NBA: Monthly Power Rankings
The Christmas Day games are behind us, and as we all know, that's when the NBA season really gets going on a new level. The contenders will begin to separate themselves from the pretenders. The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the New York Knicks to get the day started, which was followed by the Golden State Warriors beating the Cleveland Cavaliers for the fourth time in five games, in yet another NBA Finals rematch. After that, the Washington Wizards defeated the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the Houston Rockets. Then to close out the night, the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers.
READ: November Power Rankings.
1. Golden State Warriors (28-7, +2): The Warriors being at the top of the rankings shouldn't be shocking. It feels right. That's how it should be. They've been the best team in the league for much of the last four years. Even without Stephen Curry, who has missed the last 12 games, Golden State has gone 11-1, as Kevin Durant has emerged as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, as well as a potential MVP. In their most recent game, the Warriors defeated the Utah Jazz, 126-101, to improve to 14-4 at home. Durant continues to look incredible, posting 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists to propel them to another victory.
2. Houston Rockets (25-8, +0): The Rockets are 15-1 when Chris Paul plays, including victories over the San Antonio Spurs and the Warriors, but he hasn't been able to play for much of the last week, and it's meant a four game losing streak for the franchise. And in two of those games James Harden dropped 51 points. It's becoming more and more clear that this team needs Paul if they're going to make any noise in the playoffs. The losses have come against the Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Thunder, and Celtics, but the most recent one is the worst of all because they led by 26 points in the first half. Harden still managed 34 points and 10 assists.
3. Boston Celtics (29-10, -2): The Celtics were on the other end of that comeback as they were able to take down the Rockets at home. Even though Boston was just 5-5 in their last 10 games heading into the matchup with Houston, they're still the top team in the Eastern Conference. And with this victory, they have now taken down both of the teams ahead of them in these rankings: Golden State and Houston. Not many teams can say that, especially before January. Kyrie Irving is still playing at a high level, and it seemed like his focus on defense has increased lately. He went for 26 points and four assists in the 99-98 win.
4. Toronto Raptors (23-10, +3): The Raptors have the second best record in the East and have gone 11-3 in their last 14 games, which has resulted in moving up three spots. However, two of those three losses in the last month have happened in the last week to the Dallas Mavericks and Thunder. In their most recent game at Oklahoma City, the Raptors were blown out 124-107, even though they were leading 38-32 at the end of the fist quarter. Kyle Lowry couldn't really get it going in this one, only totaling 13 points. Although, he was able to add 10 assists and four boards. Toronto is 11-9 on the road this season.
5. San Antonio Spurs (25-11, +1): The Spurs aren't exactly back to their normal team since NBA All-Star and MVP candidate, Kawhi Leonard, just recently returned from an ankle injury and is getting used to things again. And it doesn't help that Tony Parker missed a ton of time as well. But now that they are healthy, San Antonio is starting to play really good ball, as they've gone 12-4 in the last month. In their most recent game against the New York Knicks, the Spurs led by one at halftime, and carried that into a 119-107 win. Pau Gasol led the way with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. The Spurs are an impressive 17-2 on their home floor.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers (24-11, -1): The Cavaliers really had things rolling, until they traveled to the state of California. After losing to the Warriors on Christmas Day, which is understandable, they slipped up and lost to the Sacramento Kings, 109-95. Cleveland trailer for much of the game, but were still within reach until the fourth quarter, as they were only able to score 15 points. Cleveland is now 10-7 on the road. Lebron James didn't have his best game, only scoring 16 points, but his average game is better than most, as he also added 14 assists and 10 boards. He has really upped his assists lately, getting his teammates more involved.
