NBA POWER RANKINGS 2021 (JAN. 5)
1. Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers rank third in offensive efficiency and fifth in defensive rating during an impressive start to their title defense. The schedule makers did allow them to ease into the season with the 26th-ranked strength of schedule thus far.
2. Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks have been shooting the lights out with a league-high 43.6% mark from downtown and a league-record 29 triples in a blowout win over Miami.
3. Los Angeles Clippers: Nic Batum has the second-best individual offensive rating (138.7) in the league and Paul George is rocking a career-high .636% true shooting percentage thanks to the Clippers improved spacing.
4. Miami Heat: We can forgive the Heat for a sputtering start after such a short layoff. Giving up 144 points to the Bucks seemed to serve as a wake up call and they have the top defensive rating in the NBA since that loss.
5. Phoenix Suns: Chris Paul whipped this young team into defensive shape. They started 5-1 with the Under hitting in all 6 games and they allow league lows in points (100.6), assists (20.6), and 3PTM (9.7) per game.
6. Brooklyn Nets: Things were already unravelling for the Nets before Kevin Durant was placed in quarantine for violating COVID protocols. With good size and length across the board, they have no excuse for ranking 27th in PPG allowed and 28th in RPG allowed. It simply indicates a lack of effort.
7. Boston Celtics: Jaylen Brown is off to a torrid start with a new mid-range game to showcase and Jayson Tatum continues to prove he’s a top 10 all-around player. Rookie Payton Pritchard has taken the lead at PG with Kemba Walker (knee) out and the Celtics offensive efficiency has been able to offset their defensive woes.
8. Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic ranks first in assist rate (55.6%), box plus/minus (10.3), and second in PER (29.6) during an MVP-caliber start. He’s getting +1300 odds to win MVP at FanDuel Sportsbook.
9. Philadelphia 76ers: In an impressive start under new HC Doc Rivers, the Sixers lead the NBA in average margin of victory (9.3 PPG) and defensive rating. Seth Curry is giving them the shooting they lost when they let J.J. Redick walk.
10. Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert is balling in a contract year and he’s the main reason the Jazz average a league-best 60.3 RPG and are holding opponents to a league-low 44.6% mark inside the arc.
11. Indiana Pacers: After getting bullied down low in three straight games, the Pacers found their backbone in an OT win over the Pelicans on Monday. They rank fifth in net rating (6.4) and second to the Spurs with a 2.0 AST:TO ratio.
12. New Orleans Pelicans: Steven Adams has given this team a new identity as the back line of Stan Van Gundy’s defense. The Pelicans are allowing a league-low 22.3 2PTM per game and doing it while committing the fewest fouls per game.
13. Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic returned from a bruised quad and the Mavericks righted the ship with a win over Houston on Monday. Kristaps Porzingis is back at practice and could return soon to help fix their defensive issues on the interior.
14. Golden State Warriors: It took one game for Draymond Green to knock off the rust and begin to change the Warriors fortunes with his intangibles on both ends of the floor. His presence directly contributed to a 92-point outburst from Steph Curry in consecutive wins to start the week.
15. Portland Trail Blazers: C.J. McCollum has joined Damian Lillard as one of the most unstoppable offensive forces in basketball. But the Blazers rank dead last in defensive efficiency and are coughing up 119.3 PPG.
16. Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks still rank second in offensive rating, but it’s not surprising that this young team is struggling down the stretch with the third-worst net rating (-27.1) in the fourth quarter.
17. Orlando Magic: Apparently their hot start wasn’t a complete fluke. The Magic are still first in the NBA with a 28.4 net rating in the fourth quarter.
18. Houston Rockets: James Harden is putting up numbers when he plays, but he’s not exactly inspiring the troops with his open desire to leave Houston. The Rockets are in good shape without The Beard given the fact John Wall became the first player to score 50-plus points in his first 2 games after 2 years off since MJ.
19. San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs have been characteristically efficient on offense, but it’s not typical of a Gregg Popovich team to give up a league-high 18.3 PPG in transition and the second-highest mark (41.1%) from 3-point range.
20. New York Knicks: With length and strength at every position, this Knicks team resembles Tom Thibodeau’s mighty Bulls of old. Of course they’re missing an MVP-caliber point guard like Derrick Rose, but this franchise is trending in the right direction with defense as the focal point.
21. Sacramento Kings: This Millennial-laden team is taking a nosedive after De’Aaron Fox’s father tweeted that Marvin Bagley should be traded. They dropped consecutive decisions at Houston and didn’t even show up for a beatdown in Golden State.
22. Toronto Raptors: The Raptors are in free fall without defensive leader Marc Gasol. Pascal Siakam’s struggles have carried over from the Bubble, which makes sense considering Toronto is playing every home game in Tampa with neutral fans.
23. Washington Wizards: The Wizards are leading the NBA in offensive efficiency over the last week and finally turned that output into consecutive wins. However, they’re yielding 52.7 PPG in the paint and 121.3 PPG overall during that span.
24. Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs advanced numbers scream regression with opponents shooting a league-worst 69.2% from the line against them while they shoot 67.4% at the charity stripe. They might just be another team that came out strong after not playing the Bubble, only to fizzle as the season progresses.
25. Charlotte Hornets: The Hornets are giving up a league-high 56 PPG in the paint over their last three contests and rank 29th in offensive efficiency during that span. Devonte’ Graham is mired in a shooting slump and James Borrego is contemplating ways to spark his struggling offense by changing up his rotation.
26. Chicago Bulls: Only the Warriors are playing at a faster pace than the Bulls. Billy Donovan is playing to the strengths of his explosive backcourt tandem and is willing to abide by their mistakes, as Chicago owns a league-worst 1.27 AST:TO ratio.
27. Memphis Grizzlies: Until Ja Morant (ankle) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) get back on the court, the Grizzlies will be an easy target.
28. Oklahoma City Thunder: When Hamidou Diallo, Mike Muscala, and Luguentz Dort rank 2nd-4th on your team in usage rate, it should come as little surprise that you’re dead last in offensive efficiency. Sam Presti is simply trying out young players as he builds for the future.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves also seem non-competitive without Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist) and the young center has to be wondering about the direction of this franchise as they try to find consistent roles for D’Angelo Russell and Ricky Rubio.
30. Detroit Pistons: The Pistons were idiotic to let Christian Wood walk and may have procured the bust of the draft in Killian Hayes at No. 7 overall.
CLICK HERE: Tonight’s Top Consensus Basketball Picks!
