Week 11: NBA Power Rankings

Jan 18, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) comes off the court during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. The Thunder defeated the Mavericks in overtime 117-114. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the week 11 Dunking with Wolves NBA Power Rankings. JJ Glenn breaks down every NBA team this week and through out the .
This Week	Last Week	Team	Notes
1	1	Oklahoma City	They have the best win percentage in the NBA. The inside game of the Thunder has been good, the bench has been right on par without Harden. Scotty Brooks has proven to be a good coach, if you need to take this team in a 7 game series against anyone in the west. I like the Thunder.
2	2	L.A. Clippers	The Clippers have a deep bench with lots of talent. This team will use the bench to cruise to the post season. Knowing Del Negro and a rash of questionable coaching decisions in the past, don’t count me as one of the believers this team will be a post season threat. Jordan and Griffin neither have a jump shot, if they don’t get a lob; they have a hard time scoring.
3	3	San Antonio	The Spurs are getting the young players more minutes and experience. Parker has been having a great season, and Duncan is playing at an all-star level again this year.
4	4	Heat	LeBron should be the MVP of the league again this year. Just hit the youngest to 20,000 points milestone. They have no inside game and in their losses, it has been glaringly evident. The outside shooting has never been better, but the inside game has never been worse.
5	8	Denver	The Nuggets have finally hit that part of the schedule where they are evening out their home games. The Nuggets have also seemed to be getting everyone on the same page. They run, play defense and have an inside game. The Nuggets have shaken off the early season rust and playing closer to the early season expectations.
6	5	Memphis	Despite all of the trade rumors, the Grizz are still playing the same punishing defense. Latest rumor is they would be more likely to move Z-Bo before Gay. Knowing Hollinger is helping run that team, I don’t feel I am the proper authority to question personnel decisions.
7	6	Golden State	The upstart Warriors have cooled off a bit over their last 10 games, they have played .500 ball. Curry’s injuries have shown how important he is to that team. If he needs to miss time or isn’t close to 100% come playoff time the team will struggle to make any noise beside a 1st round sweep.
8	7	New York Knicks	The Knicks are .500 over their last 10. Melo is no longer fasting. Shumpert is back, but he is still a second year player. Sheed may be gone the rest of the season, and “ball don’t lie” he really helped the team. One thing is for sure, if all of this is the STAT effect, then him being traded before the Feb deadline would be the best thing to help the team.
9	9	Indiana	The Pacers are still playing solid basketball. The team has seen everyone forming their own identity and they are still without Granger. He will be coming back for the post season, if this team can ease him back into the lineup rather than need him in the lineup, they will be a tough outcome post season.
10	12	Brooklyn	The Nets and PJ are playing to the level the preseason projections had them. 8-2 over their last 10 and now all the way up to the 4th in the East. The Nets still struggle on the road, 8-9. Some of it may be the new offensive sets PJ has installed; the fact of the matter will be if this team can sustain it.
11	11	Chicago	The Bulls have continued to play with the same calling card defense this season. The offense has struggled, 93.8 points a game for 25th in the NBA. Rose can help that, and he is ramping up workouts. All signs would point to him returning right after the all-star break.
12	14	Boston	Avery Bradley may have been just what the Celtics needed. By having him in the starting lineup, it has allowed for Lee and Terry to move to the bench. The post is still the glaring need. Sullinger has been solid, should move into the starting lineup, Chris Wilcox will be back and that should help the front line.
13	17	Utah	The Jazz’s front court is one of the best in the league. The back court is what is in question. They miss Mo, and if they make a move before the trade deadline, it will be for help in the backcourt. And that would only make this pretty strong team even stronger.
14	15	Portland	The Blazers have had a great rookie in Lillard, JJ Hickson is having a good year, but the bench has been horrible. If this team is to make the post season, it will be for experience only. This team is still missing a lot of pieces and this is still just a team building.
