A new decade is upon us, and to some people’s surprise, some unusual winning streaks are developing across the league’s infrastructure. The Oklahoma City Thunder are off to the fieriest of starts in 2020, going 14 for 18 in their most recent streak of successful results. Meanwhile, after a rousing victory late over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night, the Lakers are finally in a groove again, now possessing the second-best record in the league. As it goes for other teams like the Sixers and Blazers, their bad luck continues and it’s growing more apparent that the belief of these teams being competitive is dwindling, and fast.

With that in mind, this week’s power rankings are to look a little different than past weeks. So, let’s get to it.

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1. Milwaukee Bucks (32-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

In what was perhaps the finest news to come from the Milwaukee training staff to br relayed by multiple Wisconsin media outlets, Eric Bledsoe finally healed up and was ready to go, pushing his Bucks to a five-game winning streak and are still undefeated against teams without a .500 record this season. They’ve beaten the teams that they were favored to beat and with the easiest five-game stretch in the NBA, their already impressive 23-0 mark against sub-.500 teams is likely to get even better this week.

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2. Los Angeles Lakers (27-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)

Lake Show has found its swagger again, or so it seems. Their four-game losing streak was thrown out of the window this past week, not losing a single game since their heartbreaking late loss to the Clippers on Christmas day. Last night’s heroic win over the slumping Pistons almost set a new precedent on the defensive end, as a team that’s already fourth in the league in overall defensive rating totaled 20 blocks, just one shy of their franchise record set in in the 1982-83 season.

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3. Boston Celtics (25-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)

Some inconsistencies in scoring outlets from the likes of Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward at times haven’t hurt the C’s at all since they’ve found ways upon ways to blitz opponents en route to going 3-0 last week without Kemba Walker. In fact, with the trio of Walker, Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics have won eight out of their nine games and have only lost one game to a team that didn’t have a record at or over .500 this week. It’s looking likely that they are separating themselves from a pack composed of teams like Philly, Miami and Indiana in the East.

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4. Miami Heat (26-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Barring a couple of concerning double-digit losses, the Miami Heat’s starting five of Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Goran Dragic have just been annoyingly difficult to gameplan against, now possessing the fourth-best record in the NBA. And yet in Sunday’s 11-point win over Portland, Erik Spoelstra rolled out Meyers Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr., Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn to start. Their depth is a bright spot for a team that’s still on an upswing competing in the packed Eastern Conference.

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5. Los Angeles Clippers (26-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

For the “most dangerously defensive team in the NBA”, the Clippers’ past two games have made it look like they’ve been anything but that. Just days after questionably succumbing to the Memphis Grizzlies in a 140-114 loss, the Clippers got back on the winning horse by barely beating the Knicks but giving up 132 points in the process. A team that’s endowed with so much on the defensive end now finds themselves out of the top 5 best defensive teams in the league, and that’s a problem considering they have the second-place Nuggets on the road coming up this week.

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6. Houston Rockets (24-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)

Rockets fans: I’ve got good news and bad news for all of you. Good news first – James Harden’s absolute tear is still going on, and the Rockets are benefitting from his unguardable offensive arsenal. Bad news? Russell Westbrook is having the worst scoring season of his career despite his 27.8 points per game and is the league’s most inefficient jump shooter with a field goal percentage at 36.4 percent. Still, the Rockets have won 10 of their last 12 games when Westbrook has suited up, and during that stretch, he still put up regular Westbrook-ish numbers of 21.7 points per contest.

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7. Denver Nuggets (24-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

An unforseen loss to the Washington Wizards and a 26-point blowout handed to them by the Houston Rockets set these Nuggets back on the straight and narrow path to taking opponents seriously, as they’ve carried on to winning 10 of their last 13 contests. Also, I think it’s time to give Michael Porter Jr. some more minutes, after he scored a career-high 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting against the Pacers last week.

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8. Toronto Raptors (24-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)

These Raptors keep on battling without their main core of Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, and Norman Powell by blowing out the Cavaliers and Nets this past Tuesday and Saturday. While they weren’t able to finish off the week undefeated due to a close 84-76 loss on the road to the Heat, Toronto has an opportunity to climb the ranks of the East with a soft spot on the schedule as they’ll have the Trail Blazers, Hornets and Spurs this week.

