NBA Power Rankings: Week 1 edition

Crossing expectations and crushing disappointments are a part and parcel of the first week of the NBA season and the 2014-15 regular season has been no different. Along with the emotions the first week has also split the 30 team pack into three.The teams at the top, the teams who are mediocre and need to do some problem solving and finally the winless ones. Remember these rankings are based on the week by week performance of teams in the ongoing regular season. So without any further ado, here are Sportskeeda’s NBA Power Rankings for Week 1:

#30 Philadelphia 76ers

Team Record: 0-4

The 76ers have nothing going for them since the Dwight Howard trade that send Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets back in the summer of 2012. They broke the record last season for most consecutive losses with 27 and seem to be on the road to another record despite having some promising young talent in Nerlens Noel, Joel Embid and Michael Carter Williams.

#29 Los Angeles Lakers

Team Record: 0-4

For a thrid season in a row injuries have crippled the prestigious franchise of the Los Angeles Lakers. Julius Randle, Steve Nash and Nick Young are all out for the next two months with the first two ruled out for the entire season.

That being said, the team had improved performance wise in the second two games they played. Schedule could also be a reason for their last spot on the rankings. They played four games in five nights against Playoff contending teams in the West.

#28 Detroit Pistons

Team Record: 0-3

Stan van Gundy taking over the team was supposed to bring good fortune to Detroit, instead the team seems to be going backwards playing worse than they were last season. Their front court issue hasn’t been resolved yet with Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith not having success when on the floor together. Brandon Jennings has been a ghost of what he was in Milwaukee.

#27 Orlando Magic

Maurice Harkless, Victor Oladipo and Kyle O’Quinn

Team Record: 0-3

They might be winless so far but there are a lot of good things going on in Orlando right now. There are a bunch of rookies and sophomores assembled there that are waiting to burst onto the scene.

Alas, it isnt going to happen with Victor Oladipo and Channing Fyre sitting on the bench. This team needs time before it starts making some noise

#26 Atlanta Hawks

The starting line-up of the Atlanta Hawks

Team Record: 0-2

The return of Al Horford from injury has not been able to rescue the Hawks from the disastrous off-season they had due to the controversy surrounding their owner and general manager Danny Ferry.

Going winless from the first week is not how you wanna perform after giving many realistic Playoff expectations on the back of a terrific 2014 post-season.

#25 Oklahoma City Thunder

Team Record: 1-3

The Thunder fans join the Pacer nation in terms of readying themselves for a disastrous season ahead with both their stars Durant and Westbrook ruled out at least for a month. There has been a silver lining to the absence of the superstar duo-the emergence of role players into the spotlight such as Perry Jones and Sebastian Telfair however the duo is far from talented to win games for the team.

#24 Utah Jazz

Team Record: 1-2

Re-signing Gordon Hayward has been one of the best moves the Jazz franchise has made in quite some time. Youngsters like Alex Burks, Dante Exum are finally finding a home with the Jazz and could be a team on the upset watch this season.

#23 Minnesota Timberwolves

Kevin Martin, Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins

Team Record: 1-2

Despite losing Kevin Love, Minnesota are in a much better position compared to a year earlier when rumors surrounding Love’s trade request were constantly passing in the media. The franchise has passed that phase and by trading Love for young, talented pieces look to make a strong impact in the coming future rather than blossming immediately.

#22 Milwaukee Bucks

Jason Kidd, Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker

Team Record: 1-2

After multiple seasons with no end results, the Bucks have finally invested smartly in the future with a young Head Coach and a young team led by favored Rookie of the Year candidate and second overall pick Jabari Parker. Their record might not be encouraging but their play in the three games has been fun to watch

#21 Boston Celtics

Team Record: 1-2

The three games so far has proved one thing, the franchise has chose the right player to be their corner stone-Rajon Rondo. In the three games the point guard has averaged 8 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds, declaring himself as the team’s floor general.

The franchise with the most championships in the history of the NBA has officially taken its first step towards another one with a healthy Rondo this season.

