Now that we’ve crossed the first week of the 2026-27 NBA season, I think it’s fair to say that things are already getting interesting. While some players like Ty Jerome, Luka Doncic, and Anthony Edwards came out of the gate hot and are scoring tons of points, other guys aren’t having nearly as much success.

A few well-known stars are shooting way below their usual percentages, some are still trying to figure out their new roles on offense, and a couple of them are already starting to worry their teams. Bam Adebayo is probably the first guy you think of, especially since the Heat still don’t have a single win even after adding Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer.

The defending champion Knicks are also struggling to put points on the board, while players like Kawhi Leonard and Desmond Bane haven’t been efficient at all with the new responsibilities they’ve been given.

Then you have Brandon Miller, who just bounced back by scoring 73 points over his last two games after a really rough start. So not everyone on this list is still stuck in a slump. But looking at how these guys started the year shows just how hard it is to find your rhythm right when the season begins.

Here are seven NBA stars who haven’t been shooting or scoring the way we expected, and what might be causing their early trouble.

1. Mikal Bridges – New York Knicks

Let’s start with the New York Knicks. As the defending champions, they expected a much better start. They’ve played three games, lost all three, and Mikal Bridges has only scored 10 points total during that time.

That’s just 3.3 points per game from a guy who was supposed to be one of New York’s most steady scorers. His shooting numbers are even worse: he’s made only five of his 23 shots from the field, hasn’t hit a single three-pointer in 10 tries, and hasn’t even shot a free throw yet.

It all started with four points on 2-of-8 shooting against the 76ers. After that, he didn’t score a single point in 22 minutes against the Celtics. He finally got six points against the Magic, but he finished that game as a minus-23 while the Knicks lost by nine. When your team starts the year 0-3, games like that from a starter are really tough.

Last season, he put up 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 49.0% overall and 37.1% from deep. He helped a championship team win without needing to dominate the ball. His job was to play defense, cut to the basket, and punish teams when they sent extra help to stop Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns.

Because his shot isn’t falling right now, it’s hurting the whole team. Other teams know he’s struggling, so they don’t guard him as closely. They can help off him and make life way harder for Brunson when he drives to the basket, while giving Towns less room to work in the paint. The Knicks had the third-best offense in the league last season, but right now they’re near the bottom, and Bridges missing open shots is a big reason why.

It’s hard to see him keeping up this 21.7% shooting slump for long since he’s usually a very smart and efficient scorer. But head coach Mike Brown already cut his minutes against Boston, and Miles McBride has been playing well off the bench. Bridges needs to find his shot soon because the Knicks can’t afford another week of getting almost nothing from one of their main starters.

2. Bam Adebayo – Miami Heat

Putting Giannis next to Bam Adebayo sounded like a defensive wall on paper. But four games in, the Miami Heat are sitting at 0-4. Giannis is doing pretty much everything on offense, and Bam is trying to figure out where he fits in this new system.

Last season, Bam averaged 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds. Right now, those numbers are down to 11.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on 40.0% shooting. He’s also hitting just 16.7% of his threes, making only three of his first 18 attempts. For a player who’s supposed to be the second-best option in Miami, those stats just hurt.

Some of his individual games have been really tough to watch. Bam scored four points against the Pistons, bounced back with 20 against the Hornets, and then dropped back down to eight points in a loss to the Mavericks. That last game was super frustrating because Giannis had a huge triple-double with 29 points, but Miami still couldn’t get the win.

The main problem seems to be how the two big men share the floor. Giannis wants to attack the rim and force the defense to collapse, while Bam has spent most of his career making plays from the elbows, running handoffs, and scoring near the basket. When they play together, Bam is spending way too much time out on the perimeter, and other teams are happy to let him shoot from there.

Against Dallas, he missed all five of his three-point attempts, and his true shooting percentage through four games is down to 46.3%. Taking 4.5 threes a game is a lot for a guy who isn’t a proven shooter from out there. Wanting to improve your range is fine, but the Heat also need him scoring down low.

It would make sense for Erik Spoelstra to stagger their minutes a bit more so Bam can run the show as the main big man with the second unit sometimes. For example, against the Hornets, the Heat made a huge comeback down the stretch with Giannis on the bench, although they couldn’t close that one out in the end.

Miami also needs more movement in the offense so it doesn’t look so predictable. Davion Mitchell keeps helping, but Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Tim Hardaway Jr. have just been underwhelming from beyond the arc, leading to tons of bad transition defense and missed scoring chances.

Giannis is playing great, but getting four or eight points from Bam while the team keeps losing isn’t going to work out. They need to play more off-ball actions, use Giannis’ gravity to flip the play, and get Bam into more of a passing hub from the break. But if this keeps dragging on, the Heat might be in deep trouble.

