We’re about 10 percent through the NBA regular season already. Things are moving quickly! Think of this article as a way to slow down — like Cade Cunningham does in the fourth quarter — help you assess your options — like the Dallas Mavericks might have to do with Cooper Flagg — and review what’s been happening across the league.
Without further ado, here are five observations from another week of NBA basketball (check out last week’s version here).
No. 1: To Point Guard Or Not To Point Guard
Much like beauty, development is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone has opinions on the proper way for a player to develop. Do you throw them into the fire and hope they come out toughened by their experience and better for it? Or, do you slowly but surely give them doses of opportunities, hoping to foster a much more organic method of growth?
When it comes to their first overall pick, Cooper Flagg, the Dallas Mavericks have picked the former. Head coach Jason Kidd told the media all summer that, in the absence of having a true point guard available, Dallas would put the ball in Flagg’s hands to be its primary facilitator.
That’s produced mixed results. According to Cleaning the Glass, Flagg has spent 37 percent of his minutes as the Mavs’ point guard this season and they have a minus-20.8 net rating over that span. He’s spent just nine percent of his time playing small forward, where the Mavs’ net rating is a much improved minus-1.5.
Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t all been bad for Flagg. He’s had some impressive performances, including 22 points and four assists in a dominant win over the Toronto Raptors and 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a win over the Indiana Pacers. But overall, Flagg is shooting 38 percent from the field, dishing out just 2.9 assists and turning the ball over 2.1 times a night through seven games.
Flagg has looked much better paired alongside another guard such as D’Angelo Russell. When the two are on the floor together, the Mavs’ offensive rating jumps to 108.7, compared to 96.7 with just Flagg. Note how big of a difference a point guard is making on Flagg’s scoring efficiency.
There is no right answer here. You can argue by doing this early, the Mavs are setting up Flagg for success down the road. He will ultimately be tabbed as a primary creator. This is a good opportunity for him to learn coverages, figure out how to use his body, improve his handle and become better in the long-term.
At the same time, as a backup option, the Mavs can always go back to playing Flagg more traditionally on the wings and let him operate in a role better suited for his current skill-set.
No. 2: Are The Chicago Bulls Emulating The Indiana Pacers?
The Indiana Pacers just spent the last two seasons playing electric basketball, culminating in an improbable, unforgettable NBA Finals run. They found the right formula for them: a jumbo-sized creator with razor-sharp playmaking chops who was improving as a scorer, a mishmash roster of talented role players, a floor-spacing center and, eventually, a second star who allowed them to play in transition and succeed defensively.
It feels like the 6-1, East-leading Chicago Bulls are trying to emulate that recipe.
Josh Giddey is in the Tyrese Haliburton role.
He’s a tall, cerebral playmaker who has worked relentlessly to improve as a scorer and is reaping the benefits this season. Giddey is getting to the rim at a career-best rate (39 percent) and finishing a career-high 65 percent of his looks there. There’s real evidence he’s turned the corner with his 3-point shot. He knocked down 37.8 percent of his four attempts per game last season and is building upon it by knocking down 41.9 percent of his 4.4 threes per game to begin this year.
Last season, Josh Giddey took 27.7% of his shots at the rim and hit 58.4% of them.
This season, Giddey is at 30.8% of his shots at the rim, and he’s making 69.4% of them.
Patient setups like this to get to the shot he wants are a regular thing for Giddey this year. pic.twitter.com/xnManBRB9F
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) November 5, 2025
Much like the Pacers did with Haliburton, the Bulls lean into Giddey’s strengths by playing fast and free. They’re the NBA’s third-best transition offense, particularly elite on fast breaks off of live rebounds, which Giddey enhances because of his own size and rebounding. The catch-and-go offense is humming for them.
They have six players averaging more than 10 points a night, leaning on their depth to help juice the offense, and Coby White is still yet to play this season.
They hope second-year wing Matas Buzelis can develop into a version of Pascal Siakam as a long, Swiss Army Knife forward. They’ll want him to run in transition, weaponize his athleticism in the half-court, expand his shot creation and be a positive defensively.
While the Bulls are definitely overachieving on their preseason expectations, it’s safe to say the vision for this team looks more promising than anyone could have anticipated.
Perhaps, this is the beginning of something special.
No. 3: The Rockets Are Finding Ways Without Fred VanVleet
Fred VanVleet’s torn ACL certainly put a damper on the Houston Rockets’ championship chances this season. But perhaps… not as much as we think?
Through two weeks, the Rockets have the NBA’s best offense, putting up 123.9 points per 100 possessions. They’re 12th in half-court offense (99 points per 100 possessions), vastly improved from last year’s 22nd-place finish without Kevin Durant and with VanVleet in the fold.
Part of this success is their sheer size. Thanks to Steven Adams & Co., the Rockets are rebounding 40.3 percent of their missed shots, nearly five percent more than anyone else and 11 percent more than the league average team so far this season. It’s even six percent better than last year’s Rockets team.
They’ve also found a formula to get good shots regardless. Part of that is how much they’re leaning on Durant to be a half-court ball-handler. He’s running two more pick-and-rolls per game than last season. As a counter to him hunting out mismatches, teams tend to trap or blitz his ball-screens, which creates passing windows for two elite passers, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, to make plays in the short roll.
The makeshift system without a point guard is working thus far.
No. 4: The Raptors Are Full Of Surprises
Many, like myself, expected this Toronto Raptors team to be good defensively and a work-in-progress offensively. Eight games through the season, it has been the exact opposite. The Raptors rank seventh in overall offensive efficiency and seventh in half-court offensive rating, despite ranking among the bottom 10 in 3-point attempts.
It has helped their wing trio of Brandon Ingram (37 percent), RJ Barrett (39 percent) and Scottie Barnes (48.6 percent) have shot the ball incredibly well from deep to start the season. At the same time, their supposedly reliable shooters in Immanuel Quickley (27.9 percent), Ochai Agbaji (nine percent) and Gradey Dick (36 percent) have not shot the ball particularly well, so I guess there will be some regression to the norm on both ends to even things out.
But even then, Toronto’s found a formula that works. Ingram’s presence has knocked Barnes and Barrett down a peg, with both being assisted on over 65 percent of their shots — a career-high for each player. Barnes, Barrett and Ingram are all averaging more than 20 points per game game on 60 percent or better true shooting. Opposing teams are struggling to deal with their size and physicality.
There’s a chance I underrated the Raptors’ offensive potential, especially if they all continue buying into their new roles like they have to open the year.
No. 5: Fourth Quarter Cade Cunningham
Through seven games, Cade Cunningham is averaging 23.6 points on 43/30/74 shooting splits.
Now, here are his fourth-quarter averages: 11.2 points on 49/42/81 splits. Nearly half of his points per game are coming in the final frame!
It’s extremely early but the Detroit Pistons have already played five “clutch” games, according to the NBA’s definition. They boast a sparkling 135.9 offensive rating in those 17 minutes, largely because Cunningham has been Herculean in his efforts during winning time.
Clutch Player of the Year?