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9. Utah Jazz (23-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)

The Jazz climb a spot in this week’s rankings, thanks to an easy stretch on their schedule with the Pelicans, Knicks, Hornets, and Wizards on the way. They’ve successfully won 10 of their last 11 contests against teams that have subpar records, and one of those 10 wins came against the Los Angeles Clippers, in which they scored 140 points on a top-10 defensive squad in the entire NBA. They’re doing all of this without Mike Conley Jr., who is still nursing an ailing hamstring. With him sidelined, the Jazz are outscoring their opponents by an astonishing 126 points.

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10. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)

The Oklahoma City Thunder are off to the hottest start of the decade, winning 14 of their last 18 games and have the second-best record in the entire league since Dec. 1. Only Milwaukee has experienced more positive marks in the win column than this young, impressionable Thunder crew, all in part to OKC’s ever-improving ability to finish games off in the fourth quarter. They started the season in a bad spot, ultimately falling below .500 because of failing to win games in the clutch.

Some numbers in how this youthful team fixed their most pertinent issue: They’ve gone 8-1 in two-possession games since Dec. 1, have won the most games decided in clutch time this season with 16, and they have the best offense in the league in the clutch with their 125.4 offensive rating. The Thunder making the postseason in a “down year” doesn’t look like a fallacious conclusion to be made anymore, now does it?

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11. Dallas Mavericks (22-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

It looks like the historic streak that Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks have been going on is starting to lose a little steam, partially due to injuries to Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr., yes, but a team like the Mavs going 1-3 on the week is a little problematic. They may score a lot of points through the four quarters they play but when it comes to executing in crunch time, they’re almost in the cellar with an abysmal No. 28 ranking across the entire league-wide spectrum. Luka’s numbers don’t look great in those instances but those numbers could tell a different story than what’s portrayed due to Dallas’ compromised depth and Doncic’s expedited 32.4 minutes per game.

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12. Indiana Pacers (22-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)

The Pacers stay put in this week’s rankings, but in closely peeking at their injury report situation, their spot on this list is likely to improve significantly with the eventual return of Victor Oladipo. Their struggles cannot be ignored, however, as they’ve dropped five of their last seven games and allowed their opponents to score 118 points in their five losses, and only 106 points in their two wins. Other than a challenge in the visiting Miami Heat, the Pacers have the opportunity to right the ship against the Hornets and Bulls this week during a soft part of their schedule.

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13. Philadelphia 76ers (23-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)

So…maybe that Milwaukee blowout on Christmas Day wasn’t the clear indication that the Sixers looked like the best, standalone team in the East. At the very best, the Sixers are looking like a really strong 6 seed, and are still 7-12 on the road with only one win coming away from Philly (against Boston on Dec. 12) during the December stretch.

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14. Brooklyn Nets (16-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)

Kyrie Irving’s absence is still looming largely over the heads of a struggling Nets team that’s lost five straight games and is going to head into their hardest part of the schedule this year. Coming up, eight of their next nine games will be against teams currently in playoff position and though Caris LeVert’s return from a seven-week hiatus helps a guard rotation that sorely needs it, the Nets will be hard-pressed to come back to right the ship without their all-star guard.

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15. Orlando Magic (16-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

As if things were going to get any worse for a slipping Magic team, they just received the worst news about MIP candidate Johnathan Isaac, whose season is going to have a chunk bitten out of due to his two-month absence with a sever left knee sprain. Not only was he their best defensive player, he was Orlando’s most impactful player as he leads the Magic in overall plus-minus this year.

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16. Memphis Grizzlies (15-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)

Since Ja Morant came back from his back contusion, the other 29 NBA teams have been forced to circle these young Grizzlies on their calendars. They’ve gotten out of the gate with a 9-6 record with Rookie of the Year frontrunner Morant returning to the floor and recently acquired a signature win over the heavily-favored Clippers by 26 points, highlighted by a nasty stepback and deep three on Clippers backup guard Jerome Robinson that even garnered Sixth man Lou Williams’ respect.

