Yet it should be clear, after the season's opening week, that the championship they won in June is far from the only reason that the Golden State Warriors peer down at the rest of the league at this early stage.
Looking lasered in right away after an indifferent preseason, Golden State improved to 70-15 in their last 85 regular-season games by bolting to a 3-0 start that also hiked the Warriors' road record to 37-16 since the start of last season (and including the playoffs). With reigning MVP Steph Curry averaging a ridiculous 39.3 points -- and sporting an unfathomable PER of 52.4 -- through those three games, Curry & Co. have scarcely felt the absence of coach Steve Kerr or the loss of big man Andrew Bogut to a concussion on opening night against New Orleans.
We'll dig even deeper into the customary early-season ups and downs of our ladder, as always, via Stein Line Live, with the usual opportunity to comment on this week's 1-to-30 order also below. (Hat tip to ESPN Stats & Information and the Elias Sports Bureau for their ever-helpful dishing of data to assist the Committee of One in our computations.)
| 2015-16 Power Rankings: Week 1 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 | 
|
--
Last Week: 1 | After a 67-15 season, Golden State isn't supposed to be able to wow us just a few games in. But the Dubs did. Or, rather, Steph Curry did. Others, perhaps, will dismiss two-thirds of the damage he's inflicted by noting how beat up New Orleans is these days. Not us, though. Props to the MVP for such early focus and sharpness. | |
| 2 | 
| 2 Last Week: 4 | It didn't take long to get our first glimpses of Angry Russ and, of surely greater comfort to Thunder fans, Silky KD. OKC has looked as vulnerable on defense as those same fans feared, but the offense is humming early and Billy Donovan seems to be just fine with Westbrook and Durant commanding the team's media spotlight. | |
| 3 | 
| 1 Last Week: 2 | Each of LeBron's past five Cavs teams have started the season 0-1, but you don't sense much concern emanating from The Land after its bounce-back wins over Memphis and Miami. The King, meanwhile, needs just 21 points Monday night in Philly to become the first player in league history to reach 25,000 points before the age of 31. | |
| 4 | 
| 1 Last Week: 3 | A loss to OKC in OKC when the Thunder are fully healthy is as easily pardoned as they come. The real shock to the system caused by Thunder 112, Spurs 106 came from reading that the L was just Pop and Timmy's second in a season opener ever. No joke: Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan now sport a 17-2 record on opening night. | |
| 5 | 
| 1 Last Week: 6 | Such was the video-game nature of the numbers coming from Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook that Blake Griffin has barely been mentioned in the Western Conference Player of the Week chatter even though Blake's are just as insane. Early evidence of that new, expanded offensive role for DeAndre Jordan, by contrast, is scarce. | |
| 6 | 
| 4 Last Week: 10 | Joakim Noah coming off the bench is going to take some getting used to, but it's hard to argue with the early returns. Chicago outscored the opposition by 41 points with Nikola Mirotic on the floor in its first three games and was outscored by 28 with Mirotic on the bench. (Please insert your favorite "small sample size" disclaimer here.) | |
| 7 | 
| 2 Last Week: 9 | Free-agent-to-be Hassan Whiteside has started the new season well. Ditto for Dwyane Wade. Goran Dragic hasn't made nearly the same splash, but no one in South Beach is complaining much after Sunday's dramatic (and historic) turnaround from 21 points down to a 20-point runaway victory over the reeling Rockets. | |
| 8 | 
| 4 Last Week: 12 | Cautious optimism is what they're preaching north of the border, where the locals haven't forgotten how last season's Raptors bolted to a 15-4 start, which meant absolutely zilch come playoff time. Yet there's no denying that going into Boston on Friday night and beating their only real rival for the Atlantic Division felt rather satisfying. | |
| 9 | 
| 1 Last Week: 8 | Early features of the Hawks' season: Two narrow wins over Charlotte after Atlanta dropped its fourth successive season opener, lots of 3-point attempts from increasingly long-range-minded big man Al Horford and slight game-to-game improvement from Kent Bazemore as the successor to DeMarre Carroll at small forward. | |
