The first few weeks often see huge jumps in these NBA Power Rankings as we start figuring out where teams are and where they should slot. That is the case this week (check out the Timberwolves jumping into the top 10), including a change at the top of the rankings with the Celtics taking over that spot.
1. Boston Celtics (5-1, last week No. 2). The most complete roster in the NBA so far this season, the Celtics are the only team in the league right now with a top-five offense and defense (top three for both if you cut out garbage time). The Celtics starting five — Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis — has a +37.3 net rating so far this season and have locked down teams defensively allowing less than a point per possession (in just 72 minutes, it’s a small sample size, but still). Jaylen Brown may be persona non grata in France for a couple of years after what he did to Rudy Gobert.
JAYLEN BROWN POSTER 😱
— NBA (@NBA) November 7, 2023
Celtics-Timberwolves | Live on the NBA App
📲: https://t.co/1wqRX7Uwkw pic.twitter.com/ZboC9MPqgc
2. Denver Nuggets (7-1, LW 1). It’s disappointing Jamal Murray is going to miss the Nuggets showdown with the Warriors Wednesday night — an early season meeting of the two best teams in the West so far (sorry Dallas) — but he’s going to be out longer than that with coach Michael Malone saying Murray’s hamstring strain is “not a one- or two-game injury.” This thrusts Reggie Jackson into a larger role until Murray returns. Also of note, the Nuggets are getting outscored by 4.3 points per 100 possessions when Nikola Jokic is on the bench, not ideal but better than the -9.9 the Nuggets were at last regular season (that changed in the playoffs and was crucial to their title run).
3. Philadelphia 76ers (5-1, LW 4). More than just raw talent, the key to being a superstar in the NBA is bringing it every night. Joel Embiid does that and Nick Nurse reminded Tyrese Maxey that the Sixers need him to as well. After Maxey had a quiet first half against Phoenix Saturday, Nurse went the “motivate through the media” route: “He’s too good to have a quiet first half. He’s got to not get into those modes where he’s not being more aggressive. I’m not criticizing him. I’m just trying to keep imploring that needs to be more aggressive.” And that was a game where Maxey finished with 22 and 10. Nicholas Batum is playing and the 76ers have won five in a row, but their next five will be a real test including two against the Celtics and two against the Pacers.
4. Dallas Mavericks (6-1, LW 9). Grant Williams has never had open looks like this and he’s taking advantage. Playing off Luka Doncic, Williams is taking 6.6 3-pointers a game — up almost three from a year ago — and hitting 54.3% of them. While that percentage will drop off some as the season drags on, it shows his fit in Dallas. The Mavericks have the fourth-best offense in the NBA thanks to the brilliance of Doncic, and the middle-of-the-pack defense has been good enough. Starting Sunday, the Mavericks head on the road for 6-of-7.
5. Golden State Warriors (6-2, LW 3). Stephen Curry is putting together a quiet MVP-level campaign to start the season, and it’s not the 30.9 points a game but his efficiency in getting them — his 73 true shooting percentage would be the best of his career by a mile (67.5% previously, back in 2018). The Warriors are 5-1 on the road to open the season, which is a huge leap from the 11-30 they were away from Chase Center a season ago. Tough tests coming up this week at Denver, then home for six in a row but that includes Cleveland (who just beat Golden State), the Timberwolves and the Thunder.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (4-2, LW 16). Anthony Edwards looked like a player ready to make a leap during the FIBA World Cup this summer and he has lived up to that, averaging career bests in scoring (28.2 a game), assists (4.8), 3-point shooting (47.2%) and Minnesota is 25.6 points per 100 possessions better when he is on the court. The Timberwolves handed losses to the top two teams in this ranking in the past week — the Nuggets and Celtics — and that catapults teams up these rankings early in the season. Minnesota has done most of its damage at home (4-0) but starting Friday head out on a tough five-game road trip that includes two against the Warriors plus a game against the Suns on the second night of a back-to-back.
