As we enter the third week of competition in a league that’s beginning to further display its diverse parity amongst itself, the Memphis Grizzlies, who many predicted were going to be a few years out of making the postseason, are now eighth in the West and will crack the first 15 for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Utah is getting its bearings, now third in the West behind the Lakers and Nuggets. Milwaukee tips off this list (not to anyone’s surprise, of course) going 29-3 over the last eight weeks as we start yet another edition of this week’s Power Rankings.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. Milwaukee Bucks (35-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
Milwaukee finished a four-game trip on the road with a 3-1 record last week, and still have two sub-.500 teams on the schedule coming up in the Knicks and Nets this week. On Thursday, a showdown between them and one of the only Eastern teams to knock them off this year in Celtics goes down on TNT, and it should be a good one.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Los Angeles Lakers (32-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)
These Lakers still haven’t lost a game since Christmas day’s loss to the home rival Clippers, and yet this storied franchise isn’t scot-free of any drama whatsoever. Kyle Kuzma put on what felt like an audition for scouts across the league with a season-high 36-point performance against the currently playoff-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder without LeBron or Anthony Davis to fall back on.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Boston Celtics (26-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)
The Celtics maintain their third spot in the weekly power rankings, but by a hair. They opened last week with an uncharacteristic loss to the Wizards and still couldn’t find the formula to defeat their dearest rivals in the Philadelphia 76ers even without Joel Embiid on the floor, now winless against Philly since April of 2019. Luckily, they snapped their winless skid with an overwhelming of the Pelicans, in which Jayson Tatum dropped a career-high 41 points against a Zion-less, Jrue-less, JJ Redick-less and Derrick Favors-less New Orleans squad.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Denver Nuggets (27-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)
It’s like a tale of yin and yang with the Denver Nuggets, as told by last week’s narration. They earned a convincing 10-point win over the visiting Clippers on Sunday, but then go ahead and drop a head-scratcher to the Cleveland Cavaliers, now making their sixth loss of the season against a team with 15 or fewer wins on the year. With Charlotte, Golden State and Indiana on the list for their Week 13, can they get back on the winning ship before their second-place spot in the West is lost to the Jazz?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Utah Jazz (27-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)
This marks the highest the Jazz have been spotted all season long for this power rankings list, and deservedly so. After spotting a 15-point lead to the Washington Wizards, the Jazz showed resolve and captured their ninth-straight win, and now are in prime position to take over the second spot in the Western rankings if they keep winning, and if the Denver Nuggets can slip in obtaining a positive result this week or in the upcoming weeks. Utah’s going to have to keep the foot on the pedal against Brooklyn, New Orleans and Sacramento this week though, if they want that to happen.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Miami Heat (27-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)
Miami’s done a good enough job of beating those teams they were supposed to beat, but apparently that rule just forgot to apply itself in a weird road loss to the Knicks in the Garden, in which this team that’s in the top 15 of defensive rating in all of basketball gave up an unceremonious 124 points to one of the most depleted rosters in the league. These losses happen, but Miami better make sure L’s like these don’t multiply, especially for a team that’s fighting to stay in the top five in the East.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Houston Rockets (26-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)
Houston stays put in this week’s rankings, due to a bad loss on somewhat of an emotional night in Russell Westbrook’s heartfelt return to Oklahoma City That doesn’t change the fact that they’ve persevered to win four of their last five since New Year’s Eve. Houston was able to quickly get back on track in a blowout win over the Wolves in which bench reserve Isiah Hartenstein racked up an impressive 17 points and 15 rebounds while starting big man Clint Capela sidelined with a right heel contusion.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Los Angeles Clippers (27-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)
For the Clippers this season, whenever there are some steps being made toward high fortune, there’s concurrent misfortune and two, almost three, steps back from the Clippers meeting their expectations of being the most intimidating defensive team in the league. As a team, they’ve won three straight since this past Saturday, but have let their opponents score an average of 121.5 points per game in their last four outings.
