How do the Celtics stack up now that we’ve had a decent look at the league?
We’re now just about three weeks into this young NBA season, and we already have some surprises. There have been some slight over-performers, some big under-performers, and some teams right where we expected them. There’s also been a whole slew of significant injuries early on that have been muddying the waters around the league. Some younger players have been finding their footing, and others struggling to do so. So, when we put it all together, how are the Celtics stacking up?
*Stats and standings are as of the morning of Nov. 11*
Top Threats:
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Cleveland Cavaliers – 1st in East (11-0): The Cavs have been the best team in basketball so far. Kenny Atkinson took the head coaching reins over the offseason, and he has them running like a well-oiled machine. They have an offensive rating of 122.0, ranked #1 in the league, to go along with their #8 ranked defensive rating at 109.9. Many people, myself included, were down on Darius Garland by the end of last year. It is worth noting that he was sidelined several times due to injuries last year, and his sub-par play could have been a result of a lack of consistency for him. He’s certainly stepped it back up this year, and was recently rewarded with the East Player of the Week award.
Donovan Mitchell is obviously a stud, too, and already has two game winners on the season. He also took home the East Player of the Week award the week prior to Darius. Maybe the biggest positive for the Cavs has been Evan Mobley’s breakout. He’s been looking like a potential all-star this season, and could even be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. Another place I’ve been proven wrong so far, the team has continued to look good with their double-big lineup of Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
There’s not really anything negative I can say about Cleveland right now. They’ve been operating at an exceptionally high level, and that too with Max Struss, a key rotation player, sidelined with an ankle injury thus far. The Cavs managed to take a game from the Celtics when they matched up in the playoffs last year, and that too without Jarrett Allen, and several games missed by Donovan Mitchell and Dean Wade. I think it’s safe to say they pose the biggest threat to the Celtics at this point, at least out of the East.
Oklahoma City Thunder – 2nd in West (8-2): The Thunder are largely considered to be the favorites to make it out of the West this year. I’m leaning towards agreeing, but recently those odds may have taken a hit. In the early minutes of the Thunder’s recent matchup with the Warriors, Chet Holmgren went up to block a shot, and came down hard on his hip. It was revealed after the game that he had suffered a right iliac hip fracture, and that his return to play protocol would be announced in 8 to 10 weeks. Aside from losing Shai, this is just about the worst news OKC could have gotten with an already extremely thin center rotation.
Isaiah Hartenstein, their big free agent signing, has yet to suit up due to a fracture in his hand, and will continue to be sidelined for at least another week or two. Jaylin Williams (J Will, not J Dub) has also been sidelined with a hamstring strain, and won’t be back until December at the earliest. That leaves the Thunder fresh out of centers, and their roster is already full. Unless they plan on playing a whole lot of small-ball, they’ll likely have to waive someone and sign another center from the remaining free agent pool to cover in the meantime, and the market isn’t exactly looking exceptional right now.
The Warriors ended up winning the game in dominant fashion, as the Thunder looked out of sorts without their starting center. OKC is an otherwise deep, scrappy, and extremely well-coached team, so it’s hard to tell how far they’ll fall with all of their big men sidelined for the time being. What is at least encouraging is that if all goes well, they’ll progressively be getting healthier, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, should all be back for the playoffs. Boston can’t take them lightly in the meantime, though, and both teams are still likely candidates to meet in the Finals.
Other Potential Challengers:
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Phoenix Suns – 1st in West (8-2): The Suns are off to a much better start this year than last. To this point, I would credit it to the fact that they had time for their big-three to gel at the end of last year, and that they were healthy to start this season. The health part, has unfortunately taken a turn though. It was just announced that Kevin Durant suffered a calf strain which will keep him out for at least two weeks. He’s been the one leading the charge for the Suns so far with a staggering 27.6 PPG on 55.3/42.9/83.6 shooting splits, so this is undoubtedly a big hit for them. A lot of weight is going to fall on Devin Booker’s shoulders on top of the already existing load.
