NBA Power Rankings – Embiid and the Clippers click, while the Knicks hit their

The new year is just around the corner, and a fresh start means an opportunity for teams to reset, reevaluate and hunker down for the rest of the season.

While many teams have held steady through 2023, others are desperately looking to turn things around. The Golden State Warriors have been struggling to find their footing among two Draymond Green suspensions. And the Phoenix Suns have hit yet another roadblock with Bradley Beal out for two weeks.

On the other hand, the New York Knicks have hit their stride — led by Jalen Brunson, who had a career-high 50 points and made NBA history by being the first player to go 8-for-8 on 3-pointers in a half last Friday.

Ja Morant, after serving a 25-game suspension, made his season debut against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. The highly anticipated return did not disappoint, as Morant hit the winning shot and led the team with 34 points and 8 assists.

When will the Detroit Pistons break their disappointing losing streak? Did the Indiana Pacers hit their stride too early? And have James Harden and the LA Clippers found the perfect formula? We’re looking forward to how things shake out the rest of the holiday season.

Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball and which teams are looking most like title contenders.

Previous rankings: Post-Finals | Nov. 1 | Nov. 8 | Nov. 15 | Nov. 22 | Nov. 29 | Dec. 6 | Dec. 13

Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE
DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND
LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN
NO | NY | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX
POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTAH | WAS

1. Boston Celtics
2023-24 record: 20-6

Boston’s thrilling matchup with Golden State — an overtime loss behind some truly absurd heroics from Stephen Curry on Tuesday night — served as another reminder of why the Celtics pursued Kristaps Porzingis last summer. Porzingis, who is out because of a calf injury, was brought in to provide an alternative way to attack defenses late in games. Without him Tuesday, Boston settled for a lot of jumpers — to the tune of 41 missed 3-pointers — though many of them, especially late, were clean looks that didn’t fall. That late-game subplot will bear watching when Porzingis is back on the court. — Bontemps

2. Minnesota Timberwolves
2023-24 record: 20-5

• Previous ranking: 2

• Next games: @ PHI (Dec. 20), vs. LAL (Dec. 21), @ SAC (Dec. 23), @ OKC (Dec. 26)

The Timberwolves are off to the best start through 25 games in franchise history. After securing a tough road win against Miami on Monday, the Wolves’ league-leading defense will be tested again this week with a matchup against the Sixers, who rank No. 2 in offense. Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards have been a dangerous combo, with Edwards leading the team in points (24.6) and steals (1.4) and…