Golden State Warriors Power Rankings: Still Number One
The Golden State Warriors’ 22-3 record is the best in the NBA. The Warriors are also currently the best in the NBA in terms of power rankings.
The latest NBA power rankings were released today, and the Warriors remain atop the list for ESPN, NBA.com, and CBS Sports.
ESPN chose the Warriors as the top NBA team in last week’s power rankings, and this week, they did the same. Marc Stein of ESPN wrote this about why the Warriors are still number one:
"The Golden State Warriors have lost just once in the last 39 days.And that’s why, despite finally bidding farewell to their 16-game winning streak in Memphis last Tuesday night, Golden State continues to sit atop ESPN.com’s weekly NBA Power Rankings.…Can they score as much as they need to when Steph Curry goes to the bench? Valid question. What we do know, though, is that one loss on the road to the full-strength Grizz isn’t enough to drop the Dubs yet. Not when they’ve managed to beat Houston, Dallas and OKC without Andrew Bogut."
After ranking the Warriors as the number one team in the NBA in last week’s power rankings, NBA.com kept the Warriors atop the list this week as well. Here’s what John Schuhmann of NBA.com had to say about the Warriors:
"Golden State (22-3)Pace: 100.5 (1), OffRtg: 107.5 (5), DefRtg: 95.9 (1), NetRtg: +11.6 (1)The Warriors are surviving without Andrew Bogut, but need to keep Stephen Curry in bubble wrap. They’ve only lost three games, but are somehow worse with Curry off the floor this season (-8.9 points per 100 possessions) than they were last season (-5.0) after getting outscored by 23 in his nine minutes on the bench in Tuesday’s loss in Memphis.This week: vs. SAC, @ LAL, @ LAC, vs. MIN"
CBS Sports continued the trend and also ranked the Warriors as the top team in the NBA in this week’s power rankings. A lot of their focus in the power rankings this week was on the Dallas Mavericks’ trade for Rajon Rondo, but the Warriors still remain the number one team in the power rankings, after ranking number one last week too.
Here’s what Matt Moore of CBS Sports had to say about the Warriors:
"Andrew Bogut’s injury is concerning, but not cause for panic. They’re good enough to persevere. The loss to the Grizzlies on Tuesday was concerning, but a good bounceback vs. the Thunder on Thursday re-established confidence from the market."
The Warriors faced an extremely tough schedule during the past week or two, facing some of the best teams in the Western Conference such as the Mavericks, the Houston Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Memphis Grizzlies. The Warriors were without Andrew Bogut and David Lee in their loss to the Grizzlies, but the Warriors proved their dominance when they won those other tough matchups, while still being undermanned.
The Warriors deserve the number one spot in all of these power rankings, and it’s great for fans to see the Warriors consistently receiving national recognition.
Next: Why Steve Kerr Was the Missing Piece to the Warriors All Along