December NBA Power Rankings; Top 15 Teams In the League, Top 3 MVP Candidates

1. Boston Celtics The reigning World Champions, 3 of their five starters brought home gold, the only thing that could hold them back is injuries. If Kristaps Porzingis can stay healthy, their squad can come down with more rebounds, which will result in more second-chance points, and another body to sub and rotate their depth in more. The Cavs are their only manifest competitors for the Larry O'Brien in the East. 2. Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers jumped the league with an incredible 16-0 start to the season. With Donovan Mitchell averaging 24.5 points per game, 17th in the league, 10th in the eastern conference, and his support of co-star Darius Garland and lots of young talent around the team, the Cav’s chances at a championship haven’t looked higher in a long time. . 3 . Oklahoma City Thunder With explosive, young talent, most of which I could confidently say could drop 20 points against any team in the league and a cornerstone of starting point guard MVP contender in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, their P.P.G. can skyrocket. However, the Thunder may have trouble executing in the playoffs this season because some aspects of their offense seem hit or miss. A lot could come out of this squad, but franchise history is lying on Mark Daigneault’s (The Thunder’s head coach) shoulders. 4 .Dallas Mavericks Despite getting off to an incredibly slow start, the Maverick’s have adjusted their offense and their skills started turning into wins a lot more. Also, out of their eight losses, 7 of them were high energy, athletic squads that got the better of them early. However, last season they proved their high-IQ team could take down any roster, making their squad an underestimated assassin. Their team has a good shot at sealing a high seed in the playoffs this season. 5. Memphis Grizzlies This team feasts off of defensive breakdowns. Their high-energy, unguardable young core, can put up high numbers easily. The main concern that they face is the maturity of these young basketball players. If Ja Morant can make more responsible decisions, and his teammates don’t pick up any of his bad habits, there may be a dynasty awaiting their franchise. 6. Houston Rockets Houston looks like a silent but deadly team right now. They don’t break the news with massive wins but have taken down dominant teams. But the wins aren’t what you rank a team by. They may have just as good or a better record than teams I ranked ahead of them but have lost to some low-tier, rebuilding teams. If their roster can stay locked in and treat every game equally seriously, they could go far. 7. New York Knicks This may be a controversial statement, but in my opinion, the Knick's biggest problem is their coach. Yes, the Knicks don’t have great depth, but a recurring problem with Thibodeau is overworking 5-7 players, and then dropping out early in the playoffs. We saw it with Derrick Rose in Chicago, all the way through a couple of months ago with the Knicks. If New York adds more reliable, trustworthy depth, that Thibodeau is comfortable with, The Knicks will look like they did when they had Ewing. 8. Orlando Magic Yes, their record looks very promising right now, but what concerns me is their injuries. Let’s be honest, Banchero kind of carries Orlando. With him, and Franz Wagner (Their leading player in points, assists, and steals per game) hurt, their late January- early February looks uncertain. If their stars recover though, There will be a lot of making up to do, but nothing is impossible. 9. Golden State Warriors Chef Curry is cooking once again. With his Olympic debut ending in a gold medal, and clutch performance, his confidence is higher than ever. With a fundamental supporting line-up Curry can afford to have an off night, but the Warriors can’t suffer any injuries, especially not Curry. This team put themselves in a challenging position this offseason, sending vibes they were ready to rebuild instead of contending by trading CP3, and Klay Thompson, trading their second-round 7-footer on draft night for picks in next year's draft. I’ll be curious how long the Warrior's hot streak lasts, and if it does, what it will mean for the future of this once great dynasty. 10. Los Angeles Clippers The Clippers are a fundamental basketball team with lots of vet experience, but also a half of young talent. The veteran leadership proves strong every night they put up a W. But… with older talent, their stars are a lot more fragile and prone to injuries. With Kawhi hurt, PG13 gone, and Harden past his prime, they need to look for scrappy ways to score, which does not look promising when you play high-caliber teams. 