The NBA Season Isn't Even A Week Old And Both Giannis And Nikola Jokic Are Already Calling Out Their Teams

Jamie Schwaberow. Getty Images.

At the start of a new season, it can be hard to remain patient when it comes to your favorite team. If they're one of the teams who have gotten off to a great start in the 2024-25 NBA season (BOS, CLE, LAL, OKC etc) you're on cloud 9 and are certain the product you've seen through 3ish games is who they are going to be for the entire 82 and beyond. There's nothing like waiting all summer and then seeing your team dominate from the jump.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have teams who are off to what so far appear to be disastrous starts (DEN, MIL, PHI, IND, SAC etc). All the offseason fears seem to be coming to fruition, as a fan you're trying to remain patient and understand this is a marathon and not a sprint, but with each loss disheartening loss it gets harder and harder.

Early overreactions from fans are certainly nothing new, and for all we know things look drastically different in a week. But it's certainly noticeable when the best two players on two different supposed title contenders are already calling out their teams for their dogshit play.

The first came from Jokic, who looks like he's in absolute hell playing with this new roster Calvin Booth has given him. We all saw the issues heading into the year, the team didn't have enough shooting and their bench is filled with non-shooters and unproven players. A bizarre approach to a league MVP in his prime NBA years, and Jokic couldn't help but tell the truth after a tough opening night loss

The thing I like about Jokic is that even on nights when he dominates, he still takes accountability for the Nuggets' struggles even though we all know he's the last to blame for their start

I mean, the Nuggets score around 111 points per possession with Jokic on the floor, and that number drops to around 60 when he's off. Once again, the non-Jokic minutes are going to kill this team. Michael Malone has to figure out a staggering of lineups that works because what the Nuggets are currently doing is not sustainable over the course of a long season and then a potential playoff run. They are going to burn out their franchise player as he does all he can just to keep them afloat.

In the other conference, we're seeing a very similar vibe regarding the Bucks 1-2 start. After beating the Sixers who didn't have Embiid/George, the Bucks have now dropped back-to-back games against the Bulls and Nets, and the quotes coming from their franchise player don't sound all that great either

Call me crazy, but it's not ideal when 3 games into the season you're already talking about how your team doesn't have an identity. What did the Bucks do during training camp?

It's not like Doc Rivers just became their coach, he's been at the helm for 57 games (including playoffs). Is he solely to blame for the Bucks' 21-26 record over that timeframe? Was it Doc Rivers that went 8-16 from the FT line in the loss to the Bulls? Is it at all possible that Giannis' play to start the year has contributed to this start? Watch his body language, watch his screening, at some point, you can't keep blaming the coach when the same issues are presenting themselves with three separate head coaches.

The good news for both of these teams is we aren't even a week into the season. Things may look like shit right now, but we haven't even wrapped up October yet. At the same time, while you can't win a title in October, you can certainly make your life harder for yourself down the road if you dig yourself too deep of a hole. I'm not sure there's a single person on the planet who predicted the Nuggets and Bucks starting a combined 1-4, but that's the beauty of the NBA season. It's unpredictable. Every year brings new surprises that nobody saw coming in, and through the first week, I'd say the situations in MIL and DEN are near the top of the list.