5 NBA Teams That Need to Sound the Early-Season Alarm
Slow starts are never ideal in the NBA, but some are serious enough to incite real panic.
Whether it's the full manifestation of a weakness that had been lurking beneath the surface or the surprise appearance of a brand new problem, clubs around the league know how easy it can be to dig a hole too deep to overcome or create a rift too wide to traverse.
Not every team with early-season issues shows up here.
We'll focus specifically on the ones that entered the season with internal or external expectations that aren't being met—teams falling short of where most thought they'd be.
You don't sound an alarm for squads that are playing uneven ball in the midst of their growth phase. You sit back and say, "Yeah, the Portland Trail Blazers, Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves are young and not scheduled to do anything serious for a year or two. That sub-.500 record is about right."
There are no disasters when the stakes are low and failure is, at least partially, expected.
But for the following teams, trouble has struck early. And it's caught most of them by surprise.
Milwaukee Bucks
1 of 5
Where'd the defense go?
After ranking second in defensive efficiency last season, per NBA.com, the Milwaukee Bucks have swung all the way to the other extreme, ranking 29th through their first 14 games of the 2015-16 campaign. As you might imagine, this is a problem for a team that still struggles to score.
Is the drop-off from Zaza Pachulia (now with the Dallas Mavericks) to Greg Monroe compromising Milwaukee's interior defense? Is an extremely aggressive strong-side zone approach meeting with opponents who've had an offseason to scout out counters? Are the high foul totals and opposing free-throw attempts a concern?
Yes to all three.
There are some very positive signs in Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo has taken another step toward stardom, and Jabari Parker looks good in his return from a torn ACL. But it's still a little worrisome that a young team whose defensive identity once seemed so certain is now floundering on that end.
The Bucks can still make the necessary fixes to continue the upward trajectory they established last season, but they have to do it quickly. The middle section of the East is significantly improved, and it'll take a return to near-elite defensive status for Milwaukee to better the .500 finish it posted a year ago.
The alternative—continued defensive ineptitude paired with shaky scoring—could result in a disappointing playoff absence...and a re-examination of a once-locked-in identity.
Los Angeles Lakers
2 of 5
Sometimes, when expectation and reality don't align, it's because of bad luck, injury or some unforeseeable chemistry issue.
Other times, it's because of straight-up delusional thinking.
Guess which one explains the Los Angeles Lakers' current plight.
Everything about Los Angeles' abysmal start—Kobe Bryant's tragicomic decline, the nonexistent offensive scheme, the sedated defense—was totally foreseeable...except to head coach Byron Scott, who has run this outfit as though steadfast adherence to old-timey grit and outdated tactics could somehow overcome a lack of talent and awful leadership.
Scott legitimately believed (and maybe still believes?) the Lakers could be a playoff team. And he's been coaching them as though that were still the goal—despite mountains of evidence that such a belief is ridiculous and despite the fact that winning games this season is mostly counterproductive to L.A.'s chances at rebuilding a once-great franchise.
"I’m not always thinking about necessarily developing [young players]," Scott infamously said, per Bill Oram of the Orange County Register, on Nov. 6. "I’m always thinking about trying to win."
Sigh.
"He has that privilege basically," Scott said of Bryant's inefficiency and frightful shot selection, per Serena Winters of Lakers Nation. "From a coaching standpoint, I want Kobe to be Kobe, other guys haven't earned that right yet."
Huh?
The Lakers aren't going to win games, but they have enough young players to make the cascade of forthcoming losses a learning experience that could help things in the long run. If only they'd see things that way.
Sound the alarm for a franchise that refuses to acknowledge where it is in the rebuilding process.
Houston Rockets
3 of 5
Nobody needs to suggest the Houston Rockets should sound the alarm.
They already did it themselves, firing head coach Kevin McHale for some admittedly compelling reasons, according to general manager Daryl Morey. "The team was not responding to Kevin McHale and we had to make the tough call, and we had to make it soon," he told the Associated Press (h/t the Dallas Morning News). "There is not time in the tough Western Conference to wait for a turnaround."
