Golden State Warriors Power Rankings: Down from Number One
The Golden State Warriors have consistently been atop the power rankings for the past couple weeks. However, after two losses this past week to the Los Angeles teams, the Warriors have shown a little vulnerability.
The Warriors currently have a 24-5 record, which is still the best in the NBA. Entering last week, the Warriors had a 22-3 record. However, in the past week, the Warriors have gone 2-2. They beat the Sacramento Kings last Monday at Oracle Arena by a final score of 128-108, and they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday by a final score of 110-97.
Their two losses came on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday by a final score of 115-105 and to the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas Day by a final score of 100-86.
Yahoo! Sports placed the Warriors at the number one spot of the power rankings, after ranking them number one last week too. Here’s what Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports had to say about the Warriors’ ranking this week:
"1. Golden State Warriors (Record: 24-5; last week’s rank: 1): The Warriors once again resemble last season’s small playoff team with centers Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli out with injuries."
Marc Stein of ESPN decided to drop the Warriors down in the power rankings. Instead of being the number one team overall like last week, the Warriors are number two in ESPN’s power rankings this week. Here’s what Stein said about the Warriors this week:
"The Dubs are a tidy 18-2 with Andrew Bogut healthy but have finally tumbled out of the top spot thanks largely to a bad loss to the Kobe-less Lakers without him. The good news? Golden State is just one game into a six-game homestand after playing 17 of its first 28 games on the road."
Like ESPN, NBA.com moved the Warriors down the list. After ranking the Warriors as the number one team last week, John Schuhmann of NBA.com ranked the Warriors number three overall this week, behind the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers. Here’s why:
"Golden State (24-5)Pace: 100.7 (1), OffRtg: 107.2 (5), DefRtg: 96.8 (1), NetRtg: +10.5 (1)Festus Ezeli sprained his ankle and the Warriors are now without both of their centers. Defense wasn’t the problem in Thursday’s loss to the Clippers, but with Marreese Speights and David Lee manning the five, it’s good that the Dubs are playing just two games in an eight-day stretch, and one of them is against the worst offensive team we’ve ever seen.This week: vs. PHI, vs. TOR"
The Warriors saw their power ranking drop on ESPN and NBA.com, but their ranking dropped even further on CBS Sports. After ranking the Warriors as number one last week, Matt Moore of CBS Sports ranked the Warriors as the number four team overall this week, behind the Toronto Raptors, Trail Blazers, and the Bulls. Here’s what Moore said about the Warriors:
"The loss to the Clippers on Christmas, and then a lackluster performance in a win over the Wolves that Steve Kerr wasn’t happy with has them slipping here. I still feel they could be the best team in the league, but they’ve finally hit a dip."
The Warriors have two games this upcoming week, both at Oracle Arena. The first one is against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, and the second one is against the Raptors on Friday.
Where do you think the Warriors should be in the latest power rankings? Given their two games this week, where do you think they will rank next week? Let us know in the comment section below.