2023-24 NBA Season: Overreactions after one week
We are officially through one week of the 2023-24 NBA season. Let’s overreact–good or bad–to last week’s action, which will almost certainly look foolish by the end of next week.
Matt Hanifan
It’s time to worry about the Grizzlies:
Are you worried about the Memphis Grizzlies? I’m beginning to–and I wouldn’t blame anyone if they were full-on worried, even five games into the season. They’ve gotten off to a horrific 0-5 start, and that doesn’t paint the whole (ugly) picture of their start.
While they are missing Ja Morant to suspension (still 20 more games left!), plus injuries to Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke and Santi Aldama, the Grizzlies own the NBA’s worst offense. Not only that, they have the ninth-worst defense, the 11th-worst rebounding rate, 10th-highest turnover percentage and are in the bottom seven in both true-shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage.
They don’t have enough rebounding or shooting to make up for any of their deficiencies on both ends, as well as not enough shot creation or playmaking outside of Desmond Bane and newly-acquired Marcus Smart. They can get back on track with back-to-back road games against the Blazers, in addition to the struggling Heat (oh, trust me, we’ll get to them), but I’m worried about the Grizzlies.
Only six teams have made the postseason after starting 0-5–including last year’s Los Angeles Lakers– since the turn of the decade; that number extends to 10 since 1983-84, when the playoffs expanded from 12 to 16 teams.
In short: History’s not on their side, so a quick turnaround is needed if they want to make it out alive in the Wild Wild West.
The Miami Heat need a roster shakeup:
The Heat are 1-4 to begin the 2023-24 season–their one win coming in a one-point victory opening night against the Detroit Pistons, followed by losses to the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets. Last year’s playoff run was historic, but this team has picked up right where they left off last regular season–a mess.
Miami sports the seventh-worst offense with the league’s seventh-lowest true-shooting percentage; their offense has been dysfunctional and stagnant, which has bled into their below-average defense. Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro’s fit together continues to look drier as the hours wane–too much “your turn, my turn” basketball. Multiple players–such as Josh Richardson and rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.–are still trying to find their roles within the context of this roster, but it does not appear that anyone knows their role outside of Adebayo, who’s been their most consistent two-way player (by far).
Even though a sizable portion of this roster has been together for multiple years, this group lacks cohesion after five games–one can only wonder if this summer’s offseason trade rumors have bled into their start. Even though the Heat have not traded for a player who wasn’t a free agent in two-and-a-half years, February could not come soon enough.
James Herrick
The Detroit Pistons future is in good hands:
The Detroit Pistons are 2-3 through four games. That is great to see, but what’s more important is that Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren have proven to be outstanding pieces to build around. The pair filled the stat sheet through the team’s first four games.
- At Miami: 30 points, nine assists, three rebounds, one steal and one block.
- At Charlotte: 12 points, six assists, two rebounds and one steal.
- Vs Chicago: 25 points, 10 assists, and four rebounds.
- At Oklahoma City: 17 points and five assists.
- Vs. Portland: 30 points, four rebounds, five assists and one steal.
- At Miami: 17 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, and four blocks.
- At Charlotte: 14 points,17 rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks.
- Vs Chicago: 23 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and two blocks.
- At Oklahoma City: Eight points, seven rebounds and one steal.
The stat sheet looks great. On top of that, Cunningham accomplished those numbers while playing on a team with awful spacing. Plus, he was efficient and showed improved three-point scoring. As for Duren, he has been miles better defensively and continues to be used as a passer.
The Pistons rebuild is in a great spot. The team has two great building blocks in Cunningham and Duren. Now, it is time to see how Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson progress.
The Denver Nuggets remain the team to beat:
The NBA offseason was eventful for several of the league’s best teams. Although, the Denver Nuggets saw minimal changes. That led to the defending champions receiving less championship hype than the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. After one week of play, it is clear the Nuggets are still the team to beat. That is largely because of the outstanding play of Nikola Jokic, but the team surrounding him has impressed too. The key pieces of Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. are doing their job. Meanwhile, Peyton Watson and Christian Braun have positively answered questions about depth.
Garrett Burroughs:
The Phoenix Suns can’t be trusted:
Are we shocked that both Bradley Beal and Devin Booker are already missing time? Durant is superhuman we all know this but he cannot carry the land of misfit toys by himself for long. I doubt this trio sees the floor 40 times this year, and people will wonder come April why Phoenix isn’t higher in the West. Let’s not talk about the implosion against the Spurs either, that certainly won’t help their cause.
Alex Chick III:
Detroit is actually good, they’re going to make the playoffs.
They’re building a nice foundation for success long-term with Cade Cunningham at the helm. They don’t even need the max free agents (the real ones know).
The Grizzlies suck without Ja Morant.
This team is lost without him. While the defense is absolutely nasty, they simply cannot score well enough to win. This team is in trouble for the 25 games Morant is out. Then you have to hope he doesn’t do anything else dumb. Grizzlies are in trouble.
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