1. Philadelphia 76ers (8-2)

The Sixers did lose to the Pacers on Tuesday night, but it was just their second loss of the season and their first since losing to the Bucks by 1 on Philly’s Opening Night.

James who? Tyrese Maxey is the true #2 to Embiid. Maxey’s 50-burger on the Pacers on Sunday was majestic. He’s such a fun player with blazing speed and a bright smile.
Embiid has been his usual wrecking-ball self. He’s averaging over 33 points a night once again.
RoCo back in Philly is such a welcomed sight. Big 3’s are SO overrated. It’s all about putting together a TEAM.

Nick Nurse has also been a breath of fresh air for Philly. The Sixers currently have a top-5 offense and top-10 defense.

2. Boston Celtics (8-2)

Other than an OT loss to the T-Wolves and a 3-point loss to the red-hot Sixers, the Celtics have been damn near perfect, rocking a top-5 offense and top-5 defense, No. 1 in net rating by a mile.

It’s been a seamless fit with the new pieces, and it’s encouraging that Tatum doesn’t have to do as much. He’s still been fantastic, shooting 63 percent on 2s over the first 10 games.
Jaylen Brown’s usage is also down as Jrue Holiday has been able to handle much more of an offensive role than Marcus Smart ever did. Derrick White’s involvement has also been elevated.
Sam Houser has been the white 3-point shooter who was promised, shooting a pristine 47.5 percent (!!) on 5.9 attempts per game. The Celtics spacing remains unmatched.

Undefeated at the Garden, a four-game road trip awaits: at Philly, at Toronto, at Memphis and at Charlotte.

3. Indiana Pacers (7-4)

The No. 1 offense in the league is doing it the same Pacers way: running and gunning and running and gunning some more. EIGHT players here are averaging double figures. The Pacers have won 4 out of the last 5.

It all starts with Haliburton. In Hali’s last two games (both against Philly): 32 assists and ZERO turnovers. Absolutely unreal.
Obi Toppin in transition has been a nice addition and a new weapon for Haliburton. Toppin just had his best game as a Pacer, 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting.
Aaron Nesmith has been a long-range assassin off the bench, currently shooting 46 percent on 4.5 attempts per game.

In addition to being top 5 in fast break points, the Pacers are actually No. 1 in half-court offense as well. And No. 2 in 3-point percentage. The offense in Indy has been HUMMING.

4. Miami Heat (7-4)

The Heat started slow out of the gate (1-4) but have since won six straight games. It hasn’t been the toughest schedule: Wizards, Lakers, Grizzlies, Hawks and Spurs. But they will take every last dub.

Tyler Herro was on fire in the scoring department to begin the season, scoring the 4th-most points by a Heat player over the first six games of a season, joining LeBron and D-Wade (twice). That’s incredible company. But the Heat have been able to win without him — just like in the playoffs…
Bam is now leading the team in points per game. Bam Bam is up to 23 points a night, including 7.6 free throw attempts a game, by far a career high.
Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. is getting a lot more minutes with Herro out, and he’s taking advantage. He’s a savvy player who clearly played four years of college ball. Consistently at the right place at the right time.

The Heat play the Nets on Thursday night, then it’s a 5-game road trip: at Chicago (twice), at Cleveland, at MSG and at Barclays.

5. Milwaukee Bucks (6-4)

The defense here has been quite bad at No. 24, bleeding points in the backcourt and giving up way too many layups. The offense has been good in the top 10, but it’s still extremely Giannis dependent as always.

Giannis points the last three games: 54, 35 and 35. He hit double-digit rebounds in each as well.
But Dame missed two of those games, both of which the Bucks lost. Dame is actually averaging career lows in assists per game, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. Not great, Bob.
Watching Bucks games features a lot more Malik Beasley than anticipated. He’s fifth on the team in minutes per game. But his 3-point shooting is vital. Losing Jae Crowder for two months (adductor surgery) is going to sting.

