Power Rankings - Week 6

[akadyje]

Rank	Team	Change	Record	Comment
1	New Orleans Pelicans	+1	4-2	After an unfortunate 1-2 start to the 2016/17 season, the Pelicans have quickly rebounded and solidified themselves as the best team in the league. They have the most points in the league even despite the fact that they are faced with so many injuries. Anthony Davis is truly looking unstoppable. Hopefully this doesn't feed into his ego too much!
2	Los Angeles Clippers	-1	5-1	Boasting the 2nd most points on the year and the 2nd best record in the league, it is undeniable that this team is a top 2 squad. Even despite LeBron having a relatively weak week and some of his players being rested, he still managed to cruise to victory.
3	San Antonio Spurs	-	4-2	Despite being upset by the Thunder, the Spurs managed to remain in the 3rd position on the power rankings. Despite Millsap being out for three games, he still managed to put forth a solid effort. With Antetokounmpo looking to be one of the best fantasy players in the league, the Spurs are shaping up to be a solid team.
4	Minnesota Timberwolves	+2	4-2	Another case of a top team being upset! The T-Wolves were faced with a shocking loss to the new-look Pistons. Despite their loss, they still managed to put up the 6th most points this week and have the 3rd most points on the season. With a star-studded lineup featuring the league leader in fantasy points in Westbrook and last week's leader in Karl-Anthony Towns, I can't see them sitting at 4 wins for long.
5	Los Angeles Lakers	-1	6-0	The Lakers once again have proven the non-believers wrong with their league leading 6th win! With news coming out that they are unable to make any cap negative moves, there won't be much celebrating. The Lakers will have their biggest test of the season this week against the Timberwolves which will give us some idea of where this team stands. With young contributing players such as Saric and Harkless, this team does have a lot of potential and will be fun to watch this season.
6	Charlotte Hornets	+3	4-2	How about these Hornets? Scoring the 2nd most points on the week who would have thought that this is the same team that missed the playoffs last year. With an extremely impressive showing from Gordon Hayward this week, these young Hornets are looking very promising and should claim their 5th win against the Kings this upcoming week.
7	Philadelphia 76ers	-2	4-2	The 5-7 spots in these power rankings really could be in any order. The 76ers have the 4th most points in the league and cruised to victory against the tanking Bulls. With new signees James "Cocked that joint back and banged on 'em" Johnson and C.J. Miles, he is finally building around his star players and is looking to have a promising team moving forwards. The 76ers really could be a championship contender and could gain some positions with a win against the 3rd ranked Spurs this upcoming week.
8	Oklahoma City Thunder	+2	4-2	Upsetting the impressive Timberwolves is quite the achievement for the Thunder. Despite the health concerns, this team has battled hard. With surprisingly good performances out of Schroder and Henson this past week, this team is also shaping up to be a contender. We'll see if they can continue their success against the powerhouse Clippers this week.
9	Milwaukee Bucks	-2	4-2	With the 6th least points this past week, the Bucks' spirits are at an all-time low. Dropping down to 4-2 after an undefeated start and not cracking 900 points in back-to-back weeks, the Bucks are falling fast. On the bright side, their star player Paul George has finally returned and they aren't looking as bad in regards to health. If this team is healthy though, watch out. They have the ability to beat any team they're put up against.
10	Detroit Pistons	+1	2-4	With a newly hired manager, the Pistons aren't looking nearly as bad as everyone thought. They posted the 3rd highest total of the week and upset the T-Wolves. Bringing in solid producers like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Marcus Morris, this team's depth is looking even better than it already was. Their lack of a "star" may hurt them a little bit, but with Isaiah Thomas and Jimmy Butler playing how they are, it shouldn't be too much of an issue for them.
11	New York Knicks	-3	2-4	With an unfortunate loss to the Pelicans, the Knicks fall 3 spots in the power rankings. With injuries holding them back, the Knicks can only pray that Simmons comes back soon and brings the spark needed to boost this teams morale. There is no reason this team shouldn't be contending with the players they have, but they've had a very shaky start to the season. At least they can look forward to steamrolling the league-worst Bulls this upcoming week.
12	Sacramento Kings	-	3-3	Another new manager! The Kings had a tough loss to the Lakers this past week in a matchup that they definitely could have won. The defending champs are going to need to make some moves quickly as they can't be relying on DeMarcus Cousins to carry them to glory once again. A win against the seemingly playoff-bound Hornets this week would be huge for this team.
13	Toronto Raptors	+1	1-5	Despite the intentions being to tank this year, these Raptors aren't looking half-bad. Caldwell-Pope is coming into his own and Porzingis is looking like a potential all-star this season. Young players that consistently post less than 5 fantasy points a game are certainly holding this team back. It'll be interesting to see what this team is capable of this year.
14	Boston Celtics	-1	1-5	With confirmation that these Celtics plan to tank this year and build around Kyrie Irving and other young players on their team, they were bound to drop slightly. Kaminsky is looking very promising and is shaping up to be a solid pick. We'll see how they fare against the Bucks this week as they may be able to take an upset victory against a struggling team.
15	Portland Trail Blazers	-	0-6	This Blazers team is not good. It's a good thing they don't want to be though! I'm extremely excited to see what happens when they matchup against the Bulls in week 8.  Thon Maker put up an impressive game this past Tuesday against the Cavs with a whopping 1 rebound and 4 points! Their new acquisition Justise Winslow will be interesting to watch as the Blazers will be hoping he can sort out his offensive woes when he returns from injury.
16	Chicago Bulls	-	0-6	I don't really know what to say about this team. They have one player putting up over 20 fantasy points a game. Just one. Hield is coming off an impressive game against the Thunder so hopefully that can light a spark underneath the rookie. Mark December 12th on your calendars as that will be when they begin their matchup with the Trail Blazers and the tank-off finally gets interesting.