Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs have the NBA’s best record in games played between teams currently over .500.
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Through Week 9 and with 34% of the season complete, there are 16 teams with winning records, and some of them have been tested more than others. The Golden State Warriors and LA Clippers have each played 19 games within that group, while four of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference have only played 10.
Here are records in the 113 games that have been played between those 16 teams currently over .500 …
Records and point differentials in games played between teams currently over .500
Team GP W L PCT +/- Per game Rank Cleveland 10 9 1 0.900 +99 +9.9 1 Oklahoma City 17 12 5 0.706 +120 +7.1 2 Boston 10 7 3 0.700 +67 +6.7 3 Houston 17 11 6 0.647 +70 +4.1 6 New York 10 6 4 0.600 +59 +5.9 5 Dallas 17 10 7 0.588 +47 +2.8 7 Phoenix 14 8 6 0.571 +15 +1.1 9 Memphis 12 6 6 0.500 +72 +6.0 4 Minnesota 16 8 8 0.500 +30 +1.9 8 Denver 14 6 8 0.429 -17 -1.2 10 Golden State 19 8 11 0.421 -80 -4.2 11 L.A. Lakers 15 6 9 0.400 -97 -6.5 13 LA Clippers 19 7 12 0.368 -104 -5.5 12 San Antonio 14 4 10 0.286 -100 -7.1 14 Orlando 12 3 9 0.250 -93 -7.8 15 Milwaukee 10 2 8 0.200 -88 -8.8 16Of course, the team with the worst record (Milwaukee) beat the team with the most wins (Oklahoma City) in the Emirates NBA Cup Championship, a game that doesn’t count in the above table or the regular-season standings.
That loss, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ subsequent 23-point win over those same Bucks, still has the Thunder dropping a spot in this week’s Power Rankings.
Plus-Minus Players of the Week
Teams of the Week
Make It Last Forever: Indiana (2-0) — The Pacers might be playing some defense. Something Just Ain’t Right: Sacramento (0-4) — The Kings were the only team with four games last week, and they lost all four, a streak capped off by a 27-point loss (at home) to the Pacers.* * *
East vs. West
The West is 64-47 (.577) against the East in interconference games after going 7-5 last week.Schedule strength through Week 9
Toughest: 1. Washington, 2. New Orleans, 3. Brooklyn Easiest: 1. Cleveland, 2. Indiana, 3. New York Schedule strength is based on cumulative opponent record.* * *
Movement in the Rankings
High jumps of the week: L.A. Lakers (+3), San Antonio (+3) Free falls of the week: Phoenix (-4), Four teams (-3)* * *
Week 10 Team to Watch
Denver — The Nuggets are in the top five in the West, but went down to the wire against three struggling teams last week. With three games against the Suns (x 2) and Cavs in the next five days, it would be a good time for Denver to find its groove.* * *
Previously…
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
The league has averaged 112.4 points scored per 100 possessions and 100.0 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes this season.
NBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man’s opinion. If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, contact him via Bluesky.
#1
Cleveland Cavaliers
Last Week:2↑
Record: 25-4
OffRtg: 120.9 (1) DefRtg: 109.5 (7) NetRtg: +11.4 (2) Pace: 100.6 (9)
The Cavs aren’t slowing down. They’ve won eight of their last nine games, a stretch that includes wins over the Celtics, Nuggets and Bucks.
Three takeaways
The Cavs beat the Bucks by 23 (leading by as many as 36) in Milwaukee’s first game after capturing the NBA Cup. It was just the second time this season that Cleveland held its opponent under a point per possession. They rank no higher defensively than they did last season (seventh) and have seen much bigger improvement on the other end of the floor, but the Cavs have also improved defensively when you consider their drop in points allowed per 100 possessions (-2.6) vs. the league average (-2.2). Defensive improvement has come with forcing more turnovers, and the Cavs have forced 18.3 per 100 possessions over their four-game winning streak. Thanks to the light schedule, Evan Mobley missed just one game after his ankle turn, returning as a defensive menace in Brooklyn on Monday. The Cavs have allowed just 96.3 points per 100 possessions in Mobley’s 225 minutes on the floor over this 8-1 stretch. Max Strus made his season debut (off the bench) on Friday, when Isaac Okoro was out with a shoulder injury suffered earlier in the week. The Cavs played 10 guys (before garbage time) in the win over the Bucks, and eventually, Kenny Atkinson will need to make some tough choices with his rotation. The league’s second-ranked bench has been critical to this team’s success.The Cavs have yet to play West of New Orleans but will begin a four-game, post-Christmas trip in Denver on Friday. They’ll play as many games against teams currently over .500 on that trip (four) as they’ve played in the last six weeks.
