Welcome to Def Pen’s NBA Power Rankings. These rankings are updated every Monday. Last week, the statistically-brilliant Josiah Brady updated the rankings here with his ‘SteadyLosing’ model. This week, it’s my turn. 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.
NBA Power Rankings
Biggest Jump: 76ers, Hawks Up 10
Biggest Drop: Hornets Down 14
1. Golden State Warriors
Record: 35-6
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
The Warriors made the Cavs look like the Nets in their most recent matchup. As offensively talented as Cleveland is, Golden State, when everything is clicking, is the most lethal offensive team in basketball history.
2. Houston Rockets
Record: 32-11
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
The Rockets are absolutely phenomenal. They’re so much better than we thought they’d be, and they’re truly a joy to watch. The Rockets are basically a blast of hedonistic fun; they’re led by one of the most exciting players in the NBA, and he’s surrounded by shooters. Harden has the ultimate green light.
3. San Antonio Spurs
Record: 31-9
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
New year, same Spurs; at this point, I think Popovich could take the Sixers to 50 wins and a conference semifinals appearance. They have dropped two of their last three, though. A loss to the lowly Suns is unacceptable.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 29-11
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
As I mentioned in the Warriors’ section, the Cavs got absolutely trounced in their much-hyped national television matchup. LeBron says that Cavs-Warriors isn’t a rivalry, but it definitely is – and a fun one, at that.
After being blown out by the Warriors, the Cavs rank in the bottom-five among all teams in January net rating. Yikes.
5. Boston Celtics
Record: 26-15
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
Isaiah Thomas is absolutely incredible (shamelessly plugging my recent piece on his brilliance here). Thomas leads the NBA in fourth-quarter points. He also leads any player in the last 20 years in that category. He leads the NBA in points off of drives and is the league’s most efficient isolation scorer. He’s also the highest scorer in the Eastern Conference and has upped his efficiency. Get this guy to the All-Star game starting lineup.The Celtics have won eight of their last 10 games, and are just a game-and-a-half behind the Raptors for the second seed. They’re also just 3.5 games behind Cleveland for the top spot in the East.
Here’s a further look at Isaiah Thomas’ stupefying fourth-quarter stats since he returned from injury, courtesy of Brian Robb:
Isaiah Thomas 4th quarter splits since returning from groin injury (16 games).
54.8% FG
54.7% 3PT (3.3 att/G)
94.7% FT (3.7 att/G)
13.2 PPG— Brian Robb (@CelticsHub) January 17, 2017
6. Los Angeles Clippers
Record: 29-14
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
The Clippers are back on track. They’ve won seven straight games, but Chris Paul hurt his hand in Tuesday’s blowout win over the Thunder. It isn’t broken, which is good news. Hopefully, Paul won’t miss much time; he’s crucial to the Clippers’ success, especially given Blake Griffin’s inability to reliably stay on the court.
7. Utah Jazz
Record: 27-16
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
The Jazz are a fantastic team. Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward are both deserving of All-Star spots. If George Hill hadn’t missed so much time, he would be in that discussion as well.
Utah has won four consecutive games now, and seven of their last 10. They’re capable of hanging with just about any team; don’t be surprised if they make some playoffs noise come May.
8. Toronto Raptors
Record: 27-13
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
Putting Toronto this far down feels strange, particularly since they’ve won their last three games. However, the Raptors are .500 in their last 10 games, and other teams around them have been surging. This offense has been historically good, though the defense is middling.
9. Atlanta Hawks
Record: 24-17
Last Week’s Ranking: 19
The Hawks have been weirdly streaky this season. Right now, they’re hot. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games, and are just two games behind Boston for the third seed. Josiah dropped Atlanta all the way down to 19 last week due (I think) to the belief that Kyle Korver being dealt was a sign of a roster overhaul. The Hawks say that they have no intention of moving Millsap, though I’m skeptical about the veracity of that statement.
Regardless, until the Hawks do actually blow things up, they won’t drop down my rankings as long as they’re playing well. And they are certainly playing well at the moment.
10. Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 25-18
Last Week’s Ranking: 12
The Grizzlies are a top-five defensive unit but have had some bad losses recently (to the Lakers, Bulls, and a Clippers team that was resting their stars). An offense featuring Marc Gasol knocking down three-pointers is fun but hasn’t translated into consistent success; The Grizzlies rank 24th in offensive rating.
11. Washington Wizards
Record: 21-19
Last Week’s Ranking: 15
Early this season, the Wizards made me regret picking them to make the playoffs. Their play as of late has justified that pick, though. A healthy Bradley Beal and a breakout season from Otto Porter Jr. have finally provided John Wall with a bit of help. The Wizards are 14-6 over their last 20 games.
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
Record: 25-18
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
As Josiah noted in last week’s rankings, the Thunder have had a relatively easy schedule thus far. This team feels more like a .500 team than the 25-18 record that they have currently, and they are indeed .500 over their last 10 games. Westbrook is still slapping up ridiculous stat lines, but he doesn’t have the most functional supporting cast – though Oladipo and Adams are quite good.
13. Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 20-20
Last Week’s Ranking: 10
The Bucks were on a serious tear for a while there, but have taken a small step back. All this team needs to do is sneak into the playoffs (they’re currently the eight seed). With Antetokounmpo establishing himself as a young superstar and Jabari Parker having an extremely impressive breakout season, this team could make for an exciting first-round postseason series – particularly if Khris Middleton recovers well.
