After a week or so of NBA action, the season has shown us some surprises to start out. It is still too early in the season to make some definitive statements about teams, but the contenders and pretenders should start sorting themselves out. The bottom of the league still looks the same as it did last week, but there are some new contenders and familiar faces at the top. The season is still young, so don’t overreact to just any result yet. This is shaping up to be one of the most wide-open seasons in recent NBA memory and it should be fun to follow all the way through.
No. 30: Oklahoma City Thunder (-1)
It has been tough sledding for the Thunder this season. This was a team that was supposed to be bad, but they might flirt with winning less than ten games. The good thing for the team is that star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks to be playing at an All-Star level. Rookie Josh Giddey has had some good moments as well this season. This team had a nice comeback win over the Lakers, but overall this has looked like the worst team in basketball so far in the young season.
No. 29: New Orleans Pelicans (-3)
The Pelicans have had a disastrous start to the season so far. Their star player, Zion Williamson has yet to play and it might be weeks before his return. This has been a team that got its first win against Minnesota but has not looked that great in other games. This was a team that had playoff aspirations at the beginning of the season, but that thought is quickly fading away. It might be a long season in New Orleans.
No. 28: Detroit Pistons (-1)
The only good news for the Pistons in the past week has been that first overall pick, Cade Cunningham, has finally gotten on the court for game action. Other than that, Detroit has looked dreadful. Cunningham played 19 minutes in their game against the Magic and while he did not look great and had a modest stat line, this has been what Pistons fans have been wanting to see all offseason. All eyes will be on Cunningham the rest of the way and see if he can elevate the play of his teammates.
No. 27: Houston Rockets (+1)
There has not been much winning so far in Houston, but that was to be expected from one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Rookie Jalen Green has been up and down, but his shot-making can be huge and he can catch fire at any time. One interesting thing to watch as this season plays out is what the Rockets might do with a guy like Christian Wood. Wood is having a nice season, but he is 26 and might not fit in with the team’s timeline.
No. 26: Orlando Magic (+4)
The highlight of the week for the Orlando Magic has to be the great dunk by rookie Franz Wagner and the play of second-year guard Cole Anthony. The Magic have not played great as a team, but those bright moments have been more than what the other teams have had to offer. Like the others, the development of the younger players is what is important with Orlando this season as they hope for the lottery.
No.25: San Antonio Spurs (-2)
It has been an uneven start for the young Spurs, but Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson have played well with the absence of DeMar DeRozan. Johnson has seen his usage go up and been a productive player so far and that has to be a good sign for San Antonio. This team has been competitive and should stay that way even though they may not be very good this season.
No. 24: Indiana Pacers (-5)
The Pacers have not been a good team to start off the 2021 season. They have played in some close games and have not been blown out, but this team has not been very impressive. Myles Turner has been inconsistent, having a 40 point game one night and then being invisible the next. A bright spot has been rookie Chris Duarte, who has taken a nice spot in the rotation. This team has more talent than they show, but they need to start playing like it or there could be some trades on the horizon.
No. 23: Boston Celtics (-16)
This might seem a bit dramatic to drop a team 16 spots, but this team has all the wrong vibes after a terrible fourth-quarter performance against the Bulls. The Boston defense has been terrible to start the season and they are not getting much production from anyone outside of Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum. To be fair, the Celtics are dealing with injuries and COVID issues, but this has been one of the most surprising teams to start the season and not in the way that was anticipated. This team is talented and should bounce back, but they have earned their way to the bottom half of the league for now.
No. 22: Sacramento Kings (+2)
The Kings have been playing solid basketball to start the season. The only impressive win for the Kings so far has been against the Suns, but they have played the Warriors and the Jazz tough and there could be some momentum to be built upon. The defense still leaves a lot to be desired on a nightly basis, but they have talent and are playing well at the moment.
No. 21: Cleveland Cavaliers (+4)
One of the most surprising teams to start the season has been the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland has been playing well behind good defense and a good start to Evan Mobley‘s career. Mobley and Jarrett Allen have been a good pairing defensively and Darius Garland is off to a nice start. It is unclear if the Cavs can keep playing this well, but when you beat the Atlanta Hawks and give the Los Angeles Lakers a scare, you deserve some credit. This team could keep moving up or stay where they are.
No. 20: Los Angles Clippers (-4)
The Clippers are off to a 3-4 start and they have not looked like the team that was in the Western Conference Finals. The bright spot for the Clippers should be how well Paul George is playing so far this season. George has been phenomenal on both sides of the floor and if he can keep playing this way, the Clippers should be playing better in the future. It is alarming though to see them lose their two recent games by sixteen points.
No. 19: Minnesota Timberwolves (+1)
The Timberwolves have gotten off to a solid start this season and some of that can be attributed to Minnesota playing much better defense. The offense has been playing about as well as expected and Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell have been playing nicely. A loss to the Magic, but they also have a victory over Milwaukee and that was enough to move them up a spot for the opening. This team has talent, but consistency is the key for Minnesota.
No. 18: Toronto Raptors (+3)
The Raptors’ defense has been as good as advertised so far this season. This was a team that some thought would have an elite defensive team and so far, they were right. The offensive has been more of a problem for Toronto, as they are not getting consistent enough production from Fred VanVleet and others on offense. Scottie Barnes has to be the top contender for rookie of the year so far this season and that has to be a welcome sight for any Raptors fans that were doubting the selection.
No.17: Portland Trail Blazers (-3)
So far this season, this has looked like the Blazers teams of the past, with a good starting five, but and atrocious defense and bench play. Portland had a 30 point loss to the Clippers but did bounce back to beat the Grizzlies and then the Clippers in a rematch. CJ McCollum has been solid this season while Damian Lillard is still looking to get going consistently. Until this team can get things going on both ends of the floor, then it is hard to see Portland being anything more than a team that is going to be in the play-in tournament.
No. 16: Charlotte Hornets (+1)
This team could have been higher, but the Hornets had a poor performance against the Heat, and LaMelo Ball had his worst game of the season. Other than that, it has been a great start to the season. Ball has looked like a future superstar and Miles Bridges is the current favorite for most improved player. Gordon Hayward is silently having a nice season as well. Another reason this team will be ranked a little lower here is there defense has not been very good to start the season and that is going to be the biggest question the rest of the season. Recent performance is keeping them down, but this team has flashed potential to be much higher on this list.
No. 15: Memphis Grizzlies (+3)
Ja Morant has Memphis playing some of the best basketball in the NBA and he has been relentless at the start of this season. This has been one of the best stories of the NBA so far and the Grizzlies are yet again outperforming expectations. Memphis has back to back wins over the Denver Nuggets and that is two of the most impressive performances of the season so far. It is unclear if Memphis can keep this level of play for the whole season, but Morant has the young Grizzlies playing hard every night.
No.14: Phoenix Suns (-9)
Phoenix sees one of the bigger drop offs in this weeks edition of the power rankings, but that is because they are playing inconsistent basketball right now. It appears as if the long run to the NBA Finals is catching up with Phoenix a little bit and this is a team that is looking gassed right now. The defense has not been at the level that it was last season and Chris Paul is playing inconsistently. Two wins over lesser opponents in the Cavs and Pelicans are encouraging. It will be interesting to see if the recent reported scandal concerning owner Robert Sarver will have an impact on the team.
No.13: Atlanta Hawks (-7)
The Hawks are another team that has been inconsistent and the Hawks are not playing well on the road right now. Atlanta has had couple of confusing losses, one to Cleveland and one to a Wizards team without Daniel Gafford and Spencer Dinwiddie. Trae Young has not had an explosive game up to this point and Kevin Huerter has struggled to find his rhythm. One encouraging sign for the Hawks has to be the return of De’Andre Hunter. Hunter has played excellent defense and found his offense against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Atlanta should get better, but they are not playing well at the moment.
No.12: Dallas Mavericks (-5)
Dallas is struggling on offense right now to say the least. Outside of Luka Doncic, it has not been pretty on that end of the floor. The worse thing about the Mavericks is that Kristaps Porzingis is not having a great start to his season after coming into the season with the hopes of forgetting last season. Porzingis is not shooting well from the floor and is just a liability at this point in time. This team is still ranked high because of the brilliant play from Doncic, but this team does not have any impressive wins to date.
No. 11: New York Knicks (+2)
The Knicks have gotten off to a great start to the 2021 season. One of the teams biggest additions in the offseason, Evan Fournier, has been shooting the ball really well and has been a welcome addition next to Julius Randle and this offense. This team might have been higher had it not been for two recent losses to the Indiana Pacers and the Toronto Raptors. The Knicks season last year does not appear to be a fluke and this team should remain firmly in the postseason race for the entire season.
