Power Rankings Heading into Week 3

1.Denver Nuggets (12-0) : Another dominate week for the defending champs. The Nuggets went undefeated yet again this week and all of their wins were by double digits (With the exception of a forfeit win against the Mavs).

2.Atlanta Hawks (11-1) : Another strong week for the Hawks finishing 4-2......... sorry 5-1. They did have a tough loss against the Nuggets and a lucky break with the Warriors mismanaging their cap. Outside of those two missteps, The Hawks are still looking strong.

3.Miami Heat (9-3) : It was an up and down week for the Heat. They ended their first night 1-2 before having a big 3-0 on the second night. Their depth continues to be a strength for the Heat, they just need to tighten things up on their first line.

4.Detroit Pistons (7-5) : The Pistons had a pretty middle of the road week 2. They had a few tough losses but have been still keeping them pretty consistent with a 3-3 week. They have a tough week coming up and they just traded what many thought was there best player in VenomOnFire away to the Kings. Hopefully the guys they got back in return can step immediately and help the team win some games

5.Sacramento Kings (6-6) : The Kings followed up their even week 1 with another 3-3 week. They had some Blow out wins along with some blow out losses. They decided they werent happy with this trend and made a huge trade for VenomOnFire, who some consider a top 5 PG in the league. This trade will definitely shake up their first line , but so far this is looking like a huge win for the Kings

6.San Antonio Spurs (5-7) : Not the huge bounce back week I was expecting from the Spurs, but they did make an improvement going 3-3 on the week. The big question for the Spurs is can their second line get them some wins? The first line has been doing all the heavy lifting for the Spurs up to this point , but they are going to need some production from their second line if they want to be considered a serious contender in the West.

7.Los Angeles Lakers (5-7): The Lakers are either going blow a team out or get blown out. There really hasn't been much in between for them so far. They have to find some consistency here soon, and some quality wins vs teams with a even or winning record. We will see where this team stands in the West this week with having all Western opponents

8.Dallas Mavericks (5-7) : This was definitely not the big week the Mavs were expecting. They did have a strong victory vs the Celtics, but outside of that there wasn't much to be too happy about. 3 of their 4 losses on the week were by 20 pts or more and its always a bad look to forfeit a game. Week 3 looks to be a defining week for the Mavs. They have 6 games vs Wests teams coming up so they are going to have to have a big week if they want to be considered a playoff team.

9.Boston Celtics (4-8) : A big turnaround week for the Celtics. After making some big trades and being aided by the Warriors mismanagement, the Celtics were able to finish the week 4-2. That being said theres a lot of concern about who is going to be the big time player in games without Beta Dreams as both games without him were not all that competitive.

10. Philadelphia 76ers (4-8) : A disappointing week 2 for the 76ers. They now currently find themselves on the outside looking in for the playoffs. There is still plenty of time to change that around of course but they definitely have to figure things out soon. Especially with teams like the Celtics starting to find their footing.

11. Golden State Warriors (2-10) : Week 2 is definitely a learning experience for the Warriors. They should have finished this week 3-3, but with a costly mistake by management forced them to forfeit the two wins they had on Wednesday night. With that being said, one of those losses was originally an upset win over the Hawks. Despite those becoming losses they have some things to build off of.

12. Charlotte Hornets (2-10) : Not a lot of positives for the Hornets in week 2. Dropping all 6 games is never a good look and they gotta turn this ship around quick with the East having 3 teams with a winning record and teams like the Celtics starting to put things together. Its not quite time to hit the panic button... but its getting there