NBA Power Rankings: Consistency issues affects scribes week 3 ranks

Week three NBA power rankings lists find the OKC Thunder ranked as high as  10th and as low as 21st.

Scrolling through the national media lists this week could prove unsettling to OKC Thunder fans, not to mention confusing.  Three of the main sites rank OKC within three ladder spots, one has them in the middle ground while another is conspicuously on a very different page.

As several of the pundits noted, this season has thrown selection committees for a loop.  Preseason favorites are struggling and similarly sure fire lottery teams are surprising. What that has lead to is a middle ground without certainty.  To that end, the following points out the trends of the week, offers this scribe’s thoughts on specific teams and closes with a review of where the each of the lists placed the OKC Thunder this week.

Commonalities and Variances:

Through three weeks there is widespread agreement on two things – the top and the bottom of the ladder. The easiest selection of the scribes is the very top of the ladder which features the Warriors, Celtics and Rockets. Likewise the bottom of the ladder features the Mavericks, Kings, Hawks, Bulls, Suns and Nets.

Furthermore, the Warriors are firmly atop the ladder with most scribes putting the Celtics second and some putting the Rockets in that position. As for the bottom six although they are consistently the same their position varies.

Ladder placement of the 4th through 7th rungs tends to offer consistencies as well. Specifically, the Timberwolves appear on all five lists. The Grizzlies and Pistons are on four lists while the Spurs and Blazers appear on three lists.  The only team featured in this segment a single time is the Raptors.

The greatest variance exists in the middle ground rungs 7th through 24th. Review of each list offers such wide spread indecision it’s clear how much the early season inconsistency has pundits scratching their heads.