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Community Shootaround: Eastern Conference Early Impressions

January 6th, 2021 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

A handful of Eastern Conference teams are just about exactly where we’d expect them to be through the first two weeks of the 2020/21 season. I don’t imagine, for instance, that anyone is especially shocked by the records put up so far by teams like the Pacers (5-2), Celtics (5-3), Hawks (4-3), Hornets (2-5), or Pistons (1-6).

However, there are also plenty of surprises at both the top and the bottom of the conference standings. It is, of course, still very early in the season, so any trends from the last couple weeks could be easily reversed before the end of January, but now that every team has played between six and eight games, it’s worth checking in on the early results to see how sustainable they might be.

The Sixers (6-1), Magic (5-2), Knicks (4-3), and Cavaliers (4-3) are among the pleasant surprises so far. The 76ers have benefited from a relatively soft schedule and were viewed as a slam-dunk playoff team before the season, but the fact that they hold the NBA’s best record is still impressive.

Orlando, meanwhile, was considered a borderline playoff team, while New York and Cleveland were expected to be in the lottery. The Magic and Cavs have taken advantage of roster continuity to get off to a strong start, while new head coach Tom Thibodeau appears to have be having an impact for the Knicks.

In the middle of the pack, the Bucks (4-3), Nets (4-4), and Heat (3-3) have been up and down, but it seems likely that it’ll be just a matter of time before they hit their stride. Milwaukee and Brooklyn, in particular, each rank in the top five in the league in net rating, despite their middling records.

In the lottery, the biggest disappointment so far has been the 1-5 Raptors, who have had one of the NBA’s worst offenses through their first six games. While Toronto is too talented to remain in the 14th seed for much longer, the team’s early struggles suggest it may not be easy to adequately fill the holes that were created in the frontcourt when Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol departed in free agency.

Elsewhere in the lottery, the 4-4 Bulls have slightly outperformed expectations so far, while the 2-5 Wizards have looked a little better after a disastrous start.

We want to know what you think: What are your early impressions of the Eastern Conference race?

How many of those surprise teams in the playoff picture do you think will remain there? Is it just a matter of time before the likes of the Magic, Knicks, and Cavaliers drop way down the standings, or do any of them have legit staying power? Can the Sixers hold the top seed? Will the Raptors rebound and comfortably make the playoffs or will they spend the season vying for a spot in the play-in tournament?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your early thoughts on the East!

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Highest-Paid NBA Players By Team

January 5th, 2021 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

On Monday, we listed the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2020/21 season. While that list presented a clear picture of the highest earners for the upcoming season, not every NBA team was represented.

Four of the league’s 30 franchises – the Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Knicks – didn’t have a single player in the top 50. Indiana was close, with Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon narrowly missing the cut, but none of the other three clubs have a player earning $20MM or more this season.

Our list of highest-paid players for 2020/21 also only provided a snapshot for the coming year. It featured veterans like Kyle Lowry, Otto Porter, and Andre Drummond, who will be well compensated for the coming season but are on expiring contracts.

Today, we’re shifting our focus to the highest-paid players by team. This will allow us to check in on the clubs that weren’t represented on our initial list, as well as exploring teams’ most lucrative multiyear commitments — we’ve included each club’s highest-paid player for the 2020/21 season and its highest-paid player in total.

Let’s dive in…

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

  • 2020/21: Kemba Walker ($34,379,100)
  • Total: Jayson Tatum (six years, $172,897,710)
    • Note: The value of Tatum’s contract would increase to $205,497,830 if he makes an All-NBA team in 2021. Its value is based on a projected 3% salary cap increase for 2021/22. Tatum’s final year is a player option.

Brooklyn Nets

  • 2020/21: Kevin Durant ($40,108,950)
  • Total: Kevin Durant (three years, $126,056,700)
    • Note: Durant’s final year is a player option.

