Making sense of wacky start

Surprises abound and shoes are standing out.

It has taken an unusual amount of ink, focus, caffeine and pregame napping to stay on top of all the drama in the NBA this season.

Without a running diary, it would be easy to forget that the Oklahoma City Thunder did not win their first game for 12 days, or that Blake Griffin scored 50 points against Philadelphia, or that Luke Walton’s run with the Los Angeles Lakers as coach once seemed to be in its final days.

Only a fraction of the way through this season, a crew of New York Times sportswriters and friends are ready to reflect. Here are their early-season takeaways.

Celtics supposed to be better than this: Boston could have four first-rounders in next year’s draft, from: the Kings (top 1 protected), the Grizzlies (1 to 8 protected) and the Clippers (1 to 14 protected), plus their own. Almost a quarter of the way through the season, who would have thought the Celtics would be on track to end up the highest pick of them all by season’s end?

I’m being hyperbolic. But we’re past the “it’s early” stage to assess the team, and the results are disappointing. Boston lost at home against a terrible Knicks team. Before that, there was a blown double-digit, fourth-quarter lead against a tired Charlotte Hornets team. It’s nothing short of baffling. One of their wins required an unlikely, otherworldly late comeback against an objectively bad Phoenix team.

Coach Brad Stevens’ offense moves the ball well (in the top half of the league in assist percentage) and generates open looks with ease. It’s not a lethargy thing, either: The players seem to like playing with one another and for Stevens. And besides, how do you have one of the league’s best defenses without playing hard?

But the open looks just aren’t falling, and neither are the shots around the paint, in the rare instances players actually try to go to the rim. The offense is designed to emphasize the shooting talent of the roster. Everyone has some semblance of a jumper. In today’s NBA, this should, in theory, make for a lethal offense. Early on, it was easy to say the bricks were a bug, not a feature. Now you have to wonder if there’s more going on here. Boston shoots under 35 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, well below the league average.

When the open looks have not fallen, Boston has not found alternatives. The Celtics are near the bottom of the league in drives to the rim per game, which you can get away with if the offense is hitting its jumpers, which it’s not. And when the ball finds its way into the paint, in the restricted area, the Celtics shoot 61 percent, also below mediocre.

And then there’s Gordon Hayward, who clearly still needs time. His 3-point shooting is mired at 28 percent. The lesson: Don’t trust all those offseason workout videos you see of players swishing shots. — SOPAN DEB

California again the wild, wild West: The NBA’s California contingent has gone mad. The two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors are dealing with — dare I say it? — some dysfunction. The Los Angeles Lakers and their cast of misfit toys are suddenly surging behind LeBron James. The Clippers, whom few expected to even vie for a playoff spot, are shaping up as one of the more dangerous teams in the Western Conference. And the Sacramento Kings — well, at least the Kings are still the Kings, reportedly rived by front-office drama.

Out here in California, not a whole lot makes sense, starting with the Warriors.

Draymond Green blew up in Kevin Durant’s face this month, and the fallout has been something to behold. The Warriors have lost a bunch of games. Stephen Curry has been sidelined with an injury. And questions continue to swirl about Durant’s future with the team, with free agency looming this summer.

In Los Angeles, James is doing it again: elevating an odd collection of inexperienced players and reclamation projects into something that resembles a contender, or at least a competitive team. Not so long ago, Rajon Rondo was trying to deck Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets, and Magic Johnson, the team president, was yelling at Walton, raising concerns about his job security. But the Lakers now look pretty cohesive compared with the Warriors, and who saw that coming?

James, of course, deserves a lot of the credit. He is playing some of the finest basketball of his career. — SCOTT CACCIOLA

Big surprises: We might have already seen the biggest in-season blockbuster trade we’re going to get with Jimmy Butler’s Nov. 12 move from Minnesota to Philadelphia. We’ve sadly seen Carmelo Anthony’s stint as a Houston Rocket fizzle faster than could be expected. And we’ve seen an offensive eruption that has quickly generated five 50-point games — and a 60-pointer by Charlotte guard Kemba Walker — after just 10 50-point games total last season.

And there is unforeseen chaos in both conferences.

In the resurgent East: Toronto, Milwaukee and Philadelphia are playing better than Boston, which means the Celtics will not be getting that supposed free pass to the NBA finals. The unexpected battle for a top-four seeding — go ahead and throw the pesky Indiana Pacers into the conversation — has hushed the notion that this conference should cease to exist after James’ relocation to Hollywood.

Out west, meanwhile, Portland, Memphis and the Clippers are overachieving, offsetting the so-so starts by the more established likes of Houston, Utah and San Antonio. — MARC STEIN

New rule gives sneakerheads their due: When the NBA changed its rule before the season allowing players to wear whatever color shoes they want, sneakerheads rejoiced. Six weeks into the season, this is what that the color change has wrought: In the season opener, Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker, the reigning “Sneaker Champ” (there is such a thing), wore three different pairs. One was a black and purple Nike Kobe 1, which he had signed by Kobe Bryant.

A kaleidoscope of yellow ocher, Cinnamon Toast Crunch (part of Kyrie Irving’s cereal pack) and green Grinch took center stage. Amid this color burst, there were floral patterns from a Chinese line, a pair inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog and a shoe featuring a cartoon version of Rosa Parks on its heel — as if we needed more proof that the NBA is much more fun than its stodgy pro counterparts. — KELLY WHITESIDE

TIM BRADBURY / GETTY IMAGES Celtics forward Gordon Hayward clearly still needs time. His 3-point shooting is mired at 28 percent. The lesson: Don’t trust all those offseason workout videos you see of players swishing shots.

HARRY HOW / GETTY IMAGES When the NBA changed its rule before the season allowing players to wear whatever color shoes they want, sneakerheads rejoiced.