NBA Power Rankings: Top 10 teams heading into Week 2 of 2020-21 season
The 2020-21 season is well underway and several key results already see teams moving up and down the NBA power rankings. The league standings generally don't make sense at this point and that's the case this year as well with OKC Thunder leading the West and Orlando Magic perched atop the East.
Having said that, there are a few teams that have exhibited fundamental shortcomings and we can slowly start to separate the contenders from the pretenders. As the games go on, we'll also be able to correctly predict playoff bound teams from each conference.
NBA Power Rankings: Teams start to show their potential
With conditioning – or lack thereof – being a key factor in the early weeks, not all teams are performing to their strengths. Another thing that needs to be taken into consideration for the NBA power rankings are the fixtures played by each unit so far. So don't be surprised to not see any of the unbeaten franchises on the upcoming list. Without further ado, let's look at the top 10 teams entering Week 2.
Note: Only results till Sunday, December 27th have been considered for this round of NBA power rankings.
#10 Denver Nuggets (0-2)
The striking feature about the Denver Nuggets this season is the drop in their defensive solidity. Losing players such as Jerami Grant and Torrey Craig didn't help in that aspect but you can expect their coaching staff to quickly turn this around.
Nikola Jokic is leading the line for the Nuggets in all three major categories. But they need Jamal Murray to find his rhythm if they want to climb the standings and the NBA power rankings quickly.
#9 Phoenix Suns (2-1)
The Phoenix Suns could be the surprise package of this season. Not only do they have Chris Paul trying to replicate his impact from last year, but they've also got Devin Booker leading the line for them.
Whenever Booker can't get going, he can simply lay it off to Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Payne, or any one of the umpteen solid role players they have. They've beaten the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings so far but have a tough week ahead against Western Conference playoff contenders in Pelicans, Jazz, Nuggets, and Clippers.
Also read: NBA Power Rankings - 5 Dark horses for 2020-21 MVP award