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17. San Antonio Spurs (14-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)

For a team that fires the least amount of threes in the NBA, LaMarcus Aldridge is certainly trying to rewrite that narrative, as indicative of last week’s efforts by the former Texas Longhorn. Over the past six games, he’s knocked down nearly 67 percent of his attempts from downtown, and that’s more in a week than Aldridge hit all season last year. The Spurs are still on the outside looking in at 14-20 and with a difficult four-game stretch coming up on the radar, their streak for consecitive playoff visits that’s lasted since 1997 is in serious trouble.

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18. New Orleans Pelicans (12-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)

If there was any silver lining to the Pelicans lack of ability to produce any kind of winning streak, it’s been the surprisingly consistent play of Lonzo Ball. The former No. 2 overall pick faced being sent to the bench and since has worked to get back into the starting lineup, and succeeded in doing so he has. That always evolving jumper of Ball’s may have finally cracked the code to the safe that was his inconsistent and problematic shooting form, now hitting 40.9 percent of his deep balls while unabashedly launching over 10 threes a game.

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19. Portland Trail Blazers (15-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)

Like really, what has happened to the Portland Trail Blazers? Just a couple of months ago, they were competing in a four-game series to contend for a shot at an NBA title and now, they’re a whole tier below looking like a respectable postseason team. What gives? They’ve lost six of their last seven, the Blazers may be fielding trade offers for CJ McCollum, they’re in the bottom bunk of teams on the defensive end (allow 118.8 points per game) and it looks at times like Damian Lillard dropping his regular 35+ points per game just doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

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20. Charlotte Hornets (15-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)

Whereas DeVonte Graham and others have sputtered this past week, cite Terry Rozier for the team-wide pickup. In their two wins on the week over Cleveland and Dallas, Rozier averaged nearly 30 points a game with 6 rebounds and 6 assists and the opportunity to let those numbers grow even bigger with trips to Utah and Phoenix on the schedule next.

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21. Chicago Bulls (13-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)

Now a full ten games under .500, the Bulls have only won two games since Dec. 21. They’re missing valuable contributions from the likes of Chandler Hutchinson (out since Nov. 27) and the Bulls have a really tough stretch of games ahead with the Mavericks, Pelicans, Pacers and Pistons up next.

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22. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)

Minnesota is finally gaining some traction, now only seven games out from obtaining a .500 record. They’ve won three of their last four contests even without Karl Anthony-Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Jeff Teague, and as it goes for their effort, they’ve really impressed in showing some competitive fire with pieces such as Robert Covington, Shabazz Napier, rookie Jarett Culver and Keita Bates-Diop helping out while their two stars are down.

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23. Phoenix Suns (14-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

Devin Booker is on a historic run in scoring at least or more than 30 points in six straight games, confirmed after dropping 40 in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. Other than Booker, the Suns carry very little weight in the scoring department, regardless of their sixth spot within the best scoring teams in the league.

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24. Sacramento Kings (13-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)

The Kings are in the midst of a serious tailspin, regardless of their most integral pieces finally getting healthy. That’s nine of their last ten games lost, and their most alarming L was a close one against the Pelicans in which star guard De’Aaron Fox bricked six free throws. They have Golden State and Phoenix up next before having to defend home court against the Bucks, so if all is right in 2020 for the Kings so far, they’ll waste no time in starting off the week on a good note.

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25. Detroit Pistons (13-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)

The Pistons have to be bumped down one spot in this week’s rankings, not just because of their inability to string together some wins with an otherwise respectable rotation, but because of the news that’s just released out of the Detroit media surrounding the health and future of their centerpiece in Blake Griffin. It’s growing more and more apparent that the former first overall pick will be undergoing what may be a season-ending knee surgery, and that’s not all.

Andre Drummond’s name is getting tossed around in trade talks and is likely to be dealt before the trade deadline in mid-February. As a team, they still possess the eighth spot in the playoff picture but have still dropped nine of their last 11 contests.

