1 Overreaction For EVERY NBA Team's Start To The Season

The new NBA season literally just started, so there's still so much time for players and teams to either round into form or prove that their early success is not a fluke, but despite the sample size being small at the moment, there are still plenty of things we can take away from the early action, and that brings us to today's video. Today we'll be going through all 30 NBA teams, and we'll be making one overreaction to each group based on what we've seen so far. With these being overreactions, they will of course sound it sounds either too harsh or too hasty, but at the same time it's not unreasonable to come to these conclusions based on what has happened. Before we start though, it would be greatly appreciated if you could all utilize YouTube's new hype feature and hype this video up along with liking the video and subscribing, as it actually helps out quite a bit. Now with that being said, let's begin. We usually start in the Eastern Conference in these kinds of videos, but today we'll switch it up and start with the teams in the Western Conference. So first up is the Dallas Mavericks, and our early overreaction is that Cooper Flagg is already a superstar. This is someone who is still 19 years old and doesn't turn 20 until December, and yet when he's on the floor, he's the one who looks like a man amongst boys. Flagg came back this season even stronger, he's more aggressive attacking the basket, he's taken control of the offense and is producing like one of the best forwards in the game He's averaging about 25 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds per game, and if anything, I'd expect the rebound number to improve over time, so this may just be the start of Flagg's reign of dominance. Next is the Denver Nuggets, and our overreaction is that Nikola Jokic is losing a step. Nobody has ever done what Jokic has done on the offensive end over the last five years or so, being a complete one-man hub of creation. Literally everything ran through him, and eventually, that takes its toll, which... Seems to be now the case, because Jokic just looks exhausted out there and less into it than usual. Not only is his scoring down, but his effort on defense has been worse than it's ever been, which is saying something because he's never been a good defender, and the Nuggets only wins at this point in the year are against the lowly Pelicans. He's still going to be one of the best players in the league, but there was a stretch where he was undisputed number one, and those days may be done. Next is the Golden State Warriors, and our overreaction is that Yaxel Lindenberg is already the team's second best player. When the Warriors drafted Yaxel, they expected to be getting an older, more NBA-ready rookie that projected to be a solid role player, but the worry was that his upside wasn't that high. Well, that part of him being NBA-ready has proven to be very true, but he's also way more heavily featured in the offense than anyone expected, and he's been great. He's averaging about 23 points and 9 rebounds per game, seemingly given the green light already, and next to Steph Curry, Don't worry, that has been a welcome sign, providing secondary creation. Not as far as to say that he's an all-star in the making, but he's definitely more than just a role player. Next is the Houston Rockets, and our overreaction is that Fred VanVleet's presence changes everything for them, even when his shooting is struggling. Last year, the Rockets' main weakness was in their backcourt, where they lacked competent ball handlers that could actually run the offense and not be liabilities elsewhere. Fred VanVleet is a former All-Star with championship pedigree who just knows how to keep things flowing without doing too much. He may not be shooting efficiently right now, but him being a threat from deep shooting range Impact the gravity. Next is the Los Angeles Clippers, and our overreaction is that the sooner they hand things over to Keaton Wagler, the better. The Clippers are a group that really don't seem to have much hope. They're a group made up of useful role players that are lacking in the true leadership at the top to make their time worth it, and if it wasn't for the Kawhi Leonard scandal forcing them to sacrifice their draft picks, they would probably have undergone a rebuild already. Still though, prioritizing the youth is probably their best option, and Keaton Wagler has looked comfortable in the opportunities he's gotten so far. Next is the Los Angeles Lakers, and our overreaction is that Luka Doncic's MVP campaign is underway. We all expected the Lakers to fully become the Luka Doncic show with LeBron James' departure, but Luka has looked as good as ever, filling it up to an absurd degree. He's leading the NBA in scoring right now, averaging 36 points per game. He's also dishing out eight assists a night. He's been efficient, and he's leading the Lakers to being the second-best-ranked offense as a team in the early going, while also being 4-1 to start the year, so the Lakers are still finding a lot of success, and he's been at the heart of it. Next is the Memphis Grizzlies, and our overreaction is that Ty Jerome is not a fluke. Last year, Ty Jerome began to break out as an incredibly productive guard, but it was in a small 15-game sample size. He's come back this year and has not missed a beat from that play, and at the moment, he's averaging about 30 points per game, which is third in the