(Last week’s record in parenthesis; last week’s ranking in brackets)

1) Golden State Warriors (3-0) [2]: Having come through the fire against Houston, the Warriors look like they’re playing downhill again.

2) Cleveland Cavaliers (0-2) [3]: Cavs’ defensive switching isn’t like the Rockets’ defensive switching, put it that way.

3) Houston Rockets (0-1) [1]: Season complete. We will see if the Rockets, collectively, have the resolve to come back next season even more determined, more focused, and more insistent that they break through and beat Golden State, or fall to the wayside. It’s not a criticism to say that kind of mental toughness is extremely difficult to maintain.

4) Boston Celtics [4]: Season complete.

5) Toronto Raptors [5]: Season complete.

6) Philadelphia 76ers [6]: Season complete.

7) Utah Jazz [7]: Season complete.

8) New Orleans Pelicans [8]: Season complete.

9) Indiana Pacers [9]: Season complete.

10) Oklahoma City Thunder [10]: Season complete.

11) San Antonio Spurs [11]: Season complete.

12) Miami Heat [12]: Season complete.

13) Milwaukee Bucks [13]: Season complete.

14) Minnesota Timberwolves [14]: Season complete.

15) Portland Trail Blazers [15]: Season complete.

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Longtime NBA reporter, columnist and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer David Aldridge is an analyst for TNT. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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