NBA Perfect Ten - 11/28

Another week in the books in the NBA. A lighter week slightly with the Thanksgiving holiday but teams are starting to make their moves as the season heads towards December. So, without further ado, here is our second NBA Perfect 10 of 2022-23.

Perfect Ten (Week of November 14th)

#10. Sacramento Kings (+6000, +14,000) - The Kings’ 7-game win streak ended on their east coast swing but this team has the blueprint down for success: interchangeable pieces on defense and perimeter shooting. Strengths: Depth at the wing position, point guard play. Weaknesses: Rebounding and perimeter defense. Last Week’s Rank: 10

#9. LA Clippers (+400/+700) - The Clippers make our list for the first time this season and, as you can tell from their odds, a lot is expected of this team. I’m still not sold on a team that is relying on a banged-up superstar, Kawhi Leonard, that admits he still has a ways to go to get to 100%. Strengths: Three-point shooting and floor spacing Weaknesses: Health. Last Week’s Rank: Unranked

#8. Atlanta Hawks (+1800/+4500) - The Hawks have a guard-heavy offense that relies heavily on Young and Murray. At the trade deadline, they should be looking for spot up shooters to support their star guards. Strengths: Guards and 3pt defense Weaknesses: Inside scoring 3pt shooting. Last Week’s Rank: 7

#7. New Orleans Pelicans (+1300/+2,800) - The Pelicans still can’t seem to get their Big Three of Ingram, McCollum and Williamson on the floor together with consistency. When and if they do, this team can certainly string together wins. Strengths: Ball movement, perimeter shooting Weaknesses: Health and interior defense Last Week’s Rank: Unranked

#6. Memphis Grizzlies (+700/+1600) - The Grizzlies closed the week with two-straight wins and are close to getting Bane back to full health. Strengths: Shooting and their backcourt. Weaknesses: Perimeter defense and depth. Last Week’s Rank: 9

#5. Cleveland Cavaliers (+900/+2200) - Cleveland, even with the addition of Donovan Mitchell, will need center Jarrett Allen to be healthy in April to be a threat. His recent back woes are certainly cause for concern. Strengths: Scoring and team rebounding. Weaknesses: Health of Allen. Last Week’s Rank: 8

#4. Denver Nuggets (+700/+1500) - Much like the Suns, the Nuggets season will be determined by the health of key players in the playoffs. The Joker is the centerpiece but he will need Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. to be rounding into form come playoff time. Strengths: Defensive field goal % and 3pt shooting. Weaknesses: Consistency on the defensive end. Last Week’s Rank: 3

#3. Phoenix Suns (+500/+1000) - The Suns have jumped back to the top of the Western Conference standings even without Chris Paul. They will have to do something about disgruntled forward Jae Crowder soon, if for no other reason than team chemistry. Strengths: Depth and offensive efficiency. Weaknesses: Paul’s availability, size. Last Week’s Rank: 4

#2. Milwaukee Bucks (+300/+600) - The Bucks keep rolling along even if they have started to drop some games. The health of Khris Middleton will ultimately decide their playoff fate but the Greek Freak can keep them amongst the NBA’s upper echelon in Middleton’s absence. Strengths: Giannis Antetokounmpo and slow return of injured players. Weaknesses: Consistency on the offensive end. Last Week’s Rank: 2

#1. Boston Celtics (+185/+370) - The Celtics finally lost last week but they remain the class of the NBA thus far. Good news for the C’s, Robert Williams III may be a 7ft Christmas gift as he readies for his return. Strengths: Scoring, shooting percentage and ball movement. Weaknesses: Rebounding and in-game letdowns. Last Week’s Rank: 1

Top-Five MVP Candidates thus far:

1. Giannis Antetokoumpo (+270) - In a way, Middleton’s continued absence is only bolstering Antetokoumpo’s MVP case. He continues to dominate games and make the decent players around him even better. Last Week’s Rank: 1

2. Luka Doncic (+300) - His odds have dropped but it is hard to take Doncic out of this spot because of how historic his stat line is thus far. He is leading the league in scoring and nearly averaging a triple-double thus far. His odds have dropped with the Mavs drop in the standings. Might be a good number to jump on right now. Last Week’s Rank: 2

3. Jayson Tatum (+330) - Tatum’s MVP odds are now the lowest they’ve been all season. He is averaging career-highs in scoring, blocks and assists thus far. All while playing on the team with the NBA’s best record. If Boston ends with over 60 wins, his case rises for MVP. Last Week’s Rank: 3

4. Steph Curry (+850) Curry’s MVP odds lowered a bit more this week as he continues to do things on the court that haven’t been seen before. After not winning a road game all year, the Warriors have won two of their last three. In what may be his last major shot at winning the award, Curry is putting up his best numbers ever. Last week’s Rank: 4

5. Nikola Jokic (+2200) - Jokic went from +3000 to +2200 in a week in his MVP odds. Joel Embiid has lower odds but, for my money, Jokic remains a better play because he is generally more available than Embiid and the Nuggets should finish with a better record than Philly. Last Week’s Rank: 5

• In parenthesis, conference odds and finals odds. Player MVP props also in parenthesis. All Courtesy of Draftkings.com

By Mark Ruelle