Welcome to Def Pen’s NBA Power Rankings. These rankings are updated every Monday. 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 11
Biggest Drop: Atlanta Hawks, Down 11
1. Golden State Warriors
Record: 18-3
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
The Warriors lost a double-overtime thriller to the hot-shooting Houston Rockets for their lone loss in their last 15 games. 20 games in, this is looking to be a historically good offense, and the defense is looking more fearsome each game. Kevin Durant’s efficiency is making Steve Kerr’s jaw drop, and Andre Iguodala thinks that he still hasn’t “scratched the surface.”
Klay Thompson scored 60 points in 29 minutes, which is so, so silly. Prior to that game, the highest points total in under 30 minutes was 43 (Larry Bird).
2. San Antonio Spurs
Record: 17-4
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
Tim Duncan may be gone, but the Spurs are doing what they always do — winning a majority of their games in a very quiet manner.The Spurs have won 12 of their last 13. This team does feel a bit more fallible than they have in past years. The Spurs haven’t been blowing teams out very often; many of their games have come down to the wire
3. Houston Rockets
Record: 14-7
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
How ’bout them Rockets? This offense is so fun, and they’re winning games. They’ve won eight of their last 10 games, including the aforementioned double-OT victory in Oakland. James Harden is as much an MVP candidate as any other player.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 15-4
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
The Cavs had lost each of their last three games before bouncing back to beat the Raptors by four points. They were beaten badly by the Bucks and Clippers and fell to the Bulls by six points. There’s no reason to worry about Cleveland; this team will be fine. Still, though, if you lose three in a row, you’re going to fall a little bit in the power rankings.
5. Toronto Raptors
Record: 14-7
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
The Raptors had won six consecutive games before falling to the Cavs. Kyle Lowry is having a fantastic season, but he’s hardly been mentioned this year due to the scoring feats of his backcourt-mate. Lowry averages 20.4 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game, and is shooting a remarkable 42% on three-pointers.
6. Los Angeles Clippers
Record: 16-6
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
The Clippers have some things to work out. They’ve dropped four of their last six games, and all of those losses have come to inferior teams (Indiana twice, and Detroit and Brooklyn once each). The Clippers will look to bounce back on Wednesday vs. the Warriors — no easy feat. The Clippers will have three days of rest heading into the Golden State Game, so hopefully their fresh legs will be enough to keep them in that game.
7. Oklahoma City Thunder
Record: 14-8
Last Week’s Ranking: 13
I will admit that I had my doubts about this team, and while those doubts aren’t fully erased, they have certainly been eased. The Thunder are a strong defensive team with a superstar at the helm. I wasn’t sure that Russell Westbrook would be able to carry this team to the playoffs, and he’s quickly proving me wrong. Westbrook is averaging a triple-double through 21 games — the furthest along in a season that a player has averaged a triple-double since Oscar Robertson. Westbrook is playing absolutely out of his mind. He’s scoring at a high rate, using his gravity to set up teammates for easy buckets, crashing the glass on both ends, and even knocking down three-pointers in huge moments. Westbrook plays at 100 MPH on every offensive possession and appears to be able to somehow maintain that pace without burning out.
8. Boston Celtics
Record: 12-9
Last Week’s Ranking: 10
Now that they’re fully healthy, Boston is a good team. Al Horford is proving to be an absolutely perfect fit with this team. Avery Bradley is having one of the best rebounding seasons by a player of his stature ever, and is also the only NBA player not named James Harden to have hit at least one three-pointer in every game of the season.
9. Chicago Bulls
Record: 11-9
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
Dwyane Wade has been awesome this season. Jimmy Butler is an MVP candidate. Rajon Rondo has been inconsistent but has had a couple of great games, the latest of which came in the Bulls’ win vs. the Cavs in which he put up a triple-double. That being said, the Bulls have slowed down lately. They’ve lost five of their last eight games, including a 25-point rout at the hands of the lowly Dallas Mavericks.
10. Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 10-9
Last Week’s Ranking: 21
All of the sudden, the Bucks look like they could be a playoff team. This team had won four games in a row behind the incredible play of Giannis Antetkounmpo, who just won Eastern Conference Player of the Week. That winning streak came to an end after a very narrow loss to the Spurs. The Greek Freak is averaging 22.4 points, 8.6 rebounding, 6.1 assists, 2.2 blocks, and 2.2 steals per game on the season.
