NBA Daily: First Quarter Grades: Pacific Division

Basketball Insiders started off this week by giving the Central Division teams grades for their respective performances through the first quarter of the NBA season. We continue the grading by taking a look at the Pacific Division, which features a few teams that are beating early-season expectations, including the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings. While some teams have earned high marks early this season, the Pacific Division and the NBA still belongs to the Golden State Warriors, who have run into some drama this season but still have the best overall talent.

With all of this in mind, let’s get to the grades:

Los Angeles Clippers – A

It is almost December and the Clippers hold the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. There was a small group of people who had guarded optimism about the Clippers before the start of the 2018-19 season but no one predicted that the Clippers would stand atop the Western Conference standings at this point in the season. Considering this, it’s hard to argue that the Clippers have earned anything less than an A through the first quarter of the season.

Beyond the fact that the Clippers are winning at a high rate, this team is almost a complete contrast to the “Lob City” era, which came to an end last season. Unlike the Clippers teams led by Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, this team has no elite star player and the players clearly enjoy playing with one another.

Tobias Harris is having a career-year thus far and is lining himself up for a nice payday when he hits the free agent market after the offseason. Danilo Gallinari has been healthy for the most part and is knocking down three-pointers and getting to the line frequently. Gilgeous-Alexander has been arguably the most consistent guard in spite of the fact that he plays alongside proven veterans like Patrick Beverley and Avery Bradley. Lou Williams continues to be an offensive force off the bench. Additionally, Montrezl Harrell has been a force on both ends of the court so far this season. He has become a lethal offensive weapon as a rolling big man out of the pick and roll and has become an effective defender and shot blocker as well despite being an undersized center.

The Clippers have defeated some of the best teams in the league, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors. The Clippers may come down to earth at some point this season but for now they have done more than enough to earn an A.

Los Angeles Lakers – B

Signing LeBron James was an amazing step forward for the Lakers. But the subsequent signings of Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley left many to wonder whether the Lakers would make the playoffs this season – even with James leading the charge. We knew there would be an adjustment period for this team early on, but the Lakers’ defense was hemorrhaging points in the first few weeks of the season and James stated he was losing his patience.

Fortunately for the Lakers, Tyson Chandler and the Phoenix Suns agreed to a buyout, which made it possible for him to sign with L.A. Chandler isn’t putting up impressive box score statistics but his presence on the court is making a positive impact for the Lakers. The Lakers are holding teams to 107.5 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 10^th in the NBA. That is a massive leap forward from where the Lakers were just a few weeks ago. Though that may have something to do with the fact that they have faced some teams with less-than-stellar offenses in their last few matchups. Chandler is limited at this point in his career but it’s clear that he is providing a level of defensive competency at center that the team had been missing.

The Lakers will likely continue to have ups and downs throughout the season considering how many new rotation players they have and continue to integrate this season. However, after a conqueringly rocky start, it’s fair to say the Lakers have stabilized the ship and earned a solid B.

 Sacramento Kings – A

The Kings have failed to make the playoffs since the 2005-06 season (when players like Brad Miller, Peja Stojakovic and Shareef Abdur-Rahim were still in the NBA). Between this long playoff drought and several avoidable missteps along the way, it was fair to not expect much from this year’s team. However, Sacramento has been of the surprise stories so far this season, posting a 10-10 record and holding the eighth seed in the deep Western Conference.

The Kings have managed this behind the efforts of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Willie Cauley-Stein, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nemanja Bjelica and Marvin Bagley, whom the Kings drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft. Fox has been pushing the pace for the Kings, who are ranked second in overall pace so far this season, trailing only the Atlanta Hawks. The Kings’ offense isn’t setting the league on fire as it ranks just 19^th in efficiency (per 100 possessions), but on any given night they can put a significant amount of pressure on their opponents with speed and shooting. On that front, Buddy Hield has been hitting 45.1 percent of his 5.7 three-point attempts per game, while Nemanja Bjelica has knocked down 50.7 percent of his 3.4 three-point attempts per game.

Simply put, several of the Kings’ young players have taken a step forward and are contributing at a higher level than anticipated entering this season. Sacramento has stumbled a bit of late, losing six of their last eight games, but several of those losses came against tough opponents like the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans.

Don’t expect the Kings to make the postseason but let’s give them credit for taking a big step forward so far this season and beating everyone’s expectations so far.

Phoenix Suns – D-

The Suns are currently dead last in the Western Conference with a 4-15 record. Considering how young the Suns’ key players are, it’s not surprising that they are already effectively eliminated from playoff contention. The problem is, however, that Phoenix made moves to be competitive this season, such as signing Trevor Ariza to a one-year $15 million deal and acquiring veteran sharpshooter Ryan Anderson. Despite these moves, the Suns currently rank 28^th in offensive and defensive efficiency and have been an easy win for most of their opponents thus far this season. Additionally, the Suns have thus far failed to address their glaring hole at point guard and have not let Devin Booker take over as the team’s lead playmaker.

The good news is that their core players, like Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, have posted solid numbers thus far. Booker’s shooting percentages are concerning (32.3 percent from beyond the arc), but he is posting 24.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Additionally, Ayton has looked solid on both ends of the court and is posting 16.9 points, 10.4 rebound, 2.8 assists, 0.6 assists and 0.7 blocks per game.

All things considered, it’s hard to have much optimism for the Suns’ performance so far this season. This is especially true when there was so much optimism about the offensive and defensive system head coach Igor Kokoskov was putting in place this season.

Golden State Warriors – C+

The Warriors currently hold the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 15-7 record. Golden State is also posting some of the best offensive numbers in the league, while struggling defensively, especially in the recent absence of Draymond Green. So why are we giving the Warriors a C+? Because of the locker room drama that became public in the Warriors’ recent loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in which Green berated Kevin Durant for a variety of issues, including his impending free agency. These issues have calmed a bit but there are reports that the issue has not gone away completely and may not until there is more clarity regarding Durant’s free agency.

The other issue goes back to the team’s defense. The Warriors have mostly been known as an offensive powerhouse during their recent run. However, Golden State has also been a juggernaut defensively, with Green anchoring the team, often times at center. Green hasn’t been quite as effective this season in that role and no other player has stepped up to fill in for that loss. It could be the case that Green will bounce back when he returns from his recent injury, but that isn’t clear at this point. Green has also fallen off as a three-point threat this season, shooting just 22.2 percent on 2.1 attempts per game. Green may recover on this front once Steph Curry is healthy and able to create the space and time for Green to get his shot off from distance, which has been missing during his absence.

The Warriors still have far and away the league’s best roster and is maintaining the No. 2 seed while struggling with injuries and locker room drama, so we aren’t sounding the alarms yet. But as far as assessing a grade through the first quarter of the season, we think a C+ is appropriate.