Power Rankings: Week Three

As the first couple of weeks of the season are over with, here is our power rankings for this upcoming week. Hope you enjoy the rankings, and feel free to argue in the comment section. 

1. Golden State Warriors(7-0)- As I stated in last week’s rankings, good luck to the rest of the Western Conference. Golden State stays hot and undefeated, with no one looking like they can compete with them in a seven game series. As long as they stay healthy, expect Golden State to continue rolling.
2. Atlanta Hawks(7-1)- So far I have been wrong about this team. I thought they would be in the 6-8 range in the Eastern Conference, but they have proved they are using their team’s cohesion to beat up their opponents. We should all prepare for what seems to be yet another god regular season from this team.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers(6-1)- Kevin Love is finally showing his worth to all of Cleveland and the world. While LeBron deals with various nagging injuries, Love has been remarkable. If he can maintain this confidence and ability with Kyrie back in the lineup, Cleveland is almost guaranteed another trip to the finals.
4. Los Angeles Clippers(4-2)- The media really wants the Clippers to become the villains of basketball, which would definitely make things more interesting, but I just do not see them doing this. Once this team, gets in their groove, they might be the only team who can stop Golden State later on.
5. San Antonio Spurs(4-2)- Just keep winning, just keep winning, oh a loss, just keep winning. Okay, bad Finding Nemo joke there, but come on this team is a bigger classic than the children’s movie. As long as the big three stay healthy, San Antonio’s newest stars should keep this team in the higher echelon of the Western Conference.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder(4-3)- Rough week for Oklahoma City, but I did not see a big drop in the rankings was needed. This team is full of fire power, and once they can learn how to use this effectively, they should begin to look like Golden State, and become an almost unstoppable force.
7. Toronto Raptors(5-2)- Started the year off 5-0, and then dropped two straight. Many people had Toronto flying up their boards, but I was modest here. Toronto is a good team, but they still have work to be done. They have the talent to be a sleeper for the conference crown, but who knows if they can play at a high level all the time.
8. Houston Rockets(4-3)- Rough opening week was countered by a great second week. James Harden looks to have broken the curse, and found his form, which is bad news for the rest of the Western Conference. Houston has a rather easy schedule this upcoming week, so expect the success to continue for this team.
9. Detroit Pistons(5-1)- Andre Drummond is on another level so far this season. With his continued development, Detroit can look to ride him into a playoff berth. The shooters on this team need to become more consistent, but once that is accomplished this team could be scary.
10. Chicago Bulls(4-3)- This team can be something great, but they will just need to find a more consistent balance to stay successful. That opening sentence does not change from last week. Chicago needs to find the killer instinct if they want to have a shot at a title. Derrick Rose has shown flashes of his former self, but they cannot count on that. Expect some vengeance for the humiliating blowout suffered from Charlotte, when the two teams match-up again on Friday night.
11. Utah Jazz(4-2)- People are still not talking about Utah. Although this team does not win in the prettiest fashion, they get the job done. If you like defense, and low scoring offense then you might have a new favorite team.
12. Miami Heat(4-3)- This team is fun to watch. They are not great at any one thing, but they do everything well enough to be competitive with anyone. Although many pegged this team to be a potential championship contender, so far in the opening weeks, they do not look to have this capability.
13. Memphis Grizzlies(3-4)- Memphis is struggling to begin the season. No one is stepping up on the offensive side of the ball, and the once stifling defense is no more. Until this team finds their identity, expect the struggles to continue.
14. Milwaukee Bucks(4-3)- After an 0-3 start, Milwaukee is on a four game winning streak. Giannis Antetokounmpo continues his offensive dominance, Jabari Parker is back, and the role players continue to provide. With the biggest match-up of the week being Cleveland coming to town on Saturday, that will be the true test of what the Bucks are capable of doing.
15. Washington Wizards(3-3)- Washington’s offense has struggled this past week, but I do not see this as a long-term issue. This team has way too many weapons to continue struggling like this, and should find themselves once again shortly.
