Western Conference Power Rankings: Early-Nov. 2022 Edition
1. Phoenix Suns (6-1)
Well, would you look at this. A familiar face at the top of the Western Conference Standings and Power Ranks.
Yup, the same ole Suns. No Jae Crowder and Ayton is out with a sprained ankle. And yet, the Suns are still here.
Book has had an amazing start to the year, but Monty Williams had no problem leaving him on the bench in crunch time Tuesday night against the Wolves. He did a similar stunt with Chris Paul already in another game this season. Monty Williams doesn’t give AF.
Hello, Cam Johnson! Cam just had his best game of the season by far, exploding for 29 points on 7-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc.
The bench here has been way better than they were in the preseason. Jock Landale (!!) is leading the way. Damion Lee has hit some big shots. Dario Saric is getting back in the mix.
The Suns have the No. 2 offense, scoring 118.3 points per 100, and the No. 4 defense at 106.4. Still killing it just like last year.
2. Portland Trail Blazers (5-1)
The Blazers jumped out to a hot 4-0 start, including an OT win vs the Suns (Phoenix’s only loss) and a 25-point win over the Nuggets.
Dame is out for another week or so with a calf injury. (But when he played, he was the same Dame DOLLA of old.) This is where Anfernee Simons having experience as the #1 guy from last year pays dividends. Did you see his 22-point third quarter against the Nuggets?! It was not the first time that Simons has scored 20 points in a quarter.
Josh Hart has been nothing short of fantastic in his role: 10-9-4 and always making smart plays. Jerami Grant has fit in nicely here as we knew he would.
Even more athletic than previously thought, Shaedon Sharpe can jump out of the gym. The Blazerse have a plethora of youth, athleticism, and speed.
A top-10 offense (No. 10 at 114.2) and top-10 defense (No. 9 at 109.6) is THE recipe for success in this league. If the Blazers’ defense can hold up like this, Portland should compete at the top.
3. New Orleans Pelicans (4-2)
The Pels have endured some early-season injuries with Brandon Ingram, Zion, and Herb Jones all missing time already. In their absence, the Pels have flexed their depth that we raved about before the season.
When Zion has played, he’s been the same sudden behemoth he was two years ago. An unstoppable force in the paint who can get to the rim at will. Love the way he’s moving around the court and always smiling.
Trey Murphy has been playing big minutes and sniping 3s. He’s hit at least two in every game so far this season and has five games with three or more.
Fun fact: the No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 draft, Jaxson Hayes, has scored one field goal this season. That’s how deep these Pellies are.
The No. 3 offense at 117.5 points per 100 and the No. 14 defense at 111.1, the Pels have a top-5 net rating so far — fifth at 6.4.
4. Utah Jazz (6-2)
With big wins over the Nuggets, T-Wolves, and Grizz twice, Danny Ainge is legit having nightmares. This is how some Young Surprise Teams are formed!
Jordan Clarkson is averaging the most assists per game of his career at 5.3 a night, more than double his 2.5 from last year. You love to see it.
We wondered if Lauri Markkanen just needed to get to Utah and so far it’s looking that way. 22.6 points per game and the highest usage rate of his career at 25.1 percent.
The YOUNG BULL, Colin Sexton, was getting all the early-season hype, but the Jazz have so many guys that Sexton is not even averaging 20 minutes per game (19.6).
The Jazz offense has been middle of the pack (15th at 112.7), but the defense is top 10 (7th at 108.2).
5. San Antonio Spurs (5-2)
Not even Paycheck Pop could have seen this coming. How are the Spurs doing this? By playing sound team ball. No. 1 in the NBA in assist percentage and assists per game, the Spurs keep the ball moving and get everyone involved.
A really good 3-point shooter for his career, we always clamored for Keldon Johnson to take more 3s per game. He’s doing exactly that, shooting 8.9 3s a game and connecting on 3.9, good for 43.5 percent.
Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson have both also had hot starts. Dougie McBuckets and J-Rich are shooting an identical 45.2 percent from 3 on good volume.
Devin Vassell has been dealing with a knee injury over the last week, but before that, he scored 20+ points in three straight games — all Spurs wins. Shoutout to Jeremy Sochan’s hair, defense, and rebounding, which have all been as good as advertised.
