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NBA Power Rankings 2016 Week 7: Top 10 Teams Include Warriors At Top, Cavs Drop, And Raptors Rise

By Matt Couden
Published on: 10:13 PST, Dec 6, 2016

The latest NBA power rankings for the 2016-17 season didn’t see much change at the top of the rankings. However, there has been a shuffle of teams below the one squad holding a firm grasp on the top spot. Right now, the Golden State Warriors have been decimating their opponents, including last night’s impressive performance by Klay Thompson. Due to the “Dubs” continuing their overall best record in the league as they blowout the opposition, it’s hard to argue against them taking the No. 1 position overall. However, several teams below them are not too far off, while LeBron James and the Cavs have stumbled.

According to NBA in their recent rankings, no team is better right now than Golden State when it comes to the Week 7 rankings. They hold an 18-3 record which is best in the Western Conference and the NBA overall. They’ve gone 9-2 at home, 9-1 on the road, and are putting on a scoring clinic, averaging 120 points or so a game.

Is anyone going to argue with the Warriors as the top team in the power rankings? [Image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]

Last night’s performance by Klay Thompson was half that total alone. Thompson needed just three quarters to score 60 points. He became only the third active player to do so, joining Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James in the club. It also helped the Warriors lay waste to Indiana in a 142-106 rout. That dominance has kept Golden State at the No. 1 spot, but there’s a Western Conference foe not far behind.

The San Antonio Spurs are just a game behind Golden State in terms of record. At 17-4 they’re listed as a game back in the West. The interesting aspect of San Antonio is how scary they’ve been taking on teams away from home. The Spurs have a perfect 12-0 record right now on the road and are only outscoring the opposition by about 4.6 points per game. Nonetheless, Gregg Popovich’s bunch knows how to win basketball games thanks to his coaching skills and the talented roster they possess.

Meanwhile, a new team has risen up to the No. 3 spot, as the Toronto Raptors have moved right up near the upper echelon of the league. This team is currently 14-7 overall, but they’re outscoring teams by about eight points a contest. Only the Warriors (+13.8) and Los Angeles Clippers (+9.6) are better with the differential stat. Toronto has taken over the highest spot for an Eastern Conference team, while the Cleveland Cavaliers fell from No. 2 down to No. 5 in the latest rankings.

Below are the top 10 teams including records as of this report, and their rankings last week.

NBA Power Rankings Week 7 (Top 10)

  1. Golden State Warriors (18-3) Last week: 1
  2. San Antonio Spurs (17-4) Last week: 3
  3. Toronto Raptors (14-7) Last week: 6
  4. LA Clippers (16-6) Last week: 4
  5. Cleveland Cavaliers (14-5) Last week: 2
  6. Houston Rockets (14-7) Last week: 7
  7. Boston Celtics (12-9) Last week: 9
  8. Chicago Bulls (11-9) Last week: 5
  9. Utah Jazz (13-9) Last week: 14
  10. Oklahoma City Thunder (14-8) Last week: 15

As seen above, a few Western Conference teams surged up into the top 10 NBA power rankings for this week. Both the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder have jumped five spots to put their names into the discussion of this week’s best teams in the league.

It’s not surprising to see Oklahoma City here. So far, Russell Westbrook has been putting together a serious campaign for the NBA MVP Award this season, as he’s nearly averaging a triple double a game. He’s been doing just that over the past six games to propel OKC to wins.

On Monday night, Westbrook had his sixth-straight triple-double with a 32-point, 13-rebound, and 12-assist performance against the Atlanta Hawks. According to FOX Sports, it’s the longest triple-double streak since a guy named Michael Jordan had seven straight back in 1989. The Thunder are also currently the hottest team in the NBA, riding a six-game winning streak as they have several days off before a matchup on Friday night against Houston.

Some fans may wonder why the Utah Jazz rank above the Thunder, as Oklahoma City currently leads them in the division by a game. According to NBA‘s John Schumann, it’s due to how efficient they’ve played lately, at least on the offensive side of things.

The Jazz soared into the NBA power rankings Top 10 for Week 7. [Image via Steve Dykes/Getty Images]

Schumann discusses why Utah is surging, ahead of a five-game homestead starting tonight.

“the Jazz have been playing their most efficient offense of the season, scoring 123 points per 100 possessions over their last four games. Gordon Hayward has scored 30-plus points in three straight games for the first time in his career. The defense hasn’t been great, but Rudy Gobert’s rim protection was critical in Tuesday’s win over Houston.”

The Jazz host Phoenix Tuesday night, but will have a few tests ahead. That will include the Warriors on Thursday night, with Westbrook and the Thunder coming to town next Wednesday. A matchup next Friday at home against the Dallas Mavericks will be shown nationally on ESPN so fans can see if Utah is “all that jazz” right now.

The biggest drops of this week in the Top 10 came from the Cavs and Bulls, of the team’s shown above. In terms of teams that were in last week’s Top 10 NBA power rankings, the Memphis Grizzlies were No. 8 and fell to No. 11, while the Charlotte Hornets dropped from No. 10 to 14 based on their poor play recently.

Memphis looks like they’ll be in another struggle, as they recently lost their star guard Mike Conley for at least six weeks due to a back injury. According to CBS Sports, the Grizzlies are trying to maintain their level of competition in the west by signing Toney Douglas to help out. Keep in mind that this team was able to still make the playoffs last season despite seeming like a ship ready to sink due to injuries.

The NBA 2016-17 season is now a quarter of the way finished. It’s clear that the usual suspects will probably be contending for the NBA Championship, but as to which teams will join them within the playoffs, and how they’ll be seeded, there’s still a lot of basketball left to be played.

[Featured Image by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images]

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