Another 10% of the season has gone by (After ~30 games things are becoming a bit clearer).
The Thunder go to #1 (yeah, yeah - they lost in the NBA Cup final, but they have basically won every other game this period). They are currently on a 9 game streak and now #1 in the NBA in defense. The Celtics lose the top spot with a very chaotic period. They can't seem to get their lineups straight and have a few players slumping (including 6th man candidate Payton Pritchard).
The Bucks rise up the charts, partially because of their showing in the NBA Cup, but they have been really consistent over the past 15 or so games. The Mavs fall a bit, playing .500 ball in their last 6 and now having no Luka for the next ~month. I said the Lakers were probably out of the rankings for good, but they pop back in, despite a -2.5 points per game average. I gave them the nod over mids like the Spurs, Suns, Clips, Wolves because of their 14-7 record against the West, which is the 2nd best in the conference.
On the player side...
Jokic retains the top spot (big surprise), but Giannis is charging. Giannis took over the top spot in PER while carrying the Bucks to the NBA Cup title. Towns is steadily climbing the list, moving to #6 on the strength of consistent scoring, efficient shooting and leading the league in rebounding. He is also in the top 5 of Win Shares.
Wemby really showed out on Christmas, but he has been playing great over the last 20 games. His VORP and PER ratings have been on the steady increase into the top 10. AD has been mostly "there", 12th in scoring, 7th in rebounding but no longer playing at MVP level over the past 20 games like he did in the first 10.
I really want to move Edwards out the top 10 as he is falling across every statistical measure, but he is still the focus of the Wolves offense and he was kind of screwed by the KAT trade. The next guy up is Sengun, with Curry also lurking.
Luka will unfortunately fall out of the next ranking. Hopefully he can return by the trade deadline.