The NBA has had an incredible start to the season. This weekend included a ridiculous showdown between Victor Wembanyama, Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Plus, the NBA Cup has become genuinely compelling. I promise! But first, we start with the extended version of the NBA Stock Report, a Monday staple in The Bounce. That’s our free NBA newsletter that you can sign up for and receive every day in your inbox. Let’s rewind!
NBA stock report extended
📈 Detroit Pistons (11-2). The hottest team in basketball! Not the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not the Denver Nuggets. The Pistons are riding a nine-game winning streak, and they’re doing it with a whole lot of defense. They’re also doing it lately without their top players in the lineup. They beat the Chicago Bulls without Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey, Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart. Then they turned around and beat the Philadelphia 76ers with Stewart back while still missing the other five. J.B. Bickerstaff has everybody on this squad living up to the “next man up” mentality.
They don’t worry about fouling. Detroit is here to rough you up and make you complain about it. The Pistons allow one of the highest free-throw rates in the league, but that appears to be by design. The Pistons allow the NBA’s third-lowest 2-point percentage and the fourth-lowest average points in the paint. The longest win streak in franchise history is 13 games, which happened in Detroit’s 2004 and 1990 championship seasons. This Pistons squad would need to win against the Indiana Pacers at home on Monday, at the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, at the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday and at Indiana the following Monday to tie that streak. It’s doable, especially if some of their main guys return.
📉 The bottom of the East (4-35). Things are grim on the opposite end of the East standings. The Pacers (1-12), Washington Wizards (1-12) and Brooklyn Nets (2-11) entered Sunday’s action a combined 3-34, and one of the three was guaranteed a win because the Nets and Wizards played each other. Although if any two teams could have found a way to both lose that game, it would be these two. (The Nets won.) This has been truly awful basketball that makes fans feel like giving up the search for silver linings.
The Pacers’ demise has been understandable. They have so many injuries that they’ve had to sign players out of hardship exceptions. If you watch a game and recognize a player, it feels like you got a prize from a cereal box (is that still a thing?). Their offense is putrid, and they can’t make shots (30 percent on 3-pointers, 30th in the league). It’s early, but Brooklyn is on pace to be the worst defensive team we’ve ever seen. You’re probably thinking it’s because they have five first-round picks from the 2025 draft on the roster. Maybe! But they’re also really just playing Egor Demin out of that group. The Wizards already have an 11-game losing streak on the books this season, but at least Alex Sarr looks really good.
Devin Booker and the Suns are exceeding modest expectations. (Allan Henry / Imagn Images)
📈 Phoenix Suns (8-6). Don’t look now, but the Phoenix Suns are hot! They’ve won five of their last six after losing to the Hawks on Sunday and are climbing the Western Conference standings. First, let’s pour a little cold water on this before we warm it back up. The competition for the Suns, as of late, hasn’t exactly been like wrestling Frank Costanza in the Festivus feats of strength. They beat a broken LA Clippers team twice, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Dallas Mavericks and the Pacers before the loss against Atlanta. Winning those games is something a good team should do.
Still, the Suns weren’t expected to be good. They might have to be regarded as that now. Both their offense and defense during this stretch have been some of the best in the league. Devin Booker is carving teams up, as you’d expect. Grayson Allen and Dillon Brooks are also lighting their opponents up, and Mark Williams has been a steadying force in the paint. Jordan Ott has this team executing well, and it’s a much-needed boost with Jalen Green out for a bit. Their next dozen games should reveal how real this team’s chances are, but the Suns are cooking.
📉 Chicago Bulls (6-6). The Bulls are just 1-6 since their 5-0 start, but the slide is pretty reasonable. They’ve lost games to the New York Knicks, Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, Pistons and Utah Jazz. Although the Pistons loss, as mentioned above, came against a team playing without its top six players. That’s not quite as excusable. The Bulls extended their losing streak to five with the loss to Utah. They also just got Coby White back into the mix, as he made his season debut against Utah. Things are absolutely going to get better for the Bulls with the return of one of their top guys to the lineup. Their schedule has been super interesting, though.
The Bulls have played just two games against below-.500 squads. They’re 1-1 in those games. Every other contest has come against a non-losing team. Maybe their 6-6 record doesn’t blow you away, but they’ve had one of the toughest schedules in the NBA.
📈 Denver Nuggets (10-2). The Nuggets have won seven straight games and are the second-hottest team in basketball. I don’t think anybody is surprised to see Denver with such a gaudy record after it reloaded the roster to address many of the needs from last season. The key lately has been Denver’s non-Nikola Jokić minutes. Those have been a massive problem for the Nuggets since … well … since Jokić became a star. We’re talking years of waiting to see if the Nuggets could just be decent and not entirely detrimental when Big Honey rests.
This season, the Nuggets are plus-19.3 points per 100 possessions with Jokić on the floor, because of course they are. But they’re just minus-1.5 per 100 possessions without Jokić, and they’ve been a positive without him on the floor in four of the last five games. The one negative game happened the night he dropped 55 on the Clippers. It’s not fixed, but it’s looking far less severe.
