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Two teams with historical ties may be on a collision course toward the NBA Finals this season. The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks are both on long winning streaks which has both teams surging ahead of the rest of the league. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are also trading blows in the NBA MVP race.
The Lakers are on a 10-game winning streak and haven’t lost since Nov. 10 against the Toronto Raptors. Now, to be fair, Los Angeles hasn’t really been tested along the streak, beating up on a lot of teams under .500. But we still need to give credit where it’s due. LeBron and Anthony Davis have really been demolishing teams. They’ll be tested quite a bit this week however, with road games against the Nuggets, Jazz and Trail Blazers. Even with LeBron losing to Luka Doncic and the Mavericks on Sunday, I still give them the edge over the Bucks for No. 1.
As for the Bucks, they recently got Khris Middleton back from a thigh injury, which is obviously huge, but really Giannis is all they need. The Greek Freak enters this week second in the NBA in scoring at 30.9 points per game, plus fourth in rebounding at 13.4 per contest. He’s also been taking more three-point shots, which is really the only flaw in his game. If he continues to improve on that, look out NBA.
The Toronto Raptors are closing in on the Lakers and Bucks, but aren’t there yet. They’re on a six-game winning streak of their own and have been shorthanded for most of this season with Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka out. Both those guys are close to 100% and once that happens, we could see the Raptors reach their full potential. Pascal Siakam is somehow going to win most-improved player for the second straight season at this rate. Plus, he may help Toronto contend for a second straight title, who knows. It may not be long until the Raps are in the top 3, however, after destroying the Jazz on Sunday.
There wasn’t too much movement this week, so here are the complete NBA Power Rankings for this week:
Week 7 NBA power rankings
| Team | Record | Schedule | Trending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Record | Schedule | Trending |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 17-3 | @ DEN, @ UTA, @ POR, vs. MIN | -- |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 17-3 | vs. NYK, @ DET, vs. LAC | -- |
| Denver Nuggets | 13-4 | vs. LAL, @ NYK, @ BOS, @ BKN | Up 1 |
| Toronto Raptors | 15-4 | vs. MIA, vs. HOU, @ PHI | Up 3 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 15-6 | vs. POR, @ MIL, @ WAS | Down 2 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 14-6 | vs. UTA, @ WAS, vs. CLE, vs. TOR | -- |
| Miami Heat | 14-5 | @ TOR, @ BOS, vs. WAS, vs. CHI | Up 3 |
| Houston Rockets | 13-6 | @ SAS, @ TOR, vs. PHX | -- |
| Boston Celtics | 14-5 | vs. MIA, vs. DEN | -- |
| Dallas Mavericks | 13-6 | @ NOP, vs. MIN, vs. NOP, vs. SAC | Down 5 |
| Indiana Pacers | 12-7 | @ MEM, @ OKC, @ DET, @ NYK | Up 1 |
| Utah Jazz | 12-8 | @ PHI, vs. LAL, vs. MEM | Down 1 |
| Brooklyn Nets | 10-10 | @ ATL, @ CHA, vs. DEN | -- |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 10-9 | @ DAL, @ OKC, @LAL | -- |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 8-12 | @ LAC, vs. SAC, vs. LAL, vs. OKC | Up 9 |
| Sacramento Kings | 8-10 | vs. CHI, @ POR, @ SAS, @ DAL | -- |
| Orlando Magic | 8-11 | @ WAS, vs. PHX, @ CLE | -- |
| Phoenix Suns | 8-10 | @ CHA, @ ORL, @ NOP, @ HOU | Down 3 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 8-11 | vs. IND, vs. MIN, @ POR | Up 2 |
| Washington Wizards | 6-12 | vs. ORL, vs. PHI, @ MIA, vs. LAC | Down 1 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 7-14 | vs. HOU, vs. SAC | Down 1 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 8-13 | vs. PHX, vs. GSW, vs. BKN, vs. ATL | Up 3 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 6-14 | vs. DAL, @ PHX, @ DAL | Down 5 |
| Detroit Pistons | 7-13 | @ CLE, vs. MIL, vs. IND | Up 2 |
| Chicago Bulls | 6-14 | @ SAC, vs. MEM, vs. GSW, @ MIA | Down 2 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 6-13 | vs. IND, @ CHI, @ UTA | Down 4 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 5-14 | vs. DET, vs. ORL, @ PHI | -- |
| New York Knicks | 4-16 | @ MIL, vs. DEN, vs. IND | Up 1 |
| Golden State Warriors | 4-17 | @ ATL, @ CHA, @ CHI | Up 1 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 4-16 | vs. GSW, vs. BKN, @ CHA | Down 2 |