The Denver Nuggets won 54 games and a playoff series last season. It wasn’t a smooth ride against the San Antonio Spurs but, in the end, Denver emerged victorious and took the Portland Trail Blazers to seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals. However, the Nuggets didn’t garner the type of hype that one might associate with that kind of “breakout,” as most of the national attention went to teams with major overhauls, headlined by the two occupants of Staples Center in Los Angeles.
After 15 games in 2019-20, though, the Nuggets are looking the part of the contender that many expected them to be. Denver is sporting a 12-3 record and a five-game winning streak as Thanksgiving approaches. It is fair to point out that a handful of the team’s recent victories came at home against lesser competition but, broadly speaking, there is nothing overly favorable about Denver’s strength of schedule to this point. Beyond that, the Nuggets have victories over the Celtics, Rockets and Sixers (among others) and the team’s overall profile looks sharp.
The good folks at Cleaning The Glass indicate that Denver’s current baseline is a 55-win team, with a top-five defense carrying the load as the team’s normally prolific offense hasn’t quite kicked into gear. Some of that slow start on the offensive end can be attributed to an ugly start from Nikola Jokic (53 percent true shooting and sagging production) but, considering Denver has posted top-10 offenses in three straight seasons, there is little to be worried about in terms of that efficiency rebounding.
Ultimately, the Nuggets are firmly on the list of teams that are in “prove it in the playoffs” mode and there is a segment of the basketball-viewing public that won’t fully buy in until Denver makes a deep run. Still, the Nuggets are taking care of business in the early going and that is all anyone can ask them (or any team) to do.
Where does Denver fall this week in our DIME power rankings? Let’s find out.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (15-2, Last week — 1st)
Since an opening night loss to the Clippers, the Lakers have won 15 of 16. That pretty much speaks for itself and, even as the team’s defense takes an inevitable turn of regression, Los Angeles continues to cook. The schedule hasn’t been excruciating but they won’t drop until they lose.
2. Milwaukee Bucks (14-3, Last week — 2nd)
Milwaukee is playing well enough to be in the No. 1 spot, winning eight straight and 11 of 12. The Lakers aren’t allowing the move to take place but the Bucks are the real deal behind the consistent brilliance of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
3. LA Clippers (12-5, Last week — 3rd)
It is worth pointing out that the Clippers’ five-game winning streak came exclusively in their home arena. LA did have to topple Boston and Houston along the way, though, and this is a scary basketball team at full strength. That’s finally happening now.
4. Denver Nuggets (12-3, Last week — 6th)
The Nuggets have a chance to make a real dent in the standings. As noted above, Denver is already cooking with gas, but the Nuggets face an upcoming stretch with games against the Wizards, Kings and Knicks. There is a home game against the Lakers mixed in but no one should be stunned if Denver keeps rising.
5. Dallas Mavericks (11-5, Last week — 10th)
The Mavs are currently sporting one of the best offenses in NBA history. That’s not an overstatement. Luka Doncic has been operating at an MVP-caliber level and Dallas is basically unguardable at the moment. We’ll need more time before making a full assessment but how do you keep them out of the top five right now?
6. Toronto Raptors (12-4, Last week — 9th)
Toronto isn’t going away. They’ve won four in a row despite the absence of Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, peaking with a bizarre win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday evening. The Raptors don’t have the same upside as last season, but there is something to be said for a well-coached, high-execution bunch.
7. Boston Celtics (12-4, Last week — 5th)
Technically, the Celtics are 2-3 in their last five games and it might be surprising to see them this high. A deeper look would tell you that the three losses came by a total of eight points and Boston’s defeats came on the road against quality competition.
8. Miami Heat (12-4, Last week — 7th)
The Heat are doing what they’re supposed to do. Miami has won six of seven but the team’s victories came against the Pistons, Cavs (twice), Pelicans, Bulls and Hornets.
9. Utah Jazz (11-6, Last week — 11th)
Without Rudy Gobert, the Jazz took the Bucks to the wire on Monday and they won three in a row before that. Utah also has the best defense in the NBA with Gobert on the floor. Everything’s just fine.
10. Philadelphia 76ers (11-6, Last week — 8th)
The Sixers saw a four-game winning streak snapped in a close-fought loss to the Raptors on Monday. There is nothing strange about that… until you see that Joel Embiid was scoreless in 32 minutes of action. That’s one of the weirder things of the season.
11. Houston Rockets (11-6, Last week — 4th)
It’s been an up-and-down campaign for the Rockets. Eight straight wins were countered with three straight losses, and Houston got eviscerated by the scalding hot Mavericks on Sunday.
12. Indiana Pacers (10-6, Last week — 12th)
The jury remains out on Indiana. On the positive side, the Pacers are 7-2 in their last nine games. On the skeptical side, both losses came to the only quality teams on the schedule and, in an overall sense, Indiana has (by far) the easiest strength of schedule in the entire NBA to this point. Still, wins are wins.
