AP18297128029764 (1)

NBA Power Rankings – Week 1

 

  1. Golden State Warriors 6-1 SAME

The Warriors picked up right where they left off, starting the season red hot. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant seem to be trading nights on which one wants to take over a game, with Curry scoring 51 in three quarters against the Wizards and Durant dropping 41 against the Knicks two days later.

  1. Toronto Raptors 6-0 UP 2

Toronto loves Kawhi Leonard, and Leonard is playing extremely well in Toronto. He is putting up 26.6 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game for the Raptors this season so far. We seem to have forgotten how good a healthy Kawhi can be.

  1. Boston Celtics 4-2 DOWN 1

Boston lost to a very good Raptors team, then beat the Knicks in a nail-biter by two and lost to the lowly Magic. The Celtics don’t have much of an identity right now, but Jason Tatum looks to be the go-to scorer for the team right now. Boston currently sports the best defensive rating in the league, but is just 28th in offensive rating.

  1. Denver Nuggets 4-1 UP 6

Denver started the season strong with stellar play from Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets have the third best defensive rating in the league to go with a top 15 offensive rating. Denver has had a few easy opponents in the Clippers, Suns and Kings but did manage to hand the Warriors their only loss of the season last Sunday.

  1. Milwaukee Bucks 6-0 UP 3

Milwaukee is the hottest team in the league right now. They have the best net rating of any team behind the amazing play of Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak posted 25+ points and 15+ rebounds in each of the teams first 4 games while playing limited minutes in the latter two, which were blowout wins.

  1. Utah Jazz 4-2 SAME

Utah lost a nail-biter at home against the Warriors after scoring a franchise record 81 points in the first half then lost a close game to Memphis while putting up just 84 points in the entire game. The Jazz have rambled off three strait victories since with wins over Houston, New Orleans and Dallas.

  1. New Orleans Pelicans 4-1 UP 6

The Pelicans started hot but have since cooled off, with a notable DNP from Anthony Davis against Utah. Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton look good for the team in their new roles. The Pelicans will need a lot of contributions from Nikola Mirotic if Davis continues to sit.

  1. Houston Rockets 1-4 DOWN 5

Houston has not looked good to start the season with it’s only win coming against the Lakers. With the Chris Paul suspension and James Harden hamstring injury, Carmelo Anthony may have to step up and help the team score some points in the next week if they want to gather more wins (unlikely, it’s Carmelo).

  1. Philadelphia 76ers 3-3 DOWN 4

Philadelphia has not looked good with Markelle Fultz in the starting lineup. The team is -7.1 points per 100 possessions with him on the court and +7.3 points per 100 possessions with him off the court. The 76ers desperately need shooting alongside Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, but Fultz just doesn’t provide that.

  1. Portland Trail Blazers 3-2 UP 2

Portland has been solid this season led by Damian Lillard’s 33.8 points per game. The Blazers have gotten solid bench contributions from Zach Collins and Nik Stauskas, who will need to continue to play well if Portland wants to be a solid team this year.

  1. Indiana Pacers 4-2 DOWN 1

Indiana has played well but need Victor Oladipo to make more strides this year to become a better team. They currently have the fourth highest net rating in the league but have wins over the Cavs and Nets and also beat the Spurs two days after they played a high-scoring overtime game in Los Angeles.

  1. LA Lakers 2-4 DOWN 1

The Lakers lost two games to the Spurs this week but managed to hand Denver it’s only loss of the season. Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma have looked great with since the suspensions of Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo but can they keep it up when Ingram and Rondo come back?

  1. San Antonio Spurs 3-2 UP 2

DeMar DeRozan looks like a completely different player in the Spurs system. DeRozan posted 32 points and a career-high 14 assists in an overtime win over the Lakers and is averaging almost eight assists per game this season, about five more than his career average. San Antonio basically took their playoff team from last year and added DeRozan to the mix.

  1. Oklahoma City Thunder 1-4 DOWN 7

The Thunder started the season terribly, losing it’s first four games. The Thunder have the 24th ranked net rating in the league right now. Dennis Schroder has been a solid backup for the team, but they don’t get much production from the bench outside of him.

