The NBA season is two weeks old and ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! Well, anything, except the Indiana Pacers staying healthy, the Brooklyn Nets getting a stop on defense, the Thunder getting out-executed in the clutch and anyone scoring on Victor Wembanyama in the paint.
The Thunder began separating themselves from the field on Opening Night, and a handful of teams are already diving into NBA Mock Drafts, but most of the league is still jockeying for position in a tightly packed middle where just 2.5 games separate the second-best record in the league from the 23rd.
We're sorting it all out in this week's power rankings, along with a look at the teams we were completely wrong about last week and some of the crazy stats we've seen so far.
NBA Power Rankings, Week 2
TEAM | RECORD | LAST WEEK |
|---|---|---|
1. Oklahoma City Thunder | 7-0 | 1 |
2. San Antonio Spurs | 5-1 | 2 |
3. Philadelphia 76ers | 5-1 | 3 |
4. Houston Rockets | 3-2 | 21 |
5. Denver Nuggets | 3-2 | 16 |
6. Milwaukee Bucks | 4-2 | 6 |
7. Chicago Bulls | 5-1 | 8 |
8. Portland Trail Blazers | 4-2 | 19 |
9. Detroit Pistons | 4-2 | 9 |
10. Miami Heat | 3-3 | 4 |
11. Los Angeles Lakers | 5-2 | 5 |
12. Golden State Warriors | 4-3 | 12 |
13. Cleveland Cavaliers | 4-3 | 16 |
14. New York Knicks | 3-3 | 11 |
15. Boston Celtics | 3-4 | 29 |
16. Minnesota Timberwolves | 3-3 | 15 |
17. Charlotte Hornets | 3-4 | 7 |
18. LA Clippers | 3-2 | 13 |
19. Orlando Magic | 3-4 | 18 |
20. Atlanta Hawks | 3-4 | 23 |
21. Phoenix Suns | 3-4 | 27 |
22. Toronto Raptors | 3-4 | 20 |
23. Sacramento Kings | 2-4 | 22 |
24. Utah Jazz | 2-4 | 17 |
25. Memphis Grizzlies | 3-4 | 14 |
26. Indiana Pacers | 1-5 | 25 |
27. Dallas Mavericks | 2-4 | 24 |
28. Washington Wizards | 1-5 | 26 |
29. Brooklyn Nets | 0-6 | 30 |
30. New Orleans Pelicans | 0-6 | 28 |
Biggest risers in our Week 2 NBA Power Rankings
Houston Rockets: Up 17 spots
The Rockets lost their first two games by a combined five points, including pushing the Thunder to double-overtime in an opening night instant classic. The level of competition has dropped off but beating the Nets, Raptors and Celtics by a combined 73 points is what you're supposed to do if you're a contender. The Houston offense is absolutely cooking right now, leading the league in both free throw rate and offensive rebound percentage. They're not even firing on all cylinders yet, and already almost an intractable problem for a defense. Road tests are waiting this week against the Spurs and Bucks, and the Rockets are ready for both.
Boston Celtics: Up 14 spots
The Celtics lost their first three games with catastrophically bad defense, giving up 116.8 points per 100 possessions. They've tightened things up in their last four games, going 3-1, and found their groove on offense. Boston is still missing Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis more than Jayson Tatum right now, but they're going to be competitive even if they're at a big disadvantage in the middle.
Denver Nuggets: Up 11 spots
The Nuggets are just 3-2 but that doesn't come close to telling the full story. Their two losses came to the Warriors (in overtime) and the Blazers by a combined eight points. Their three wins have come against the Suns, Timberwolves and Pelicans by a combined 69 points. This team is deep, talented and experienced and a lot more dangerous than their record shows.
Portland Trail Blazers: Up 11 spots
The Blazers are 4-1 since Chauncey Billups was arrested for his alleged involvement in rigged poker games. The defense has been ferocious (more on that later) and Deni Avidja has been playing like a legitimate star, averaging 23.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Everything is working and they're still waiting on the return of Scoot Henderson, which means this surge could actually be sustainable.
Biggest fallers in our Week 2 NBA Power Rankings
Memphis Grizzlies: Down 11 spots
The Grizzlies are 3-4 and but things are worse than they appear. Their three wins are over the Pelicans, Pacers and Suns. Three of their four losses have come by double-digits and they have looked completely overmatched by likely playoff teams. To top it all off, Ja Morant was suspended for his passive-aggressive comments about coaches not playing him enough. The basketball is not great, the vibes are even worse.
Charlotte Hornets: Down 10 spots
The Hornets went 2-1 in their first week and popped into the top 10, unexpectedly. They weren't catastrophically bad last week, losing big to the Magic and Timberwolves but also steamrolling the Jazz by 23. The good news for Hornets' fans is that this team looks frisky, they appear to have nailed their most recent draft picks and hovering in the middle of the league standings looks very possible.
Utah Jazz: Down 7 spots
I may have gotten a little out over my skis with the Jazz — ranking them No. 17 after a 1-1 opening week and picking them over the Blazers in our latest roundtable as a surprising team that could stay. the Play-In mix. They rewarded my confidence with a 1-3 week including back-to-back 20+ point losses to the Suns and Hornets. The Jazz have a really fun mix of young talent but their incentives are more aligned with landing top of the lottery than in the playoffs and that's going to play out in a lot of tiny ways.
3 wild statistical outliers
1. The Houston Rockets offense: Through five games, the Rockets have scored an average of 127.9 points per 100 possessions. If that held (it almost certainly won't) it would be the highest mark in NBA history, nearly five points per 100 better than the 2023-24 Celtics. Remember, the Rockets are doing this without their starting point guard, Fred VanVleet.
2. Tyrese Maxey and Anthony Edwards: 3-point jumpers taken off the dribble are typically much less accurate than those off the catch, but don't tell Maxey and Edwards — they're shooting 51.6 (on 5.2 attempts per game) and 50 percent (on 4.7 attempts per game). Only three players hit better than 40 percent of their pull-ups 3s last season (on more than 4 attempts per game) and no one topped Zach LaVine at 43.8 percent.
3. The Trail Blazers defense: Portland has forced a turnover on 21.1 percent of their defensive possessions. That's nearly five percentage points better than the Thunder last year, who led the league and rolled to a title with their aggressive, high-pressure defense.