The Brooklyn Nets entered the 2020-21 season with sizable expectations, even before acquiring James Harden in a massive, multi-team swap. Though question marks did surround the Nets, the presence of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving attracted immediate attention and, once it was clear Durant had returned to his pre-injury form as one of the best players in the NBA, the spotlight grew. With that in mind, it wasn’t a shock when the Nets started just 9-8 but, at the same time, the concerns about their defense and top-heavy roster building came to the surface.
Since that 9-8 start, however, the Nets are a blistering 15-5 and they rank fourth in the NBA in net rating (+6.0). That includes a 10-1 spurt before the All-Star Break and, while Brooklyn is also the league’s No. 1 offense for the season (118.4 points per 100 possessions), they are essentially unstoppable right now. The Nets boast a 120.4 points per 100 possession mark in the 24 games since acquiring Harden and, in the aforementioned 11-game streak, that number rises to a ridiculous 121.8 points per 100 possessions.
It was worth saying plainly that Brooklyn’s offensive pieces are virtually unmatched in the history of the league. Allowances could certainly be made for the Durant-era Warriors and a few other squads, but the Nets essentially deploy three of the ten best individual shot creators in the NBA, and they also have one of the best supporting offensive pieces (Joe Harris) in the league. Not only are the statistical results tremendous, but the Nets are 17-6 with Harden in the lineup since he arrived, even as both Irving and Durant have missed time with injuries.
As you may expect, the Nets have been (quite) good when even one of their best players sees the floor, and that is one of the appeals of having three No. 1 options. Brooklyn has a +10.2 net rating when Durant plays, with a +10.0 mark for Irving and a +6.0 for Harden, which is weighed down by units in which he is asked to carry a Rockets-like workload. When they are paired together, the results are staggering, including a +18.0 net rating in 140 minutes when the three stars play with Harris.
It is worth pointing out that, while all expectations are that the Nets will be fantastic when all of their pieces play together, we are still in a small sample size world with this group. Still, Brooklyn’s offense has shown itself to be in a class of its own so far this season and, at least when looking at recent results, the Nets are beginning to play a little bit better on the defensive end.
Brooklyn still lands in the bottom five of the NBA in defensive rating this season, yielding 113.6 points per 100 possessions. If that were to continue, it would be wise to fade the Nets in the grand scheme, simply because that is untenably poor. Brooklyn’s defense is improving, both with the eye test and the statistics, though, and that includes a 112.2 defensive rating in the last 11 games. That may not seem like much but, at the highest levels, the formula for Brooklyn will be to lean heavily on their offense and produce just enough stops to win. With their ability to switch (particularly for Harden) and lock in when it matters, the defense is a concern, but perhaps not a fatal one.
At this moment, FiveThirtyEight installs the Nets as the single most likely team to reach the 2021 NBA Finals, albeit with only a 30 percent chance to do so. It remains to be seen as to how Brooklyn will matchup with the likes of Philadelphia, Milwaukee and others in the playoffs but, with three scorers averaging at least 25 points on uber-elite efficiency, it stands to reason that no opponent will be able to stop them. Hopefully, observers will have more of a chance to examine what it looks like when they all play together but, after one half of the 2020-21 season, the Nets are terrifying.
Where does Brooklyn land in the All-Star Break edition of our DIME power rankings? Let’s explore.
1. Brooklyn Nets (24-13, Last week — 2nd)
The Nets have the second-best record in the NBA since acquiring Harden. The Nets have the best record in the league over the last 11 games. This isn’t a slam dunk by any means but, with the Jazz losing their last two games, the door was open. However, let’s just say the gap isn’t very big.
2. Utah Jazz (27-9, Last week — 1st)
Utah’s been really, really good and I considered leaving them at the top. Considering they’ve lost four of the last seven games, that is a testament to just how dominant they were previous to that (slight) downturn. The Jazz still lead the NBA in net rating (+8.5) with top-four marks on both sides of the floor. They are real, and it won’t surprise anyone if they are back at No. 1 soon enough.
3. Phoenix Suns (24-11, Last week — 3rd)
Even with Brooklyn playing the way they have, it could be argued that Phoenix is the hottest team in the league. They are 16-3 in the last 19 games and, ironically, two of those losses came when they blew big leads. It’s probably unsustainable on some level, but the Suns are really good. Let’s keep an eye on Devin Booker, though, as he missed the All-Star Game due to a knee injury.
4. Philadelphia 76ers (24-12, Last week — 7th)
Philly leads the East by a half-game and everyone knows they are playing well. With that out of the way, Joel Embiid absolutely eviscerated Rudy Gobert and the Jazz on Wednesday, and that was quite the message. It will be interesting to see how long Embiid and/or Ben Simmons are sidelined due to contact tracing, but they are in a fantastic position.
