NBA: Top 10 teams after the first quarter of the season

There’s isn’t much numerical separation in the east, but the Cavs and the Pacers are a cut above the rest With a quarter of the NBA season past us, it’s time to take a look at the top 10 teams in the league. Because the NBA uses seven game series’ to determine the winners of each playoff round, there are only a few teams who truly have a chance to win the NBA title. Considering that, there isn’t much reason to rank the 22 or even the 15 best teams in the league. They may have fun players, but team wise, they aren’t truly relevant in the grand scheme of things. Now this is a fluid list, and no doubt some teams at the bottom of this top 10 will shuffle with some other teams looking to break into the vaunted top of the league. However, at this point, it looks like the top spot is safe, as the Golden State Warriors are running away with the league, 4 games ahead of their closest competitor in overall record. At this stage, we are going to have to wait until the playoffs to see if the Warriors are truly this juggernaut, potential mini-dynasty team they exploded onto the scene as last year. What is really interesting to watch is how much better the East has been early on compared to the normally brutal West, with 2 games separating teams one through ten. Could this be the year where the East becomes the deeper conference, or is it just a matter of some of the traditional Western powers righting the ship and getting back to their winning ways?Just missing the cut for the quarter season poll are the Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets with the Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, and now slightly surging Houston Rockets looking to up their play and break into the rankings.All stats are according to NBA.com.

#1 Golden State Warriors

You know they are the best. I know they are the best. Everyone knows they are the best. As the world watches to see how far they Warriors can carry their unbeaten streak, the team has showed the tiniest signs of slippage as more and more games are becoming fourth quarter affairs.

You know life is good when people start analyzing your season in terms of have you had to try or not in the fourth quarter, but such is life when your average scoring margin is 14.9 points per game. With an offense that is by far the best in the league, the 2nd placed Thunder are closer to the 26th placed Nuggets than they are to the Warriors, and a top five defense, there are very few flaws with the Warriors.

Some people, such as CBS Sports Matt Moore, feel like they have a chance to get to 50 wins in a row, and many think they will certainly challenge the 1971-72 Lakers record of 33 wins in a row.

Stephen Curry seems to up the bar for anyone to challenge him in the MVP race every game, including last week’s 28 points in the third quarter alone against the Charlotte Hornets. With a comfortable win over who were thought to be their toughest test so far, the Indiana Pacers, the Dubs will look to sweep Boston on the road on Friday. If those boxes are checked, they have a great shot at entering their game against the Cavaliers looking to win their 29th straight. What a game that would be!

#2 San Antonio Spurs

Here stands the old guard of beautiful basketball, the team that took many of Mike D’Antoni’s Phoenix Suns’ offensive principles and rode them to a championship, once again laying waste to the league.

They have held a lead in the 4th quarter for more minutes than the Warriors, they are outscoring teams by nearly 12 points a game, could potentially finish the season with the best defense of the past 30 years in terms of efficiency, and they have a legit MVP candidate in Kawhi Leonard.

And yet nobody is talking about them, at all. The Warriors and the Spurs’ own desire to turn back the clock and play with slower pace, shoot midrange jumpers and defensive first principles have combined to cause people to take a “wait till the playoffs” approach.

They might not be playing the exact same beautiful basketball from two or three years ago, but they are arguably more dominant than in those regular seasons. Coach Gregg Popovich is a master tactician, and he is zigging (slowed down, defense first approach) while the rest of the league is zagging (uptempo, small ball, threes), and it is working as only Pop could do it.

With Kawhi Leonard almost fully entrenched as the Spurs’ next superstar and Pop still working LaMarcus Aldridge into the offense, the Spurs come March, April and May will be downright scary.

#3 Cleveland Cavaliers

In Irving’s absence, Kevin Love has stepped up on offense

Despite cooling off from their 8-1 start to go 5-6 over their last 11 games, the Cavs are still atop the Eastern Conference (by half a game) and still employ LeBron James so you won’t find me putting any Eastern Conference team above them.

They still haven’t had their starting backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert play a game and LeBron seems to be conserving his energy once again in order to make a monster push in the playoffs.

Heck, five straight Finals appearances will tire even the most dominant of athletes. As the Cavs get their two guards back, you might see LeBron take an even bigger step back for a little and let Kyrie wet his feet, which should cause no alarm to any serious fan of the NBA. LeBron will be heard from, come crunch time.

What has been very good for the Cavs is Kevin Love, who seems to be resembling his Minnesota Timberwolves self more and more, blending his outside shooting with his knack for gobbling up offensive rebounds.

The ability to do both of these things at such a high level gives the Cavs a big man capable of fitting nicely alongside LeBron’s mid-post game and puncturing the opposition when they leave him even slightly unattended to.

#4 Indiana Pacers

Now we are getting into the teams that have shown a dominant streak to their play at least at some point in the young season, as the Indiana Pacers have rebounded from a 0-3 start to seize 12 wins in their next 14 and climb to number two in the crowded East.

They seem to have caught fire, particularly CJ Miles and MVP runner-up candidate Paul George, as they are shooting 40% from three as a team, good for second in the league. They have made a conscious switch to playing more small ball, which has in turn given their plethora of wings and shooters more room to build a dynamic offense.

