NBA Power Rankings, Oct. 27- Nov. 2

By Brayden Neubauer
 
Welcome to the Basketball Pantheon power rankings. Each week Brayden will rank the 30 teams based on where they are at right now and how they performed in the previous week. In the future Adam will provide feedback, but for this first edition we simply give you the rankings, enjoy.​

1. Golden State Warriors: Warriors have been far away the most impressive team this season, if I’m allowed to say that only four games in. The team has won its first four games by over 100 points total and Steph Curry has been magnificent in every one of them. They currently lead the league in Offensive Rating (OffRtg), FG%, and assists, and are 2nd in Defensive Rating (DefRtg). All of the talk to open up the season about the Warriors path to the title being “lucky” was definitely fuel to their fire. We’ll see when they slow down, if ever.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder: We’ve been reminded over the course of these first four games that having Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant on the same team is almost unfair. Although they lost to the Rockets on Monday night, who have been a disaster to begin the season, the Thunder are going to be a terrifying offensive force in the loaded Western Conference, sitting at second in OffRtg. Billy Donovan, while he may not have walked into the most difficult of coaching jobs, seems to be handling the transition well.
3. San Antonio Spurs: Since the loss in their season opener against the Thunder, the Spurs seem to be getting closer to perfecting their new and improved system with each game. LaMarcus Aldridge is finding his role, and Kawhi Leonard is breaking out as a two-way superstar. It’s pretty safe to just never count the Spurs out. Ever. 
4. Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavaliers are, have been, and likely will continue to be, the obvious choice to come out of the Eastern Conference. After opening the season with a loss, the Cavs have come back to win three straight against Memphis, Miami, and Philly. If the team can stay (even relatively) healthy, expect LeBron and company to win a lot of games this season.
5. Los Angeles Clippers: The only reason the undefeated Clippers aren’t higher than five on this list is because of whom they have played so far. After solid wins over the Kings (twice), Mavs, and Suns, the team will be truly tested on Wednesday against the Warriors. Blake Griffin has been tremendous, but his performance early on has gone slightly unnoticed due most likely to Steph’s brilliance so far.
6. Chicago Bulls: Chicago’s defense has been great so far in it’s first few games. After opening up the season with an impressive win against Cleveland, that defense should be tested Thursday night against the Thunder. If the Bulls can stay healthy, they have the personnel to give the Cavs a run for their money come playoff time. 
7. Toronto Raptors: The Raptors are 3-0, one of four undefeated teams, and will likely improve to 4-0 against Dallas on Tuesday. They’ve won by an average of almost 10 points per game, which currently ranks 5th in the league. They have something to prove this season after accomplishing nada in the playoffs.
8. Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade has been tremendous to start and with Chris Bosh back in action, along with Hassan Whiteside (so far) living up to the hype he built last season, the Heat should be a fun team in the East. Miami also turned a 21-point deficit into a 20 point win over Houston on Sunday night, so that counts for something.
9. Atlanta Hawks: Alright Hawks fans, I know you’re reading this right now, and I know what you’re thinking - you’re upset that I ranked the Heat one spot ahead of you in this week’s power rankings. Well here’s your chance to prove me wrong by beating them on Tuesday night. And tell Al Horford to keep up the good work.
10. Detroit Pistons: The last undefeated team, the Pistons deserve to be in the top 10. They’ve given the Hawks, the Jazz, and the Bulls their only losses. I want to go on record saying that I do not believe this will continue, but it’s a fantastic start for a team that wants a playoff spot badly.
11. Washington Wizards: John Wall has been great so far for the Wizards, with help from his backcourt running mate Bradley Beal. The Wiz’s new system opens up the floor for those two to create, and it’s working relatively well to start the season.
12. Boston Celtics: The Celtics have it in their DNA to give any team trouble on any given night. While they aren’t championship ready, and won’t be for a few years, Brad Stevens is cooking up something potentially great in Boston.
13. Utah Jazz: Utah has been awesome defensively so far, especially considering they began the season with three road games. Gordon Hayward is an emerging star and the Jazz has the pieces to be another great team in the next few years.
14. Memphis Grizzlies: After an embarrassing home opener and a 50-point (YES FIVE-ZERO) loss to Golden State on Monday night, the Grizzlies sit 2-2 in their first four games. They have four more road games coming up.
15. Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points on 10/13 shooting on Sunday night against the Lakers. I don’t care if it was the Lakers; I loved every second of it. Once Parsons is 100%, Dallas still has a chance to snag a playoff spot.
16. Phoenix Suns: Phoenix is another team in the West that would like more than anything to steal one of the last playoff spots. Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe are still figuring out how to play with each other, though, and need to figure it out quickly in this conference.
17. Houston Rockets: I have no clue what was going on in the Rockets first three games, where they were blown out by at least 20 in each contest, but an impressive win against OKC on Monday night requires me not to have them in the bottom 10.
18. Sacramento Kings: The Kings haven’t looked too bad to begin the season, but have a difficult schedule coming up. Rondo hasn’t been a disaster so far, which is a good sign, but Cousin’s needs to find his groove. It will come, I think.
19. Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo is back, Jabari Parker is coming back, and Greg Monroe looks great. Sitting 1-3 now with a win over Brooklyn, the Bucks are bound to earn a playoff spot this year in the East once they get going.
20. Minnesota Timberwolves: The Timberwolves could very well be undefeated right now if not for a terrible foul called on Karl-Anthony Towns during a jump ball late against Portland. Rubio has been great, Towns already looks like a star, and Garnett is there to keep everyone in check.
21. Orlando Magic: The Magic was part of the most exciting game of the season so far against OKC; they simply won’t quit. This is a team with a lot of heart and a lot of young talent. While they may not win a lot of games this year, they will absolutely be fun to watch.
22. Portland Trailblazers: C.J. McCollum is just shooting at will right now and I’m not really sure what that’s about. Portland won’t make the playoffs, but maybe Damian Lillard can figure out how to run a team, and the Blazers can have a chance at a top draft pick and start to rebuild around him. 
23. New York Knicks: Honestly, I didn’t expect to ever be putting the Knicks this high, but they haven’t been terrible. And I’m still not sure how I feel about Sasha Vujacic starting on an NBA team in 2015.
24. New Orleans Pelicans: What a disappointing start to the season for Anthony Davis and the Pels. I hope they can get healthy and figure out how to deal with AD being the sole focus for opposing defenses. I picked them to make the playoffs!
25. Denver Nuggets: Denver’s only win came in a 20-point victory over the struggling Rockets. They don’t have much of an offensive threat, though Emmanuel Mudiay was my pick for rookie of the year and he has been what I had hoped.
26. Indiana Pacers: The Pacers have yet to win a game, and have yet to figure out what they’re doing defensively.
27. Charlotte Hornets: With Michael Kidd-Gilchrist likely out for the season, Charlotte’s fate is left solely in the hands of Kemba Walker. I don’t plan on watching too many Hornets games this year. Sorry MJ.
28. Brooklyn Nets: The Nets are very bad.
29. Philadelphia 76ers: Jahlil Okafor has shown spurts of great basketball, but the Sixers are looking at another loss-filled season.
30. Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers are paying 25 million dollars to the self-proclaimed “200th best player in the league”. That doesn’t seem like a good thing.