NBA Power Rankings: Clippers surging, Celtics will “run away” w/ East, Thunder rise | Hoops Tonight

NBA Power Rankings: Clippers surging, Celtics will “run away” w/ East, Thunder rise | Hoops Tonight

What’s up everybody thanks as always for supporting the show it would mean a lot to me if you would take a second to scroll down and hit that subscribe button to the Hoops Tonight YouTube channel and then follow me on social media on Tik Tok Instagram and Twitter

So you guys don’t miss any of our content over the course of this season all right let’s talk some basketball all right moving on to our power rankings so we have two teams dropping out this week the Orlando Magic went one and two this week they’ve lost eight of

Their last 13 games and they’re 26th in offense over that span so they’re out of the power rankings for the time being also the Dallas Mavericks they went one and two this week lost seven of their last 11 games in that span they’re it’s weird they’re 25th in offense and 16th

In defense over that span but Kyrie Irving is back now that should help them settle down he had I played his first game last night looked Rusty but uh with him coming back that should help them get back on track offensively alrighty number 10 the New Orleans Pelicans they’ve won seven of

Their last 10 games culminating in a quality win over the Lakers on Sunday they’re top five in offense and defense over that span Brandon Ingram Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum are all averaging over 20 points per game very efficiently over that span they’re rebounding super well they’re third in

Defensive rebound percentage over that span and on defense couple of the guys I want to shout out Brandon Ingram is having a ridiculous stretch of off ball defense getting a ton of deflections and blocks and Steals and blowing up plays it’s been a theme All Season those of

You guys who’ve been listening to the show have heard me talk about it but recently it’s gone even up a level Brandon Ingram has the tools kind of like we’ve talked about with Kevin Durant to be an outstanding defensive player it’s just a question of commitment and there have been stretches

Where he does and stretches where he doesn’t he’s in a stretch where he has been doing it and it’s made them that much more formidable on defense Jose Alvarado was a menace in that Lakers game as well just a literal wrecking ball blowing things up um not just the

The from behind steals but also just attacking the basketball when it’s in front of him in transition he was having success there as well Pelicans are playing some good ball right now the first time in their P first time on their power rankings at number 10 number nine the Indiana Pacers

They’ve won four in a row all four wins against good teams they went down to Houston and beat the rockets in Houston not easy to do they went into Chicago and beat a red hot Bulls team that’s not easy to do then they beat the Knicks the

Knicks are a good team and then they went into Milwaukee and beat the Bucks like we mentioned earlier t uh Tyrese halberton in his last five games 26 points five rebounds and 16 assists with only two turnovers per game on 52% from the field and 40% from three and then I

Wanted to shout out TJ McConnell he’s just been such a good benchu this year not just not just at the point of attack offensively beating people off the dribble and making plays but he’s also been a very very good point of attack defensive player and just an overall

Disruptor and Energizer bunny that just continues the wave the onslaught of what the Pacers bring as part of that Tyrese halberton experience and then they even play the two of them together and then they just start to pick you apart driving and kicking I I did a lot of

Pacers talk earlier in the show for those of you guys are watching the breakout clip so make sure you check out the Pacers BR uh Pacers bucks breakdown from earlier today number eight the Denver Nuggets they beat the Grizzlies and hornets but then they got demolished

By the Thunder at home now Aaron Gordon was out for that game because of the unfortunate dog bite that he suffered over Christmas but as I’ve said frequently about the Nuggets you know when it comes to their top five I trust them more than anyone else in the league

That’s why they’re my number one Championship favorite at this point but their vulnerability is a lack of depth if you lose Aaron Gordon you’re nowhere near as physically imposing as you are with him if you lose Michael Porter Jr you’re weak side shooting craters and suddenly it’s a lot easier to throw

Multiple bodies at the yic Murray 2-man game no cavius cell pope now you have to play your point of attack Defenders that are nowhere near as good offensively same issue you can start to load up on the two-man game no Jamal Murray there is no two-man game the offense becomes

Way easier to guard or at least that that you go to a much lower level two-man game so the point is like this is the best team in the league but another great example like they I’ve always said that fiveman grouping is the most perfect assembly of basketball

Talent that I can remember seeing in terms of reaching the uh uh value higher than the sum of their parts right and joic is the best player in the world but each of those role players next to him is immaculately a perfect fit for what they need out of that position and I

Thought I thought the Thunder just destroying the nuggets in Denver was a strong indicator of just how important Aaron Gordon is to this particular team number seven the Sacramento Kings lost to the Blazers but they beat the Hawks and Grizz uh easier stretch in their schedule so I wanted to just take a

Second to shout out de and fox doesn’t get nearly enough credit for massively increasing his scoring volume while not dropping in efficiency went from 25 points per game last year to 30 this year while staying at 60% true shooting and it’s on the strength of him just turning into a dead eyee jump

Shooter not just that but like a high volume guy who’s hunting those shots like there was a clip going around on Twitter the other day of uh Daren Fox shooting like an early clock pullup 30-footer I think against the Grizzlies and it was in like the early first

Quarter and everyone’s like oh my gosh what is Daren Fox doing people don’t realize he’s just hunting jump SH now he’s attempting 10 threes per game over his last 11 games and hitting them at a 45% clip like not just off not just off the catch either in that span six

Pull-up threes a game six of them and he’s making them at a 41% clip this guy was already a Star based on his ability to beat people off the dribble to make that floater some of the mid-range pull-up jump shooting in the finishing at The Rim if this dude is now just like

A dead pullup three-point shooter like now we’re talking about a guy that can enter into the realm of top tier superstardom he is a capable if not excellent point of attack Defender when he’s locked in this is a dude I’ve seen in the postseason no one can keep him in front

