With Christmas approaching, we now have a large enough sample size of NBA action to know what is and isn't working around the league.
So we've decided to go through all 30 teams and list the one thing above all else that will be giving them a bit of a headache.
Whether it's the ceiling of the team, a trade they should consider or issues with their line-up, here's what we've come up with for each NBA franchise.
See them all below!
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves have the best record in the NBA. Anthony Edwards has made another leap towards superstardom, Rudy Gobert looks back to his best defensively, Jaden McDaniels is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and Mike Conley is the professional veteran point guard they need.
The question mark is on Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been up and down, but been largely a positive as a secondary scorer so far this season.
Do the Wolves stick with what’s working or do they get super aggressive and make a move? The answer is probably the conservative one.
They just need to continue riding this high and hope they dodge the injury bug.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Putting aside the significant off-court distraction, the Thunder still have on-court decisions to make surrounding Josh Giddey.
The +/- data shows OKC is a much better team when they have Isaiah Joe on the court over Giddey and they have clearly made that adjustment, with Joe in their closing line-ups and playing more minutes.
This isn’t to say Giddey isn’t additive. He remains one of the best passing guards in the NBA, but the fit could be better on another team.
The Thunder look like a genuine playoff team this year, but they need some extra size and trading Giddey for a centre could be the final piece of their puzzle.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks have been better than expected so far this season. Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving complement each other nicely and their role players have looked generally quite impactful.
Dereck Lively has been a nice surprise as their starting centre, Grant Williams has been a great defensive fit and Aussies Josh Green and Dante Exum both have clear roles where required.
The question for Dallas is what their ceiling is with this team. Can they win a title with this group? They certainly feel like a playoff team if they can stay healthy, but they likely need an upgrade at the wing position to truly contend.
Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokić is still the best player in the world and the clear MVP front runner.
The query for them is what their final playoff rotation will be and whether they can trust a group of youngsters when it really matters.
Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther have been key parts of their rotation so far this season. As has Reggie Jackson who they barely used in the playoffs last year.
Denver doesn’t yet have eight players you would trust in a playoff game, something they’ll have to solve before the deadline.
The Nuggets also need to ensure Jamal Murray is healthy when it matters. He’s already missed a month with a hamstring injury and Denver looked quite beatable in that stretch.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers went undefeated in the In-Season Tournament, showing that when it matters they have some big-game credibility.
However, they still have a lot to work out with their rotation. Do they want Max Christie playing 20 minutes in the playoffs? Will Gabe Vincent be a reliable contributor come June?
Cam Reddish has been a good story, but can you win a title with him as your starting small forward? D’Angelo Russell has been good, but is he their man for the full season?
The Lakers will likely be heavily active at the trade deadline, given they have what it takes to win the title if it all comes together. A move for a two-way small forward or an upgrade on Russell would be the play.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings went into this NBA season with a very similar roster, but carrying the expectations of a playoff team for the first time in a long time.
De’Aaron Fox remains one of the best guards in the league, but their inadequacies were exposed in the NBA in-season tournament.
As good as Domantas Sabonis is, he needs help on the inside and on the glass. The King simply don’t have the size necessary to compete with teams like the Pelicans, Lakers and Nuggets – which is what you’ll need to win a loaded Western Conference.
This is something they’ll have to address at the trade deadline. Could they potentially move Harrison Barnes and try to get their hands on a power forward with more size?
Phoenix Suns
Can we at least see what their big three looks like on the court together?
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are yet to even suit up together in a game.
The Suns will be hoping to have Beal back this week, with the aim of building chemistry between their three scorers.
They can iron out the issues from there, but at this stage they’re hard to assess.
Can they get a clean bill of health come playoff time?
Houston Rockets
Our pre-season predictions were bullish on the Rockets, given the veterans they’d brought in and the presence of coach Ime Udoka. They started the season well and have been tough to beat in Houston.
However, they have lost six of their last 10 and only managed one win on the road this season – they still have a lot to prove if they want to be a play-in team in the West and hold out the likes of Golden State and maybe Memphis.
