As we enter the second month of the season, we have a new king: the Detroit Pistons. Beating the Orlando Magic last night (which moved the Magic from number 1 all the way to number 30 ☹), the Pistons have righted the ship, at least for now, following a 5-game losing streak. The Rockets have recovered nicely from a slow start to the season, claiming the number 2 spot in the rankings.
There are some new faces to the bottom of the rankings, namely the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets. Those two teams are likely to climb back up the rankings, but for this week, they are two of the worst teams in the league. The Memphis Grizzlies are a team to watch out for moving forward. They already have a few quality wins over the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets, with games this week against some of the NBA's finest teams.
Here are the current NBA Power Rankings, as determined by Ric Flair's legendary quote, "To be the best, you gotta beat the best":
1. Detroit Pistons +24
(5-5)
2. Houston Rockets +16
(4-5)
3. Milwaukee Bucks -1
(8-2)
4. Golden State Warriors +4
(10-1)
5. Toronto Raptors +2
(11-1)
6. Oklahoma City Thunder +3
(6-4)
7. Sacramento Kings -4
(6-5)
8. Portland Trail Blazers +4
(8-3)
9. Charlotte Hornets -3
(6-5)
10. Phoenix Suns +19
(2-8)
11. Memphis Grizzlies -1
(6-4)
12. Los Angeles Lakers +14
(5-6)
13. Utah Jazz -9
(5-6)
14. Boston Celtics -9
(6-4)
15. Brooklyn Nets +9
(5-6)
16. New Orleans Pelicans
(5-6)
17. Philadelphia 76ers -2
(7-5)
18. Chicago Bulls -4
(3-9)
19. New York Knicks +2
(4-8)
20. Washington Wizards
(2-8)
21. Atlanta Hawks +9
(3-8)
22. Cleveland Cavaliers
(1-10)
23. Los Angeles Clippers -4
(6-4)
24. Indiana Pacers -7
(7-5)
25. Miami Heat -6
(5-5)
26. Dallas Mavericks -3
(3-8)
27. Minnesota Timberwolves -16
(4-8)
28. San Antonio Spurs -27
(6-4)
29. Denver Nuggets -16
(9-2)
30. Orlando Magic -2
(4-7)
Guys, I am devastated. I let you all down last year. It was right under my nose that UConn would win the championship, but I missed it due to poor data collection. I began last year's prediction by saying a team with eight losses would win March Madness, and in listing all the teams that qualified, I somehow missed...
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A new season is upon us, and with it comes plenty of intriguing storylines. From massive traves and superstar uncertainty in the East to a West perhaps the deepest it has ever been, here is an early season NBA Power ranking.