7. Atlanta Hawks (4-3, LW 15). What’s impressive is not just the Hawks’ fast start but that Quinn Snyder finally has this team showing off its depth — it’s not just the Trae Young show anymore. Dejounte Murray is averaging 21.5 points a night, De’Andre Hunter is at a solid 15.7 and Jalen Johnson has been a revelation at 14.5 a night. It feels like they could get more out of Saddiq Bey (who has struggled with his shot early) and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Atlanta’s hot streak can continue with winnable games this week against Orlando, Miami and Detroit.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder (4-3, LW 11). The Thunder are 4-0 against the Eastern Conference but 0-3 against the West (although they were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in losing to the Warriors). One positive this season has been the shooting of Luguentz Dort, who is hitting 51.4% of the five 3-pointers he takes a game so far this season. If Dort can have a reliable 3-point shot to go with his defense, his value goes way up. Chet Holmgren is 7’1”. Here he is with a behind-the-back pass for an assist while leading the break. Let that sink in.
Chet Holmgren going behind the back in transition NASTY pic.twitter.com/1MzrIkXVFf
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 7, 2023
9. Indiana Pacers (4-3, LW 13). Indiana has the top offense in the NBA (second best if you remove garbage time, but who’s quibbling), led by Tyrese Haliburton playing like an All-Star averaging 24 points and 11.7 rebounds a game. The Pacers are raining 3s on teams (15.6 a game, tied for second most in the league) but if they want to maintain a top-10 standing in this ranking they are going to have to start getting stops — the 25th-ranked defense is a concern. Good early-season measuring stick games this week for Indiana against Milwaukee and Philadelphia (twice).
10. Milwaukee Bucks (4-2, LW 6). The Bucks are very much a work in progress — they have a -6.2 net rating when both Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo share the court. The biggest surprise and concern is the 27th-ranked defense, which looked better against the Knicks because at the urging of their players they returned to more of a drop coverage for Brook Lopez (who had eight blocks against New York). Before the season new coach Adrian Griffin said he “didn’t want to reinvent the wheel” but then he came in and installed an aggressive defense that didn’t fit their personnel. The Bucks should look better as the defense improves.
11. Phoenix Suns (3-4, L W 8). That the Suns have a +1.6 net rating despite not yet having all their stars on the court together is a promising sign — and those stars may be together within a week or so. Bradley Beal is expected to play Wednesday or Friday night according to Frank Vogel, while Booker may return from his calf strain next week. The Suns need their stars and you could see why in the loss to Philly on Saturday, Kevin Durant scored 31 and the rest of the Suns shot just 33.3%. Challenging weekend ahead as the Suns host the Lakers and Thunder.
12. Orlando Magic (4-3, LW 17). Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have looked like they are ready to take a step forward, but it’s hard when nobody around them can stay healthy. Markelle Fultz has become a quality point guard but he is out with a knee injury, while both Jonathan Isaac and Gary Harris have been slowed and are day-to-day. Orlando will miss all the little things that Wendell Carter Junior does while he’s out for at least three weeks — and likely more than a month — following surgery to repair a fractured hand. On the silver lining side, the injury to Fultz meant extra run for Anthony Black and the rookie has shown promise.
13. New York Knicks (3-4, LW 14). While Julius Randle and RJ Barrett find their way to start the season, the Knicks’ third-ranked defense is keeping the team afloat. Mitchell Robinson, long a strong defender in the paint, has anchored that improved defense, as exemplified by his four steals against the Clippers (his hands seemed to be everywhere). While Randle may have had a breakout game against LA and shaken off his early season slump, New York remains the worst shooting team in the league (51.2 true shooting percentage as a team. That has to turn around soon, doesn’t it? Victor Wembanyama makes his Madison Square Garden debut on Wednesday, then next Monday the Knicks head out for five straight on the road.
14. Los Angeles Lakers (3-4, LW 10). This team goes as LeBron James goes, and as great as he is playing — 25.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists a game — some nights even that is not enough. In a loss to Orlando Saturday, the Lakers were +12 in LeBron’s 35 minutes and -31 in the 13 he sat. For the season the Lakers have a +9.6 net rating when LeBron is on the court and -36.6 when he is off. The point of adding depth this offseason and pushing Anthony Davis to take on more responsibility was to make this team not all about LeBron, but nothing has changed. The Lakers are 0-4 on the road and have two more away from home — including Phoenix Friday — before returning to Los Angeles for 6-of-7.
