It is with a heavy heart that we present this weeks Power Rankings.
As most of you will by now know, former NBA Commissioner David Stern passed away at the age of 77 due to the complications arising from a brain haemorrhage suffered 3 weeks ago.
In ascending to the Commissioners role in 1984, Stern inherited a league that was not quite on its knees as it was in the 1970’s – when he first joined the NBA, incidentally – but was still relatively small time for a national sports league.
Stern’s vision and guidance led the league through a period of expansion as far as new teams, and expansion into the global markets which in turn made the league the powerhouse that it is today.
The reason that I’m able to write about the NBA – and that you, Dear Reader, have so much NBA content to consume, is a direct result of the efforts of Mr. Stern. We should all be thankful that this man existed in our lives.
Vale David Joel Stern. 1942 – 2020.
Throughout the season, Vendetta Sports Media will be bringing you our NBA Power Rankings. These are not necessarily ranking based on records. This is a purely subjective assessment of how a team is progressing, projected and playing.
All records are as of Thursday night Australian time/Thursday morning American time.
30: Atlanta Hawks (Steady)
(7-27 Record) Last week: 1-2
Atlanta lost 10 straight matches before a thirst quenching win against the Magic. John Collins has returned. It hasn’t helped. Trae Young has hurt himself again.
Despite a 4-2 start, the Hawks season is done and attention now turns to the draft. Who would be the best addition for them? James Wiseman to solidify the front court? Anthony Edwards to form a dynamic back court duo with Young? Considering their recent drafts – Hunter and Reddish struggling, choosing Young over Doncic (no disrespect to Trae) – the Hawks need to nail their next pick.
29: Golden State (Down 2)
(9-26) Last week: 1-2
The Warriors extended their win streak to 4 games before falling to the Mavs and Spurs, but in a season like this one, that streak might be looked upon fondly as a high water mark. Sadly.
Curry should return in the next 2-3 weeks. It will be very interesting to see how much cotton wool the team wrap him in. Be prepared for him sitting one leg of every single back to back. Get ready for minutes limited to the high 20’s. Brace yourself for Curry to sit out against every other team at the foot of the standings.
28: Washington Wizards (Down 2)
(10-23) Last week: 1-3
The saving grace of the Washington Wizards season was watching their fast paced, flame throwing, incredibly fun offense. However losing Davis Bertans, Thomas Bryant, Rui Hachimura and – thankfully for just a single game – Bradley Beal, takes even that away from us. What we’re left with is a defense that the Orlando freaking Magic were able to put up 122 points on. For perspective, that’s only the 5th time Orlando have scored 120+ this season. Further perspective? It’s the 3rd time they’ve done it to Washington.
27: Cleveland Cavaliers (Down 2)
(10-23) Last week: 1-2
With the Jordan Clarkson trade, the first of Cleveland’s expiring contracts has been moved. Now to see what the Cavs do with Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova. They also have the Kevin Love chip to cash.
The Cavs could look like an NBA Junior Varsity team come the passing of the trade deadline. That’s not a bad thing, though. The Cavs are not going anywhere with the vets, so why not at least add some intrigue and excitement to the team through youth?
26: Detroit Pistons (Down 3)
(12-22) Last week: 1-2
Oh boy.
Since that surprising win in Houston, Detroit have lost 7 of 8, with an LA road trip coming up.
Their defense has utterly cratered – they’ve been 3rd to last in points conceded per 100 possessions through that streak. They’ve dropped into the bottom 3rd of the league in defense as a result.
Blake Griffin looks to be calcifying before our very eyes. Whilst there was a grace period for the 30 year old as he came back from (yet another) injury, he’s had enough time to get his sea legs back and…..he just doesn’t look right. There was a hope that Griffin’s adaptation of his game would allow him to age somewhat gracefully, but if this version of Blake is real then Detroit have an albatross of a contract on their hands.