The Bucks are 1-3 on the road, losing at Toronto, at Indiana and at Orlando. We’ll see if that changes tonight back in Toronto and then on Friday night in Charlotte.

6. Atlanta Hawks (6-4)

The Hawks dropped the first two games of the year but have now won 6 of the last 8. Atlanta’s offense has been solid (No. 6) and the defense has been better than usual at No. 19.

The Trae Young and Dejounte Murray backcourt is averaging 47 points and 16 assists a night. That’s on par with last year, but so far, they are more efficient and the assist numbers as a team are up.
Quin Snyder keeps the Hawks rotation short and concise, and it’s working.
Jalen Johnson’s scoring has taken a huge jump, up from 5.6 points per game last season to 14.4 this so far this year. Johnson had four games of 15+ points last season, which he has already matched just 10 games in.

The next four Hawks games are all Eastern Conference foes in ATL: Knicks, Sixers, Pacers and Nets.

7. New York Knicks (5-5)

The Knicks started 2-4 before ripping off three straight wins (although it was the Clippers, Spurs and Hornets), but they lost on Monday night in Boston, the second night of a back-to-back.

The Knicks defense has been stout, a top-5 unit. And they do have the No. 6 net rating. However, they have already failed to score 100 points in a game three times.
Jalen Brunson in the mid-range, man. He’s consistently getting to his spots and making crazy-contested shots. The Knicks offense can still be a little too much Brunson and Randle taking turns running iso ball, though.
RJ Barrett is off to the best shooting start of his career, DIALED in from 3. He’s missed three games and the Knicks have lost all of them.

The Knicks are currently top 5 in rebounding, turnovers, opponent 2nd-chance points and opponent points in the paint, but they are bottom of the barrel in points in the paint and free throw percentage.

8. Cleveland Cavaliers (4-6)

The Cavs snake-bit tendencies over that few years have showed up early this season with Garland and Jarrett Allen already missing time. The Cavs started 1-3 but have looked much more like themselves with their starting lineup back in.

The offense here has been meh (No. 17) and the defense has been the same (No. 19).
KOC has cited that the Cavs are too redundant and it’s pretty much impossible to argue. Mitchell and Garland and Mobley and Allen could not be more of a position overlap. It has, at times, looked better offensively with Strus’ additional shooting. But they still need some true variety.
Caris LeVert has had some big early-season games, averaging 19 points per game, providing a much-needed scoring boost off the bench.

The Cavs’s schedule softens (at Portland, home for Detroit) before it gets tough: Nuggets, at Philly, Heat and Lakers.

9. Brooklyn Nets (6-5)

As anticipated, the Nets are an average basketball team. The offense (No. 7) has been better than expected, while the defense at No. 15 is about on par.

The story out of Brooklyn to start was Cam Thomas lighting the world on fire again like it was the 2022-23 trade deadline. But then an ankle sprain has sidelined him for a couple of weeks.
Mikal Bridges is shooting and scoring less, but his assists and rebounds are up. Spencer Dinwiddie had a mediocre first couple of weeks, but he’s coming off his best game of the season, 29 and 9 against the Magic.
Ben Simmons still won’t shoot. And he’s missing games again now, too. He was getting his boards and dishing the rock, though. We’ll see if this latest nerve impingement in his back becomes another long-term issue.

The Nets have eight straight East opponents coming up: at Miami, Sixers, at Atlanta, Heat, Bulls, Raptors, Hornets and Magic.

10. Orlando Magic (5-5)

This young Magic team already has some really good wins on the resume, including a smackdown of the Lakers and Bucks. The offense is bottom 10, but the defense is top 5.

Paolo, who just turned 21 years old, had a great quote in an immediate on-court post-game interview after a big game: “Yeah, I started slow. SO WHAT.”
Wendell Carter Jr. is out for a few more weeks after having surgery on his hand. His presence inside is missed dearly.
Rookie Anthony Black has looked impressive in games when given an opportunity. He looks like a big-hair corner 3-point specialist.

