The Whiteboard: Houston Rockets headline our Western Conference stock watch

We’re a month into the season, and it’s fair to say that the Western Conference is a bit bewildering. Some teams we expected to see at the top of the standings. Others we did not, or may be ahead of schedule. Others feel like they yet to put this season in drive. 

As we defrost our turkeys and head into Thanksgiving, now is a good time to take stock of some teams rising the ranks and others in a bit of trouble.

Stock up

Houston Rockets: Powered by an elite defense, buoyant athleticism and a production line of Alperen Sengun double-doubles, the 13-6 Rockets are in third place in the West. Ime Udoka is coaching the snot out of this team and has settled on a solid rotation, including unleashing the “Terror Twins” when his team needs a jolt. Are they contenders? They don’t feel quite ready to come out of the oven. But this is a solid playoff team with a bright future.

Phoenix Suns: The Suns improved to 9-1 with Kevin Durant in the lineup with Tuesday night’s win over the Lakers. Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal have been great this season and have out-scored opponents by 5.2 points every 100 possessions. Most impressively, the Suns are eighth in 3-pointers made per possession (19th last season) and have been good defensively when healthy. Coach Mike Budenholzer has this team bought in, and now the talent is producing results.

Los Angeles Lakers: Yes, the Lakers have lost three in a row, but I’m taking a bigger-picture view of this outfit. It’s clear there is something here. The offense is very good (fourth in offensive rating) but the defense (27th) needs some work. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Dalton Knecht (just kidding, sort of) have this team a half-game out of a top-four seed. The front office can look at these Lakers and justify being buyers before the trade deadline.

LA Clippers: Paul George’s departure and Kawhi Leonard’s absence have simplified the nightly pecking order for the Clippers. James Harden conducts the offense with a parade of pick-and-rolls, Norm Powell lets it fly and (checks notes) everybody else clenches their jaw and plays defense. The Clippers are fifth in defensive rating and bottom 10 in offense. The ceiling is limited, but this feels like at least a play-in team, which is better than most expected.

Denver Nuggets: After a rough start to the season, the Nuggets have found their sea legs and seem to have righted the ship. And when I say the Nuggets, I mostly mean Nikola Jokic. The three-time MVP is putting together his best season yet. He’s in the top four in points, rebounds and assists per game. No joke! Jokic has ramped up his scoring because the Nuggets need him to. This is Jokic’s version of Wilt Chamberlain deciding to lead the league in assists one season.

Memphis Grizzlies: Winners of three straight, the Grizzlies got Ja Morant back for one game before ruling him out for Wednesday night, but he’s trending in the right direction. Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart are back. If you look at the data, the Grizzlies are starting to duplicate the winning formula from previous seasons: elite defense and tops in rebounding. Fun fact: Memphis is the only team in the top six in offensive and defensive rating.

Stock down

Dallas Mavericks: On one hand, you can view the Mavericks hanging in the mix despite Luka Doncic’s struggles and recent absence as a good thing. And while the metrics and point differential (plus-5.7, fifth-best in the West) are strong, expectations were much higher for this team coming off last season’s Finals run. If and when Luka gets right, everything should be fine. I just want to see it.

Minnesota Timberwolves: What’s special about this Timberwolves team? Last season, they won games on the back of a top-rated defense and Anthony Edwards’ ascension. Now? The Timberwolves are 12th in both offensive and defensive rating. They aren’t elite in any key factor. There are good players on the roster, but something isn’t clicking.

Sacramento Kings: After a 6-4 start, the Kings have dropped four straight and six of their last eight. The defense ranks 24th in efficiency over that stretch, and the offense is showing the limitations expected of a group built around De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and not much spacing. The Kings lead the league in mid-range frequency by a mile – 40.4 percent of their shots are long 2s. (The next closest is the Pelicans at 33.8 percent.) Meanwhile, they are giving up the fourth-most 3-point attempts per game. That formula doesn’t work.

Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided's daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend. If you hate it, share it with an enemy!

NBA news roundup

• The Houston Rockets, with their overtime win against the Utah Jazz, punched their ticket to the knockout round of the NBA Cup. Could the league’s third-best defense by defensive rating fuel a surprise run?

• The Phoenix Suns snapped a five-game losing streak with their win over the Los Angeles Lakers, but don’t let the skid fool you. This team is good with their big three in the lineup, and is 9-1 in games Kevin Durant has played this season, including Tuesday night’s blowout.

• Good news for the Milwaukee Bucks (besides beating the Heat without Giannis Antetokounmpo on Tuesday). Khris Middleton completed a full five-on-five scrimmage on Monday, and the team is hopeful he will make his season debut “at some point after Thanksgiving,” according to ESPN.

Don’t hand Rookie of the Year to Jared McCain just yet

Philadelphia’s Jared McCain has had some big nights and is the runaway favorite to win Rookie of the Year. But, as his shooting starts to cool off, other rookies will enter the conversation. Stephon Castle may not win the award, but for my money, he’s been the best rookie of his class.

Castle ranks third in points (11.6), first in free-throw attempts (3.1), second in assists (3.7), ninth in steals (0.8) and fourth in minutes (26.4) among rookies. He’s the only rookie logging at least 26 minutes to post a positive plus-minus this season. 

As a scorer, Castle is predictably raw. His 29 percent clip from beyond the arc will need to improve, but he’s been much better below the free-throw line. At 6-foot-6 with a sturdy, 215-pound frame, he can start possessions on or off the ball and finish through contact. 

Defensively, Castle can be special. He gave Stephen Curry fits the other night as he fought over screens and chased Curry around to help the Spurs to a 10-point win. (Castle’s screen navigation is already near elite. He uses his elbows well to create enough torque to get over and stay with his man.)

Other rookies might have more impressive highlight packages and box scores, but nobody has been as impactful to winning basketball as Castle.