Here’s part two of our half-season NBA power rankings, including four tiers and the teams ranked 19-10.
We Wish We Hadn’t Extended LeBron
19. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers truly deserve a tier all to themselves. With healthy, peak Anthony Davis, vintage LeBron, and even an acceptable Russell Westbrook, they looked like they were back on track to competing in the west. But that was comically short lived. Davis got hurt again and Westbrook went back to being, well, Westbrook.
With LeBron on the roster, the Lakers don’t really have a choice but to try and compete, which for them likely means shipping off Westbrook and multiple late-2020s first round picks. James will probably put serious pressure on the front office to make a desperate move to try and improve, which leads me to my big take on the Lakers:
They probably really wish they could just trade LeBron. They have to stay competitive while he’s around, and that likely means parting with important future assets. Who knows what the Lakers could look like in 2027 and 2029? Unless LeBron goes bionic, he won’t be on the team then. Those picks could become extremely valuable. Trading James takes that pressure off the team to be immediately relevant and allows them to keep hold of those picks.
However, after signing James to a massive extension right before the season started, the Lakers can’t trade him until the offseason. They’re stuck. As a result, Los Angeles either has to force LeBron to put up with a barely mediocre and often injured roster, or make drastic moves that likely hurt the franchise’s future outlook. Rob Pelinka, meet the rock and the hard place.
We’re Taking On Water
18. Atlanta Hawks
After taking a pretty big swing by trading for Dejounte Murray, it felt like Atlanta was in a pretty good position to at least match its 2021 Eastern Conference Finals run. Unfortunately, it hasn’t played out that way.
Problem one: Trae Young has been pretty bad. Yeah, he’s averaging about 28 points per game, but take a deeper look at the numbers. Young is only shooting 42% from the field and 31% from three. With a usage rate over 30%, Atlanta simply needs him to be more efficient.
Problem two: The Hawks in general have struggled to score. They are one of the worst shooting teams in the league and are shockingly inefficient, ranking 22nd in offensive rating. They have improved on the defensive end, but those improvements have been essentially offset by the offensive struggles.
Problem three: They can’t keep hold of a coach. Nate McMillan publicly stated that he considered resigning during the season. Additionally, Young and McMillan have beef that has aired out in public, with Trae even refusing to play at times. It’s pretty hard to win games when your star player is at strong odds with the head coach, and McMillan’s willingness to speak on it in public only makes matters worse.
With all that said, if Young can turn things around and get more consistent contribution from the rest of the roster, it isn’t hard to envision a path for them to get back into the playoffs. Young has strong-armed Atlanta deep into the postseason before, and with the addition of Murray, the Hawks should be able to compete with teams ahead of them in the east.
But why’d you have to trade Kevin Huerter?
17. Minnesota Timberwolves
Oh, boy. Where do we start with Minnesota?
Before continuing, I want to give Anthony Edwards major props. He’s so fun to watch, and he’s overcome a slow start to the season (we’ll just call it that and not mention how out of shape he was) to continue his upward trajectory. The Wolves’ problems really aren’t his fault, so I just wanted to air that out before I continue.
What the hell were they thinking with the Gobert trade? I understand new ownership wanting to make a big offseason splash, but what they did was like dropping a massive boulder into the ocean six inches from the surface – it only makes a small ripple, and it sinks really fast.
Four unprotected first round picks (!!). One first round pick swap. Malik Beasley. Patrick Beverley. Walker Kessler. Jarred Vanderbilt. Leandro Bolmaro. All for a guy that got run out of the playoffs last year by Jalen Brunson!?
It’s already the worst trade in NBA history, and now Minnesota has to pick up the pieces.
Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns clearly don’t fit on the court together, which we could have told them a long time ago. D’Angelo Russell plays point guard like there’s nobody else on the floor, and to make matters even worse, Gobert hasn’t been the defensive anchor he was in Utah. Eiffel Tower? Try the Vegas version.
