Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.
Fridays are now NBA power rankings day! We skipped week 1 since only a game or two were played by each team, but now we have enough data to have some separation. The undefeated Jazz are on top of our rankings this week. Utah has been a winning team since coach Quin Snyder’s third season in 2016-17, even managing the best record in the NBA last year at 52-20, but in each of their last 5 trips to the post-season, the Jazz have failed to win more than one series, even crashing out in the first round twice. The consensus seems to be that Snyder’s brand of ball movement and unselfish basketball gets the most out of their talent, but the lack of truly dominant players dooms them in the post-season.
Their two best players are Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Mitchell is the closest thing they have to a top 10 player, and he took a step forward last year (26.2 points, 5.2 assists, and 4.4 rebounds on 43.8%/38.6%/84.5% shooting splits). That is very good, but not quite elite in terms of efficiency. He is small for a shooting guard at 6’1″ and this may make it difficult for him to take over games in the playoffs when defenses crank up to maximum intensity and the opposing coaching staff gets plenty of time to game plan against him in an extended series. Gobert is truly elite as a defender (3 time defensive player of the year, 5 time first team all defense selection), but limited on offense. He has shot a remarkable 64.5% from the field for his career, but that’s because he only shoots right at the rim. He is useful on the pick and roll and on put-backs, but is not a creative offensive player (career assists per game: 1.3) and has never made a three pointer. Literally zero for his career. Surrounding them are several good players (Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, and Joe Ingles) who play well in the system, but so far it hasn’t been enough to get to a Conference Finals. Will this be the year? If Mitchell makes a leap into the upper echelon (like he seemed to during last year’s quarantine bubble playoffs), they have a chance. But it’s tough sledding out West, with the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, Nuggets, Mavericks, Suns, and Trailblazers (another team stuck at very good, but not quite great) all looking like threats to make a run this year.
Detroit is detroit-ing to start the year, dead last and the only winless team. I’m not too worried about the team yet; Cade Cunningham, the #1 pick in the draft and consensus best player available, hasn’t player yet as the Pistons are being extra cautious with a slightly sprained ankle and this year wasn’t going to be anything other than a developmental, one that will hopefully result in another high draft pick in 2022. You really just want the young players to get better and the team to be competitive every night. Last year went perfectly if those were the expectations and they even won the lottery to get a (hopefully) franchise transforming player. Head Coach Dwayne Casey has a good track record for player development, first in Toronto and now in Detroit. When Cade is healthy, the Pistons will likely start a lineup consisting of Cunningham (20 years old), Killian Hayes (20), Saddiq Bey (22), Isaiah Stewart (20), and old man Jerami Grant (27). Pretty good core for the future who will get plenty of opportunities to get better. Let’s go get a win, though.
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