25: New York Knicks (Up 4)
(10-24) Last week: 3-0
Interim Coach Mike Miller is 6-6 since taking over for the axed David Fizdale. With this roster, that equates to witchcraft. Miller has dramatically simplified the Knicks offense – it’s remarkable how often limiting the options available to players helps them – and he’s inspired his troops to play competitive defense. The Knicks point differential since Miller took the reigns is -2.2; a huge improvement from the -10.8 of the Fizdale reign.
24: New Orleans Pelicans (Up 4)
(11-23) Last week: 2-0
The Pelicans resurgence continues, with impressive wins over the Pacers and Rockets. Whilst the Rox were undermanned, New Orleans completely overran Houston. Trailing by 7 after 3 quarters, the Pels hung 41 last quarter points on their opposition to streak away. This is what the Pelicans are capable of. Holiday was superb, Lonzo electric, Ingram put up the quietest 27 you’ll ever see and Favors was a rock inside. This sort of form should quell the talk of a Jrue Holiday trade. Bringing Zion Williamson back into a side with solid veterans around him is imperative.
Could the Pellies make a playoff push with Zion? They’re only 4 games back, believe it or not.
23: Charlotte Hornets (Down 2)
(13-23) Last week: 0-3
With the return of PJ Washington from injury, the Hornets have their presumed starting 5 for the rest of the season back together again. The unit of Washington, Miles Bridges, Bismack Biyombo, Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier has played close to .500 ball when together. Injuries and Coach James Borrego taking some time to settle his rotations mean that those 5 have only started 13 games together. Should the Hornets play .500 ball from here on in, the playoffs are a distinct possibility.
22: Memphis Grizzlies (Up 2)
(13-21) Last week: 2-1
Memphis are trending in the right direction. After a horrible start, the Grizz went 8-8 in December, to finally build some momentum. They’re not going to make a playoff push and that’s fine – it’s not their aim for 2019/20. What Memphis want is to see the outlines of a rotation.
To that end, Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks and DeAndre Melton is a reasonable place to start. They’ve also got the bigs sorted: Jaren Jackson Jr, Jonas Valanciunas and Brandon Clarke. If they could pick up a solid young wing or two in the off season, then Memphis should have their core.
21: Chicago Bulls (Up 1)
(13-21) Last week: 1-1
The Bulls currently sit in 9th position in the East, a mere 2 games out of the playoffs. Through December, they’ve seen Lauri Markkanen return to form after a rough – and possibly injured – start to the campaign. They should get Otto Porter back in the lineup through January. Things are looking up, right? Maybe not.
The Bulls play a hectic January schedule, taking in 17 games. They kick off with Utah and Boston and also have dates with Dallas, Philadelphia and Milwaukee on the horizon. If January goes well, the Bulls could set themselves up for a playoff appearance. If it doesn’t? They might find themselves slumming it with the Knicks and Hawks of the world.
20: Sacramento Kings (Down 3)
(12-22) Last week: 0-4
The Kings endured a 5 game losing streak to start the season but were able to drag themselves back into the playoff picture. The bonus was they did it without presumed franchise cornerstones De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley. With those two back on board, the Kings are currently riding an 8 game losing streak, ending the Wolves and Suns own streaks in back to back games. Surely Fox and Bagley aren’t that bad?
19: Portland Trailblazers (Down 3)
(14-21) Last week: 0-4
A 4 game win streak followed by 5 straight losses. That ‘one step forward, one step back’ pattern has defined the Blazers all season.
Up against it defensively from the off after losing Mo Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu to free agency as well as Jusuf Nurkic to injury, the addition of Carmelo Anthony has gone as well as expected at that end of the floor. Offensively, he’s been fine, averaging over 16 points and shooting 39% from deep. It hasn’t been enough to cover for off seasons from Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum let alone Rodney Hood’s injury. Anfernee Simons has come on of late, however. The 2nd year player has proven himself an adequate 3rd guard with the potential for more. So much so that there are reports that the Blazers are engaging in talks with teams about McCollum. An intriguing trade for Al Horford has been mentioned.
