Dwight Howard and the Rockets fell out of the Power Rankings this week.Another week is in the books, and the top five remains basically the same, with only one minor shift. The Warriors keep chugging along, currently on pace to win 75 games in the season which would break the single-season record of 72 wins by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.Around the rest of the league, the Memphis Grizzlies are starting round into form, making their first appearance in the Power Rankings at number nine.The Houston Rockets, after their first cameo in the rankings, have dropped out after another week of uneven play, sparking more questions about if this team will ever play with enough focus this season to approach preseason expectations.The Indiana Pacers, are now two months into some very up and down play, while the Miami Heat are looking to right the ship of a wayward January and re-enter the top 10. Finally, the Dallas Mavericks are chugging along the outside of the top 10, hoping to break in and show promise of a first round upset.
#10 Chicago Bulls
Derrick Rose needs to start playing better if the Bulls want consistency.
Last Week: 2-2
Another week, another period of inconsistent play for the Bulls who just can’t get any momentum going this season. Derrick Rose still hasn’t come close to the decent play that his team has been expecting from him, watching his shooting percentages go all over the place like a seismograph during an earth quake. It is very possible that his vision is still blurry from when he broke his orbital bone right before training camp, but time is ticking for that to come around. The Bulls are looking at another lost season from a team that was supposed to battle LeBron for East supremacy when they came together six years ago.
Next Week: @ Denver, @ Minnesota, @ Charlotte, vs Atlanta
The Bulls have to get three wins this week, there is just no way around it. They get two of the bottom feeders in the West and can’t let games like this slip by them as we get later into the season. They end the week with a huge tilt against the Hawks, a team they are currently .5 games behind in the standings. In an East where the middle is all jumbled, any win vs a fellow playoff combatant can go a long way when it comes to tiebreakers at the end of the season.
#9 Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol’s stellar play has matched the Grizzlies current run.
Last Week: 4-0
The Grizzlies enjoyed an undefeated week, helping wash some of the sting out of their mouths from a loss to the Timberwolves to end the week before. Since falling to 16-16, the Grizzlies have gone 13-4 and are beginning to resemble the perennial Western Conference contender we have known them as. Due in part to their early season floundering, they are going to be without an All Star for the first time in several years, but it could serve as added motivation for a proud team that expects more than what they have shown so far this season. If they can start rounding their defense back into top 10 shape, they will be a tough out in the first round.
Next Week: @ New York, vs Dallas, vs Portland, @ Brooklyn
The Grizzlies are staring at another week where they can go 3-1 and even 4-0, further enhancing the notion that they are getting on track at the exact right time. They have a tricky back to back with New York and Dallas, but the flight isn’t overwhelming and the Mavs will be playing a back to back as well, traveling in from San Antonio so they won’t be at a disadvantage.
#8 Atlanta Hawks
Jeff Teague’s trade speculation might be a reason the Hawks have been inconsistent of late.
Last Week: 2-3
Seemingly hitting their stride two weeks ago, the Hawks are back to their up and down ways including losing two games to fellow Eastern Conference playoff rivals, the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat. These two losses were especially disheartening due to the nature of them, as they were blownout in both games. In each, they were unable to get any type of offensive consistency going, looking out of sorts as the Heat and Pacers continually forced them into bad shots. With rumors swirling about potential Jeff Teague trades, the Hawks cannot afford to let the outside talk derail them as they look to get their offense back into the top ten.
Next Week: vs Indiana, @ Orlando, vs Orlando, @ Chicago
Atlanta has another full week, taking on those Pacers again in addition to a tussle with the Bulls, who are just .5 games back in the standings. What would normally be a game that you consider easy against the Magic is made tough by the games being a home and home back to back. The Hawks desperately need this week to go their way in order to avoid losing valuable ground in the playoff race, as any loss threatens to drop you two or three spots.
#7 Boston Celtics
Avery Bradley is one of the many good players on the Celtics.
Last Week: 4-1
Boston had another nice week, currently in the midst of a 10-3 record since they were last at .500 at 19-19. Brad Stevens continues to work his magic with a roster bereft of a traditional top two player on a playoff team and has the Celtics at 4th in the Eastern Conference. Their lone loss of the week, against the Orlando Magic, was looking to put a damper on the team, but they came right back and notched wins vs the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. The win vs the Pistons was especially satisfying as it gave them a crucial road win against a team trailing them in the standings.
Next Week: @ Cleveland, vs Sacramento, @ Milwaukee, vs LA Clippers
The two matchups to look for this week are against fellow power ranking teams the Cavs and the Clippers. These two games will test the Celtics as they will be going against teams with two to three players better than anyone they can trot out on the court. Get a split here and it will only help the perception that their statistical profile is more than just an abberation. The funnest game of the week will no doubt be the matchup against Sacramento, where a 125-120 score is not out of the realm of possibility.
#6 Los Angeles Clippers
Jamal Crawford was huge in the Clippers win over the Bulls this past week.
Last Week: 4-1
The Clippers were on their way to a strong, 5-0 week before the suffered a very rough outing vs the Minnesota Timberwolves who had lost 15 of 17 games since the start of January before beating the Clippers. This is the precise game that is still giving people pause when talking about the Clippers who sometimes suffer lack of concentration from game to game. Even without Blake Griffin, this should have been a win, especially after they had had two days off. In a game earlier in the week, the bench did show some life as they helped the Clippers run away from the Chicago Bulls in a 27 point victory. The Clippers will need more of this to survive the next month without Blake.