Charlotte Hornets

  • 2020/21: Gordon Hayward ($28,500,000)
  • Total: Gordon Hayward (four years, $120,000,000)

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • 2020/21: Kevin Love ($31,258,256)
  • Total: Kevin Love (three years, $91,459,342)

Dallas Mavericks

  • 2020/21: Kristaps Porzingis ($29,467,800)
  • Total: Kristaps Porzingis (four years, $130,968,000)
    • Note: Porzingis’ final year is a player option.

Denver Nuggets

Detroit Pistons

  • 2020/21: Blake Griffin ($36,810,996)
  • Total: Blake Griffin (two years, $75,768,024)
    • Note: Griffin’s final year is a player option.

Golden State Warriors

Read more

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NBA’s Top 50 Highest-Paid Players For 2020/21

January 4th, 2021 at 8:36am CST by Luke Adams

While many of the NBA’s highest-paid players are on contracts considered maximum-salary deals, the 2020/21 salaries for those players vary significantly depending on when the player signed his contract and how much NBA experience he has. That’s why a player like Stephen Curry will earn nearly $16MM more than Brandon Ingram in ’20/21 despite both stars technically being on max deals.

When a player signs a maximum-salary contract, he doesn’t necessarily earn the NBA max for each season of that contract — he earns the max in year one, then gets a series of identical annual raises. In Curry’s case, his 2020/21 salary actually exceeds this year’s maximum, since his deal started in the summer of 2017 and includes 8% annual raises. The annual cap increases haven’t kept up with those 8% raises.

Listed below, with the help of salary data from Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, are the top 50 highest-paid NBA players for the 2020/21 season. The players on this list don’t necessarily have the contracts with the largest overall value. The list below only considers salaries for ’20/21.

Additionally, we’ve noted players who could potentially increase their earnings via incentives or trade bonuses. We didn’t add those notes for players like Curry who have trade bonuses but are already earning the maximum — their salaries for this season can’t increase beyond their max.

The cutoff for a spot on this year’s top-50 list is a $21.25MM salary, so players like Pacers teammates Victor Oladipo ($21MM) and Malcolm Brogdon ($20.7MM) just missed out.

Here are the NBA’s 50 highest-paid players for the 2020/21 season:

  1. Stephen Curry, Warriors: $43,006,362
  2. Chris Paul, Suns: $41,358,814
    Russell Westbrook, Wizards: $41,358,814
  3. James Harden, Rockets: $41,254,920
    John Wall, Rockets: $41,254,920
  4. Kevin Durant, Nets: $40,108,950
  5. LeBron James, Lakers: $39,219,566
  6. Blake Griffin, Pistons: $36,810,996
  7. Paul George, Clippers: $35,450,412
  8. Klay Thompson, Warriors: $35,361,360
  9. Mike Conley, Jazz: $34,502,132
  10. Jimmy Butler, Heat: $34,379,100
    Kawhi Leonard, Clippers: $34,379,100
    Kemba Walker, Celtics: $34,379,100
  11. Tobias Harris, Sixers: $34,358,850
  12. Kyrie Irving, Nets: $33,460,350 (plus incentives; 15% trade kicker)
  13. Khris Middleton, Bucks: $33,051,724
  14. Anthony Davis, Lakers: $32,742,000
  15. Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers: $31,626,953
  16. Kevin Love, Cavaliers: $31,258,256
  17. Pascal Siakam, Raptors: $30,559,200
    Ben Simmons, Sixers: $30,559,200
  18. Kyle Lowry, Raptors: $30,500,000
  19. Steven Adams, Pelicans: $29,592,695
  20. Joel Embiid, Sixers: $29,542,010
    Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: $29,542,010
    Andrew Wiggins, Warriors: $29,542,010
  21. Devin Booker, Suns: $29,467,800
    Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks: $29,467,800
    Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves: $29,467,800
  22. CJ McCollum, Trail Blazers: $29,354,152
  23. Bradley Beal, Wizards: $28,751,774
    Andre Drummond, Cavaliers: $28,751,774
  24. D’Angelo Russell, Timberwolves: $28,649,250
  25. Gordon Hayward, Hornets: $28,500,000
  26. Otto Porter Jr., Bulls: $28,489,239
  27. DeMar DeRozan, Spurs: $27,739,975
  28. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: $27,528,088
  29. Rudy Gobert, Jazz: $27,525,281 (plus incentives)
  30. Al Horford, Thunder: $27,500,000
  31. Brandon Ingram, Pelicans: $27,285,000
    Jamal Murray, Nuggets: $27,285,000
  32. Nikola Vucevic, Magic: $26,000,000
  33. Jrue Holiday, Pelicans: $25,876,111 (plus incentives)
  34. Buddy Hield, Kings: $24,701,834 (plus incentives)
  35. LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs: $24,000,000 (15% trade kicker)
  36. Jaylen Brown, Celtics: $23,735,118 (plus incentives)
  37. Draymond Green, Warriors: $22,246,956 (15% trade kicker)
  38. Harrison Barnes, Kings: $22,215,909
  39. Fred VanVleet, Raptors: $21,250,000

