Rauf's Mid-January NBA Power Rankings: New Team Takes Top Spot From Warriors

We're a few weeks into the new year, but the NBA contenders are already starting to separate themselves from the pack while other playoff-caliber teams are still looking to find consistency. How do all of the teams project to stack up against each other as we approach the All-Star break? Find out in our mid-January NBA Power Rankings:

1) San Antonio Spurs (36-6)
Golden State may have the best record in the league, but the Spurs have won 11 games in a row and haven't lost a regular season game at home in nearly a year.

2) Golden State Warriors (38-4)
The Warriors set the record for best start to a season in NBA history but are struggling of late, losing two of their last four games. That being said, their 132-98 win over the Cavaliers in Cleveland is the most impressive win any team has this year. 

3) Oklahoma City Thunder (30-12)
OKC has clearly cemented themselves as the No. 3 team in the West, winning 10 of their last 12 games.

4) Cleveland Cavaliers (28-11)
Cleveland has had no problems rolling through lesser competition, but their 1-5 mark against the Spurs, Warriors, Thunder, and Raptors is a big cause for concern.

5) Los Angeles Clippers (27-14)
LA has found their stride and is playing as well as anyone, winning 11 of their last 12 games - including a perfect 5-0 road trip for the first time in franchise history.

6) Toronto Raptors (26-15)
Toronto has reeled off a five-game winning streak, and has a firm stranglehold on second place in the East as a result.

7) Chicago Bulls (24-16)
Chicago was flying high on a six-game win streak, but have since lost four of their last six and center Joakim Noah for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury.

8) Atlanta Hawks (25-17)
Atlanta has traded wins and losses their last 10 games after posting a six-game win streak, failing to hold onto any momentum.

9) Houston Rockets (22-21)
Houston has finally pulled themselves out of the hole they put themselves in at the beginning of the year but have since hit a road block, losing two of their last three games to the Cavs and Clippers.

10) Memphis Grizzlies (24-19)
Memphis has rebounded from their nearly catastrophic start and caught fire, winning five of their last six games.

11) Detroit Pistons (22-19)
Detroit continues to be inconsistent as they've failed to differentiate themselves from the other playoff contenders in the East, losing three of their last four games.

12) Miami Heat (23-18)
Miami has crashed back to Earth after challenging the Cavs at the top of the East, losing five of their last seven games.

13) Indiana Pacers (22-19)
Indiana has also cooled off after a hot start, losing four of their last five games, including three in a row.

14) Boston Celtics (22-20)
Boston has failed to maintain any kind of momentum this season, winning three of their last four games but they've lost seven of their last 11 overall.

15) Dallas Mavericks (24-19)
The Mavs have been stuck in mediocrity over the past few weeks, going 5-6 over their last 11 games.

16) Orlando Magic (20-20)
Orlando looked ready to make a surge up the Eastern Conference standings two weeks ago, but have since lost seven of their last eight games to fall back to .500.

17) Washington Wizards (19-21)
The Wizards are the definition of a hot-and-cold team. Over the past month, they've gone through a four-game win streak, followed by a 1-5 stretch, followed by another four-game win steak, followed by their current two-game losing skid.

18) New York Knicks (21-22)
The hype has died a bit around the Knicks but they have found their stride, winning six of their last nine games.

19) Charlotte Hornets (19-22)
Charlotte has been ravaged by injuries over the past month and it has shown in the standings - they've lost 12 of their last 16 games.

20) Utah Jazz (18-23)
Utah hasn't been the surprise playoff contender many expected them to be and are in a bad funk, losing six of their last nine games.

21) Sacramento Kings (17-23)
Sacramento is trending in the right direction and playing well after a rough start to the season, winning five of their last eight games.

22) Milwaukee Bucks (18-25)
Milwaukee has failed to deliver on their preseason expectations and have been maddeningly inconsistent all year, going 6-4 over their last 10 games.

23) Portland Trail Blazers (19-25)
Portland is a young team showing promise, winning four of their last five games.

24) Denver Nuggets (16-25)
Denver has reeled off an impressive streak, winning four of their last six games, including a home victory over the Warriors.

25) New Orleans Pelicans (13-27)
New Orleans has been struggled all year, but they've lost five of their last seven games as they continue to slide.

26) Minnesota Timberwolves (13-29)
Minnesota has nosedived since their promising start, losing 13 of their last 15 games.

27) Brooklyn Nets (11-31)
Brooklyn is also in the midst of a terrible slide, losing eight of their last nine games.

28) Philadelphia 76ers (5-38)
The Sixers have finally shown some signs of life lately since acquiring point guard Ish Smith, winning four of their last 12 games. Yes, that's not good, but we are grading on a different scale with Philly.

29) Los Angeles Lakers (9-34)
Los Angeles has continued to struggle, losing seven of their last eight games.

30) Phoenix Suns (13-29)
Phoenix is absolutely reeling and are playing worse than everyone in the league right now, losing four games in a row and 13 of their last 14. To make matters worse, they've shown no signs of being able to turn their season around.

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