Off the dribble now he’s adding not just a good jump shot but one of the be one of the most effective jump shots in the League this year he’s up over 1.1 points per uh points per shot attempt in both catch and shoots and pull up jump shots

This year this is incredibly high level shooting paired with one of the best downhill athletes in the league so shout out to Dean Fox uh like legitimately one of the most improved players in the league this year number six the Philadelphia 76ers they beat the magic Rockets rockets and lost to the Bulls

But embiid’s been out but it looks like Joel ID will be returning tonight against the uh against the Bulls again Tyrese Maxi’s efficiency is tanked a little bit but he’s still scoring at a high volume number five the Milwaukee Bucks they beat the Nets and the Cavs but lost to the Pacer

Giannis continues to obliterate everyone but Dame is cooled way off again in the last six games 22 points per game 39% from the field and 33% from three as I mentioned in the Pacers bucks uh breakdown earlier in today’s show I don’t think their defense is going to be

Very good and so they need to find a way to get Dame into a Groove a consistent Groove offensively number four the Los Angeles Clippers kawh Leonard is back and they are back to winning they have an undefeated week CT off with an impressive handling of the Miami Heat

Yesterday 17-5 since November 16th which is the second best record in the league second to the Celtics over that span the offense has coming around remember I was talking about early like the even when they were winning I was like watch out their offense hasn’t even really gotten

Going well they’re third in offense over their last 10 games seventh in offense since November 16th in that 17-5 stretch James Harden is the guy I wanted to shout out here what I said before the trade and this is the uh something I feel very strongly about James Harden

Had has limitations when we get to the postseason and they’re real can’t finish at The Rim doesn’t make enough pullup threes to be a super efficient score really inefficient in his impact on a night toight basis bad defensive player right but he is still one of the very

Best regular season Innings eaters in the league and there is real value in there 20 points five rebounds and 10 assists per game since November 16th 47% from the field 45% from three in 2.6 six stocks per game excellent basketball from James Harden especially helping to float the ship while uh Kawhi Leonard

Has been out number three the Minnesota Timberwolves they’re starting to drop some games in this intense stretch of their schedule they’re seven and four in their last 11 but all the losses are in really tough games at New Orleans tough place to win at Philly tough place to

Win at Oklahoma City tough place to win in Madison Square Garden tough place to win I actually think all things considered we knew this stretch was really tough but I think they’ve held up pretty well like I talked about earlier when right before this actual stretch of

Their schedule I I was saying don’t expect him to go undefeated but if you’re comfortably over 500 in that stretch it’s a really strong indicator of a championship threat I thought they’ve demonstrated it to that point main concern though is just their half court offense they only score uh uh uh

0.99 points per half court possession or 0.985 excuse me points per half court possession that ranks 18th in the NBA I would like to see them get that up over a 100 that to me is kind of like a prerequisite to be able to score in the

Playoffs that’s my main concern for them at this point you’ve seen it before like teams just can pack the paint on them and force them into taking jump shots and like when ants making all of his pull-up jump shots it looks good but they can get into some ruts offensively

But holding up pretty well over a tough schedule number two Oklahoma City Thunder undefeated week with all quality wins they beat the Knicks the Nets and went into Denver and smacked the Nuggets so we’ve moved them all the way up to number two they have won seven of their

Last eight games they beat the Nuggets twice in that span they beat the Timberwolves they beat the Clippers they beat the Knicks playing excellent basketball Shay gild Alexander’s playing like an MVP 326 and six on 55% shooting over that span over that eight game span Chad last eight games 20 points per game

59% shooting in 47% from three the dude is exploding I think he’s a superstar in the making I think he has potential to one of the best players in the league one day and Jaylen Williams just quietly putting up 20 points per game on 57% from the field and 52% from three this

Team has a super super bright future 123 offensive rating over the last eight games number one in halfcourt offense for the season according to cleaning the glass number three in half court Defense number one where they always have been or for the most part this year the

Boston Celtics they’ve had a really weak schedule this week but they handled their business they beat the Pistons the Raptors and the Spurs the Celtics have played a much tougher schedule to this point than both Philly and Milwaukee and despite that they are two and a half games up on the Bucks and

Four games up on the Sixers they have the fifth easiest remaining schedule so get ready for a lot more weeks like this and look for the Celtics to run away with the number one overall seed as I said before the season I think you’re going to see a hefty gap between them

And everybody else by the time we get to the end the only reason it’s looked as close as it has is the Celtics have had a very front schedule when it comes to the tougher games and their peers the Sixers in the Bucks have played two of the easiest

Schedules in the league fueled in large part because the bottom of the Eastern Conference is super weak but Boston gets to take the benefit of that down the stretch so look for Boston to run away in the standings for the rest of the uh for the rest of the Year

Jason Timpf drops his weekly NBA Power Rankings where Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Boston Celtics remain atop the rankings for a third consecutive week. Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and the Los Angeles Clippers have jumped into the top 5, and the Oklahoma City Thunder come in at No. 2.

Timeline:
00:00 – Who missed the cut?
00:52 – #10: New Orleans Pelicans
02:05 – #9: Indiana Pacers
03:14 – #8: Denver Nuggets
04:43 – #7: Sacramento Kings
06:38 – #6 – Philadelphia 76ers
06:54 – #5: Milwaukee Bucks
07:20 – #4: Los Angeles Clippers
08:37 – #3: Minnesota Timberwolves
09:52 – #2: Oklahoma City Thunder
10:50 – #1 Boston Celtics

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