The Athletic NBA staff was asked to highlight one early concern for each team thus far, and injuries came up a lot. But that\u2019s not the only thing teams need to worry about.<\/p>\n
Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n
Rebounding: Things have generally gone well in Atlanta, with the team recently ripping off five straight wins without Trae Young. But the Hawks need to get more boards. They\u2019re 24th in overall rebound rate and rank in the bottom seven at both ends. Centers Onyeka Okongwu and Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is have both been subpar for their position, while 6-foot-8 Zaccharie Risacher\u2019s inability to rebound remains a mystery. \u2014 John Hollinger<\/p>\n
Boston Celtics<\/p>\n
Frontcourt depth: Neemias Queta has answered some of Boston\u2019s frontcourt questions, but the minutes without him have been problematic at times. Despite Luka Garza\u2019s recent production as a scorer and offensive rebounder, holes pop up in the team\u2019s defensive profile when he\u2019s on the court. Xavier Tillman and Chris Boucher don\u2019t have the same weaknesses as Garza but hold back the Celtics in different areas. Joe Mazzulla has usually used Garza as the backup center, but he\u2019s choosing between several flawed options behind Queta. \u2014 Jay King<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Nets<\/p>\n
The number of wins: The Nets only have two of them so far. It\u2019s actually a double-edged sword. They are inarguably a very bad team, one of the worst in the league. That might be what you call the bright side. They are one of four teams with two or fewer wins right now. The Nets are surely hoping for a very high draft pick and avoiding another mid-lottery choice. \u2014 Mike Vorkunov<\/p>\n
Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n
Perimeter defense: The good news is this team allows the sixth-lowest 3-point volume in the NBA. The bad news is that it allows the highest 3-point percentage, with opponents connecting on 41.2 percent from deep. And the Hornets are 27th in effective field goal percentage against them. They have very little organization and commitment to covering the perimeter, and their offense isn\u2019t good enough to overcome that. \u2014 Zach Harper<\/p>\n
Chicago Bulls<\/p>\n
Rim protection: Still down Zach Collins, the Bulls haven\u2019t had oft-intimidating personnel guarding the rim. Chicago\u2019s perimeter defenders haven\u2019t exactly made life easier for the Bulls\u2019 backline, either. It culminates in free paint touches and hell for Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107, who certainly didn\u2019t sign up for this. Not to mention, Chicago doesn\u2019t seem to be a Collins away from patching the issue. \u2014 Joel Lorenzi<\/p>\n
Cleveland Cavaliers<\/p>\n
Evan Mobley\u2019s limitations: This is an existential concern. There is nothing \u2014 nothing \u2014 wrong with Mobley averaging a career high in points and shots, holding steady with his blocks and hoisting more 3s than ever. What we saw in the first month, though, is that when his usage went up, the Cavs\u2019 offense grew clunky, his turnovers skyrocketed, and it otherwise became clear that perhaps he does not have that fifth gear as an offensive player. It is possible we saw that Mobley should not be an initiator of the offense, needs others to help get him the ball in the best spots, etc. Why does this matter? The Cavs were built on the idea that, when Mobley is their best player, they will have the best chance to win a championship. He is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and a competent offensive talent but may not be well-rounded enough to be the alpha they envisioned. If I\u2019m wrong, the Cavs are golden. If I\u2019m right, perhaps the roster needs reworking this summer. \u2014 Joe Vardon<\/p>\n
Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n
Everything besides Cooper Flagg: The good news is Flagg is awesome. The bad news is everything else. The Mavericks were forced to fire GM Nico Harrison 11 games into the season, a move that franchise great Dirk Nowitzki said should have happened last summer. The Mavericks can\u2019t score, and Anthony Davis remains out with a left calf strain. Before the Mavericks can consider a Davis trade, they need him to get back on the floor so he can rebuild his value. Dallas doesn\u2019t control any of its own first-round picks outright from 2027 to 2030. It at least has full control over its 2026 first-rounder. \u2014 Christian Clark<\/p>\n
Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n
The 3-point line: It\u2019s nitpicking, but the Nuggets allow the ninth-highest volume of 3-point shots in the NBA. You may see they\u2019re first in 3-point percentage against and think there is no concern here. Maybe! But teams are also shooting 33.1 percent on open 3s and 31.4 percent on wide-open attempts. Some of that is funneling properly to bad shooters, but it\u2019s also a lot of shot-defense luck. For a team that doesn\u2019t shoot a lot of 3-pointers on its own side, that could end up hurting Denver at some point. \u2014 Zach Harper<\/p>\n