5. Denver Nuggets (21-15, Last week — 8th)
The Nuggets swept through an entire road trip before the break, winning four games in a row. The headliner was a dominant “statement win” over the Milwaukee Bucks, and that prompts the three-spot jump this week. Nikola Jokic and company are rolling and they are up to fourth in net rating for the season.
6. Milwaukee Bucks (22-14, Last week — 6th)
Milwaukee won six of the last seven before the break, with only the aforementioned loss to Denver. After what many might describe as a disappointing first half, the Bucks are second in net rating. You can pick that apart, to be sure, but they are 17-9 with Jrue Holiday, and I trust that a lot more than the 5-5 mark without him.
7. Los Angeles Lakers (24-13, Last week — 4th)
It’s pretty hard to “rank” the Lakers right now. Everyone understands they are a leading title contender when healthy. They are also 3-7 in the last 10 games and they effectively punted the end of the first half schedule. It would be nice if they could perform better without Anthony Davis but, well, Anthony Davis is really good and virtually irreplaceable.
8. Boston Celtics (19-17, Last week — 16th)
It doesn’t mean that everything is solved in Boston, but they just won four in a row before the break. Granted, the Celtics were a complete mess prior to that spurt, but they beat three solid-or-better teams in that run. Getting Marcus Smart back will help, but Boston still has a move (or two) to make before the trade deadline for them to be considered serious contenders.
9. L.A. Clippers (24-14, Last week — 6th)
We’re punishing the Clippers for three straight losses at the end of the first half. To be fair, absences from Kawhi Leonard and Paul George contributed (greatly) to those results. Their defense hasn’t been great lately, though, and it a bit strange that the Clippers are “only” 24-14 while leading the NBA in three-point shooting and free throw shooting.
10. Dallas Mavericks (18-16, Last week — 10th)
No team could match Brooklyn’s 10-1 mark in the last 11, but Dallas came close at 9-2. They were (unsurprisingly) awesome on the offensive end and solid enough to defensively to stack some wins. It is certainly concerning that the Mavs have still be outscored for the season, but their struggles appear to be behind them, for now.
11. Portland Trail Blazers (21-14, Last week — 14th)
It is very difficult to parse Portland’s last month of results. The Blazers won six in a row in early-to-mid February, only to give it back with four straight losses to close the month. Then, Portland went 3-0 to finish the first half, but the victories came at home against Charlotte, Golden State (by two points) and Sacramento. We’ll see how they start the post-break stretch.
12. Miami Heat (18-18, Last week — 9th)
In the grand scheme, the Heat are still riding high as they were last week. Miami is 7-1 in the last eight games, and they are looking like they are supposed to look. Erik Spoelstra’s team did have a hideous performance against Atlanta in the one loss, though, scoring 80 points and looking generally hapless without Jimmy Butler.
13. San Antonio Spurs (18-14, Last week — 13th)
With the slew of postponements in February and a 2-3 record once they returned, the Spurs are still in the “TBD” category. San Antonio starts with six road games in the first seven contests after the break, and that could go a long way toward determining what’s real and what isn’t.
14. New York Knicks (19-18, Last week — 12th)
New York was 8-3 before the break and they did it on defense. That aligns with the way the team has played all year, but it’s worth remembering just how unforeseen all of this development has been.
15. Toronto Raptors (17-19, Last week — 11th)
Following some fantastic work to climb out of an early-season hole, the Raptors limped into the All-Star break with four losses in the last five games. They really get an “incomplete” due to absences related to health and safety protocols, but Toronto is going to need to bank some wins coming out of the hiatus as they look to avoid the play-in.
16. Golden State Warriors (19-18, Last week — 15th)
Steve Kerr’s team gets a mulligan for the blowout loss they suffered against Phoenix to end the first half, simply because of the skeleton roster they utilized. The two losses before that can’t be wiped away, though, and the Warriors are creeping back toward the .500 mark. Golden State just can’t seem to score (98.6 offensive rating) without Stephen Curry on the floor, and that’s a problem.
17. Atlanta Hawks (16-20, Last week — 25th)
The Hawks definitely had some preseason hype but, in taking a step back, Atlanta was basically projected as a .500 team. Obviously, a 16-20 mark isn’t great through that lens but, when considering the lack of contributions the Hawks have received from their offseason acquisitions, it suddenly doesn’t feel so bad. Atlanta also started the Nate McMillan era with back-to-back wins before the break, and they are in a solid spot overall.
