In lieu of a Game of the Week, since we’re at six games done and exactly one-third of the way through the eighteen game regular season, we’ll do a quick spin through each of the teams. Take a look at the newly released ODE numbers too! [ 2024 Pre-Season: Chamberlain | Russell ]
The Favorites
Just like last year, these two teams are on top of the regular season—and leading their respective conferences—and can already start planning for the postseason.
#1 KSKT (6-0)
ODE: Offensive / Defensive / Efficiency
ODE: 1/9/11
Fresh off his first career triple-double in the first round of the In-Season Tournament, Tyrese Haliburton is looking to give KSKT a preview trophy for a possible SlamNation one later this year. Similar to the real-life Pacers, KSKT boasts the number one offense in the league. They've also barely been challenged on their way to an undefeated record—four of their wins have been by 7-2 scores—and their one close call against SWMP in WK4 was won by two three-pointers.
KSKT does have two slight weaknesses, which keep them from an overwhelming combined ODE: they are a mere twelfth in rebounds and fourteenth in free throw percentage. That latter number is mostly due to Zion Williamson’s 66.4 FT% on 7.1 free throws per game. Plus, Zion is only contributing about six rebounds per game, in contrast to Michael Porter Jr.’s outstanding eight. Could KSKT be even better with a trade-off of Williamson? Something for GM Matt to ponder. An early season surprise has been free agent Jalen Suggs’ solid contributions, especially his almost two swipes per game. Once Anfernee Simons returns, KSKT will be even stronger and that much better on offense.
For our best team of 2024 so far, we’re highlighting a two-game stretch of WK10 and WK11 versus SOUR and SCRM to determine if KSKT could perhaps go undefeated this season.
#2 SCRM (5-1)
ODE: 8/1/10
In contrast to our top team, SCRM is our top-ranked defense while leading the league in steals. Similarly to KSKT, SCRM also have two relatively weaker categories: free throw percentage (11th) and three point shooting (14th), but they are top-three dominant in four categories: STL, FG%, REB, and AST.
After an opening week loss and then escaping a near upset by winless ABCX in WK2, SCRM has been getting stronger even as their schedule has got tougher. That ramping success might coincide with acquiring Kawhi Leonard—and Ben Simmons—right after that WK1 loss to SPDE, as GM Jordan is looking for a title immediately and has filled out his roster accordingly.
The return of new-Clipper James Harden to the court has been a boon—6.4 AST, 2.4 3PT, and 1.6 STL—so as long as most of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Leonard stay healthy, this could be the team to beat. Interesting tidbit: Antetokounmpo averages 9.9 FTA per game, at a blistering 65.4 FT%, while his other four co-stars combine for 19.9 FTA, at an average of 88.3 FT%. Can those four help lift this team to free-throw respectability? It's an interesting exercise to pair Giannis with so many great free throw shooters and we like the way it's looking so far.
The Contenders
Any of these next five teams could challenge for the 2024 title, and they are all familiar names at the top of the SlamNation success charts.
#3 SOUR (4-2)
ODE: 4/6/2
As the top-ranked combined ODE team—tied for that honor—returning champs SOUR are a huge threat to repeat. Their two losses this season have come against SPDE and SCRM, and they are only weak in one category: AST. They boast the best PTS and 3PT in Slam, and are top five nearly everywhere else, save BLK and AST.
Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler pace the team while third-year breakout Scottie Barnes has been an all-around dynamo and defensive presence. Seriously, Barnes has become a 19.6 PTS, 9.1 REB, 5.5 REB, with defense and efficiency, making him the prodigal son as he re-enters SOUR's roster after being drafted by Trieu 2022 RD1.5. A little seasoning on TRUO's roster was all Barnes needed to overcome an underwhelming sophomore year I guess! In fact, all of GM Trieu’s offseason moves have seemed to work out beautifully, and even with Lauri Markkanen on the mend—his absence has been offset by the return to action of Miles Bridges—this team is gonna be a hard to take down. To be the king you gotta beat the king, and Snails will rule SlamNation till they are dethroned!
Seriousy, we're very scared by SOUR, even if they aren't one of the technical favorites right now.
#4 SPDE (4-2)
ODE: 3/3/6
Tied with SOUR for best combined ODE, SPDE is leaping into the championship conversation this season, or perhaps, reaching up higher with their newly expanded wingspans? After three losing seasons, it’s safe to say SPDE is back to their traditional winning ways.
