The Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Raptors, and Nuggets all had some pretty convincing weeks now that the playoff picture is molding into shape and as a fresh batch of MLK Day games await the general public on Monday. But, other teams like the Celtics, Rockets, Blazers and Thunder showed significant regression in a week that told a lot about who’s to be taken seriously as postseason mainstays come April. The lowest 10 may remain where they are in regards to last week’s power rankings, but as for the rest of the 20 best teams in the league, different placing and rearranging of their places is to be expected in this ever-changing league.
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1. Milwaukee Bucks (38-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
So, by now, it’s pretty obvious that the Bucks are practically unbeatable when it comes to playing in the East. I think that’s a fair assessment, right? Milwaukee went 3-0, exorcised some early-season demons from holding on to defeat the Celtics in the Fiserv Forum this past Thursday and proceeded to beat the brakes off both the Knicks at home and Nets on the road. Defensively, they’re still better than everyone else with their 101.4 defensive rating and something that’s even more noticeable about this team: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s bench support played tremendously last week, evident behind pieces such as Donte DiVincenzo who came up big against the Celtics with a career-high 19 points off the bench.
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2. Los Angeles Lakers (34-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)
No Anthony Davis? No problem. It’s now been five games that Davis has missed due to a lingering tailbone issue stemming from a nasty fall against the Knicks last week, but with big contributions from other bigs in JaVale McGee (9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 blocks averaged in his last three games) and Dwight Howard (12 points, 13.6 rebounds 3 blocks this past week) have been the biggest blessing to the question of the Lakers’ frontcourt depth issues that have recently plagued them. LeBron James is up to his usual dominance, scoring 30+ points in four of the last five contests while averaging 11.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds.
In the sole loss to the Magic, he matched his career-high of 19 assists but responded with 31 points and 12 assists in a win over the Rockets on national television. Like a fine wine, James just gets better with age.
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3. Los Angeles Clippers (30-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)
This was practically expected to happen, being that the Clippers are one of the most well-put-together factions in all of the NBA. And they’re just starting to figure that out in the waning days and hours of January. Backed by another masterclass from the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Lou Williams in the fourth quarter, the New Orleans Pelicans had no answer to Doc Rivers’ adjustments during Saturday’s win on the road.
They’ve gone 4-1 in the stretch of not having Paul George assist Leonard in the frontcourt for five-straight games and in his place, Leonard has posted five-straight games of 30-plus points, averaging 36.0 points while shooting 55.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3. Oh, and they’ve crept up to the second spot in the West and are only 5 1/2 games out of knocking the Lakers off the throne in the West nearly 2/3rds through the season.
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4. Utah Jazz (29-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)
The Jazz and Nuggets are vying for the third spot in the West and though they could’ve supplanted their position amongst the top three teams in the conference had they been able to finish off the Pelicans last Thursday, they’ve won 11 of their last 12 games and are 16-2 in their last 18 contests. On top of all that, Mike Conley Jr. returned to the lineup after rehabbing a hamstring problem that’s kept him out for 20 games.
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5. Denver Nuggets (29-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)
Tied in a dead heat with the Jazz for third place in the West, the Nugs strongly emphasized that old Next Man Up philosophy this past week as head coach Mike Malone had to pull some strings and things to maneuver around Jamal Murray’s extended absence from the team due to an ankle injury, going a positive 2-1 on the week. It’s apparent that Michael Porter Jr.’s minutes are to steadily increase after every game, especially after his clutch 19 points explosion against Golden State on primetime television. A smooth stroke from deep (now at a 3pt percentage of 39.3 for the Columbia, Missouri native) is just one of the many departments he’s shown that his proper development is paying off.
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6. Miami Heat (29-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)
Miami went 2-1 on the week as well, picking up some quality wins both on the road and at home as they played the Thunder and the Spurs twice for their Western escapade last week. They started the week beating San Antonio at home behind delectable performances from Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kendrick Nunn but were dealt a road loss to San Antonio to conclude the week in which the couldn’t finish the season sweep against Popovich’s squad. Beating the hot OKC was the outright highlight of their week though, as Nunn packed on an extra W for Miami with a 22-point, 3-3PM outing.
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7. Houston Rockets (26-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)
Make that three straight losses for the Rockets, as James Harden slowly begins to slip out of the MVP race. The formula might be out to defeat Houston, as the Lakers found out this past Saturday when they made it a point of adamance to overcrowd Harden with traps and double-teams while letting others like Russell Westbrook and Ben McLemore play the hero. That hasn’t worked out the best and as a team, now with a team 3pt percentage at a substandard 32.8 in the month of January.
After being shocked by rookie Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies to start last week, Harden had the worst shooting performance of the season, only scoring 13 points off 3-12 shooting in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The loss to LA only solidified his worsened percentage from deep, now at 27 percent (20-for-74).
