The San Antonio Spurs have operated at a minimum of a 50-win pace for twenty consecutive seasons. That, of course, is obscenely impressive and, in general, betting on Gregg Popovich and company always seems to be the right move. In the post-Tim Duncan era, though, there was at least some worry that the Spurs would regress, though that faint questioning evaporated with a ridiculous 61-win campaign a year ago and the full-blown ascent of Kawhi Leonard as the team’s centerpiece and a top-five player in the league.
In 2017-2018, the questions did arise again, albeit briefly, as Leonard missed the outset of the season with a mysterious injury. In fact, Leonard has appeared on the floor for only 69 minutes and, to this point, has been a virtual non-factor, even with the caveat that he will obviously play a central role moving forward. Still, the Spurs continue to press on, posting a 23-11 record that doubles as, you guessed it, a 55-win pace.
The Warriors and Rockets are (justifiably) garnering headlines, while the Thunder and Wolves are intriguing in different ways when it comes to the Western Conference hierarchy. In the same breath, it cannot be overstated just how mind-blowing it is that San Antonio is right in the mix again, with LaMarcus Aldridge exploding to lead an otherwise uninspiring roster to real success in the early going.
Whispers of boredom with how the Spurs operate are inevitable but, in truth, San Antonio’s brilliance isn’t quite as underrated as it used to be, at least until this season. The team has gotten enough buzz as an underrated entity by the basketball media recently to fill a number of column inches on a daily basis but, this time around, it is a new model that actually hasn’t included a real, live elite player. San Antonio may not chase down Golden State and/or Houston but, if and when they post another 55-win campaign, it shouldn’t be simply written off as yet another Spurs performance. It will be even more noteworthy.
Where are the Spurs this week in our Dime Power Rankings? Let’s find out.
1. Golden State Warriors (27-7, Last week — 1st)
Golden State finally lost a game this week but that wasn’t enough. It certainly helped that the Warriors won on Christmas (even if it came in controversial fashion) but, as many readers prompt us on why Golden State is entrenched in the top spot, it’s pretty simple. They are better than everyone else when they try and, so far, they’ve been trying often enough.
2. Houston Rockets (25-7, Last week — 2nd)
It’s tough to figure out what to do here, as the Rockets have lost three in a row but still own the league’s second-best record. This feels like the safe place but Chris Paul can’t return quickly enough.
3. Toronto Raptors (23-8, Last week — 4th)
The Raptors didn’t have the benefit of a Christmas showcase game to make an impression but they didn’t need it after winning six straight. There are signs that this year’s Toronto team could be different, even if no one will truly buy it until May.
4. San Antonio Spurs (23-11, Last week — 6th)
Just wait until Kawhi Leonard returns to full strength. Good luck.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers (24-10, Last week — 3rd)
Whether you believe LeBron was fouled or not, the Cavs were probably going to lose on Christmas. There is no shame in that when it comes to facing the Warriors but the loss to Milwaukee earlier in the week is what actually affects their standing here.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (19-15, Last week — 9th)
The Thunder team that we all expected has seemingly arrived. OKC has compiled five straight wins, including a wildly impressive victory over Houston, and that suddenly places Russell Westbrook, Paul George and company firmly in the mix for the No. 3 seed in the West. That’s fun.
7. Minnesota Timberwolves (21-13, Last week — 8th)
Many folks were asleep before Minnesota completed a win in Los Angeles on Christmas but it was the fourth in a row for the Wolves. Everything isn’t perfect, especially defensively, but the results are improving and you can see encouraging cohesion on the floor.
8. Boston Celtics (27-10, Last week — 5th)
Brad Stevens’ team has been ordinary lately. That doesn’t remove all optimism that was produced in the early going but, at the moment, this feels high for the way Boston is actually playing. Having played at least three more games through Christmas than any of the other top contenders may have caught up to them a bit in terms of being able to put up the nightly effort they have to to remain an elite squad.
9. Washington Wizards (19-15, Last week — 11th)
Much like the Thunder, there are signs that the “real” Wizards are here, including a Christmas road win in Boston. That result will likely produce questions as to why the Wizards trail the Celtics in this space but the big picture still matters and we need to see more consistency out of Washington.
10. Indiana Pacers (19-14, Last week — 13th)
The Pacers had a strong week in picking up three wins. The Pacers also had a week that won’t convince anyone of anything, as those wins came over the Nets (twice) and Hawks.
11. Denver Nuggets (18-15, Last week — 12th)
If nothing else, the Nuggets can take solace in stopping Golden State’s 11-game winning streak in style. Hurry back, Paul Millsap. This team will be scary at full strength.
12. Milwaukee Bucks (17-14, Last week — 14th)
Milwaukee has a +6.5 net rating with Eric Bledsoe on the court and -6.4 net rating when he leaves the court. That isn’t crazy given the baseline for above-average players but it does illustrate that the Bucks are a different team now than when he arrived.
