NBA Teams That Should/Shouldn’t Be Worried

Oct 29, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) and Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose (1) both chase a loose ball during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Miami won 107-95. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Contenders

What We Expected: We expect them to look like they can win the NBA championship.

What We Have Seen: The Thunder are presently going through a roller-coaster ride of drastically reduced expectations thanks to a summer assuming Russell Westbrook wouldn’t be ready to play this early and general sadness over how successful James Harden has been without them. The Thunder have won 3 out of 4 games, and still people are somewhat panicked about their chances in this new iteration of the Western Conference. The honeymoon is officially over and the Thunder are in that awkward teenager phase. Still charming enough, but with some uncomfortable and depressing vibes.

The Spurs have been taking care of business without passion. They are letting inferior teams hang around and not crushing them under their silver and black boot heels. These guys are professionals and have been doing this long enough not to be unduly affected by missed opportunities, but it certainly feels like these Spurs are still heartbroken about Game 6. Uncommon lethargy for such a well oiled death squad.

Miami’s early season “goodness but not greatness” is no cause for alarm and it never has been. Miami could limp into the playoffs with 41 wins and still be a threat for the championship as long as LeBron James is healthy. Anyone who doubts this will bend to the will of the basketball gods.

In One Month: These teams will have the 1st, 3rd, and 4th best records in the league.