The question for the Rockets is the emergence of Alperen Sengun and what it means for Jalen Green and Jabari Smith – both of whom were taken at the top of the draft with the hopes they could be franchise stars.
Sengun has emerged as the team’s clear number one option, while Green has found himself pulled out of crunch time line-ups at stages, likely for defensive reasons.
These aren’t bad problems to have. The Rockets have potentially four franchise pieces in the guys above and Amen Thompson – plus veteran pieces in Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Jeff Green.
They have a lot to work with in what is an experimental season with low expectations.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers are slowly working out how to balance four ball-dominant players with All-Star level egos together, but this will remain their headache for the season.
Russell Westbrook has already accepted a lesser role off the bench, but will James Harden be happy as a spot-up three point shooter with the third highest usage rate on the team?
You have to feel for the likes of Terence Mann, PJ Tucker and Norman Powell who likely won’t touch the ball for long stretches of games.
New Orleans Pelicans
The weird factor in all of this Zion Williamson debate is that the Pelicans have the depth and the talent to be a really interesting team without him.
Dyson Daniels, Jordan Hawkins, Naji Marshall, Larry Nance and Trey Murphy are all quality role players who could easily have an uptick in minutes and play greater roles.
Williamson is clearly not in the condition required to be the player he could be, and his inability to shoot threes was heavily exposed against the Lakers in the In Season Tournament.
Brandon Ingram has also looked like a star so far this season, but he and Williamson are both reliant on having the ball in their hands.
Can the Pelicans work out their Zion headache?
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have to accept the fact that this core can no longer win a championship.
Klay Thompson looks supremely washed, struggling to get any separation from defenders and not providing Steph Curry with the scoring support he needs.
Curry is still performing at an elite level, but the Warriors have no scoring support around him and no size.
The small-ball line-ups that carried them to such success in the past are no longer viable as teams get bigger around them. They have some big decisions to make.
Utah Jazz
The Jazz have been without Lauri Markannen for a few weeks and have really struggled without him, losing seven of their last 10.
Their starting line-up leaves a lot to be desired, and it’s clear any lingering magic from last season is gone.
The headache for the Jazz is whether they become a seller at the deadline. Do they move Jordan Clarkson or Colin Sexton for draft pieces and fully embrace the tank?
It feels like their best option at this stage.
Memphis Grizzlies
We were worried about the Grizzlies coming into the season, but their struggles have been worse than feared.
Ja Morant is due back soon, but the damage has been done in a loaded Western Conference and they’re already six games back from the last play-in spot.
Can Memphis build some chemistry and try and fight for a play-in spot or should they attempt to bottom out and add a high draft pick? With Steven Adams ruled out for the season, this won’t be their year regardless, so they have some decisions to make.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers’ season has played out as expected following the Lillard trade. They sit second last in the Western Conference and will be a lottery team.
Their headache however centres around no.2 draft pick Scoot Henderson, who has struggled immensely at NBA level, averaging nine points per game.
Of course, it is way too early to be writing him off and the team around him isn’t great, but Henderson might just be the fourth best guard on the Blazers, behind Brogdon, Simons and Sharpe right now.
They will be hoping he starts to figure it out in 2024.
San Antonio Spurs
It’s time for the Spurs to shelve the Jeremy Sochan Point Guard, experiment.
Not only has it not worked, it’s impacting the early development of Victor Wembanyama, who has certainly looked good despite a lack of pieces around him.
Wemby needs a proper point guard getting him in the right positions and veteran presences on the roster to help with his adjustment. The Spurs have done neither and they need to overhaul their roster next season.
That starts with a proper point guard.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Boston Celtics
The Celtics are sitting pretty at the top of the Eastern Conference, with their starting five having proven themselves to be one of the most dominant in the league.
Yet when it comes to the bench, it’s a completely different story.
Boston is currently 29th in the league when it comes to bench scoring and looking at their roster it’s not hard to see why.
