The NBA season is nearly two weeks old already, and it’s been an eventful collection of games. A French tower is making his mark, favorites are stumbling, and the defending champions look ready for a repeat. The Cleveland Cavaliers join a group of teams off to stumbling, injury-riddled starts that mask any true analysis.
Two weeks is an understandably small sample; we don’t want to overreact to the result of five or six games. With that being said, it’s the best data that we have as to how teams have improved, weakened or changed since last season. So with that in mind, let’s rank all 30 teams in our Week 2 NBA Power Rankings.
Our ranking will be of how teams are playing right now, not how we project them to play by the end of the season or in the playoffs. The Memphis Grizzlies will be a better team when Ja Morant returns, but he is out for another 19 games so the Grizzlies are going to be judged by their currently-available players.
If we were going to wrap this season’s results into a long-term view of title equity, here is what the Top 10 teams would look like:
- Denver Nuggets
- Boston Celtics
- Golden State Warriors
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Phoenix Suns
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Miami Heat
With that being said, let’s break down all 30 teams in the league. How are they playing? How have things shifted since the start of the season? We begin at the bottom of the ladder with the three teams that look like they will be fighting for the best lottery odds all season long.
Sometimes it’s comforting for things to be how we expected them to be, and the Washington Wizards fit the bill. This team finally tore down their core infrastructure to begin a rebuild and have the record to match thus far in the season. They rank 29th in defense, first in pace, and have the league’s worst net rating. It will be difficult for another team to challenge them for this spot all season long.
The Charlotte Hornets started their season out with a 116-110 win over the Atlanta Hawks that only looks better in hindsight, but they proceeded to lose three-straight games to teams not expected to make the playoffs this season. Only 10 players total have taken the court all year for the Hornets, a somewhat baffling statistic. LaMelo Ball is off to a painful start shooting 29.7 percent from the field and tossing around 3.8 turnovers per game.
The Detroit Pistons should be incredibly encouraged by the start of the season, as both Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren look like dudes who can develop into long-term building blocks. Cade Cunningham is struggling with the lack of spacing and Jaden Ivey hasn’t earned the trust of Monty Williams yet, and overall this team will lose a lot of basketball games. But the future has brightened in Motor City.
The Chicago Bulls are on the precipice of dropping a tier lower, as the start to the season has been about as disastrous as possible for this team. They had a “players-only meeting” that wasn’t a meeting after just their first game, were blown out by the Pistons, and are already complaining about the team’s construction through the media. This team seems destined for a midseason fire sale.
The bad? Jalen Green hasn’t taken a step forward, Amen Thompson has suffered another ankle injury and Fred VanVleet can’t seem to find the bottom of the basket. The good? Jabari Smith and Alperen Sengun look great, Dillon Brooks is on fire, and this team has been in every game since their opening night blowout and just clobbered the Sacramento Kings. New head coach Ime Udoka has this team defending (they rank 17th), and if that holds up this team will start to get dangerous quickly.
The Portland Trail Blazers were supposed to be at the bottom of the ladder this season after trading Damian Lillard, but they added enough veteran talent back into the mix that they can execute like a real NBA team, and it’s added a couple of extra wins thus far. Shaedon Sharpe is having a breakout season, Toumani Camara looks like a real NBA player, and DeAndre Ayton may lead the league in rebounds.
The Memphis Grizzlies were supposed to be near the top of the ladder, but they have completely fallen apart to start the year. Missing Ja Morant and Derrick Rose has put a lot of pressure on their other perimeter creators, and missing Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke has pressed overmatched players into the big rotation. Desmond Bane is having an excellent start to the season, but Jaren Jackson Jr. hasn’t been able to step up and Memphis is the league’s only remaining winless team.
Whenever a player has an unexpectedly great season, there is always the concern that they will fall back to earth the following year. That hasn’t happened with Lauri Markkanen, who is having another great season and looks the part of a star. Utah has to figure out their guard rotation and find a lead creator to orchestrate this offense, but this is also a team that doesn’t mind losing for another season.
This team is playing insanely fast (first in pace) and scoring in bunches. They are also giving up points faster than they can score them, and that has led to a 3-3 record but a -3.1 net rating. Jalen Smith has taken on a large role as the backup for both Obi Toppin and Myles Turner, while Andrew Nembhard has taken the mantle of backup point guard from T.J. McConnell.
Victor Wembanyama.