3. Desmond Bane – Orlando Magic

Trading four first-round picks and a pick swap is a huge price to pay, but the Orlando Magic made that big bet on Desmond Bane because they needed another scorer next to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.

Bane played great last year with 20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 48.4% from the field and 39.1% from three. But the first week of this season hasn’t gone as smoothly.

So far, Bane is posting 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and only 1.3 assists, while shooting 33.3% overall and 28.6% from deep. Orlando has already lost two of their first three games, and with Banchero out with a high ankle sprain, the team really needs Bane to step up and score consistently.

His worst game came against Minnesota, where he scored just five points on 2-of-11 shooting, missing eight of his nine three-pointers. The Timberwolves won that game easily, 115-93. Bane also had a rough opening night against Atlanta, needing 15 shots to score 18 points.

Luckily, he looked much better against the Knicks on Sunday, putting up 22 points, six rebounds, and four made threes to help Orlando get their first win. That game looked much more like the player the Magic traded for, even if his overall numbers for the week are still a bit low.

Injuries aren’t helping either, as Jalen Suggs hurt his right knee against New York, so with both Banchero and Suggs out, Wagner and Bane have to carry an even bigger load.

That means they’ll probably have to take tougher shots, and that’s troubling because Bane is best when he’s attacking a defense that’s already moving or getting open off screens, but Orlando might need him to start running plays from scratch now.

Coach Sean Sweeney will probably need to draw up more plays to get Bane open on the outside, especially when teams double-team Wagner. The Magic were one of the worst three-point shooting teams last season, so they can’t afford to have their best shooter in a slump for too long.

Bane has been too good for too long to panic after three games, but these injuries make his scoring more important than ever.

4. Scottie Barnes – Toronto Raptors

Scottie Barnes was actually playing great in his first two games, which makes what happened against the Timberwolves come as a total shock. The Toronto Raptors came into Sunday’s game undefeated, and Barnes was fresh off a 28-point, 14-rebound game against the Wizards. Nobody saw his next game coming.

Barnes played 28 minutes against Minnesota, missed all 12 of his shots, went 0-of-5 from three, and didn’t take a single free throw. He still had three rebounds, three assists, and four steals, but his minus-27 rating was the worst on the team in a 117-94 blowout loss. With Kawhi Leonard sidelined, Toronto got nothing from their main guns.

That one bad night really hurt his early stats. Through three games, he’s averaging 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, but his shooting is down to 35.1% overall and just 14.3% from deep. Last year, he shot 50.7%, so while he’s taking a similar number of shots, he isn’t making them nearly as often.

His outside shooting is something Toronto should keep an eye on. Barnes is taking 4.7 threes per game after taking only 2.8 last year, even though he’s never been a reliable three-point shooter. He’s made just two of his first 14 tries, and against Minnesota, those extra perimeter shots didn’t help the offense at all.

It would be better to see him use his size down low against smaller defenders. Barnes can score through contact, play in the mid-post, and kick the ball out to open teammates when the defense collapses. There’s time for him to work on his jumper, but Toronto doesn’t need him forcing five or six threes every night.

The good news is the Raptors are still 2-1, and Barnes played really well in his first two games. This isn’t the same as guys who are struggling all week long. Still, going 0-of-12 with zero points is a rough night for an All-Star, and he’ll definitely want to bounce back against Orlando.

5. Kawhi Leonard – Toronto Raptors

When Toronto pulled the trigger on that blockbuster this summer, everyone figured we’d see right away why Kawhi Leonard won that ring back in 2019.

After the kind of year he just had with the Clippers, the expectations in Canada were sky-high. Last season, he put up 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 65 games while shooting over 50% from the field and nearly 39% from deep.

Those are crazy good numbers for any player, let alone a 35-year-old veteran. But his first couple of games back in a Raptors jersey haven’t been nearly as smooth.

Right now, he’s sitting at 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game, but the shooting splits are what really jump out. He’s only hit 12 of his 37 shots, 32.4% from the field and 28.6% from deep. His true shooting percentage dropped all the way to 46.6% after sitting at a huge 62.9% last year.

He isn’t getting many easy buckets, either. Against the Bulls, he needed 17 shots just to make five field goals, finishing with 23 points mostly because he went a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. Then he put up 16 points against the Wizards on 7-of-20 shooting while missing six of his eight threes.

Sure, Toronto won both games, which is the main thing for the team. But Kawhi just doesn’t look completely comfortable rising up for his jumper yet. Plus, they’re managing his workload closely, playing just 25.8 minutes per game compared to the 32.2 he averaged with the Clippers.

