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: Heat Up 5
Biggest Drop: Hornets Down 9
1. San Antonio Spurs
Record: 48-13
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
The Spurs dethrone the Warriors after winning seven consecutive games. Kawhi Leonard has been fantastic on both ends this season and deserves some serious MVP consideration.
2. Golden State Warriors
Record: 51-11
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
The Warriors didn’t fall far down the rankings, but they do drop down one spot after recording back-to-back regular-season losses (to the Wizards and Bulls) for the first time since April 2015. Kevin Durant or no Kevin Durant, this is a phenomenal team. However, Durant brings them up another level. The Warriors without Durant are fallible; the Spurs, Cavaliers and Rockets should be seen as major threats if Durant can’t make it back by playoff time (he should be back by then, but you never know).
3. Houston Rockets
Record: 44-19
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
No disrespect intended to the Spurs or Cavs, but the Rockets might pose the greatest threat to a healthy Warriors team. When the Rockets are hot, they can score with anybody, even the Warriors. That’s saying something.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 33-21
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
Assuming both can stay healthy, Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut look to be sterling additions to this Cavaliers team. Neither are quite what they once were, but Williams gives the Cavs the playmaker that they’ve been searching for, and Bogut provides rim protection and excellent court vision from the center position.
5. Washington Wizards
Record: 37-24
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
The Wizards got a steal at the deadline by signing Bojan Bogdanovic, who has scored 27 points in two of his last three games. The Wizards are the fourth-most-accurate three-point shooting team in the NBA but rank just 23rd in three-point attempts. Bogdanovic, who shot 8/10 from long range in the Wizards’ most recent game, will help with that. The Wizards also picked up Brandon Jennings, who was waived by the Knicks. However you feel about Jennings, he’s an upgrade over Trey Burke.
6. Boston Celtics
Record: 40-23
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
The Celtics lost a heartbreaker to the Suns in their last game when Tyler Ulis stole the ball and sunk a three-pointer at the buzzer. The Celtics were playing without two of their best defenders – Avery Bradley and Al Horford – and it definitely showed.
7. Utah Jazz
Record: 39-24
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
The Jazz are one of the deepest teams in the league, and a lot of their young talent is still developing. Gordon Hayward continues to ascend into the upper echelon of NBA stardom, and this team will go as far as he can take them.
8. Toronto Raptors
Record: 34-21
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
The Raptors made some savvy moves prior to the deadline, acquiring Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker. Losing Kyle Lowry hurts a lot, but the Raptors are fairly deep and should be okay without him for the rest of the regular season. DeMar DeRozan is still a walking bucket. It’s starting to look like the race to the 2 seed is a two-team one between the Celtics and the Wizards, but that’s okay; the Raps shouldn’t have too much trouble taking down the Hawks or Pacers in the first round playoffs.
9. Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 36-27
Last Week’s Ranking: 10
Chandler Parsons continues to be a massive disappointment, but the Grizzlies — despite all their stylistic changes offensively — are still the Grizzlies. They may have swapped in their trademark grit-n-grind style for newfound three-point shooting specialist Marc Gasol, but that grit definitely remains on the defensive end. Memphis, as usual, will be a first-round playoff matchup that no team wants.
10. Los Angeles Clippers
Record: 37-25
Last Week’s Ranking: 9
The Clippers’ struggles continue; they’ve lost four of their last six games. However, they weren’t awful losses; they lost to the Warriors, Spurs, Rockets and Bucks. The first three are the best teams in the West, and the Giannis-led Bucks are always dangerous, especially with Khris Middleton back in action.
11. Detroit Pistons
Record: 30-32
Last Week’s Ranking: 20
The Pistons have started playing defense, and lo and behold, they’re winning games! The Pistons have won nine of their last 11 games, and hold the 8 seed. They’re just a game behind the Bulls for the 7 seed now.
12. Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 28-33
Last Week’s Ranking: 16
It’s too early to count the Bucks out of the playoffs. Sure, they lost Jabari Parker. However, they now have Khris Middleton back, who might be better than Parker. The Bucks have won their last two games, taking down the Clippers and Raptors. They’ve also won six of their last nine games.
13. Miami Heat
Record: 29-34
Last Week’s Ranking: 11
The Heat have come out of left field (sorry for the baseball idiom in a basketball article) to have an outside shot at making the playoffs. After their historic 13-game winning streak was snapped, most assumed that the streak had been a flash in the pan, and Miami would go back to its losing ways. However, the Heat have won five of their last seven and are only 1.5 games behind the Pistons for the 8 seed.
14. Chicago Bulls
Record: 31-31
Last Week’s Ranking: 17
The Bulls are the epitome of average. They rank 19th in offensive rating and 13th in defensive rating. They can’t shoot worth a damn, but (somewhat) counteract that with elite rebounding. The Bulls still have the 7 seed, but with Detroit and Milwaukee surging, their playoff hopes may be in trouble. Rajon Rondo has quietly been much better since the All-Star break, averaging 10.6 points and 6.2 assists in 23.9 minutes per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. Jimmy Butler has struggled in that same span, though, averaging just 17.2 points (season average is 23.8) on 37.8 percent shooting.
