NBA fans and NBA teams have things to be thankful for — it’s been an interesting and entertaining start to the season. Here’s this week’s NBC Sports NBA Power Rankings, with a focus on what to be thankful for with each team.
1. Boston Celtics (11-3, Last Week No. 2). Celtics fans should be thankful for the fit of Kristaps Porzingis, particularly on the defensive end. There was a real risk with quality defenders in Marcus Smart and Grant Williams going out the door and Porzingis coming in, but the 7'3" big man has been the defender at the rim Boston needed and he is playing arguably the best basketball of his career so far this season (it’s his most efficient offensive season). Boston is the only team in the East right now in the top 10 in NBA offense and defense (the Celtics are in the top six in both). The Celtics take over the No. 1 space despite an ugly loss in Charlotte, but we’re forgiving as that was the third game in four nights on the road (plus people forget LaMelo is legit). Big showdown Wednesday against the Bucks.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (10-4, LW 5). There’s a lot to be thankful for in OKC — this is a faster start than even the Thunder optimists expected — but all praise has to start with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He has made another leap this season. The Thunder are +10.3 per 100 possessions when he plays, and -2.8 when he sits. Also, be thankful that, after watching the NBA from the front row for a year, Chet Holmgren came ready to play — this game-tying 3 against the Warriors to force overtime (where the Thunder won) is as good a shot as we have seen all season.
THAT'S TOUGH CHET 😤 https://t.co/Ni1KBRCH5k pic.twitter.com/Vpy9sjwWDO
— NBA (@NBA) November 19, 2023
3. Minnesota Timberwolves (10-3, LW 4). There is so much to be thankful for in Minnesota — Anthony Edwards and his improved playmaking, the return of Karl-Anthony Towns and how he juices the offense — but we’re going to focus on Rudy Gobert, who is finally feeling the love in Minnesota. After a down season on pretty much every front, Gobert bounced back this year accepting his offensive role and being a defensive force like he had been in Utah. Gobert is at the heart of why the Timberwolves have the second-best defense in the league, and that defense is why they have been as good as anyone in the West to start this season. Interesting tests for the Timberwolves this week: The 76ers on Wednesday (without Embiid on the back-to-back), the surging Kings on Friday and the Thunder next Tuesday (the last two of those are In-Season Tournament games).
4. Milwaukee Bucks (10-4, LW 9). Be thankful that the Bucks’ defense is starting to come around — they are top 10 in the NBA in their last five games, a huge turnaround from the start of the season. New coach Adrian Griffin wanted to put his stamp on the team and for some inexplicable reason decided to do that on defense with a more aggressive scheme that had Brook Lopez out much higher, and credit the players for going to Griffin and saying “We’ve got to go back to what we were doing.” Since then the defense has come along and the Bucks have won five in a row. What’s scary is Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are still figuring out how to play together and the offense is taking small steps forward (still not enough Lillard/Giannis pick-and-roll, but the Giannis/Lopez pick-and-roll is back in full force). Huge showdown and potential Eastern Conference Finals preview against the Celtics Wednesday.
5. Denver Nuggets (10-4, LW 3). Denver is 4-3 without Jamal Murray as he continues to recover from his hamstring strain (which is why the Nuggets slipped in these rankings, but it’s not a permanent thing). His absence makes the heart grow fonder, which is why Nuggets fans need to be thankful for all that Murray brings. The Nuggets beat the Pistons Monday night to snap a four-game road losing streak, but Denver is 3-4 on the road (7-0 at home) and what falls off is the offense, Denver has a 122.1 offensive rating at home (best in the league) and 110.1 at home (19th). Denver hits 38.2% of their 3-pointers at the Ball Arena, but head on the road and it falls to 33.2%, and that is just one small example of how the offense falls down on the road. It’s a concern because Denver has 7-of-9 coming up on the road.
6. Philadelphia 76ers (10-4, LW 1). Philly fans should be thankful for an elite offense, something that was not a given with James Harden and his league-leading assist numbers pushing himself out the door. The emergence of Tyrese Maxey on the offensive end and the always impressive Joel Embiid has the 76ers with the third best offense in the league to this point. They are doing that despite taking the fourth fewest 3-pointers per game of any team in the league — the Sixers hit the shot at a top-10 clip when they take them (37.3%) but they need to find a way to take a few more and pick up those easy points. Tough tests against the West this week at Minnesota and Oklahoma City, followed by hosting LeBron James and the Lakers.
7. New York Knicks (8-6, LW 12). Knicks fans can be thankful that, after a slow start to the season, Julius Randle has started to find his groove. Over his last five games he is averaging 23.6 points a game on 44.7% shooting with 9.2 rebounds and six assists a game — not his All-NBA numbers from a year ago, but improved from the opening weeks of the season (he said he needed time to recover from ankle surgery, he was right). The play of the driving Jalen Brunson and Randle have lifted the Knicks, but the team still remains second to the last in the NBA in points in the paint per game (42.9) and that could be a long-term issue. Fortunately the Knicks top five defense keeps them in games no matter what.
8. Miami Heat (9-5, LW 10). Heat fans, be thankful for Bam Adebayo, who is playing arguably the best basketball of his career right now. The Heat have won 8-of-9 and Adebayo has been at the heart of that — in addition to his elite defense, in his last 10 games he is averaging 22.9 points on 55.6% shooting with 11.5 rebounds a night. He is a force of nature (and Team USA has to consider bringing him to Paris for the Olympics, he’s a perfect fit for the international game). Heat fans also should be thankful for Duncan Robinson finding his groove again after his lost season.
9. Dallas Mavericks (9-5, LW 6). It feels obvious and simplistic to say “Be thankful for Luka Doncic,” but his play to start the season has been the best of his young career. Doncic is averaging 30.6 points, 8.1 assists and 8 rebounds a game, and more importantly shooting 42.2% from 3. Dallas is playing faster this season — fourth in the NBA in pace (way up from 28th last season) — and Mavericks fans can thank Kyrie Irving for that (and the maturity of Doncic to give up the reins a little and make it happen). All of that has led to Dallas having the second-best offense in the NBA this season, but that 25th-ranked defense continues to hold them back. That combination does make the Mavericks incredibly entertaining to watch.
10. Sacramento Kings (8-5, LW 17). Be thankful De’Aaron Fox is back, this is a different team when he is on the court. The numbers show it: the Kings have a +3.1 net rating when he is on and -3.9 when he sits, a seven-point swing. For the season Sacramento is middle of the pack on offense, and part of that is Fox missing time, but part of it is this team not hitting 3-pointers (34.4% on the season 24th in the league). Guys who can shoot better are off to cold starts this season: Keegan Murray at 28.7% is the easiest guy to point out, but Harrison Barnes at 35.9% is well off his numbers of previous years as well. The Kings are playing close to league-average defense this season but the offense needs to find its groove for this team really to take off. Fun In Season Tournament game Friday against Minnesota.
11. Phoenix Suns (8-6, LW 16). Be thankful for Devin Booker — how much better this team looks with him running the point is painfully obvious watching them. The Suns are 4-0 since Booker returned with the best offense in the NBA in that stretch (and that is without Bradley Beal, who will be out until next month with his back issue). For the season, the Suns are 5-1 when Booker plays. The concerns about the size and rebounding of this team are legitimate — and could be a playoff issue — but this is still a good team, starting to play better, and it has yet to get all its stars on the court at once. Fun game against the Warriors Wednesday, and Sunday night could be another huge Kevin Durant in Madison Square Garden performance.
12. Orlando Magic (9-5, LW 18). Be thankful for first halves — the Magic have the best net rating in the NBA in the first half, a +22. They crush teams in the first 24 minutes, particularly defensively where they give up less than a point per possession. However, flip that to the second half and Orlando’s -14.5 net rating is the second worst in the league, statistically in the Spurs/Wizards range. While the defense is worse in the second half, the real issue is the offense falls apart. Paolo Ranchero playing better of late helps with that, which is why the Magic have won four in a row, but this team struggles with reliable shot creation and that shows when other teams get to the second half and focus their defense. The Magic have five in a row at home, but the next two are the Nuggets and Celtics.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-6, LW 20). Be thankful for the backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell — the Cavaliers outscore opponents by 8.5 points per 100 possessions when those two are on the court together. The problem has been that has only happened in six of their 14 games this season. Despite Mitchell being out the last three, Cleveland is the winner of four in a row — including beating Philadelphia and Denver — and now they have five in a row at home. Also be thankful for the play of Jarrett Allen, he has been a force on the glass and defensively.
14. Los Angeles Lakers (9-6, LW 15). Lakers fans once again need to be thankful for LeBron James. Don’t take for granted what you get to witness firsthand — the first player in league history to 39,000 points. This is a guy who turns 39 in a little over a month and the team had to scrap its “lets keep his minutes down” plan because they can’t win consistently without him in heavy rotation — and he keeps himself in physical shape to keep that up. The Lakers are a solid 7-4 in November and they can thank LeBron, who is having a very efficient month: 27.2 points per game with a 70.8 true shooting percentage, plus 7.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists a night in nine games during the month.
With this triple LeBron James has now scored 39,000 points in his NBA career 👏
— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2023
🏆 NBA In-Season Tournament
🏀West Group A action on TNT pic.twitter.com/xfRaMOE1f7
15. Indiana Pacers (8-5, LW 8). Pacers fans, be thankful you have the most entertaining team in the league to watch — that 157-152 win over Atlanta Tuesday was dizzyingly fun to watch (and clinched a slot in the knockout round of the In Season Tournament). At the heart of it is the step forward this season from Tyrese Haliburton and credit The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie for pointing this out — the biggest change is his pull-up shooting. Haliburton was not a good shooter off the bounce in college or when he entered the league, but with his hard work that has changed and now he’s a threat on pull-ups, which keeps the defense honest and opens up driving and passing lanes for him.
16. New Orleans Pelicans (7-7, LW 21). Be thankful the Pelicans may be finding their footing despite the rash of injuries this team has faced. New Orleans has won 3-of-4 and those are quality wins over Dallas, Denver and Sacramento, with the lose loss being by one point to Minnesota when the Pelicans were on the second night of a back-to-back. Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson have been forces inside the arc during those wins. The Pelicans have played the second toughest schedule in the NBA so far this season but things ease up a little after their next two games (the Kings and Clippers).
17. Golden State Warriors (7-8, LW 11). It’s too easy to say “Be thankful for Stephen Curry,” although Warriors fans absolutely should be. So instead we’ll say be thankful for Chris Paul, who has blended in better than expected in Golden State. The Warriors are outscoring opponents by 6.4 points per 100 possessions when CP3 is on the court and getting outscored by 9 per 100 when he sits. He’s made a big difference and helped keep the team afloat while Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson have yet to find their groove consistently this season. The Warriors are 2-6 at Chase Center this season and 1-2 so far through Draymond Green’s five game suspension (both losses were to OKC). Green can return next Tuesday against the Kings, and you can bet he’ll say all the right things. Actions will be what matters.
18. Atlanta Hawks (6-7, LW 7). Be thankful for the offensive depth this roster has — there was a cap to how good this team could be as the Trae Young show (as special as he is). Young is averaging 24.6 points per game and Dejonte Murray is adding 21.8, but Jalen Johnson (15.2), De’Andre Hunter (12.4), Saddiq Bey (12.2) and now the return of Bogdan Bogdanovic give the Hawks a lot of different ways to score and beat teams. The problem is they haven’t been beating teams — the Hawks have dropped 5-of-7 — and the problem is the defense, which over those seven games is 28th in the NBA. Saturday the Hawks head out on a five-game road trip that includes Boston, Cleveland and Milwaukee.
19. Los Angeles Clippers (5-7, LW 22). Be thankful Russell Westbrook had the maturity to ask for a bench role. Tyrone Lue understood he couldn’t order Westbrook (or James Harden) to come off the bench, it had to be their idea to get full buy in. It has worked overall, the Clippers have won two in a row since Westbrook went to the bench and Terance Mann moved into the starting lineup, and that new starting five has a +49.5 net rating. However, we reserve judgement as those wins and all those good vibes came at the expense of the slumping Rockets and the Spurs (the Clips play the Spurs again Wednesday before facing a hot Pelicans team Friday at home). The Clippers have been terrible in the clutch this season but that turned around with Harden’s game-winner against the Rockets, and expect Los Angeles to be better in those minutes going forward with the Beard.
20. Houston Rockets (6-6, LW 13). Alpren Şengün has been the reason Rockets fans should be thankful, he is having a Most Improved Player kind of breakout season with 20.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists a game — he is Houston’s offensive hub for the Rockets in the clutch (at least when their offense goes well). The other thing to be thankful for is the physical defense that Ime Ukoka has this team playing. After a fast start to the season the Rockets have dropped three in a row on the road and this may be a case of a young team that struggles away from home — Houston is 6-1 at the Toyota Center and 0-5 away from it this season.
21. Brooklyn Nets (6-7, LW 14). Nets fans, be thankful for the return of Nic Clayton — he has played just four games since coming back from an ankle sprain, but in those four games the Nets have a league-average defense, which is a huge step up from the bottom 10 spot it had been. I’m always thankful to see Lonnie Walker IV making plays — I’m not off his island yet, I want this to work for him — and he stepped up with Cam Thomas out and took on more of the scoring load in the past week. Walker also had the dunk of the week, throwing down over pretty much every 76ers on the court.
OMG GET OUT LONNIE'S WAY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/yoOiL15VbJ
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 19, 2023
22. Toronto Raptors (6-8, LW 19). Raptors fans, be thankful for Scottie Barnes, who has taken a leap forward this season and looks to be a cornerstone of whatever is being built next in Toronto — the 19.6 points per game is a step up, but it’s the 38.6% from 3 that is the big driver of change and opens up his game. On the downside, there’s a new coach but the same problem in Toronto — this team is fantastic in transition but struggles in the half court. The Raptors have the third worst half court offense in the NBA so far and its worse than last season, when they were 25th in the league and scored nearly five points per 100 possessions more in the half court.
