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Reading: The NBA Releases Its First Official Power Rankings For The 2022-23 Season: Lakers Ranked 19th Out Of 30 Teams
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Home > NBA News & Analysis > The NBA Releases Its First Official Power Rankings For The 2022-23 Season: Lakers Ranked 19th Out Of 30 Teams

The NBA Releases Its First Official Power Rankings For The 2022-23 Season: Lakers Ranked 19th Out Of 30 Teams

The NBA releases its first power rankings of the new season.

Nico Martinez
Oct 17, 2022
4 Min Read
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Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA Today Sports

With the new season set to begin tomorrow, we don’t yet know how the standings will look. With revamped teams, new challenges, and rising threats, things are always changing in the NBA landscape and it can sometimes be hard to tell which teams will succeed right away.

This season, however, experts seem to have a pretty good idea of who will be competing for a title this time.

And in the NBA’s first official power rankings, which were released today, it dropped yet another hint at which teams to watch out for this campaign. Unsurprisingly, it was the Warriors who were put first, behind the Bucks, Celtics, Suns, and Clippers (who rounded out the top five).

From the outside, it’s difficult to know if or when the Warriors will be past the fallout from Draymond Green’s punch to Jordan Poole’s face. But when Green was back on the floor for the preseason finale on Friday, the Warriors pretty much looked like themselves. Poole shot just 1-for-10 and they lost the game, but they did have a second-quarter stretch of small ball (with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jonathan Kuminga and Green on the floor with either Poole or Andrew Wiggins) where they scored 19 points on just eight possessions.

The NBA has released its Power Rankings ahead of tomorrow’s opening night:

1) Warriors
2) Bucks
3) Celtics
4) Suns
5) Clippers
6) 76ers
7) Nuggets
8) Grizzlies
9) Heat
10) Nets

Thoughts? 👀

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 17, 2022

As the defending champs, it’s a tradition that the Warriors go first. Still, even in a vacuum, the Dubs would be ranked pretty high just based on the strength, depth, and experience of their roster.


Lakers Fans Are Disappointed After Being Placed 19th In Latest Power Rankings

But after seeing the top of the list, I couldn’t help but wonder which teams were near the bottom half — and that’s where the Lakers come in.

Despite making some changes, NBA.com had them at just 19th in their power rankings, which is quite a brutal blow to James and his quad ahead of opening night.

The Lakers’ preseason wasn’t as bad as last year (0-6 and outscored by almost 18 points per 100 possessions with Anthony Davis on the floor), but it wasn’t much better. Their first defensive possession of their first game had Davis losing his man and LeBron James standing still when there was a very obvious rotation to be made. They didn’t rank as low on defense (24th, counting only games involving NBA teams) as they did on offense (30th — 93.9 points scored per 100 possessions), though the Laker who took the most preseason shots was somebody named Cole Swider, who was 14-for-54 (26%). Maybe that would have been Davis, but he missed three games with back tightness.

A positive was Kendrick Nunn playing five games, registering an effective field goal percentage of 59.0%, and looking both shifty and smooth off the dribble. Plus, the Lakers were outscored by only two points in James’ 76 minutes, with most of the plus-minus damage coming against guys who shouldn’t be in the rotation.

Of course, one must not make too much of what they see in the pre-season. Since none of the games matter, it’s considered more of a warm-up and trial period before the actual action begins tomorrow.

Still, it is interesting that there remains so little faith in the Lakers. Despite having LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, nobody is really giving them a shot to hang with the elites.

It’ll be up to the Lakers to prove them wrong.

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TAGGED:Golden State Warriors Archive
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ByNico Martinez
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Nico Martinez is a veteran staff writer for Fadeaway World from Brooklyn, New York. He joined Fadeaway World in 2016 and is currently residing in Columbia, South Carolina. Nico holds a degree in Sports Management from Columbia International University where he built a strong foundation in the inner workings of sports media and management. Nico's contributions have significantly enhanced the credibility and depth of Fadeaway World's content, earning him recognition across the sports journalism community. His work has been discussed in prestigious publications like Sports Illustrated. A dedicated follower of LeBron James, Nico often leads coverage on news related to the basketball star. With nearly a decade of experience in sports journalism, Nico consistently provides comprehensive and timely basketball news, engaging a wide audience of basketball enthusiasts.Nico's most desired player to interview, past or present, is Kevin Durant. He is particularly keen on asking Durant if he has any regrets about his career, especially concerning his departure from the Oklahoma City Thunder, and why he engages so much with fans on social media. 
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