NBA Power Rankings: Week 3 (A Los Angeles Week)
Wow, did Week 2 have some surprising results, from the Lakers absolutely obliterating the Warriors, and the Clippers going into the AT&T Center and dismantling the Spurs.
Lakers were the biggest mover (+15) while Orlando jumped up nine and Milwaukee jumped up eight. Washington and Minnesota both dropped six slots while Boston dropped five.
Week 2 is here. Week 1 is here.
1] Los Angeles Clippers: 5-1 (Previous 3)
Yes, the Clippers lost a closely contested game at home against the Oklahoma City Westbrook's, but the thorough domination of the Spurs, on the second night of a back-to-back (albeit so was San Antonio) was just flat out impressive. As of right now, the Clippers defense is the best in the entire association, holding opponents to just under 91 points per game, 2.3 better than the second highest team, with the highest point differential by 1.5 over second. They also force the second most turnovers while holding opponents to the second lowest field goal percentage. If they can get the offense clicking while the defense stays elite, there is no way they don't finally get over the second round hump.
Week 4 Slate: vs Detroit, vs Portland, @ Oklahoma City, @ Minnesota
2] Cleveland Cavaliers: 6-0 (Previous 2)
Cleveland is the last undefeated team remaining, and the team that got closest to handing them their first loss was the intimidating Philadelphia 76ers, as Cleveland squeaked by with a one point victory. Tied with the Warriors for points per game, the defense just hasn't been quite what it was the previous year, though, the Cavaliers have looked like they have been coasting at times. Still waiting for them to have a dominant performance since they dismantled the Knicks.
Week 4: vs Atlanta, @ Washington, vs Charlotte
3] San Antonio Spurs: 5-2 (Previous 1)
San Antonio split a home-and-home series against the Jazz before the Clippers went into the AT&T Center and just dominated. Still, it would be foolish to write-off a 5-2 Popovich squad, and with a four-day rest coming up, I expect the Spurs to bounce back and end week-4 with a bang.
Week 4: vs Houston, vs Detroit, @ Houston
4] Oklahoma City Thunder: 5-1 (Previous 5)
Russell Westbrook is continuing his out-of-this-world play, as the Thunder went into Staples Center and held the surging Clippers to 83 points, enough to secure a two point victory before heading up to Golden State and getting dismantled on the second of a back-to-back. A solid 20-point bounce back victory against the Timberwolves should get juices flowing again in Oklahoma.
Week 4: vs Miami, vs Toronto, vs Clippers, vs Orlando
5] Golden State Warriors: 4-2 (Previous 3)
Rumblings of Kevin Durant taking the Warriors away from their strengths are slowly starting to grow some toes, and it'll be interesting if they'll end up growing some legs as well. After shellacking the Blazers and Thunder, Golden State went down to Los Angeles to face a surging Laker squad, and just got wiped off the floor, losing 117-97. Golden State currently ranks 18th in rebounds per game while 24th in rebounds allowed, putting them at a differential of -3.1, which is #23 overall.
Week 4: vs New Orleans, vs Dallas, @ Denver, vs Phoenix
6] Toronto Raptors: 4-2 (Previous 6)
Sacramento went into Toronto and shocked the Raptors by winning 96-91, though DeMar DeRozan continues his amazing scoring campaign, now averaging 33.7 points a night while having only connected on two 3-point attempts on the year. He did struggle against Sacramento, however, going 7-20 from the field and scoring under 30 for the first time (had 23), but then again, so did the entirety of the Raptors squad.
Week 4: @ Oklahoma City, @ Charlotte, vs New York
7] Detroit Pistons: 4-2 (Previous 13)
Of Detroit's 4 wins, 3 of those have come against teams that are currently .500 or better, though they did have an atrocious loss to the Brooklyn Nets, which was Detroit's only game of the year decided by single digits. Stan Van Gundy has Detroit playing some solid ball, slowly climbing the rankings. Week 4 will be a nice gauge of where they should rank.