23. Chicago Bulls (5-10, LW 23). Bulls fans, be thankful that — with a push from the Zach LaVine camp — the front office and ownership finally seem ready to break up this core and restart (just don’t expect a trade for a while, likely after the first of the year). The question is how far down the road are the Bulls are willing to go, trading LaVine is one thing but there is more interest around the league in other players such as Alex Caruso. Is Chicago — specifically ownership — willing to go all-in on the rebuild, or will it be a half-measure? The Bulls showed some fire Saturday in a comeback win against the Heat, can they do it this week with four games on the road, starting with a tough one in Oklahoma City.
24. Utah Jazz (4-10, LW 24). Be thankful they drafted Keyonte George, the rookie looks like he could develop into the point guard of the future in Utah. He’s struggling at times, which is to be expected (a rookie point guard in the NBA is like a rookie quarterback in the NFL, it takes time to grow into the position) but the maturity and flashes are there, he could be a keeper. If Utah is going to turn this season around it has to become better defensively, they were bottom 10 in the league last season but are worse this season by 3.2 points per 100 possessions and if they stops don’t start to come neither will the wins.
25. Charlotte Hornets (4-9, LW 25). Be thankful for LaMelo Ball, who has been on fire of late (picking up the slack with Terry Rozier sidelined) and is has cored 30+ points in six of his last eight games, and done it with flair. More than numbers, he’s just entertaining to watch. Steve Clifford was not kidding when he said he was going to lean on Miles Bridges upon his far-too-early return from a domestic violence case, Bridges had 14 points including a 3-pointer in overtime that proved to be the game-winner against the Celtics.
LaMelo with the behind-the-back DIME to Mark Williams 😲
— NBA (@NBA) November 21, 2023
Celtics-Hornets | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/ZpCNkXzM8B pic.twitter.com/N81beqec1e
26. Memphis Grizzlies (3-10, LW 27). And the hits just keep on coming in Memphis… Marcus Smart is now out for another few weeks recovering from a sprained ankle against the Lakers. With Morant out, and despite Desmond Bane’s best efforts, it’s been hard for the Grizzlies to create good shots on offense, and now things just got that much more difficult. There are positives to be thankful for this season — Jaren Jackson Jr. is racking up fouls at the slowest rate of his career and that’s been less of an issue, and Santi Aldama has stepped up into the big man void this team has and played well since his return.
27. Washington Wizards (2-11, LW 28). It sucks for Wizards fans to have to watch another team that just doesn’t seem serious about winning — this feels too much like the Nick Young and Andre Blatche era Wizards at times. Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole do not mesh togethron the court for whatever reason. There are positives to be thankful for, such as the solid play of Kuzma and the fact Daniel Gafford has proven to be a solid big, but for the organization does that mean trade them to get more rebuilding pieces for the future? Six of the Wizards next seven games are on the road.
28. Trail Blazers (3-11, LW 29). Give Portland fans a hug, they could use it. Nobody sane thought this team was going to be good after the Lillard trade, but with young talents like Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons, plus the veteran presence of Deandre Ayton and Malcolm Brogdon it wasn’t going to be an abject disaster. Then injuries hit and it decimated a team without much depth to start. Shaedon Sharpe has given some reason to be thankful, and Ayton has been solid, but until this roster gets healthy it’s hard to watch right now. Scoot Henderson being assigned to the G-League this week means he’s getting in some practice and could be near a return.
29. San Antonio Spurs (3-11, LW 26). We can know intellectually that building things slow and letting young players learn is how to build a solid foundation that will be best for the team down the line, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch sometimes — it would be nice to see this team pick up a win. Victor Wembanyama is handling this process better than most. Wemby is still finding his way on the offensive end (playing next to the Jeremy Sochan experiment at the point is part of that), but he is already a defensive game changer and it showed with eight blocks against the Grizzlies last weekend.
Wemby was the ultimate PAINT PROTECTOR against the Grizzlies with 8⃣ BLK ⛔️
— NBA (@NBA) November 19, 2023
Victor Wembanyama joins Tim Duncan and David Robinson as the only Rookies in Spurs franchise history to record 8+ blocks in a game! pic.twitter.com/1B58djqqhA
30. Detroit Pistons (2-13, LW 30). Be thankful for Ausar Thompson who, for my money, has been the third-best rookie in the NBA so far this season. He’s averaging 11.3 points and 10.1 rebounds a game while playing very good defense for a rookie. There’s a lot to like. The question I find myself trying to answer about the Pistons is now much more efficient Cade Cunningham would be with better talent around him — he’s putting up good counting stats (21.4 points, 7.3 assists a game) but at historically inefficient numbers. Is that because of the load he has to carry with this roster?