Detroit Pistons<\/p>\n
Injury luck: There really hasn\u2019t been much to be concerned about with the Pistons, but if I had to pinpoint one thing, it would be their inability to stay healthy. They\u2019ve been injury-plagued to begin the season with players in and out of the lineup, and Jaden Ivey and Marcus Sasser have yet to make their regular-season debuts. But thus far, that \u201cconcern\u201d has only strengthened them. Detroit is rolling right now. \u2014 Hunter Patterson<\/p>\n
Golden State Warriors<\/p>\n
Inconsistency: The Warriors still have Stephen Curry playing at an incredibly high level, which will always give them a chance to win every night, but their biggest question early is trying to figure out what kind of effort they\u2019ll give each night on the floor. If a talented team is playing with a healthy roster, the Warriors will show up to play at a full interest level. If it\u2019s a bad team or a team playing without its top players, all bets are off. \u2014 Nick Friedell<\/p>\n
Houston Rockets<\/p>\n
Turnovers: Despite having one of the top offenses in the NBA, Houston\u2019s biggest weakness has been protecting the ball, which highlights the lack of a healthy, traditional point guard on the roster. The Rockets have done fairly well running most of their half-court offense through Kevin Durant and Alperen Seng\u00fcn, but there are still times when things get a little sloppy when the game slows down. They are talented enough to make up for those mistakes in other ways against teams like Orlando or Dallas. But Houston has to go through Denver and\/or Oklahoma City to reach its ultimate goal. It\u2019ll be difficult to take down those teams if you can\u2019t execute during high-intensity moments. \u2014 William Guillory<\/p>\n
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\n Alperen Seng\u00fcn and Kevin Durant celebrate after a play against the Magic. (Troy Taormina \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Indiana Pacers<\/p>\n
Health: The best ability is availability, and Indiana is struggling in that area. After Tyrese Haliburton was injured in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Pacers had some questions about being able to replace him. Instead of just dealing with that and who will play center, the Pacers are dealing with even more absences. Since the preseason, Indiana has had at least 12 mid-game injuries. Indiana fans may want to get in touch with an Etsy witch soon to reverse this curse. \u2014 Shakeia Taylor<\/p>\n
LA Clippers<\/p>\n
The defense fails often: The Clippers had the third-best defense in the NBA last season, and it was a unit that allowed them to compete and win games both with Kawhi Leonard out and once he took time to return to star form. This season, the Clippers\u2019 offense is off to another rocky start because of injuries and time wasted trying to implement an injured Bradley Beal before his season-ending injury. But unlike last season, the defense has been even worse than the offense, and the offense is only better because James Harden hasn\u2019t collapsed yet. LA frequently leaves good shooters open for great looks, gets torched in transition and loses the possession battle. \u2014 Law Murray<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Lakers<\/p>\n
3-point shooting: Entering Thursday night, the Lakers are near the bottom of the league in 3-point percentage (23rd), makes (28th) and attempts (26th). LeBron James\u2019 catch-and-shoot powers should help, but the Lakers need to get better from deep if they want to level up. \u2014 Dan Woike<\/p>\n
Memphis Grizzlies<\/p>\n
Everything: Ja Morant doesn\u2019t care, Jaren Jackson Jr. can\u2019t score, none of the centers or point guards can stay healthy, Jaylen Wells has regressed, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope looks diminished, and the Grizzlies are shooting 32.8 percent from 3. Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln? To hammer one common theme, however: Half-court offense remains a chore for this group, and if Jackson continues struggling to score this much in coach Tuomas Iisalo\u2019s system, then it\u2019s fair to ask if some tweaks are needed. \u2014 John Hollinger<\/p>\n
Miami Heat<\/p>\n
Rebounding: Entering Thursday, the Heat rank 26th in overall rebound rate. Their rebounding issue has been the regression on the defensive glass when Bam Adebayo sits. During his 272 minutes, the Heat are grabbing 71.8 percent of available defensive rebounds, which would rank fourth among all teams this season. When Adebayo sits? That figure falls to 62.9 percent. Such sloth glass-eating would leave them last in the league. \u2014 James Jackson<\/p>\n
Milwaukee Bucks<\/p>\n
Defense: Injuries would be a fair response here, as three of their top eight rotation players, including two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, are sidelined, but the whole league deals with injuries. A month into this season, the Bucks haven\u2019t been good enough defensively. They don\u2019t have the personnel to be an elite defense with their lack of size on the wing, but they need to be better moving forward. Whether that means grabbing a higher percentage of defensive rebounds or forcing more turnovers, the Bucks need to swing a few possessions each game. \u2014 Eric Nehm<\/p>\n
