NBA Power Rankings for Nov. 21

 Every Monday I will be giving my updated top 10 NBA power rankings. These are meant to be completely unbiased but no opinion based rankings will ever be done without debate. 

1. Boston Celtics (13-3) 

The defending eastern conference champions find themselves at the number 1 spot in this first ever ranking. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have each taken another big step in their development and are looking like the best 1-2 duo in the league this year, combining for an average of 55 points a game. The Celtics haven't missed a beat after cheating-on-fiance coach Ime Udoka was suspended for the season. The West Virginia Mountaineer product Joe Muzzulla has stepped up big time and looks like a coach that players actually give a fuck about what he's saying.

2. Milwaukee Bucks (11-4)

After a red hot start to the season the Bucks have cooled off a little bit. Not much to say about the Bucks considering we all know they are going to a contender and have probably the best player in the world. The Bucks will likely be on cruise control until Middleton comes back. Also they're not going to run Giannis into the ground every night so the occasional bad loss shouldn't be concerning. I will say that Giannis, you can't be knocking over ladders in rage just because you suck at shooting free throws. Philly won't forget. 

3. Phoenix Suns (10-6)

Fuck this bitch ass team I hate how they think are such hot shit even though they have completely folded in the last couple postseasons. However this is an unbiased list and I think that the Suns are the 3rd best team in the NBA to this point. Chris Paul has been out multiple games and they keep winning games. Their role players have stepped up in big moments and make them still a very good team. I could definitely have them lower but this list isn't the standings or predictions, it's the power rankings, and dammit it's my power rankings and I think the Suns are the 3rd best team right now. 

4. Utah Jazz (12-6)

Hats off to the Utah Jazz. They were supposed to be the worst team in the west and at the moment they are the number 1 seed. They had a 3 game losing streak last week and I thought the wheels would fall off. Nope, they just won 2 straight against the Suns and Blazers. I could definitely have them over the Suns after that game the two just played, I guess that 3 game losing streak was just stuck in my head still. If you had the over on the Jazz win total, props to you. We live in a world where Lauri Markkanen is the best player on the number 1 seed in the vaunted western conference. I did not have that on my bingo card. 

5. Cleveland Cavs (11-6)

A team that had a red hot start and cooled off, but now is hot again. Man this Cavs team is young and fun to watch. That backcourt is electric city with Mitchell and Garland and goes along very well with their frontcourt of Allen and Mobely. This team feels like with the right matchups they could make an ECF push. It's hilarious to me that Kevin Love is still on this team after the hell they were in from 2018-2021. I feel like old veteran players on bad teams always move, and it's not like he was a lifelong Cav who just didn't want to leave. 

6. Denver Nuggets (10-6)

I refuse to believe the Denver Nuggets are capable of being a bad team. I mean seriously this team seems to overachieve every season, even with the injury issues they have been through the last 2 years. That's what happens when you have a player like the Joker and a great coach in Mike Malone. They picked up a huge win against Dallas on Sunday which gets them up to 6. 

7. LA Clippers (10-7)

The Clippers will never have Paul George and Kawhi Leonard on the court at then same time and it will still result in a season where they win 47+ games. They are the biggest question mark in the NBA. We know they are really good even when they are not healthy, and we assume they can win it all if they are. The thing is we just haven't seen them all on the court at the same time and it is hard to go through hypotheticals that we haven't seen. Either way, they have good coaching and good enough players to win games even with the uncertainty of two super stars. I'm convinced that if Kawhi Leonard just did coke with Steve Balmer before every game he would have the durability of iron man and play 82 games a season.

8. Memphis Grizzlies (9-7)

Man, losing Ja Morant for a few weeks is brutal. Not to say that the Grizz were a fluke last year, but I don't think they will have anywhere near the success without Ja that they had last year. Desmond Bane is quietly putting up all star numbers this year (24 pts 5 rebs 5 ast) and those numbers will likely go up with him carrying more of the load. We'll see what happens to this team this week as they have a couple big games against the Kings and Pelicans. This team could very well be off this list come next Monday. Is the Grizzlies dynasty in jeopardy?

9. Dallas Mavs (9-7)

Luka, Luka, Luka, and more Luka. The MVP is his if they can win enough games. I can't say enough about how Luka has played this year. However the supporting cast, while not being bad, just flat out isn't great. It's Luka and a bunch of B- level players on a team. It doesn't look like the team is any better than last year. They need to play the Suns every round and they will be in the finals. 

10. Pelicans (9-7)

Zion isn't fat anymore and the Pelicans have their best start since Anthony Davis was on the team. Funny how that works. This team showed so much promise towards the end of last season and they have carried it into this year. They have a 3 headed monster in Zion, Ingram, and CJ that all can take over a game on any given night.