Golden State Warriors Power Rankings: Maintaining Number One Spot

By Maggie Pilloton | Mar 2, 2015

The Golden State Warriors finished with yet another winning record in last week’s games. The Warriors went 3-1 in their games last week, which were all on the road, with wins coming against the Washington Wizards, the Toronto Raptors, and the Boston Celtics. The Warriors’ lone loss was against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Heading into this week, the Warriors still have the best record in the NBA at 46-11. They have a 24-2 record at home and a 22-9 record on the road so far this season.

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In last week’s power rankings, the Warriors earned the top spot in all four major power rankings for the second consecutive week. The Warriors have also been near the top of the power rankings for most of the season.

Let’s see how the Warriors’ 3-1 record last week affected their ranking this week. We’ll start off with ESPN’s power rankings.

Marc Stein of ESPN discussed how the Warriors were barely able to escape Boston with a win yesterday, but that didn’t cause Stein to rank the Warriors any differently than he did last week. Stein, once again, placed the Warriors in the top spot of his power rankings this week. Here’s what he had to say about the Warriors:

"The Dubs needed to match the biggest comeback seen all season — from 26 points down — to escape Boston with a win. The fine print, though, suggests they’re just fine, with a 9-3 mark entering Monday’s game at Brooklyn to cap that hellacious stretch in which they’ll have played 11 out of 13 games on the road."

John Schuhmann of NBA.com discussed the Warriors’ recent stretch of tough road games and their upcoming stretch of home games this week. He also mentioned Klay Thompson in the introduction portion of his power rankings. He pointed out that Thompson was the “plus-minus stud” of the week, as he was plus-58 in the Warriors’ four games last week.

Schuhmann, like Stein, had ranked the Warriors first last week and did the same this week. Here’s what he said about the Warriors this week:

"Golden State (46-11)Pace: 101.0 (1) OffRtg: 109.5 (2) DefRtg: 97.7 (1) NetRtg: +11.7 (1)Stephen Curry‘s foot issue was minor and he shot 62 percent in the Warriors’ three wins last week. But he and Klay Thompson both struggled against the Cavs’ improved defense on Thursday. Monday’s visit to Brooklyn concludes a stretch where the Dubs will have played 10 of 11 games on the road. After that, it’s 10 of 12 at home, where they’re 24-2.This week: @ BKN, vs. MIL, vs. DAL, vs. LAC"

Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports also ranked the Warriors number one this week, after doing the same last week. Spears discussed a possible pickup for the Warriors later in the season, as they head into the postseason. Here’s what Spears said:

"1. Golden State Warriors (Record: 46-11; last week: 1): Could the Warriors have interest in center JaVale McGee when he becomes a free agent? He could be postseason insurance for Andrew Bogut."

Matt Moore of CBS Sports has not yet released his power rankings this week. He ranked the Warriors number one last week though.

The Warriors finish off their six-game road trip today against the Brooklyn Nets. This game is the second game of a back-to-back and also concludes their second back-to-back in five days.

The Warriors don’t have much time to rest up after a long road trip and two back-to-backs though, as they play four games again this week. As mentioned before, their first game of the week is against the Nets today, but then they return home for the rest of the week before going on the road again next Monday.

Their second game of the week is against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, their third game is against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, and the fourth and final game of this week is against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

The Nets are on the cusp of making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, as they are currently the ninth seed, despite currently having a losing record. However, the three other teams that the Warriors face this week would all be playoff teams if the playoffs started today. The Bucks are the sixth seed in the East right now, the Mavericks are the sixth seed in the West, and the Clippers are the fifth seed in the West.

The Warriors are currently the best team in the NBA, but all four of these games will be tough for them, as they will be at the end of a long road trip and be facing playoff teams this week. We’ll see how the Warriors fare this week and if they can maintain their top spot in the power rankings next week.

Next: Warriors Prepare for Remainder of NBA Season

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