18: Minnesota Timberwolves (Up 2)
(12-21) Last week: 2-2
The 2010’s haven’t been kind to the Timberwolves. They’ve had four sub-30 win seasons, and have a solitary playoff victory to their credit. They have of course returned to relative respectability in the past couple of seasons, on the back of a pair of #1 overall picks.
After a solid start to the season, the Minnesota have put the TIMBER in Timberwolves with 13 losses in their last 15, although they’ve improved from their 11 game losing streak through December. They’re playing without either of their prized #1’s in Towns or Wiggins at the moment and it shows. This is a big test of mettle for young coach Ryan Saunders.
17: Phoenix Suns (Up 2)
(13-21) Last week: 2-2
Phoenix’s losing steak was snapped at 8, with wins over the free-falling Kings and Blazers preceding yesterdays loss to the Lakers. They have the chance to make it 3 from 4 with a visit from the Knicks up next.
The Suns defense still sucks. They’re ranked in the bottom 5 in opponents field goal % and effective field goal %, mainly due to having the single worst transition defense in the NBA. Coach Monty Williams reportedly held a meeting with a group of players post Christmas about aspiring to higher standards as a unit. Hopefully, one of those standards is hustling back on defense, or Devin Booker will still be a playoff virgin, 5 years into his career.
16: San Antonio Spurs (Up 2)
(14-18) Last week: 2-1
Out of nowhere, LaMarcus Aldridge has embraced the 3 point revolution of the last decade. The 34 year old has hit 10 of 16 from deep over his past 4 contests for 3 wins and a narrow loss to the Mavericks.
In those 3 wins, the Spurs averaged over 133 points per game – a full 20 points higher than their 112.6 points per game to that point. A key to that burst was the 3 point shooting of the team as a whole. The Spurs hit between 12 and 15 trey’s in the wins with more attempts and a better success rate than their overall season stats.
So many Spurs fans will be hoping that this is the beginning of another philosophical change from Popovich, rather than a flash in the pan.
15: Brooklyn Nets (Down 2)
(16-16) Last week: 0-3
After a strong push in the lead up to Yuletide, Brooklyn’s form has plummeted post Christmas. They lost at home to the Knicks, then had James Harden hang 44 on them before finally losing to the out of form Wolves.
Caris LeVert is due back in the next week, although Kyrie Irving’s return has been pushed back yet again. Any support for Spencer Dinwiddie would be appreciated. He’s started to look jaded having to carry the load every night and has seen his shooting numbers slip sharply in the last last few games.
14: Orlando Magic (Up 1)
(15-19) Last week: 2-2
What to do with the Orlando Magic?
Their sitting in 8th place in the East, but don’t really have a shot at making any noise in the playoffs. Following on from the point raised in last weeks Power Rankings, the Magic finally broke their duck against .500+ teams in taking down the Sixers. They then went and lost to the Hawks (which should really count as 1.5 losses).
So do the Magic become sellers this trade season? Evan Fournier is about to hit free agency; if the Magic don’t want to shell out $20 million per year, he’ll get traded. Aaron Gordon is a buy low option given his poor play this season.
13: Oklahoma City Thunder (Up 1)
(18-15) Last week: 3-1
Coach Billy Donovan’s switch to a 3 point guard look continues to reap rewards for his Thunder, who have taken 7 of their last 8 games. Dennis Schroder was the perceived odd man out at the beginning of the season. December has been arguably the best month of his career. The 26 year old put up 22.3 points per night with red hot 40% shooting from deep.
It’s important that the Thunder’s point guard troika continues their strong play as there just isn’t a lot at the forward position behind Danilo Gallinari. With Gallo out, the Thunder started Terrance Ferguson and Darius Bazley – they averaged less than 8 points per game between them including twin goose eggs in an overtime contest with Charlotte.
