NBA Power Rankings Version 7 (12/19/22)

Another week and another ranking. Let's get into it.

Team (Record, Z-Score, Previous Ranking)

1. Boston Celtics (21-8, .787, 1): The Celtics lead of their #1 position shrinks significantly with an 0-2 record since the last ranking.

2. New Orleans Pelicans (18-11, .782, 2): Same goes with the Pelicans lead on their second place position, as they have dropped three in a row since last week. They have a relatively easy schedule to end the season, and could be in the top spot when we hit 2023.

3. Phoenix Suns (18-12, .609, 3): Top three remains the same with the Suns making inroads on the top two teams. The Suns offense is really starting to click, as they are now third in the league there. Over 100 possessions, they are averaging 116.1 points.

4. Memphis Grizzlies (19-10, .576, 6): If the NBA playoffs started today, the Grizzlies would have the #1 seed in the West! They've won eight of their last ten, and they are doing it by pounding the glass, with a +6 rebound differential throughout these first 29 games.

5. Sacramento Kings (16-12, .518, 4): The Kings drop a spot but still continue to keep the winning weeks going. They just completed a six-game road trip 3-3, and now will begin a six-game homestead to close out the calendar year.

6. Denver Nuggets (18-11, .496, 5)

7. Utah Jazz (17-15, .344, 8)

8. Portland Trail Blazers (17-13, .343, 10)

9. Philadelphia 76ers (16-12, .309, 13): The boys in red, white and blue finally crack the top ten as they start to get healthy. Two stats out of South Philly: 3rd best defensive rating (not too surprising) and 3rd best 3P% (very surprising). With Tyrese Maxey expected back 2-3 weeks, will they continue this run fully equipped?

10. Cleveland Cavaliers (20-11, .307, 7): The Cavs are winning, but they haven't been as dominant as they were in the earlier weeks. The two most heavily weighted statistics in the model (ORTG and 3P%) are dropping towards the mean.

11. Golden State Warriors (15-16, .267, 9)

12. Milwaukee Bucks (21-8, .252, 11): Read all of the other posts to see why the Bucks rank low despite their record.

13. Brooklyn Nets (19-12, .088, 17): The Nets have been hooping, and they rising up the rankings. Ranked as low as 29, they have cracked the top half. Still though, at 19-12, the numbers are slightly skeptical as they land at lucky 13.

14. Dallas Mavericks (15-15, .073, 15)

15. Chicago Bulls (11-18, .014, 12): The penultimate "above average" team according to the numbers is in free fall. 7-7 at home and 4-11 on the road for a team with that much talent has their fans losing their minds.

16. Toronto Raptors (13-17, .009, 12)

17. Indiana Pacers (15-16, -.002, 14)

18. New York Knicks (17-13, -.004, 18): The Knicks have won seven in a row? The Knicks have won seven in a row! Their tied for last team 3P% tanks them in this ranking, but they may be starting to find something to produce Ws.

19. Minnesota Timberwolves (15-15, -.142, 20)

20. Los Angeles Lakers (13-16, -.178, 21)

21. Oklahoma City Thunder (12-18, -.195, 19)

22. Miami Heat (16-15, -.345, 22): Despite being 4-0 since the last ranking, the Heat stay at #22. Their offensive rating is dreadful through their first 31 games, and are staying afloat with their defensive game.

23. Atlanta Hawks (15-15, -.348, 24)

24. Washington Wizards (11-20, -.468, 23)

25. Los Angeles Clippers (18-14, -.480, 25): No movement for the Clips despite being now four games above .500. For as bad as their offense is though, their defense has been turning it up. They would be in the play-in if the season finished today, despite what the numbers tell us.

26. Detroit Pistons (8-24, -.519, 27)

27. Orlando Magic (11-20, -.6253, 28)

28. Houston Rockets (9-20, -.6255, 26)

29. Charlotte Hornets (7-23, -.917, 29)

30. San Antonio Spurs (9-20, -.922, 30): Despite a valiant effort from the Charlotte Hornets, the Spurs still rank in the basement. They are 2+ standard deviations below average in both DRTG (giving up 118.2 points per 100 possessions) and Margin of Victory (-10.1 points per game).