NBA: Power Rankings 17-26 January 2016

Kemba Walker (left) and DeMarcus Cousins were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week for last week.Well we finally had the tilt NBA fans have all been waiting for on Monday night when the San Antonio Spurs travelled to Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors, and what we got was a no contest beatdown by the defending champs. Silly me for putting the Spurs number one in the power rankings last week, as the Warriors quickly put to bed any notion that the Spurs should currently be ranked ahead of them with a 120-90 win. The Warriors continue to show that when people begin doubting them, they lock in their A+ game on both sides of the court and can run away from any team.In the rest of the league, we have movement around the power rankings as well, as the streaking Toronto Raptors continue to show they are the second best team in the East, while the jumble of East teams from 5-9 are constantly switching with each win and loss. In the West, the Houston Rockets could be close to finally breaking into the power rankings, while the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks are doing their best job to keep them at bay in the seventh spot.

#10 Houston Rockets

James Harden has the Rockets starting to roll.

Last Week: 3-2

The Rockets make their first appearance in the Power Rankings, as they have rebounded from their low point of 5-10 to go on a current 20-12 run and climb to within a game and a half of the 5th place Memphis Grizzlies. While they have a worse record and point differential than some teams not in the Power Rankings, I can no longer ignore them as one of the top 10 teams in the league. As they have been playing better ball, it is apparent that they aren’t quite as bad as their record, and with James Harden leading the way, I see them continuing their hot streak.

Next Week:  @ San Antonio, @ Oklahoma City, vs Washington

The road to the five seed isn’t easy this week as they take on two teams ahead of them in the standings who are also two of the top four teams in the league. Realistically, a 1-2 week would be fine for the Rockets as wins on the road will be tough sledding against great competition, but if they can manage to get a victory in San Antonio or OKC. It will be interesting to see how Josh Smith does against top flight competition after a big game against Dallas this past week.