37-year-old veteran Al Horford leads the way off the pine, yet beyond him there isn’t much to get excited about, with the likes of Payton Pritchard, Luke Kornet and Dalano Banton failing to set the world on fire.
The Celtics are clearly aware of this issue, with expectations around the league being that they’re going to be one of the more active teams in the trade market.
Yet until some moves are made, this bench unit is going to be the Achilles heel for a genuine title contender.
Orlando Magic
The Magic have been one of the best feel-good stories of the season so far, riding a stellar defence to an impressively dominant start.
Yet Orlando hasn’t been quite as potent on the other side of the floor, sitting 13th in the league for average points per game.
Boasting a roster stacked with impressive wings, these offensive issues primarily come down to the Magic’s guard play. With primary playmaker Markelle Fultz having played just five games due to injury, Orlando has been relying on the combination of Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Anthony Black.
While Jalen Suggs has made tremendous strides since last season (particularly on defence), and the two Anthonys give some scoring punch, none of these guards currently have the playmaking chops to lead an above-average NBA offence.
This is a young team, so they won’t be fussing over it too much right now, but it’s certainly a concern if they want to hold on to the two-seed.
Milwaukee Bucks
Well the Dame-Giannis pairing hasn’t worked out exactly how we pictured has it?
They’ve been independently dominant, each averaging over 25 points per game, however the Lillard-Antetekounmpo pick and roll that everyone was expecting to tear apart the league hasn’t come to fruition.
For the bulk of the season, their two-man game has been roughly league-average, something which Lillard has acknowledged.
"Myself and Giannis are just still trying to figure out how we can be in more actions together and take advantage of some of these defences together," he told The Athletic.
"So it's just going to take time. You know, you don't really know when it is going to click. It just, it just happens. And I think when that day comes, everybody will be able to look at it and say, 'They're starting to put it together how we expected.'"
With plenty of the season left to go, the Bucks will be hoping the pair figure it out come playoff time.
Philadelphia 76ers
If you tune into a Philly game during the second or third quarter, you’d think they’re the best team in the entire competition.
Yet for the rest of the contest, it’s a different story.
The 76ers have come out flat game after game, sitting 23rd for net rating in first quarters, and are clearly relying on their dominance through the rest of the clash to secure wins.
Even more concerning has been Philadelphia’s performances when things come down to the wire, being ranked fourth worst in the league in clutch situations.
Nick Nurse’s squad has played some strong basketball so far, but if they don’t sort these trends out, the 76ers are bound for another early playoff exit.
Indiana Pacers
Will the Pacers ever play defence? Does it even matter if they do?
Indiana has been playing a supremely entertaining brand of basketball this season, leading the league in both points per game and pace.
They balance this out by wielding the competition’s second-worst defence, conceding over 120 points per game.
With this issue readily apparent, a trade for a defensive-minded wing looks to be on the cards for the Pacers.
If nothing changes, it will be fascinating to see if their electric approach holds up come playoff time.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Despite running back essentially the same roster as last season, this current Cleveland squad looks significantly more disjointed, primarily on the offensive end.
Despite having six players averaging double digit points, the Cavaliers’ offence hasn’t been impressive as a whole, ranking 22nd in the league.
With neither Donovan Mitchell nor Darius Garland currently setting the world on fire as playmakers, Cleveland is clearly lacking the initiator to kick their offence into gear.
The Cavs will be counting on at least one of these guards to take it up a notch.
New York Knicks
For a team that establishes their identity around physicality and rebounding, losing your starting centre is an incredibly huge blow.
Mitchell Robinson will be sidelined for at least two months after injuring his ankle and subsequently undergoing surgery, leaving the Knicks with a gaping hole in their frontcourt.
While Robinson wasn’t much of a scoring presence, New York will certainly miss having the league’s top offensive rebounder in their starting lineup.