The one big thing that Phoenix has this year which should help them to manage absences better than they did last year is having a true point guard on their roster in Tyus Jones. Jones is a steady vet who will play a key role in stabilizing their offense and allowing Booker and Beal some relief. The two of them can play off of the ball a bit more, which should make it easier for them to get open shots than if they had to create everything themselves. Phoenix currently ranks 12th offensively, and 14th defensively. I’d imagine those numbers both take a hit with Durant sidelined, but I think this will ultimately be a good test for Phoenix. I can see them finishing the season as a top 4 seed, and so long as they’re healthy come playoff time, it’s hard not to believe a three-headed snake of Beal, Booker, and Durant is a threat.
Denver Nuggets – 4th in West (7-3): The Nuggets looked rough for the first few games of the season. They have people wondering if they needed to blow it up. But Nikola Jokic has absolutely put the team on his back, and is doing his absolute best to keep them on track. To be honest, I don’t know how anyone could argue against him being the best player in basketball, and when you have the best player in the league, you’re going to be in the contender conversation. They have a top-tier starting five with Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun. Jamal Murray hasn’t looked like his usual self since getting hurt in the playoffs last year, though, and it was recently announced that Aaron Gordon will be sidelined for multiple weeks with a calf strain.
As a result, they’ve been relying on young guys like Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson to take on a lot of responsibility. They’ve been put into bigger roles than they probably expected this early, but they’re going to have to adjust quickly to hold the team over. The team has also looked to a declining Russell Westbrook to help out, but I don’t think they want to rely on him as much going forward as they’ve had to so far. Ultimately, unless the Monstars steal Jokic’s power, they’ll have enough talent to be heavily considered in the contender conversation and to be a threat to the Celtics.
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Minnesota Timberwolves – 8th in West (6-4): Minnesota has been trying to build up their chemistry after trading Karl Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. To me, it seems like they may a bit better off after the trade than New York, but their shot creation outside of Anthony Edwards hasn’t looked very good. He’s been leading the charge with 28.3 PPG on solid efficiency, especially from three where he’s shooting 45.8% thus far, but that is a tough mark to maintain over the course of a season. Outside of scoring, his playmaking leaves a lot to be desired. He averages 3.8 assists per game, but 3.6 turnovers per game to go along with that. DiVincenzo and their rookie Rob Dillingham could help to get Edwards into some more off-ball action, but we haven’t seen enough of that yet in my opinion. Overall, the Wolves are top 10 in both offense and defense, which is a good place to be if you want to make some noise. I’m not sure if they could keep up with the Celtics offensively, but I would by no means consider it to be an easy series if the two were to match up.
Dallas Mavericks – 11th in West (5-5): Dallas isn’t off to a great start this year, but after making it to the Finals last year and bringing in guys like Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes, they have to remain in the contender conversation. Many people thought Klay was washed, but he’s been a solid contributor thus far, currently 3rd on the team in PPG at 13.8. He’s not as efficient from three as he used to be, but 35.4% is still respectable. The Mavs have been operating without Dante Exum so far, and Dereck Lively and P.J. Washington both suffered injuries that have had them missing the last several games as well. The team has done a fair job rolling without three rotational players from their Finals bout with the Celtics, and will likely go up from here once they return. The Celtics beat them in pretty dominant fashion, but sometimes that kind of disappointment can light a bigger fire. I’d expect the Mavs to put up a better fight in the next matchups, but we’ll have to wait to see if that’s the case.
New York Knicks – 5th in East (4-5): Coming into the season, the Knicks were widely expected to be Boston’s biggest competition this year, at least out of the East. Those conversations quieted down a lot when the Celtics thrashed them on opening night. The Knicks defense was pretty non-existent, and while KAT had an okay game, he wasn’t the game changer New York hoped he would be. All that being said, I won’t count them out yet. Their offense is ranked 2nd in the league, but their defense is near the bottom at 23rd. That’s a rarity for Tom Thibodeau led teams, and I wouldn’t bet against him finding a way to hide KAT and Brunson on that end of the court just yet.
They’re still trying to get healthy with Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa out for a considerable amount of time, and they haven’t had much time to find their chemistry either. I personally thought their playoff run last year was a little fluky, but I’m not going to let that influence my thoughts on their actual potential too much. They have one of the better starting-fives in the league, and Jalen Brunson and KAT are both big time players. I wouldn’t say I fear them, but they do deserve to be in the contender convo, and shouldn’t be taken too lightly.
