So it’s about seven weeks into the season, and it looks pretty clear who the two best teams in the NBA are in their respective conferences. The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks have laid waste to just about anyone the two teams have faced and below them, the cracks are beginning to show that this league is becoming rather top-heavy, with approximately a good fifteen teams that fans can be confident they’ll finish the season with a postseason berth.
Giannis Antetokounmpo just keeps on trending up as the far and away frontrunner for league MVP, averaging 30.3 ppg. off 61 percent shooting in his last three outings, accumulating season averages of 30.8 points per contest off 51.6 percent. The Bucks continue to blow out opponents and are still on their historic winning streak, now at 14 games and counting.
But obviously not too far behind them are the Lakers, who are, in reality, doing the exact same thing while Anthony Davis looks like a dual MVP and Defensive Player of the Year favorite, with LeBron to chip in his extraordinary scoring and assisting efforts. It’s a toss-up for the two best teams in the NBA with the most stand-alone records, but as it stands for the other 28 teams, that’ll have to be discussed and debated a little more.
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1. Milwaukee Bucks (20-3, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
What’s not to admire about the Bucks right now as the top-spot occupants on this Power Rankings list? Not only have they been dominating whoever steps in their path, but they also own the league’s top spot in average scoring margin, beating their opponents by an average of +13.6 points per contest. They’re on pace to break an NBA record set by the Showtime Lakers in the golden days of the ’70s in that statistic (and Kareem, Elgin, and crew used to beat their opponents by a record +12.7 points per game).
Fresh off their astounding 28-point beatdown on the championship-favorite Los Angeles Clippers, these Bucks have proven they’re the easy choice to stand atop the Eastern rankings.
Oh, and another fact worth sprinkling on like parsley, they’ve graduated from just the top 10 in team defensive rating to the No. 1 spot.
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2. Los Angeles Lakers (21-3, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)
Lakers fans have to feel as if they’re on clouds nine, ten and twenty with the way their new-look franchise has gelled together so quickly and so effortlessly, without the slightest impingement of any salient media drama from a losing skid. Anthony Davis is making a case to be the greatest teammate LeBron James has ever had, and he posted a career-high 50 points off 20-29 shooting on the Timberwolves’ heads Sunday night. They own the league’s second-best average scoring margin, beating opponents by an average of +9.9 points a game.
Aside from their season-opening road loss on the road (or at home, your perspective) against the Clippers, the Lakers are still the best road team in the league with an 11-1 record outside of the Staples Center when it dons purple and gold.
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3. Boston Celtics (16-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)
So, here comes the increasingly real possibility that this Celtics team is living up to the potential experts believed they could have achieved last year if that team wasn’t so dysfunctional, unlike this year’s Celtics team. The Celtics have been impacted by an abundance of unlucky injuries to some of their most impactful pieces, which isn’t unavoidable, and struggled to shoot the basketball with Kemba Walker not quite putting up regularly efficient Kemba numbers.
But they haven’t used those as excuses, now with a near-perfect record against the league’s top six teams (beat Milwaukee, lost to the LA Clippers, and Philly, beat the brakes off of the Nuggets, Mavericks, and Raptors). Sitting at No. 2 in the East right now, the trio of rising star Jayson Tatum, the 4 yr./$115M man Jaylen Brown and Walker are officially the new big three in Beantown, and once Gordon Hayward returns from his hand injury a couple of weeks (or days), watch out for these Celtics to make some noise in their claim staking as the best team in the East.
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4. Los Angeles Clippers (17-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)
It’s impermissible to want to ignore how jarringly horrendous the Clippers got their tails handed to them in an embarrassing 28-point beatdown by virtue of the Milwaukee Bucks on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s birthday. That’s their second loss to the Bucks this year, this time with both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, and that was the last time they’ll have to play them unless they see each other in June during the NBA Finals. Aside from that hiccup, they visit the Pacers, Raptors (Kawhi’s return and ring ceremony game!), Timberwolves and Bulls, and have an opportunity to sweep an otherwise easy road trip.
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5. Dallas Mavericks (16-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)
Luka Doncic continues to amaze, still protruding through the NBA’s most defensively stout teams while dropping more than 20 points, grabbing five points and five rebounds a game, which hasn’t been done this long since the NBA and ABA merged (19 games in a row, to be specific). Detroit and Miami are on the Mavs’ schedule coming up, and those look like two big wins that Dallas can add to their already impressive resume in this up-trending year.