Minnesota Timberwolves<\/p>\n
They haven\u2019t beaten a really good team yet: The Wolves are 10-0 against teams with a record below .500 and 0-5 against teams with a record above .500. There is some noise in that stat. Two of those losses came to the Lakers and Nuggets without Anthony Edwards. But for a team that believes it is capable of coming out of the West, it has to start playing better against the really good teams. To their credit, they have handled their business against the bad teams, which had been a problem for them in previous seasons. \u2014 Jon Krawczynski<\/p>\n
New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n
Season is already over: Zion Williamson is dealing with another injury. Willie Green has been fired. The attendance at recent home games has been shockingly low. After the Pelicans\u2019 awful start, pessimism around the franchise is at an all-time low, and there\u2019s still so much season left. Without a first-round pick to look forward to in the summer, it feels like the team and the fan base are already done with this season, and Thanksgiving isn\u2019t here yet. \u2014 William Guillory<\/p>\n
New York Knicks<\/p>\n
3-point defense: The Knicks\u2019 defense is designed to keep teams out of the paint, and it\u2019s been working. However, opponents are getting up a high frequency of 3s and hitting those shots at a comfortable clip. They are shooting 36.4 percent from 3 against the Knicks, which is the third-worst mark in the NBA. Their shifting defense is designed to clog driving lanes, but it leaves them susceptible to kick-out 3s if decisions are made quickly. New York has to improve its on-ball defense to avoid less gap help and scramble situations. \u2014 James L. Edwards III<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n
Eternal damnation: There is no other explanation. The Thunder sold their souls to the devil. They will eventually suffer the consequences. They haven\u2019t had All-NBA wing Jalen Williams all season. Chet Holmgren has missed time, as have Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Alex Caruso and Isaiah Joe. And yet, this team sits atop the Western Conference with only one loss. Ajay Mitchell has gone from two-way contract to pesky sixth man. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a machine. They win no matter which players don the jerseys. The afterlife won\u2019t be kind. \u2014 Fred Katz<\/p>\n
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\n Jalen Williams, left, has yet to play for OKC this season. (Alonzo Adams \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Orlando Magic<\/p>\n
Defense has slipped: The Magic\u2019s defense has been elite for much of Jamahl Mosley\u2019s tenure \u2014 until now, that is. Orlando opened Thursday ranked 14th in defensive rating, according to NBA Stats, allowing 112.7 points per 100 possessions.\u00a0Is that a product of a small sample size? A product of temporarily growing pains with getting used to Desmond Bane instead of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Gary Harris? Or maybe the product of Jalen Suggs\u2019 slow ramp-up off last season\u2019s knee surgery? One thing is clear: Even with a slightly improved offense, the Magic won\u2019t finish the regular season in the East\u2019s top four if its defense doesn\u2019t regain the form it showed in 2023-24 and last season. \u2014 Josh Robbins<\/p>\n
Philadelphia 76ers<\/p>\n
Tyrese Maxey\u2019s minutes: Simply put, they are too much. He leads the league in minutes, playing 40.3 per night \u2014 and that was before he logged 47 in Thursday\u2019s overtime win against Milwaukee in which he dropped a career-high 54<\/a>. He averages 32 minutes a night for his career and was at 37 minutes per night last season. The Sixers need this to win, because Joel Embiid and Paul George are constantly in and out of the lineup. That\u2019s part of the problem. But one has to wonder if this is sustainable over 82 games. \u2014 Tony Jones<\/p>\n Phoenix Suns<\/p>\n Will health hold up to contend?: It\u2019s hard to be negative about the Suns. They compete, they defend, they play together. It\u2019s a completely different vibe from last season\u2019s high-priced outfit. At the same time, they\u2019ve had a lot of health issues. Jalen Green, expected to shoulder some of the scoring load, has played in one full game because of a hamstring issue. Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen have missed time. Mark Williams has stayed healthy, but given his history, you have to wonder how long that will last. A Devin Booker injury that sidelines him for multiple weeks would be devastating. So far, coach Jordan Ott has navigated this well. The Suns are better than expected. They might need good fortune to keep it going. \u2014 Doug Haller<\/p>\n Portland Trail Blazers<\/p>\n