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26. Washington Wizards (11-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)

Call it an improvement from every week that the Wizards were under close watch, but a couple of upset victories over the Heat and Nuggets signify some trending up into the right direction for a team still so decimated by injuries. They are still the worst defensive team in the entire NBA and with the Celtics, Magic, Hawks and Jazz up next, their mettle will be heavily tested for the Wizards’ first four-game stretch of the new year.

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27. New York Knicks (10-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)

Well, hey, it’s still better than being at the bottom of the list again. The Knicks put up a brave fight that pushed the Clippers to the ropes in their three-point, 135-132 loss as the soon-to-be-traded Marcus Morris Sr. dropped a rousing 38 points on a top 10 defensive team, a career-high and certainly an audition tape for all scouts to closely examine when determining to pull the trigger on trading for Morris. The Knicks have a good amount of leverage in deciding what to do with Morris: either send him away in exchange for first-round draft capital or keep him for the rest of the year and pick up his expiring $15 million contract.

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28. Golden State Warriors (9-28, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)

Warriors fans may have to dread saying goodbye to another favorable roster piece (or pieces) in rookie Ky Bowman and Damion Lee (Steph Curry’s brother-in-law) as their two-way contracts are nearing their end. That’s additional offense being removed from the floor and it doesn’t make it easier that their grotesque scheduling requires them to play the Kings, Bucks, Clippers, and Grizzlies all in the span of this week.

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29. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)

This is not what first-year Head Coach John Beilein had in mind when he sought out to develop the young core of this Cavs team so awash with drama and now, apparent infighting with the sudden disgruntlement of Kevin Love who is just begging to be traded (or released). It’s hard to come over from a prominent college program at Michigan and keep the locker room confidence within a roster that’s average age is 25. On top of all that, veterans are looking for their next paycheck with expiring contracts and as a team, the Cavaliers are on a four-game losing streak.

Yikes.

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30. Atlanta Hawks (8-28, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)

Trae Young has been the only diamond in the rough season for a Hawks team that’s been crushed by injuries and suspensions to their core pieces, and although Young is second to James Harden in overall 40-point games this year, it’s looked at times like he’s the only scorer giving his best effort in a year that’s practically confirmed to be a lottery pick year.

It’s almost the New Year, making this not only the last power rankings listing of the year but the last ranking… *gasp* of the decade!

Mark this previous week as a vantage point for showing just who is truly elite and serious in competing for a championship in the new year. We saw the anomalies in quantities spread across the league’s landscape. Houston losing to Golden State, both LA teams losing by some big margins, and Milwaukee getting trounced by Philadelphia in the Wells Fargo Center were conspicuously telling enough of the shifting powers that be in both conferences, but what’s more important is realizing that those hiccups come with the territory of crafting a championship roster in time for the playoffs, which are just an astounding three months away.

So, let’s cut the small talk and get to the listing for this week.

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1. Milwaukee Bucks (29-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

Get blown out, then win two straight. That’s just how things are going for the best team in the league. Milwaukee suffered their worst loss of the season against Philadelphia on Christmas Day and then bounced back to strike up a two-game winning streak with both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe out. Also, the Bucks have the easiest schedule in the league for their next slew of eight games.

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2. Miami Heat (24-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)

Miami’s 24 wins and recent five-game winning streak confirms three things: they’re a top-15 defensive team in all of basketball, it’s a two-legged race between Tyler Herro (who’s shooting just a silly 60 percent from three-land in clutch time) and Memphis’s Ja Morant for the Rookie of the Year award, and the Heat are legitimately frightening to play against. Three teams that have sub-.500 records are up next on the schedule for the eight-loss Heat who sit at the second spot in the East.

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3. Los Angeles Lakers (26-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)

As if this season was going to be drama-absent from any sources of drama, Kyle Kuzma’s trainer posted and deleted some shady words via his Instagram story to discredit LeBron James’ work ethic and effort in the waning moments of Christmas Day’s long-awaited duel against the in-house rival Clippers. That white noise came into the Lakers locker room like a lion and exited like a baby mouse withe LA’s rebound win against the Mavs Sunday night. They’re still the best team in the West, and during this two game winning streak, are still a top-10 defensive team in the entire league entering 2020.

