NBA · 10 months ago

NBA Power Rankings: Cavaliers Still Strong as NBA’s Best

Ben DiGiacomo

Host · Writer

30. Washington Wizards
The fate of the Washington Wizards currently rests in ping pong balls during the spring’s NBA Draft Lottery because they don’t have much of anything going for them right now outside of a few flashes from Bilal Coulibaly.

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1. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to hold onto the top spot of our NBA power rankings as they still sit atop the league with a 23-4 record. Everything has continued to go right for this squad as they’ve avoided the injury bug and continue to gain chemistry with each other on the court. We’re pumped for their Friday night bout against the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks.

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2. Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are still the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Championship at +200, but we’re not ready to put them in the No. 1 spot in our power rankings because the Cavs still deserve that honor with their record. It will be interesting to see how they approach the trade deadline, as they could certainly use some insurance behind Kristaps Porzingis, who suffered yet another injury on Sunday.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered their first real setback on Tuesday night in the NBA Cup Final, but that game doesn’t even go against their regular season record, so why should we hold it against them? This team is beyond legit, with pieces from top to bottom of the bench capable of stepping in and delivering whatever is needed.
4. Memphis Grizzlies
People keep on ignoring the Memphis Grizzlies, but they keep on winning games. Now sitting on an 18-9 record, it’s been contributions from everyone in the rotation that has catapulted the Grizzlies to near the top of the Western Conference. For as good as they’ve been, they likely won’t even have an All-Star!
5. Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are in a groove, winning 12 of their last 14 games. Most importantly, all their success can’t be solely attributed to Luka Doncic putting on a clinic. This team is more well-rounded than people give it credit for and has just as great of a chance to come out of the West as anyone.
6. Houston Rockets
One can argue that the Houston Rockets should take a big swing in the trade market and potentially land someone great like Jimmy Butler, but why should the Rockets want to mess with what they have going? Their success is fueled by their young talent, which is getting better each week. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it!
7. Milwaukee Bucks
After an early season disaster, the Milwaukee Bucks have figured it out and are back on the rise. They swept all of their NBA Cup games en route to clinching the championship on Tuesday night with a resounding defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bucks have been swept under the rug in most of the Eastern Conference contender talk, but if their young players continue to develop at the same rate, they could become a force to reckon with come April.
8. New York Knicks
The New York Knicks are in a great place right now to continue stacking wins. After their Thursday night game in Minnesota, their only game against a team with a winning record for the next two weeks will be against the injury-riddled Orlando Magic.
10. Phoenix Suns
Injuries have defined the Phoenix Suns' season, and with Kevin Durant back on the court, they can expect to climb back up the standings. They’re now 13-2 with him this season compared to 1-9 without him.
10. Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic is sitting in the driver’s seat to claim his fourth MVP. Still, the Denver Nuggets may need to climb up the standings a bit because the way they are playing collectively right now isn’t enough to swing the MVP balance Jokic’s way.
11. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves were in an ugly rut, but they appear to have pulled themselves out of it. They’ve now won six of their last seven games. A fun Thursday night against the New York Knicks awaits, featuring the return of Karl-Anthony Towns to Minnesota.
12. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic have built themselves a nice cushion as Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner continue to rehab from their injuries, but once they get back on the court, look out!
13. Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers have a revealing week ahead as they’ll hit the road to face Dallas twice and Memphis, but most importantly, Kawhi Leonard continues to get closer to his return.
14. Atlanta Hawks
No one is higher on the Atlanta Hawks than I am, and it was great to see them gain some national notoriety this past week as they defeated the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. While their 14-13 record doesn’t jump out, this is a sleeper team full of talent that will only climb the standings further.
15. Golden State Warriors
Maybe I’m being a little bit overreactive, but the Golden State Warriors are staring a collapse squarely in the face right now. They’ve lost eight of their last ten games in rather ugly fashion, but ideally, the acquisition of Dennis Schroder will alleviate some pressure off Stephen Curry in the backcourt.
16. Miami Heat
