NBA power rankings: Is Sixers’ slow start cause for concern?
118. . 3-1. . Utah Jazz. 21. team
The Jazz are fun! And maybe even good? While Utah will probably sink into tank mode at some point, there’s a high volume of quality veterans in the rotation right now. The young pieces are great too: Collin Sexton hasn’t even worked back to full speed yet, Lauri Markkanen is the leading Most Improved Player candidate through one week, and Walker Kessler has All-Rookie potential.
147. . 1-2. . Brooklyn Nets. 20. team
The Ben Simmons not-shooting-at-all thing is not working out right now. The Nets simply cannot sustainably play two non-shooting bigs at the same time. Something has to give. The thing is, Nic Claxton is really good and I’m not sure Brooklyn can comfortably bench him for 30 minutes a night to clear the lane for Simmons. So… good luck with that!
team. 27. . 2-1. . New York Knicks. 19
Jalen Brunson looks right at home in New York. The Knicks finally have a real point guard to situate the offense and it has made life easier on everyone. Julius Randle has returned to his physically imposing roots too, bullying his way to the rim for points instead of leaning entirely on contested long 2s. I like Isaiah Hartenstein. He deserves more love.