Minnesota could potentially make a move with Towns or Russell, but for the most part, they just have to sit back and watch the disaster unfold. At this point, The Timberwolves face an uphill battle just to make the play-in tournament with a roster that simply does not gel on a basketball court.
But man do I love Ant.
16. Miami Heat
Of the teams in this tier, the Heat have the most potential to improve at the trade deadline. Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Tyler Herro have all played as advertised, but we probably haven’t seen them healthy at the same time much this season.
In fact, the Heat probably haven’t been fully healthy at all this season. Hit by one injury after another, Miami just received news that Adebayo may miss a few games with a hand ailment.
Nonetheless, the prospect of a healthy Miami team down the stretch should be concerning to a lot of teams. Plus, they have a decent amount of flexibility at the deadline. The Heat own most of their future picks and have young assets and veteran contracts to throw around. Rookie Nikola Jović is likely to be of interest, and we know they would love to dump Duncan Robinson’s contract.
If the Heat add another bonafide piece to an already good rotation, they could make a run in the east. They need to get everyone back healthy, though. After all, a lack of health is the reason why they find themselves this far back in the rankings. Their ceiling is high, but if the injuries keep coming, Miami could struggle to even make the playoffs.
15. Phoenix Suns
The Suns have had quite the last eight months or so. After finishing with the league’s best record in 21/22, Phoenix supernova-ed in the playoffs against Dallas, flirted with a Kevin Durant trade, re-signed DeAndre Ayton, alienated Jae Crowder, and welcomed back a painfully aging Chris Paul.
Oh, and Devin Booker has been out injured for a good chunk of the season so far.
Up until Booker’s injury, Phoenix looked like it was coping pretty well all things considered, jumping out to a 15-6 record. However, the Suns have gone 6-18 since then, amounting to what is now a losing record overall.
The Suns didn’t hesitate to match Indiana’s large qualifying offer to Ayton, but his season has been a big story in the Valley. Sure, he’s nearly averaging a double-double, but when you watch Phoenix play, there’s clearly something missing with him. He certainly hasn’t looked like a player worth $133 million over four years. There’s also the whole beef between him and coach Monty Williams, which doesn’t really seem to have ever been resolved.
If Booker comes back healthy and at full force, the Suns shouldn’t have a problem climbing up the standings the rest of the season. However, after only lasting four minutes in his return on Christmas, there is concern the issue could linger. Groin problems aren’t fun to come back from.
Ayton becomes eligible for trade on January 15, opening up some intriguing possibilities. However, he has full veto power for the rest of the season, so Phoenix will have to be smart if they make any moves with him involved. The Crowder situation is still ongoing, and Paul has really let his age show.
This season could go any number of directions for the Suns, but they will certainly be one of the league’s most interesting teams to watch no matter what.
We’re Contenders If Healthy
14. Golden State Warriors
This tier contains two teams that can easily catapult to higher tiers depending on the status of star players. The defending champs certainly fit this mold.
Steph Curry was having one of his best seasons before going down with a shoulder injury, but with him and Andrew Wiggins back on the court, things could quickly get back on track. At exactly .500, the Warriors are in fine position to climb the standings and get back into contention.
As we saw last year, as long as Curry is firing on all cylinders, all the Warriors really have to do to have a chance is get into the playoffs at any seed.
However, even with a healthy Curry, the Warriors were historically bad on the road in the first half of the season. An away record of 5-17 is certainly indicative of the offensive struggles experienced by the team outside San Francisco.
The Warriors’ title prospects will likely depend on the contributions of those around Curry. Klay Thompson has shown glimpses of his old offensive self, and Jordan Poole has been terrific at times as well. However, both have also torpedoed them on multiple occasions.
It also doesn’t help that Draymond Green punched Poole in the face right before the season’s start.
Poole and Thompson are each averaging about 21 points per game, and with Curry and Wiggins back, that should be decent enough to get the Warriors back on track. However, time will tell if Wiggins and especially Curry can stay on the court.
13. LA Clippers
At first glance at the Clippers’ roster, it is pretty surprising to see them all the way at 13, but them’s the breaks! More specifically, LA has struggled due to the breaks taken by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George throughout the season.
