NBA Week 6 Power Rankings: Cavs stabilize, Lakers show life

The Atlanta Hawks have an interesting situation brewing. They have invested heavily in two point guards who are playing fairly well together, but who have some overlap positionally. They also have two centers that can’t shoot but are otherwise playing extremely well. And…the space in between them continues to be a question. Rookie AJ Griffin has shown some pop but the marginalization of John Collins and the lack of a go-to option on the wing is rearing its head for a team that is league-average in both offense and defense.

The good thing for the Golden State Warriors is that they finally notched a road win (in Houston, hardly something to write home about) and Draymond Green has seemed to stabilize the bench in the minutes that Stephen Curry sits. Klay Thompson has regained his shot, Andrew Wiggins is playing well and Curry is perhaps the MVP frontrunner. On the other hand, the Warriors still have massive issues with their defense and their young players aren’t being used. If the Warriors are going to defend their title they need to figure these things out.

Two weeks again the Toronto Raptors were 7-7, and then a relatively light schedule saw them go 2-2 since then. The hits to their core players continue: rookie center Christian Koloko and OG Anunoby are the only players to appear in all 19 games, with everyone else missing at least three and Pascal Siakam missing 10. Anunoby has been a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, however, and the Raptors are cobbling together enough offense to win games.

The Denver Nuggets haven’t yet seen the Jamal Murray of old, but Michael Porter Jr. has returned at something close to full strength, shooting 42.7 percent from deep on high volume. Yet Nikola Jokic has been a tad bit behind his MVP level and the Nuggets have again been bad when he doesn’t play. They are second in the Western Conference yet are seventh in net rating, and their offseason additions to the defense haven’t born fruit in a big-picture sense.

Light the Beam! The Sacramento Kings leaned into shooting this offseason and it is paying off, as the Kings are a top-2 offense and absolutely blowing the tops off of opposing defenses. Speaking of defense they are playing better than expected, and when opponent shooting cools off they could improve. Their seven-game winning streak captured the confidence this team has, and De’Aaron Fox looks like a legitimate All-Star candidate who is thriving in the increased spacing around him.