NBA's biggest surprises and disappointments after first month

Wasn't Media Day just a week ago? Well, we’re now over a month into the 2024-25 NBA season and there has been no shortage of storylines to help time fly by.

Oklahoma City showcased its potential last season and is trampolining off that success this year by sitting atop the Western Conference once again, even after an injury to Chet Holmgren. Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has put himself in prime position to win MVP after a second-place finish last season.

After a tumultuous 2023-24 campaign, Memphis is bouncing back as many expected though it is impressive that it’s done so despite a slew of injuries. LeBron James continues to be an ageless wonder while Anthony Davis is making a real case for some hardware with tremendous play on both ends that includes averaging a career-high 29.3 points. Utah and Portland are unsurprisingly cellar dwellers, though injuries have New Orleans surprisingly in last place.

Over in the East, the Boston Celtics are humming along and just added Kristaps Porzingis to the mix after he missed over four weeks due to injury. Orlando looks to have taken the next step in its ascendancy as well, while the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler are doing their patented “wake me up when it’s the playoffs” routine.

Doc Rivers's seat in Milwaukee was starting to feel hot but the Bucks have bounced back from a 2-8 start with seven wins through its last eight games. The Wizards are trying to set new marks for futility at 2-15 and currently sporting a 13-game losing streak.

None of the above make the biggest surprises or disappointments of the season so far, though, so let’s move on to the bigger stories at hand.

SURPRISE: Cavaliers atop Eastern Conference

The Boston Celtics rightfully entered the season as the team to beat in the league, let alone the East. While that remains true, Cleveland elevating its standard of play to a level where Boston should consider them a real threat is very impressive.

Evan Mobley has made a leap in terms of his offensive versatility, stepping up as an initiator instead of a finisher. Darius Garland is bouncing back wonderfully from a down year, and Kenny Atkinson has stepped in as head coach and taken the team’s offence from 18th last season to league-leading so far this season. Unsurprisingly, he looks like an early favourite for Coach of the Year.

Ty Jerome has been a revelation off the bench averaging 12.3 points and 3.9 assists while shooting 53.2 percent from three, making up for the absence of Max Strus who has yet to play this season.

Now 19 games into the season, the Cavs are sitting pretty atop the East at 17-2. This might just be the first-ever Cavs team not featuring LeBron James to reach the NBA Finals.

DISAPPOINTMENT: Wolves underwhelming after darling run

Trading Karl-Anthony Towns was done for financial reasons first and basketball reasons second. Minnesota looks as though it’s now paying the price.

After a loud post-season run -- dumping Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns out in a first-round sweep as well as Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in a second-round seven-game brawl -- the Wolves have looked more like puppies through their first 18 games this year.

Losers of four straight, including one to the 5-14 Toronto Raptors, the Julius Randle fit just isn’t clicking. Towns was someone who didn’t need the ball in his hands, but it seems to stick more now and doesn’t function around Anthony Edwards as effectively. Quietly, veteran point guard Mike Conley has declined from last season as well.

With all the three-point shooting Towns provided, Edwards could also play his natural game that was very much attack-minded. While "Ant Man" is shooting a tremendous 42.7 per cent from three-point range, taking an average of 10.6 threes per game, the frequency with which he takes shots within 14 feet of the basket has dropped by 14 percent.

Defensively, Minnesota has slipped from the top defence in the league to 11th and it's largely due to its rim protection, or lack thereof. Teams are shooting 67.1 percent at the basket this season compared to 62.7 percent a year ago. Julius Randle has been abysmal on that end of the floor and it’s cost them on the court even if the main goal was to hurt the pockets a little less.

SURPRISE: Warriors, Rockets surging with defence

With the departure of Klay Thompson, it felt very much like the Warriors were in the midst of a major transition and that the championship contending days were firmly behind them. Golden State quietly added Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton (now out for the season), and Kyle Anderson in the summer and recognized that Draymond Green simply being available more often, after missing 25 games last season, would provide a boost on the defensive end for what was a 46-win team.

Lo and behold, Steph Curry is still a one-of-one talent in the league playing at what still looks to be the peak of his powers. And now the Warriors have the fourth-best defence in the league. Steve Kerr has recognized the team’s depth and is leaning on it as much as possible. Hield and Jonathan Kuminga are providing firepower off the bench and at third in the West, look for the Warriors to be serious buyers come the trade deadline to snag some serious contender credentials.

