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The Misery Index: It’s not just for people reading my work. (Ha! You thought you were going to hit me with that in the comments, but I just “8 Mile’d” you.)
Let’s move on to the point of this story, and yes, there is one (“8 Mile’d” again). A lot of NBA fan bases are enjoying incredibly fun seasons for their favorite teams. Some squads have exceeded expectations and may have fans wondering if an NBA championship is on the way. Other teams have met expectations perfectly and are indeed contending for that Larry O’Brien trophy. And some teams have their fans looking forward to the future.
Then there are the teams featured in The Misery Index (or TMI for short). This is an incredibly scientific system developed for years deep inside the Capital One Arena research laboratory here at The Athletic. We can’t get into all of the factors that bring about the TMI score for certain teams because it would start to read like a research paper at MIT. Just know there’s a lot of science involved. But here are a few of the key components I can detail:
* How bad is this season? This is dependent on preseason expectations, things that were within their control, what was out of their control and various other potential misery from watching this 2024-25 campaign.
* How frustrating have recent seasons been? Were they headed toward something good and it fell apart, or were they pretty miserable in the one to three seasons prior?
* Did they recently make a trade or move that infuriated the fan base beyond belief? Basically, are you the Dallas Mavericks?
* Are you still thinking about him? Not just the Mavs! This could be a trade or signing that didn’t happen but you thought would. Or maybe someone who recently left via trade or free agency?
* Do they have exciting young players to distract you from the present? Yes, the season is bad, but it can be mitigated by hope for the future currently employed by the team! Not just hoping for Cooper Flagg.
* Is there immediate, tangible hope in the next couple seasons? Are those young players on the verge of turning this into something exciting?
* Could this be fixed with a coaching change? Think of the Detroit Pistons from last season to this season.
* How deep is this thorn? Is this a coaching problem, or is this about the front office? Maybe it’s ownership bringing misery to you.
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This continues for multiple teams, including the Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, and others, with notes on their score, coaches, and team performance.
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