There are gifts from Santa Claus for everyone in this week’s NBC Sports NBA Power Rankings. The Minnesota Timberwolves got their gift early having moved back to the top of the rankings, and the Clippers are climbing fast.
1. Minnesota Timberwolves (20-5, Last Week No. 2). What Minnesota wants for Christmas can’t be delivered until April and May — playoff wins and the respect that comes with them. The Timberwolves have won 9-of-10, have the best defense in the NBA and a budding superstar in Anthony Edwards, and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle called them “one of the best teams on the planet.” But none of it will feel real without playoff wins to back it up. This team is fully capable of a run to the Western Conference Finals, but Santa would need to make a special early summer run to deliver that gift. (Even playoff wins will not stop the trade speculation for Minnesota as it approaches a financial cliff this summer.) Tough schedule ahead this week with the 76ers, LeBron and the Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back, and the Thunder on the road next Thursday.
2. Boston Celtics (20-6, LW 1). Does Santa Claus have any late-game execution in his bag this Christmas? Because that’s what the Celtics need. We saw it again in the fourth quarter and overtime of Boston’s come-from-ahead loss to Golden State Tuesday night. The Celtics — and specifically their stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — settle for pull-up jumpers and don’t get downhill with the game on the line. They hunted Stephen Curry but it led to a lot of jumpers, look at the 10 fourth quarter above-the-break 3s the Celtics took against the Warriors, or Tatum taking an off-balance shot for a game-winner rather than trying to take Jonathan Kuminga to the rim. When their jumpers fall the Celtics are unbeatable, but they don’t have that attacking fallback. Boston deserves to be the title favorite, but if they play like that in the fourth in the playoffs someone else from the East will advance to the Finals.
3. Milwaukee Bucks (20-7, LW 4). Can Santa bring Giannis Antetokounmpo another MVP trophy next June? He’s felt like the odd-man out in the Jokic/Emnbiid MVP conversations the past couple of years and it is happening again, although the 64-point game he dropped on the Pacers should have caught voters’ eye. Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.6 points a game on 61.1% shooting, plus 11.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists a night, all while playing elite defense. He deserves to be more than an afterthought in the MVP conversation. Antetokounmpo will get the chance to make his case to voters on Christmas Day when his Bucks take on the Knicks in the opening game of the league’s five-game schedule.
4. Philadelphia 76ers (18-8, LW 5). My favorite stat of the week: Joel Embiid has scored more points (792) than he has played minutes this season (783). That’s insane and shows why he is a top-tier MVP candidate. (If you’re asking “Has any player ever done that for the season the answer is Wilt Chamberlain in the 1960s and that’s it.) Thanks to a soft stretch of the schedule the 76ers rattled off six wins in a row (before running into the Bulls) and with that lifted themselves up to having the best net rating in the league. That will be put to the test in the coming days with Minnesota on Wednesday, then the Heat on Christmas Day kicking off a four-game road trip.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (17-8, LW 3). Championships aren’t won in December — but the confidence from big wins can help a young team build toward franchise-defining postseason victories. That’s what Oklahoma City got in a measuring stick game against Denver Saturday, one where Chet Holmgren had nine blocks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended it with a game-winner. This feels like a team on a path to at least winning a round in the playoffs next April (and an appearance in the Western Conference Finals is not crazy). This is probably the last year for a while we don’t see OKC playing on Christmas Day, but it doesn’t make this week easy: The red-hot Clippers are on Thursday, then the Lakers and Timberwolves.
SHAI CALLED GAME WITH 0.9 REMAINING 😱
— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2023
THUNDER WIN IN DENVER. pic.twitter.com/L4MJxe87fk
6. Denver Nuggets (18-10, LW 7). After a 9-2 start to the season, the Nuggets have gone a pedestrian 9-8 and seem to be coasting through the season, as champions often do. In their last 15 games the Nuggets still have a top-10 offense, the 12th-ranked defense in the league and a +4.3 net rating — all good numbers, just short of what we know they are capable of at their peak. We already got one thing we wanted for Christmas — more Nikola Jokic in television ads — and they only thing the Nuggets want Santa couldn’t give them until June. Fun Christmas Day showdown with Stephen Curry and the Nuggets — a big showing by Jokic cements his spot on top of the MVP race on Christmas Day.