When Ime Udoka was hired as head coach and Fred VanVleet, as well as Dillon Brooks, were brought in alongside him, the belief was that some hard-nosed defence-first leadership would help a young Rockets team evolve over the next few years. Elevating from a .500 team last season to second in the West a month into this season was not on the bingo card of many prognosticators.

Like the Warriors, this is a squad with plenty of depth and a great mix of athleticism and toughness. Amen Thompson is one of the best athletes in the NBA and alongside Tari Eason is providing great impact off the bench. With Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green able to handle all the offensive responsibility they’re given, assembling the second-best defence in the league around them is a noteworthy accomplishment.

DISAPPOINTMENT: Haliburton struggles have Pacers stuck in mud

Tyrese Haliburton became an overnight celebrity and superstar with the way he and the Pacers exploded out of the gate last season. A breakneck pace, fancy passes, and lights-out shooting had Haliburton in the early MVP conversation as he led the team to an NBA Cup final appearance. A hamstring injury then took a toll, as Haliburton laboured on, ensuring he met the minimum 65-game criteria to be eligible for end-of-season awards as well as a super-max contract. The 24-year-old wasn’t the same player in the second half of the season but it was still enough to reach the East Finals.

Looking to repeat the trick, Haliburton has struggled mightily. He is shooting 48.7 percent on twos and 33.9 percent on threes -- both career-low marks -- and even his assist numbers are the lowest since being acquired by Indiana.

Pascal Siakam is more than doing his part with his usual isolation and mid-range excellence now accompanied by a career-best 44.7 percent shooting from downtown. It only means so much, however, with the head of the snake not doing its part. Subsequently, the Pacers sit at a mediocre 9-10.

Injuries to Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Isaiah Jackson, and Ben Sheppard have also taken a toll, so there is hope yet that a fully healthy squad could regain the form of last season.

SURPRISE: No Kawhi, no PG, no problem for Clippers

When Paul George’s departure from Los Angeles was coupled with Kawhi Leonard’s knee suffering another blow, many saw the Clippers contending for a top lottery pick that would have to be conveyed to the Thunder in the near future.

James Harden knows all about running a heliocentric offence, though, and head coach Tyronn Lue is renowned for extracting the maximum possible out of a roster. Instead of being anchored to the bottom, the Clippers are currently sixth in the West and ahead of the likes of Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, and Minnesota. It’s early days still, but that would have been hard to believe entering the season.

While Harden is putting up 21.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 1.6 steals, no one is making more of the opportunity than Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac. Powell is averaging a career-high 23.3 points while shooting a blistering 48.7 percent on threes. The former Raptor has become such a tremendous scorer whether it be taking it to the rack or making it rain from the outside and is a big part of this team’s success.

Zubac has been the primary beneficiary of Harden’s playmaking, averaging a career-high 15.7 points. He’s also dominating the glass with a career-high 12.6 rebounds per game.

The Clippers allow the fewest offensive rebounds in the league and also boast the fifth-best defence. This is an extremely physical and feisty team that knows how to make life very difficult for its opponents.

DISAPPOINTMENT: Sixers flirting with bottom of standings

Expectations for the Sixers already dropped once it was confirmed that Joel Embiid would miss the start of the season and wouldn’t be playing in both ends of back-to-backs for the entire season. Still, with Tyrese Maxey and newly-acquired Paul George in tow, Philadelphia had enough reason to believe 50 wins in a diluted Eastern conference was within sight.

Forget 50 wins, at 3-14, the Sixers would have to win at nearly a 60 per cent rate the rest of the way just to finish .500. George has played just half of those games and has crossed the 20-point mark just once. Maxey is shooting just 31.8 percent from three and is clearly missing Embiid with just 4.4 assists per game after averaging 6.2 per last season.

Daryl Morey probably figures Philly has time on its hands in the ever-forgiving East but the team is now 5.5 games out of a guaranteed playoff spot. From a chemistry standpoint as well, it may take even longer to get things right. Between a leaked team meeting and Nick Nurse looking exposed by his lack of offensive creativity, the Sixers are closer to being a complete tire fire than a contender.