No.10 Washington Wizards (+12)
The team with the biggest jump from last week is the Washington Wizards. Washington is surprisingly playing great basketball and most of it is coming from the guys that were involved in the Russell Westbrook trade over the summer. Montrezl Harrell has been bringing energy every night and Kyle Kuzma is having a career year so far rebounding. Most of the damage has been done without Bradley Beal or Dinwiddie having great seasons so far and that is a promising sign. They might not be this high the rest of the season, but it is much deserved right now. The team has nice wins over Atlanta and Boston as well.
No.9: Los Angeles Lakers (-5)
The Lakers have had some predictable early struggles so far this season. Russell Westbrook has been an awkward fit on the team and the Lakers are relying way too much on Carmelo Anthony to bring a spark from the bench. LeBron James is now out for at least a week with an injury and that might bring up the injury related concerns that James had last season. Anthony Davis is having a great season on both ends of the floor as well. The Lakers have bounced back from an embarrassing loss to the Thunder with some nice wins, albeit against weak competition.
No. 8: Denver Nuggets (+1)
Denver had an injury scare to last year’s MVP in Nikola Jokic, but it turned out to be fine. This team has dropped consecutive games to the Memphis Grizzlies after starting the season out 4-2. Denver did blow out the Mavericks though and they have looked solid on the offensive end of the floor. Michael Porter Jr is going to need to start playing well if this team is going to want to hit its ceiling though.
No. 7: Chicago Bulls (+8)
The Bulls are off to one of the best starts to the NBA season and that is due largely to overperforming on the defensive end of the floor and playing well on offense. Lonzo Ball is having a great start to his season and the team has put together some impressive wins over the Utah Jazz and the great comeback against the Boston Celtics. The Bulls still have a long way to go to prove that they are more than just an early season story and a legitimate team, but they have earned the number seven ranking so far this season.
No. 6: Philadelphia 76ers (+5)
Philadelphia is playing good basketball, even with the absence of the other All-Star on the team, Ben Simmons. The defense has not not dropped off significantly and that is something that has to be surprising to Philadelphia fans. The concern might be with Joel Embiid‘s health. He has complained of having a knee injury, but says he is playing through it. Philadelphia had a dominating performance against the Hawks and showed that they are still an elite defensive team. Matisse Thybulle is showing why he should be an All-Defensive selection
No. 5: Milwaukee Bucks (-4)
The Bucks have not had the start to their championship defense that they would have liked, but they have also not been the healthiest team in the NBA either. Milwaukee has some built in equity because of that and that is why they did not drop off too far despite their record. Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton have all missed time and that has caused the Bucks to not play well. Giannis Antetokounmpo has played like the best player in the world and that is why Milwaukee is not going to drop far for now.
No. 4: Brooklyn Nets (-2)
The Nets are like Milwaukee but without the injuries. They have not had the start to the season that they wanted, but it looks like Brooklyn is doing some experimenting with their lineups and trying to find what works best with so many good players on the roster. James Harden is off to perhaps the worst start of his career, but his elite passing was on display in Wednesday night’s victory over the Hawks. Joe Harris also found his shooting stroke in that game as well and Kevin Durant played excellently. This is still the most talented and deep team in the NBA.
No. 3: Golden State Warriors (+9)
The Warriors have looked like one of the best teams in the NBA and that was an unexpected surprise to start the season. Stephen Curry is playing at an MVP level and Draymond Green is playing well on both ends of the floor. The thing that makes the Warriors so interesting is that they are doing all of this without Klay Thompson on the floor. If Golden State can keep playing this well when Thompson returns, this might be the best team in the Western Conference. An emphatic win over the Hornets showed why the league still fears this team.
No. 2: Utah Jazz (+1)
To nobody’s surprise, the Utah Jazz are off to a good start to the regular season and look like a contender to make it to the NBA Finals. Ranking the Jazz second is not going to do much for basketball watchers because they are waiting to see Utah perform well in the playoffs. This team is smothering opponents with their defense and efficient offense and. The Jazz is showing why they have been regular season juggernauts the past few seasons and look to be among the Western Conference favorites yet again.
No.1: Miami Heat (+9)
Through the first part of this young NBA season, the Miami Heat have been the best team in the NBA. This team has the highest point differential in the league and appears to have an MVP candidate in Jimmy Butler. The defense has been the best in the NBA and Tyler Herro is looking to make a statement for sixth man of the year. This team does not appear to have many holes right now and is dominating everyone that they are playing. This has the look of a potential NBA Finals contender.
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