The Clippers have got off to a 1-4 start, which has them sitting in the 12th place in the Western Conference. Fans are obviously not happy about this, particularly about their last two losses to the Cavs and the Blazers, as the Clippers played terribly in both contests. However, the Clippers are not the only team that’s gotten off to a poor start. Here’s a quick check-in with other standout teams (for good or bad) around the NBA approximately five games into the season to hopefully help relieve some tension.
Other Strugglers
Phoenix Suns – The reigning Western Conference Champions, the Suns have gotten off to nearly as poor a start as the Clippers, but with not nearly as severe a set of mitigating circumstances regarding injuries. Sitting at 2-3, the Suns have lost to the Kings and Nuggets and were blown out by the Blazers. Their two wins were against the Lakers and Cavs, and both were near-run affairs. Devin Booker, Jae Crowder, and Cam Johnson have all gotten off to poor shooting starts, and Chris Paul isn’t scoring like he used to. They’re going to be better, but it hasn’t been pretty.
Los Angeles Lakers – Speaking of ugly, the Lakers are 3-3, including an embarrassing loss to the Thunder after being up huge, and barely squeaked out wins against the Cavs, Spurs, and Grizzlies. Their offense has been quite solid, but their defense has been putrid – not a surprise considering how old their roster is. The Lakers will play better as they get healthier and integrate new players, but there are reasons to be skeptical of the Westbrook fit as well as many of their surrounding players.
Boston Celtics – The Celtics, projected by most pundits to be somewhere in the 3-6 range of the Eastern Conference, are 2-4, and like the Clippers, sit at 12th. They haven’t been good on either end of the court, are already beset by injuries, and have dropped a couple close games they should have won (sound familiar?). Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, their two stars, appear to be struggling with some long COVID symptoms, and as those two go, so goes the whole team.
Commonalities – All of these teams and the Clippers share quite a few similarities. They’re all dealing with injuries including but not limited to Clippers (Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Marcus Morris), Suns (Cam Payne, Dario Saric), Lakers (Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza), Celtics (Marcus Smart, Rob Williams). All of them except perhaps the Suns who have a good number of young players boast veteran-laden teams who might need more time to work their way into the season. And all have dropped games to younger teams who have surprised early in the season with their overall play and feistiness, perhaps due to lack of scouting or preparation, or just taking those teams too lightly. And that’s a perfect transition to…
Exceeding Expectations
Washington Wizards – The Wizards are shockingly 5-1, tied for 1st in the Eastern Conference. Old friend Montrezl Harrell is balling out in the nation’s capital, putting up a 19/10 stat line while shooting 61.4% from the field and getting to the free throw line 6.2 times per game. Harrell’s defense is a weakness, as we know, but increased effort from Bradley Beal alongside the versatility of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, and Deni Avdija has made up for it. The Wizards are playing hard, they’re playing smart, and they’re doing all this while playing extremely shorthanded in the front court, missing several key players. The coaching upgrade from Scott Brooks to Wes Unseld Jr. has been massive, while the Russell Westbrook trade gave them depth they haven’t had in years. If you haven’t watched them much, they’re a lot of fun.
Charlotte Hornets – The run-and-gun Hornets are 4-2, and have played in several thrilling games already. LaMelo Ball looks like a future superstar, Miles Bridges has seemingly made the leap from solid player and intriguing prospect to burgeoning star, and Gordon Hayward has remained healthy so far. The Hornets are doing this without the services of scoring guard Terry Rozier, who has played just a single game, and with exceptionally poor play from young cornerstone PJ Washington. Fortunately, they’ve been bolstered by strong play from vets Ish Smith and Mason Plumlee. The high-flying Hornets are another extremely entertaining team.
Sacramento Kings – The Kings are 3-2 on the basis of a potent offense and some narrow wins. Star point guard De’Aaron Fox has gotten off to a poor start, but it’s been more than made up for by the shocking play of Harrison Barnes, who is averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds per game on exceptional scoring efficiency. Add in the sharpshooting Buddy Hield, the defense of rookie Davion Mitchell, and the connective tissue of second-year guard Tyrese Haliburton and you have a nice little brew. Barnes will assuredly fall back to earth, but Fox should improve, and that will counterbalance things a bit.
Minnesota Timberwolves – The Timberwolves are 3-2 as well, and are above .500 despite extremely poor shooting by Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell, and Malik Beasley, three of their top four scorers. The difference has been made on defense, where the long hapless Wolves look excellent, spurred in large part by old friend Patrick Beverley. If the Wolves’ defense can hold up as good, the improved shooting of their guard play should keep them as a pretty solid team. With the Wolves though, that’s always a big if.
Commonalities – All of these teams tilt young, with the Wizards probably being the oldest, but still featuring a number of players in their early and mid-20s. Three of the four teams (with the Wolves being the exclusion) have players off to very hot starts that will probably return to earth, with Barnes, Harrell, and Bridges all likely to regress. By comparison, none of the struggling teams feature any players who are unexpectedly off to blazing starts or who have exceeded expectations.
The main takeaway is that the NBA 2021-2022 season is still in its infancy. While one or maybe even two of the Clippers, Suns, Lakers, and Celtics could disappoint this season, it’s highly unlikely that all of them finish the season in their present spots in the standings. Conversely, the Kings, Wizards, Timberwolves, and Hornets all have qualities that make them seem likely to exceed expectations this year, and maybe a couple of them really do place above the play-in. But its improbable that all of them do. Things will change in the NBA, and what is current in the standings is certainly not set in stone.