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Are The Suns A Playoff Team?

January 2nd, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Just as they did while going unbeaten at Disney World, the Suns are sporting the best record in the NBA. Phoenix is off to a 5-1 start that includes victories over three playoff teams from last season: the Mavericks, Jazz and Nuggets.

While the results are similar to what they did in Orlando, this is a different Suns team after the offseason trade that brought in Chris Paul. In addition to serving as a veteran presence to guide his younger teammates, Paul remains a high-level point guard at age 35, averaging 13.2 points and 8.7 assists through the season’s first six games.

Paul is surrounded by plenty of weapons, much like he was in Oklahoma City last year. Devin Booker has been one of the league’s most proficient scorers for the past four seasons, and former number one pick Deandre Ayton can be a dominating inside presence. Mikal Bridges looks like one of the league’s most improved players, averaging 15.3 PPG and 5.2 RPG so far.

It has been a long time since the Suns made a serious run at the playoffs. Last year’s 8-0 performance in the bubble only brought their record to 34-39, still short of the ninth-place finish needed to reach the qualifying game. Phoenix hasn’t posted a winning season since going 48-34 in 2013/14 and hasn’t been to the playoffs in 11 years.

Although there’s plenty of optimism in Phoenix, the players realize there’s a long road ahead, Paul told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

“It’s early, it’s early. It’s a long season,” he said. “We always say this, we’re just trying to pile up wins. Just trying to pile up wins. It’s a new format as far as the playoffs and all that this season. So every game matters.” 

We want to get your early-season impression of the Suns. Do they have enough talent to reach the postseason in a Western Conference race that seems to be loaded with good teams? Please leave your answer in the comments section.

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How Teams Are Using 2020/21 Bi-Annual Exceptions

December 31st, 2020 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The bi-annual exception is one of the tools available to NBA teams who are over the cap, giving those clubs the flexibility to offer free agents more than the minimum salary. In 2020/21, the bi-annual exception is worth $3,623,000, and can be used to offer a deal worth up to about $7,427,150 over two years.

However, the bi-annual exception isn’t available to every team. Clubs that go below the cap in order to use cap room lose access to the exception. Additionally, using the BAE imposes a hard cap of $138,928,000 (the tax apron) on a club. So if a team has surpassed the tax apron – or wants to retain the flexibility to do so – that team can’t use the bi-annual exception.

Finally, as its name suggests, the bi-annual exception can’t be used by a team in consecutive years. In 2019/20, four teams used the BAE — the Mavericks (Boban Marjanovic), Pistons (Markieff Morris), Grizzlies (Marko Guduric), and Raptors (Stanley Johnson) As such, the exception isn’t available to those clubs during the 2020/21 league year. They’ll be able to use it again next summer.

