Welcome to the final days of October, featuring falling leaves, early sunsets, Halloween decorations illuminating the night -- and the yearly pastime of overreacting to the first week of a new NBA season.
After all, small sample size theatre has provided early gems such as: The sky is falling in Oklahoma City, New York and Miami! The three-guard experiment in San Antonio needs to go! Charlotte is already better without La Melo Ball! Ty Jerome? Ty Jerome! With those early storylines and more in mind, let's examine 10 popular overreactions to the young 2026-27 season -- and determine which have staying power.
The Miami Heat will finish with their worst record since 2008. Zach Kram: Not an overreaction. For reference, 2007-08 was the last time the Heat finished with fewer than 37 wins. Merely by the law of averages, the 2026-27 Heat are bound to improve. They've had the seventh-worst shooting luck on offense and the second-worst on defense. On the other hand, the Heat's offense has been stuck in the mud, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is the only role player who looks comfortable playing alongside Bam Adebayo. Despite all those challenges, it's reasonable to give Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff a long runway.
Ben Golliver: Overreaction. The Antetokounmpo era in South Beach is off to an atrocious start. Instead of building off its blockbuster trade, the Heat lost Norman Powell to the Chicago Bulls in free agency and settled for adding Klay Thompson, age 36. On the court, it's already clear that the Heat need another proven ball handler and more shooting. It's probably best to withhold judgment until after the Heat's upcoming trip out West.
Source: ESPN NBA · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing