As we often see early in the season, there are big moves up and down the rankings this week as teams settle in (and schedules start to balance out). Unfortunately, injuries are knocking too many teams down the ladder.
1. Houston Rockets
Record: 6-1
Ranking last week: No. 3
Games this week: Boston, Minnesota, at Phoenix
Last season, Houston's offensive spacing was often a mess. This season, with the return of Fred VanVleet, moving Amen Thompson to more of an off-ball role, everything has looked much better — Houston has a 121.1 offensive rating, best in the league. VanVleet said this week that he has asked to play more minutes next to Reed Sheppard, something we have only seen for 13 minutes so far this season. The Rockets, unsurprisingly, picked up their fourth-year option on Sheppard this week, keeping him with the team through 2028, and he is extension-eligible this summer if the sides can agree on a number.
2. Detroit Pistons
Record: 5-1
Ranking last week: No. 2
Games this week: at Charlotte, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Lakers
Detroit's front office wanted to add shooting this offseason and we're seeing the impact on the court: The Pistons are taking six more 3-pointers a game and hitting them at a higher percentage, 36.3% this season. Amazingly, they are shooting 39.2% on above-the-break 3s. Jalen Duren remains out with a hamstring strain, but so far Paul Reed (13.8 points and 7 rebounds a game, shooting 67%) and John Collins (9.2 points, 7.2 rebounds) have stepped up and thrived next to Cade Cunningham.
3. Philadelphia 76ers
Record: 6-1
Ranking last week: No. 5
Games this week: Chicago, at Detroit, at Cleveland, at Chicago
The Philadelphia 76ers keep getting off to slow starts — they have a -15.9 net rating in the first quarter — then somehow climbing out of the hole to get the win. Through seven games, the 76ers have a +20.9 net rating in the fourth quarter (second best in the league). That manifests in things such as the 13-0 run late against Charlotte to secure the win this past week. This feels like a team winning on its impressive talent so far but without the intentionality and focus of a great team, especially on offense, something that will either come with time or catch up to them. Right now, take the wins, bank them and don't ask questions.
4. Boston Celtics
Record: 4-1
Ranking last week: No. 9
Games this week: at Houston, Milwaukee, at Charlotte, at Milwaukee
Jayson Tatum is making a lot of headlines for his not-beef-but-lamb-with-gravy back-and-forth with Jalen Brown, easily the most annoying storyline of the early season. Look past that, and he's played fantastic ball to start the season, averaging 27.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.4 assists a game. His 3-point shot is still finding its range (25%), but he's looking a lot like the All-NBA, MVP-ballot consideration kind of player he was before his Achilles injury. Boston takes to the road now, with five of its next six away from TD Garden, starting with a tough one Monday night against the Rockets.
5. Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 6-0
Ranking last week: No. 17
Games this week: New Orleans, Indiana, Oklahoma City
The last undefeated team in the NBA, and while maybe that came against a soft schedule (which continues until OKC on Friday), you have to beat the teams in front of you, and that's exactly what the Grizzlies have done. Convincingly. Ty Jerome and Cameron Boozer are grabbing the headlines for their scoring, but two guys going under the radar but making critical contributions are showing up in other stats: Cedric Coward and Zach Edey are two of the top three in +/- on the team so far this season. Boozer became the second-youngest player to record a triple-double when he did it in his fifth NBA game last Thursday.
6. Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 5-2
Ranking last week: No. 6
Games this week: Miami, at Sacramento, Portland, at Detroit
Austin Reaves is living up to his massive offseason contract: 23.8 points and 5.3 assists a game, shooting 42.4% from 3-point range. The Lakers offense looks special, as expected. On the other end of the court, the defensive drop-off from Walker Kessler to anyone else at the five is steep, but the Lakers' defensive issues are bigger than the backup big — they can't contain anyone on the perimeter. Everything starts there. That said, Kevon Looney has seemingly fallen out of the rotation, with Jared Vanderbilt and Sandro Mamukelashvili getting some run as the backup five.
7. San Antonio Spurs
Record: 4-2
Ranking last week: No. 8
Games this week: Utah, Dallas, at Sacramento, at Portland
San Antonio has found its footing somewhat after a slow start, and now boasts a top-10 offense and defense. And it has done that without the Spurs big off-season acquisition, Tobias Harris, who is nearing a return but there is no official timetable. The Spurs have stretches where they look like the best team in the league: Defending with ferocity, moving the ball, and getting easy buckets around the rim. Then the next quarter they fall in love with isolation basketball and things go cold, which happened too much against Minnesota on Halloween, but they got bailed out by 43 points from Victor "The Witcher" Wembanyama.
8. Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 4-2
Ranking last week: No. 11
Games this week: Oklahoma City, at Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, New York
Evan Mobley is taking and making his 3-pointers this season, averaging a career-high 4.3 attempts a game and hitting 57.7% through six games — when he is out spacing the floor like that, and with the addition of Peyton Watson on the wing, the Cavaliers' offense looks fantastic. We know who Donovan Mitchell is, we know exactly who James Harden is, but if this team is taking a step forward, it's on Mobley and Watson, and this has been a promising start. Check it out for yourselves Monday night, exclusively on Peacock, when the Cavaliers take on the Thunder. That's the start of a brutal week for the Cavs with two games against the (banged up but still dangerous) Thunder, plus the 76ers and Knicks.
9. Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 4-1
Ranking last week: No. 16
Games this week: at Denver, at Phoenix, at Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio
Ja Morant returned to Memphis last Thursday for the first time since being traded and it was a bit of a letdown because he was forced to exit early due to a left hamstring injury, which is going to keep him out at least a month. That injury feels like it throws cold water on one of the best starts and best stories of the young NBA season. What's been impressive about Morant and the Trail Blazers as a whole is how everyone has bought into the system — they are all passing, driving and kicking out, getting into good positions. "The buy-in has been super, and I really didn't have to do a whole lot," new head coach Micah Nori said. "I wish I could tell you that there was some secret sauce where I was coaching my ass off as far as getting them to buy in. But just as human beings, they're just really good people. They want to win. They know they're going to play. They know their roles, and so far... the buy-in has been wonderful for all."
10. Dallas Mavericks
Record: 4-2
Ranking last week: No. 21
Games this week: Sacramento, at San Antonio, Utah, Brooklyn
The Mavericks are the giant killers, knocking off the undefeated Thunder and Rockets in the same week, which is one reason they are jumping up the rankings nine spaces to No. 12. The other reason is that Cooper Flagg has taken a big step forward off his Rookie of the Year season and looks like an All-NBA player averaging 26.8 points, 6.6 assists and six rebounds a game, plus 2.6 steals a game on the defensive end (fourth best in the league) — his second-season numbers are comparable to LeBron James second-season (both age 20) numbers. Flagg has a long way to go to really earn LeBron comps, but early on this season he has been that good.
11. Oklahoma City Thunder
Record: 4-2
Ranking last week: No. 1
Games this week: at Cleveland, Cleveland, at Memphis, Washington
That was as rough a week as any team may ever have had. Despite the offseason trades, Oklahoma City had great depth, but now it's being tested with Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace out for most (if not all) of the season, and Chet Holmgren missing at least two months with a patellar tendon tear. For Wallace's role, Ajay Mitchell steps right in and he dropped 30 in the Thunder's win over the Suns, he's a better offensive player but not the level of defender that Wallace is. A combination of Isaiah Hartenstein, Kenrich Williams, Aday Mara and Jaylin Williams will step in. Williams is the toughest to replace; there aren't other guys like him. Trading away Lu Dort now comes back to haunt them more, because he was the guy defensively who could step in for Williams. Now they don't have that guy and who covers an Anthony Edwards or Luka Dončić in the playoffs? A great stat from Ben Golliver of ESPN sums up how different things are in OKC this season: Five of the top six players in total minutes from the 2024 championship run are no longer with the team this season (due to injuries or being traded away).
12. Golden State Warriors
Record: 4-3
Ranking last week: No. 28
Games this week: Phoenix, Miami, Orlando
Winners of four straight after dropping the Warriors dropped their first three. Stephen Curry still has his fastball — he dropped 44 on the Timberwolves, and Curry on a roll remains one of the great shows in all of sports. Wild stat: Curry and Draymond Green are in their 15th season as a duo, tying them for the third-longest-tenured duo in NBA history (John Stockton and Karl Malone spent 18 years together in Utah; Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were teammates for 16 years in San Antonio). Another wild stat: Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored 113 points and grabbed 46 rebounds through his first five NBA games, becoming the first player to reach both marks in five games since Shaq in 1992. Then he kept on rolling, dropping 37 on the Clippers Sunday.
13. Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 4-3
Ranking last week: No. 4
Games this week: Milwaukee, at Houston, at New Orleans, Utah
Anthony Edwards needing knee surgery, announced a couple of days after he dropped 47 on the Cavaliers while playing through that knee issue, is a punch to the gut. For Edwards personally, it takes him out of the running for MVP or All-NBA (he won't get to the 65-game threshold). Can the Timberwolves hold the fort down until he returns? The goal has to be to stay in the top six until Edward gets back, which will not be easy — and it puts a lot more on the plate of LaMelo Ball. For the first few games of the season, Ball settled comfortably into a facilitator role, setting up Edwards and others. That now changes, Minnesota needs something more like the best of Charlotte LaMelo, but that guy had some ugly nights and was not the most efficient player in the league. Also, the LaMelo-Rudy Gobert chemistry is a work in progress, to put it kindly.
14. Toronto Raptors
Record: 3-3
Ranking last week: No. 7
Games this week: at LA Clippers, at Denver, at Milwaukee
Toronto knew the deal when it traded for Kawhi Leonard this summer. When he plays, he is brilliant — 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds a game this season, and the team won its first two games comfortably with him. However, he missed the Raptors' loss to the Timberwolves, and then a couple of days later the team announced he has swelling in his left knee and will be re-evaluated in a week. Expect him to be out more like a couple of weeks, meaning he will miss his only trip to the Intuit Dome to face the Clippers this season. Without Leonard, the Raptors' defense is struggling: In the four games he has missed they have a 117.6 defensive rating (26th in the league for that stretch) and are 1-3.
15. New York Knicks
Record: 2-4
Ranking last week: No. 13
Games this week: Brooklyn, Chicago, at Cleveland
This ranking feels a little low for a Knicks team that picked up a couple of wins last week, including one over the Pistons, but ultimately this is still a below .500 team with a -1.1 net rating for the season, and they lost again to the 76ers over the weekend. It's not hard to see the issue: Offensively, the Knicks are forcing difficult plays and shots rather than making the simple play. It's why they have a 53.1 true shooting percentage to start the season, 29th in the league. "It's been going on all year," coach Mike Brown said after the latest 76ers loss. "Like, we're trying to hit a home run every time we get the ball. And we have to hit singles. We can't hit a home run. We gotta hit singles offensively."
16. Denver Nuggets
Record: 3-2
Ranking last week: No. 12
Games this week: Portland, Toronto, at Indiana
Congratulations to Nikola Jokic for reaching 200 triple-doubles in his career, only the second player ever to hit that mark (Russell Westbrook is the other). That said, his numbers are down a little to start the season: 21.2 points per game (down from 27.7), with 9.8 rebounds and 9.2 assists a game, shooting 20.8% from 3-point range with a pedestrian 55.4 true shooting percentage, down from 67 a season ago. Jokic has looked a little more human than basketball god. It's also too early to read much into this, it's just a handful of games, but he is making more headlines for questioning fans booing the team than his play so far.
17. Washington Wizards
Record: 3-3
Ranking last week: No. 17
Games this week: at Orlando, Atlanta, at Atlanta, Oklahoma City
Wizards fans couldn't have hoped for much more in AJ Dybantsa's debut: 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and he wasn't settling, he was getting into the paint and showing off his high-level body control. Washington may have guys who need to eat in Trae Young and Anthony Davis, but Brian Keefe needs to make sure Dybantsa gets time with the ball in his hands to grow as a shot creator and playmaker at this level. He's ready. With the rookie in the lineup, the Wizards roll out some serious size now with a starting front line of 6’9” Dybantsa, 6’10” Anthony Davis and 7-footer Alex Sarr. Washington didn't avoid the injury bug this week, with wing Justin Champagnie undergoing surgery to repair a fracture in his right foot. This injury likely sidelines him until around the All-Star break.
18. Atlanta Hawks
Record: 3-4
Ranking last week: No. 10
Games this week: at Indiana, at Washington, Washington, Brooklyn
Atlanta has dropped 4-of-5, and while there can be some leniency because of a tough early schedule, getting physically pushed around by the Pelicans in a road loss last weekend was concerning. There are bright spots, most notably this week rookie point guard Kingston Flemmings dropping 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench against Miami. The Hawks drafted him with the No. 8 pick hoping he could be the point guard of the future, he flashed that potential in that game and deserves some extra touches. Now, however, he's going to miss a game after being suspended by the league for a frustration elbow to the face of the Pelicans' Bryce McGowens.