With everyone healthy, the Clips probably figure as a top-three team in the west, but given how they handle their stars, we probably won’t see them all come together until close to the playoffs. I question whether that’s too late to establish a full-strength rotation. Do you really want guys learning roles in a playoff series? That could prove problematic against teams with a whole season of playing together.
Clearly, Kawhi and Paul George are good enough together to beat anyone on any given night, but I question the Clippers’ title credentials simply out of an abundance of doubt that they’ll even be there when it matters most. Still, even as a back-half playoff team, they are a squad nobody wants to run up against in the postseason.
We’re Probably Better Than We’re Supposed To Be
12. New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson. That’s the gist. In one of the dumbest free agency decisions in recent memory, Dallas allowed Brunson to walk to MSG for a below-max contract, only for him to prove he’s a max player. Averaging 22/6/4 in 39 games, Brunson has turned the Knicks into a real force.
With Brunson, his control of the game matters just as much as his numbers. On both ends of the floor, Brunson brings such a sense of calm and ease to them in a way that really ties them together and makes them difficult to beat in crunch time.
It also helps that Julius Randle is averaging a double-double and giving Knicks fans serious hope again.
There is palpable buzz in New York with this team, and that could only get bigger if they make a deadline move. Led by RJ Barrett, the Knicks have a few promising pieces that could be put on the market. The returns for those pieces could make New York a no-doubt playoff team in the east with a ceiling for even more.
THE MAVS COULD HAVE HAD BRUNSON FOR $55 MILLION LAST YEAR!! …carry on…
11. Indiana Pacers
Indy has been quite the pleasant surprise this season. Who knew that Tyrese Haliburton surrounded by a host of ex-rejects could be this fun to watch?
Haliburton is clearly the guy for the Pacers at 20 and 10 per game. It is interesting that we have them at 11 and Sacramento at 10, because they were the two ends of one of the most confounding trades in recent history which sent Haliburton to Indiana. We’ll get into Sacramento’s end of that trade soon, but for Indiana, it’s worked so well. Tyrese is a superstar in the making and a clear cornerstone.
Bennedict Mathurin has also been incredible for Indiana, averaging 17 points as a rookie. He probably won’t win Rookie of the Year, but perhaps more impressively, he’s probably the frontrunner for Sixth-Man of the Year, leading all reserves in scoring.
The Pacers quickly went from a seller to a buyer and could leverage veterans Buddy Hield and Myles Turner into immediate upgrades rather than long-term assets. Imagine reading that four months ago. The Pacers are simply too good to consider doing anything else but competing, and I’m looking forward to seeing them chase a playoff spot.
10. Sacramento Kings
The other end of the Haliburton trade, Sacramento has surprisingly come out of it a better team as well. Sure, it’s brutal to lose a guy like Haliburton, but they got Domantas Sabonis back, who has made them an entirely different and better team.
Not only has Sabonis scored really well, but he’s completely unlocked the Kings’ other players. De’Aaron Fox is a completely different player with Sabonis on the floor. Before his arrival, I thought Fox was a lost cause. As weird and as crazy as that trade seemed at the time, it’s clear that both teams absolutely got better as a result of it.
The trade for Kevin Huerter helps them tremendously as well, especially when it comes to spacing the floor. He’s shooting 42% from distance with a very high volume of attempts, changing the Kings’ offense every time he’s on the floor.
Additionally, Sacramento has been hugely vindicated in its decision to draft Keegan Murray over Jaden Ivey. Sure, he’s only averaging 12 and 4, but his defensive effort stands out and makes them difficult to score on. I also love Malik Monk’s shooting off the bench.
Overall, Sacramento is one of the best watches in the NBA, and I hope the Kings don’t fall off as the season winds down.
Stay tuned later this week as we wrap up the power rankings with teams 9-1. Don’t miss it!
Follow Nick Hedges on Twitter @nicktrimshedges or Instagram @nicktrimshedges