A New No. 1 Takes the Throne From the Bucks
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The Celtics seemingly can’t lose, and the Kings are right there with them shooting up the standings as well. The Warriors, Nets and Lakers all had strong weeks. And the gap between the muddled middle and the league’s bottom dwellers is quickly growing as the Hornets, Pistons, Rockets and Spurs rack up the losses.
There’s a new No. 1 team in the NBA entering Thanksgiving week. See where the league’s best and worst teams stand 1–30.
1. Boston Celtics
Record: 13–3
Previous ranking: 2
The C’s completed another undefeated week and stretched their win streak to nine games to match Milwaukee for the longest this season. Boston has the best record, offensive rating and net rating in the NBA, and its defensive rating has vastly improved this month. The Celtics, who have the league’s best point differential (+7.2), are making things look easy, and with each passing game Jayson Tatum builds on his MVP case. Boston bested OKC, Atlanta and New Orleans last week, and a six-game homestand awaits after a Monday-night game in Chicago.
2. Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 11–4
Previous ranking: 1
Milwaukee made it through October undefeated but is 5–4 so far in November after it sandwiched a win against the Cavaliers between losses to the Hawks and 76ers last week. Offensive issues have been the clear culprit each time the Bucks have lost. They scored 106 or fewer in each game they dropped, something even their league-leading defense cannot compensate for. Milwaukee has four home games over the next seven days to get back on track.
3. Utah Jazz
Record: 12–6
Previous ranking: 5
Utah’s losing streak stretched to three games last Monday after it lost at home to New York. The Jazz then turned around and beat the Suns in a 134–133 shootout behind Lauri Markkanen’s clutch jumper and then downed the Trail Blazers on the road the next night to take hold of the No. 1 seed in the West. Will Hardy’s team keeps finding ways to win, and very few teams have had an answer for its top-five offense.
4. Phoenix Suns
Record: 10–6
Previous ranking: 6
Phoenix came up just short twice last week. The first one-point loss can be credited to Jimmy Butler’s heroic block on Devin Booker’s would-be game-winning attempt, and the second came in crunch time against the Jazz. Even with two heartbreaking defeats, it wasn’t a bad week for Phoenix. It beat Golden State, again, on a night when Steph Curry finished with 50 and then demolished New York. Cam Payne has filled in admirably for the injured Chris Paul alongside Devin Booker in the frontcourt, and the Suns’ upcoming schedule is kind as they await the Point God’s return.
5. Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 10–6
Previous ranking: 3
An already trying week for the Trail Blazers ended with a Damian Lillard calf injury. He left Saturday’s game against the Jazz—Portland’s second loss in a row—early and was diagnosed with a calf strain. The hope is that the All-Star guard misses only “a game or two,” though this is his second calf strain of the season. If that is the case, he could rejoin the team in New York against the Nets or Knicks this weekend after it takes on the Bucks and Cavaliers on the road during the week.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 10–6
Previous ranking: 9
Cleveland’s losing streak stretched to five last Wednesday in Milwaukee. That skid dampened the effects of an eight-game winning streak that saw the Cavaliers rocket to the top of the standings in the weeks before. Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell combined for 75 points in an overtime win against the Hornets, and then Cleveland routed Miami a few nights later to correct course. Even with their recent struggles, the Cavs are still the only team in the NBA who rank in the top five in offensive and defensive rating. They’ll be tested this week against the Hawks, Trail Blazers and Bucks.
7. Atlanta Hawks
Record: 10–6
Previous ranking: 8
The Hawks beat the Bucks by double digits for the second time in seven days last Monday, and this time they did it on the road. Atlanta then got blown out by Boston a few nights later at home and eked out an overtime win against Toronto over the weekend. This team is never too high or low, as it’s been alternating wins and losses for nearly two weeks now. The backcourt pairing of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray has generally been effective, but their outside shooting numbers and the Hawks’ as a whole are troubling: They rank 30th in three-point makes per game (9.1) and 27th in three-point percentage (31.9).
8. Denver Nuggets
Record: 10–6
Previous ranking: 4
Denver scored a one-point victory over Dallas on Sunday to avoid a winless week without Nikola Jokić (COVID-19 protocols). The Nuggets lost to the Knicks and then got blown out by the Mavericks with the reigning MVP sidelined. In the second of its back-to-back games against Dallas, Denver held Luka Dončić to 22 points, which matched a season low, and won with Jokić, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon all out. Bones Hyland scored a career-high 29 points, and Michael Malone’s offense kept on rolling without its big man making plays. He hopes to return against Detroit on Tuesday.
9. Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 10–7
Previous ranking: 7
Just when the Grizzlies got Jaren Jackson Jr. back, Ja Morant went down with a sprained ankle. The All-Star guard left Friday’s game against the Thunder—the only win for Memphis last week—early and did not play in Sunday’s loss to the Nets. With Tyus Jones stepping in for Morant, the Grizzlies are better prepared than most teams to lose their point guard and, of course, there’s the matter of their incredible record without him a season ago. But Memphis hasn’t been the juggernaut it was in 2021 yet, straddling the line between playoff and play-in team with a thin point differential.