It’s possible that no further analysis is needed here. The No. 1 overall pick has been tremendous to start the season, breaking the court with his height and length. His teammates are still learning that they can throw lobs into the stratosphere and he will come down with them, and on defense opponents are spooked not knowing just how much ground he can cover. This group lacks spacing, especially with Devin Vassell out with an injury for a few weeks, but they have logged a couple of impressive wins and don’t look like a bottom-feeder; that’s the Wembanyama effect.
The story of the early season for the Brooklyn Nets has been the ascendancy of Cam Thomas, their young scoring guard who is currently averaging 26 points per game and generating offense against any defensive front. Mikal Bridges and Ben Simmons are a dangerous defensive combination and will be even more lethal once Nic Claxton is healthy, and Dorian Finney-Smith has been on a heater from 3-point range and will be an attractive trade candidate for contenders.
The Toronto Raptors started the season with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, a victory that looks even better as time has gone on. They also have a 19-point win over the Milwaukee Bucks to their ledger. Somehow they have also lost games to the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers. Their late-game execution has been abysmal, their offense is as anemic as expected, and rookie Gradey Dick hasn’t found his shot yet. On the other hand, Scottie Barnes is having a true bounce-back season and looks like a Most Improved Candidate as the best Raptors player through the early going.
The Miami Heat have wins over the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons, who ranked 30th and 26th on this list. Otherwise, they have lost to the four playoff teams from a season ago they have played, including a 16-point loss on the road to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jimmy Butler can’t score, their bench has been riddled with injuries, and the results have been painful. Could they turn it around anytime now? Absolutely, but their play thus far has been below-average.
Chet Holmgren has wasted no time stepping onto the court as a matchup nightmare from day one, and the Thunder look to have the makings of a future contender coming together in Oklahoma. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has continued his effortless scoring from the World Cup, Josh Giddey looks stronger than a year ago, and this team has a number of intriguing options who will only improve as they get older and gain experience. This team won’t win anything this season, but as early as next year they could be dangerous.
Last season the New York Knicks ranked third in offensive rating; this season they rank 28th. Julius Randle is having the worst high-volume shooting start to a season in modern basketball history; he has taken 96 shots and made just 27.1 percent of them; since 1979-80 that ranks among the 20 worst six-game stretches of any player at any point in the season. Jalen Brunson has been great, the defense has been ok, and the offense has been abysmal.
It’s hard to judge the Cleveland Cavaliers on anything thus far this season; Jarrett Allen has played one game, Darius Garland two, and they are without both backup point guards. The results haven’t been great thus far, but now that all of their core guys appear healthy they have a chance to come together and right the ship. Donovan Mitchell has been excellent carrying the load and is among the league leaders in scoring.
Similarly to Cleveland, it’s difficult to judge the Phoenix Suns given their injury issues. They have built a team centered on three stars, and Bradley Beal has yet to play a game and Devin Booker has played just two. They impressively beat the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Opening Night, but since have dropped two games to the San Antonio Spurs and are sitting at 2-4. The Suns need to get healthy, but until they do they’re not looking like anything resembling a contender.
In games when De’Aaron Fox has played, the Kings are 2-1 with a +6.5 net rating. Without Fox, the Kings lost a close game to the Warriors and then were blown out in Houston. Kevin Huerter has been ice-cold to start the season, the Kings haven’t found the right bench mix and Malik Monk has played too well to bench and yet is a massive defensive liability. Yet Domantas Sabonis has absolutely stuffed the stat sheet (17.4 points, 14.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game), Harrison Barnes has shot the ball well, and Fox shouldn’t be out too long.
Zion Williamson is healthy and playing like an All-Star. That’s the most important takeaway for the Pelicans, this season and every season. When available, Brandon Ingram has improved as a playmaker and is scoring well inside, while CJ McCollum has shot the ball well and Herbert Jones has been everywhere defensively. When Jose Alvarado, Larry Nance Jr. and Trey Murphy III are all healthy the Pelicans’ bench will take a massive step forward, and this team will likely ascend the rankings accordingly.
It’s hard to know just how much credit to give the Orlando Magic thus far in the season. At face value, they have a 4-2 record and the league’s eighth-best net rating. Their only two losses were on a back-to-back with the Lakers and Clippers in Los Angeles. Otherwise, they clobbered the Lakers in the return game back in Orlando and took care of business against the weaker teams on their schedule. Franz Wagner looks confident, Cole Anthony is stroking the ball off the bench, and Paolo Baanchero is living at the free-throw line.
