December is finally here, and for some teams that have experienced a full month together, preseason expectations have been altered, since a certain few may have already underwhelmed in the first six weeks of play. Conversely, some contenders have faced the brute reality felt after the first month of the regular season. Every given night is a battle, and unexpected outcomes with parity come with the territory of contending for a title.
Some championship favorites are following the course, fervently executing in double-digit wins. Others have faced competition much lower or equal to their level of skill, and haven’t quite looked the part of what predictors fathomed at season’s beginning.
For the first time, the Los Angeles Lakers lose their pole position at the No. 1 spot. The Milwaukee Bucks become the first team to leapfrog the Lakers as the team with the most significant momentum going into the seventh week of the season. Winners of 11 straight, and leading them the undisputed early-season lock for league MVP again in Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks look like the most formidable foe that any team would rather watch a brick wall than face.
So, let’s get into the power rankings for this week.
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1. Milwaukee Bucks (17-3, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)
It was only a matter of time until the Bucks took the helm at the top spot of this list. Winners of their last eleven games while completing a November that saw the Bucks win 15 of their 16 games, Milwaukee, and more specifically Giannis Antetokounmpo, look almost unstoppable. The MVP is averaging 30.9 ppg. in 32 minutes per contest and while his 3PT percentage has dropped, just about every other offensive statistic of his continue to rise.
They are fourth in the league in blocks per game and are only two spots away from being the best defensive squad in the NBA. They have gone on a tearin their winning streak and Antetokounmpo looks like a walking double-double who can outduel whatever matchup put in his place. They got Khris Middleton back, and he hasn’t looked rusty at all.
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2. Los Angeles Lakers (17-3, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
Well, this is odd.
The Lakers lose one game to a plus-.500 team and all of a sudden, it’s a firesale. For the first time this year, the Lakers aren’t the top spot holders on this power rankings list.
Prognosticators feel as though they can lick their chops in frivolity from seeing the Lakers be trounced by Western rival Dallas on Sunday night, regardless of a franchise-best month going 14-1 in November. Last night’s loss to the Mavericks was their first since Nov. 10 when they faced Toronto. December is going to be a tough month for LeBron and the new-look Lakers. Trips to Portland and another duel with the in-house rival Clippers are up on their schedule this month.
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3. Los Angeles Clippers (15-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)
Despite a random little hiccup in a ten-point Spurs loss that saw both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George shoot for a combined 28 percent from the field, the Clippers have been nothing short of dominant, displaying a 5-1 record when George and Leonard both take the floor together. It may not have been the ideal start that the Clips had in mind, but if the two’s early chemistry looking almost perfect together, this is only the beginning for Doc Rivers’ uber-talented team.
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4. Toronto Raptors (15-4, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)
The defending champs are red-hot during their seven-game winning streak, and their defense continues to prevail in every matchup. Toronto has held five of its past seven opponents under 100 points, and what was even more impressive was during their signature win of last week over the 76ers, with the Raptors holding the best center Joel Embiid scoreless for the first time in his career in a 101-96 home win.
Also, It’s not asinine to declare Pascal Siakam as a viable candidate in the MVP race as the likely All-Star is posting up 25.6-point scoring averages off 47 percent shooting, and is currently playing at an All-NBA level every night.
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5. Dallas Mavericks (13-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)
Since a weird 1-3 week that included two losses to the Knicks, the Mavs have strung together some really impressive wins, getting in the winning column in seven of their past eight games, including some huge road victories over the Rockets and Lakers. And of course, Luka Doncic is up to his regular shenanigans, posting up monster numbers at the startling age of 20 years young.
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6. Denver Nuggets (13-4, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)
A six-game winning streak saw its demise at the hands of the Sacramento Kings, in which a 17-point lead was lost by the Nuggets in an overtime loss. That isn’t a sob story worth bawling over, considering those games happen every now and then. They still possess the best team defensive rating in the entire league, and this team is still rolling around the top of the West, just waiting for a streaking Western powerhouse to falter a few times.
