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The NBA season has already many a thrillWe are back with our weekly power rankings and while the top four stay the same (OKC and Miami flip-flopped), the movement up and down teams 2-10 in the Eastern Conference necessitates movement in our rankings here. It looks like this will be modus operendus in the East as none of the teams look good enough to create separation and thus, will be constantly moving up and down the standings.The West is more defined, with the top three teams clearly above the rest, then a second tier of four, before you have a mad scramble for the 8th seed. Before we dive into the rankings, let’s take a look at the Christmas Day games, when the NBA will have five games throughout one of its showcase days. The first game on the dockett is New Orleans at Miami, a game that features an under-achieving team vs one of those East teams trying to establish itself as the second best team in the league. Next up we will have Chicago at Oklahoma City, where the Bulls will try and right their slumping ways against one of the league’s top four teams.Following that game is the one everyone is looking forward to, the Finals rematch, Cleveland at Golden State. Then you get one Texas team that is laying waste to the league in the San Antonio Spurs at another Texas team trying to get on track in the Houston Rockets. And finally the night closes out with what should beat down with the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Los Angeles Clippers.
#10 Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are the first new team in the power rankings this week, coming off a big home win vs the Houston Rockets, one of the teams they were battling for this final spot. The Magic have been getting help from up and down the roster, with 11 players playing 20 games and averaging double-digit minutes in those games.
They are a balanced scoring team, with Vucevic leading the way with 16.7 points per game, one of five double-digit scorers on the team. Between Evan Fournier and Victor Oladipo, the Magic need these two to raise their game a little if they want to be a serious threat in the East playoff picture.
The Magic have three home games this week, including two against the bottom feeders of the league in New Orleans and Brooklyn. The big game will be vs the Heat, who will be coming off a game the day before. Win this after the big Rockets win on Wednesday and people will begin looking at the Magic like a true playoff team and not just an up an comer still a year away.
#9 Detroit Pistons
Fresh off a 2-1 week and riding a 6-4 record in the last 10 games, the Detroit Pistons make their debut in the power rankings at the number nine slot. Stan Van Gundy has been morphing the team into his image, and as the season progresses, you see more and more of the type of team he led to the NBA Finals with the Orlando Magic in 2009.
The Pistons have one of the top 1-2 punches in the East in Reggie Jackson and the dominant Andre Drummond, and if they can get a bench to start showing more production (they hope Jodie Meeks and Stanley Johnson can provide the stability), they could be a scary team come playoff time.
Their upcoming schedule isn’t too taxing, but they do have a big game against the Boston Celtics on Saturday. The Celtics are one of the teams that the Pistons will be competing with for the playoffs, and despite the Celtics being on the outside looking in at the playoffs, they boast a strong statistical profile that suggests they are better than their record. Get a win here and the Pistons could hold a valuable tiebreaker come Christmas time.
#8 Atlanta Hawks
Fresh off a 4-0 week and a 7-3 record in the past 10 games, the Hawks find themselves as the number two team in the East. Now their record is a little better than their play would suggest, as they only have a 1.5 point scoring differential, but they have started to play better and better. They are once again doing is with a by committee approach, getting contribution up and down the roster and forcing teams to cover everyone on the floor.
They have a light week this week, only playing three games. First up is the New York Knicks at home, a team that has had their fair share of ups and downs and might be missing Carmelo Anthony for the game. After that they have a tough road back to back, facing the Indiana Pacers and then the Houston Rockets. A split in this matchup will be huge, especially if that win comes against the Pacers, who I believe will be right with them in the standings at the end of the year and any tiebreaker will help.
#7 Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have had a rough week, going 1-3, losing by double digits on the road to both the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs before coming back home and losing a tight game to the Sacramento Kings in a game where they had to rally back from a double-digit deficit just to make it close.
They have seen their shooting go up and down, and they are still a team that struggles to get easy baskets at times since the only reliable penetrator they have right now is Paul George. The Pacers desperately need Monta Ellis to perk up on offense and give them the much needed ball handling juice they signed him for.
This week, the Pacers have two big Eastern Conference games this week playing the Atlanta Hawks at home and traveling to the Chicago Bulls. They get a rest day before each game, which should give them the necessary legs they need to knock their shots down. Go through another week like they just had and the Pacers could find themselves on the outside looking in at the Eastern playoff picture.
#6 Miami Heat
The Heat have been an interesting team this season, seemingly putting together some very good play only to follow it up with a few underwhelming games in a row. They took two tough losses this week vs Eastern Playoff teams, including a one-point loss at home vs the Detroit Pistons that would have been huge.
