Power Rankings – 1/10
By: Devin Zanskas
- Golden State Warriors
On Christmas Day, the Warriors proved that they deserve to stay at the top of everyone’s rankings by defeating the healthier Suns behind 33 points from Steph and 19 from Porter
2. Phoenix Suns
Besides being a complete team, an advantage that the Suns had was their avoidance of the H&S protocols. Sadly, they lost 2 starters in the 2 days after Christmas to the protocols
3. Utah Jazz
Tony Jones joined The Athletic NBA Show, and the analyst suggested that the Jazz could make a splash on the trade market, which makes sense given the amount of pressure they’re under
4. Chicago Bulls
Everyone’s favorite story right now is the Demar Derozan renaissance after he became the first player in consecutive days to hit back-to-back game winning buzzer beaters in NBA history
5. Milwaukee Bucks
After regaining their troops from the H&S protocols, the Bucks ripped off a six-game win streak against some average-at-best competition
6. Memphis Grizzlies
Ben Taylor of the Thinking Basketball podcast stated that he can’t see the Grizzlies losing homecourt advantage now that they’re 5.5 above the Mavericks
7. Brooklyn Nets
Kyrie Irving was controversially slated to make his season debut until he immediately entered the H&S protocols. It will be interesting to see if he still plays once other Nets are available
8. Miami Heat
Zach Lowe stated on his show that he still sees the Heat as having the third-most championship equity despite the Bulls’ buzz. That may not be the hottest take though given their perseverance
9. Philadelphia ‘76ers
Joel Embiid dropped 32 or more points in five games during a six-game stretch, and is still keeping the ‘6ers on course during the continued absence of Ben Simmons
10. Cleveland Cavaliers
The hearts of many fans were broken when they heard the news of Ricky Rubio’s torn left ACL. However, it was a smart move on their part to act fast and find a facsimile to Rubio with Rondo
11. Charlotte Hornets
Following LaMelo Ball’s career-high last month versus the Bucks, the Hornets winning back-to-back games against them with Giannis and Khris active is a major accomplishment
12. Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic climbed into the top three of the MVP ladder after having nearly three games in a row with 20 points and 20 rebounds
13. Dallas Mavericks
Despite Kristaps Porzingis entering the H&S protocols on January 3rd, the Mavericks haven’t lost a game since the new year
14. LA Clippers
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes, Kawhi Leonard has increased his workload, and could return this season. This would reshape everyone’s projections heading into the playoffs
15. Los Angeles Lakers
Even though the Lakers went on a 5-game losing steak within the past month, LeBron has put up 31 or more points in all but 2 games since the start of that streak, and he’s now 2nd in scoring
16. Toronto Raptors
Beginning on New Year’s Eve, the Raptors have won six games in a row against three top-eight seeds including the Clippers, Bucks, and Jazz, and Fred VanVleet is making his Allstar case
17. Washington Wizards
After going 1-7 over an eight-game stretch in December, the Wizards have hovered right around .500, which is closer to expectations than their recent slump or their unsustainably hot start
18. New York Knicks
The fastest redemption arc of all-time occurred when Kemba returned from the Knicks’ bench to drop only the seventh Christmas Day triple double in the history of the league
19. Minnesota Timberwolves
No matter what surprises life throws at fans of the association, they must find comfort in relying on the Timberwolves to respond to three consecutive wins with three losses in a row
20. Atlanta Hawks
The hottest rumor for fans to fantasize about to date is idea of a potential John Collins and Ben Simmons swap. With a little extra sweetener from the Hawks, both teams might be in business
21. Boston Celtics
With the voting now open, it’s becoming a closer debate between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown related to representing the Celtics at the Allstar game. Tatum is still the favorite though
22. Indiana Pacers
After Christmas, the Pacers went on a six-game losing streak. However, no one thought they’d see Lance Stephenson post 30 points in 2022
23. San Antonio Spurs
Over an eight-game stretch, the Spurs went 1-7. However, that’s not the most surprising news out of San Antonio because Dejounte Murray missed four of those games
24. Portland Trail Blazers
According to nba.com, Dame will not join the Portland on their 6-game road trip because of his abdominal injury. That has Kevin O’Conner wondering if he has played his last game of the year
25. Sacramento Kings
Excluding a solid win over the Heat, the Kings haven’t had the best luck since the new year with a season-long five-game losing streak
26. New Orleans Pelicans
Some impressive victories have sneakily brought the Pelicans only a half game away from a play-on spot. Although, their record will still likely rule Ingram out of another All-star selection
27. Houston Rockets
Covering the Rockets lately must’ve be exhausting given some of the recent drama with Porter Jr. and Wood. However, the Rockets were smart to send a message with one-game suspensions
28. OKC Thunder
Winning three games in a row against the Clippers, Grizzlies, and Nuggets might have inspired some hope for Shai’s first Allstar appearance, but then they went 2-7 over a nine-game stretch
29. Detroit Pistons
Naturally, Cade Cunningham has become more comfortable after each game played, but the Pistons were also helped by Saddiq Bey recently scoring a career-high 34 points
30. Orlando Magic
At the halfway mark of the regular season, the Magic are the only team with single-digit wins. Although, they did win back-to-back games against the Nets and Hawks at the end of December
