Week 3 recap and Roze's 5 Things

There are no more Unbeatens in the NBA! Last year, we had to wait until the 16th game when the Cavs lost to the Celtics; however, this season saw every team lose by the third week when the Trail Blazers knocked off the Thunder on Wednesday night. We will keep the articles the same as the order will be standings update, injury news, and then Roze’s 5 Things. 

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons 7-2
2. Cleveland Cavaliers 7-3
3. Philadelphia 76ers 6-3
4. Milwaukee Bucks 6-3
5. Chicago Bulls 6-3
6. New York Knicks 5-3
7. Miami Heat 6-4
8. Toronto Raptors 5-5
9. Atlanta Hawks 5-5
10. Orlando Magic 4-5
11. Boston Celtics 4-6
12. Charlotte Hornets 3-6
13. Brooklyn Nets 1-8
14. Indiana Pacers 1-8
15. Washington Wizards 1-9

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder 9-1
2. San Antonio Spurs 7-2
3. Denver Nuggets 7-2
4. Los Angeles Lakers 7-3
5. Houston Rockets 5-3
6. Minnesota Timberwolves 5-4
7. Portland Trail Blazers 5-4
8. Golden State Warriors 5-5
9. Phoenix Suns 5-5
10. Memphis Grizzlies 4-6
11. Sacramento Kings 3-6
12. Utah Jazz 3-6
13. LA Clippers 3-6
14. Dallas Mavericks 3-7
15. New Orleans Pelicans 2-7

Standings Update 

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons have moved into the top spot and have won 5 straight games. Both Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren are off to excellent starts for Detroit. The Cavaliers have vaulted into 2nd through the hot shooting of Donovan Mitchell, while the 76ers, Bucks, and Bulls sit at 6-3. The Knicks round out the top 6, while the play-in consists of the Heat, Raptors, Hawks, and Magic. The Celtics and Hornets sit at 11 and 12, while the bottom three teams in the Nets, Pacers, and Wizards have combined for 3 wins so far this season. 

In the Western Conference, the Thunder are atop the standings, followed by the Spurs, Nuggets, and Lakers. The Rockets are wolves rounding out the top top while the play-in is made up of Blazers, Warriors, Suns, and Grizzlies. The Kings, Jazz, and Clippers all sit at 3-6 and positions 11-13, while the Mavericks and Pelicans round out the bottom of the West. 

News Update

Monday, November 3rd

Dylan Harper will miss multiple weeks after suffering a calf strain 

Tuesday, November 4th

Zion Williamson will miss at least 7-10 days with a hamstring injury. 

Wednesday, November 5th

Walker Kessler will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.y 

Blake Wesley will miss 8-12 weeks after getting surgery for a fractured foot. 

Friday, November 7th 

Cam Thomas will miss 3-4 weeks with a hamstring strain.  

Roze’s 5 Things 

Keyonte George is the lead guard for the Jazz.

Keyonte George was a nice prospect coming out of Baylor and expected to be the lead guard someday for an NBA franchise. However, his first two NBA seasons with the Jazz showed he needed a lot more work, and even last year, at one point, he lost his starting spot to Isaiah Collier. However, since Collier has been injured os far this season, George has reclaimed his spot in the first 5, and he’s thriving. He is averaging 22 points per game on 43% from the field, 27% from 3, and 90% from the free-throw line. The most noticeable spot in his game has been the passing and ability to get in the paint and to the line. He has doubled his free throws attempted per game this season to almost 9 a game and is averaging 8 points in the paint this season as well. His usage is at 26.7% this season, the highest in his young career, and he’s averaging the most assists per game while having the lowest turnover percentage of his career. George’s frequency on pick-and-rolls is up to 38% this season, and he’s averaging 0.84 points per possession while getting fouled on 21.4% of these reps, very good stuff so far this season for the third-year player out of Baylor. 

Hawks without Trae Young are in a precarious spot. 