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4. Denver Nuggets (23-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)

Denver has quietly ascended the ranks to now hold unopposed possession of the No. 2 seed in the West and that little stint of uninspired, grotesque basketball played in the first month of the season is now a thing of the past. In accordance with winning four of their last five games, the emergence of 2018 first-round pick Michael Porter Jr. has been stratospheric, to say the least. He got his first career start against the Kings in a 120-115 home win, scoring 19 points off 80 percent shooting. His talent is undeniable and it’s a clear indication that he’s to earn additional minutes onto his 26 minutes he acquired in Sunday’s win.

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5. Los Angeles Clippers (23-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

Good news and bad news, Clipper faithful: you got that bragging right-worth win against your adversaries across the hall in the Staples Center in the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day, but you’ve only won three of your last seven contests while playing some abysmal basketball after letting some of your stars register as DNPs (probably thanks to “load management”) in those losses.

In the past seven games, LAC had a totaled 100.6 offensive rating in the fourth quarter, down almost 17 points per 100 possessions from the rest of the game. They only scored 15 points in the fourth quarter against the Jazz last week and alarming as it may be with the offensive arsenal at Doc Rivers’ fingertips, they look just about the part of being just the Lakers equivalent instead of looking like the most domineering team that can beat down anyone in the West.

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6. Boston Celtics (22-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Though Jaylen Brown is to be absent from tomorrow night’s contest against the Hornets, the Celtics have been led by the immensely-talented trio of Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kemba Walker and are third in the East with some remarkable wins against some top-tier squads in both conferences worth adding to the resume to close out 2019. Despite dropping a loss to Toronto after Boston ran amuck over them on Christmas Day, Brown has averaged a team-high 26.4 points, 60.3% shooting from the field, 47.2% from 3 and 7.6 rebounds during the Celtics’ five-game winning streak.

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7. Toronto Raptors (22-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

If there was such thing as a midseason Coach of the Year award, Nick Nurse would surely be up for its consideration. Being without three of your most meaningful wing scorers for the stretch of a couple of weeks is a downright death sentence for any team wanting to keep their supplanted position in the heights of their respective conferences, but apparently not for Nurse. the defending champs aren’t lying down just yet (as if they were predicted to even do so anyway this season).

Without Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell in Nurse’s active lineup, Toronto has successfully survived the injury trip that undertook a majority of their starting five with usual contributions from Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry and startling productivity from their bench pieces in Chris Boucher, Patrick McCaw, OG Anunoby, Terence Davis III, and others. They were dismantled by the Celtics inside their own building on Christmas Day but returned the favor through Sunday night’s revenge blowout of Boston.

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8. Houston Rockets (22-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)

If we never had to worry about fatigue and overall usage for James Harden and his conditioning plan to reach the optimal level of output we’ve come to expect from him, this discussion awash with worry and concern for how much he’s being used wouldn’t even be deemed worthy of discussion. But, here we are at the end of December and the first half of the season, and Harden’s still playing over 37 minutes a game. He sprained his toe in a consecutively rare loss to the Pelicans, but in some good fortune, the Rockets got Eric Gordon back from knee surgery that kept him in street clothes for a little over a month.

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9. Dallas Mavericks (21-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)

Injuries are really starting to pile on in the most inopportune time for Dallas in the month of December. They got 2nd-year phenom Luka Doncic back and fully recuperated from an ankle ailment that kept him out for two weeks but now can’t stay healthy as veteran sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a hamstring strain that’s likely to keep him out for a week or so. Not having him in Rick Carlisle’s starting five puts a divot in the team’s offensive output, as those 16.9 points per game, 46.7 field goal percentage and 43.8 three-point percentage will have to be replaced by the combination of Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis or Dorian Finney-Smith somehow.

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10. Utah Jazz (20-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)

The Jazz bump up three spots for the last ranking of 2019. After beating the Trail Blazers on home soil and following up with delivering a Salt Lake-sized smackdown to the Clippers on Saturday night, Utah is rolling with some momentum going into the new year. Donovan Mitchell understands the strife placed upon his injury-ravaged backcourt, stepping up big in a slew of eight games that showing the Jazz as serious contenders once again. Mitchell has averaged 27.0 points and 6.3 assists while shooting 52.1% from the field over the past eight games.