That's panic, folks. Justified panic, but panic nonetheless.
Houston's defensive effort was nonexistent to start the season, and rumblings about the Rockets' lack of leadership have put more skeptical eyes on James Harden and Dwight Howard than ever.
Fortunately for the Rockets, there have been signs of hope since J.B. Bickerstaff took over for McHale, per Fran Blinebury of NBA.com:
"Since swapping coaches, the Rockets have had their best three defensive games of the season, based strictly on opponents' field goal percentage. It has been pointed out that even with a 1-2 record in the new era, the team has played harder and not gone into total surrender mode. One takes satisfaction in the first small steps.
"
Satisfaction's fine, but if not for a 40-foot, overtime-forcing heave from Corey Brewer, we're talking about an 0-3 record since McHale's ouster.
Whatever happens with the Rockets this year—continued implosion or a return to actually trying—there's little chance of another No. 2 seed in the West or a conference finals appearance.
Morey said it: There's just no time to come back from such a disappointing start in the West.
New Orleans Pelicans
4 of 5
It hurts to bang this drum: the doomed, rhythmic insistence that the New Orleans Pelicans pack it in this year and gun for a high lottery pick.
Nobody feels good about suggesting the Pellies, who came into this season with what many thought was 50-win potential, should tank away a prime season of the still-transcendent Anthony Davis.
But New Orleans is riddled with injuries to key starters and rotation players, and a 3-11 start means it'll take a 50-win pace from here on just to equal the 45 wins and No. 8 seed it secured last year. If everyone on the roster were magically healthy tomorrow, maybe that'd be possible.
But so many of the Pelicans' vital pieces are nowhere near returns, and there's still the question of adapting to new head coach Alvin Gentry's system whenever Tyreke Evans, Quincy Pondexter, Omer Asik and Jrue Holiday get fully healthy.
Morey and the Rockets talked about running out of time, but it's the Pelicans who are really up against it.
Because there's no clear long-term sidekick for Davis on this roster, and because free agency offers no guarantees, the best way to set up years of success is to secure a high draft pick—perhaps one high enough to land LSU's Ben Simmons.
The alternative is a breakneck charge toward a low seed and a quick first-round out against a West superpower. And that won't do anything but keep New Orleans right in the dreaded middle for another year.
Sound the tank alarm.
Los Angeles Clippers
5 of 5
Much like the Rockets, the Los Angeles Clippers were supposed to be a full-on, no-questions-asked contender this season.
So much for that.
The most noteworthy sign of L.A.'s troubles came in a 124-117 home loss to the Golden State Warriors, a contest in which the Clips amassed a 23-point lead before shriveling down the stretch. Days later, the Clippers fell behind by 29 points at the half against the Toronto Raptors, which precipitated a locker-room shouting match between Josh Smith and an assistant coach after the game, per Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
An offseason overhaul that brought in Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith hasn't yielded results. And despite retaining DeAndre Jordan, the Clips have seen their defense plummet to a bottom-10 efficiency ranking. Even more confounding, the Clippers have been the third-worst rebounding team in the league through their first 13 games, per NBA.com.
I wonder how head coach Doc Rivers feels about comparing Jordan's defensive impact to Bill Russell's now.
In the past, the Clips' weak depth and suspect defense were overshadowed by a top-flight scoring attack. But the offense is lagging nearly six points per 100 possessions behind last year's league-best rate.
The Clips don't look happy, and they're not playing particularly well on either end. For a team that has long battled rumors about a tense locker room, the current struggles don't bode well.
There's still a ton of talent on this roster, and it's not like missing the playoffs feels like a real possibility. But there should be urgency all the same. The Clippers nearly broke apart this past offseason, and there's just something that feels fractured about them now.
If contention is still the goal, this team needs to sort itself out in a hurry.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com unless otherwise indicated, current through games played Nov. 23.
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