The Western Conference continues to be a battle as they had six 22-win teams heading into Sunday’s games, and the defending champions from San Antonio aren’t one of them. Here are this week’s power rankings for NBA futures.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
Championship Odds: +325
The Cavs are still the favorites, as the sportsbooks think they’ll eventually get right. The problem is that this team can’t be consistent as shown by a recent three-game winning streak, followed by losing four of six. With the amount of talent on this team and what we saw in Miami a few years ago, the Cavs should be able to right the ship, but the growing pains have been bumpy, and getting blown out by Detroit at home on Sunday didn’t help.
Losing Anderson Varejao is going to hurt Cleveland’s interior defense and now they’re without LeBron James for a couple of weeks. They might not be atop these rankings if they keep this up.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
Championship Odds: +500
The Thunder have rejoined the party after a slow start that was brought on by injuries to Kevin Durant He’s back and the team has won two straight, but they need their stars to stay on the court. The good news is the Thunder’s defense has been impressive as they lead the league in points allowed per game.
3. Chicago Bulls
Championship Odds: +600
The Bulls have won 11 of their last 12 games and it has been sparked by the development of Jimmy Butler along with a healthy Derrick Rose. Butler has blossomed before our eyes and in December, he averaged 22.5 points and 6.8 rebounds. Rose has played in nine of those 11 games and showed some vintage D-Rose moves, but you can practically hear Chicago fans gasp every time he goes to the basket for fear of an injury.
4. San Antonio Spurs
Championship Odds: +650
The Spurs have dropped a bit with a stretch of three wins in 10 games, and head coach Gregg Popovich continues to tinker with his lineups to rest his players for the long haul. Out of the first 32 games of the season, no Spur has played in every game and only four have played in more than 30: Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Cory Joseph and Aron Baynes, surprisingly.
5. Golden State Warriors
Championship Odds: +700
The Warriors came back down to earth after a ridiculous 16-game winning streak, losing three of six but they’ve started a new hot streak with three straight wins. Even though they’re still 13-4 on the road, all three of the Warriors’ recent losses have come away from home, which states how important home-court advantage will be to this team in the playoffs.
6. Dallas Mavericks
Championship Odds: +1000
The Mavericks are 5-2 in seven games since acquiring Rajon Rondo, who is finding his place in the Dallas system. He has averaged 15.4 points, 7.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds since coming over to the Mavericks from Boston, and even though he is still a terrible free throw shooter somehow, it’s fun to watch a motivated Rondo play again.
T-7. Los Angeles Clippers
Championship Odds: +1200
The Clippers have been inconsistent all season as there are some rumors bubbling that the team chemistry just isn’t right. They’ve won three of four and are trying to get back on track, but overall, it’s a bit surprising that they are just sixth in the Western Conference. At no point this season have they looked like a Championship-caliber team.
Defense is the key for the Clippers, who are 19th in points allowed. That needs to improve if they’re to climb the ranks.
T-7. Houston Rockets
Championship Odds: +1200
The Rockets have dropped five of their last eight, so maybe the Josh Smith acquisition wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Especially when you consider that the Pistons are a perfect 4-0 since cutting him, winning by an average of 18.0 points per game. A tough schedule has hampered the Rockets with Washington, San Antonio, Memphis, Portland, Atlanta and New Orleans (twice) all on their resume in the last eight. Still, if they’re going to cash on their 12/1 odds, they’re going to have to beat elite teams on a regular basis.
9. Memphis Grizzlies
Championship Odds: +1500
The Grizzlies hit a rough patch in the month of December, losing four straight from the 19th to the 26th. The issue was that their typically trustee defense let them down. They gave up 105.5 points per game in that span. However, they’ve gotten back on track with three straight wins, allowing more than 10 points per game less (95.0 PPG). They entered Saturday 2.5 games out of first place in the Western Conference.
10. Portland Trailblazers
Championship Odds: +1800
The Trailblazers have won nine of their last 10, including four of five and might be the best team that nobody is talking about. Damian Lillard continues to improve in a conference loaded with great point guards, and in his last four games, he had posted 26.3 points, 8.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals. No team in the NBA has more home wins than the Blazers and if they can somehow win the conference, they’ll be a serious problem in the postseason.
T-10. Toronto Raptors +2500
T-10. Washington Wizards +2500
12. Atlanta Hawks +3000
13. Miami Heat +10000
14. New Orleans Pelicans +12500
15.Phoenix Suns +15000
