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

Eight-straight wins. Five-straight losses. Four-straight wins. The tale of the season for the Cleveland Cavaliers has been one of streaks, but they also haven’t lost a bad game yet. The injury bug has hit them as well, but their depth has helped to carry them. They continue to have a top-5 offense and defense, the only team in the league that can claim that. Donovan Mitchell is an MVP-candidate, Darius Garland is popping off as well, and the East looks like they will have at least three of the five-best teams in the league all season.

This is the party crasher to the top five in this edition of the Power Rankings, going 4-2 in the last two weeks and flexing their muscles as a contender in the West. Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum are a nasty three-headed attack, Jonas Valanciunas is hammering the offense glass, and Jose Alvarado looks like a player deserving more run. This team has stars, it has depth, and it has the upside to continue growing. Watch out, here come the Pelicans.

The Milwaukee Bucks have played a relatively light schedule en route to amassing 13 wins, second-most in the league, but they also have some big time wins. They miss Khris Middleton a lot, especially in close games, but the rest of the rotation is finally healthy and that will help the offense. The defense needs little help as they have been smothering opponents, and Brook Lopez is a deserving Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Giannis Antetokounmpo is good.

The Phoenix Suns had the league’s best record a year ago, and the expected drop-off this season hasn’t come. Chris Paul looks his age, when he plays, and Cam Johnson is out with a long-term injury. Yet the Suns have continued to win, with Devin Booker have another All-NBA campaign and Mikal Bridges taking a step forward. It seems that they should falter, but they haven’t yet; they just keep on winning.

Identifying the best team in the league is an easy exercise. Last time around we ranked the Celtics first overall despite not having the best record, and they rewarded that confidence by going 5-1 and sprinting out in front in virtually every metric available. Two of their four losses this season are to the Chicago Bulls, and the other two are to the Cleveland Cavaliers (in overtime). Otherwise their 3-heavy offense is humming, their defense is poised to improve into the Top 10, and this is clearly the championship favorite at this point in the season.

It’s been an exciting six weeks of NBA action thus far, and things should only get better as the calendar turns into December. Check back in two weeks to see if the Celtics held their spot, if the Cavs have started another streak, and whether the Warriors and Lakers have righted the ship or are in store for more losing.