19. Miami Heat
Record: 2-4
Ranking last week: No. 23
Games this week: At Los Angeles Lakers, at LA Clippers, at Golden State, at Sacramento
After dropping their first four, two things changed in Miami's first win of the season over Atlanta. The most obvious was getting Bam Adebayo more involved in the team's offense, as he finished with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting and nine rebounds. Miami needs his scoring. Second, more subtly, it was the most pick-and-rolls the Heat had run all season by a wide margin. Last season, and to start this season, Erik Spoelstra had put in an isolation drive-and-kick offense that is different from what is commonly run in the NBA, but with the addition of Giannis Antetokounmpo, a lot of people wondered if the style would change. It didn't change much early, but it did against the Hawks and the Heat offense looked better for it. There are a lot of actions with bigs getting the ball at the nail and running off that as well. It worked, and Spoelstra is ultimately a practical man, expect more of it. The Heat are on the road for the next five games, swinging through the West.
20. Charlotte Hornets
Record: 3-4
Ranking last week: No. 19
Games this week: Detroit, at Brooklyn, Boston
"Unfortunately, Naz didn't meet our standards in the first half and we made a decision he wouldn't play in the second half," coach Charles Lee said of Naz Reid after benching him in the second half of the Hornets' loss to the Pistons. The positive spin here for Lee and Charlotte: They have been trying to establish themselves as a serious organization, a no-nonsense franchise, going back to the summer and trading LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges. If Reid isn't living up to that standard, then bench him. Reports say Reid and Lee talked and hashed out whatever was said between them that led to the benching. Fun Stat: By dropping 25 points on Miami, Dennis Schröder became the first player in NBA history to score 25+ points with nine different teams. Also, the best video of the week was Muggsy Bogues being told Charlotte would retire his number.
21. Indiana Pacers
Record: 2-5
Ranking last week: No. 14
Games this week: Atlanta, at Memphis, Denver
Tyrese Haliburton is out with a strained hamstring, and we saw this movie last season, this team struggles without him to run the offense. And it wasn't pretty. Reserve guard T.J. McConnell is close to returning from his strained right hamstring, which will help, but Indiana is getting outscored by 10.4 points per 100 possessions when Haliburton is off the court this season, the offense just does not flow without him. It's not going to be easy to find wins this week without him against Atlanta, Memphis and Denver.
22. Orlando Magic
Record: 2-4
Ranking last week: No. 18
Games this week: Washington, Phoenix, Golden State
We went into this season wondering exactly what a Sean Sweeney team would look like, and what the rotations would be. Injuries to Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs mean it may be a while before we know how good this Magic team is (or isn't), and what magic Sweeney might work. We have seen flashes of a patient, smart team that moves the ball around the perimeter and shoots confidently, but that's not consistent. Starting Thursday in Phoenix, Orlando starts 7-of-9 on the road.
23. New Orleans Pelicans
Record: 2-4
Ranking last week: No. 27
Games this week: at Memphis, Utah, Minnesota, at LA Clippers
With Dejounte Murray (birth of his son) and Jordan Poole (ankle) out last Thursday, Jamahl Mosley put Herb Jones in the starting lineup and was a game-high +27 in the first win of the season. "He's just a winner," Mosley said, praising Jones postgame. "He finds a way to do the things that help you win games because of who he is as a human being and the player he is as a professional." So, maybe find him more regular rotation minutes then? Second-year guard Jeremiah Fears is putting up numbers, which should give Pelicans fans some hope for the future.
24. Utah Jazz
Record: 1-5
Ranking last week: No. 24
Games this week: at San Antonio, at New Orleans, at Dallas, at Minnesota
Things are not working out as planned so far in Utah. For example, in the loss to the Spurs last week, No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson sat on the bench for much of the fourth quarter and all of overtime because: 1) He made a series of poor defensive decisions in a row and it was hurting the team; 2) Brice Sensabaugh was playing better and executing the game plan, something coach Will Hardy said postgame. Another thing not working out: Utah's grand plan was to have a big front line with Jusuf Nurkic and Jaren Jackson Jr. (and Lauri Markkanen), but Nurkic has yet to step onto an NBA court this season because of a foot injury. Now Jaren Jackson Jr. has torn the MCL in his right knee and will miss 6-8 weeks (but at least he doesn't need surgery). Without that back line, Utah has the league's 24th-ranked defense. Right now this is Keyonte George's team, and if the banged-up Jazz are going to win games, they'll need a lot more of him.
