NBA Power Rankings 2016

Dwight Howard and the Rockets fell out of the Power Rankings this week.Another week is in the books, and the top five remains basically the same, with only one minor shift. The Warriors keep chugging along, currently on pace to win 75 games in the season which would break the single-season record of 72 wins by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.Around the rest of the league, the Memphis Grizzlies are starting round into form, making their first appearance in the Power Rankings at number nine.The Houston Rockets, after their first cameo in the rankings, have dropped out after another week of uneven play, sparking more questions about if this team will ever play with enough focus this season to approach preseason expectations.The Indiana Pacers, are now two months into some very up and down play, while the Miami Heat are looking to right the ship of a wayward January and re-enter the top 10. Finally, the Dallas Mavericks are chugging along the outside of the top 10, hoping to break in and show promise of a first round upset.

#10 Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose needs to start playing better if the Bulls want consistency.

Last Week: 2-2

Another week, another period of inconsistent play for the Bulls who just can’t get any momentum going this season. Derrick Rose still hasn’t come close to the decent play that his team has been expecting from him, watching his shooting percentages go all over the place like a seismograph during an earth quake. It is very possible that his vision is still blurry from when he broke his orbital bone right before training camp, but time is ticking for that to come around. The Bulls are looking at another lost season from a team that was supposed to battle LeBron for East supremacy when they came together six years ago.

Next Week: @ Denver, @ Minnesota, @ Charlotte, vs Atlanta

The Bulls have to get three wins this week, there is just no way around it. They get two of the bottom feeders in the West and can’t let games like this slip by them as we get later into the season. They end the week with a huge tilt against the Hawks, a team they are currently .5 games behind in the standings. In an East where the middle is all jumbled, any win vs a fellow playoff combatant can go a long way when it comes to tiebreakers at the end of the season.