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We have moved into the dog days of the season, which can lead to strange results as players grow tired and start looking ahead to the All-Star break. All that gets taken into account in these latest NBA Power Rankings.
1. Detroit Pistons
(28-10, last week No. 1)
Detroit seems to have answered every question this season. The only question facing the Pistons now is “can they beat good teams in the playoffs?” While that can’t be answered until April and May, they have been doing it during the regular season — Detroit is a league-best 10-4 against teams over .500, including 6-1 on the road. If you don’t want to do the math yourself, the Pistons are 18-5 against teams below .500. Also impressive: The Pistons are 6-1 on the second night of a back-to-back this season. When the All-Star Game starters are announced a week from today, expect Cade Cunningham to be among them.
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2. Oklahoma City Thunder
(33-7, last week No. 3)
Two Thunder games this coming week — hosting the Spurs and then traveling to face the Rockets — are good mid-season tests to see if the mid-season slump that made OKC look beatable continues, or if they have returned to form (watch that Spurs/Thunder game as part of Coast 2 Coast Tuesday on NBC and Peacock). Being the team with the target on its back is something the Thunder have had to adjust to this season, coach Mark Daigneault said last week. “When you win the championship and you start the way we started, it comes with the territory… It’s a competitive privilege to be a team that other teams are up to play for.” The best news out of OKC in recent weeks is that Nikola Topic has resumed training at the team’s facility following chemotherapy for testicular cancer. This is a great milestone for Topic that deserves to be celebrated.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
(26-14, last week No. 6)
Minnesota is looking more and more like the team that has gone to the Western Conference Finals in back-to-back years — coming from 15 down on Sunday to beat the Spurs was the latest example. Minnesota has all the hallmarks of a contender: It is top-10 in the league in both offense and defense, it is clutch…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-power-rankings-2025-26-193003886.html
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Publish date : 2026-01-12 19:30:00
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