NBA Week 4 Power Rankings: Cavs stumble, Jazz soar
. 3-11. Previous: 29th. Detroit Pistons. 30. team. 64
Cade Cunningham is off to a good start, but a very inefficient one, hitting just 41.5 percent of his shots and 27.9 from 3-point range. Surround him with a host of players on their rookie contracts and it’s no wonder the Pistons can’t stop anyone. This is a team that is still a ways away from achieving its final product.
2-10. Previous: 30th. Los Angeles Lakers. 29. team. 20.
Both of the Lakers’ wins are fairly respectable, over the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans, but the bottom line is that they have been terrible this season no matter how you slice it. Their offense is grappling with the Clippers and Hornets for worst in the league and now LeBron James will miss time with an injury. Whether it’s a big trade or the stars suddenly playing better, whatever hope the Lakers have had better kick in soon.
169. . 2-11. Previous: 28th. Houston Rockets. 28. team
This is the team we all expected to be at the bottom of the league, an extremely young roster flush with offense-first pieces. Role players such as Kenyon Martin Jr. and Tari Eason have had their moments, while Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green make last year’s rookie class look quite exciting. Houston is gunning for Victor or Scoot this season, but they have a lot to be excited about down the road.
27. team. 170. . 3-11. Previous: 13th. Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are the biggest fallers in their week’s power rankings, coming all of the way down from 13th two weeks ago. They have lost eight-straight games since their 3-3 start, most of them absolute beatdowns. LaMelo Ball is back, and perhaps he can right the ship, but it looks like this team should be sending scouts to France in droves right about now.
. 6-7. Previous: 21st. San Antonio Spurs. 26. team. 29
In the midst of the troubling scandal involving Josh Primo and at least one Spurs employee, the team has fallen apart after its clearly fool’s gold hot start. They lost five-straight games before beating the Milwaukee Bucks’ B-Team the other night. Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson look great, and Tre Jones is a steady hand at the point, but there is no star to put at the middle of this roster and not enough defensive connectivity among all of the young players.