This has helped Paul George immensely, as he has rebounded from a gruesome broken leg in the summer of 2014 to be one of the top two players in the NBA right now (Kawhi Leonard is the other one).

George is playing his usual magnificent defense, and now hitting threes like a top marksman in the league, something that only opens up more driving lanes for his continually improving handle and athleticism.

#5 Oklahoma City Thunder

OKC have 2 of the best players in the league

Oh no, the Thunder aren’t rolling, they sky is falling, Billy Donovan sometimes looks like an overmatched college coach still learning the game. While the Thunder aren’t exactly rolling like we have seen them in years past, they still employ two of the seven best basketball players alive and one of the best defenders in the league.

Everyone is worrying about them and they still have the 4th best efficiency margin in the league. And Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are having their best seasons when both are playing. They will be okay.

Now just how okay that is will depend on getting their defense fixed, which has already begun. They now stand 10th in the league in defensive efficiency after having some early season hiccups where they gave up some truly high point totals.

Another problem rearing its ugly head is their end of the game offense, where it seems like Westbrook and Durant just take turns taking shots. They don’t need much creativity, but just a little dash could help spring the role players on the court and make the two superstars’ life just a little easier. Upcoming road games with the Cavaliers and Clippers loom in what should be a good test for the team.

#6 Miami Heat

Whiteside is proving to be a real asset for Miami

I am breaking my “use efficiency as a tiebreaker” rule here and slotting the Heat behind the Oklahoma City Thunder because one of the teams has two superstars and it’s not the Heat.

What Miami does have is an above average coach, a killer defense, and players with championship pedigree who can bring a somewhat green team, in certain areas, along and hopefully make a deep playoff push. Justise Winslow has turned out to be a great draft pick, the type of young, athletic glue guy the Heat needed and Tyler Johnson has stepped in as a solid backup point guard.

The biggest revelation is that Hassan Whiteside doesn’t seem to be a one year wonder, as he is putting up comparable offensive numbers to last year while improving his blocked shots to 4.5 per game.

He is still raw in terms of understanding team schemes and will get caught out of position chasing blocks, but overall he helps anchor one of the league’s best defenses. And I just did this whole thing while not even mentioning Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. If they can get the offense to really start clicking, watch out.

#7 Toronto Raptors

With a game that is very 90s, ripe with trips to the free throw line and mid-range jumpers, the Raptors have had the unlucky task of already playing the Warriors twice this season. In both of those games, they held the league juggernaut close before eventually falling short at the end.

Despite their somewhat dated offense, they have been killer on that end for two years running now, sporting top five units each year. They have also notched nice wins against the Cavaliers, and against the Clippers, Thunder, and Hawks on the road.

If they can get out of the middle of the pack on defense and work their way into the top 10, they have a legitimate chance to finally fufill all the hope that Raptors fans have held in them for the last two years. With the way Kyle Lowry is shooting threes, mini-Steph-like, they have a guy in the backcourt who can get his shot from anywhere and lead a late game charge. The Raptors are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

#8 Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks, minus Carroll, still have a good chance of repeating their playoff performance

The Atlanta Hawks are definitely off their 62 win pace from last year, but don’t let that fool you into thinking they are an average team this year. They still sport a +3 efficiency rating (points scored per 100 possessions minus points allowed per 100 possessions) and a +2 scoring differential.

They are still figuring out how they exactly want to fill in the hole left by Demarre Carroll, but they still have the right mix of unselfish players, shooting, and defense to make noise in the playoffs.

If they can start to get just a little more from each of their four remaining starters, there is no reason why they can’t snag a top two seed in the East. They have 6 of their next 10 games at home coming up, and should be able to make moves in the jumbled East.

#9 Los Angeles Clippers

Blake Griffin, along with the Clippers, has been lacklustre so far this season

The Clippers are a weird team, seemingly floundering through the regular season, just waiting for the playoffs despite never having done anything of note in the playoffs, unless you count dramatically losing the conference semifinals series.

Blake Griffin is playing like the second tier superstar that he is, but there is something wrong with the bench that seems to be holding this team back. They seem to need Lance Stephenson on the court, to give them a much-needed dash of playmaking with the second unit that tends to watch Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers dribble until they shoot.

The Clippers should be fine. They have a chance to go 6-3 by Christmas and if they can regain their mojo on offense and get it back to the 110 points per 100 possessions like the last few years, they will start rolling to 50+ wins again. Oh and don’t forget Chris Paul gaining steam as the season goes on and he gets into playoff shape.

#10 Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose has been slow off the mark, perhaps wary of injuring himself

The Chicago Bulls are one of the four teams all within one game of Eastern Conference leaders, the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they have not looked like a particularly dominant team so far this season.

They are back to their early Tom Thibodeau ways of having a top five defense and a bottom five offense, and they really need Derrick Rose to show some semblance of shooting efficiency to give Jimmy Butler a scoring mate.

It will also help to hopefully get Mike Dunleavy, Jr. back in the next few weeks to give them some more outside shooting. Without this, we could be looking at the same old Bulls team that caps out as an Eastern Conference semifinalist.