From Copenhagen to New York, from San Sebastian to Bangkok, the best restaurants around the world tend to work their magic with a tasting menu, allowing diners to sample a variety of courses on the Yellow Brick Road of a meal.
While the journey is generally an uncertain one, following the stylings of a chef whose wizardry is to that point unknown, you can garner an understanding from that first bite — the amuse-bouche, an introduction or a hint of where you may end up.
Three weeks into the NBA season, Luka Doncic is averaging over 40 points a night, LeBron James is succeeding on the back of his defence, and Ty Jerome is a dark horse MVP candidate. How's that for an amuse-bouche?
Heading into Tuesday's action, most teams across the NBA will have reached the 10-game threshold.
Sure, it's a small sample size, but this time last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons had the top spots in their respective conferences, and the eventual NBA finalist New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs both sat second. While there was some jockeying between then and April 12, the final day of the regular season, the teams that had established their place early on tended to be the same by the end.
Just because it's an appetizer doesn't mean it won't give you a hint as to the rest of the meal. To get a proper look at what we've sampled so far, here are the biggest surprises and disappointments after the first 10 games of the NBA season.
Surprise — The Philadelphia 76ers
You might look at a starting five of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid and say to yourself, "How could this possibly be a surprise? Obviously, they're gonna be good."
First in the East with a 9-2 record good? Jaylen Brown swallowing his pride as a second- or third-option good? No growing pains good?
Gelling has been easier for the 76ers than anyone could have predicted. Adding Brown, who carried the Celtics to a second-place finish in a year everyone counted them out, and James — who, in case you haven't heard, is in his age-42 season — to a roster that made the Eastern Conference Finals was always going to be a plus. What's so surprising is that it's a plus this early.
There's a lot of ego to manage in that 76ers locker room, with five MVP awards, five Finals MVPs and 36 all-star selections combined, but head coach Nick Nurse has managed an undivided, steady house, built on a top-five defensive foundation and a willingness from all to accept the roles they're given.
While Maxey has been the key cog offensively, any one of the five can have their night. And as the 76ers head to Title Town to square off against the Celtics (Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PCT), it could be a chance for Brown to get his. Check the ball up.
Disappointment — Miami Heat
The Heat finally won a superstar sweepstakes, but at what cost?
Without a second thought, if you have the chance to acquire a top-five player in the NBA, you should do it. And so far, Giannis Antetokounmpo's play hasn't disappointed, as the two-time MVP is averaging 27.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists. The issue plaguing the Heat, and leading them to a 4-6 record, is everything else.
Miami sold the house to get Giannis, dealing Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez and Kasparas Jakucionis to the Bucks, all of whom were solid contributors for the Heat last year. That's not to mention all the draft capital, which would've been nice to use for potential trade packages to reinforce their current core.
What's worse is that the rumours of their shut-down defence have been greatly exaggerated. The expectation was that Giannis and Bam Adebayo would become the league's most fearsome frontline; the reality is that when they share the floor, the Heat have one of the worst defences in the NBA.
Miami better hope it can find form soon, or Giannis' impending free agency may become one to watch.
Surprise — Golden State Warriors
If you predicted that 24-year-old rookie Yaxel Lendeborg would manage to extend Steph Curry's Hall of Fame career, raise your hand.
Everyone counted the Warriors out at the start of the season, and for good reason. Golden State had done a brutally poor job building around Curry in the November of his career, surrounding him with other aging players and striking out on both top draft picks and superstar trades and signings.
But Lendeborg, a champion in his own right at Michigan last year, has forced Curry's window back open, becoming the Warriors' second star, scoring 21.2 a night — more than he ever averaged in NCAA D-I — and bringing an energy to the Bay that's been missing since their 2022 title.
At 38, Curry is playing as he did more than 10 years ago when he won his second MVP, averaging 31.3 points a night while hitting an obscene 44.7 per cent of his triples.
Did fans celebrate (or mourn) the death of the Warriors' dynasty too early?
Disappointment — Utah Jazz
About those anti-tanking measures...
In a wide-open West, it felt like the right time for the Jazz to dig themselves out of a half-decade-long tank job, particularly with the addition of Jaren Jackson Jr. and blue-chip rookie Darryn Peterson.
Well, Jackson has found himself on the injured list yet again and, as it turns out, asking a rookie guard to step in and change your fortunes is a big ask.
It's hard to fault the Jazz for Jackson's injury, but you get what you pay for when you go in on an injury-prone player. As for Peterson, while he's shown some signs — scoring a career-high 26 on Sunday — guys like Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George and Ace Bailey cannibalizing his scoring load won't help him in the long run.
At 1-9 through the first three weeks, the Jazz appear destined for the bottom of the barrel once again, and new lottery rules aren't gonna help them out of this rebuild any time soon, particularly if they keep shooting 32.1 per cent from three as a team.
Surprise — Memphis Grizzlies
In case the Jazz want to learn how a rebuild should work, take a look at the Grizzlies.
Less than a year removed from trading away Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. — to the Jazz, no less — the Grizzlies are 7-3, leaning on a cohesive young core, an NBA-ready rookie in Cam Boozer, and the emergent Ty Jerome, who appears pencilled in for Most Improved Player, averaging 26.6 points a night.
Zach Kleiman has long been one of the most slept-on general managers in the NBA, consistently drafting contributors up and down the bench, but his work in recent years with guys like Cedric Coward, Jalen Wells, GG Jackson, Cam Spencer and Zach Edey has been Sam Presti-esque. This group's been so solid that parting ways with Morant and Jackson felt like the right choice.
Beyond drafting, the Grizzlies have been shrewd on the free-agent and trade market, picking up Jerome on a three-year, $27.7-million deal, acquiring Isaiah Stewart via trade, and Scotty Pippen Jr. on waivers.
Sure, the Grizzlies don't look like title contenders, but to return to relevance as quickly as they did is proof of concept for a retool on the fly.
Disappointment — The injured reserve
The story of the season in the early goings has been the sheer number of injuries suffered by top players, squandering the hopes of several teams across the NBA.
Only four games into his electric partnership with LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, hitting pause on everyone's favourite League Pass Timberwolves. Then, after sitting out last season recovering from a torn Achilles, Tyrese Haliburton was sidelined by a hamstring strain, and the 3-8 Pacers have suffered for it. The Raptors got the Kawhi Leonard treatment, having only had the chance to see him in action twice this season, and the Thunder's injury report is as long as the list of Cleveland Browns QBs since 2000.
Much like tanking was the story of last season, with commissioner Adam Silver attempting to address the issue with the sweeping anti-tanking measures, it's worth wondering whether the influx of ailments forces his hand by the end of the year. With such a stacked list of teams heading into the 2026-27 season, everyone expected some drama; they just didn't expect it to be The Pitt.
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