Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
Young is off to a sluggish start. With Dejounte Murray being traded in the offseason, some thought Young would flourish in a familiar role. Instead, he’s taken a step back in the offense. Young is sporting a career-low usage rate of 28.0 — lower than his rookie season. He’s scoring less, turning the ball over more, and shooting a career-low 38-percent from the field. The Hawks are below .500 despite getting excellent starts from Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson.
It seems like a change of scenery could be in the cards for Young. The Hawks could afford to lean into a defensive identity and allow Daniels, Johnson, and rookie Zaccharie Risacher to handle the primary playmaking duties. It would not be surprising at all if Young started playing well immediately if he got shipped to another team.
Panic Meter: 7/10
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Haliburton has seen his scoring dip this year after averaging over 20 PPG on 48-percent shooting through his first two full seasons in Indiana. He’s currently at 15.3 PPG this year and can’t make a shot from anywhere on the floor. The three-point shooting will eventually stabilize — Haliburton is a career 39-percent three-point shooter — but his inability to finish at the rim is alarming.
Playmaking will always be his primary skill, and he’s averaging 8.5 APG to just 1.7 TOPG. However, he won’t be an All-NBA or even an All-Star caliber player if he can’t consistently score at a high level. Indiana’s identity as a fast-paced, high-scoring team diminishes when Haliburton isn’t confident in his offense.
The Pacers were expected to challenge for a top-4 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they’ll likely be a play-in team until Haliburton figures it out.
Panic Meter: 8/10
Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets did not advance in the playoffs last year because Murray failed to produce. Defenses have no answers for Denver when he’s got it going offensively. When Murray struggles, teams can focus entirely on Nikola Jokic and force the others to create. Jokic can get it done on his own on most nights, but against the best teams in the league, Murray is a major X-factor.
Jokic is currently out dealing with a personal issue. We’ll see if Murray can re-establish himself in the interim. However, he looks a step slower after dealing with several lower-body injuries. That’s not great when considering he’s playing a career-high amount of minutes this year (36.3 MPG) The increase in playing time could be why he’s shooting so poorly from three right now (33.3 percent). There’s a chance he never establishes himself this year, and the Nuggets bow out with another early playoff exit.
Panic Meter: 9/10
Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat
The Heat are off their predictable slow start. They’ve been trading wins and losses to start the year and can’t establish a rhythm. That’s partly due to Jimmy Butler’s absences from the lineup, but three-time NBA All-Star Bam Adebayo can shoulder some blame, as well. Adebayo is in the process of expanding his offensive arsenal. Last season, Adebayo shot 42 threes (0.6 attempts per game) — a new career-high.
He kicked the three-point usage to the next level this year and is currently hoisting up 2.5 threes per game (10-for-32). It’s done a number on his field-goal percentage (42.6 percent). Adebayo has never shot below 51.2 percent from the field in his career.
The Heat have been making some uncharacteristic mistakes on the defensive end, as well. Adebayo is the team’s defensive anchor. Miami has dropped multiple close games this year due to defensive mistakes and miscommunications. They’re currently 12th in defensive rating which wouldn’t be bad for some teams but would be the lowest finish for the Heat during Adebayo’s career.
Bam likely just needs to get more established closer to the basket, and Butler’s return will help a team that rosters several bad defenders around Adebayo.
Panic Meter: 6/10
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid’s start to the season has been disastrous. He began the year by announcing that he likely won’t be playing in back-to-backs for the rest of the year. He was a surprise scratch to begin the season with an undisclosed injury — just two months after playing in the Olympics. He was suspended for three games after an altercation with a reporter in the 76ers’ locker room.
Embiid finally made his season debut on Nov. 12 against the Knicks. He’s played in four games this season and the 76ers have lost all of those games. The former league MVP is shooting 38 percent from the field and about 40 percent of his points have come from the free throw line. Philadelphia is 2-12 and in last place in the Eastern Conference.
The team recently held a players-only meeting. A team member leaked the contents of said meeting to the media. Embiid and the 76ers are the poster child for “panic”. It really can’t get much worse.
Panic Meter: 10/10
