NBA’s biggest surprises, most concerning starts and best teams of the early season

It’s already Day 10 of the NBA season! What have been the biggest surprises so far? Most concerning starts? Under-the-radar developments? Our writers weigh in on the first week-plus of play and power rank their five best teams in the early going.

What’s been the most pleasant surprise of the season?

Tom Haberstroh: Damian Lillard, Ja Morant and the Portland Trail Blazers bringing the joy back to Rip City. After a tumultuous summer of cuts and political infighting, the basketball — that actual sport by which everything revolves — could not be more refreshing. Dame Time is back, Ja Morant has arrived and Deni Avdija is flourishing.

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Steve Jones: The Trail Blazers. Ja Morant has played with joy and hustle, getting to his spots with drives and cutting to make defenses pay for helping. Damian Lillard’s ability to be used on- and off-ball has opened up a ton. There’s a consistent energy boost from Jrue Holiday, Robert Williams III, Sidy Cissoko and Scoot Henderson that keeps the Blazers consistent. Every year there is a team that shows early buy-in that turns into success; the Blazers have worked to answer offseason questions. 

Dan Devine: The Grizzlies, who opened 4-0 after not having a single four-game winning streak all of last season. It obviously starts with Ty Jerome getting enough minutes and touches to make all that math matter, but there’s also: Cam Boozer walking into the NBA as a 15-10-5 guy even without his shot falling; Cedric Coward and Jaylen Wells shooting the cover off the ball as young wings; Zach Edey and Isaiah Stewart leading the league’s best interior-rim-protecting unit; etc. Trading away Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane made Memphis feel like a team in the midst of a full-tilt rebuild, but it was also one of the most injury-ravaged teams in the NBA last season. Give ’em a clean bill of health and an instant-impact rookie, and the Grizz might be a hell of a lot better than we thought.

Kelly Iko: The Rockets. A team that has floundered near the bottom in half-court offensive efficiency for years is fourth courtesy of an absolutely lethal Fred VanVleet pick-and-roll…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nbas-biggest-surprises-most-concerning-starts-and-best-teams-of-the-early-season-162509256.html

Author : Dan Devine,Kelly Iko,Steve Jones,Tom Haberstroh

Publish date : 2026-10-29 16:23:00

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