#20 Indiana Pacers

Team Record: 1-2

Stephenson gone and Paul George ruled out with injury leaves a huge hole in the Pacers offense. The question which they will be battling all season will be where to bring that offense from because they clearly have the defense to beat the teams but you cant win games on defense alone. It’s going to be a tough season for Pacers fans that saw the win against the lottery bound 76ers the lone thing to cheer about.

#19 New Orleans Pelicans

Team Record: 1-2

They started off the season at home in dominating fashion courtesy of their front court led by Anthony Davis. There is no doubting this team can compete but currently it is finding it hard to do so on the defensive end of things despite Davis manning the paint. Offensively they have found some plays which they can depend on night in and night out. Hopefully the rest of the season does that go the same way the first week went for this team which was a lot of potential.

#18 Denver Nuggets

Team Record: 1-2

A host of their players were injured last season and barring Javale Mcgee, all of the players have made a healthy return to the court, finally giving Head Coach Brian Shaw the chance to coach and make a contender out of a healthy team. That being said, the team is still fine tuning its co-ordination and will require more time before they can start making use of their high altitude home court and win consistently.

#17 Portland Trailblazers

Team Record: 1-2

The Blazers have looked a shell of the team that they were last season where they surprised many by qualifying 5th in the West and winning their first Playoff series since 2000. Last season the starters played so well that they needed to play more minutes in order to make up for the lack luster bunch.The top story of the season so far has been the opposite-struggle of their big players-LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and Nicolas Batum. A complete reversal with their bench providing the energy and keeping them in games.

#16 Charlotte Hornets

Team Record: 1-2

Probably the most unluckiest team this opening week of the regular season. In game 1 agains the Milwaukee Bucks, Kemba Walker’s buzzer beater carried them to a win but in the next two games, Walker’s attempt at icing the game has hurt them.

Not only has he missed the last shot but the missed shot stabbed the team in the back when the opponents made their last shot to steal the game. They lost by 2 to the Grizzlies and 3 to the Knicks. Lance Stephenson seems to be a good fit here so far.

#15 Brooklyn Nets

Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnett, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez

Team Record: 2-1

The team might have a winning record but their wins have come against tactically lost and depleted teams like the Detroit Pistons and the Thunder. They were humiliated on the road by the lottery team the Boston Celtics in the season opener.

Brook Lopez and Deron Williams seem to be back from injury but are far from the level of play they exibited before their respective injuries. Lionel Hollins, the head coach seems to be making waves for all the right reasons unlike team’s former coach Jason Kidd.

#14 Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Record: 1-1

The seocnd LeBron James era in Cleveland seems to have hit a few bumps early in its road. An upset loss at the hands of the New York Knicks on the opening night followed by a close overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls.

The game against the Chicago could have gone either way in the extra five minutes had Rose not been on the bench being rested with a twisted ankle. The true colors of this team are yet to be seen.

#13 San Antonio Spurs

Team Record: 1-1

They might be way down in the rankings but do not make the mistake of counting out these wily veterans. A close win and the return of Kawhi Leonard who did not get his max contract extension pretty much sums up the week for the defending champions.

Their loss to the Suns was more about their mistakes towards the end of the game rather than Phoenix outplaying them. Keep an eye out for them to keep overtaking teams as the regular season goes on.

#12 Phoenix Suns

Team Record: 2-1

Yet to be tested with serious size in the paint, the Phoenix Suns are enjoying the success of their off-season additions. Isiah Thomas gives them the offense they needed off the bench and if they weren’t getting enough from Eric Bledsoe, he started putting monster near truple iouble numbers showing why he was worth the money the franchise shelled to pay him as a restricted free agent this summer.

#11 Toronto Raptors

Team Record: 2-1

Every team has a motivation to do well. For the Raptors, the force is to prove that their last season performance wasn’t a flash in a pan and that they are here to stay. Their loss against the Miami Heat was heartbreaking since it came by such a small margin after making a comeback in the fourth quarter. As expected their back court of Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan have played huge roles but starting center Jonas Valanciunas has played an unexpectedly huge part in their success.