Luka Dončić leads the NBA in scoring (33.5 ppg).
Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports
10. Dallas Mavericks
Record: 9–7
Previous ranking: 10
Dallas lost to one of the worst teams in the NBA in its first game this season without Dončić. The league’s highest-usage player took a night off to rest, and the Mavericks managed just 92 points against the Rockets, hardly a defensive juggernaut. It was still a 2–2 week for the team with a win over the Clippers and a split against the Nuggets. In October, Dallas led the league in offensive rating. It’s down to No. 21 so far in November and No. 11 for the season. Dončić still leads the league in scoring (33.5 ppg), but even he can only do so much.
11. New Orleans Pelicans
Record: 9–7
Previous ranking: 12
New Orleans went 2–1 last week without Zion Williamson. The Pelicans beat Ja Morant’s Grizzlies by double digits Tuesday at home, and the Bulls suffered the same fate the next night. The Celtics, the hottest team in the league, came to the Big Easy on Friday night and put an end to that winning streak, though. Williamson (foot) said he’s “definitely” playing Monday, so look out for his return to the lineup when New Orleans wraps up its six-game homestand against Golden State.
12. Washington Wizards
Record: 10–7
Previous ranking: 11
A Shai Gilgeous-Alexander game-winner broke up the Wizards’ win streak, but after a home heartbreaker versus the Thunder they got back in the win column in overtime against the Heat and then the Hornets over the weekend. Washington’s seven losses has it behind the top teams in the East, but it’s played inspired basketball so far in November. The Wizards have back-to-back games in Miami this week and a test Sunday in Boston against the first-place Celtics.
13. Sacramento Kings
Record: 9–6
Previous ranking: 17
The Kings still can’t stop anyone on defense, but no team can keep up with them on offense. They’ve scored 120 or more each time out during their six-game winning streak, and last week 130 was their offensive floor. Sacramento hung 153 points on the Nets, then 130 against the Spurs and then 137 versus the Pistons. After an 0–4 start, the Kings executed a masterly turnaround. They’ll look to keep the offense flowing on a difficult three-game road trip this week in Memphis, Atlanta and Boston.
14. Los Angeles Clippers
Record: 10–7
Previous ranking: 13
Kawhi Leonard returned to the lineup last week to a Clippers team that’s slowly creeping up the standings. L.A. beat Houston, Detroit and San Antonio and dropped a close one to Dallas. It’s not the most difficult slate of opponents, but it’s still something for a team that had a very shaky start to the year and is still struggling mightily on offense. The spotlight will be on Leonard and Los Angeles this week with three of their four games on national television.
15. Indiana Pacers
Record: 9–6
Previous ranking: 16
The league’s most discussed trade package is contributing to winning basketball in Indiana. The duo of Myles Turner and Buddy Hield and, of course, the awesome backcourt duo of Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin have the Pacers in position to make the playoffs if the season ended today. They went 3–0 last week with wins over the Hornets, Rockets and Magic, and Indy has lost just once in November. Haliburton, who leads the league in assists, has his team up to No. 8 in offensive rating, and the Pacers are raining down threes on their opponents in the Hoosier State.
16. Toronto Raptors
Record: 9–8
Previous ranking: 14
The Raptors are staying afloat with their best player, Pascal Siakam, still sidelined with a groin injury. They beat the Pistons and Heat last week and then fell in overtime to the Hawks on Saturday. Toronto’s net rating tells the story of a team that’s better than its record shows, and it has three home games against quality opponents this week to prove that: Brooklyn, Dallas, Cleveland.
17. Philadelphia 76ers
Record: 8–8
Previous ranking: 15
Joel Embiid’s scoring tear continued last week. On the heels of a pair of monster outings, he went for 32 in a win against the Bucks and matched that total in a close loss to the Timberwolves. The two-time MVP runner-up is making a case once again for the award and now ranks second in the league in points per game (32.3). The Sixers have needed every point out of him with James Harden and Tyrese Maxey out. Philadelphia hosts Brooklyn on Tuesday and then gets the Hornets and Magic twice to close the week.
18. Brooklyn Nets
Record: 8–9
Previous ranking: 22
What to make of Brooklyn? Its week began with a 153–121 shellacking in Sacramento. Then the Nets upset the Trail Blazers on a Royce O’Neal tip-in, and Sunday night Kyrie Irving returned from his suspension for a convincing victory in Memphis. And now Ben Simmons is beginning to find his offensive game. He’s scored in double figures in three straight games and went for 22 points against the Grizzlies. Kevin Durant is having a phenomenal year, but Irving has been largely unavailable and Simmons a shell of himself. Perhaps Brooklyn can deliver on some of its preseason promise if the latter two can play up to their potential now that the trio is back together—it has a tough schedule ahead to prove it.
19. Golden State Warriors
Record: 8–9
Previous ranking: 25
The streak is over: The defending champions finally won a road game. Curry’s 50-point barrage in Phoenix wasn’t enough to avoid an 0–8 start away from the Chase Center, but Golden State finally got one Sunday in Houston behind Klay Thompson’s season-high 41-point barrage. The Warriors also downed the Knicks and Spurs at home as they continue to battle back from a 3–7 start. After big individual outings from Curry, Thompson and Jordan Poole, it appears things are finally clicking for the Dubs, who have a pair of nationally televised games coming up against the Pelicans and Clippers.
20. Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 8–8
Previous ranking: 24
The T-Wolves clawed their way back to .500 with a pair of wins last week. The defense held the Magic and 76ers under 110 points, and Anthony Edwards led the team in scoring with 35 and 25 points after a handful of rocky games for the young star. For a team that made such a massive all-in move over the offseason, a play-in spot at this point of the year is well below expectations, but at least their arrow is pointing up with a somewhat soft schedule ahead.
21. Oklahoma City Thunder
Record: 7–9
Previous ranking: 19
The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Show hit its peak last week. OKC’s star guard went for 42 points on the road in Washington D.C. and capped off his season-high performance with a game-winning three. That was the only win last week for the Thunder, though. They dropped a close one to the Celtics and then lost to Memphis in SGA’s lowest-scoring game of the year. Oklahoma City heads home this week for a three-game set and then hits the road again for the weekend.
22. Miami Heat
Record: 7–10
Previous ranking: 18
The Heat’s week began with a tough win at home against the Suns to get to .500 for the first time this season. Then they hit the road, where they’ve been dismal to date, and dropped three games in five days. First in Toronto, and then in Washington in overtime, and then they rolled over in Cleveland. Miami’s injury report is starting to stack up—only Kyle Lowry has started in every game. The road trip mercifully ends Monday night in Minnesota, and then the Heat return to Miami for two in a row against Washington.
23. Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 5–10
Previous ranking: 27
Don’t look now, but the Lakers have won three in a row. They have three consecutive 30-point, 15-rebound outings from Anthony Davis to thank for this streak that breathed some life into a team that was floundering. The Lake Show went 2–0 last week with LeBron James still out and Russell Westbrook distributed double-digit assists in each contest from his sixth-man spot. They didn’t necessarily gain any ground in the playoff field, but they didn’t lose any, either. Now they go on the road to take on the Suns on national television Tuesday, and there’s no love lost between these teams.
24. New York Knicks
Record: 8–9
Previous ranking: 20
The Knicks began their West Coast road trip with a pair of victories over the Jazz and Nuggets. Julius Randle scored a season-best 34 points in Denver to lift New York’s record above .500 for the first time since October. Then the wheels fell off over the weekend in double-digit losses to the Warriors and Suns. The Knicks wrap up their road trip Monday in Oklahoma City and have a long break before they host the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies over the weekend.
25. Chicago Bulls
Record: 6–10
Previous ranking: 23
The Bulls are falling fast. A one-point loss over the weekend to Orlando was their fourth in a row, and they are now just 3–7 over their last 10 after the Pelicans handled them without Williamson earlier in the week. Chicago gets Boston at home Monday night before it embarks on a six-game road trip that begins Wednesday in Milwaukee. Not what you want for a team that’s struggling like the Bulls.
26. Orlando Magic
Record: 5–12
Previous ranking: 26
The Magic have been largely competitive despite their injuries. Just last week, they beat the Bulls to spoil DeMar DeRozan’s 41-point outing. But with Paolo Banchero sidelined, Orlando lost to the Hornets, Timberwolves and Pacers. The Magic get another crack at Indiana on Monday before they return home to host the 76ers for a two-game set over the weekend.
27. San Antonio Spurs
Record: 6–12
Previous ranking: 21
Since getting off to a 5–2 start, the Spurs have gone 1–10, and their lone victory this month came against the Bucks. What a weird season. San Antonio went winless in five tries last week and was on the business end of some rather one-sided outcomes: a 37-point rout at Golden State, an 18-point loss in Sacramento, a 22-point defeat versus the Clippers and a 31-point loss to the Lakers.
28. Charlotte Hornets
Record: 4–14
Previous ranking: 28
Charlotte’s problems go deeper than injuries, but its inability to field a healthy roster hasn’t helped its cause. The Hornets ended their eight-game losing streak with a win last Monday against the Magic in LaMelo Ball’s second game back from injury. The very next game, the former Rookie of the Year reinjured his ankle; Charlotte began another run of losses against the Pacers, Cavaliers and Wizards; and he hasn’t played since.
29. Houston Rockets
Record: 3–14
Previous ranking: 30
Another week brought more losses for Houston. First against the Clippers, then the Pacers and finally the Warriors on Sunday night. The only interruption to their losing was a trip to Dallas against the Dončić-less Mavericks. The Rockets are tied for the fewest wins in the league and average nearly as many assists per game as turnovers. At least they have a long break before their next game Friday against the Hawks.
30. Detroit Pistons
Record: 3–15
Previous ranking: 29
The Pistons still haven’t won since Cade Cunningham went down with a shin injury, and it was reported over the weekend that the second-year guard may need surgery to address what is feared to be a stress fracture. Detroit struggled mightily even with its best player on the court, and he won’t be back anytime soon. The Pistons will try to put an end to their seven-game skid when their road trip resumes Tuesday in Denver.
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