25. Phoenix Suns
Record: 1-3
Ranking last week: No. 25
Games this week: at Golden State, Portland, Orlando, Houston
Are some players in Phoenix frustrated by the lack of a point guard to run its offense, which ranks 11th in the NBA this young season? NBA insider Chris Haynes reports there is. As expected, reports from people close to the Suns shot that down, saying there is no dissension in the locker room. It's worth noting the Suns do have a starting-level true point guard on the roster in Collin Gillespie. He just doesn't start, at least not right now. If there is going to be dissension in Phoenix about something, it should be the 30th-ranked defense.
26. LA Clippers
Record: 1-5
Ranking last week: No. 20
Games this week: Toronto, Miami, New Orleans
Darius Garland has put up numbers — 22 points and 6.2 assists per game — but he's also at the heart of the Clippers' biggest issue this season: He is turning the ball over 5.6 times per game (prior to Sunday night's game). The Clippers lead the league in turnovers at 22.4 a game. Or, look at it this way, 22.2% of their possessions end in turnovers so far this season, that's more than one in five trips down the court (no other team is over 20%). How hard hit are the Clippers by injuries? They signed Blake Wesley to a 10-day hardship deal last week to have enough players, just four games into the season.
27. Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 1-5
Ranking last week: No. 29
Games this week: at Minnesota, at Boston, Toronto, Boston
Surprising stat of the week: Milwaukee Bucks starting five — Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma, Tyler Herro, Ryan Rollins, Jamie Jaquez Jr. — has a +20 net rating so far this season, the best of any of the top 10 most used lineups in the NBA this young season. That starting five (and the rest of the roster) will be put to the test this week against a couple of banged-up but still good teams, Minnesota and Toronto, plus two games against a quality Boston roster.
28. Brooklyn Nets
Record: 1-5
Ranking last week: No. 16
Games this week: at New York, Charlotte, at Atlanta, at Dallas
The roller coaster that is rookie Mikel Brown Jr. was on full display last week in the closing minutes against Boston. First, he knocked down a high-degree-of-difficulty running 3-pointer fading to the corner to force overtime. Then in OT, with the Nets up one with six seconds to go, the ball was inbounded to Brown and the smart play was to dribble it away from the rim, take as much time off the clock as possible, and get fouled (then sink the free throws). Instead, Brown drove hard to the basket and took a contested layup, which he missed, opening the door for Jayson Tatum's game-winner. It's going to be a learning process for him and the Nets.
29. Chicago Bulls
Record: 1-5
Ranking last week: No. 22
Games this week: at Philadelphia, at New York, Philadelphia
Maybe the play that best sums up the Bulls' start to the season came midway through the second quarter of Friday night's loss to the Celtics, when Boston's Paul George stole a pass and got out in transition, pulled up for a 3 that he missed, and 6'1" Payton Pritchard outmuscled 6'9" Matas Buzelis for the offensive rebound and put-back. Multiple Bulls said postgame the team just has to play harder, including rookie Caleb Wilson: "We're the Chicago Bulls, and I feel like it's unacceptable to be losing like we are and laying down that early in the game." Tough schedule this week with two against the 76ers and one against the Knicks (then the Spurs the following Monday).
30. Sacramento Kings
Record: 0-6
Ranking last week: No. 30
Games this week: at Dallas, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio, Miami
Despite the slow start and speculation around the league, coach Doug Christie is not on the hot seat in Sacramento because he's a friend and personal favorite of the owner the front office feels he can't be properly evaluated with a team as banged up as the Kings, and that he needs a fair chance, according to Sam Amick at The Athletic. Christie has now been the head coach for 139 games across three seasons but sure, more time. The Kings are banged up, and the player they miss most is Keegan Murray, who had arthroscopic surgery on his ankle in May but is still experiencing tightness, according to reports, and had a setback before the start of training camp. Murray averaged 14 points per game for Sacramento last season before injuries slowed him, and he would be a key wing player for this team. At least Darius Acuff is putting up numbers in all these losses and giving Kings fans hope for the future.
