Thunder outpaces the Cavs in the NBA Power Rankings, while the Suns and Grizzlies are both performing strongly

1 Thunder Although a statement victory may be premature in early December, OKC’s comprehensive thrashing of Luka Doncic and the Mavs in Tuesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal definitely put the league on notice—well, even more notice. It’s possible that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s outstanding 39-point, eight-rebound, five-assist performance on 5 of 9 3-point shooting put him at the top of the MVP race. Despite not even having Chet Holmgren, they are currently the NBA’s best team. 2 19-5 2 Cavaliers Well, it was inevitable, but losing the No. isn’t a bad thing. For the Cavaliers, one spot. They continue to rank second in the NBA in terms of net rating, ranking first in offense and ninth in defense. On Friday, Max Strus is scheduled to make his season debut. They returning to the top of the Power Rankings sooner rather than later would not be shocking at all. 1 21-4 3 Celtics The entire discussion will center on how Memphis’ decision to let Jrue Holiday shoot as many 3-pointers as he wanted during Saturday’s defeat “exposed” Boston (he went 4 for 17 in the game, which is almost twice his previous high for 3-point attempts this season). I think it’s being overblown, but it will still be worth seeing. The absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Al Horford was possibly more significant. scored a scorching 27 points and pulled down nine rebounds. We shall see. 1 19-5 4 Grizzlies The Grizzlies, who have won 10 of their last 12 games, ended their winning streak by defeating the Boston Celtics for the first time in more than ten years. Although he is no longer a dunker (wink, wink), Ja Morant was outstanding in the victory over Boston, scoring 32 points, pulling down nine rebounds, and dishing out nine assists on 4-of-6 3-point shooting. 2 17-8 5 Rockets The Rockets are demonstrating that they can win in any manner, despite their offensive issues. Golden State scored zero points in the last three minutes of Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal, demonstrating their complete lockdown in crucial situations. 1 17-8 6 Mavericks The Mavericks should be a little worried if Tuesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal served as a preview for the playoffs. They were unable to get anything going against a Thunder defense that was on lockdown, and Luka Doncic was kept under wraps. Dallas was playing well prior to the loss, and there’s no reason to believe that will stop, but they’ll probably experience that in January. The 17th game against OKC is marked on the calendar. 1 16-9 7 Magic We began to believe that the Magic might be a team of destiny and that the rest of the league should pack up after they defeated the Suns in their first game without both Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero. However, they lost badly to the Bucks, even though Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 32 points. Orlando will be a formidable playoff opponent if and when this team is fully recovered. 2 17-10 8 Knicks During Wednesday’s humiliating loss to the Hawks, all the warning signs that Knicks supporters have been attempting to deny since the start of the season erupted loudly inside MSG. Karl-Anthony Towns had a fantastic statistical game, but he made some of his old big-game mistakes, including fouling out and giving the opposition a parade to the rim. Dyson Daniels had essentially locked up Jalen Brunson, so New York had no one else to reliably produce offensive plays. The Knicks will play well enough to finish with a strong regular-season record, but the NBA Cup quarterfinal showed how far they need to go before April arrives. — 15-10 9 Warriors The Warriors haven’t been playing well lately, regardless of your opinion of what Steve Kerr called an “unconscionable” call at the end of their quarterfinal NBA Cup loss to the Rockets on Wednesday. Jonathan Kuminga was added to the starting lineup because they have only managed 105 points per 100 possessions during their 2–7 run. When Andrew Wiggins is healthy, Draymond Green should come off the bench, giving us a new look. He’s been good. — 14-10 10 Clippers Finally, ladies and gentlemen, Kawhi Leonard is officially dot. Rehearsing. Womp, womp. Norm Powell has thrived in his absence, averaging 25 points on 50/48/93 splits over his last three games. This isn’t the news Clipper fans were hoping for, but it’s better than him not practicing, isn’t it? 1 14-11 11 Bucks Although their record has improved, the Bucks aren’t exactly emerging as a contender, even though they are unquestionably better than they were a few weeks ago. They were saved by a late comeback against the Nets, but they had to wait until the very end to defeat a disabled Orlando Magic team at home after the supporting cast failed to show up against the Celtics. Even during this 8-2 run, the defense hasn’t been very good, despite the outstanding play of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. 3 13-11 12 Timberwolves According to the legendary Anthony Edwards, even Julius Randle is “f—ing playing defense” during Minnesota’s ten-game winning streak, which has returned the team to its previous form. Despite their poor offensive performance, they will be present in every game as long as they continue to play excellent defense. 