Pelicans & Grizzlies Taking Over the West; Nets Finding Their Stride After Rocky Start
The 2022-23 NBA season is more than six weeks old, and we’re getting a clearer picture of who’s real and who’s not. A few teams have been early-season surprises, like the Pelicans and Cavaliers, but the Eastern Conference powerhouses are still atop the power rankings. And as much as the Nets’ tumultuous start looked like a blowup in the making, Brooklyn appears to have righted the ship. Let’s take a look at our latest NBA heat check.
NBA Power Rankings
1. Celtics (21-7)
2. Bucks (19-7)
3. Pelicans (18-8)
4. Grizzlies (18-9)
5. Nets (17-12)
6. Nuggets (16-10)
7. Cavaliers (17-11)
8. Suns (16-11)
9. 76ers (14-12)
10. Blazers (15-12)
Teams 11-20: 11. Hawks (14-14) | 12. Kings (14-11) | 13. Knicks (14-13) | 14. Clippers (16-13) | 15. Warriors (14-13) | 16. Jazz (15-14) | 17. Mavericks (14-13) | 18. Pacers (14-14) | 19. Raptors (13-14) | 20. Heat (13-15)
Teams 21-30: 21. Timberwolves (13-14) | 22. Bulls (11-15) | 23. Lakers (11-15) | 24. Wizards (11-17) | 25. Thunder (11-16) | 26. Magic (8-20) | 27. Hornets (7-20) | 28. Spurs (9-18) | 29. Pistons (7-22) | 30. Rockets (8-18)
NBA Highlights
Durant’s 30 Powers Nets: Kevin Durant dropped a 30-9-6 stat line last night to lead the Nets over the Wizards (112-100). It was Brooklyn’s fourth straight win, and they’ve won eight of their last nine.
SGA & Luka Put On A Show: The Mavericks and Thunder went blow-for-blow with a pair of superstars showing out. Luka Doncic (38-11-8) led Dallas to the win (121-114), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a 42-point night himself.
Welcome Back, Kawhi: Clippers’ star Kawhi Leonard has been slowly working his way back from last year’s knee injury with limited minutes, but the Klaw shined for the first time in awhile last night (25-9-6) as L.A. took down the Celtics (113-93).
