NBA power rankings: Is Sixers’ slow start cause for concern?

The Pacers have to been thrilled with the continued development of Tyrese Haliburton, who is thriving in the driver’s seat right now. He’s becoming more diverse as a scorer while maintaining his elite shooting efficiency and unrivaled penchant for playmaking. Indiana is another team that’s simply too young to compete, but a lot of the individual pieces are pretty tantalizing. Especially Bennedict Mathurin, who might be the underdog favorite for Rookie of the Year.

The Rockets have some great pieces. Jalen Green looks the part of franchise cornerstone and Kevin Porter Jr. has been out of his mind to start the season. Jabari Smith Jr. fits perfectly at the four spot and Alperen Sengun can put up numbers in limited minutes. There’s not enough experience on this roster to mount any sort of substantial run, but the Rockets will be a joy to watch all season.

… here we go again. The Kings look pretty bad. De’Aaron Fox has been productive and the early returns on No. 4 pick Keegan Murray are pretty encouraging, but what are we even doing here? How long until Domantas Sabonis gets traded again, until they say bon voyage to Fox in favor of young assets and draft picks? It might be time to rebuild. Again.