It’s been a … let’s call it interesting few months for the Brooklyn Nets. In late June, Kevin Durant requested a trade from Brooklyn and, along the way, he reportedly pushed for the firing of both the team’s head coach and general manager. Durant eventually withdrew his trade demand, and a few weeks into the season, that head coach, Steve Nash, parted ways with the team. There’s the Kyrie Irving suspension, the ongoing saga of Ben Simmons, and all of the twisting winds in Brooklyn. There was an overall lack of faith in Brooklyn as an on-court threat as well, and the Nets started the season at 1-5 and heading into Thanksgiving with a record below .500 in the suddenly deep Eastern Conference.
Then, the Nets started winning.
Brooklyn is 8-1 in the last nine games, landing in the top-4 of the Eastern Conference as a result. It isn’t as if the Nets have a huge cushion above the rest of the pack in the East, and Brooklyn did have a soft schedule in stretch, including a seven-game homestand against less than stellar competition. Still, it’s hard to fake eight wins over nine games, and the Nets still have Durant and Irving to make things easier on the offensive end of the floor.
Broadly speaking, the Nets aren’t completely lighting up the scoreboard, scoring 113.5 points per 100 possessions for the season. That falls below the elite tier, but Brooklyn does have the bones of a fantastic offense and, for all of his other challenges, Irving is a tremendously effective player to go along with an MVP-caliber start from Durant. In the last nine games, Brooklyn is scoring 1.16 points per possession, even with a game in which the Nets punted from a roster perspective in Indiana. Despite horrific rebounding numbers, the Nets remain competitive on the defensive end.
It is far too early to suggest that Brooklyn is jumping back into the contender category, especially with Simmons still working his way back into form. Having Durant and, to a lesser extent, Irving around does give you a puncher’s chance, though, and neither star is even approaching career-norm levels from three-point distance this season.
How good are the Nets? We’ll see, and we’ll also see where they slot in this week’s DIME power rankings. Let’s go.
1. Boston Celtics (22-7, Last week — 1st)
Boston lost two games in a row for the first time all season, but that wasn’t enough to shift the top spot. The Celtics bookended those losses with a dominant road win in Phoenix and a wild one in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening. In simple terms, Boston still has the best overall profile in the league this season.
2. Milwaukee Bucks (20-7, Last week — 2nd)
As we’ll touch on later, the Bucks strangely lost to Houston this week, and that isn’t a fantastic datapoint. Milwaukee is still 8-2 in the last ten games with a road win over Dallas and a very decisive home win over Golden State on Tuesday. Considering Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton have played only 69 total minutes this season, the Bucks should be feeling good.
3. Memphis Grizzlies (18-9, Last week — 5th)
Memphis has the longest active winning streak in the league and have hammered opponents by 13.8 points per 100 possessions in those wins. Most of the damage came during an extended homestand, but Desmond Bane is out and Memphis continues to roll.
4. New Orleans Pelicans (18-9, Last week — 3rd)
A week after we touched on the Pelicans’ leap, New Orleans swept Phoenix in impressive fashion. The Pelicans technically drop in the rankings after a weird loss to Utah on Tuesday, but New Orleans is playing at a contender level.
5. Brooklyn Nets (17-12, Last week — 10th)
Can the Nets keep rolling? Brooklyn is off until Friday before road games in Toronto and Detroit. That seems manageable.
6. Denver Nuggets (16-10, Last week — 12th)
Denver had only two games between last week’s rankings and this week’s rankings. The Nuggets won both and defeated Portland on the road and Utah at home. Nikola Jokic scored 64 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, and generated 23 assists in those two games. He’s pretty good.
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (17-11, Last week — 6th)
There is no reason to panic, but the Cavs had a couple of not-so-great losses this week. Cleveland lost at home to Sacramento and then dropped a game to the previously scuffling Spurs. The Cavs do have an intriguing road test against Dallas on Wednesday.
8. Philadelphia 76ers (15-12, Last week — 13th)
After a three-game losing streak to end the previous week, the Sixers won three straight. All three wins came in favorable situations at home, but the wins still count. Also, Joel Embiid is on a heck of a run, averaging 37.9 points per game in his last ten appearances.
9. L.A. Clippers (16-13, Last week — 9th)
The Clippers were on track to dip a little bit in the rankings until Monday. L.A. then beat Boston by 20 points and, more importantly, Kawhi Leonard looked like Kawhi Leonard. He had 25 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in 29 minutes, and everything changes for the Clippers if he’s right.
10. Golden State Warriors (14-14, Last week — 8th)
It’s fairly weird that Golden State dropped this week after the Warriors beat the Celtics by double figures. The rest of the week wasn’t good for the Warriors, though, and Golden State is just 2-12 on the road. That is a staggering figure.
11. Dallas Mavericks (14-13, Last week — 11th)
If you needed a reminder that the Mavericks are built entirely around Luka Doncic, look no further than what happened on Saturday. Dallas gave up 144 (!) points to the Bulls and lost by a million without Doncic. We can safely ignore that result, but the Mavericks are on the knife’s edge sometimes.
12. Phoenix Suns (16-12, Last week — 4th)
Phoenix is suddenly 1-6 in the last seven games and the only win came against San Antonio. Granted, Devin Booker missed the last two games, but the Suns looked awful in a loss to Houston on Tuesday and things are in flux.
13. New York Knicks (14-13, Last week — 20th)
It’s been a very nice 10-day period for the Knicks. That includes a four-game winning streak and Julius Randle getting right with at least 27 points in the last three games. New York benefitted from extremely poor opponent shooting (22.1 percent from three), but the Knicks have a 94.4 defensive rating in those four contests. That’ll work.