12: Indiana Pacers (Down 2)
(21-10) Last week: 2-1
Despite Aaron Holiday stepping up to the tune of 20 points and 7 assists a night, Malcolm Brogdon’s injury has hurt the Pacers to no end. With him out (and Oladipo yet to make his return), there just isn’t enough creativity on this roster. Once healthy though, this is a seriously good basketball team. Coach Nate McMillan has to take a lot of the credit for that. He’s found ways to keep his team in the mix despite not playing with the full deck all season. He has a particular knack for making pieces that don’t seem to fit together work well. On this team, that’s Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis – both centres, but dovetailing beautifully at both ends of the floor.
11: Dallas Mavericks (Steady)
(21-12) Last week: 2-2
Luka is back and all is well with the Mavericks universe.
Sure, they lost to the Lakers and Thunder to close out the year, but the Mavs are surely thrilled with their season thus far. Whilst it’s unlikely that they’ll finish top 4 in the Conference, a 6th place finish and a solid 1st round effort would – despite what the team might say publicly – be what they would have wanted at the seasons outset.
Tim Hardaway Jr, out with a hamstring, might be a bigger loss than you might expect. He compliments Doncic perfectly, as evidenced by the team’s +16.9 net rating when they share the court.
10: Utah Jazz (Up 2)
(21-12) Last week: 3-0
The Jazz have finally awoken from their now traditional early season slumber. Utah’s only loss in their past 8 games was a narrow reverse in Miami.
The idea behind the Jazz’s off season changes was to upgrade the team with the ball, and hope that the defense would only slip a shade – if at all – without Ricky Rubio and Derrick Favors.
The defense hasn’t been where the club would like it, with the Jazz sitting 7th conceding 105.8 points a night. The offense, however, has been electric of late, dropping 115.5 points through their last 8. That’s good for 5th in the NBA over a full season.
So, to the elephant in the room. The Jazz are doing this without the injured Mike Conley. What to do once he’s back? A possibly unpopular opinion: Play him off the bench, letting him run the 2nd unit.
9: Philadelphia 76ers (Down 2)
(23-13) Last week: 0-3
The Sixers gave us a preview of what they can do come playoff time on Christmas Day, dispatching the league leading Bucks with impunity. They followed that up tight losses to Orlando (their 2nd loss to the Magic this season) and Miami before getting blown out in Indiana.
The best and worst of this team is just so far apart that it’s maddening. Equally as frustrating is the teams reliance on home cooking: The Sixers are 16-2 at home against 7-11 away. Are those discrepancies on Coach Brett Brown? Is it the relatively immature roster?
Whatever it is, it’s a problem that the Sixers will have to remedy if they’re to make playoff noise. Either that, or try to somehow take home court from Milwaukee.
8: Toronto Raptors (Up 1)
(23-11) Last week: 2-1
Toronto deserve a lot of credit for not only surviving, but thriving in the injury enforced absence of half of their rotation. They avenged their Christmas Day loss to Boston by going to the Garden and overwhelming the Celtics with ‘household’ name like Chris Boucher, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Oshae Brissett.
The combination of General Manager Masai Ujiri’s eye for talent and Coach Nick Nurse’s ability to mold his players is perhaps unrivaled in today’s NBA.
The Raptors now have a chance to set themselves up, even without their stars. Of their next 9 games, 7 are against teams at or below .500 for the season.
7: Houston Rockets (Up 1)
(23-11) Last week: 2-1
The return of Eric Gordon from a 6 week injury layoff is possibly as big of an addition as any team will make at the trade deadline.
EG’s ability to shoot from beyond 25 feet, create for others, or straight out attack the rim mean that defences cannot resort to the sort of traps they’ve been throwing at James Harden of late.
Gordon will also allow the team to rest Harden more often in the hope of avoiding some of the post season flame-outs that have haunted The Beard in the past. With the team relying on Westbrook alone, teams could shut off the lane and dare Russ to shoot – you can’t do that with Eric Gordon.
