NBA Standings 2021: Heat, Warriors, Jazz Emerge As Early Championship Contenders

In what could be a wide-open race toward the 2022 NBA Finals, a handful of teams have emerged as early championship contenders. The Miami Heat (6-1), Utah Jazz (6-1) and Golden State Warriors (5-1) are at the top of the 2021 standings two weeks into the season.

The Chicago Bulls (6-1) are tied with Miami for the best record in the Eastern Conference, though they aren’t yet viewed as serious title threats. The Brooklyn Nets (4-3) and Los Angeles Lakers (5-3) are considered to be the clear favorites in the East and West, respectively.

Utah and Golden State are given the best odds to challenge Los Angeles in the West. Miami’s odds have skyrocketed with their hot start, putting the Heat behind only the Nets and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks (4-4).

Miami has put together a string of consecutive impressive road wins, defeating Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks (4-3), as well as Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies (4-3) by 41 combined points. Four of Miami’s six wins have come against teams that made last season’s playoffs.

The Heat have the NBA’s best point differential, outscoring their opponents by an average of 16.7 points per game. Jimmy Butler is an early MVP candidate with averages of 25 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo are both scoring more than 20 points per game, while new addition Kyle Lowry leads the team with an average of 7.5 assists.

Miami has the NBA’s best defensive rating and the No. 2 offensive rating. Utah is the only other team with a top-five offensive and defensive rating. The Jazz rank second with an 11.9-point differential.

Utah has picked up where it left off last regular season. The Jazz posted an NBA-best 52-20 record before being upset in the second round of the playoffs. Donovan Mitchell leads the team with 24.9 points per game, and four other Utah players are averaging at least 14.4 points per contest.

The Jazz’s only loss was a road game in Chicago.

Golden State’s hot start is a bit unexpected, given that Klay Thompson still hasn’t returned from the torn Achilles that forced him to miss a second straight season. The Warriors’ defense has led the way, ranking second with 98.7 points allowed per 100 possessions.

After winning last season’s scoring title, Stephen Curry leads all players with 28.7 points per game. Damion Lee has been a pleasant surprise with 14.2 points per game on 46.2% shooting from three-point range. Draymond Green leads the Warriors with 8.7 rebounds, 7 assists and 1.2 blocks per game.

The Lakers are third in the West standings behind the Jazz and Warriors.