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7. Houston Rockets (13-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)
James Harden is making a fine case to be the most dangerous offensive threat we’ve ever seen, and after we saw him drop 60 points through just three quarters against the Hawks this past weekend. As for Russell Westbrook, well, it hasn’t been rosy for the 2017 MVP. As a team, their three-point shooting isn’t stellar to put it lightly but with an above-average record against sub-.500 teams, the Rockets, barring a rare blowout loss to the Mavericks last week, are in prime position to secure a top-3 record in the West as the month goes by.
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8. Boston Celtics (14-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)
The Celtics limited the Nets to 11/25 shooting in the first half of a game that many expected the Celts’ to run away with in the second half. Of course, as history would precede, that wasn’t the case as Boston sustained a post-Thanksgiving loss to the Nets on the road that saw all of Boston’s stars struggle to guard the perimeter against the likes of Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince. Also, Boston is really having a tough time scoring the basketball, finishing last week nearly in the cellar of effective field-goal percentage since Nov. 17.
They started the year going 10-1 after a season-opening loss to Philadelphia. Since then, they’ve been a pedestrian 4-4, but Gordon Hayward is nearing his return, and that could drastically transform the offensive and defensive difficulties the C’s have been having as of late.
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9. Philadelphia 76ers (14-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)
Pick apart the shooting of Ben Simmons, that’s warranted. What cannot be ignored is how elite his defensive prowess has been this season. The 6’10 guard is third in the league in steals, using those pickpocketing abilities in a clutch win over the Pacers at home as he came up with three steals in the final 14 seconds of the game. Philly is a perfect 9-0 at home, and what’e even more eye-opening (but not that surprising) is that the Sixers post an +11.7 overall net rating whenever Joel Embiid takes the floor.
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10. Miami Heat (14-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)
Miami’s first games of the year were favorable and if your team had to play the same schedule, they wouldn’t make haste at the opportunity. Now a full month in, we’re starting to realize the early games for Miami have been nothing short of win-padding to look good in the standings. They have Boston and Toronto in a back to back this week, so we’ll witness the real mettle of this team and whether they can be taken seriously as a contender.
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11. Indiana Pacers (12-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)
Injuries have blitzed the Pacers at a surplus this year but in the first full month of the season, there’s no lament or complacency with their current situation. They finished last month with an 11-4 record and with last Wednesday’s 121-102 blowout win over the slipping Utah Jazz which was probably their best outing as a team this year, and they aren’t stopping considering how the sharpshooting and post-scoring skills of both their bigs in Domatas Sabonis and Myles Turner have vastly skyrocketed.
They also have the league’s easiest schedule, which directly benefits their most rudimentary of issues in letting their stars in Malcolm Brogdon and Victor Oladipo both heal up to being able to play at 100 percent.
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12. Brooklyn Nets (10-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)
Not having Kyrie Irving dampens some of the Sixth Man of the Year hopes for a certain Spencer Dinwiddie, who when on the floor provides enough offense for the Nets to be considered a top-10 offense in basketball. Last week saw the growth in confidence in one another and the growing chemistry between these new-look Brooklyn Nets, as they split a two-game series against the Boston Celtics.
It may have ended sourly with them suffering a 10-0 run to the Miami Heat to close out a win for them and put the Nets back at a respectable .500, but Dinwiddie has lit a fire under this offense that otherwise without him wouldn’t be able to crack the top-25 offenses in basketball in terms of overall field-goal efficiency.
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13. Utah Jazz (12-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)
Don’t let their positive record in a saturated Western Conference fool you: the Jazz had it rough on their last road trip, giving up 50 points to Giannis Antetokounmpo (without Rudy Gobert, worth adding) but were destroyed by the Pacers and Raptors in consecutive nights (with Gobert, worth adding). Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell have greatly underperformed and their path doesn’t get much easier as they’ll have to deal with the Sixers and Lakers in the same week.
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14. Minnesota Timberwoles (10-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)
The duo of Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins look to finally be finding their footing as arduous threats in the West, and quietly and ever so slightly, Towns is putting forth an MVP bid with his 25.9 ppg., 12 rpg. and 4.1 apg., which are all career-highs. Wiggins on the other hand is shutting doubters up quite often this year, peaking not too far behind Towns in scoring at 24.8 ppg. off 47 percent shooting.