| 10 | 
| 3 Last Week: 7 | Lost amid the hoopla of the big Wednesday night beatdowns absorbed at home by Houston and Milwaukee was a 30-point Memphis home defeat to Cleveland that ranks as the Grizzlies' worst opening-night loss in franchise history. The tests keep coming, too, because the Griz start a five-game road trip Monday night in Oakland. | |
| 11 | 
| 6 Last Week: 17 | There was a tweet circulating Sunday night, amid all the madness emanating from the World Series and other sporting pursuits, about the three teams Detroit has beaten (Atlanta, Utah and Chicago) going 8-0 combined in their other games. The only Pistons downers to date: Too many empty seats at the home opener and the loss of Jodie Meeks. | |
| 12 | 
| 3 Last Week: 15 | The longest active streak of opening-night losses -- five in a row -- has been halted at last. The Wiz won their opener and, in a mere three games, have left the clear impression that they sport the East's best backcourt thanks to the apparent leap Bradley Beal has made next to a John Wall reveling in more offensive freedom than he's ever had. | |
| 13 | 
| 5 Last Week: 18 | Faced with a three-game roadie to get things started, Utah rebounded from disappointment in Detroit with two typically stingy performances defensively in Philly and Indy. Next comes Wednesday's home opener at the newly renamed Vivint Smart Home Arena, which the locals are apparently calling The Viv. Yea or nay on The Viv? | |
| 14 | 
| 1 Last Week: 13 | For all the justified Brad Stevens love out there, Boston's young coach is predictably still working out how to divvy up all the minutes on a roster that doesn't come with an obvious pecking order. Another early issue has cropped up: consistent offense from someone other than Isaiah Thomas is proving more elusive than it should. | |
| 15 | 
| 10 Last Week: 5 | In a week of stunners -- even by the unpredictable standards the NBA is known to deliver in the embryonic stages of its 82-game schedule -- Houston's 0-3 launch tops the list of hard-to-process developments. Worse than the results and the Rockets' various injuries, though, is the sense that team spirit is somehow already lacking. | |
| 16 | 
| 5 Last Week: 21 | Wes Matthews, Deron Williams and Chandler Parsons are all suddenly back ahead of schedule. Dirk Nowitzki, as this Sunday night dunk at Staples Center suggests, is feeling more limber than advertised at 37. And the looming re-signing of Rick Carlisle only helps the Mavs wipe away even more of that preseason gloom. | |
| 17 | 
| 6 Last Week: 11 | Snap take on Anthony Davis' underwhelming start to the season: He's pressing to compensate for the Pelicans' many injuries. There's simply no way that the Brow-Alvin Gentry partnership won't flourish. The Pels are just extremely undermanned right now, which obviously isn't the best way to kick things off in the West. Hold your panic. | |
| 18 | 
| 2 Last Week: 20 | It's a critical season in the desert, where the Suns will establish an unwanted franchise record if they miss the playoffs for a sixth straight season. Have to say, though, that Friday night's fantastic Steve Nash Ring of Honor ceremonies -- with Suns legends everywhere you looked -- reminded us just how rich this club's history is. | |
| 19 | 
| 5 Last Week: 24 | The Knicks are actually playing with a bit of a swagger -- clearly oblivious to the fact that ESPN's trusty Basketball Power Index gave them just a 1-percent chance of making the playoffs coming into the season. Yet we'll have to see how long that lasts when this week's first two foes are the Spurs (home) and Cavs (road). | |
| 20 | 
| 6 Last Week: 14 | Coach Jason Kidd needs Monday night's trip back to Brooklyn more than he ever imagined. With injuries galore (Jabari Parker, John Henson and O.J. Mayo) and three straight no-shows defensively, Milwaukee would be generating the NBA's most befuddling dismay if not for what's happening in Houston right now. | |
| 21 | 
| 2 Last Week: 23 | No one has taken to calling them the gritty, gutty Magic just yet. Orlando, though, does seem to have quickly caught onto the sort of scrappiness expected of a Scott Skiles-coached team, given how hard it's been for other teams to shake them so far. Losses to Washington, OKC and Chicago (in Chicago) came by a frustrating total of nine points combined. | |
| 22 | 
