NBA Power Rankings: Knicks Suffer Post-Cup Skid

Back in 2023, during the first iteration of the NBA Cup, the Lakers came away with a victory and were riding high at 14-9 at the time. Within a month, they’d gone 3-10 and were two games under .500. In 2024, it was the Bucks, whose skid was shorter–they lost five of eight after winning the Cup. Now, it is the Knicks‘ turn to take their post-Cup hit in the NBA Power Rankings. While New York played well in the immediate aftermath of winning this year’s Cup, and looked ready to put to rest any notion of a curse striking the winners, the season is unraveling at MSG. Going back to a New Year’s Eve loss to the Spurs, the Knicks have now lost eight of their last 10, and have done so in the worst way–with finger-pointing, home-court booing, dissension and some questioning of the capabilities of new coach Mike Brown. The team appeared united behind Brown early in the year, but as cracks have formed–especially as Brown demands more defense and rebounding from Karl-Anthony Towns–frustration has mounted. The Knicks are still No. 3 in the East, but objects in the rearview mirror are getting closer. New York is 2.0 games from falling to the play-in tournament. And the Knicks will be devasted to learn that they’re no longer in our Top 10 in the Power Rankings. NBA Power Rankings: Nuggets Surviving Jokic Injury Credit to the Nuggets for the way the team has played without Nikola Jokic over the past three weeks. Jokic hurt his knee against the Heat on December 29, and is slated to miss four weeks. There’s a chance, then, that he could be back in the coming days. But in the meantime, the Nugs have gone a very respectable 7-4 without him, thanks to 28.8 points from Jamal Murray and 22.5 points from Peyton Watson in his absence. Denver bumps up to fourth this week. Thunder, 35-8. Pistons, 30-10. Spurs, 29-13. Nuggets, 29-14. Suns, 25-17. Celtics, 26-15. Rockets, 25-15. Timberwolves, 27-16. Lakers, 25-16. Warriors, 24-19. NBA Part II Rankings: Cavaliers Charging Up The Cavaliers slipped into a puzzling Thanksgiving-t0-Christmas lull that saw them drop all the way to 17-16 after a 12-6 start, but things have been turning around. In the last 10 games, they’ve gone 7-3, playing better defense while still maintaining their offensive level (they are No. 7 in offensive rating, at 116.9). But they will have to adjust to injuries for Darius Garland (foot, should miss around a week) and Sam Merrill. Cavaliers, 24-19. Knicks, 25-17. Sixers, 22-18. Raptors, 25-19. Magic, 23-19. Heat, 22-20. Trail Blazers, 22-22. Hawks, 20-24. Clippers, 18-23. Grizzlies, 18-23. NBA Power Rankings Part III: Some Sting From the Hornets Hornets coach Charles Lee caught some flak for the junk defense he used against the Warriors and star Stephen Curry this weekend, but all in all, Charlotte went on the road and won three of five games, beating the Nuggets, Lakers and, amazingly enough, the Jazz by a 150-95 margin. Brandon Miller has been the scoring leader but Kon Knueppel’s efficiency has been off the charts–he shot 63.0% from the field and 55.5% from the 3-point line on the road trip. Bulls, 20-22. Bucks, 17-24. Hornets, 16-27. Mavericks, 17-26. Kings, 12-31. Jazz, 14-28. Nets, 12-28. Pacers, 10-33. Pelicans, 10-35. Wizards, 10-31.