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11. Philadelphia 76ers (23-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

Yes. What you saw on Christmas Day was not a malfunction on your television screen. Philly really did the Bucks like that on their own home floor and devised the perfect strategy to annex Giannis Antetokounmpo from his regular dumping of 40+ points a game, with Joel Embiid putting his name in the Defensive Player of the Year hat due to a masterclass performance against this year’s lock at MVP. Problem is, that was the last time Philly won, dropping a questionable game to the Orlando Magic and losing in OT to the Miami Heat via a Tyler Herro stepback three. Their 16-2 home record pales in salience to their subpar 7-10 record on the road, which needs to get better for obvious reasons.

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12. Indiana Pacers (21-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)

Indiana’s most recent week of quality play and wins in five of their last six contests has now turned into a rough two-game skid, and with Philly and Denver next on the schedule, the Pacers might have their hands full in trying to kickstart the new year in by getting some results in the win column. Luckily, Victor Oladipo’s return process looks as if it’s nearing its end now that he’s been assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for further rehabilitation, meaning that the Pacers are bound to see their All-Star guard return to action soon.

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13. Oklahoma City Thunder (17-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)

Make that six wins in the past seven contests for this young, introspective Thunder team that is looking more and more like they belong in the playoff picture at year’s end. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still a serious bet to win the Most Improved Player thanks to a massive leap to near superstardom in just his second year in the league.

In his last three contests, he’s averaged over 26.6 points per game and the Funny thing is, he had never scored more than 29 points a game, having yet to reach that elusive 30-point game he so desperately coveted, up until last week. He followed his 32-point outing against the Clippers with another 32-point night against the Raptors just nights after in his return to his native country of Canada.

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14.  Brooklyn Nets (16-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)

Things looked as if they were sailing smoothly with Spencer Dinwiddie’s high usage rating filling the place of the still-absent Kyrie Irving, but as always most things don’t always happen according to the schedule. Their embarrassing loss to the Knicks at home marked a feat untouched in nearly 69 years: by making only eight two-pointers throughout the entire game (only done once back in 1950), they scored a season-low 82 points in the loss and are walking on eggshells by only a being game above .500.

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15. Orlando Magic (14-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)

A 2-1 week is only a positive indication that this Magic team is getting healthy at the right time, and its also a sign that things may be starting to turn around for a team that’s individual pieces are buying into and succeeding under Steve Clifford. They found a way to knock off the Sixers (again) but are still 0-15 against any other team that has a record equal to or better than .500.

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16. Portland Trail Blazers (14-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

Portland has dropped three straight since going on a slight winning streak dating back to last week, but have an opportunity to right the ship once again with a favorable week as they’ll matchup with the Suns, Knicks and Wizards. Injuries have been the culprit of their misfortune, and they still aren’t productive on the defensive end, peaking at the 21st spot in the NBA for overall defensive rating.

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17. San Antonio Spurs (13-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

The Spurs went 2-1 last week, recording their two highest-scoring games of the season in the wins against the Pistons and Grizzlies, while also coming up a couple of points shy of triple digits in the loss against the Mavericks last Thursday. LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 27.3 points in the three games and is suddenly letting it fly from 3-point range, which is surprising for a team that’s still putting up the least amount of threes a game.

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18. Chicago Bulls (13-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)

The Bulls had yet to see Lauri Markkanen flourish and excel in Jim Boylen’s system but finally got to see their former first-rounder pick up the slack this month, averaging 17.6 points per game off 6.2 rebounds and an averaged 2.8 three-pointers. In last week’s win over Atlanta, Markkanen dropped 25 points and drilled four threes, reminiscient of his breakout peformances he was used to putting on during his first two years in the league.