| 3 Last Week: 19 | For all the inevitable fretting attached to the sudden uncertainty surrounding DeMarcus Cousins' right heel, here's the flip side: George Karl is already getting quite a response from Rajon Rondo, who put together back-to-back games over the weekend with at least 20 points for the first time since December 2012. | |
| 23 | 
| 2 Last Week: 25 | A whopping nine teams out there are still searching for win No. 1. Six teams, meanwhile, made it to Week 2 still unbeaten, with the Wolves riding eruptions from Ricky Rubio and impressive rookie Karl-Anthony Towns to honor Flip Saunders by unexpectedly crashing that club (along with the Clippers, Pistons, Raptors, Thunder and Warriors). | |
| 24 | 
| 2 Last Week: 26 | Do you downgrade Denver's stunning 105-85 triumph in Houston on opening night because the Rockets haven't stopped struggling since? Or do you continue to applaud the fact that the Nuggets, as predicted by no one, inflicted Houston's worst season-opening loss since a 128-95 L to Seattle way back in 1982? It's the latter for us. | |
| 25 | 
| 9 Last Week: 16 | Having bought into the preseason brilliance of Paul George, we must confess that no one at committee headquarters envisioned the Pacers' first 0-3 start since 2009-10, when they finished a mere 32-50 to earn a No. 10 overall pick that became ... Paul George. Sure didn't expect the rough start Monta Ellis is having, either. | |
| 26 | 
| 4 Last Week: 22 | The Hornets' looming deal with Jeremy Lamb means they lead the league in contract extensions, having handed out two of the six we've seen for players eligible for such deals. The problem, of course, is that the other recipient -- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist -- is feared out for the season and might be Charlotte's most important player. | |
| 27 | 
| 1 Last Week: 28 | Still focused on C.J. McCollum's 37-point eruption in the Blazers' opener because he had only topped 20 points in three previous regular-season games. He was an undoubtedly popular preseason pick for Most Improved Player honors, but still. Thirty-seven is a higher total in Game 1 for any Blazer since Kiki Vandeweghe's 47 in 1984. | |
| 28 | 
| 1 Last Week: 27 | Kobe Bryant's 20th season with the Lakers, eclipsing John Stockton's 19 in a row with Utah to set a new record with one franchise, is now underway, establishing Kobe as just the fifth player in league history -- and the first guard -- to last that long. Click elsewhere if you need to read rants blaming him for all of L.A.'s many ills one week in. | |
| 29 | 
|
--
Last Week: 29 | No one is suggesting that the Nets, after their first 0-3 launch since the 2009-10 season, are going to plummet all the way to 0-18 like that team did. Friday's home date with the Lakers, however, looks like the best opportunity for win No. 1 with a stretch to follow that calls for eight road dates in a span of 10 games from Nov. 7-28. | |
| 30 | 
|
--
Last Week: 30 | Don't come down too hard on Jahlil Okafor for following up his 26-point introduction to the NBA with a 10-point struggle against the Rudy Gobert-led Jazz. Don't forget that only two centers in league history have started their careers with consecutive 25-point games in the shot-clock era: Wilt Chamberlain and Walt Bellamy. | |
James Sievers ·
I
know they are 0-3, but one of those losses took a near halfcourt lucky
shot to beat them. I'm not saying they should be top ten, but no 0-3
team has any business ranked ahead of the Magic. THey are SO YOUNG they
will only continue to improve throughout the season and figure out how
to close out these close games. And their first 3 games were all against
playoff teams from last year, two of which are expected to compete for a
trip to the Finals. I'd say they've been very impressive for an 0-3
team. I feel if they could just add one veteran, not necessarily a star,
but an above-average veteran with some playoff experience then that
would put them over the hump. THey are loaded with young talent and have
a logjam in the front court so it's very feasible they could trade a
couple of those young pieces for someone like a Marc Gasol or go cheaper
and get someone like Tyson Chandler. Imagine a front court of Chandler,
Vucevic and Harris with Gordon coming off the bench. Scary.
Glitch McFuq
It wasn't just a halfcourt shot. It was being outscored by 18 points in the 4th quarter with a halfcourt shot punctuation.