The Pistons are surging right now and the Heat can’t afford to drop close home games when razor thin margins separate the Eastern Conference Playoff teams. They also need to get their defense back on track as they have seen it dip to below average over the last 10 or so games after being downright dominant to start the season.
On Christmas, they host the New Orleans Pelicans in a game that will have one of the more interesting matchups of the day. Chris Bosh vs Anthony Davis is a classice old vs young battle, original prototype vs the new and improved version. Bosh will have to keep Davis on his toes while on offense, making him challenge Bosh all over the floor, including in the paint where Bosh can drift away from too often at times. On defense, keeping Davis in the 15 foot and deeper range will be imperative to success.
#5 Toronto Raptors
The Raptors finished the week an up and down 2-2, posting good wins over the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat coupled with a loss to the Charlotte Hornets and a rather ugly home loss to the lowly Sacramento Kings. The player of the week for the Raptors was no doubt Bismack Biyombo who averaged 16.5 rebounds and routinely brought defense to the floor as was clearing the glass like a madman. The offseason acquisition is proving to be a solid player off the bench due to his high caliber defense, and if he can just catch the ball and do a little something on offense, he will be a top flight back up big.
The Raptors are looking at a three game week coming up, playing two underachieving Eastern conference teams (Bucks and Wizards) sandwich around a big Eastern Conference playoff game vs the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors are 6-4 in their last ten games and have a very good chance to go 3-0 this week and give themselves a little cushion in the jumbled Eastern Conference.
#4 Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder had a solid week, rebounding from a tough road loss to the Cavs where they lost an eight point lead in the third quarter to finish the week with three straight wins. Those wins, two absolute annihilations of the Los Angeles Lakers sandwiched around a come from behind win against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers game should be one that puts the league on notice, that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook seem to back to their full strenght, dominating selfs. They may even be better than they have ever been.
Their next week isn’t to taxing, as they get the sturggling Chicago Bulls at home on Christmas, before facing three straight teams that are under .500. The Thunder seem to banking on the fact that they have two of the top six players in the league and they will be able to dominate every game when the playoffs roll around. It seems that the past two seasons have served their big two well, forcing them to play without their sidekick and push and develop their skills to a higher level. That work look like it is paying off.
#3 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are finally healthy, getting back to full strength when Kyrie Irving came back to action this past weekend vs the Philadelphia 76ers. What’s very encouraging about the Cavs season so far is that they have been playing pretty well while less than full strength, allowing certain subs to get more playing time and letting LeBron and Kevin Love develop some valuable chemistry in their games.
As they slowly incorporate Kyrie back into the fold (17 minutes in his first game, 19 minutes in his second), the Cavs only stand to get stronger.
Last Thursday, they had a big win vs the Thunder, where they came back from an eight-point deficit in the third quarter to win the game running away. It was an impressive showing against one of the top teams in the league, and they will have to have another great game on Christmas when they play the Warriors on the road. Will Kyrie be ready to take on Stephen Curry or with Matthew Dellavedova have to play 30+ minutes?
Will the Cavs go big against the Warriors small lineup or try and match them small with Tristian Thompson or even LeBron at the five? It should be a great game
#2 San Antonio Spurs
Another 20 point win by the Spurs on Wednesday, another team held under 90 points (Timberwolves had 83), and another reason why they are right there with the Warriors when talking about the best teams in the league. Before that, they knocked off two of the better teams in the league, beating the Clippers by eight in a come from behind win and the Pacers by 14. In that Pacers game, Kawhi Leonard sent a message to fellow small forward Paul George as to who is the top challenger to the thrown of James and Durant, holding George to his worst shooting night of his career, 1-14.
They will close out this week taking on Houston on the road on Christmas in what, could (should) be a pretty good game, provided the Rockets bring their intensity, followed up with a game the next night vs the Denver Nuggets. Knowing the Spurs, they will turn both games into a beatdown of passing, shooting, and impeccable defense all while resting some starters in one of the games. These guys are a machine and just keep rolling.
#1 Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are in the midst of a strech of four games in 13 days, getting some much needed rest time after their seven game road trip. Since the last rankings, they had another tough battle against the Milwaukee Bucks, who looked like they were going to hand the Dubs their second loss in as many games vs the Bucks until Luke Walton reinstered the starting lineup into the game with nine minutes left and watched them run the opposition off the floor. The Warriors face another team who gave them trouble on their most recent road trip in the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, but with the Jazz missing center Rudy Gobert, they should face an easier opponent.
However, the game every fan really cares about his Christmas day vs the Cavaliers. With Kyrie Irving back, we will get to see these two teams at near full strength match up against each other in what should be a very entertaining matchup. It will be interesting to see if the Warriors can play with their preferred fast pace against the Cavs, something that helped them take control of the Finals last season.
Guess the Lakers players!
