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Piston Powered NBA Power Rankings: January 2016

By Duncan Smith

Jan 4, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (right) and center Andre Drummond (middle) celebrate from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 115-89. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (right) and center Andre Drummond (middle) celebrate from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 115-89. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 4, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) and guard Andrew Wiggins (22) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) react as time winds down on a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 109-99. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) and guard Andrew Wiggins (22) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) react as time winds down on a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 109-99. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

86. Well, it was fun while it lasted. We all knew the Minnesota Timberwolves were playing way over their heads when they hovered around .500 for the first 20 games of the season, but they’ve crashed back to earth in a striking way. The Timberwolves are 1-7 in their last eight, and play the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder in the next week, so it’s not getting better anytime soon.. 12-23. Previous: 19th. Minnesota Timberwolves. 25. team

The Denver Nuggets’ bloodletting hasn’t eased yet, and this terrible season is showing no signs of getting any better. Wilson Chandler is lost for the season, and rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay hasn’t played since December 11th, as he has been dealing with nagging ankle issues. He’s targeting a Wednesday return against the Timberwolves, but he’s raw and young and will probably struggle for some time upon his return. He has star power, but he’s supposed to be getting eaten alive by established NBA guards while he’s still just a teenager, and he’s been getting treated just that roughly.. 12-23. Previous: 26th. Denver Nuggets. 24. team. 73

team. 89. You guys, I don’t think the Milwaukee Bucks are getting any better. In fact, it stands to reason that Greg Monroe may wish he went to the New York Knicks or Los Angeles Lakers after all this past season. If you have to play on a bad basketball team, you might as well not have to be in Milwaukee.. 14-23. Previous: 25th. Milwaukee Bucks. 23

22. team. 34. The Portland Trail Blazers are still capable of jumping up and biting good teams, but you can’t count on it. They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-76 on December 26th, but the Cavs were coming off a tough loss the day before on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors and may have been a bit road weary. They also got blown out in their previous game 115-89 on December 23rd by the putrid New Orleans Pelicans, so don’t count on this Blazers team to overachieve too often.. 15-22. Previous: 22nd. Portland Trail Blazers

21. team. 27. As water finds its level, so the New York Knicks find themselves in the bottom third of the Piston Powered NBA Power Rankings. They were 8-10 as of our last edition of this column, which means they’ve gone 9-9 since then. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go 8-10 over their next 18 games either.. 17-19. Previous: 20th. New York Knicks

Next: Nos. 20-16

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