13. Brooklyn Nets (9-8, Last week — 18th)
Brooklyn is 5-1 without Kyrie Irving. I don’t know how to calibrate that just yet (especially against a very easy schedule), but it’s a thing that’s happening.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves (9-8, Last week — 13th)
The Wolves have cooled off since a hot start but they found refuge against the scuffling Hawks on Monday in Atlanta. Minnesota’s next act will also include a point guard-less starting lineup, with Jeff Teague relegated to the bench and more Andrew Wiggins as the primary offensive engine.
15. Sacramento Kings (7-9, Last week — 15th)
De’Aaron Fox remains out but the Kings are 4-3 without him. That might not be sustainable in a long-term sense, but they simply have to hold the fort for another week or two. Beating the Suns at home this week was significant.
16. Phoenix Suns (8-8, Last week — 14th)
Phoenix needs Ricky Rubio and Aron Baynes back. That might seem weird but it’s truly not. A big part of the Suns’ renaissance is the presence of competent veterans.
17. Oklahoma City Thunder (6-10, Last week — 17th)
The Thunder have the point differential of a .500 team and that feels right. They just went 0-3 against the gauntlet that is the Clippers and Lakers (three games in a row? really?) but bounced back with a badly-needed road win in San Francisco.
18. Detroit Pistons (6-11, Last week — 24th)
Detroit has a +7.1 net rating in the 147 minutes with Blake Griffin on the court this season. In the 669 minutes without him, the Pistons have a net rating of -3.9. That seems pretty cut and dry to me, even while acknowledging the small sample.
19. Portland Trail Blazers (6-12, Last week — 19th)
The Blazers have done nothing to “earn” a spot outside the bottom ten. They’ve been quite bad. There are just enough teams at the bottom to keep Portland out of the basement but, make no mistake, a Monday win over the Bulls won’t save them.
20. Orlando Magic (6-10, Last week — 16th)
Nikola Vucevic is hurt and, in an unsurprising twist, the Magic just can’t score. In the last three games, Orlando has scored less than a point per possession and, for a team with offensive challenges at full strength, they can’t afford to be without their top weapon for very long.
21. Washington Wizards (5-9, Last week — 27th)
Bradley Beal is very, very good. The All-Star guard is putting up 29.6 points, 7.1 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game to key the 2nd-best (!!!) offense in the NBA. Unfortunately, Washington can’t stop anybody.
22. New Orleans Pelicans (6-11, Last week — 23rd)
I trust the 4-3 record that New Orleans has in their last seven games a lot more than their 2-8 start. Everybody’s still counting down the days until Zion returns but Brandon Ingram has been fantastic.
23. Chicago Bulls (6-12, Last week — 25th)
As soon as the Bulls had some positive momentum, they got trucked (at home) by the struggling Blazers on Monday. Your guess is as good as mine with Jim Boylen’s squad.
24. Cleveland Cavaliers (5-12, Last week — 29th)
The Cavs didn’t actually do anything to move up five spots. They were just lapped by a few teams. Cleveland did hold serve at home against the scuffling Spurs but, overall, the Cavs have dropped seven of eight in their own right.
25. Memphis Grizzlies (5-11, Last week — 21st)
After an unexpected three-game winning streak, the Grizzlies have lost four in a row. Regression was inevitable but a decisive home loss to the Warriors is pretty ugly.
26. San Antonio Spurs (6-12, Last week — 22nd)
It is kind of unthinkable that the Spurs would lose 9 of 10 games but it just happened. San Antonio’s only win (over the Knicks) wasn’t jarringly impressive either, and San Antonio is truly a mess defensively. It’s too early to bail entirely, but the signs aren’t positive.
27. Charlotte Hornets (6-12, Last week — 20th)
Remember when the Hornets were 4-3? Those days are over, with Charlotte losing five in a row. To be fair, the Hornets aren’t as bad as many projected, but their point differential indicates that even their current record might be inflated.
28. New York Knicks (4-13, Last week — 28th)
If nothing else, the Knicks have been more competitive lately. New York’s last four losses came by narrow margins and they took Brooklyn to the brink on Sunday.
29. Atlanta Hawks (4-13, Last week — 26th)
Since a 2-0 start, the Hawks have lost 13 of 15 games, including the last seven straight. It has to be noted that Atlanta is operating without two of its best three players (John Collins and Kevin Huerter) but the results are still hideous. Only the Warriors are worse defensively and, aside from Trae Young, Jabari Parker and a nice surge from De’Andre Hunter, there isn’t a lot to cite in a positive manner.
30. Golden State Warriors (3-15, Last week — 30th)
The Warriors aren’t very good at basketball right now. They have injuries. They have roster concerns and limitations. They don’t play defense. There is really a lot happening.
