NBA 2018-19: Western Conference Power Rankings Week 9

#2 Golden State Warriors

Jonas Jerebko and Kevin Durant

The defending champs went 2-1 this week, but are finally at full strength with Draymond Green's return from a toe injury. It didn't help a whole lot in that blowout loss to the Raptors without Kawhi, which is why they don't go higher than 2 on the rankings.

The manner of defeat is a concern, but we've seen that they're a different animal in the playoffs, so I'm not too bothered in the long run. Steph Curry continues to play at an MVP level and looks set for a 2nd 50-40-90 campaign and there is a slight chance he might go 50-50-90 which is just outrageous.

KD is also having an excellent season, averaging 29 points a game, which would be second only to his MVP campaign when he averaged 32 a game. All this makes it pretty obvious why the Warriors remain 1st in Offensive Rating, but that defense has slipped significantly, although Draymond's return should help in that regard. The Warriors are in the midst of a rough patch in their schedule, with games against the Grizzlies, Jazz, and Mavericks coming up.