The Arizona Republic's latest NBA power rankings have the Cleveland Cavaliers back on top after taking down the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Jalen Williams #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder guards DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center

The Boston Celtics have won seven in a row to overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in The Sacramento Bee’s NBA power rankings. That could change after the Celtics and Cavaliers clash again Sunday in a possible preview of the Eastern ...

Those big wins have impressed some writers around the NBA, as the Mavs saw a consistent rise in recent power rankings. READ MORE: Nets Reportedly Change Asking Price for Mavericks

Teams are competing and not blatantly exercising organizational priorities, and in a culture where we’re waiting for the next “trades we want to see” piece to drop, I like that NBA Cup games take place just after the glorified feel-out games that mark the opening weeks of the season and wrap up just before all of those new contracts become tradeable.