It’s almost the New Year, making this not only the last power rankings listing of the year but the last ranking… *gasp* of the decade!

Mark this previous week as a vantage point for showing just who is truly elite and serious in competing for a championship in the new year. We saw the anomalies in quantities spread across the league’s landscape. Houston losing to Golden State, both LA teams losing by some big margins, and Milwaukee getting trounced by Philadelphia in the Wells Fargo Center were conspicuously telling enough of the shifting powers that be in both conferences, but what’s more important is realizing that those hiccups come with the territory of crafting a championship roster in time for the playoffs, which are just an astounding three months away.

So, let’s cut the small talk and get to the listing for this week.

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1. Milwaukee Bucks (29-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

Get blown out, then win two straight. That’s just how things are going for the best team in the league. Milwaukee suffered their worst loss of the season against Philadelphia on Christmas Day and then bounced back to strike up a two-game winning streak with both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe out. Also, the Bucks have the easiest schedule in the league for their next slew of eight games.

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2. Miami Heat (24-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)

Miami’s 24 wins and recent five-game winning streak confirms three things: they’re a top-15 defensive team in all of basketball, it’s a two-legged race between Tyler Herro (who’s shooting just a silly 60 percent from three-land in clutch time) and Memphis’s Ja Morant for the Rookie of the Year award, and the Heat are legitimately frightening to play against. Three teams that have sub-.500 records are up next on the schedule for the eight-loss Heat who sit at the second spot in the East.

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3. Los Angeles Lakers (26-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)

As if this season was going to be drama-absent from any sources of drama, Kyle Kuzma’s trainer posted and deleted some shady words via his Instagram story to discredit LeBron James’ work ethic and effort in the waning moments of Christmas Day’s long-awaited duel against the in-house rival Clippers. That white noise came into the Lakers locker room like a lion and exited like a baby mouse withe LA’s rebound win against the Mavs Sunday night. They’re still the best team in the West, and during this two game winning streak, are still a top-10 defensive team in the entire league entering 2020.

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4. Denver Nuggets (23-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)

Denver has quietly ascended the ranks to now hold unopposed possession of the No. 2 seed in the West and that little stint of uninspired, grotesque basketball played in the first month of the season is now a thing of the past. In accordance with winning four of their last five games, the emergence of 2018 first-round pick Michael Porter Jr. has been stratospheric, to say the least. He got his first career start against the Kings in a 120-115 home win, scoring 19 points off 80 percent shooting. His talent is undeniable and it’s a clear indication that he’s to earn additional minutes onto his 26 minutes he acquired in Sunday’s win.

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5. Los Angeles Clippers (23-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

Good news and bad news, Clipper faithful: you got that bragging right-worth win against your adversaries across the hall in the Staples Center in the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day, but you’ve only won three of your last seven contests while playing some abysmal basketball after letting some of your stars register as DNPs (probably thanks to “load management”) in those losses.

In the past seven games, LAC had a totaled 100.6 offensive rating in the fourth quarter, down almost 17 points per 100 possessions from the rest of the game. They only scored 15 points in the fourth quarter against the Jazz last week and alarming as it may be with the offensive arsenal at Doc Rivers’ fingertips, they look just about the part of being just the Lakers equivalent instead of looking like the most domineering team that can beat down anyone in the West.

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6. Boston Celtics (22-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Though Jaylen Brown is to be absent from tomorrow night’s contest against the Hornets, the Celtics have been led by the immensely-talented trio of Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kemba Walker and are third in the East with some remarkable wins against some top-tier squads in both conferences worth adding to the resume to close out 2019. Despite dropping a loss to Toronto after Boston ran amuck over them on Christmas Day, Brown has averaged a team-high 26.4 points, 60.3% shooting from the field, 47.2% from 3 and 7.6 rebounds during the Celtics’ five-game winning streak.

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7. Toronto Raptors (22-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

If there was such thing as a midseason Coach of the Year award, Nick Nurse would surely be up for its consideration. Being without three of your most meaningful wing scorers for the stretch of a couple of weeks is a downright death sentence for any team wanting to keep their supplanted position in the heights of their respective conferences, but apparently not for Nurse. the defending champs aren’t lying down just yet (as if they were predicted to even do so anyway this season).

Without Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell in Nurse’s active lineup, Toronto has successfully survived the injury trip that undertook a majority of their starting five with usual contributions from Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry and startling productivity from their bench pieces in Chris Boucher, Patrick McCaw, OG Anunoby, Terence Davis III, and others. They were dismantled by the Celtics inside their own building on Christmas Day but returned the favor through Sunday night’s revenge blowout of Boston.