I fully support Jason Kidd’s decision to start John Henson over Miles Plumlee and Greg Monroe (I’ve been calling for Henson to start for a couple of years now). Henson is precisely the sort of athletic shot-blocker that is needed in the paint when a defender of Jabari Parker’s caliber is starting at the power forward. To Parker’s credit, while his off-ball defense is lacking, he has made great strides offensively this season. Parker’s midrange jumper has been automatic, and he’s even shooting the long ball at a solid 34% clip.
11. Utah Jazz
Record: 13-9
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
The Jazz are a phenomenal team when healthy. Unfortunately, good health has been difficult to come by for this team. Gordon Hayward is back and playing well, but now Derrick Favors is out. The biggest struggle for the Jazz, though, has been George Hill’s absence. Hill has been criminally underrated for years, and it’s becoming apparent just how enormous his impact on this team is. The Jazz had dropped four straight games prior to Hill’s return. In his first game back, they beat the Nuggets by 20. Since his return, they’ve won four of their last five. He transforms this team into a very competitive squad that can compete with just about any team.
12. Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 14-8
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
The Grizzlies have managed to squeak out narrow wins over the Lakers, Magic, and Pelicans in their last three games, but this is not the same team without Mike Conley. Memphis has managed to go 4-1 without Conley so far, but they also haven’t had a the most difficult of schedules.
13. Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 12-10
Last Week’s Ranking: 17
Al-Farouq Aminu is expected to return to the floor for Monday night’s game against the Bulls. Portland is currently the worst defensive team in the NBA, and Aminu is their best defensive player. I’m not saying that this team will be a good defensive one (or even average) with Aminu back, but his presence will help to somewhat stabilize the train wreck that is the Blazers’ defense.
14. New York Knicks
Record: 11-9
Last Week’s Ranking: 15
The Knicks are rolling! They’ve won three straight games, although not against incredible competition; they beat Minnesota twice and Sacramento once. Kristaps Porzingis is awesome, Carmelo Anthony is scoring well as per usual, and even Derrick Rose is giving them some production; Rose has scored at least 20 points in three of the Knicks’ last four games.
15. Charlotte Hornets
Record: 12-9
Last Week’s Ranking: 12
Kemba Walker has been one of the best players on the planet this season. His offensive numbers are ridiculous. A career 34% three-point shooter, Walker is knocking down treys at a 42% clip this season. He opened the season on fire with his jumper and has yet to cool off.
16. Detroit Pistons
Record: 11-11
Last Week’s Ranking: 18
Hurrah, Reggie Jackson is finally back! Now that they have their starting point guard healthy, Ish Smith can be relegated back to the bench, which will help the bench. Detroit’s bench ranks 27th in points per game this season, which isn’t ideal.
Jackson’s season debut was a disappointment for the team, as they fell to the Magic. However, Jackson played well, and said that he “felt good out there.” Jackson scored 18 points in 23 minutes.
17. Indiana Pacers
Record: 10-11
Last Week’s Ranking: 14
Paul George is a difference-maker for the Pacers, and ankle issues have forced him to miss six of the Pacers’ last nine contests. When healthy, George is a top-10 player, and the Pacers need him on the floor. He has played in the last two games now, so hopefully he can stay on the court for the remaineder of the season.
18. Orlando Magic
Record: 9-10
Last Week’s Ranking: 26
The Magic are one of the more inconsistent teams in the NBA. I feel like I’ve been alternating between moving them up and down nearly 10 spots each week. When I ranked them last week, they were coming off of a four-game losing streak. This week, they bounced back, winning three of their four matchups, including a 95-83 victory over the Spurs in San Antonio (the Spurs have been weirdly bad at home this season).
19. Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 10-13
Last Week’s Ranking: 16
It feels like the Lakers are about to start regressing after an unexpectedly good start to the season. They’ve been missing D’Angelo Russell for the past nine games now, and are 3-6 over that stretch. They have two tough matchups coming up (vs. Utah and @ Houston), and then get an easy patch (vs. Phoenix, vs. New York, @ Sacramento, @ Brooklyn, @ Philadelphia). The Lakers are already leaps and bounds ahead of where they were last season, but they aren’t a playoff team just yet.
