Image ImageImage Image

ESPN Weekly Power Rankings

Moderators: HomoSapien, Ice Man, dougthonus, Michael Jackson, Tommy Udo 6 , kulaz3000, fleet, DASMACKDOWN, GimmeDat, RedBulls23, AshyLarrysDiaper, coldfish, Payt10

bad knees
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,836
And1: 2,805
Joined: Jul 09, 2009

ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#1 » by bad knees » Tue Oct 26, 2021 4:04 pm

MrSparkle
RealGM
Posts: 23,068
And1: 10,946
Joined: Jul 31, 2003
Location: chicago

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#2 » by MrSparkle » Tue Oct 26, 2021 4:20 pm

This is the type of ESPN article that puts fear in Nick Friedell.
bad knees
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,836
And1: 2,805
Joined: Jul 09, 2009

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#3 » by bad knees » Tue Oct 26, 2021 4:32 pm

Bulls move from 10th in the East to 6th. MIL, BKN, MIA, PHI and ATL are still ahead of us.

These rankings were created before we beat TOR. That win probably would not make a difference, as TOR is ranked 22.
GoBlue72391
RealGM
Posts: 10,279
And1: 6,557
Joined: Oct 26, 2009
     

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#4 » by GoBlue72391 » Tue Oct 26, 2021 4:40 pm

MrSparkle wrote:This is the type of ESPN article that puts fear in Nick Friedell.

I don't even think he actually believed the words that came out of his mouth. I see it as him taking a blind opportunity to hate on the team he used to cover, regardless of whether it was based in reality or not.
Dresden
RealGM
Posts: 13,773
And1: 6,483
Joined: Nov 02, 2017
       

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#5 » by Dresden » Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:24 pm

bad knees wrote:Bulls move from 10th in the East to 6th. MIL, BKN, MIA, PHI and ATL are still ahead of us.

These rankings were created before we beat TOR. That win probably would not make a difference, as TOR is ranked 22.


I feel like the only team that is clearly superior to us is MIL right now. BRK has struggled and is below .500. MIA is good, and they always play hard, but personel wise I like our team better. I think it would be a tough series if we met them in the playoffs right now, and not sure who would win. I'm not sold on PHI without Simmons. ATL seems to reliant on Trae- and with Lonzo and Caruso, I think we have the guys who can slow him down.
User avatar
Jvaughn
RealGM
Posts: 27,869
And1: 4,488
Joined: May 18, 2009
   

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#6 » by Jvaughn » Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:07 pm

So Bulls are 4-0 and 10th, but the 1-2 Lakers are ranked 8th. Hmm
spearsy23 wrote:Kobe is a low percentage chucker just like Jennings, he's just better at it.


teamCHItown wrote:Now we have threads on what violent felons think of our Bulls. Great. Next up, OJ Simpson's take on a possible Taj Gibson extension.
meekrab
RealGM
Posts: 13,543
And1: 10,245
Joined: Dec 15, 2014

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#7 » by meekrab » Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:25 pm

Jvaughn wrote:So Bulls are 4-0 and 10th, but the 1-2 Lakers are ranked 8th. Hmm

Power rankings tend to have whatever the opposite of Recency Bias is.
User avatar
dougthonus
Senior Mod - Bulls
Senior Mod - Bulls
Posts: 57,886
And1: 18,122
Joined: Dec 22, 2004
Contact:
 

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#8 » by dougthonus » Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:31 pm

Jvaughn wrote:So Bulls are 4-0 and 10th, but the 1-2 Lakers are ranked 8th. Hmm


I think the Lakers are overhyped, but I think they were being generous putting the Bulls at 10th. I doubt the Bulls finish with the 10th (or better) best record in the NBA this year.
http://linktr.ee/bullsbeat - links to the bullsbeat podcast
@doug_thonus on twitter
WindyCityBorn
RealGM
Posts: 22,011
And1: 11,712
Joined: Jun 26, 2014
     

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#9 » by WindyCityBorn » Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:56 pm

dougthonus wrote:
Jvaughn wrote:So Bulls are 4-0 and 10th, but the 1-2 Lakers are ranked 8th. Hmm


I think the Lakers are overhyped, but I think they were being generous putting the Bulls at 10th. I doubt the Bulls finish with the 10th (or better) best record in the NBA this year.


