NBA Power Rankings: Volume 2

When looking at the power rankings for this week, there are a few things to note. The first thing that was brought to my attention when looking over the records of these teams is the mediocre play of most of the teams as of right now, as well as the continued strong play of the teams up top. Because of this, the top six teams in my power rankings are unchanged from the last week I did these rankings. The bottom teams are still in the bottom five to six, but some have shuffled spots with the Phoenix Suns, fresh of their firing of head coach Jeff Hornacek, falling all the way to dead last in my rankings, while the Philadelphia 76ers, crawled out of the basement, all the way up to number 27 in the rankings.

Without further ado, here is my second batch of power rankings:

30. Phoenix Suns (14-35; LW: 28):

The Suns finally fired head coach Jeff Hornacek this week, although the team’s horrid start was not his fault. The Suns have had injuries and inconsistent play, and worst of all their best wing player Markieff Morris doesn’t want to be there. GM Ryan McDonough has some work to do, after all, he built the faulty roster after moving around players on his roster and ultimately losing out on LaMarcus Aldridge

29. Los Angeles Lakers (9-41; LW: 29): 

The Lakers have struggled all season and the past week is no different. D’Angelo Russell has improved but still has lapses that leave any basketball coach ripping their hair out after all, Byron Scott has no hair. Russell is still a rookie though and these lapses happen. Despite that, the Lakers have lost 10 in a row. An absolutely brutal stretch.

28. Brooklyn Nets (12-37; LW: 27): 

The Nets have had a number of difficulties ever since Jarrett Jack went down of running an efficient offense. Jack was not a perfect player but was solid at the point guard spot. Shane Larkin and Donald Sloan have done an admirable job of filling in, but neither possesses much on the defensive end and not much more on the offensive end.

27. Philadelphia 76ers (7-41; LW: 30):

The 76ers are finally starting to win games and look like a real basketball team again. The acquisition of Ish Smith was huge as his speed and passing ability allows the shooters the ability for clean looks. Nerlens Noel also looks much better as he is one of the best big men in running the floor. There is finally doubt if this team will win the fewest amount of games.

26. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-35; LW: 26):

The Timberwolves have won just two of their last 17 games as the early season magic is no more. Surprisingly, though, one of their wins, came against the Memphis Grizzlies. This team oozes potential, but the growing pains are part of rebuilding life in the NBA. Not many teams can boast two potential superstars as Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins surely are.

25. Milwaukee Bucks (20-30; LW: 22):

The Bucks find themselves near the bottom of the rankings thanks to really bad defense, and their inability to get any sort of production from anyone other than their top three players of Khris Middleton, Greg Monroe, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. One source of the problem is Michael Carter-Williams, who is averaging just six assists per game to along with three turnovers per game.

24. Denver Nuggets(19-30; LW: 23):

The Nuggets have some good young pieces in Jusuf Nurkic and Emmanuel Mudiay to go along with Will Barton, whose breakout has been impressive. Those three to go along with Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried provide a good solid nucleus. However they will need to battle through rookie inconsistencies with Nurkic and Mudiay, something they haven’t been able to do thus far.

23. Orlando Magic (21-26; LW: 21):

The Magic beat the Celtics, avoiding the sweep of a home and home series against the Green and grabbing their first win in their last 10 games. In that stretch, they lost games to the 76ers, Bucks, and the Wizards (who have been playing equally as bad). The hot start the Magic had seems like a thing of the past for Scott Skiles and company.

22. Washington Wizards (21-25; LW: 19):

The Wizards have had their fair share of injury problems in the season, but still have a sluggish feel to them. This past week saw them lose to the Celtics and lose the season series to them 4-0. The tough part of this is this team has a lot of talent, but there are deeper problems with this team that is an underlying issue.

21. Sacramento Kings (21-27; LW: 17):

The Kings have gotten great seasons from Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins, as well better efficiency from Rudy Gay than in the past, but have gotten very little from the shooting guard spot. Marco Belinelli and Ben McLemore have both had their fair share of struggles, and James Anderson is not the answer.

20. New Orleans Pelicans (18-29; LW: 25):

This team has been playing better of late but is still having troubles trying to dig out of the enormous hole they put themselves in to start the season. Anthony Davis is leading the charge, but with none of their wins coming against top-tier teams (wins vs Nets, Kings  x 2, Buck, Pistons, and Hornets) this team is still questionable until they prove they can beat the best.

19. Charlotte Hornets (23-25; LW: 15):

One of the more maddening things this season is the Hornet’s record at home versus on the road. Normally teams are somewhat better at home, but the difference is staggering. The Hornets are elite and 16-8 at home, but when they play on the road, the become completely incompetent sitting at 7-17 on the road. Weird.

18.  Utah Jazz (22-25; LW: 24):

Utah reeled off three in a row against the likes of the Timberwolves, Bulls, and Hornets, giving them a 3-0 week, hence why they moved up so far. Gordon Hayward has been outstanding of late, contributing big shots and currently is averaging just under 20 points per game, checking in with 19.9, and about four assists and a steal. A solid and complete player.

17. New York Knicks (23-27; LW: 18):

The Knicks have a solid starting lineup, but the problems occur when they delve into their bench. Also, a concern is their poor play of late, with one win in their last six games, against the lowly Suns. Despite their poor play, they move up one slot due to the inferior play of just about every middle team on this list. A rough week for the teens in the power rankings.