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8. Houston Rockets (22-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)

If we never had to worry about fatigue and overall usage for James Harden and his conditioning plan to reach the optimal level of output we’ve come to expect from him, this discussion awash with worry and concern for how much he’s being used wouldn’t even be deemed worthy of discussion. But, here we are at the end of December and the first half of the season, and Harden’s still playing over 37 minutes a game. He sprained his toe in a consecutively rare loss to the Pelicans, but in some good fortune, the Rockets got Eric Gordon back from knee surgery that kept him in street clothes for a little over a month.

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9. Dallas Mavericks (21-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)

Injuries are really starting to pile on in the most inopportune time for Dallas in the month of December. They got 2nd-year phenom Luka Doncic back and fully recuperated from an ankle ailment that kept him out for two weeks but now can’t stay healthy as veteran sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a hamstring strain that’s likely to keep him out for a week or so. Not having him in Rick Carlisle’s starting five puts a divot in the team’s offensive output, as those 16.9 points per game, 46.7 field goal percentage and 43.8 three-point percentage will have to be replaced by the combination of Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis or Dorian Finney-Smith somehow.

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10. Utah Jazz (20-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)

The Jazz bump up three spots for the last ranking of 2019. After beating the Trail Blazers on home soil and following up with delivering a Salt Lake-sized smackdown to the Clippers on Saturday night, Utah is rolling with some momentum going into the new year. Donovan Mitchell understands the strife placed upon his injury-ravaged backcourt, stepping up big in a slew of eight games that showing the Jazz as serious contenders once again. Mitchell has averaged 27.0 points and 6.3 assists while shooting 52.1% from the field over the past eight games.

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11. Philadelphia 76ers (23-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

Yes. What you saw on Christmas Day was not a malfunction on your television screen. Philly really did the Bucks like that on their own home floor and devised the perfect strategy to annex Giannis Antetokounmpo from his regular dumping of 40+ points a game, with Joel Embiid putting his name in the Defensive Player of the Year hat due to a masterclass performance against this year’s lock at MVP. Problem is, that was the last time Philly won, dropping a questionable game to the Orlando Magic and losing in OT to the Miami Heat via a Tyler Herro stepback three. Their 16-2 home record pales in salience to their subpar 7-10 record on the road, which needs to get better for obvious reasons.

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12. Indiana Pacers (21-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)

Indiana’s most recent week of quality play and wins in five of their last six contests has now turned into a rough two-game skid, and with Philly and Denver next on the schedule, the Pacers might have their hands full in trying to kickstart the new year in by getting some results in the win column. Luckily, Victor Oladipo’s return process looks as if it’s nearing its end now that he’s been assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for further rehabilitation, meaning that the Pacers are bound to see their All-Star guard return to action soon.

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13. Oklahoma City Thunder (17-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)

Make that six wins in the past seven contests for this young, introspective Thunder team that is looking more and more like they belong in the playoff picture at year’s end. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still a serious bet to win the Most Improved Player thanks to a massive leap to near superstardom in just his second year in the league.

In his last three contests, he’s averaged over 26.6 points per game and the Funny thing is, he had never scored more than 29 points a game, having yet to reach that elusive 30-point game he so desperately coveted, up until last week. He followed his 32-point outing against the Clippers with another 32-point night against the Raptors just nights after in his return to his native country of Canada.

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14.  Brooklyn Nets (16-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)

Things looked as if they were sailing smoothly with Spencer Dinwiddie’s high usage rating filling the place of the still-absent Kyrie Irving, but as always most things don’t always happen according to the schedule. Their embarrassing loss to the Knicks at home marked a feat untouched in nearly 69 years: by making only eight two-pointers throughout the entire game (only done once back in 1950), they scored a season-low 82 points in the loss and are walking on eggshells by only a being game above .500.

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15. Orlando Magic (14-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)

A 2-1 week is only a positive indication that this Magic team is getting healthy at the right time, and its also a sign that things may be starting to turn around for a team that’s individual pieces are buying into and succeeding under Steve Clifford. They found a way to knock off the Sixers (again) but are still 0-15 against any other team that has a record equal to or better than .500.

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16. Portland Trail Blazers (14-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

Portland has dropped three straight since going on a slight winning streak dating back to last week, but have an opportunity to right the ship once again with a favorable week as they’ll matchup with the Suns, Knicks and Wizards. Injuries have been the culprit of their misfortune, and they still aren’t productive on the defensive end, peaking at the 21st spot in the NBA for overall defensive rating.

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17. San Antonio Spurs (13-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

The Spurs went 2-1 last week, recording their two highest-scoring games of the season in the wins against the Pistons and Grizzlies, while also coming up a couple of points shy of triple digits in the loss against the Mavericks last Thursday. LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 27.3 points in the three games and is suddenly letting it fly from 3-point range, which is surprising for a team that’s still putting up the least amount of threes a game.

