NBA Power Rankings Week 2: The rise of the Atlanta Hawks

Last Week: Beat Minnesota Timberwolves 127-91, Lost to Portland Trail Blazers 115-107, Beat San Antonio Spurs 121-107, Beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-103

This Week: 1/3/2021 at Memphis Grizzlies, 1/5/2021 at Memphis Grizzlies, 1/7/2021 vs. San Antonio Spurs, 1/8/2021 vs. Chicago Bulls

Nothing to see here. Just the reigning NBA champions carrying their dominance into the next season. Yeah, there was a hiccup against a Portland Trail Blazers team motivated to get some measure of revenge against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season.

Otherwise, the Los Angeles Lakers continue to take care of business. Anthony Davis sat out against the Timberwolves and the team rolled. Six Lakers finished in double figures and Marc Gasol seemed to be finding his role. More importantly, over the course of the week, Kyle Kuzma has made it clear that he is also more comfortable in his role than he was over the course of the regular season last year.

When Davis does play, he has been staking his case to be called the best player in the world. He is dominant on both ends of the floor and posts eye-popping numbers. For example, he dropped 34 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals against the San Antonio Spurs while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from distance.

The fact that we have gotten this far without talking about LeBron James is telling. This team is the cream of the crop. Unless there is an injury to one of LA’s top two players, it is hard to imagine them being bumped from this spot.