After a 14-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 22, optimism was in short supply surrounding the Utah Jazz. The team was 19-28, and even at that relatively early point in the NBA calendar, Utah’s five-game deficit in the Western Conference Playoff race seemed almost prohibitive. From that moment forward, though, the lightbulb apparently went on for Quin Snyder’s team, and the result is the league’s longest active winning streak — 11 consecutive victories.
Over that period, the Jazz lead the NBA in net rating (+14.6) and defensive rating (97.7), avoiding any thought of fluke when compiling the wins. Rookie of the Year candidate Donovan Mitchell has been fantastic, but in the same breath, it has not necessarily been a superhuman effort from the first-year guard that has carried Utah to sudden greatness.
Big man Rudy Gobert suddenly resembles the All-Star center that the Jazz need, dominating defensively and providing sneakily effective offensive production with quality finishing and gravity. Elsewhere, point guard Ricky Rubio (injured in the last three wins) flipped the switch, averaging 18.9 points, 7.6 assists, and 5.4 rebounds over an eight-game sample while connecting on more than 50 percent of his three-point attempts.
There is, of course, reason to be skeptical of this level of success from Utah, particularly on the offensive end of the floor. Rubio isn’t going to shoot like this, the Jazz have received high-end play from Joe Ingles and others, and Utah may not improve with the swap of Rodney Hood for Jae Crowder. Still, Utah’s defensive baseline is remarkably high with Gobert on the floor and, if the French big man can simply stay healthy (the Jazz are 19-13 with him in the lineup this season), a playoff spot now seems more likely than not.
Just how high can/should Utah rise in this week’s All-Star break edition of our Dime Power Rankings? Let’s take a gander.
1. Golden State Warriors (44-14, Last week — 1st)
The Warriors do not currently boast the best record in the league and this ranking will inspire vitriol from Rockets fans and Warriors haters. I’ll say this, though: It’s close right now. That is more of a credit to Houston, because until anyone knocks them off, it’s hard to worry about Golden State.
2. Houston Rockets (44-13, Last week — 2nd)
Houston has won 10 straight and, if not for Utah’s absurd run, the Rockets would be getting more love for the way they are playing right now. This is a title-worthy team that happens to be occupying the same space as an all-time squad.
3. Toronto Raptors (41-16, Last week — 3rd)
Speaking of teams that should be receiving more love, the Raptors are very good. Toronto boasts its own seven-game winning streak and, if not for past playoff failures, most people would be fully buying in to what Dwane Casey’s team is selling.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (34-22, Last week — 4th)
Things are going well for LeBron James and company, and that manifested with impressive wins over Oklahoma City and Boston before the break. The jury is out in terms of ultimate upside but no one outside of Toronto is playing better in the East.
5. Utah Jazz (30-28, Last week — 6th)
The Jazz are going to lose soon… but they haven’t lost yet.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (36-25, Last week — 9th)
Not everyone was thrilled that Jimmy Butler sat out the All-Star Game but that isn’t a legitimate concern. Minnesota’s defense slipping back into old habits? That might be a thing.
7. Boston Celtics (40-19, Last week — 5th)
There isn’t a metric in the world that would tell you the Celtics are as good as their record indicates, and that was the case even before Boston dropped three straight. That isn’t a shot at Brad Stevens, Al Horford, or Kyrie Irving, though, as this roster wasn’t supposed to do anything approaching this after Gordon Hayward went down.
8. Washington Wizards (33-24, Last week — 10th)
Washington is quietly cooking a bit as winners of seven of nine games. This could fall under the annual inconsistency of the Wizards but, for now, the returns are positive and they feel dangerous again. The question: Can they keep this up when John Wall comes back?
9. San Antonio Spurs (35-24, Last week — 7th)
It’s never time to panic in San Antonio but losing five of six games isn’t a great look. Each loss was at the hands of a quality team, and that matters, but it’s also a reminder that the Spurs have been operating with smoke and mirrors for most of the year.
10. Denver Nuggets (32-26, Last week — 14th)
The Nuggets are a lot of fun when Nikola Jokic is allowed to do Nikola Jokic things. Denver has won six of seven and, provided Michael Malone lets the offense cook, watch out.
11. Indiana Pacers (33-25, Last week — 12th)
Victor Oladipo and company continue to be one of the better stories in the league, even if the novelty is just wearing off. In fact, Oladipo’s presence on the floor this season has virtually assured solid performance from the Pacers and this just feels like a good basketball team.
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (33-26, Last week — 13th)
The Thunder have the sixth-best net rating in the league. They are better than this. I just wish the win-loss results would follow a bit more closely.