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6. Miami Heat (17-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)
Forget all the doubters that wrote off Miami’s early season’s victories as virtues of an easy schedule. Last week’s huge OT win against the Toronto Raptors, or the game most commonly known as Jimmy Butler’s revenge takeover game against the team that ousted his Sixers from reaching the NBA Finals just six months ago. Just last night, Tyler Herro had his breakout game of the season in a five-point win over the Bulls, which saw the rookie hit shot, after shot, after shot. Miami handled their business against a team that was below .500 again, and have a chance to do the same against the Hawks this week before they duel with the Lakers and Mavericks.
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7. Houston Rockets (14-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)
The Rockets’ core of guards has been marred by injury, but what’s been a sight for sore eyes has been the play of Ben McLemore, who after signed to a veteran’s minimum deal has been, understatedly, a bargain. The former Kansas Jayhawk is averaging 10 points per contest off the bench and along with him, Russell Westbrook’s shot is falling and James Harden is having the best scoring stretch of his career, averaging 22.5 points off 57 percent shooting over the past four contests.
Houston has a very easy four-game stretch that involves Sacramento, Cleveland, Orlando, and Detroit this week, so those numbers that all four guards are putting up at the moment will possibly see a raise.
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8. Toronto Raptors (15-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)
Despite dropping an Overtime loss to the Heat and home loss to the Rockets, Toronto has looked every part of a championship retainer, completing a tough four-game stretch that saw them beat one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, the Utah Jazz. They had difficulty getting out of the gates early and could not complete the comeback against the Sixers last week, but are still in the thick of things in the East, just two games behind the Celtics. Even without Kyle Lowry, this team still managed to place in the top ten most-efficient scoring teams in the NBA.
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9. Denver Nuggets (14-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)
Losing four of your last five contests is never a confidence builder for a team desperate and hungry for wins. Their lone win came against the Knicks in the Garden last week, but suffered some questionable losses to the Lakers and Celtics, showing signs of chemistry issues when it comes to playing together and scoring the basketball. Only scoring an average of 104.8 points per game is not going to cut it, and it won’t get easier considering they have Philly and Portland to deal with this week.
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10. Philadelphia 76ers (17-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)
It seems as if there’s no middle ground for the Sixers; it’s either they look like an Eastern powerhouse, dominating opponents on their home floor, or really inconsistent and turnover-prone on the road, carrying an unattractive 5-7 record away from the Wells Fargo Center. Beating Cleveland after losing by six to the Wizards was what the Sixers needed, but if their reputation on the road stays as it is now, we’re looking at the Sixers as a potential second-round exit, at best.
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11. Indiana Pacers (15-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)
Eight of the past 10 Indy contests have been won by their multifaceted combination of Myles Turner and MIP candidate Domatas Sabonis. Despite missing eight games due to a knee injury, Turner is tied for 8th in the league in total blocks, while Sabonis is seventh in the league in total defensive rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon is dropping 19 points a game and while coming off a hand injury that sidelined him for their game against the Knicks, TJ Warren picked up the slack by averaging 20.4 points over their 10-game stretch.
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12. Brooklyn Nets (13-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)
The Nets don’t move at all on this week’s power rankings list but for all of the good reasons. Kyrie Irving’s shoulder injury has been detrimental to the Nets’ guard depth and it has caused Kenny Atkinson to really dig deep into his rotation, plucking out extra minutes from the likes of Theo Pinson and others.
But what has existed as a silver lining has been 1.) the right schedule, considering that the Nets have faced some subpar teams with the exception to the Celtics and have gone 9-3 without Irving and 2.) the stellar filling of Irving’s role by Spencer Dinwiddie. He’s been averaging just under 21 points off 42 percent shooting as the team’s primary quarterback of their offense.
With him in, they’ve spread the sugar with a combined average of 30.5 assists per game in their last two wins over the Hawks and Hornets during their road trip. They have Charlotte up next and another opportunity to keep their undefeated streak alive against sub .500 teams leading up to a trip up North to play the Raptors and trip to Philly to play the Sixers.
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13. Utah Jazz (13-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)
The Jazz also aren’t climbing or dropping in this week’s power rankings. Team-wise, early injury troubles and inconsistency from Quin Snyder’s most integral pieces have dropped them to being a middle-of-the-pack team in the West. Aside from thumping the Memphis Grizzlies, the Jazz haven’t won any other games in their past seven outings. That’s concerning, as they have the climbing Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves up this week. The last thing Donovan Mitchell and others need is a multiple game skid going into the new year against teams they should be viable enough to contend with.
