Overview
- The Thunder sit at 15-1 with a league-best defense and a +15.3 net rating, and they have done it without All-Star Jalen Williams yet to play.
- Detroit has won 11 straight to reach 13-2, thriving through injuries with defense, depth and a lift from two-way guard Daniss Jenkins.
- Denver profiles as the co-favorite with Oklahoma City as Nikola Jokic posts 29.1 points, 13.2 rebounds and 11.1 assists amid a top-three defense.
- Houston’s offense ranks among the league’s best through elite offensive rebounding and the Kevin Durant–Alperen Sengün partnership despite a low-volume 3-point approach.
- Toronto has surged from a 1-4 start to 10-5 behind balanced scoring from Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett, as a defined bottom tier emerges with Washington and Indiana sliding and Victor Wembanyama sidelined two to three weeks by a calf injury.