Sneaky Teams to Watch:
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Indiana Pacers – 3rd in East (5-5): Indiana gave Celtics maybe their toughest series of last year’s playoffs, and they continue to be a hard team to beat this season. Despite Tyrese Haliburton getting off to a slow start and Aaron Nesmith being sidelined with an ankle injury, the Pacers were able to hand Boston their first loss of this young season. They play with such intensity that it feels like they’ve consistently controlled the pace (no pun intended) against the Celtics. They’re not yet a contender on paper, but if Tyrese Haliburton can get back to the level of play he started last year with, they have the potential to de-throne Boston in the East. Despite losing both Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman for the season to Achilles injuries, they’ve been able to hold their own for the most part, and seem like they’re trending upwards. With the pace and intensity they play with, they’re definitely a team to monitor.
Los Angeles Lakers – 6th in West (6-4): JJ Reddick got this team off to a hot start in his debut season, but the team has since cooled off a tad bit. Anthony Davis is playing at an MVP level, leading the team with a whopping 31.2 PPG, not to mention his 10.4 RPG, 2 BPG, and 1.3 SPG. The Lakers are finally making him the center piece, but not for a lack of production from LeBron (Senior, not Junior.) LeBron is putting up an efficient 23 PPG, 8.9 APG, and 7.7 RPG, which is insane considering he’s going to be turning 40 years old before the end of 2024. They’ve been getting solid production out of Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura as well, and although their bench hasn’t been scoring much, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, and rookie Dalton Knecht have been a decent supporting cast.
They’ve been missing Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood to this point, and although I think they could help to fill in gaps, they’d really just be an extension of the depth as opposed to key rotation players. The one player who really doesn’t seem to be pulling his weight just yet is D’Angelo Russell, and JJ Reddick responded by having him come off the bench. D’Lo was a lot more productive last year, both in terms of efficiency and totals. If he can get back to where he was last year, that makes the Lakers slightly more of a threat. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to shop him for a replacement, though. Overall, the team has a solid foundation, and one of the best duos in the league, but are prone to having off nights. As long as they can get to the playoffs healthy, they have a shot to make a deep run.
Golden State Warriors – 3rd in West (8-2): No, we’re not back in 2018. KD, Klay, and Iguodala are no longer on the roster. Steph Curry still is, though, and he still looks as good as ever. He has a new splash brother too in Buddy Hield, and they’ve got the Warriors sitting atop the West once again. If you said you expected the Warriors to be where they are at this point in the season, I don’t believe you. They may not have the same talent as their previous championship teams, but they’ve put together a solid roster which has taken down the likes of Boston and OKC already. They are currently #3 in offensive rating, and have the #4 defensive rating. They’ve certainly impressed to this point, but I’m not ready to call them contenders just yet.
They currently have the 24th ranked strength of schedule, meaning they’ve mostly been playing subpar teams so far. When they matched up with Cleveland they were decimated, and they also fell to the Clippers fairly decisively. Beating Boston was definitely a feat even if we were missing Jaylen and Porzingis, and after 2022 I can never take Steph lightly. Beating OKC as dominantly as they did is also notable, but the loss of Chet Holmgren in that game opens up the “fluke” possibility there. The Warriors have a championship track record, so I will give them some benefit of the doubt in saying that they could be a threat if they can keep up this level of play. I don’t see them making a deep playoff run myself, but the potential is there.
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Memphis Grizzlies – 5th in West (7-4): Man. What can go wrong has gone wrong in Memphis. They are on their third straight season of getting derailed by a slew of injuries. We’ve already seen Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, GG Jackson, Luke Kennard, and Vince Williams Jr. sidelined for extended periods of time, with some of them expected to be out for a while longer. What makes the Grizzlies so special, though, is their ability to find production in a real “next man up” way. Scotty Pippen Jr., Santi Aldama, Jaylen Wells, Zach Edey, Jay Huff, and Jake LaRavia have been doing an excellent job filling in the gaps. It’s been a real team effort, and you can tell that everyone in Memphis just cares. When your players are motivated and buy in without need for any extra motivation, that’s always a great recipe for success. If Memphis can get healthy, they may be the deepest team in the league. That’s a big if, though. As things stand, I wouldn’t label them as contenders just yet, but they could become a threat very quickly.
