NBA Power Rankings

ESPN Week 4 NBA Power Rankings

1. Golden State Warriors

The Warriors really were under .500 for a few days there. But consider this now, comparing them through 10 games this season vs. last season. Their offensive efficiency: up. Their made threes per game: up. Their assists per game: up. Their effective field goal percentage: up. One of the best offenses of all time has gotten better and that doesn't bode well for the rest of the league. -- Vincent Johnson

2. Houston Rockets

James Harden has now authored two of the three most prolific games in NBA history if going strictly by points scored or assisted on. He scored 56 and assisted on 35 more on Sunday for a grand total of 91 points created, the third-most in a single game in NBA history. He scored or assisted on 95 in a game last season while Wilt Chamberlain tallied 104 (100 scored to go with two assists) back in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in 1962. -- Micah Adams

3. Boston Celtics

The Celtics lost their first two games of the season but proceeded to win their next eight consecutive games. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Boston is the first team in NBA history to win eight straight immediately following a 0-2 start. -- Jose De Leon

4. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves got off to a 2-3 start but proceeded to reel off five straight wins. It's the first time they've won five in a row in a single season since January 2009. -- Jose De Leon

5. Memphis Grizzlies

By the end of this week, the Grizzlies will have played their third game against the Rockets this season. Memphis won the first two matchups and limited Houston to 38 3-point attempts in both games, the Rockets' fewest this season. -- Jose De Leon

We all know that NBA power rankings are a bunch of B.S. and we never know who the actual number-one team is until they hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. (Except we all know the Warriors are the best team in basketball.) However, we all love power rankings, there’s something about the human nature that for some reason we love lists of these and putting things in an order of ranking. So at SportsTake we’ve got to give the people what they want so without further ado, here are our SportsTake NBA Power Rankings.

*please note these rankings are based off of what we have seen up until this point and in no way reflect predictions*

1.Boston Celtics

Are the Boston Celtics going to win the NBA Finals? Nope. Are the Boston Celtics going to win the Eastern Conference? Probably not. Are the Celtics playing the best basketball through 12 games? Absolutely. The Celtics were all but finished when Gordon Hayward broke his leg 5 minutes into the season, but coach Brad Stevens has been able to bring his team together and has rookie Jayson Tatum and second year standout Jaylen Brown exceeding expectations. The Celtics rank first in the NBA in defensive efficiency, first in opponents points per game and fifth in defensive rebounds. Stevens has Kyrie Irving playing like he belongs on the first-team all-defense. The Celtics have the best record in the NBA at 10-2 and top our very first NBA Power Rankings.

2. Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors started the season off shaky with a home loss to the Houston Rockets. Since then the Warriors have gone 7-2 and are currently riding a five-game winning streak. Throughout the first 10 games this season the Warriors have increased their offensive efficiency, increased their threes per game, increased their assists per game and increased their effective field goal percentage from last season through their first 10 games. The Warriors are riding a 16-game winning streak in the month of November dating back to last season. The bad news for the rest of the NBA is that November is typically when the Warriors hit their stride and don’t look back.

3. Houston Rockets

The Rockets are sitting pretty at 8-3 and James Harden is coming off of a career-high 56 points on 19-for-25 shooting. James Harden looks like the player he was before that epic collapse in game 6 against the Spurs last season. The 5-time All Star is averaging 29.5 PPG and 9.7 APG through the first 11 games. The biggest question surrounding the Rockets is how the addition of Chris Paul will affect the chemistry of the Houston Rockets and the play of James Harden as Paul has yet to play since injuring his knee opening night in the team’s game against the Golden State Warriors.

4. Detroit Pistons

The Pistons might be the biggest surprise throughout the first 3 weeks of the NBA Season. The Pistons are sitting at 8-3, good for second in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons rank 8th in the NBA in offensive efficiency, 8th in opponent’s PPG, 7th in defensive efficiency and have the 3rd fewest turnovers per game. A key reason to Detroit’s success is the improved play of Tobias Harris who is averaging 20.0 PPG, up from 14 PPG for his career. If Tobias Harris can maintain this level of production there’s no reason that Detroit can compete in a weak Eastern Conference.

5. Minnesota Timber-wolves

Much was said about the Timber-wolves headed into this season. How would Jimmy Butler adjust to a new environment and a new team? Can the additions of Butler, Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson lead Minnesota to the playoffs for the first time since 2003-04? Will Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins live up to expectations? Through the first three weeks the Timber-wolves look like a playoff team and a team that could make some noise in the playoffs. Wiggins is averaging nearly 20 PPG while Towns is scoring just above 20 PPG. The Timber-wolves have quality wins against the Jazz, Pelicans and Thunder (twice) which leads me to believe that Minnesota may finally be taking that next step.