2015-16 NBA Power Rankings Through Week 10

By Jason Fletcher

Week 10 of the 2015-16 NBA Season featured a number of newsworthy nuggets. The Golden State Warriors are suffering through injuries to Stephen Curry, Festus Ezeli and Harrison Barnes, Tim Duncan is battling a knee injury which could be worrisome the longer it lingers and the Los Angeles Clippers are suddenly the hottest team in the NBA despite not having the services of Blake Griffin. Let’s see how all the action from last week affected our most recent edition of the 2015-16 NBA Power Rankings.

2015-16 NBA Power Rankings Through Week 10

← Tip: Use keyboard arrows to navigate →

Philadelphia 76ers (3-33) Last Week: 30 — After trading for Ish Smith on Christmas Eve, the Sixers won two out of their next three games which put them dangerously close to the Lakers for worst record in the NBA. Thankfully, the Sixers played the Lakers on New Year's and lost as Smith was terrible and head coach Brett Brown decided to bring Jahlil Okafor off the bench and only play him around 20 minutes. Believe me, the Sixers know what they're doing.

Los Angeles Lakers (8-27) Last Week: 29 — Don't look now, but the Lakers are on a three-game winning streak after beating the Celtics, Sixers and Suns during Week 10. Jordan Clarkson, Lou Williams and Larry Nance Jr. have really improved as the season has gone on, and so has the team.

Phoenix Suns (12-25) Last Week: 26 — The Suns started off the season playing solid basketball and looking like one of the surprise teams in the league this year. Over the last month, things have completely changed as the Suns have lost Eric Bledsoe for the season, fired two assistant coaches and look like the worst team in the league on the court. Expect major changes in the future for the organization.

Denver Nuggets (12-23) Last Week: 23 — There's talent on this team, but head coach Mike Malone has no clue how to use it as guys have no clue how many minutes they're going to get on a single night. The team's best player is Will Barton and he comes off the bench. On one night, he'll score 30 with 7 rebounds and 6 assists while playing 38 minutes, but the next night he may only see 20 minutes of court time.

New Orleans Pelicans (11-22) Last Week: 25 — The Pelicans have the ability to beat any team in the NBA on any given night. Unfortunately, they also have the ability to lose to any team on any given night. Sure they've been dealing with injuries for much of the season, but the Pelicans haven't shown any signs of improvement when at full-strength either.

Brooklyn Nets (10-23) Last Week: 28 — What a week for the Nets. They took down both the Heat and Celtics on the road and nearly took care of Orlando as well. Center Brook Lopez has been playing out of his mind and he will need to continue that as Jarrett Jack will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL.

Minnesota Timberwolves (12-22) Last Week: 27 — The Timberwolves may have moved up a few spots this week, but it has more to do with the teams around them playing horribly and not because they are playing well. They gave the Spurs a battle on the road to start the week, then beat the Jazz on Wednesday before ending the week with losses to the Pistons and Bucks.

Sacramento Kings (13-20) Last Week: 19 — The Kings are one veteran away from having a really good team. Currently there are no leaders to keep the team focused when things go wrong which occasionally leads to losing streaks.

Milwaukee Bucks (14-21) Last Week: 24 — Ever since Jason Kidd went out for surgery, the Bucks have picked up their play, especially on the offensive end. While they still have a ways to go, it wouldn't surprise me to see them battle for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference before things are all said and done.

New York Knicks (16-19) Last Week: 20 — Kristaps Porzingis has hit a bit of the rookie wall, but the rest of the team has stepped up a little bit during his struggles. Arron Afflalo, Robin Lopez and Jose Calderon all had solid weeks as the Knicks won two of their three games.

Utah Jazz (15-17) Last Week: 21 — Somehow, the Jazz currently sit in the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference despite being two games under .500. Playing without Derrick Favors, the team was somehow able to win three of their four games in Week 10 and move into a playoff spot. Don't expect this to continue.

Portland Trail Blazers (15-21) Last Week: 22 — While it's tough to be without your superstar for any length of time, the Blazers have actually played great basketball without Damian Lillard. Winning four of their last five games, the Blazers are expected to get Lillard back tonight and it will be interesting to see how well the team gels after playing so well without him.

Houston Rockets (16-19) Last Week: 17 — The Rockets are another team that has struggled with consistency and with the roster full of veteran players. Dwight Howard has picked up his game of late, but there's no one else helping James Harden in the scoring department.

Washington Wizards (15-17) Last Week: 18 — Just as it looked like the Wizards were turning a corner, they lose three of their four games in Week 10 culminated by a 97-75 home loss at the hands of the Heat on Sunday night. John Wall and Marcin Gortat are doing their best to keep the team afloat until some guys come back from injury, but the cracks are starting to show.

