NBA

NBA Power Rankings Update: How the West Got Weird

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Teams Ranked 20th to 11th

One of the league's sexiest teams heading into the season took a precipitous drop in nERD-age, that team being the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Rank Team 2017-18 nERD 2017-18 record Last Update Trend
20 Atlanta Hawks 43.9 1-2 21 +1
19 New Orleans Pelicans 44.0 1-2 18 -1
18 Denver Nuggets 44.7 1-1 19 +1
17 Detroit Pistons 48.2 2-1 16 -1
16 Milwaukee Bucks 49.8 2-1 14 -2
15 Memphis Grizzlies 50.0 2-0 17 +2
14 Miami Heat 52.5 2-1 13 +1
T-12 Minnesota Timberwolves 54.2 2-1 9 -3
T-12 Charlotte Hornets 54.2 1-1 10 -2
11 Utah Jazz 55.3 2-1 11 Even


The Expected

The middle is the middle is the middle. Miami, Memphis, Milwaukee, and Detroit are all average teams with average nERD scores, and two wins won't do much to move the nERD needle this early in the season.

It could be argued that the Bucks have the best chance to make some nERD noise quicker than their surrounding competition thanks to their legit MVP candidate, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Grecian Freakazoid is averaging 38.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.7 steals, and a block. Not quite Wilt Chamberlain numbers but still super-scary.

The Unexpected

Like the Sixers, Minnesota came into the season with huge expectations. Unlike the Sixers, their iffy nERD start probably has more to do with chemistry than age. It'll take a bit of time for newbies Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, and Taj Gibson to meld with incumbents Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Gorgui Dieng, but knowing head coach Tom Thibodeau's win-or-die-trying paradigm, they'll be back in the nERD top-10 in three, two...