NBA Power Rankings – 12/30/16

As we head into 2017, we wish you and your favorite team all the success in the world. And we certainly wish you more success than the Golden State Warriors have had against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the Christmas Day debacle, the Cavs have now beaten the Warriors four times in a row.

The New Year’s resolution for those Warriors, then, is probably to avoid another epic collapse.

30. Philadelphia 76ers (Overall: 7-24, Last Week: 28)

The Sixers, to their credit, have suffered a fair amount of close losses this season. However, there’s only so far that moral victories can carry you. Back in last, Joel Embiid remains the apple of our eye, but it’s hard to argue that the Sixers aren’t deserving of the last spot in our rankings.

29. Brooklyn Nets (Overall: 8-23, Last Week: 29)

With Monday’s 120-118 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, the Nets managed to accomplish something they hadn’t been able to for the entire month of December—secure a win over a team above .500.

28. Phoenix Suns (Overall: 10-23, Last Week: 30)

By virtue of the tiebreaker, the Suns are the worst team in the Western Conference. Well, if you’re gonna do something, might as well be the best, right? Still, we’ll give them a tip of the hat for Thursday’s 99-91 win over the Raptors.

27. Dallas Mavericks (Overall: 10-23, Last Week: 27)

Believe it or not, the Mavs have won three of their last four road games. They might be headed to the lottery, but they have actually shown an admirable amount of fight over the past seven games, where they’re 4-3.

26. Miami Heat (Overall: 10-23, Last Week: 23)

For Pat Riley’s sake, let’s hope that the allure of his management, Erik Spoelstra’s coaching and the sunny shores of South Beach are enough to lure free agents, because the players on the roster aren’t doing much to entice others to want to relocate to Miami this summer.

25. Minnesota Timberwolves (Overall: 10-22, Last Week: 26)

Losers of three of their last four, we can only watch and wonder whether the T-Wolves can string together a few wins and remain relevant out West, like the Kings. We’re still waiting.

24. Los Angeles Lakers (Overall: 12-24, Last Week: 25)

We called the Christmas Day win over the Clippers, but were quite surprised that the Lakers let the Mavericks roll into Staples and beat them on Thursday night, 101-89. A season that began with such promise has spiraled downward. The bright side? The Lakers may keep their draft pick.

23. Portland Trail Blazers (Overall: 14-20, Last Week: 21)

George Karl opened his mouth again, this time, taking aim at Damian Lillard. While we agree that Karl’s opinion was uneducated, we share his bewilderment in wondering what has happened in Portland. The losing streak reached six before Wednesday’s 102-89 win over the Kings. Still, they’re just 2-10 in their last 12.

22. Detroit Pistons (Overall: 15-19, Last Week: 19)

Just 3-7 over their past 10 games, the Pistons find themselves just two games out of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. They find themselves in a battle of futility with the Pacers and Magic.

21. Denver Nuggets (Overall: 14-18, Last Week: 22)

Monday’s 106-102 win over the Clippers may come with an asterisk (the Clips weren’t at 100 percent), but the Nuggets won’t give it back. Despite their underwhelming record, they are actually tied with the Kings for the eighth seed out West.

20. New Orleans Pelicans (Overall: 13-21, Last Week: 24)

Winners of three straight for just the second time this season, Wednesday’s 102-98 win over the Clips was probably the most impressive. Anthony Davis only scored 20 points, but the Pelicans got 43 points from their bench. That type of production is what is required to get them back in the playoff hunt.

19. Sacramento Kings (Overall: 14-18, Last Week: 20)

We have been advocating for the trade of both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, but with the sudden surge from these guys, despite being four games below .500, they are sitting in eighth out in the Western Conference. That’s a cause for celebration.

18. Orlando Magic (Overall: 15-19, Last Week: 18)

The Magic remain an enigma. They get 30 points from Aaron Gordon and have six others score in double figures in Monday’s 112-102 win over the Grizzlies, but have otherwise had trouble defeating respectable opponents. One step forward, two steps back.

17. Indiana Pacers (Overall: 15-18, Last Week: 15)

Paul George drew a $15,000 fine for referring to his club as being the “little brother” of the NBA. George would be best advised to push every available button, because nothing Nate McMillan is doing seems to be working.

16. Milwaukee Bucks (Overall: 15-15, Last Week: 17)

In Wednesday’s 119-94 win over the Pistons, Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined for 54 points. When they do that, they’re quite difficult to beat. Back at .500, the Bucks haven’t managed to get more than two games above that mark.

15. Chicago Bulls (Overall: 16-16, Last Week: 14)

After the three-game losing streak, we’re just happy that the Bulls managed to avoid the dubious distinction of losing a home game to the Nets. On Wednesday, Fred Hoiberg’s team got 40 points from Jimmy Butler to outdo the 33 points Brook Lopez dropped.