16. Indiana Pacers(3-4)- Welcome back Paul George. George has taken this team on his back, and with that a 3-1 record for the week. This team had a lot of parts added during the offseason, so once everyone begins to click, they wins should start to pile up, but until then it might be some choppy waters.
17. Dallas Mavericks(3-3)- If this team could just add another scorer they would be fine. With Sacramento starting off so slow, maybe they check in on Darren Collison, as he could help push the pace, and bring in a veteran guard to help ease the offensive burden. Until the point guard position is fixed, Dallas will struggle in the point guard dominated Western Conference.
18. Portland Trailblazers(4-3)- Portland has been a pleasant surprise this season. I do not know how long they can maintain their success with only one star player, but until they begin to fail, they will continue their rise up the rankings.
19. Phoenix Suns(3-4)- Phoenix makes me sad. They have so much talent, but no one exceptional. They lack a leader to bring them together, and feed off one another to become an elite unit like an Atlanta Hawks. Once someone steps up, maybe this team can be good then.
20. Orlando Magic(3-4)- Watching Orlando is fun. Their young talent is energetic and give great effort. Their offense is starting to come together, and with continued work on their defense they should be in good hands going forward.
21. New York Knicks(3-4)- I am sure those people who decided to boo Kristaps Porzingis are regretting it now. Porzingis has been great so far, and looks to be in the making of a franchise cornerstone. Carmelo Anthony will need to step up even more if he wants any success, as the role players currently surrounding him will not offer much consistency night in and night out.
22. Boston Celtics(2-3)- Much like Phoenix, Boston has talent, but no stars and will continue their struggle without them. I am just waiting for this team to make a big trade, as it maybe early in the season, but Boston needs to make a change or two before the slope gets too slippery.
23. Charlotte Hornets(2-4)- With the recent long-term investment of Jeremy Lamb, looking better and better game by game, Charlotte is beginning to find themselves after a rough opening week. With the emergence of their offense, and an improvement on defense, Charlotte looks to be the dark horse playoff contender I thought they would before the start of the season.
24. Minnesota Timberwolves(3-2)- The Timberwolves are not quite ready to take the next steps into playoff contender just yet. Andrew Wiggins is suffering early on this season with consistency, and Towns has come back to Earth after a great opening week. Minnesota will keep seeing improvements, and if Wiggins can regain his form, they could easily transform into a dangerous team.
25. New Orleans Pelicans(0-6)- New Orleans has looked awful this whole season so far. Anthony Davis can not do this alone, but with many players battling injuries it is unknown when this team will turn things around. Until their defense is fixed, expect the losing to continue.
26. Denver Nuggets(2-4)- Denver is staying in games. even with their lesser talent than most teams. Denver faces a challenging array of teams this week, and could see their record drop to 2-8, but as long as they stay persistant, I think they can manage a win or two.
27. Sacramento Kings(1-6)- Well, Sacramento has to be glad they kept DeMarcus Cousins this past summer, or they might be winless. With the return of Cousins scheduled for this week, things should begin to turnaround. This week has a lot of challenging opponents, but with Cousins back in the lineup Sacramento now has a chance against those teams.
28. Los Angeles Lakers(1-5)- There is just not a lot of positives you can say about this team. Kobe Bryant is showing how close to the end he really is, he has little help, and defense is nowhere to be found. There is a lot of issues in Los Angeles, and none of them will be an easy fix.
29. Philadelphia 76ers(0-6)- Most of the time you do not go 0-4 in a week and move up, but Philadelphia managed to do that. Unlike Brooklyn, Philadelphia has looked competitive in their games, and their young talent is performing well. Although the wins have not showed up, the team does have the talent, and they should start sneaking a few away soon.
30. Brooklyn Nets(0-7)- This team is just plain bad. I knew going into the season they would be bad, but wow. They cannot score, have no leaders, youth, or athleticism. Brooklyn fans may want to strap yourselves down, as you are in for a long season, and an even longer rebuilding process.