Piston Powered NBA Power Rankings: January 2016

team. 211. The Memphis Grizzlies started the season virtually dead and buried by much of the basketball cognoscente after getting demolished repeatedly by the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers before the season was even two weeks old. They’ve rebounded nicely, but they have this disturbing tendency to get absolutely destroyed when they lose. They have lost by 30 to the Cavs, 50 and then 16 to the Warriors, 19 points to the Portland Trail Blazers, 15 points to the Atlanta Hawks, 20 points to the San Antonio Spurs and 37 points to the Oklahoma City Thunder, with all of the last three coming at home. . 19-17. Previous: 8th. Memphis Grizzlies. 15

19-16. Previous: 15th. Orlando Magic. 14. team. 38. The Orlando Magic refuse to go away, at least so far. They’ve lost three games in a row, all in ugly fashion, but they remain in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with their 19-16 record. Their net rating is very marginal at best right now, due in no small part to the recent blowouts they’ve suffered, outscoring their opponents by a mere 0.1 points per 100 possessions. The Magic’s offense and defense are both in the middle of the pack, so it’s likely that they’re going to fall back in the rankings going forward, but we’ve believed that for awhile about this upstart squad. Stay tuned, the Magic season could get very interesting as it progresses further, for better or for worse.

Dallas Mavericks. 13. team. 79. Dirk Nowitzki is still good, folks. 17 years into his NBA career, Dirk is averaging 17.3 points per game, shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 38.3 percent from long range. The man plays 30 minutes per game, and he is the heart and soul of this stunning Dallas Mavericks squad. After the <a href=. 20-15. Previous: 13th

team. 64. The Detroit Pistons are surprising, and they are good. It remains to be seen just how good, but the Pistons have beaten six of the top nine teams in the Eastern Conference already this season, having beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Chicago Bulls (twice), the Miami Heat (twice), the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics, and the Orlando Magic. They’re capable of dropping the ball against the lesser teams in the NBA, mind you, having lost to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets, but those games seem like distant memories. The Pistons are generally doing what they’re supposed to be doing, beating teams they should beat, and the list of teams that they shouldn’t be able to beat seems to be shrinking by the week.. 19-16. Previous: 16th. Detroit Pistons. 12

Previous: 14th. Boston Celtics. 11. team. 18. The Boston Celtics appear to be for real, by all appearances. Sitting in a sixth place tie with the Indiana Pacers, the Celtics have the third best net rating in the Eastern Conference, and seventh best in the NBA, outscoring their opponents by 3.5 points per 100 possessions. They’re being led by point guard Isaiah Thomas who is putting together the best season of his career, scoring 20.9 points per game and adding 6.8 assists. As Thomas goes, so go the Celtics, so it’s going to be important that he stays healthy if the Celtics are going to compete for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference.. 19-15