SportsPulse: HoopsHype's Alex Kennedy tells us why the Houston Rockets should not be surprised by the way things turned out with Carmelo Anthony.
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With a significant majority of teams playing .500 or better basketball, we still don’t have much clarity a month into the NBA season.
Throw in the Golden State Warriors’ turmoil and you have a situation that makes it difficult to assess the league’s pecking order.
But here is one attempt.
(Records through Monday night’s games)
30. Cleveland Cavaliers (2-13): Star player (Kevin Love) sidelined with an injury? Veterans on the trading block? The tank is on.
29. Atlanta Hawks (3-14): More interested in future draft picks than winning games. Still not like last season (yet), when nearly a third of league was tanking.
28. New York Knicks (4-13): Team president Scott Perry isn’t the tanking type, but the youth movement is on with an eye toward 2019 free agency.
27. Phoenix Suns (3-13): Rookie center DeAndre Ayton is impressing and quickly developing chemistry with Devin Booker.
26. Chicago Bulls (4-13): Zach Lavine sat with an illness Saturday night. His team took a 39-point beatdown from the Toronto Raptors.
25. Miami Heat (6-10): Josh Richardson is having a nice season. A reminder he is a member of the 2015 draft class when the Pistons picked Stanley Johnson.
24. Sacramento Kings (98): After a hot start, the Kings have settled into their normal mediocrity. They have lost five of eight.
23. Washington Wizards (5-11): A three-game streak stopped the bad vibes, but a home loss to the Nets brings them back.
22. Dallas Mavericks (7-9): The rookie of the year debate is raging between rookies Ayton and Luka Doncic. My vote is with Doncic after Saturday night.
21. Orlando Magic (9-8): The Magic ran the Lakers off the floor Saturday night. Former Piston D.J. Augustin took their souls with this.
20. Brooklyn Nets (7-10): Spencer Dinwiddie is averaging 14.9 points per game. He is shooting 39.5 percent from three. A reminder the Pistons gave up on him.
19. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-10): Freed from the Jimmy Butler saga, the Timberwolves have won three of four.
18. San Antonio Spurs (8-8): Gregg Popovich is a Hall of Fame coach. Even he can’t overcome a lack of point guards.
17. Charlotte Hornets (8-8): The Hornets have suffered four one-possession losses — with Kemba Walker having his best season.
16. Los Angeles Lakers (9-7): Pickup of Tyson Chandler has helped, but gave up 130 points at Orlando on Saturday. LeBron James scored 51 in Sunday's win in Miami.
15. Detroit Pistons (8-6): The Pistons had won three of four with the wins coming on the road. Beat up on the woeful Cavs at LCA on Monday.
14. Utah Jazz (8-9): Donovan Mitchell jacked up 35 shots in scoring 31 points in Friday night’s loss at Philly. There are few players I’m comfortable with taking that many shots. Mitchell isn’t one.
13. New Orleans Pelicans (10-7): The Pelicans are 10-4 when Anthony Davis plays. Easy to see where their success lies.
12. Los Angeles Clippers (11-5): Tobias Harris is having an efficient season, scoring 20.7 points per game, and shooting nearly 42 percent from 3-point range.
11. Indiana Pacers (11-6): The Pacers have quietly put together a solid season. Victor Oladipo brings star power — although Myles Turner is struggling.
10. Memphis Grizzlies (11-5): As long as point guard Mike Conley stays healthy, the Grizzlies will be a threat.
9. Boston Celtics (9-8): Somehow a team with Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward is 27th in offensive rating.
8. Denver Nuggets (10-6): The Nuggets made news this week with the hiring of women’s basketball great Sue Bird to a front office position.
7. Houston Rockets (8-7): The Rockets have won four straight with Carmelo Anthony a distant memory. They play a home-and-home against the Pistons on Wednesday and Friday.
6. Portland Trail Blazers (11-5): Damian Lillard is playing like an MVP candidate for a squad I always underestimate.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (10-6): It’s tough for a team with Russell Westbrook to fly under the radar, but Thunder had won nine of 11 entering Tuesday.
4. Philadelphia 76ers (12-7): Winners of the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes, and the forward paid dividends with a game-winner Saturday night in Charlotte.
3. Toronto Raptors (13-4): SBNation’s Seerat Sohi produced an interesting deep dive into Dwane Casey’s chilly relationship with Raptors coach Nick Nurse, his former assistant.
2. Golden State Warriors (12-6): Pundits are starting to write the obit after Draymond Green-Kevin Durant dustup. I’m not going that far, but could be the franchise’s greatest test.
1. Milwaukee Bucks (12-4): Analysts predicted new coach Mike Budenholzer would unleash Giannis Antetokounmpo. So far, so good.
Follow Vince Ellis on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.
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