NBA Power Rankings week 11: OKC Thunder continues hot streak

Week 11 of NBA Power Rankings featured crazy upsets by lower-tier squads over the top tier and the OKC Thunder in a small group on hot winning streaks.

As is typical at this point in the season teams are eyeing the All-Star break with visions of rest and time off dancing in players’ heads. Only the very focused teams can navigate this stage without hiccups. Perhaps comfort and happiness also factor since the OKC Thunder is among the very few who are seemingly gaining weekly momentum.

The Bucks (23-0), Lakers (19-0) and Raptors (19-0) are the only teams with perfect records against sub .500 clubs. Spoiler alert – as week 12 began only one of those teams is still on this list.

The Bucks, Lakers, Jazz and OKC Thunder possess the longest win streaks (5 games) while the 76ers, Warriors and Cavaliers hold the longest losing streaks (4 games).

The psychological aspect of the holidays and All-Star voting probably perpetuates this phenomenon. It’s odd given teams don’t display the same reaction through the approximately 30 games known as the stretch run. Rather, it’s during that period where squads build and get stronger which theoretically should be when they are the most fatigued.

Sticking with this hot take it might explain the lack of focus which hit hard as several teams fell prey to clubs they should’ve defeated. And these losses weren’t of the ordinary, buzzer-beating variety. Rather there were copious blow-out victories by lower-tier clubs versus the elite.

For those who prefer to keep track on a week by week basis each is linked below:

• Week 1: click here
• Week 2:  click here
• Week 3: click here
• Week 4: click here
• Week 5: click here
• Week 6: click here
• Week 7: click here
• Week 8: click here
• Week 9: click here
• Week 10: click here

And with that I give you my NBA Power Rankings for week 11 of action: