NBA Rumors: 1 Concerning early-season trend that could doom every team

Dallas Mavericks

1 Concerning trend: The bench is still an issue

Coming off a trip to the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks prioritized adding a legit third option to the team rather than solidifying their bench during the offseason. While Klay Thompson has had a solid start to the year, you can't help but wonder if their continued bench issues could be a big reason why the Mavs aren't able to replicate some of the same success they experienced last year. If one thing has become clear, it's the fact that the Mavs still have a bench issue and it could end up costing the team.

Through the first few games of the season, the Mavs have one of the five-worst bench units (in terms of scoring) in the league. For as talented of a starting 5 as the Mavs may have, this team is not going to experience much success if they're not able to fix this issue by the time the playoffs roll around. In the postseason, every team has top-tier talent to a certain extent. Oftentimes, it's a team's depth that ends up being the big difference in a seven-game playoff series. It's pretty clear the front office has some work to do.

Denver Nuggets

1 Concerning trend: Jamal Murray isn't right

When watching the Denver Nuggets this season, it's clear that something isn't right with the team. I'm not sure if the losses of Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in back-to-back offseasons are finally catching up with the team or something else, but the Nuggets have been off for much of the season. As the Nuggets begin to try and identify what is off with the team, I can't help but notice that Jamal Murray has not looked like himself to begin the year. Maybe it's just a slow start but the Nuggets should be at least somewhat concerned with Murray's play through the first few games of the season.

The hope is that Murray will be able to snap out of this zone he's been in but he's on pace to have the least productive and least efficient season of his career if he continues to play the way he is at the moment. When the Nuggets are hitting on all cylinders, a bit part of that is the dynamic play of Murray and Nikola Jokic. Jokic still looks like the best center in the league but it's clear that his backcourt partner has not been at his peak this season.