NBA Power Rankings: Bucks jump up with winning streak; Pistons on verge of history
As the NBA prepares to celebrate Christmas by playing its traditional day-long slate of premiere games, the one-third mark for the 2023-24 regular season has come and gone.
It’s clear that both the top and bottom of the league have distinct groups of teams — three teams have five or fewer wins as December nears its end in the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards.
Meanwhile, five teams battle it out for the top-five spots as they’ve passed the 20-win mark already that include the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Let’s look at this week’s edition of Thunder Wire’s NBA power rankings, capping off the week of Dec. 18 to Dec. 24:
Detroit Pistons (2-27)
Previous ranking: 30
The Pistons have been historically awful. Detroit is one loss away from owning the league record for the longest consecutive losing streak in the NBA during a single season. On the bright side, two of their last three losses were single digits.
San Antonio Spurs (4-24)
Previous ranking: 29The Spurs have lost four consecutive games and recently lost Victor Wembanyama to a freak accident where he rolled his ankle on a ball boy during pregame warmups. San Antonio’s had a rough season as an unlikely incident caused its prized prospect to miss time.
Washington Wizards (5-23)
Previous ranking: 28
The final member of a historically awful trio of the bottom of the league, the Wizards continue to tumble down the standings. During this past week, Washington picked up a rare win over the Trail Blazers. Jordan Poole also had the chance to face his old squad in a loss to the Warriors.
Charlotte Hornets (7-20)
Previous ranking: 26
Without LaMelo Ball, the Hornets continue to lose by lopsided scores. This past week, they lost by 31 points to the Pacers. Charlotte has lost seven consecutive games. Miles Bridges wasn’t allowed to travel to Canada due to legal issues.
Portland Trail Blazers (7-21)
Previous ranking: 27
The Trail Blazers snapped a seven-game losing streak earlier this week in a win over the Suns, but have quickly returned to their losing ways with two defeats since then. Jerami Grant is Portland’s leading scorer with 22.3 points.
Toronto Raptors (11-18)
Previous ranking: 22
The good news for the Raptors is that Scottie Barnes seems legit. The third-year forward is enjoying a career season with 20.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists. The bad news is they’ve lost three consecutive games without any real hope of brighter days ahead.
Memphis Grizzlies (9-19)
Previous ranking: 24
After missing the first 25 games, the Grizzlies welcomed Ja Morant back from a lengthy suspension. His return has coincided with three straight wins for Memphis after a rough start to its season — including a game-winner in his first game back. Perhaps with Morant back, they can make a run and threaten to make the playoffs.
Utah Jazz (12-18)
Previous ranking: 25
Even though they’re still in the race for the play-in tournament, rumors have started to circulate surrounding the Jazz and potentially trading All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen. The asking price will be expensive to acquire his services considering Danny Ainge’s history.
Chicago Bulls (13-18)
Previous ranking: 23
With Zach LaVine out for the foreseeable future, the Bulls have done a respectable job at keeping their head above water without their franchise player. Chicago has a 3-1 record in their last four games.
Atlanta Hawks (12-17)
Previous ranking: 21
Even though the Hawks have treaded mediocrity this season, Trae Young’s supernova season shouldn’t go unnoticed. The All-Star guard is averaging 28.3 points and 11.2 assists this season. Atlanta might not make noise, but Young’s been magnificent for them.
Brooklyn Nets (14-15)
Previous ranking: 20
After a hot start to their season, the Nets have crashed back down to reality over the last handful of games. Brooklyn previously lost five consecutive games before it won an easy one over the lowly Pistons.
Indiana Pacers (14-14)
Previous ranking: 15
The Pacers continue to struggle as their offense has struggled with recent regression. In their last two losses, Indiana has averaged just 106.5 points — a far cry from its 126.5 points average. A blowout win over the Hornets is the only thing that salvaged an otherwise rough week.
Phoenix Suns (14-14)
Previous ranking: 16
It’s not time to panic yet, but it’s been a rough start to the season for the Suns. Phoenix has struggled to stay healthy and the absence of Bradley Beal will only puncture that problem. The Suns have lost two in a row to the Kings and rebuilding Trail Blazers.
Golden State Warriors (15-14)
Previous ranking: 19
Never say die about the Warriors as they continue to overcome the absence of Draymond Green. Golden State has won five consecutive games thanks to Steph Curry’s awesome season and Klay Thompson stringing along several quality performances.
