Much like last season, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics are off to a strong start on offense to open 2023-24.
Over the last few years, about 50% of all regular-season games have been within five points in the last five minutes. On Friday, the first night of the In-Season Tournament, it was five of seven, and none of those five games had just a brief dalliance with clutch time. They went down to the wire.
According to the NBA, Friday’s average margin of victory (4.9 points) was the second smallest on a single night (with at least seven games) in the last 10 seasons.
Was it a coincidence, or did the Tournament stakes make the games more competitive? We’ll know more after nine more In-Season Tournament games, including Clippers-Mavs and Lakers-Suns, on Friday.
Plus-Minus Players of the Week
- Right Way: Jayson Tatum (BOS) was a plus-81 in three games last week.
- Wrong Way: Jordan Poole (WAS) was a minus-72 in three games last week.
Teams of the Week
- Make It Last Forever: Atlanta (3-0) — The Hawks are 3-0 (no other team is better than 2-2) against the other 10 teams that have winning records entering Week 3
- Something Just Ain’t Right: Detroit (0-4) — A promising Week 1 turned into a pretty ugly Week 2.
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East vs. West
- The West is 16-12 (.571) against the East in interconference games after going 11-7 in Week 2.
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Movement in the Rankings
- High jumps of the week: Atlanta (+12), Minnesota (+9), San Antonio (+6)
- Free falls of the week: Phoenix (-9), Sacramento (-7), Detroit (-6)
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Week 3 Team to Watch
- LA Clippers — Paul George, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook all in the same lineup. The adventure begins with two games in New York, as the Clips visit the Knicks on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET, League Pass) and Nets on Wednesday.
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Previously…
- Last week: Nuggets maintain grip on No. 1
- The archive: NBA.com Power Rankings
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)
Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
The league has averaged 111.1 points scored per 100 possessions and 100.6 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes this season.
* = In-Season Tournament game
NBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man’s opinion. If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, send him an e-mail or contact him via Twitter.
