2018-19 NBA Power Rankings: Bucks on a mission in Week 3

In Week 3 of NBA Power Rankings for the 2018-19 season, the undefeated Milwaukee Bucks are on a collision course with the undefeated Toronto Raptors out East.

In last week’s NBA Power Rankings, the undefeated Toronto Raptors sat in the No. 1 spot, while the Golden State Warriors, fresh off a loss to the undefeated Denver Nuggets, followed up at No 2.

In Week 3, the top two spots remain unchanged, but after the Nuggets suffered their first defeat of the season, another unbeaten has risen through the ranks to stake its unlikely claim for the title of “Best in the East.”

That team is the new-look Milwaukee Bucks under head coach Mike Budenholzer, and while October basketball has little bearing on the ultimate outcomes in May and June, it’s no secret that a battle between the 6-0 Bucks and the 6-0 Raptors Monday night had become one of the most highly anticipated games of the early season.

This contest will do little to decide who the best team in the East ultimately is, and it won’t settle the Kawhi Leonard vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo debate over who the best player in the conference is since neither Kawhi nor Giannis will reportedly play), but with only two weeks of basketball to go off of, it certainly won’t stop us from dissecting each and every part of it.

Bearing that in mind, and with several teams rising and falling in both conferences, here’s the latest batch of NBA Power Rankings.