It's an NBA Power Rankings Tuesday

How does more than 4,000 words' worth of musings from The Committee (of One) sound to set up your NBA Cup Tuesday night? (If that is too many ... apologies. Got swept up in the spirit of the thing)

The plan, in truth, was to chef up a piping-hot batch of NBA Power Rankings last Tuesday. Before November's end.

Bringing home the free agent signing of Jake Fischer wound up taking precedence for The Committee (of One):

By waiting a week, though, we have brand-new rankings to coincide with the completion of the opening quarter of the 2024-25 regular season. All but six teams have played 20 games, so it's an ideal time to assemble a new 1-to-30 ladder with fresh pulse-takes for every team on the map.

You guys surely know the drill by now. As established during our maiden full season on this platform in 2021-22, our preferred rhythm here calls for publishing rankings on a (roughly) monthly basis. These are broader periodic looks at the league as opposed to our old weekly ESPN pulse takes … which ESPN happens to assemble nowadays with a committee that legitimately strays into double-digits.

Yet the overall mission here remains unchanged: Establish a 1-to-30 order (somewhat) independent of the standings that measures big-picture potential and expectations alongside short-term results. Injuries and other off-court developments, positive and negative, are factored in as well … with some sprinkles of Committee whim mixed in.

We don't always achieve our goal of publishing an updated 1-to-30 ladder around the same time each month during the regular season, because unforeseen stories/shifting project timelines have a habit of derailing such plans, but it's always enjoyable to turn back the clock and immerse myself in Power Rankings mode to make sure we never forget how to do this.

Graphic via photo editor Aaron Stein.

You are asked, as always, to register your questions, quibbles or any other pertinent thoughts in the comments section below so we can respond and expound upon our thinking.

And remember: Rankings posts are incredibly long. Just click on the headline to get the web or app version instantly if it proves too unwieldy to consume as an email.

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1️⃣ Cleveland Cavaliers

Even if you don't think Cleveland can maintain its tidy 70-12 pace, there's no dismissing Kenny Atkinson's impact in Northern Ohio. The Atkinson Cavs, without having projected prime floor spacer Max Strus on the floor for a single second, boast the league's No. 2 offense. And they've done it with Donovan Mitchell averaging a career-low 31.9 minutes per game. The Committee clearly had these guys too low in the Opening Night rankings. And now the Cavs, who have only two 60-win seasons in franchise history — LeBron James' last two seasons of his first stint there in 2008-09 and 2009-10 — only need to go 42-19 from here to make it three.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 12

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2️⃣ Boston Celtics

You'll find only one Eastern Conference team in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency on this Power Rankings Tuesday ... and only one NBA team on the planet hoisting at least 50 3-point shots per game. It is the defending champions from Boston, who have also welcomed back Kristaps Porziņģis from injury earlier than expected and, all things considered, have made a pretty strong opening statement in their first experience as defending champions since 2008-09. Really only Cleveland has been on the Celtics' level when it comes to the East.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 1

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3️⃣ Oklahoma City Thunder

If you believe that the outcomes of close games are as much random results as they are based on late-game execution, be prepared to consider the possibility that the Thunder are even better than their 15-5 record suggests. The one blemish on its resume so far: Oklahoma City is 0-3 in games decided by three points or fewer. Think it's fair to say that they're doing just fine overall when you consider that the Thunder have already lost more man-games to injury this season (89 per Jeff Stotts' InStreetClothes.com database) than they did all of last season (53) and still sport the league's top-ranked team defense.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 2

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4️⃣ Houston Rockets

A good example of what sort of team these Rockets are: Sunday's impressive win over West-leading Oklahoma City at home marked the fourth time this season that Houston won despite shooting worse than 42% from the field. According to ESPN Stats & Info, no other team had done it more than twice entering Monday's play. The Rockets were adamant that they could be a playoff team this season after last season's surge from 22-60 to 41-41 and they appear to be aiming even higher than that already. Maybe my pals at Strat-O-Matic weren't so crazy when they projected these Rockets to post the best record in Texas.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 19