📉 Memphis Grizzlies (4-10). Is anybody else getting sad thinking about the Grizzlies? For a few years, they looked dangerous and on the cusp of possibly figuring things out. A lot has happened, both on and off the court, since. The Grizzlies have lost eight of their last nine games, and now Ja Morant is dealing with another injury. Memphis has a lot of good, young role players, but it’s not in a place where it can expect to keep winning when the team’s stars miss time. On top of all this, Morant has been down lately and was suspended by the team for criticizing the coaches after a loss.
The Grizzlies can’t really beat anybody good. They’re 1-9 against non-losing teams this season. That one win was against the Suns, who have only recently caught fire. If the schedule softens up, maybe Memphis can rally a bit, but the situation looks rough. The Grizzlies will most likely keep their first-round pick, so maybe this will help them get another cornerstone?
The Big Story: The stare down and the showdown
Friday night brought an incredible NBA Cup game (more about the Cup below) between the Spurs and the Golden State Warriors. The game had just about everything you’d want. It was the second straight game for the Warriors in San Antonio, as they played one of those baseball-style series to help reduce travel. The Warriors won the first game on Wednesday, 125-120, with Curry scoring 46 points to combat Wembanyama (31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists) and Stephon Castle (23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) both going for triple-doubles — the first time in franchise history teammates each went for the triple-dip.
That set the stage for Friday. Once again, Wemby and Steph put on a show. Curry had 49 points, running his total in that two-game stretch to 95 points on 29 of 51 from the field, 14 of 33 from 3 and 23 of 24 from the line. The most viral moment of the night happened in the fourth quarter. Draymond Green blocked a Wembanyama shot and was pretty fired up, as you might suspect.
Then, on an inbounds play after some jockeying for position, Wemby spun off Green’s contact, went up for the lob as Green grabbed him, and dunked it on his head. Immediately, Wembanyama screamed in Green’s face. Draymond looked up at Wemby, and they exchanged words. Both stood their ground, and eventually Jeremy Sochan came in to break up … a great moment?
IF THIS WOULD’VE COUNTED 🤯 #NBAonPrime
Watch Warriors-Spurs on @PrimeVideo pic.twitter.com/El0AT1GhGL
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) November 15, 2025
The shot of Wemby looking down at Draymond and Green looking up at him smiling was phenomenal. Jared Weiss wrote about the moment and had these two quotes. First from Draymond:
“I respect the way he responded. You don’t ever back down from anybody, and he didn’t. So I respect that.”
Then this from Wemby:
“I was not trying to prove anything to anybody. It’s just, at some point, just like anybody, for me at least, somebody speaks to you a certain way, you have to respond in a certain way. That’s just how it is.”
I believe it from Green. I’m not sure I believe the first part from Wemby. His play seems to continue to send a message to the basketball world that this is going to eventually end badly for everybody. Unfortunately for the Spurs, that’s not what happened that night. Curry was incredible, and the Spurs didn’t score on key possessions down the stretch, as Wemby didn’t get the ball twice in spots he should have. The Warriors won 109-108 to send their own message.
Of course, there was one more quote with Draymond that was awesome until he played the victim at the end of it.
“It’s good to see him show emotion. I like when guys show emotion. I just wish that if I can yell in someone’s face and then a teammate can come grab me and nothing happens — because if I yell in someone’s face and grab someone, I get suspended indefinitely.”
There was one more key moment late in Friday’s game. With 36 seconds left, Curry attacked Wemby in transition. He dropped a dime to Jimmy Butler, who was streaking down the right side of the floor. Butler did everything correctly against a shot blocker. He put his shoulder into Wemby’s chest. He shielded the layup attempt with his body. And he got it off cleanly. Wemby still blocked it.
This Wemby block on Butler drew an audible OMG from me alone in my apartment 😂
But Steph got the last laugh with the clutch FTs to cap another huge night. And shoutout GP2 getting the last stop after TWO 3’s in crunch time. What a game #NBACup
— Dave Giovanazzi (@SF_DavidGio) November 15, 2025
What an incredible game with amazing moments. Wemby sent a message. The Warriors reminded everybody, especially the young and upcoming opponent, who they still are. And ultimately, we got another furious finish in this early season full of so much drama.
The Week Ahead: NBA Cupdate
Less than two weeks of group play remain for the 2025 NBA Cup. And I don’t care if a lot of basketball fans don’t obsess about it yet. I think people care much more about the NBA Cup once it’s single-elimination time. Fans haven’t quite jumped into group play and point-differential tracking. Considering we’re three years into the NBA Cup, I’d imagine that will start within the next couple of years. People are still busy complaining about the courts (many with good reason). I’m still psyched for it, so I’m going to update you on where things stand in group play.