Los Angeles Clippers – 7th in West (6-4): The Clippers are on of the bigger surprises for me this season. With Paul George leaving in free agency and Kawhi Leanord sidelined for an undisclosed amount of time to start out the year I expected them to fall into obscurity. Surprisingly enough, James Harden, Norman Powell, and Ivica Zubac have been steadily leading the charge in keeping this team competitive. Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn were also solid additions to their depth, and have been steady contributors. It was reported that Kawhi would be out for a few more weeks, but that the expectation is that he’ll be able to stay on the court once he returns. There’s been no evidence over the past decade to make me believe that claim, but if it really does end up being true, the Clippers may actually have a solid squad to run with this season. That being said, I don’t know how likely it is that their group maintains their current production, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on that for now. The Celtics should be able to handle them as things stand, but Kawhi’s return will be a big determining factor on if that remains the case.
Milwaukee Bucks – 14th in East (2-8): It’s looking rough in Milwaukee, there’s no doubt about that. Coming into this season I expected them to be Boston’s biggest competition, but the Celtics are already 2-0 against them, and Porzingis hasn’t even played a single second yet. Bringing in Dame and Doc Rivers last year is starting to look like a franchise changing set of moves, and not in a good way. The Bucks are on “blow it up” watch, but I’m not ready to completely count them out just yet. Khris Middleton coming back certainly won’t solve all of their problems, especially if he can’t consistently stay on the court after he does eventually return from the ankle surgeries he had on both legs over the offseason. He can certainly help push them in the right direction, though.
Giannis has continued to be dominant, and Dame has helped out for the most part, at least offensively. It simply hasn’t been enough, though. Dame and Giannis are averaging a combined 57.6 points per game. All of the other players on the roster are currently combining for 53 ppg. I wouldn’t consider that a recipe for success, especially when Dame can’t hold his own against anybody on defense. The Celtics attacked him possession after possession as they closed out the Bucks in their last matchup, and Milwaukee had no answers.
The Bucks are in need of reinforcements, but given that they’re already above the second tax apron, they’re extremely limited in their options. Khris Middelton is going to have his work cut out for him when he gets back, and the team is going to need their role players to start stepping up more in the meantime. Despite their record they can still remain competitive, but that window may close pretty quickly. I’m halfway expecting them to reach a breaking point like the 2022 Celtics did which is why they’re currently in this tier, but if you wanted to drop them down a peg, I wouldn’t blame you.
Wouldn’t Worry:
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Philadelphia 76ers – 13th in East (2-7): Philly is arguably in a better position than Milwaukee despite having a similar record. So far, they’ve only had 7 games of Tyrese Maxey, 4 of Paul George, and 0 with Joel Embiid. Maxey is expected to be out for a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury, but Embiid should be making his season debut this week. Their record should no doubt improve with their former MVP returning to the lineup, but I’m not totally convinced they’ll be a legitimate threat, at least to the Celtics. Their role players haven’t exactly stepped up with their increased opportunity, so whether they can be an effective supporting cast is to be seen.
Along with that, consistency matters over the course of a long season, and Embiid and George have injury histories that will likely require management throughout the season, disrupting that consistency. Ultimately, what brings Philly down to the “Wouldn’t Worry” tier for me is the fact that the Sixers have yet to beat the Celtics in a playoff series in the Embiid era. We’ve always seemed to have the answer for him, whether that’s allowing him to beat us and locking down the rest of the roster, or if it’s having Al Horford son Embiid himself. I’m not going to completely discount their potential, but they’re going to have to prove that they’re a threat before I’m ready to eat my words.
Orlando Magic – 4th in East (5-6): Orlando is a team that a lot of people looked at as a sleeper this year. They got off to a decent start, but after their fifth game of the season, Paolo Banchero was diagnosed with a torn oblique, and will be sidelined for at least another 3-5 weeks. In his five games he was averaging 29 points, 5.6 assists, and 8.8 rebounds, and taking over that workload is going to be a tough task for the rest of the team. Wendell Carter Jr. hasn’t really been available this season either, leaving Goga Bitadze to step up as their primary big again, and doing a solid job with it again. Franz Wagner also seems to have found some more success with his jump shot, and is accompanied by Jalen Suggs in leading this team with Paolo out.
