The Cleveland Cavaliers are struggling right now. There is no reason to worry about the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The statements above are not mutually exclusive and, as of late January, both happen to be true. LeBron James and company have dropped an unsightly five of the past seven games to come back to the pack a bit in the East. Normally, a team with a comfortable lead on the field would not generate any type of buzz in a negative direction, but James took the organization to task after a brutal loss to the Anthony Davis-less Pelicans on Monday evening and that lit the fire nationally in a way that had not taken place just yet.
In the end, though, there is no reason for real concern. The Cavaliers are not a flawless regular season team, and we’ve seen that before. The absence of J.R. Smith, who is out for an extended period with a thumb injury, isn’t helping and the integration of Kyle Korver has not gone quite as smoothly as some (including myself) projected. James’ concerns about the team’s personnel for the long haul are reasonable in that Cleveland does struggle to generate offense outside of a “big three” that is already taxed. Beyond that, James would likely be best served by an extended break from the action in order to tune up for the playoffs, but it becomes increasingly difficult to execute that action if the Cavs are unable to win comfortable together as a unit.
With all of that said, the Cleveland Cavaliers are, quite frankly, head and shoulders better than every other team in the Eastern Conference. Yes, the Raptors are impressive offensively, and the Celtics appear dangerous (especially if they finally make the “big move”), but Cleveland employs the best player in the world with a well-constructed roster around him. A January swoon does absolutely nothing to deter from that prognosis and any legitimate worry about the Cavaliers should be focused on a potential rubber match with the Golden State Warriors.
Anything else is just noise, even if LeBron is the one making that noise.
Should the Cavs be punished in a power rankings sense for their recent failings? I guess we’ll have to see. Let’s get to it.
1. Golden State Warriors (38-7, Last week — 1st)
Dion Waiters buoyed the Heat to an upset win over the Warriors on Monday night, snapping a lengthy winning streak for the title favorites. Am I supposed to drop the Warriors now? Eh, I think not. This is the best team in the NBA that clearly slept through the majority of the loss in Miami and evaluating them based on that performance would be, well, a mistake.
2. San Antonio Spurs (36-9, Last week — 3rd)
The Spurs went into Toronto on Tuesday night and won. That isn’t incredibly jarring on the surface, but San Antonio did it without Kawhi Leonard, Pau Gasol and Tony Parker (among others) and that further cemented this position in the rankings. Raptors fans would undoubtedly point out that DeMar DeRozan was also absent, but that doesn’t deter me from placing emphasis on what was a significant win for a tremendous team.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (30-13, Last week — 2nd)
A one-spot drop doesn’t seem egregious, especially when the Spurs are (very) good at basketball. If you asked me to pick a series between the two teams, I’d take Cleveland but recent play has to matter to some degree … right?
4. Houston Rockets (34-14, Last week — 5th)
I’ve been notoriously low on the Rockets throughout the season, but I’m going to reject the impetus to bury them this week. Houston has lost five of eight to slip a bit in the standings but, at the same time, most of the other contenders in this range are also scuffling to varying degrees. Wins over the Grizzlies and Bucks in dominant fashion help and I’ll just choose to believe the Rockets are the real thing.
5. Los Angeles Clippers (30-17, Last week — 4th)
Blake Griffin is back, but his first contest ended in a double-digit loss to the Sixers. Much like the Rockets, the Clippers should probably be lower based on how they’ve played (three losses in four games) but no one else is ready to claim their spot. I’ll continue to give Doc Rivers and company the benefit of the doubt.
6. Utah Jazz (29-18, Last week — 6th)
The Jazz coughed up a golden opportunity to ascend on this list with a 10-point loss to the Nuggets on Tuesday. No one is higher on Utah than I am, but a six-game winning streak gave way to back-to-back losses. Recent results still matter, at least to some degree.
