Chuddy's NBA Power Rankings

Welcome to the eleventh installment of King Chuddy’s weekly NBA power rankings! As always, these rankings will fluctuate based on the team's performance during the previous week and any changes in personnel, health, schematics, or overall quality of play. These rankings are NOT predicting for the future, or used to determine odds of ultimately winning the title, they are just based on what the team has done recently and what is their immediate outlook. For example, most people would likely think the Lakers or Warriors have a much better chance of actually winning a title than teams like the Pacers or Kings, but they simply have not played better this season so the rankings reflect that. Think of these rankings as something more like the top 25 rankings in college basketball/football and they should make more sense. Feel free to leave your comments/opinions and tell me why I’m wrong, or why I am a genius. Without further ado…

1. Los Angeles Clippers (33-15, Last week: 1) - 25-5 in their last 30 and looking like a borderline juggernaut. Kawhi has quietly ascended back to peak Kawhi, looking dominant on both ends.
2. Denver Nuggets (35-16, Last week: 2) - Ho hum, just pulling out games and making it look easy. They are entering a bit of a “take care of business” part of the schedule before a ramp up for the title defense.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (35-15, Last week: 4) - Their record speaks for itself. Tied for first in the West, they keep rattling off wins like a veteran squad. Hopefully the ankle injury for Jalen Williams is nothing serious.
4. Boston Celtics (38-12, Last week: 3) - They only moved down because of the worst loss of the week; a total no show at home against the LeBron/AD-less Lakers. Otherwise it’s been business as usual for the East leaders.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers (31-16, Last week: 8) - The Cavs are back to full strength, and have continued their winning ways. After losing a close one to the Bucks, they’ve ripped off 5 straight, including an impressive win over the red-hot Clippers. Donovan Mitchell at a near-MVP level.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (35-15, last week: 7) - The Wolves seemed to have righted the ship, scoring a big win in Oklahoma City. Getting Mike Conley back has certainly helped, but they could use some more offense at the deadline.
7. New York Knicks (32-18, Last week: 9) - The Knicks have continued to battle without Julius Randle, and more recently OG Anunoby. Brunson has deservedly gotten the headlines, but friend of the pod, Isaiah Hartenstein has been ridiculously good down low since the Mitchell Robinson injury.
8. Milwaukee Bucks (33-17, Last week: 7) - The Doc Rivers era in Milwaukee isn’t exactly off to the most promising start. They’ve lost 3 of his first 4, including losses at Portland in Dame’s return, and blowing a 19 point lead in Utah.
9. Sacramento Kings (29-19, Last week: 11) - Another West team that has righted the ship is the Kings. Sac-Town has won 6 out of 7 and keeps clinging to that 5-spot in the standings. Neither Fox nor Sabonis making the All-Star game is an outrage, and Kings fans have every right to be upset.
10. Phoenix Suns (29-21, Last week: 12) - The Suns have somewhat quietly turned into a very good and consistent squad (for now). They still have major flaws outside of their top 3, but have very limited means to upgrade at the deadline. 
11. New Orleans Pelicans (28-21, Last week: 15) - After blowing a big lead in Boston on Monday, they bounced back with much needed road wins over the Rockets and Spurs - with some Zion heroics. 
12. Indiana Pacers (28-23, Last week: 10) - Haliburton is back, albeit on a minutes restriction. Siakam has already proven to be a great addition for this squad on both ends, and Aaron Nesmith has raised his game to another level recently.
13. Orlando Magic (27-23, Last week: 17) - The Magic have scored three straight wins, featuring a gutsy road win over the Timberwolves. They are as healthy as they’ve been in a long time, and unsurprisingly playing much better. They still lack an offensive creator and are rumored to be shopping for a point guard.
14. Los Angeles Lakers (26-25, Last week: 14) - The Lakers followed up two embarrassing road losses to the Rockets and Hawks with two significant wins over the Celtics and Knicks. The best of this Lakers team is still clearly very good, but they just can’t channel it with any consistency. The Jarred Vanderbilt injury is another blow as he had been playing very well of late.
15. Philadelphia 76ers (30-18, Last week: 5) - What a terrible week for Philly. They’ve dropped all the way to 5th in the East standings and now Joel Embiid will be out for an extended period of time, as he needs surgery for a torn meniscus. It may be another lost season in Philly.