Kentavious Caldwell Pope hasn’t yet been the acquisition the Magic were hoping he would be, but has still been a net positive for an otherwise pretty young team. Orlando is the 2nd ranked defense in the league, but the 24th ranked offense. If they can find some better production on their bench, or make some deals to bolster their offense without sacrificing their defense I would be a little more scared of them. Even now I think they could make life difficult for the Celtics given their scrappiness, but they’ll need to find more ways to get some buckets for me to call them a real threat.
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Sacramento Kings – 9th in West (6-4): Sacramento is a team that I would love to believe in, but I’d need to see more from them before I can buy in. They have a solid assembly of starters, and Malik Monk is a sixth-man of the year candidate once again. Replacing Harrison Barnes with Demar DeRozan is one heck of an upgrade to push the team to the next level, and Sabonis is still a triple double threat every night. The way things stand, the Kings really have two glaring issues, though. For one, their three-point attempts are down 14.2% from last year, and even on the reduced attempts, their efficiency is at 30.6% as a team, ranked 28th in the league. If there’s one thing Mazzulla ball has proven, it’s that it is incredibly hard to keep up with teams if you are shooting and making significantly less threes than them.
On top of that, Sacramento isn’t too deep after Monk. Their highest bench scorer excluding him is Keon Ellis at 6 PPG, followed by Trey Lyles at 3.6 PPG. Especially come playoff time, it’s almost a necessity to have at least 2-3 guys who you can rely on to get you some kind of production off the bench. If any one of their starters goes down, I’m not sure they have the ability to replace the production, even by committee. The Kings have a solid foundation, and have some high-level players who will surely win them a lot of games, but in a tough Western conference, it might not be enough to secure them a playoff spot. If they can find some way to bolster their bench, I’d have a little more faith in them to be competitive, but for now I don’t see them as a threat.
Miami Heat – 6th in East (4-5): Credit to Miami, thanks to coach Spo and “Heat Culture” they always have a way to insert themselves in the convo. They don’t have to have the greatest assembly of talent to make some noise, which is something they’re going to have to overcome again this year. There’s been little change in their roster over the years. This season, the only notable additions were Alec Burks and rookies Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larson, none of which have been significant contributors so far. Bam and Jimmy are shooting 18.2% and 15.4% from three respectively, and Bam is at a pretty gross 38.6% from the field. Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier have been taking on a lot of the offensive workload, and much more efficiently too, but overall, the team is in the middle of the pack both in offensive and defensive rating, ranked 18th and 15th respectively. The team seems to have taken a step back, but I won’t count them out completely just yet. They seem as though they’ll be a play-in team once again, and they usually seem to be able to turn it on at the right time.
Houston Rockets – 10th in West (6-4): The Rockets are on the come-up, but not quite at threat level yet. They have a lot to figure out on their roster in terms of roles. They recently signed Jalen Green to a 3-year contract extension, reportedly in a trade-friendly manner so that they can move off of him later on. With that, he still leads the team in FGA, and that too by a significant margin, 4 FGA more than Alperen Sengun who sits at number two for them. Tari Eason seems to be the only one who has really improved for them this season, with guys who were expected to break out this year like Green, Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, and Cam Whitmore all taking a step back in terms of efficiency. Even Fred VanVleet seems to have dropped off a bit this year. They’ve been doing most of their work on the defensive end, ranking 7th in the league in defensive rating. To become more competitive, they’ll need their offense to improve, though. There’s plenty of time for them all to find their groove and start taking control of this season, but as of now I’d still expect them to miss the playoffs or be a play-in team at best.
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Detroit Pistons – 10th in East (4-7): Detroit is on a much better pace than they were last year, and for good reason. Replacing Monty Williams with JB Bickerstaff was a good start. On top of that, they brought in a handful of solid vets with their acquisitions of Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Malik Beasley to bolster up their roster. Jaden Ivey is finally getting consistent minutes and making the most of them, too. Most importantly, their young cornerstone player, Cade Cunningham, is playing at a very high level, averaging 23 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.3 rebounds. They have a halfway decent roster for a rebuilding team, especially after getting screwed in the draft lottery for two years straight. They’re probably not quite a playoff team yet, but they do have some sleeper potential to sneak into the running. I wouldn’t consider them competition, but I wouldn’t completely discount them either.
