KUWAIT TIMES NBA POWER RANKINGS
By Ahmad Jabr
KUWAIT: In addition to its usual coverage of the NBA, Kuwait Times introduces a new feature this year: the NBA Power Rankings. It is a weekly list ranking each team based on its performance during the week. The actual record for each team (put between brackets, for games played as of Sunday morning in Kuwait’s local time) plays a role in the assessment process but is not the main factor for deciding each team’s ranking, thus making it different from traditional league standings. In this week’s edition, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers lead the pack ahead of their highly anticipated finals’ rematch in this year’s Christmas Day specials. (For any comments or suggestions, e-mail the writer at: a.jabr@kuwaittimes.net) 1- Golden State Warriors (27 - 4) Last week: 1-
During their ongoing seven-game winning streak, the Warriors have shown the type of the offensive juggernaut it was feared to become when Kevin Durant joined the team this past offseason. Their narrow win over the Pistons on Friday brought them down to earth a little, and set up for an exciting Christmas Day clash against the Cavs. 2- Cleveland Cavaliers (22 - 5) Last week: 4 -
Speaking of the defending champs, the Cavs entered Sunday’s showdown riding their own wave of momentum behind their own fourgame winning streak, winning nine of their last 10, and fresh off seeing LeBron James surpass Moses Malone to become eighth in the list of the NBA’s career leaders for points. 3- San Antonio Spurs (24 - 6) Last week: 2 -
The Spurs ended the Rockets’ 10-game winning streak with a road win over Houston Tuesday, before losing to the Clippers in Los Angeles two nights later; only their second road loss this season. Strong performance outside of their home court will come especially valuable come playoffs time. 4- Toronto Raptors (21 - 8) Last week: 5 -
The Raptors found some success last week behind solid play from Player-of-the-Week DeMar DeRozan, but it was fellow backcourt teammate Kyle Lowry’s heroics that were instrumental in his team’s last three wins; especially on Friday against Utah. 5- Houston Rockets (22 - 9) Last week: 3 -
Losing to the Spurs at home and seeing their 10-game winning streak get snapped did not probably hurt as much as their loss to the Grizzlies on Friday, which gave them a glimmer of the tough defense they are surely to expect and will have to figure out a way to deal with should they intend to make a deep playoff run. 6- Los Angeles Clippers (22 - 9) Last week: 6 -
The Clippers beat the Spurs on Thursday despite playing without injured forward Blake Griffin, then lost to the Mavs the following night when Chris Paul sat out for injury as well. While they hope to stay competitive as Griffin recovers from his mandatory annual long-term injury, the Clippers know for sure they are going nowhere without their star point guard. 7- Memphis Grizzlies (20 - 12) Last week: 8 -
Memphis’ gritty defense returned to form as of late. The Grizzlies entered Sunday’s Christmas Day games ranked first in the NBA in defensive ratings, allowing their opponents to score only an average of 99.7 points so far this season. And while the same cannot be said about their offense, they had no problem outshooting the Rockets in their 115-109 victory on Friday. 8- Oklahoma City Thunder (18 - 12) Last week: 9 -
‘Mr Triple Double’ is back at it again. In Oklahoma’s Friday win over Boston, Russell Westbrook recorded his 14th triple-double this season and 51st in his career, while also snapping the Celtics’ streak of 230 straight games without allowing a triple-double. 9- Utah Jazz (18 - 13) Last week: 7 -
Injuries have left a dent on an otherwise very solid season so far for the Jazz, leaving us to only wonder where they would have been today with a healthy squad. They entered Sunday ranked eighth in offensive ratings, fourth in defensive ratings and seventh in net ratings. 10- Boston Celtics (17 - 13) Last week: 12 -
The Celtics won four of their last five games, with their only loss coming at the hands of Russell Westbrook and the Thunder. Meanwhile, Isaiah Thomas has fared well in that span against elite point guards, including Westbrook, Indiana’s Jeff Teague, and Memphis’ Mike Conley. 11- Charlotte Hornets (17 - 13) Last week: 13 -
After missing his team’s loss to the Celtics on Dec 17, Kimba Walker returned to the lineup to lead the Hornets to a three-game winning streak and key victories over fellow Eastern Conference playoffs contenders in the Hawks and Bulls. 12- Milwaukee Bucks (14 - 14) Last week: 10 -
Two back-to-back losses to the Cavs prevented the Bucks from having a five-game winning streak, which would have been their longest this season. They rebounded from those loses with a statement win over the Wizards behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s career-high 39 points. 13- New York Knicks (16 - 13) Last week: 14 -
Following the fiasco involving Phil Jackson’s controversial statements, Carmelo Anthony again found himself in the spotlight with negative comments made about him by his former coach George Karl in his latest book. Meanwhile, Derrick Rose has been very active in fueling his team’s latest victories over the Pacers and Magic. 14- Chicago Bulls (14 - 15) Last week: 11 -
Frustration is sinking in in the Windy City, as the Bulls scramble to find answers for their recent underwhelming performance that saw them lose five of their last six games. Matches against the Pacers (twice) and Bucks this week offer a chance for Chicago to rebound and reestablish its position in the East’s playoffs race. 15- Atlanta Hawks (15 - 15) Last week: 17 -