The Miami Heat have opened up trade discussions for Jimmy Butler, and all they seem to care about is accumulating assets to go star-hunting this offseason. Still, the Heat are hanging around the .500 mark and will certainly be an East playoff team at the minimum, likely even if Butler gets dealt away.
17. Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers have turned back into a mess, and JJ Redick’s frustration keeps rearing its ugly head. Thanks to an early season cushion, they’re still sitting above the .500 mark, but not many expect that to stick for much longer.
18. San Antonio Spurs
Not many positive or negative things can be said about the San Antonio Spurs as they continue to sit around the .500 mark. Still, it will be exciting to see Victor Wembanyama get his first introduction to Christmas Day basketball next week, where he’ll likely reside for the next 15 years.
19. Sacramento Kings
Once upon a time, I was extremely bullish on the Sacramento Kings, even going as far as saying they were a sleeper to come out of the Western Conference, but it’s clear this group doesn’t have it in then. Chemistry problems on the court continue to be unresolved, and the stars on this team continue to be unreliable and inconsistent.
20. Philadelphia 76ers
Just as the Philadelphia 76ers give you hope, they find a way to strip it away. Last Sunday, we finally saw a game where Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey played together, which looked unbelievable. Of course, Embiid suffered a sinus fracture, and Jared McCain tore his meniscus in the next game. Still, George and Maxey should be capable of keeping the 76ers somewhat in the postseason hunt unless they opt to tank for ping-pong balls.
21. Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers just don’t have any sort of it-factor about them right now. The last team they beat, which had a record of over .500, was the Heat on November 17. They’ll have a chance to break that streak as their upcoming schedule is a gauntlet, with games against Phoenix, Golden State, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, and Boston twice across the next two weeks.
22. Chicago Bulls
Speculation continues to swirl about the potential that the Chicago Bulls will finally rip the band-aid off and deal away guys like Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic in the coming weeks. Still, I’ll believe it when I see it.
23. Detroit Pistons
I may have overstepped earlier in the season by calling the Detroit Pistons a playoff team, but that doesn’t mean I’ll slow down my belief that Cade Cunningham should be an All-Star starter in the East. He’s looked phenomenal, averaging roughly 24 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds per game. Hopefully, the NBA does the right thing.
24. Brooklyn Nets
After a promising start to the year, the Brooklyn Nets look to finally be bottoming out as they’ve lost six of their last seven in mostly ugly fashion, enhancing the belief that they’ll steer towards a full-blown sell-off at the trade deadline.
25. Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors were hoping to be a playoff team this season. While that doesn’t look to be happening, RJ Barrett has finally looked like the player he was hyped up to be, averaging roughly 25 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in December thus far.
26. Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have taken some big swings in the draft recently, but none have been bigger than Scoot Henderson. They’ve given Scoot every opportunity and a long leash over the past year and a half, yet he struggles with efficiency and an expanded offensive game. He doesn’t appear to be the franchise's future as he was once lauded to be, so it may be time for the Blazers to redirect their rebuild elsewhere.
27. Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets have dropped ten of their last eleven games, but they just got LaMelo Ball back from a brief absence, taking some of the load off of Brandon Miller, who has seemed to be too overmatched as the No. 1 option.
28. Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz wish they had accepted one of the huge offers they received for Lauri Markkanen this offseason. He continues to underwhelm this season, while the other young players might have been even more disappointing.
29. New Orleans Pelicans
We’ll see how the New Orleans Pelicans elect to approach the weeks leading up to the NBA trade deadline because it seems they have finally accepted that they won’t get anywhere with this current core due to too many repeated injuries to keep track of.
30. Washington Wizards
The fate of the Washington Wizards currently rests in ping pong balls during the spring’s NBA Draft Lottery because they don’t have much of anything going for them right now outside of a few flashes from Bilal Coulibaly.

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1. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to hold onto the top spot of our NBA power rankings as they still sit atop the league with a 23-4 record. Everything has continued to go right for this squad as they’ve avoided the injury bug and continue to gain chemistry with each other on the court. We’re pumped for their Friday night bout against the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks.

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NBA Power Rankings: Cavaliers Still Strong as NBA’s Best

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