USA TODAY International Edition
Streaking Cavs climb; 76ers join top 10
Don’t look now, but the Cavaliers have the third-best record in the NBA Eastern Conference. The Cavs have won seven consecutive games since starting 5-7 and, perhaps more important, have seen significant defensive improvements in that span (although 29th in overall defensive rating, they rank 10th during the streak).
With six weeks down, here’s how we view the current power structure. (Notes: Records and stats through Sunday’s games . ... Voters, listed at the end of the rankings, include NBA reporters from across the USA TODAY Network.)
1. (last week: 1) Celtics (18-3): Their 16-game winning streak came to an end against the Heat, but the Celtics boast the best record and defense in the NBA.
2. (3) Rockets (15-4): In the four games since Chris Paul returned from a knee injury, he and James Harden have averaged a combined 18.5 assists. The Trail Blazers, as a team, average 18.2.
3. (2) Warriors (15-5): The Warriors, who are 4-0 without Kevin Durant this season, have won their last 19 games without their superstar forward.
4. (8) Cavaliers (12-7): As encouraging as the last couple of weeks have been, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows in The Land, as often-injured 2011 MVP Derrick Rose is away from the team and contemplating his future.
5. (6) Spurs (12-7): Veteran point guard Tony Parker, who has been out since the Western Conference semifinals with a quad injury, was expected to make his season debut Monday. Next up: Kawhi Leonard. 6. (4) Raptors (12-7): The Raptors own a net rating of +7.4 — third in the NBA — and have one of the easiest schedules on tap on the December slate.
7. (5) Pistons (12-6): The Pistons lead the NBA in comeback victories, as seven of their 12 wins have come in games in which they’ve trailed by double figures.
8. (12) 76ers (11-7): The last time the Sixers had 11 wins on Nov. 27? The 200203 season.
9. (9) Trail Blazers (12-8): Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic each scored 25-plus in Friday’s win over the Nets — the first time a Blazers trio has done so since 1995, per Elias Sports.
10. (7) Timberwolves (12-8): Threetime All-Defensive second-teamer Jimmy Butler criticized Minnesota’s defensive effort after Friday’s loss to Miami. The T’wolves rank 25th in defensive rating. “We haven’t guarded anybody all year long,” Butler said. “We’ve got to eventually figure it out and want to play defense, stop trying to outscore the opposing team. That starts with me and goes all the way down the line.”
11. (11) Nuggets (11-8): In three games since Paul Millsap’s wrist injury, Nikola Jokic has averaged 20.3 points on 58.1% shooting, 11 rebounds and 4.7 assists and has a plus-minus of +9.7.
12. (15) Pacers (11-9): Raise your hand if you expected the Pacers to be one of the top teams in the East at this point, reeling off five-game winning streaks behind stellar play from Victor Oladipo, who seems destined to be an All-Star.
13. (16) Pelicans (11-9): Anthony Davis passed Chris Paul (7,936 points) for No. 2 on New Orleans’ all-time scoring list Wednesday. He trails Warriors forward David West, who scored 8,690 in his eight seasons with the franchise.
14. (10) Wizards (10-9): This next stretch of games will tell you all you need to know about the Wizards, who will be without John Wall (knee) for approximately two weeks. 15. (13) Bucks (9-9): According to Giannis Antetokounmpo, the video that surfaced of him shouting at Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney during Saturday’s loss was “something common.” “You always fight with your brothers,” Antetokounmpo said Sunday. “Me and Sweeney, we’re so tight. He always speaks the truth to me, and I always speak the truth to him. We’ve done this in the past, just this time it was caught on national TV.”
16. (14) Thunder (8-11): How did the Thunder respond to their best win of the season, a 17-point rout of Golden State? By letting up a 15-point lead to fall to Detroit and scoring 81 in a loss to Dallas.
17. (20) Heat (10-9): The Heat won their third consecutive game Sunday thanks to a 54-point outing from their bench, which ranks 10th in the NBA in scoring with 38.5 points per game.
18. (17) Knicks (10-9): The Knicks, 9-3 at home and 1-6 on the road, have about a month to sort out their awaygame woes, as 12 of their 16 games in January will be played outside the comfy confines of Madison Square Garden.
19. (22) Jazz (9-11): Rodney Hood continues to thrive coming off the bench, averaging an NBA-best 19.3 points as a non-starter. 20. (21) Lakers (8-11): The Lakers, who allowed an NBA-worst 110.6 points
per 100 possessions last season, rank sixth on that end of the floor this season with a defensive rating of 101.
21. (24) Clippers (7-11): The injury bug continues to bite the Clippers, as Patrick Beverley (knee) is out for the season, Danilo Gallinari (glute) hasn’t played in nearly a month and Milos Teodosic is nursing a plantar fascia injury.
22. (23) Hornets (8-11): Only Sacramento and Chicago have worse records on the road than the Hornets, who are 1-8 away from the Spectrum Center.
23. (26) Nets (7-12): The Nets have seven wins before December for the first time since 2012 — a feat in and of itself considering the losses of D’Angelo Russell and Jeremy Lin.
24. (19) Grizzlies (7-12): As if things weren’t already spiraling out of control, coach David Fizdale benched All-Star big man Marc Gasol in the fourth quarter of the loss to Brooklyn on Sunday — their eighth in a row — and then himself was fired by management Monday.
25. (18) Magic (8-12): The Magic have lost eight consecutive games by an average of 15.1 points, a stark contrast to the 8-4 record and +4.7 point differential they owned to start the season.
26. (29) Mavericks (5-15): For a team that has lacked in the exciting moments department, Harrison Barnes’ buzzerbeating, off-the-glass heave to push the Mavs past the Grizzlies on Wednesday was a breath of fresh air.
27. (25) Suns (7-14): It’s not an encouraging sign when an authority figure publicly questions himself, but Suns interim coach Jay Triano did as much. “I questioned myself all (Friday) night about our energy,” Triano told reporters after his team’s loss to New Orleans. “Are we practicing too hard? Are our shoot-arounds too hard? Is there too much emphasis on skill work?”
28. (28) Kings (5-14): The youth movement is alive and well, but that hasn’t stopped 16-year veteran Zach Randolph from making an impact. The 36-year-old has been especially efficient as of late, averaging 17 points on 54.7% shooting, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals in his last four games.
29. (27) Hawks (4-16): John Collins has been one of the top rookies in the NBA over the last seven games, averaging 13.7 points on 72.6% shooting and 6.7 rebounds during that span.
30. (30) Bulls (3-15): In Friday’s loss, Chicago, facing a Warriors team that was without Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, allowed 143 points — the most a Bulls team has let up in 27 years.
This week’s power ranking voters: USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick, Jeff Zillgitt, Michael Singer and AJ NeuharthKeusch; Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis; The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record’s Steve Popper; The Indianapolis Star’s Clifton Brown; HoopsHype’s Raul Barrigon