18. Memphis Grizzlies (16-16, Last week — 17th)
After some early-season streakiness, the Grizzlies have pretty much settled in as a .500 team. Ironically, they are 11th in net rating (+0.8) despite their relatively modest win-loss mark, but that speaks to the morass in the middle of the league. Memphis may be closer to their 7-10 mark in the last 17 games, but they are also maintaining a pretty impressive 9-5 road record in 2020-21.
19. Chicago Bulls (16-18, Last week — 20th)
The Bulls are beating the teams they are supposed to beat. That includes a 12-6 mark against teams with sub-.500 records but, as you can glean, they aren’t doing very well against “good” opponents. Following that recipe might be good enough to make the play-in, and it helps that Zach LaVine is still maintaining a 65.3 percent true shooting clip for the season.
20. Charlotte Hornets (17-18, Last week — 21st)
Charlotte is incredibly average, down to their 17-18 record and -0.5 net rating. They are a lot more fun than that, but it’s been a month since they won or lost two straight games. It’s rather fitting, really, but at least LaMelo Ball entertains the basketball world on a nightly basis.
21. Indiana Pacers (16-19, Last week — 18th)
This might be too high for Indiana this week, which seems crazy. The Pacers are 5-12 in the last 17 games, and their only victories came against Memphis, Atlanta, Detroit, Minnesota and Cleveland. Their net rating (-3.1) isn’t as bad as their record in that 17-game stretch, but Indiana doesn’t have a ton of quality depth right now, and it’s catching up to them.
22. Washington Wizards (14-20, Last week — 19th)
The five-game winning streak from February has stabilized to a 3-3 mark in the last six games. Honestly, Washington would probably take that .500 baseline moving forward, but two of the three late victories came over Minnesota and a short-handed Clippers team. The Wizards still own a -3.9 net rating and a bottom-five defense.
23. Oklahoma City Thunder (15-21, Last week — 23rd)
OKC continues to hang around. They were 4-3 in the last seven before the break, and their final contest was a good encapsulation. The Thunder went into San Antonio and won on the second night of a back-to-back. They aren’t very good on offense but, at this very moment, Oklahoma City is a top-10 defensive team, yielding fewer than 1.1 points per possession.
24. New Orleans Pelicans (15-21, Last week — 22nd)
Following a great win over Utah at the end of last week, the Pelicans lost to the Bulls and Heat at home on back-to-back nights. Neither loss was completely egregious, but they just have a hard time stringing wins together. Having the NBA’s second-worst defense for the season is a big reason for their uneven play.
25. Cleveland Cavaliers (14-22, Last week — 24th)
Things have been pretty weird for the Cavs. Cleveland lost 10 in a row in February, going from the middle of the playoff race to the absolute dregs. Then, they won four in a row before (narrowly) losing to Indiana in their final pre-break outing. For the team with the second-worst point differential in the league, they do have some very competitive moments, but the overall package is underwhelming.
26. Sacramento Kings (14-22, Last week — 27th)
A lot has changed since the Kings were 12-11. Sacramento did finish 2-2 in their last four games before the break but, before that, it was chaos, and not in a good way. It is pretty difficult to be a bottom-five team in the league when you have a top-10 offense, but the Kings are trying their best.
27. Detroit Pistons (10-26, Last week — 28th)
Detroit just keeps losing, even if their peripherals aren’t as bad as their record. The Pistons have the second-worst record in the league, with three more losses than any team other than the Wolves. Detroit is 23rd in net rating, and that might be more indicative, but they’ve lost seven of the last nine.
28. Orlando Magic (13-23, Last week — 26th)
The top line with Orlando is five straight losses to end the first half. That explains their demotion in the rankings, but the Magic left quite a negative mark with their final six-minute stretch before the break. Orlando led Atlanta by 16 points with six minutes remaining. From there, they missed 9 of the last 10 shots and allowed the Hawks to hit seven threes to pull off a win. Yikes.
29. Houston Rockets (11-21, Last week — 29th)
It’s really bad for the Rockets right now. Houston is on a 13-game losing streak (the longest in the NBA this season) and, over that time period, they are scoring only 100.8 points per 100 possessions. Yes, injuries are a big factor but, in this space, we have to judge the Rockets on what they’ve done (or haven’t done) and only the struggles of the Wolves keep Houston out of the basement.
30. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-29, Last week — 30th)
With the Rockets losing 13 straight, there is an argument for Houston here. However, the Wolves are just just 1-13 in their last 14 games and that includes an active, nine-game losing skid of their own. Minnesota has the worst record in the league by three full games and they now own the worst net rating (-8.4) on top of that. They aren’t necessarily that much worse than the rest of the NBA on paper, but the results are what they are.