With another NBA week in the books, a lot of teams has started to hit their strides while some teams have started to fall in the standings. A few contenders took a hit due to injuries and some young teams struggled to keep up with their sudden ascension.
Today, we’ll take a look at the grades of each NBA team and how they fared in the second week of NBA basketball.
Atlanta Hawks: C+ (Last Week D-)
Atlanta have slowly turned around their fortunes in week 2. They compiled a record of 3-1, with wins against the Bucks, Timberwolves and the Wizards before bowing to the Pelicans. Trae Young is still struggling but is slowly finding his touch from downtown.
Boston Celtics: A+ (Last Week A+)
Two weeks has gone by and the Boston Celtics remains the lone undefeated team in the entire league. Even with Derrick White out, this team is racking up wins on a dominant fashion. They were 3-0 this past week with an average winning margin of 26.6 points per game.
Brooklyn Nets: B- (Last Week D)
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Brooklyn went 3-1 this past week against playoff-worthy opponents, a far cry from their 0-2 start this season. With their ball movement becoming more crisp, they are primed to win more games as the season progresses.
Charlotte Hornets: C (Last Week C-)
Week 2 started off bad for Charlotte but they managed to eke out a win against the surging Pacers to salvage their grade. LaMelo Ball is still struggling with his shot and has yet to regain his all-star form this year.
Chicago Bulls: D- (Last Week C-)
The Bulls went 1-4 this past week and things are looking bleak for a team like them with playoff aspirations. Several NBA teams are already monitoring their situation as they all expect that some of Chicago’s stars might be available for trade some time this season.
Cleveland Cavaliers: C- (Last Week C)
The Cavaliers lost 2 out of 3 games to in the second week of NBA basketball. Even with a complete lineup, they still struggled to find the consistency they had last year. Donovan Mitchell has been playing magnificently but the rest of the team are nowhere near as good as him.
Dallas Mavericks: A- (Last Week A-)
Even without Kyrie Irving for a couple of games, the Mavs continued to win some games before falling to the Nuggets. Luka Doncic is playing at an MVP level so far this year. Their defense is still suspicious but as for now, they are content to outscore anybody in a nightly basis.
Denver Nuggets: A (Last Week A+)
Denver went 3-1 this past week and has looked as dangerous as ever. Nikola Jokic’s stellar play has wreaked havoc to their opponents and there’s nobody in the league that could stop his brilliance. They look like a team that could possibly win it all again this season.
Detroit Pistons: D (Last Week B+)
Detroit understandably fell off by failing to register a single win this week. Their young core were inconsistent, which translated to unnecessary turnovers for the team. Expect them to pile up more losses in the future.
Golden State Warriors: A+ (Last Week B+)
People have doubted this aging Warriors team but they proved that they are still legitimate contenders by posting a spotless record in week 2. With Draymond Green back, their ball movement looked much better on offense.
Houston Rockets: C (Last Week D-)
Houston finally found the groove in week 2 and their progress should be largely attributed to Sengun, Smith Jr. and Brooks’ play. Their backcourt duo of VanVleet and Green has yet to click but their frontcourt play has been amazing.
Indiana Pacers: C- (Last Week A+)
Aside from compiling an abysmal 1-4 record in week 2, Indiana was often inconsistent on both ends of the floor. They lost an absurd 51 points against the Celtics a few days ago.
Los Angeles Clippers: B+ (Last Week C+)
The Clippers went 3-1 in this past week but could’ve easily gone 4-0 if they had enough players against the Lakers. The addition of James Harden could potentially catapult this team on the top of the standings for the rest of the season.
Los Angeles Lakers: B- (Last Week B-)
The Lakers are still relying heavily on an aging LeBron James on a nightly basis and that could be their downfall in the future. Anthony Davis needs to elevate his game to a higher level in order for this team to be considered contenders.
Memphis Grizzlies: D- (Last Week D-)
Memphis is currently the worst team in the Western Conference and their atrocious start could cost them a playoffs spot next year. This team needs a win or two to get their confidence going.
Miami Heat: C- (Last Week C-)
Miami only went 1-2 this past week even with a full lineup. Tyler Herro has been amazing but Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo has been struggling to get it going for the Heat consistently.
Milwaukee Bucks: B (Last Week A)
Milwaukee was 2-2 in week 2 and we can definitely see that there are still things that they need to work out on the floor in order to get better. Plus, Brook Lopez’s defense has gone down a notch this year.
Minnesota Timberwolves: B (Last Week B-)
The Wolves had an impressive win against the Denver Nuggets this past week and blew out the hapless Utah Jazz a few nights later. Anthony Edwards is also starting to hit his shots in recent games.
New Orleans Pelicans: B- (Last Week A-)
New Orleans compiled a 2-2 record this past week. They still have players on the injured list and has yet to play this season but once they are at full strength, this team will be a dangerous team to go up against.
New York Knicks: D (Last Week C-)
Jalen Brunson is the lone bright spot in this team and Julius Randle has become nearly unwatchable as a player due to his awful performances in the past couple of weeks. If Randle can’t find his shot to fall down, this will be a long year for Knicks fans.
Oklahoma City Thunder: C- (Last Week B+)
Nobody saw that OKC would go 1-4 after a great start on the season. Huge things were expected from them this year but it’s clear that they still have some maturity issues they have to address as the season progresses.
Orlando Magic: B (Last Week B+)
This young Magic team went 2-2 this past week. While Banchero is still the main man in Orlando, the team is equipped with capable scorers who could spark their offense against unsuspecting opponents.
Philadelphia 76ers: A+ (Last Week B+)
Kudos to Philadelphia for going 3-0 tin week 2 despite dealing with the James Harden drama. Now that Harden’s finally traded, the team could solely focus on getting better each game. Embiid, Maxey, Harris and Oubre are balling out for the team.
Phoenix Suns: C- (Last Week A-)
With Beal and Booker constantly out, Phoenix only won one game in week 2. They were tortured by Victor Wembanyama to start the week in back-to-back games and fell to the surging Sixers to end the week.
Portland Trail Blazers: B (Last Week D-)
After a disappointing start, the Blazers unexpectedly won three games in a row to climb in the standings. Malcolm Brogdon’s play has been a huge factor in Portland’s recent success.
Sacramento Kings: C (Last Week B-)
With De’Aaron Fox sidelined due to an injury, the Kings are struggling without his presence and leadership. They need to find the right mix within the next couple of weeks while Fox is out because if they fail to do so, expect the losses to pile up in the blink of an eye.
San Antonio Spurs: B (Last Week B-)
Wembanyama had a 38-point outing against Durant and the Suns and that’s not an easy feat to achieve for a rookie. The team won back to back games against the Phoenix Suns this week and that should boost their confidence moving forward.
Toronto Raptors: C (Last Week C-)
Going 1-2 this week isn’t really an improvement for this Toronto team but their lone win came at the expense of the Milwaukee Bucks. They still have a ton of things to correct in order to become a threat in the East.
Utah Jazz: D- (Last Week C-)
The Jazz have struggled this season. John Collins and Lauri Markkanen’s time on the frontcourt is slowly becoming a disaster for Utah. Plus, Jordan Clarkson’s shot hasn’t been falling so far this year.
Washington Wizards: D- (Last Week B-)
Unsurprisingly, the Wizards fell to 0-3 this past week after a strong start to the season. Poole and Kuzma are still shooting a lot of bad shots and that won’t change throughout the year. To be fair, nobody expected much for this Wizards team as they are in a rebuilding phase for years to come.
