Power Rankings, Week 4: Spurs, Thunder, Wolves take over top 3 spots

By Google News Sports · 2026-11-09T17:41:22+01:00

There was a widely held assumption that this was going to be the East's year. The Western Conference has had a better record than the East in interconference games in 24 of the last 27 seasons. But this year, the East added LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis, while also getting Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum back to full strength.

There were going to be 11 good Eastern Conference teams competing for 10 playoff and Play-In spots, with the West not quite as deep. Heck, even though the West had the better overall record last season, the East had 10 teams that were at least four games over .500, while the West had only seven. Yep, this was the year. And through three weeks? The West has won 23 of its 29 games against the East.

The Hawks and Raptors are a combined 11-2 within the conference, but they're 1-6 against the West. And the East hasn't even played any games against the Spurs yet. It's still early. Only 6% of the interconference schedule has been played, and neither the Knicks nor Sixers have faced a Western Conference opponent. But 23-6 is still wild given the preseason expectations.

Plus-Minus Players of the Week Right Way: Victor Wembanyama (SAS) was a plus-86 in four games last week. Wrong Way: Norman Powell (CHI) was a minus-58 in two games last week. Teams of the Week Make It Last Forever: Oklahoma City (4-0) -- Next man up.

Something Just Ain't Right: Memphis (0-3) -- Losses to the Pelicans and Pacers, along with a 31-point loss to the Thunder, make for a rough way to come down from a surprising 6-0 start. East vs. West The West is 23-6 (.793) against the East in interconference games after going 13-4 last week.

Movement in the Rankings High jumps of the week: Minnesota (+9), Golden State (+5), Oklahoma City (+5) Free falls of the week: Memphis (-10), Detroit (-7), Orlando (-5) Week 4 Team to Watch Toronto -- There are seven East teams currently at .500 or above, and the Raptors are the one that hasn't faced any of the other six.

After hosting the Grizzlies on Monday, they'll play five of their next six games against the Celtics, Sixers, Knicks (x 2) and Pistons.

Previous Power Rankings Last week: Undefeated Grizzlies surge into Top 5 The archive: NBA.com Power Rankings Key Stats to Know OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank) DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank) NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank) The league has averaged 112.4 points scored per 100 possessions and 100.3 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes this

season.

A rest-advantage game (or rest-disadvantage game) is one where one team played the day/night before, but the other (the team with the advantage) did not. Teams are 15-12 (.556) in rest-advantage games, 10-3 at home and 5-9 on the road, this season. * = Emirates NBA Cup game NBA.com's Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man's opinion.

If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, contact him via Bluesky.

Originally published by Google News Sports