OKC Thunder week 4 power rankings – National list and TI’s top 10

Boston Celtics:

Virtually every top site picked the Celtics to come out of the East in preseason predictions. And, while there was expected to be an adjustment period, no one anticipated the Celts offense sputtering to the degree it has. Each week Irving has progressed, but while he does there are still concerns over Boston’s anemic offense and seeming difficulty in creating easy shot opportunities.

Still, the Celtics boast the Associations top rated defense and as the best coaches and analysts are wont to say – “defense travels’.  It still seems like Brad Stevens will find a way to get both his veteran All-Stars producing at the same time he re-sparks his two youngsters. More worrisome for the Celtics might be the fact other than Al Horford the best defenders are reserves. So, when April arrives Stevens options to find 2-way contributors will be a challenge.

Factors:

Offensive Rating: 27th
Defensive Rating: 1st
Net Differential: 12th
Offensive field goal efficiency: 42.5 percent
Opponent field goal efficiency: 43.4 percent
Win/Loss: The Lone win of the week needed a 20+ point comeback to beat the Suns with losses to the Nuggets, Jazz and Blazers. All four games were played on the road. And, the Suns-Jazz matches were played back to back.
Record: 7-6
Injuries: Irving was out versus Jazz.