14. Indiana Pacers
Record: 21-19
Last Week’s Ranking: 13
So far, the Pacers have been able to capitalize on their exceptionally easy January schedule; they’re 6-1 in January. The one loss came to the Nuggets, who should play every game in London. It feels unlikely that we’ll see this Denver team put up 140 points in another regulation game anytime soon.
15. Chicago Bulls
Record: 21-21
Last Week’s Ranking: 20
A full-on implosion feels inevitable, but the magnificent play of Jimmy Butler has kept the Bulls somewhat afloat thus far. The management’s decision-making is still laughable. They understandably benched Rondo, but in favor of… Michael Carter-Williams, who has similar offensive limitations and isn’t the playmaker that Rondo is.
16. Detroit Pistons
Record: 19-24
Last Week’s Ranking: 18
The Pistons’ demise is still unfathomable to me. Going from a well-above .500 team to their current state is just bizarre; all they did was bolster their bench by adding Ish Smith, Jon Leuer, and THE BOBAN.
17. Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 18-25
Last Week’s Ranking: 22
The Blazers’ regression wasn’t too difficult to see coming. The bright spot for Portland is that C.J. McCollum is establishing himself as one of the league’s most lethal scoring threats.
18. New Orleans Pelicans
Record: 16-26
Last Week’s Ranking: 22
The Pelicans are .500 over their last 10, which is… better. Having Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans healthy is big for this team, and signing Donatas Motiejunas was a prudent decision. The Pelicans could still make the playoffs; they’re just 1.5 games behind Portland for the eighth seed.
19. Philadelphia 76ers
Record: 13-26
Last Week’s Ranking: 29
There’s a major discrepancy between my rankings and Josiah’s here. That makes sense as his rankings are more statistically-based than mine are. Stats say Philly sucks. However, wins are wins, and the Sixers have improbably managed to win four of their last five games, and six of their last eight.
20. Denver Nuggets
Record: 16-23
Last Week’s Ranking: 17
The Nuggets are in the playoffs hunt; they’re less than a game behind the Blazers. Nikola Jokic is tremendous. The center is quickly establishing himself as one of the best passers in basketball. Statistically speaking, though, defense is a major problem for the Nuggets. Jokic and fellow center Jusuf Nurkic allow opponents to shoot higher field goal percentages at the rim than any other qualified big men in the NBA. Only the Lakers have a worse defensive rating than Denver, and in the month of January, the Nuggets’ defensive rating is by far the league’s worst.
21. Charlotte Hornets
Record: 20-21
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
It may be time for the Hornets to panic. This team appears to be falling apart. They’ve lost five games in a row, and have been a bottom-five defense in the month of January.
22. Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 14-27
Last Week’s Ranking: 21
This is not the Wolves’ season. Karl-Anthony Towns has been shockingly bad on defense. It’s important to take a step back and remember that – for all their talent – this is a very young team, and young teams need time to develop.
23. New York Knicks
Record: 18-24
Last Week’s Ranking: 14
Clearly, I’m not as high on the Knicks as Josiah is. He’s right that they’ve been a very good rebounding team (only Chicago and Denver have been better), but it takes more than just rebounding to be a successful team. The Knicks have lost eight of their last 10 games.
24. Sacramento Kings
Record: 16-24
Last Week’s Ranking: 23
The Kings are the second-worst rebounding team in basketball despite the presence of DeMarcus Cousins in the paint. The Kings are currently on pace to win 33 games – the exact same number that they won last season. This team is going nowhere.
25. Orlando Magic
Record: 17-26
Last Week’s Ranking: 27
Throughout this season, I’ve (mostly) refrained from dropping Orlando too far down these rankings, because despite their clearly flawed roster, they were winning a decent number of games. Now that they’ve lost eight of their last 10, I feel comfortable putting them at 25.
26. Dallas Mavericks
Record: 8-24
Last Week’s Ranking: 28
The Mavs have gotten pounded on the glass all season long; they’re averaging just 38 rebounds a game. No other team averages under 40.
27. Phoenix Suns
Record: 13-28
Last Week’s Ranking: 28
Devin Booker has been putting on a show as of late. The 20-year-old erupted for 39 points in consecutive games, and has shot 50% on three-pointers in seven January games – much better than his season average of 35.6%.
28. Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 15-30
Last Week’s Ranking: 24
The Lakers have some impressive young talent but aren’t at all a competent basketball team yet. Among NBA players who run at least five pick-and-roll plays per game as ball-handlers, the two players in the lowest percentile are D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson.
29. Miami Heat
Record: 11-30
Last Week’s Ranking: 25
The Heat are, um, not good. They have the second-worst offensive rating in the league, and while their defense is actually in the upper half of the league, losing Justise Winslow to a torn labrum will – and already has – hurt their defensive effort. Since Winslow’s injury, the Heat rank 22nd in defensive rating.
30. Brooklyn Nets
Record: 8-32
Last Week’s Ranking: 30
The only team that hasn’t cracked double digits in their win total, the Nets are absolutely atrocious. They’re currently in the midst of a 10-game losing streak, and have lost 15 of their last 16. This team is a mess.
