Riding a nine-game win streak and holding onto the NBA’s best record, the San Antonio Spurs move up to first place in KP’s latest edition of NBA Power Rankings at The Wife Hates Sports.
Last week’s leading team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, slip one spot and into second place. Rounding out the top five are the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks.
The Philadelphia 76ers move up five spots and earn the honor of being this week’s big winners, while the Indiana Pacers fall four spots and have the distinction of being this edition’s biggest losers.
The full set of rankings is as follows, featuring January stats and thoughts for all thirty teams.
The San Antonio Spurs have the best record in the NBA
KP’s NBA Power Rankings: January 31, 2013
* Games and statistics include results up to 7pm on January 31, 2012
1. San Antonio Spurs (123 points) – Last Week: #2
San Antonio’s 16 road wins are more than any other team.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (108 points) – Last Week: #1
Kevin Durant’s 31.9 points per game in the month of January leads the NBA.
3. Los Angeles Clippers (107 points) – Last Week: #3
Chris Paul’s 10.8 assists per game in January led the NBA.
4. Miami Heat (85 points) – Last Week: #4
LeBron James has 6 double-doubles and is averaging 27 points per game in January.
5. New York Knicks (78 points) – Last Week: #5
Tyson Chandler averaged nearly 12 boards per game in January.
6. Chicago Bulls (78 points) – Last Week: #7
Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer each had 10 double-doubles in the month of January.
7. Memphis Grizzlies (68 points) – Last Week: #8
Scorer Rudy Gay was dealt to Toronto this week.
8. Brooklyn Nets (59 points) – Last Week: #6
Deron Williams averaged 18.3 points per game in January.
9. Golden State Warriors (59 points) – Last Week: #10
Klay Thompson is 30 for 31 from the free throw line in the month of January.
10. Denver Nuggets (59 points) – Last Week: #11
Danilo Gallinari averaged 19.3 points per game in January.
11. Atlanta Hawks (53 points) – Last Week: #13
Kyle Korver is shooting 52% from three-point range in the month of January.
12. Milwaukee Bucks (48 points) – Last Week: #12
Larry Sanders is averaging 3.29 blocks per game in the month of January.
13. Indiana Pacers (41 points) – Last Week: #9
Paul George’s 2.5 steals per game led the NBA in January.
14. Utah Jazz (39 points) – Last Week: #14
Gordon Hayward shot 47.1% from three-point range in January.
15. Houston Rockets (33 points) – Last Week: #16
James Harden is averaging 4.4 turnovers per game in the month of January.
16. Boston Celtics (22 points) – Last Week: #14
Rajon Rondo is out for the year, leaving the Celtics with a glaring hole in its roster.
17. Portland Trail Blazers (15 points) – Last Week: #17
LaMarcus Aldridge had 11 double-doubles in the month of January.
18. Los Angeles Lakers (8 points) – Last Week: #21
A three-game win streak makes a major headline, that’s what it has come to for the Lakers.
19. Dallas Mavericks (3 points) – Last Week: #20
O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison each averaged more than five assists per game in January.
20. Detroit Pistons (-3 points) – Last Week: #18
Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond each averaged more than nine boards a game in January.
21. Philadelphia 76ers (-5 points) – Last Week: #26
Jrue Holiday is averaging 4.4 turnovers per game in the month of January.
22. Minnesota Timberwolves (-13 points) – Last Week: #19
The T’Wolves are lacking a key rebound presence without Kevin Love in the lineup.
23. New Orleans Hornets (-19 points) – Last Week: #22
Greivis Vasquez is averaging 10.6 assists per game in the month of January.
24. Toronto Raptors (-22 points) – Last Week: #23
Toronto’s acquisition of Rudy Gay could put the Raptors back in the playoff chase.
25. Phoenix Suns (-23 points) – Last Week: #27
Marcin Gortat’s 10.2 boards per game in January is more than Tim Duncan averaged.
26. Sacramento Kings (-24 points) – Last Week: #24
DeMarcus Cousins’ 100 free throw attempts in January is the fourth most in the NBA.
27. Orlando Magic (-27 points) – Last Week: #25
Orlando’s seven-game losing streak is currently worse than any other team.
28. Cleveland Cavaliers (-30 points) – Last Week: #29
Kyrie Irving is averaging 25.8 points per game in the month of January (4th best in the NBA).
29. Washington Wizards (-31 points) – Last Week: #28
Martell Webster’s 12.2 points per game in January led the team.
30. Charlotte Bobcats (-50 points) – Last Week: #30
Kemba Walker averaged 17.3 points per game in January.
* All stats per NBA.com
Note: RED = Falling 3+ spots from last week, GREEN = Rising 3+ spots from last week
The Wife Hates Sports NBA Power Rankings system has a method to its madness, attempting to be different and not just rank by popularity and record. It mixes a secret formula of six completely different categories, meshed into a points system. The categories don’t just include team results regarding record, but how each team has performed recently, as well as incorporating some statistics on both a team’s offense and defense.
Is it that ‘Tree’ guy that called me whiny? Yawn.
It was cool to see a bunch of the old Fox guys over in your space… how do you get them to come visit so frequently? Is it that they see them through the email trails that you send out? Maybe I should start doing that. Do you still use that gmail group to send out links?
No way he ends his career there. I actually thought he would be dealt away from there before Harden…
Dude, one of my readers is killing you for your writer’s block.
Feel free to swing by and visit the comments section.
You may, however, want to bring band-aids.
The Chump hates power rankings.
Hey, man. If you were a Thunder fan, would you be at all concerned with Russell Westbrook’s volatility?
I just don’t see him ending his career there.