NBA Power Rankings: Week 9
Week 9 of the NBA Power Rankings, the Finals of the NBA cup are tonight. The Spurs and Knicks are in Vegas to play in the championship game, which could be a real life Finals matchup as well.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
Last: #1
Breaking News: The Thunder have lost a game. They lost to the Spurs in the NBA cup semis, and that game really counts towards their regular season total. Don’t worry they are still incredible.
2. Denver Nuggets
Last: #2
The Nuggets have won 5 in a row and are playing like the 2nd best team in the west. Feb 1st, is when the Nuggets and Thunder play each other next.
3. Houston Rockets
Last: #3
Houston is legit, they did lose a close game to the Nuggets last night. They are a great rebounding team and can score and defend with the best of them. They can beat any team on any given night.
4. Detroit Pistons
Last: #5
The Pistons have reached the 20 win mark and sit 2.5 games above the Knicks. The Pistons offense will need to step up in big moments throughout the year, but they are legit.
5. New York Knicks
Last: #7
The Knicks have won nine out of their last ten and play for the NBA cup tonight. We asked the Knicks to take control this year and so far they are doing that.
6. San Antonio Spurs
Last: #9
The Spurs are in the NBA cup as well, and they have their best player back. The fact that the Spurs went 9-3 without Wemby, they are for real. We will be discussing that on the pod tonight.
7. Los Angeles Lakers
Last: #3
The Lakers are going to need to make a move. Their defense ranks 20th and they are squeaking by in games. If they want to compete for the 2nd seed in the west, the defense needs to improve.
8. Boston Celtics
Last: #6
The Celtics have cooled a bit, but they are still 3rd in the East. They can definitely fight for a spot in the top 6 in the East. Similar to the Lakers, the defense will need to improve though.
9. Phoenix Suns
Last: #8
The Suns are starting to set, pun intended. It is not quite the sun going all the way behind the horizon, but they got blown out by the Thunder and have lost five of seven. They are definitely better than we expected, but they aren’t fantastic.
10. Minnesota Timberwolves
Last: #10
The Wolves are comfortably in the top 6 in the West. If they can get everything going at the right time this team will be scary. I am just not convinced they are going to be consistent all year.
11. Orlando Magic
Last: #11
The Magic are good, but they are still going to need to step it up on the offensive side of the ball. They did make it to the semis in the NBA cup, but could not keep up with the Knicks.
12. Miami Heat
Last: #12
The Heat are 3-3 with Tyler Herro back, it may take them a little bit of time to get all the way back. Can the Heat fight for a top 6 spot in the East?
13. Toronto Raptors
Last: #13
The East is incredibly tight, the Raptors, Celtics, Magic and 76ers each have 11 losses, while the Cavs, Hawks and Heat have 12. The Raptors overall have slid a bit, from their great start early in the year. But they should be fighting for a play off spot.
14. Atlanta Hawks
Last: #14
If the Hawks can gain any sort of consistency they can jump up into the top 6 of the East. Trae Young might return sooner rather than later, and I will find it very interesting to see what happens when he rejoins.
15. Philadelphia 76ers
Last: #NR
The 76ers are finally getting consistent minutes out of Joel Embiid and had a season high 39 against the lowly Pacers. I still have a small amount of faith that Philly can make a small run if they get healthy and hot at the right time.