NBA Power Rankings: Week 3
Week 3 of the NBA Power Rankings, what a beginning to the year it has been for Cleveland and Oklahoma City. On the flip side Denver, Philadelphia and Milwaukee have been struggling.
1 - Oklahoma City Thunder
Defense wins championships right? They have been locked down defense while the offense has just been average at best. Watch out for the rest of the league as soon as OKC gets their offense going.
2 - Cleveland Cavaliers
New coach and new offensive strategy, the Cavaliers right now have the best offense in the league and are averaging over 123 points a game. They have had consistent play from all their stars and their defense is still elite.
3 - Boston Celtics
Honestly Boston is still an elite team, but they have 1 loss where the two teams in front of them don't have a single loss. Tatum is starting to make a MVP push and eventually they will get Porzingis back.
4 - Phoenix Suns
Somehow the Suns have a good record even with Booker, Beal and Durant being a minus trio when on the floor together. Think Bradley Beal would take the assignment as the 6th man? I kind of doubt it based on how much he is getting paid.
5 - Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are without Klay Thompson even on the roster in what feels like a very long time. It does not seem to matter they are off to a hot start even with Curry banged up. Kuminga will be an interesting watch throughout the rest of the season.
6 - Los Angeles Lakers
This might be a little high for the Lakers after that embarrassing loss to the Pistons the other night. But AD is an MVP candidate and LeBron is still the GOAT. The Lakers offense does look a lot more dynamic than last year and once Vanderbilt is back, their defense should get better.
7 - Dallas Mavericks
Luka is a top three player in the league, their defense that carried them to the NBA Finals has carried over. With Klay Thompson in the fold the spacing has worked even better and he is performing well so far in Dallas.
8 - Minnesota Timberwolves
The new look Timberwolves are off to a good start with Karl Anthony Towns, and after a shaky start in their opener Julius Randle has really found his footing in Minnesota. Anthony Edwards is now turning into a sharp shooter and is shooting the three ball extremely effectively to start the season.
9 - Denver Nuggets
It is time to start worrying about the Denver Nuggets. They are looking older and slower and their health is an issue. Aaron Gordon is now out for multiple weeks with a calf strain, their depth will be tested.
10 - New York Knicks
When the Knicks made the splashes they made over the offseason they were not expecting a 3-3 start. Granted two of those losses were to the Cavs and Celtics, the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. Their offense has been really good and it seems like Mikal Bridges has turned around his slow start to the season.
11 - Memphis Grizzlies
Up and down year to start for the Grizzlies, they have won some big games, but they have also lost to the Nets. They are looking for consistency, but when they find it watch out.
12 - Sacramento Kings
Man Drake sucks so hard. DeMar DeRozan made his return to Toronto and Drake was a real asshole about it. DeMar, Domas, and De'Aaron are a lethal trio. Once they get their bench situation figured out, watch out.
13 - New Orleans Pelicans
I am leaving the Pelicans up here for the time being. At the time of me writing this, they have lost two games in a row and have already lost Dejounte Murray to a hand injury, and Herb Jones and Cj McCollum have also missed games. Maybe it was dumb to leave them here.
14 - Chicago Bulls
Chicago squeaks into the Top 14 in what feels like a really long time. It may just be because of some slow starts from other power house eastern teams, but hey they will take it. They are using their decent offense to over power their weak defense, but if they keep it up they could be a play in team.
15 - Miami Heat
For a team that is 3-3 things just seem off. You look at their record and see that they are tied with the Knicks and again with teams off to slow starts they should be performing better. I think once they get some consistency from Jimmy and Bam that will help a lot.
P.S. I am only doing the top 15 teams, if you want me to talk about you; be better, it’s that simple.