We knew the Sixers were bad. We knew they were really bad.
But bad enough to be losing a game by a score of 54-14? That’s a high school score when a parochial powerhouse plays the smallest public school in the area. That’s a football score between an SEC team and a 1-AA opponent.
Ah, but the Sixers weren’t alone last week. Two nights later, the Wolves were down 26 points to those same Mavs. On the same night, the Hawks were losing 62-27 to the Cavs. Over the weekend, the Warriors held leads of 34 and 38 points against the Hornets and Lakers. At halftime on Tuesday, the Nuggets were losing 84-50 to the Blazers.
But the same Nuggets went up by 33 in Indiana on Friday. And those really bad Sixers had a chance to beat the 9-1 Rockets at the buzzer, just 24 hours after getting blasted by the Mavs.
Dallas, by the way, has led five of its 10 games by at least 25 points.
All these blowouts will skew some offensive and defensive numbers this early in the season. But it’s clear that, despite Tuesday’s loss to the Spurs, the Warriors are the best team in the league right now. The Rockets, however, will get chances to prove their record isn’t schedule-aided with games against the Grizzlies and Mavs this week.
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• Last week: Kings keep surprising, keep climbing up the charts
• This time last year: West clearly has the East’s number — Derrick Rose hit six 3s and the Bulls handed the Pacers their first loss. Mario Chalmers threw an elbow at Dirk Nowitzki, Omer Asik asked for a trade, Andre Iguodala beat the Thunder at the buzzer, and Joe Johnson did the same to the Suns.
• Plus-minus stud: Klay Thompson (GSW) was a plus-67 in four games last week.
• Plus-minus dud: Wesley Johnson (LAL) was a minus-80 in four games last week.
• Hero Team of the Week: Indiana (3-1) — Road wins over the Heat and Bulls will allow us to overlook a home loss to the Nuggets.
• Zero Team of the Week: Minnesota (0-3) — Not even the Lakers have given up 130-plus points in two straight games.
• High jumps of the week: Indiana (+7), Dallas (+5), Milwaukee (+5)
• Free falls of the week: Miami (-6), Minnesota (-6), L.A. Clippers (-4), Toronto (-4)
• East vs. West: The West is 27-16 (0.628) against the East in interconference games and was 11-8 last week. The Clippers, Kings and Wizards have yet to play any interconference games.
• Toughest schedules through Sunday: 1. Minnesota, 2. Philadelphia, 3. Oklahoma City
• Easiest schedules through Sunday: 1. Houston, 2. L.A. Clippers, 3. Chicago
Schedule strength is based on cumulative opponent record, and adjusted for home vs. away and days of rest before a game.
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Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league has averaged 96.0 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 103.0 points scored per 100 possessions through Sunday.
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NBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man’s opinion.