#10 Washington Wizards

Team Record: 2-1

John Wall has stepped up his game to another level, Paul Pierce’s game seems to be fitting in well and in general the team is riding a high considering that Bradley Beal is yet to step on the floor. There isn’t any room for excuses but the Wizards were playing without too many of their important players in the season opener loss against the Miami Heat having being suspended due to altercation between Joakim Noah and Pierce.

#9 New York Knicks

Team Record: 2-1

Courtesy of Derek Fisher, Phil Jackson’s trianlge offense has officially made it to the Big Apple. It took a while getting used to and that could be seen in the hapless showing in the season opener at Madison Square Garden.

However, the team has come out strong the next two games especially Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. Anthony’s averaging close to 25 points but has become a great felicitator at the same time. Stoudemire has embraced his coming off the bench role and is contributing big time.

#8 Chicago Bulls

Team Record: 2-1

The team’s play has been encouraging to say the least but nobody is paying attention to that and why would theywhen Derrick Rose is ruled out day to day with an ankle injury. It was deja vu for the second year in a row for the fans in Chicago when Rose hobbled towards the bench during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a twisted ankle.

Coming back to their play, this team could be serious title contenders if the team is healthy.

#7 Los Angeles Clippers

Team Record: 3-1

3 wins and 1 loss might have be a good way to start the season but the Clippers have rusty to say the least. Two out of their three wins they just escpaed a loss and their third win came in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter against a depleted Oklahoma City Thunder (without Westbrook and Durant).

If the wins weren’t enough, they also suffered their lone loss at the hands of an unfamiliar opponent in the Sacramento Kings. Clippers might be high up on the table but they have serious issues they need to resolve.

#6 Sacramento Kings

Team Record: 3-1

The Kings of the California captial have come a long way since finishing 13th last season in the West. Three of their first four opponents were tough Western Playoff teams yet the team came out victorious against two of them and now stand at what could possibly be their highest ranking ever at 7th.

Rudy Gay’s 40 point outing, healthy effective contribution by Darren Collison and DeMarcus Cousins’ focused play have been the talking points of their season so far.

#5 Dallas Mavericks

Team Record: 3-1

When it comes to the West, the Dallas Mavericks had one of the best off-seasons. The additions of Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler over the summer are starting to pay dividends in temrs of the team’s results.

Other than the close 2 point loss to the defending champions San Antonio Spurs on opening night, the team has been dominant so far. The team has one of the best two way starting line-ups in the league and the bench is not far behind either.

#4 Houston Rockets

Team Record: 4-0

Maybe things are finally materializing in Houston or the team just got lucky getting to play their first four games against lottery teams-Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics. James Harden and Dwight Howard have let their stats and performance do the talking.

The duo have asserted themselves in every game so far. The role players like Terrence Jones, Trevor Ariza and Jason Terry have also chipped in valuably.

#3 Memphis Grizzlies

Team Record: 4-0

If not anything else, the Memphis Grizzlies know the one thing they are the best at in the league is their grinding defense and it has worked wonders for them so far. They have kept it simple and stuck to the formula and remain one among only four teams who are currently unbeaten.

The role players added over the off-season like Vince Carter has paid dividends so far. If the team keep their focus on their type of defense, they could go a long way this season.

#2 Miami Heat

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade-The leaders of the new look Miami Heat

Team Record: 3-0

The Miami Heat surprise everybody with their strong start to the season which happened to help them break into the top 2 of the rankings. Chris Bosh has proved he deserved every penny on his new contract and along with Dwyane Wade has run the offense to help everybody perform well.

The team balance looks spectacular and LeBron James’ departure has actually helped this team play better without the spotlight on them.

#1 Golden State Warriors

Team record: 3-0

The Golden State Warriors under new Head Coach Steve Kerr top the rankings for week 1 on the back of impressive wins over the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers and the Portalnd Trailblazers.

Bringing Andre Iguodala off the bench and having an incredibly versatile and talented second unit helps the team’s starters play better. Klay Thompson has been on fire so far in the three games, repaying the franchise’s faith for inking him on a contract extension.

Edited by Staff Editor