Early starts don’t hold promise for handful of NBA teams
Barely two weeks into the NBA season and the trouble is real for a handful of teams, including teams that were expected to not only compete for a playoff spot but something more, such as a conference championship.
Yes, that’s you Houston Rockets. The Thunder were precariously close to making the list. They started 0-4, but two consecutive victories saved them.
Timberwolves: Jimmy Butler asked for a trade before training camp and hasn’t received it, and the fallout is palpable. The Timberwolves are 4-4, Butler is not playing in every game and KarlAnthony Towns, who signed a five-year, $190 extension before the season to be the franchise centerpiece, is off to a bad start with career lows in minutes, points per game, rebounds per game, field goals made and attempted and shooting percentage. Yes, it’s just eight games in. But it feels like 70 for Minnesota.
Wizards: The Wizards started 0-2 at home against teams on the second night of a back-to-back, players started complaining about shots, playing time and agendas by the fifth game and they are 1-6 with a real chance to start 1-7. Going into Thursday, Washington was 24th in offensive rating, 26th in defensive rating, 27th in 3-point shooting and 27th in rebounding. Cavaliers: Cleveland fired coach Ty Lue after a 0-6 start that failed to show any tangible results, either with veter- ans or young players. In a statement, the team named associate head coach Larry Drew their interim head coach, but he has balked at that title because the team hasn’t restructured his contract. AllStar forward Kevin Love is out for a while with a toe injury, and ESPN reported J.R. Smith is unhappy. The rubble in the aftermath of LeBron James’ departure is getting large.
Rockets: Houston had the best record in the league last season at 65-17 and took Golden State to seven games in the Western Conference finals. They are 1-5 and just lost 104-85 to Portland. MVP James Harden is out with a hamstring injury, and Chris Paul missed two games because of a suspension. The offseason losses of Trevor Ariza and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute are significant, and the addition of Carmelo Anthony has yet to reward Houston. That high-powered offense from last season is nowhere to be found. Houston is 25th in offensive rating, and that improved defense from a season ago is in reverse. Coach Mike D’Antoni said the team is playing like crap and has lost its swagger.
Lakers: After losing to Minnesota on Monday, LeBron James told reporters they wouldn’t want to be around when he loses his patience. He might be holding on to the last bit of his patience, saying, “We can’t keep having the same mistakes over and over.” Los Angeles is 3-5 after winning Wednesday, and a majority of its problems are on defense — the Lakers give up a lot of points. Opponents are getting to the foul line and making shots at a high rate. In the deep Western Conference, there are few easy games, especially for a team that looks like a playoff bubble team. The Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo suspensions didn’t help.
Suns: The Suns fired their general manager a week before the season and have started 1-6. They haven’t even been close in the six losses, falling by an average of 20.7 points. They are the 28thranked defense, allowing 115.5 points per 100 possessions, have the worst net rating in the league at -14.1 and lead the league in turnovers at 17.9 per game.