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It’s not too early to put Jacque Vaughn in the NBA Coach of The Year conversation. The Brooklyn Nets head coach has helped spearhead one of the league’s most dramatic turnarounds in the early season, as the Nets have gone from controversy-laden underachievers to one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference.
Vaughn’s leadership and some brilliant play from Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving over the past few weeks have Brooklyn looking like the type of contender it was during the 2020-21 campaign. The team’s stars look focused and motivated to make a run, and the Nets could end up being a real threat to the now-struggling Boston Celtics.
The Celtics appear mortal for the first time in weeks after dropping four out of their past five games, including back-to-back losses to the lowly Orlando Magic. The Milwaukee Bucks have taken over first place in the conference as a result, but the Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers are within striking distance as the top of the East tightens up.
Speaking of former first-place teams that have tumbled lately, the New Orleans Pelicans’ seven-game win streak and surge to the top of the Western Conference has been buried by a four-game skid. The Pelicans’ recent cold streak has allowed the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets to rise into a share of the conference lead.
Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.
Previous rankings: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9
1. Milwaukee Bucks
2022-23 record: 22-8
Previous ranking: 2
The new East leaders just keep rolling. They beat the Jazz by 26 points over the weekend without Giannis Antetokounmpo, improving to 4-1 on the season without their MVP. — Collier
2. Boston…
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