New Orleans Pelicans – 13th in West (3-7): The Pelicans are in a weird spot. It feels like they’ve put together a roster that has the talent to make it up to the 2nd round of the playoffs, but have been decimated by injuries and are struggling to keep afloat. Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy, Herbert Jones, and Jordan Hawkins are all sidelined for extended periods of time. That’s a whole starting lineup plus a sixth-man. Everything has fallen on to the shoulders of Brandon Ingram, and it’s understandably an extremely difficult situation to win games in. We’ll have to see how deep of a hole they fall in early on, and if they can get healthy enough to climb their way out of it later in the season. It’s hard to tell if they’ll be able to build anything off of this chemistry wise, but only time will tell. I wouldn’t worry about them yet, but if they can get healthy enough to start gelling together, they may become more of a concern.
Atlanta Hawks – 11th in East (4-7): Atlanta has been around where I expected them to be so far this season. They’re a mid-tier team who will be in the running for a play-in spot. That being said, I see them going up from here, and if all goes well, they may have a chance to get as high as the 5 or 6 seed in the East. They’ve been dealing with a lot of injuries so far, with Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, and Vit Krejci all missing significant time. That’s opened up more opportunity for guys like Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and the #1 overall pick in this year’s draft, Zaccharie Risacher, which could end up paying dividends down the line. Daniels leaves a lot to be desired on the offensive side, but he plays with confidence, and is a beast on defense. Johnson has been a crucial piece next to Trae, and helps shift a lot of the responsibility off of his shoulders as he’s often the one to bring the ball up the court and initiate the offense now. He’s a do-everything kind of player, and could very well be an all-star in the coming years. Risacher hasn’t shown too much yet, but he’s been getting better from game-to-game, and these extra minutes early on can only help. I don’t see Atlanta being much of a threat to Boston, but they could make us work a little harder than we’d want if we match up with a healthy Hawks team later down the line.
Toronto Raptors – 15th in East (2-9): Toronto, like Atlanta, has been dealing with a lot of injuries so far. Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley have both missed significant time with Quickley having just returned and Barnes expected to be sidelined for at least another week or two. Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk haven’t even suited up at this point. In their absence, RJ Barrett seems like he might finally be showing off why he was a top-3 pick not too long ago. Gradey Dick has also started to bloom after a sub-par rookie season last year, and Ochai Agbaji may be the biggest surprise of them all given that he seemed like a sweetener in the Olynyk deal as opposed to the selling point. Toronto has put together some good games, but they all seem to fall short by the end of the night. They’re likely a play-in team at best, but once everyone is healthy, they could be a team to watch out for from time-to-time. They’re a young team with a lot of fight, and could make games tougher than they should be. I wouldn’t be scared of them in any sense, but I wouldn’t take them too lightly either.
Pritchard Takeover Nights:
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Brooklyn Nets – 7th in East (4-6): Brooklyn has certainly been surprising me so far, even though they don’t have a stellar record. I thought they would clearly be the worst team in the league this year, but Dennis Schroeder has done an excellent job of stabilizing this team. Cam Thomas has continued to prove that he’s an absolute bucket, and although most people (myself included) had labeled him as a shot-chucker, he’s actually been doing decently enough as a team player. Cameron Johnson has also been a super solid and efficient scorer to keep this team afloat. Dorian Finney-Smith has been a menace on defense, and his jump shot also seems much improved. Bojan Bogdanovic hasn’t even suited up for them yet, currently sidelined with a foot injury thus far. The Nets are essentially a collection of solid role-players who could be targeted to help out a contender come trade-deadline time. That’s been enough to win some games, and even challenge both the Celtics and the Cavs, but I’m not sure ownership will really be looking to win games this year. They’re a surprisingly fun team to watch, but ultimately a play-in team at best.