Week 4: @ Clippers, @ Phoenix, @ San Antonio @ Denver
8] Portland Trail Blazers: 4-3 (Previous 7)
The loss to Phoenix, despite it being a road game and in overtime, was just disappointing for a team that some thought could compete for a top 4 seed out West. They did bounce back well with consecutive road victories in Dallas and Memphis, but those teams have been far from good all season. The Memphis game was the first time Damian Lillard did not score over 20 nor lead the Blazers in points.
Week 4: vs Phoenix, @ Clippers, vs Sacramento, vs Denver
9] Charlotte Hornets: 4-1 (Previous 10)
Charlotte's only had two games against teams .500 or better, but to their credit, they have been beating the teams they should be beating. Kemba Walker is shooting 47.1% from the field thus far, which is nearly 7% better than his career average of 40.4%. His 3-point percentage is also up by near 7% (33.5 to 42.4). A tough week comes up to see if the Hornets can be considered a threat in the East.
Week 4: vs Indiana, vs Utah, vs Toronto, @ Cleveland
10] Los Angeles Lakers: 4-3 (Previous 25)
The Purple and Gold are playing some exciting basketball that is also providing some victories. Luke Walton has done a great job revitalizing the historic franchise and is right up there with Brad Stevens among coveted young coaches. With six of the seven games coming against teams .500 or better, including an absolute domination of Golden State, they are showing they can stick with the big boys. With the upcoming schedule as well, the Lakers can very well end up 8-3.
Week 4: vs Dallas, @ Sacramento, @ New Orleans, @ Minnesota
11] Utah Jazz: 4-3 (Previous 15)
Utah did well to take one of two against the Spurs, but struggled to put away the struggling Knicks. Getting Hayward back should help the Jazz remain relevant and in sight of the 4th seed in the West, but will most likely battle for the fifth slot along with the Blazers.
Week 4: @ Philadelphia, @ Charlotte, @ Orlando, @ Miami
12] Atlanta Hawks: 4-2 (Previous 9)
Atlanta followed up a shocking loss to the Lakers with a loss against the Wizards, giving Washington their first win. They did well to bounce back with a 15-point win over Houston. Still not sold on Dwight being a good replacement for Al Horford, and while Schroeder may have potential, the Hawks need to shore up the point guard slot.
Week 4: @ Cleveland, vs Chicago, vs Philadelphia
13] Boston Celtics: 3-3 (Previous 8)
Coming off consecutive losses, the Celtics aim to rebound when they visit the nation's capital. Being able to stick within 6 against Cleveland despite injuries was pretty impressive, but the way the Nuggets dismantled them was a bit of concern. In Brad Stevens I trust to get this turned around.
Week 4: @ Washington, vs New York, @ Indiana
14] Houston Rockets: 3-3 (Previous 11)
James Harden will be giving Westbrook a run for his money when it comes down to MVP voting, though both players will probably slow down by a decent margin. Regardless, for Harden to average over a dozen assists per night is quite eye popping, teamed with him hovering around 50% from the field. Ryan Anderson has been pretty bad for D'Antoni, though Eric Gordon is chipping in with 16 points himself.
Week 4: @ Washington, @ San Antonio, vs San Antonio
15] Milwaukee Bucks: 4-3 (Previous 23)
The Bucks were on a decent run, until Harrison Barnes turned into a max-contract player and scored 34 points in an overtime defeat. Giannis Antetokounmpo is doing everything for the Bucks, while Jabari continues to have flashes of why he was the second overall pick. Greg Monroe is starting to earn his contract, putting up 11.1 points with 8.6 boards in just 21.7 minutes, seeming to finally fit in.
Week 4: vs New Orleans, vs Memphis
16] Denver Nuggets: 3-3 (Previous 17)
Denver seems intent on challenging for a playoff spot, and rightfully so. The international front court of Gallinari, Nurkic and Jokic can cause some upsets, while Mudiay works on coming into his own. Two of Denver's three loses come by a combined 5 points and they have played five of six on the road.
