Welcome to Def Pen’s NBA Power Rankings. These rankings are updated every Monday. These rankings aren’t necessarily based solely on talent level or team potential.They’re about who’s better right now/who has played better as of late. If a team has lost their last 5 games, they’re probably going to drop (at least) a few spots, even if they’ve got “better” players than a team ranked above them. Alright, let’s jump in.
Biggest Jump: Orlando Magic, Up 11
Biggest Drop: Chicago Bulls, Down 16
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 6-0
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
The Cavaliers are the only undefeated team left in basketball. The Cleveland offense has been dynamic thus far; the Cavs lead the NBA in offensive rating and are tied for most points per game.
2. Los Angeles Clippers
Record: 5-1
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
The Clippers look good. They’re the same team as always, just healthy (so far). If they can avoid major injuries, they’re probably the Warriors’ biggest threat in the West. The Clips lead the NBA with a point differential of +12.
The Clippers’ calling card so far this season has been their defense. With Chris Paul and J.J. Redick on the perimeter, and DeAndre Jordan protecting the paint, this team is an elite defensive unit, and the numbers back that up. So far this year, the Clippers have allowed an NBA-low 90.7 points per game on 40.9% shooting (second-lowest in the league).
Something weird that can probably be attributed to small sample size: The Clippers haven’t shot the ball well from deep this season. They should have one of the best backcourts in the league in terms of perimeter shooting, but six games into the season, Chris Paul has shot just 32.1% from deep, while J.J. Redick has shot 34.8%.
3. San Antonio Spurs
Record: 5-2
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
Kawhi Leonard is emerging as a leading MVP candidate (26.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.4 steals in 31.4 minutes per game on .479/.333/.968 shooting), as San Antonio’s beautiful offense hums along as usual. The Spurs have the fourth best offensive rating in the league, are averaging the second-fewest turnovers (12.1), and are shooting a hot 40.3% from beyond the arc (second-best in the league).
Note: That 96.8% free throw percentage from Leonard was not a typo. He’s knocked down 61 of his 63 attempts on the season.
4. Golden State Warriors
Record: 4-2
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
Kevin Durant took ZERO MERCY on his former team, going off for 39 points on 7-11 three-point shooting while the Dubs blew the poor Thunder out of the water. The world was so ready for a Russell Westbrook revenge game, and that just didn’t happen. The spotlight was on KD all game long.
A tougher battle for the Warriors than the Thunder was the collective hangover that they unsuccessfully tried to fight off the following night in Los Angeles. Nobody called the Lakers beating the Warriors by 20 — not even in their bold predictions articles, but that’s what happened.
The Warriors are currently playing at the fastest pace in the NBA while averaging a league-leading 28.7 assists per game.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
Record: 5-1
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
I couldn’t rank them ahead of the Warriors after Kevin Durant asserted his dominance all over them, but the Thunder are off to an awesome start. Their first three games were pretty easy (@ Philadelphia, vs. Phoenix, vs. Lakers), but that road win against the Clippers was seriously impressive. Westbrook is putting up absurd numbers (33.2 points, 9.7 assists, 9.0 rebounds per game). While everybody expected Russ to go crazy this year, it’s still immensely fun to watch.
The loss to their now-nemesis Kevin Durant didn’t seem to demoralize the Thunder in any lasting manner, as they destroyed the Timberwolves two nights later.
6. Atlanta Hawks
Record: 4-2
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
When I ranked them last week, the Hawks had only played two games, but in those two games had allowed an average of 85.5 points per game on 39.1% shooting. Obviously, those stats were unsustainable, and now that they’re six games in, we have a larger (though still pretty small) sample size.
The Hawks’ defense is still good. Their opponents are now averaging 96.8 points per game and shooting 43.7% from the field, but both of those marks are still in the top ten. Atlanta also leads the league in forced turnovers (19.5 per game).
On the offensive side, Mike Budenolzer is still an awesome coach. The Hawks’ net rating of +10.9 leads the NBA, and they’ve assisted on 69.2% of their field goals, which is also a league-leading mark.
