NBA Power Rankings: The Brooklyn Nets are on the rise
A few weeks into the 2020-21 NBA season, as the league continues to fight through a global pandemic, we’re beginning to see a few teams separate themselves from the rest of the pack. The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have been exceptionally impressive, while the Milwaukee Bucks and LA Clippers have quietly been solid.
Not to mention that the Brooklyn Nets might now be the overwhelming favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference after acquiring James Harden last week. That said, let’s take a look at another installment of SCIC’s NBA Power Rankings.
30. Detroit Pistons
Predictably, the Detroit Pistons have gotten off to a rough start to the season. Blake Griffin hasn’t had the impact that perhaps many thought he would and has looked like a shell of his former self as he struggles to round back into form post-injury.
The Pistons have a few solid young players but don’t have a face of the franchise in place, leading to a complete rebuild that is much-needed in Detroit.
29. Houston Rockets
After trading James Harden, I’m really not sure what to expect from a mix-matched Houston Rockets team that will be leaning on John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. The good news for the Rockets is that they may have found the second-coming of Chris Bosh in Christian Wood.
Wood has been a really good player for the Rockets and is likely the favorite to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year award. The big question for the Rockets, however, now revolves around Victor Oladipo.
28. New York Knicks
The New York Knicks have had a few bright spots to start the year but the verdict is still out on RJ Barrett as a potential cornerstone of the franchise – and that’s not great by any means. I still find it hard to believe that this team has enough talent to be a true playoff threat in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks are certainly better than last season and aren’t the laughing stock that they were a year ago, but this team is still 2-3 years away from being true players in the Eastern Conference.
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves aren’t the 27th worst-team in the NBA. A big reason why the Wolves have struggled over the last couple of weeks, after a strong start to the season, has been the injury to Karl-Anthony Towns.
That said, I’m still not sure how high this team’s ceiling can be this year. Though, a lot of that will depend on how far Towns can carry this roster. The Wolves will go as far as Towns can take them.
26. Chicago Bulls
Entering the season, I had high hopes that the Chicago Bulls could emerge as a darkhorse playoff team in the Eastern Conference. The start to the season hasn’t exactly reflected that. The team is 4-8 and has had issues closing games.
Zach LaVine has been really good, averaging 28 points, five rebounds, and five assists on 50 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. Still, somehow, it hasn’t been enough to right the ship in Chicago.
25. Washington Wizards
You can make the argument that the Washington Wizards have been the biggest disappointment in the NBA this season. With as much talent as they have, led by Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook, it would be viewed as a huge disappointment for this team not to make the playoffs.
However, with the start that this team has gotten off to, there’s probably a bigger probability that this team misses the playoffs than makes it. Are the Wizards a bad team or is this just a rough start to the year? At this point, I’m not sure that’s an easy question to answer.
24. Oklahoma City Thunder
Despite trading Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder during the offseason, there are still some positives to find for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are currently 6-6 and have seen flashes from some of their young prospects.
The Thunder are not going to make the playoffs this season, but they have a whole lot of assets to work with and a really good young player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The future is bright for Oklahoma City.
23. Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets lucked into LaMelo Ball in the 2020 NBA Draft and it’s paying off already through the first few weeks of the season. Even though he has yet to start a game for the Hornets this season, he’s still averaging 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists on 41 percent shooting from the field.
The Hornets also have a better record than many expected them to have at this point in the season and if this trend continues could find themselves in a playoff push late in the season.
22. Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings have gotten off, predictably, to a rough start to the year and there have already been whispers that this team is in disarray. It’s difficult to see how this season will end for the Kings, and who will still be on the roster, but the Kings are still a franchise in need of direction.
I’m not sure if there’s a franchise player on this roster and whether this team would not benefit from a complete rebuild.
21. Cleveland Cavaliers
Heading into this season, not much was expected from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Though to start the season they’ve been better than impressive and perhaps more importantly, their young core has shown some real promise.
Collin Sexton is making the jump to stardom and is averaging 25 points and four assists per game on 53 percent shooting from the field and an astonishing 52 percent shooting from 3-point range.
