Here at the ICT Zone our rankings are molded after Ric Flair's famous quote, "to be the man, you gotta beat the man." The week's ranking are based solely on the week's results so if a lower ranked team defeats a higher ranked team, the two teams automatically swap rankings.
This week's top 5 is an interesting one, since none of these team's ever seem to find themselves in the spotlight, regardless of their prowess. Despite having one of the most exciting young players in the league in Donovan Mitchell, the Utah Jazz are frequently overlooked; and that's likely just how they want it. Currently occupying the 6th spot in the Western Conference standings, they are only two games behind the Houston Rockets for the 3rd spot. After overachieving in last year's playoffs by knocking off the favored Oklahoma City Thunder, it will be interesting to see how far the Jazz will go this year.
The floor has gone out from under the Los Angeles Lakers, who are sporting a four game losing streak and currently sitting 6.5 games behind their Staples Center bunkmates, the Los Angeles Clippers, for the 8th seed. The Lakers' defense has been abysmal all year, and after LeBron James seemingly supported trading away his entire team for Anthony Davis (to no avail), it looks like the rest of the Lakers roster has no interest in working with the greatest player of all-time. A year of chaos has done nothing to clear the future for the league's most popular team, as stars may be reluctant to join a team that couldn't even make the playoffs with LeBron James.
Here are the current NBA Power Rankings, as determined by Ric Flair's legendary quote, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man":
1. Utah Jazz +19
(37-27)
2. San Antonio Spurs
(37-29)
3. Miami Heat +18
(30-34)
4. Indiana Pacers +22
(42-23)
5. Detroit Pistons +9
(32-31)
6. Memphis Grizzlies +11
(26-40)
7. Minnesota Timberwolves +21
(30-35)
8. Houston Rockets +3
(39-25)
9. Phoenix Suns +10
(15-51)
10. Brooklyn Nets +6
(34-33)
11. Toronto Raptors -5
(46-19)
12. Boston Celtics -12
(40-26)
13. Golden State Warriors +16
(44-20)
14. Chicago Bulls -10
(19-47)
15. Milwaukee Bucks -14
(48-16)
16. Charlotte Hornets +9
(29-35)
17. Cleveland Cavaliers +10
(16-49)
18. Los Angeles Clippers +5
(37-29)
19. New Orleans Pelicans +11
(30-37)
20. Denver Nuggets -11
(43-21)
21. Atlanta Hawks -18
(22-44)
22. Portland Trail Blazers -17
(39-25)
23. Sacramento Kings -5
(32-32)
24. Washington Wizards -11
(27-37)
25. Dallas Mavericks -18
(27-37)
26. Philadelphia 76ers -14
(41-24)
27. New York Knicks -19
(13-52)
28. Oklahoma City Thunder -6
(39-25)
29. Orlando Magic -19
(30-36)
30. Los Angeles Lakers -15
(30-35)
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