1
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Cavaliers
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The train just keeps on rolling, with the Cavs picking up four more wins this week. They nearly let one slip through their fingers in Milwaukee, but Donovan Mitchell called game after nearly losing the ball twice on their final possession. The offense is the best in the NBA with a top-10 defense — a winning recipe if there ever was one.
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—
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9-0
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2
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Warriors
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Well then, statement made. The Warriors brushed off the “soft schedule” talk by walking into TD Garden and handing the Celtics their first home loss of the season. The rotation keeps growing, with Lindy Waters III entering the fray due to injuries, and Steve Kerr can do no wrong at the moment. They hoist a ton of 3s, but everything starts with the league-best defense, which held the prolific Boston attack to just 40 first-half points on Wednesday.
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4
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7-1
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3
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Thunder
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OKC set an NBA record by winning its first seven games by double-figures, but the unbeaten campaign came to an end with Wednesday’s loss in Denver. The Thunder have been winning with absolutely elite defense, but the offense hasn’t been spectacular to start the season despite putting up 122 points in the loss to the Nuggets.
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1
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7-1
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4
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Celtics
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Steph Curry back at the Garden gave Celtics fans some serious 2022 PTSD, as the Warriors handed them their first home loss of the season on Wednesday. Jayson Tatum shook off a rough start to make his way to an efficient 32 points, and Boston has to think that with Jaylen Brown in the fold they probably win that game. Neemias Queta has earned the starting center nod, and was excellent against Golden State with 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes.
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1
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7-2
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5
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Suns
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It hasn’t always been pretty, but Phoenix has entered the league’s upper tier with six straight wins. After last season’s unrelenting fourth-quarter struggles, this year’s Suns are 6-0 in clutch games with a plus-51.4(!) net rating, as Kevin Durant has shot 67% in those situations.
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1
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7-1
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6
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Rockets
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The Rockets have won three of four, and the loss came in overtime after a monumental 31-point comeback against the Warriors. The offensive attack is spread, with seven players averaging double-figure points this season, and the defense has been excellent. They’ve earned their spot just outside the top five.
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11
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5-3
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7
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Nuggets
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Wednesday’s win over OKC, partially thanks to the incredible timing and fingernail length of Peyton Watson, was a near-incalculable morale boost given the absences of Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. The Nuggets needed someone to step up, and it’s been Christian Braun, who’s averaging 19 points on 57% 3-point shooting during the win streak. Oh yeah, and Nikola Jokic is putting up 26 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists per game over the same stretch. Absurdity.
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11
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5-3
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8
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Mavericks
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Luka Doncic is averaging 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists this season, and yet it still feels like he hasn’t quite hit his stride. It should be scary to the rest of the NBA that Dallas is in the middle of the pack offensively and still winning — the Mavs could easily be the league’s most efficient offense when all is said and done.
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3
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5-3
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9
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Timberwolves
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Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle have put up great numbers on paper, but the Wolves have a negative net rating with both on the floor together. Most concerning is the 116 defensive rating in over 200 minutes with both offensive engines on the court, unacceptable for a team that allowed the fewest points in the NBA last season.
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1
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4-3
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10
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Kings
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Sacramento has won five of its last six games, with the loss coming in overtime in Toronto on Vince Carter jersey retirement night, when the Drake-DeMar DeRozan beef reached fevered heights (no, seriously). As for their performance on the court, the three-headed monster of DeRozan, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis looks potent, and it gives the Kings at least two big-time scorers and facilitators on the floor at all times.
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5
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5-3
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11
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Grizzlies
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Throwing lobs while sitting on the floor. Multiple 360 finishes that make you wish we had a Layup Contest instead of a Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend. Ja Morant is an absolute highlight machine, and has looked more like himself with averages of 22 points and 10 assists on 47/39/83 splits over his last four games, during which the Grizzlies have gone 3-1.
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2
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5-4
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12
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Pacers
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After a slow start the Pacers have won three of their last four games and Bennedict Mathurin has caught fire, starting with a 30-piece in the win over Boston. The third-year guard is putting up 21 points, nine rebounds and three assists on 50% shooting over his last four games.
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2
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4-4
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13
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Clippers
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Clipper fans were pleased to take down Paul George and visiting 76ers on Wednesday, which brought the team back to .500. Norman Powell has gladly picked up some of the slack left by George’s departure and Kawhi Leonard’s unavailability, averaging a cool 25 points on insane 53/49/86 shooting splits.
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1
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4-4
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14
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Nets
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Hey look, if you told Nets fans that they’d be .500 and in the fifth seed two weeks into the season, they’d gladly take it. This team has real NBA players, and that goes a long way in terms of competitiveness and closing ability. Case in point, Cam Thomas leads all NBA players with 10.1 fourth-quarter points per game on 56/47/95 shooting splits.