15	13	Houston	The Rockets may have hit a wall. They have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games. The Rockets are involved in about every trade deal for a possible power forward. They seem to be in a win now mode. This team has youth and a lot to build on. But this team seems to want to do what it takes to win now.
16	16	Milwaukee	The Bucks may have also hit a wall. The Bucks coaching change hasn’t been as successful for them as for some of the other teams this season. With some questions about the back court and long term contracts this team will be interesting to watch come the trade deadline.
17	10	Atlanta	The Hawks have fallen upon hard times. 2-8 over their last 10, and Josh Smith was suspended for a game. He is now on top of many peoples lists as the most likely to be moved. Where will he go and what will the Hawks get for him. Danny Ferry has been unpredictable at times and this seems to be one of those times.
18	18	Minnesota	The Wolves might have gotten the support they needed in the forms of Chris Johnson D-League superhero and Mickael Gelabale Euro League savior. They dominated the Wolves 4th quarter against the Rockets. It is one game so there I won’t get too far ahead of myself, but the energy and hustle they played with is what had been missing. As Dwill sat on the bench and watched 2 players play for an extension in crunch time, it may spur something in him too.
19	19	L.A. Lakers	It will be fun when the Lakers should be officially out of it. Until then let’s talk about the Lakers. Dwight returned after sitting out, and looked to have some of his old dominance, Kobe was ball hawking, but it was against sub .500 teams and when they finally ran into the Heat they showed they still have long way to go. Kobe even admitted it. They will be players before the trade deadline, but for who and what will be the intriguing part.
20	20	Philadelphia	The Sixers have struggled this entire season. They haven’t had Bynum, which has been a big loss. Will he be back in soon enough to help the team make a push for the post season? They are 3.5 games out of the 8th seed right now.
21	21	Toronto	The Raps have shown they don’t need Andrea, getting his minutes to players who are capable of playing has already been a help. The Raptors are being mentioned in a lot of trades. But there is a lot of pieces this team could use. 1 player doesn’t seem to be all they need.
22	22	Detroit	The Pistons have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games. They have said they won’t be making any moves come the trade deadline, but one of the main problems is who can tell what direction this team is trying to go. It’s very confusing to know what Dumars is doing with this team
23	23	Dallas	The Mavs are 5-5 over their last 10, they are only 3.5 back of 8th in the West, and The Bank of Cuban is now open for business. I haven’t heard who or what they are planning to do except HOPE for the delivery of some off season max contract players, Dwight Howard. That’s great for next season, but won’t help them make a push for the playoffs this season.
24	25	New Orleans	The Hornets played with a lot of energy when Gordon returned. They are still 6-4 over their last 10. Kevin Garnett has endorsed Anthony Davis. The Hornets will be good, just not this season.
25	24	Sacramento	The Kings are in limbo. The management won’t make any moves until everything has been signed off on and is official with the league. This team needs to know who is in charge, what the direction is going to be and what this team’s identity is going to be moving forward.
26	26	Orlando	The Magic SHOULD be a player come the trade deadline, but they need to be a seller. This team is a Hodge Podge of the old regime. Hennigan needs to know what direction he wants to go and use this off season with as many pieces as he can get to get there.
27	27	Phoenix	The Suns will see what a new coach can help them do, problem is Babby is still the POBO. 3 days and finally an interim head coach in place. A bad roster and from the outside looking in, no road map in place to get them to a better team than they currently are.
28	28	Cleveland	Irving and Co. will be good, in time. It isn’t going to be this year. Chris Grant is building what should be a good team in the next couple years, this just isn’t the year.
29	29	Charlotte	The Cats are a team in rebuilding mode, they have pieces in the back court, but they also have the worst point diff in the league. There is a lot of work to do, but they also won more game this year than last year.
30	30	Washington D.C	With John Wall and Bradley Beal in the backcourt this team would seem to have the back court of the future, Nene is a good piece in the front court. Booker will help when he is back a will be a big help at the 4. This team will not be here at the 30 spot for much longer.

Home/Timberwolves News