Official /r/nba Power Rankings #5 (12.26.2022)

[19/30 rankers reporting this week.](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1–xX0VpsDJBfsTPlnpVkF2IRD0RMEfIzX1wEyOxDP7Q/edit?usp=sharing) /R/NBA’s Power Rankings are published every two weeks which is a bit different from most rankings. Other than that we rank the teams the same way as our competition. If write ups are left blank the team rep decided not to submit. We encourage any user to fill in the blanks in the comment section.

\# | Team | Δ | Record | Comment |
–: | :– | :– | :-: | :– |
1 | [](/BOS) Celtics | — | 24-10 | When they’re hot they’re hot. When they’re cold, dear god they’re cold. This team’s unnatural hot streak to begin the season finally hit a cold stretch 2 weeks ago, and it saw them lose 5 times over 6 games. They went from the best offense in the league so far this season to during their recent stretch of games having the worst. Luckily, the Celtics were able to recover and beat the Timberwolves, and then dominate the Bucks on Christmas day in a statement game. Over the next 2 weeks the Celtics will play 6 times, with matchups against the Rockets, Clippers, @Nuggets, @Thunder, @Mavs, and @Spurs. What a lovely road trip to start the new year. |
3 | [](/BKN) Nets | +5 | 21-12 | |
3 | [](/MIL) Bucks | — | 22-11 | |
4 | [](/DEN) Nuggets | +2 | 21-11 | Alright y’all, it’s time to hop on the Joker MVP bandwagon before it’s too late. The Nuggets have been rolling, winning 7 of their last 8 games, and Jokic has been leading the charge while putting up spectacular numbers in December, averaging 30 pts, 13 reb, 10 ast per game on the month. Besides Jokic, the team’s MVP thus far has been Aaron Gordon. His status may be up in the air after murdering Landry Shamet on live TV last night, but I’m sure Denver PD can look past this one. Despite the return of Michael Porter Jr. last week, Gordon has continued to shine as an extremely efficient second/third scoring option next to Jokic. Also, with Jeff Green breaking his hand on Friday, it will be interesting to see how Michael Malone decides to adjust the rotation to include guys like Zeke Nnaji and Vlatko Cancar, who Nuggets fans have been begging to see more of in lieu of Uncle Jeff and DeAndre Jordan. Jordan has (thankfully) been relegated to the end of the bench in the past week, so expect to see more Nnaji and Cancar moving forward. |
5 | [](/CLE) Cavaliers | — | 22-12 | |
6 | [](/MEM) Grizzlies | -2 | 20-12 | Once again the team puts their foot directly into their esophagus as they fail to show up to the first Christmas game in Memphis basketball history. For the season, Ja has been much improved on defense and has been an elite level playmaker in addition to his scoring duties, however against the team that is clearly in the heads of every player on our roster, he completely forgets how to play defense and gets cooked by a squad of G league players. Jaren has now been in foul trouble the last three games, bringing back up a problem that so far this season hasn’t existed, and Bane had his worst game as a pro. These are all fixable problems, but it boils down to two things, youth and experience. The thing this team needs more than anything is a veteran player, who’s won a championship, and can be a reliable three point shot. Enter Danny Green, who surprised the fanbase during a sideline interview saying he expected to be back playing games before the all-star break. We don’t need his talent or skillset, what this team desperately needs is a guy who can calm the waters when things are getting intense. |
7 | [](/NOP) Pelicans | -6 | 20-12 | |
8 | [](/PHI) 76ers | +3 | 20-12 | The comeback kings have been looking like a real squad so far. They have been bolstered by an Embiid that scores at a blistering high rate, as well as Harden who might as well be Santa with how many gifts he’s been giving his shooters this year. With the Sixers recently completing their sweep of their 7-game homestand and a Christmas Day win, the Sixers are suddenly truly in contention for the top seed. Everyone on this team is contributing, will the good times continue to roll with Maxey soon returning? |
9 | [](/PHX) Suns | -2 | 19-15 | |
10 | [](/LAC) Clippers | +2 | 19-15 | With Kawhi and PG playing more normal minutes, the team looks together. The top tier teams are the tough games and bottom tier are easy. The Clips can win on any given day, and that’s what we like to see. |
11 | [](/DAL) Mavericks | +4 | 18-16 | The Mavs got hit with injuries to three of their most important role players in Josh Green, Maxi Kleber, and Dorian Finney-Smith, but this hasn’t stopped the Mavs from playing some of their best games of the season. Christian Wood is finding a groove in Kleber’s absence, and the chemistry and effort are at a season-best heading into the new year. If Luka Doncic stays healthy, this team has proven they can beat, or at least hang with, any team in the league. |
12 | [](/NYK) Knicks | +5 | 18-16 | Amazing road team, terrible home team. We’re losing by low amounts because of easily adjustable things like free throws and defensive efficiency. Hopefully we can right the ship, I think this squad is capable of 6 or 5 seed at its best. |
13 | [](/SAC) Kings | -4 | 17-14 | Inconsistency has reared its ugly head with this team.. after going 3-3 on the road the Kings have lost two home games against wizards and the awful Hornets.. with Domas potentially out with a hand Injury this team may be under .500 in the next ranking |
14 | [](/UTA) Jazz | +4 | 19-16 | Players this season averaging 20+ PPG on 65%+ TS. KD, Curry, Jokic, AD and LAURI MARKKANEN. 20+ppg scorers in NBA history to shoot 53%+ from the field and 43%+ from the three point line in the same season…2021 KD, 2023 LAURI MARKKANEN. The only 20+ppg scorer this season that isn’t even top 40 in field goal attempts per game…LAURI MARKKANEN. By now you get the point, Lauri Markkanen is a walking bucket and has been super efficent too this season.. His late 10 games are 25.1 PPG at 75.6% TS and his season numbers are 22.8 PPG at 66.8% TS. Call him what you want, MIP, The Finnisher, Lauri Bird..this man is an All-Star and deserves a selection.. Don’t forget to vote Lauri Legend on your ballot today! |
