The first week of November brought a clear split in the NBA power rankings: a handful of teams are surging on the strength of hot starts and breakout play, while others are sliding as injuries start to bite.
No team has climbed more dramatically than Memphis. The Grizzlies are the last undefeated team in the league, and that alone was enough to launch them 12 spots to No.
- That rise is a long way from where they were viewed before the season, since they opened at No. 25 on the writer’s preseason board.
The schedule has helped, but Memphis has also gotten real traction from the front-line pairing of Cameron Boozer and Zach Edey, and Ty Jerome has opened the year in excellent form.
Portland is right there among the early surprises. The Trail Blazers moved up seven places to No. 9, and the appeal is easy to see: Ja Morant, Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija have fit together well. The catch is that Morant is now sidelined with a hamstring strain and is expected to miss a month or more.
Dallas made one of the loudest statements of the week. The Mavericks jumped 11 spots to No. 10 after beating both Oklahoma City and Houston, two teams that had been undefeated.
Cooper Flagg has been the engine behind that push, taking a major step in his second season with averages of 26.8 points, 6.6 assists and six rebounds per game. The note on him is simple: he looks like an All-NBA player in just his second season.
Golden State also made a massive leap, climbing 16 spots to No. 12.
The Warriors looked lost through their first three games, but Stephen Curry has suddenly been playing like he is 28 instead of 38, and Yaxel Landeborg has broken out as a star. Golden State has now won four in a row, and the most recent of those victories came without Curry, with Landeborg scoring 37.
There were a couple of other movers worth noting near the top. Houston climbed just two spots to No. 1, while Boston moved up five spots to No. 4 behind a hot Jayson Tatum.
On the other side of the board, Oklahoma City took the biggest hit. The Thunder dropped 10 spots and fell out of the top 10 after a brutal stretch of injuries.
Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace are out for most, if not all, of the season, and Chet Holmgren is set to miss a couple of months while receiving treatment on his knee. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell can still keep the offense moving, but this is clearly not the same team.
Minnesota also slid hard, dropping nine spots to No. 13 after Anthony Edwards went in for knee surgery. That leaves the shot-creation burden on LaMelo Ball, a role that figures to bring plenty of swings, and the team will need better chemistry between Ball and Rudy Gobert to make it work. The timing of Edwards’ surgery was meant to set him up for a return around Christmas or New Year’s, with the goal of having him ready when it matters most.
Toronto rounded out the down side of the week. The Raptors knew they would have to manage time without Kawhi Leonard because of knee swelling, but the defense’s collapse without him was the bigger concern.
Toronto has gone 1-3 since he went out, and that slide sent the team down seven spots to No. 14.
In Other News...
Raptors Loss Exposed A Problem They Couldnt Afford Against The Lakers
Jakob Poeltl being ruled out with bursitis left Toronto scrambling for size at Crypto.com Arena, and the gap showed in a 131-125 loss to the Lakers. The Raptors still managed to make life uncomfortable for Los Angeles in stretches, forcing 22 turnovers and creating enough extra chances to stay within striking distance.
Luka Doncics 45-point night was the kind of star power Toronto could not fully absorb without its starting center, especially when the Raptors were already trying to play from a disadvantage on the glass and around the rim. The effort was there, but against a Lakers team with that much shot-making, Torontos inability to turn those turnovers into a winning edge loomed large. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors May Not Be Done After Kawhi Move
The Raptors long-awaited Kawhi Leonard deal is finally official, but the move arrives with a little less immediate payoff than Toronto had hoped. The trade from the Clippers had been held up by an NBA investigation into possible salary cap circumvention, and now the focus shifts to what Leonard can actually give the team once hes healthy enough to play.
Leonard is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a knee injury, which only adds to the sense that Toronto may still be working the phones. There is already speculation that the Raptors could look to add Milwaukee Bucks guard Tyler Herro in another trade, though nothing has been confirmed, and the possibility alone suggests this front office may not be done reshaping the roster just yet. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Suddenly Have A Frontcourt Opportunity They Cant Ignore
Domantas Sabonis has suddenly become one of the more intriguing names to watch around the league after ESPNs Tim MacMahon reported the Kings big man wants out following Sacramentos rough start. For teams like the Raptors, that kind of development immediately changes the conversation, because a player of Sabonis caliber does not come available often and any hint of movement at the top of the market tends to ripple quickly through the rest of the league.
Toronto already has reason to pay attention to the frontcourt market, and Sabonis would sit near the center of any serious discussion about upgrades. The fit questions are obvious, as are the salary complications and the roster decisions that would come with even exploring a deal, but the larger point is simple: if Sacramento really opens the door, the Raptors would be irresponsible not to at least look through it. [Read more 🡒]