2023 started off hot and now we have reached the midway point of the season. Now is when teams will start to evaluate their rosters heavily, seek trades and determine whether its time to start tanking some games in order to elevate their draft positions. Nonetheless, a handful of teams have their minds set on winning the title come June as this year looks as open as it’s been in a long time as there is no clear-cut favorite in either conference.

These are my power rankings based on games played through 1/8/2023.

1. Denver Nuggets (26-13)

The Nuggets had two dominating games against the Clippers and the Cavaliers this week. Nikola Jokic continued his MVP level play. Winners of 12 of their last 15 games, Denver continues to solidify themselves as real contenders for the title even though they struggle to defend at times as a team. I’m really liking the play of Aaron Gordon who is averaging the second most points per game since the 2017/2018 season.

2. Brooklyn Nets (27-13)

The Nets continue to be one if not the hottest team in the league. After pulling out a huge road win against the Miami Heat on Sunday the Nets are now 9-1 in their last 10 games. Their MVP candidate Kevin Durant went down late in the game with a knee injury and luckily it was not major but he will miss about a month. The team has been clicking on all cylinders offensively and defensively but now with KD set to be out, the question will be if they can continue to pull out wins. Their next 15 games schedule won’t be that tough as only four of the next fifteen games will be played against teams with winning records.

3. Boston Celtics (28-12)

The Celtics continue to be either hot or cold offensively yet still have been able to pull out wins and remain atop the Eastern conference. They started week 12 off with an embarrassing loss to the OKC Thunder but finished the week with two big road wins against the Mavericks and the Spurs. The team is 7-3 in their last 10 games. Currently are 16-7 in conference games and seven of the next ten games on the schedule will be against the Eastern Conference.

4. Memphis Grizzlies (26-13)

The Grizzlies went 3-0 in week 12. A lot of people would think this team is all Ja Morant but he has plenty of help on this team and I think they have a very underrated big three with Morant, Bane and Jackson Jr. The two guards (Morant/Bane) play really well off one another and the big man (Jackson Jr.)  has been making his presence felt most in the paint. Jackson Jr. is averaging 3 blocks per game and opponents are shooting under 50% from the field when he is in the game.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers (26-15)

The Cavaliers went 3-1 for week 12 with the one loss coming on the road to the Denver Nuggets as they started their five-game road trip. They’ve been riding the coattails of Donovan Mitchell offensively while the defense remains to be top in the league but quietly, the move to make Caris LeVert a starter has the Cavaliers offense rolling. They will need all the fire power they can get as this week they face three high scoring teams all on the road. (Utah, Portland & Minnesota)

Next in line: Dallas Mavericks (23-18) 

Some of the top performances this week include:

Monday (1/ 2) 

• Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers has one of the highest scoring performances in NBA history! He lit up the Chicago Bulls for 71 points. The Cavaliers went on to win in overtime 145-134.
• LeBron James drops 43 points and leads the Los Angeles Lakers to a 121-115 win against the Charlotte Hornets.
• Klay Thompson caught fire against the Atlanta Hawks and scored 54 points which helped lead the Golden State Warriors to a double overtime win. Warriors win 143-141.
• Joel Embiid poured in 42 points to give the Philadelphia 76ers a big home victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The 76ers won 120-111.

Tuesday (1/ 3)

• Giannis Antetokounmpo had a career high 55 points and the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Washington Wizards 123-113.
• De’Aaron Fox led the Sacramento Kings into Utah and defeated the Jazz in the final seconds thanks to a layup by the guard. He finished with 37 points and 6 assists and the Kings won 117-115.

Wednesday (1/ 4)

• Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves poured in 32 points in a win against the Portland Trail Blazers. Final score 113-106.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo followed up his career high scoring night with a triple double and the win against the Toronto Raptors. Giannis finished with 30 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists as Milwaukee won 104-101 in overtime on the road.
• Jalen Brunson scored a career high 38 points which helped lead the New York Knicks to a 117-114 win at home against the San Antonio Spurs
• Despite 44 points put in by Kevin Durant, the Chicago Bulls win at home and end the Nets 12 game win streak. DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams each scored 22 points and the Bulls won 121-112.

Thursday (1/ 5)

• Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics went into Dallas and tallied a triple double. Tatum finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists as he outduels Luka Doncic. The Celtics won 124-95 against the Dallas Mavericks.
• Lauri Markkanen scored a career high 49 points and led the Utah Jazz to a 131-114 win over the Houston Rockets.
• The Memphis Grizzlies go on the road to Orlando to defeat the Magic 123-115 thanks to dominant performances by Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. who combined for 63 points between the two. Morant scored 32 points while Jackson Jr. scored 31 points.

Friday (1/ 6)

• Zach Lavine of the Chicago Bulls caught fire from three-point range and made 11 3-pointers against the Philadelphia 76ers. Lavine finished with 41 points and the Bulls won 126-112 on the road.
• Nikola Jokic had another triple double with 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists and the Denver Nuggets won 121-108 at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• Rudy Gobert recorded a 20/20 game with 25 points and 21 rebounds and helped lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 128-115 win against the Los Angeles Clippers.
• Terry Rozier scored a season high 39 points as the Charlotte Hornets went into Milwaukee and dominated the Bucks. The Hornets won 138-109.

Saturday (1/ 7)

• Luka Doncic records a triple double of 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The Dallas Mavericks went on to win 127-117 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
• LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers to a five-game win streak after beating the Sacramento Kings 136-134 on the road. LeBron finished with 37 points.
• Zach Lavine scored 36 points and led the Chicago Bulls to a victory at home against the Utah Jazz. The Bulls won 126-118.

Sunday (1/ 8)

• James Harden had a 20-point, 11 rebounds, 11 assist triple double and the Philadelphia 76ers won 123-111 against the Detroit Pistons.
• Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks scored 30 points and led the Atlanta Hawks to a 112-108 win on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers.
• The Toronto Raptors snapped a three-game losing streak thanks to 27 points from Pascal Siakam. The Raptors won at home against the Portland Trail Blazers 117-105.