entire league. Now, of course, I'm not going to sit here and say that Ty Jerome is going to average 30 points over the course of an entire season, but it's no longer crazy to buy into him being someone who can comfortably average over 20 points per game, and he does so very efficiently and methodically, playing under control and getting to his spots with ease. Next is the Minnesota Timberwolves, and our overreaction is that LaMelo Ball is a perfect fit here. The Timberwolves took a big gamble trading for LaMelo this summer, who has always been one of the most entertaining players in the league, but has also had some glaring flaws in his tenure with the Hornets previously, specifically with his effort on defense, his wild shot selection, and the fact that his production never translated to winning basketball. To start the year, he and Anthony Edwards instantly had incredible chemistry, and he was helping Edwards level up even further. It's just very unfortunate that Edwards is now out. out injured for a little bit. Next is the New Orleans Pelicans, and our overreaction is that they're wasting everyone's time. The Pelicans are such a clearly failed experiment that the front office is hanging on to for dear life for no reason. They refused to make any significant moves this summer, running it back for a third year in a row with a group that will not achieve anything as currently constructed. They're still just with one win to start the year to this point, and another finish near the bottom of the standings is almost undoubtedly on the horizon. Next is the Oklahoma City Thunder, and our overreaction is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can't carry them. Obviously, SGA is one hell of a player who produces at a level very few can replicate. He's one of the best scoring talents in the game, he's a champion, and he's an MVP, but he's also been in a pretty ideal situation over the last few years, surrounded by multiple all-stars and the deepest bench in the whole NBA. In his first game without either Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren next to him, he struggled mightily in a blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and while some players can elevate what's around them, Shea may not have that trait. Next is the Portland Trail Blazers, and our overreaction is that the Miles Bridges trade was their biggest mistake. Miles Bridges is a player that has always kind of represented losing culture and empty production in my mind, and now we're seeing that narrative play out in real time, as he As he got traded to a playoff team like Phoenix. from last season, and is already throwing off their rhythm and making things worse. He's not an efficient scorer at all. He's a bad defender, and while it's still early in the year with a small sample size, the fact that the Suns are statistically 31 points worse per 100 possessions with him on the court compared to when he's on the bench is too glaring of a number to ignore. Next is the Portland Trail Blazers, and our overreaction is that the Ja Morant trade was The whole basketball world was holding their breath, waiting to see how Morant's fit would work out on this team, but the early results have brought some incredibly fruitful results. They've gotten off to a hot start as a group, their pecking order of options on offense has been embraced by everybody involved, Ja Morant is fitting in and still being himself, playing with the level of creativity, aggression attacking the paint, and running in transition that we saw from him in his Memphis days in his better seasons. He's not going to stuff the stat sheet as much because of the other mouths to feed around him But he's not getting in the way of what they want to do either, and for what they traded away to get him, which isn't much, it has been well worth it. Next is the Sacramento Kings, and our overreaction is that they are completely directionless. The Kings just don't have any kind of identity right now, and it doesn't even feel like they have a plan for what they want to do moving forward. I really liked Darius Acuff in the draft as a prospect, but it already feels like he's got some of that Sacramento Kings stink all over him as he's succumbed to putting up empty stats in a losing way, where he's just mindlessly chucking up shots inefficiently while playing pretty horrid defense. That's been the story of the Kings for a while as a team, and it's difficult to see much changing with them still without a win. Next is the San Antonio Spurs, and our overreaction is that Carter Bryant needs to start improving quickly. As a rookie, you get a pass for struggling to adjust to the pace and physicality of the NBA game, but in year two, when you can no longer hide behind that rookie label, things get real quickly. It's unacceptable to be a complete liability on the offensive side of the ball in today's NBA, and that is exactly what Carter Bryant still is, which is why he barely plays at all. He still can't shoot, he offers no creation on the ball, and he's averaging fewer than two points per game, shooting 27% from the field and 11% from three to illustrate that. Next is the Utah Jazz, and our overreaction is that Lauri Markkanen cannot handle the expectations that come with being the go-to scoring option on a winning team. This year was supposed to be different for Utah. They're more loaded on paper than they've been in years, they have a ton of offensive firepower, and they came in hoping to at least vie for a spot