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5️⃣ Orlando Magic

The Committee saw one of Orlando's early games without Paolo Banchero and naturally began to fear for the Magic when they got drubbed by 23 in Dallas at a time that the Mavericks weren't even playing well. You wondered how the Orlando offense, never free-flowing in the best of times, would function without Banchero ... especially after they lost the next two games to fall to 3-6. All we've seen from the Magic since then: A 12-1 surge led by a better-than-ever Franz Wagner and, as a result, one of the league's five best records to date despite playing only nine of 22 games at home. The opposition hasn't been the toughest, true, but the Paolo-less circumstances offset any strength-of-schedule gifts.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 10

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6️⃣ Dallas Mavericks

When the Mavericks slumped to a 5-7 start, including a dreadful road loss to the tanking Jazz, all the preseason talk about how deep this roster looked seemed foolish. All the Mavericks have done since those early stumbles is go 5-1 in games without Luka Dončić ... including wins over the Thunder (road), Nuggets (road) and Knicks (home) without their face of the franchise. Kyrie Irving has been a steadying (and stellar) force and Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie have all steadily expanded their roles after being acquired in the more subtle business of a Klay Thompson-headlined offseason.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 3

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7️⃣ Golden State Warriors

Can't say The Committee thought this iteration of the Warriors was truly 12-3 good, but the panic spawned by their recent four-game skid in the wake of that sizzling start feels excessive in the other direction. Only four teams in the West awoke Tuesday with a top-10 spot in both offensive and defensive efficiency and these Warriors were one of them alongside Oklahoma City, Memphis and Dallas. Not a bad place to be with what is routinely described as a placeholder roster until the Warriors, following up on their unsuccessful trade pursuits of Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, can swing a big deal to find a new starry sidekick for Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 13

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8️⃣ New York Knicks

The Tom Thibodeau Knicks, after 20 games, boast the league's top-ranked offense and its No. 22 defense. That sentence, of course, will sound strange even if we are still saying it after 40 or 60 games. Significant defensive improvement should be forthcoming, mind you, once (if?) Thibodeau can get Mitchell Robinson on the floor to help Karl Anthony-Towns defensively. KAT has indeed fit in quite quickly as a much-welcomed source of floor-spacing at the other end while Jalen Brunson just won Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the sixth time in two-plus seasons as a Knick.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 5

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9️⃣ Milwaukee Bucks

Focus on the schedule easing up if you wish. You won't hear that from The Committee today. The Bucks endured some of the loudest criticism imaginable when they started 1-6 and 2-8 and deserve flowers aplenty for the manner in which they've bounced back to 10-9 … all still without seeing Khris Middleton yet. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been at his otherworldly best — he's threatening to shoot better than 60% from the field for the second straight season — to haul the Bucks back into the East's upper third where they belong. If not for a whistle in Charlotte that the league office admitted a day later was incorrect, we'd be talking about nine victories in a row and by far the league's longest active winning streak.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 8

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🔟 Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies, like Houston, have significantly exceeded The Committee's projections ... even with Ja Morant missing 10 games, Desmond Bane missing seven and Marcus Smart missing 10. A soft stretch of schedule has certainly helped, but a 14-7 start is impressive under any circumstances after all of last season's injury woe. We'll see the Grizz in person Tuesday night in Dallas with Memphis riding a six-game winning streak and sporting an 8-3 record when Morant does play. Tuesday's Cup game is scheduled to be Morant's first official game in Dallas in more than two years after he missed the last seven regular-season meetings between the teams (although we did see him here during the preseason).

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 16

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1️⃣1️⃣ LA Clippers

The Clippers' response to losing Paul George in free agency was to load up on defense while waiting for the future financial flexibility that George's departure will create. Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, Kris Dunn, Jeff Van Gundy as defensive coordinator ... all the new additions orbiting around James Harden and a better-than-ever Norman Powell have helped the Clips christen the new Intuit Dome with a top-five defense as they weather Kawhi Leonard's latest lengthy absence. As for The Committee … we are still working on arranging that first trip to the new building. Hopefully early in 2025 and hopefully we run into fellow Substacker

Paul Scheer

!

