We’re almost a quarter of the way through the NBA season already. It’s been an interesting season to say the least — with some new blood vaulting to the top of the standings, and some proud franchises struggling to find their way.
A couple of squads have played their way near the top of these rankings, while one constant remains at the peak.
The previous week’s rankings are in parentheses.
1. Boston (1): Jayson Tatum is on pace to average career highs in minutes, field goal shooting, and rebounds.
2. Minnesota (3): at 12-4, the Timberwolves are off to their best start in the team’s 35-year history.
3. Orlando (12): The Magic’s current seven-game win streak is the team’s longest in 13 years.
4. Phoenix (14): The Suns have won seven in a row and now have a top-5 offensive rating and a top-10 net rating.
5. Denver (6): Nuggets guard Jamal Murray could return from a hamstring injury later this week. Denver is just 5-5 this season without Murray.
6. Philadelphia (2): They’re not bad losses, but the 76ers are just 3-4 since an early eight-game win streak.
7. Oklahoma City (4): Before a close, 4-point loss to Philly on Saturday, OKC had won six straight by an average of almost 22 points per game.
8. Milwaukee (5): The Bucks were a couple of plays away from having a very bad week. Instead Milwaukee was able to eek out home wins over Washington and Portland following a close loss on Wednesday in Boston.
9. Miami (7): Miami has its latest diamond in the rough. Rookie Jaime Jaquez over his last four games is putting up 18.5 points and 5 rebounds.
10. LA Lakers (10): LA so far is struggling on offense. The only teams with a worse offensive rating than the Lakers 111.3 are the 5-13 Chicago Bulls and the 2-14 Detroit Pistons.
11. Sacramento (7): The Kings right now have seven players averaging at least 10 points per game.
12. Dallas (9): The Mavericks have lost 3 of 4 after a 9-3 start. Dallas in a Nov. 25 19-point loss to the LA Clippers scored a season-low 88 points.
13. New York (11): The Knicks have a winning record and a positive net rating despite playing with the second-slowest pace in the league, at 95.7 possessions per 48 minutes.
14. Indiana (16): The Pacers early on have been the most fun team in the league. If they even tried a little on defense, Indiana may be a real contender in the East.
15. New Orleans (19): Only one Pelicans’ full-time starter, Jonas Valančiūnas, has played in all of the team’s 17 games.
16. Cleveland (13): Of the team’s with winning records, the Cavs have the lowest net rating (-1.8).
17. Houston (15): The Rockets for much of the last three seasons were the worst defensive team in the league. So far this year Houston is allowing a league-low 104.4 points per game.
18. Golden State (21): Things are getting tense in the Bay Area.
19. Atlanta (17): Trae Young may be finding his stroke. Young over the Hawks’ last four games is shooting 50% (24-48) from 3.
20. LA Clippers (22): The Clippers have won 4 of 5 after a six-game losing streak. LA in its last five has held three opponents to 100 points or less.
21. Brooklyn (20): The Nets sit at .500 despite having four starters (Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton, Ben Simmons) miss at least half of the team’s games.
22. Toronto (18): At 20.0 points per game, Pascal Siakam is on pace for his lowest scoring output since the 2018-19 season.
23. Charlotte (27): It’s early, but a Nov. 20 overtime win over Boston may be the highlight of the Hornets’ season.
24. Utah (24): The Jazz has dropped 4 of 5 after a modest two-game win streak. Utah early on, though, is 3-3 in games decided by 5 points or less.
25. Chicago (23): The Bulls are 3-11 in November and have lost 7 of their last 8. It’s time to blow it up.
26. Portland (28): The Blazers put in a stealth tanking performance on Sunday in Milwaukee. Portland led by as much as 26 before the Bucks stormed back for a 6-point win.
27. Memphis (25): The Grizzlies have lost four in a row. The most recent three setbacks have all been by at least 20 points.
28. Washington (29): Jordan Poole, everybody!
29. San Antonio (26): The Jeremy Sochan at Point Guard experiment needs to end.
30. Detroit (30): The Pistons have had some bad teams in their history. So far this year’s group is doing all it can to move to the top of that list.