With Isaiah Hartenstein the only other centre currently in the Knicks rotation, New York may have no choice other than to ease back from their hyper-physical approach, focusing more on the guard play of Jalen Brunson.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets have exceeded expectations through the initial months of the season, with this offence led by Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas humming like a well-oiled machine.
With everything going smoothly, it’s easy to forget about one key piece of the puzzle… what is going on with Ben Simmons?
Despite coming into the season seemingly with a full bill of health, the Aussie has played just six games this season, having once again been sidelined with a back injury.
With Simmons being the flagship acquisition for Brooklyn in last year’s James Harden trade (not to be confused with this year’s James Harden trade), it’s an ongoing headache that he has only played 48 total games for the Nets.
Miami Heat
Over the past few years, the Heat have made a name for themselves as a squad that will stand up in the big moments.
So this season, the Heat have been a team that hasn’t stood up in the big moments.
They currently boast an absolutely brutal net rating in both the fourth quarter and the clutch, ranking sitting 29th and 28th in each respective category.
This is a far cry from the team that was second-best in the league in clutch situations last season, and the fall off has been simply staggering.
If the Heat can’t remedy these woeful numbers quickly, their viability as a playoff contender may fade by the day.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks must take a few minutes to properly lock into a game, as there’s no other way to explain their defensive woes that only appear in the first quarter.
For the rest of the game, Atlanta is capable on that side of the floor, yet those brutal openings are dragging their defence down to one of the worst-rated in the league.
Putting themselves on the back foot from the start has already led to several avoidable losses so far, and that’s not even taking their poor clutch performances into consideration.
Maybe the Hawks just need to start their warmup a bit earlier?
Toronto Raptors
Who do the Raptors trade? Will the notoriously tough negotiator Masai Ujiri even trade one of his players?
Toronto is in the midst of the second-straight middling season, with rookie head coach Darko Rajaković struggling to make things work with a roster that simply doesn’t fit together.
With Scottie Barnes leading the way as the franchise star, the Raptors simply don’t need the number of talented wings they currently boast.
This leaves Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby as the players most likely to be moved, however Toronto hasn’t exactly been a willing trade partner in recent years.
Considering how poor they’ve looked at stages, and the fact that they don’t own their first round pick this season, time is running out for the Raptors to pick a direction.
Chicago Bulls
All the Bulls should be worrying about currently is getting the best deal possible for Zach LaVine.
Chicago’s season has already been written off, sitting just above the crop of teams that are outright tanking, and their best player has already requested a trade.
An athletic scoring threat, LaVine will have plenty of suitors around the league, giving the Bulls even more incentive to ramp up the price for their star.
With a full-blown rebuild looking likely, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic will also be on the trade bloke sooner rather than later.
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets have to do something about LaMelo Ball’s ankles.
Just a season after the Hornets star was limited to just 36 games due to a series of ankle sprains and then an ankle fracture, Ball is once again missing time due to those problematic joints.
While dominant, Ball has been incredibly fragile during his time in the NBA, having missed extended periods every season of his career.
Without him, the Hornets lack any kind of punch on the offensive end, giving them almost no chance of playing competitive basketball.
Washington Wizards
Congratulations to the Wizards, they’ve put together the most entertaining team in basketball… for all the wrong reasons.
Washington has become the laughing stock of the league, with the combination of Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole getting the Wizards featured on every lowlight reel around the world.
When there are this many things wrong with a roster, a clean slate seems like the only solution.
They’re lucky that another team has somehow managed to be worse this season…
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a legitimate threat to secure the worst record in NBA history.
Having lost 20 straight games, they’re only eight games away from matching the all-time losing streak of 28 games, currently held by the Philadelphia 76ers. No matter how poor a team is expected to be, that is an absolute disaster of the season.
The roster construction is completely baffling, with the complete lack of shooting and complementary playmaking allowing teams to completely smother former no.1 pick Cade Cunningham, the main bright spot on this squad.
The entirety of 2023 has been a headache for Detroit, and there’s no end in sight.
Oh, and their coach is one of the highest paid in American sports right now. Yikes.