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 21

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1️⃣2️⃣ Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokić is merely averaging 29.6 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.7 assists and has routinely looked like the best player in the world throughout the season's opening quarter. The problem in Denver: Almost nothing else about the Nuggets looks right ... from Jamal Murray's ongoing shooting woes to how thin they seemed during Aaron Gordon's lengthy recent injury absence to Denver's uncharacteristic vulnerability (5-4) at home. Coming into the season, The Committee would have told you that Jokic and any other 14 to 17 players on the roster would pretty much automatically be a 50-win team. It turns out that, in #thisWest, even The Joker needs more assistance than he's getting.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 6

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1️⃣3️⃣ Minnesota Timberwolves

Did visits from the two L.A. teams get the Timberwolves right? Last season's losing Western Conference finalists were starting to get desperate before a one-point home escape against the Clippers and a rout of the Lakers hauled Minnesota back to .500 following a four-game skid that prompted Anthony Edwards to announce that "we soft as hell as a team — internally." Worrisome as it is to hear a star publicly register that kind of criticism at such an early juncture, 'Sota will want to believe that these first 20 games — after Karl-Anthony Towns was so abruptly swapped for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in the final hours of the offseason — served as this team's actual training camp.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 4

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1️⃣4️⃣ Atlanta Hawks

2-0 against mighty Cleveland? The first Eastern Conference team (and only one so far) a to reach the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup? Winners of a five-team Cup group that featured the Cavaliers and Celtics? The Hawks are all those things despite a so-so start to the season for Trae Young, who's averaging a ridiculous 12.2 assists per game but shooting less than 33% from deep and also ranked a stunningly low No. 60 in the league in usage rate as of Tuesday morning at 26.1. BTW: It really looks like the Hawks have something with Jalen Johnson.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 20

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1️⃣5️⃣ Phoenix Suns

The Suns are 10-2 when Kevin Durant plays and 1-6 without him. Which suggests that Phoenix should be OK if it gets last season's Durant ... who impressively appeared in 75 games as a 35-year-old. The worry here, of course, is that Durant has played in 55 games or fewer in every other season but last season since 2018-19, when he unforgettably sustained a torn Achilles in the NBA Finals. The Suns, meanwhile, have only had Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal together in nine of their first 19 games ... after the trio played together in just 41 of 82 games last season. These Suns are deeper overall than last season's Suns, but not by much.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 9

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1️⃣6️⃣ San Antonio Spurs

The Committee forgot about its own unwritten rulebook and is (somewhat) guilty of dismissing the Spurs' ability to compete in the rugged Western Conference after their limp second-half showing on Opening Night in Dallas. Dumb knee-jerk reaction. Even after the terribly difficult circumstances that have forced Gregg Popovich to take an indefinite leave from the bench, San Antonio has been the playoff threat many expected after the arrivals of veterans Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes — with Victor Wembanyama duly invoking memories of the Year 2 jump that Young LeBron's Cavaliers made two decades earlier. Keerthika Uthayakumar special: Wemby has averaged 31.1 points, 3.4 blocks and 42.2% shooting from deep on 11.9 3-point attempts in his last eight games … after averaging 17.7 points, 3.7 blocks and 22.6% shooting from deep on 6.3 3s per game through his first nine games.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 22

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1️⃣7️⃣ Miami Heat

The Committee has admittedly had a hard time letting go of the Erik Spoelstra timeout gaffe in Detroit that cost Miami a win it really could have used and doesn't get any easier to believe no matter how many times we mention it. Dare we say that the Heaters, however, still look like their pesky tough-out selves as long as they have Jimmy Butler in uniform. Injury has sidelined Butler five times in Miami's first 19 games and the Heat, despite injury issues beyond their main man, still entered Monday's visit to Boston ranked 10th in the league in defensive efficiency. They don't go away.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 15

