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There is high voltage coming off the hardwood with hot winning streaks; dominant home-field advantage; and a flip-flop in the standings making up the spark. Celtics and 76ers have some squads ready to join the party atop the Eastern Conference while the West is still a wild western shootout.
The top five teams atop the league standings have one obvious similarity: they win on their home-courts. We have three teams still undefeated at home; creatin' some major league home-field advantage.
Playing strong and winning at home is one of the most important factors to being a great team and title contender. After the first dozen games, we have three squads undefeated at home: the Celtics (5-0); Nuggets (7-0); and the Timberwolves (5-0) have been straight assasins on their home-courts to start the campaign. There are good teams on the list of slayed for each of the three.
Denver may look to be the most impressive; as they have already tallied seven home dubs, but it's the Timberwolves that stand out the most to me. Minny has home dubs over the Heat; Celtics; and Nuggets. They have out rebounded their opponents in all five games; and have scored more than 110 points in four of the five (106 versus Miami). It's been the Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert show during the undefeated streak.
Edwards has played amazing during the streak, posting a +11 or better plus/minus in all five dubs including games of +35; +27; and +21. So valuable on both ends of the court and at orchestrating points off the fast break. He's got two 30-pieces and has a few electric highlights to take the roof off the Target Center. Ant went in his extension charm bag to pull out a smooth windmill to drop the curtain:
video via NBA//X
Edwards has things cookin', but Rudy Gobert is a big reason the T-Wolves are out-rebounding their opps as he has double digit rebounds in each game for a total of 69 boards including a 21 rebound effort against the Pelicans. Timberwolves get good results more times than none when those two are doing what they are good at doing. Minny is slowly creatin' a top home-field advantage in the league; I bet they can't wait for their five game road trip to end in New Orelans tomorrow so they can get back to those home vibes.
Timberwolves will end November with five of their seven games being in Minnesota. They see the likes of the 76ers; Kings; and Thunder ready to storm the gates to attempt to take the goose egg. Minny is set up for the chance to drop a major statement if they can continue their home dominance to end the month.
Denver's impression Mile High is havin' six wins against the West on their seven game undefeated streak at home this season. They took advantage and now move to 8-2 against the West thus far. They have their eyes on bettering their 34-18 conference record from last season. Just like the T-Wolves, they are puttin' up big offensive numbers despite not having Jamal Murray dressed in the last three home games (hamstring).
Jokic has been back to his normal production with three triple-doubles throughout the streak, with some high rebound games. It's obvious the Nuggs miss havin' Murray on the floor as the last two games in Denver were hard fought dubs in close games. They still manage to win. Safe to say they have the best home-field advantage in the league after going 34-7 last season at home and now starting 7-0 in the new campaign.
Celtics are right there with em as they went 32-9 inside the Garden last season and start this season 5-0. They started the month with a 51 point massacre of the Pacers at MSG scoring 155 points. That dub has been large help to the Celtics' 112 point differential at home. Three of their five dubs are against teams in their division (Raps; Nets; & Knicks), which is large help to their league leading 6-1 division record.
Celtics are on a nice little road trip right now before they return to the Garden on the 22nd in a slobber-knocker against the Bucks. The C's then will have seven straight home games in December! Bad news for the league; mostly the Eastern Conference. As they sit atop the Conference, they will run that seven game gauntlet against all Eastern teams. They have a splendid oppurtunity to create some major ground from the rest of the pack in the East.
Tyrese Haliburton is turning into one of the more valuable and ultra-performing guards in the NBA. His spark has elevated the Pacers to a top player in the Eastern Conference. It's officially Hali-SZN in Indianapolis. Pacers have their superstar.
Haliburton is the NBA's current assist king right now averaging 12.5 per game, doing so in efficient and flashy fashion. Haliburton is steppin' up in every type of moment dishin' the rock. His impact in close games and in the clutch is the most noticable. The cat is doing it all being a straight assasin with the ball; adore this bounce pass in the clutch to set up a big time and-one against Philly:
video via MoDakhil_NBA//X
Haliburton is slicin' and dicin' with full-court lobs; bounce pass magic; and no-look flares. Just a complete master of the offense to start the season. He ranks 4th in player efficiency rating with 29.72 and has some solid scoring outings highlighted by a 43-piece against the Hornets and a stone cold game against the 76ers in a tourney game. He only has one game this month with a negative plus/minus with games of +27; +19; and +14. NBA dot com has Haliburton ranked with the best offensive rating among all players and fourth best player impact rating.
Haliburton has been just as big a gamebreaker on defense as he has been on the O, forcing a turnover in every game this season but one. He has a slew of games with multiple forced turnovers and has been a stellar matchup defender. His blocks per game ranks sixth among point guards. The cat does it all for the Pacers; they are 7-3 with him in the lineup and they don't win the in-season tournament game versus Philly the other night, without him. He's been special to watch, and is by far the best passer right now in the league. Checkout a montage of his high performance highlights:
video via JoelvMoran//X
After rough starts, the Heat and Rockets flipped the switch to become the two hottest teams in the league. Miami started 1-4 with four straight losses to the Nets; Celtics; T-Wolves; and Bucks, but since have flipped the switch against lighter comp as they have now won seven games in a row. Three of their seven dubs were against teams in their division. A much needed change of play after a tough stretch against good teams. Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler have been the two biggest stars for the Heat on the win streak.
Bam Bam has been a beast of late with some big time games to help kickstart the Heat. Adebayo was solid scoring throughout the rough start, but was lackluster on the boards. He has changed that around averaging 10 rebounds per on the streak with games of 19 and 17 rebounds. Miami desperately need Bam's production on the boards as they rank 27th in the league in total team rebounds per game thus far into the campaign. Haywood Highsmith has given little production on the glass from the four spot- puttin' it all on Bam's back to hold.
