These are not the top 10 teams in the NBA. These are the top 10 teams in the NBA last week.
The Minnesota Timberwolves certainly aren’t one of the best teams in the NBA, and the emotional, hard-fought loss of Kevin Garnett and company to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night ensured they wouldn’t emerge from the season’s first week as one of its 10 most successful teams, either.
Well, at least in terms of wins and losses. When it comes to living, loving, and persevering, though, the Timberwolves stand alone at the top of the league – and the entire basketball world is there to support them.
It’s been barely over a week since Minny’s beloved coach, Flip Saunders, succumbed to complications from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but it seems like so much longer. And not just due to the heartache felt by the Timberwolves and so many others who were lucky enough to be touched by the North Star State legend, either. But because Minnesota, against all expectations, somehow flashed the on-court form that Saunders envisioned when he began the arduous process of rebuilding this team from the ground floor.
There was Ricky Rubio splashing jumpers and dropping dimes in the ‘Wolves comeback win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the season opener. Karl-Anthony Towns dominated en route to 28 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks while leading his team to an easy road win over the Denver Nuggets. And we saw Saunders’ most maligned plan in action Monday night when Garnett made several game-changing plays down the stretch to give Minnesota the chance to steal a victory.
The Timberwolves, believe it or not, were a controversial call or a couple Andrew Wiggins rim-outs from beginning 2015-16 with an unblemished 3-0 record. Is that a sign of more lasting and large-scale success to come? Perhaps, but it doesn’t guarantee Minnesota respect this season either way. The Timberwolves were forecasted as bottom feeders, after all, and it’s difficult to fathom they’ll be anything much more for now.
But despite struggles of Wiggins, the reigning Rookie of the Year, Minny played something like its future self over the past seven days. Why? Call it actual divine intervention, belief in a higher power, a gift from the basketball gods, or simple impassioned performance, but Saunders’ influence on his team loomed as large as ever in the days immediately after his death.
And whether the Timberwolves play like it or not for the season’s duration, that will definitely remain the case – in 2015-16 and the many more successful years to follow.
Week 1 Power Rankings
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Golden State Warriors
- In any other week, the defending champions would be number one with a bullet. Steph Curry has received the most plaudits, and rightfully so – he’s playing at a level that we’ve literally never seen before. But the Warriors, still without Steve Kerr and absent Andrew Bogut since the season opener, remain so much more than their singular superstar. Golden State may not repeat in 2015-16. Based on the first seven days of the season, though, the only thing that could stop Curry and company from doing just that are factors beyond their control.
3. Los Angeles Clippers
- The West’s second undefeated team still hasn’t shown its top form. In a pair of wins over the Sacramento Kings and victories against the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, the Clippers essentially led from wire-to-wire. But Doc Rivers’ team let down after building an early lead in three of those contests, subsequently requiring late-game heroics to survive comeback bids. Is that a problem? Considering Los Angeles would surely prefer to win without those lulls, it’s a minor issue at least. But then you remember what plagued the Clippers against the Houston Rockets last spring, and take solace in knowing they’ve learned how to win.
4. Detroit Pistons
- Many expected Stan Van Gundy’s team to build on a promising 2014-15 campaign and compete for a playoff berth this season. Few, though, thought the Pistons could emerge as a legitimate contender for home-court advantage come the postseason. Now? After a trio of impressive victories over the Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls, it might be to readjust immediate expectations in the Motor City – especially considering this young, revamped group still has so much room to grow.
5. Toronto Raptors
- For a brief few moments in the season opener, it seemed the Raptors’ season might be over before it even started. Prized summer acquisition DeMarre Carroll took a hard fall early in Toronto’s win over the Indiana Pacers last and was immediately walked to the locker room. But the former Atlanta Hawks wing made a surprising return to the court just shortly thereafter and hasn’t looked back since, affording his new a blend of reliable three-point shooting and defensive acumen it sorely lacked in 2014-15. Could Carroll be the missing piece that gets undefeated Toronto over the hump to the second round of the playoffs? If the season’s first week is any indication, that may indeed prove the case.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Who believed David Blatt and LeBron James when they insisted Kevin Love would have a much bigger role in the Cavaliers’ offense this season? Didn’t think so. But it turns out Cleveland’s much-maligned coach and media-savvy superstar weren’t quite bluffing the way we all thought. Love is averaging 18.5 points on 15.0 shots per game for the 3-1 Cavaliers, and the team is clearly making a concerted effort to get him the ball at spots where he has the greatest chance for success. Even better is that concepts of Blatt’s ballyhooed Princeton-style offense seem here to stay. Just imagine how good Cleveland might look once Kyrie Irving returns to the fold. Scary.
7. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Billy Donovan isn’t tasked with reinventing the wheel in Oklahoma City this season. Talent wins out more than not in basketball, and his team is absolutely stacked in that regard. But the Thunder still have holes despite an adjusted rotation and the steady implementation of a motion-heavy offense; look no further than how they defended James Harden down the stretch of Monday’s loss to the Houston Rockets as evidence of that reality. Is Kevin Durant really Oklahoma City’s best option to guard the opposing team’s best player down the stretch? Maybe, but switching Kyle Singler or another overmatched defender onto someone like The Beard is an even more obvious losing proposition. Work on that jumper, Andre Roberson. Your team needs you.
8. San Antonio Spurs
- All it took for LaMarcus Aldridge to find his footing in San Antonio were words of encouragement from Gregg Popovich. Well, probably not, but basketball’s marquee free agent signee sure made it seem that way following a pre-game chat with the three-time Coach of the Year during halftime of his team’s win over the Boston Celtics. Aldridge has made 14 of his last 26 shots after beginning the season a dismal 11-of-41, and credits Popovich for helping him turn it around. Just imagine where the 3-1 Spurs will be later this season if their new star continues reaping dividends from talks with their leader – and Kawhi Leonard continues his ascent up the league’s individual hierarchy.
9. Chicago Bulls
- Bad news: Chicago is a couple bounces away from beginning the Fred Hoiberg era 1-3. Good news: The Bulls eked out ugly wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic to start the season 3-1, yet clearly have another step to take on the offensive side of the ball. Derrick Rose, in particular, seems bound to enjoy more luck from the paint soon enough, and Hoiberg will no doubt find a way to better integrate Pau Gasol on that end going forward. Oh, we forgot about the best news for Chicago: Its defense hasn’t skipped a beat without Tom Thibodeau.
10. Atlanta Hawks
- An easy win versus the New York Knicks and a pair of close victories over the Charlotte Hornets aren’t anything to write home about for the 3-1 Hawks. Their time as league darlings is over. Atlanta now must prove it belongs in a discussion of basketball’s elite, and the early performance of its lone new starter suggests Mike Budenholzer’s team could be. Losing Carroll was a major blow for the Hawks, one that many – including some of us here at DIME – thought they wouldn’t be able to overcome. And while that could still prove the case, it certainly bears mentioning that Kent Bazemore has played extremely well in his new role as Atlanta’s fifth starter. The long-limbed lefty won’t continue knocking down over 50 percent of his attempts from 3-point range, but he also doesn’t need to. Aggressive defense and opportunistic scoring should suffice for the Hawks this season, especially if Al Horford’s journey beyond the arc proves more fruitful than it has in the early going.
