We’ve seen this movie before, or have we?
The Houston Rockets sit with an unexpectedly impressive 21-8 record in mid-December, largely on the strength of a ten-game winning streak. And James Harden might be the MVP of the NBA to this point. Harden’s 2015-16 performance left quite a bit to be desired despite his brilliance ever since arriving in Houston, and while Mike D’Antoni’s reputation as an offensive coach is virtually unmatched, that end of the floor was never the issue for the Rockets.
However, not even the greatest D’Antoni optimist could foresee what has transpired for the Rockets to this point, as Houston is entrenched firmly in the middle of the pack defensively. While that might not seem like much, Houston needs only to avoid the abject disaster that many (including myself) projected in preventing the opposition from scoring and they have done that on the back of Trevor Ariza, Patrick Beverley, and the now-injured Clint Capela.
Are the Rockets set up to make a deep playoff run? Maybe not. After all, teams with widespread defensive issues rarely succeed at the highest level in May, but Harden’s individual brilliance is extremely difficult to argue against at this point in time. The renaissance of both Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon has also been hugely significant. Playing without Capela for the next few weeks should be telling as to how the Rockets will fare the rest of the way, but even their streak-busting loss to the Spurs came by only two points. There’s certainly nothing wrong with a result such as that.
Through 29 games and nearly two months, the Houston Rockets have earned the right to deride their critics. This time, it just might last. With that in mind, Houston rates quite favorably in this week’s power rankings and the entire list can be found below. Be kind. It is the holiday season, after all.
1. Golden State Warriors (25-4, Last week — 1st)
The Warriors are obscene, and the latest evidence came in the form of a 30-point annihilation of the admittedly shorthanded Jazz on Tuesday evening. Regardless, no team is more terrifying on a nightly basis and I can’t see an argument against Steve Kerr’s team in the top spot barring some sort of injury or dry spell midseason.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (20-6, Last week — 2nd)
Only an eight-point loss without LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love keeps Cleveland from an eight-game winning streak at this point. There are still moments in which it feels like the Cavs aren’t trying particularly hard as the calendar prepares to flip to 2017, but they almost don’t have to – and there is a reason that this squad is assumed for another Finals appearance even more so than the Warriors.
3. San Antonio Spurs (23-5, Last week — 6th)
Don’t look now, but the Spurs hold a two-game cushion over any non-Warriors entity in the standings, and San Antonio has won five straight. Kawhi Leonard and company went on the road to knock off the hottest team in the league in Houston and, well, nobody should be sleeping on the giant from Texas.
4. Houston Rockets (21-8, Last week — 5th)
Not even I’m sure that I can definitely argue this type of ranking for the Rockets, but it is (very) hard to ignore what they’ve done in the recent past. Suspend your belief for just one moment.
5. Toronto Raptors (20-8, Last week — 3rd)
The Raptors continue to cook. Yes, there was a home loss to the Hawks this week, but Toronto won six games sandwiched on either side of that defeat. This is the league’s best offense on a per-possession basis. There is probably no reason to think the Raptors are actually better than the Warriors on offense, but they are lights-out in scoring the basketball and that isn’t going away.
6. Los Angeles Clippers (21-8, Last week — 7th)
It will be tough to gauge the Clippers for a while given the long-term absence of Blake Griffin, but we have seen Chris Paul direct this club to success without his counterpart in the past. For now, this is a “safe” ranking for a very good basketball team, but we’re watching closely all the same.
7. Utah Jazz (18-11, Last week — 5th)
Losing by 30 points to a team you are chasing isn’t great, and that is what happened to the Jazz in Oakland on Tuesday. It should be noted that Utah was playing without George Hill and Derrick Favors in that game but, more importantly for this exercise, the Jazz won four straight games before that. Everything is fine and this is a good basketball team.
8. Boston Celtics (16-12, Last week — 9th)
The Celtics are 11-7 with Al Horford in the lineup and that number jumps to 10-4 with both Horford and Isaiah Thomas on the court together. With that in mind, Boston’s early-season struggles are grossly exaggerated and, when healthy, this is the team we all expected.
9. Charlotte Hornets (16-13, Last week — 10th)
After a four-game road swoon that ended in Boston without Kemba Walker, the Hornets have recovered to win back to back games. Charlotte might not be pretty to watch (in fact, they definitely aren’t), but the results have been good and they’ve earned the “fourth-best in the East” moniker in solid fashion.
10. Oklahoma City Thunder (16-12, Last week — 8th)
Losing to a Dwight Howard-less Hawks team at home isn’t the best look, but Russell Westbrook continues to be preposterous and the Thunder have been operating without Victor Oladipo. We’ll excuse that one for the most part.
11. Memphis Grizzlies (18-12, Last week — 11th)
I have no idea how Mike Conley is back, but he is. That fact keeps the Grizzlies from a big slide this week after three straight home losses, and we’ll see what they look like with their offensive engine “healthy” and available for a while.
12. Atlanta Hawks (14-14, Last week — 19th)
Getting back to .500 might not seem like much for a perennial playoff team, but it is big for the Hawks. Atlanta has performed quite well in recent days, with some ball movement returning and two solid wins over the Raptors and Thunder on the road. There are big-picture issues with this roster that can’t be overlooked, but the full-on doldrums should be over now. And somehow this is a .500 basketball team again.