Charlotte Hornets – 9th in East (4-6): The Hornets are another team that’s been riddled with injuries. Their two main centers, Mark Williams and Nick Richards, are both expected to be sidelined for a considerable amount of time. Their 2nd overall pick in last year’s draft, Brandon Miller, has missed a handful of games due to a strained glute as well. Miles Bridges was the latest addition to their list of injuries due to bone bruise in his knee which could keep him out until late November. Thankfully for Charlotte, LaMelo has not been on the injury report so far, and he’s really been balling out. He could potentially be an all-star this season if voters are able to look past his team’s record. Charlotte has some fun pieces, but they’re not quite put together enough to be a threat to anyone just yet.
San Antonio Spurs – 12th in West (4-6): The Spurs are working their way up from tank mode after drafting last year’s Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama, but are still in the very early stages of that return to glory. It feels like they are extremely content with letting this season be a test-out season for Vic so he can figure out his offensive game and work on his overall development. He’s as fun to watch as ever, but he’s shooting just over 7 threes a game at a rate of 28.2%, which is just under half of his total field goal attempts. I don’t think the Spurs plan on having their 7’4” freak athlete play that far away from the rim all the time. This season is all about finding their fit, and they’ll probably become more aggressive in improving quickly going into next season. For now, there’s no reason to expect them to even be a play-in team in a pretty loaded Western Conference.
Chicago Bulls – 8th in East (4-6): Chicago has been stuck in the middle (shout-out Stealers Wheel) for a while now. Management hasn’t made any needle-moving deals since acquiring DeRozan, Vucevic, and Lonzo, and the team has suffered as a result. With Demar leaving for Sacramento over the offseason and Zach Lavine finally being healthy enough to play, they can have good nights here and there, but not enough to escape the play-in – that is if they even reach there this year. Chicago is at its best when they push the pace, which Coby White, Josh Giddey, Zach Lavine, and Ayo Dosunmu have all been doing a great job with. Vucevic has also taken a step up from where he was last year, but overall, this team just doesn’t have enough firepower to compete. They’re a team that could steal some games they aren’t expected to win, but that’s partly because they’re not expected to win that much to begin with. I would think they’d look to trade away some of their vets to build a better future for themselves, but it’s hard to know with the way their management has operated thus far. Definitely not a threat, though.
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Portland Trail Blazers – 14th in West (3-8): After trading away their cornerstone player prior to the start of last season, Portland was expected to look pretty rough. Well, they do. But that being said, they’re not in an awful spot going forward. With promising young players like Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija, Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams, and Donovan Clingan, they could have a future to look forward to. That doesn’t even include guys like Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara, and Kris Murray who haven’t shown too much yet, but are still young in their careers, and could see breakout seasons some time in the future. Jerami Grant hasn’t been the all-star caliber level player they probably hoped he would be, but he’s been doing what he can to hold down the fort so far. The biggest issue in Portland is that they haven’t exactly been a model of health between the last two seasons which makes it harder to build up. They’ll have good nights here and there, but they are fully expected to remain near the bottom of the Western Conference.
Utah Jazz – 15th in West (2-7): Since acquiring Lauri Markkanen and seeing him start coming into his star potential back in 2022, it seemed like the Jazz were on the fence between wanting to acquire more talent to become competitors and offloading players to embrace the tank, working towards a brighter future. At last year’s trade deadline, the decision became clear – it’s tank time in Utah. I wouldn’t be surprised if they dug themselves in even deeper by offloading guys like John Collins, Walker Kessler, and Jordan Clarkson, either. They have a handful of players who occasionally make the Jazz a fun League Pass option such as Colin Sexton, Keyonte George, and of course Lauri, but ultimately, they have not put enough talent together to win games.
Washington Wizards – 12th in East (2-6): The Wizards feel like they’re clearly the worst team in the NBA right now. The Jordan Poole project was a bold move that looks like it will crash and burn. I’m not sure he’s done much for his stock as a trade asset either, and Kyle Kuzma is in a similar boat, though he may have a bit more of a market. It’s not all bad for the Wizards, though. Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington, two of Washington’s latest draft picks, have shown some real promise so far. Alex Sarr, the 2nd overall pick in this year’s draft, hasn’t shown up much yet, but there’s a long season ahead, and he’s at least been a positive on the boards and as a shot blocker. The only thing Washington is looking to compete for this season is the winning ticket in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, so there’s no need to be upset if you aren’t able to catch the games when they match up with Boston.