NBA Power Rankings Week 7: The revenge of the Los Angeles Lakers

Last Week: Beat New Orleans Pelicans 118-109, Beat Boston Celtics 116-111, Beat Denver Nuggets 119-114

This Week: 2/7 at LA Clippers, 2/9 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 2/12 vs. Orlando Magic

Don’t look now but the Sacramento Kings are a .500 basketball team! They won all three games this week and bonus points are awarded for the fact that all of the games should have been tough tilts at the onset.

The Kings have seemed to have an answer for the Pelicans over the last two seasons and adding their former coach Alvin Gentry to the bench only pushes that edge forward. De’Aaron Fox was dominant against the Pels, going off for 38 points and 12 assists. Richaun Holmes was on one as well, posting a line of 17 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.

Harrison Barnes is the most often criticized member of the team but he has been extremely impressive thus far this season. Over the last week, he has been Sacramento’s second-leading scorer and averaged 25.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He put in work against Michael Porter Jr., so much so that Michael Malone was criticizing his young player’s defensive effort in the post-game.

The Kings are still the clear worst defense in the league this season and that is unlikely to change. Lucky for them, they also boast the eighth-best offensive rating in the league. They are a fun watch and De’Aaron Fox is coming into his own.