7. Washington Wizards (25-20, Last week — 12th)
The Wizards have won 14 straight games at home. That is pretty jarring. Is Washington better than Toronto (see below)? Probably not, but they are certainly playing at a (much) higher level right now. John Wall is cooking, Bradley Beal is healthy, and the Wizards are genuinely terrifying in a conference that reeks of parity outside of the Cavs.
8. Toronto Raptors (28-17, Last week — 7th)
Losing four straight isn’t the best look for any team and that is doubly true near the top of the heap. Granted, the Raptors did not have their leading scorer in DeMar DeRozan on Tuesday, but the team dropped three consecutive games before that. To make matters worse, two of those losses came to the Suns and Sixers. Panic time? Not yet, but the recent returns aren’t splendid.
9. Oklahoma City Thunder (26-19, Last week — 10th)
Russell Westbrook and his squad just completed a murderous stretch that included road trips to Los Angeles, Oakland and Salt Lake City. Oklahoma City went “just” 1-2 in that trio of brutal match-ups, but they ended on a high note in knocking off the Jazz. When compared to the recent past of some other teams in this range, that isn’t terribly ugly.
10. Boston Celtics (26-18, Last week — 8th)
The Celtics were waxed in Washington after losses to the Blazers and Knicks at home. To make matters worse, the team’s defense was ghastly in all three games. In Brad Stevens we trust, but Boston’s once-comfortable advantage on the rest of the East (sans Cavs and Raptors) isn’t so spacious anymore.
11. Atlanta Hawks (26-19, Last week — 9th)
When the Hawks lose, they lose ugly. Atlanta was blasted in Detroit to begin last week and Mike Budenholzer’s team ended the week in a decisive loss to a Clippers team playing without both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. On the bright side, the Hawks were able to win back-to-back games in between, and against all odds this is still a team with very good results over the past couple of months.
12. Memphis Grizzlies (26-20, Last week — 11th)
This is becoming a recurring theme of the week, but the Grizzlies aren’t playing like a team that would “normally” be No. 12 overall. Memphis is just 4-6 over the last ten games including a blowout home loss in their last outing. I do trust their core, though, and the rest of the contenders for this spot were even more flawed in nature.
13. Charlotte Hornets (23-22, Last week — 15th)
The Hornets are basically the picture of the Eastern Conference Playoff race. Charlotte is pretty good in the aggregate, but there are lulls and there are periods in which you’d wager on them to win 50 games. This group is too reliant on Kemba Walker and Nic Batum right now, but my gut tells me they’ll make the playoffs and be a tough out.
14. Milwaukee Bucks (21-23, Last week — 14th)
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker grabbed the affection of the league but, in recent days, the Bucks just haven’t been very good. In fact, I was all set to send them shooting down the list – before they thrashed the Houston Rockets. That will do wonders for stabilization.
15. Indiana Pacers (22-22, Last week — 13th)
Woof. As soon as Indiana starts to build trust, it evaporates. The Pacers have dropped three straight, including losses to the Lakers and Knicks, and the chirping about whether Paul George is long for Indianapolis has picked up again. For this year, they are middling and unspectacular but that is probably all you need to make the playoffs in the conference they dwell within.
16. Chicago Bulls (23-23, Last week — 16th)
Since Dwyane Wade went public in apologizing for his team’s poor performance, the Bulls have won two straight. That always helps, but until Chicago beats a team other than the Kings or Magic, it is probably best to withhold judgment. This team is kind of a circus.
17. Detroit Pistons (21-25, Last week — 17th)
I’ll be honest in admitting my assumption that Detroit would right the ship at some point. With three straight wins this week, it looked to be happening but, on cue, the Pistons dropped a home game to the Kings and that is a swift way to lose momentum. Throw in reports about a potential point guard swap, and the deck is anything but settled in the Motor City.
18. Denver Nuggets (19-25, Last week — 18th)
I can’t quit the Nuggets and a stretch of five wins in seven games provides no reason to do so. I might be in the minority in placing Denver ahead of Portland, New Orleans, and others in the West but the Nikola Jokic show (23.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists per game in January) rolls on and it is a lot of fun to experience.