7. Los Angeles Clippers (16-10, LW 13). How have the Clippers turned their season around, won eight in a row and 12-of-15? “Honestly I think it’s just we got reps. That’s been the biggest shift, we got reps. We’ve got games played, we got to see what it looks like. We’ve tried out different lineups and now we’ve found a formula that works for us… Now everybody kinda knows what part of the game, and where can I be effective in figuring this out,” Daniel Theis said of the improvement following a rough few early days after the James Harden trade (courtesy Podcast P with Paul George). It also helps that Kawhi Leonard has played in 26 consecutive games, the most since his 2017 season with the Spurs (stat via @flybyknight).
8. Sacramento Kings (16-9, LW 15). Sacramento — positioned to be buyers — have been in the middle of a lot of early trade speculation. Part of that has been other teams trying to snag Keegan Murray in any talks. Good luck with that. Murray himself shut down the trade rumors — which were always coming from hopeful teams outside Sacramento, not from the Kings who see him as part of the future — when he shot an insane 12-of-13 from 3 on his way to 47 points against the Jazz. Tough week ahead for the Kings hosting the Celtics, Suns and Timberwolves.
Watch all 12 of Keegan Murray's 3-pointers from his 47-point career night! pic.twitter.com/gedyM7nlal
— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2023
9. Dallas Mavericks (16-10, LW 8). Coach Jason Kidd would probably ask Santa for an elite wing defender, or to suddenly add years of maturity to Dereck Lively as a rim protector in the paint (the rookie is doing his best). Dallas’ bottom 10 defense holds this team back. However, as fans we’re asking Santa for a healthy Kyrie Irving — he has missed the last five games with his heel contusion and it’s added to a season where it feels Irving and Luka Doncic are just not on the court together enough. Dallas has a +6 net rating when the two are on the court together (that’s the pace of a 58-win team). It will be the battle of the injured star teams on Christmas night when the Mavericks take on the Suns.
10. Orlando Magic (16-9, LW 6). Magic fans are asking Santa for a true lead guard. The Magic have nice ones — Markelle Fultz is solid when healthy but more of a rotation guy, and Cole Anthony is built to win Sixth Man of the Year someday, but what Paolo Banchero and company really need is an elite shot creator for himself and others to handle the ball. Don’t bet on finding a player like that available at the trade deadline, that is more of a next summer gift. The Magic have dropped a couple in a row, and things don’t get easier this week with the Heat, Bucks, and Pacers coming up.
11. New York Knicks (15-11, LW 11). New York went 2-2 on a swing through the West Coast, capped off by Julius Randle dropping 27 and 14 on his former team and beating the Lakers. What did Randle think of the four games out West? “Solid. We very easily could look at every game and feel like we could have won.” One thing that stands out watching the Knicks in person: Just how vital Immanuel Quickley is to what they do. It would be a delayed gift, but maybe Santa can bring Quickley a Sixth Man of the Year award next June. Quickley and the Knicks open the Christmas Day slate of games against the Bucks.
12. New Orleans Pelicans (16-12, LW 19). Is health too much to ask Santa for? Maybe the bigger question becomes, is healthy enough? The Pelicans have a -6.1 net rating this season when Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram share the court (that improves slightly if Jonas Valanciunas is on the court, but not dramatically. Zion heard his critics after the In-Season Tournament loss the Lakers and had a couple of big games, including 36 against the Timberwolves big front line, but he has not stayed consistent. Saturday against Houston starts a five-game homestead and if the Pelicans are going to gain traction in the race out West this is a good place to start.
13. Los Angeles Lakers (15-12, LW 9). More than health, the Lakers should ask Santa for more depth and shot creation to fall to them in the trade market (and no, that does not mean they should trade for Zach LaVine, that’s a bad idea). As great as LeBron is, relying on him the way they do courts disaster. Los Angeles is suffering an In-Season Tournament hangover, having gone 1-3 since capturing the crown with a -4.4 net rating in those games. They have struggled on both ends of the floor through that stretch, and things do not get easier this week: At Minnesota (second night of a back-to-back), at Oklahoma City, then home on Christmas to face the Celtics will tell us a lot about how good this team really is.
14. Cleveland Cavaliers (15-12, LW 14). What did the Cavaliers to offend the basketball gods? Both Evan Mobley (knee scope) and Darius Garland (surgery to repair fractured jaw) are now both about to miss extended time due to injuries. Their combined absences hit the Cavaliers hard on both ends of the court — Cleveland has a -3.9 net rating when both Garland and Mobley are off the court this season. Mobley anchors the Cavaliers top-10 defense. The Cavaliers offense is built around guards Garland and Donovan Mitchell. When both are on the court, the team has a +9.5 net rating. However, remove Garland from the court and the team has a -6.1 net rating. Winnable games ahead this week but they catch both the Bulls and Pelicans playing some of their best basketball of the season.
