USA TODAY International Edition
Celtics can’t be stopped
In case, for whatever reason, you still needed convincing that the Celtics are no fluke, Thursday night’s down-to-thewire win over the Warriors — the 14th in a row after starting the season 0-2 — should have done the trick.
Plus, Warriors coach Steve Kerr already anointed the Celtics “the team of the future” in the Eastern Conference, and Stephen Curry joked that while the Celtics need to get past the Cavaliers to make it to the NBA Finals, he heard the “weather’s great” in Boston in June.
With five weeks down, here’s how we view the league’s current power structure. (Notes: Records and statistics through Sunday’s games . ... Voters, listed at the end of this article, include NBA reporters from across the USA TODAY Network.)
1. (last week 1) Celtics (15-2): Kyrie Irving has garnered the headlines and Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have exceeded expectations, but the Celtics’ most valuable player during this 15-game winning streak might just be Al Horford.
2. (2) Warriors (13-4): The Warriors, down 22 points at halftime, looked cooked Saturday night against the 76ers. Then you realized they’re the Warriors. They outscored the Sixers 47-15 in the third quarter, marking the franchise’s most-lopsided quarter in over 40 years.
3. (3) Rockets (13-4): In Thursday night’s win over the Suns, the Rockets became the first team since 1991 to put up 90 points in a half. As if you needed a stat to prove how dominant this offense is.
4. (7) Raptors (11-5): The Raptors, riding a four-game winning streak, rank fifth in the NBA in three-pointers attempted (31.4 per game) after finishing 22nd last season (24.3 per game).
5. (4) Pistons (11-5): The Pistons — who dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season but bounced back with a three-point win over the Timberwolves on Sunday thanks to stellar play from Reggie Jackson — have their work cut out for them over the next few weeks, with the Cavaliers, Thunder, Celtics, Wizards, 76ers, Spurs and Warriors on tap.
6. (5) Spurs (10-6): With last Tuesday’s victory over the Mavericks, Gregg Popovich reached 500 road wins faster than any coach in NBA history, needing just 835 games to do so. 7. (10) Timberwolves (10-6): Despite some of the early-season woes, the T’wolves find themselves in third place in
the Western Conference and off to a 10-6 start for the first time since 2005.
8. (17) Cavaliers (9-7): The current four-game winning streak is an encouraging sign, but the Cavs still rank last in the NBA in defensive rating, allowing 110 points per 100 possessions.
9. (13) Trail Blazers (9-7): The Blazers boast the No. 2 defense in the league (98.5 points allowed per 100 possessions). They also rank in the top five in opponent field goal percentage (43.1%), three-point percentage (33%) and threepointers made (8.3 per game).
10. (8) Wizards (9-7): John Wall missed Sunday’s loss to the Raptors with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee — an ailment coach Scott Brooks called “nothing serious.” Still, the Wizards can only do so much without their All-Star point guard running the show.
11. (6) Nuggets (9-7): Not only did the Nuggets drop 146 points on the Pelicans on Friday night, they did so on 62.9% shooting and with six players scoring in double figures. “If we’re moving the ball like that and everybody touches it — and we’re cutting, moving and finding the open guy and making shots — we could do that every night,” Jamal Murray said.
12. (18) 76ers (8-7): Otherworldly play from Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons might make it easy to forget: There’s a No. 1 overall pick on this team that hasn’t played since Oct. 23. The Sixers announced some encouraging news on Markelle Fultz, saying his shoulder soreness is “dissipating” and he’ll be re-evaluated in two to three weeks.
13. (16) Bucks (8-7): Saturday’s 32point loss to the lowly Mavericks, which ended a four-game winning streak, was Milwaukee’s worst of the season. What’s more, it showed that this team still has plenty of issues to sort out, one of them being the bench, which ranks last in the NBA in scoring at 23.9 points per game.
14. (14) Thunder: The Thunder, who bounced back from their four-game losing streak by winning three games in a row, relinquished a 23-point lead Friday in a loss to the Spurs. So this roller coaster ride of a season continues ...
15. (22) Pacers (9-8): The Pacers have won four of their last five games, including a 22-point comeback win over the Pistons on Friday. They’ve been the No. 1 three-point shooting team in the NBA during this stretch, knocking down 46% of their shots. 16. (12) Pelicans (8-8): Curious what coach Alvin Gentry thought of his team’s performance after Friday night’s 146-114 loss to the Nuggets? “We didn’t do anything right, and everything was terrible, coaching included. It was an embarrassment. We embarrassed our franchise, and that includes everyone.”
17. (15) Knicks (8-7): Kristaps Porzingis, who came in at No. 4 in our NBA MVP power rankings last week, has struggled a bit in New York’s last three games, shooting 33.9% from the field. “He’s still a young player,” coach Jeff Hornacek said after Friday’s loss to the Raptors. “We can’t expect him to (go off) every single night.” 18. (11) Magic (8-8): The Magic, who have been one of the league’s best threepoint shooting teams this season, have gone the other direction during their four-game tailspain, shooting 33.1% from beyond the arc, which ranks 24th in NBA.
19. (9) Grizzlies (7-8): As if things weren’t bad enough for the Grizzlies, who have lost four in a row and seven of their last nine, they must now go on without Mike Conley, who’s out indefinitely with a sore left Achilles. 20. (19) Heat (7-9): The Heat rank 26th in the NBA in offensive rating, scoring just 100.1 points per 100 possessions. They ranked eighth in the NBA (109.7 points per) during last season’s 30-11 finish. 21. (23) Lakers (7-10): While his father was again stealing headlines for his “feud” with President Trump, Lonzo Ball was putting together one of the best games of his otherwise shaky young career. The 20-year-old point guard recorded his tallying second 11 NBA points, triple-double 16 rebounds on and Sunday, 11 assists in a win over the Nuggets.
22. (21) Jazz (7-10): A positive for the Jazz, who have lost seven of their last nine? Rodney Hood is playing some of the best basketball of his career since moving from the starting lineup to the second unit this month, averaging 23 points, including two 30-plus point outings, while shooting 45.8% from beyond the arc. 23. (24) Hornets (6-9): The good? The Hornets ended a six-game skid Saturday against the Clippers, Kemba Walker has put up 73 points and made 11 of his 18 three-point attempts in his last two games and Nicolas Batum is back in the lineup. The bad? That six-game skid.
24. (20) Clippers (5-10): After eight consecutive losses, we can’t help but wonder: How much longer does coach Doc Rivers have? 25. (26) Suns (7-11): Hidden behind all that losing in Phoenix, fourth-year forward TJ Warren has quietly been one of the league’s most improved players this season, averaging 18.6 points — without a three-point shot — on 51.1% shooting, as well as 5.9 rebounds. 26. (25) Nets (6-10): More bad news for the Nets, who announced Friday that D’Angelo Russell will be out indefinitely after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The third-year guard has been Brooklyn’s best player during his first year with the team, averaging 20.9 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds.
27. (28) Hawks (3-13): Yeah. See below. 28. (27) Kings (4-12): The Kings just lost to the Hawks. Who have three wins. By 46 points. Enough said.
29. (30) Mavericks (3-14): The Mavericks, who rank third in the NBA in threepointers made (11.9 per game) and attempted (33.5), tied a franchise record with 19 makes from beyond the arc in Saturday’s win over the Bucks. At least they have that going for them.
30. (29) Bulls (3-11): Look at the bright side, Bulls fans: Rookie Lauri Markkanen has been one of the best first-year players in the league. The 7-footer dropped a career-high 26 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday’s loss to the Suns.