With all those factors in mind, here’s a breakdown of how teams are using – or not using – their respective bi-annual exceptions in 2020/21:

Available Bi-Annual Exceptions:

Unused:

  • Boston Celtics
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Houston Rockets
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Miami Heat
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Orlando Magic
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • Sacramento Kings
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Utah Jazz
  • Washington Wizards

Although all of these teams technically have the ability to use their bi-annual exceptions at some point in 2020/21, it’s more realistic for some than others. For instance, the Rockets are right up against a hard cap and still have nearly $7MM of their mid-level exception available, so there’s virtually no chance they’ll be using the BAE this season, even if they shed a little salary.

Used:

So far, the Nuggets, Lakers, and Bucks are the only teams that won’t have the bi-annual exception available to them during the 2021/22 league year after using it this season.

Unavailable Bi-Annual Exceptions:

Went under cap:

  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Charlotte Hornets
  • New York Knicks

These three teams forfeited their right to the bi-annual exception when they went under the cap and used space this offseason.

Over tax apron:

  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Philadelphia 76ers

In theory, major cost-cutting moves by the Nets, Warriors, and Sixers could put them in position to use their bi-annual exceptions. In actuality though, that possibility is remote.

Used last year:

  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Detroit Pistons
  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • Toronto Raptors

As noted in the intro, these are the four teams that used their bi-annual exceptions in 2019/20 and won’t have them again until 2021/22 as a result.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Community Shootaround: Which Coaches Will Be On Hot Seat In 2021?

December 31st, 2020 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

The last year has been a particularly active one for NBA head coaching changes — of the league’s 30 teams, 10 have hired new coaches since the start of 2020, including nine since July.

[RELATED: Longest-Tenured NBA Head Coaches]

Typically, a leaguewide coaching overhaul like the one we’ve seen in 2020 is followed by a period of relative quiet, as those new head coaches get an opportunity to prove their value. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t see any in-season head coaching changes in 2020/21.

In-season coaching changes typically occur when a coach has been on the job for multiple years and is leading an underachieving team. If the coach was hired by a previous front office regime, that’s often a point against him as well, since it won’t necessarily reflect poorly on the current head of basketball operations if he has to replace that coach and bring in his own choice.

It’s probably safe to assume the 10 coaches that were hired in 2020 are safe for the time being. A handful of the league’s longest-tenured coaches, including Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra, and Rick Carlisle, appear untouchable too. And there’s a group of coaches – including Frank Vogel, Nick Nurse, Brad Stevens, and Michael Malone, among others – whose recent achievements will ensure they have a very long rope going forward.

After eliminating all of those coaches from the discussion and paring down the remaining group a little further, I see Wizards coach Scott Brooks, Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders, and Kings coach Luke Walton as a few candidates to find themselves on the hot seat later in the season if things don’t go well for their respective clubs.

All three coaches were hired by a previous head of basketball operations and all three are facing pressure to improve upon last season’s results.

Of the three, Brooks may have the most tenuous hold on his position. The Wizards surrendered a future first-round pick in their offseason trade for Russell Westbrook and are highly motivated to make it back to the postseason and convince Bradley Beal that it makes sense for him to stay in D.C. long-term. Brooks was hired by Ernie Grunfeld, so if things go from bad to worse following the team’s 0-4 start, new head of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard may feel pressure to make a change.

Unlike Brooks, who was hired back in 2016, Saunders and Walton were hired in 2019, which is one reason why I believe they’re probably not on shaky ground quite yet — replacing them in 2020/21 would mean not even giving them two full seasons to show what they can do.

Gersson Rosas could have replaced Saunders in 2019 when the Wolves coach only held the position on an interim basis, but opted instead to make him the permanent coach. Everything Rosas has said since then suggests he’s close with Saunders and feels he’s the right man for the job. And despite owner Glen Taylor‘s playoff hopes, Rosas likely recognizes that there’s a ceiling on what Saunders can do with the current roster — especially if Karl-Anthony Towns continues to battle injury issues.

As for Walton, the Kings didn’t make any splashy roster upgrades during the offseason, so it’s not as if they have short-term championship expectations. As long as Walton can keep the team in the mix for a top-10 spot in the conference, he should be safe for the time being. He’s off to a good start — the Kings are 3-1, with a pair of impressive wins over Denver.

