NBA Power Rankings Heading into the Winter Holidays

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Anthony Romero-Kleve, Author
December 9, 2016

  1. Golden State Warriors

Kevin Durant is filling his role with his new team./ The only major loss is losing Andrew Bogut.

  1. 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.

  1. Los Angeles Clippers

The always-impressive DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin still catching dimes from Chris Paul will rank high within the NBA.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. Toronto Raptors

Yet again, they are neck and neck with Houston, but Houston has played a harder schedule.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. New York Knicks

The theoretical super-team got on a four-game win streak, and Carmelo has a supporting cast.

  1. Boston Celtics

Undefeated in their division is a great stat, but a poor home record doesn’t help.

  1. Charlotte Hornets

Flip-flopping on their win-lose streaks, they may not be here long if they can’t become consistent again.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. Chicago Bulls

They beat Cleveland, then fell down a steep slope and lost against weak teams.

  1. Indiana Pacers

The Pacers, who are 4-2 in their last six games, have beat the Clippers.

  1. Orlando Magic

Climbing back after a slow start, Orlando can win three games in a row and then start a bad losing streak.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. Sacramento Kings

They’re still bad, but only fourth in the Pacific division.

  1. New Orleans Pelicans

Anthony Davis is great, and his team has started to help him, boosting New Orleans high up the charts.

  1. Denver Nuggets

1-4 in their last 5 games makes it harder to make .500, and harder to be a series competitor.

  1. Washington Wizards

Fifteenth in the league for scoring, but 22nd for points allowed is killing Washington, especially behind John Wall’s 24-point average.

  1. Miami Heat

With the dawn of the big three over and gone, GM Pat Riley will need to rebuild his former glorious team.

  1. Minnesota Timberwolves

Ricky Rubio, Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins are truly talented, but still have too many flaws on the defense.

 

  1. Phoenix Suns

Tenth in points in the league is negated by 29th in points allowed.

  1. Brooklyn Nets

They beat out the Suns because they have a win streak going and defeated the Clippers.

  1. 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.

  1. Philadelphia 76ers

A team whose stat leaders are all riding the injury list doesn’t show as much potential as some would hope.