The NBA released their updated power rankings on Monday. In delight for the Phoenix Suns, they founds themselves in second place of the Western Conference rankings.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!While it seems like a compliment to Phoenix – only a year removed from a NBA Finals trip – the Suns didn’t boast that same title-contending hardware during the 2021-22 postseason.
The rankings was met with disagreement from fans on the Suns being so high up given last year’s result.
https://t.co/wWGNmWnCY9’s western conference power rankings:
1. Warriors
2. Suns
3. Clippers
4. Nuggets
5. Grizzlies
6. Mavericks
7. Timberwolves
8. Pelicans
9. Lakers
10. Blazers
11. Jazz
12. Kings
13. Thunder
14. Rockets
15. Spurs— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) August 8, 2022
The only team ahead of Phoenix are the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors. That leaves much room for error from the No.3 ranking on down.
Are the Suns automatic contenders again?
The short answer is no. Still, discarding a squad that is only one season removed from being in the championships with no explanation isn’t rational.
Phoenix still had championship aspirations, but they’re in a “prove it” state more so now than last year.
Here are a few teams that could find themselves atop of Phoenix this upcoming season with how the league currently stands:
1. Dallas Mavericks
It should be no surprise that one painful mishap in the power rankings was the Mavericks not being higher than the Suns.
The Suns were predicted to have a Western Conference Finals showdown with the Warriors, but Dallas put a stop to those hopes.
Dallas put on a dominant Game 7 showcasing against Phoenix with a barraging 3-point display. The performance left Devin Booker and Chris Paul’s efforts seeming pointless. It also led to a mini rift between head coach Monty Williams and Deandre Ayton.
While Dallas went on to lose to the Warriors, Luka Doncic and company created a memorable Game 7 for the books.
The Mavericks also didn’t get worse this off season. They’ll be bringing back a healthy Tim Hardaway Jr. Dallas also traded for big man Christian Woods to help their frontcourt efforts.
2. Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis possesses a young, gritty squad that’s defied all expectations. Given the impressive season the Grizzlies had last season with a young coach at the nucleus, there’s no reason to believe they’ll regress.
An impressive feat that could easily be forgotten is the lengths Memphis went against Golden State during the playoffs. With a healthy Ja Morant, the series could’ve ended differently.
There’s reason to believe that Memphis could easily climb up the standings much like last year, while Phoenix could find struggles early on.
3. Denver Nuggets
Denver can easily be forgotten in conversations given last year. The Nuggets’ championship hopes ended relatively early in the first round of the playoffs last season.
More so, commentators feel that the Nuggets don’t deserve a push-in spot for next season given that they boasted the reigning MVP in Nikola Jokic. Still, the Nuggets deserve more dissecting than that.
Most of Denver’s campaign last season was successful, despite being without star guard Jamal Murray. To make matters worse, the Nuggets were ousted by the eventual champions. It can easily be underestimated on how dangerous Denver can be next season with both Jokic and Murray.
