NBA League Pass Power Rankings: 12. Utah Jazz
The Jazz’s on-court product remains an excellent viewing experience. Rudy Gobert’s spider-like limbs stretch out from across the court to alter shots, Mike Conley shoots floaters with both hands, and Donovan Mitchell’s surge has him looking like one of the best guards in the world.
But we’ve pretty much seen this all before, so I have to penalize Utah for a lack of spice. It remains a beautiful game to watch, but after several years of the same cast of characters running the same plays, I’m ready for something with a little more flavor.
NBA League Pass Power Rankings: 11. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers, predicted to be one of the worst teams in the league at the start of the season, have weathered an injury to their leading scorer (Collin Sexton) and still remain the six seed in the East.
Point guard Darius Garland has flourished in Sexton’s absence, showing uncanny patience in the pick and roll and an advanced feel for how to perfectly time his various lobs and floaters to confuse the defense.
But this team is ranked here for its trio of big men. NBA teams don’t start three seven-foot (-ish) guys anymore, ever, and it’s amazing to see just how much space they can cover.
Lauri Markannen will unleash a ferocious dunk once every few games, and Jarrett Allen has shown off some surprisingly sweet post moves. Rookie Evan Mobley is the real deal. He makes defense an exciting spectator sport, and might well earn an All-Defensive Selection as a rookie.
I don’t know if the Cavs can keep it up, but I do know that I’ll be watching every step of the way. They are penalized a little for egregiously bad color commentary from Austin Carr, whom I have to mute.
NBA League Pass Power Rankings: 10. Denver Nuggets
This team has been ravaged by injuries, but no team featuring reigning MVP Nikola Jokic can ever fall out of the top 10. He’s the best and most creative passer in the league, and it’s not even close.
He can also drain from deep or bully a smaller defender (and pretty much everyone is smaller than him), which makes for a pleasingly diverse offensive game. For someone without much lateral or vertical quickness, Jokic also attacks the ball on defense and gets a lot of deflections, steals, and blocks.
Jokic leads the league in basically every advanced stat, and he would be a shoo-in for a repeat MVP at this point if it weren’t for Steph Curry and the Warriors.
Aaron Gordon has had a nice bounce-back campaign. Bol Bol will always make you do a double-take the first time you see him. But really, this is about watching the most versatile and talented big man of our generation try and raise up an increasingly disparate group of players to something resembling a functional team.
NBA League Pass Power Rankings: 9. Brooklyn Nets
Boring colors, boring courts, boring uniforms. But a team can’t be boring when it has Kevin Durant, putting on an absolute clinic in how to shoot a basketball. Your mileage may vary when it comes to watching James Harden, but it’s undeniable that he’s one of the most skilled players in the league.
Patty Mills zipping around the court and launching threes with abandon is a delight. For NBA diehards, watching how coach Steve Nash uses DeAndre’ Bembry and Bruce Brown as positionless havoc-wreakers is fascinating (Nash does not get enough credit for how inventive he’s been as a coach these last couple of years).
Even without Kyrie Irving, this remains an eminently watchable team backed by the best broadcast crew in the league in Ian Eagle, Richard Jefferson, and Sarah Kustok.