7. Toronto Raptors
Record: 4-2
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
The Raptors dropped a couple spots after losing to the Kings Sunday night. DeMar DeRozan has scored at will this season, shooting over 52% from the field while leading the NBA with 33.7 points per game.
The Raptors aren’t moving the ball well, averaging an NBA-low 17 assists per game. This shouldn’t be a problem for Toronto, though, as their assist numbers weren’t much better last season (18.7). Of greater concern: The Raptors are currently the worst three-point shooting team in the league (26.2%). Spacing wasn’t an issue last season; the Raptors were a top-five three-point shooting team (37%).
8. Charlotte Hornets
Record: 4-1
Last Week’s Ranking: 13
The Hornets lost a couple of key pieces over the offseason (Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lin), but are off to a strong start this season. Steve Clifford is a fantastic coach and just makes things work. The Hornets have turned the ball over just 11.6 times per game, an NBA-low.
9. Detroit Pistons
Record: 4-2
Last Week’s Ranking: 12
The Pistons are a top-five team in defensive rating thus far. Andre Drummond is — to the surprise of nobody — leading the league in rebounds. Tobias Harris has been phenomenal for Detroit, leading the team in points per game (18.8) and three-point percentage (45%). Harris shot just 31.1% from deep last season and isn’t exactly known as a three-point marksman. So, it seems unlikely that he keeps up this hot shooting, but you never know; maybe he’s taken a (massive) leap forward as a shooter.
10.Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 4-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
The Blazers are a whole lot of fun. C.J. McCollum tied his career-high of 37 points in their win over Memphis Sunday. Damian Lillard and McCollum have combined for 52.4 of the 108.3 points that Portland scores per night.
Given his usage rate, it seems implausible that Lillard could maintain 50/40/90-level efficiency for an entire season, but he’s currently shooting .504/.400/.899.
11. Utah Jazz
Record: 4-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
Gordon Hayward is back! The forward returned to the floor Sunday night, scoring 28 points in his season debut while leading Utah to a 114-109 win over the Knicks.
Rudy Gobert is averaging 10.9 rebounds per game, but as a team, the Jazz are dead last in that category. Derrick Favors, who has played just 21.8 minutes per game in three appearances this season, should help with that once he’s back to his usual workload.
12. Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 4-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 22
I did not expect to rank the Lakers in the top 20 teams this season, let alone at 12. The Lakers are a very fun young team. That youth has shown in that they’re playing at the second-fastest pace in the NBA. They’re also averaging the second-most turnovers, but that too is a part of being young and is typical of teams that play at a fast pace.
The Lakers can score. Their mark of 110.3 points per game only falls short of the Cavs’ and Warriors’. They don’t play a ton of defense (top-10 in points allowed), but seven games into the season, they have already massively exceeded expectations. D’Angelo Russell isn’t shooting the ball well yet, but he looks like a future star. Julius Randle looks ready to contribute in a major way, and Brandon Ingram has shown flashes of brilliance. It’s tough to believe that the Lakers will finish the season over .500, but maybe they’re ready. Also: Luke Walton is already such a better coach than Byron Scott.
13. Houston Rockets
Record: 3-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 14
You know what they Rockets are. It’s clear from their personal (Mike D’Antoni, James Harden, Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, etc.). They’re an offense-first (or offense-only) team with little-to-no defense. Their rankings of fifth-best offensive rating and third-worst defensive rating back that up.
If this team can win games, James Harden is a top-shelf MVP candidate. The guard is leading the NBA in assists per game (12.3) while simultaneously putting up 31.5 points a night (fourth-best mark in the league). He also leads the NBA in PER.