13. Washington Wizards (12-15, Last week — 18th)
Washington’s upward trajectory was stymied a bit by a close-fought road loss to the Pacers in their last outing, but make no mistake, the Wizards actually look like the team they were supposed to look like. Over the last seven games, Washington owns a +5.1 net rating and the backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal has been tremendous.
14. Milwaukee Bucks (13-13, Last week — 21st)
Rookie guard Malcolm Brogdon got the best of both Kyrie Irving and LeBron James on separate dunks on Tuesday night. Milwaukee lost, but come on. That counts for something.
15. Indiana Pacers (15-15, Last week — 14th)
It might feel weird for Pacers optimists to consider this a true .500 team, but that’s the general sense I get. There are nights when Paul George is just too good to lose. There are nights when Indy looks terrible. In the end, this is kind of what they are.
16. Chicago Bulls (14-13, Last week — 15th)
The Bulls might’ve been lower than this if not for a 31-point beatdown over the Pistons earlier this week. While Detroit’s scuffles were more than part of the recipe there, Chicago made it happen and stemmed the tide of their drop in the rankings. For now.
17. New York Knicks (15-13, Last week — 13th)
A 35-point Carmelo Anthony explosion on Tuesday not withstanding, I’m still not buying the Knicks. New York’s net rating is worse than that of the Wolves, Blazers, Heat, and Wizards and the defense is too porous for my taste. Hey, winning games is fun, though.
18. Detroit Pistons (14-16, Last week — 12th)
Things have gotten ugly in Detroit over the past few days. The Pistons have dropped four of five including a home loss to Philadelphia. Stan Van Gundy is visibly frustrated. Reggie Jackson’s return was supposed to help the offense but, instead, ball movement has stagnated and Detroit seems to be on the verge of a pivot point.
19. Denver Nuggets (12-17, Last week — 22nd)
I will probably always be at least slightly in the tank for Denver, simply because I enjoy too many players on their roster. This time around, it is justified. The Nuggets won three straight games before falling to the Clippers in excusable fashion on the road, and Nikola Jokic is reminding everyone why he was a big deal before the season.
20. Portland Trail Blazers (13-17, Last week — 16th)
The big-time struggles in Portland should probably be a more dissected story. The Blazers have dropped seven of eight games, including a highly embarrassing 35-point loss to the Warriors. Things aren’t good right now. Virtually everyone pegged Portland for a return to the playoffs, but their acquisitions (cough, Evan Turner, cough) haven’t worked out and internal growth has stalled. It might soon be time for a move, although even that answer isn’t as easy as it seems.
21. Orlando Magic (13-17, Last week — 17th)
Are the Magic suddenly good on offense? Orlando has topped 130 points twice within the last five games (in wins over Atlanta and Miami) and the remnants of a horrific scoring group are beginning to fade. What is troubling, though, is that the Magic remain just 19th in the NBA in defensive rating. This is a team that can’t win with that number where it is.
22. Sacramento Kings (11-17, Last week — 20th)
If you can look beyond the Boogie Cousins saga, the Kings have won three of five and are generally playing improved basketball. Would anyone be surprised, though, if the roster was imploded within the next six weeks? I certainly would not be.
23. New Orleans Pelicans (10-20, Last week — 26th)
The last four losses from New Orleans have come at the hands of the Clippers, Warriors, Rockets, and Spurs, with three of those defeats coming on the road. In short, this isn’t the week to come down hard on the Pelicans for poor performance.
24. Minnesota Timberwolves (8-19, Last week — 25th)
Karl-Anthony Towns and company still continue to defy their point differential in the worst possible way. Even after winning two of three, the Wolves sit with a bottom-five record in the NBA despite a net rating that would rank 18th overall. Is that a product of youth? Probably, but you can bet that Tom Thibodeau is just as frustrated as he would be with veterans.
25. Miami Heat (9-20, Last week — 23rd)
The Heat are in the midst of a lengthy homestand and that usually does wonders for a team’s morale and/or place in the standings. After back to back wins at the beginning, though, Miami has lost three straight including a spot in which they allowed 136 (!) points to the Magic. There isn’t a ton to be excited about in south Florida.
26. Dallas Mavericks (7-21, Last week — 27th)
Dirk might return this week, and the Mavs just posted a ten-game stretch that included four victories. It might not sound like much but it a wild upgrade considering where Dallas began the season. At least they’re frisky
27. Phoenix Suns (8-20, Last week — 24th)
Eric Bledsoe is flying so far under the radar that most of the NBA world hasn’t noticed the lead guard averaging 20.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game with a PER north of 20. The reason people haven’t noticed? Um, the Suns are quite dismal in terms of actual effectiveness and the Devin Booker hype train is quietly derailing.
28. Brooklyn Nets (7-20, Last week — 29th)
The Nets try hard and they are well coached. The Nets are also quite bad at basketball. Sorry, Brooklyn.
29. Los Angeles Lakers (11-20, Last week — 30th)
Only a win over the Sixers can keep Los Angeles from the basement for a second consecutive week. The Lakers are 1-9 in their last 10 while owning the league’s worst net rating over that span, and most of the goodwill from the early portion of the season has evaporated.
30. Philadelphia 76ers (7-21, Last week — 28th)
The Nerlens Noel situation is displaying Philly in a (very) bad light right now. Their play on the floor isn’t helping. In addition to the loss to Los Angeles (see above), the Sixers dropped a home game to the Pelicans by 15 points this week, and that combination is a deadly one.