Even with Devin Booker, Tyler Herro, and new trade addition Walker Kessler coming on and off the injury list, SPDE has been picking up wins left and right. Their only big loss this season was to ILCN in WK6, but the’ve been dominant otherwise.
The ascension of Tyrese Maxey is a huge reason for SPDE’s early success, but we don’t want to overlook the solid contributions Tobias Harris, Saddiq Bey (51.2 FG%), Gordon Hayward, Dennis Schroder, and Bogdan Bogdanovic have made as role players. All this, plus the additions of rookies Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, who have both been better than advertised—minus Wemby’s shooting percentage woes.
The only dark cloud on the horizon for SPDE is possibly the situation with Josh Giddey (42.7 FG%) but we’ll see how that turns out. SPDE can only get stronger as they get healthier, so if anyone wants to take down this deep and talented team, they better hope to get lucky with the injury report. Two matchups versus SWMP, plus a face-off with KSKT in WK14 are all that could challenge SPDE for the rest of the regular season.
#5 SWMP (4-2)
ODE: 7/4/3
Once a perennial title favorite, SWMP has slipped to a tier below “DominAyton” the past two seasons. This year they are dealing with the non-existence of offseason trade acquisition Bradley Beal, and the apathetic play of Zach LaVine holding them ever so slightly back.
However, SWMP is still very very good, and top-two in REB, FG%, and STL, behind a very strong front line duo of Nikola Jokic and Alperen Sengun—the two centers lead this team in assists! Add in the double-double contributions of Deandre Ayton and all that’s needed for this team is to get their shooters back in action.
If Paul George should sit out for his customary missed games, SWMP could be in a bit of trouble until LaVine and Beal can steady out. As it stands, SWMP is below average in three pointers—and blocks, but that’ll likely stay a weakness as nobody averages even one block per game on this roster. Despite a surprising WK6 loss to FUNK, SWMP is in position to only get stronger as the season progresses.
#6 SBUK (4-2)
ODE: 12/4/3
Aside from a WK1 loss to SOUR, SBUK has only suffered a close-ish loss to SCRM, which bodes well for their playoff chances. They are strong defensively and have good efficiency—minus some fluctuating FG% issues—but they do seem to have one glaring area of need: better offense.
SBUK is average or below average in PTS, 3PT, and AST—especially the latter where they are third-to-last in the league. Last season’s version of SBUK didn’t have this problem and GM Josh’s 2024 draft was pretty offense-heavy so maybe this team just needs time to gel. (The early season injuries to CJ McCollum probably has a little to do with it too.)
The stable of shooters on SBUK—buttressed by mid-draft trade addition Desmond Bane—should be enough to lift this offense so it’s likely just wait and see. The good news is that defending NBA MVP Joel Embiid has been even better than last year—even adding 6.6 AST to boot—while the free-agent addition of Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. may contend for waiver wire pickup of the season. There’s only three more matchups against winning teams this season for SBUK so their fans can likely start blocking off vacation days for playoff season already.
#7 CHMK (4-2)
ODE: 11/8/9
“These statistics are not the intended outcome of my roster construction strategy.” Haha! CHKM is indeed just about average in most of their category ranks—and slightly below in combined ODE—but wins and losses don’t lie and they are riding a three-game win streak at the moment. They do face a very tough schedule going forward, featuring six matchups against teams ranked above them in this power ranking—including two versus SCRM—so it’ll be a battle ahead for our co-Games Played leader.
CHMK is up to the challenge however, as they are pretty sturdy across the board, and only rank second-to-last in three pointers—which is partially offset by their sterling FG%. A boost in steals and blocks wouldn’t hurt either, and a lot of that could be solved by a healthier Bam Adebayo.
2024 RD1.10 center Jalen Duren has been a revelation but the RD1.3 selection of rookie Amen Thompson has so far not paid many dividends. (A quick drop of RD3.10 Jeremy Sochan might have been a tad too hasty as well.) The good news is that GM Evan hit big on Jalen Johnson, making the all-Jalen draft strategy a strong three-for-three for CHMK. Another rookie pick, Bilal Coulibaly, is already almost a 1/1/1 guy as well.
Actually, with the mid-draft trade for Jalen Brunson—which cost Desmond Bane—Evan is four-for-four for acquiring successful NBA Jalens! The healthy return of another 2024 trade acquisition, Jamal Murray, should give CHMK the juice they need to make the playoffs again after back-to-back Toilet Bowl wins. Key takeaway: “Jalens” are good!