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8. Toronto Raptors (28-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)
Nick Nurse deserves to be in the running for coach of the year because no matter what he’s put out on the floor, they’ve just found ways to win, time and time again. They went 3-0 on the week, and against some pretty decent competition in the Thunder and Wizards and while not even at full-strength as Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell returned in the last couple of games this past week.
Something worth the notation as well – Norman Powell has now scored 20+ points in all four games since his return, and he’s been backed up well by some additional returns in Marc Gasol, as the Spanish big man dropped 20 points and six threes against the Wizards last week. Also, Fred VanVleet didn’t disappoint with his 29 points and seven threes against the Timberwolves.
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9. Boston Celtics (27-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)
The Celtics have not played great basketball as of late, dropping six of their last 10 games. And it doesn’t get easier with the Lakers coming into town Monday night for MLK Day, as additional matchups with the Grizzlies, Pelicans and Magic are up next on the schedule in their 14th week of play. Kemba Walker may have dropped 40 on the Bucks, but without Jaylen Brown who is still recovering from a sprained thumb, they’ve lost three consecutive games against sub-.500 teams.
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10. Dallas Mavericks (27-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)
Coming into Week 13, the Mavs were going through a bit of a rough patch where they had lost three of their last four games but have recently responded well with three consecutive quality wins over the Warriors, Kings and Trail Blazers. Those were games the fifth-seeded team in the West is supposed to win, but Luka Doncic has still been exceptional in setting a new record that’s even impressive to his standards, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record at least 20 points, 15 assists and 15 rebounds in a game against the Kings, in which he racked up a triple-double of 25 points, 17 assists and 15 rebounds.
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11. Philadelphia 76ers (28-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)
Philly’s won three straight, thanks to the efficient play of Ben Simmons who still finds ways to score despite not having the confidence to put up a 15-foot jumper. They’ve been well off while missing Joel Embiid and defensively, the Sixers have held their opponents in the fourth quarter to an average of 17 points on 31 percent from the field and 8 percent shooting from 3. Also Furkan Korkmaz has been on a tear recently, averaging 8.7 points and an increasing 39.2 percent from deep this season.
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12. Indiana Pacers (28-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)
T.J. Warren has been scoring out of his mind lately, and as the Pacers await Victor Oladipo’s return from patellar tendon rehabilitation, Warren has averaged 21 points per game on 55% from the field during his past 11 games as the primary scoring option for the Pacers. Despite that little episode with Jimmy Butler, he and the Pacers managed to knock off the visiting Sixers last week to jump into fifth in the East and they’ve won five straight since Warren’s offensive improvement.
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13. Memphis Grizzlies (20-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)
It’s Ja Morant’s world; we’re just living in it. That makes 14 wins out of the last 20 games this young Grizzlies core has played in and experience isn’t just the only thing Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr, Brandon Clarke and others have gained this season. As an offense, they’ve averaged 115.5 points per 100 possessions when both JJJ and Ja are on the court over the span of these 20 games. Not bad for some guys that are in their first and second years.
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14. Oklahoma City Thunder (24-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)
OKC is a competitive team that’s shown bunches of flashes in just how good they can be, but they remain one of the most intriguing teams in the league as the trade deadline nears. On one hand, all showings suggest that they’re a borderling playoff squad that’s a clear five games over .500 but on the other, this is a team that could sell high at month’s end to acquire some extra draft capital with all those first and second-round picks from the Paul George-Clippers trade. They could start by trading Danilo Gallinari, as they are 6-1 without him.
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15. Orlando Magic (20-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)
Orlando got their signature win of the season against the Lakers last Monday night and Markelle Fultz was the talk of the town as he posted a triple-double in the Staples Center and a game-winner over LeBron James to boot. it seems like Steve Clifford may have unlocked the potential that Fultz was apprehensive to show in his years as a Sixer. He’s averaging 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 50% from the field during his past seven games, and he’s only going to get better the more minutes and experience he acquires as a full-time starter.
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16. San Antonio Spurs (18-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)
Watch out for the Spurs, who look like they’re creeping up on the seventh and eighth seeds in the West. What’s helped them get to this point has been the resurgent play of DeMar DeRozan, as he has averaged 26.6 points on 62.3 percent shooting in the past 14 games, while taking a majority of his shots inside the arc and only making a total of three 3s in that span.
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17. Phoenix Suns (18-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)
The Suns earned a tough win against the Jaylen Brown-less Celtics amidst a career night from Marcus Smart as he drained 11 threes. Phoenix was able to limit the tandem of Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward to only 10 made shots and Devin Booker made sure that they paid for it on the other end of the floor. Over the past 10 games, the former Kentucky Wildcat has evenly averaged 32 points, including scoring 39 in two of the past three contests.
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18. Brooklyn Nets (18-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)
The Nets have been the source of all media attention due to the return of a suddenly disapproving Kyrie Irving, who made comments this past week regarding the “extra pieces” this team may need if they’re to compete in the future. And on the floor, the off-court noise hasn’t been shut up at all, as the Nets dropped three straight games with double-digit losses to Utah, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.