Miami uses strong first halves to guide them on the win streak. Heat scorched to first half leads in six of the seven games of the streak and now finally see Jimmy Butler return to elite scoring with back-to-back 30-pieces- his first 30 point games of the campaign. Butler's got four games of shootin' better than 60% from the field this season; all coming on the streak & four of his five 20+ point games are during the win streak. The Heat's ship moves when he plays good & it sanks when he doesn't. The story of his tenure in Miami. True value, but he needs to be more consistent. His last two games show that he can play in the regular season like he did during their two playoff runs. It's just a matter of him doing it consistently throughout the season. He is stepping up just in time after the Heat lost their season's current scoring leader Tyler Herro for a few weeks (ankle sprain).
A needed turnaround for the Heat as they sit atop the Southeast and are tied third atop the Eastern Conference with them reading their schedj, lickin' their chops as they have a golden oppurtunity to create some real sepeartion atop the conference with a slate of November games against the Bulls (x2); Knicks; Nets; Cavs; Bucks; and Pacers. RIght now they are proving to be the hottest team on the hardwood; with that slate, they get a chance to show they are the hottest and one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference to start the winter.
The Rockets are playin' just as hot as the Heat as they finally pressed liftoff to their season after starting 0-3. Houston has won six in a row including five dubs over teams in the West. They are now 5-1 at home and have wins over the Kings (two) and the Nuggets. The most impressive thing the Rockets have cookin' is thier play in the 4th quarter and in crunch time of close games.
A big reason this team has evolved in the 4th quarter and in the grit department is due thanks to the acquisition of vocal leader Fred VanVleet. He has been stellar at keepin' the offense a float and settin' the offense up for execution. VanVleet reduces the turnovers and sets up his guys to get to the free-throw line. I love the Sengun/VanVleet pick and roll and offensive 1-2 punch, it's given the Rockets a rock solid system:
video via BigE_Houston//X
Rockets' forward depth has accompanied Sengun tremendously in the front-court. Jabari Smith Jr. is progressively improving in all fashions and has been solid on the glass & Jae'Sean Tate has been a defensive spark off the bench. The entire bench for Houston has been better than expected. To be frank, the team in general is playing better than expected. Especially after seeing them drop the first three games of the season. A big time turnaround for Ime Udoka and his squad.
It took the Clippers up to their sixth game to secure a win since acquiring James Harden from Philadelphia. Los Angeles just snapped a six game losing streak, and five game losing streak with the proclaimed "Big 4" of George; Leonard; Westbrook; and Harden with a win over the Rockets. The Clips gave up 130+ points in two of the losses and lost five road games across the losing skid to move to 0-6 on the road this season. Not the start to the Harden era they were hoping for, but probably one many predicted.
Harden has been extremely lack luster before a solid game against Houston. The offense has looked horrid, and the entire team operation has been abysmal. Clippers are in the bottom six in turnovers per game and are second to the Pistons in the most fouls commited per game. Considering the roster and constant expectations; the Clippers are perhaps the sloppiest team in the league and arguably the biggest let down through the first 12 games.
Clippers are bottom in the league in total team assists per game and just haven't been executing to the point they should be executing on the offensive. They have some good things workin' with their three point success and their clip from the full field as they rank top ten in field-goal percentage: they just lack execution. When you have Kawhi and George on the court... that simply can't happen. Just can't happen. Tyronn Lue has been failing at his job in regards of offensive structure and execution, as well as making the right adjustments and substitutions. Time to buckle down and get this team to consistent winning and back in the hunt in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles has positive things to look at to help build from, so they change this negative narrative. Clips lead the league in steals per game (10.0) that has helped create fastbreak scoring oppurtunities. Paul George ranks second in the league in steals per (2.4) & Kawhi Leonard ranks fifth (2.0). The high clip as a team from the field is also a massive positive. It comes down to Lue bettering his gameplan to utilize the rotaion to its fullest. I love Russell Westbrook takin' the initiative to offer coming off the bench as the second unit's point guard. That's what Tyronn Lue had to think of; kudos to Russ. That second unit could desperately use his rebounding; pace; and steal ability on defense. You keep Mann on unit two so he can be their gamebreaker; bump Bones Hyland to replace Westbrook in the starting rotation.
They have to make adjustments to eliminate teams going on big runs while Leonard and George rest. They have talent from 1 to 10; just need to rotate them correctly. I like the addition of Daniel Theis, signing him post clearing waivers. He is another body they can throw in when guys like Plumlee & Zubac are struggling. The more the merrier, especially when you have some aged legs across your depth. A key note is making sure you have Mann with a Westbrook or Powell and not Harden. Body language is a big thing.
Can the Clippers put the losing streak in the rear-mirror view and build off the dub over Houston? Time will tell, but I am sure that Trent Redden is happy to see James Harden finally make a highlight in LA:
video via AhnFireDigital//X
Clippers losing their seventh straight game and third in-season tournament game would have been a brutal blow. Especially when they had a red hot Rockets team on the ropes most the second half. Big time four-point play by Harden to win the game. A type of play that a cold team can build off. Lets see if they can respond with another win to start gettin' back on track in what has been a drag of season so far for Clippers' fans.
Another weekend of hoops to shake things up on the hardwood. I will drop the latest power rankings as a wrap- notice the top ten has some structure. Again, one weekend can still shake things up with us being in the early shades of the season. Spots 11-25 can flip-flop with ease. Gear up for some more hoops to blissen your weekend:
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