On December 19, Philippines time, the NBA officially announced the latest team strength list. The list is ranked as follows:
1. Boston Celtics Last ranking: 2
The Green Army still dominates their home court. This week they faced challenges from the Cavaliers and Magic at the North Shore Garden Arena. They still remain undefeated and have improved their home record this season to 14 wins and 0 losses.
In the past five home games, the Green Army has achieved its best offensive efficiency in five consecutive games since the start of the season, scoring 124.4 points per 100 possessions. It is worth mentioning that their opponents in the past four games, the Magic and Cavaliers, are not teams with weak defenses. The defensive efficiency of both teams ranks among the top 10 in the league. This shows how powerful the Green Army’s offensive firepower is.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves Last ranking: 1
The Timberwolves have allowed only 106.6 points per 100 possessions so far this season, ranking first in the league in defensive efficiency. Although Zion scored 36 points in the away game against the Pelicans and ultimately lost, the Timberwolves have since successfully restricted the Mavericks and Pacers, allowing two teams with the top five offensive efficiency in the league to only score 100 possessions per 100 possessions. 104.5 points. After these two games, the Timberwolves continue to rank first in the Western Conference with a record of 19 wins and 5 losses.
3. Philadelphia 76ers Last ranking: 5
The 76ers are experiencing the easiest schedule of the season so far. Their opponents in the past 6 games are the Wizards, Hawks, Pistons and Hornets. The 76ers won six consecutive victories without any blood, averaging a winning margin of 27.3 points per game. During the six-game winning streak, Embiid averaged 40 points in 32.3 minutes per game. He has averaged 34.2 points per game so far this season, ranking first in the league. With his firepower, the 76ers scored 121.9 points per 100 possessions, ranking second in the league in offensive efficiency.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder Last ranking: 4
The Thunder faced two teams ranked in the top six in the Western Conference last week, and they shot a combined 18-for-57 (32%) from three-point range. But in the game against the Nuggets, they completed a counterattack after falling behind by 10 points in the fourth quarter and finally successfully reversed their opponent.
Thunder leader Alexander has made 1 of 11 three-pointers in the past five games. However, his mid-range shooting percentage (51.4%) continues to lead the league by a very large margin.
5. Denver Nuggets Last ranking: 3
From a statistical point of view, the Nuggets are an even better team than last season. They outscored opponents by just 3.3 points per 100 possessions last season, the lowest number among a championship team in the 27 full seasons for which we have per-possession data. But they are now fourth in the Western Conference instead of first, having lost Saturday’s home game to the second-place Oklahoma City Thunder.
6-10: Bucks, Clippers, Kings, Mavericks, Magic
11-15: Lakers, Pelicans, Pacers, Cavaliers, Knicks
16-20: Rockets, Suns, Nets, Heat, Warriors
21-25: Hawks, Bulls, Raptors, Jazz, Hornets
26-30: Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, Wizards, Spurs, Pistons
