The New Orleans Pelicans entered the 2022-23 season with lofty expectations on the heels of an encouraging stretch run last year. New Orleans pushed Phoenix in a six-game playoff defeat in late April, and that showing came after a regular season success story to even make the play-in tournament. Still, in mid-November, New Orleans was just 6-6. Despite positive overall metrics, the results weren’t quite arriving for the Pelicans. That all changed on Nov. 12 with an 11-game run that has the Pelicans turning heads around the league.
New Orleans is now 15-8 overall and No. 2 in the Western Conference with an active, four-game winning streak. Over that 11-game sample since mid-November, the Pelicans are 9-2 with eight double-digit wins and the NBA’s best statistical profile. The Pelicans lead the league in defensive rating (104.8) and net rating (+11.7) over that sample, with a top-tier offensive rating (116.6) and true shooting percentage (60.7 percent) to boot. A deeper look at the defense (including a 32.2 percent mark allowed from three-point range) indicates that, unsurprisingly, this level of dominance isn’t quite sustainable, but the Pelicans are creating havoc with 17.5 turnovers per game and generating impact with sound play on both ends.
New Orleans hasn’t been the picture of health either, with CJ McCollum recently missing four straight games and the Pelicans only having their full complement of top-tier options for a handful of games all year. On-off splits for the standout players are highly encouraging and, in 241 minutes, the Pelicans are dominating with Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson on the floor together, outscoring opponents by more than 15 points per 100 possessions. Beyond the stars, New Orleans is getting high-end contributions from role players, headlined by the continuing defensive excellence of Herb Jones and Sunday’s wild breakout showing (38 points in 27 minutes!) from Jose Alvarado.
Broadly speaking, it is probably too early to flat-out assume the Pelicans will continue on a 53-win pace but, if anything, New Orleans might be underperforming. The folks at Cleaning The Glass indicate the Pelicans have won 1.2 games fewer than expected by the numbers, and the Pelicans’ profile projects for 57.8 victories. That would be a wildly impressive showing, of course, but the Pelicans have already announced that they are here as a real threat in the West, with the opportunity to continue rolling this week with three straight home games.
How high will the Pelicans climb in this week’s DIME power rankings? Let’s explore.
1. Boston Celtics (20-5, Last week — 1st)
Boston did lose a game this week, but it came against Miami right after beating that same Miami team in the previous game. The Celtics have the best record, the best net rating, and the best offense in the league. This is also a showcase stretch in the next week or so, with Boston playing on national television three times, starting with a showdown against Phoenix on Wednesday.
2. Milwaukee Bucks (17-6, Last week — 3rd)
After a bit of a fallow period, the Bucks are 5-1 in the last six games. The defense continues to be fantastic and, with Khris Middleton back, there is room for optimism on offense. The Bucks are scoring 1.16 points per possession in that six-game span, and all of the bones are in place for a potential title contender.
3. New Orleans Pelicans (15-8, Last week — 8th)
As referenced above, the Pelicans have three home games to begin this week. However, New Orleans has a very interesting six-game run coming from Dec. 9-19, with three games against Phoenix, two games against Utah, and a home tilt against Milwaukee.
4. Phoenix Suns (16-8, Last week — 2nd)
Phoenix drops after losing two of the last three games, including a 19-point loss to Dallas on Monday. The Suns can boost their stock again with a win over Boston on Wednesday but, regardless, Phoenix has the best on-paper profile of any team in the West right now.
5. Memphis Grizzlies (15-9, Last week — 7th)
The Grizzlies are just plugging along. Memphis is No. 3 in the West and 5-1 in the last six games. The defense is hovering around league-average in the early going, with Memphis posting a top-eight offense and generally vibing. Considering Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane have combined for only 20 games played, this is a good spot for Memphis.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers (16-9, Last week — 6th)
Cleveland turned on the jets to beat the Lakers by 14 points on Tuesday, bouncing back from a loss at MSG over the weekend. The Cavs actually nudged ahead of the Bucks for the No. 1 defense in the league, and Cleveland’s offense is solidly above-average. They should be taken seriously.