Kris Hanson ·
The
Grizzlies aren't trading Gasol and the Suns wouldn't trade Chandler
(who they just signed) for pieces in the Magic's frontcourt log jam, nor
would they trade him for anyone in the Magic's backcourt.
But yeah, they're young, exciting, and will be really good soon.
James Sievers ·
If
the Suns are out of it by the trade deadline they'll move Chandler. But
regardless I was just throwing a couple names out meaning players on
their level, I actually think we need to add a veteran in the backcourt
like a Tony Allen, not him specifically but I'm saying a player of his
caliber: not an All Star but a solid, above average veteran who is a
leader and plays good defense.
John Henry ·
James Sievers What makes you think the Suns will move Chandler?
Tyler Alexander ·
Holy
hell, who cares where an 0-3 team is ranked among 0-3 teams? They
shouldn't bother ranking them at all. It should be playoff-bound teams,
and then a big bucket called "losers".
Brian Keefe
Magic
shouldn't trade for anybody until they see what they have. Skiles is
still experimenting and they have yet to get their rotations down on
defense. But they're very young still so let them be coached up by a
staff that is far better than last year's staff.
Brian Keefe
........ plus the NBA has done them no favors on the early schedule of course.
Kj Eichstaedt ·
Cmon
man if you wanna talk about 0 and 3 teams and hype up the "young
talent" on the Magic you gotta at least mention Milwaukee, who's core is
possesses the upside of the Magic but also includes 2 future superstars
in Giannis and Jabari. Not sure theres a superstar on the Magic, unless
you wanna be optomistic and meniton Oladipo.
 
Dave Wight
The
Cavs and Thunder are way too high up, honestly the next number after 1
should be 10 to accentuate how far back the next team is to the
Warriors.,..child's play so far.
People want to talk about giving up 120 to the Pelicans, imagine being that bad and winning by 14, no other team could pull that off. I hope this answers the question on who is the better player: Curry or Haren......Haren is now on the back of milk cartons everywhere. Adidas is trying to sell off his contract because they think his name might cause them to lose money. 
John Sullinger
Lol
wow could you be any more arrogant??? You sound like you're 10 years
old. And btw, its Harden. If you're gonna insult someone, at least get
their name right.
Charles Sciutti ·
John
Sullinger where you been? He's been calling him Haren for a looooong
time and its because he plays NO D, hence the dropping of the D.
Andrew Guest ·
John Sullinger Haren has no D!
Andrew Singer ·
Works at California's Great America
Charles Sciutti Still tho, he's acting like a douche, coming from another warriors fan, dave needs to quit being a dick
John Sullinger
Yeah
okay. And I bet both of you chumps can play better?? Lmao get off your
high horses. If you really think Harden sucks than this argument is
already over and you clearly have no working brain cells.
Ryan Gutch ·
Why
should Cavs be sooo much lower? Is it without fullhealth they walloped
the same memphis team who had GSW in a pickle in the playoffs with tony
allen and mike conley both gimpy.
Everything you say Dave Wight is just complete drivel, you are a joke lad
Dave Wight
John
Sullinger I am 100% sure there is no D in Haren....Ive not seen any.
And yes, I can be more arrogant. Actually right now I am at about a 5, I
can go to 11.
Dave Wight
Andrew
Singer You're clearly not a Warriors fan, because if you were you would
not care that another Warriors fan is going around being obnoxious in a
fun way...i mean come on. Lighten up or please go root for the Lakers,
who have the most uptght fans in the NBA.
Good natured bantering you're worried about that, I see that's way worse than Dodgers fans beating up people and putting in the hospital. I mean come on, to me Fans like you, make real fans look bad. If you do not approve of it, then look away. Do you know what being a dick is? I think it is calling someone obscene names or sending them threatening private messages like II get, you do not know what you are talking about. You have an issue with my act, look around the landscape at the lines people cross. I am not here to degrade anyone or insult people...
Dave Wight
John
Sullinger No one said Haren sucks. He is a great offensive player. I
am merely mocking his historically bad shooting 12-54 to start the year
and his bad defense.
Dave Wight
Ryan
Gutch because they are not as good obviously. Let's be honest we do not
know how Memphis would have played them in the playoffs, intensity
changes, you get the same team over 7 games, they may have taken the
Cavs more seriously.