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19. Memphis Grizzlies (13-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

Memphis is going into the last week of the month at 8-8, and the play of their young, developing core is something every Grizzlies fan can appreciate during this season of growth. Ja Morant (17.4 ppg.) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (17.6 ppg.) are clearly the future, and with the help of Brandon Clarke and most recently De’Antony Melton (who’s averaging 9.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists), this youthful bunch of Grizzlies are bound to make some noise in the next couple of years.

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20. New Orleans Pelicans (11-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)

Make that four straight wins for the Pelicans entering the last week of 2019. And, those four wins were all against teams that are already locks in playoff spots come April. Derrick Favors being back has done wonders for the Pels’ big man situation, averaging nearly 11 points and 15 rebounds during their winning streak.

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21. Charlotte Hornets (13-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)

James Borrego’s Hornets have tried to find a streak of consistency and continuity with a starting five of Terry Rozier, DeVonte Graham, Miles Bridges, a returning PJ Washington and Bismack Biyombo. Though they finished last week without a result in the win column, the combined five as previously mentioned is 6-6 on the season with three of those losses by a combined 14 points.

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22. Phoenix Suns (12-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)

It should be noted that when DeAndre Ayton and Devin Booker are in the same lineup, they don’t lose a lot and in his return, the Suns won their first game since December 9th over the Sacramento Kings in a 112-110 victory. That loss snapped an eight-game losing skid and this week, they have the chance to uphold a winning streak against Portland, New York and Memphis up next.

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23. Sacramento Kings (12-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)

The Kings own the worst losing streak in the Western Conference as of late, and that’s not the only tailspin thats happening to the Kings. DeWayne Dedmon’s trade request for a team spiraling like this is concerning, and although they’re playing healthy, the Clippers, streaking Pelicans and Grizzlies appear next on the schedule, which are anything but easy games.

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24. Detroit Pistons (12-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)

Detroit has suffered some ugly losses, losing six of their last seven games. The only consolation to that losing streak was a blowout win over the Wizards, who still have the worst defense in the league. Having the Jazz, Clippers, and Lakers during this western road trip probably won’t help that much to end this losing skid, either.

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25. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)

The Wolves not having Karl Anthony-Towns has been injurious in more ways than one. They’ve lost 13 of their last 13 contests without Towns on the court, Andrew Wiggins and Towns were sidelined during this past Saturday’s loss to the Cavs and with Brooklyn and Milwaukee up next on the schedule, both of Milwaukee’s stars are being considered day-to-day.

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26. Golden State Warriors (9-25, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)

The only thing worth salvaging this season is the tanking attitude the Warriors have right now, since it’s likely they’ll secure the first overall pick come June’s draft lottery. They’ve found a winning streak amidst all the losing however, grabbing wins in their past four of five contests.

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27. New York Knicks (9-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)

Okay, so maybe this Mike Miller streak of wins isn’s a fluke for the Knicks in their ability to go 5-6 in their last 11 games. They’ve found ways to beat Sacramento, Golden State, Atlanta, Washington and Brooklyn, and have played some competitive basketball in the past couple of weeks, improving their defensive rating to get near the top 20 defensively efficient teams in the league.

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28. Washington Wizards (9-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)

Washington still struggles to play defense and for the eleventh week in a row, appear in the cellar of all NBA teams when it comes to defensive rating. They’re a whole three points per 100 possessions behind the Atlanta Hawks who still carry an abysmal defensive rating of 113.5, and it’s probably going to worsen with the Heat, Magic, Trail Blazers and Nuggets coming into town this week.

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29. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)

We’re waiting to see if the exchange between the Jazz and Cavs works out, as Dante Exum was signed via trade from the Jazz and Cavs in their house-clearing process after sending away Jordan Clarkson to Utah. The trade deadline is quickly approaching, and it’s more than a formality that Kevin Love and others are to be shipped from a team that’s insisting on leading with the development process of their younger pieces while also supplying draft capital in this down year.

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30. Atlanta Hawks (6-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)

The second-worst defensively efficient team in all of basketball might have the worst lineup in all of basketball right now, considering Trae Young is to be on the bench for a while after spraining his right ankle in Saturday’s loss to Chicago. Atlanta is the only team that hasn’t touched their tenth win yet.