Then came Sunday, and he missed the Minnesota game because of swelling in his left knee. Honestly, given his injury history, that’s way more concerning than a couple of cold shooting nights, especially since the Raptors are banking on him to lead their offense.

It’s probably way too early to panic over a two-game sample, especially since he’s still disrupting things defensively with 3.5 steals a night. But compared to the elite scorer we saw last season, his opening week was definitely a step back. Toronto just needs him healthy first, and the points will take care of themselves.

6. Jalen Brunson – New York Knicks

Jalen Brunson is still scoring over 22 points per game, so putting him on this list might seem weird. But if you watch the Knicks play, it’s pretty clear their best player hasn’t been nearly as sharp or efficient as he was during their championship run.

Brunson is at 22.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, but he’s shooting 39.1% from the field and 26.7% from three. His true shooting percentage is 46.7%, way down from 58.0% last season when he averaged 26 points and nearly seven assists. He’s also making only 70% of his free throws, which isn’t like him at all.

The game against Orlando was a good example of his struggles. Brunson scored 28 points, but it took him 28 shots to get there, and he made only one of his seven threes. The Knicks blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost 111-102 because they just couldn’t score enough down the stretch.

Against Boston, he had 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting in a 103-point loss. The team lacks movement around him, especially with Bridges missing shots and the bench not giving them much help.

A lot of this comes down to how much weight is on his shoulders. He’s still one of the best isolation scorers in the league, but the Knicks are asking him to make tough shots against set defenses over and over again. When other teams send double teams, there isn’t enough outside shooting or cutting to make them pay.

It would help if Mike Brown used Towns more as a passer and got Brunson moving without the ball so he can attack after the defense shifts. The Knicks have too much talent for every possession to end with Brunson taking a contested jumper.

Unlike Bridges, Brunson is still putting up decent totals, and his efficiency will surely go back up. But with the team at 0-3, getting him back on track is priority number one.

7. James Harden – Cleveland Cavaliers

I was actually about to put Brandon Miller here after his terrible first two games, but then he went out and dropped 73 points against the Heat and Wizards, including a career-high 39 on Monday.

So yeah, I think he’s already doing a pretty good job getting his scoring back on track. James Harden, on the other hand, is still having trouble finding his usual efficiency, even with the Cleveland Cavaliers starting the season 2-1.

Harden finished last season with 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists after joining the Cavaliers, shooting 46.6% from the field and an impressive 43.5% from three. Through his first three games this season, he’s down to 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.0 assists on just 35.1% from the field and 33.3% from deep.

The Nets game was probably his worst performance so far. Harden finished with 12 points on 1-of-8 shooting, including 1-of-6 from three, and needed nine made free throws just to reach double figures. He still chipped in eight rebounds and seven assists, but Cleveland barely escaped with a 125-121 win against a team that hasn’t looked particularly competitive to start the season.

His other two games haven’t been especially impressive offensively, either. Harden opened with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting against the 76ers, then finished with 19 points and nine assists in Monday’s 127-125 overtime win against the Timberwolves. That last performance was definitely better, but he still needed 17 shots to score 19 points and went 3-of-9 from outside.

Cleveland has Donovan Mitchell to handle most of the scoring when Harden isn’t making shots. But he’s also turning the ball over 4.3 times per game, which is a lot considering his scoring production has already dropped by almost five points compared to last season.

I’d actually like to see him attack the basket more often instead of settling for so many step-back threes. Harden is still excellent at drawing contact, as we saw when he went 9-of-11 from the line against Brooklyn, and those drives can create easier looks for Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Cleveland’s shooters.

I’m not especially worried about the Cavaliers because they’re winning games, and Harden doesn’t need to score 25 points every night with Mitchell alongside him. But shooting 35.1% from the field while playing starter minutes is still pretty disappointing, and at 37 years old, it’ll be interesting to see whether this is just a rough shooting stretch or the beginning of an offensive decline.

Final Thoughts

Out of all these players, Mikal Bridges and Bam Adebayo are probably the two to worry about the most. Both are scoring way below what they usually do, their teams haven’t won a game yet, and their struggles are hurting their team’s entire offense. Desmond Bane also needs to step up while Orlando deals with injuries, and Brunson needs to get more efficient to help the Knicks turn things around.

Kawhi Leonard’s situation is different because of his knee and limited minutes, while Barnes had a great start before that weird scoreless game in Minnesota. It’s only the first week, so there’s plenty of time for all seven players to fix things. But as the season moves forward and teams feel more pressure, playing this poorly for much longer is going to make those early red flags a bigger problem down the road.