The Bubble Teams
These three teams—really two—could move their way up into the playoffs, or tumble back down the standings given a bad turn of events. But being mid-tier may be a great time to seek some trades!
#8 FJUB (3-3)
ODE: 9/9/3
We’ll give the benefit of the doubt to FJUB here: they’ll be a playoff team this year, just like the past nine seasons. However, their uninspiring start, with wins against three sub-0.500 teams, does have management questioning if changes should be considered.
Traditionally a defense-focused team, FJUB is actually slightly better on offense this season as opposed to last, while their vaunted defense has slipped even as their efficiency has improved overall despite a third-to-last FG%. What this team is really lacking in is STL—they were never a good REB team, dating back to last season. After ranking second in steals last year, FJUB has slipped back to the pack in 2024. It’s been Herb Jones (1.8 STL), and well, Herb Jones. Fred VanVleet dropped from 1.8 STL last season to 0.7 this year, and losing Chris Paul (1.5) and Killian Hayes (1.4) hurt the volume of thefts as well.
Rookie free-agent Cason Wallace has been a NBA defensive menace, but his steals numbers don’t reflect that. And offseason trade acquisition Jerami Grant’s stud defensive days are mostly behind him—he’s been great at putting up points though. FJUB has to decide if they’ll return to the defensive identity that has given them so much success, or if they’ll look to make some philosophical transitions.
If FJUB can steal a WK7 win against undefeated KSKT in a shortened In-Season Tournament week, they’ll have five more matchups against current 0.500+ teams left. Going chalk would likely still leave them a game or two above 0.500, giving them a low playoff seed. That’s the worst case scenario. If GM Eric has big moves ahead though, the ceiling for FJUB could get much higher!
#9 BUFF (3-3)
ODE: 2/13/14
An example of an entirely one-sided team, BUFF has pushed their good offense from last year into a great one this year, taking their PTS, 3PT, and AST to higher levels this season. It’s been with much the same roster too, subbing in Jordan Clarkson for Collin Sexton and Harrison Barnes for Tobias Harris. Anthony Edwards and Brandon Ingram are the offensive cornerstones here, with Kyle Kuzma doing an almost better than Ingram Ingram-impression.
However, BUFF have no rim protection, aren’t great at cleaning the glass, and only get a league average amount of steals. Combine that with middling percentages and BUFF is rightly about a 0.500 team—which would be an improvement over last year’s mere seven total wins. So this team is on-track for a possible second playoff berth in their last ten years, and that would be considered a success.
But here’s where BUFF’s fans cry…. “Will Roger regret passing up on rookie Ausar Thompson or someone with more upside like Jaden Ivey and Onyeka Okongwu?” Yes, yes! Instead of drafting Russell Westbrook at 2024 RD1.5, BUFF could of had rookie Amen Thompson—taken one pick after—whose outstanding all-around game would have filled many of this team’s glaring needs. Thompson’s 9.1 REB and 2.5 combined STL/BLK is exactly what the doctor would’ve ordered to take BUFF up past the level of a bubble team.
In BUFF’s defense, few predicted that Ausar would be the good twin, and debuted with those eye-popping numbers, but sometimes gambling is necessary when you’ve struggled to maintain respectability. Westbrook has been okay this season, but he is thirty-five years old and Thompson would have assured a brighter future for BUFF. Regrets, regrets!
#10 FUNK (3-3)
ODE: 6/12/13
A middling team that has mostly been inconsistent, FUNK has picked up two of their wins versus 0.500+ teams while suffering losses to presumed weaker squads. With exactly nine of eighteen matchups against current 0.500+ teams, FUNK is going to be hard pressed to return to the playoffs after six straight showings.
Basically a lower-voltage version of BUFF, FUNK is similarly also all offense and not much else. While they have increased their 3PT production this season—to top-two in the league—it has come at the cost of their already bad FG% and more concerningly, overall PTS, as they are ranked fifteenth and twelfth in those categories respectively.
There’s been a gaping hole at center all season long—with Kelly Olynyk completely whiffing this season—and Ivica Zubac has often been played off the court. This aspirational five-out team has mostly been just firing and missing. Defensive stalwart OG Anunoby has been a disappointment overall and unless the recent return of Trey Murphy III can somehow magically make up for defense and rebounding issues—not his strong suit—FUNK is much closer to the Toilet Bowl than to the playoffs despite their 0.500 record, which only came about due to a surprise WK6 victory over SWMP.
The Make or Break Tier
These four teams are headed the wrong way already and most are lacking in overall talent—with one exception—or suffering from lack of health.
