DA's Morning Tip

DA's Top 15 Rankings: Houston Rockets rise up to top

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

1) Houston Rockets (3-0) [2]: They’re just vaporizing opponents right now; only one of their last 10 victories, Cleveland, has been by less than double digits.

2) Boston Celtics (2-1) [1]: Other than having continuing difficulty staying in front of Devin Booker, Cs rolling right along.

3) Cleveland Cavaliers (4-0) [3]: Honestly, I’m not sure Derrick Rose coming back would be of much benefit to the Cavs now.

4) Golden State Warriors (3-1) [4]: Steve Kerr sticking to getting regular rest for his oldsters — Andre Iguodala, David West, etc.

5) San Antonio Spurs (3-1) [5]: Kawhi is Klose to making his season debut.

6) Toronto Raptors (2-0) [6]: Everybody’s Edward R. Murrow all of a sudden.

7) Detroit Pistons (2-2) [7]: Still awaiting return of Jon Leuer (ankle), who’s getting a second opinion and will be out at least 2-4 more weeks.

8) Philadelphia 76ers (2-2) [8]: Per StatMuse, Robert Covington now has 17 games with six or more three-pointers; no other player in franchise history has more than four.

9) Milwaukee Bucks (3-0) [9]: Bucks are 8-3 since Eric Bledsoe acquisition.

10) Denver Nuggets (2-1) [13]: Nuggets fans awaiting definitive word on Jokic ankle.

11) Minnesota Timberwolves (2-2) [11]: Tom Thibodeau won his 300th NBA game Sunday night in the Wolves’ win over the Clippers.

12) Washington Wizards (2-1) [12]: Tomas Satoransky giving Wizards production at the point while John Wall is out.

13) Portland Trail Blazers (1-2) [10]: What is up with the Blazers at home (7-6) this season? Another bad performance at Moda Saturday, against the Pelicans.

14) Utah Jazz (3-0) [NR]: Derrick Favors answering the call: 18.6 points, 9 boards, 73.1 percent (!) from the floor during Jazz’s five-game winning streak.

15) New Orleans Pelicans (1-2) [14]: Pelicans fans awaiting definitive word on Davis groin.

Dropped out: New York [15]

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MORE MORNING TIP: Grizzlies face rocky future | Continuity pays off for Pistons | Your questions on Wizards & more

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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 andfollow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.

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