1 12-11 13 Heat It’s a strange moment to be a Heat supporter, as the team appears to be improving (having won three straight games), but it could also be disintegrating (Jimmy Butler’s stated “openness” to a trade). Given Butler’s continued influence on winning, it is clear that things will drastically change if he leaves. When you think Nikola Jokic can’t get any more impressive on the basketball court, he follows up a career-high 56 points with a nice 48-14-8 on a back-to-back. 2 12-10 14 Nuggets I suppose it goes down a little easier if you blow the Hawks away the very next night and score 141 points. The Nuggets will soon be a strong team once more if his supporting group can provide him with production that is even remotely consistent on both ends. 2 12-10 15 Hawks The Hawks are on the verge of being a dot. excellent? Wednesday’s victory over the Knicks was a fantastic demonstration of this team’s abilities: they are resilient, athletic, adaptable, and led by a fearless leader who rolled dice at MSG’s halfcourt as the clock struck the final seconds. And perhaps Atlanta’s next trip to Vegas will wake up anyone who is still in the dark about Jalen Johnson. A portion of the reasoning behind the acquisition of Bradley Beal was the belief that, in addition to Devin Booker, they would have two stars to help them navigate the seas in the event that Kevin Durant was forced to miss time. Phoenix lost its first three games following KD’s most recent absence, so it’s not a good start on that stormy front. In reality, the offense has been fine, but the defense has suffered greatly when Durant is out, as is frequently the case. 6 12-11 17 Lakers LeBron will not play in 82 games. Fortunately, the first game he missed ended in a victory for the Lakers, as Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, and Anthony Davis combined for 81 points against the Blazers. However, after the explosive start, they are still in a downward spiral, losing 3-7 in their last 10 games with a pitiful offensive rating of 106 during that time. — 13-11-18 Spurs Victor Wembanyama returns, and the Spurs end their three-game losing streak. In his first appearance on the court after a brief two-game absence, the big man finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in 26 minutes. — 12-12 19 The Kings offense is thriving! After dropping 281 points in back-to-back victories over the Spurs and Jazz, Mike Brown became a stickler for consistency, saying “possession after possession” 26 times in a row during his postgame press conference on Sunday (no, really dot). Look it up. . Malik Monk, who has averaged 22 points on 50/47/89 splits over his last seven games, has joined the Big Three as the fourth member. — 12-13 20 Pistons Discuss winning with a signature. The Pistons crushed the Knicks in MSG, limiting the most effective offense in the league to 111 points. In the victory, Cade Cunningham scored 29 points, dished out 15 assists, and pulled down 10 rebounds, further solidifying his status as an All-Star. 1 10-15 21 Brooklyn has now dropped four of five games while trailing by almost 11 points per 100 possessions. Without Cam Thomas, the Nets are especially struggling offensively, with Dennis Schroder and Cam Johnson leading the team in both playmaking and scoring. 1 10-14 22 Bulls Despite scoring a lot this week, the Bulls only managed to score 100 points in the one game where they held an opponent to less than 110 points. If Chicago is unable to stop anyone on the other end, it doesn’t really matter that Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are both scoring more than 20 points on average on nearly 50-40-90 splits over their last ten games. — 10-15 23 Pacers Despite their victory over the Bulls, the Pacers have had a rough run, dropping five of six games and averaging just under 108 points per 100 possessions. As a weekly reminder, Indiana finished second in the league the previous season with a 120 point5 offensive rating. Tyrese Haliburton has six points for the season so far, including two nights with single-digit scores. All Pacers defeats. — 10-15 24 76ers Clean slate! The Sixers are 1-0 when Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Joel Embiid actually finish a game together, and that’s all that matters for the team at the moment. The even better news is that Embiid looked excellent in his 33 minutes of play on Sunday, scoring 31 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. 2 7-15 25 Hornets A 26-point performance from Brandon Miller in a victory over the struggling Pacers ends Charlotte’s eight-game losing streak. The second-year forward has averaged 29 points on 38% 3-point shooting over his last five games as the offensive focal point. The situation for the 7-18 Raptors gets worse as Scottie Barnes, who just recovered from an orbital fracture, is predicted to miss a lot of time due to an ankle injury. Now, the offensive burden returns to RJ Barrett, who has averaged 26 points on splits of 54/38/83 in his last five games. 2 7-18 27 Trail Blazers Portland has given up an incredible 125 points per 100 possessions during the past four games and six of its last seven games. Having Deandre Ayton on the court during those seven games has caused the Blazers’ defensive rating to soar from 119 (bad) to 127 (REALLY bad)—not good for your starting center. 2 8-16 28 Jazz Want to hear something crazy? The Jazz gave up . and lost to the Kings two nights after dominating the scoreboard with 141 points in their victory over the Blazers on Friday. exactly 141 points. *Insert X-Files music* Keyonte George is having a great run, scoring an average of 21 points on 52/42/100 splits during the two mirror-image games. — 5-18 29 Brandon Ingram joins the Pelicans’ increasing number of players who have been sidelined for extended periods of time because of injuries. We’ve heard that song before, of course, but if you believe the rumors, he might not be in New Orleans for much longer. After CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray recover from their shooting slump, the Pelicans should begin to win a few games here and there even without him. — 5-20.