In the Western Conference, it may be premature to crown the Oklahoma City Thunder after just three weeks of the NBA season, but at 17-1 and with all-star Jalen Williams still rehabbing from wrist surgery, the Thunder seems to be playing chess while the rest of the league plays checkers.

Which is ironic, because it’s Oklahoma City, where I doubt that their local Walmart even carries chessboards.

The Denver Nuggets (13-4) and their reloaded roster seem to have struck gold as well, despite injuries to Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon.

Luka and the Los Angeles Lakers (12-4) are off to a good start, and the Houston Rockets (11-4) are starting to take off, but that leaves eleven teams already out of it.

The Eastern Conference isn’t much better.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (12-7) and New York Knicks (10-6) are staggering a bit out of the gate, while the Detroit Pistons (15-2) are currently working on all cylinders. After three weeks, the rest are pretty much irrelevant.

A lot of teams are old; others are just dysfunctional. Some are losing on purpose. And others are just losing.

Three weeks into the NBA season, and most teams have a major problem.

• It’s probably unfair to say that the San Antonio Spurs (11-5) aren’t doing well so far, but with Victor Wembanyama out three weeks with a left calf strain, their season might be c’est la vie.

Credit via Instagram

• The Milwaukee Bucks (8-10) tried everything to rebuild a team around Giannis Antetokounmpo, but when Giannis is not playing, the most exciting person on the court is Red Panda during the halftime show.

• The Chicago Bulls (9-8) started the season 5-0, but after going 4-8, including last night’s 143-130 loss to the lowly Pelicans, that win streak was Bull as well.

• The New Orleans Pelicans (3-15) are awful. Zion Williamson has missed more than 250 games in his six NBA seasons due to weight problems and related injuries. That’s literally the definition of Load Management.

• The Pelicans could try to trade Zion Williamson as they continue their rebuild. But I haven’t seen a trade value decline that bad since I bought Gamestop (GME) at $350 a share.

Credit via The Arizona Republic

• Speaking of rebuilding, the Phoenix Suns (11-7) are off to a decent start, but they are a hot mess. That roster is so poor that I almost feel bad for Grayson Allen.

• Speaking of hot mess and declining trade value, Ja Morant’s behavior has been so toxic for the Memphis Grizzlies (6-12) that even Nico Harrison wouldn’t have interest.

• Steph Curry is still phenomenal, but the Golden State Warriors (10-9) are showing their age. I heard that Curry left Reebok to sign with a shoe company with better arch support.

Credit via IMDb

• Speaking of old players on the court, I was watching the hoops classic, Uncle Drew, the other day – then I realized it was just a Los Angeles Clippers game.

• More impressive than 36-year-old James Harden, going off for 55 points against the Hornets last week, is the fact that there are three guys on the roster still older than him.

• The Clippers (5-12) are so old that Chris Paul (40), Brook Lopez (37), Nicolas Batum (36), Kawhi Leonard (34), and Harden all call Bradley Beal, “Kid.”

• Chris Paul announced that he will be retiring at the end of the season after 20 years in the NBA. But I don’t think he needs to retire as a Clipper just because he’s old, sits the bench, and barely plays anymore. He just needs Kawhi’s agent.

• How bad are the Sacramento Kings (5-13) that they sign 37-year-old Russell Westbrook just before the season, only to fill a roster spot, and pay him the league minimum, and he ends up being your best player.

• If you think about it, Kawhi Leonard is a pioneer. Elon Musk once said that Artificial Intelligence will one day make all work voluntary. Kawhi has been doing that for years.

• The Portland Trailblazers (8-10) without Chauncey Billups are still slightly below average. Still think he was fixing games. The defense rests.

• The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a great start, but when the playoffs begin, and your starting lineup includes Luka Doncic, D’Andre Ayton, and a 40-year-old Lebron James, the defense rests here as well.

• The Philadelphia 76ers are 9-7, but Joel Embiid has already missed 10 games this season, and 47% of his games during his career. So, I’m giving Philly a 53% chance of making the playoffs.

• The Boston Celtics (9-8) and Indiana Pacers (2-15) are not so much tanking, but rather, taking the year off after losing star players to injuries and struggling with the salary cap. The Celtics lost Jason Tatum for the season, traded Jrue Holiday to Portland, lost Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford via free agency, and struggled to circumvent the luxury tax. That’s what I call a Boston Massacre.

• The Brooklyn Nets (3-14) have added a new twist to the art of tanking. Not only do they lose every game, but their 4 first-round draft picks aren’t good enough to play quality minutes. And it’s the Nets!

Credit via Yahoo Sports

• The Dallas Mavericks (5-14) aren’t necessarily tanking, but Anthony Davis is on the trade block, Kyrie Irving is still injured, and Cooper Flagg’s new nickname is “Wave the White” Flagg.

• You could argue that the Washington Wizards (1-15) are tanking, but with 8 straight losing seasons, how does one differentiate tanking from just plain sucking?

• The Wizards are tanking, the Pacers are tanking, and the Nets are tanking. The Charlotte Hornets (4-13) are tanking too. Just no one told them.

• More on the Pacers. After last year’s poor ratings, you can be sure that Adam Silver will do his best to secure a Lakers vs Knicks finals instead of last year’s yawner.

You see, if Billups or Rozier determines the outcome of a game, they get indicted. If Adam Silver determines the outcome of a game, he’s getting a raise.

Images via Instagram, The Arizona Republic, IMDb, YahooSports

Alan Tapley The Athletic Supporter

Alan Tapley is an educator, author, and blogger who has lived just outside of Boulder for the last twenty years.  His published work includes two novels, two children’s books, a series of cartoons in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and multiple sports related articles. His love for family and the state of Colorado is only matched by one thing, his passion for sports.  The first baseball game he ever attended was at Wrigley Field, before there were lights.  At the final Bronco game at the old Mile High, he allegedly cut out a piece of his seat in the South stands.  But regardless of being here for the Avalanche’s last Stanley Cup, the Rockies only World Series appearance, and all the Broncos’ Super Bowl Victories, his wife never fails to remind him that he wasn’t at the University of Colorado in 1990, like she was.  The year the Buffs football team won the National Championship