Monday 4 November 2019 17:13, UK
Every Monday we look back over the previous week of NBA action and put five teams under the microscope as we grade their recent performances.
We are just two weeks into the NBA season but already patterns are beginning to emerge. Some teams are performing as expected whereas others have either been surprisingly good or disappointingly bad.
Here's the five we have picked out as noteworthy...
The Lakers are Sky Sports NBA expert Ovie Soko's pick to win it all and this week they have shown exactly why our main man is so confident they can do it.
On Tuesday night, they blew out the Grizzlies by 29 points as Anthony Davis properly announced his arrival as a Laker with a 40-point and 20-rebound performance against Memphis. He also threw in a couple of blocks and assists for good measure.
The play of Dwight Howard has also been a major plus for the Lakers as the veteran big man seems keen to make amends for his previous disappointing stint with the franchise.
He's been working very hard on the glass and his tenacity has seen him win over a fanbase who were sceptical about his arrival after DeMarcus Cousins' injury.
A full summer of rest has no doubt been good for LeBron James, he posted triple-doubles in the week's remaining two games after the Grizzlies clash.
The first was an entertaining overtime encounter with the Dallas Mavericks as LeBron went toe to toe with the Mavs young star Luka Doncic in a basketball battle royale of sorts. The Lakers came back from a nine-point deficit at the start of the fourth and won out in the extra period 119-110.
An even sterner test awaited them in the final game of the week in Gregg Popovich's San Antonio Spurs but the Lakers returned from Texas with a pair of victories to cap off a 3-0 week which stretches their winning streak to five.
Just about a perfect week for the Lakers, who have looked every inch contenders. The only thing denying them an A+ grade is the fact the Mavs forced them to overtime.
However well things are going for the Lakers, that's just about how badly things are going for the Houston Rockets.
Mike D'Antoni's offensive system is predicated on either shooting threes or getting to the basket so a few eyebrows were raised when Russell Westbrook - a streaky or bricky shooter, depending on your tastes - was brought in to join James Harden in the backcourt.
So far this season, it's been an unmitigated disaster in terms of shooting from beyond the arc. The pair have combined for 24-107 from three (just 22.4 per cent) to start the year. Westbrook is shooting 25 per cent, but Harden's regression to a low of just 20 per cent is very disappointing for the team.
Surely that will turn around but Houston is treading water which they cannot afford to do in a very competitive Western Conference.
Although they started the week off with two wins, they came against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Washington Wizards - hardly NBA heavyweights - and they somehow shipped 158 points in the capital.
The Washington game saw both teams combine for 317 points, the most ever in an NBA game decided by a single point, as the Wizards tied the record for most points recorded in a defeat during an NBA match which finished in regulation time.
Harden's 59 points did not mask the defensive frailties and those were once again exposed in Brooklyn and Miami as they lost the final two matches of their east coast road trip. The second of these was a 29-point hammering at the hands of Miami.
An inauspicious end to the week and none of the teething problems for the Harden-Westbrook tandem seem to be getting answered. Houston will need to improve in a massive way if their going to contend in the Western Conference again this year.
The Heat were not expected to be much of a force this year but Erik Spoelstra is showing his coaching genius once again in Miami.
A reworked roster, designed primarily to accommodate the salary of Jimmy Butler, has shone in the early stages of the season and they have been far from reliant on just the All-Star wing.
It's a team where everyone contributes from big man Bam Adebayo to Goran Dragic running the point off the bench, but it's some of the new faces who have really caught the eye.
Guard Kendrick Nunn, in particular, has proved to be an inspired addition to their roster. He's made the jump from the G-League - he spent last season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State's affiliate - to the NBA look ridiculously easy and is leading the team in points per game (19.5) and steals per game (1.7).
Other understated pickups such as Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson have also done well with both averaging double figures in scoring (Herro 15.7, Robinson 11.3) and departed center Hassan Whiteside has not been missed.
They beat the Atlanta Hawks, who had started the season well behind a red-hot start from Trae Young, both home and away before destroying the Rockets to move to second in the Eastern Conference standings behind the unbeaten Philadelphia 76ers.
Surely no more could have been asked of them this week, or to start the season as a whole.
This was meant to be the summer where it all changed for the Knicks.
They were meant to be acquiring at least one of the big fish in free agency during the offseason but had to look on in vain as both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving joined their city rivals, the Brooklyn Nets.
To compound that disappointment, the Knicks' unbalanced roster (comprised primarily of power forwards) has started the season in very disappointing fashion and the fans are already calling for head coach David Fizdale to be fired. Chants against him could be heard during the blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Although they picked up a win in the week's first game, it was followed with three consecutive defeats - to the Magic where they were held to just to 83 points, then the Boston Celtics and the Kings - to fall to 1-6.
Not just that, but it's the sense of Groundhog Day when it comes to losing that Knicks fans will be feeling absolutely sick of.
This is a franchise in trouble. The only reason the grade isn't worse was the win against the Bulls but it does not mask a multitude of failings.
The week has followed a pretty much opposite trajectory from the Knicks for the Pacers.
When they lost to the Detroit Pistons by a couple of points on Monday to fall to 0-3 it looked like this could be a long season for the franchise.
But despite losing key big men Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner to injuries during this the week - not forgetting that All-Star Victor Oladipo is sidelined long-term - the Pacers have shown great mettle to come through the week with three wins to get back to .500 for the season.
In the East, that kind of record will likely be enough to make the postseason and Malcolm Brogdon is thriving for them after being given the keys to the offense by head coach Nate McMillan.
The Nets, Bulls and Cavaliers may not be amongst the Conference's leading lights but they are all potential rivals for a playoff spot so to win three straight just when it looked the pressure might be mounting is proof this Indiana team is mentally strong as well as having talent.
A very good week, but not quite perfect.
