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NBA power rankings: Darius Garland's wonderful bounce-back year
We’re still so early in the season that traditional indicators of a team’s strengths and weaknesses aren’t particularly sturdy, so instead of talking a whole bunch about point differentials and whatnot, I thought it would be more interesting to zoom in on a young player on each roster who has surprised, for good or for ill.
Just to establish an arbitrary cutoff, I’m defining “young” as age 25 or lower. (There is a surprising paucity of such players on several teams, as we’ll see below.) That allows for a good mix, from rookies to superstars.
Again, don’t worry too much about the placement of your favorite team; next time we’re here, we’ll be close to the quarter mark of the season, which allows us to really start taking stock of each team’s respective power level.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
Young Player Spotlight: Darius Garland
Although Evan Mobley has received much of the attention, Garland’s had a wonderful bounce-back year. He’s currently shooting 46 percent from deep (!!) on the largest volume of his career, and he’s tweaked his shot diet with more catch-and-shoot attempts than ever before. New coach Kenny Atkinson has him firing without hesitation when there’s even a sliver of daylight. This version of Garland is far more effective playing off of Mobley and Donovan Mitchell than before, but he’s still more than capable of creating offense for himself and others.
Bonus Cavs stat: four of Cleveland’s rotation players are in the league’s top 20 for true shooting: Ty Jerome, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, and Garland.
That probably won’t last all season, but it speaks to the incredible offensive firepower the Cavs have brought to bear.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
Young Player Spotlight: Jalen Williams
If you play fantasy basketball, you might’ve been pleasantly surprised to wake up the other morning and discover that Jalen Williams has gained “center” eligibility. That’s right, the 6-foot-5 wing has been manning the middle for an OKC team that was missing its top four center options at one point – and he’s doing a pretty, pretty good job:
Williams has logged nine blocks in the last five games, and he’s kept the Thunder’s murderous defense, uh, murderous. Lineups with Williams at center have some of the best two-way ratings in the league despite rebounding like the younger brother in a sibling game of one-on-one.
Oh, and Williams is setting career-highs in nearly every box-score number that matters, too.
3. Golden State Warriors
Young Player Spotlight: Moses Moody
Moody has been one of the bright spots of the Warriors’ youth rotation this year. Amidst mediocre to outright bad starts from Trayce Jackson-Davis, Brandin Podziemski, and Jonathan Kuminga, Moody has been noticeably more aggressive and effective in looking for his shot.
A crowded rotation means that Moody is still only playing 16 minutes per night, but he’s been more impactful in those minutes than ever before. With his improved play and the security of a long-term contract, Moody’s place with the Warriors has never felt more assured.
4. Boston Celtics
Young Player Spotlight: Neemias Queta
The 25-year-old Neemias Queta is the only Boston rotation player under 26, so he wins this spot by default, but he’s also earned it with his career-best play. He’s shooting 66 percent from the field, setting bone-crushing screens, and protecting the rim without an undue number of fouls (he’s setting by far the lowest per-possession foul mark of his career). Queta’s energy and physicality have even earned him some starting nods.
5. Houston Rockets
Young Player Spotlight: Tari Eason
Houston is overflowing with talented young ballers; watching them establish a pecking order has been one of the season’s most intriguing subplots.
Eason has thrust his way into the rotation with his mix of schoolyard-bully defense and high-octane offense. The quiet key, however, has been his improvement as a finisher: after two years as a subpar layer-upper, Eason is now finishing 72 percent of his rack attacks, a number on par with Giannis and LeBron.
The Rockets have starrier names, but Eason is among the 10-4 Houston Rockets’ most impactful players.
6. Los Angeles Lakers
Young Player Spotlight: Max Christie
I was a fan of the scant flashes we’d seen from Christie in previous years, and the Lakers signing him to a longer-term deal in the offseason augured a promising year for the third-year player.
Alas, Christie has started the year by building a brick road that the Wizard of Oz would be proud of: he’s shooting just 35 percent from the field on nano usage rates. He’s bounced in and out of the rotation on a nightly basis, but he’ll need to improve on both ends to earn his way back into JJ Redick’s good graces.
