Welcome to Def Pen’s NBA Power Rankings. These rankings will be updated every Monday from here on. These rankings aren’t necessarily based solely on talent level or team potential.They’re about who’s better right now/who has played better as of late. If a team has lost their last 5 games, they’re probably going to drop (at least) a few spots, even if they’ve got “better” players than a team ranked above them. Alright, let’s jump in.
Biggest Jump: Milwaukee Bucks: Up 4
Biggest Drop: Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets: Down 5
1. Golden State Warriors
Record: 55-6
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
The Warriors beaten badly by the Lakers, and the entire Dubs team looked collectively hungover(let’s call it what it is; come on, a matinee game after a Saturday night in L.A.?). We’re just going to assume that was an anomaly. This team is still great; every team slips up occasionally.
2. San Antonio Spurs
Record: 53-9
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
The Spurs have been incredible this season, and yet they’ve largely been overshadowed by Golden State. The Spurs are on pace to win 70 games, and aren’t the best team in the league. That’s insane. The 1996 Bulls are the only team to ever win 70+ games, but the Spurs and Warriors could both do that this season. This is a historic season.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 44-17
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
The Cavs picked up a great win vs. Boston, and this team looks like maybe they’re starting to get back on track? The chemistry still feels weird. Also, LeBron is Batman.
4. Toronto Raptors
Record: 41-20
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
This Raptors team is a lot of fun. Lowry and DeRozan make for a dynamic backcourt, and Jonas Valanciunas is a strong presence inside. This team has taken a leap forward this year, and I’m excited to see what they can do come playoff time.
5. Boston Celtics
Record: 38-26
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
Boston fans let out a groan as the Celtics gave up an 18-point lead to Cleveland… and lost by 17. That was worrying. Outside of that, though, the C’s have looked great. Most recently, they stomped Portland, beat Utah, and handily beat Miami.
6. Miami Heat
Record: 37-26
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
This team has really come together in Chris Bosh’s absence. Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside have really upped their play since the All-Star Break. Miami has now won 5 in a row.
7. Oklahoma City Thunder
Record: 43-20
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
Last week, I chalked the Thunder’s struggles up to a fluke(the only bad loss was 1 game to the Pelicans). But they’ve now lost 6 of their last 9 games, and while their schedule has been pretty tough, OKC’s inability to hold onto leads is disconcerting. I absolutely expect OKC to bounce back, however. They’re still on of the most talented teams in the league. They play the Clippers on Wednesday and the Spurs on Saturday. Hopefully they can put forth strong efforts in those games
8. Los Angeles Clippers
Record: 40-21
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
It’ll be interesting to see how this team adapts to the return of Blake Griffin. Will they move the ball as well? Austin Rivers isn’t so sure. I’m sure they’ll figure it out.
9. Charlotte Hornets
Record: 33-28
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
Charlotte looks great right now. Al Jefferson is back, and this team is firing on all cylinders, having won 9 of their last 11 games. They have one of the easier schedules from here on out, too. All signs point to Charlotte being a playoff team.
10. Atlanta Hawks
Record: 35-28
Last Week’s Ranking: 10
The Hawks have now won 4 of their last 5, including an impressive win over the Clippers. This team has been fairly bipolar this season, which is ironic because they were one of the most consistent teams in the league last year.
11. Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 33-31
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
After winning 14 of 16 games, Portland has now dropped 3 in a row. Boston and Detroit beat them without much trouble, and Toronto squeaked by them. It’s hard to say whether they’ve actually cooled off, or if this is just a bump in the road.
12.Detroit Pistons
Record: 32-31
Last Week’s Ranking: 15
Detroit’s picked up a couple nice wins recently vs. Portland and Toronto. They also blew a game against the Knicks. I like this team on paper. Andre Drummond? Reggie Jackson? Tobias Harris? Sign me up! I feel like they should be better than they are. I don’t know. Maybe they’re still adjusting to the addition of Harris.
13. Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 37-25
Last Week’s Ranking: 12
Don’t be surprised to see the Grizzlies steadily drop in these rankings for the remainder of the season. This team is significantly worse without Marc Gasol, but their schedule since his injury has been a cake walk, so they haven’t been exposed yet(other than 2 losses to the PHOENIX SUNS). Their next two games are vs. Boston and Cleveland. They also still have to play 2 games each against the Clippers, Spurs, and Warriors by the end of the season.
14. Indiana Pacers
Record: 33-30
Last Week’s Ranking: 13
Paul George keeps putting up big numbers. This team keeps losing, or beating bad teams. The Pacers haven’t beaten a team over .500 since February 19(a 3-point win over OKC).
15. Houston Rockets
Record: 31-32
Last Week’s Ranking: 18
This team still doesn’t look very good overall, but James Harden carried the hell out of them against Toronto. He went for 40 & 14 en route to beating a top-5 team. The Rockets get bumped up for that. Also, Harden has averaged 35.2 points, 7. rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game over his last 11 outings(via Hoopshype).
