Slow out of the Gate
Some of these teams have been surprising. Some have been downright bad. Others may just be off to poor starts that can turn around. But one thing they all have in common, they’re definitely under-performing.
Los Angeles Lakers
Honestly, I’m not surprised with where the Lakers are at. Despite the addition of LeBron James, this is still largely a roster of misfits. They have issues across the board and I think they’ll face even more struggles yet ahead. Their defense is putrid and their offense can only go as far as James takes them.
That said, I think they’ll end up better than their current 5-6 start that has them tenth in the West. They’ve already bounced back from the even worse 0-3 start out of the gate, so I’m pretty sure LeBron will help his squad get it together.
Even so, don’t assume that a top spot in the West is likely for this squad, nor that a playoff spot is even a guarantee. The Lakers have their work cut out for them if they’re truly going to be competitive in the deep Western Conference.
Houston Rockets
I’ve got to admit, I’ve been shocked at the Houston Rockets so far. I was confident that losing Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute would be hard for them to overcome, but I never imagined that the effects would be this bad. What’s been crazy though is that not only has their defense been predictably bad, but their offense has been atrocious. They’re currently 27th in the league in offensive rating.
Losing Chris Paul for a stint to suspension and James Harden to injury hasn’t helped in the slightest. But right now, Houston’s problems go well beyond those two incidents. Carmelo Anthony has been absolutely awful (is anyone besides Houston surprised by this?), and the Rockets no longer look anything like a juggernaut.
I honestly think they’ll get things turned around to some extent and overcome their poor 4-6 start. But I’m confident saying that Houston’s title hopes had the door slammed shut on them after last season, and finishing top-two in the West is well out of reach in 2018-19.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Last, but not least (well, at least I think not least), we have the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves have been nothing short of a dysfunctional mess so far this season, and I’m still positively baffled at why Jimmy Butler remains on the roster. The Wolves currently sit at 4-9, ahead of only the lowly Mavericks and Suns.
You know you’re in trouble when your most consistent player has been Derrick Rose, and I mean that as no disrespect to Rose, he’s been great this season and I’m happy to see him back at a high level. But when you have guys like Jimmy Butler (whose numbers have been good, but his picking and choosing when to play has been frustrating), Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins on the roster, you’d hope that other talent could step up.
Instead, the Wolves are off to a poor start and, barring a total rejuvenation when (if?) Butler is finally traded, I don’t see that happening any time soon. I had them out of the playoffs before the season started, and I’m holding firm to that assessment.
As you can see, it’s anyone’s guess how things will turn out in the Western Conference. The season is still extremely young and much could very well change between now and the start of playoffs.
What do you think of these assessments, Utah Jazz fans? What’s real and what’s not in the West? Let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.