Big Four?

Here are my rankings after most teams have now played 15 games. You will notice that there is one team unexpectantly making a run after the undisputed top three.

LA Lakers...........212.48
Cleveland Cavs......211.58
Boston Celtics......208.48
Portland Blazers....207.43
Orlando Magic.......204.93
Houston Rockets.....204.01
New Orleans.........203.32
Dallas Mavericks....202.76
Denver Nuggets......202.45
Atlanta Hawks.......201.84
Indiana Pacers......201.59
San Antonio Spurs...201.45
Toronto Raptors.....201.43
Miami Heat..........201.22
Phoenix Suns........201.22
Utah Jazz...........200.85
Detroit Pistons.....200.78
Chicago Bulls.......200.69
Milwaukee Bucks.....199.01
Philadelphia 76ers..197.86
Charlotte Bobcats...197.78
New Jersey Nets.....196.95
New York Knicks.....194.55
Golden State........194.50
Minnesota Twolves...194.47
Memphis Grizzlies...193.91
Sacramento Kings....193.24
Washington Wizards..193.03
LA Clippers.........191.36
OKC Thunder.........188.09

Now we have a big enough sample size to make some observations.

1. Portland might be really good.

I get the feeling this might be partially a fluke (they have had two really big blowouts and it is still early). They have the second best offense and a slightly above average defense. If Oden ever turns out to be the defensive stopper experts think he will become, it will be an ugly next couple of years for the Nuggets.

2. Cleveland is almost as good as the Lakers.

Cleveland has surprised everyone in the world with the best offense in the NBA. And it isn't even close. The Lakers, on the other hand, have the best defense in the NBA. We know from last year that they also have the ability to play the best offense in the NBA. It will be horrible for the NBA when they put it all together. I expect, in the long term that the Lakers will put some distance between themselves and everyone else because I get the feeling right now they are toying with teams during the first half and then killing them in the second. At this point, both of these teams project to win over 65 games.

3. Utah is coming. Watch out.

The Jazz have had every problem imaginable and are still an above average team. They will be trouble for the Nuggets (and everybody else) in the future.

4. The Nuggets are pretty good.

Thank God. The Billups trade changed everything. They have a barely above average offense and an above average defense. The problem for them is that they play in a nasty division. I expect them to get better on offense as George Karl starts to figure out how the pieces fit (and stops playing Dahntay Jones). The interesting thing is that they are better than the Pistons, who took away the *great* Allen Iverson. I would like to say that Detroit's fall is not all attributable to Allen Iverson, but...it is. And practice isn't going to help.

5. Oklahoma City's offense is historically bad.

No one really cares about the Thunder, but it is worth mentioning that supposed star Kevin Durant can't even get the Thunder offense within 10 points per hundred possessions of average.