7. Phoenix Suns
Young Player Spotlight: Oso Ighodaro
I wrote about Ryan Dunn here two weeks ago, so to keep things fresh, let’s chat about his fellow rookie: mobile big man Oso Ighodaro.
Ighodaro has seen his first real minutes of the season in the last few games thanks to Jusuf Nurkic’s ankle injury. He’s largely delivered defensively and as a micro-usage roll man, although he needs to show more consistency on the glass. We haven’t seen too much of the sexy passing vision he showed in preseason yet, but keep an eye out for it as he gains comfort at the NBA level.
8. Denver Nuggets
Young Player Spotlight: Peyton Watson
Peyton Watson is finally having his moment.
After Aaron Gordon’s injury early in the first quarter of a narrow win against Toronto six games ago, Michael Malone had no choice but to play Watson heavy minutes, and he’s delivered.
The third-year forward has been a defensive wrecking ball for much of his career, but offensive struggles had kept him nailed to the bench. Since Gordon’s injury, however, Watson has averaged 14 points per game on 55 percent shooting – despite several games without Nikola Jokic.
Where much of his offense used to come in transition, Watson has shown increased verve in a half-court setting, filling Gordon’s role as the roll man and dunker-spot lurker. He’s even flashed a tiny bit of off-the-dribble self-creation:
The Nuggets’ bench has been their Achilles’ heel for years, but if Watson can keep up this level of play in a smaller role after Gordon’s return, they might finally have someone they can rely upon.
9. Memphis Grizzlies
Young Player Spotlight: Jaylen Wells
The Grizzlies’ rash of early-season injuries thrust their second-round pick into the mix far earlier than anyone anticipated, but Wells has continually surpassed expectations as a 3-and-D wing. It hasn’t been perfect – the shooting is hot and cold, and he’s more of a team defender still learning NBA intricacies than a one-on-one stopper at this point – but it’s hard to ask much more of a second-rounder than Wells’ 12 points per game on 37 percent long-range shooting. He’s shown a nice little floater game to help him attack closeouts, too. It’s worth noting that the 8-6 Grizzlies have been better with Wells on the court than off.
Although Wells may fall out of the rotation when Memphis finally returns to full health, he’s undoubtedly outplayed initial expectations. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him carve out a consistent role all season long.
10. Orlando Magic
Young Player Spotlight: Franz Wagner
Wagner has taken another step forward in the absence of Paolo Banchero, who got injured the game after dropping 50 points. Wagner has averaged 25/6/6 in nine games as the lead dog, and after a desultory first few games adjusting to the Camaro-sized hole in their rotation, the Magic have righted the ship, winning five in a row.
They’ve played lackluster teams in that stretch, but that’s fine. Orlando needs to tread water until Paolo comes back, and if Franz can carry the offensive load without straining too much, they shouldn’t cede much ground in an Eastern Conference with just three other teams above .500.
11. Dallas Mavericks
Young Player Spotlight: Dereck Lively
Lively has had an up-and-down start to the season thus far, dealing with a shoulder injury that caused him to miss a few games. Despite the widespread assumption that he would assume a bigger role, the young center’s job has been similar to last season, with one exception: he’s showing the playmaking chops out of the short roll that flashed in the playoffs.
Lively’s 3.2 potential assists are 50 percent more than last year’s 2.1, and while he certainly won’t be confused for Nikola Jokic anytime soon, his passing does provide an element to the offense that Daniel Gafford can’t replicate.
12. Minnesota Timberwolves
Young Player Spotlight: Anthony Edwards
What if Anthony Edwards really has become one of the best shooters in the NBA?
Ant-man is averaging the second-most triples per game (11.3), but he’s also one of the league leaders in accuracy at 42 percent. Virtually no one can match that combination of volume and efficiency.
The increase in his scoring (28 points per game!) has come at the expense of his playmaking, as he’s averaging fewer than four assists per game for the first time since 2021-22. The Wolves seem like they’re understandably still adjusting to the Julius Randle/Karl-Anthony Towns swap (it would help if Donte DiVincenzo remembered how to shoot; 5-for-10 from range against Phoenix was a big step in the right direction).