New York Knicks (16-12)
Previous ranking: 17
The Knicks continue to have a solid season led by Jalen Brunson’s career season. New York has gone 2-1 in its last three games with its sole loss being against the Bucks. The bad news is they’ve suffered the blow of losing Mitchell Robinson for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.
Los Angeles Lakers (16-14)
Previous ranking: 13
Trying to snap a four-game losing streak, Anthony Davis labeled the Lakers’ win over the Thunder as a ‘must-win’ contest. To Los Angeles’ credit, it played like its backs were against the walls. LeBron James scored a season-high 40 points over OKC.
Cleveland Cavaliers (17-13)
Previous ranking: 18
After losing both Evan Mobley and Darius Garland for an extended time, the Cavaliers have refused to let bad injury luck sink their season. Cleveland has gone 4-1 in its last five games as Donovan Mitchell is averaging 27.7 points this season.
Houston Rockets (15-12)
Previous ranking: 8
It continues to be a feast or famine season for the Rockets as they’re either in the middle of a lengthy winning or losing streak. Right now, Houston has won two consecutive games after previously losing three in a row.
New Orleans Pelicans (17-13)
Previous ranking: 10
The Pelicans have started to reach their true potential with the trio of Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and C.J. McCollum consistently playing together. Williamson, in particular, has strung together a nice stretch of games since the in-season tournament. New Orleans has won five of its last seven contests.
Orlando Magic (17-11)
Previous ranking: 12
After an impressive start to their season, a four-game losing streak has shown the Magic are still an extremely young team in the infancy of contention. Orlando snapped its losing streak with a win over the Pacers.
Sacramento Kings (17-11)
Previous ranking: 11
The Kings continue to show they’re legit after last year’s breakout season. The pairing of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis has made strong cases for Sacramento to have multiple All-Stars this season.
Dallas Mavericks (17-12)
Previous ranking: 9
A blowout win over the Spurs helped the Mavericks snap a three-game losing streak. Luka Doncic is turning in another historic season as one of the best players in the league. He’s averaging a monstrous 32.9 points, 9.1 assists and 8.6 rebounds.
LA Clippers (17-12)
Previous ranking: 7
The Clippers seem to have figured things out following their acquisition of James Harden. After enjoying a healthy Kawhi Leonard, he’s missed two consecutive games with injuries, which coincided with LA’s current two-game skid.
Miami Heat (17-12)
Previous ranking: 14
It’s been another successful season for the Heat, who continue to be a machine that chugs out wins. Miami has won two in a row over quality opponents in the Magic and Hawks. The returns of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro have fortified Miami’s squad.
Oklahoma City Thunder (18-9)
Previous ranking: 5
The Thunder continue to rack up close wins over quality opponents and dominating wins over the bottom of the barrel. Usually, this forecasts a contender. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has played like an MVP candidate, averaging 30.8 points and 6.3 assists.
Denver Nuggets (21-10)
Previous ranking: 6
The Nuggets have started to get hot, winning four consecutive contests. The reigning champions are once again led by Nikola Jokic, who is putting up another strong case for MVP. He’s averaging 26.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.2 assists.
Minnesota Timberwolves (22-6)
Previous ranking: 2
One-third through the season, the Timberwolves have proven to be legit and not some fluky start. Minnesota picked up two quality wins over the Kings and Lakers this past week. Anthony Edwards is playing like an All-NBA candidate and Rudy Gobert is once again anchoring one of the best defenses in the league.
Philadelphia 76ers (20-8)
Previous ranking: 3
The Sixers continue to be one of the best teams in the league thanks to Joel Embiid’s elite play. The reigning MVP is viewed as the favorite to repeat for the award again as he’s averaging 35 points and 11.7 rebounds. Philadelphia picked up an impressive win over the Timberwolves earlier this week.
Milwaukee Bucks (22-7)
Previous ranking: 4
It’s been another successful season for the Bucks as they’ve won seven straight with four being by double-digits. Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to be one of the best players, averaging 30.8 points on 60.4% shooting and 10.9 rebounds. He’s putting up another solid MVP campaign.
Boston Celtics (22-6)
Previous ranking: 1
The Celtics continue to be a dominant force in the league headlined by their star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Boston has won two games in a row where it averaged a ridiculous 144.5 points. They continue to be a regular-season machine.
