The Atlanta Hawks rank first in Efficiency Differential after the first week of the 16-17 NBA season with a dominant mark of +23.1 points per 100 possessions.

Week 1 Rankings
1. Hawks: 23.1
2. Spurs: 16.6
3. Cavaliers: 13.0
4. Bulls: 12.2
5. Clippers: 11.0
6. Pistons: 8.1
7. Thunder: 8.1
8. Raptors: 7.9
9. Kings: 5.0
10. Hornets: 3.8
11. Grizzlies: 2.1
12. Celtics: 1.7
13. Nuggets: 1.3
14. Rockets: 1.0
15. Blazers: 1.0
16. Nets: 0.7
17. Heat: -0.3
18. Wolves: -3.8
19. Warriors: -4.8
20. Jazz: -5.5
21. Pacers: -5.5
22. Mavericks: -6.0
23. Lakers: -6.0
24. Bucks: -8.2
25. Suns: -8.9
26. Pelicans: -10.3
27. Knicks: -11.1
28. Wizards: -11.8
29. Magic: -15.3
30. 76ers: -18.9

After the first week of the 16-17 season, Kawhi Leonard leads the NBA in PER with a mark of 37.3, followed by Anthony Davis at 37.0, Russell Westbrook at 36.5 and Kevin Durant at 36.3.

Stephen Curry led the NBA in PER wire-to-wire last season but is currently 67th at 19.9

PER Rankings (Week 1)
1. Kawhi Leonard: 37.3
2. Anthony Davis: 37.0
3. Russell Westbrook: 36.5
4. Kevin Durant: 36.3
5. DeMarcus Cousins: 34.9
6. Thabo Sefolosha: 34.7
7. Hassan Whiteside: 31.9
8. Damian Lillard: 31.0
9. DeMar DeRozan: 30.5
10. Myles Turner: 30.5
11. Jusuf Nurkic: 27.9
12. Chris Paul: 27.9
13. Blake Griffin: 27.6
14. Mike Muscala: 27.0
15. Jimmy Butler: 26.8
16. Jonas Valanciunas: 26.6
17. David Lee: 26.4
18. Dwyane Wade: 26.4
19. James Harden: 26.3
20. Zach Randolph: 25.9

Jahlil Okafor is backing up Joel Embiid and both players are on minutes restrictions, but they are looking forward to having the opportunity to share the court together.

“This conversation with Jahlil and Joel is more intelligent and applicable at a later date,” Brett Brown said at practice Friday. “When Jahlil’s minutes start going up and Joel can, then it’s a real conversation. I do think you may see them sooner than even I thought together. But as far as making it a real constant part of a strategy or rotation, it’s beyond too early days.”

Okafor and Nerlens Noel proved to be a bad combination playing together due to their lack of floor spacing.

“I think it’s going to be exciting,” Embiid said. “We played a little bit together today in practice. We’re figuring out how to play with each other. It’s a process and we’ve got trust it.”

“I think once we figure it out, we can really dominate together,” Okafor said. “We were able to flirt with it again today. We accidentally keep ending up on the same team even though Coach keeps telling us to make sure we alternate. But we’re having fun. We’re trying to put some pressure on it because we want to play together.”

The Dave Joerger-era with the Sacramento Kings got underway with a 113-94 win at the Phoenix Suns.

Joerger replaced George Karl, who had a tenuous relationship with DeMarcus Cousins.

“I like him and he likes me,” Cousins said of Joerger.

“Joerger’s been great,” Cousins said. “I think what he brought to the team is what this team needed. It fits our identity more than how we played in the past. Not to knock any of the previous situations but I think this situation fits this team the best.”

Joerger said he hasn’t done anything out of character to try to connect with Cousins.

“I didn’t really do anything special other than try to be yourself,” Joerger said. “I think if you try to be somebody else that’s always a problem. Players can always see right through that so just be yourself, what you’re trying to do, how we’re trying to build it for the future of our team this season and going out for future years."

The Los Angeles Lakers used Brandon Ingram at point guard in his NBA debut.

With Jose Calderon injured and Nick Young starting, Ingram showed promise bringing the ball up the floor.

“It helps engage him in the game. He’s a great basketball player and has a great feel for the game,” Luke Walton said. “When you’re handling the ball, even when you’re not shooting, just making passes. It’s a great way to force you into the game.”

“I felt like they went away when I got to the point guard position a little bit,” Ingram said.

