Rauf’s Week 7 NBA Power Rankings: Thunder Surging, Wizards Drop After Lakers Loss

We're a quarter of the way through the NBA regular season, and we've already seen several surprising teams this year while other would-be contenders might be destined for the lottery this year. How do all of the teams project to stack up against each other early this season? Find out in our 2015-16 Week 7 NBA Power Rankings:

1) Golden State Warriors (23-0)

The Warriors 23-0 start set the record for best start to a season in NBA history, and are playing so much better that everyone else that they probably won't fall from the top spot all season. 

2) San Antonio Spurs (18-5)

San Antontio reeled off a four-game winning streak, but had that snapped in Toronto in their last outing. Still, this team is only five games behind the undefeated Warriors and no one is talking about them...beware of the Spurs.

3) Oklahoma City Thunder (13-8)

OKC was 3-3 without star Kevin Durant, but have played like the team we thought they'd be in his return, winning six of their last eight games. They're coming off perhaps the most impressive win of the season, dominating the Grizzlies 125-88.

4) Cleveland Cavaliers (14-7)

Cleveland has tapered off after a strong start, losing to both the Pelicans and Heat over the past week. Still, they've shown they're one of the best teams in the league, and get both Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert back this weekend.

5) Miami Heat (10-6)

Miami was on an absolutely tear over the past two weeks, but stubbed their toe with two straight losses to the Wizards and Hornets.

6) Toronto Raptors (14-9)

Toronto struggled after starting the season 5-0 but have gotten back on track, winning seven of their last 10 games, including a key win over the Spurs.

7) Charlotte Hornets (10-7)

Charlotte has managed to rebound nicely from a 0-3 start and has been one of the most improved teams in the league, winning eight of their last ten games.

8) Indiana Pacers (12-8)

Indiana was been absolutely on fire after an 0-3 start in winning 12 of their next 14, but have dropped three straight.

9) Atlanta Hawks (14-9)

Atlanta has traded wins and losses over the last few weeks, but their seven-game win streak earlier this seasons shows they're among the best teams in the league.

10) Boston Celtics (13-9)

Boston has shaken off an inconsistent start to the season and is suddenly surging, winning six of their last eight games, including wins over the Bulls and Heat.

11) Chicago Bulls (11-8)

Chicago's win over the Spurs showed they're a very good team, but they've struggled since then, losing three games in a row.

12) Memphis Grizzlies (13-10)

Memphis has rebounded from their nearly catastrophic start and caught fire, winning 10 of their last 14 games.

13) Utah Jazz (10-10)

Utah has still struggled against the top teams in the West (who they've face a lot early this year), but have proven they're an above average team.

14) Los Angeles Clippers (13-9)

LA has recovered from a disastrous stretch where they lost seven of nine games, winning six of their last seven games against lesser competition.

15) Dallas Mavericks (13-10)

Dallas has become a surprising team that ranks 5th in the West early in the season, but they've struggled to find any consistency of late, losing six of their last 10 games.

16) Orlando Magic (12-10)

Orlando is finally starting to deliver on their preseason promise, winning six of their last eight games against an easy part of their schedule.

17) New York Knicks (10-13)

The hype has died a bit around the Knicks after three straight losses, but they've shown they're a much-improved team this year.

18) Detroit Pistons (12-11)

Detroit's 5-1 start was very surprising, but they've lost two games in a row to snap what was a four-game winning streak.

19) Houston Rockets (11-12)

The Rockets suddenly look like the contender we thought they'd be, winning six of their last eight games.

20) Minnesota Timberwolves (9-12)

Minnesota has tapered off since their promising start, but seem to have recovered, going 4-4 over their last eight games. 

21) Phoenix Suns (10-13)

Phoenix has won two games in a row, but that came on the heels of a 1-8 stretch.

22) New Orleans Pelicans (5-16)

New Orleans has been struggled all year, but they're 4-5 over their past nine games as they're finally starting ot get healthy and have been playing much better.

23) Washington Wizards (9-11)

Just when Washington was headed in the right direction, they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Overall, they've lost seven of their last 10 games.

24) Portland Trail Blazers (9-14)

Portland has cooled off drastically after a hot start, losing four of their last six games.

25) Sacramento Kings (7-12)

Sacramento is trending in the right direction and playing much better, but we haven't seen the results on the scoreboard yet, losing three of their last four games.

26) Denver Nuggets (8-14)

Denver is absolutely reeling, losing nine of their last 11 games after a better-than-expected start.

27) Brooklyn Nets (5-13)

Brooklyn has shown much more fight of late against a tough schedule, winning three of their last five games.

28) Milwaukee Bucks (9-14)

Milwaukee has failed to deliver on their preseason expectations, losing six of their last nine games while ranking 29th in the league in defense.

29) Philadelphia 76ers (1-21)

The Sixers finally got their first victory over the Lakers, which was enough to pull them out of the power rankings basement over those Lakers.

30) Los Angeles Lakers (3-18)

We knew the Lakers would be bad, but this is REALLY bad. They're getting blown out more often than not and have lost four games in a row.

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