#11 ILCN (2-4)
ODE: 5/2/16
After years of collecting talent, GM Frank went for a more “win-now” approach after last season’s 13-7 showing. Surprise, this team is now floundering—and suffered a four game losing streak recently! A lot of it is health related, as Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Khris Middleton, and Jaden McDaniels have both bounced back and forth in the lineup due to injuries.
This team is still uber-talented, with Shaedon Sharpe getting far more minutes than expected on a depleted Blazers team, and the 2024 draft also unearthed RD3.13 Mitchell Robinson and RD4.4 rookie Dereck Lively III, both of whom have picked up the slack for Jaren Jackson Jr.’s slight regression in BLK and decreased FG% due to an increased offensive role.
Other than all that, things still look swimmingly on paper for ILCN, as Luka Doncic and Co. should be better than this. Despite basically punting FT% and TOS, they are above average in most of the other categories and elite in PTS and STL. When everything clicks, ILCN is still capable of beating any team, as evidenced by a WK6 7-2 win over SPDE.
With two more matchups against undefeated KSKT coming up, as well as three more against 0.500+ teams, ILCN will have a chance to show that they’re better than their record—perhaps much better—and could easily elevate themselves back into the playoff picture.
#12 SQSQ (2-4)
ODE: 14/7/8
The good news is that SQSQ is better than last season, as least by combined ODE, the bad news is that they’re still kind of bad, which could possibly get worse in a post-Giannis Antetokounmpo world if either LeBron James or Anthony Davis start taking a seat. The return of a healthy Bojan Bogdanovic—not to mention DeMar DeRozan—is much needed, as this team is severely lacking in PTS and 3PT. Their two wins have come against ABCX and ILCN this season, and a lot of difficult matchups lie ahead.
There are silver linings to focus on for SQSQ, namely the high FG% and the very high BLK numbers, as Daniel Gafford (2.1 BLK) is contributing a lot there. But that might be it for early season superlatives. Does SQSQ take a look at this team before the trade deadline and look to ship off The King and/or The Brow? Or can this veteran-heavy group regain some semblance of competitive spirit?
The pressing issue for the future is that 2024 RD1.2 Scoot Henderson has been a major disappointment so far in his rookie campaign. He’ll automatically get Tari Eason’s keeper slot next season, but Henderson’s actually been even worse than the similarly disappointing Eason. There’s no young star to rebuild around yet so SQSQ’s best bet might to take this group for a deep Toilet Bowl run and emerge with a high draft pick—just like last year.
#13 TRUO (2-4)
ODE: 10/11/14
The this-week dubbed “Sweet Splash” hasn’t been so sweet to start the year. While we love the name, perhaps being sour is better? The goal for TRUO remains to make an impact in the Toilet Bowl, even as their roster is constantly shifting. This year’s version has a lot of promise however, and we’re actually quite high on TRUO’s future.
Offseason trade acquisition De’Aaron Fox—returning to this roster once again—has been a revelation as he’s pushed his game to even greater heights. And nobody could’ve predicted 2024 RD4.15 Cam Thomas to start scoring at a 26.1 ppg clip, a number that seems outrageous but is proving to be sustainable. And then there’s RD1.6 Ausar Thompson, the jewel of the Thompson family, who has exhibited young-Westbrook energy and statistics. That’s quite the trio!
There is a void in the middle though, with all three rostered centers on injured reserve—Wendell Carter Jr., Steven Adams, and Brandon Clarke so it’s impressive that Thompson and Julius Randle have taken this team to a league average REB ranking. In fact, TRUO is about league average in 3PT and AST as well. Their main problem is a lack of shooting efficiency, as they are quite awful in both percentages—without good PTS to show for it—which leaves them playing from a 0-2 deficit every matchup.
If TRUO can even out one of those percentages, they could make some noise in their likely Toilet Bowl appearance. With a league-leading seven matchups left to go against 0.500+ teams, Coach Thien is up against the toughest rest of the regular season schedule. Good luck, we’ll be cheering for you!
#14 MELO (2-4)
ODE: 13/13/12
We’re overwhelmed by MELO’s new coaching hire this season, as whoever the new person in charge has been putting in fantastic Games Played this season. Great work! Unfortunately, getting all those games in have left MELO at the bottom of the combined ODE rankings, as they are slightly below average in every category, with a bottom-four ranking in STL. However, combined ODE can sometimes lie, and being average across eight of nine categories is actually not a bad thing. Despite not taking a win off a 0.500 team (yet?), MELO is likely just a bit underpowered so far this season.
