[OFFICIAL] 2020-2021 Power Rankings Thread

WE'RE NUMBER ONE!! WE'RE NUMBER ONE!!! WE'RE NUMBER ONE!!!!!!

Spoiler

IN THE SUCK DEPARTMENT

 

nba.com, we're still not Numero Uno in the Suckage Department. And with Wood coming back, our glorious losing streak may come to an end. oh well.

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2020-21-week-12

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Last Week: 29

Houston Rockets
Record: 11-21
Pace: 101.7 (6) OffRtg: 105.7 (27) DefRtg: 110.4 (11) NetRtg: -4.7 (25)

The Rockets went into the break with the longest losing streak for any team this season (13 games). The 100.8 points per 100 possessions that they’ve scored over the streak is the league’s worst mark by a wide margin over that stretch. They’ve really struggled (28.5%, with a 4-for-45 night against Memphis) from 3-point range.

The Rockets’ last win came in the last game Wood played. They could have him back and they’ll get to play the league’s worst defense in their first game out of the break, visiting Sacramento on Thursday. The Rockets swept a two-game series with the Kings in Houston (with John Wall totaling 50 points) over the holidays.

Three numbers to know:

1. For the ninth straight season, the Rockets lead the league in the percentage of their shots that have come from the restricted area or 3-point range (80% this season).

2. The Rockets have allowed a league-high 23.3 points per game in transition, with 18.4% of their opponents’ possessions, the league’s highest opponent rate, having been in transition.

3. The Rockets’ most-used lineup has played just 58 minutes (fewest among any team’s most-used lineup) and includes James Harden, who was traded 8 1/2 weeks ago. John Wall, Victor Oladipo and Christian Wood have played just 53 minutes (in three games) together.

Week 12: @ SAC, @ UTA, vs. BOS
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WE ARE FINALLY NUMBER THIRTY. YAY FOR US!!!

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2020-21-week-13

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Last Week: 29 ↓

Houston Rockets
Record: 11-26
Pace: 102.0 (4) OffRtg: 105.1 (27) DefRtg: 110.9 (13) NetRtg: -5.8 (27)

The Rockets could get Christian Wood (who’s missed the last 16 games), John Wall (who’s missed all three since the break) and Danuel House (who’s missed the last four) back this week. The last Rockets’ win was the last game that Wood played and, even after the James Harden trade, Houston outscored its opponents by 14.6 points per 100 possessions in Wood’s 268 minutes on the floor.

But before those guys were able to put their uniforms back on, the Rockets lost Eric Gordon (groin strain) for 4-6 weeks. In addition to being decimated by injuries, they have a healthy starter (P.J. Tucker) not playing as he awaits a trade. And the centerpiece of the Harden trade was a guy (Victor Oladipo) who isn’t playing both games of back-to-backs (and they have three more of those in the next 13 days). So there’s an element of self-infliction in this 16-game losing streak.

None of the last nine losses (though three have come against the Cavs and Kings) have been within five points in the last five minutes, but Kevin Porter Jr. did provide a bright spot on Friday, scoring 27 points against the Jazz in just his second NBA game in the last year. He also dished out 25 assists over three games last week, with the best of the bunch being a pick-and-roll pocket pass to Justin Patton in Utah.

Week 13: vs. ATL, vs. GSW, vs. DET, vs. OKC
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just for comparison . . . James Harden's new team is Number One

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Last Week: 1

Brooklyn Nets
Record: 26-13
Pace: 100.7 (11) OffRtg: 118.0 (1) DefRtg: 113.2 (25) NetRtg: +4.9 (7)

There were bad losses before it, but the real wake-up call for the Nets was a loss in Detroit on Feb. 9 in which they allowed the league’s 24th-ranked offense to score 122 points on just 96 possessions. Since then, they’re 12-1, with the only loss coming without Kyrie Irving. They almost lost to the Pistons again on Saturday (blowing a 12-point, fourth-quarter lead), but James Harden outscored Detroit, 10-4, over the last 2 1/2 minutes. More important may be that the Nets won ugly, with their 100 points on 96 possessions being their least efficient performance in a win this season.