13. Detroit Pistons (18-14, Last week — 7th)
The Pistons followed seven straight losses by winning four of five. Why did they fall, you ask? In short, losing to the Mavs can’t be considered anything but punishable and wins over the Knicks and Magic aren’t enough to mask that one.
14. New Orleans Pelicans (17-16, Last week — 16th)
It was a “taking care of business” week for the Pelicans and they did just that. Beating the Magic and Heat on the road won’t earn accolades but those are victories that New Orleans needs and they picked them up in solid fashion.
15. Portland Trail Blazers (17-16, Last week — 10th)
The Blazers have an extended break, with no game between Saturday and Thursday this week. It was undoubtedly nice for Portland to enter that vacation with a win but, prior to that, three straight losses prompted this dip in the rankings.
16. Philadelphia 76ers (15-18, Last week — 17th)
It isn’t breaking news to suggest that the Sixers are a different team with Joel Embiid in the lineup but… the Sixers are a different team with Joel Embiid in the lineup. That was reinforced in a road win on Christmas and here we are.
17. Miami Heat (17-16, Last week — 18th)
Despite the sour taste of a 15-point home loss before Christmas, the Heat are playing much better basketball. A 6-3 record over the past nine games may not seem like much but that kind of pace would work wonders for playoff positioning.
18. New York Knicks (17-16, Last week — 15th)
After winning four straight, the Knicks have now lost three of four, including a home loss on Christmas. It isn’t a grand indictment to lose to the Sixers (even at home) but New York just keeps hovering around the .500 mark. Remember, though, that virtually no one projected even that level of success this season.
19. Los Angeles Clippers (13-19, Last week — 21st)
The Clippers went into Houston and beat the Rockets by 10 points on a night when James Harden had 51. Read that sentence again and try to figure out what in the world happened.
20. Utah Jazz (15-19, Last week — 19th)
It’s been a weird month for the Jazz. Utah has just four victories in December but each of them comes at the expense of a playoff-caliber opponent and a quick look at the schedule would remind you that the Jazz have received no favors. At anything approaching full strength, Utah is better than this and the schedule opens up a bit in short order.
21. Charlotte Hornets (12-21, Last week — 20th)
Kemba Walker is tremendous and, when he leaves the court, everything dies in Charlotte. It’s a shame he can’t play 48 minutes every night because, if he could, the Hornets wouldn’t be in this spot.
22. Sacramento Kings (11-21, Last week — 26th)
This isn’t a good basketball team but the recent results have been intriguing. Back-to-back road wins over Philly and Brooklyn were relatively impressive and even some of the veterans are beginning to show life. On certain nights, the Kings are fun.
23. Brooklyn Nets (12-20, Last week — 25th)
There have been some struggles over the past few weeks in Brooklyn but, on the bright side, the Nets beat the Wizards by 35 points on Friday. How? I have no idea, but it happened.
24. Los Angeles Lakers (11-21, Last week — 22nd)
The only thing keeping the Lakers from seven straight losses is a road win… over Houston? Yes, that is bizarre and not even the spectacular offensive play of Kyle Kuzma has been able to bail out this team lately.
25. Chicago Bulls (10-22, Last week — 24th)
The most bizarre seven-game winning streak in recent memory came to an end this week and, frankly, that was always going to happen with games against the Cavs and Celtics. Still, it is actually tough to gauge where Chicago should be because, if you just emerged from a coma in December, this would seem extremely low.
26. Phoenix Suns (12-23, Last week — 23rd)
It wasn’t realistic for the Suns to maintain the pace referenced last week but winning a tight game over Memphis helps them from freefalling. There are a number of peripheral reasons to worry that Phoenix is actually worse than this but they keep outperforming those metrics and that isn’t a bad thing.
27. Memphis Grizzlies (10-23, Last week — 28th)
It is bizarre to consider that Memphis posting a 2-3 record over a five-game stretch would constitute progress but here we are. The wins came over the Hawks and Clippers but the Grizzlies will take it right now.
28. Atlanta Hawks (8-25, Last week — 29th)
The Hawks still own the NBA’s worst record but it was an encouraging week. There was a real, live win to go along with respectable losses to the Thunder and (to a lesser extent) Pacers, providing some optimism for the future.
29. Dallas Mavericks (9-25, Last week — 30th)
Knocking off Detroit would have sent Dallas flying up the rankings… until they lost to Atlanta. Of course, it was by a close margin on the road but that limits a team’s upward mobility in a hurry.
30. Orlando Magic (11-23, Last week — 27th)
We piled on the Magic in this space one week ago and, well, nothing has improved. Orlando has dropped eight straight and, despite avoiding the league’s worst record, no team is playing at a lower level right now. Injuries should be noted but it’s very ugly.