Given their current rosters, expectations likely aren’t sky-high for Dwane Casey (Pistons) this season, so as long as Detroit’s youngsters show positive growth, he should be safe. Three more Southeast coaches – James Borrego (Hornets), Lloyd Pierce (Hawks), and Steve Clifford (Magic) – could be on the hot seat if their teams significantly underachieve this season, but all three (especially Clifford) are off to good starts.

What do you think? Which coaches do you think could find themselves on the hot seat during the 2020/21 season? Do you think we’ll see any in-season coaching changes? If so, which team will be the first to make a move?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

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How Teams Are Using 2020/21 Mid-Level Exceptions

December 30th, 2020 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to receiving approximately $109MM in cap room and being allowed to surpass that threshold in order to sign players using Bird Rights or the minimum salary exception, each NBA team also receives a mid-level exception. The value of this exception varies depending on a club’s total team salary.

A team that goes under the cap to use its available cap room, for instance, receives only a modest form of the MLE known as the room exception. An over-the-cap team receives the full mid-level exception, unless that team is also over the tax apron, in which case it gets a taxpayer version of the MLE that falls in between the full MLE and the room exception. We detailed the exact values of each form of mid-level exception earlier this offseason, but here’s a quick breakdown:

  • Room exception: Can be used for contracts up to two years, with a starting salary worth up to $4,767,000.
  • Taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to three years, with a starting salary worth up to $5,718,000.
  • Full/non-taxpayer mid-level exception: Can be used for contracts up to four years, with a starting salary worth up to $9,258,000.
    • Note: Though its name suggests otherwise, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception doesn’t mean a team can’t or won’t be above the tax line ($132.63MM) at season’s end; it simply means the team’s total salary can’t surpass the tax “apron” ($138.93MM).

Now that nearly all of the NBA’s teams have used up their cap space, it’s worth keeping an eye on which teams still have part or all of their mid-level exceptions available, which we’ll do in the space below. This list will be kept up to date throughout the 2020/21 league year.

Note: As of February 27, the value of the exceptions below began to prorate downward by 1/146th per day.

Here’s where things currently stand:

Mid-Level Exception:

Non-taxpayer: $9,258,000
Taxpayer: $5,718,000

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

  • Used: $399,591 (Alize Johnson)
  • Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.

Chicago Bulls

Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks

Denver Nuggets

Golden State Warriors

  • Used: $2,250,000 (Brad Wanamaker)
  • Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

Milwaukee Bucks

Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Used: $0

New Orleans Pelicans

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

Philadelphia 76ers

  • Used: $898,310 (Isaiah Joe), $609,128 (Paul Reed)
  • Note: Limited to taxpayer mid-level exception.

Phoenix Suns

Portland Trail Blazers

Sacramento Kings

San Antonio Spurs

Toronto Raptors

Utah Jazz

Washington Wizards

Room Exception:

Available: $4,767,000

Atlanta Hawks

Charlotte Hornets

  • Used: $0

Detroit Pistons

New York Knicks

  • Used: $0

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android

December 30th, 2020 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

If you enjoy Hoops Rumors on your smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out our free Trade Rumors app!

Trade Rumors, available for iOS and Android, is the best way to consume our content on a mobile device. Here’s what it delivers, all for free:

  • All the articles from Hoops Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors in an easy-to-navigate, eye-catching format. Swipe through stories to quickly consume all the news and rumors from our four sites. Not into all four sports? No problem – any sport can be easily removed.
  • Customize what you see. You can create feeds for any team or player across any of our sites.
  • Notifications. For any team or player, you can set up push notifications to ensure you always get breaking news instantly. Notifications can also be set up at the sport level.
  • Commenting. You can read and contribute comments on the app seamlessly.
  • Customer service. If you find a bug, we’ll fix it. If you have a feature request, we’ll consider it. The app is continually evolving and improving.
  • Did we mention Trade Rumors is a free app? What do you have to lose? Download it now!
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Recap Of 2021/22 Rookie Scale Option Decisions

December 30th, 2020 at 8:19am CST by Luke Adams

Decisions on rookie scale options for the 2021/22 season were due on Tuesday — any team that wanted to exercise a third- or fourth-year option on a player for next season was required to do so by last night.

