Takeaways at NBA quarter point: Lakers' Russell Westbrook gamble looking bad; Warriors firing on all cylinders

Also, so much for a Suns regression, all hail the Bulls and the Nets' uphill fight without elite James Harden

With pretty much every team in the NBA at or past the 20-game mark, we'll call this the quarter-pole point of the season. Still early, yes. But we've seen enough to at least start some worthwhile conversations. Below are the most noteworthy storylines thus far in the 2021-22 season. 

This will not include anything about Ben Simmons' ongoing drama in Philadelphia, because nothing has developed there. Simmons doesn't want to play for the Sixers, who in turn aren't going to trade him for the scraps they've been offered. We're still in the same place we were prior to the season. 

Same with John Wall not playing in Houston. He's healthy, he's ready to play, but the Rockets now reportedly want him to come off the bench, which Wall apparently isn't keen on doing. So he continues to sit. Which is fine by the Rockets, who in the absence of a trade clearly have no real interest in putting potentially their best player on the floor for fear of actually winning a few games.