20. Atlanta Hawks
Record: 10-12
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
What the hell is wrong with Atlanta? The Hawks have lost 10 of their last 11 games, and have been outscored by a combined 153 points over those same last 11. That is absolutely atrocious. This is supposed to be a top-tier defense. Their defensive leader, Paul Millsap, has missed their last three games now, but that doesn’t explain those other six losses.
21. Miami Heat
Record: 7-13
Last Week’s Ranking: 24
Anchored by Hassan Whiteside, the Heat have a capable defense. The offense is another story. The Heat did have a good week, though, winning two of the three games on their road trip (beat Denver and Utah, lost in Portland). The Knicks return home briefly for a game vs. the Knicks on Tuesday before embarking on an Eastern Conference road trip.
22. Sacramento Kings
Record: 7-13
Last Week’s Ranking: 20
A couple weeks ago, the Kings beat the Raptors and Thunder in back-to-back games. Since then, they have lost four of five, with their only win coming over the Nets. DeMarcus Cousins is having a tremendous season from a statistical standpoint; the big man is averaging 29.1 points, 10.5 rebounds per game, and is shooting 38.3% from downtown. The Kings are still bad. Cousins even had a 35-point, 20-rebound game. The Kings still lost. To the Wizards. #FreeBoogie.
23. Denver Nuggets
Record: 8-13
Last Week’s Ranking: 22
The Nuggets have an identity crisis to figure out. Nikola Jokic, after a fantastic rookie campaign, is supposed to be their franchise big man, right? So why is he still playing 23.5 minutes per game? Will Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray work together long-term (in other words, can Murray play the two?)? If not, which one is going to be Denver’s point guard of the future? The Nuggets lost all three of their games this week. This feels like the same sort of Nuggets team that we’ve seen for the past three seasons; they’ll win 30 or 35 games, and draft somewhere around that 6-10 range. Clearly, Denver doesn’t believe in the process.
24.New Orleans Pelicans
Record: 7-15
Last Week’s Ranking: 19
The Pelicans had won four straight, but have since dropped five of six. The only unacceptable loss out of those four was in Dallas. The Pelicans started off horribly this season, but this is a solid team when healthy. Jrue Holiday has been of great importance since returning, and Tyreke Evans should come back soon as well.
25. Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 6-14
Last Week’s Ranking: 25
The Timberwolves picked up an overtime win in Charlotte on Saturday. Prior to that, the Wolves had lost four in a row, and seven of their last eight. The future is bright for the Timberwolves. The present is bit darker.
26. Washington Wizards
Record: 7-12
Last Week’s Ranking: 23
The Wizards are pretty bad on both ends of the floor. The good news for the Wizards is that Bradley Beal has been excellent since he returned from injury. Beal, in the eight games since his return, has averaged 27.25 points per game while shooting 50.3% from the field and 47.1% from three-point range.
Center Ian Mahinmi, who was brought in to help stabilize the defense, has played just 14 minutes this season. When healthy, Mahinmi is a massive upgrade over Gortat defensively, though he lacks Gortat’s offensive skillset. Regardless, the Wizards (who have the lowest-scoring bench in the NBA) need all the depth that they can get.
27. Phoenix Suns
Record: 6-14
Last Week’s Ranking: 27
The way that they’re set up currently, the Suns have little to no team identity. They do have a sizable amount of young talent, but that likely won’t translate into wins for a few more seasons.
28. Dallas Mavericks
Record: 4-16
Last Week’s Ranking: 29
The Mavs are a poor team on both ends and are frankly boring. Dallas — God knows how — pulled off a 25-point win over the Bulls. Dwyane Wade wasn’t playing, but still. Chicago can’t let that happen.
29. Brooklyn Nets
Record: 5-15
Last Week’s Ranking: 30
I’ll give the Nets this: They’re a lot more fun than I thought they would be. They’ve lost nine of their last 10 games, but that one win was an impressive double-OT victory over the Clippers, fueled by Sean Kilpatrick’s 38-point, 14-rebound performance. The Nets tend to make games interesting; rather than getting blown out every night, they play close games. They just don’t win very often.
30. Philadelphia 76ers
Record: 4-17
Last Week’s Ranking: 29
Joel Embiid is one of the best parts about the NBA this season. When he doesn’t play (so, every back-to-back), this team is unwatchable. Dario Saric, who has a very high ceiling, had the best game of his season in a one-point loss to the Celtics, scoring 21 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.