Week 10: vs. UTA, @ DEN
#2
Oklahoma City Thunder
Last Week:1↓
Record: 22-5
OffRtg: 114.7 (7) DefRtg: 103.0 (1) NetRtg: +11.7 (1) Pace: 100.0 (12)
The Thunder lost the Emirates NBA Cup Championship game, but they won the Thursday-Saturday, Miami-Oklahoma City-Orlando round-robin, sweeping their Florida back-to-back.
Three takeaways
If you count the ugly NBA Cup loss to Milwaukee, the Thunder have scored less efficiently than the league average in each of their last four games. Jalen Williams had shot 29-for-76 (38%) over his previous four before scoring a season-high 33 points in Miami on Friday. For the season, Williams has seen a drop in efficiency with another big jump in usage rate (and a big jump in 3-point rate), registering career-low marks in 2-point percentage, 3-point percentage and free throw rate. The Thunder have three players — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Alex Caruso and Jalen Williams — who rank in the top seven in steals per game. Cason Wallace (5.1) and Kenrich Williams (4.3) are (with Caruso) in the top 20 in deflections per 36 minutes, and Isaiah Hartenstein tied his career high with four steals in Orlando on Thursday. Caruso and Hartenstein have played just 87 minutes together, but the Thunder have allowed just 98.4 points per 100 possessions in 664 total minutes with one or both on the floor.A stretch where the Thunder will have played 12 of 15 games (including the NBA Cup final) on the road comes to an end in Charlotte on Saturday. But that’s the start of their first stretch of five games in seven days. They’ll be at a rest disadvantage when they host the second-place Grizzlies (their first meeting with Memphis) on Sunday night.
Week 10: vs. WAS, @ IND, @ CHA, vs. MEM
#3
Boston Celtics
Last Week:3
Record: 22-6
OffRtg: 119.6 (3) DefRtg: 109.5 (8) NetRtg: +10.0 (3) Pace: 99.0 (21)
The Celtics split their home-and-home set with the Bulls last week, going cold from 3-point range, but dominating inside on Saturday.
Three takeaways
The Bulls haven’t done so bad trying to match Boston from beyond the arc. In the first two games of the season series, the two teams combined for 105 and 108 3-point attempts, respectively, with the 108 on Thursday tied for the third-most combined attempts in NBA history. Each team won one of those two games by nine points, with the loss on Thursday being just the third time this season that the Celtics (14-for-56, 25%) were outscored from 3-point range (57-42). The Celtics didn’t shoot much better from deep (15-for-45, 33%) two nights later, but outscored the Bulls by 24 points (50-26) in the restricted area in a 25-point win, turning 17 offensive rebounds into a season-high 25 second-chance points. That improved them to a league-best 9-5 when shooting worse than the league average (36.0%) from 3-point range. The three games against the Bulls have been the three times this season that the Celtics have had all five of their starters and Al Horford. Their starting lineup (with Kristaps Porziņģis) has been outscored by 4.0 points per 100 possessions in its 85 total minutes.This is the ninth straight year with the Celtics on the Christmas Day schedule, though their game against the Sixers on Wednesday will be just the fourth of their 38 Christmas games that have come at home.
Week 10: @ ORL, vs. PHI, vs. IND, vs. IND
#4
Memphis Grizzlies
Last Week:5↑
Record: 20-9
OffRtg: 117.0 (4) DefRtg: 107.7 (4) NetRtg: +9.4 (4) Pace: 105.1 (1)
The Grizzlies have won 12 of their last 14 games, a stretch that includes a 5-0 mark without Ja Morant after a wire-to-wire blowout in Atlanta on Saturday.
Three takeaways
The Grizzlies have the league’s top-ranked offense (120 points scored per 100 possessions) over this 12-2 stretch, with the context that eight of the 14 games have come against teams that rank in the bottom 12 defensively. They’ve had 12 guys play at least 75 minutes over the 14 games and all 12 have averaged at least 14.5 points per 36 minutes. Jaren Jackson Jr. had just one of the Grizzlies’ franchise-record 27 3-pointers in their 51-point win over the Warriors on Thursday. But he’s been the team’s leading scorer (total points) by a wide margin over these last 14 games. This season, he’s registering a career-best effective field goal percentage of 57.1%, even though the percentage of his buckets that have been assisted (56.7%) is lower than it was last season (when he often wasn’t getting much help offensively). He’s shot 101-for-187 (54%) on 2-point shots outside the restricted area, by far the best mark of his career and up from 43.6% last season. Zach Edey was back in the starting lineup for his second and third games back from a 12-game absence. The 51-point win came with ... Read More Details
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