Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.
The Jazz are still on top after a 3-1 week, but the new #2 team is Golden State. It has been a couple of years since the Warriors lost in the Finals to Toronto, losing Kevin Durant to a torn Achilles and Klay Thompson to a torn ACL during the series. That summer, Durant moved on to the Nets and then Thompson, after missing the entire next year, tore his Achilles in the preseason as he was poised to make his return. Steph Curry also broke his hand during the year after the finals loss, and although he was healthy last year, he and Draymond Green were only able to get the Warriors to the new play-in tournament the NBA came up with during Covid. They were eliminated and thus missed the playoffs two years in a row after dominating the NBA from 2014-2019.
This year they are off to a 6-1 start. Thompson should be back from his Achilles injury by the end of the year. Last year’s #2 overall draft pick James Wiseman should be back soon as well. The only fly in the ointment is the perception that the Warriors have played an easy schedule. So far, the toughest teams they’ve played (by preseason expectation) has been the #21 Clippers (still without Kawhi Leonard) and the # 17 Lakers, both of whom the Warriors defeated. The #7 Grizzlies knocked them off, but #10 Hornets, #14 Kings, and #23 Thunder (twice) were dispatched with relative ease. Our rankings say the schedule has been at least somewhat challenging, so we’ll have to see how those teams make out during the rest of the season. Both the Hornets and Grizzles have a lot of young talent, and I think they will be at least in the running for the post season. While the success so far has mostly been down to the Green/Curry tandem, Jordan Poole has looked like a good complementary scorer as he deputizes for Thompson. Klay should be able to come back with some effectiveness as a shooter despite the injuries, but whether he’ll still be a great defender remains to be seen. Wiseman showed some talent last year, but the Warriors were actually better with him on the bench in terms of +/- stats. How will those two key pieces be reincorporated? Will the young bench guys (Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Jordan Poole) become key contributors? What about the veteran signings (Nemanja Bjelica, Otto Porter, Jr, Andre Igoudala)? Right now the Warriors are playing well on both ends of the floor (5th in point per game at 111.3 and 6th in points allowed at 101.4. Let’s see how they do with all their players back. I think they’re back to being one of the best teams in the league, but they still have some obstacles to overcome in the next couple of months.
In Detroit, we have a win! Just the one, and a 1-3 week is nothing to be proud of, but hey, it’s still better than the Lions! The biggest problem has been shooting. The Pistons are dead last in field goal percentage (39.5%) and 3 point percentage (27.2%). Unsurprisingly, this has them last in points per game as well (95.5). Obviously, the shooting will improve; shooting that bad is unsustainable for professionals. Cunningham has struggled in particular with his shot. He’s currently sporting god-awful 17.9/4.8/91.7 shooting splits. He was a pretty good shooter during his one year in college (43.8/40.0/84.6), so I think this may just be an adjustment period struggle in his first 3 games as a pro. He did manage 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists despite being 4-17 from the field and 1-7 from 3 point range last night, so his free throw shooting (9-10) salvaged an otherwise poor night. The Pistons should be more competitive once Cade gets more comfortable and their shooters drift back to the mean a little.
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