Chuddy’s NBA Power RankingS
January 2, 2024
Happy New Year everybody! Welcome to the sixth installment of King Chuddy’s weekly NBA power rankings and the first installment of 2024. As always, these rankings will fluctuate based on the team's performance during the previous week and any changes in personnel, health, schematics, or overall quality of play. These rankings are NOT predicting for the future, or used to determine odds of ultimately winning the title, they are just based on what the team has done recently and what is their immediate outlook. For example, the Nuggets have the best future outlook to win the title and at full strength in a playoff setting they are the “best” team in the league. But they have not been playing their best basketball in recent weeks, so they are not #1 in the rankings. Think of these rankings as something more like the top 25 rankings in college basketball/football and they should make more sense. Feel free to leave your comments/opinions and tell me why I’m wrong, or why I am a genius. Without further ado…
Boston Celtics (26-6, Last week: 1) - Three more wins for the C’s (albeit tough ones) makes it 6 in a row now. They will be in this #1 spot at least until they suffer another defeat.
Minnesota Timberwolves (24-7, Last week: 2) - They showed some warts in getting trounced by the Thunder, but bounced back with wins over Dallas and the Lakers. They remain atop the West by 2 games and continue to boast the league’s best defense by a healthy margin.
Oklahoma City Thunder (22-9, Last week: 5) - 4 Straight wins including blowouts vs the Wolves and at Denver have them knocking on the door of the 1 seed in the west. They look like one of the most complete two-way teams in the whole NBA. They’ve got a big one looming Tuesday night against the Celtics.
Denver Nuggets (23-11, Last week: 3) - They lost Aaron Gordon for a bit while he deals with injuries from a dog bite, and they got pushed around at home by the Thunder in their last game. But prior to that they had ripped off 6 straight impressive wins and looked like they were starting to get their groove back.
Milwaukee Bucks (24-8, Last week: 6) - The Bucks have been slowly but surely climbing these rankings every week. Watching them play leaves something to be desired (especially on defense), but they keep churning out wins, while looking better and better (Middleton has looked more like his old self recently), and they clearly have a lot of room to improve.
Philadelphia 76ers (22-10, Last week: 4) - They seem firmly locked into the East’s top 3, but every game without Embiid shows just how dependent they are on the MVP and his two-way dominance.
Los Angeles Clippers (19-12, Last week: 9) - They capped off an 11-2 month of December by winning two straight without Kahwi. They’re 16-5 since starting 3-7 and the team is starting to roll while players start to fit into their roles. It also seems that Kawhi and Plumlee are on the verge of returning to the lineup.
Miami Heat (19-13, Last week: 7) - No Butler, no problem. The Heat continued their winning ways even without their star and keep getting contributions from unlikely sources.
Sacramento Kings (19-12, Last week: 8) - The Kings have quieted a lot of doubters by steadying themselves firmly in the West’s top 6. Every tough loss seems to be followed by an impressive bounceback win. De’Aaron Fox somehow keeps getting better.
New Orleans Pelicans (19-14, Last week: 13) - The good vibes are back ever since the IST. This team still has one of the deepest rosters in the league and there is plenty of room for Zion and Ingram to play better. The arrow is pointing up as we approach the trade deadline.
Dallas Mavericks (19-14, Last week: 10) - Luka has been absolutely incredible, but he’s getting very little help from his supporting cast and the Mavs keep falling down the standings. This week included a brutal home loss after blowing a huge lead to a Cavs team that was missing their top 3 players.
Orlando Magic (19-13, Last week: 11) - The early season shine has worn off the Magic as of late, but they’re still in good position to vie for a top 6 seed. They’ll stabilize if they can improve the stagnant offense around their two young stars.
Indiana Pacers (17-14, Last week: 22) - The Pacers rolled for 3 straight much-needed wins and have righted the ship a bit after major post-IST lulls.
Phoenix Suns (17-15, Last week: 23) - Speaking of righting the ship! The Suns have won 3 straight and finally got a full game with their big 3 - who each scored 20+ in a win. Now the question is how long can all three stay on the court?