While this isn’t a real in-depth analysis for the Hawks, it’s another point in the relationship that feels like it could potentially merge the two sides or have the entire situation come undone. Young is currently up for a veteran extension with the team. He’s under contract for this season and has a player option for 2026-2027. While most of the relationship between Young and the Hawks has been good, this feels like the point where, if Atlanta were to move on from Young, the next 6-8 weeks could be the evidence the front office might need. The Hawks are coming off a commanding 20-point victory over the Lakers and handled the Magic earlier in the week. The Hawks are currently 5-5 on the season, and even though they have an offense ranked 22nd in the NBA, the defense has finally stepped into the top 10. While the offensive struggles come back to not having Young on the floor, the defense has seen improvement with him off the floor. The Hawks this season are -9.6 per 100 possessions with Young on the floor and are +4 with him off the floor, and have a difference in defensive rating of 123 with him on and 107 with him off. 

Just how bad are the Mavericks/Pelicans situations?

The two teams at the bottom of the Western Conference have put themselves there not just with their play, but with the bone-headed mistakes the front offices have made as well. The Mavericks have their own issues that stem from the Luka Doncic trade and will continue to come up given the performances Doncic is putting on in Los Angeles, while the Mavericks are shorthanded on playmaking and point guards, and a team that ranks dead last in the NBA in offense. They only mustered 111 points against the worst defense in the NBA last night in Washington. They struggled to score even 100 points against the Pelicans and rank last in the NBA in points per game. The injuries keep piling up, with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving continuing rehab from a torn ACL suffered last year. Had it not been for winning the Cooper Flagg lottery, Dallas might’ve delayed the inevitable cleaning of house. New Orleans' situation isn’t much better. While Derik Queen continues to look like a nice selection with the 13th overall pick in the draft, it’s still inexplicable they gave up their unprotected first-round pick in 2026, The Pelicans are currently in the bottom of the Western Conference and would have a 14% to land the 1st overall pick and have a 52% to land in the top 4 for the draft. However, it looks like Atlanta would be the one selecting a potential generational talent instead of the Pelicans. The Pelicans also decided to put more money on the books by trading away CJ McCollum for Jordan Poole. Taking on the extra year of Poole’s contract doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and adds to a top 3 defense in the NBA. Safe to say it will be a challenging rebuild for both teams. 

What are the Clippers?

The oldest team in the NBA looks exactly like you would think, old. The categories, besides the always most telling, the eye test, have them ranked in place where you would think they are. They are top 3 in the NBA in defensive rebounds, free throw attempts, and pace. The younger teams have started to press them up and down the floor, and they are 20th in opponent fastbreak points. They currently sit at 3-6 and have lost their last 4 games. They have also played 6 games at home and only 3 games on the road, losing all 3 of those games. The health of Kawhi and Harden has been good this season, and both are playing well; however, not much else has been good this season for them. Bradley Beal looks like a shell of himself, Chris Paul is playing 10 minutes a game, and Brook Lopez moves as well as a morning walker at 5 am in December. Overall, the age is really showing, and while the front office is loading up for 2026-2027 when most of the cap sheet is cleared from salary, they still need to try and win this season. 

Houston’s league-leading offense. 

The league’s leading offense resides in Houston, just as we all predicted when they landed Kevin Durant; however, when the news of Fred VanVleet broke, it seemed like the gut punch the franchise didn’t need. Meanwhile, the Rockets currently have an offensive rating of 121.1, good for second-best in the NBA, and even though they are only taking 30 threes a game, they lead the league in percentage at 43%. While I expect this number to come down, it’s worth noting the improvements Reed Sheppard, Alperen Sengun, and Tari Eason have made on their shots this offseason. A couple of their favorite sets involve putting Durant or Sengun at the Elbow and involving the two in action closer to the basket; however, when Durant is at the elbow, teams can’t help off of Sengun anymore due to the improvements he’s made with his shot. Sheppard was expected to play a more important role after the injury of VnVleet and has shown his shooting prowess throughout much of this season, and has shown a big improvement after his opening night game versus the Thunder. Eason has made the biggest improvement of them all, shooting an absurd 58% from 3 this season. The Rockets have a net rating of +9.6 this season, good for third in the NBA, and while the hot shooting will eventually cool down, it’s good to see they can make more outside shots this year.