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1️⃣8️⃣ Los Angeles Lakers

By month's end, LeBron James will be 40. He has vowed to play in all 82 games in his 22nd season and is 21 for 21 so far, but the load that has to be shouldered by James — who is 0 for 19 from deep across his last three outings and in the midst of perhaps his worst six-game stretch ever — already looks significant. Ditto for Anthony Davis. Even with AD playing some of the best all-around ball of his life, L.A.'s star twosome clearly needs more help, which helps explain why first-year coach JJ Redick has been doing so much searching with his lineups. Those last six games for James by the way: 16.8 PPG on 39.8% shooting … 5.0 turnovers per game … 3-of-30 shooting on 3s.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 17

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1️⃣9️⃣ Brooklyn Nets

I've written more than once already this season about the Nets winning more than they really want to during the season's opening quarter. Make no mistake: They didn't reacquire control of coveted first-round picks from Houston to then mount a playoff push. These things, though, tend to work themselves out naturally over time. The real culprit so far, if you want to call it that, has been Brooklyn's hard-to-believe success under first-year coach Jordi Fernández against Western Conference opposition at 6-1. The rest of the East is (dang) 28-49 in head-to-head games against the West.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 29

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2️⃣0️⃣ Detroit Pistons

Although the Pistons' stay in the league's top 10 in defensive efficiency was short-lived, they are a passable 9-13 under first-year coach J.B. Bickerstaff and have a chance to advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup if they can beat visiting Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Something tells me they'll relish that mere opportunity to play host to the Bucks in a game with some stakes after what Detroit endured between Halloween and New Year's Day last season. The pressing concern at the moment is a hip injury that has sidelined Cade Cunningham for four of Detroit's past five games.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 26

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2️⃣1️⃣ Sacramento Kings

Eleven teams in the West are off to a .500-or-better start and the Kings are not one of them. An early 1-7 nosedive, undoubtedly nudged along by recent injury absences for DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk, have thrust Sacramento into an early hole. Concerns about perimeter shooting and size, furthermore, have quickly resurfaced for a team that, don't forget, didn't even make the playoffs last season despite winning 46 games. Losing the game at home in overtime to Minnesota in which De'Aaron Fox erupted for a season-best 60 points is a pretty handy illustration of the Kings' start.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 18

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2️⃣2️⃣ Indiana Pacers

Several of the top early contenders in this season's dreaded Most Disappointing Team race (Minnesota, Sacramento and Denver) can be found in the West, but the Pacers are right up there (or is that down there?) when it comes to Eastern Conference nominees. While true that Indy isn't a Philadelphia-level disaster, you'd struggle to find anyone lumping Tyrese Haliburton and Co. in these days with Cleveland and Orlando on the East's list of on-the-rise teams like we thought coming into the season ... especially with Haliburton looking nothing like last season's version when the Pacers travel (11.9 PPG on 31.7% shooting in road games). Indiana, which fielded last season's No. 2 offense, awoke Tuesday mired at a lowly No. 16 in offensive rating.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 11

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2️⃣3️⃣ Chicago Bulls

You probably thought that The Committee was exaggerating when we labeled the Bulls as one of this season's most fascinating teams. We're guessing you've started to see what we mean by now. Remember: Chicago must finish with the league's sixth-worst record to absolutely guarantee that that its first-round pick in June does not slip out of the top 10, which would force the Bulls to send it to San Antonio. The Bulls, as is, are too competent to ensure a bottom-six finish and that's why — as the aforementioned Mr. Fischer so expertly explained in a piece last week — there is so much leaguewide trade curiosity already about what the Bulls will do.

Last ranking (Oct. 23): 23

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2️⃣4️⃣ Toronto Raptors

Confession Time: Most 6-15 teams wouldn't hold The Committee's interest like the Raptors do. But the ongoing expansion of Scottie Barnes' game ... plus a few box score detonations from Committee fave Jakob Poeltl ... plus the mere fact that one of our favorite cities is involved keeps us tuning in. (PS — Don't be surprised if The Committee drops in on Canada's Team in the very near future. We miss the place badly!). The Raptors have also somehow landed on the wrong end of two of this season's four buzzer-beating endings so far, losing to shots at the horn by Detroit's Jaden Ivey and Boston's Jayson Tatum (click the link for the full Basketball Reference list).