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14. Minnesota Timberwolves (10-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)
Minnesota suffered one of their most egregious losses on Sunday night, letting LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of Lake Show run rampant all over them in a 142-125 loss that dropped them to being two games out of an even .500 record. They’ve now lost eight of their past 11 games but still find themselves in a tug of war with the Suns and Thunder for the seventh spot in the Western standings.
Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins do their thing on a nightly basis, but this team lacks a third scorer, and albeit, a true identity on offense and defense. They are 17th in the league in total offensive rating only scoring 108 points per game which in today’s NBA is not that threatening, regardless of the play from the former Kentucky big man and Kansas Small Forward who are finally getting on their two feet in the league.
Conversely, they’re 20th in the league in total defensive rating. That speaks for itself.
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15. Phoenix Suns (10-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)
Devin Booker remains to hold the thread connecting the Suns and their playoff hopes together and while the tug of injury and suspension to their second-most important piece of offense in DeAndre Ayton tear away at Booker’s grip, he is doing everything he can and more to make sure this year isn’t a fluke for his team that’s experiencing an up year. Booker is living up to his preseason expectation of becoming an all star, averaging 25.5 points per game off 50 percent shooting and 40 percent from deep, the best in his career.
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16. Orlando Magic (11-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)
Don’t look now, but the Magic are at a perfectly even .500. They took advantage of their soft spot on the schedule last week and beat four straight teams with a combined .303 win percentage, but face a much tougher challenge this week when dueling with the Bucks, Lakers, and Rockets. That’ll tell a lot of us just how far or close the Magic are to looking like a threat in the East.
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17. Oklahoma City Thunder (10-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)
The Thunder have a playoff spot for the time being, which is pretty applause-worthy since this was to be a confirmed rebuilding year. Many predicted this team to get to the playoffs and so far, have not been disappointed. The Thunder have won four of their last five games and with quality wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers last week, you have to think of the potential this team consisting of youthful pieces with loads of potential like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and veteran leadership from Chris Paul has in keeping this year going through April.
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18. Portland Trail Blazers (9-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)
Rodney Hood suffering a season-ending torn left Achilles against the Lakers last Friday night was just another mark on the long list of ailments on Terry Stotts’ squad to start the 2019 campaign. The Blazers have unsuccessfully dropped their last three games by double digits, and what’s worse, Carmelo Anthony’s most recent numbers against the top-tier teams they’ve faced recently have been completely unwelcoming of another Western Conference Player of the Week award.
Here’s an odd statistic that’s related to Melo’s history: last season after ten games with the Houston Rockets who sat at 4-6, Anthony finished his tenure with the Rockets with 13.4 points per game off 41 percent shooting. His numbers now after ten games with Portland? 15.9 points off 41 percent shooting. Not saying there’s any writing on the wall with the 10x All-Star’s possible plateau, but if Portland continues to slump, there’s a slight hint as to what could happen soon.
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19. San Antonio Spurs (9-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)
San Antonio lucked out in the NBA’s official reviewing process as they denied the Rockets’ request for an official replay for their Double OT loss to the Spurs last Tuesday, and what was even more impressive, was the defensive prowess of Lonnie Walker IV who disallowed James Harden to go off late in the waning moments of that win. It’s also an understatement to disclose that Walker went ballistic in the fourth quarter of that marquee Texas showdown, scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter while finishing the night with 28 points. The Spurs are starting to string together some wins, with DeJounte Murray drilling a game-winning jumper against the Kings on Friday.
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20. Sacramento Kings (9-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)
The loss of DeAaron Fox and Marvin Bagley for this long hasn’t quite been as bad as many expected it to be, especially in the team’s past five contests. They’ve beaten two Western elites in Denver and Dallas this past week and have looked dominant. But at times, they’ve also played the polar opposite role, getting handed losses to teams lower than them like San Antonio, Portland and Chicago. This week, that middle ground will have to be found, and fast, if they’re to stay within arms reach of a .500 record as they travel to Houston and Golden State, and then head back home to play the Thunder and Knicks.