15. Miami Heat (15-12, LW 12). Miami kept its head above water while Bam Adebayo was out, going 4-3 in those seven games (then they lost in his return Monday). Miami’s record isn’t mind-blowing, but they remain the tough-to-beat, nobody wants to see them in the playoffs Heat. For example, they stayed alive late in a game Saturday getting three offensive rebounds and with that second chance buckets to stay close to the Bulls down the stretch, then Jimmy Butler did his thing and got the Heat.
16. Golden State Warriors (13-14, LW 20). Did Stephen Curry’s overtime dagger to beat the Celtics Tuesday night resuscitate this team’s hopes of returning to being a threat in the West? Maybe it’s less that shot than Steve Kerr finally moving away from the lineups that worked last season (and in years past) and trusting the youth on the team. The Warriors have won three in a row, and not so coincidentally that has come with Andrew Wiggins coming off the bench. The Warriors will be without Draymond Green into the new year as he tries to get right and he will be missed most on Christmas Day when Golden State has to take on Jokic and the defensing champs.
Steph hits the dagger then says "night, night" 😱😴
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 20, 2023
(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/NQWdznCLxi
17. Houston Rockets (13-11, LW 18). Ime Udoka and Rockets fans are asking Santa for some steady offense togo with their defense. That Houston defense is one of the under-discussed storylines of the season — second-ranked in the NBA and nine points per 100 possession better than last season when they were 29th. Having Fred VanVleet run the show on offense should steady things, and the emergence of Alperen Şengün at center is a huge positive, but this team was counting on Jalen Green and Amen Thompson to develop and provide the elite athleticism and shot creation the team lacks. We’re still waiting. The Rockets have 9-of-10 coming up at home.
18. Phoenix Suns (14-13, LW 16). Bradley Beal will be in street clothes for a couple of weeks due to a sprained ankle, and that keeps the Suns’ big three era on hold even longer. Still, doesn’t it seem like we have a feel for this team, even if the Beal/Devin Booker/Kevin Durant trio has played just 24 minutes together? That one game the three played against the Nets summed it up: Phoenix was +12, but their defense and bench is dreadful and they lost the game by four. This has not felt like a team with the depth to live up to the preseason hype and hopes. That struggling defense (17th in the league) will be put to the test Christmas night trying to stop Luka Doncic.
19. Indiana Pacers (13-12, LW 10). Indiana fans are hoping Santa can bring their team some defense. Any defense. The lack of it has caught up with them during this four-game losing streak that is part of an In-Season Tournament hangover. Tyrese Haliburton is still looking All-NBA and the Pacers’ offense is still the best in the league, but Indy has dropped five games this season where it scored 125 points or more. That’s a problem, and there are no easy answers. If you’re looking for the most entertaining game of the season, tune in Thursday night when the high-flying Pacers travel to Memphis and face the Grizzlies with Ja Morant back.
20. Brooklyn Nets (13-13, LW 17). The Nets are bombs away from 3 this season: 37.9% of their points come off 3-pointers, the fifth highest percentage in the league. They take the sixth most 3s a game (37.9) and hit 38.7% of them (second in the league). Spencer Dinwiddie leads the way with 6.5 3-point attempts a game, but he should probably take fewer (32.5% shooting on them) and try to get to the rim more. Cam Thomas can fill it up from anywhere and does (37.6% on 3s), and Mikal Bridges is a force (39.1%). Lonnie Walker IV has been knocking down 46.3% of his looks from deep. Relying on 3s can lead to some high-variance outcomes, but that makes the Nets entertaining.
21. Atlanta Hawks (11-15, LW 23). Trae Young has scored 30+ points and had 10+ assists in four straight games, yet the Hawks are 2-2 in those four (with one of those wins against the Pistons where the Hawks surrounded 124 points). The past week seems to sum up this team — Atlanta should be better than this. They are on paper — quality stars, good coach, solid role players — but they do not play consistently good basketball, especially on defense where they are bottom five in the league. It would be great is Santa had a defensive stopper in his bag to give the Hawks, but that seems an unlikely Christmas gift.
22. Chicago Bulls (11-17, LW 22). For Christmas, can Santa bring the Bulls a direction. Any direction, just a plan going forward that they can stick to. That plan does not include Zach LaVine — it’s not a coincidence they are 6-3 without him the last nine, including wins last week over the 76ers and Heat — but finding a trade for him is not going to be easy. The Bulls have vastly overrated their own talent in the past and likely are overrating what they can get back for LaVine (for example, forget Austin Reaves, that’s not happening). Set DeMar DeRozan free at the deadline and it’s probably time to trade Alex Caruso, his injury history and minutes limit make him a win-now player stuck on a team that should rebuild. Let’s just hope the Bulls don’t try to go halfway on whatever direction they choose.