Kawhi Leonard may have scored 30 against the second-seeded Nuggets this past Sunday, but they suffered another loss to a Western foe when they weren’t at full strength as Paul George aggravated his hamstring. They’re 14-4 whenever George and Leonard are on the floor together, but we don’t see the tandem play that much together with one or the other being hurt, or one of them deciding to take a load management night off.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Toronto Raptors (25-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)
Barring a late collapse to the Spurs in a classic DeMar Derozan performance (that left Raps big man Chris Boucher “floored” with one of the sickest posters you’ll see all season) Toronto has ran the gauntlet and survived their injury woes that have kept out the likes of Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell for a multitude of weeks. They may have lost two of the last three in trying to keep the fortress together in waiting for their three floor-spacing forwards to return, but Nick Nurse has to be loving the position his Raptors are in, still sitting at fourth in the East.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Philadelphia 76ers (25-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)
Philly rises four spots in this week’s rankings, thanks to a gut-check of sorts by beating the Celtics at home in lieu of Joel Embiid’s sudden hand muscle tear. Al Horford answered all skeptics who criticized the former all-star’s ability to play the small-ball brand of hoops that Brett Brown wanted him in his system to replicate, scoring a cool 17 points off 7-for-11 shooting and two three-balls. They were subsequently stomped by the Mavericks a night later, however.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. Dallas Mavericks (24-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)
Speaking of Dallas, in light of them beating the Sixers on Saturday to finish 3-3 on their six-game homestand, The Mavs travel to play the Golden State Warriors this week and then have to really pack their bags to play six of their next nine games on the road. Itis undetermined as to exactly what day Kristaps Porzingis will come back, now missing seven consecutive contests, but Head Coach Rick Carlisle’s said on Saturday it was “possible” that KP could return during the team’s upcoming road trip.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (22-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)
For the Thunder, only falling to five games over .500 instead of six (thanks to a 73-49 halftime deficit too magnanimous to overcome in a home loss to the Lakers without Anthony Davis or LeBron James) is well worth taking with pride. Coming into that trouncing though, the young Thunder were rolling, fresh off a beatdown handed to the Brooklyn Nets and an eye-opening 21-point victory over the Rockets in which they limited MVP favorite James Harden to a quiet 17 points. They’re still seventh in the West and have a duel against the slumping Timberwolves to look forward to on Monday night.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
13. Memphis Grizzlies (18-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)
As mentioned earlier, this is the first time this season that Memphis has cracked the top 15 on this list, this year. The core of Brandon Clarke, Jaren Jackson Jr., and rookie of the year (might as well just declare it, right?) Ja Morant are a combined 12-6 since Morant’s return to the floor from his back injury. Only the Lakers and Bucks have a better stretch of wins than them to start the new decade.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
14. Indiana Pacers (24-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)
It’s just a slew of good headlines coming into the phones and other media outlets of all Pacers fans and supporters alike this week, as this team that’s nine wins above .500 are only a half-game out of booting the Sixers out of fifth place in the East. To amp up the intensity even further, Indy is facing Philly on Monday night in front of their patrons inside the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. This team is getting healthy at the right time before the all-star break, and with Victor Oladipo’s official return on January 29th, Eastern teams may want to keep track of these Pacers who are materializing quickly into the postseason picture.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. Brooklyn Nets (18-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)
Good news: Kyrie Irving’s shoulder impingement didn’t require surgery after all, as the one-time champ and six-time all-star revisited the court Sunday night in a blowout win over the ailing Hawks. Irving talled a respectable 21 points, four boards, three assists, a steal and a lone three-ball. Bad news: they have the Jazz and Sixers up next, and the Nets are an average 13-9 against teams with a record above .500.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
16. San Antonio Spurs (17-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)
San Antonio jumps up a spot in this week’s rankings, mainly due to a huge come from behind win over the Eastern fourth-seeded Raptors in one of the most exhilarating games of the season. DeMar DeRozan must’ve been on cloud nine while going off against his old team, and not just for revenge purposes. Recently dubbed the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week, DeRozan dropped a smooth 25 points on a 7-for 12 night against the hobbled Raptors, and provided what may be the highlight of the season on second-year big Chris Boucher with an old, signature tomahawk punch at the rim off two with one hand.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
17. Orlando Magic (18-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)
Orlando may have shot out of the gate in going 4-1 over their last five games before succumbing to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday but have to really dig deep if they’re to get some good luck against the Lakers and Clippers this week, as they face both LA teams consecutively after getting a tune-up and early reprieve of sorts against Sacramento and Golden State to start the week.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
18. Phoenix Suns (16-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)
Kelly Oubre Jr. is doing the best he can to divert attention from main star Devin Booker this season in his first full year as a member of Phoenix’s organization, averaging a delectable 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game as a starter. He put up 25 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, 3 pickpockets, two blocks and two threes in a do-it-all performance that led to a win over the Charlotte on Sunday.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