6: Boston Celtics (Down 1)
(23-8) Last week: 2-1
The Celtics centre rotation of Daniel Theis, Enes Kanter and Robert Williams isn’t scaring anybody. So why not play a lineup that absolutely scares the daylights out of opponents: Marcus Smart at the 5.
The 6’3”….let’s call him a point guard, is actually perfectly built to guard most modern bigs. He’s of course extremely fast and has lightning quick hands. He’s also remarkably strong and leverages his low centre of gravity to get under bigs and take away their space. He can guard absolutely any stretch big, and being a guard he’s of course totally switchable.
Sure, he can’t guard an old fashioned low post scorer like a Ewing or an O’Neal, but the Sixers aside, what contender has one of those anyway?
5: Miami Heat (Down 1)
(24-9) Last week: 2-1
Are the Heat for real? A 5 game winning streak including victories over the Jazz, Pacers and a pair over the Sixers would suggest so. Losing to the Wizards – minus perhaps their best 4 players – by 18 tells a different story, but perhaps that’s a mental lapse more than anything.
Jimmy Butler has proven to be the leader that he’d always insisted he was. He’s averaging 20.8 points, 6.6 boards and 6.6 assists with a pair of steals thrown in. He’s playing excellent defense and importantly, he’s deferred to team mates when the moment is right. He’s let Bam Adebayo continue his ascension into a genuine offensive hub and he’s trusted players like rookie Tyler Herro and the undrafted pair of Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson to take and make big shots.
4: Los Angeles Lakers (Up 2)
(27-7) Last week: 3-0
The Lakers have halted the slide, winning 3 straight against a relatively easy schedule.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis seemingly always questionable to play at the moment, those depth issues will continue to rear their ugly head.
Thankfully for the Lakers, Kyle Kuzma looks like he’s beginning to turn a corner. Putting aside a 0 point shocker against the Mavs, Kuzma has averaged 20.4 points across his last 4 games. If he can find some consistency, the Lakers may have that much needed 3rd option, as well as a player that can spell AD and the King as the playoffs approach.
3: Denver Nuggets (Steady)
(23-10) Last week: 2-1
The Nuggets are hurting at the moment, with Gary Harris and Paul Millsap missing time. That’s led to the Nuggets much vaunted depth taking it’s step into the limelight. Jerami Grant and Malik Beasley have stepped it up, but the biggest beneficiary is Michael Porter Jr. The Nuggets have been pilloried for their ‘kid gloves’ handling of Porter, and if not for that then taking a risk on drafting an injured player in the first place. Sunday’s match up with the Kings gave us a glimpse of what the fuss was all about. Porter poured in 19 points on 8-10 shooting against Sacramento and whilst it’s only one game, it does give a hint that he might be able to eventually fill the one hole in this roster: starting small forward.
To play Devil’s Advocate for a moment: he’s also a huge trade chip if the Nuggets decide to go all in.
2: Los Angeles Clippers (Steady)
(24-11) Last week: 1-1
A mixed week for the Clippers, who followed up their emotion charged Christmas day win with a lackluster performance against the Jazz. They righted the ship with a comfortable victory against the Kings.
The Clippers should get off to a flyer in 2020. Of their first 8 games the only opponent over .500 is Denver. That should give Doc Rivers the chance to tinker with his rotations now that everybody is finally fit and firing. Once Doc gets it right, we’re probably looking at the Western Conference Champion.
1: Milwaukee Bucks (Steady)
(31-5) Last week: 4-0
Much like the Clippers, the Bucks start 2020 with 7 straight games against sub .500 clubs. The rich get richer, yes?
After the Christmas Day blowout to the Sixers, the Bucks played without Giannis Antetokounmpo in routine wins against the Hawks and Magic. Kudos to veteran Ersan Ilyasova, who lived the Bucks ‘next man up’ mantra. Ghostface contributed 17.5 points and 15.5 rebounds, hitting 7 of his 8 attempts from deep with Giannis out. They’re not the Clippers, but this team is quietly very deep.
