Golden State Warriors
Last year, they claimed the NBA’s record for most wins in a regular season (73). This year, with the benefit of hindsight, they probably won’t expend so much energy chasing that record, leaving themselves fresher for a tilt at the Finals. They’ve also replaced a useful player with a transcendent one. Throw in the fact they bottled a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to give them some extra hunger, and you have perhaps the most talented group of players in the history of the league with a rare level of motivation. Replacing Andrew Bogut with Zaza Pachulia has been a major downgrade in their rim protection, which hurt them in a heavy first up loss to the Spurs who feasted on their interior defence. Depsite looking like they’re still a fair way from fully realising their awesome potential, they’re already leading the league in points and steals and look positively scary for the rest of the league. Last year: 73-9, So far: 7-2
Los Angeles Clippers
They’ve been good – really good and already forcing us to reconsider whether what looked like roster inertia was actually an admirable move to build continuity into the side. The combination of Paul/Griffin/Jordan/Reddick and any other human basketball player is torching opponents and their defence has been the best in the league, even managing to slow down the multi-faceted scoring of Kawhi Leonard in a big win over the Spurs. With their bench looking the best it has in a long, long time, they look early favourites to meet you know who in the Western Conference finals. Last year: 53-29, So far: 8-1
Los Angeles Lakers
They have youth on their side: the giraffe-like Brandon Ingram is an exciting prospect, albeit a long-term one and D’Angelo Russell will continue his upwards trajectory. New coach Luke Walton brings calmness and the know-how of having (albeit briefly) coached a record-smashing Golden State side. Pre-season prognostications were that their improvement was unlikely to be major; big money signing Timofey Mozgov looked a head-scratching acquisition and major questions remain over their defence, depth and playmaking. But they’ve already secured an unlikely win over the Warriors and the progress of Julius Randle has been promising; his defence is still a minus but his passing game has been an unexpected bonus. Speaking of defence, Nick Young plays it now, a testament to Walton’s motivational powers. They’re unlikely to stay above .500, but their early improvement is very welcome found money.
Last year: 17-65, So far: 5-4
Phoenix Suns
Last year, significant injuries (their three highest paid players in Bledsoe, Chandler and Knight missed a combined 97 games) turned them from a team anticipated to hover around .500 into a basketball disaster. The stellar scoring of rookie Devin Booker provided some glimpses of hope in an offence which ranked an abysmal 28th. They’ve added a pair of hugely promising but still raw rookie stretch fours – Marqueese Chriss and Dragan Bender, both of who boast have a versatility and size which fit in perfectly to the NBA’s new small ball revolution. Both are only up to developmental minutes at this stage though and their lack of plus defenders (only Bledsoe is outstanding), three-point shooting (they rank 28th in the league) and penchant for turnovers are ongoing problems. Their rebounding numbers (led by Tyson Chandler and Alex Len) have been a real strength and are good for 2nd in the league, but the playoffs are already looking a distant goal for this season at least.
Last year: 23-59, So far: 3-6
Sacramento Kings
Perhaps unsurprisingly, having an attack that ranks 25th and a defence that places 20th is not a surefire recipe for success in a 30 team league. Yet that is the predicament facing the Kings, who also manage to be the second worst rebounding team despite the presence of low post monster Boogie Cousins. Throw in their high foul numbers and there is little to like for Sacramento, though where there is Boogie, there is (some) hope, and he still ranks high in the advanced metrics
Last year: 33-49, So far: 4-6
The Evening Game 