15. Los Angeles Clippers (3-3, LW 5). James Harden is finally a Clipper and in the rotation, and while he looked efficient in his debut — 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting — that loss to the Knicks showed just how much work is ahead of this team to get its chemistry and rotations right. For example, can Westbrook and Harden share the court for extended periods, especially when they are trying to get the ball to Kawhi Leonard (who has been brilliant to start the season)? Good news that Terance Mann appears close to a return, the Clippers need his defense and well-rounded game, but I don’t envy Tyrone Lue trying to find rotations that work and keep this roster happy.
16. New Orleans Pelicans (4-3, LW 12). The basketball gods continue to take out their wrath on the Pelicans, and this time CJ McCollum is the unlucky one. He’s going to miss time following a small collapsed lung. There’s no timeline for his return but when he had the same injury in 2021 McCollum missed 18 games. Interesting to note, however, that the Pelicans have a -15.4 net rating and a dreadful offense this season when McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson are all on the court together. Remove McCollum from that mix and it’s not much better (-14.9). Another stat to note: Zion is taking 43.9% of his shots inside the restricted area this season, he has never been below 61% in his career before.
17. Toronto Raptors (3-4, LW 20). It’s still hard to get a feel for this team, which beat the Bucks but lost to the Trail Blazers and Bulls. One thing is clear: This is Scottie Barnes team now. He averages 22.6 points per game and has the ball in his hands, while Siakam (15.4 points a game) and OG Anunoby (16.2) play a smaller role. You know that is going to lead to a lot of trade speculation in the coming months. Tough road trip continues this week with games in Dallas and Boston.
18. Cleveland Cavaliers (3-4, LW 18). I feel like this is too low a ranking for the potential of this team right now. Cleveland was finally healthy Sunday against the Golden State Warriors and they picked up an impressive win — they looked like the Cavaliers myself and many others expected. Darius Garland had 24 and he is critical to making the offense flow, Donovan Mitchell had 31, and with the rest of this roster defense should not be an issue (the Warriors shot just 36.2% as a team). Cleveland’s potential will be put to the test on the road for the next four, and West Coast swing that includes Oklahoma City, Golden State and Sacramento.
19. Brooklyn Nets (3-4, LW 23). Brooklyn is becoming a League Pass favorite of mine because Cam Thomas is must-watch television — 28.7 points per game, which included 45 against the Bucks this past week. Brooklyn is hanging around the middle of the East despite Nic Claxton and Cameron Johnson missing time, which is a positive sign for the rest of this season — the team’s 24th ranked defense should look better with those two in the rotation. Tough tests this week against the Clippers and at the Celtics.
20. Miami Heat (3-4, LW 19). Tyler Herro is averaging a career best 25.3 points per game and shooting 41% from 3, but Miami’s offense is still bottom 10 in the league (28th using Cleaning the Glass, which removes garbage time). The problem is the lack of shot creation or scoring other teams fear outside of Herro, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo (Caleb Martin missing time due to injury does not help). Miami started last season 2-5 and it ended in a trip to the Finals, it’s too early to reach for the panic button, but the Heat have 9-of-10 on the road and if they struggle away from South Beach it becomes time to worry.
21. Houston Rockets (3-3, LW 29). Three straight wins are impressive, although two of them came against the Kings without De’Aaron Fox (sometimes it’s about when you catch teams). Dillon Brooks was brought in to help shore up the Rockets’ defense — and lock down LeBron James, if you ask him — but his offense has been much more steady this season. Brooks is averaging 16.3 points a game but more importantly shooting 56.3% from 3, and while that number is unsustainable it’s a sign of how comfortable he is in the Rockets’ offense. Bad news that Amen Thompson will be out for weeks with a grade 2 ankle sprain, putting a pause on the development of the No. 4 pick.
22. Sacramento Kings (2-4, LW 7). This past week has shown just how much De’Aaron Fox means to Sacramento as it has gone 0-3 without its leading scorer, and he will miss Wednesday night’s game against Portland with this sprained ankle, making it four games and counting. Fox is averaging 31.3 points and six rebounds a game this season, and more importantly the Kings have been 24.5 points per 100 possessions better with Fox on the court this season. Domantas Sabonis has seen his efficiency fall off as well, averaging 15.8 points per game with a pedestrian 57.6 true shooting percentage (he was at 19.1 and 66.8% last season). Things don’t get easier after the Trail Blazers with the Thunder and a healthy Cavaliers team coming to town.