23. Toronto Raptors (11-154, LW 26). Much like the Bulls, Santa needs to bring the Raptors a direction — and a trade for Pascal Siakam. Toronto has overvalued and held onto this core too long thinking it should work — I thought it would work better than this — but it’s time to build around Scottie Barnes (who has taken a nice leap forward this season). It’s time for a frank talk with OG Anunoby and his representatives, if the Raptors can’t re-sign the free agent to be they need to trade him, too. Tough week ahead for the Raptors with the Nuggets and 76ers up next.
24. Memphis Grizzlies (7-19, LW 24). It’s amazing how one player and one game can turn the outlook on a season around. Before Tuesday night the question was how much impact Ja Morant could really have and if he could lead them on a 50-win pace the rest of the season to get back into play-in contention. After his 34-point showing, and with Marcus Smart set to return this week, the Grizzlies feel like a play-in team that nobody at the top of the West would want to see in the first round. Whatever problems Morant had — and maybe still has — off the court, Tuesday was a reminder what a dynamic player he can be on it.
Ja's #TissotBuzzerBeater from inside the building! https://t.co/Iiu3bzFB9X pic.twitter.com/702RSle6v0
— NBA (@NBA) December 20, 2023
25. Utah Jazz (10-17, LW 27). Can Santa bring Utah another smart trade setting up the future? Teams are calling about Lauri Markkanen, but league sources speaking to NBC Sports say it would take a Godfather, Gobertesque offer to get Utah to consider that. The Jazz like Markkanen and Markkanen likes the Jazz. Collin Sexton is available via trade and has helped his cause in recent weeks, having scored 20+ points in five straight games. Expect a lot of Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton rumors between now and the Feb. 8 trade deadline. The Jazz play the Pistons on Thursday on the second night of a back-to-back (and their third game in four nights), Utah has to find some energy for this one or they could be the team that ends the Pistons’ historic losing streak.
26. Portland Trail Blazers (7-19, LW 25). Can Santa bring some wins to go with how things have looked a little better of late? Portland is finally healthy, the game is slowing down for Scoot Henderson and he is making smart plays (he scored a career-best 23 against Utah last week), and Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons are finding their offensive groove. That said, because of a defense that has been worst in the league over the last two weeks the Blazers have dropped seven in a row. This team could use a W. That could come Thursday against the Wizards, after that they face the Warriors and Kings.
27. Charlotte Hornets (7-18, LW 21). What this team needs to ask Santa for is a healthy LaMelo Ball for an extended stretch so they can evaluate where this team stands. It’s hard to make real judgments about how players such as Brandon Miller, Mark Williams, P.J. Washington and others fit next to Ball if he is not on the court. Beyond that, the new ownership of this franchise needs to make a decision on Mitch Kupchak as GM, Steve Clifford as coach and start to move in that direction. This just feels like a team in a holding pattern.
28. San Antonio Spurs (4-22, LW 29). The Spurs need to ask Santa for the crappiest gift ever — patience. They could ask for a true point guard to run the show or more young talent, but this was always designed to be a slow, steady, solid build in San Antonio and that takes time. And patience. Victor Wembanyama has looked even better since being moved to center five games ago, averaging 19.2 points, 15.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks a game. Gregg Popovich finally took the training wheels off and Wembanyama seems up to the task. The Spurs start a road-heavy month this Thursday in Chicago.
29. Washington Wizards (4-22, LW 28). Wizards fans could ask Santa for luck with the ping-pong balls at the next draft lottery (although this is a down class at the top, so luck only gets them so far). Maybe the better ask is for a Poole Party on Friday night — Jordan Poole makes his return to the Chase Center Friday night and you know he’s looking to put up massive numbers on the tea that cast him aside. In a season where Wizards fans deserve some entertainment, this could be it.
30. Detroit Pistons (2-25, LW 30). Our Christmas gift to the Pistons is simple and obvious: A win. Just one win. The Pistons have lost 24 straight, just four short of the NBA’s all-time losing streak (by the 2015 76ers). The Pistons’ best chance to break this streak may be Thursday, against a Jazz team on the second night of a back-to-back and playing their third game in four days. If not then, the record seems in danger, although Cade Cunningham has done all he could in recent games to change the tide.
