NBA power rankings: New Year’s resolutions

JUST in time for the new year we rate the season so far in the NBA and nominate a goal for every team heading in to 2016.

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JUST in time for the new year we rate the season so far for in the NBA and nominate a goal for every team heading in to 2016.

1. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (29-2) HIGH: 1 / LOW: 1

Embrace the uncertainty of knowing where you’re headed. Oxymoronic, right? But the Warriors know that as much as regular-season records are nice, the real goal here is another championship. It’s why Steve Kerr has taken his time coming back. Stephen Curry has to follow Kerr’s lead and rest until he’s healthy. And the Warriors know it. They’ll do the right thing.

2. SAN ANTONIO SPURS (28-6) HIGH: 2 / LOW: 7

Secure a nice case of Chateau Margaux. Gregg Popovich loves his wine, and let’s be frank: What basketball-related goal could he possibly have that he’s never actually accomplished? So, he might as well capitalise on acquiring a case of some of the finest Bordeaux money can buy. And if he’s feeling generous, maybe he can share with LaMarcus Aldridge, whose comfort remains key

3. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (21-9) HIGH: 2 / LOW: 6

Cleveland is getting healthy, which means it’s time to take some of the burden off LeBron James. LeBron is quietly in the midst of the worst shooting season of his career. Meanwhile, he’s had to shoulder a lot of the load for the Cavs offence (alongside Kevin Love). The return to form of Kyrie Irving should help.

4. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (22-10) HIGH: 3 / LOW: 9

Stop playing Enes Kanter in meaningful minutes. It’s going to be a difficult resolution to keep, we’ll admit, but the Thunder are undoubtedly worse when Kanter is on the floor. And if they don’t stop now, the temptation will be there to let him play in the postseason, which isn’t going to end well for anyone other than OKC’s opponents.

5. ATLANTA HAWKS (21-13) HIGH: 4 / LOW: 12

Atlanta is rounding into form. The Hawks should resolve to figure out a way to integrate “the big line-up” more into their regular rotation. The casual fan may not realise it, but the Hawks look great (and way more fun) when they play a line-up that sticks Paul Millsap, Tiago Splitter and Al Horford on the floor together. It’s pretty tough to match up with, too.

6. TORONTO RAPTORS (20-13) HIGH: 3 / LOW: 14

Stay committed to playing Bismack Biyombo. His rebounding is astounding, and his defence is getting better every day. Jonas Valanciunas is an important part of this team, and the Raptors will be even better when he returns from a left hand injury. All we’re saying is that it’s nice to have options.

7. INDIANA PACERS (18-13) HIGH: 4 / LOW: 20

Don’t let securing a playoff berth come down to the final week of the season. The very end of Indiana’s schedule is pretty friendly, with dates against the Nets, Knicks and Bucks. Weird things happen in April, though, and the world deserves to see Paul George back on the playoff stage. He’s playing like one of the best players on the planet, and the Pacers would be a tough draw for any postseason opponent.

8. CHICAGO BULLS (18-12) HIGH: 4 / LOW: 13

Pick a steady substitution rotation. The Nikola Mirotic-Pau Gasol line-ups haven’t really worked. Joakim Noah is a different player than he was two years ago. Regardless, coach Fred Hoiberg has to pick something and stick with it, even if Chicago seems to revel in the chaos at times. Wins over the Pacers and Raptors lifted Chicago right back into the top 10 — for now.

9. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (20-13) HIGH: 2 / LOW: 14

Find a way to fix the defence. The Clippers D has been mired in mediocrity for the past season-and-a-half, which is odd. There is some decent defensive personnel on the roster, although there isn’t a lockdown wing defender who won’t hurt them on offence. It’s the one cog that could put LA over the top.

