Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.

It’s week 9, and the top two are solidified at the moment. Up into third are the Nets, who we touched on briefly last week in terms of Kyrie Irving’s availability (or lack thereof). With Covid surging behind the Omicron variant, it seems unlikely we’ll see a change in unvaccinated player restrictions any time soon, so for the rest of the season, Irving will likely sit unless he gets traded. Some people have floated a Ben Simmons for Irving trade as a way to solve two teams’ problems, with Kyrie being available for home games in Philadelphia and most road games if he were to move to the city of brotherly love. I do think he’d be a better fit with Joel Embiid because he is a much better shooter and adds 20+ PPG scoring punch while still providing playmaking. He’s not even close to Simmons as a defender and rebounder, but adding him should improve the 76ers. Of course, Tyrese Maxey has subbed in quite nicely for Simmons this year, averaging 17.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 4.7 APG on excellent 48.0/37.1/87.5 shooting splits. But when you’re in Embiid’s prime and have a 15-15 record, maybe you need to make some changes.

But how does that work for Brooklyn? James Harden is the existing point guard, and he needs the ball in his hands to be his most effective. You could argue that between Harden and Kevin Durant, there’s plenty of scoring already. In fact, the Nets only rank 10th in PPG (110.3) and 9th in points per possession (1.073). Pretty good, but last year they were second (118.6) and third (1.144) respectively. So they are missing a bit of that Irving scoring this year. There’s no doubt Simmons makes them better defensively, but what would he do on offense? He can’t spot up because he can’t/won’t shoot the three, and you probably want Harden running the point (he’s averaging 9.6 APG this year, compared to 6.9 for Simmons last year). So I don’t think the trade will work for Brooklyn, although it’s totally worth trying for Philly. That said, if the team is soured on Irving from this whole experience, I suppose you could roll the dice with Simmons and make him a defensive stopper who just runs a bunch of pick and rolls with your superstars. Could work, I guess. It has to be said, not having Kyrie on the court may be a boon for your defense. The Nets have really improved this year, going from 21st at 114.1 PPG last year to 106.5 PPG this year. That makes their point differential +3.7 this year vs. +4.5 last year; not a huge drop-off considering you’re without an all star. Of course, despite winning a title with LeBron James in Cleveland, Irving has not has great team success in his subsequent stops in Boston and Brooklyn. He has developed a reputation of being a great player who may or may not actually help you win. Plus the flat earth thing and the refusal to get vaccinated thing makes him seem a little off, like maybe he doesn’t have the most common sense. If I’m Brooklyn, I’m looking for a way to get out of the Kyrie Irving business. But nobody is lining up to put me in charge of an NBA team, so who knows?

Losing streak up to 13 games for the Pistons, who are still somehow not in last (thanks, Orlando! A phrase possibly uttered for the first time). Bad news on the injury front, as Jerami Grant is out for a while with a finger injury. It may actually be good news for people who love bad news, i.e. Pistons fans who want to tank it up this year for a high draft pick. They may be right, as long as the constant losing doesn’t stunt the young players’ development. The Pistons clearly need an athletic big man who can protect the rim and roll to the basket for dunks. As much as I like Isaiah Stewart for his strength and hard work, he’s just not an explosive athlete and is undersized at 6’8″. Fortunately, there are some college guys who could fit the bill (Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith come to mind), so maybe that piece will arrive in next year’s draft.

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