Here at the ICT Zone, our power rankings are based on a very simple philosophy. "To be the man you gotta beat the man", if a lower ranked team beats a higher ranked team, then the two teams automatically swap spots regardless of results from prior weeks. With that we move on to week four of the the NBA season.
The Miami Heat have been a somewhat surprising team so far this season, sporting a 9-3 record at the time of these rankings. They've won against every bad team they've played against, and are 3-3 against teams with an above-.500 record. There's a good chance Miami hovers around the top half of playoff seeding in the East for the remainder of the season. The Nuggets have also been playing well, despite their main star Nikola Jokic having a down year to this point. Their offense still has significant work to do (they rank 22nd in PPG) and consistency is still an issue, but I expect this team to be more dangerous come playoff time than they were last year.
Following their home loss to the Andrew Wiggins-less Timberwolves, the Jazz find themselves in the 29th spot of this week's rankings. While the team is more talented than they were last year, there are clearly growing pains being experienced right now, with two new offensive pieces being worked into the game plan (Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic.) Until Donovan Mitchell can learn to dominate games with more consistency, this team will remain well behind the top dogs in the West.
Teams that have been first: Sacramento Kings (1x), Houston Rockets (2x)
Teams that have been last: Memphis Grizzlies (2x), Golden State Warriors (1x)
1. Houston Rockets
(11-3)
2. Los Angeles Lakers
(12-2)
3. Denver Nuggets +21
(9-3)
4. Miami Heat
(9-3)
5. Milwaukee Bucks +3
(10-3)
6. Orlando Magic
(6-7)
7. Dallas Mavericks +18
(8-5)
8. Indiana Pacers -3
(8-6)
9. Sacramento Kings +4
(6-7)
10. Los Angeles Clippers +2
(9-5)
11. Boston Celtics -2
(11-2)
12. New Orleans Pelicans +4
(5-9)
13. Phoenix Suns +5
(7-6)
14. Minnesota Timberwolves +5
(8-6)
15. Brooklyn Nets +5
(5-8)
16. Oklahoma City Thunder -1
(5-9)
17. Philadelphia 76ers -7
(8-5)
18. Atlanta Hawks -7
(4-9)
19. Washington Wizards +10
(3-8)
20. Golden State Warriors +10
(3-12)
21. Toronto Raptors -14
(9-4)
22. Portland Trail Blazers
(5-10)
23. New York Knicks -2
(4-10)
24. Chicago Bulls -9
(4-10)
25. Charlotte Hornets +3
(6-8)
26. Cleveland Cavaliers
(4-9)
27. San Antonio Spurs
(5-9)
28. Detroit Pistons -5
(4-9)
29. Utah Jazz -26
(8-5)
30. Memphis Grizzlies -16
(5-9)
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.