If you want to do that comparison, then the Rockets would have swept the Rockets in the conference Finals since they swept them in the regular season right? 2 games dawg Then why are you wasting time responding do you need the stuff explained to you, if so let me get out the Cavs lobster bib and high chair for you. 
Joel Nicholus
Dave,
being humble, yet confident can also be a virtue and garners repect
from other fellow NBA fans. I never cared for Laker or Heat fans
posting wild and exaggerated remarks about how great thier team was when
we were not playing well (just a few years ago). I have no doubt you
are engaging in good natured banter...but, it kinda makes some people
think all/many/most Dub fans are arrogant, cocky, douchebags. But feel
free to banter away and post wild claims...Dub fans since 1985. I am
just not the type to rub things in someone's face...even in fun since
some people really respect their teams and star players (role models)
and I know how it feels to know your favorite team is going to lose more
than they will win, season after season. Peace.
Dave Wight
Joel
Nicholus I in no way want respect from fans of last place teams. And I
in NO WAY represent most Warriors fan. Laker fan is by far the worst,
they take it a ridiculous level of crossing lines and being idiotic. You
cannot reason with most Lakers fans. I could not care if people post
their team is the greatest, but do not in anyway lower yourself to
talking personal shots at people's family or borderline stalking
online. The level some of these losers take it amazing. This is sports
not meant to be taken seriously. None of play these games, we just talk
about them.
I get really disapp...See More
Dave Wight
Joel
Nicholus I am also magnanimously giving myself to the Wolves if the
Warriors do not repeat, I am giving everyone a fair shot to stick it
back in my face if the Warriors cannot do it. So I think I am at least
being fair.
Dave Wight
NBA's official seal should be: Property of the Golden State Warriors, because the Warriors own everyone right now.
Michael Crosson ·
Works at UMHB Graduate School
then
whty did GS finish 0-4 against the Spurs last season oh I know they
play the same style of offense slow your roll on them dominating San
Antone
Mike Hendersen ·
Works at Amazon Fulfillment Tracy
They went 1-2 against the Spurs last season. Calm down.
Mike Hendersen ·
Works at Amazon Fulfillment Tracy
But to Spurs fans, that's ownage.
Dave Wight
Good
knowledge Spurs fan we did go 0-4 agains Spurs...oh you got me hoisted
with my own petard. How can my basketball knowledge get up to yours.
Spurs were responsible for 4 of the 15 losses even though we only played
3 times and won once.
Dave Wight
isn't
it great how in the pic for Power Rankings Curry is out in front
holding up an L to the rest of the NBA...to prepare them for what they
will receive.
Jim Sanders
Are you a Warriors fan? I've never been able to tell from your posts.
Dave Wight
Jim
Sanders I appreciate you asking because it means I have obtained my
goal of being a covert Warriors fan who does not exhibit any biases. It
shows that I am neutral and fair.
Dave Wight
Whoops,
he's doing that with his right hand, L's can only be made with the
left...so scratch that...new comment - isn't it great how in the pic for
Power Rankings Curry is out in front trying to figure out if the square
on the glass is really a right angle...to make sure the rest of the NBA
is following protocol
Jim Sanders
David Choi If I were a betting man, then I would bet that he is being sarcastic.
Brad Turner ·
Dave
Wight Actually, it makes more sense to use the right hand for the "L"
as that way the person looking at you sees an "L" just a matter of
perspective....
Dave Wight
Cavs
fans have their own power ranking system, they take the number of games
played divided by the number of games that Irving and Love have missed
multiplied by 250, and only count games since the trades last year and
those that were played under a blue moon subtracted from the number of
bricks JR Smith hoists up per game
Seems in their mind they always end up at 1, which is 1 more than the number of rings they have will have by June.
Cavsown Cavsown
Why would you waste time posting something this retarded??
Brandon Bands ·
As
a Cavs fan I'll take that as a compliment knowing you are a warriors
fan and only comment diss on the Cavs lol funny you should just worry
about that defense of the Warriors and your head coach getting healthy
not an east team lol I'm just being honest don't get to cocky about your
team Dave
Scot Alan Wirth ·
Cavsown Cavsown It takes one to post one, that's why.
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