The NBA’s 2021/22 regular season is only eight days old and no team has played more than four games, but 27 of the league’s 30 teams have already lost at least once. The three undefeated teams left standing are the Bulls (4-0), Warriors (4-0), and Jazz (3-0).
Of those three clubs that have opened the season on winning streaks, Utah is perhaps the least surprising. The Jazz had the NBA’s best record last season and were expected to be in the mix for that honor again in 2021/22 — no team in the Western Conference was projected by oddsmakers to win more regular season games than Quin Snyder‘s club.
Still, the Jazz haven’t faced faced an especially tough test through the first week of the season. Their first two wins came over lottery teams (the Thunder and Kings), and their third opponent (the Nuggets) was missing its two maximum-salary players, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, due to injuries when Utah pulled away in the second half on Tuesday.
The new-look Bulls, led by All-Star Zach LaVine and newcomer DeMar DeRozan, have looked great so far, especially on defense, where they rank fourth in the NBA. But they also haven’t been tested by a top-tier opponent — their first four wins came against Detroit, New Orleans, and Toronto, all of whom are missing key players.
Chicago’s road will get a whole lot tougher starting on Wednesday. Twelve of the Bulls’ next 13 contests will be against playoff teams from last season, and the 13th game will be vs. Golden State, the league’s other unbeaten club.
The Warriors’ hot start may be the most impressive of the bunch — their first two wins were against the Lakers and Clippers, and three of the four have been in road games. I was a little concerned entering the season about Golden State’s depth with Klay Thompson, James Wiseman, and Jonathan Kuminga still on the mend, but a second unit led by Damion Lee, Andre Iguodala, and Nemanja Bjelica has been solid so far, and Stephen Curry (29.0 PPG) has been his usual dominant self.
The Dubs have a chance to keep their hot start going, as they begin an eight-game home stand on Thursday. That stretch will include six games against 2020/21 lottery teams, though some of those clubs – including Chicago and Charlotte – have looked more dangerous in ’21/22.
We want to know what you think. Being undefeated at this point in the season doesn’t mean much – the Magic started last season 4-0, for instance – but do you feel like these teams are for real? Are the Warriors and Bulls playoff-bound? Will the Jazz be the West’s No. 1 seed again? Or do you expect one or two of these clubs to cool off and come back down to earth in the coming days or weeks?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
I think about one word fluke
Bulls and Jazz beat bad teams
Warriors are not for real
Is English your native language? I rarely understand you.
If the warriors are for real that would mean you are not as you think are. Wannabe GM.
Small sample size would had made more sense. You rarely make sense though.
Cobi, Sillivan needed a comma (“…word, fluke”) and his post would have been fine. Yes, sometimes his posts are a struggle to understand. But Cobi, your post?? Were you intentionally trying to be unreadable as an attempt at being facetious?
You are absolutely correct about everything except me trying to be facetious. I think I was having a stroke and karma bit me in the butt. I was unreadable.
Cobi, good honesty. But you are correct. Sullivan is not a fan of punctuation and I often have no clue what he’s saying. 8 straight at home coming. Against several lottery teams. The possibilities….?
Gotta avoid major injuries
I feel the exact same way about the possibilities.
I am wrong a lot and have no problem to admit it. I appreciate it when people point it out. Thanks claude.
Why are the warriors not for real? Jazz are a very good team too. You probably under ate defense is why you say that.
I did not have GSW so high… I guessed a Curry injury and the team forcing their high picks into minutes. So far wrong, wrong.
Bulls have to keep their team play going.
Jazz got better still; changed mgmt; Snyder won’t be fighting the execs this year.
I had the warriors down as a 5/6 seed before the season
Even this early, I think they should be bumped to a 3/4 seed
They will win more regular season games than my Lakers, would love to see them match up tho when they both get to the playoffs
Warriors have a pretty solid team right now even without three of their players. Potential injuries are always there in the background and could devastate any team’s chances.
The successful return of Klay and Wiseman could potentially boost the Warriors playoff seedings.
GSW play better since Wiseman is out … even if Myers picked Lamelo i could see Kerr just give him small minutes in moneytime, still think they should have built a team with IQ vets on minimum $$$ to be a true menace against Nets Bucks and Heat.
If the Warriors can stay between 5-10 games above .500 by the time Klay comes back, they’ll be fine.
Warriors are playing beautiful basketball!
It’s like the pre Durant, “strength in numbers” teams
I completely agree le. Those “numbers”, the depth, has Iggy leading them. Take the current first five, then add Thompson, Wiseman and Kuminga and that is a very deep team. They’re being careful with Iggy wearing out so there are plenty of opportunities for more leaders to step up. They are very pre-Durant, le, and it feels like 14-15 again. I’m having a blast watching them. I predicted 56 wins in a preseason post, then I thought I was probably over zealous, but now I think maybe it could happen. Arc referred to their defense as being underrated and that is spot on. Payton plays excellent D. As do Iggy and Green and JTA. Thompson of course plays great D.
But what to do with Payton when the injured 3 come back. Great problem to have
GS is definitely for real as long as they dont mess up their rotation and stay healthy. I had them at 6 before training camp, fighting for a 3-4 seed, but at the 2 seed after the preseason, and potentially higher. Injuries and close games, and coaches being bad are going to determine seeding in both conferences this year. Should be a lot of teams bunched up in a couple of spots too
Playing on the road is usually more difficult. However, these last two and a half seasons have been weird with COVID crowds still in effect. Plus, playing against a lite version of the Clippers and a mostly new Laker roster mix isn’t as impressive as in the past. Memphis was GSW’s first real test.
The Bulls defense and scrappy player roster has had the benefit of playing sub-par teams. The Knicks were their first real test.
The Jazz have beaten two current playoff teams. The Nuggets were losing even with Jokic on the floor. They actually played faster and better after he went down. I count that as their first real test. The Bulls as Bucks weekend will tell us more. Both teams are playing well. Giannis is leading the MVP conversation so far. Although, Conley and Whiteside are both likely to miss the Bulls game. The Bulls will be missing Williams and a thumb injury to Lavine will limit his aggression. The Bucks game might possibly be the first real test then for many.