It’s a long NBA season, we all know it. We’re about 20 games through, give or take, a quarter of the season has already vanished. When we look at the landscape of the NBA, the two Los Angeles teams and the Milwaukee Bucks stand at the top of most power rankings. There have been quite a few surprises (Toronto, Miami, Dallas, etc.) However, there have been disappointments through the first quarter of the season and teams that haven’t met expectations. This doesn’t mean they can’t turn it around, but they need to be better.
Houston Rockets
Record wise, Houston isn’t off to a terrible start. They are 14-7, and just came off an impressive win against the Toronto Raptors in Canada. So what’s their biggest problem? For the most part, it’s been the James Harden show. He’s their Mr. Everything, and yes it’s going to win you regular season games, but it’s been proven to not work in May come playoff time. In July, the Rockets swapped PG’s with the Oklahoma City Thunder, trading Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook. Through 21 games, Westbrook is shooting under 40% from the field and 21%(!) from three. Teams are starting to double Harden once he crosses half-court, and they need Russ to not only playmate, but hit open 3’s. Right now, he’s doing not either well. That needs to change or Houston is going to come up short again and left answering the same questions on why they couldn’t beat elite teams in the playoffs.
Utah Jazz
Utah’s problems are a lot easier for the eye to see than say, the Rockets. In the preseason, most basketball heads viewed Utah as a top 4 team in the Western Conference and thought they would give serious problems to the teams they played in the playoffs. Instead, Mike Conley, their prized offseason acquisition, has been awful. Joe Ingles, a long-time starter, was moved to the bench and has somehow been even worse than Conley. Their last 3 games? A 20 point loss to Toronto, in which they were down 40 at halftime. They head to Philadelphia, lose by 9, where the score doesn’t indicate just how out of the game they truly were. Then, the Lakers come into Utah, fresh off of playing in Denver the night before, and run Utah right off the court in embarrassing fashion. Utah’s record is 12-10, and we need to see a sense of urgency from them soon.
Philadelphia 76ers
In a previous article earlier this season, I proclaimed that the 76ers were going to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. They have done nothing to help my confidence with that proclamation since. On paper, they are as talented as any team in the league and their defense is still really good. The offensive end, on the other hand, has been a true struggle for this team. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons still look clunky on the floor, while their top two offseason acquisitions, Al Horford and Josh Richardson, haven’t spread the floor as well as they would like. It feels like this team is still missing a true sniper, a deadeye 3-point shooter to really complete this team. While 15-7 isn’t a bad record, the Milwaukee Bucks are 20-3, won 14 straight, and Giannis Antetokounmpo looks as dominant as prime Shaq. 76er fans should be concerned.
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