14. Boston Celtics
Record: 3-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
The Celtics struggled offensively last season but were able to play competitively with just about any team in the NBA due to their gritty defense. This season, it’s the opposite. Boston ranks second in offensive rating… and second to last in defensive rating. They lead the NBA in true shooting percentage and are near the top in most offense-related stats, but near the bottom in most defensive ones. Of course, missing two starters (both of whom are awesome defensively) in Jae Crowder and Al Horford hurts, but there’s undeniably an effort issue with the Celtics’ defense, which is alarming. Brad Stevens usually has these guys whipped into shape, and it will be — at least in part — up to him to figure things out.
15. Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 4-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 17
The Bucks managed to put up just 75 points in an overtime game against a winless team. Well, winless until they met the Bucks, anyway. The Bucks rank sixth in rebounding and fifth in assists. They’ve been really solid so far. Giannis Antetokounmpo is great, and there’s a good chance that he makes his first All-Star team this season. The point forward is averaging 21.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 51.3% from the field.
Jabari Parker has really impressed on the offensive end, and will likely be a candidate for the Most Improved Player award. Parker is averaging 17.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and is even shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc. Parker has often looked lost on the defensive end, though, which is something that he should work to correct as soon as possible.
16. Indiana Pacers
Record: 3-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 21
I was skeptical when Larry Bird decided to abandon defense to score more, and I still am. This team, like Boston and Houston, has been a team with a superior offense but subpar defense thus far. They have the seventh-best offensive rating in the league, but the fourth-worst defensive rating. The Pacers are shooting 40.6% from downtown, the best mark in the league.
17. Denver Nuggets
Record: 3-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 18
Emmanuel Mudiay turned into some hybrid of Oscar Robertson and Stephen Curry for a quarter and absolutely torched the Boston Celtics on Sunday. The Nuggets have an awesome tandem of draft steals in their starting lineup in Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic. This team is leading the league in rebounds per game (over 50!), and as also getting to the line more than any other team (30.5 free throw attempts per game).
18. Orlando Magic
Record: 3-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 29
After dropping their first three games, the Magic have won three straight. The Magic are a solid defensive team (top-10 defensive rating) but are pretty horrible offensively (bottom-10 offensive rating). The Magic are averaging the second-fewest points per game, and are shooting just 41.4% from the field (only Memphis and Dallas are worse).
19. Miami Heat
Record: 2-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 23
Opponents are shooting an NBA-low 40.7% against Miami thus far. Unfortunately, the Heat can’t capitalize on that with their offense, as they rank among the bottom-10 teams in points per game and field goal percentage.
20. New York Knicks
Record: 3-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 19
Former Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah has not helped the Knicks’ defense, which has been absolutely horrendous. The Knicks have the worst defensive rating in the NBA. They’re also the second-worst rebounding team and are dead last in defensive rebounding.
21. Chicago Bulls
Record: 3-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
Oh, how the very temporarily mighty have fallen. The first three games must have been like a dream for the Bulls. They were proving everybody wrong. Shooting lights out from beyond the arc. It was wonderful. Reality has come a-knocking. After shooting a combined 42.5% from deep in their first three games, the Bulls shot just 34.4% in their next three. The rebounding is still awesome for Chicago; they’re the top offensive rebounding team in the NBA. The defense is not ideal, though. Opponents are shooting 47.3% against the Bulls. The only team with a worse mark is the Pacers, and the difference between Chicago and Indiana in that regard is less than a tenth of a percent.
22. Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 3-4
Last Week’s Ranking: 10
Chandler Parsons didn’t exactly impress in his debut (zero points on 0-8 shooting). Seven games in, the Grizzlies are not a good offensive team. One might even say they’re a bad offensive team. Their 39.9% from the field is the lowest in the league, and their 95.6 points per game are the fourth-fewest. I approve of the whole “have Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol shoot threes” idea (even though Gasol’s shot looks so awkward), but they’re going to have to get better offensively. Memphis is middle-of-the-pack on defense, which won’t save them from their mediocre offense.
23. Sacramento Kings
Record: 3-5
Last Week’s Ranking: 15
Congratulations to the Kings on beating the Raptors. There isn’t much to write about this team. They are bad. DeMarcus Cousins is good. Rudy Gay is playing well but is unhappy in Sacramento. They play with the second-slowest pace in the league. Darren Collison’s suspension is over, so now they’ll have a real point guard (Ty Lawson has lost his way).
