We have formally reached the quarter mark of the NBA season. Whereas loads can nonetheless change over the subsequent 50-plus video games, groups and gamers can now not dismiss troubling traits as “small pattern dimension theater.”
For followers of the next gamers and groups, it would even be time to think about urgent the “panic” button. (All statistics and information are by means of Tuesday’s play.)
PANIC LEVEL 1 | You actually had us frightened there for a minute: LeBron James
James, who will flip 41 on Dec. 30, appeared so previous by means of his first six video games that it had his followers grappling with their very own mortality. He appeared stiff, gradual and performed manner too upright. The stats backed it up, too (14 PPG and 4.3 RPG with abysmal taking pictures splits of 41-26-55). Within the Lakers’ recreation on Dec. 4 towards Toronto, he failed to attain 10-plus factors for the primary time in 1,297 video games.
Issues had been wanting grim till the ultimate possession of the Raptors recreation, when James handed up an opportunity to achieve 10 factors and as a substitute zipped the ball to Rui Hachimura within the nook for a buzzer-beating three. He adopted that efficiency with a classic LeBron outing towards the Philadelphia 76ers, hitting clutch shot after clutch shot within the fourth quarter. He completed with 29 factors, seven rebounds and 6 assists, capping the sport along with his signature “Silencer” celebration.
The shot-making towards the Sixers was a reminder that that is nonetheless mainly his preseason, as he spent the offseason recovering from the knee harm he suffered within the playoffs and missed all of coaching camp, plus the primary 14 video games, with a again/nerve harm. His celebration advised that he’s beginning to really feel extra like himself once more.
PANIC LEVEL 2 | We’re beginning to get slightly frightened: Cleveland Cavaliers
Final season, the Cavaliers went 64-18 and had the very best offense within the NBA. This season, they’re 14-11 and solely have the ninth-best scoring offense (118.6) within the NBA. They’re overly reliant on guard Donovan Mitchell, who’s scoring has elevated from 24 PPG to 30.5 PPG due to the struggles along with his fellow-All-Star teammates Darius Garland (accidents) and Evan Mobley (stagnated improvement). Large man Jarrett Allen has additionally missed 10 video games as properly.
It’s most likely all going to be high quality and so they’ll get rolling once more as soon as all of them get wholesome, however they’re fortunate they reside within the East, the place they’re in seventh place.
PANIC LEVEL 3 | It would not get way more embarrassing than this: New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans (3-22) infamously traded an unprotected 2026 first-round decide to the Atlanta Hawks to maneuver up from decide No. 22 to No. 13 in final summer season’s draft and choose Derik Queen. From the beginning, this appeared like a probably disastrous season for New Orleans if it missed the playoffs — however no person anticipated the Pelicans to be tied with the Wizards for the fewest wins within the NBA.
Whereas Queen (12.9 PPG), to his credit score, has been a stud, the negatives have outweighed the positives. The season is successfully over, and the Pels may very well be handing Atlanta a top-three decide in one of many deepest draft courses in years. And if that weren’t dangerous sufficient, Zion Williamson (22.1 PPG) is injured but once more and sure has little to no commerce worth at this level.
Issues are ugly within the Large Simple.
PANIC LEVEL 4 | We’re watching a slow-motion automobile crash: Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks (10–15) entered the season believing that they had the proverbial “puncher’s likelihood” within the East as a result of they nonetheless had the very best participant within the convention. And whereas that half is true — Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 28.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG and 6.1 APG on 63.9 % taking pictures — the Bucks seem like a play-in group at finest even with him on the courtroom. With out him, they’ve been horrendous (1–7). And now they’re about to be with out Giannis for a lot of the subsequent month as he recovers from a strained calf.
Everyone knows what speak inevitably follows conditions like this: hypothesis about whether or not Giannis would possibly finally ask out.
If that day comes, the Bucks will face the monumental process of rebuilding after the lack of a franchise icon — and so they’ll have to take action with out management of their very own first-round decide till 2031. Milwaukee followers would possibly need to go into hibernation till then.
PANIC LEVEL 5 | 5-alarm fireplace: Los Angeles Clippers
There should be a palpable sense of panic and embarrassment operating by means of this group because it concurrently offers with a cascade of anxieties:
- An ongoing NBA investigation into doable salary-cap circumvention involving funds related to the corporate Aspiration and whether or not these funds might have violated the collective bargaining settlement. (Kawhi Leonard, notably, has escaped a lot of the scrutiny and continues to obtain a generational advantage of the doubt every time he strings collectively a number of sturdy performances.)
- The abrupt, cold-blooded launch of Chris Paul, the best participant in franchise historical past, in the midst of what ought to have been his retirement tour.
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A misguided all-in wager on the oldest roster within the league, yielding a gradual, uninspiring on-court product and a 6–18 document in a loaded Western Convention.
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Bleak draft management, with the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder proudly owning the Clippers’ unprotected 2026 first-round decide in addition to swap rights on their 2027 decide.
This may very well be the gloomiest outlook a modern-day NBA franchise has ever had. No current, no future, a damning investigation into its alleged dishonest, barely any commerce property, horrible PR, and it would hand the Thunder (23-1) two superstars within the subsequent two drafts.
