After 14½ seasons on its own, ESPN.com’s famed NBA Power Rankings Committee (of One) today unveils a community approach.
But only on a one-Monday basis.
The idea coming out of All-Star Weekend was simply this: Let’s make a little Rankings history by turning to our faithful readers to supply the comments for all 30 teams — something we’ve never tried before — via Twitter.
The 1-to-30 order that teams were placed in, of course, continues to be the Committee’s exclusive domain.
And the big movers since last Monday, with only a handful of games to consider thanks to All-Star festivities, are the league’s biggest movers and shakers, trade-wise.
While Golden State predictably remains unchallenged at No. 1 — with Cleveland dropping to No. 3 after losing Kevin Love to injury for at least six weeks — Toronto and New Orleans have made this week’s most notable jumps on the strength of the splashy trades they’ve just swung.
The Raptors’ acquisition of Serge Ibaka convinced us to overlook Toronto’s alarming 5-11 funk and bump them back into the top 10 (up four to No. 8). And New Orleans earned itself a healthy 10-spot spike, from No. 26 to No. 16, by upstaging its own All-Star party (as well as Mardi Gras) with Sunday night’s blockbuster trade agreement for DeMarcus Cousins.
Many, many thanks go to the countless rankings devotees who tweeted comments to us.
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1. Golden State Warriors
2016-17 record: 47-9
Previous ranking: 1
@ESPNSteinLine pleasantly surprised at the quality of the Warriors bench, which preseason was a concern #ESPNPowerRank
— Kent Paisley