16. Houston Rockets (25-25; LW: 12):

Once again the Rockets have struggled losing three in a row, after winning three in a row. They can be extremely inconsistent and really could use better play out of their wings. Corey Brewer has been very average this year, and Dwight Howard has had stretches of poor play. The good news is James Harden has his groove back.

15. Portland Trail Blazers (23-26; LW: 20):

Another improved player this season has been C.J. McCollum, who has been lethal with his scoring ability off the dribble. Throw in the great play of Damian Lillard, who has proven he can be the man on a team, and the surprise play of Allen Crabbe off the bench and the Blazers have a very promising, very good young backcourt.

14. Indiana Pacers (25-23; LW: 16):

After his hot start, Paul George has come crashing down to Earth, but conditioning could be the problem as it has been a while since he logged such heavy minutes for a full season. Inconsistent play from George Hill and Monta Ellis are also causing problems for the team with inefficiency, and without a solid and developed offensive post presence, they will struggle in the half court.

13. Detroit Pistons (26-23; LW: 10):

The Pistons won three of their past five games but lost against the Raptors and the Cavaliers. They aren’t quite there yet as they lack a go-to option on offense outside of the Reggie Jackson, especially with Andre Drummond having to sit out late in games due to his inability to hit free throws. Jackson has been fantastic, though, leading them a playoff spot for right now.

12. Dallas Mavericks (28-23; LW: 13):

Dirk without a doubt deserved an All-Star spot, but alas there are only so many spots and in order to put him in you would have to take someone out, and I do not see any obvious candidates. The Mavericks clearly have a steal in the trade for Zaza Pachulia, but with Chandler Parsons rounding into form suddenly and Wesley Matthews playing better of late, this squad could be dangerous.

11. Atlanta Hawks (28-22; LW: 7):

Struggles consumed the Hawks last week as they have gone 1-3 in their past four games, and the inconsistent play from Jeff Teague isn’t doing the team any favors. The rumors surrounding Teague are clearly legitimate as the Hawks desperately need a shakeup to try to advance from being just good, to try and be great in their playoff run, or risk losing Al Horford in free agency.

10. Miami Heat (27-21; LW: 14):

The Heat are rounding back into form after losing four in a row, they have responded with a four-game win streak. Dwyane Wade looks fresh and healthy still, and although they have lost Tyler Johnson for a while, they have seen stride from Justise Winslow, as well as an improvement in Goran Dragic‘s jump shot.

9. Chicago Bulls (26-21; LW: 9):

The Bulls have won just one of their past four games and it happened to come against the 29th team in my rankings, the Lakers. This team might be the most inconsistent on the list as despite their talent, and with the loss of Nikola Mirotic for his appendectomy, they no longer can trade Taj Gibson to fill other needs. This team will weather the storm.

8. Boston Celtics (27-22; LW: 11):

Boston had their recent five-game winning streak snapped after losing the road game in Orlando in a home and home series, but this team seems to have found its groove with Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, and Kelly Olynyk providing the charge. Olynyk and Jerebko have been some of the better three-point shooters in the league over the past month.

7. Memphis Grizzlies (29-20; LW: 8):

After starting out, slow Memphis has rebounded and found its groove. They are currently on a four-game win streak and there have been signs that Jeff Green and Vince Carter could be awakening and could suddenly provide useful bench minutes. If that happens this team has the depth, grit, and defense to make one of the top team’s out West sweat a little.

6. Los Angeles Clippers (32-16; LW: 6):

Suddenly the Clippers are among the better teams in the league recently, even without Blake Griffin and that has led some to wonder if Blake Griffin could be moved to improve their wing depth. For the record, I think the Clippers are better with Griffin, but I still think they should shop him for a better wing player and a solid veteran in the frontcourt.

5. Toronto Raptors (32-16; LW: 5):

I toyed with moving the Raptors up especially after they set a franchise record for consecutive wins, as their win streak hit 11 before getting destroyed against the Nuggets. Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Jonas Valanciunas have been great when they were on the floor together, and with Terrence Ross off the bench, this team is very deep.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (35-12; LW: 4):

The Cavaliers seem to have found an identity under new coach Tyronn Lue, who has implored them to run more, and keep the ball in the hands of LeBron James or Kyries Irving on the break. There is also the fact Kevin Love, James, and Irving seem to finally be united and their play, leading to an unsurprising amount of success.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (37-13; LW: 3):

This team is one that is slowly just riding along and playing extremely well while everyone gives the accolades to the Spurs and Warriors. With Durant and Westbrook playing at their elite levels, Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter giving them offensive firepower, this team can beat anyone that is put in front of them.

2. San Antonio Spurs (40-8; LW: 2):

The Spurs got beaten pretty soundly at the hands of the Warriors and Cavaliers, leading some to question if they are for real, but they were playing without Tim Duncan, and more importantly in a playoff series with a set opponent they should they will be fine. Also, I decided not to move them down because of their great start, another bad week and then we will start talking.

1. Golden State Warriors (44-4; LW: 1):

Finally the best team in the NBA and it isn’t really even close. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson are the best trio in the NBA as well. This team will need two bad weeks in a row, and in that case, would miss out on the Bull’s regular season record. This team is head and shoulders above every team, including the Spurs.

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