NBA Power Rankings, Week 2: Pistons holding strong

The media has provided their power rankings again and we have some new ones to add. Detroit climbed most of the rankings, only falling in one. However, keep in mind that most of these rankings were out before Monday's loss to the Golden State Warriors. So at the time of most of these writings, the Pistons were 5-1 with their only loss to the Indiana Pacers.

	Last Week: 3 This Week: 3

Last season, the Pistons outscored their opponents by 15.7 points per 100 possessions when Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond were on the floor without Greg Monroe. This season, that number is plus-18.8, thanks in part to Sunday's huge fourth quarter in which Jackson scored 26 points and Detroit turned a 13-point deficit into a 17-point win. Drummond did his eye-opening offensive work earlier in the night.

Still not sure how I feel about saying they're third in the league. They still have a lot of issues to iron out. They're very good though.

	Last Week: 14 This Week: 12

You should know all about Andre Drummond by now, but Reggie Jackson has been living up to his big contract and helping propel Detroit into serious relevance. He led a massive comeback against Portland with 26 of his career-high 40 points in the fourth quarter. If you haven’t tuned in yet, Detroit gets Golden State in the second game of a road back-to-back Monday night.

I love how they qualified "second game of a road back-to-back." With that in mind, the loss (not in this analysis) doesn't feel that bad. At least they moved up a few more ranks.

	Last Week: 4 This Week: 13

These Pistons continue to be dull, unappealing, unmoving.

Outside of the guy that is pulling off some prime-years Moses Malone work right now. Get a load of this dude:

(two vines showing Drummond's dominance)

Av-er-uh-ging 20 and 20.

Drummond and Reggie Jackson led the charge as Detroit outscored those loveable Trail Blazers by a 41-11 margin in the fourth quarter on Sunday evening. Also, we will be showing this photo every Monday morning between now and when the Pistons are eliminated from championship contention:

SVG's mixtape is going to be pic.twitter.com/l5UfOWSa4Q

— #PickPaxton (@iTravisWade) October 21, 2015

So the Pistons are winning aside from that horrible loss to the Pacers and the not so bad loss to the Warriors (not included in this assessment), come back from 18 at one point to win by 17, and they're dull. Well, so were the 2003-04 Pistons... Be prepared to show that picture every Monday from now until the end of time.

	Last Week: 11 This Week: 5

What a timely tribute to the late, great Moses Malone. The Pistons' All-Star center -- yes, we're going to go ahead and put Andre Drummond on the East squad two Mondays into the season -- just became the first player to manufacture 90-plus points and 90-plus rebounds in his team's first five games since Moses did so in 1983-84.

You go'on wich yo bad self! Honestly, if Drummond keeps it up, who does he have to compete with him in the East for starting center? Oh yeah, they removed those distinctions. Now it is starting front court. BOO!!! Because of that distinction, players like Chris Bosh which have more name recognition could likely get votes over Drummond. Again, BOO!!!

	Last Week: 8 This Week: 10

The Pistons' offense had been very shaky since that hot start, right up until the fourth quarter Sunday, when Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond became one of those giant robots from "Pacific Rim" and destroyed the entire Moda Center. Those two are playing out of their minds right now.

I'll accept the drop because of the bench (though it wasn't mentioned). Honestly, to even still be considered top 10 in most media Power Rankings is fine by me.

	Last Week: 10 This Week: 7

Fresh off a big comeback in Portland behind another monster game from Andre Drummond, the Pistons have jumped three spots from last week. Their win total hasn't changed much, but their neutral site is up 3.1 percent. Drummond is averaging 20 and 20 right now. Sure, he's making the free throw line look like a rigged carnival game, but he's more than making up for it. Detroit is legit.

If you think Detroit is legit now, honestly wait until we have a competent bench. Honestly, I cannot wait for Brandon Jennings to get back.

	Last Week: 19 This Week: 8

Andre Drummond is doing things that haven’t been done outside the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon. Pretty good company. But even more remarkable is Detroit’s defense, which is stifling teams on the perimeter and funneling poor, poor drivers into Drummond’s waiting arms.

These rankings were done on Nov. 5, so they do not include the wins over the Portland Trail Blazers or Phoenix Suns. However, most of what they said is still true. GO PISTONS!!!

Now your thoughts.