NBA Power Rankings – Page 2 – Syndication Server

January NBA Power Rankings: The Boston Celtics are just better than everyone else

Banner No. 18 looks like a real possibility moving forward for the Celtics.

The actual calendar has turned into a new year. We’re in the 2024 section of the season — this is when things start to get real around the NBA.

The All-Star Game is coming up. Players are making that push to get into the game. The best teams around the league are separating themselves from the worst. The small sample sizes we were previously looking at aren’t so small anymore.

The biggest conclusion that I’ve come to after watching the first part of the season is this: The Boston Celtics are far and away the best team in the NBA so far this year. If Boston is healthy, it should make the NBA Finals.

That’s a big if considering the injury history of Kristaps Porzingis, who is the key to unlocking everything for this team. But, regardless, this team is really, really good.

Let’s dive into these power rankings.

NBA Power Rankings: Celtics continue to dominate; NBA champs Nuggets find form

NBA Power Rankings: Celtics continue to dominate; NBA champs Nuggets find form.

Following the first week of January, the NBA creeps closer to the Feb. 8 trade deadline. Look for several contenders to make calls as they try to make last-minute additions to their roster for aspirational playoff runs.

In the meantime though, the top of the league continues to shuffle after another jam-packed week of games. One constant remains though and that’s the Boston Celtics separating themselves from the rest of the league.

In the West, it continues to be a bloodbath at the top. It looks like the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets have found their form while the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder have hit a road bump.

Let’s look at this week’s edition of Thunder Wire’s NBA power rankings, capping the week of Jan. 1 to Jan. 7:

NBA Power Rankings: Thunder in the top 2; Pistons snap historic losing streak

NBA Power Rankings: Thunder in the top 2; Pistons snap historic losing streak.

As the calendar flips to 2024, the NBA regular season has reached the portion where only four months remain before the start of the playoffs.

The top class of the league continues to enjoy success as they rack up wins. The Boston Celtics look like the team to beat in the East while the West is dominated by a trio of Northwest division teams.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the league, the Detroit Pistons snapped a historic losing streak. The San Antonio Spurs continue to lose as No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama had his best game yet.

Let’s look at this week’s edition of Thunder Wire’s NBA power rankings, capping the week of Dec. 25 to Dec. 31:

NBA Power Rankings: Bucks jump up with winning streak; Pistons on verge of history

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 premier 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.

Three teams have five or fewer wins as December nears its end: the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards. Meanwhile, five teams have passed the 20-win mark, including the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Let’s look at this week’s edition of Thunder Wire’s NBA power rankings, capping the week of Dec. 18 to Dec. 24:

NBA Power Rankings: Celtics sit atop; Thunder make it in top 5

As Christmas nears, the entire league has collectively past the first quarter mark of the 2023-24 regular season.

Teams have reached the point in their schedules where teams are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

The contenders are slowly starting to make themselves known with a variety of teams we’ve grown accustomed to — like the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks — while simultaneously seeing a new crop of teams pry open their window — like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder.

At the bottom of the league, it’s a historic race for lottery balls as three teams have won less than five games midway through December.

Let’s look at this week’s edition of Thunder Wire’s NBA power rankings, capping off the week of Dec. 11 to Dec. 17:

NBA Power Rankings: 76ers surging, Warriors continue to stumble

Now that roughly 25 games have come and gone, let’s take a look at the NBA power rankings.

It’s been an odd NBA season thus far. Plenty of teams have exceeded expectations, but just as many are struggling to meet them. The Chicago Bulls are a prime example, as they got off to a rough start, but lately, they’ve been picking up the pace. It’s been a similar story around the league.

The Philadelphia 76ers have won six games in a row, tied with the LA Clippers for the longest win streak in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Stephen Curry-led Golden State Warriors just can’t seem to get out of their own way. They’ve lost three games in a row and are 4-6 in their last 10 games.

Obviously, a lot can change throughout the course of the season, but now that we’re roughly 25 games into the year, the playoff picture is slowly starting to take shape.

Let’s take a look at what the NBA power rankings are looking like so far this year.

NBA Power Rankings: The Lakers might actually have something special brewing

The Lakers feel like they might have something special going on.

There’s something that just clicks with this Lakers team, isn’t it?

I don’t know if it’s the magical residue of the NBA In-Season tournament that might be making this team feel a bit better than it is. Or maybe it’s just the fact that LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been so dominant in recent weeks. But, man. This team just has it. Whatever it is.

Look, I could be proven wrong about these Lakers. They could collapse tomorrow and it wouldn’t be shocking. But this team just seems to vibe so well.

The Lakers play hard and do it for one another. We saw that earlier this season when LeBron James went out of his way to let all of us know that he trusts Cam Reddish no matter what we say about him.

That’s the sort of chemistry we see from teams that win and win big. I don’t know how this Lakers season ends. I don’t know where they go from here. But right now, there’s not a team in the NBA with a better vibe. That has to count for something.

Let’s get into these power rankings.

NBA Power Rankings: The Warriors are in trouble and the Thunder should terrify the rest of the NBA

The Golden State Warriors look like they’re in some real trouble here.

The NBA’s standings feel like a bizarro world right now.

You’ve got the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors at the bottom of the Western Conference jockeying for play-in position. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder look like two of the best teams in the league.

Along with that, the Denver Nuggets have dipped quite a bit in recent days and the Bucks are just starting to catch their stride. Meanwhile, the Celtics just keep winning games at the top of the East.

Our latest edition of NBA Power Rankings is here. It’s still early, but a ton of what we’re seeing now feels very real.

Especially the Thunder.

ESPN ranks OKC Thunder No. 15 in offseason power rankings

Thoughts on the ranking? Too high? Too low? Just right?

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The NBA has entered the slowest part of the league calendar. The draft is over and all of the big free agency moves have been made.

Teams now enjoy a vacation before preparing for training camp in September. While rosters are not finalized yet, we have a pretty good picture how they’ll look for all 30 teams by the time the 2023-24 season tips off.

In the meantime, ESPN created a power ranking based on offseason moves. The Oklahoma City Thunder were 15th after a relatively quiet offseason.

“Once again, the Thunder have used their cap space to pick up extra players and second-round picks as a dumping ground of sorts, but there will be two big additions on the court for them next year. First, Chet Holmgren will be available after missing all of last season with a foot injury. The Thunder also added former two-time EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic on a three-year deal. Micic averaged 16.5 points and 4.6 assists per game with the Turkish club Anadolu Efes last season.”

Exactly in the middle is a pretty respectable choice at this point of the offseason. By the end of next season though, that should be higher. The Thunder look to internal improvement to build upon their 40-win campaign last season.

As mentioned, the biggest additions to the roster are Chet Holmgren, Vasilije Micic and Cason Wallace.

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Rookie Wire: OKC Thunder ranked No. 24 in latest NBA power rankings

The OKC Thunder remains in the same spot they were ranked last week by @RookieWire .

Rookie Wire’s writer Cody Taylor published his weekly NBA power rankings on Monday.

For the Oklahoma City Thunder, they remain steady at No. 24 — the same spot as last week’s power rankings.

“The Thunder offense completely exploded on Sunday in a 145-135 win over the Knicks. Their 145 points scored were the most since January 2018 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 37 points. Meanwhile, Josh Giddey put up his first triple-double of the season with 24 points, 12 assists and 10 assists. He became just the second player ever (Wilt Chamberlain, 1968) to record triple-doubles in their first two games at Madison Square Garden.”

The Thunder continue to surprise the league with their performances. Despite being 6-8, they’ve looked like a much improved team with the MVP play of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

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