The Magic have three more games on the road: at Chicago (twice) and at Indiana, then it’s back to the House of Mouse for a 6-game home stand.

11. Toronto Raptors (5-5)

After starting the season 2-4, the Raptors have won 4 of the last 5. Although it did take the fourth-largest comeback in team history against the Wizards to get the dub on Monday night in The 6, including ending the game on a 21-1 run. But they kept fighting and pulled it off.

Over the first 10 games of the season, Scottie Barnes is the only player in the NBA with 200+ points, 80+ rebounds, 50+ assists, 10+ steals and 10+ blocks. That’s a well-rounded player right there.
Siakam struggled out of the gate, but is fresh off an extra spicy 39-11-7 performance against the Wiz and 31-12-5 against the Mavs, the Raps best win of the season.
Dennis Schroder is putting up solid numbers as the starting PG. However, the Raptors as a whole do have a bit of a turnover problem.

The Raptors have a bottom-5 offense but a top-10 defense. And per the usual Raptor way, they are great in transition (No. 3 in fastbreak points) and awful in half-court offense (No. 30).

12. Chicago Bulls (4-7)

To be blunt: The Bulls are a very mediocre team. (That actually might be being too nice.)

The DeRozan-LaVine-Vooch “Big 3” has actually become way more redundant than we thought it would be in Year 4. It’s just so mundane. So played out.
It is nice to have Coby White’s big hair bouncing around again. His minutes per game and assists are up, but his shooting numbers are down.
Drummond has been holding it down with his usual rebounding prowess. But the fact that we are highlighting Drummond’s rebounding is really all you need to know.

No. 21 in offense and No. 22 in defense — that equates to a bottom-10 net rating in the league.

13. Charlotte Hornets (3-7)

The Hornets have a top-10 offense, which is WAY better than last season when they finished dead last. However, the Hornets have the 2nd-worst defense in the league.

LaMelo took a minute to get going, scoring less than 20 points in four of the first five games. The next five games? He’s averaging 30 a night and looking so much more in sync.
Mark Williams has been the brightest spot of the Hornets first month of the season, highlighted by a 24-rebound game against the Wizards and shooting 74 percent from the field.
No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller has not done a whole lot yet, but you can see the potential in flashes. It’s encouraging that Steve Clifford inserted him into the starting lineup just six games into the season.

The Hornets are actually No. 1 in points in the paint scoring. But they are No. 29 in 3-point percentage.

14. Detroit Pistons (2-10)

The Pistons started out 2-1 but have now lost 9 straight. They have the young team habit of being in games, even leading for a while, and then melting in the second half.

Something to monitor with Cade Cunningham. On off-the-dribble pull-up 3s, he’s shooting 19.2 percent. But on catch-and-shoot 3s? 35 percent — a drastic difference.
Detroit has a winner in Ausar Thompson, a rebounding MACHINE for a 6-foot-7 rookie. He’s averaging 10 rebounds a game, good for a double-double a night.
Jalen Duren is a beast and the Pistons are not the same without him. Duren is currently dealing with an ankle.

In addition to Duren, this team is injured as all hell: Bogdanovic, Joe Harris, Isaiah Livers and Monte Morris have all been out.

15. Washington Wizards (2-8)

Wizards games have been characterized as glorified pickup games at LA fitness.

It has not exactly been a Poole Party in D.C… Jordan Poole is averaging just 16.4 points on 14.7 field goal attempts, shooting 41.7 percent from the field. He’s bound to heat up eventually. We know he will keep firing.
Kyle Kuzma has played some good ball, staying aggressive, attacking and looking to score. Kuz is shooting 55 percent on 2s.
And let it be known that Corey Kispert is a sniper. He might just be shooting 36 percent from 3, but that will rise, and he can get on HEATERS.

Another positive is the Wizards have one of the best bench units from a point-differential perspective, No. 4 in the NBA. The Wiz are also No. 5 in points in the paint.

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