19. Portland Trail Blazers (16-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)
Portland shows little to no improvement on the defensive end, now with the sixth-worst defensive team rating in the NBA. They’ve lost nine of their last ten and many are wondering, is it time to break this thing apart and rebuild anew? Damian Lillard and Carmelo Anthony are giving their all to salvage what’s left of this season, averaging a combined 21.5 points per game when they’re on the floor together. They have Charlotte on Monday to start their 13th week of competition but then have to travel to play the Rockets, Mavericks, and Thunder all within the span of four days.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
20. Minnesota Timberwolves (15-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
Things still aren’t looking up for the Timberwolves, who are still without Karl Anthony-Towns as he missed his 13th-straight game this past Saturday. On top of his knee injury, the T’Wolves’ all-star big man and former Kentucky Wildcat felt a little under the weather this weekend. The alarming statistic: Minnesota started off the year at 4-1 and are a combined 5-15 since the start of last month.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
21. Sacramento Kings (15-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)
Sacramento’s injury problems keep them distant from actually having a chance at being competitive as they are still waiting on Marvin Bagley III’s foot to completely heal. What’s worse: Bogdan Bogdanovic’s ankle is still sprained and he’s already been ruled out of Monday’s game vs. Orlando and Power Forward Richaun Holmes is still dealing with a sprained AC joint in his Shoulder that’ll keep him our for nearly a month.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
22. Charlotte Hornets (15-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)
What started out hot, is now ice cold. Charlotte has lost their last four games, going a combined mediocre 2-10 in their last 12 contests. DeVonte Graham has played like an all-star and will probably be the second coming of what Kemba Walker was to the Queen City in a couple of years as per his efforts this season, but his lackluster efficiency has become a problem lately, only averaging 30 percent from the field in Charlotte’s last 15 games.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
23. New Orleans Pelicans (14-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)
The Pelicans have performed admirably in their past ten contests in winning seven of them, as Lonzo Ball has stepped up big. The former UCLA guard has contributed a stat sheet-stuffing 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 8.1 assists and a steal in the Pels’ last seven games, all in favor of holding it down until his entire team (Zion Williamson, included) gets healthy so that they can at least get in position to challenge for a playoff spot.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
24. Chicago Bulls (14-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)
The Bulls received some tough news surrounding their second-year big man in Wendell Carter Jr., as the Bulls will be without him for what sounds like 4-6 weeks with a right ankle sprain. On the plus side, the Bulls may have something worth developing in second-round talent Daniel Gafford, who posted 14 points off 6-for-9 shooting and seven rebounds in Chicago’s win over the Pistons on Sunday.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
25. Washington Wizards (13-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)
Though the Wizards apparently lack any sense of ability to play competent defense, they have been playing hard against teams they are supposed to lose to and have come away with some venerable wins against some talented teams in both the Celtics and Nuggets. Bradley Beal returned to the lineup on Sunday and the fully-healthy Wizards almost beat the second-best team in the West with a close 127-116 loss.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
26. Detroit Pistons (14-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)
Blake Griffin underwent a potentially season-ending knee surgery, and by the look of things, this Detroit frontcourt is going to look indescribably dissimilar to it’s regular appearance, also due in part to Andre Drummond’s now eventual departure from the Motor City. At this point, the Knicks and Hawks have both made inquiries and the Pistons are still listening and taking calls from other suitors for the double-double machine known as Drummond, who is averaging 17.6 points, 15.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game off 53 percent shooting.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
27. Cleveland Cavaliers (12-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)
Though they shocked the Nuggets in Denver, Tristan Thompson’s 35 points on 15-for-20 shooting against the Pistons wasn’t enough as the Cavs lost to the Pistons after blowing an 11-point fourth quarter lead. Last week’s turmoil-filled sequence of events for the Cavs started with Kevin Love issuing a public apology for his in-practice and on-court behavior issues regarding his disgruntled attitude with his team, and the week ended with head coach John Beilein interpreting his use of the word “thug” by correcting those who said it, clarifying that he said his players were playing like a bunch of “slugs”. Yikes.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
28. New York Knicks (11-29, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)
The Knicks were able to shake off their losing skid with a rousing victory over the Miami Heat at home Sunday, as RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox (who the Knicks are so glad they finally got something out this year) combined for 40 points off only 18 shots. While Barrett scored 23 on 7-of-10 FGs and 8-of-10 FTs, Knox scored 17 on 6-of-8 FGs.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
29. Golden State Warriors (9-32, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)
Golden State drops a spot in this week’s rankings, but mainly due to their injuries at the guars spot. Luckily, D’Angelo Russell returned to action on Sunday and picked up where he left off, scoring 34 points off 12-of-24 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, five 3-pointers and four assists. Over his last seven appearances, DLo is averaging 28.7 points, 5.4 dimes and 4.7 triples.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
30. Atlanta Hawks (8-32, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)
Make those four-straight losses for the Hawks now, who have dropped a combined 14 of their last 16. Trae Young is playing like he should be in the all-star game but was ruled out in a loss to the Nets on Sunday with a lingering hamstring issue.
