NBA Power Rankings: Thunder leads Rockets to second place Cavaliers face challenge Lakers rank 12th

On January 28, the NBA officially released the latest team strength rankings. The Thunder has topped the list for several weeks with its excellent offensive and defensive performances. The Rockets have successfully surpassed the Cavaliers with their recent strong performances and moved up to second place on the list. The Lakers are ranked 12th, and the Warriors continue to drop to 19th.

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder continue to lead the league with a record of 37 wins and 8 losses. This season, they have shown outstanding dominance both on offense and defense. Among them, the defensive efficiency ranks first in the league, and the net score of +12.3 is also the best in the league. However, the Thunder also exposed some hidden worries. They have lost to the Mavericks three times this season. These losses not only affected the morale of the team, but also sounded the alarm for potential playoff matchups. If the two teams meet in the first round, how to crack the Mavericks' targeted play will be a problem that the Thunder needs to solve.

2. Rockets

The Rockets climbed to the second place on the list with a record of 30 wins and 14 losses. Their defensive efficiency (108.4) ranked fourth in the league, becoming the key to the team's leap. In the past week, the Rockets completed a regular season sweep against the Cavaliers, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference (2 wins and 0 losses), showing their resilience and strength in the strong dialogue. However, the team is about to usher in a tight schedule, and will have to deal with 4 back-to-back games before the All-Star Weekend, which will be a severe test for the players' physical reserves and bench depth.

3. Cavaliers

The Cavaliers slipped from 2nd to 3rd this week. Although they still occupy the first place in the Eastern Conference, the team's recent state is not satisfactory. Since January, the Cavaliers have lost 5 games, and they have only lost 4 games in the whole of 2024. After suffering a three-game losing streak for the first time this season, the Cavaliers' offensive efficiency still leads the league, but their defensive efficiency has slipped to 12th, indicating that they need more adjustments and improvements on the defensive end. With the playoffs approaching, the Cavaliers need to restore stability as soon as possible, otherwise their dominance in the East may be threatened.

4. Lakers vs. Warriors

The Lakers are currently ranked 12th and continue their up-and-down performance this season. Although the core of the team is strong, their shortcomings on the defensive end have limited their overall performance. For the Lakers, the goal in the second half of the season is not only to improve the ranking, but more importantly to find a better balance on both offense and defense. The Warriors continued to decline, falling to 19th place. They used to be a top team in the league, but with the aging roster and injuries, the Warriors' prospects this season are becoming increasingly uncertain.

The fourth and fifth places on the list are the Celtics and the Grizzlies, which have performed stably and continue to be competitive in their respective divisions. The teams ranked 6-10 include the Knicks, Nuggets, Pacers, Clippers and Timberwolves, which have shown strong impact and are expected to continue to improve their rankings in the second half. As for the teams ranked 21-30, such as the Spurs and 76ers, they are under great pressure to adjust. They need to quickly solve the lineup problem in the second half to avoid further decline.