It’s hard to argue with Edwards’ scoring output and efficiency, but I suspect Edwards is still recalibrating, finding the seesaw balance between calling his own number and playmaking for others. Regardless of where he settles in, the Wolves will only be better for Edwards’ newfound marksmanship.
13. Sacramento Kings
Young Player Spotlight: Keegan Murray
I was worried in the preseason that Murray would be cast aside like an old toy upon DeMar DeRozan’s arrival, but thankfully, the third-year player has mostly maintained his role in the Kings offense. The bigger concern is that he’s started slowly from beyond the arc for the second year in a row, canning fewer than 30 percent of his triples on the year.
The good news is that Murray is posting career-best rebounding numbers and two-point shooting, including finishing an astonishing 86 percent of his attempts at the rim. Once the three-point shooting stabilizes, he’ll regain his place as one of the league’s better two-way youngsters.
14. New York Knicks
Young Player Spotlight: Miles McBride
Well, the Knicks only have two guys under 26 who are in the rotation, and I’m not quite ready to devote time to Ariel Hukporti (yet!), so McBride it is.
McBride has proven that his on-ball defense and shooting are real. He’s still canning 38 percent of his threes while getting up in ballhandlers’ jerseys, and he’s become a trusted part of Tom Thibodeau’s tight rotation. That’s the nice thing about Thibodeau: when you’re in, you’re in.
15. Los Angeles Clippers
Young Player Spotlight: Kevin Porter Jr.
The KPJ experience has gone about as poorly as everyone expected. The Clippers are desperate for on-ball creation next to James Harden, but it’s hard to imagine they couldn’t have found a player sporting better than the eighth percentile in points per shot and a nearly 20 percent turnover rate somewhere.
It’s extra disappointing because the team’s defense has been as good as advertised despite a brutal schedule. A little more juice – say, an All-NBA forward – could make this team a dark horse in the West.
16. San Antonio Spurs
Young Player Spotlight: Stephon Castle
The media, and I’m guiltier than anyone, has spent enough words covering Victor Wembanyama, and I’m sure we’ll all spend plenty more. So, let’s briefly shift our focus. The rookie Castle has improved every night, and the starting lineup has been gangbusters since he entered it after Jeremy Sochan’s injury.
Food for thought: The Wembanyama/Harrison Barnes/Chris Paul/Julian Champagnie quartet has been outscored by -9.6 points per 100 possessions with Sochan. That same group has outscored opponents by a ludicrous +35.3 points per 100 with Castle in Sochan’s place.
Much of that is simply Wembanyama’s explosion and small sample sizes, but Castle’s three-point barrage of late has given the offense more room to breathe. You can see his confidence grow with every make. The Spurs are even running plays for Castle to find open threes:
He’s shooting 39 percent from deep in seven games as a starter, and if he keeps playing like this, it will be hard for the Spurs to return him to the bench even after Sochan comes back.
17. Detroit Pistons
Young Player Spotlight: Jaden Ivey
Ivey seems to have righted the ship after an up-and-down first two campaigns. He’s averaging nearly 19 points nightly, has started every game he’s played in, and is shooting nearly 37 percent from downtown.
More importantly, however, Ivey has proved he can coexist with Cade Cunningham. Lineups with the two players are actually outscoring opponents! If that holds over the season, the suddenly feisty 7-8 Detroit Pistons (fifth in the East!) can feel much better about their rebuild direction.
18. Atlanta Hawks
Young Player Spotlight: Dyson Daniels
Dyson Daniels’ assault on the defensive record books continues. Daniels is currently averaging 3.7 steals per game, on pace to match Alvin Robertson’s record of 3.7 (which he set 40 years ago). Daniels also averages 7.3 deflections per game; nobody has ever even averaged five deflections since the NBA began tracking the stat in 2016-2017.
This is All-Defensive Team production paired with burgeoning self-confidence on the offensive end (no, he’s not making three-pointers, but at least he’s taking them!). I always liked this trade for Atlanta, but it’s gone even better than I or anyone else could have predicted.
