Chuddy's NBA Power Rankings

Welcome to the twelfth 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. Boston Celtics (41-12, Last week: 4) - It’s not always pretty, but the Celtics just keep on winning and their lead over the rest of the lead continues to grow. You know a team is good when they’re getting scrutinized for close wins.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (35-16, Last week: 5) - The Cavs remain the hottest team in the league, as they’ve now ripped off 9 straight and 17 out of 18. They’ve moved all the way up to 2nd in the East and have a 3 game lead in the loss column over third place Milwaukee.
3. Los Angeles Clippers (35-16, Last week: 1) - The Clips dropped one to the good version of the Pelicans, but they’ve been the most consistent team in the West since the first month of the season by far.
4. Denver Nuggets (36-17, Last week: 2) - The Nugs have cranked things up late in games and showed their playoff and championship form. They are still the team to beat until proven otherwise.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (36-17, Last week: 3) - The Thunder aren’t going away, and they’ve added Gordon Hayward to the mix now, a capable veteran for their closing lineup if he can stay healthy. 
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (36-16, Last week: 6) - After a little blip, the T-Wolves have steadied themselves, and adding Monte Morris as another ballhandling option will be a much-needed boost for their offense.
7. Phoenix Suns (31-22, Last week: 10) - The Sunds are rounding into contender-like form. They won’t crack the top 4 in the West, but nobody will want to see them in the playoffs. Adding Royce O’neal and David Roddy will go a long way to bolster their depth (that was majorly lacking).
8. Dallas Mavericks (30-23, Last week: 17) - The Mavs have rattled off four straight wins, and P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford have fit like a glove so far, helping them destroy the Thunder. I’m not sure about those moves for the long term, but they should be very helpful at the moment.
9. New Orleans Pelicans (31-22, Last week: 11) - The Pelicans keep riding this up and down roller coaster, but it’s been more up than down, and once in a while they’ll give us a game like the Clippers beatdown where they look like the best team in the league.
10. New York Knicks (33-20, Last week: 7) - The injuries to Anunboy and Randle have taken their toll, but the Knicks were arguably the biggest winners at the deadline, adding Bogdanovic and Burks. That should help stop the bleeding until their stars return, and will create an excellent playoff rotation when everyone is healthy.
11. Sacramento Kings (30-22, Last week: 9) - They looked their best early in the week, dominating the Nuggets for 48 minutes, but looked their worst on Sunday getting smoked by the Thunder.
12. Milwaukee Bucks (34-19, Last week: 8) - The Doc Rivers era has not gotten off to a very good start. This team is searching for answers, as they’ve fallen two games back of 2nd place Cleveland in the East. I don’t think Pat Bev is going to solve all of their issues.
13. Los Angeles Lakers (28-26, Last week: 14) - Now that the deadline is gone and guys know they’re staying, they can maybe find a bit of a rhythm. They’ve been playing their best ball recently and adding Dinwiddie from the buyout market is a solid boost.
14. Golden State Warriors (25-25, Last week: 21) - The Warriors are suddenly rolling, and Draymond Green’s return has opened things up for them on both ends. They’ve won four straight, including a big W over the Suns thanks to heroics by Steph Curry. They’ve moved into 10th and own the final play-in spot currently.
15. Indiana Pacers (30-24, Last week: 12) - Things haven’t fully clicked yet with Siakam and Haliburton, but the team is locked into 6th and could easily make a run into the top 4 if they start gelling.
16. Orlando Magic (29-24, Last week: 13) - The Magic have also somewhat steadied themselves and can still make a bid to join the top 6. I wish they would have added another guard, but their youthful roster gave them the option to stand pat.
17. Utah Jazz (26-27, Last week: 16) - The Jazz did a nice job to add a first round pick and an early second at the deadline while keeping most of their rotation. But they’ve started dipping slightly and have fallen temporarily out of the play-in.
18. Philadelphia 76ers (31-21, last week: 15) - The Sixers without Embiid are a very tough watch. Buddy Hield should help, but if the big man can’t get back their season is over. And even if he does come back, there’s a good chance it may be for the play-in.
19. Miami Heat (28-25, Last week: 19) - The Heat had gotten going a little bit, but they lost Josh Richardson and Terry Rozier to injury in their loss to Boston and will be without Jimmy Butler as he grieves a death in the family.
20. Chicago Bulls (25-28, Last week: 22) - The Bulls oddly didn’t make any moves at the deadline. I’m not sure it’s the right move for the franchise, but with all of their players in tact, the play-in spot is theirs to lose.
21. Atlanta Hawks (24-29, Last week: 18) - And the other play-in spot is Atlanta’s to lose. Their analysis is the same as the Bulls as they decided to make no moves and keep rolling with their current squad.
22. Houston Rockets (23-29, Last week: 20) - The Rockets are basically in free fall after their great start to the season. The play-in is looking less likely by the day, but they should at least have plenty of opportunity to get their young players more involved - and for the most part it has looked very promising.
23. Brooklyn Nets (21-31, Last week: 23) - The Nets made a few moves, but none of the big ones people were anticipating. They still seem kind of rudderless, but they could conceivably crash the play-in party if they get hot.
24. Toronto Raptors (19-34, Last week: 26) - The Raps have basically settled in as what they are. Not as bad as the true bottom feeders, but not as good as the play-in teams. The biggest thing to watch the rest of the way is whether or not they’ll keep their top-6 protected pick (owed to the Spurs).
25. Detroit Pistons (8-44, Last week 30) - This is probably ambitious on my part but it’s just nice to see one of these bottom feeders playing good ball. The Pistons are on a hot streak by their standards, and have even been competitive in their losses. They’re finally starting all of Cade, Ivey, Ausar, and Duren, and shockingly they look like a competent team. Way to go Monty!
26. Portland Trail Blazers (15-37, Last week: 24) - Injuries have crushed this team recently, but they didn’t deal anyone away at the deadline, so when the whole team is healthy they are competitive.
27. San Antonio Spurs 10-43, Last week: 25) - The Spurs looked like they were trending in the right direction, but that didn’t last long as they’ve started a fresh new losing streak of 7 straight games.
28. Charlotte Hornets (11-41, Last week: 29) - The Hornets injected some fresh life into their team at the deadline and already have a win to show for it. They also announced longtime GM/POBO, Mitch Kupchak will be moving to an advisory role as the new owners look to hire a front office. This team finally has a direction and some promise for the future.
29. Washington Wizards (9-43, Last week: 28) - I guess this team does too, but it’s tough to see. They are just such a brutal watch on the court, but their fans just have to be grateful they are finally headed for a likely top 5 pick.
30. Memphis Grizzlies (18-35, Last week: 27) - Finally the injuries have all caught up to the Grizzlies and this team is now hemorrhaging losses. I respect their resilience, and Taylor Jenkins is still coaching his ass off, but the talent gap is too much to overcome at a certain point for anyone.