Power Rankings: Undefeated Grizzlies surge into Top 5

Rookie forward Cameron Boozer and the Grizzlies are 6-0 before Week 3 of the regular season.

The last undefeated team in the league is … the Memphis Grizzlies?

The Grizzlies finished 12 games

out of the Play-In

Tournament

last season. They’re led by a guard who’s averaged 9.7 points per game over his career and a forward who made his NBA debut just 12 days ago.

Now they’re the 21st team in the 22 years since the league expanded to 30 teams to begin the season with six straight wins.

Of those 20 other teams that were 6-0:

All 20 went on to make the playoffs

.

19 of the 20 finished as a No. 5 seed or higher

, with 10 earning the No. 1 seed in their conference.

18 of the 20 won a playoff series

, 12 reached the conference finals, seven reached the Finals, and four won the championship.

The two teams that started the season 6-0 and didn’t win a playoff series were the 2010-11 New Orleans Hornets (No. 7 seed) and the 2022-23 Bucks, who were the No. 1 seed but

lost

to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat in five games. Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Games 2 and 3 after leaving Game 1 with a back injury.

All in all, those are good numbers for the Grizzlies. But how much longer can they keep this streak going?

Their November schedule

begins with home games against the Pelicans and Pacers before they host the Thunder in Emirates NBA Cup action on Friday.

Plus-Minus Players of the Week

Right Way:

Jabari Smith Jr. (HOU) was

a plus-59 in four games last week

Wrong Way:

Zach LaVine (SAC) and Leonard Miller (CHI) were both

minus-68 in three games last week

Teams of the Week

Make It Last Forever:

Golden State (4-0) — The Rockets and Warriors are the only teams with three wins over teams currently over .500, and a;; three of the Warriors’ wins came last week.

Something Just Ain’t Right:

Indiana (0-4) — Tyrese Haliburton is great, but the Pacers shouldn’t be losing to both the Bucks and the Nets (teams that are a combined 0-10 otherwise), whether he’s in the lineup or not.

East vs. West

The West is

10-2

(.833) against the East in interconference games after going

5-1

last week.

Movement in the Rankings

High jumps of the week:

Memphis (+12), Golden State (+11)

Free falls of the week:

Indiana (-10), Minnesota (-9)

Week 3 Team to Watch

Cleveland

—

The Cavs are off to a solid but unconvincing 4-2 start. They could use some signature wins, and this week’s schedule — four games against the Thunder (x 2), Sixers and Knicks — gives them an opportunity to prove they’re a serious contender.

Previous Power Rankings

Last week:

Pistons, Timberwolves climb into Top 3

The archive:

NBA.com Power Rankings

Key Stats to Know

OffRtg

:

Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)

DefRtg

Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)

NetRtg

Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)

The league has averaged 111.9 points scored per 100 possessions and 101.2 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes this season.

A rest-advantage game (or rest-disadvantage game) is one where one team played the day/night before, but the other (the team with the advantage) did not. Teams are 8-8 in rest-advantage games, 6-3 at home and 2-5 on the road this season.

* =

Emirates NBA Cup

game

NBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man’s opinion. If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann,

contact him via Bluesky