Kevin Durant is doing all he can to keep MELO afloat, as statistical regression has hit just about everyone else on the roster from Jaylen Brown to newly acquired Pascal Siakam, and on to Nikola Vucevic and RJ Barrett. Plus, the less said about the insipid play of Andrew Wiggins better.
There is one giant bright spot on MELO for this season, the promising play from 2024 RD1.4 Brandon Miller, who has outperformed just about everyone in his draft class aside from Victor Wembanyama and arguably Ausar Thompson. Miller is looking like a smooth all-around talent who should evolve quickly. As for MELO, it’ll just be a season waiting for the other veterans to pull their weight alongside Durant.
The Bottom Dwellers
These two teamss are winless and assured of a Toilet Bowl appearance, barring a miracle. Let’s see what they can do to improve to give them a fighting chance in the consolation tournament.
#15 UFOS (0-6)
ODE: 16/16/1
Last on offense and last on defense, but first in efficiency! That doesn’t pretend well for our rookie owner’s win-loss hopes, but in their inaugural Slam season, it’ll just be a proving ground and setup for future years. For now, the task at hand will be to pick up that Games Played mark, which is at 121 versus the league-wide average of 145 GP, meaning UFOS have played basically one less week of games than just about everyone else.
Assuming that all gets squared away, what’re we cooking with at UFOS laboratory? Every single player on this roster has upside potential—minus Damian Lillard, of course—so it’s just a matter of figuring out which ones will be worth keeping for next season. The in-dispersal trade trio of Jordan Poole (39.1 FG%), Jabari Smith Jr. (13.3 PTS), and Nic Claxton have all been okay. A bit underwhelming all around with only Claxton really returning previous season value with his 2.6 BLK—and probably single-handedly taking UFOS out off the cellar in at least one category.
There are a whole lot of role player types on this team, so it’s possible UFOS could play deal maker and send out pieces to contending teams while taking draft picks and more upside talent back. Who couldn’t use scorers like Cameron Johnson, Cole Anthony, or Gary Trent Jr. for a playoff push? Or maybe one of Jarrett Allen or Onyeka Okongwu might be available for the right price? And of course there’s the biggest trade chip of all, Lillard, who is ill-cast on this team and likely needs to be moved.
UFOS will have to one, fix their Games Played issue, and two, do some internal evaluation to see which six might be likely moving on to next season. Fun times ahead, especially in a WK11 matchup versus fellow undefeated ABCX, which could be a heavyweight matchup for first win of the season!
Note: “It won’t take much for UFOS to do better than the losingest owner of SlamNation history, and we’re guessing they can pull off at least four wins to surpass FOBS’ last two seasons.” Um, four wins for this squad is not looking very likely, especially in a shorter eighteen week regular season.
#16 ABCX (0-6)
ODE: 15/15/6
We ranked teams within each tier by combined ODE, making ABCX the last -ranked team, despite a seniority advantage on UFOS. As the only other team not within spitting distance of the average Games Played so far this young season—ABCX has 135 GP—that is a slight factor, but when you’re second-to-last in PTS, AST, STL, and BLK, while being not very good at REB and FG% as well, that’s not just Games Played issues.
After stumbling out of the gate with a 0-9 loss to ILCN in WK1, and then coming within twenty-something-ish PTS of taking down SCRM in WK2, it’s all been downhill for ABCX ever since. LaMelo Ball’s slow start, combined with the absence of Ja Morant, had likely preordained ABCX to the cellar early. Add in a punishing schedule that had ABCX facing four current playoff teams in their first seven weeks—with four more 0.500+ matchups to follow—and ABCX can lay claim to the hardest schedule in SlamNation.
So, can Morant’s return boost ABCX to some wins? Matching last season’s six wins is going to be a Herculean task and would require quite the run—especially with Ball on the mend. Not that there’s not an outside chance of that run happening, as Tim Hardaway Jr., Kelly Oubre Jr., and Malcolm Brogdon are all scoring more than expected. (And in theory 2024 RD1.7 Jaden Ivey will stop getting buried in Detroit.) If Morant and Ball can get back in time, there could be an offensive powerhouse ready to go here.
The defense and efficiency are unlikely to get better—RIP Robert Williams III, as the oft-injured big man’s fantasy career remains mostly a tease—but when you’re gunning for a handful of wins and hopefully a deeper Toilet Bowl run, being good at just a few things might be enough.
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