Without further adieu, the power rankings after Week 3. Click here for the methodology:
| Rank | Team | W | L | Off | Def | Road | SOS | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtics | 8 | 3 | 103.066 (5) | 91.795 (2) | 1.591 | 1.494 (26) | 14.356 |
| 2 | Hawks | 9 | 2 | 105.353 (3) | 97.533 (14) | 1.909 | 4.581 (10) | 14.311 |
| 3 | Blazers | 8 | 4 | 100.281 (14) | 92.745 (3) | 2.042 | 3.416 (18) | 12.994 |
| 4 | Nuggets | 7 | 3 | 102.934 (7) | 97.435 (13) | 2.45 | 4.232 (12) | 12.181 |
| 5 | Heat | 7 | 2 | 100.25 (15) | 91.617 (1) | 0.778 | 2.297 (24) | 11.708 |
| 6 | Rockets | 6 | 4 | 100.568 (12) | 96.234 (11) | 2.1 | 5.051 (6) | 11.485 |
| 7 | Mavericks | 8 | 3 | 100.786 (11) | 94.508 (9) | 2.227 | 2.907 (19) | 11.412 |
| 8 | Lakers | 7 | 3 | 97.774 (19) | 94.437 (8) | 1.05 | 5.837 (3) | 10.224 |
| 9 | Cavaliers | 7 | 3 | 100.438 (13) | 94.345 (7) | 1.75 | 2.135 (25) | 9.979 |
| 10 | Thunder | 5 | 5 | 94.995 (24) | 93.356 (6) | 1.75 | 5.027 (8) | 8.416 |
| 11 | Suns | 9 | 2 | 106.164 (2) | 103.209 (24) | 2.227 | 2.454 (23) | 7.636 |
| 12 | Spurs | 4 | 4 | 104.101 (4) | 102.903 (22) | 1.313 | 5.075 (5) | 7.585 |
| 13 | Pacers | 4 | 3 | 97.699 (20) | 96.435 (12) | 1 | 5.047 (7) | 7.311 |
| 14 | Bucks | 5 | 3 | 97.398 (22) | 93.126 (5) | 1.313 | 1.01 (29) | 6.595 |
| 15 | Kings | 5 | 4 | 103.013 (6) | 101.945 (21) | 1.556 | 3.953 (15) | 6.576 |
| 16 | Raptors | 5 | 5 | 108.138 (1) | 107.2 (30) | 2.1 | 3.515 (16) | 6.554 |
| 17 | Magic | 8 | 3 | 101.556 (9) | 97.542 (15) | 1.591 | 0.787 (30) | 6.391 |
| 18 | Pistons | 5 | 5 | 99.482 (16) | 98.652 (17) | 1.75 | 2.59 (21) | 5.17 |
| 19 | Bulls | 5 | 4 | 90.969 (27) | 92.872 (4) | 1.556 | 5.418 (4) | 5.071 |
| 20 | Clippers | 4 | 7 | 97.427 (21) | 97.63 (16) | 1.273 | 2.616 (20) | 3.686 |
| 21 | Jazz | 4 | 6 | 100.961 (10) | 104.285 (26) | 2.1 | 4.909 (9) | 3.685 |
| 22 | Wizards | 2 | 7 | 94.845 (25) | 100.91 (19) | 1.944 | 5.955 (1) | 1.834 |
| 23 | Hornets | 3 | 8 | 98.446 (18) | 106.174 (28) | 2.227 | 5.908 (2) | 0.407 |
| 24 | Warriors | 3 | 6 | 101.87 (8) | 105.326 (27) | 1.944 | 1.306 (28) | -0.205 |
| 25 | Sixers | 4 | 6 | 98.733 (17) | 102.964 (23) | 1.75 | 1.399 (27) | -1.082 |
| 26 | Bobcats | 3 | 7 | 87.227 (29) | 94.881 (10) | 1.75 | 4.344 (11) | -1.56 |
| 27 | Grizzlies | 2 | 8 | 96.907 (23) | 106.894 (29) | 2.1 | 4.091 (13) | -3.796 |
| 28 | Knicks | 1 | 9 | 94.187 (26) | 103.367 (25) | 1.05 | 3.488 (17) | -4.642 |
| 29 | Timberwolves | 1 | 10 | 87.967 (28) | 101.225 (20) | 1.591 | 3.992 (14) | -7.676 |
| 30 | Nets | 0 | 10 | 86.671 (30) | 99.157 (18) | 2.1 | 2.581 (22) | -7.806 |
Some observations:
- Considering that the Boston Celtics got off to a 27-3 start a year ago, and the Cavaliers went 66-16 last season, that there is not only no unbeaten team, but no 1-loss team at this juncture is a little amazing. The Celtics dominated the first two weeks of the rankings with excellent defense, but have faded a bit – and their ranking gap has closed to a virtual tie with the Hawks, and that is with a significant gap in strength of schedule.
- The Hawks have been excellent so far, most notably due to their 3rd ranked offense. Their offensive deep dive stats reveal a team that shoots the ball well yes (5th overall), though an average 3 point shooting team – but where they separate themselves is their offensive rebounding (5th) and lack of turnovers (3rd). Basically, they have been an excellent ball retention team – and their size all over the court impacts it – and so the solid shooting shines through.
- The Raptors are almost the perfect mathematically … dead last in defense, tops in offense, and thusly near exactly in the middle overall.
- The Rockets are ever the chic surprise team, and at #6 they continue to surprise. But if someone would have told me that the Sacramento Kings would be in the top half of the leage at any point of the season – especially without Kevin Martin for a stretch – I’d have laughed. It helps to have a competent NBA coach.
- The Magic and the Spurs are not where they need to be defensively to be a true contender yet (15 and 22 respectively).
