Is it too early to panic? Aaron Rose has his say on the early season struggles of three NBA franchises.
The NBA season isn’t even a month old but there’s starting to be some separation in the standings. The Western Conference continues to look as good as ever with 11 teams legitimately vying for eight playoff spots. In the East, however, the situation looks a little bleaker. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics have looked like juggernauts, but after that it gets messy.
It’s probably too early for any panic trades with so many players still unavailable to be traded until December, but there are certainly some teams that need to take a long look in the mirror and realize it’s starting to get ugly really early this season.
Milwaukee Bucks: Panic is Already Setting In (Panic-o-Meter 9.5/10)
I’m just about ready to call it.
The Milwaukee Bucks are done being legitimate NBA contenders. They’ll probably recover from their disastrous start to the year and make the playoffs. There’s a reasonable chance they can right this ship and win a few playoff games, maybe even a round. But the reality of the situation is this team is stuck and not nearly good enough to contend for a championship again.
Part of this was inevitable.
Late draft picks and all-in trades have left the cupboards bear in Milwaukee. Injuries and age have left Khris Middleton diminished and frequently unavailable. Brook Lopez has fallen off over the past couple of seasons as he heads toward his late 30s. That is simply the cost of keeping together an old, competitive core.
Then there’s the Damian Lillard trade.
For all Lillard’s offensive firepower, his lack of size, strength, and defensive fortitude has left the Bucks serious defensive issues. They’ve been a middling defensive team through the early part of the season and there’s no obvious solution to fix it.
Rumors are already swirling about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee and the Bucks are said to be already working the phone lines as they search for trade options just weeks into the season. It’s become a recipe for a disaster and the seemingly inevitable Antetokounmpo trade at some point in the not-so-distant future is beginning to feel inevitable.
The Bucks aren’t in a position to make a trade that’ll significantly augment this group and without major changes to the way their roster is constructed, it’s hard to see Milwaukee contending again anytime soon.
Bodog NBA Championship Odds: Milwaukee +3300
Philadelphia 76ers: Embracing Chaos? (Panic-o-Meter: 3/10)
There’s always something going on in Philadelphia.
No organization seems to have more nonsense swirling around it than the 76ers who are regularly in the news about something silly. This year has been no exception as Embiid’s injury has created all kinds of off-court drama culminating in a physical altercation between Embiid and a columnist earlier this month.
It’s been messy, to put it mildly.
But the 76ers were never focused on winning the regular season. This team has taken on as much injury risk as any organization in the league and is hoping Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, and adequate depth pieces are enough to push Philadelphia over the top in the post-season. A disappointing start to the season hasn’t changed that equation whatsoever.
Sure, the 76ers would prefer to have a higher seed in the playoff, but there’s no reason to think Philadelphia can’t sneak into the playoff and — if healthy — pull off some upsets. If the 76ers can navigate the next few months without falling too far behind, they’ll be just fine when the spring rolls around.
Bodog NBA Championship Odds: Philadelphia +2800
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Miami Heat: Time to Accept a New Reality? (Panic-o-Meter: 6/10)
What’s the plan for Miami?
It’s tough to count out the Heat but it’s increasingly looking like this team is no longer a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference. They snuck into the playoffs as the eighth seed last year and were eliminated in five games by the Celtics. This year it looks like they’re heading toward a similar fate.
The issue this time is Jimmy Butler’s contract is nearing an end and the 35-year-old All-Star is beginning to show his age. His numbers have dipped to start this year, and it’s starting to seem like the Heat have hit the ceiling for this core centered around Butler.
Miami isn’t the type of organization to make a panic move or pivot into a multi-year rebuilding process, but it may be time for the Heat to face the reality of their situation. This group isn’t good enough to be anything other than a middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference team without serious title aspirations. If their plan is to tread water until the next superstar becomes available, that’s OK in Miami. But with this group, the Heat appear to be stuck in the middle.
Bodog NBA Championship Odds: Miami +6000