in the play-in tournament. Instead, they have begun the year 1-4, and Markkanen is averaging 16 points per game, shooting 39% from the field. He's had some big years in Utah wherein there was no pressure, and he folds the second that things get real, which unfortunately may just be what what kind of player he is. Now over to the east, next up is the Atlanta Hawks, and our overreaction is that they desperately need better big men. The Hawks made quite a few really good moves this offseason, bolstering their backcourt, giving them even more firepower on offense, but their interior has been a glaring weakness to start. Onyeka Okongwu is off to a slow start, shooting it poorly and struggling a bit on defense, and as a whole, this unit isn't rebounding well. The Hawks are a bottom five team in the league in both total rebounding and rebounding percentage, and with the players they have, it's just tough to buy into significant improvement. Next is the Boston Celtics, and our overreaction is that they should have traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer. The Celtics are still going to be very good this year, but in the early going, the reasons they gave for passing on Giannis in a trade look a bit silly. Reports indicated at the time that the Celtics refused to include guys like Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Shireman in offers for Giannis, and both players are near the end of this team's rotation and are both averaging just three points per game, shooting it poorly to start. That doesn't mean they'll struggle all year to this degree at all, but neither are true game-changers in this rotation, and refusing to put them on the table for an MVP-caliber player that would've helped their frontcourt and helped them contend will likely be a regret in hindsight. Next is the Brooklyn Nets, and our overreaction is that they have the worst young core of the rebuilding teams in the league. This sounds harsh, but based on the Nets' actions, they don't even seem to have much much faith in what they have either. Zaccharie Risacher is the best of the bunch at the moment, and despite how slow his start has been shooting the ball, I know that he's better than he's shown, but he's not also the top-tier type of prospect at his best, and he's also disappointed as a playmaker, which is what he was drafted to be in the first place. Michael Brown Jr. is also an obvious player that has a ton of upside, but is a ways away from unlocking it. Then, players like Nolan Traore, Danny Wolfe, Ben Sharaf and Drake Powell are all lost in the shuffle, already having fallen out of regular everyday minutes. Next is the Charlotte Hornets, and our overreaction is that trading Miles Bridges away was the best thing they could have ever done. This is basically the inverse of my reaction for the Phoenix Suns. Without Miles Bridges there anymore, they have a winning record, more players are getting touches that probably deserve more usage, and the team actually has a functioning defense that ranks in the top 10 at the moment. When Clint Capela returns from his injury, their offense will get another boost too, and overall, this group has more intentionality with what they do, and have a way higher upside than any period of play they had when Bridges was there. Next is the Chicago Bulls, and our overreaction is that they will be major sellers at the trade deadline. Before the year, I looked at this group as one that I thought had potential to possibly surprise some people and make a run maybe to the play-in tournament, but early on, they may be a lot worse than I thought. They're 1-4 with their only win being against the lowly Milwaukee Bucks, and they've also been completely run off the floor in two of those losses. Caleb Wilson looks like a stud, but he's also going through the typical rookie inefficiencies and inconsistencies. Josh Giddey is struggling to stay aggressive as a scorer with all of the new faces around him, Matas Buzelis still has not taken the leap to borderline stardom, and Norman Powell may just be out there trying out for whatever team wants to come trade for him at the deadline. Next is the Cleveland Cavaliers, and our overreaction is that James Harden looks really old. Father Time catches everyone eventually, and while Harden hasn't been the truly elite, prime self that he's used to be in years, he has still been a reliable source of creation and secondary scoring when needed by way of averaging about 20 points per game or more over the last couple seasons. To start this year, his ability to separate and break a defense down has never looked worse, or more lethargic. His production is down across the board, putting up about 15 points and 7 assists per game, Shooting 32% from the field and 29% from three. 