24. Brooklyn Nets
Record: 2-4
Last Week’s Ranking: 24
The Nets beat up on the Pistons behind a huge game from Brook Lopez, who is reportedly available. They followed that game up with a close loss to the Hornets. Brooklyn is pretty average in most major statistical areas, but being average is a lot better than the Nets are used to being, so congrats to them! They’re even pretty good at rebounding so far — the eighth-best rebounding team in the league. That rebounding prowess is largely due to Nets newcomer Trevor Booker, who is averaging 9.5 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game.
25. Phoenix Suns
Record: 2-4
Last Week’s Ranking: 16
Devin Booker has scored 38 and 39 points in the Suns’ last two games, respectively, so look out NBA. Here he comes. The Suns are the fourth-best rebounding team in the NBA (Tyson Chandler’s been killing it on the glass) but are allowing more points than any other team. T.J. Warren has been straight balling for Phoenix. The kid gets buckets, it’s what he does. His bucket-getting ways have continued for him this season, as he’s averaging 21.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 40% from beyond the arc.
26. Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 1-4
Last Week’s Ranking: 20
Dear Timberwolves,
You should be better than this.
Statistically speaking, the Wolves haven’t really been terrible in any one category. Yet, they have yet to win a single game (other than one against Memphis in which the Grizzlies rested Mike Conley and Marc Gasol). Karl-Anthony Towns is the future, and is shooting 50% from three while starring in at least one Vine each game titled “CENTERS AREN’T SUPPOSED TO DO THIS!”
27. Washington Wizards
Record: 1-4
Last Week’s Ranking: 26
In today’s modern era, filled with three-point shooting, the Wizards are zigging where everybody else is zagging. I don’t think that’s a choice of style, they just aren’t very good. They’re attempting fewer threes per game than all but four teams, and are dead last in percentage, shooting an appalling 27.2% from deep. The Wizards rank 28th in assists per game, despite having one of two NBA players currently averaging double-digit assists (John Wall, 10 assists).
Bradley Beal is finally healthy! …And shooting under 30% on threes. John Wall’s gotta be sick and tired of being in our nation’s capital.
28. Philadelphia 76ers
Record: 0-5
Last Week’s Ranking: 30
The 76ers haven’t won a game, but jump a couple spots because they almost beat Cleveland. They were damn close, and might have won it if:
A) The refs hadn’t called that phantom foul on Kyrie Irving where he tripped over nothing.
B) The Sixers hadn’t run the ol’ “Give the ball to Gerald Henderson and let him dribble until he turns it over” play at the end.
Joel Embiid leads the NBA in three-point percentage at 66.6%. That is a real, factual sentence.
29. Dallas Mavericks
Record: 1-5
Last Week’s Ranking: 25
The Mavs won a game Sunday night, and that isn’t enough to move them past the winless Sixers. Why? Because needing overtime to beat a Bucks team that shot 36.6% from the field is less impressive than coming within an inch of beating the only undefeated team in the NBA.
The bright side for the Mavs: Hey, Harrison Barnes has looked pretty darn good out there!
The not-so-bright side for the Mavs: Their offense is atrocious, which is really atypical of a Rick Carlisle team. They’re averaging the second-fewest assists and third-fewest points per game among all teams while shooting the second-worst field goal percentage.
30. New Orleans Pelicans
Record: 0-6
Last Week’s Ranking: 28
The good: Anthony Davis is remarkably good at basketball, and healthy. Also, the Pelicans lead the NBA in blocks, with 7.2 per game.
The bad: Anthony Davis hates his life, probably.
The ugly: The Pelicans are a bottom-five team in *takes deep breath* field goal percentage, three-point percentage, three-pointers made, free throw percentage, offensive rebounding, offensive rating, true shooting percentage, and plus-minus.
#FREETHEBROW.
