NBA Power Rankings Heading into the Winter Holidays
December 9, 2016
- Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant is filling his role with his new team./ The only major loss is losing Andrew Bogut.
- San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs added Pau Gasol, a fantastic replacement for the retired Tim Duncan. Big men Pau, LaMarcus Aldridge, and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard create a huge contest in the paint.
- Los Angeles Clippers
The always-impressive DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin still catching dimes from Chris Paul will rank high within the NBA.
- Cleveland Cavaliers
Yes, they are reigning champions. Yes, they have LeBron, but they still play in a weak conference and don’t have the best division record.
- Houston Rockets
It’s hard to choose between Houston and Toronto, which are neck and neck at this point in the season, but Houston shows that they have played harder.
- Toronto Raptors
Yet again, they are neck and neck with Houston, but Houston has played a harder schedule.
- Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol asserted himself as a dominant center in the paint and is the point’s leader in Memphis, as well as the blocks leader.
- Oklahoma City Thunder
Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple-double and is earning one at least every other game; a strong player with a lack of support may hurt them come playoffs.
- Utah Jazz
They’re 7-1 in their last eight games and trying to steal the division from the Thunder. Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert lead the team with a lot of stats, but it’s working.
- New York Knicks
The theoretical super-team got on a four-game win streak, and Carmelo has a supporting cast.
- Boston Celtics
Undefeated in their division is a great stat, but a poor home record doesn’t help.
- Charlotte Hornets
Flip-flopping on their win-lose streaks, they may not be here long if they can’t become consistent again.
- Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard is still good, but the team isn’t. After a poor start, they are currently on a three-win streak and just have to keep rolling.
- Milwaukee Bucks
“The Greek Freak” is finally getting a lot of praise and is showing promise. They’re 4-1 in their last five games, including defeating LeBron.
- Detroit Pistons
They’re 6-2 in their last eight games and have beat a couple of good teams. That gets them to a good spot here.
- Chicago Bulls
They beat Cleveland, then fell down a steep slope and lost against weak teams.
- Indiana Pacers
The Pacers, who are 4-2 in their last six games, have beat the Clippers.
- Orlando Magic
Climbing back after a slow start, Orlando can win three games in a row and then start a bad losing streak.
- Los Angeles Lakers
This is the first time in a few years that the Lakers have shown potential. Head coach Luke Walton doesn’t win with an injured D’Angelo Russell.
- Atlanta Hawks
The former 10-5 Hawks would’ve made the top ten, but 1-7 in their last eight games has dropped Atlanta hard.
- Sacramento Kings
They’re still bad, but only fourth in the Pacific division.
- New Orleans Pelicans
Anthony Davis is great, and his team has started to help him, boosting New Orleans high up the charts.
- Denver Nuggets
1-4 in their last 5 games makes it harder to make .500, and harder to be a series competitor.
- Washington Wizards
Fifteenth in the league for scoring, but 22nd for points allowed is killing Washington, especially behind John Wall’s 24-point average.
- Miami Heat
With the dawn of the big three over and gone, GM Pat Riley will need to rebuild his former glorious team.
- Minnesota Timberwolves
Ricky Rubio, Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins are truly talented, but still have too many flaws on the defense.
- Phoenix Suns
Tenth in points in the league is negated by 29th in points allowed.
- Brooklyn Nets
They beat out the Suns because they have a win streak going and defeated the Clippers.
- Dallas Mavericks
The addition of Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut is great for their stats, but they still cannot connect as a team behind the aged Dirk Nowitski.
- Philadelphia 76ers
A team whose stat leaders are all riding the injury list doesn’t show as much potential as some would hope.