They beat the Celtics on Thursday with another strong finish, holding Boston scoreless over the final 2:55. The Nets started the season 1-4 in games that were within five points in the last five minutes, but are 14-3 in those games since then. Harden (22-for-39, including his time with Houston), Irving (21-for-42) and Kevin Durant (15-for-28) are three of the 10 players who have shot 50% or better on at least 25 clutch shots.

It’s now been more than a month since Durant (who’ll have his hamstring checked out again this week) played. With him, the Nets continue to stagger the minutes of Harden and Irving and, over their 11 games since Durant’s last appearance, the Nets have been equally efficient offensively with only one of Harden or Irving on the floor (120.0 points scored per 100 possessions in 246 total minutes) as they’ve been with both on the floor (119.8 per 100 in 245 minutes).

Week 13: vs. NYK, @ IND, @ ORL, vs. WAS
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https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2020-21-week-14

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Last Week: 30

Houston Rockets
Record: 11-30
Pace: 101.7 (5) OffRtg: 105.1 (28) DefRtg: 111.3 (13) NetRtg: -6.2 (27)

The Rockets erased a 23-point deficit (behind a big performance from Victor Oladipo) on Monday, got Christian Wood back on Wednesday, and played the Pistons and Thunder over the weekend. The opportunities to pick up a win were there, especially on Sunday, when they had five possessions to tie or take the lead in the final two minutes. But they came up empty on all five, with John Wall missing a critical free throw, getting blocked on a drive, and badly missing his game-winning attempt from 28 feet. It didn’t look like there was another option on the play, but Wall is now 14-for-63 (22%) on pull-up 3-pointers this season.

And the losing streak, now at 20 games, rolls on. Whether or not Oladipo is in Houston beyond Thursday, the Rockets have to get better offensively with their best players on the floor. Wood’s effective field goal percentage of 62.0% ranks ninth among 145 players with at least 300 field goal attempts, but Houston has scored just 109.2 points per 100 possessions in 301 total minutes with Wall and Wood on the floor together.

The Rockets’ schedule remains soft for another week. But after that, it gets much, much tougher and basically remains difficult through the end of the season.


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moving right back up the list, no doubt we can thank Olynyk for this

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2020-21-week-15

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Last Week: 30 ↑

Houston Rockets
Record: 13-32
Pace: 101.3 (5) OffRtg: 105.8 (27) DefRtg: 111.3 (14) NetRtg: -5.5 (26)

With Victor Oladipo off to Miami, Dante Exum (on an expiring contract and yet to play for Houston) is the only player from the James Harden trade left on the Rockets’ roster, while Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert do their thing in Cleveland and Indiana, respectively. So the pressure will be high for the Rockets to hit on one or more of the picks and pick swaps they got in the deal. Of course, the Rockets’ own pick this year remains the most valuable in their collection. The bottom three teams all get the same Lottery odds, but the Orlando Magic made a big move toward that bottom three (currently Minnesota, Detroit and Houston) by trading three of their best players on Thursday.

The Rockets seemingly have the most competent remaining core among those four teams. They put an end to their 20-game losing streak on Monday and had two easy wins over the Wolves over the weekend … except that they went scoreless over the final 7:27 in blowing a 16-point lead on Friday. John Wall’s shooting remains an issue (he’s shot 27% on pull-up jumpers) and he played the biggest role (0-for-6, two turnovers) in that collapse on Friday, but he had 27 assists in the two games, including three to Kevin Porter Jr. as the two guards started together for the first time on Saturday. The Rockets have scored 74 points on 62 possessions (119 per 100) in 29 total minutes with Wall and Porter on the floor together.
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AND JUST LIKE THAT WE'RE BACK TO BEING NUMBER THIRTY, OLYNKY OR NO OLYNKY

 

not number thirty anymore

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2020-21-week-17

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Last Week: 30 ↑

Houston Rockets
Record: 14-39
Pace: 101.1 (5) OffRtg: 106.6 (27) DefRtg: 112.6 (24) NetRtg: -6.0 (26)

John Wall came back from a four-game absence with a functional jump shot, making nine of his 17 3-point attempts in the two games he played last week. And with that, the Rockets’ new and funky starting lineup – Wall, Kevin Porter Jr., Jae’Sean Tate, Kelly Olynyk and Christian Wood – outscored the Mavs and Warriors by 25 points in its 46 minutes. Some bad bench minutes had the Dallas game tied with 2:30 left, but Wall scored the next five points and Porter daggered the Mavs with a block and fast-break dunk. It was the Rockets’ first win over a good team in more than two months.

