In week five of T.I.s NBA power ranking, our OKC Thunder seeding may surprise given their winless week while the top of the ladder placement is definitely up for debate.
As the OKC Thunder and their opponents enter week six of action and the final days of November it’s a good bet most national sites will rank the Lakers and Bucks as the top teams given their records. As a heads up my power rankings often vary from the national sites, particularly at the top of the ladder and especially prior to week seven.
In terms of week five, there are a few trends that stand out and were considered in my seeding. Strength of schedule, performances on both sides of the court, road games, and injuries for example.
Notably, only four teams rank in the top 10 of the key categories of offensive, defensive and net differential. Those clubs are the Lakers, Bucks, Clippers, and Raptors.
Five Eastern teams have 11 or more wins while the Western Conference boasts six squads with 11 or more victories. Four teams have yet to lose on their home court (all from the East) while the OKC Thunder and Orlando Magic are the last two teams to net a win on the road.
Eight clubs went unbeaten in week five: the Bucks, Clippers, Mavericks, 76ers, Lakers, Nuggets, Raptors, and Pacers.
Six clubs went winless: the Blazers, Hornets, Hawks, Grizzlies, Thunder, and Magic.
With that, I give you week five of my NBA power rankings with admittedly several hot takes (including where the OKC Thunder rank) in the mix.