19. Indiana Pacers
Young Player Spotlight: Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton hasn’t been able to recapture his form from the beginning of last year. Hamstring and back injuries and a role that uses him more as an off-ball threat have prevented Haliburton from reaching his potential as an offensive fulcrum over the 2024 calendar year.
He’s had some recent flashes – 14 assists against the Knicks, a few games where the deep ball has fallen – but All-NBA-level consistency has not been there. Haliburton and the Pacers had better get him back on track to have a chance of even approaching last year’s successes.
20. Miami Heat
Young Player Spotlight: Tyler Herro
The 25-year-old Herro barely qualifies for this list, but he’s inarguably been Miami’s best offensive player this year.
Remember the preseason, when pundits called for him to return to a Sixth Man role? Those days are long gone. Instead, Herro has responded by having a career year in every offensive category that matters, and he’s making a sneaky-good case for an All-Star berth.
Herro is 16th in the NBA in scoring at nearly 25 points per game, and not a single player above him has better than his 62.7 percent effective field goal percentage. He’s averaging a career high in points and assists despite the same number of touches per game. Herro is playing more of an off-ball role while remaining more central to the Heat offense than ever, and he’s been the rare silver lining in Miami’s tepid start.
21. Portland Trail Blazers
Young Player Spotlight: Donovan Clingan
Like with Houston, half the Blazers’ roster qualifies as an intriguing young player for one reason or another. Honestly, I wanted to find a way to shoehorn Robert Williams in here so badly, but he doesn’t make the age cutoff. Instead, let’s focus on rookie center Donovan Clingan, who has made an immediate defensive impact.
Clingan, splitting time with Deandre Ayton and Williams, only averages 16 minutes per game. But he leads the league with 6.3 blocks per 100 possessions. That’s right, Cling Kong is blocking more shots on a rate basis than the extraterrestrial Victor Wembanyama!
Clingan is still figuring out the offensive end (he only has three assists on the season!), but if the Blazers have to like what they’ve seen from Clingan as a defensive tentpole.
22. Brooklyn Nets
Young Player Spotlight: Cam Thomas
Cam Thomas has taken on an increased workload for the Brooklyn Nets and somehow increased his efficiency. He’s averaging 25 points per game on career-high shooting percentages and free throw attempts, leading to a 60 percent TS%.
He’s even driving winning basketball: the Nets’ starting unit of Dennis Schroeder, Thomas, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Nic Claxton is outscoring opponents by 17.8 points per 100 possessions! Sure, the Nets are just 5-9, but for a team fixated on ping-pong balls to have any lineups that effective feels miraculous (and, perhaps, counter-productive?).
23. Charlotte Hornets
Young Player Spotlight: LaMelo Ball
As Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer first noticed, Ball is currently leading the league in fourth-quarter scoring both per game and on a per-possession basis, thanks to a blistering shooting clip on a prodigious amount of three-pointers.
Sure, a lot of that is due to the Hornets’ often playing catch-up in the fourth quarter, but Ball is carrying a team whose second and third-best players, Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller, are shooting 41 percent and 35 percent from the field, respectively. It’s hard to imagine anyone propping this offense up to respectable levels.
At 5-8, the Hornets are holding firm in the play-in race, and with the Eastern middle class struggling to stratify itself, they should be in the thick of things for a while.
24. Milwaukee Bucks
Young Player Spotlight: AJ Green
Green is on the court for one reason and one reason only: to jack up triples. Boy, howdy, does the man understand the job. Green started the season with 53 straight three-point attempts before attempting a two-pointer (which, hilariously, he missed by a mile).
The good news is that he’s canning 49 percent of his long-balls this year – the Human Torch isn’t that hot. While other parts of Green’s game are still a question mark, “AJ Automatic” has delivered on his most important skill for a team starved for shooting.
25. Chicago Bulls
Young Player Spotlight: Coby White
Some good news for Bulls fans is that Coby White continues to improve. There were preseason worries about how he’d fit next to Zach LaVine, in particular, but despite the latter’s healthy (and successful!) return to the court, White is still setting career-highs in free throw attempts, scoring (20 points per game!) and three-point percentage and volume.