The Atlanta Hawks lived at .500 for all of last season, but after a relatively quiet offseason it was a real question as to whether an offseason in Quin Snyder’s system would be enough to push them up the standings. Thus far it has, with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray looking more comfortable together and Jalen Johnson taking a leap as an athletic forward leaping around on both ends. It’s not simply that they are 4-2, either; the have notched comfortable wins over the Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy and playing well, and that’s the foundation for a Lakers team that can make noise in the playoffs. On the other hand, their depth has been seriously challenged by injuries, Austin Reaves has appeared to regress, and as a team they are shooting just 29.7 percent from deep, 29th in the league. They have played the league’s most difficult schedule thus far, so they may shake their way free of this and establish themselves moving forward.
The Dallas Mavericks have only lost one game this season, and it was in Denver against the defending champions. So why aren’t they much higher in the rankings? It’s because their other four wins have all come against much weaker competition, and none of them in convincing fashion. Their strength-of-schedule ranks just 26th, and they therefore rank just 12th in “Simple Rating System” that takes into account margin of victory and strength of schedule.
The Timberwolves, on the other hand, rank fourth in SRS and fifth in net rating after a strong start to the year. Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert still look somewhat uncomfortable on offense together, but Anthony Edwards is thriving and they have the league’s best defense. They have blowout wins over the two NBA Finalists from last season. Their upcoming schedule is very difficult, so on Thanksgiving if they have a mediocre record remember their strong start and expect them to surge back up the standings.
The Milwaukee Bucks were a popular preseason title pick after trading for Damian Lillard, largely on account of the strength of the two-man game with Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. That chemistry has not yet developed, and the Bucks are not playing well enough on offense (11th) to make up for their massive step back defensively (27th). This group likely needs time to gain chemistry, but the early season returns have been concerning.
James Harden is yet to make his debut for the LA Clippers; they may come as early as Monday night against the New York Knicks. In the meantime, the Clippers have had a strong start to the season, buoyed by the health of their two stars. The Clippers are top-5 in both offense (5th) and defense (4th) and are second in effective field-goal percentage. Their metrics are somewhat thrown off by a 40-point win over the Spurs, but at the same time, that Spurs team has looked good against everyone other than the Clippers. How Harden scrambles everything up will be a key storyline to watch over the next couple of weeks.
Joel Embiid looks like he’s having fun playing basketball, something you couldn’t always say last season even in the midst of an MVP season. The cloud of James Harden has been blown off of this team, and in his absence, Tyrese Maxey is stepping up in a major way. Those predicting a Most Improved campaign and an All-Star berth look prophetic at this point.
The question for Philadelphia is what the next step is. Do they trade for another star during the season? Do they make a smaller move to upgrade the depth around their two stars? Or do they stand pat and wait for the summer to take a big swing?
Chris Paul has gracefully stepped into a bench role for the first time in his career and absolutely unlocked this team’s depth. The young players are ascending, Stephen Curry is playing yet again at an MVP level, and this looks like a team that can make another run in the playoffs. Head coach Steve Kerr has some difficult decisions to make each night about who will close games, but a number of close games to start the season has given him plenty of data with different groups. Even the rookies have contributed when they have seen the court, and this looks like one of the deeper teams in the league — a scary proposition when they also have a star like Curry.
The defending champions made an interesting bet this season: their bench was so bad last year that they let key pieces walk this summer, replacing them with veteran castoffs and second-round picks. Somehow that bet has paid off beautifully for Denver, which is cruising through the early part of the season with the best regular-season defense of the Nikola Jokic era.
Speaking of Jokic, he has been effortlessly brilliant to start the year, averaging 27.3 points, 12.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists and all on a whopping 68.7 effective field goal percentage, the best of his career. Other than a single blip against the Minnesota Timberwolves this group looks ready for a title defense.
The Boston Celtics had the league’s best net rating a season ago, and undoubtedly got better this summer adding Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. That’s why it’s no surprise that the Celtics have clobbered the competition and look like the league’s best team through two weeks; they are the last undefeated team, have the best net rating and SRS in the NBA, and their offense is comfortably the best in the league as well. Jayson Tatum looks like an MVP candidate, if not the front-runner, and both Holiday and Porzingis have fit right in and are having stellar two-way seasons.
There are still some depth questions and any injury absences will stretch this team, but thus far they have been unstoppable. This looks like a group on track for 60 wins and it will be fascinating to see if another team in the East can challenge them, either in the standings or when the playoffs circle around.