With one month of the season in the books, let's take a look at the top performers so far.
1. Best team of the first month of the season is ...
Kevin Arnovitz: Toronto. When you look at the composition of the Raps' roster, it doesn't look like an elite squad. But right now there isn't a team in the league better at controlling possessions on both sides of the ball. The Raptors don't make bad decisions, and they know how to find good looks for their best guys. This might not be luxury German machinery, but it looks like it can go 300,000 miles without a hitch.
Ramona Shelburne: Memphis. The Grizzlies have stormed out to the best record in the league (including a 9-0 mark vs. West teams) with the same core group that's been gritting and grinding away for years. The key has been Memphis' new ability to get down the court and into its incredibly efficient offense quicker now. Credit the offseason conditioning work Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph put in for that.
Marc Stein: Golden State. Or so it says in the latest edition of ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings. Memphis and Toronto obviously have a claim, too. Portland is playing the best basketball no one is even talking about and Houston has lost only once when Dwight Howard is in uniform. The Warriors, though, are going to move into December sporting one of the league's top three defensive units to complement all that offensive firepower. Great start.
Mike Wallace: Golden State. What we're seeing over the Warriors' impressive start is an ability to consistently defend in key stretches of games. At times, their defense is as dominant as their lethal offense. And, by the way, despite the rhetoric in Cleveland and Washington, it should be obvious Steph Curry and Klay Thompson form the NBA's best backcourt.
Brian Windhorst: Golden State. We know the Warriors are a great offensive team but they've really turned themselves into a top-shelf defensive team. They are second in the league in defensive rating at the moment. And they're off to a great start despite a road-heavy schedule over the first month. All of their indicators are in the green.
2. Best player of the first month of the season is ...
Arnovitz: What if I told you that we could create a basketball player who had legitimate range at 27 feet, could post a true shooting percentage of 65, had an exceptional handle and didn't hurt you defensively at the point? We'd call the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and register this invention as Wardell Stephen Curry.
Shelburne: Steph Curry. While Anthony Davis' 34.52 player efficiency rating is historically good, the Pelicans are just 7-6 so far. I'll give the nod to the best player on one of the NBA's best teams: Curry, who has been downright sublime in the season's first month with a .653 true shooting percentage, which is amazing for a perimeter player. He's also noticeably improved his defense.
Stein: Anthony Davis. I see at least six candidates for Player of the Month in the Western Conference: DeMarcus Cousins, Steph Curry, Marc Gasol, James Harden, Damian Lillard and Davis. But this is worded in a way that we really aren't obliged to acknowledge team success or any other factors besides individual brilliance. So let's make it easy and go with the only guy in the league boasting a PER above 30: Davis at a robust 34.52.
Wallace: Anthony Davis. He's no longer a dark horse MVP candidate. The Pelicans big man should be considered a legit front-runner for the award as long as he keeps New Orleans at or above the .500 mark. Davis leads the league in blocks, is top 3 in scoring and ranks among the leaders in rebounding. There's not a player in the game having a greater impact on both ends of the floor.
Windhorst: Anthony Davis. He's arriving right on schedule, exploding in his third season like we've seen so many superstars do in the past. He's been dominant defensively, and he's getting to that level on offense. I considered saying Boogie Cousins here, which is saying something for him, too.
3. Best coach of the first month of the season is ...
Arnovitz: Dwane Casey. He doesn't have a collection of perfect pieces. Apart from Lou Williams, Toronto basically has the same roster it did when it unloaded Rudy Gay last December. But in the year since the trade, Casey has constructed an offense and a defense that takes into account the limitations of his players, maximizes what they do well and minimizes what they don't. This is as professional an environment as exists in the Eastern Conference.
Shelburne: You're just not supposed to be able to come down out of the broadcast booth and have as much success as a rookie coach as Steve Kerr is having in Golden State. You're also not supposed to be able to switch teams under questionable circumstances and turn around one of the worst teams in the league as fast as Jason Kidd has in Milwaukee.
Then there's Tom Thibodeau, who has managed more drama in the season's first month than anyone else, but still has the Bulls looking like championship contenders. How do you choose between these guys? I'll just roll with Kerr and the front-running Warriors for now.
Stein: Jason Kidd. Who had Milwaukee coming out of Thanksgiving with a record of 9-7 and ranking fifth overall in defensive efficiency? No one I know. He's managing his young team well and, in addition to his work with Jabari and Giannis, appears to be reaching the rejuvenated Larry Sanders and O.J. Mayo. The Bucks and the Pacers are the East's pleasant surprises.
