24. Damian Lillard‘s fit doesn’t look any smoother in his second year with the Bucks than it did in the first, and the team badly needs a healthy Khris Middleton, who has yet to make his season debut after missing 74 games across the past two seasons.

In the West, several of the clubs led by former MVPs (Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James) are off to strong starts, with the Suns (4-1), Warriors (4-1), and Lakers (4-2) holding top-four spots in the standings entering Saturday’s action. New head coaches Mike Budenholzer and J.J. Redick seem to be making a positive impact in Phoenix and Los Angeles, respectively, while Golden State’s depth has been a major asset so far.

On the other hand, after an underwhelming offseason in which they lost starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency and faced questions about the fit of newcomer Russell Westbrook and the health of Jamal Murray, the Nuggets are just 2-3 and required an overtime period to beat Toronto and Brooklyn. Nikola Jokic has been playing at his usual MVP level, but he’s not getting enough help, and Westbrook (.244 FG%, .200 3PT%) and Murray (.370 FG%, .304 3PT%) have done little so far to answer those offseason questions.

Again, with the caveat that the sample size is small, we want to hear your takeaways from the first week-and-a-half of the season.

Which fall trends are you taking seriously and which ones do you expect to be short-lived? Which struggling teams and players should be worried and which ones just need more time to hit their stride? Which clubs off to strong starts are legitimate and which ones do you expect to come back down to earth?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

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