20. Memphis Grizzlies
After missing the NBA playoffs in the league’s restart, the hope was that the Memphis Grizzlies would be able to take another step in their progression to start this season. Though, they’ve gotten off to a somewhat shaky start.
In a difficult Western Conference, the Grizzlies are currently out of the top 8 and it appears they’re going to have quite an uphill battle to be a playoff team this season. That said, Ja Morant has been spectacular when he’s been healthy this season.
19. Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are an interesting team to watch for several reasons. For one, they have plenty of veteran pieces that would be highly sought after if they decide to trade off some assets at the NBA Trade Deadline. One potential player to keep an eye on is Kyle Lowry.
He’s an expiring contract after this season and would be a huge asset to any contending team looking for depth or starting point guard. Just something to keep in mind.
18. New Orleans Pelicans
Overall, the New Orleans Pelicans have been quite disappointing as a team to start the season. They’re under .500 and don’t have the look of a playoff team at the moment. While Zion Williamson has been highly productive, he hasn’t exactly had the impact on the rest of the roster that perhaps originally thought.
The Pelicans are a tough matchup on a nightly basis, but an average offense continues to hold this team back in the West.
17. Miami Heat
Right now, the Miami Heat are just bad. And I don’t think that’s something anyone would really argue with. Even when they had a full roster, the Heat was losing to teams they had no business losing to and Jimmy has been a shell of his former playoff self.
I’m not sure if the James Harden trade whispers had anything to do with this team’s slow start, but the hope is now that the possibility of trading the majority of the team’s roster for Harden is dead, the Heat will get back on track.
16. San Antonio Spurs
It might be strange to see the San Antonio Spurs this low (or high, I always get confused with rankings) but this is a team that has no clear identity or no stable future. They have to (semi)-stars that could be on their way out and many still expect this team to be active at the NBA Trade Deadline.
That said, the Spurs are still respectable and will be in the running for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference. Gregg Popovich continues to do an excellent job as head coach. He might be the best to ever do it.
15.Orlando Magic
Considering what the Orlando Magic have had to endure this season, it’s amazing that this team has been as competitive as they’ve been. Jonathan Isaac is set to be out the entire 2020-21 season and the team lost Markelle Fultz for the year recently as well.
I’m not sure if the Magic will be able to stay in the playoff hunt of the Eastern Conference for the duration of the season, but there’s no question that Steve Clifford has done a great job to start the year.
14. Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors got off to a slow start and are still trying to find their footing, without Klay Thompson, but they’ve been better overall as of late and have the look of a team that could sneak into the playoffs in the Western Conference
As long as Stephen Curry is healthy, this team is going to have a chance to wreak havoc in the Western Conference. The big question is, how high is this team’s ceiling without Klay? We’re about to find out soon enough.
13. Atlanta Hawks
After racing off to a great 3-0 start, the Atlanta Hawks have leveled off over the last couple of weeks. Interestingly enough, the statistics say that the Hawks aren’t that far off from being a good overall team. They’re 11th in both offense and defense and have the sixth-best net rating in the league.
The Hawks need more time to mesh as a team, but they have enough talent where they could emerge as real factors in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Who is going to want to face a team this talented in a playoff series?
12. Portland Trail Blazers
The good news is that it appears the Portland Trail Blazers avoided a bad start to the year – that’s something that plagued this team last season during the regular season. They’ve gotten off to a solid start and are currently in the top 8 of the West.
Question is, can they continue to play at this level without Jusuf Nurkic, who is expected to miss time with a fractured right wrist.
11. Denver Nuggets
Fresh off a run to the Western Conference Finals a year ago, many believed that the Denver Nuggets would pick up where they left off in the NBA’s restart bubble. However, the opposite has happened through the first few weeks of the season. They’ve gotten off to a rough start and have some questions about their immediate future.
Even though the Nuggets have one of the best offenses in the league, it’s their defense that has dragged this team down so far this season. The Nuggets may not have had an elite defense a year ago, but having a bottom six unit on that end of the floor will only limit this team’s potential.