If the Bulls do move LaVine, as is widely expected, White’s performance as the alpha scorer will be a fun storyline to follow.
26. New Orleans Pelicans
Young Player Spotlight: Brandon Boston Jr.
Yet another onslaught of injuries has plucked the Pelicans, but Brandon Boston’s play has been a silver lining.
After three years spent buried on the Clippers’ depth chart, the Pelicans signed Brandon Boston from waivers, and he’s shown plenty in his extended run. Boston has shot respectably from deep and the midrange while playing everything from point guard to power forward – his playmaking, in particular, has been a huge surprise for a guy not known for his passing in previous stops.
Birds of a feather really do flock together, and Boston, like so many of his teammates, leans a bit too heavily into the midrange. But New Orleans can’t have asked for more from a player they claimed off the scrap heap, and Boston has at least proved he’s worthy of continued NBA employment.
27. Philadelphia 76ers
Young Player Spotlight: Jared McCain
McCain hasn’t just emerged as the early favorite for rookie of the year; he’s been the 76ers’ best player, period, in this recent stretch.
In Philly’s last five games, McCain has averaged 26 points and four assists on 48 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent from deep (on 10 attempts per game!). The three-point shooting isn’t a shock, but McCain’s off-ball craft has been a revelation. Watch as he dances away from OG Anunoby with this pretty little two-step:
That’s a confident, gorgeous play, and it reflects McCain’s self-belief. McCain won’t keep up this kind of scoring if and when Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George ever come together healthy, but the fact that they can rely upon him to this level this early in his career is a fantastic sign.
28. Toronto Raptors
Young Player Spotlight: Ochai Agbaji
There have been several interesting storylines to emerge from the early-season absences of Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes, from Jamal Shead’s banshee-scream defense to RJ Barrett’s career-best playmaking numbers to Gradey Dick’s scoring explosion (including 32 points a few nights ago).
But Ochai Agbaji’s quiet competence shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle. Agbaji flamed out in Utah as a 3-and-Der who brought neither of those things, but he’s looked like a different player north of the border. Agbaji is averaging nearly two stocks per game, shooting 44 percent from deep, and, perhaps most surprisingly, hitting 58 percent of his twos. He’s also had some high-flying aerial acrobatics.
Agbaji’s ability to be a high-level role player could pay massive dividends for Toronto when they’re ready to compete again.
29. Utah Jazz
Young Player Spotlight: Kyle Filipowski
The rookie seven-footer has been a pleasant surprise for Utah in the early going, starting several games and even finishing some. In his last five matches, “Flip” has averaged 12/5/3 on 59 percent shooting from the floor. His ability to make plays and stretch the floor has let him slide right into the role Kelly Olynyk used to play for the Jazz, and he’s even been part of some absolutely massive lineups with Lauri Markkanen and John Collins.
The Jazz have been atrocious; there’s no way around it. But finding value in a second-round pick is always worth celebrating.
30. Washington Wizards
Young Player Spotlight: Alex Sarr
The Wizards have spent large chunks of the season starting three rookies, all of whom have shown promise, so it’s difficult to choose just one to spotlight. But Sarr’s defense has been the biggest standout skill so far. The young Frenchman is averaging 2.3 blocks per game, fourth in the NBA, and although he can get mauled in the post by bigger centers, the perception of him as primarily a weakside shot-blocker is overstated. Sarr can move his feet and excels at keeping his tree branch arms aloft. He casually flicks away floaters and runners that are safe to launch against other big men:
The offensive side is a work in progress, and Sarr, like any rookie big man, is still learning the intricacies of pick-and-roll defense, but the Wizards can’t have asked for much more from Sarr as a defensive playmaker.
That’s it! I write for HoopsHype a few times per month, but if you’d like more in-depth coverage of the league, I write about anything and everything NBA at Basketball Poetry. See you there!
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: NBA power rankings: Darius Garland's wonderful bounce-back year