7. Sacramento Kings (13-9, Last week — 15th)
Light the beam, again? The Kings bounced back from a three-game losing streak with three straight wins, and Sacramento is 10-3 in the last 13 games. The Kings are, surprisingly, in the top eight of the league in net rating (+3.8) and even better since a relatively middling start.
8. Golden State Warriors (13-12, Last week — 9th)
The Warriors did lose at home to the Pacers on Monday, which wasn’t fantastic, but Golden State is 10-5 in the last 15 games. The start was rough, but the bench is now stabilized, Steph Curry is playing at an MVP level, and there is inherent trust with Golden State at this stage.
9. L.A. Clippers (14-11, Last week — 10th)
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George returned on Monday. The Clippers have won four straight with Leonard on the floor and they are 8-3 in the last 11 when George plays. The overall profile isn’t befitting of this ranking, but if Kawhi and PG are there, everything is different.
10. Brooklyn Nets (13-12, Last week — 12th)
Brooklyn lost its last game, but it came at the hands of the No. 1 team on this list. Prior to that, the Nets won four games in a row, and Brooklyn is 12-7 since a pretty disastrous start. It helps to have Kevin Durant playing at a sky-high level, and the Nets are No. 4 in the NBA in true shooting at nearly 60 percent.
11. Dallas Mavericks (13-11, Last week — 15th)
Dallas bumps up this week after three straight wins. The Mavericks pulled off an impressive back-to-back sweep over Phoenix and Denver on Tuesday, including a back-and-forth win over the Nuggets. Dallas had nudged into the top eight of the league in net rating with above-average offensive and defensive metrics.
12. Denver Nuggets (14-10, Last week — 4th)
The Nuggets just lost three in a row, including the aforementioned defeat at the hands of Dallas. Denver’s baseline seems to be totally fine, but the Nuggets’ depth hasn’t been tremendous and Michael Porter Jr. hasn’t played since Nov. 22.
13. Philadelphia 76ers (12-12, Last week — 5th)
Going 0-3 on a road trip in the first half of the season isn’t the end of the world, but the Sixers have to slip. Philadelphia lost to Houston, albeit in double-overtime, on Monday, and the Sixers had trouble scoring all week. The cure could be a seven-game homestand that begins with a game against the Lakers on Friday.
14. Toronto Raptors (12-12, Last week — 11th)
It’s hard to make sweeping judgments about the Raptors based on the last seven days. Toronto lost three times, but those defeats came against New Orleans, Brooklyn, and Boston. The Raptors were underdogs in all three of those games, and Toronto won comfortably against Orlando. Steady as it goes.
15. Los Angeles Lakers (10-13, Last week — 23rd)
The Lakers make a big jump this week, and they earned it. Los Angeles is 8-3 in the last 11 games, and that includes a Tuesday night loss to Cleveland in which Anthony Davis was forced to leave with illness. Davis is in a total groove right now, so his absence hurt, and a loss to Cleveland isn’t exactly an indictment right now.
16. Portland Trail Blazers (13-11, Last week — 22nd)
Portland will come off a three-day break with home games against Denver and Minnesota (twice) this week. The Blazers did have a lopsided loss in Los Angeles last week, but Portland did take care of business with a weekend sweep of Indiana and Utah. Saturday’s win was an explosion from Anfernee Simons and Damian Lillard came back on Sunday. Not a bad stretch.
17. Oklahoma City Thunder (11-13, Last week — 25th)
The Thunder are really playing well. Oklahoma City has a star (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), an effective 5-out style, and impressive resilience. All were on display in road wins over Minnesota and Atlanta to close the week, and OKC is threatening the .500 mark.