As is typically the case, a huge majority of those options were picked up. Even for top picks, who are paid higher salaries due to the NBA’s rookie scale, those third- and fourth-year options are relatively team-friendly. So unless a player has fallen well short of his team’s expectations, it generally makes sense to lock in his salary for the following season at this point.

However, not every player with a 2021/22 team option had it exercised by Tuesday’s deadline. The players who had those options declined will now be on track to reach unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2021, assuming they’re not waived before then. At the end of the season, their teams won’t be able to offer them starting salaries that exceed the value of their declined options.

Listed below are the players who had their options turned down, followed by the players whose options were exercised. If a player had his option picked up, his ’21/22 salary is now guaranteed and he won’t be eligible for free agency until at least 2022.

Declined options:

Note: These players will become unrestricted free agents in 2021.

In addition to these four players who remain under contract for the 2020/21 season, three players who had rookie scale team options on their contracts for ’21/22 were waived during the offseason. Those players were Zhaire Smith (cut by Pistons), Dzanan Musa (Pistons), and Jacob Evans (Knicks). Their options were automatically voided once they cleared waivers.

Exercised options:

Fourth year:

Note: These players will become eligible for rookie scale extensions on August 2, 2021. If they’re not extended, they’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2022.

Third year:

Note: Teams will have to make fourth-year option decisions for 2022/23 on these players next year (exact deadline TBD).

For a team-by-team breakdown of this year’s rookie scale option decisions for the 2021/22 season, along with full stories on each decision, you can check out our tracker.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Poll: Which Team Will Remain Undefeated Longest?

December 29th, 2020 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re one week into the NBA’s 2020/21 season, and just four of the league’s 30 teams have yet to lose a game. A handful of Eastern Conference teams – the Pacers, Magic, Hawks, and Cavaliers – make up that unlikely foursome.

While all four of those clubs are 3-0, they may not be undefeated much longer. This NBA season has been an unpredictable one so far, with unexpected blowouts and upsets taking place on a nightly basis. And as good as these teams have looked so far, I don’t expect any of them to be a powerhouse this season — it seems unlikely that we’ll see a 10-0 run to start the season.

Here are the upcoming schedules for each of the NBA’s four undefeated teams:

  • Indiana Pacers: vs. BOS (12/29), vs. CLE (12/31), vs. NYK (1/2), at NOP (1/4), vs. HOU (1/6)
  • Orlando Magic: at OKC (12/29), vs. PHI (12/31), vs. OKC (1/2), vs. CLE (1/4), vs. CLE (1/6)
  • Atlanta Hawks: at BKN (12/30), at BKN (1/1), vs. CLE (1/2), vs. NYK (1/4), vs. CHA (1/6)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: vs. NYK (12/29), at IND (12/31), at ATL (1/2), at ORL (1/4), at ORL (1/6)

We want to know what you think: Which of these four undefeated teams will be the last to lose a game?

While it may be tempting to write off the Magic and Cavaliers, given their modest preseason expectations, the Pacers and Hawks have tough games on tap — Indiana will have to beat a Boston team that it squeaked past by a single point on Sunday, while Atlanta will be facing a rested Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn tomorrow.

Of the four undefeated teams, the Cavaliers have the most favorable fourth game (at home vs. the Knicks), but they’re missing power forward Kevin Love. And even if they get past New York, they improbably have games on tap against the other three undefeated clubs.

A year ago, the Sixers were the only team in the NBA to win more than three consecutive games to start the season. Will multiple squads do it this year? And which will remain undefeated the longest?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your predictions!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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