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21. Detroit Pistons (9-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)
Andre Drummond is on pace to set a historic average not touched by a Piston since Dennis Rodman, averaging 17 rebounds per contest while also chipping in his regular 17 points per game. Aside from him, Dwayne Casey’s Pistons are beginning to head in the right direction, winning their last three games in these past two weeks after losing eight of their last 10. During Week 8, New Orleans, Dallas and Houston await this Pistons team that’s finally starting to get healthy at the right time.
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22. Charlotte Hornets (9-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)
DeVonte Graham has emerged as a star for these Hornets and last week was one for the books for one of the league’s most unheralded prospects. In the three game sbefore Sunday’s loss to the Hawks (which saw Graham scorore well under his season-average 18.8 points per game with a horrid12-point night off 4-12 shooting) Graham was averaging a team-high 25.7 points per game, and an amazing 45.9 percent from deep, as well as dishing 10 assists per game. They’ve posted a respectable 8-6 record against sub .500 teams and have a chance to better that record with Washington and a revenge game against Chicago this week.
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23. Chicago Bulls (8-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)
It’s been a dismal first month of the year for the Bulls which displayed dismay and distrust between Jim Boylen and his players, but Lauri Markkanen is hoping to make this December a positive steer in the right direction for a team that’s eight games out of getting back to .500. He is averaging 19.3 points from the field and is shooting 43 percent from three-land. That’s big, considering that he didn’t even get the chance to score 20 points a game only once all last month.
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24. Washington Wizards (7-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)
Their win over the Philadelphia 76ers was surprising, but not really, since they have the capacity and team-level skill to score on anyone and compete with anyone on any given night. Rui Hachimura has something to say about Ja Morant winning the Rookie of the Year, showcasing a memorable rookie performance against one of the best defensive squads in the league in Philly. But again, the No. 1 problem for these Wizards has still been their defense, which is still dead-last in the league.
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25. Memphis Grizzlies (6-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)
These rough patches were expected for a rebuilding team like the Memphis Grizzlies, but not these plaguing injuries that have taken out rookies Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke for a couple of weeks. Morant is suffering from back spasms that’ll keep him in street clothes on a week-to-week basis and with a road trip to Golden State, Phoenix and a two-game home stand to face Milwaukee and Washington, expect some more slouches in productivity from this young team.
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26. New Orleans Pelicans (6-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
Brandon Ingram is struggling, Lonzo Ball is getting benched, Jrue Holiday’s numbers aren’t rising, and the worst of all? Zion Williamson probably won’t play until early 2020. Bummer. They’ve been outscored by 119 points during this eight-game losing streak and with games against Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Orlando, that streak is probably going to continue even further.
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27. Atlanta Hawks (6-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)
There has been some pretty forgettable headlines that have been coming out of Atlanta this week. Trae Young has been dissatisfied with team officials who lied to him in saying that he was to get some “extra help” around him and a roster that direly needs it. He got into a spirited verbal altercation with his teammates a week ago in the Hawks locker room, and those arguments look as if they’re going to keep happening the way the Hawks continue to lose games. With Miami and the Lakers on the schedule this week, they’ll need all the “help” they can get if they don’t want to see their win percentage drop even more.
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28. Cleveland Cavaliers (5-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)
Kevin Love is reportedly asking to be traded to a contender, and it looks like the process has finally begun for Cleveland to sell Kevin Love, as they are now listening to offers from all suitors that can afford the former world champ back in 2016. As for the play on the floor, it’s been anything but persuasive towards Love in the efforts to keep him around for the rebuild, as they are on a six-game losing streak. They suffered their worst loss of the season, getting destroyed by the Sixers by 47 points. John Beilein’s job is in clear and present danger and it isn’t going to get any easier with the Celtics, Spurs, Rockets, and Bucks on the schedule up next.
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29. Golden State Warriors (5-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)
Eric Paschall will be a nice addition to the rejuvenated Warriors next year, as this year’s audition has gone quite well, according to his standards. He’s scored in double-figures in 13 consecutive games and ended last week with scoring averages of 17.1 points per contest and the rookie lead in total points with 393.
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30. New York Knicks (4-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)
The Knicks were literally a free throw away from tying the Pacers on Sunday night and sending their game to overtime and had it not been for Julius Randle’s drawing of iron on his trip to the line, it would’ve completed a quality four-quarter effort from new Interim Head Coach Mike Miller, as the Knicks probably played their most complete game of the season. Portland, Golden State, Sacramento, and Denver all await the Knicks (the worst team in the league) during their Western road trip.