Charlotte Hornets (17-16) Last Week: 13 — The Hornets had a rough week after losing three out of four games on the schedule. Nicolas Batum is battling a nagging toe injury, Jeremy Lin just come back from an ankle injury and Al Jefferson will be out for a long while after injuring his knee. While these injuries certainly have an effect on the team, other guys have to find a way to step up.

Detroit Pistons (18-16) Last Week: 15 — The Pistons lost two of their three games during Week 10 as Reggie Jackson has started to struggle. Honestly, I think a lot of it has to do with the return of Brandon Jennings and Stan Van Gundy struggling to figure out how to fit him in the rotation. It also doesn't help that there's no one else on the roster to pick up the scoring help when Jackson struggles aside from Andre Drummond.

Memphis Grizzlies (18-17) Last Week: 16 — The Grizzlies are an old team without a lot of exciting prospects for the future. Marc Gasol is a star and Mike Conley is a solid player, but the rest of the roster leaves a lot to be desired. Although they're currently the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, it doesn't mean they're a good team.

Boston Celtics (18-15) Last Week: 8 — Following a perfect 4-0 showing in Week 9, the Celtics lost both games on the schedule in Week 10. It's not just that they lost that's concerning, but they lost at home to both the Lakers and Nets who are two of the worst teams in the league.

Orlando Magic (19-15) Last Week: 10 — The Magic began Week 10 with back-to-back wins over the Pelicans and Nets, but fell to the Wizards and Cavaliers to finish it out. Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris form an appealing inside game for the Magic, but Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier have struggled mightily of late.

Indiana Pacers (19-14) Last Week: 11 — Paul George found his form in Week 10, but the Pacers were only able to turn it into a 2-2 record. The biggest problem for the Pacers is that while Monta Ellis is a great scorer, he has to have the ball in his hands to do it. With George Hill running the point, Ellis can't do that, which affects his effectiveness.

Dallas Mavericks (19-15) Last Week: 14 — Week 10 started off wonderfully for the Mavericks as they defeated the Bucks and then the Warriors without Stephen Curry. Then things fell apart as they got blown out by the Heat and beaten at home by the Pelicans which ruffled Rick Carlisle's feathers.

Toronto Raptors (21-14) Last Week: 6 — The Raptors sandwiched two losses to the Bulls around victories over the Wizards and Hornets in Week 10. With Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors possess one of the best backcourts in the NBA, but the frontcourt has some serious question marks.

Atlanta Hawks (21-14) Last Week: 5 — The Hawks came back down to Earth during Week 10 with road losses to the Pacers and Knicks sandwiched around a win against the Rockets on the road. Paul Millsap has been a beast this season, but the team desperately needs Kyle Korver to find his stroke if they want to have any chance of beating the Cavaliers this season.

Miami Heat (20-13) Last Week: 7 — The Heat are going to be one of the top-four seeds in the Eastern Conference at the end of the season, but that doesn't mean they're a contender. They lost at home to the Nets and on the road against the Grizzlies to start the week before beating the Mavericks and Wizards to finish it out. More consistency will be needed out of the role players before the Heat can compete with the elite teams in the NBA.

Chicago Bulls (20-12) Last Week: 9 — The Bulls had an extremely impressive Week 10 as they took down the Raptors twice along with defeating the Knicks and Pacers. Fred Hoiberg has done a tremendous job with this team as they now sit in the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference only 2.5 games behind the Cavaliers.

Los Angeles Clippers (22-13) Last Week: 12 — I'll be honest, I thought losing Blake Griffin was a death sentence for the Clippers, but boy was I wrong. Not only has the team fared well without him, but they haven't lost a single game without him as they've gone on six-game winning streak. Is it possible that the Clippers are better off without Griffin?

Oklahoma City Thunder (24-10) Last Week: 4 — The Thunder are creeping up on the Western Conference's No. 2 seed Spurs. With spectacular play from Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, the Thunder are capable of doing great things this season if they can stay healthy.

Cleveland Cavaliers (22-9) Last Week: 4 — Barring injuries, the Cavaliers will win the Eastern Conference, but I think the two teams in front of them on this list are light years ahead of them. Kyrie Irving must get back to his pre-injury form and the Cavaliers have to stay healthy to have any chance of winning the NBA title this season.

San Antonio Spurs (29-6) Last Week: 2 — The Spurs continue to win which keeps pressure on the No. 1 team on this list. Kawhi Leonard is a bona fide MVP candidate and LaMarcus Aldridge has added an element to the offense that hasn't been there in years past.

Golden State Warriors (31-2) Last Week: 1 — The Warriors played without Stephen Curry on back-to-back nights last week with two very different results. On Wednesday, the team got thrashed by the Mavericks, but followed it up with a win against the Rockets the following night. Curry's injury is obviously not ideal, but it's more important that he heals up while he can and not try to push it.

Share On Facebook

Share