Next Week: @ Orlando, @ Miami, @ Philadelphia, @ Boston
The Clippers head out on a four game, East coast trip that is light on travel with no back to back games involved. Even with their injuries, they should be able to go 2-2 with ease and 3-1 is easily in play. The game with Boston should be fun, as it will be interesting to see how Brad Stevens looks to take away Chris Paul and JJ Redick.
#5 Toronto Raptors
Jonas Valanciunas could be the biggest key for the Raptors this season.
Last Week: 4-1
The Raptors saw their 11 games winning streak come to an end with a stunning, 19 point loss to the hands of the lowly Denver Nuggets. In that game, Jonas Valanciunas was ripped apart by the Nuggets rookie center Nikola Jokic, who dropped 27 points and 14 rebounds. However, don’t let that one game detract from what the Raptors have been doing in the month of January, as they have built a five-game cushion from the third seed in the conference and are within striking distance of the Cavs in first, should they falter. If the Raptors continue to get improved play from Valanciunas, look out Cleveland.
Next Week: Portland, Detroit, Minnesota
The Raptors finish up a five game road trip and they should be able to go 2-1, as they have no back to back games. If you are free on Thursday, check out their game vs the Portland Trail Blazers as two of the top backcourts will go head to head. All Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan will have their hands full with the Blazers Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum and this matchup will go a long way in determining who will win the contest.
#4 Oklahoma City Thunder
Russell Westbrook’s triple double helped topple the Magic this week.
Last Week: 4-0
The Thunder keep flying under the radar, now with an 8.0 scoring differential and 8.6 net rating. Any other year you have a shoo in title contender, but right now they still seem to be a top defense away from truly contending with the Warriors and Spurs. The good thing for the Thunder is they seem to be getting better every month, and they do have two of the top seven or so players in the league on their team. Case in point, Wednesday night they beat the Orlando Magic 117-114 in a game featuring some bad defense, but they got 37 points from Kevin Durant and 24 points, 19 rebounds, and 14 assists from Russell Westbrook.
Next Week: Golden State, Phoenix
A light week for the Thunder, but it features one of the premier games of the season, a road tilt in Oakland against the defending champs. You know Westbrook and Durant will be ready to bring the fire and competitiveness needed to match the Warriors, but it will be up to the rest of their teammates to not get overwhelmed by the situation. If they don’t, we could have an epic showdown featuring five All Stars and some fabulous role players.
#3 Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Love and the Cavs were very happy with how he played against the Spurs this week.
Last Week: 4-1
With the Cavs now Tyronn Lue’s team, they seemed to get more comfortable with him calling the shots and churned out a week that saw them notch three wins over playoff teams, including two division foes in Detroit and Indiana. The big win was the Saturday game against San Antonio though, which saw them finally get off the snide against the top two teams in the league. They got Kevin Love involved early on, as the big man had 18 points and eight rebounds in the first half alone, and he played one of his best games of the season. If Lue can get him and Kyrie Irving humming along, their 30 point loss to the Warriors a couple weeks ago won’t matter.
Next Week: vs Boston, vs New Orleans, vs Sacremento, vs LA Lakers
All home games as the Cavs look to build on their 2.5 game lead in the East. They face three of the worst teams in the West and should be able to cake walk through those teams, as they each offer little resistance on the defensive end. In the Boston game, see if Iman Shumpert can continue to pest newly minted All Star Isaish Thomas, something he has continually done for the past two seasons.
#2 San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan’s absence has shown vs the elite teams in the league.
Last Week: 3-1
The Spurs rebounded from a blowout at the hands of the Warriors the previous week, with a thrashing of the Houston Rockets, possibly some more payback for the narrow loss they suffered to Houston on Christmas. LaMarcus Aldridge was back to dominating in the mid and low post area and punishing the Rockets power forwards. He also came out and destroyed the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, scoring 36 points on 12-20 shooting, while also going a perfect 12-12 from the line. The lone blemish was a tough, but ultimately semi blowout in Cleveland that showed more for the Cavs than it did for the Spurs. Now if only they can get Tim Duncan back on the court.
Next Week: Dallas, LA Lakers, Miami, Orlando
The Spurs play of three of the next four games on the road, the latter two games being part of a larger, eight-game road trip that won’t see them return home until March. The game to watch this week will be when they travel to Miami on Tuesday and take on a similar slow the pace down, defensive minded team. My prediction is the Spurs bring their patented defense and shut down the Heat’s anemic attack.
#1 Golden State Warriors
Steph flexed on the Wizards to the tune of 51 points on Wednesday.
Last Week: 4-0
Another week down, another week undefeated. Such is life when you are 45-4 on the season and routinely punking opponents. This week featured three more double-digit wins, and weirdly, the one that wasn’t was against the worst team in the league, the Philadelphia 76ers, in a game where the Warriors led by 20 in the fourth quarter. What was the main news for the team, however was Stephen Curry erupting for 51 points on Wednesday in a victory over the Washington Wizards. He drained seven threes in the first quarter, in route to 35 points in the first half and 11 three-pointers for the game. One of these days, Steph will break the record for threes, it is only a matter of time at this point.
Next Week: vs Oklahoma City, vs Houston, @ Phoenix
Finally, Saturday night we get our first Oklahoma City-Golden State matchup of the season. Russell Westbrook vs Stephen Curry will be the price of admission, but that is only one storyline for the game. The Warriors long armed perimeter defenders vs Kevin Durant will be tantalizing, as will Draymond Green vs Serge Ibaka and the Thunder’s own small ball lineup. Don’t miss the game.
