About a week or two into every NBA season, fans start freaking out when their team is not playing well or they have underachieved the expectations placed on them.
This is just way too early to give up on a season, as we have seen teams like the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers kick things into a higher gear and get back to being some of the best teams in the league after their slow starts.
Around the midway point in a season is when you can truly begin to evaluate a team’s chances for success and right now, things are very tight across the board in the NBA.
Other than the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, it seems like the other 26 teams in the NBA have a legitimate case to be made for making the playoffs, yet some teams are in a better position than others.
It is time to check out the NBA Panic Meter and see if fans of the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns should be worried given their team’s recent struggles and lack of overall success.
Miami Heat Panic Rating: 5
The Miami Heat are the epitome of an inconsistent franchise this season, but a big reason why they currently find themselves 21-20 and in a Play-In Tournament position is not only because of the talent in the Eastern Conference this season, but because of this team’s overall health.
Jimmy Butler has missed 14 games, Duncan Robinson has missed 13 games, Tyler Herro has missed 9 games and Victor Oladipo is still working his way back to full strength. Not to mention, Gabe Vincent has been dealing with a knee injury all season and both Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry are now dinged up.
When you look at Miami’s roster as a whole, they are definitely a very talented team, especially on the defensive end of the floor, but they just haven’t been healthy.
This is a slight concern moving forward and heading into the back-half of the 2022-23 season, but overall, there really is no reason to be worried about the Miami Heat.
They are an experienced team that knows what it takes to win in the playoffs and they were one win away a season ago from being in the NBA Finals for the second time since 2020.
Erik Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the league and assuming they will be healthy by the end of the season, the Heat will be a team to be reckoned with.
What will be interesting to see is what Pat Riley and Miami’s front office decides to do ahead of the trade deadline. Duncan Robinson’s future remains in question and with Kyle Lowry struggling to find his footing over the last year, it is possible that the Heat will inquire about some stars like Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal.
However, it is unlikely at this time that the Miami Heat will pull off a blockbuster move, so we should expect the group they currently have to be the roster vying for a playoff spot late in the season.
We have seen what the Heat are capable of doing late in the season in previous years and for that reason alone is why we should be on-the-fence in regards to their panic meter.
Atlanta Hawks Panic Rating: 7
Looking at the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks are in trouble simply because they have a lot of internal problems to figure out.
Not only did they have to deal with the drama of Cam Reddish being unhappy with the organization last season, but John Collins also voiced his frustrations a season ago and once again, he remains a player that the Hawks are willing to discuss in trade rumors.
With this information being public, how do you think this makes Collins feel? Obviously he would be open to a change in scenery, but the mood surrounding the Hawks right now just does not seem positive and it seems like a lot of the players on this roster have their own agenda simply because they don’t have a true leader and voice of reason in their locker room.
Trae Young is a sensational talent and an All-Star in his own right, as is Dejounte Murray, but they are both young guards in this league that were both kind of forced into being the leaders of their team, a role neither player is really known for.
Atlanta does not really have experienced veterans, they have the fifth-worst point differential in the Eastern Conference and they are just 9-12 against teams that currently have a .500 or better record so far this season.
Again, nothing really stands out about the way this Hawks roster stands right now and it really does seem like the trade they made for Dejounte Murray this past offseason was a desperation move to try and patch the cracks present within this organization.
If you ask me, it seems like the Hawks are on a downward path and trending towards some sort of a rebuild, but who knows, anything is possible ahead of the trade deadline!
Toronto Raptors Panic Rating: 8
Another team in the Eastern Conference who has really struggled to find their footing is the Toronto Raptors.
After winning their only championship in 2019, the Raptors kind of took a step back as a franchise and that is to be expected when a player like Kawhi Leonard leaves. Not to mention, the Raptors had all kinds of injury problems with Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry that season.
This organization has not won a playoff series since 2020 and right now, they truly have no production outside of their core of Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr.
Many teams around the league are watching the Raptors closely because the chances of them moving pieces around ahead of the trade deadline are very high at the moment.
Cutting back their overall payroll and acquiring some immediate draft picks seems to be an idea many within Toronto’s front-office value highly and this could result in players like Anunoby and Trent Jr. being on the move. Not to mention, the Raptors will need some available cap space heading into the offseason to negotiate new contracts with Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes down the line.
At this rate, Toronto will be lucky to get into the Play-In Tournament and earn an actual playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Their starting-five can compete with any other team in this league, but they cannot play all 48 minutes in every single game and as a result, the Raptors’ chances of winning a playoff series are extremely low.
Change is on the horizon in Toronto and it would not be shocking to see them miss the playoffs entirely this season.
Minnesota Timberwolves Panic Rating: 8
The move to trade for Rudy Gobert in the offseason and pair him with Karl-Anthony Towns was deemed both an idiotic and brilliant move by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Looking back on this trade over 40 games into Year 1 with Gobert in Minnesota, it is hard to see where the brilliance lies for the Timberwolves.
Rudy Gobert has not played at a level the Timberwolves expected him to play at, Karl-Anthony Towns has been out since November 28 with a calf injury and Minnesota has been very average across the board this season.
Obviously things will change when Towns returns at some point in the next several weeks, but will it be too late by then and will this really make a difference on Gobert’s impact?
If you ask me, giving up four first-round picks, one pick swap and key players like Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt for a player who is a great shot-blocker who really struggles offensively was not a good move whatsoever.
Who knows, maybe I will be wrong in the grand scheme of things and a couple of seasons down the road, this trade will look fantastic for the Timberwolves, but right now, they are struggling, they have no draft capital and Minnesota may have to wind up selling assets like D’Angelo Russell and Kyle Anderson at the trade deadline in order to make up some lost future value.
There is definitely a reason to panic if you are a fan of the Timberwolves, especially given how bright the future looked a season ago.
Phoenix Suns Panic Rating: 9
What do we make of the Phoenix Suns?
Obviously it is hard to judge their recent struggles given that they have been without Devin Booker, Cameron Johnson, Cameron Payne and others, but the Suns identity is truly just Devin Booker.
Without him, they are nothing more than a competitive Play-In Tournament team and even with him, they have struggled to maintain their footing against some of the league’s best teams this season.
They are just 3-5 against teams currently inside the Top-3 in both the Eastern and Western Conference standings and with Jae Crowder continuing to sit out, the Suns have a massive hole to fill on the wing.
It still seems like there are some internal struggles going on with the Suns as well, particularly with Deandre Ayton and him wanting to remain in Phoenix long-term.
When Booker returns, the Suns will obviously be better than their current 20-21 record, but the trade deadline will be vital for this organization.
Crowder must be moved for immediate value and maybe it is not too crazy to move other assets like Dario Saric and Cam Johnson to add another high-level talent that can instantly impact the Suns’ chances of getting back to the NBA Finals.
Their championship window is small and it is closing quickly, which is why the Suns must capitalize on their chances while they can.
These next five weeks will set the stage for what the future looks like in Phoenix.
Be sure to catch up on the newest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak’s own Brett Siegel!
Streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, The Fast Break Podcast takes you inside the league with the latest news, intel, rumors and interviews from those close to the action for all 30 teams. Be on the lookout for a new episode every Friday.
.