14. Washington Wizards (Overall: 15-16, Last Week: 13)

Don’t call it a comeback. After spending the first few months of the season being labeled as the most disappointing team out East, the Wizards have come roaring back. The squad has won six of eight and have beaten some quality competition, including the Hornets, Clippers, Bulls and Bucks.

13. New York Knicks (Overall: 16-15, Last Week: 9)

Despite Carmelo Anthony being ejected from Wednesday’s 102-98 loss to the Hawks, it still took some dubious officiating for Atlanta to walk away with the win. Excuses aside, though, the Knicks are just 2-5 over their last seven, though they’re clinging to the fifth spot out East.

12. Atlanta Hawks (Overall: 16-16, Last Week: 16)

Monday’s 104-90 loss to the Timberwolves aside, the Hawks appear to be improving a tad. They are 6-4 over their last 10, and that’s an improvement over what we’ve seen from them lately.

11. Memphis Grizzlies (Overall: 21-14, Last Week: 7)

Just 4-6 over their last 10 games, the Grizz are having difficulty keeping up their winning ways. Fortunately for them, Russell Westbrook was tossed from Thursday night’s 114-80 victory. The Grizz remain one of seven teams that Westbrook has never recorded a triple-double against.

10. Charlotte Hornets (Overall: 19-14, Last Week: 10)

Despite losing to the Nets on Wednesday night, including Thursday night’s 91-82 win over the HEAT, the Hornets have won five of their last six and saw Kemba Walker score his 7,000th career point in Thursday’s win.

9. Boston Celtics (Overall: 19-14, Last Week: 11)

Size does matter, and the Celts saw that firsthand when they lost to the Cavs on Thursday night in a shootout, 124-118. Even with the loss, though, they’re 6-2 in their last eight.

8. Oklahoma City Thunder (Overall: 20-13, Last Week: 8)

On Thursday night, the Thunder were no match for the Grizzlies after Russell Westbrook was ejected in the game’s third quarter. The final? 114-80. Westbrook’s triple-double quest takes a minor hit, as his per-game assist average drops from 10.9 to 10.6, but we’re still betting on him to accomplish the feat.

7. Utah Jazz (Overall: 20-13, Last Week: 12)

The 104-98 home loss that the Jazz suffered at the hands of the Raptors on Dec. 23 was a bit of a litmus test that they failed, but they appropriately followed with back-to-back wins over the Lakers and Sixers. They now clock in at seven games above .500.

6. Toronto Raptors (Overall: 22-10, Last Week: 6)

After winning nine of 10 and being one of the few teams in the league to have a better road record than home record, the Raps suffered back-to-back road losses for just the second time this season, losing to the Warriors on Wednesday and the Suns on Thursday.

5. Los Angeles Clippers (Overall: 22-12, Last Week: 2)

After missing three straight games, Chris Paul returned to the lineup in Tuesday’s loss to the Pelicans. He had 21-8-6 stat line that was impressive, but without Blake Griffin, they may be hard-pressed to keep the third seed out West. They enter play on Dec. 30 just 1.5 games ahead of the seventh seed.

4. Houston Rockets (Overall: 24-9, Last Week: 5)

Friday’s loss to the Grizz was just the second over their last 15 games, and thanks to some injuries to the Clippers, the Rockets—a team many expected to be in the lottery this May—are the third seed out in the Western Conference. Wonders never cease.

3. Golden State Warriors (Overall: 28-5, Last Week: 1)

The Dubs rebounded from the Christmas Day meltdown by defeating the Raptors at home—the first game of a 10-game stretch where nine are played at home. Still, we simply can’t forgive the Dubs for another Cleveland meltdown, even if Kevin Durant should have gotten a whistle that never came. The reign at the top ends at the hands of the Cavs. Yet again.

2. San Antonio Spurs (Overall: 26-6, Last Week: 3)

What’s most impressive about the Spurs (other than their 21-3 record over their past 24 games) is the fact that they are currently third in points allowed, third in points per 100 possessions, and sixth in points scored per 100 possessions. Popovich deserves Coach of the Year consideration.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers (Overall: 24-7, Last Week: 4)

The Cavs may have lost to the Pistons on Monday, but after erasing a 14-point fourth quarter deficit against the Warriors on Christmas Day and holding off a late surge by the Celtics on Thursday, it’s fair to say that the Cavs, who have won 11 of their past 13 games, are back on top of the basketball world.

With New Year’s upon us, the next flagpole during the course of the NBA season will be the All-Star break. Between then and now, we hope the Los Angeles Clippers get healthy and the San Antonio Spurs continue thriving. They may be the only competition that the Warriors have out West—though a few other teams may take exception to that remark.

As for the Cavaliers out East? Heaven help the rest of the conference, especially with Kyrie Irving channeling his inner LeBron James by looking for teammates and becoming the best closer in the game since Kobe Bryant.