The NBA’s 82-game common season is so lengthy and tedious that few groups are ever actually out of it till after the All-Star break. Take the 2021-2022 Boston Celtics because the chief instance: Boston was simply 25-25 by way of its first 50 video games, then completed the yr 26-6 earlier than working all the best way to the NBA Finals.
The brand new NBA season has been underway for less than every week, however that’s already lengthy sufficient for a vibe verify across the league. The Celtics and Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder seem poised for a collision course within the 2025 NBA Finals, the Lakers are rolling behind new head coach J.J. Redick, and Cleveland Cavaliers seem like taking one other step ahead with new coach Kenny Atkinson.
Some groups haven’t been as spectacular to date. Listed here are 5 groups which can be at the least interested by pushing the panic button just one week into the 2024-2025 season.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks are 1-3, together with getting completely shellacked by the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets — two groups extra involved with being within the Cooper Flagg derby than profitable video games this yr. Milwaukee entered the season as one of many league’s most determined groups: with Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez all getting outdated, this felt like their final probability to make a run at a championship with this core round Giannis Antetokounmpo. It hasn’t been fairly to date.
The Bucks have a laundry listing of issues proper now: their depth stinks, their protection is completely disconnected, Middleton is out with an ankle damage, and Lillard isn’t getting again offensively what he’s giving up defensively. It’s straightforward accountable head coach Doc Rivers, however at a sure level this group wasn’t ok for Mike Budenholzer or Adrian Griffin, both. It’s a deeply flawed roster that’s utterly capped out and devoid of future property.
Lillard’s protection is an enormous challenge particularly. He’s so small and struggles badly to recover from screens, which suggests he will get taken out of performs with ease. When Dame will get knocked out with a display screen, he’s not often exhibiting a number of efforts to get again within the play, and that’s placing the remainder of the Bucks’ protection in rotation.
Lillard’s offense can nonetheless be nice, nevertheless it looks like his deep pull-ups are much less constant than they was. For the Bucks to achieve their potential, the chemistry between Lillard and Antetokounmpo within the two-man recreation needed to be vastly improved. It was an enormous purple flag the 2 stars admitted they didn’t exercise collectively this summer time. Milwaukee has loads of time to get proper, nevertheless it wants to maximise the Lillard-Giannis pairing instantly and do no matter it could actually to repair the protection.
Denver Nuggets
It was solely 15 months in the past that the Nuggets received the NBA championship. Within the time since, possession has let a number of key items stroll in free company (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown, Jeff Inexperienced), the younger gamers drafted by the entrance workplace haven’t developed in a significant method, and Jamal Murray seems to be like he’s misplaced a step at solely 27 years outdated. Nikola Jokic stays unbelievable, however the infrastructure round him in Denver has utterly crumbled. At this level, simply grinding out an additional time win over the Raptors is an enormous deal.
The Nuggets have all the time had a poor bench within the Jokic period, however this may be their worst one but. For a crew that desperately wanted taking pictures, the choice to make Russell Westbrook their large offseason acquisition was a extremely questionable one. The youthful draft picks that prime govt Calvin Sales space had a lot conviction in coming into the season simply aren’t assembly the second to date. It’s no shock there’s reportedly actual stress between the entrance workplace and head coach Mike Malone.
Jokic could make up for lots of points, nevertheless it’s ridiculous that Denver is placing such an enormous burden on his shoulders. It shouldn’t be this tough to construct round The Joker, a 7-foot point-center who fills the field rating like nobody else alive. The Nuggets want Murray to start out taking part in as much as his expertise stage once more, they usually want everybody else to start out hitting pictures. It’s straightforward to overlook that Denver received 57 video games a yr in the past after their second spherical playoff exit. There’s no excuse for this crew to be as unhealthy as its been within the first week. The Nuggets will all the time have an opportunity with Jokic round, however the issues right here possible aren’t going away.
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Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have been the largest shock crew of final season, utilizing a contemporary “7 Seconds or Much less” offense to win 47 video games and ultimately earn a visit to the Japanese Convention Finals. It was all the time going to be exhausting for Indiana to measure as much as final yr’s playoff run, however few thought they’d battle as badly as they’ve throughout their 1-3 begin.
The Pacers had the second finest offense within the NBA final yr. By 4 video games this yr, it ranks No. 22. Tyrese Haliburton simply hasn’t seemed the identical since struggling a hamstring pressure simply earlier than the All-Star break final season. Haliburton returned early partially to hit the video games minimal to be named All-NBA, and he actually hasn’t seemed like his outdated self since. His assists have been lower in half from final yr to date, and his scoring is taking an enormous hit too as he struggles to shoot the ball. Thus far, Haliburton is taking pictures 33.9 % from the sector and 26.5 % from three.
Indiana simply doesn’t have plenty of defensive punch alongside him. Myles Turner continues to be a superb participant, however his days as a Defensive Participant of the Yr candidate are over. Pascal Siakam has been strong to star the season, however he can’t be this crew’s driving drive. Indiana nonetheless simply seems to be small and weak, and now they don’t have an incredible offense to fall again on. Haliburton returning to the shape he confirmed early final yr would clear up plenty of Indiana’s issues, however that participant has been gone for a short time now. The Pacers are a piece in progress till their star level guard will get proper.