With the NBA betting season now about a month old, let’s see how the latest power rankings shake out.
# 30 Philadelphia 76ers
Coach Brett Brown looks miserable – and the team is regressing. This may be just what happens when rebuilding never ends.
# 29 Los Angeles Lakers
It is unbelievable how this storied franchise has turned into a dumpster fire. Their coach is an expert on defense, but they can’t stop anyone. They have no prospects this season, but their young players aren’t getting on the floor.
# 28 Brooklyn Nets
Here’s the irony: the Nets are playing so that they can ruin the draft pick that the Celtics will get because of that blockbuster trade that failed.
# 27 Houston Rockets
If you’re an English teacher, here’s a new example of an oxymoron: James Harden defense.
# 26 Denver Nuggets
Denver faces a key stretch against the Clippers, Spurs, Mavs, Bucks, Bulls and Raptors. Emmanuel Mudiay is slowly growing into his role on the point, so patience will need to be important.
# 25 New Orleans Pelicans
Anthony Davis is the key with this team, and they got off a winless schneid to put together a decent streak. Tyreke Evans is about to come back as well.
# 24 Portland Trail Blazers
Portland swept L.A., beating the Clippers and the Lakers. However, when Al-Farouq Aminu is your #3 scorer, you have a problem.
# 23 Milwaukee Bucks
There is no defense on this team. So they can score well, but they can’t stop anyone.
# 22 Orlando Magic
Defense and rotations are improving for this team. Their talent level is higher. Now it just needs tome experience with how to win.
# 21 Sacramento Kings
This team looked like they were headed into the ditch, but they have now won four of six. How about Omri Casspi?
# 20 Minnesota Timberwolves
It’s fun to see how well Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns will play together…in two years. Patience is the key word here as well.
# 19 Los Angeles Clippers
Injuries have hurt this crew, but injuries didn’t make them blow a 23-point lead to Golden State.
# 18 Atlanta Hawks
Great talent, awful in terms of consistency. They have to improve to contend.
# 17 Detroit Pistons
This team is awesome on the boards. However, their defense is ridiculously porous.
# 16 Memphis Grizzlies
After a bad two weeks, the Grizzlies look like they are waking up, just having given the Mavericks a 15-point spanking.
# 15 Oklahoma City Thunder
Kevin Durant is injured – again. Billy Donovan needs to flesh out some issues on the defensive side as well.
# 14 Toronto Raptors
Toronto is +13.6 when Jonas Valanciunas is playing, so he needs to recover from his injury as quickly as he can.
# 13 Charlotte Hornets
Spencer Hawes, Jeremy Lamb and Jeremy Lin are all making solid contributions. Over the past two weeks, the Hornets are #8 in team defense.
# 12 Utah Jazz
This is a solid team, but they haven’t beaten anyone good yet. Want to contend? You have to beat some of the teams ahead of you.
# 11 New York Knicks
The Knicks took the Thunder and Rockets back to back. Carmelo Anthony has committed to defense. This could be a strong year in the Big Apple.
# 10 Washington Wizards
The Wizards have held the opposition under 100 points in three straight games.
# 9 Phoenix Suns
Losing to the Bulls was a setback. However, their small-ball lineups are scary.
# 8 Boston Celtics
Kelly Olynyk is a beast on defense, and Avery Bradley is dominating both ends of the floor.
# 7 Dallas Mavericks
This team ranks #12 in offense and #10 in defense. Dirk is his old self. Can they keep it up?
# 6 Indiana Pacers
The defense is doing a good job of breaking up passing lanes and disrupting screens. Paul George has been peerless.
# 5 Miami Heat
This might be the league’s best defensive team, but the offense needs another shooter or two.
# 4 Cleveland Cavaliers
After that two-game slide, the team looks a little better. Consistency is still a huge issue.
# 3 Chicago Bulls
This team does not look like it plays well, but they’re 8-4. What’s up with that?
# 2 San Antonio Spurs
In their last three games, the Spurs starters are +33.3 per 100 possessions.
# 1 Golden State Warriors
People who questioned the Warriors’ title last year aren’t questioning anything now.