– Last Updated on November 21, 2022 3:05 pm
2017-18 NBA Power Rankings
Looking for 2017-18 NBA Power Rankings? We’ve hit the half-season mark of the current campaign, and there are plenty of storylines to keep track of. But for our purposes, we’re only focused on who’s hot and who’s not as we break down the current power rankings.
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As always, our rankings will look at the entire body of work for all 30 teams, with a specific emphasis on recent trends.
*Note that these rankings are coming out on Thursday, Feb. 8 before the trade deadline hits. Check back in two weeks for our first post-trade deadline edition of NBA power rankings.
1. Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets have been a No. 1 team in our rankings at times this season, and while they certainly don’t look to be favorites over the Golden State Warriors, they do have the edge over them at the moment.
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Doesn’t that make this season exciting? Or at least worth watching? The fact that a team is regularly on the cusp of overtaking the Warriors for the No. 1 spot is fresh and new, and we can thank Houston for that.
No, we’re not trying to patronize the Rockets. (We may be doing it a bit unintentionally, but not on purpose—we swear.)
This team still has a long way to go before it becomes the Western Conference favorites, but as of this moment, they’re the best team in the NBA.
2. Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors look something less than perfect right now, and that’s weird. We’re just not used to that.
The good news for fans in the Bay Areas is that their troubles look to be mostly cosmetic. In fact, it almost looks as if they’d be able to flip that proverbial “switch” whenever they’d like—so long as they stop having players get ejected from games…
More simply put: Golden State’s “problems” are much easier to fix than what the Cleveland Cavaliers are dealing with right now.
This team is “down” at the moment, but there’s no reason to believe they won’t take control of the No. 1 spot once again when things start to click again in the coming weeks.
3. Toronto Raptors
Is this the season we can finally trust the Toronto Raptors?
Eh. Ask us again in a few months.
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That’s the general theme that this team has stuck with over the past few seasons. They look great in the regular season, then completely flop before the end of the second round of the playoffs.
There are plenty of reasons to buy into what the Raptors are selling this year, but we need more time before we deem them true contenders.
That said, as far as our power rankings go, they’ve definitely earned a spot in the top three.
4. Boston Celtics
If it weren’t for a terrible loss to the Toronto Raptors this week, the Boston Celtics would own the No. 3 spot. But that loss did occur…it was bad…and it puts Kyrie Irving and Co. a slight step behind those pesky dinosaurs.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
OKC seems to have the blueprint written for how to beat the Warriors. They’ve taken them down in blowout fashion twice this year, and it has everything to do with their length on defense—which is somewhat surprising since most people think of the offensive firepower of Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves just played one of the undisputed best games of the 2017-18 season, dropping a road contest to the Cleveland Cavaliers by just two points in overtime. It took some LeBron James heroics on both ends in the final seconds, which is why you wouldn’t normally feel too bad about the loss.
The catch, of course, is that the loss came to one of the coldest teams in the league—not to mention a team that has as many distractions as any with the trade deadline ahead and the locker room beyond distracted.
Overall, this team has played well lately, so we can’t completely knock them for one two-point overtime loss. But that game did knock them out of the top five.
7. San Antonio Spurs
As of this writing, the Spurs are coming off a dominant win over the Phoenix Suns.
Like, a 48-point win on the road-type dominant win.
But the fact remains that San Antonio, despite being one of the quieter contenders in the league, has legitimate concerns. For starters, they’re without Kawhi Leonard for only God knows how long. Now, Dejounte Murray looks like he could sit for with an ankle injury.
Combine all that with the fact that this team has as underwhelming a road record as they’ve had in a long time, and you’ve got a solid team that is still a few momentous runs away from landing a top-five spot in our rankings.
8. Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo had the dunk of the season Tuesday night, leaping completely over the head of Tim Hardaway Jr. of the New York Knicks on an alley-oop finish.
Oh yeah, Jabari Parker made his season debut also. But dat dunk doe…
9. Washington Wizards
When the Washington Wizards lost John Wall for 6-8 weeks to a knee injury, it looked as if their run treading water was done. However, Bradley Beal has stepped up, and the Wiz are looking good with the All-Star break just around the corner.
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10. Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets, after they lost Paul Millsap for an extended period of time, weren’t supposed to be here. They were supposed to be out of the playoff picture altogether, but they remain competitive and are probably still buzzing from their walk-off three-point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder a week ago.
More NBA Power Rankings – Teams #11 – > #30
- 11. Miami Heat
- 12. Portland Trail Blazers
- 13. Cleveland Cavaliers
- 14. Indiana Pacers
- 15. Detroit Pistons
- 16. Philadelphia 76ers
- 17. New Orleans Pelicans
- 18. Los Angeles Clippers
- 19. Utah Jazz
- 20. Los Angeles Lakers
- 21. Charlotte Hornets
- 22. Chicago Bulls
- 23. Brooklyn Nets
- 24. Memphis Grizzlies
- 25. Atlanta Hawks
- 26. Dallas Mavericks
- 27. New York Knicks
- 28. Sacramento Kings
- 29. Orlando Magic
- 30. Phoenix Suns
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