Where the LA Clippers fall in Power Rankings after seven games

Where do the LA Clippers fall in the power rankings after seven games?

The LA Clippers sit atop the Western Conference after seven games at 5-2. Sunday night’s victory over the Phoenix Suns put them in the top spot and confirmed the team could hold it together even after being pushed by a late run that closed the game.

Would they be rewarded for a successful week? Let’s see how they stack up in NBA Power Rankings from several sites.

ESPN Power Rankings: LA Clippers #2

ESPN has the Clippers sitting in second place after being down to fifth last week. The Clips had two big wins this week over Portland and Minnesota but ESPN is still weary about the team holding on when giving up double-digit leads:

"The Clippers could not overcome a poor start in Utah. Paul George, though, scored 39 points to hold off a red-hot Phoenix squad. The Clippers are still letting opponents cut big leads down to single-digits, but so far, they’ve held on to beat the Lakers, Nuggets and Suns in those situations."

Bleacher Report Power Rankings: LA Clippers #2

Much like ESPN, Bleacher Report has the Clippers sitting in the number two spot. BR noted the two large wins and even made a point in noting that the Clippers in their loss to the Utah Jazz managed to climb out of a twenty point hole as they fought back and nearly won the game.

Bleacher Report was also fair in critiquing the Clippers, citing rebounding and fouling as two of their biggest concerns:

"As good as the Clippers have been, there are areas they can improve. For starters, they are 29th in the NBA in rebounds per game and in the middle of the pack in rebound percentage. Another area of improvement needs to be defending without fouling. They average 23.4 fouls per game—27th in the NBA—and that leads to 26.0 free-throw attempts for their opponents."

CBS Power Rankings: LA Clippers #3

CBS has the LA Clippers in the third spot below both the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s odd to see the 76ers so high in the power rankings given their opponents haven’t been exactly great.

Their best win comes over the Raptors but outside of that, they have beaten the Magic, Wizards, Knicks, and Hornets. Their lone loss comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nothing all too impressive there but I suppose losing just one does deserve some recognition.

NBA.com Power Rankings: LA Clippers #3

NBA.com, the last site on our list, also has the Clippers at the #3 spot. They note that there are three 5-2 teams in the Western Conference and the Clips have beaten the other two. There are some interesting stats to note, especially the Clips’ lack of interior scoring.

"It was speculated in this space two weeks ago that they might miss Montrezl Harrell’s rim attacks, and they indeed rank 28th in the percentage of their shots that have come in the restricted area (23%). George and Kawhi Leonard are some jump-shootin’ superstars, having combined to take just 30 (14%) of their 215 shots in the restricted area."

Jump shooting teams can win and it stands to reason that George and Leonard will get more looks near the rim in the postseason and are saving their bodies for now but this stat is still something to keep an eye on going forward.

Where do you have the LA Clippers currently among NBA teams in power rankings? Let us know and we’ll see if the Clippers can improve after this week where they face the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors twice, and the Chicago Bulls.