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6
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4-4
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15
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Lakers
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JJ Redick is seeing how the other half lives after a hot start has devolved into a .500 record real quick after three losses in four games. Anthony Davis is playing at an MVP level, and we saw how much the Lakers need him as he watched their loss to the Grizzlies from the sideline. Even with Davis, the defense has been atrocious — like, close to the worst in the entire NBA.
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7
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4-4
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16
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Hawks
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No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher had his coming out party on Wednesday, putting up 33 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks on 6-for-10 3-point shooting in Atlanta’s win over the Knicks. He’s been uneven — as most rookies are — in increased playing time during De’Andre Hunter’s absence, but nights like this remind you of the incredible potential lying within.
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10
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4-5
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17
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Knicks
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Not exactly the start they wanted, for sure, but there’s lengthy precedent for “superteams” needing some time to gel before hitting their stride. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson are both boasting tremendous offensive numbers, but the Knicks’ bottom-10 defense has come back to bite them more times than not this season.
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10
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3-4
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18
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Heat
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It looked like Bam Adebayo had broken free from his early-season struggles with a 32-point outburst against Washington, in which he made three of his five 3-point attempts (his only three makes of the season from deep). It appears that was just the “Wizards bump,” however, as he went 12 for 36 from the field over his next two games — both Heat losses. Miami is going to need him to get back to an All-Star level if the team is going to make any real noise.
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2
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3-4
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19
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Magic
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Go figure, generating offense without Paolo Banchero is tough. Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner are doing the best they can, but the Magic have averaged just 98 points in four straight losses without their leading scorer, including two sub-90 efforts.
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10
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3-6
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20
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Trail Blazers
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DominAyton in the house? In his sixth NBA season, Deandre Ayton has recorded a double-double in all but one game while shooting 51% from the field. He’s not the world’s best rim protector, to be sure, but the Blazer defense has been much better with him on the floor so far.
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4
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3-5
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21
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Spurs
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The on-court performance took a backseat for San Antonio this week as Gregg Popovich stepped away from the team to deal with an undisclosed health issue. Victor Wembanyama still can’t hit the broad side of a barn from 3-point range, but he did put up the second 5×5 game of his career in the win over the Jazz, finishing with 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and five blocks.
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6
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3-5
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22
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Hornets
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Brandon Miller’s last-second putback on Wednesday saved the Hornets from a fourth straight loss, and they’re happy to have the second-year forward back in the lineup. In three games since returning from a glute injury, he’s averaged 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes per game.
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3
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3-5
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23
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Pistons
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The Pistons were oh so close to winning a third straight game on Wednesday, but were done in by Brandon Miller’s last-second putback in Charlotte. Still, they have to be happy with a defense that has allowed an average of 108 points over their last three games.
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5
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3-6
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24
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Pelicans
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The guys on the court are playing hard, but injuries have taken their toll on the Pels recently. Brandon Ingram has been the mainstay, averaging 26 points, five rebounds and five assists in his last four games, while another Brandon — Boston Jr. — has taken advantage of the extra opportunity by putting up 15.5 points per game on 51/39/90 splits over the same stretch.
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1
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3-6
|
25
|
Bulls
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You never want to be the ones that give any team its first win, and the loss to Utah was just one of three straight this week for the Bulls — and this after a decent start. Chicago is playing at the fastest pace in the NBA after finishing 28th last season, so it might take the players a bit of time to adjust. So far, though, it doesn’t seem to be working.
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14
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3-5
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26
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Bucks
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Milwaukee’s panic button has been obliterated to smithereens, and we’re only two weeks into the season. Consecutive losses to the East-leading Cavs by a total of three points might seems reassuring in some cases, but it somehow hurts even worse for the Bucks, who can’t settle for anything less than a W at this point. The good news is Damian Lillard appears to have found his shooting stroke, going 15 for 30 from 3-point range over his last three games.
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5
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1-6
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27
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Raptors
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The Raptors doubled their win total this week, which brings their win total to *checks notes* … two. The story has been second-year wing Gradey Dick, who’s scored 25 points or more in four of the team’s nine games. He’s averaging an even 20 on the season, second only to RJ Barrett’s 26 per game.
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2
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2-7
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28
|
Wizards
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The Wiz couldn’t keep the momentum going after two straight wins, losing handily at home to the Heat and Warriors. Rookie Kyshawn George made six of his eight career 3-pointers in the loss to Golden State.
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3
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2-4
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29
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76ers
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As usual, not much to discuss with the mundane Sixers. Well, Paul George made his debut with the team and Joel Embiid was suspended three games for shoving a local columnist in the locker room, but surely nobody concerns themselves with such trivialities. Even with George, the Sixers are bad, and they’re not going to be good until Embiid comes back — which is apparently going to happen next week, after he’s done serving his suspension. That might finally give us something to talk about.
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7
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1-6
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30
|
Jazz
|
Utah is undefeated in its last one basketball game this season. That’s all that matters if you’re a Jazz fan, who can look forward rather than looking back to the 0-6 start. Keyonte George tied a career high with 33 points and dished out nine assists in the win over Chicago.
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—
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1-6
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