Now that we’ve covered the Eastern Conference’s Power Rankings, Warriors fans can now rapidly jump onto the Western Conference’s one to verify where the Dubs situate themselves.
15. Los Angeles Lakers (2-4)
Offensive Efficiency: 103 (7th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 98 (tied for 12th in NBA)
Team Blog: Forum Blue and Gold.
Take on the team: Every time the Lakers fire their head coach so far this season, they are victorious. If they can reproduce this 76 more times for the remainder of the season, they might just challenge the ’96 Bulls all-time winning record.
14. Sacramento Kings (2-4)
Offensive Efficiency: 92 (tied for 28th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 98 (tied for 12th in NBA)
Team Blog: Cowbell Kingdom.
Take on the team: The Kings have a different feel to them this season; not necessarily a playoff one; but more so of a team that means business. They look much more aggressive, more physical and more intimidating. Whether that translates to more wins remains to be seen.
13. Phoenix Suns (3-3)
Offensive Efficiency: 100 (tied for 13th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 106 (27th in NBA)
Team Blog: Valley of the Suns.
Take on the team: The Suns looked a little lost early in the season on offense as the franchise officially began the post-Nash era, but they have looked a little better as of late and might not end up with the worst record in the Pacific as someone over at Warriors World (me) had predicted.
12. Utah Jazz (2-4)
Offensive Efficiency: 98 (tied for 20th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 99 (tied for 15th in NBA)
Team Blog: Salt City Hoops.
Take on the team: Their might not be a more Jekyll and Hyde team in the league than the Utah Jazz. They’ve lost all of their road games so far, but won both of their home games against the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers by an average of 14 points.
11. Denver Nuggets (3-3)
Offensive Efficiency: 99 (tied for 15th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 98 (tied for 12th in NBA)
Team Blog: Roundball Mining.
Take on the team: Denver started out the season by losing three games in a row — all on the road — but have since rebounded and won three straight, most recently routing Utah by 20.
10. New Orleans Hornets (3-2)
Offensive Efficiency: 97 (tied for 22nd in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 95 (tied for 4th in NBA)
Team Blog: Hornets 247.
Take on the team: Monty Williams rarely gets credit and it’s a shame because the Hornets have been extremely competitive under him going back to last season despite Eric Gordon’s inability to suit up for games. The Hornets are fun to watch and Anthony Davis has not disappointed early on.
9. Houston Rockets (2-3)
Offensive Efficiency: 94 (26th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 97 (tied for 8th in NBA)
Team Blog: Red94.
Take on the team: The Rockets have lost three games in a row but have lost to some tough opposition as well, which is why despite their losing record at the moment they are still a top team in the Western Conference based on their performance so far this season.
8. Portland Trail Blazers (2-3)
Offensive Efficiency: 99 (tied for 15th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 107 (28th in NBA)
Team Blog: Portland Roundball.
Take on the team: The Trail Blazers are a joy to watch and might just be a sneaky good team although not everyone realizes it yet. Portland might seem like a subpar team given their record, but their losses have come at OKC, at Dallas and versus the Los Angeles Clippers; all of which were playoff teams last season.
7. Golden State Warriors (3-3)
Offensive Efficiency: 96 (tied for 24th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 99 (tied for 15th in NBA)
Team Blog: Obviously here at Warriors World.
Take on the team: Until last night’s shellacking at the hands of the Lakers, I actually had the Warriors a spot higher by virtue of their victory over the Clippers, but being soundly beaten by a team in disarray warrants at least a slight drop.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (4-1)
Offensive Efficiency: 101 (tied for 11th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 97 (7th in NBA)
Team Blog: A Wolf Among Wolves.
Take on the team: The Wolves undoubtedly have been the early surprise of the season given their play as well as their record despite the absence of Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love. The additions of Kirilenko and Roy coupled with their synergy with the roster seem to be paying huge dividends; one can only wonder how that plays out when Love and Rubio eventually come back.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (4-2)
Offensive Efficiency: 104 (6th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 94 (3rd in NBA)
Team Blog: Daily Thunder.
Take on the team: Now that everyone has moved on from the James Harden saga, we can clearly see that Oklahoma City is a really good team that’s actually getting quality and efficient production from Kevin Martin as well as terrific play out of Serge Ibaka. If there is one area of concern at this moment in time, it’s how the Thunder adjust to Westbrook’s poor performances. When Harden was on board, he could direct traffic and assume playmaking duties, but that is no longer a luxury the team has, even with Eric Maynor back into the fold.
4. Memphis Grizzlies (4-1)
Offensive Efficiency: 102 (tied for 8th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 95 (tied for 4th in NBA)
Team Blog: 3 Shades of Blue.
Take on the team: The Grizzlies tend to get lost in the shuffle for whatever reason, but they have played quite well so far this season and even own double-digit road victories against Milwaukee and Golden State. Their physical play coupled with their propensity to make life for opponents miserable with their ball-hawking have them looking down at most teams in this ranking.
3. Dallas Mavericks (4-2)
Offensive Efficiency: 107 (tied for 3rd in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 105 (tied for 24th in NBA)
Team Blog: The Two-Man Game.
Take on the team: The Mavericks have managed to play good basketball so far this season despite the absence of Dirk Nowitzki thanks in large part due to the acquisitions of O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison. The Mavs might be under the radar right now, but once Dirk comes back, this might be a sleeper team that catches fire at just the right time.
2. Los Angeles Clippers (4-2)
Offensive Efficiency: 107 (tied for 3rd in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 99 (tied for 15th in NBA)
Team Blog: ClipperBlog
Take on the team: For all the concerns about the coaching, the Clippers loaded up with talent to indirectly help alleviate that problem. Their defense has looked a bit better at times and although their offense is quite simplistic, when you have better players executing it, it tends to look much better. Combine that with the fact that the Clips have two teams — a half-court one and a transition one — and it’s tough to look in many other places for the title of best team in the west right now. But there is one last spot to look at…
1. San Antonio Spurs (5-1)
Offensive Efficiency: 101 (tied for 11th in NBA)
Defensive Efficiency: 97 (tied for 8th in NBA)
Team Blog: 48 Minutes of Hell.
Take on the team: Although the Spurs’ lone loss came at the hands of the Clippers, the reason they got the top spot is simple: they’ve taken care of business. They defeated the Thunder in a tight game in their home opener and also produced an average scoring margin of plus-11.8 in their four other victories. Simply put, they are the cream of the crop out west.
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