As noted, this has been an oddball NBA week, but no place is odder than the middle of the nERD pack. F'r instance, the Pistons are 5-2. Apologies to Stan Van Gundy, but it doesn't get much weirder than that.
| Rank | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Denver Nuggets | 3-3 | 43.4 | 18 | -2 |
| 19 | New Orleans Pelicans | 3-3 | 45.3 | 19 | Even |
| 18 | Indiana Pacers | 3-3 | 45 | 21 | +3 |
| 17 | Miami Heat | 2-3 | 47.1 | 14 | -3 |
| 16 | Utah Jazz | 3-3 | 47.8 | 11 | -5 |
| 15 | Milwaukee Bucks | 4-2 | 48.8 | 16 | +1 |
| 14 | Detroit Pistons | 5-2 | 52.1 | 17 | +3 |
| 13 | Orlando Magic | 4-2 | 55.5 | 27 | +14 |
| T-11 | Charlotte Hornets | 3-3 | 56.2 | T-12 | +1 |
| T-11 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 3-4 | 56.2 | 4 | -7 |
The Expected
Um, nothing.
The Unexpected
The Magic whupped Cleveland and San Antonio by a combined total of 48 points, a reasonable explanation for their whopping 14-spot jump. Unlike the Sixers, Orlando has been efficient all over the court, ranking second in offensive efficiency and 12th in defensive efficiency. They're the only team in the Association who boasts three starters ranked top-20 in PER (Aaron Gordon at 17, Niko Vucevic at 18, and Evan Fournier at 20), and they've done most of their damage without starting point guard Elfrid Payton.
In a wide-open Eastern Conference, these dudes have a legit shot at the postseason.
Fantasy darling Nikola Jokic was expected to have a killer season, as were his Denver Nuggets, but thus far, not so much. Some of Jokic's most vital per-36-minute numbers have taken a dive from last season, specifically points (21.6 to 15.6), rebounds (12.7 to 12.1), field goal percentage (.578 to .519), assists (6.3 to 5.4), steals (1.1 to 0.7) and blocks (1.0 to 0.0). This explains why the Nugs' only two wins have come against Sacramento and Atlanta (combined record, as noted, 2-9).
And who's that we see sitting in 11th place? The Bugs (logical) and the Cavs (say what?!!?). LeBron and the LeBronettes are having some major chemistry issues, which has led to blowout losses at he hands of such such theoretically weaker sisters as Orlando (a 21-point loss), New Orleans (22), and New York (21). Most of the fingers should be pointed at a defense that ranks 27th in efficiency and allows 110.1 points a night, the third-worst in the Eastern Conference.
Like the Sixers, Cleveland only has three games this week, two of which are against theoretically weaker sisters Atlanta and Indiana. But we've seen what theoretically weaker sisters can do to the Cavs, so don't get your hopes up.