Cleveland Cavaliers (18-14, Last week: 18) - They miraculously held their own (and then some) without their top 3. Now Donovan Mitchell is back and they should be able to stay in the mix until Garland and Mobley return as well. What recently seemed like it could spiral into a lost season now seems extremely salvageable.
New York Knicks (17-15, Last week: 15) - The Knicks have sputtered to 3 straight losses, but they just acquired All-Defense wingman, OG Anunoby. He should immediately bolster their starting lineup, and provide the Knicks another solid young piece to build around. They still have the assets to go acquire a star and push this team into the contender conversation.
Chicago Bulls (15-19, Last week: 19) - The Bulls have arguably been playing the best basketball in the East outside of the top 4 ever since Zach Lavine got injured. Now they’ve lost Vucevic as well, but not to worry, Andre “Big Penguin” Drummond has stepped into the lineup and kept the good times rolling.
Utah Jazz (14-19, Last week: 21) - The Jazz have quietly been playing very well in a loaded Western conference since Markkanen has returned to the lineup. They’ve won 4 of 5 and 7 of 10. They’ve got a surprisingly deep roster and are very well coached. They’ll be one of the most interesting teams to watch over the next few weeks as the trade deadline looms.
Los Angeles Lakers (17-17, Last week: 17) - The Lakers are exerting an awful lot of energy from their stars only to come away with close losses. It has to be concerning that LeBron and AD have both played extremely well and had extremely good health yet the team flounders around .500.
Houston Rockets (15-15, Last week: 14) - The new-car smell has worn off the Rockets and Ime Udoka a bit. The team is still incredibly improved from years past, but they have major issues scoring and have to figure out what to do with Jalen Green.
Golden State Warriors (15-17, Last week: 12) - It seemed like things were starting to click for the Dubs, but 3 straight losses have them back outside of the play-in spots currently, and has shown just how small their margin for error has become with the current roster.
Memphis Grizzlies (10-22, Last week: 16) - After 4 straight wins with Ja Morant, the Grizz have now lost 3 straight. Ja missed one of those games with an illness and didn’t look himself in the other two, but still, it’s a stark reminder that the Grizzlies have to play near perfect basketball the rest of the way just to make the play-in.
Brooklyn Nets (15-18, Last week: 20) - The Nets are free falling down the East standings. Mired in purgatory; too good to tank, not nearly good enough to compete. This team has a lot of decisions to make in the next couple of months.
Atlanta Hawks (13-18, Last week: 24) - The Hawks have definitely looked better with Jalen Johnson back in the lineup. But unfortunately for them, their “better” still isn’t quite good. They certainly have talent, but it just doesn’t appear to be maximized together. This team is overdue for a shake up.
Toronto Raptors (12-20, Last week: 25) - Speaking of shake ups, the Raptors have FINALLY made one. I love the addition of Immanuel Quickley for them and I’m excited to see how he looks in an expanded role, running the offense alongside Scottie Barnes.
Portland Trailblazers (9-22, Last week: 26) - The Blazers are tanking the right way. The team is fun to watch, they compete (despite usually losing), they have good valuable vets (Brogdon & Grant), and the young players are showing promise (Sharpe looked good before getting hurt, Simons looks great since returning from injury, and Scoot has started to come on lately). Blazers fans should be happy (as much as one could reasonably expect).
Detroit Pistons (3-29, Last week: 30) - Out of the basement! The Pistons finally won a game! This may seem like an overreaction to move them up this much, but frankly they are playing pretty good basketball since Bogey and Duren have returned to the lineup. Cade finally looks like a budding star and Ivey looks better with each passing game. Plus the teams below them are REALLY bad.
Washington Wizards (6-26, Last week: 28) - They've fallen into a couple of wins because they’ve got guys who can get hot and score points, but the defense is generally embarrassing.
San Antonio Spurs (5-27, Last week: 29) - Top to bottom, this roster is pretty gruesome. Even with Wemby playing well, they are miles below even league average teams.
Charlotte Hornets (7-23, Last week: 27) - The new kings of the basement, the Hornets have now lost 10 straight games and look pretty hopeless without LaMelo Ball.