11. Miami Heat Miami has proven they should never be underestimated. They made a run to the NBA Finals as the eighth seed and competed every night against the Nuggets. However, with rumors of Jimmy Butler on the Trading Block, Miami may not be a contender anymore. On the contrary, if Butler stays (and can stay locked in for the whole season, not just the playoffs) the Heat’s young talent could develop and support in the coming seasons, moving them higher in the rankings. 12. Milwaukee Bucks The Bucks have kind of fallen off the charts after they won the championship and traded their supporting cast. Bringing in Damian Lillard proved inefficient and their team hasn’t made a deep run in the playoffs in a while, and it didn’t help that they fired their coach after one bad season after the playoffs. However, Giannis is having a prominent season, and it looks like they will be in the play-in tournament and end with the seventh or eight seed. 13. Minnesota Timberwolves The only flaw manifest for this team is maturity. Anthony Edwards is young and shows it. He is athletic and shifty, cand an dominate and win, but in a way, Edwards isn’t mature enough to lead his team through the playoffs. With Karl Anthony-Towns gone in a trade for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, the Timberwolves are clearly looking for more physicality/rebounds. The Timberwolves need to lock in to try to get a similar route to the championship as last season. 14. Denver Nuggets I know the Nuggets have a better record than teams I ranked higher than them, but let’s be honest… THEY LOST TO THE WIZARDS! I mean like, sure Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordan were hurt, but still I mean how much worse can you get? The thing is, Jokic is still dominating, he had 56 points against the Wizards, but the rest of the Nuggets were not locked in. I feel like this just shows how hit or miss this team can be. 15. Atlanta Hawks I was incredibly surprised by the Hawks' start to the season. In addition to their off-season moves to bring in supporting players like Dyson Daniels and David Roddy, they also got the number one pick and selected French 77-footer Zacharie Risacher. The Hawks have proven they can compete at high standards, with NBA Cup wins against the Cavs and Celtics, their now complete roster looks strong, but could also falter easily. Without Trae Young (their starting point guard) they don’t have a star. Also, I’ll be interested to see if they can keep their roster over the off-season during free-agency. All these are factors that could weigh on this franchise. MVP Contenders Nikola Jokic Ok, first of all he’s averaging a triple-double a game. Second, he’s using his veteran leadership to round off a strong squad, despite how they’re doing in the regular season. He also looks no different from the prime basketball game we saw a couple of years ago. In his ninth season, the statistical aspect of his game is incomparable, but it’s also his intangibles that are so amazing. On an NBA 2K basis, his work-ethic would be Hall of Fame. He’s also making history, recently passing Earvin (Magic) Johnson for third on all-time triple-doubles. He just keeps rising in the ranks, and it doesn’t look like he’ll ever stop. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander I used to tell my friends who would complain SGA wasn’t winning MVP it was because his team wasn’t there. But now, they are, and Shai is due for his Kia trophy. His explosive young body shoots off shifty, unguardable vibes, and the only thing you can do to possibly stop him is to… oh wait, you can’t. Off of every three-point shot he takes, his team averages gaining one point, which is his prestigious shooting ability. His defense is also criminal-scary. He’ll steal everything you’ve got, the ball right along with your pride and he turns it into a transition poster. The time has come for Shai to win, and he knows it. So let’s sit back and watch as he does. Jayson Tatum People think the only reason the Celtics are good is because they shoot lots of threes, and make a good percentage of them. However, that is not true. The reason they are so good is because they have developed a core around Tatum, a gold medalist. His team is in the spotlight, so why shouldn’t he get some? He’s fifth in the league in scoring, top 20 in rebounding, pretty good for a 6-8 small forward. He also has high chemistry with his teammates, an off-the-charts basketball IQ, and is probably one of the most trustworthy players in the league to shoot a game-winner. He deserves his time to shine, and more than just another Larry O'Brien.