Power Rankings round-up: Bucks improve across the board

CBS Sports

Bucks rank: 17th

Previous week: 25th

"With O.J. Mayo's weight loss and improvement, Jabari Parker hitting his groove, and Larry Sanders staying out of trouble, Milwaukee looks poised to be competitive this season."

It's worth noting that "being competitive" does not mean that the Bucks will be angling to make moves to make a playoff push come trade deadline time, so please step back off that ledge and continue reading.

ESPN.com

Bucks rank: 21st

Previous week: 26th

"You know how it works by now. With the ball in his hands and, ultimately, his career-high 18 points, GIANNIS! whipped Twitter into a Saturday night frenzy far more than the sight of the young Bucks -- after blowing their first couple of one-possession games -- handing Memphis its first loss."

Marc Stein is all in on Giannis, it seems. More importantly though, did the exclamation point title transfer from Larry Sanders to Giannis? Is GIANNIS! cool now? Did I really just ask if something was cool now? How old am I? Moving on...

Sports Illustrated

Bucks rank: 19th

Previous week: 23rd

"With Larry Sanders (2.1 blocks per game) healthy and roaming the paint again, the Bucks are fourth in defensive efficiency. But offensive miscues from young playmakers are hurting Milwaukee, which is averaging 16.3 turnovers."

We've seen the Bucks ranked either 4th or 5th, but we won't spend time complaining about the spot. Our pal Alex Boeder wrote a really nice article pointing out where the Bucks defense has been successful so far this season. We suggest you give that a read.

SB Nation

Bucks rank: 19th

Previous week: 25th

"Brandon Knight is having quite a year as he heads into restricted free agency. Nearly 18 points, 7.3 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game is a great line. He, like the Bucks, have looked much better than they did last season. Will it matter? Not enough to make a playoff push, but the core of Knight, Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo isn't a bad place to start."

Did we mention that this triumvirate is an average age of 20 years old?

Yahoo Sports

Bucks rank: 19th

Previous week: 26th

"Guard Brandon Knight is quietly off to a fantastic start, averaging 17.6 points, 7.3 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game"

This is true.

NBA.com

Bucks rank: 22nd

Previous week: 27th

"Sometimes it comes down to the little things, like Brandon Knight's head fake that got Marc Gasol to stand up before Knight scooted by him for the game-winning and-one on Saturday. The Bucks are a top-five defense, but have played five of their seven games against bottom-10 offenses. They play two more on Tuesday (Thunder) and Friday (Magic)."

The defensive ranking may regress a bit once the Bucks face some high-powered offenses, but the early results aren't a fluke either. With Larry Sanders protecting the rim and plenty of length surrounding him, this defense can probably hover around top-10 or top-15 status easily, if not better. Anything is an improvement over last season's 30th ranked unit, though.

Recap:

The 3-4 Bucks averaged a 5.8 spot jump for an average finish of 19.5 in this week's Power Rankings. We'll take it.