The 2024-25 NBA season has started with some of the most competitive basketball we’ve seen in recent years. Contenders are establishing themselves while underdogs are pulling off upsets on a nightly basis. Due to the parity in the NBA, some teams who were expected to be easy contenders in their respective conferences have struggled to open the season.
While over 90% of the season is still yet to play out in front of our eyes, some worrying trends have emerged for teams who expected to be at the sharp end of the tables. Today, we’re analyzing a few of the teams who might have started the season with contention hopes but have had a rude awakening in the opening week of the season.
Here are three teams who might be in trouble based on the first week of the season.
Denver Nuggets
Record: 2-2
The Denver Nuggets are coming off back-to-back OT wins against the Toronto Raptors (127-125) and the Brooklyn Nets (144-139). Despite what seems to be an uptick in form after their losses to the OKC Thunder (87-102) and Los Angeles Clippers (104-109) to open the season, the fact that Denver has struggled to beat projected lottery teams in the East is a major worry.
Their sputtering offense got a huge boost in rating (112.8) after their OT showing against the Nets, but the team has looked unimpressive as a scoring unit against competent defenses like the Thunder’s. Three-point scoring is a major worry, something even Nikola Jokic has felt compelled to point out.
Nikola Jokic‘s MVP-level play could ensure the Nuggets are a potential top-four team in the West, but the overall competitiveness of the squad seems much worse than what we saw in their title-winning 2023 season. If players like Christian Braun and Julian Strawther take a leap over this season, the Nuggets could look competitive again, but that’s a big bet.
The eyes of the NBA will be on Denver to see if they can salvage their once-feared roster back into championship-contending shape. It’s been a bad start but with the caliber of the top-end players on the roster, a rise back up is possible.
Indiana Pacers
Record: 1-3
The Indiana Pacers have gotten off to a slow start in the 2024-25 season, picking up their sole win of the season on opening night against the Detroit Pistons (115-109). Franchise point guard Tyrese Haliburton has struggled, averaging 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists over this stretch as the Pacers have failed to replicate the overpowering offensive power they used to get off to a hot start last year.
After storming to the top of the offense charts last season, the Pacers are 17th this season (110.2) while their defensive struggles ensue in the bottom half of the NBA with their defensive rating (117.0). With Myles Turner already picking up a minor injury, the Pacers should be worried about their short-term future with matchups against the Celtics, Pelicans, and Mavericks over the next week.
Their struggles as a team are primarily linked to Haliburton’s slow start, with Pascal Siakam averaging a modest 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists as well. If Haliburton turns his form around, the Pacers are bound to climb up with their lethal offensive talent. With a bigger role for sophomore Jarace Walker, the team is bound to evolve over the season and have a higher ceiling of achievement.
Given how solid the Cleveland Cavaliers look and the threat of the Orlando Magic, the Pacers have to get a grip on their form before they start trailing their immediate rivals in the East.
Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 1-3
The Milwaukee Bucks have gotten off to a rough start in the 2024-25 season, losing three of their first four games and looking decidedly unimpressive over that stretch. Their sole 124-109 win came over a shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers roster without stars Joel Embiid and Paul George.
Outside that small triumph, the Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics (108-119), Brooklyn Nets (102-115), and the Chicago Bulls (122-133). The losses to the Bulls and Nets sting given their status as rebuilding franchises while the Bucks are hoping to contend. The team has no discernible offensive or defensive identity in the Doc Rivers era, with the coach going 19-23 since taking over the franchise in February.
They’re entirely reliant on either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Damian Lillard carrying them to wins, without a sound backup plan if their production falters. Brook Lopez doesn’t look like the Defensive Player of the Year candidate he was two seasons ago and Khris Middleton’s injury status remains unclear.
They’re among the weakest defenses (117.0 RAT) in the NBA and a middle-of-the-pack (112.1 RAT), and at this rate, could find themselves relegated from the contender status many put them in before the season.
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