3, and while things will balance out over the course of the year, the Cavaliers are in trouble if he's no longer a star. Next is the Detroit Pistons, and our overreaction is that they are one piece away from the top. The Pistons had a disappointing offseason, but ultimately they did return most of the group that finished as the one seed last year and are off to another strong start built on similar strengths that got them there last season. They are an elite defense that can thwart opponents like very few others can. They've got a lot more useful shooting around Cade Cunningham, they're just missing a secondary source of creation that can lift some of that pressure off of Cade's shoulders when it matters most, and if they try to find that around the trade deadline, they can be as dangerous as literally anybody. Next is the Indiana Pacers, and our overreaction is that putting all of their Their chips into Tyrese Haliburton's return cost them in the end. The Pacers stunk last season in Halliburton's absence, and they didn't really do much this offseason either, hoping that Halliburton's return would be enough to get them back to the top, but the thing about Achilles' tears is that there's no guarantee how a player will return, and now Halliburton is already experiencing setbacks that will hold him out for a few weeks. If the Pacers start slipping again in his absence, it will have been clear that they should have had more of a backup plan ready. Next is the Miami Heat and our overreaction is that the fit is way worse than anyone initially thought with this team. The Heat lost their first four games of the season and things looked ugly in all four of those losses. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo were always going to be a clunky fit, but Adebayo has really struggled to acclimate because he and Giannis are used to operating in the same kind of spaces, so with Giannis now in control, Bam doesn't seem to know where to go Thank you for watching. Next is the Milwaukee Bucks, and our overreaction is that Tyler Hero is wasting his time on this team. After getting rid of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks are in a period where they know they're going to be bad for a while and are content with it because the point is to develop their younger guys anyway. Tyler Herro doesn't really fall into that category though. He's in his prime and is playing really good basketball as their leading scorer to start the season even though they are near the bottom of the standings. This is another case of someone likely trying out for other teams to come trade for him and hopefully it gets resolved before the trade deadline. Next is the New York Knicks, and our overreaction is that they're experiencing some big-time championship hangover. As defending champions, they know what it takes to get to the mountaintop, but it's also fair for them to not feel like they need to prove themselves every single night anymore. There's a long season ahead, so they're easing into things, and pretty much every player on the roster has started slowly, whether it be Jalen Brunson, Mikael Bridges, or even bench options. With teams that haven't proven anything, these shooting slumps would be worrying, but But when you're the defending champions, you get the benefit of the doubt. Next is the Orlando Magic, and our overreaction is that they've been left behind in the Eastern Conference. The Magic, once upon a time, were a young, hungry squad on the rise in the East and have been in the playoffs three years in a row now, but they still don't have a single playoff series win to show for it and after another offseason where they didn't really do anything significant, they're now looking like a group that has been passed up. Their offense has consistently been one of the worst units of those in the playoff mix, and to start this year, they are the second worst ranked offense in the whole league. So many teams in the East got better this offseason, and if they're not one of them, their playoff streak seems to be in danger. Next is the Philadelphia 76ers, and our overreaction is that LeBron James made the right decision. During the LeBron saga this summer, there were a lot of teams in the mix for his talents, and when he chose the Sixers, people questioned his fit there. They said that the Sixers' defense would be a mess, there's only one ball, and that the stars would clash. Well, the Sixers are 4-1 to start the year with big wins over the Knicks and Cavaliers, and the root of this success has actually been on defense as they rank third best in the league on that end so far. LeBron wanted to go to a team where he didn't have to carry the brunt of the offensive load anymore, and he's currently the team's fourth leading scorer, so all is going according to plan. Next is the Toronto Raptors, and our overreaction is that their Kawhi Leonard gamble is already Already not worth it. After dealing with the entire scandal that set the Clippers back years, Kawhi Leonard was shipped out back to Toronto, who brought him in hoping he could be the spark to another title run. Unfortunately for them, Kawhi is already once again dealing with knee problems that will hold him out for weeks, and at his age, these problems are only going to get worse, not better. And finally, last up is the Washington Wizards, and our overreaction is that they need AJ way more than they realized. The unfortunate truth is that Trae Young and Anthony Davis, while still very good players, may both be on the other side of their primes. Injuries are clearly affecting their ability to efficiently lead an offense, and with A.J. DeBonte out for the first few games of the year, they had varying results. DeBonte's first game back saw him drop 19 points, and all of his scoring feel and natural ability to create were on display, so I think he'll be ready to take over the number one duties sooner rather than later, which, This group needs for an otherwise struggling offense. And with that being said, that's all I have for you today. Make sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and comment down below your early overreactions to this season. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you all next time.