“Knowing I can play-make for myself and play-make for other guys. When I got to the point guard position, it got a lot easier for me. I was making plays for my other teammates and making plays for myself.”

The Milwaukee Bucks have successfully used Giannis Antetokounmpo at point guard over the past year.

D'Angelo Russell and the Los Angeles Lakers begin life without Kobe Bryant this season and he feels like it will be a liberating experience.

"We're all about playing together now," said Bryant. "It's not about one guy anymore. It's about sacrificing for the team." Adds Russell, "Kobe deserved every bit of attention he got in his last year, but there's freedom in Kobe not being around." 

Russell was the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and will have the biggest role on offense for the Lakers.

Russell scored 13.2 points in 28.2 minutes per game last season with a True Shooting Percentage of .507 and usage of 24.1 percent.

While James Harden has always been a prolific scorer, his ability as a passer may return to the public consciousness this season under Mike D'Antoni.

"You see the joy in my teammates getting shots and making shots," Harden recently told Bleacher Report. "They're comfortable. Everybody's happy. When they're happy, I'm happy. It's a different vibe. We're sacrificing for each other. That's where we are. We've got a long way to go, but for now it feels good."

D'Antoni decided in the offseason that he'd officially make Harden their point guard.

"It shocked me at first," Harden said. "And I kind of thought about it, and I was like, 'Yeah! I'm a passer. That's what I do. I create. I create and I give people opportunities to make them happy, to make them score.'"

D'Antoni wants Harden to create for others while also remaining aggressive as a scorer.

"Hopefully, he'll double his number of assists, and he had seven or eight [7.5] last year," D'Antoni said. "I hope he can average double that. He's one of the best passers I've been around."

Last season, Harden became the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 29 points, seven assists and six rebounds per game, joining Oscar Robertson, LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

"It's always been that way," Harden said of his passing. "That's why I call myself an all-around player, because I've been doing it for so long. I might not get as much credit as I deserve, but that's not for me to decide. I still go out there and just do what I've got to do. Eventually it will happen and people will figure it out."

After Kawhi Leonard scored a career high 35 points in the San Antonio Spurs' 129-100 win over the Golden State Warriors, Gregg Popovich was asked by Nate Duncan what he saw about Leonard that was different from previous seasons.

Leonard has become a much better player on offense over the past few seasons.

“He basically tells me what he wants to do now,” Popovich said of Leonard. “He’ll take the ball. He’ll send the screener away. He’ll decide if he wants to go one-on-one with no screen, no pick. He is much more demonstrative, looks for his shots more. He knows he has a green light. I think that’s the difference. He’s making 3s or he’s driving it. Now he’s finding people on the court. While people are giving him attention, he’s finding people like Patty Mills for wide-open shots. He’s a tough cover. He’s really just more confident, more aggressive, more hungry to score than in the past.”

The Charlotte Hornets are optimistic on the development of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who was limited to just seven games during the 15-16 season.

The Hornets want Kidd-Gilchrist to shoot when he's open. Kidd-Gilchrist came into the NBA as a lockdown defender that needed to develop as a shooter.

"In my 17 years in the league, I've never seen anyone improve his skill level the way he has," Steve Clifford said. "Look: You can't be a great player if you can't shoot from range. We think MKG is going to do that. He's going to make corner 3s."

Zach LaVine is widely expected to have a breakout season as the Minnesota Timberwolves take another step forward building around Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.

“He's a big piece of what we're doing,” Tom Thibodeau said. “His shooting is critical. He shot the ball very well in the second half of last season. We need that 3-point shooting to open up the floor. His athleticism, the way he can run the floor. And there's no reason he can't be an excellent defensive player.”

Only four eligible guards finished last season with a worse Defensive Real Plus Minus than LaVine, which means Thibodeau will have a long ways to go to make him an excellent defensive player.

While LaVine is a shooting guard, it is difficult to compare him to any other player at the position in the NBA.

"There's so many different styles to it,” LaVine said. “I use my athletic ability to create shots for open people, I run the floor, then also space the floor as well. That’s what I try to do. I try to space the floor and use my athletic ability to get to the rim. … I try to get the best of both worlds.”

“We all love Zach. I think he’s more popular than me and Wigs combined, just for the fact that he’s won two slam dunk contests in a row,” Towns said. “But Zach’s a pivotal piece of the team. The way he shoots the ball and makes highly contested shots, it helps us tremendously, especially with his 3-point range. Zach’s one of the players who we're tremendously lucky to have as an athlete and as a shooter.”