How many wins would that equate to? I think we can win 50 if injuries don’t derail us and we address the frontcourt issue.
User avatar
dougthonus
Senior Mod - Bulls
Senior Mod - Bulls
Posts: 57,886
And1: 18,122
Joined: Dec 22, 2004
Contact:
 

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#10 » by dougthonus » Thu Oct 28, 2021 9:39 pm

WindyCityBorn wrote:
dougthonus wrote:
Jvaughn wrote:So Bulls are 4-0 and 10th, but the 1-2 Lakers are ranked 8th. Hmm


I think the Lakers are overhyped, but I think they were being generous putting the Bulls at 10th. I doubt the Bulls finish with the 10th (or better) best record in the NBA this year.


How many wins would that equate to? I think we can win 50 if injuries don’t derail us and we address the frontcourt issue.


Just looked at the last 3 years (two of which are pro-rated due to COVID):
20/21: 49
19/20: 50
18/19: 49

So seems right around that 49/50 mark.
http://linktr.ee/bullsbeat - links to the bullsbeat podcast
@doug_thonus on twitter
User avatar
Michael Jackson
Forum Mod - Bulls
Forum Mod - Bulls
Posts: 29,556
And1: 11,689
Joined: Jun 15, 2001

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#11 » by Michael Jackson » Thu Oct 28, 2021 9:45 pm

dougthonus wrote:
Jvaughn wrote:So Bulls are 4-0 and 10th, but the 1-2 Lakers are ranked 8th. Hmm


I think the Lakers are overhyped, but I think they were being generous putting the Bulls at 10th. I doubt the Bulls finish with the 10th (or better) best record in the NBA this year.



Yeah this year would be a great success if we end the season that high. As far as the rankings go, 10 is likely right based on strength of schedule. the 3 teams we beat were all missing an important player Cade/Zion/Siakim. Granted in Cade's case it would have been his first and second NBA games so I don't think he would have made a big impact but that still is of note.
InsideInfo
Bench Warmer
Posts: 1,444
And1: 771
Joined: Mar 25, 2008

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#12 » by InsideInfo » Mon Nov 1, 2021 2:23 pm

New rankings came out today and we moved up 1 spot to number 9.

We all know espn is trash at this sort of stuff, but its a little annoying. Utah is ranked 1st.
meekrab
RealGM
Posts: 13,543
And1: 10,245
Joined: Dec 15, 2014

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#13 » by meekrab » Mon Nov 1, 2021 3:08 pm

InsideInfo wrote:New rankings came out today and we moved up 1 spot to number 9.

We all know espn is trash at this sort of stuff, but its a little annoying. Utah is ranked 1st.

At least they have the Heat who have been absolutely destroying teams at #2. Their current SRS of 17.3 would be far and away the best of all time if they kept it up for a season. The 72 win Bulls had an SRS of 11.8, for comparison. That Heat-Jazz game on Saturday has the potential to be a really good one.
User avatar
dougthonus
Senior Mod - Bulls
Senior Mod - Bulls
Posts: 57,886
And1: 18,122
Joined: Dec 22, 2004
Contact:
 

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#14 » by dougthonus » Mon Nov 1, 2021 3:09 pm

InsideInfo wrote:New rankings came out today and we moved up 1 spot to number 9.

We all know espn is trash at this sort of stuff, but its a little annoying. Utah is ranked 1st.


I think #9 is pretty fair. At the end of the season, what place do you think the Bulls will be in?