Towns is also expanding on his offensive arsenal and shooting the three-ball with confidence, only falling short of James Harden’s 3.8 3PM per contest as he stakes the claim as the purest shooting big man in the NBA.
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15. Portland Trail Blazers (8-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)
Well whaddaya know, the 13th-greatest scorer in the history of NBA basketball can still play at a proficient and productive level.
Who would’ve thunk it?
The Portland Trail Blazers stopped their peculiar tailspin and have won their last three games to inch closer to topping their subpar, 8-12 record. Damian Lillard’s return has been paramount in the success of Portland’s offensive effect, as expected. What hasn’t, luckily has been the positive impact of Carmelo Anthony who, on Monday, raked in his first Western Conference Player of the Month award as a Trail Blazer.
He’s been excellent in excelling in his new role as the space-creating wing scorer that allows room for Lillard and CJ McCollum to operate. This week will be difficult for the new trio as they’ll duel with both Los Angeles teams (and two old friends in Paul George and LeBron James) so we can see just how far they have to go in order to be deemed competent competition in the West.
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16. Orlando Magic (8-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)
Though the Magic have been unsuccessful in picking up some wins over their last six games as they only picked up two wins in that span of time and also missing an opportunity to obtain an upset win over the Raptors on the road, these Magic have showed flashes of good play, winning a home game against the last-place Warriors on Sunday. They have a chance to get back in the win column this week with trips to Washington and Cleveland, as well as a home game against the Suns.
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17. Phoenix Suns (8-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)
Well, that was short-lived. Great start to the season. One month in, however…not so much.
The Phoenix Suns have had trouble scrunching together some wins, dropping six of their last seven. Issues in the paint have been a major difficulty in regards to the Suns’ defensive effort and really, how can you blame them? Aside from Aron Baynes and a combination of Frank Kaminsky and Dario Saric inside the paint, this team has been anemic in rim protector depth since their former first-rounder DeAndre Ayton was dealt a lengthy suspension just a little over a month ago.
Trips to Charlotte, Orlando, and New Orleans might help the Suns pack the win column as they prepare to duel with the Rockets on the road at week’s end.
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18. Oklahoma City Thunder (8-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)
This roster has proven time and time again that they love the challenge of competition in a rebuilding year, and these young, upstart Thunder have complimented their veterans in Chris Paul and Steven Adams almost seamlessly. Many saw this season as a long shot, and their pieces of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo and others as just developmental chips for better draft capital or free agency additions in the efforts to reconstruct a championship roster.
They’ve already won 8 games this year and are currently two spots out of the playoff-qualifying list of eight teams out west. With a trip to Portland and two home games against the Pacers and Timberwolves up next, there’s more incentive for these young Thunder to keep fighting in every game they find themselves in.
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19. Sacramento Kings (8-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)
Harrison Barnes has played lights-out ball for the Kings in both Marvin Bagley III and DeAaron Fox’s absence, averaging 18.5 ppg. off 52 percent shooting. Also worth mentioning, he’s shooting the three ball at a 48 percent clip in every Kings win. They’ll duel against Chicago and Portland to start the week, and finish it with two hard games against the Mavericks and all-of-a-sudden treacherous Trail Blazers to finish it off.
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20. San Antonio Spurs (7-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)
The problem with the Spurs isn’t so much their offense, which is led by DeMar DeRozan’s 21.6 points per contest. It’s their abysmal defense which, for the second week in a row, still appears in the top-5 of worst defenses in the entire NBA, as they sit at position No. 26 on the defensive rating list. San Antonio allows an averaged total of 115 points per 100 possessions, which sounds horrid. What’s even scarier, that number is probably going to dip even lower with the Rockets coming into town to start the week.
