NBA Power Rankings: Up is down, down is up after crazy start
By Phil Watson
Last week: Lost to Detroit 119-110, lost at Cleveland 110-99
This week: Monday at Detroit, Wednesday at Brooklyn, Friday vs. Cleveland, Sunday vs. Chicago
The Indiana Pacers already knew they would be without Victor Oladipo to start the season and things got more complicated when they lost Jeremy Lamb — one of the wings the Pacers hoped could replace some of Oladipo’s productivity — to a hip pointer in the opening loss to the Pistons. Lamb did not play Saturday at Cleveland.
Much was made of Indiana’s plan to start bigs Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner together, but through two games the early returns have been surprising. In 53 minutes with Sabonis and Turner together, the Pacers have a net rating of minus-5.6 and have been outrebounded 49-38. Not exactly what was expected when putting a pair of 6-foot-11 centers on the court together.
Malcolm Brogdon has been solid so far, scoring 52 points and handing out 21 assists in the first two games. He’s shooting 54.8 percent overall and is 6-of-10 from deep. Already with one 50/40/90 season in the books he might on the way to another.
Last week: Won vs. Chicago 126-125, lost to Minnesota 121-99, lost at Lakers 120-101
This week: Monday at Clippers, Wednesday at Sacramento, Saturday at Golden State
The Charlotte Hornets picked up a thrilling win over Chicago in their opener, going ahead on Cody Zeller‘s dunk with 1:40 left and holding off the Bulls down the stretch, but that has faded quickly in the wake of back-to-back blowouts.
Rookie PJ Washington has been fairly solid so far, averaging 15.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 34.3 minutes per game and going 9-of-17 from 3-point range (although he’s just 2-for-6 since his 27-point debut against Chicago). Devonte’ Graham is leading Charlotte in scoring off the bench at 18.7 points per game, getting more run than starter Terry Rozier thus far.
But outside of Graham, the second unit isn’t producing much, with Marvin Williams‘ 7.3 points per game on 6-of-11 shooting from deep being the only other highlight. And defensively, the only team worse than Charlotte’s 117.4 defensive rating is the woeful Warriors.
Last week: Lost at San Antonio 120-111, lost at Brooklyn 113-109, lost to Boston 118-95
This week: Monday vs. Chicago, Wednesday at Orlando, Friday at Boston, Sunday vs. Sacramento
The New York Knicks were competitive in a pair of road losses before coming home Saturday and getting shellacked by the under-manned Celtics to fall to 0-3.
But rookie RJ Barrett has been mostly a bright light for the Knicks, averaging 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 steals while playing a hefty 36.3 minutes a night. He’s shot 51.0 percent overall so far and is a sizzling 7-for-13 from long range. That’s not to say all is well: Barrett is a dismal 6-for-14 from the foul line and has turned the ball of 13 times already.
The good news for New York as a whole is they are first in the NBA with 12.3 steals per game. The bad news is they are last in the NBA with 22.0 turnovers per game. With Mitchell Robinson healthy, the Knicks have already made a change to the starting lineup, lifting Bobby Portis and Allonzo Trier in favor of Robinson and Elfrid Payton.