The 2015-2016 NBA season is not yet a week old and there have already been numerous storylines and surprises. The first addition of Best and Worst from this Week in the NBA will examine who's hot and who's not in this young season.
* All stats provided prior to Monday night's slate of games.
Best Team
The Detroit Pistons opened up their season on the road against the Atlanta Hawks. The Pistons, who won just 32 games last season and lost Greg Monroe to free agency this summer, came out with a 106-94 win on opening night. The Hawks, who were the best team in the Eastern Conference a season ago, could not handle Andre Drummond and the Pistons. Stan Van Gundy had five players reach double figures, led by 21 points by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
A different player has led the team in scoring in each of the first three games of the season for the Pistons, who have yet to lose. Drummond grabbed 19 rebounds on opening night and is coming off a 20-rebound performance against the Chicago Bulls. He shared Player of the Week honors with Stephen Curry.
One of two teams in the East who are currently undefeated, the 3-0 Pistons have beaten two of the best teams in the conference from last season and have been the most surprising success stories thus far.
Worst Team
The Houston Rockets are one of three teams in the Western Conference who have lost their first three games without recording a victory. Not only that, they have lost by exactly 20 points in each contest. The first two games of the season for Kevin McHale's team were at home against the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors. They then went on the road and lost to the Miami Heat 109-89.
The Rockets have allowed over 100 points to all three of their opponents this season, largely a result of the absence of Dwight Howard. Howard has played in just one game so far, in which he scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. While Howard was suspended for the first game of the season, the Rockets rested him against the Heat in an effort to help him recover from back issues. More worrisome is the fact that James Harden is averaging 18 points-per-game on 22.2 percent shooting through the first three contests.
Best Player
Stephen Curry is averaging 39.3 points-per-game through the Warriors' first three games, largely due to a 53-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans on Halloween. He has scored at least 25 points in all three games this season after averaging 23.8 in his MVP campaign last season. He is currently shooting 48 percent from three-point range while averaging 7.3 assists-per-game for the undefeated Warriors.
Worst Player
The aforementioned James Harden is off to a sluggish start to the season. He has had no help from his teammates, namely, Ty Lawson, who came over in an offseason trade. Nonetheless, Harden's 18.0 points-per-game ranks him behind rookie, Jahlil Okafor, and just ahead of old-timers, Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant.
Fantasy Watchlist
C.J. McCollum has averaged 22.7 points-per-game through three contests. The 24 year-old began his season with a 37-point performance against the Pelicans. The Portland Trail Blazers are 1-2, but keep an eye on McCollum as Damian Lillard's running mate for 2015-2016.
Isaiah Thomas is just outside the top-ten in scoring, holding a 22.3 average after three games. He continues to come off the bench for the Celtics, but could very well be their top producing fantasy player throughout the season as he makes another campaign for the Sixth Man Award.