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19. New Orleans Pelicans (16-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)
New Orleans stays in prime position to fight for a playoff spot as the impending season debut of Zion Wiliamson lies in the balance. The Pellies have done their part to stay in it, winning nine of their last 14 games as Brandon Ingram has made it clear that the core of he and Williamson will be a formidable tandem to face for years to come. Ingram averaged 26.4 points and 5.5 assists over the 13 games, highlighted by his 49-point, six-assist performance in the upset win over Utah that snapped their 10-game winning streak.
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20. Portland Trail Blazers (18-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)
Barring an uncharacteristic win against the Rockets last week, this season has been bad from the get-go and as the trade deadline approaches, it looks like this team is going to possibly downsize as this season’s aspirations have gone from returning to the conference finals to being a high-sell team that at best can target an eighth seed and firsr-round exit, if things even go that well.
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21. Chicago Bulls (16-28, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)
Zach LaVine is making the case to be an all star, averaging 30.6 points over the past 10 games, including his 42-point performance against the Cavaliers this past Saturday, when he scored 21 in the fourth quarter alone to overome Cleveland for their 16th win of the season.
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22. Detroit Pistons (16-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)
So, the Pistons found a way to defeat the Celtics by double-digits to start their week and then blew out the Hawks by 33 points. Not bad, considering that their frontcourt that’s looked anemic at times without Blake Griffin, but Markieff Morris and rookie Sekou Doumbouya have filled in for him as the Pistons are only 3 games out of the eighth seed in the East.
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23. Minnesota Timberwolves (15-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)
Trades are happening aplenty across the league, and the Wolves were definitely bit by the trade bug as their guard depth took a hit last week with Jeff Teague being shipped off back to Atlanta. They’ve lost five-straight games against playoff teams and to make matters worse, they’ll face three more postseason locks this weeks. Fortunately, they got Karl Anthony-Towns from a long injury layoff to now have a healthy frontcourt in this next patch of tough games.
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24. Sacramento Kings (15-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)
So, the guess is that Sacramento is already preparing for a playoff run next year as the Kings just traded away a bunch of pieces in Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan to acquire draft and trade chips like Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two second-round picks from Portland, and they’re still in the process of shipping off DeWayne Dedmon who is still holding that three-year, $40 Million deal.
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25. Charlotte Hornets (15-29, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
Charlotte has dropped seven straight contests and look like a shell of the team that started off the season on the rightest of feet, now a whole 14 games under .500. James Borrego has mixed and matched at the center position by switching Cody Zeller with Bismack Biyombo and vice versa, but it’s been to no avail as the Hornets have gone 2-7 in their last nine and 8-11 in their past nineteen games.
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26. Washington Wizards (13-28, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)
Bradley Beal’s selective disconnect with the Wizards sounds like it’s becoming toxic, and with the league’s worst defense, (still) the Wizards are are just plain banged up and depth-insufficient as Scott Brooks is literally putting out scraps on the floor on a nightly basis. The Pistons, Heat, Cavs and Hawks await the Wizards next up, so two out of those four games are somewhat winnable for a team that’s 15 games away from an even record.
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27. Cleveland Cavaliers (12-31, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)
Cleveland doesn’t move an inch in this week’s power rankings, evident by their horrid second-half performance against Chicago last week where they let Zach LaVine drop 21 points on them and while as a team they turned the ball over 26 times en route to blowing a 17-point halftime lead. This is not the ideal first season John Beilein had in mind, but if there’s any consolation, the play of Collin Sexton and Kevin Love has been palateable, with Sexton averaging around 23 points per game on 48.7 percent shooting from the field. Conversely, Love has averaged 23 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
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28. Golden State Warriors (10-34, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)
Somehow, the Warriors were able to end their 10-game skid against the Orlando Magic at home, and all without Draymond Green who missed his sixth game with a sprained left finger. Eric Paschall and Jordan Poole’s continued education and development into useful rotational pieces experienced some highlights with their contributions of 21 and 20 points, respectively, in their last win.
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29. New York Knicks (11-32, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)
The Mike Miller experiment may have already reached its peak this month, as the Knicks have managed to win only two of their ten games in January. RJ Barrett was sidelined to an ankle injury that made him miss the divisional battle against the Sixers, a game in which the Knicks almost stole hadn’t it not been for a late three by Tobias Harris, and for New York, it doesn’t get any easier — the Lakers, Raptors and Nets all visit Madison Square Garden up next where the Knicks are a combined 6-15 this year.
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30. Atlanta Hawks (10-33, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)
Atlanta found a way to knock off the Spurs in San Antonio this past week, and apparently that was the first time they were able to do so in nearly 23 years as Cam Reddish had what was arguably the best game of his young career, who scored 22 points off 8-22 shooting while draining five threes in the process. Ironically, the Hawks got it done on the road in a hostile environment, where they have lost 18 road games this season, the worst mark in the Eastern Conference.