15. Oklahoma City Thunder/strong>
Record: 35-28
Last Week’s Ranking: 12
Russell Westbrook continues to do incredible Russell Westbrook things, but the Thunder have lost three in a row, and not to particularly good teams (Portland, Phoenix and Dallas).
16. Atlanta Hawks
Record: 34-28
Last Week’s Ranking: 13
The Hawks have a bottom-six offense but a top-five defense this season. Signing Jose Calderon should counteract that a little bit; he’s a pretty good offensive player who’s awful defensively. That was a solid pickup for Atlanta, a team that has needed a backup point guard all season long.
17. Denver Nuggets
Record: 28-34
Last Week’s Ranking: 14
The Nuggets have the worst defensive rating in basketball, but their Nikola Jokic-led offense is incredibly fun. They’re not a playoff team this season, but I hope they will be soon.
18. Indiana Pacers
Record: 32-30
Last Week’s Ranking: 15
The Pacers might be even more average than the Bulls! They’re two games over .500, but rank 14th offensively and 18th defensively. They’re also exactly right in the middle of the league in points per game and assist/turnover ratio.
19. Dallas Mavericks
Record: 26-36
Last Week’s Ranking: 19
Rick Carlisle has done it again. Yogi Ferrell and Seth Curry are now viable NBA players. The Mavs have won four of their last five, and are sort of fun!
20. Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 26-35
Last Week’s Ranking: 21
Jusuf Nurkic has turned out to be an awesome addition for Portland. Since becoming a Trail Blazer, the Bosnian Beast (one of basketball’s coolest nicknames) is averaging 14.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 57.4 percent from the field.
21. Charlotte Hornets
Record: 27-35
Last Week’s Ranking: 18
The Hornets have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season. They’ve lost 14 of their last 18 games and frankly aren’t very good, which is weird. They’re a top-10 defensive team and are in the upper-half of the league offensively. They’re also one of the best teams in the NBA when it comes to limiting turnovers. Yet they sit eight games under .500. The main issue has been their inability to close out tight games.
22. Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 25-37
Last Week’s Ranking: 23
The Timberwolves aren’t going to make the playoffs. It’s possible, though! The Wolves have been solid lately, winning six of their last 10 games. They blew out the Jazz, and then took the Spurs to overtime in San Antonio three days later. This team is slowly but surely learning how to compete.
23. Phoenix Suns
Record: 21-42
Last Week’s Ranking: 27
This jump up the rankings won’t last; the Suns are bad. However, they have now won three games in a row (vs. Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Boston).
24. New Orleans Pelicans
Record: 25-38
Last Week’s Ranking: 24
The DeMarcus Cousins-Anthony Davis duo hasn’t led to much team success yet. It’s early, though, and this team is very thin outside of its core. They finally picked up their first wn since the Cousins trade, but it was a weird win. They beat the Lakers by eight points. Anthony Davis was a plus-17. Jrue Holiday was a plus-23. DeMarcus Cousins was a …minus-eight.
25. Philadelphia 76ers
Record: 23-39
Last Week’s Ranking: 22
I miss Joel Embiid. In the meantime, keep an eye on Dario Saric. Saric has been spectacular since Embiid went down and has a very real shot at Rookie of the Year.
26. New York Knicks
Record: 25-38
Last Week’s Ranking: 25
The Knicks did a cool thing where they presented to their audience basketball “in its purest form” by not playing any music, so fans and players could just focus on basketball and enjoy the sounds of the game. I thought it was cool and very un-Knicks-like. The players hated it.
27. Sacramento Kings
Record: 25-37
Last Week’s Ranking: 26
Surprise, surprise! The Kings are even worse now that they’ve traded away their franchise player. They’ve lost four straight games now, but have seen some encouraging play from their young talent. Since the Cousins trade:
- Buddy Hield has shot .522/.435/.875.
- Willie Cauley-Stein has averaged 13.8 points and 6.4 rebounds.
- Ben McLemore has shot 53.8 percent from three-point range.
28. Orlando Magic
Record: 23-40
Last Week’s Ranking: 28
There’s really not a lot to say about the Magic. Keep on tanking, Orlando. Maybe try to snag one of Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball or Dennis Smith Jr. in the draft. Elfrid Payton isn’t the future.
29. Los Angeles Lakers
Record: 19-44
Last Week’s Ranking: 29
The Buss brothers’ failed coup is the most (only?) interesting part of the Lakers’ season.
30. Brooklyn Nets
Record: 10-51
Last Week’s Ranking: 30
The Nets beat the Kangz, so now they can finally say that they’ve won a double-digit number of games. That win broke a 16-game losing streak.