19. New Orleans Pelicans (18-27, Last week — 21st)
Anthony Davis did not play on Monday evening and the Pelicans beat the Cavs. As noted above, there is nothing to really worry about with Cleveland, but that’s not a bad feather in the cap of Alvin Gentry. With Jrue Holiday in the lineup this season, New Orleans is 16-14 and that is closer to their actual expectation than their season-long record.
20. Portland Trail Blazers (19-27, Last week — 19th)
This remains a brutal defensive basketball team and that helped to sink them in four straight losses recently. Portland did pick up a solid win over Boston in their last outing, though, and that helps to mitigate any disastrous fall that might have taken place here.
21. Minnesota Timberwolves (17-28, Last week — 24th)
The Wolves have struggled mightily in close games this season, but that could be turning the corner based on recent results. Minnesota is riding a three-game winning streak and, over that stretch, Tom Thibodeau’s team has outscored opponents by seven total points. The jury is out as to whether to buy in, but it’s probably a good sign.
22. Philadelphia 76ers (16-27, Last week — 22nd)
I’m not sure how to live in a world in which the Sixers win 9 of 12 games but here we are. To be fair, Philly’s net rating (+0.3) over that stretch indicates it is probably unsustainable, but we can talk about that later. Take it in, Sixers fans. You’ve earned it.
23. New York Knicks (20-26, Last week — 20th)
With a 6-16 record over the past 22 games, the Knicks have cemented themselves among the bottom ten teams in the NBA. Some folks in New York haven’t caught on just yet, but in the midst of the outside noise surrounding Carmelo Anthony, Phil Jackson, and Derrick Rose is a mediocre-to-pretty-bad basketball team.
24. Dallas Mavericks (15-29, Last week — 23rd)
Dallas should probably be tanking given how brutal their start was, but nobody appears willing to tell Rick Carlisle. The Mavs have been highly competitive recently, winning four of six, and frankly this might be too low given how well they are playing at the moment.
25. Miami Heat (15-30, Last week — 27th)
Break up the Heat! Miami just zoomed through a homestand with an unblemished 4-0 record and that included stunning wins over the Rockets and Warriors. There is absolutely no reason to think this can continue, but Erik Spoelstra is (very) good at his job and he’ll keep grinding as much success out of this team as possible.
26. Sacramento Kings (17-27, Last week — 25th)
Since Dec. 27, the Kings are 3-10. If you want to dwell on the positive, Boogie’s bunch still remains only two games out of the No. 8 spot in the West. If you aren’t an eternal optimist, pointing to the fact that they are “close” to the No. 8 spot in a very ugly playoff race is probably a bridge too far to justify going with the status quo or even adding more veteran pieces for a run.
27. Phoenix Suns (15-30, Last week — 28th)
The Suns can be fun to watch at times but this is a bottom ten team on both ends of the floor. Phoenix is actually a very under-the-radar team when it comes to trade deadline considerations, but aside from Eric Bledsoe, there isn’t a ton to be excited about for this season and this season alone.
28. Orlando Magic (18-29, Last week — 26th)
This is going to seem harsh and I will grant you that. In the same breath, the Magic have lost 9 of 11, and Frank Vogel’s team is 27th in the NBA in net rating (-5.5) for the season. Orlando might just be bad. I know, I’m as upset about it as you are.
29. Los Angeles Lakers (16-32, Last week — 29th)
There is a pretty wide gap between the No. 30 team and everyone else, but the Lakers have earned this spot for now. Los Angeles has dropped six of seven and, as many have pointed out, Luke Walton’s team has every reason to tank given future draft considerations. Will they? Time will tell, but it would be the smart play.
30. Brooklyn Nets (9-35, Last week — 30th)
It would be a stunner at this point if Brooklyn ever emerged from the basement and losing 13 of 14 games won’t help their case. The Nets did explode for 143 (!) points in New Orleans last week, but that was the ultra-rare bright spot in an otherwise melancholy campaign.
