During the first month of the NBA season, it's difficult to separate real trends from ones that won't persist through an 82-game regular season. This time a year ago, the Phoenix Suns were one of the league's hottest starters with an 8-2 record. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks started 2-8, putting them three wins behind the Brooklyn Nets in the East standings.
Those fluke starts shouldn't cause us to ignore everything that happens early in a season. After all, the Cleveland Cavaliers' undefeated start last season and the Houston Rockets going from the lottery to near the top of the West standings proved to be lasting indicators.