NBA Power Rankings: No. 1 Warriors meet No. 2 Suns twice in four days as calendar turns to December

The 2021-22 NBA season enters December and several teams have started to kick things into high gear. This week will be of particular interest to NBA fans as the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns, both retaining their spots as the top two teams in the rankings, face off twice in a span of four days. One team is looking to re-capture the feeling of its recent dynasty while the other looks to erase the sting of a Finals loss last year. This could be a preview of the Western Conference Finals.

Elsewhere, the Miami Heat continue to prove they’re for real after some great offseason additions. The Heat did have some injury concerns with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, but have managed to stay near the top of the East. Tyler Herro is the frontrunner for Most Improved Player, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers should see themselves climb up the rankings soon. Milwaukee has already started to get back in the standings with a seven-game winning streak, while Philadelphia saw Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid return after COVID protocols wrecked that roster.

The Los Angeles Lakers got their act together somewhat with wins over the Pacers and Pistons, but also came out on the wrong end of a three-overtime loss to the Kings. Los Angeles gets Sacramento again this week and while something is still amiss, this is a team entering a stretch of the season it should do well in.

Let’s take a look at Chinmay Vaidya’s power rankings for Week 7 of the NBA season.