10. Indiana Pacers
I’m not sure how the Indiana Pacers managed to swap Victor Oladipo for Caris LeVert but here we are. While I can’t say that their ceiling rose dramatically after this trade, you can make the argument that they essentially traded a player who was likely leaving after the season for significant value.
LeVert will be an ideal fit for this roster and team and will provide them with roughly the same amount of production that they’re losing with Oladipo.
9. Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is generally somewhat of an afterthought in the Western Conference but has proven once again at the start of the season that they’re going to be a factor when it comes to the playoffs. Led by Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the Jazz has great potential for this season.
If they can continue to grow as a team and individually, there’s no question that the Jazz could emerge as a threat in the playoffs – much as we saw them during last year’s playoffs in which they gave the Denver Nuggets all they could handle.
8. Dallas Mavericks
Even after getting off to a rough start and having to begin the season without Kristaps Porzingis, the Dallas Mavericks have actually been quite good. They’re one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now and are beginning to play quality basketball.
The Mavs have some work to do on the offensive end but their defense has been on point since the start of the season. That will carry this team a long way during the regular season.
7. Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns made headlines during the offseason by acquiring Chris Paul as an attempt to surround Devin Booker with another playmaker. And so far, you can’t argue with the results. Through the first few weeks of the season, the Suns have been one of the best teams in the Western Conference and are just one game behind the conference-leading Lakers.
The Suns are one of the few teams in the league that have a top 12 offense and defense. As long as this team is healthy, they’re going to be a dangerous team come playoff time.
6. Milwaukee Bucks
The good news for the Milwaukee Bucks is that they have locked up Giannis Antetokounmpo for the foreseeable future, but there are true concerns about this team moving forward. The rest of the Eastern Conference looks improved and the Bucks are by no means a unanimous favorite to make it out of the conference.
Perhaps the Bucks need a bit more time to mesh together, but something appears to be missing with this team. Even with the offseason additions, I’m not ready to say that this team is improved from last season – a year in which they didn’t even make it out of the second round in the NBA playoffs.
5. Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a better team than they were last season. That is something that I believe can be said with confidence at this point in the season. Joel Embiid has been on a tear this season and Ben Simmons continues to be one of the better two-way stars in the league.
The Sixers have *enough* shooting and didn’t have to gut their roster for James Harden (more on that later), which could end up being a blessing in disguise for this team in the long run. Nevertheless, the Sixers are true contenders in the East.
4. LA Clippers
Despite being somewhat of a disappointment in the playoffs last season, the LA Clippers have been quietly steady to start the season. They’ve gotten back to basketball and have put in work with their heads down. They’ve worried about what they can control and Kawhi Leonard is even playing in back-to-backs.
The Clippers are clearly focused on getting the bad taste of the playoffs last season out of their mouth and have gotten off to an impressive start to the season. All the attention in the Western Conference may be focused on the Lakers, but the Clippers shouldn’t be overlooked.
3. Boston Celtics
When healthy and at full strength, there might not be a better all-around team in the Eastern Conference than the Boston Celtics. They have the second or third-best duo in the NBA with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum and have one of the deepest rosters in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics have gotten off to a fast start, despite being limited due to COVID-19. At this point, the Celtics are viewed as one of the few teams in the East that many believe could make it to the NBA Finals and potentially win it all.
2. Brooklyn Nets
Even though the Brooklyn Nets have gotten off to an up-and-down start to the year, acquiring James Harden supersedes their record. Now equipped with arguably three of the top 10 players in the NBA, the Nets will become one of the most talented teams in recent history.
They have the best trio in the league and if they could make it work schematically, we could be looking at the overwhelming favorites to emerge from the Eastern Conference.
1. Los Angeles Lakers
Even though the Nets have risen in our NBA power rankings, I didn’t feel strong enough about the move to place them above the defending champions. The Los Angeles Lakers have consistently been the best team in the NBA and until they fall into a lull or the Nets completely dominate them, I can’t see this ranking changing anytime soon.
LeBron James still looks extremely dangerous and you could actually make the argument that Anthony Davis has looked like the best player in the NBA through the first two weeks of the season. Enough said.