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NBA Power Rankings: The Splash Brothers are back, and the rest of the league should be worried

Chinmay Vaidya updates his NBA power rankings after the 12th week of the 2021-22 regular season.

Cleveland Cavaliers v Golden State Warriors
Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors high five during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 9, 2022 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

It was only one game, but it was the first time in two seasons Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson appeared in a regular season game together. And barring setbacks or injuries, it should worry the rest of the league.

The Golden State Warriors demolished the Cleveland Cavaliers in Thompson’s comeback, with the shooting guard scoring 17 points on 7-18 shooting in 20 minutes. There was expected to be some rust, but Thompson was moving around well on both ends of the floor. As for Curry, he remained hot with 28 points, five assists and five rebounds. There will still be some load management for Thompson and he likely won’t play back-to-back sets for a while, but this was as good of a debut as possible for the Hall of Fame backcourt. When Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green are healthy, the Warriors have not lost in the West playoffs since the 2014-15 title run.

The Phoenix Suns have quietly kept pace with the Warriors and now have Deandre Ayton back after a stint in COVID protocols. The Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls have kept winning despite some personnel issues, although Chicago’s luck finally ran out against the Dallas Mavericks Sunday. The Mavericks have won nine straight themselves and are in the top 10 now.

Let’s take a look at Chinmay Vaidya’s power rankings for Week 13 of the NBA season.

NBA Power Rankings: Week 13

Rank Team Previous Rank
Rank Team Previous Rank
1 Golden State Warriors 1
2 Phoenix Suns 2
3 Milwaukee Bucks 5
4 Chicago Bulls 4
5 Utah Jazz 6
6 Brooklyn Nets 3
7 Miami Heat 7
8 Memphis Grizzlies 8
9 Philadelphia 76ers 9
10 Dallas Mavericks 15
11 Cleveland Cavaliers 11
12 Los Angeles Lakers 16
13 Denver Nuggets 13
14 Los Angeles Clippers 10
15 Toronto Raptors 19
16 Charlotte Hornets 14
17 Washington Wizards 12
18 Boston Celtics 17
19 New York Knicks 18
20 Atlanta Hawks 20
21 Minnesota Timberwolves 21
22 Indiana Pacers 22
23 Portland Trail Blazers 23
24 Sacramento Kings 24
25 San Antonio Spurs 25
26 Oklahoma City Thunder 26
27 New Orleans Pelicans 28
28 Detroit Pistons 30
29 Orlando Magic 27
30 Houston Rockets 29