7. Minnesota Timberwolves (22-14, +2): The Timberwolves started the season 12-8 in their first 20 games and are 10-6 since, and have climbed a couple of spots in our rankings. It's also important to add that they are in first place in arguably the best division in the league, the Northwest. However, Minnesota wasn't able to hang on after leading the Milwaukee Bucks by 20 points in the third quarter. As most young teams need to learn, they have to figure out how to close out games on a consistent basis. The T-Wolves are 10-8 on the road after this one, and they were led by Karl-Anthony Towns' 22 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-15, +11): The Thunder are finally starting to play like the team we all expected them to be as the beginning of the season After going just 8-11 to start the year, they have gone 12-4 since, and have now beaten the Warriors, Spurs, Rockets, Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets. It seems like this team has taken the next step because Carmelo Anthony has realized that he needed to take a step back and Russell Westbrook is now in complete control when on the floor. They're 14-4 on their home floor. Against the Raptors last night, Westbrook went for 30 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds.
9. Detroit Pistons (19-15, -5): The Pistons are one of the hardest teams to wrap your mind around because they play like they can beat anyone, and then they lose to a lower level team. This happened last month when the Pistons beat the Warriors and Clippers, and then lost to the Lakers. Then they defeated the Indiana Pacers, just to lose to the Orlando Magic. Going into this game, the Magic had lost nine straight games. This isn't a good look for Detroit, who are fourth in the Eastern Conference, despite the 102-89 loss. The Pistons are just 8-10 on the road which will need to get better. Andre Drummond had 17 points and 18 boards in the loss.
10. Denver Nuggets (19-16, +1): The Nuggets jumped up one spot, as they replaced the Philadelphia 76ers in the top-10. Denver isn't going to blow you out of the water, but they play good ball, and would be the sixth seed in the West if the playoffs started today. Nikola Jokic has been great, as he is leading the team in points, rebounds, and assists per game. He is putting up 16.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. Gary Harris has stepped it up as well, going for a much-needed 16.0 points per game. But those two guys weren't able to get the team to a win against Minnesota, losing 128-125, after trailing by 14 at halftime.
Second Tier:
11. Washington Wizards (19-16, +3)
12. Indiana Pacers (19-16, +0)
13. Milwaukee Bucks (18-15, +4)
14. New Orleans Pelicans (18-16, -1)
15. Miami Heat (18-16, +0)
16. Portland Trailblazers (17-16, -8)
17. New York Knicks (17-18, -1)
18. Philadelphia 76ers (15-18, -8)
19. Los Angeles Clippers (14-19, +1)
20. Utah Jazz (15-21, -2)
The Wizards have struggled against teams below the .500-mark, losing 10 games against such teams, and that happened again last night losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 113-99. Bradley Beal dropped 20 points. The Milwaukee Bucks earned a big win against the Timberwolves in their most recent game, and have looked like a different team since trading for Eric Bledsoe. He had 26 points, six assists, and three rebounds. The Clippers have been without Blake Griffin for much of the year, but he'll be back for their next game, as they're just 8-7 at home. To round of the second tier, the Utah Jazz have dropped two spots, going 6-10 in the last month.
Third Tier:
21. Chicago Bulls (12-22, +9)
22. Brooklyn Nets (12-22, +3)
23. Charlotte Hornets (12-22, -2)
24. Sacramento Kings (12-22, +3)
25. Los Angeles Lakers (11-22, -3)
26. Phoenix Suns (13-23, +0)
27. Orlando Magic (12-24, -3)
28. Memphis Grizzlies (11-24, -5)
29. Dallas Mavericks (11-25, -1)
30. Atlanta Hawks (9-25, -1)
The Bulls were dead last in our rankings at the end of November, but since then, they've gone 9-7 and have defeated the Bucks twice, as well as taking the Cavaliers down the wire. Nikola Mirotic has been the difference since returning from injury. However, the Bulls are still six games out of a playoff spot. The Brooklyn Nets have surged a bit lately, but 6-9 in their last 15 games still isn't good. They are 0-4 in the division, and are an abysmal 5-12 on the road. The Kings defeated the Cavs last night, behind a season-high 24 points from 40-year-old Vince Carter, but they're 5.5 games out of the eighth seed, and are just 6-11 on their home floor.
Photo Credit: Sporting News.