14. Portland Trail Blazers (15-12, Last week — 16th)
The Blazers were only one point away from a five-game winning streak. Portland suffered a one-point loss to Denver, but the Blazers bounced back with a two-game sweep of Minnesota. Damian Lillard has 36-plus points in three straight games and the team still boasts a top-10 offense.
15. Sacramento Kings (14-12, Last week — 7th)
The Kings reached lofty heights a week ago and had a bit of a reckoning at 1-3 this week. The three losses were all on the road against solid-or-better teams, but Sacramento has two more games to finish the lengthy, six-game trip.
16. Los Angeles Lakers (11-16, Last week — 15th)
Los Angeles might be too high here when looking at win-loss record and recent play. After all, the Lakers are 1-4 in the last five games. Those losses came exclusively against quality opponents, with two in overtime, and it is easy to be more encouraged by the Lakers now than in previous weeks.
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (13-14, Last week — 21st)
On the bright side, D’Angelo Russell seems to be finding some rhythm with 26.4 points on nearly 58 percent shooting in December. He needs to be rolling for Minnesota to be what it can be on offense, but Karl-Anthony Towns is out for a few more weeks and Minnesota just got mini-swept by Portland.
18. Utah Jazz (16-14, Last week — 19th)
Trying to figure out what Utah is right now is exceptionally difficult. The Jazz have clearly flattened out after the hot start, but Utah beat up on New Orleans on Tuesday and beat Golden State earlier in the week. The trouble is that Utah is giving up more than 1.16 points per possession in the last 17 games while going just 6-11.
19. Toronto Raptors (13-14, Last week — 14th)
Even when it comes on the road in a baseball-style miniseries, there has to be some punishment for losing twice in a row to Orlando. The Raptors are now 1-9 in their last 10 games on the road, which is gross, and Toronto’s offense is thoroughly uninspiring (to be kind) in half-court settings. They are weird enough to overcome those issues, but the vibes are not immaculate.
20. Miami Heat (13-15, Last week — 23rd)
Jimmy Butler is back and playing, but the Heat only rise in the rankings this week because of the struggles of other teams. Miami lost at home to San Antonio (yikes) this week and it’s one step forward and one step back for the Heat right now. They did manage to win despite scoring 87 points in Indianapolis on Monday, but that was another result that doesn’t inspire a ton of joy.
21. Atlanta Hawks (14-14, Last week — 22nd)
Atlanta’s recent numbers look worse than they probably after a 25-point beatdown at the hands of the Grizzlies on Monday. The Hawks were without their top five players in that game, so it’s one to write off, but Atlanta is still just 3-7 in the last ten games amid mounting injury concerns. John Collins and Dejounte Murray should be back in the relatively near future, but the Hawks also need to take advantage of a soft upcoming schedule between now and Christmas.
22. Indiana Pacers (14-14, Last week — 18th)
It’s not a huge shock that the Pacers have leveled off, but they’ve leveled off. Indiana is 4-8 in the last 12 games and, over that sample, the Pacers are dead-last in the NBA in defensive rebound rate and total rebound rate. That doesn’t explain everything, as Indiana is also scoring only 1.08 points per possession, but it would be helpful to avoid being bludgeoned in the possession battle.
23. Chicago Bulls (11-15, Last week — 25th)
Chicago’s loss in Atlanta was wild on Sunday, and that’s a game that just happens sometimes. Still, the Bulls have been horrific in the clutch this season, and that explains what is essentially a dead-even point differential compared to an 11-15 record. DeMar DeRozan is holding up his end of the bargain, but he hasn’t been able to carry the offense to even league-average levels.
24. Oklahoma City Thunder (11-16, Last week — 17th)
OKC jumped up the rankings last week with good reason, and this is a bit of a course correction. There is nothing wrong with the Thunder losing road games to the Grizzlies, Cavaliers, and Mavericks. It’s still a three-game losing streak and an 11-16 record, but it’s fine. Really, it is.
25. Houston Rockets (9-18, Last week — 26th)
The Rockets just beat the Bucks and Suns in consecutive games. Yes, Khris Middleton left the game early for Milwaukee and Devin Booker didn’t play for Phoenix. But, I mean, the Rockets just beat the Bucks and Suns in consecutive games.
26. Orlando Magic (8-20, Last week — 29th)
After nine straight defeats, Orlando shot the heck out of the ball this week and picked up three wins in a row. The Magic have a chance to keep that going against the scuffling Hawks on Wednesday, but it was the best stretch in recent vintage for Orlando.
27. San Antonio Spurs (9-18, Last week — 30th)
It was truly dire for the Spurs a week ago after 11 straight losses. Then, San Antonio had three full days off to regroup and came out and won three games in a row. That doesn’t mean everything is great for the Spurs now, but it’s a much better feeling despite the NBA’s worst point differential.
28. Washington Wizards (11-17, Last week — 24th)
Only four weeks after it seemed like Washington could be enjoying a fun season, the wheels have come off. The Wizards have lost seven in a row and 10 of the last 11 games, posting the worst record in the NBA since Nov. 23. Washington shouldn’t be this bad, just as the Wizards shouldn’t be as good as they were early on, but the harsh dip leads to a big drop here.
29. Charlotte Hornets (7-20, Last week — 27th)
Charlotte does have an excuse with LaMelo Ball appearing in only three games. With that said, the Hornets have been brutally hideous. Charlotte has the worst offensive rating (107.0) in the NBA, and the Hornets are on an ugly, five-game losing streak.
30. Detroit Pistons (7-22, Last week — 28th)
Cade Cunningham is officially out for the season and the Pistons have the worst record in the NBA. Detroit seems destined for a premium share of ping-pong balls, but perhaps the most interesting part of the calculus is whether the Pistons will trade the red-hot Bojan Bogdanovic, who is averaging 21 points per game on 65.8 percent true shooting this season.