23. Chicago Bulls (3-5, LW 21). This kind of mediocre start to the season will only fuel conversations about breaking this team up at the deadline with huge trades. The Bulls have a slightly below-average offense so far — despite Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan being on the roster — and the defense is bottom 10. It’s time to move Alex Caruso into the starting lineup to help that defense, even if it makes the bench rotation trickier — this team needs a glue guy like Caruso on the court as much as he can give them. Not an easy week to turn things around with the Suns and Bucks on the schedule.
24. San Antonio Spurs (3-4, LW 22). San Antonio’s two wins in Phoenix are a sign of what this team is capable of, however following that up with two ugly losses — blowing a 22-point lead to Toronto and then losing by 41 to Indiana — is a reminder this is a young team that is still learning. Here is your jaw-dropping Victor Wembanyama highlight of the week, blocking the 3-pointer of the Raptors’ OG Anunoby.
Wemby blocked this shot. https://t.co/YMfLRJFPLk pic.twitter.com/tMx2qWsxpl
— NBA (@NBA) November 5, 2023
25. Trail Blazers (3-4, LW 30). There are moments where you can see where this Shaedon Sharpe led team could go — like during their three-game win streak — but then you are reminded how young they are when they miss their final 14 shots and fall to Memphis. It’s going to be up and down like that all season. Deandre Ayton leads the league in rebound rate at 23.3 and is pulling down 13.3 boards per game, and the Trail Blazers defense is 4.3 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court – he’s played well this season. Think they could use that kind of anchor in the middle in Phoenix?
26. Charlotte Hornets (2-4, LW 27). If the Hornets are going to turn this thing around they need a lot more games from LaMelo Ball like the one he had against Dallas: 30 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds while hitting 5-of-10 from 3. Brandon Miller and Mark Williams are showing they can be part of whatever is being built in Charlotte, but right now it still all comes down to LaMelo playing like an All-Star (which he has not done consistently). A home-and-home against the defenseless Wizards early this week could help springboard LaMelo into an early-season run.
27. Utah Jazz (2-6, LW 26). If you’re looking for a reason to say this start is not who the Jazz really are, you can note they just came off a stretch of five games in seven nights and have yet to find their legs (and just ignore the two losses since that stretch). The offense has been Lauri Markkanen against the world as Jordan Clarkson has struggled to find his fit as a starter (shooting 34.5%) and Talen Horton-Tucker does not look ready for a starting role (38.8% shooting). Watching Utah, it feels like they need a traditional floor general point guard to get them organized. Still, the offense is middle of the pack, it’s the 29th ranked defense that’s a bigger issue and may be tougher to fix.
28. Detroit Pistons (2-6, LW 25). Rookie Ausar Thompson looks like a hit for the Pistons out of last June’s draft (it’s too early to call Thompson a home run, but a solid double?). He’s averaging 12 points and 8.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, but it’s defense where he really stands out, headlined by 1.9 blocks and 1.5 steals a night. Watch this team play and it feels like they’re better than their record or a team that has lost four in a row. Remove garbage time like Cleaning the Glass does and the Pistons are 19th in net rating, not great but better than this record. Things do not get easier with the Bucks and 76ers as their next two games.
29. Memphis Grizzlies (1-6, LW 24). Is Memphis digging an early-season hole that will be too deep to climb out of by the time Ja Morant returns in December? Adding Bismack Biyombo to help fill in the big hole at center, plus Santi Aldama getting healthy helps the front line, but it still took a late 17-0 run against Portland to get this franchise its first win of the season. Things do not get easier this week with the Heat, Clippers and Lakers on the schedule, but the Grizzlies need to find wins fast or they will be racing the second half of the season just to make the play-in.
30. Washington Wizards (1-5, LW 28). In all five of Washington’s losses this season, they have trailed by at least 25 points during the game. That should tell you all you need to know about the Wizards, as the first year of their rebuild is in full swing. If you’re looking for a bright spot it’s the play of Deni Avdija, who is averaging 13.7 points a game on 56.9% shooting overall and hitting half of the 2.7 3-pointers he averages a game.
