It’s the start of a new week and the Warriors are fresh off killing the Lakers, bringing them back to life, and killing them again. After winning five in a row and then losing two straight games, the Warriors have now won 3 in a row. They stand at 8-2, which is tied for the third best record in the NBA.
Most of the major sports media outlets released their weekly power rankings and we brought them all together to see where the Warriors land:
ESPN
Thoughts:
Looks like ESPN didn’t like the loss to the Spurs at home. You can’t blame them, the Warriors should have beaten the Spurs, especially with those old legs coming to Oracle after a tough game against the Clippers. However, it was a good lesson for the Dubs early on in the season.
The Rockets and Grizzlies are both ahead of the Warriors, both of them only have one loss. Does ESPN remember who gave the Rockets their only loss of the season? Guess not.
Yahoo
Thoughts:
Yahoo has the same top-3 as ESPN. If you’re going by records alone, then you can’t fault them for releasing these rankings. Nevertheless, the Warriors only have one more loss in comparison to the Rockets and Grizzlies. Some might argue the Grizzlies are lucky to be 9-1. They needed a miracle shot from Courtney Lee (which should have not counted in my opinion) and they almost lost to the 1-9 Lakers. Still, 3rd overall isn’t bad.
Sports Illustrated
Thoughts:
For a third straight week, Sports Illustrated ranks the Warriors as the best team in the NBA. They ignored the one loss teams and made their pick based on watching them play. The Grizzlies don’t have a great offense and the Rockets are battling quite a few injuries.
SI has noticed an improvement in Harrison Barnes, but will Iguodala adjust to his role on the bench or are the Warriors better served having him in the starting five? Even with all these questions, Sports Illustrated still thinks the Warriors are number one.