Olynyk and Wood have had some nice connections on offense (including one pretty, touch-pass lob gif’d below) but the defense has not been good (122 points allowed per 100 possessions) in 156 total minutes with them on the floor together. That was the case for most of the Clippers’ 41-4, second-quarter run on Friday. 41-4!

The Rockets were without Wall for that game, choosing to use him against Golden State in their back-to-back set. They have four back-to-backs remaining on the schedule, with the next one coming in Florida on Sunday and next Monday.



Week 17: @ PHX, vs. IND, vs. DEN, @ ORL

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Last Week: 25 ↓

Oklahoma City Thunder
Record: 20-33
Pace: 100.8 (9) OffRtg: 103.8 (30) DefRtg: 112.4 (21) NetRtg: -8.6 (30)

It’s not breaking news to say that Aleksej Pokusevski needs to get stronger. When Saddiq Bey got into him on one third quarter possession on Monday, the Thunder rookie promptly lost the ball. His turnover rate of 14.9 per 100 possessions is the 12th highest among 312 players who’ve averaged at least 15 minutes. Still, at 19 years old, energy shouldn’t be an issue. So to see him put minimal effort in navigating a pair of screens in the same game should set off a mini alarm bell. Pokusevski has ridiculous length, which he used to get two straight blocks (after he got out-muscled for a rebound) while barely leaving the floor in that same against the Pistons. But his 1.3 deflections per 36 minutes rank just 266th among 310 players who’ve played at least 500 minutes.

There were some highlights on the other end of the floor, including two impressive shots off one foot (a baseline step-back and a floater across his body) against Detroit, seven 3s (with a very confident-looking stroke) against Charlotte, and a step-back 3 against Cleveland. But the Thunder have fallen to 30th in offensive efficiency, having scored a brutal 95.8 points per 100 possessions over their six-game losing streak. They got Luguentz Dort back from a seven-game absence on Saturday, but promptly lost Pokusevski himself to arm soreness.

Week 17: @ UTA, vs. GSW, @ DET, @ TOR
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this can't be good. gotta stay in the bottom three if there's any hope at all

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2020-21-week-18

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Last Week: 29 ↑

Houston Rockets
Record: 15-42
Pace: 101.2 (6) OffRtg: 107.0 (27) DefRtg: 113.2 (26) NetRtg: -6.3 (26)

There was a time when the Rockets were pretty solid defensively. They actually had the league’s best defense (104 points allowed per 100 possessions) over the first 3 1/2 weeks (14 games) after the James Harden trade and still ranked in the top half of the league on that end of the floor a month ago. But over the last month, they rank dead last, having allowed almost 118 per 100 over their last 18 games. If the slippage doesn’t stop, this will be the Rockets first bottom-five defense in 19 years (since 2001-02).

The Rockets’ new starting lineup – John Wall, Kevin Porter Jr., Jae’Sean Tate, Kelly Olynyk and Christian Wood – is the team’s first five-man unit to crack the 100-minute threshold (it was also the first to crack the 60-minute threshold) and has outscored its opponents by 11.1 points per 100 possessions. Without Wall on Sunday (and with Avery Bradley starting in his place), the Rockets ended a five-game losing streak, taking control of their game in Orlando with a 22-6 start to the third quarter in which Tate had three of his six assists. The 25-year-old rookie remains a fascinating hybrid player and the Rockets have been almost 25 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor (+2.3) than they’ve been with him off the floor (-22.3) over the last month.

Week 18: @ MIA, vs. UTA, vs. LAC, @ DEN
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