16. Washington Wizards
Record: 30-32
Last Week’s Ranking: 16
Cleveland took their revenge against Washington, and then Washington lost a very winnable game vs Indiana, which will have playoff consequences. Bradley Beal got injured… again. But it doesn’t sound like it’ll be too serious, which is good news.
17. Chicago Bulls
Record: 31-30
Last Week’s Ranking: 19
I can almost guarantee you that this team will soar up the rankings by next week. Why? Jimmy. G. Buckets. Without Jimmy Butler, this is a lottery team. With him, it’s a top-10 team. So far he’s only played one game, but that one game was a win that snapped the team’s 4-game losing streak. I won’t bump a team up too much after one game, but by next week’s rankings I would expect this team to be higher up on the rankings.
18. Dallas Mavericks
Record: 33-30
Last Week’s Ranking: 14
Dallas is not a good team right now, which is sad given how great they were to start the season. Currently, Dallas is losing to good and bad teams alike while occasionally beating a bad team. They haven’t beaten a team over .500 since Memphis on February 4th, over a month ago. Rick Carlisle began the season in strong contention for Coach of the Year, but those days are long gone.
19. Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 26-37
Last Week’s Ranking: 23
The Greek Freak is truly coming into his own. All 3 of his career triple-doubles have come within his last 7 games. In fact, he’s the first Buck to have 3 triple-doubles in a single season since Alvin Robertson in 1990-91(as pointed out by ESPN’s Marc Stein). Jabari Parker and Khris Middleton have also been phenomenal as of late. #OwnTheFuture is right.
20. Orlando Magic
Record: 27-34
Last Week’s Ranking: 21
I don’t have a ton to say about the Magic. I like some of their young talent, but they aren’t great currently. Tonight they play Golden State in Oakland, where they will attempt to stop the Warriors from setting an NBA record for most consecutive home wins. I don’t love the Magic’s odds. Then, on top of that, they have to play the mighty Lakers, who just thrashed the Warriors, the very next day(yes, that was sarcasm).
21. Sacramento Kings
Record: 25-36
Last Week’s Ranking: 22
The Kings have lost 5 of their last 6 games, but all of those losses were against Western Conference playoff teams. It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Sacramento, schedule-wise. However, their schedule gets significantly easier from here on out.
22. Utah Jazz
Record: 29-33
Last Week’s Ranking: 17
The Jazz have lost 5 of their last 6 as well, and like the Kings, they’ve only lost to good teams(with the exception of a 2-point loss to the lowly Brooklyn Nets). This team will likely miss the playoffs, but if they can rally together they still have a shot of making it. I hope they do, this is a fun team.
23. New Orleans Pelicans
Record: 23-38
Last Week’s Ranking: 20
Welp. This team looked halfway decent for a little while there. Now they’ve lost 4 in a row. They’ll look to get back on track vs. Sacramento tonight.
24. Denver Nuggets
Record: 25-38
Last Week’s Ranking: 19
Denver got a nice overtime win over the Mavs two days after losing in overtime to the Nets. Emmanuel Mudiay has played really well for the Nuggets over his past 3 games, which is a nice bright spot for an otherwise struggling Denver team.
25. Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 20-43
Last Week’s Ranking: 25
The Timberwolves are not good at basketball, if you’re curious about their current situation. However, I don’t think there are 5 players in the league that I would take over Towns to build a franchise around. This kid is incredible. It’s about the future for this team
26. New York Knicks
Record: 26-38
Last Week’s Ranking: 26
It’s time for Melo to move on from New York, and vice versa. But hey, I’ve been saying that for years and it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe he’ll retire a Knick.
27. Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 13-51
Last Week’s Ranking: 29
I don’t want to take anything away from the Lakers, but that win vs. the Warriors didn’t come against the real Warriors. It came against the hungover Warriors. The version of the Warriors where the “Splash Bros” combine for 1-18 3-point shooting, and Stephen Curry misses various open layups. Still, props to the Lakers for taking advantage. D’Angelo Russell has looked great lately, and Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson have impressed as well.
28. Phoenix Suns
Record: 17-46
Last Week’s Ranking: 30
Congratulations to the Phoenix Suns on no longer being the worst team in Basketball! In fact, they aren’t even the second-worst! Phoenix has now won 3 of their last 5 games, including 2 wins over Memphis(come on now, Grizzlies). Devin Booker has looked awesome, and he’s only 15 years old!(Wait, that can’t be right).
29. Brooklyn Nets
Record: 18-45
Last Week’s Ranking: 27
The Nets beat Denver in overtime, but uh, they’re still bad at basketball. This has to be the worst a team has been, like, ever without owning their own first rounder. How can you be this bad with zero incentive to suck?!
30. Philadelphia 76ers
Record: 8-55
Last Week’s Ranking: 29
Philadelphia is back on bottom. They’ve lost 13 straight now. They’d better get Ben Simmons, because this is just sad at this point.