The Hawks are 2-1 since losing Dwight Howard to injury, including a key win over the Thunder. But whether they can find a way to keep winning or not before the Feb 23 trade deadline is likely going to determine if freeagent-to-be forward Paul Millsap remains with the team or gets traded before then. 16- Indiana Pacers (15 - 16) Last week: 15 -
The Pacers entered Sunday holding on to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, ahead of their matchup against ninthplace Chicago. Their up-and-down season has led star Paul George to proclaim that inconsistency has become synonymous with his team’s identity. 17- Washington Wizards (13 - 16) Last week: 18 -
The Wizards had a doubtful result in its early test against fellow Eastern Conference playoff contenders, losing to the Bucks and Pacers and beating the struggling Bulls last week. The test continues with matches against the Bucks and Pacers tonight and Wednesday respectively. 18- Detroit Pistons (14 - 18) Last week: 16 -
During their current five-game losing streak, the Pistons allowed their opponents to score an average of 117.5, and their defensive woes have drawn the ire of outspoken coach Stan Van Gundy. They pushed the Warriors to the limit on Friday but came up short of securing a victory in the end. 19- Sacramento Kings (13 - 17) Last week: 21 -
The Kings have won three straight games and six of their last 10, but most importantly, DeMarcus Cousins has been unstoppable as of late, averaging around 29 points per game in December, and even scoring 32 points (including three 3-pointers) against the Wolves’ frontcourt of Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng on Friday. 20- Denver Nuggets (12 - 18) Last week: 20 -
The Nuggets gave up an eight-point lead with less than two minutes remaining on Friday, and allowed the Hawks to go on a 9-0 run and snatch a 109-108 victory. A win there would have made Denver winners of four of their last five games. 21- Orlando Magic (14 - 18) Last week: 24 -
The Magic blocked a franchise-record nine shots in the first quarter alone (11 total) in their victory over the Lakers on Friday, which is a testimony to their recently improved defense that ranked eighth in the league in the last five games. 22- Portland Trail Blazers (13 - 19) Last week: 19 -
Damian Lillard played well for the Blazers over the past couple of weeks, but there is little that he could do when his team allowed their opponents to score an average of 122 (!) points in its last five games - all losses. They will need a lot of luck when they host the league’s best offense, the Raptors, on Wednesday. 23- Miami Heat (10 - 21) Last week: 23 -
There is no doubt that Shaquille O’Neal deserves to have his no. 32 jersey retired in Miami, as he played an extremely important role in the team’s first title win and in setting up a winning culture for the franchise. In four seasons with the Heat, O’Neal averaged 19.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. 24- Minnesota Timberwolves (9 - 20) Last week: 27 -
With Zach LaVine’s 40 points in Friday’s loss against the Kings, the Timberwolves became the first team in NBA history to have three players under the age of 22 score 40 points in a game (the two others being Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns), per the Elias Sports Bureau. 25- New Orleans Pelicans (11 - 21) Last week: 25 -
Friday’s win over the Heat was more about Anthony Davis’ dominant performance rather than the team’s much-needed victory. Going against one of the league’s best shot-blockers in Hassan Whiteside, Davis finished with 28 points on 10-17 shooting (including 2-3 from the three-point line), 22 rebounds (a career high) and four blocks. 26- Dallas Mavericks (9 - 12) Last week: 28 -
Dirk Nowitzki returned for the Mavs against the Clippers on Friday after missing 14 games for injury, and his 17 points in 15 minutes provided the spark that ignited Dallas’ victory over the team with the league’s fifth best record. 27- Los Angeles Lakers (11 - 22) Last week: 22 -
The Lakers entered the Christmas Day match against the Lakers on a four-game losing streak, and losing 12 of their last 13 games. Their main issue during that stretch has been their inability to protect double-digit leads, blowing a 19-point lead in both of their losses to the Heat and Hornets last week. 28- Phoenix Suns (9 - 21) Last week: 26 -
Coach Earl Watson is still trying to figure out a way to insert Dragan Bender into the rotation, or at least give him any meaningful minutes. The lottery pick prospect played only two (garbage time) minutes in the Suns’last three games. 29- Philadelphia 76ers (7 - 22) Last week: 30 -
Coach Brett Brown might want to ponder pairing Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel together in the frontcourt as both centers mutually desire; at least since Jahlil Okafor has mostly been overshadowed playing alongside rookie standout Embiid. 30- Brooklyn Nets (7 - 22) Last week: 29 -
At last teams with bad records like the 76ers and Mavs can look up to a deep NBA Draft class this upcoming offseason. The Nets, who currently share the league’s worst record with Philadelphia, are most likely going to lose their lottery pick to Boston, who has the right to swap first round picks in the 2017 Draft, courtesy of the 2013 Kevin Garnett - Paul Pierce trade.