It seems possible that the Spurs can sustain a good offense (No. 11 at 114.1), but the defensive issues (No. 20 at 114.3) suggest they probably won’t keep winning like this as suspected.
6. Dallas Mavericks (3-3)
The Mavs heliocentric offense is more Luka-heavy than ever. He’s provided the same LukaMagic to an even bigger extent, an early frontrunner for MVP.
Christian Wood off the bench is fine, but can we get him some more minutes if only for the additional offense? At the same time, he definitely still looks for his own shot too much.
JaVale McGee’s role on this team is probably going to be redefined. It’s wild that Dwight Powell went from an 82-game iron man last season to receiving multiple DNPs to start the season. But his synergy with Luka in the last few games will get him a lot more run.
Jaden Hardy not getting minutes after his stellar preseason has been a surprise. He’s even been sent down to the G League…
The Dallas defense has slipped from last season to nobody’s surprise (13th at 110.9). But shades of 2019-20, the Luka-led Mavs have the No. 1 offense in the NBA through two weeks with an absurd rating of 119.0.
7. Memphis Grizzlies (4-3)
Ja Morant somehow gets better every season. And so does Desmond Bane.
Dillon Brooks can be annoying to everybody (especially his teammates), but he can also play damn good basketball. Tyus Jones has picked up his scoring in a bigger role
The Grizzlies defense is missing JJJ and their continuity in the worst way, bottom of the barrel at dead last with a 119.5 defensive rating.
Jake LaRavia can ball and fellow rookies David Roddy and Kennedy Chandler are certainly not afraid of the moment. Something to keep an eye on: Is Kennedy Chandler a Ja clone!?
The Grizz are still dominating the points in the paint, No. 2 at 56.3 per game behind only the Knicks. Fast break points haven’t been there as much yet, if only because the defense has been so lackluster.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder (4-3)
The Thunder are already surprising people, that’s for sure. A four-game winning streak over the Clippers twice, Mavs and the Magic. Sam Presti is already not sleeping well at night.
SGA has taken his scoring up to another level. 31.5 points per game on 22.8 shots a night!?
Lu Dort is still locking dudes up in the Dorture Chamber and raining his moonball 3s down from above.
Pokumania has been effective off the bench!
It’s been the OKC defense holding its own. Top 5 on the season!? No. 5 at 106.7. The offense is bottom-5 (No. 26 at 108.4) but that’s still a positive net rating.
9. Denver Nuggets (4-3)
Denver and Jokic’s uncharacteristic slow start out of the gate is a bit of a shock, but then you remember that the Nuggets are working in a lot of new pieces for the first time in a long time.
The good news is that Jamal Murray has shown flashes of his Blue Arrow game, and Michael Porter Jr. is the same 6-foot-10 SNIPER from 3.
And hell, Jokic’s “slow” start is still 21-11-8. It’s just that he’s had some games where didn’t look right (and only scored 9 and 12 points).
Christian Braun is already on the Joker’s good side. The Nuggets found another keeper off the bench with Bones.
The Nuggets’ defense has been the biggest problem, currently No. 26 at 115.7 — expect that to improve as this group gets more comfortable with each other.
10. Los Angeles Clippers (3-4)
The spotlight has been on the Lakers (always), but the Clippers have had a most subpar start to the season themselves. Those back-to-back losses to the Thunder…
We knew that Kawhi would miss time, but only two games played with just 20 minutes in each over the first two weeks is… alarming.
Paul George has had a slow start but looked the most like Good PG in the last game against the Rockets.
Only 16 minutes a game for Terance Mann seems like nowhere near enough. We said they almost have too many guys. It’s hard to get in a rhythm and flow on offense playing sporadic minutes. Ty Lue will probably figure it out. But his work is cut out for him.
There has been a shortage of offense and shooting in LA. The Clippers are ahead of only the Lakers in offense (100.6) and the 3-point shooting has also been dreadful. But the Clippers’ D is holding strong at No. 6 (106.8).
11. Golden State Warriors (3-5)
The Champs have not exactly looked like the Champs.