18. Indiana Pacers (13-11, Last week — 14th)
The Pacers would’ve fallen further if not for the Andrew Nembhard experience on Sunday. The rookie guard led Indiana to a relatively stunning win over Golden State, and that paused a 1-4 downturn. Overall, it seems like the Pacers are basically just leveling off, but that was a nice win.
19. Utah Jazz (14-12, Last week — 21st)
Utah stays steady here after a couple of wins to stabilize things this week. The Jazz did lose to Portland (at home) on Saturday, and Utah has a gauntlet coming. The next seven games are against Golden State, Minnesota, Denver, New Orleans (twice), Milwaukee, and Cleveland.
20. New York Knicks (11-13, Last week — 17th)
The Knicks are just 3-6 in the last nine and only a 30-point thrashing over Detroit saves the team’s statistical profile. New York did pick up a nice win over Cleveland on Sunday to stop the slide, but the Knicks are just kind of hanging around the middle.
21. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-12, Last week — 20th)
We touched on Minnesota in-depth a week ago and not much has changed. The Wolves only had two games this week, and Minnesota beat Memphis (nice) and lost to OKC (not so nice). It continues to be a roller coaster.
22. Atlanta Hawks (13-11, Last week — 24th)
The Hawks are better than this ranking, but it’s not going super well in Atlanta right now. There was a well-publicized dust-up between Trae Young and Nate McMillan over the weekend and, while that doesn’t necessarily signal total combustion, the Hawks promptly blew a 14-point second half lead in a home loss to Oklahoma City on Monday. The Hawks are 2-4 in the last six games and have blown a double-digit lead in each of the four losses. Not great.
23. Miami Heat (11-14, Last week — 13th)
It was the second night of a back-to-back and Jimmy Butler didn’t play … but the Heat shouldn’t be losing by 20 points to the Pistons at home. That happened on Tuesday, and it was jarring to see. It’s “only” 25 games, but it’s not as if Miami is inspiring a great deal of confidence outside of organizational history.
24. Washington Wizards (11-13, Last week — 16th)
There were positive vibes around D.C. just a couple of weeks ago, but things have shifted a bit since then. Washington is now 11-13 after six losses in seven games, and the Wizards are on the road for eight of the next ten games. It seems like reality is here for a relatively limited roster.
25. Chicago Bulls (9-14, Last week — 18th)
A week ago, it seemed like the Bulls took a step forward. Chicago promptly lost three in a row to finish a five-game road trip. Granted, none of the losses were of the inexcusable variety, but a team with the Bulls’ internal expectations probably can’t be 9-14 without some uneasiness.
26. Houston Rockets (7-17, Last week — 27th)
Quietly, the Rockets are 4-3 in the last seven games. The three losses all came in lopsided fashion, so it’s not as if things are perfect, but Houston is scoring almost 1.15 points per possession in that run. Baby steps.
27. Charlotte Hornets (7-17, Last week — 26th)
All things considered, it wasn’t a bad week for the Hornets. Charlotte beat Washington, which was a nice home win, and the Hornets were highly competitive in single-digit losses to the Bucks and Clippers. That’s a step forward from previous results, as modest as it sounds.
28. Detroit Pistons (7-19, Last week — 28th)
The season-long sample is what it is, but Detroit had a good week. The Pistons, as noted above, blasted the Heat on Tuesday. Before that, Detroit had a nice home win over Dallas and a competitive defeat against a quality Memphis team.
29. Orlando Magic (5-20, Last week — 29th)
Orlando hasn’t won since Nov. 18, and that tells you why the Magic are in this slot. On a more positive note, it’s been a nice ride for Bol Bol, who is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 60 percent from the floor this season. Defense is still an adventure for Bol, but he’s carved out a role after a couple years in the NBA wilderness.
30. San Antonio Spurs (6-18, Last week — 30th)
It is quite ugly in San Antonio right now. The Spurs have lost 11 straight and 16 of the last 17 games. That speaks for itself, but San Antonio’s -19.4 net rating during the losing skid paints an even more dire picture. Yikes.