15 | [](/ATL) Hawks | -1 | 17-16 | There is no joy in watching the Hawks. When they win they are blowing 15 point leads in the final 2 minutes but hanging on for a win or beating the brakes off the worst teams in the league. When they lose it’s cause our players are coating their hands in butter and can’t hold on to a rebound. The only good thing about the Hawks is that Trae Young is starting to be able to hit shots from outside 5 feet again. Whatever. I don’t care. I hate this team. |
16 | [](/POR) Trail Blazers | -3 | 17-16 | |
17 | [](/IND) Pacers | -1 | 17-16 | At this point, it’s safe to say the Pacers have no intention of tanking…yet. Despite tough losses to some of the top teams in the league, Indiana keeps fighting, and they are hovering around .500 and firmly in the playoff hunt. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin has significantly cooled off since his torrid start to the year, only scoring 14 points per game on 24% three-point shooting over the last 12 games. |
18 | [](/GSW) Warriors | -7 | 16-18 | The curse of the road Larriors continued over the road trip with a single win and Curry injury to top it off. With Wiggins and Curry out Poole has done what he could to carry the load. Wiseman put together maybe one of his worst games ever and followed it up with one of his best games ever. Meanwhile Klay keeps shooting mediocre and Looney continues to be Loon-god. Hopefully that 3-4 week timeline for Steph holds because the Warriors need him. |
19 | [](/MIA) Heat | +3 | 16-17 | Things aren’t going too good for the Heat, but they were on a win streak this past week prior to dropping games against the Bulls and the Pacers. We did drop games against the Detroit Pistons (Bogdanovic had a really good night and we did not) and the Spurs prior to the win streak, but that’s just the reality of the team this year. Haliburton having a record night shooting 3s is also difficult to overcome, but losing Jimmy Butler towards the end made it more difficult to keep up albeit Herro did his best offensively. It’s a question as to how you can leave Haliburton open at the end of the game when he can’t miss as well. There’s just not a lot the team can do once Jimmy Butler goes missing, and it’s a question mark considering his issue with nagging injuries will not go away permanently (in a basketball sense). Things shouldn’t fall apart on either side of the ball when Jimmy’s out otherwise we’re not bound for anything but disappointment. It’s been something harped on a lot this year but it’s the consistent problem that players need to fill the gaps left when someone goes down for injury. If not then we won’t be involved for long in any postseason proceedings, if at all. |
20 | [](/MIN) TWolves | +1 | 16-17 | Through an injury filled stretch Anthony Edwards is starting to emerge as more than just a scorer averaging 24.6 points 7 rebounds and 6 assists over the last 2 weeks to keep the Wolves afloat in this disappointing season . |
21 | [](/TOR) Raptors | -2 | 15-18 | |
22 | [](/CHI) Bulls | +1 | 14-18 | |
23 | [](/OKC) Thunder | +1 | 14-19 | The Thunder keep on trucking. SGA continues to make a strong case for the All Star team and has now got himself into the running for the Jerry West award. After a pretty meh start to the season, Josh Giddey is starting to heat up (especially from 3) and we’re starting to see more and more flashes of what this team will look like. It’s months like this that make you wonder what this team would look like with Chet and how that would change the dynamics because it really does feel like the Thunder are playing with weights on their ankles. |
25 | [](/LAL) Lakers | -5 | 13-20 | AD’s hurt again and so are us fans. |
25 | [](/ORL) Magic | +1 | 13-21 | If it weren’t for Trae Young, the Magic would probably be on a 9 game winning streak. But even then, the Magic have shown huge strides in the recent weeks with an OT win over the Clippers and two huge wins against the Celtics in Boston. And with WCJ and Gary Harris finally returning to the court, it’s very possible the Magic keep this momentum going and at the very least put themselves in the conversation of the play-ins. Also, that Paolo kid is pretty good. |
26 | [](/WAS) Wizards | -1 | 13-21 | The Washington Wizards are the hottest team in the NBA right now. Corey Kispert’s hair is looking incredible, Rui Hachimura has returned to the team with his incredible smile. Deni Avidja looks like he could be the “mysterious” member of an early 2000s boy band. And Kyle Kuzma is continues to dominant the tunnel with his fashion game. They suck at the game of basketball, but if the NBA looks to introduce catwalks into the game, the Wizards may just be the best in the NBA. (Please note, I wrote this late into the Christmas evening because the stockpiled “Washington Lizards” summary I wrote did not make any sense because we decided to win games with Beal and Hachimura returning to the team and I genuinely cannot muster the strength to write an actual good summary.) |
27 | [](/SAS) Spurs | +1 | 10-22 | |
29 | [](/CHA) Hornets | +1 | 9-24 | |
29 | [](/HOU) Rockets | -2 | 9-23 | If your team wants a present for Christmas, we’ve got some turnovers to give you. Between a point guard that is inconsistent and a point guard backup who is consistently bad, the team has not been able to carry on its promising start to the month. We can still afford to call it a tank this season, but with our 2024 pick residing elsewhere, it’s not unreasonable to have some worries about this team’s trajectory. |
30 | [](/DET) Pistons | -1 | 8-27 | |

by powerrankingsnba