What do our experts make of the hot starts by the Sixers, Clippers and Pelicans? And what’s up with the Nets? We reset the league ahead of Week 3.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. The Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets are both two games under.500. The Toronto Raptors have one win. Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are currently tied for the East’s No.7 seed — with the New York Knicks! What does it all mean? Nothing, it’s Week 3. Small Sample Size Theater has taken hold of the NBA standings. What do our experts think about the hot starts in Cleveland, Atlanta and Phoenix, or the early speedbumps experienced in Brooklyn, Toronto and Dallas? Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Eric Woodyard, Royce Young and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders. Previous rankings: Week 1| Week 2 1. Los Angeles Lakers 2020-21 record: 5-2 Previous ranking: 1 After posting the third-best road winning percentage in league history last season, the Lakers are off to a 3-0 start away from Staples Center this season, sweeping a two-game set against the Spurs and then holding the Grizzlies to 58 points over the final three quarters in a 108-94 win on Sunday. LeBron James is starting to look like the guy who finished second in MVP voting last season, following up a triple-double against the Spurs with 22 points,13 rebounds and 8 assists against the Grizzlies. — McMenamin This week: @MEM, SA, CHI, @HOU 2. LA Clippers 2020-21 record: 5-2 Previous ranking: 3 Following an embarrassing 51-point loss to the Mavs, the Clippers beat both Minnesota and Portland by 23 each. While they got a masked Kawhi Leonard back against Portland, the Clippers could not overcome a poor start in Utah. Paul George, though, scored 39 points to hold off a red-hot Phoenix squad. The Clippers are still letting opponents cut big leads down to single-digits, but so far, they’ve held on to beat the Lakers, Nuggets and Suns in those situations. — Youngmisuk This week: SAS, @GSW, CHI 3. Philadelphia 76ers 2020-21 record: 5-1 Previous ranking: 6 The Sixers still look disjointed at times offensively and have had a very easy schedule, but they enter this week with the NBA’s best defense and the top record in the Eastern Conference. We’ll begin to learn more about Philadelphia beginning Thursday, when the Sixers play the Nets, beginning a five-game stretch that also includes the Nuggets, Hawks and two games against the Heat. It’s a litmus test for where things stand so far under new coach Doc Rivers. — Bontemps This week: CHA, WAS, @BKN, DEN 4. Brooklyn Nets 2020-21 record: 3-4 Previous ranking: 2 After a torrid start, the Nets have cooled and raised questions about their depth, defense and crunchtime offense, Sunday’s one-point loss to the Wizards highlighting each. The 122 points they scored — Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving combined for 58 of them — should’ve been enough, and their two stars each had a chance to win it on the final possession. But defensive lapses and some spotty bench play bit them. After their 2-0 start, the Nets are 1-4, their win being a game they gave up 141 points. — Young This week: UTA, PHI, @MEM, OKC 5. Milwaukee Bucks 2020-21 record: 3-3 Previous ranking: 4 The Bucks feel they are better than their 3-3 record but are thankful for the different types of games they’ve been engaged in early on. This week, they won a pair of blowouts against Miami and Chicago but also dropped a 119-108 contest to the Heat. Milwaukee has also started hot from beyond the arc — take their record-breaking performance Tuesday night against Miami. Milwaukee already has three games with 20-plus made 3-pointers. The Bucks did that only twice last season. — Woodyard This week: DET, UTA, CLE 6. Miami Heat 2020-21 record: 2-3 Previous ranking: 5 The bubble hangover has been tough to shake for a Heat team that got beat by 47 points on the front end of a back-to-back against the Bucks. The larger issue is that Jimmy Butler hasn’t looked right after injuring his ankle at the beginning of the season. He didn’t attempt a shot in 27 minutes during a loss to the Mavericks on Friday night. — Friedell This week: OKC, BOS, @WAS, @BOS 7. Phoenix Suns 2020-21 record: 5-2 Previous ranking: 11 Sunday’s loss to the Clippers aside, the Suns are showing they belong in the conversation with the top teams in the Western Conference. They’ve won in blowouts and they’ve won in close games. The scoring numbers for Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton have gone down so far this season, but the team success is there with a more balanced scoring effort. Also, Phoenix’s bench has been led by the two Cams — Cameron Johnson and Cameron Payne — who have stepped up this season. — Lopez This week: TOR, @DET, @IND 8. Utah Jazz 2020-21 record: 4-2 Previous ranking: 8 Mike Conley’s transition to Utah was rockier than anticipated last season, but he’s making the kind of impact now that the Jazz hoped for when they acquired the veteran point guard in a blockbuster trade. Conley leads the Jazz in scoring (20.3 points per game) and plus-minus (plus-57), and ranks second in assists (5.0) — MacMahon This week: @BKN, @NYK, @MIL, @DET 9. Indiana Pacers 2020-21 record: 4-2 Previous ranking: 10 Staying healthy will be pivotal for the Pacers this season. However, they were already hit with a huge blow with forward TJ Warren expected to miss a significant portion of this season because of surgery to correct a stress fracture in his left foot. Indiana won three straight games to start the season, then went 1-2 this week with its lone win coming against Cleveland. — Woodyard This week: @NOP, HOU, PHX 10. Boston Celtics 2020-21 record: 4-3 Previous ranking: 7 The NBA is back! Catch all the 2020-21 season action on ESPN, ABC and the ESPN App. Wednesday, Jan.6 • Celtics at Heat,7:30 p.m. on ESPN • Clippers at Warriors,10 p.
