NBA Top 10 Power Rankings: Cavs the cream of the crop, but Thunder making plenty of noise in the West
The NBA is almost halfway through the season, with clear standouts and disappointments evident now.
Here are the top five teams right now and their recent form (as of the second week of January).
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
Current record: 31-4
Record for the week: 4-0
Player of the Week: Evan Mobley
The stats: The Cavs are on a dominant run this season, only having lost four games so far and look to be a possibility of finishing with over 72 wins. The Cavs played the OKC Thunder in the best game of the season so far, winning 129-122 in a thriller. Even with a poor game from Donovan Mitchell, going 3-16 from the field, they still managed to find other contributors who allowed them to continue their win streak, which is now at an impressive 12.
My view: The Cavs are one of the most dominant sides I have watched since the Prime Warriors. They have an almost perfect combination of outside shooting in Sam Merrill and Max Strus, amazing rim protectors in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley and amazing offensive creators in Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. If there are no major injuries to this side, I can’t see them not finishing as the clear one seed.
2. OKC Thunder
Current record: 30-6
Record for the week: 2-1
Player of the Week: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The stats – The Thunder had one of the toughest weeks of the season playing the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference in a row. They just lost to the Cavs but pipped the Celtics 105-92 and the Knicks 117-107. Their 15-game win streak came to an end at the hands of the Cavs, but these two teams seem to be the only teams that can compete with each other as both have been on dominant runs.
My view – Another extremely well-balanced team who are managing to go on these long win streaks and be competitive every night despite missing arguably their second-best player in Chet Holmgren. When Chet gets back, the amount of depth they will have will be scary. Before the trade deadline, I believe that they should try and get some more reliable three-point shooting as they have been shaky at times in this area.
3. New York Knicks
Current record: 25-13
Record for the week: 1-3
Player of the Week: Josh Hart
The stats: The Knicks are 7-3 over their last ten games, even including disappointing losses to the injury-riddled Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls. Karl-Anthony Towns missed multiple games throughout the week, which very much hurt the Knicks, leading to young Jericho Sims getting started. Josh Hart had a dominant week, including double-doubles in three of the games while shooting efficiently from the floor and defending hard.
My view: The Knicks have a very strong starting five at the moment, with all of them picking up their games to take over when required. However, they are way too reliant on their starters, and Tom Thibodeau has shown a dependency on playing his starters intense minutes, even at the end of blowout wins or losses. The Knicks should trade for more bench depth if possible while keeping their starting five together.
4. Boston Celtics
Current record: 27-10
Record for the week: 2-1
Player of the Week: Jayson Tatum
The stats – The Celtics are only 6-4 over their last ten games as they have contended with injury issues to key players such as Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. Payton Pritchard had a down week, posting a 20-point game against the Rockets but struggling against the Thunder and the Nuggets with only three points across those two games. They need strong production from their bench and need to continue to shoot the three ball well to keep winning.
The view – The Celtics look very good when fully healthy and off the back of their championship last year, they will have limited concerns over their future. The Celtics are in no rush to make any trades as their core is proven in the playoffs, and they should just wait for their injuries to stop, if possible.
5. Houston Rockets
Current record: 25-12
Record for the week: 3-1
Player of the Week: Alperen Sengun
The stats – The young Rockets are in a strong patch of form at the moment having won seven of their last ten games. They don’t shoot the ball particularly well from outside the arc but have been getting a huge amount of offensive rebounds courtesy of Sengun and Amen Thompson. They are now 1.5 games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies who they beat 119-115.
My view – The Rockets have a strong young core and should continue to push towards a high seed in the playoffs. The Rockets have a big decision to make, should they trade young talent for an established star to push harder this year or organically grow? I believe that they should grow organically due to the fact of how dominant other teams in the league have been so far. Would the Rockets beat the Thunder even if they had an extra star on the team?
The next five feature both Eastern and Western Conference teams, starting off with the 2023 champs.
6. Denver Nuggets
Current record: 21-15
Record for the week: 2-2
Player of the Week: Nikola Jokic
7. Memphis Grizzlies
Current record: 24-14
Record for the week: 1-3
Player of the Week: Jaren Jackson Jr
8. Indiana Pacers
Current record: 20-18
Record for the week: 3-0
Player of the Week: Tyrese Haliburton
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
Current record: 20-17
Record for the week: 3-1
Player of the Week: Anthony Edwards
10. Orlando Magic
Current record: 22-17
Record for the week: 3-1
Player of the Week: Cole Anthony
