It’s November
If you haven’t looked at a calendar recently, today is November 15. We still have two weeks until Thanksgiving and a little less than a month and a half until Christmas. Why are we freaking out?
I did the math and 12 games are roughly 14% of the schedule. That’s not a whole lot. Sample size is key and while a 7-5 start isn’t the best and teams like the Lakers have gotten off to a hot start, it’s just way too early to panic.
Let’s jump backward a year on the calendar.
Through November 10, 2018, which was 12 games in for the Clippers, the team was also 7-5. That group didn’t have the same expectations as this group though, so why don’ we just look around the league at that time?
The Utah Jazz were 6-6. The Houston Rockets were 4-7. The Jazz finished in 5th place at 50-32 while Houston fished 4th at 53-29. It’s safe to say they turned out alright.
Even a lesser thought about team like the Orlando Magic started 5-7 but eventually picked up their play enough to make the postseason. Basically, when it’s this early in the season, there is just too much of the schedule left to warrant any freakout.
If these struggles were happening in, say, February then I would be concerned. But it’s November. This is the first full month of the season. Just take a moment and breathe.