16. Utah Jazz (25-26, Last week: 13) - The Jazz had been in a bit of a rut but they used a 41-13 4th quarter to surge to a massive win over the Bucks. They remain in the play-in for now, and they’re within striking distance of several teams.
17. Dallas Mavericks (26-23, Last week: 16) - Other than Luka there haven’t been a ton of bright spots lately for the Mavs. They’ll get Kyrie Irving back Monday night, and hope to upgrade via trade at the deadline. They need help, especially on the defensive end. The Grant Williams signing has not worked out and there are rumors that they already want to move off of him.
18. Atlanta Hawks (22-27, Last week: 22) - The Hawks have won 4 straight and Dejounte Murray may have played himself off the trading block (for now). The Hawks aren’t really facing any pressure behind them and could start to climb up in the play-in picture, where they could be a scary opponent if they can build on this momentum.
19. Miami Heat (26-24, Last week: 19) - The Heat’s momentum is taking them in the opposite direction as they’ve lost 8 of 10 and Terry Rozier hasn’t exactly found his footing yet. Jimmy Butler has played better recently but it’s looking like it will take another run from the play-in if Miami wants to make any noise this year.
20. Houston Rockets (23-26, Last week: 20) - The Rockets have been looking to make big splashes on the trade market to upgrade the team now, but it doesn’t sound like they’ve made a ton of progress. They still have enough to compete for a play-in spot, and their progress overall is massive, but they're still a bad road team and they haven’t been as dominant at home lately. They are getting healthier at least.
21. Golden State Warriors (21-25, Last week: 23) - The Warriors are still losing in brutal fashion and they are running out of time to make a run - even to reach the play-in. But the team has looked significantly better with Draymond Green back on the court, and Jonathan Kuminga seems to have fully arrived as a meaningful player on a nightly basis. That still may not be enough though.
22. Chicago Bulls (23-27, Last week: 18) - The Bulls have petered out a bit and the Hawks are nipping at their heels for 9th in the East. The LaVine injury means he won’t help the team on the court or via trade this season, and they seem unlikely to make major changes at the deadline. They are likely heading for a 10 seed, which the front office seems oddly content with.
23. Brooklyn Nets (20-28, Last week: 25) - The Nets have looked a little better lately, and it may be largely due to players trying to showcase themselves for the trade deadline, as half the team is rumored to be on the move. But it doesn’t sound like Bridges is going anywhere and Ben Simmons has even given them some quality minutes recently.
24. Portland Trail Blazers (15-35, Last week: 26) - The Blazers had their win of the year as they spoiled Dame Lillard’s return to Portland with a game-winning shot by Anfernee Simons to down the Bucks. They competed hard in back-to-back losses to the Nuggets, even without Brogdon and Grant for the second one.
25. San Antonio Spurs (10-40, Last week: 24) - The losses keep piling up but it’s just nice to see the Spurs playing competitive basketball. They’re no longer an easy win, and it’s great to see Wemby’s competitive side come out in tight games. It’s great experience if nothing else.
26. Toronto Raptors (17-32, Last week: 27) - Since the trades, the Raps are just a bad team now, and they belong in the dregs of the league. There was even a very concerning Scottie Barnes game Sunday night with some questionable play and body language. It’s probably nothing, and this team has still done a fine job this year of setting themselves up for the future, but this year’s team is racing towards the bottom.
27. Memphis Grizzlies (18-32, Last week: 21) - The clock seems to have struck midnight for the Grizzlies, as they’re now down to almost an entire team of G-Leaguers and guys who weren’t even in the G-League. They can barely field a competitive starting lineup. Credit to Taylor Jenkins from keeping them professional on the court; it could easily look A LOT worse.
28. Washington Wizards (9-40, Last week: 29) - They beat the Spurs and actually kept it close against the Clippers and Heat, so that’s not bad for this region of the rankings.
29. Charlotte Hornets (10-38, Last week: 28) - Charlotte hasn’t looked competitive since Terry Rozier left. LaMelo also being out the past 4 games with an ankle injury is not helping matters. But Brandon Miller has looked amazing lately, and may be a future star.
30. Detroit Pistons (6-43, Last week: 30) - The team is pretty much all healthy and they actually look pretty good. Not good enough to win, but there have been some signs of progress.