We have four more nights of NBA Cup group play. There will be Cup games this Friday and on Nov. 25, Nov. 26 and Nov. 28. Remember, each group winner moves on to the single-elimination round along with one wild card from each conference. Let’s run through each group and figure out where this is headed:
East Group A
- Toronto Raptors | 2-0 | +23 | Win at Cavs, Win at Hawks
- Cleveland Cavaliers | 1-1 | +22 | Loss to Raptors, Win at Wizards
- Atlanta Hawks | 1-1 | +8 | Win at Pacers, Loss to Raptors
- Indiana Pacers | 0-1 | -20 | Loss to Hawks
- Washington Wizards | 0-1 | -33 | Loss to Cavs
Analysis: The Cavs messed up in the first game by getting smacked by the Raptors, and now they need either the lowly Pacers or Wizards to beat Toronto to have a chance at winning the group. The Hawks need that to happen as well, and they can help their own cause by beating Cleveland on the final night of group play. The Raptors got the toughest part out of the way, so one more win will hand them the group.
Prediction: I don’t see the Raptors messing this up, so I expect them to win the group. Cleveland is in a good position with the point differential to make a move for the wild card, but it has to win out. Atlanta needs to beat Cleveland and blow out the Wizards to have a good chance at the wild card.
East Group B
- Detroit Pistons | 2-0 | +27 | Win at Nets, Win over 76ers
- Orlando Magic | 2-0 | +20 | Win over Celtics, Win over Nets
- Boston Celtics | 1-1 | -12| Win at 76ers, Loss at Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers | 0-2 | -10 | Loss to Celtics, Loss at Pistons
- Brooklyn Nets | 0-2 | -25 | Loss to Pistons, Loss at Magic
Analysis: Most likely, the winner of the Pistons-Magic game on Nov. 28 will settle this group. The Celtics could make some noise if they beat Detroit. However, they’d need Orlando to lose to Philly and Detroit to swing the group. The good news for Detroit is that its game against Orlando is at home. However, the easy part of their group play is done. Both Orlando and Detroit are in a great position for the wild card, as well.
Prediction: I believe in this Pistons team right now. A lot more than this Magic squad. I’ll take the Pistons winning the group, but Orlando can absolutely take the wild card.
East Group C
- Milwaukee Bucks | 2-0 | +16 | Win over Bulls, Win over Hornets
- Chicago Bulls | 1-1 | -6 | Win over Knicks, Loss at Bucks
- New York Knicks | 1-1 | -2 | Loss at Bulls, Win over Heat
- Miami Heat | 1-1 | +10 | Win over Hornets, Loss at Knicks
- Charlotte Hornets | 0-2 | -18 | Loss at Heat, Loss at Bucks
Analysis: Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Milwaukee is ahead in group play. The Bucks are 10-0 all-time in NBA Cup group play. They have two tough ones remaining against the Knicks and Heat if they want to remain perfect and win their group once again. Chicago and New York need big wins the rest of the way to advance either to win the group or the wild card. Miami winning out would give it a great chance at taking the group.
Prediction: I’ll roll with history and say the Bucks win the group.
West Group A
- Minnesota Timberwolves | 2-0 | +54 | Win over Jazz, Win over Kings
- OKC Thunder | 1-0 | +31 | Win at Kings
- Phoenix Suns | 1-0 | +22 | Win over Jazz
- Sacramento Kings | 0-2 | -45 | Loss to Thunder, Loss at Wolves
- Utah Jazz | 0-2 | -62 | Loss at Suns, Loss at Wolves
Analysis: Minnesota has taken care of business. The Timberwolves have played the two really bad members of this group and trounced them. A 40-point win over Utah helped build up that differential. OKC already has an amazing differential after one game. Minnesota will likely have to beat OKC to win the group. Phoenix also had its way with and gave itself a chance to make some noise.
Prediction: How can you bet against the Thunder this season? I’ll take them winning the group, but I like Minnesota’s chance at the wild card.
West Group B
- Los Angeles Lakers | 2-0 | +19 | Win at Grizzlies, Win at Pelicans
- LA Clippers | 2-0 | +2 | Win over Pelicans, Win at Mavs
- Memphis Grizzlies | 1-1 | +9 | Loss to Lakers, Win over Mavs
- Dallas Mavericks | 0-2 | -14 | Loss at Grizzlies, Loss to Clippers
- New Orleans Pelicans | 0-2 | -16 | Loss at Clippers, Loss to Lakers
Analysis: Memphis has a chance if it wins out, but it needs the Clippers to beat the Lakers. This group likely comes down to the Battle of Los Angeles, and I’ll take the Lakers in that scenario. Unless the Clippers can get Kawhi Leonard healthy soon.
Prediction: I’ll take the Lakers.
West Group C
- Denver Nuggets | 1-1 | +23 | Loss at Blazers, Win over Warriors
- Houston Rockets | 1-1 | +13 | Loss at Spurs, Win over Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs | 1-1 | +10 | Win over Rockets, Loss to Warriors
- Portland Trail Blazers | 1-1 | -22 | Win over Nuggets, Loss at Rockets
- Golden State Warriors | 1-1 | -24 | Loss at Nuggets, Win at Spurs
Analysis: I have absolutely no idea what will happen in this group. Most likely, it’s going to be either Denver, Houston or San Antonio because of the current differentials.
Prediction: I’ll go with Denver, just because of Jokić.