13. Philadelphia 76ers (30-25, Last week — 11th)
Philly took care of business in sweeping through a five-game homestand before the break. Then, Joel Embiid did Joel Embiid stuff in Los Angeles. This is a team with all kinds of mojo. Oh and, by the way, Ben Simmons should still be the Rookie of the Year. Sorry, Donovan Mitchell.
14. Milwaukee Bucks (32-25, Last week — 8th)
The Bucks are 9-3 in the post-Jason Kidd era and the peripherals back up that uptick. It’s likely fair to assume that none of the Eastern Conference powers want anything to do with Milwaukee in round one.
15. Portland Trail Blazers (32-26, Last week — 15th)
Kevin Durant dropped 50 on Portland in the final game before the break … and the Blazers won. This is a very difficult team to gauge on a nightly basis but that singular moment was quite encouraging.
16. Los Angeles Clippers (30-26, Last week — 16th)
The Clippers started the season with an 11-18 mark. Since then, the team owns a record of 19-8. It would be tough to buy Los Angeles as the 19-8 team, but they certainly aren’t the 11-18 team, either.
17. New Orleans Pelicans (31-26, Last week — 17th)
I’m not prepared for a Pelicans offense that routinely throws up 130 points but the 139-point performance in the team’s final game prior to the break was a wild one. With New Orleans, though, anything is on the table at all times.
18. Detroit Pistons (28-29, Last week — 19th)
Detroit badly needed to hold serve against the undermanned Hawks in its last game prior to the break and the Pistons did everything possible to give the game away before holding serve. Honestly, this remains an enigma of a basketball team but Detroit is still in decent shape, especially with Miami cratering at an inopportune time.
19. Miami Heat (30-28, Last week — 18th)
The Jazz are in the midst of a massive run toward the playoffs. The Heat, meanwhile, are going the other way. Miami has dropped seven of eight and, even with a record sitting above the .500 mark, there is every reason to be concerned about a team that has been outscored for the season.
20. Charlotte Hornets (24-33, Last week — 21st)
There is no question that Charlotte is the most anonymous team that doesn’t live in the league’s bottom tier. In recent years, that hasn’t always meant that the Hornets were bad but, unfortunately, that courtesy does not extend to the 2017-2018 season.
21. Los Angeles Lakers (23-34, Last week — 20th)
Three straight losses before the All-Star break quelled some of the momentum in Los Angeles. Beyond that, at least one exec believes that the Lakers actually helped the Cavs in the LeBron sweepstakes this summer, which won’t exactly get anyone excited in Tinseltown.
22. Dallas Mavericks (18-40, Last week — 23rd)
Making sense of the Mavericks is a challenge and one that we’ve tried to tackle before. In the end, they feel like a better team than most of the bottom tier but that doesn’t change the on-court results.
23. Chicago Bulls (20-37, Last week — 24th)
The Bulls have at least a two-game lead on every team below them in these rankings. That is awe-inspiring to consider.
24. Atlanta Hawks (18-41, Last week — 22nd)
Hawks fans are panicking because, well, the team is playing reasonably well. It is amazing what happens when a team stops starting Miles Plumlee and deploying Marco Belinelli. Fear not, Atlanta faithful. We’re almost there.
25. Sacramento Kings (18-39, Last week — 28th)
Sacramento was starting from the lowest possible baseline but there are signs of improvement lately. This is a young roster and, in theory, that could result in improvement as the season persists, especially with an uptick from De’Aaron Fox at the point of attack.
26. Orlando Magic (18-39, Last week — 25th)
If you are still watching the 2017-2018 Orlando Magic and no one pays you to cover the NBA, you should win some kind of award. Bless you.
27. Brooklyn Nets (19-40, Last week — 27th)
The Nets may have the worst roster in the league but Brooklyn might avoid the absolute basement due to the absence of tanking incentive. It also helps that Brooklyn is well coached, which can’t be said for every team in the bottom tier.
28. Memphis Grizzlies (18-38, Last week — 29th)
To be at least somewhat fair to the Grizzlies, six of their past seven losses have come to playoff-quality teams. That doesn’t change the fact that Memphis is woeful right now, but maybe it will soften the blow for a particularly optimistic brand of Grizzlies fan.
29. New York Knicks (23-36, Last week — 26th)
Eight straight losses outline a problem we all saw coming: The Knicks are bad without Kristaps Porzingis.
30. Phoenix Suns (18-41, Last week — 30th)
The Suns headlined this space just a week ago and, well, not much has changed. Phoenix seems to have the conch right now among lottery-bound teams and, even with plenty of time remaining, there isn’t much to grab hold of outside of Devin Booker.
