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The Oklahoma City Thunder haven't missed a beat since last season's superb performance, and their current success has them at or near the top of all the web power rankings for the NBA.
The Thunder lead the league in points per game with a stupendous 106.0. It certainly doesn't hurt OKC that Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka are ranked second in the NBA in points per game and field goal percentage, respectively.
In his latest power rankings, SB Nation NBA contributor Seth Rosenthal slots the Thunder second, just behind their Western Conference rival San Antonio Spurs and an improvement of one spot from last week. He also says they might have some room to grow:
It's amazing how Oklahoma City's offense remains unmistakably the best in the NBA, yet anecdotally, it doesn't seem to be operating quite at maximum force. It just doesn't matter. The Pacers' terrific defense gave OKC genuine trouble on Sunday and the Thunder still messed around and dropped 104 points on them (in a very slow game). Those guys are terrifying.
Elsewhere on the web, Matt Moore of CBS Sports/Eye on Basketball keeps Oklahoma City second in his rankings. Kurt Helin of NBC Sports/ProBasketballTalk awards the Thunder his highest ranking. ESPN's Marc Stein bumps the Thunder up two slots to second place in his rundown. Stein's ESPN colleague John Hollinger comes to much the same conclusion, with the Thunder in second by a whisker behind the Spurs.