  1. Detroit Pistons 4-1 UP 6

Detroit isn’t as good as their record. The team won three of their four games by a total of just 12 points with the fourth win coming against a winless Cavalier team. Blake Griffin looks good after his first offseason training with the Pistons, scoring a career high 50 points against the 76ers in an overtime victory.

  1. Miami Heat 3-2 UP 1

All but one of Miami’s games have been within nine points with the one that wasn’t coming in a 23-point victory over the Knicks. Miami plays hard but doesn’t have a go-to scorer, which will likely lose them a fair amount of close games this season.

  1. Memphis Grizzlies 3-2 UP 2

Memphis pulled out a strong win against Utah but hasn’t beaten anyone else good this season. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol both have played well but are now much older and likely won’t be able to keep it up all season.

  1. LA Clippers 4-2 SAME

The Clippers are a team of a bunch of solid role players at this point. They have gotten good play out of Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari, but Gallinari can’t be counted on to stay healthy all season.

  1. Minnesota Timberwolves 2-4 DOWN 3

Minnesota is still in turmoil with the Jimmy Butler situation. Karl-Anthony Towns looks like a shell of himself and Andre Wiggins seems to have regressed again. The only bright spot for this team is that Derrick Rose has been playing well.

  1. Washington Wizards 1-5 DOWN 6

Washington seems to have started their annual breakdown much earlier than usual this year. The team has played horribly through it’s first six games losing to the Clippers, Kings, Heat, Raptors and Warriors. John Wall and Bradley Beal need to figure it out soon if they want to stay a playoff team.

  1. Dallas Mavericks 2-4 DOWN 1

Luka Doncic looks just as advertised for Dallas so far. The rookie has been shooting well and making amazing passes thus far this season and will likely only get better. The Mavericks may be a dark horse playoff team if anyone in front of them has key injuries this year.

  1. Charlotte Hornets 3-4 SAME

Kemba Walker has started the season on fire for the Hornets. Walker is putting up 31.7 points and 5.7 assists on 47 percent shooting and 41 percent from downtown. Walker will need to keep this up if Charlotte has any chance at a playoff push this season.

  1. Brooklyn Nets 2-4 SAME

Brooklyn is just a young team with some talent but no stars. The Nets only wins have come against the Knicks and Cavaliers, the worst two teams in the league. Brooklyn will be playing for the lottery this year, finally able to use it’s own pick after the dreaded trade with Boston in 2013.

  1. Orlando Magic 2-4 UP 4

Orlando seems to have gotten lucky with a win over the Celtics this week. Mo Bamba looks like another unicorn-in-the-making with his massive wingspan and perimeter-shooting abilities. Bamba could end up as a star but the Magic don’t have a star to get them many wins this year.

  1. Atlanta Hawks 2-3 UP 5

Trae Young is better than expected for this Atlanta team. Young has been scoring with ease and setting up teammates better than any other rookie this year. The Hawks will give him a lot of playing time to develop this year while they figure out what to do for their future.

  1. Sacramento Kings 3-3 UP 3

The Kings are still the Kings. They are going to beat some good teams but lose most of their games like every year in the past decade. Sacramento at least has some hope with rookie Marvin Bagley III, who has played well so far but doesn’t show much promise on the defensive end of the floor.

  1. Chicago Bulls 2-4 DOWN 3

Chicago told the NBA that offense was all that mattered by paying Zach Lavine and Jabari Parker this offseason. It has not worked. The team has played some close games but will struggle down the stretch with their no-defense strategy.

  1. Phoenix Suns 1-5 DOWN 3

The Suns may be better than their record as all of their losses have come against possible playoff teams. DeAndre Ayton has been very solid so far for the team, posting averages of 17.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

  1. Cleveland Cavaliers 0-6 DOWN 3

The Cavaliers fired head coach Tyron Lue after their 0-6 start on Sunday. The team is comprised of a fringe All-Star, Kevin Love, and a bunch of second-unit role players posing as starters. Cleveland will not be good this year whether they decided to fire Lue or not.

  1. New York Knicks 1-5 DOWN 3

New York is terrible. The team plays much harder under new head coach David Fizdale, but they lack the talent to win many games. If Kristaps Porzingis doesn’t return, this team should be in the running for the top pick in next June’s draft.

Categories
BasketballSports
Tagged
NBA power rankings

Twitter

USU Classifieds

Loading Recent Classifieds...

Archives

Back to Top