If they moved everyone around based on head to head matchups, you would have an impossible task because Team A will beat Team B who beats Team C who beat Team A. Of the six 1 loss teams, the Bulls have had the easiest schedule and only have one quality win.
http://linktr.ee/bullsbeat - links to the bullsbeat podcast
@doug_thonus on twitter
kodo
RealGM
Posts: 20,516
And1: 14,962
Joined: Oct 10, 2006
Location: Northshore Burbs
 

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#15 » by kodo » Mon Nov 1, 2021 3:45 pm

Brooklyn at #3 when they are 4-3 is nonsense. All the other 5 win teams other than Utah are below.
User avatar
FriedRise
RealGM
Posts: 14,446
And1: 13,551
Joined: Jan 13, 2015
Location: Chicago
 

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#16 » by FriedRise » Mon Nov 1, 2021 3:46 pm

We did beat the Jazz, but we lost to the Knicks so #9 is fair. I'm actually thrilled that we're ranked that high by a mostly pessimistic media like ESPN, who had us #19 to start the season.

We have a very hard schedule this week (@Boston, @Philly, vs Philly), but if we go 3-0, I bet you that we crack top 6.
User avatar
dougthonus
Senior Mod - Bulls
Senior Mod - Bulls
Posts: 57,886
And1: 18,122
Joined: Dec 22, 2004
Contact:
 

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#17 » by dougthonus » Mon Nov 1, 2021 3:50 pm

FriedRise wrote:We did beat the Jazz, but we lost to the Knicks so #9 is fair. I'm actually thrilled that we're ranked that high by a mostly pessimistic media like ESPN, who had us #19 to start the season.

We have a very hard schedule this week (@Boston, @Philly, vs Philly), but if we go 3-0, I bet you that we crack top 6.


If we go 3-0, we deserve to crack the top 5 IMO.

Early in the season, people don't drop their preseason expectations based on a handful of games, but if the Bulls were 8-1 and had four straight quality wins, you'd have to start giving them real love even if you backed it off later.
http://linktr.ee/bullsbeat - links to the bullsbeat podcast
@doug_thonus on twitter
Ice Man
Forum Mod - Bulls
Forum Mod - Bulls
Posts: 26,692
And1: 15,703
Joined: Apr 19, 2011

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#18 » by Ice Man » Mon Nov 1, 2021 3:52 pm

It's not really a matter of power rankings "making sense," because by definition they can't. If they only evaluate this season's early results, then you get things like rating the Orlando Magic from a couple of years past the best team in the NBA (or nearly) because they started 6-0. If you take into consideration last year's record and along with pedigree, then you get Brooklyn at #3 while being 4-3.

Pick your poison. But realize that from another perspective, whatever argument that people make about power rankings is also wrong.

So I don't pay them any real attention.
weneeda2guard
RealGM
Posts: 10,484
And1: 5,002
Joined: Feb 07, 2011

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#19 » by weneeda2guard » Mon Nov 1, 2021 4:18 pm

1 lil funky a$$ jumpshot from being 6-0 smh
"they taking rose kindness for a weakness"
gardenofsound
Veteran
Posts: 2,540
And1: 1,895
Joined: Aug 25, 2010
 

Re: ESPN Weekly Power Rankings 

Post#20 » by gardenofsound » Mon Nov 1, 2021 4:26 pm

Just to emphasize how much better the Bulls are this year (or at least how much more exciting it is to be a Bulls fan):

This season 6 games to 5 wins.
2020-2021... 13 games to reach 5 wins.
2019-2020... 15 games to 5 wins.
2018-2019... 18 games to 5 wins.
2017-2018... 25 games to 5 wins.
2016-2017... 9 games to 5 wins (with Butler/Wade/Rondo... the "retool, not rebuild" year).

Granted, there are some schedule wins this year, but I think regardless of that, we can say that we are AT LEAST as good as the retool year, and the eye test says we're significantly better than that.

Return to Chicago Bulls