NBA Week 2 Power Rankings: Cavs rise, Lakers bottom out

The Chicago Bulls have played a tough schedule to open the year and they have acquitted themselves fairly well against it. They beat the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, but got drubbed by the Cleveland Cavaliers. DeMar DeRozan has picked up where he left off and Nikola Vucevic is playing like a guy who doesn’t want to get traded, but Zach LaVine has not been himself, nor fully available, due to a lingering knee issue. His health might be the swing factor for whether or not the Bulls make it back to the playoffs.

Three major questions faced the Atlanta Hawks coming into the season. First, would Trae Young and Dejoute Murray fit well together? The early returns are very positive, with Young working in some off-ball actions. Would the defense improve with a healthy De’Andre Hunter and Murray mixed in? They are sitting at 17th, a totally fine landing spot for a team that was 26th a year ago. Finally, would the bench come together? That’s a mixed bag, with the absence of Bogdan Bogdanovic balanced by the hot shooting of rookie AJ Griffin.

No one expected even this level of start from the Charlotte Hornets, not after a truly deplorable preseason showing and with LeMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges all missing from last season’s league-average team. Yet Dennis Smith Jr. has resurrected his career, Nick Richards came out of nowhere, and unsurprisingly Steve Clifford has them defending. It feels like a mirage, but it’s a fun one right now.

The Minnesota Timberwolves made a huge bet on tower-ball this offseason, trading the farm for Rudy Gobert to pair with Karl-Anthony Towns inside. Such a big shift in team structure has resulted in a few growing pains, but even so the Wolves are 4-2 to start the year. Anthony Edwards has been scoring at a high level, but Towns has had a slow beginning, likely due to a serious illness he had in the preseason. This group probably continues to improve as the season goes on.

The NBA schedule-makers didn’t cut the Toronto Raptors any breaks to start the year, with a tour around Eastern Conference playoff teams at every turn. Toronto has been just fine against such a tough slate, going 3-3 and dealing the Cleveland Cavaliers their lone loss. Pascal Siakam has looked like an MVP candidate, and he is leading a deep and tough roster back towards a playoff berth. The question is who steps up next to him and if they can be a true contender in the conference.