NBA Power Rankings: Week 14
The trade season is here and some big names could be moved ahead of the deadline. The injuries are starting to pile up around the league as well, most notably MVP candidate LeBron James and ROY candidate LaMelo Ball. With the NCAA tourneys going on, the NBA has been placed on the backburner this week, but games still went on, same as always: who did you beat and who did you lose too?
16. Memphis Grizzlies (20-20)
Previously: Not Ranked
A win over the Miami Heat has the Grizzlies playing well after a small three game losing streak. They are currently sitting in one of those play in spots and have a 2.5 game lead over OKC. They have a top ten defense and are leading the league in steals even without their second best player Jaren Jackson Jr. He has resumed basketball activities and could be back in April, could be a huge boost for Memphis.
15. New York Knicks (21-22)
Previously #14
The Knicks have an offense problem, they only scored over 100 once in their three games this week. While they don’t score enough, they do a more than a satisfactory job at keeping other teams from scoring. With three minutes left and a three point differential the Knicks have been the best defensive team in the league, what they need is a closer. Julius Randle is having a great year, but is only shooting 31.6% during these close games.
14. Golden State Warriors (22-21)
Previously #16
Six Flags isn’t that far from the Bay Area, but it sure seems the Warriors are playing this season on a roller coaster. They started this week beating the lowly Rockets but they lost Steph Curry with what can only be called a bruised ass. Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green led Golden State in a win over the Grizzlies in their first game, but followed it up by underperforming and losing to Memphis. With Curry out, this next stretch will be tough for the Warriors.
13. Atlanta Hawks (22-21)
Previously: Not Ranked
Atlanta is one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now, they are 8-1 in their last nine games. Trae Young is leading the way as a distributor not a scorer, averaging 9.1 dimes during this stretch. Bogdan Bogdanovic has taken a while to get into form returning from injury, but he scored 23 and had 5 made threes during a game against the Thunder. A win against the Lakers before dropping to the Clippers was a good start to an eight game road trip.
12. Miami Heat (22-21)
Previously #9
Miami’s five game winning streak came to an end and it was followed by a three game losing streak. Going 1-3 this week drops them out of my top 10, a big reason is the poor shooting from their young guns, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson. Three point shooting is a huge part of their game and when they shoot poorly it’s hard for them to win. Off the court they dropped Myles Leonard and picked up Trevor Ariza who they hope can fill the void left by Jae Crowder.
11. San Antonio Spurs (22-18)
Previously #11
The Spurs have come home after a 5 game East coast swing where they went 3-2 and were without DeMar Derozan for the first few games (bereavement). One of the problems was their shooting from downtown, only shooting 33.6%. After this they get nine games at home and you know Pop will have the Spurs running like a well oiled machine.
10. Dallas Mavericks (22-19)
Previously #10
Dallas got MVP Luka this week who averaged 39 points, 7.3 dimes, and 7.6 boards and it was against good competition in the Clippers twice and the Blazers twice. They split the 4 games this week and are 7-3 in their last ten. Kristaps is scoring and rim protecting, 1.6 blocks a night and Dallas is getting depth scoring from Tim Hardaway Jr, averaging 15 off the bench. Here comes the Mavs and watch for Luka to make some noise in the MVP race.
9. Portland Trailblazers (21-18)
Previously #12
Portland had miniseries against the Pelicans and Mavericks this week, they went 3-1 over that stretch. Dame time reemerged in the first week over the Pels, leading the charge back from 17 down. Then their defense finally stepped up and held New Orleans to 93 points. In the first game against the Mavs it was another high scoring affair with Dame going for 31 and most importantly CJ McCollum had 32 in his third game back from injury.
8. Los Angeles Clippers (28-16)
Previously #8
Despite still being a very talented team, LA has started to falter, going just 4-6 in their last 10 with some bad losses to the Pels and Wizards. Every time we see the Clippers start to turn it around they drop their next game in ugly fashion. The questions we all should start asking is are the Clippers really a championship contender at this point? Watch for them to be active in the trade market, rumor is they are after Lonzo, could he come back to LA?
7. Los Angeles Lakers (28-15)
Previously #5
Brutal week for the Lakers, no way around it. They had a four game win streak led by LeBron, then it all blew up. James left the game against Atlanta with a high ankle strain and will miss a month. It is going to be hard for the Lakers to tread water without their two stars and it showed after only scoring 94 in two consecutive games. Can the Lakers hold onto a top 6 seed and avoid the play in tourney?
6. Denver Nuggets (25-17)
Previously #7
With LeBron’s injury, Nikola Jokic’s MVP campaign just got a bit stronger. Jamal Murray’s season might have finally gotten on track as he is starting to look like the player we saw last year. As I have been saying for about a year, Michael Porter Jr is the third cog in this Nuggets machine and he is thriving in the power forward position. Even with a loss to the Pelicans to finish the week, the Nuggets move up after how well they have been playing.
5. Utah Jazz (31-11)
Previously #6
Utah is in the midst of a road trip out east and went 3-1 over that stretch, but with an inexcusable loss to the Wizards. They should have gone 4-0 as the teams they beat are all way beneath them. The big test comes on Wednesday with a matchup with the Nets, they won’t have to play against Kyrie (family matter) or KD (injury). They haven’t been as dominant over the last couple of weeks though, just something to keep an eye on.
4. Phoenix Suns (28-13)
Previously #6
The Suns went 2-1 this week but dropped a spot because of an embarrassing loss to the Timberwolves. The defense forgot how to play as first overall pick Anthony Edwards went off for a career high 42 and KAT added 41 of his own. They finished with two wins over the same TWolves and the LeBron-less Lakers. As boring as they are, free throws are a big part of the NBA today and the Suns only shoot about 18 a game which could be a problem moving forward.
3. Philadelphia 76ers(30-13)
Previously #4
Now we get to possibly the most exciting storyline for the rest of the regular season. Which one of these three teams in the East will end up on top? Tobias Harris has really stepped up in Joel Embiid's absence, scoring 24 a game and adding 7.5 rebounds while shooting a cool 50% from deep. The Sixers went 3-1 this week to keep them atop the East. Losing Embiid is rough but now Seth Curry twisted his ankle in the loss to the Bucks. Keep an eye on the 76ers as we get closer to the trade deadline, they need another playmaker.
2. Milwaukee Bucks (28-14)
Previously #3
Here come the Deer, that is how I ended last week’s piece on the Bucks and it is how I will start it this week. They have a seven game win streak led by two time MVP Giannis, averaging 31.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 7.6 assists. The Bucks also acquired PJ Tucker from the Rockets for the stretch run. Tucker gives the Bucks some more veteran corner shooting and defensive versatility. The question now is the Tucker we saw in Houston the one Milwaukee will get or will be play more like his old self after a change of scenery?
1. Brooklyn Nets (29-14)
Previously #1
Brookyln gets to stay atop my rankings for now even after losing to the Magic, because they have been dominant. Winning 15 of 17 despite not having KD or Kyrie for three of those games. James Harden has added his name to the MVP race and the Nets are playing passable defense now. Their scoring is always going to be a problem, but if they can keep playing okay defense look out.