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18. Chicago Bulls (13-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)

The Bulls had yet to see Lauri Markkanen flourish and excel in Jim Boylen’s system but finally got to see their former first-rounder pick up the slack this month, averaging 17.6 points per game off 6.2 rebounds and an averaged 2.8 three-pointers. In last week’s win over Atlanta, Markkanen dropped 25 points and drilled four threes, reminiscient of his breakout peformances he was used to putting on during his first two years in the league.

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19. Memphis Grizzlies (13-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

Memphis is going into the last week of the month at 8-8, and the play of their young, developing core is something every Grizzlies fan can appreciate during this season of growth. Ja Morant (17.4 ppg.) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (17.6 ppg.) are clearly the future, and with the help of Brandon Clarke and most recently De’Antony Melton (who’s averaging 9.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists), this youthful bunch of Grizzlies are bound to make some noise in the next couple of years.

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20. New Orleans Pelicans (11-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)

Make that four straight wins for the Pelicans entering the last week of 2019. And, those four wins were all against teams that are already locks in playoff spots come April. Derrick Favors being back has done wonders for the Pels’ big man situation, averaging nearly 11 points and 15 rebounds during their winning streak.

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21. Charlotte Hornets (13-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)

James Borrego’s Hornets have tried to find a streak of consistency and continuity with a starting five of Terry Rozier, DeVonte Graham, Miles Bridges, a returning PJ Washington and Bismack Biyombo. Though they finished last week without a result in the win column, the combined five as previously mentioned is 6-6 on the season with three of those losses by a combined 14 points.

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22. Phoenix Suns (12-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)

It should be noted that when DeAndre Ayton and Devin Booker are in the same lineup, they don’t lose a lot and in his return, the Suns won their first game since December 9th over the Sacramento Kings in a 112-110 victory. That loss snapped an eight-game losing skid and this week, they have the chance to uphold a winning streak against Portland, New York and Memphis up next.

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23. Sacramento Kings (12-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)

The Kings own the worst losing streak in the Western Conference as of late, and that’s not the only tailspin thats happening to the Kings. DeWayne Dedmon’s trade request for a team spiraling like this is concerning, and although they’re playing healthy, the Clippers, streaking Pelicans and Grizzlies appear next on the schedule, which are anything but easy games.

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24. Detroit Pistons (12-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)

Detroit has suffered some ugly losses, losing six of their last seven games. The only consolation to that losing streak was a blowout win over the Wizards, who still have the worst defense in the league. Having the Jazz, Clippers, and Lakers during this western road trip probably won’t help that much to end this losing skid, either.

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25. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)

The Wolves not having Karl Anthony-Towns has been injurious in more ways than one. They’ve lost 13 of their last 13 contests without Towns on the court, Andrew Wiggins and Towns were sidelined during this past Saturday’s loss to the Cavs and with Brooklyn and Milwaukee up next on the schedule, both of Milwaukee’s stars are being considered day-to-day.

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26. Golden State Warriors (9-25, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)

The only thing worth salvaging this season is the tanking attitude the Warriors have right now, since it’s likely they’ll secure the first overall pick come June’s draft lottery. They’ve found a winning streak amidst all the losing however, grabbing wins in their past four of five contests.

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27. New York Knicks (9-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)

Okay, so maybe this Mike Miller streak of wins isn’s a fluke for the Knicks in their ability to go 5-6 in their last 11 games. They’ve found ways to beat Sacramento, Golden State, Atlanta, Washington and Brooklyn, and have played some competitive basketball in the past couple of weeks, improving their defensive rating to get near the top 20 defensively efficient teams in the league.

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28. Washington Wizards (9-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)

Washington still struggles to play defense and for the eleventh week in a row, appear in the cellar of all NBA teams when it comes to defensive rating. They’re a whole three points per 100 possessions behind the Atlanta Hawks who still carry an abysmal defensive rating of 113.5, and it’s probably going to worsen with the Heat, Magic, Trail Blazers and Nuggets coming into town this week.

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29. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)

We’re waiting to see if the exchange between the Jazz and Cavs works out, as Dante Exum was signed via trade from the Jazz and Cavs in their house-clearing process after sending away Jordan Clarkson to Utah. The trade deadline is quickly approaching, and it’s more than a formality that Kevin Love and others are to be shipped from a team that’s insisting on leading with the development process of their younger pieces while also supplying draft capital in this down year.

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30. Atlanta Hawks (6-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)

The second-worst defensively efficient team in all of basketball might have the worst lineup in all of basketball right now, considering Trae Young is to be on the bench for a while after spraining his right ankle in Saturday’s loss to Chicago. Atlanta is the only team that hasn’t touched their tenth win yet.