Week two in the NBA is in the books and there have been several teams who seem to have righted the ship while other teams' struggles have landed several coaches on the early hot seat.
*All stats recorded prior to Monday night's games
Best Team
Utah Jazz
The Jazz have had one of the more surprising starts to the season and are currently second in the Western Conference standings at 4-2 overall. This past week started with a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers before the Jazz beat both the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies by at least ten points. Quin Snyder has five players averaging double figures, all of whom are under the age of 25. Gordon Hayward leads the dispersed scoring attack, while Rudy Gobert leads the defensive charge.
The 23 year-old's 12.7 rebounds-per-game rank third in the NBA, while his 4.0 blocks-per-game is tied for the league lead. Alongside Gobert, Derrick Favors has racked up 2.33 steals-per-game, which ranks fourth. The Jazz are one of the best defensive teams in the league thus far, surrendering an NBA-best 85 points-per-game to opponents. Meanwhile, they had a different player lead the scoring in each of their three games last week and have the third-best point differential in the NBA.
Worst Team
Brooklyn Nets
The reigning Worst Team of the Week takes the cake again in week two. Hard to argue Lionel Hollins isn't already on the hot seat, but Nets GM Billy King denies Hollins's job is in jeopardy. Nevertheless, the team has lost its first seven games. They have the worst point differential in the league, allowing 102.9 points-per-game while scoring 90.4ppg. A 94-86 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks was the first time this season the Nets held an opponent under 100 points. In that very game, Brook Lopez left with a sore right foot and is also reportedly dealing with back spasms. Lopez is the team's current leading scorer and is second to Thaddeus Young in rebounding. The 27 year-old center is expected to play in the Net's next game on Wednesday but, if he is unable to go, it may light a fire under Joe Johnson who continues to struggle.
Best Player
Russell Westbrook has continued the carryover from a near-MVP season and has silenced any remaining doubters who thought he could not play alongside Kevin Durant. While Durant is in the top-five in scoring, Westbrook leads the league in assists. He is currently the best option at point guard next to Stephen Curry and is in the top-three in his position in points, assists, rebounds, and steals. Westbrook averaged 21 points-per-game in three games last week and is riding a streak of four consecutive games with a double-double. He is a fantasy machine and can smell his first triple-double of the 2015-2016 season fast approaching.
Worst Player
Undoubtedly the most overpaid player in the league, Joe Johnson has been one of the more detrimental players on any team. Poor shooting has been the fatal flaw of his game, the case and point coming against the Atlanta Hawks. Johnson was held to five points in 30 minutes on 1-of-10 shooting, including an 0-for-3 performance from three-point range. The 34 year-old is one of the main reasons for the Nets' winless start and is the last person the team needed to struggle in the absence of Deron Williams.
Best Moment
New York Knicks fans rejoice. Kristaps Porzingis is looking like a great draft pick. The 20 year-old had a vicious put-back against the Milwaukee Bucks Friday. He is generating a lot of buzz and has sparked questions asking why the other three teams ahead of the Knicks in the draft passed up on him. Porzingis is making an early audition for Rookie of the Year. He ranks third among rookies in scoring and second in rebounding and blocks.
Worst Moment
The integration of the short-sleeved uniforms has become more than just a Christmas Day fiasco. And LeBron James finally did what everyone wanted to see happen to those unis. After struggling in the early goings against the New York Knicks last Wednesday, The King took out his poor shooting on the sleeves. He is a known opponent of the constricting uniforms and shot 9-for-23 for the game after starting 4-for-11 in the first half. But as glad as we were to see The NBA's best player make a statement, the league likely will not make a change to the jerseys as a result.
Fantasy Watchlist
Andre Drummond entered this week averaging an identical amount of rebounds-per-game as points (20.3). He has distanced himself from the pack as the best rebounder in the game to this point. Without Greg Monroe, Drummond has run away with the boards. The next highest rebounding average on the Detroit Pistons is Marcus Morris with 6.5 per-game. The Pistons are in the midst of a six-game road trip and face the Los Angeles Clippers this week, who could be Drummond's biggest test yet.
Drummond's teammate, Reggie Jackson, is also off to a fast start. The four-year veteran is leading the team in scoring and ranks in the top ten in the league. The Pistons' West Coast road trip could pump the brakes on Jackson's success.