Welcome back to the exciting NBA top 10 power rankings presented by me! We are now conlcuding the fifth week of the NBA season and a few new names have jumped into the top 10. Before we get into those teams, here are two teams that just missed the week 5 list.
MISSED THE CUT
Cavs – The Cleveland Cavs shocked many people as they were able to get the new big 3 Nets two times in a row. In the first game, Collin Sexton was able to force 2 OT and COMPLETELY took over in double overtime by scoring 20 consecutive points and leading the Cavs to a big win. They also beat them the second time, due to a poor game from James Harden. KD was also not playing. The Cavs can be inconsistent, however, as they lost the very next game to the Celtics by 38 points.
Grizzlies – After six out of eight games were postponed for them, the Memphis Grizzlies are playing basketball games again! These delays may have been a blessing in disguise for them, as Ja Morant was able to return from his injury and they have won 5 games in a row and are now the 9th seed in the west. If they keep this momentum going, they may punch their card into the playoffs this year.
Now onto the top 10…
10. Warriors – The Warriors are another very inconistent team. But impressive wins against the Lakers and Spurs have squeezed them barely into the top 10. They also beat the Timberwolves twice this week, but they’re the Timberwolves. It’s still too early to tell how good this Warriors team is but they seem to be doing much better than last year. Could Steph Curry lead them into the playoffs, potentially giving us a Lakers vs Warriors matchup in the postseason?
9. Celtics – The Celtics have dropped 7 spots on the list since week 3. While they got easy wins against the Cavs and the Bulls, they had two tough losses against the Sixers and another loss against the Spurs on Wednesday. They also got blown out by 30 points to the Knicks at home! Tatum was able to come back from his injury against the Bulls, so maybe this team can get back on track.
8. Pacers – They were the eighth spot last time, and they have maintained the same spot. Not much to say about the Pacers, as they have been playing decent basketball. Their game hasn’t been too special as the Clippers and the Mavs are able to easily beat them. Hopefully, when Caris LeVert makes a full recovery from his kidney cancer treatment, he can join the team and give them the boost that they really did. No matter what happens, the Pacers will make the playoffs.
7. Nets – After two embarrassing losses to the Cavs, the Nets have won three games in a row against subpar teams. They are, no doubt, an insanely good team on offense. They struggle greatly on the defensive end. They allow the opponent team to score over 125 points almost every single game. The Nets don’t have a player on their roster that is known to be a lockdown defender. The closest thing they have to that is a washed-up DeAndre Jordan. They need to figure out how to fix that issue because if they don’t, it could mean big trouble for them in the playoffs.
6. Bucks – The Bucks have dropped two spots since last time, following two big losses to the Lakers and the Nets. They have had a very easy schedule recently and seem to only lose too over .500 teams. This may be a problem as Giannis’s stats have all dropped since last year. I believe they will be able to pick it up and go back to their winning ways very soon and end up finishing the season at least 2nd seed in the eastern conference.
5. Nuggets – When the Nuggets started off the season 1-5, many people were wondering what was going on with them. They seemed to be a completely different team than the guys that sent the Clippers home last year and reached the WCF. After their poor start, the Nuggets have gone 10-2 in their last 12 games and Nikola Jokic leads the team in LITERALLY every single category. He is playing out of his mind and now the Nuggets have gone from the 15th seed to the 5th seed in the West. Jokic should for now, be a heavy consideration for MVP.
4. Sixers – The Sixers were able to put an end to the Lakers’ perfect 10-0 road record and come up with a huge win. Joel Embiid has been amazing so far as the Sixers currently sit at the top of the East with a 13-6 record. Maybe, this can be the year where they can finally reach the finals if Embiid can stay healthy and continue to be this dominant. The only thing that is holding them back is Ben Simmons. He has had a very disappointing season so far. He gets triple-doubles here and there but has only had one game where he scored 20 points. He doesn’t seem confident at all and refuses to shoot jump shots. If Simmons can finally develop his jumper, I would put the Sixers as the favorites to come out of the East, but that seems to be very unlikely.
3. Clippers – Recently, Kawhi and Paul George have been missing games due to COVID protocols, but before that they had led their team to the 1st seed in the West and seemed to be on a roll. This team still has a lot to prove following last year’s disappointment. However, I must give them credit here as they are playing very good basketball. Will this be enough for them to reach their first WCF in franchise history? That all depends on if Paul George will show up to the playoffs or not.
2. Jazz – In week 3, the Jazz just missed the cut and weren’t in the top 10. I mentioned that they were an inconsistent team and could lose to bad teams on any given night. Maybe the Utah Jazz listened to the podcast two weeks ago? Ever since I wrote that article, they haven’t lost a single game and have won 10 games in a row. They are currently the number 1 seed in the West. Rudy Gobert seems to have taken Shaq’s criticism personally and went off for 29 points and 20 rebounds against the Mavericks. We’ll have to wait until the playoffs are here, to see if this Jazz team is legit and different from their past years. But as of right now, they are the hottest team in the league.
1. Lakers – While the Lakers dropped their first road loss to the Sixers on Wednesday night, I still view them as the best team in the league. LeBron had a monster game against the Cavs with 46 points and is now the favorite to win league MVP according to VegasInsider. AD is off to a bad start in the season according to his standards, but I think he’ll be fine in the long run when it’s time for the playoffs.