Wallace: Dwane Casey. Keep overlooking and underappreciating the Toronto Raptors at your own risk. It's a reckless approach to basketball. Casey should have gotten more recognition for the job he did last season in leading the Raptors back to the playoffs. Now, they're sitting comfortably atop the East standings with a balanced attack and a team full of players who know and accept their roles.
Windhorst: Rick Carlisle. His roster gets a makeover every year, and every year he figures out ways to maximize it. The Mavs are once again integrating players, especially Tyson Chandler, who has returned to the alley-ooping ways he became known for during his days in New Orleans.
4. Best rookie of the first month of the season is ...
Arnovitz: Jabari Parker. Orlando big man Aaron Gordon was looking terrific until he went down with a foot injury, which left the presumptive ROY favorite in Milwaukee as the class of the field. Parker still has plenty of work to do, but already he's challenging defenses with his strength and ability to attack. Simply put, he's one of the only rookies in the class that a defense genuinely has to worry about.
Shelburne: Jabari Parker, who is probably going to end up as the Rookie of the Year. But it's also been fun to watch Nerlens Noel, Andrew Wiggins and Dante Exum, and picture what they could become one day. There's not much for the winless Sixers to feel good about these days, but between Noel and second-round find K.J. McDaniels, there is some hope.
Stein: Steve Kerr. What he's done with a team that won 51 games last season, spicing things up offensively without losing anything on D, will certainly make him the choice for some in the previous question ahead of Kidd, Dwane Casey, Terry Stotts and Frank Vogel. And I know you wanted a player's name here, but Kerr's work has been too good to put one of the kids ahead of him. They'll have their time.
Wallace: Jabari Parker. Bucks coach Jason Kidd is making the No. 2 overall pick earn every second of his playing time late in games. Sometimes, that's led to a great view from the bench for Parker. But he has made steady progress on one of the more surprising teams in the league and was the first rookie in 30 years to notch two double-doubles in his first three NBA games.
Windhorst: Jabari Parker. Pickings are somewhat slim here, but Parker has been reasonably under control. He's not shooting as much as I thought he would, which is good, and he's been helping the Bucks win, which is also good. I have also been pleasantly surprised by Miami's Shabazz Napier, who is adjusting to the NBA game faster than I thought he would.
5. Best storyline of the first month of the season is ...
Arnovitz: Anyone have any idea who's going to win it all in June? It's not unusual for dark horses to jump out of the gate or for a mystery guest to post a big November. But I can't remember a season when, one month in, the favorites were this vulnerable, and eight other teams could realistically appraise their prospects and say with a straight face, "We're right in this thing."
Shelburne: It's been fascinating to watch Kobe's tragic samurai act in Los Angeles, the Cavaliers' growing pains and Derrick Rose's false starts. But I'm in a more positive mood today after the holiday, so I'm going to choose the coming of age of Anthony Davis. I love checking the schedule each night to see which big man AD is playing. There's been Brow versus Boogie, Brow versus LaMarcus, Brow versus Duncan. This is how it used to be when Shaq was on his way up in Orlando and testing himself against the likes of Patrick Ewing or Hakeem Olajuwon.
Stein: That it didn't take long for several soap operas to suck us in. Cleveland's struggles. Philadelphia's futility. Derrick Rose's ongoing health woes. Oklahoma City's deep hole in the standings without the injured KD and Russ. You could throw the surreal state of Kobe's Lakers in there to make it five absorbing situations stealing the spotlight from teams off to the best starts in their history like Memphis and Toronto.
Wallace: Kobe's mission. It's still not clear if Kobe is taking aim on the NBA career scoring record or many of his detractors this season, but he is truly firing on all cylinders. It speaks to Kobe's elite star power that the Lakers are a complete mess and Kobe is still can't-miss TV. It's equal parts circus act and train wreck, but Kobe somehow keeps the show relevant and rolling to a town near you.
Windhorst: Mr. Boogie Cousins, who continues to show maturity and has helped the Kings be relevant for the first time in a decade. His two early matchups with Davis were enjoyable to watch. He has been a top-five player over the first month and is working on his first All-Star selection. Of course with Cousins you have to wait and see because he's forced us to be careful with him, but he's also earned praise.