Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.

Here come the Mavericks! Dallas, who just traded their second most productive player in Kristaps Porzingis, have gone 5-1 since they banished the Unicorn. Initially, the trade which got them Davis Bertans, a stretch 4 who hasn’t been shooting well all year, and Spencer Dinwiddie, a point guard who hasn’t been the same since missing almost all of last year with a partial ACL tear, was seen as a big win for the other team, the #19 Washington Wizards. Porzingis is a far better player than either Dinwiddie or Bertans, and it seemed like Dallas just wanted out on the oft-injured center. But the Mavs have looked pretty darn good since the trade, beating the #4 Heat and the #2 Warriors (twice!) and only losing a close road game at #5 Utah on their way to a 6-1 record in that time.

So maybe addition by subtraction? Way back in week 12, I talked about how Porzingis was being better incorporated into the offense by new coach Jason Kidd. But even so, the Mavericks were only 19-15 in games with Porzingis this year (and 19-10 without him), and in his time in Dallas, he only player 134 out of 204 possible games. I get the feeling management will look to add some more to help out Luka Doncic in the coming off-season, but so far the trade has gone quite well. The Mavs look like contenders again and (more importantly) are up 3 to #6 in our rankings.

Detroit is up to #28! Woo Hoo! We did it! In all seriousness, they are actually playing pretty well recently, going 4-2 in their last 6 and beating some decent teams in the process (#11 Cleveland, #12 Boston, and #13 Toronto). The two losses were close contests and they are playing with more spark and enthusiasm. The lottery goal for the season would be to finish in the bottom three in terms of record, as that would give them the maximum chance at a top pick. The Pistons are still 4.5 games behind the 4th worst Thunder, which is good because they clearly need another star besides Cunningham. Saddiq Bey (and to a lesser extent Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes) look like a possible part of the future. Marvin Bagley III could be something as well, although it’s awful early to say. The roster is starting to shape up a little, and if Cade makes a leap next year and they hit big in the draft, maybe they can compete earlier than expected and make Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk a part of it despite being a little old for this rebuild. That all happening seems unlikely, but there are some really good things developing in Detroit right now.

[table id=196 /]