Week 2: Timberwolves make jump to 4th in power rankings

Record: 2-1
Pace: 99.4 (24) OffRtg: 103.2 (17) DefRtg: 105.1 (15) NetRtg: -1.9 (18)

LeBron James is “out of shape,” their starting lineup is a minus-8 in 27 minutes together, they’re taking far fewer 3-pointers than they have in the past (no team has seen a bigger decrease in 3PA/FGA — from 40 percent last season to 29 percent in their first three games), Derrick Rose is already banged up, and they didn’t come out ready to defend against Orlando on Saturday. But the Cavs are still 2-1, despite Kevin Love and J.R. Smith combining to shoot 3-for-25 from beyond the arc, and their next five games are against teams that are a combined 4-9 so far.

Week 2: vs. CHI, @ BKN, @ NOP, vs. NYK

Record: 2-0
Pace: 99.6 (23) OffRtg: 105.6 (13) DefRtg: 98.1 (9) NetRtg: +7.5 (6)

The Grizzlies’ six wins (including postseason) against the Warriors in coach Steve Kerr’s three-plus seasons with Golden State are the most for any Western Conference team. Defense has been the key to that success (only Boston and Philly have held the Warriors to fewer points per 100 possessions in that time) and on Saturday, they held Warriors not named Curry or Durant to just 30 percent shooting. They lost to JaMychal Green to an ankle injury in the first quarter of their first game, but have gotten good minutes from their reserves, including rookie Dillon Brooks, who had 19 points and four steals in Wednesday’s win over New Orleans.

Week 2: @ HOU, @ DAL, vs. DAL, vs. HOU

Record: 2-0
Pace: 105.3 (11) OffRtg: 112.9 (4) DefRtg: 106.0 (18) NetRtg: +6.9 (7)

New season, same bench issues for the Wizards, forcing them to go down to the final minute against two inferior opponents (Philly and Detroit) at home. After Week 1, every player that started one of their two games has a positive plus-minus, while the four players who came off the bench in both games are no better than a minus-11. John Wall and Bradley Beal have combined for a free throw rate of 57 attempts per 100 shots from the field (up from 32 last season), but coach Scott Brooks isn’t staggering their minutes, and the Wiz have been outscored by 16 points in 21 minutes with neither starting guard on the floor.

Week 2: @ DEN, @ LAL, @ GSW, @ SAC

Record: 2-0
Pace: 106.5 (7) OffRtg: 116.9 (1) DefRtg: 89.7 (2) NetRtg: +27.2 (1)

It’s nothing new that the Raptors have great bench numbers (they lead the league in aggregate bench NetRtg after Week 1). What is new is that their go-to bench unit doesn’t include Cory Joseph (now in Indiana), Patrick Patterson (now in Oklahoma City) or Kyle Lowry. Another big change in Toronto (in addition to more 3-point attempts and better passing) is that coach Dwane Casey isn’t staggering the minutes of Lowry and DeMar DeRozan much, instead using a five-man bench unit — C.J. Miles and four guys who had played in no more than 54 games prior to this season — that is a plus-16 in its first 21 minutes together. After games against the Bulls and Embiid-less Sixers, the schedule gets a little tougher this week.

Week 2: @ SAS, @ GSW, @ LAL

Record: 2-1
Pace: 96.6 (28) OffRtg: 103.4 (16) DefRtg: 97.2 (6) NetRtg: +6.2 (8)

The league’s best shooter (among players who took at least 25 shots) in Week 1 was Joe Ingles, who had an effective field goal percentage of 84.6 percent in Utah’s first three games. The league’s worst shooter in Week 1 was Donovan Mitchell (20.0 percent). The good has outweighed the bad (Mitchell has shown some playmaking skills) and the Jazz offense was efficient enough to pick up important wins against Denver and Oklahoma City. Of course, the defense did the heavy lifting, Ekpe Udoh gives them a second elite shot blocker, and they held both of those teams (expected to be top-10 offenses) under a point per possession.

Week 2: @ LAC, @ PHX, vs. LAL

Record: 2-0
Pace: 106.7 (5) OffRtg: 111.3 (7) DefRtg: 84.6 (1) NetRtg: +26.7 (2)

It’s tough to glean much from games against the Lakers and Suns, but the Clippers should be a good team in transition. Even with Milos Teodosic out indefinitely with a left foot injury, they have four guys in the starting lineup that can grab a rebound, push the ball up the floor, and pass it pretty well (with a big man who runs pretty fast and jumps pretty high). They won’t have the league’s No. 1 defense all season, but a top-10 ranking on that end of the floor would make a difference on the other end. Games this week against Utah and Portland should tell us a lot more about what this team can be both offensively and defensively.

