10. Minnesota Timberwolves
After emerging last season as one of the bigger surprises in the Western Conference, it's been a little more difficult for the Minnesota Timberwolves this year. And that's not all that shocking considering the big move the team made just before the start of training camp. Learning how to play with Julius Randle instead of Karl-Anthony Towns is part of the team's uneven start. However, at this point, the question is whether they have enough firepower to keep pace with the rest of the top of the Western Conference. Right now, I'm not sure they do.
Anthony Edwards has been fantastic as he continues to make leaps in his development. But aside from Edwards and Randle, who has been an early gem for the team on the offensive end of the floor, there are very few consistent contributors to the team in the starting 5. Naz Reid has been great off the bench but if the Wolves are going to emerge as a dangerous team in the postseason, I do believe they might be missing a piece on the wing or in the backcourt. The question for the Wolves is, do they try and solve that concern at the trade deadline or tackle the issues during the offseason?
9. Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers may have a strong 8-4 record through the first month of the season but they barely have a positive net rating. Something is off with this team. Even though they've been winning, I'm not entirely sold on their ability to sustain this win pace because of what the stats are telling me. In essence, the Lakers probably aren't as good as their record. Could that be a testament to new head coach J.J. Redick? Possibly. But it's certainly an interesting thing to keep a close eye on over the next few weeks of the season.
One thing is for sure, the Lakers are better than last year. Whether they will make a deeper run in the postseason remains to be seen. Even though they've gotten off to a good start to the season, this is a team that almost has to make an upgrade at the NBA Trade Deadline. From a talent perspective, this rotation does leave a bit to be desired, especially considering LeBron James is about to turn 40 years old. It would be foolish for the Lakers to continue to expect LeBron or even Anthony Davis to save them every night. Good start for the Lakers but they still have a ton of work if they want to emerge as a legit contender.