The season is less than a month old and already the NBA landscape is shifting. The balance of power between conferences is much more symmetrical than it was when the season began.
That’s because there have been several shakeups (what’s good, Jimmy?), and more are sure to come (Hello, Melo!) as teams on teams continue to evaluate and revise their rosters.
Every team has played at least 11 games, some as many as 14. Here are our NBA Power Rankings through Nov. 11:
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SIGN UP HERE 30) Cavaliers (1-11): They fired coach Tyronn Lue, as if it this mess is his fault. They’ve failed to win 20 games only four times in 48 years. This will be the fifth.
29) Suns (2-10): Devin Booker is legit. Deandre Ayton will be legit. But it’s going to take a while for this team to climb to mediocrity.
28) Hawks (3-10): Trae Young must keep shooting. The best PER among the rotation players belongs to backup PG Jeremy Lin (16.5). Enough said.
27) Knicks (4-10): They have zero quality wins. They just lost by 26, to Orlando, at the Garden. It’s November, and Knicks Nation turns its lonely eyes to next July.
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26) Wizards (3-9): Still the NBA’s most dysfunctional bunch. Is there a way to fire the feuding roster and the Teflon GM?
25) Timberwolves (4-9): Jimmy Butler comes along to snap the NBA’s longest playoff drought. With him gone, the pups can start a new one.
24) Mavericks (4-8): Worth watching only for the highlights provided by Luca Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr.
23) Magic (6-7): We like the big man tag-team of Vucevic-Bamba. We like Aaron Gordon. As long as that’s all there is, good teams will keep eating their lunch.
22) Bulls (4-9): No Lauri Markkanen, no Bobby Portis and no Kris Dunn. All Zach LaVine. Maybe by mid-December, this team can begin to get right.
21) Heat (5-7): Congrats on the baby girl, Dwyane Wade. Take your time getting back. You’re not missing much.
20) Nets (6-7): They are feisty. They can shoot. But it’s hard to take them seriously as long as Jared Dudley is the starting power forward.
19) Pistons (6-6): With one quality win in four weeks, Dwane Casey’s Coach of the Year award is not aging well.
18) Kings (7-6): They are proof that having an unbalanced roster does not mean you’re without talent. Coach Joerger is doing OK.
17) Grizzlies (7-4): Not sure there’s a player in the league that means more to his team than Mike Conley. He’s back, even if his shot remains missing.
16) Hornets (7-6): Kemba Walker has been amazing. Nice throwback Sunday by Tony Parker, with 24 points in 28 minutes.
15) Clippers (7-5): They are that team everybody wants to play. And then the game starts and they shoot you into despair. The “L” in Montezl is silent. His game is not.
14) Lakers (7-6): They’re much better with 15 minutes of Tyson Chandler’s defense than they were with 15 extra minutes from JaVale McGee. McGee just got better.
13) Pelicans (6-6): Nothing cures a (six-game) losing streak faster than home games against the Bulls and Suns. Now let’s see what they bring to Toronto on Monday.
12) Jazz (6-6): If Joe Ingles isn’t scoring, he isn’t helping. Rudy Gobert piles up the empty stats. Getting a top-four seed requires consistent defense. Where is it?
11) Thunder (7-5): Interesting times in OKC. Russell Westbrook has missed three games and until he returns, Paul George becomes the leader. Is that good?
10) Pacers (8-6): Young Sabonis is earning stripes. But until Myles Turner comes to play, every game, the ceiling is no higher than Vic Oladipo can raise it. He’s 6-4.
9) Rockets (5-7): See ya, Melo. GM Daryl Morey’s summer of weird, wacky summer of desperation knocked the teeth from this bunch. His bad. Can they recover?
8) Spurs (7-4): Beat the Rockets on Saturday, the same week they lost to Miami and Orlando. They could use a good win, which will be tough given their injury list.
7) 76ers (8-6): With a single move, they’re a lock for a top-four seed. Welcome to Philly, Mr. Butler. You’ll discover Mr. Embiid is not Mr. Towns.
6) Celtics (7-6): Brad Genius is rediscovering that even top talent needs time to gel. With the re-integration of the roster, it may not get better until December.
5) Nuggets (9-4): If they keep playing solid defense . . . wait. Something may be up. Is Joker pouting? Three straight losses have things smelling fishy.
4) Trail Blazers (10-3): The key isn’t Dame or CJ; they’re verified. The key here is Nurk. If he brings it, they’re a 50-win team. He is, for the moment, bringing it.
3) Warriors (11-2): The aches keep coming, but the remaining talent usually is enough to cover. Draymond Green’s return on Monday will be a shot of adrenaline.
2) Bucks (10-3): Lost to the Blazers and Clippers. Cooked the Warriors, who always cook the Blazers and Clippers. They have Giannis. He’s filthy. So there.
1) Raptors (12-1): The deepest team in the league, with an elite two-way player in Kawhi Leonard. They should live at or near the top all season.