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21. Charlotte Hornets (8-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)
The Hornets know how to close out close games, appearing at a commendable 5-2 in one-possession games when the clock begins to tick down to its final seconds. The problem lies in their inability to win more of those games and with 13 losses, an impressive roster that could honestly fight for a playoff spot with the talent that is on it will all but likely be on the outside looking in. They’ve fallen victim to 17 and 41-point losses in consecutive nights to the likes of the Bucks and Heat, and it doesn’t get easier considering they have teams like Brooklyn and Phoenix to deal with this week.
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22. New Orleans Pelicans (6-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)
Since last week, the Pelicans went winless, and their defense has also been pretty suspect this early in the year. They possess the 25th best defense in basketball and on the offensive end, fail to get it done in the clutch as they have the league’s worst clutch offense, scoring only 79 points per 100 possessions in the final five minutes of regulation. Brandon Ingram and Jrue Holiday have looked like all-stars, but their depth has been questionable in their efforts to close out some winnable games down the stretch.
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23. Detroit Pistons (7-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
In acquiring some otherwise simple pickups on the schedule, the Pistons continue to struggle against sub-.500 teams like the Bulls and Hornets, combining for an awful 0-5 against two of the East’s most struggling teams. If there is any silver lining to their insufficiencies, the team is getting healthier as Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose have played five full games together after injuries sidelined the two former All-NBA mainstays.
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24. Washington Wizards (6-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
If only the Wizards played some defense…
Their first quarter against the Lakers made the Wizards look like the old Washington Wizards, who’d score on you from all three levels with a profusely skilled backcourt and dually-gifted frontcourt. That quickly changed as the Lakers began to pour it on the Bradley Beal-led Wizards who are now dead-last in total defensive rating in all of the NBA. Scott Brooks’ offense is actually pretty good and when Beal takes the floor, they are literally the second-best offense in basketball. So when they decide to play even a feather of defense, they have the opportunity to be decent.
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25. Chicago Bulls (6-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)
Coby White is an interesting paradox for the Bulls. On some nights, the former UNC guard will score at will, dropping 25 + points and shoot the three-ball as if his life depended on it. But more often than not, the rookie guard has struggled with his Bulls who altogether have been overwhelmed this season, sometimes scoring less than 10 points per contest. He’s a rookie and he’ll come to learn from his mistakes, but these Bulls are still having difficulty stringing together some positive results in the win column.
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26. Memphis Grizzlies (6-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)
Ja Morant is running alone in the ROTY race, and honestly it isn’t even close to the word close. He’s been a delight in an otherwise gloomy rebuild season for the Grizz, averaging 18.6 ppg. and 6.4 assists per game. Jaren Jackson Jr. is starting to come into his own as a solid stretch four as the Grizzlies esteemed 2018 high-lottery pick, as he is scoring a respectable 14.9 points per contest.
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27. Cleveland Cavaliers (5-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)
Not too much moving up or down for the Cavs this week, since going 1-9 in the last couple weeks in the month of November. They turn the ball over a lot (turned it over 25 times to the Magic at home), as they are mainly coming from their backcourt of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton.
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28. Golden State Warriors (4-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)
Hey, look at that! The Warriors aren’t at the bottom of the weekly power rankings anymore!
Yes, with their 4 wins, plaguing injuries to their main scorers in D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry, they should be dead last on this list. Trust me, there’s much worse.
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29: New York Knicks (4-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)
It’s pretty sad and downright disrespectful to NY’s first-round selection Kevin Knox in seeing his minutes decrease so much that he was registered as a DNP in Friday’s loss to the Sixers. Knicks fans sat in dismay over the Knicks insufferable inability to rotate a four forwards signed in free agency, since now it’s making it more and more difficult for Dave Fizdale to integrate Knox into his lineups.
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30. Atlanta Hawks (4-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)
If there was an option to clone four other Trae Youngs, best believe Hawks fans would jump like Kangaroos once the chance presented itself. He’s posting career-highs what feels like every night he touches the floor, but during this 10-game losing streak for the Hawks, there hasn’t been much else for fans in the ATL to cheer for. They haven’t won a game since November 12 and the impact of losing John Collins to that 25-game suspension has rocked the Hawks to their core.
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