Golden State Warriors Power Rankings: Now Number Two
The Golden State Warriors lost one game last week, but they still went 3-1 during a stretch of two back-to-backs, four games in five days, and three out of the four games on the road. That’s still impressive.
The Warriors beat the Utah Jazz last Tuesday, beat the Miami Heat on Wednesday, lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, and beat the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
The Warriors still have the best record in the NBA at 32-6, they’ve gone 9-1 in their last 10 games, and they have a 17-1 record at home.
Last week, the Warriors ranked in the same place in the power rankings as they did the previous week. CBS Sports and Yahoo! Sports ranked the Warriors number one in the power rankings last week, ESPN ranked the Warriors number two, and NBA.com ranked them number three.
This week, let’s start off with CBS Sports’ power rankings.
Matt Moore of CBS Sports moved the Warriors down in the power rankings this week to the number two spot, after ranking them as the top team last week. The Atlanta Hawks replaced the Warriors as the number one team in their power rankings this week. Here’s what Moore said about the Warriors:
"It’s a supreme testament to the Warriors that you can read the above blurb on the Hawks, and yet Golden State, in the tougher Western Conference, has a better winning percentage (.842) than the Hawks (.805) do playing in the Eastern Conference."
Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports ranked the Warriors number one last week, like CBS Sports did, and also like Moore did, Spears dropped the Warriors to the number two ranking. He also ranked the Hawks as the number one team this week. Here’s what Spears said about the Warriors:
"2. Golden State Warriors (Record: 32-6; last week’s rank: 1): The Warriors are still winning at an elite level, but Atlanta made the margin of error so slim that one loss last week dropped Golden State."
Next up, ESPN. Marc Stein of ESPN kept the Warriors in the number two spot this week, behind the Hawks, after ranking them second last week too. Here’s what Stein said about the Warriors:
"After eight straight wins, all by at least 11 points, you can pardon what happened in Oklahoma City. Especially when you take note of how the Dubs responded Saturday night in Houston. And when you remember they’ve won 15 straight home games. And 17 in a row when Andrew Bogut plays."
Stein also said this about why he ranked the Hawks above the Warriors:
"The Hawks have also won 12 in a row on the road after sweeping what was supposed to be an ominous back-to-back in Chicago and Toronto. They’re just the fourth team in the new millennium to win 12 consecutive roadies, joining Allen Iverson’s 2000-01 Philadelphia 76ers and LeBron James’ Miami Heat in both 2010-11 and 2012-13.As a result, Golden State remains parked in the No. 2 slot, despite sporting the league’s best record (32-6) and a nightly point margin that remains in double digits (plus-10.9) even after Friday night’s rare slip-up in Oklahoma City. The Hawks continue to make things largely automatic at the top for the Power Rankings committee (of one), sporting that 26-2 record since Thanksgiving and ranking tops in the league in defensive efficiency (allowing just 96.3 points per 100 possessions) in that span as they begin a seven-game homestand for the rest of the month."
John Schuhmann of NBA.com moved the Warriors up in the power rankings, but the Warriors were yet again the number two team this week. Schuhmann had ranked the Warriors as the number three team last week, behind the Hawks and the Blazers, but now the Warriors are second behind the Hawks. Here’s what Schuhmann said about the Warriors:
"Last week: 3Golden State (32-6)Pace: 100.8 (1) OffRtg: 109.7 (3) DefRtg: 97.2 (1) NetRtg: +12.5 (1)Stephen Curry has been an MVP candidate all season (and his on-off court NetRtg differential is still ridiculous) and Klay Thompson is making a late All-Star push, averaging 25.7 points with an effective field goal percentage of 63.0 over the last six games. The Dubs haven’t lost at home game since Nov. 11 and begin a five-game homestand on Monday.This week: vs. DEN, vs. HOU, vs. SAC, vs. BOS"
The Warriors have four games again this week, all at home, starting with their matchup against the Denver Nuggets today. They then face the Rockets on Wednesday, the Sacramento Kings on Friday, and the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
This four-game stretch isn’t quite as brutal as last week’s, as the Warriors will be at home all week, and they will face only one real playoff team in this stretch. These games are certainly winnable, so we’ll see if the Warriors can claim the number one spot in the power rankings next week.