Welcome to volume III of the NBA Cellar Dweller Power Rankings! We’re reaching a stage in the season that’s starting to really test my narrative ability, with game results that feel almost preordained. The good teams that started out rough like the Bucks and Knicks are starting to use the bad teams as doormats on their way to turning their seasons around; meanwhile, those bad teams are starting to transition to their annual stealth tanks.
Speaking of teams that started out rough (though I still wouldn’t use the word “good”), the Philadelphia 76ers have officially escaped the “cellar dweller” designation after beating the Boston Celtics in a Christmas Day thriller.