Week 4: @ Memphis, vs Golden State, vs Detroit
17] Chicago Bulls: 3-3 (Previous 12)
Chicago is a tough team to gauge. After starting out 3-0 against Boston, Indiana and Brooklyn, the Bulls drop three in a row against Boston, Indiana and New York. And outside of the Boston games being decided by six and seven points, they haven't had any close tests...as of yet. It will definitely take some time before we see whether Chicago belongs in the high or low teens.
Week 4: vs Orlando, @ Atlanta, @ Miami, vs Washington
18] Memphis Grizzlies: 3-4 (Previous 14)
Memphis finally got Chandler Parsons ready to go, and he was scoreless in his debut, going 0-8 from the field against the Portland Trail Blazers. As well as Zach Randolph is playing off the bench, Memphis is the deadliest when him and Marc are on the court together, something Fisdale needs to make happen more often.
19] Indiana Pacers: 3-3 (Previous 16)
Paul George showed his ability to kick a ball, hitting a fan in the face. Now, he needs to get back to playing like the Paul George we all know and love. Myles Turner has been spectacular.
Week 4: @ Charlotte, vs Philadelphia, @ Philadelphia, vs Boston
20] Miami Heat: 2-3 (Previous 18)
Goran Dragic is having a decent year, while Whiteside is busy putting up 20/14. Needed overtime to get past Sacramento after playing San Antonio tough.
Week 4: @ Oklahoma City, vs Chicago, vs Utah
21] Orlando Magic: 3-3 (Previous 30)
Orlando was the exact opposite of Chicago, started out 0-3, and then ran off three in a row to get to .500. Two of those wins came against bottom feeders, as they beat Philadelphia by two and two against Washington. Too many pieces that just don't fit well together.
Week 4: @ Chicago, vs Minnesota, vs Utah, @ Oklahoma City
22] Sacramento Kings: 3-5 (Previous 19)
DeMarcus Cousins is DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings are still atrocious. They did manage to beat the Raptors, on the road, nonetheless, and Rudy Gay is playing solid. Darren Collison has two games left on his suspension, it will be interesting to see how his return impacts the Kings.
Week 4: vs New Orleans, vs Lakers, @ Portland
23] New York Knicks: 2-4 (Previous 20)
The Knicks need to just move on from Carmelo and look to build a winner around Kristaps Porzingis. Unfortunately, for them, Melo has a no-trade clause and the only places he'd speculatively waive it to go to would have little interest in him.
Week 4: vs Brooklyn, @ Boston, @ Toronto
24] Brooklyn Nets: 2-4 (Previous 27)
Nets got a couple of wins, yay. Still a ways to go for the Nets to make some noise.
Week 4: vs Minnesota, @ New York, @ Phoenix
25] Phoenix Suns: 2-5 (Previous 28)
Suns lost some close games and Booker is getting healthy. Can expect them to climb to .500 at one point.
Week 4: @ Portland, vs Detroit, vs Brooklyn
26] Dallas Mavericks: 1-5 (Previous 24)
It took 34 points from Barnes in 86-75 overtime game for Dallas to get its first win. Cuban might finally have to just bottom out.
Week 4: @ Los Angeles, @ Golden State
27] Minnesota Timberwolves: 1-4 (Previous 21)
The youth in Minnesota is struggling, as expected, but Towns is a beast.
Week 4: @ Brooklyn, @ Orlando, vs Clippers, vs Lakers
28] Washington Wizards: 1-4 (Previous 22)
John Wall and the Wizards are just...horrible. Might be time to move on for the Wiz.
Week 4: vs Houston, vs Boston, vs Cleveland, @ Chicago
29] Philadelphia 76ers: 0-5 (Previous 29)
Joel Embiid is sexy, Nerlens Noel on the block?
Week 4: vs Utah, @ Indiana, vs Indiana, @ Atlanta
30] New Orleans Pelicans: 0-6 (Previous 26)
New Orleans, for the second time, has a stud player, the best at his position. And they can't do anything with it. Absolutely terrible.
Week 4: @ Golden State, @ Sacramento, @ Milwaukee, vs Lakers