10. BOSTON CELTICS (18-14) HIGH: 6 / LOW: 26

Start playing with some darn consistency. The Celtics have won by 15 in Oklahoma City. They gave the Warriors all they could handle. And they’ve also lost at home to the Lakers, leading to their dip in the rankings this week. Just pick an identity and stick with it so we know what to expect — and so we know whether you’ll be buyers, sellers or standing pat at the trade deadline.

11. ORLANDO MAGIC (19-13) HIGH: 10 / LOW: 21

Embrace shooting coming from unconventional places. The Magic don’t have many wings or guards who can knock in the long ball. Instead, they rely on stretch forwards and bigs. Is Nikola Vucevic next? Even if it takes away from his offensive rebounding, it might be time to send him beyond the line on pick-and-pops every so often, if only to add some variety to Orlando’s offence.

12. MIAMI HEAT (18-13) HIGH: 6 / LOW: 12

Make Goran Dragic work within the offence. If the star point guard can’t get comfortable as part of the current attack, Erik Spoelstra has to find another way to make it work. Dragic signed a massive contract this off-season and is too talented to be putting up the mediocre production he has so far this season.

13. CHARLOTTE HORNETS (17-14) HIGH: 8 / LOW: 24

Let injury woes turn to experimental gold. The most recent injury to Al Jefferson sucks, but it gives Charlotte a chance to continue to tinker with unconventional line-ups that could pay dividends for the Hornets down the line. Other than that, we’re just waiting for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to get healthy.

14. DALLAS MAVERICKS (19-13) HIGH: 7 / LOW: 29

Enjoy this season for what it is. The Mavericks are right in the thick of the playoff hunt, and given what we’ve seen out of Dallas this season, it should lock down a postseason spot. If things go slightly south, however, it would behove the Mavs to ride it out and not make any hasty decisions on the trade market.

15. HOUSTON ROCKETS (16-17) HIGH: 3 / LOW: 27

Live the real-life equivalent of the scene in “Airplane!” where the passenger needs to get a hold of herself (although maybe without the violence). You’re out of control, Houston. You’re immensely talented. You have no business being a game under .500 at this point in the season. Do we need to form a line and tell you to snap out of it?

16. DETROIT PISTONS (17-15) HIGH: 8 / LOW: 19

Play the margins during trade season. This is very much a Stan Van Gundy team, with a solid point guard in Reggie Jackson, a stellar big man in Andre Drummond and shooters rotating around the pick-and-roll. But those auxiliary pieces aren’t set in stone. If there’s a bit of improvement or an asset to be had come February, Van Gundy shouldn’t be shy about making a move.

17. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (18-16) HIGH: 8 / LOW: 25

Get a shooter. Any shooter. Invent a shooter. Build one out of Silly Putty for all anyone cares. Just acquire a shooter. Finally. Please. Coach Dave Joerger wants to make this team modern. Without someone to shoot 3s, it’s all just wishful thinking, and the Grizzlies are a bottom-five team in 3-pointers attempted.

18. WASHINGTON WIZARDS (14-16) HIGH: 6 / LOW: 24

Get the defence back. The Wizards totally changed their style for this season, moving to a more high-tempo attack, but the defence fell off a cliff as the team went small and moved Nene to the bench. Injuries haven’t helped, sure, but Washington won on the back of its D the past few years, and it’s been losing because of it over the past two months.

19. NEW YORK KNICKS (15-18) HIGH: 16 / LOW: 27

Take the long view. The Knicks are just bad enough that they probably won’t make the playoffs in an improved Eastern Conference, but they are just good enough that they’re in a position to try. That can be dangerous and lead to decisions like playing Sasha Vujacic over Jerian Grant. New York isn’t in a position to act in any interest other than what’s best for its future. Its actions will reflect that sooner or later.

20. UTAH JAZZ (13-17) HIGH: 7 / LOW: 20

Concentrate on the little victories. Hopes were high in Utah coming into this season that the Jazz would return to the playoffs. Then the injuries started piling up, and at this point we’re worried someone else is going to get hurt as the team tries to compensate for all the lost talent. Keep working on development. There’s always next year.

21. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (12-20) HIGH: 12 / LOW: 25

Decide what’s best for Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins going forward. The Wolves will go as far as their two young franchise players can take them. They’ll need a coach who can help Towns and Wiggins to that level first, though. Whether it’s sticking with Sam Mitchell or looking elsewhere, the next hire in Minnesota is crucial.

22. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (14-20) HIGH: 17 / LOW: 28

Keep quietly building the next big thing in the NBA. Meyers Leonard’s 3-point shooting has dipped compared to last year, and that’s fine. His rim protection has improved, at least mechanically, and as his pick-and-roll coverage develops he could become one of the first true stretch centres/rim protectors — something the league hasn’t really seen.

23. NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (10-21) HIGH: 9 / LOW: 29

Stick to the plan — which is really code for “tank.” It’s not that we’re encouraging the Pelicans to lose games, necessarily. If Alvin Gentry is the long-term coaching answer, though, he needs to drill his systems and schemes into the players who are sticking around. That means continued growing pains, which could lead to a top pick. And more talent is exactly what New Orleans needs.

24. MILWAUKEE BUCKS (12-21) HIGH: 14 / LOW: 27

Find an identity with all the new pieces. Last year’s Bucks were a swirling mass of limbs and switches on defence, and that carried Milwaukee to the postseason. This year’s team is arguably more talented, but the Bucks are nowhere near as successful. Jabari Parker and Greg Monroe will be key to Milwaukee’s success if Jason Kidd can figure out how to make the most of things.

25. SACRAMENTO KINGS (12-20) HIGH: 20 / LOW: 26

Don’t. Do. Anything. Don’t answer the phone if someone calls about DeMarcus Cousins. Don’t comment publicly on the status of George Karl. Don’t talk about ushering in the future of basketball. Just try to maintain some level of calm and continuity, or this team is always going to be a laughing-stock.

26. PHOENIX SUNS (12-22) HIGH: 12 / LOW: 26

Come up with a new plan. The two-point guard system didn’t work, and Jeff Hornacek’s coaching tenure is clearly coming to an end. So what’s next? How the Suns answer that question — and how thoroughly they answer it — will determine just how painful starting all over will be.

27. DENVER NUGGETS (12-21) HIGH: 22 / LOW: 27

Take it one step at a time. There’s a lot of young talent in Denver, but all anyone seems to want to talk about is Emmanuel Mudiay’s lack of a jumper. And yes, if he continues to be this bad, that’s going to be an issue. For now, the Nuggets shouldn’t worry about results. Building a better foundation for the future is all that matters.

28. BROOKLYN NETS (9-23) HIGH: 25 / LOW: 29

Build a time machine. The Nets could really do anything once they get their time-travelling device. They could go back to 2013 and not make the deal with the Celtics that gave away seemingly every draft pick until long after the Billy King era will end. They could even go forward in time and skip the waiting until Brooklyn has a draft pick again. Either one would be great, really.

29. LOS ANGELES LAKERS (6-27) HIGH: 24 / LOW: 30

Enjoy the end of a legendary journey. It’s not great when the young guys sit, and there will be plenty of criticism to go around because the Lakers aren’t good. Through all of that, the important thing is bidding Kobe Bryant a fond farewell. He’s having fun, and fans across the NBA are showing their adoration. That’s all anyone can ask for.

30. PHILADELPHIA 76ers (3-31) HIGH: 29 / LOW: 30

Don’t overcorrect when it comes to The Process. The 76ers were an embarrassment, and the team certainly needed to put a better product on the floor. The goal is still to get the No. 1 overall pick, though, and that can’t change. After all, things in Philly could be a lot different if the lottery odds had gone their way the past couple years. Another draft miss would be soul-crushing.

This story originally appeared on Fox Sports US

Originally published as NBA power rankings: New Year’s resolutions