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