Welcome back to another installment of HoopsHype’s power rankings!
Rather than just talk about the week that was, I like to focus on something a little more specific for each team. Last time, it was a look at each team’s most intriguing young player. For the upcoming holidays, however, I thought it would be nice to examine reasons for hope.
Every squad has different goals at this point in the season, and their reasons for optimism won’t follow the same parameters. It’s unrealistic to expect 30 teams to compete for a championship, but there are still silver linings to the on-court product of even the teams most resembling an M1 Abrams. I didn’t want to lean on the lottery odds as a crutch for the bad squads, so I tried to find something about their current roster that gives a reason to tune in.
In that same cheerful spirit, we’ll start with the teams at the bottom. I know half of you are just here to look for the top five, but this way, the teams that don’t get talked about as much will get at least a little shine.
These power rankings are as much art as science. Net ratings, injuries, forward-looking projections, strength of schedule, and feel are all part of the equation. Just because one team beats another doesn’t mean they are more powerful. This early in the season, expect a lot of movement week-to-week.