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 24

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2️⃣5️⃣ Philadelphia 76ers

The next win that the 76ers record against a team that is currently .500 or better will be their first this season after an 0-11 launch. It is a staggering thing to say out loud even if Joel Embiid (four games played) and Paul George (nine) have still both been seen so infrequently through Philadelphia's first 18 games. What seemed like the dreamiest of offseasons turned nightmarish even before Thanksgiving arrived, but the most upbeat advice we can give Sixers fans is: Take a gander at the standings. In #thisEast, as of Tuesday morning, Philly was only three games out of a Play-In Tournament spot. Life is good in the Leastern Conference.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 7

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2️⃣6️⃣ Portland Trail Blazers

Confession Time 2.0: Even with Committee fave Deni Avdija on the roster, we admittedly haven't caught much Blazers Basketball this season. But when we did dial in and watch them Sunday night ... wow. Portland shot 58.3% from the field and 58.1% from long range against the visiting (and short-handed) Mavericks ... and still somehow lost. Leave it to my good buddy Mark Followill, Dallas' outstanding play-by-play voice, to dig up that teams leaguewide had won 81 consecutive games — dating to March 2010 when the Blazers overcame New Orleans' similarly scorching shooting to win on the road — in such circumstances.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 28

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2️⃣7️⃣ Charlotte Hornets

While true that the defense functions better without LaMelo Ball, Charlotte certainly isn't as watchable when its flashy point guard can't go. After missing more than 100 games through injury over the past two seasons, Ball has been felled by a calf strain ... after averaging 40.3 points per game on (ahem) 32.5 shots per game in the four outings prior to getting hurt. Charlotte's injury list, mind you, has stretched far beyond Ball in Year 1 under new coach Charles Lee, but Brandon Miller's Year 2 promise has been a legit bright spot. We've still yet to see Ball, Miller, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams log one minute together this season and, as my Mancunian pal James Plowright is keen to remind, that's Charlotte's projected core.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 25

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2️⃣8️⃣ Utah Jazz

As noted here previously, we witnessed an interesting quirk about Utah's first two seasons after disassembling the team built around Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert: Both of Will Hardy's first two seasons as began with surprisingly solid records of 26-26 through 52 games before a more overt tanking flourish to finish each of those campaigns. No such flirtations with competitiveness in Year 3. Only the Pelicans' injury misery is keeping the Jazz out of the West basement despite some solid contributions from John Collins and Walker Kessler on a frontline obviously headlined by Lauri Markkanen.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 27

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2️⃣9️⃣ New Orleans Pelicans

Injury outbreaks are nothing new for the Pelicans, but what we've seen so far is excessive even by their standards. In one of the shocking stats of the season thus far, courtesy of NBA.com's John Schuhmann, New Orleans entered Monday's eventual loss at Atlanta without a single lineup that had played 44 minutes together. On top of all the injuries — Herb Jones has missed the past 18 games, Zion Williamson the past 13 and Brandon Ingram five in a row — Willie Green and the Pels have been forced to watch Dyson Daniels flourish with the Hawks after he was packaged with Larry Nance Jr. in the Dejounte Murray deal. When I crossed paths with the Pels recently, I struggled to keep up with the number of coaches, players and team staffers all essentially saying the same thing when we chatted: Never seen anything like this.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 14

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3️⃣0️⃣ Washington Wizards

The good news: Washington would have to lose its next 15 games to break Detroit's record for the league's longest single-season losing streak of 28 Ls in a row established just last season. The bad news: The Wiz just went 0-14 in November and have only one game left this season (Feb. 8) against the only team they've been able to beat— somehow they're 2-0 against Atlanta. With Dallas making its lone visit to the nation's capital Thursday, something tells me Kyle Kuzma is about to get a question or five from reporters about urging Washington not to trade him there last February.

Last ranking (Oct. 22): 30