Week 17 NBA Power Rankings--The Warriors Make a Much Needed Push

Image © John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

✍️ Written by :

Frank Weber

🗓 Updated :

Aug 23rd 2023

Now for the FOURTH week in a row, the Phoenix Suns rank atop the NBA in the Oddsseeker NBA Power Rankings. The Warriors are giving it a good battle, finally finding their stride after a rough start to the year. The best thing about power rankings though is that there is always the next week–so the Sun's time at #1 may be limited.

1. Phoenix Suns (42-10) (-)

The Suns snapped their 11 game winning streak with a loss against the Hawks on the road last Thursday. They rebounded quickly by picking up a win against the Wizards on the road in their very next game, so fans really shouldn’t be too worried. Chris Paul continues to prove he’s one of the best Point Guards of all time, averaging just below 15 points while dishing out 10.4 assists per game. This would be the seventh season where Paul averaged more than 10 assists a game, but the sure-fire Hall of Famer is still searching for his first Championship. BetMGM Sportsbook currently has the Suns at +500 to win the Championship, so this could be his year.

2. Golden State Warriors (40-13) (-)

The Warriors come into this week on an eight-game win streak, amassing a record of 9-1 in their last 10. They’re starting to look more like their old selves after their rough January, and Stephen Curry seems to be working himself out of the worst shooting slump of his career.

3. Memphis Grizzlies (37-18) (-)

Here they are. My beautiful Grizzlies. Ja Morant continues to lead this young team of stars to a phenomenal season, scoring an average of 33 points in his last 10 games (The Grizzlies going 7-3 in that stretch). The Grizzlies continue to be my favorite NBA Championship future sleeper, currently sitting at +2500 to win the Finals on BetMGM Sportsbook.

4. Milwaukee Bucks (34-21) (+2)

The Bucks continue to prove their spot amongst the best is well deserved, finishing each and every week well over 500. Giannis remains a perpetual MVP threat, averaging 29 points and 11.2 rebounds per game on the season.

5. Philadelphia 76ers (32-21) (-1)

Get. Embiid. Help. That's it. Once Embiid has help, this Sixers team becomes incredibly scary. Especially if the trade for James Harden goes through–the league should watch out.

6. Miami Heat (34-20) (-1)

The Heat confuse me, I’ll admit it. Right when I think they have things down-pat and figured out, they lose back-to-back games to the Celtics and Raptors. That being said, they continue to prove to be one of the best and most competitive teams in the NBA, and the finals odds are there to match. BetMGM currently has them as +1200 to win the finals.

7. Cleveland Cavaliers (33-21) (-)

Another one of my special little teams, the Cavaliers are having an incredibly good season so far. A team packed with young talent, the Cavs have a chance to build off of this hot start and build what can be a future dynasty. I also have some money floating on them to take home the NBA Championship, and they currently sit at +4000 odds to do so.

8. Chicago Bulls (33-20) (+1)

The Bulls used to be on the list with the Grizzlies and the Cavs, but they’ve since been voted off of the island. Their play is just WAY too inconsistent for me to hitch my wagon to them, which continues to hurt them in these rankings. They’re 6-4 in their last 10, but picked up some losses in should-win games against the Hawks, Celtics, and Raptors.

9. Dallas Mavericks (31-23) (+1)

Luka Doncic continues to be on of the best offensive talents in the game, currently averaging 26 points per game on the season. This would be his third consecutive season of averaging more than 25 points per game in a row, if things continue this way.

10. Denver Nuggets (29-24) (-2)

Nikola Jokic is finally starting to see some consistent help from his teammates, but its coming from admittedly weird places. The obvious #2 producer on the Nuggets has been Will Barton these last few weeks, who has averaged almost 18 points in each of his last eight games.