There was Klay’s first-ever ejection and the blowout loss in Phoenix. The OT loss in Charlotte. The loss in Detroit the very next night. And then losing on Tuesday night to the Heat. The Warriors have yet to win on the road.
But Steph has been sensational. And Jordan Poole has been locked in, save for all those travels down in Miami.
It’s the defense that has plagued Golden State. An adjustment period getting used to the new rotation. GP2 and OPJ are sorely missed on that end. Golden State’s defense: No. 25 at 115.6. The offense really hasn’t been that much better: No. 20 at 111.5.
When the Warriors were lauded for their depth heading into this season, not sure that Ty Jerome was in mind. But he’s stepped in and hit some 3s…
12. Sacramento Kings (2-4)
It took the Kings a while to get their first win (five games), but they still played competitive basketball and do have two wins in a row now.
Fox has picked up right where he left off from last season, but he’s currently dealing with an ankle injury.
It took just two games for Mike Brown to put Keegan Murray into the starting lineup. It would have taken Luke Walton two months just like it did with Haliburton. Who is leading the Kings in minutes played this season? Keegan Murray! He’s been almost better than advertised. Kayte Christensen said it best: “He has big shots in his blood.”
A couple of early-season heaters for Kevin Huerter. He no showed against the Warriors and Grizzlies, but his 27 points and 7-of-8 (!!) from beyond the arc led the Kings to their first win against the Heat. And then he scored 26 points with five 3s against the Hornets, also a Kings’ win. That was also Davion Mitchell’s best game of the season BY FAR.
No surprise that the Kings' defense has been their downfall, but it’s been better than usual (No. 21 at 114.4). The pace has been good here and they are top-5 in fast break points, averaging 17.5 per game.
13. Minnesota Timberwolves (4-4)
T-Wolves wins: Thunder twice, Spurs, and Lakers.
T-Wolves losses: Jazz, Spurs twice, and Suns.
The Wolves play like a team missing their leadership and high-energy guys. Pat Bev and Jarred Vanderbilt were a considerable part of last year’s culture and that’s showing through two weeks.
Ant-Man can still get going, but this offense has yet to feel harmonious or in sync. The fit with KAT and Gobert is as wonky as we thought.
Naz Reid probably earned himself some more playing time after Sunday night’s 11 points in nine minutes. It was the Wolves’ best stretch of the night against the Spurs in San Antonio. He was also key in mounting their try at a comeback against the Suns with 13 points in 16 minutes.
The Wolves’ offense should not be this bad: No. 24 at 109.9. The defense has been pretty good (No. 8 at 108.6), but the vibes feel off.
14. Los Angeles Lakers (1-5)
The Lakers finally got off the schneid with a W in their throwback Sunday whites against the Nuggets.
LeBron was aggressive early, AD was AD on defense, and Russ off the bench worked. Holy hell, Darvin Ham and the Lakers might be on to something.
They are still too susceptible to giving up big runs, but having the No. 2 defense in the NBA with a staunch rating of 104.7 is NOT something anybody saw coming.
It’s the offense and, of course, the 3-point shooting that still needs ALL of the work. But even then, there is no way they can shoot this bad forever, RIGHT?!
Let’s see how the new formula works in the coming days and weeks.
15. Houston Rockets (1-7)
Big sigh. The Rockets are so fun but also so bad and not winning games.
The turnover problem has not gone away, but it’s actually slightly better. However, the Rox are bottom of the barrel in assist percentage. They gotta get the ball moving more.
There is not a game that goes by where Jalen Green doesn’t do something to wow us. And yet, he can still shoot 4-of-19, 5-of-18, or 4-of-17 — his numbers from the last three games. You might be surprised to know that Kevin Porter Jr. is actually averaging more points per game at 20.3 vs. 19.0.
Shoutout to Usman Garuba, who is always active and bringing high hustle in scarce minutes off the bench. Tari Eason plays that way, too. TyTy Washington has yet to check into a game. (He’s dealing with a knee injury.)
A bottom-5 offense (28th at 105.5) and bottom-10 defense (23rd at 114.6) just ain’t gonna cut it. (But it might land you good odds Wembanyama or Scoot!)
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