Week 2: vs. UTA, @ POR, vs. DET

11

Last week:

6

Oklahoma City Thunder

Record: 1-2
Pace: 101.5 (16) OffRtg: 99.3 (21) DefRtg: 97.5 (7) NetRtg: +1.9 (15)

Russell Westbrook has been taking fewer shots than his star teammates and is averaging a league-high 11.7 assists, but was ready to take over when Sunday’s game against Minnesota went down to the wire. He shot 4-for-5 in the clutch, one of the only times the OKC offense was good last week. As the big three try to work things out, Steven Adams’ value on both ends of the floor becomes even more apparent. Of course, figuring out who should be the fifth guy on the floor down the stretch (it was Raymond Felton on Sunday) is another challenge for coach Billy Donovan.

Week 2: vs. IND, @ MIN, @ CHI

12

Last week:

14

Milwaukee Bucks

Record: 2-1
Pace: 98.6 (25) OffRtg: 108.7 (9) DefRtg: 109.0 (24) NetRtg: -0.3 (16)

Shooting is the most important skill in basketball … a fact that makes Giannis Antetokounmpo that more amazing. He’s averaging a league-high 38.3 points having made exactly four shots from outside of nine feet. He capped Saturday’s performance (a career-high 44 points on 17-for-23 shooting) by stealing the ball from Damian Lillard, stealing the ball from C.J. McCollum, flying down the floor for the go-ahead dunk, and blocking Jusuf Nurkic at the rim … all in the final minute. John Henson getting all the Bucks’ clutch-time minutes at center ahead of both Thon Maker and Greg Monroe is a bit of surprise.

Record: 2-1
Pace: 101.0 (18) OffRtg: 114.4 (2) DefRtg: 94.5 (5) NetRtg: +19.9 (3)

The Blazers lost just one of the 12 quarters they played last week, but that was good for just a 2-1 record, because Antetokounmpo shut them down in the final minute on Saturday. The opposition in the first two games — the disinterested Suns and the Myles Turner-less Pacers — was weak, but you take road wins any way you can get them. The Blazers have dominated the glass (leading the league in rebounding percentage) and C.J. McCollum has shot 58 percent, even though he didn’t get to play against that atrocious Phoenix defense on Wednesday.

Week 2: vs. NOP, vs. LAC, vs. PHX

Record: 1-2
Pace: 101.9 (15) OffRtg: 97.3 (24) DefRtg: 99.9 (10) NetRtg: -2.6 (20)

In addition to a new emphasis on offense (see above), Hayward’s absence also means that the Celtics are depending more on the perimeter shooting of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who are a combined 9-for-32 from 3-point range thus far. Those guys can all attack close-outs off the dribble, but opponents are going to close out conservatively and dare them to shoot from the outside. Last season, Brown and Smart ranked as two of the 44 worst jump shooters among 258 players who attempted at least 150 shots from outside the paint.

Week 2: vs. NYK, @ MIL, @ MIA

Record: 1-1
Pace: 94.7 (29) OffRtg: 101.5 (18) DefRtg: 97.5 (8) NetRtg: +4.1 (10)

Nikola Jokic didn’t exactly pick up where he left off at the end of last season, dishing out 15 assists, but shooting just 3-for-13 in the Nuggets’ first two games. Defense was still an issue though, as the Jazz attacked Jokic in the pick-and-roll early and often on Wednesday. With Jameer Nelson waived to make room for Richard Jefferson, Emmanuel Mudiay seems to have himself a permanent spot in the rotation, though it remains to be seen what happens with the frontline once Jefferson (best suited as a small-ball four) starts playing. Kenneth Faried and Jokic had some good minutes together in Saturday’s win over Sacramento.

Week 2: vs. WAS, @ CHA, @ ATL, @ BKN

Record: 1-1
Pace: 105.7 (10) OffRtg: 103.9 (15) DefRtg: 106.7 (20) NetRtg: -2.7 (21)

Hassan Whiteside puts up the big lines, like his 26 and 22 in Orlando on Wednesday, and his defensive focus is critical. But the other end of the floor was the bigger factor in their second-half turnaround last season and will likely determine what they do from night to night this year. Offensive success is about their backcourt, so it’s no coincidence that their five guards shot 36 percent in Wednesday’s loss to the Magic and 52 percent in Saturday’s win over the Pacers. Since the start of last season, they’re 21-2 when Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters both play and combine for at least 35 points.