It is officially March, winter is not coming, Spring is! This is where the elite teams start to make their push and the pretenders fall off. The Pacers and Celtics are faltering and need to turn it around quickly, the Heat and Raptors want to keep their hot play going. The top 4 teams in the West seem to be solidifying themselves as the real contenders. As always, who did you beat and who did you lose too? Let’s get it.

#16 Charlotte Hornets

Well the Hornets have been in this 16th spot for the last 3 weeks in a row. They went 2-2 this week. A huge win over the Suns with LaMelo helping close out the Suns. They also beat the Kings without Gordon Hayward, Cody Zeller, and Devonte Graham. It didn’t matter, PJ Washington dropped a career high 42 in the comeback victory. The young Hornets are getting more confident.

#15 Dallas Mavericks

I know I talk about Luka a lot, but he was amazing last week. Averaging 30 points, 8 assists, and 7 boards while his team went 3-1 and Dallas got back to .500. The Mavs aren’t just getting great play from their stars, the overall depth play has been much better. With this depth their overall defense has been much better, which will be needed as they try to stay in the hunt for the playoffs.

#14 Golden State Warriors

Well the Warriors finally won two or more games in a row. Three in a row over the Knicks, Pacers, and Hornets. Those are all solid wins, and the most overrated player in basketball helped in those wins. Draymond Green averaged 14 dimes in those three wins before exiting with a sprained ankle in a loss to the Lakers.

#13 Miami Heat

Here come the Heat, they have been off my top 16 for a long portion of the season. A six game win streak will help you rise in the rankings. They still can’t seem to be entirely healthy, Herro, Dragic, and Butler all missed games this week. Both Butler and Bam Adabeyo have started to round into form which has helped the Heat rise back into contenders in the East.

#12 Portland Trailblazers

Well the inconsistency has continued for the team from Oregon. After a six game win streak they followed it up with a four game losing streak. Their defense has never been elite but the offensive output has dropped and their outside shooting is part of the problem. They score the least amount of points in the association in the paint. They will need to start shooting better from deep if they want to turn this skid around.

#11 Toronto Raptors

Like the Heat the Raptors have clawed their way out of the early season hole they had dug themselves into. They are back to .500 after a 4 game win streak. Unfortunately for the Raptors they lost 6 members of the team/staff to health and safety protocols including Pascal Siakam. The last game on the week for the Raptors was cancelled with more players becoming unavailable.

#10 New York Knicks

Top 10 for the Knickerboxers, Julius Randle makes the all star team and has a great week of play averaging 25 pts, 10 boards, and 6 dimes a game. The Knicks are above .500 for the first time this deep in the season in a long time. With a win to finish out the week the Knicks are rising in these rankings and the Eastern conference standings.

#9 Denver Nuggets

Good news, Jamal Murray has finally found his game after a slow start to the season. Jokic is still playing at an MVP level. Bad news, the wins are not coming as often as they’d like and their middle of the pack defense hasn’t helped. One of the big problems is Gary Harris,one of the Nuggets best perimeter defenders, has played only once in their last 13 games. They need to do a lot of work to convince me that they deserve to be considered a top team in the west again.

#8 San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs missed some games due to health and safety protocol. They lost a tough game to the Thunder at the buzzer and survived a close one with the Pelicans. They had a few players missing during those games as well. Something to keep an eye on is Lamarcus Aldridge came back to Spurs after missing time with a hip injury, but he came off the bench in his return.

#7 Los Angeles Clippers

As we talked about on the Pod this week, Eric thinks the Clips have been one of the most disappointing teams in the league. I don’t quite agree with him but LA went 2-2 this week and the losses were ugly. The same issues plague the Clippers, they don’t score in the paint enough, they don’t get to the charity strike often enough, and they don’t score enough on the fast break, and they can’t hold onto leads.

#6 Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers need to be higher on this list and they could have ended the weak undefeated if it wasn’t for a loss to the Cavs...oof. Their offense really went quiet during their loss to the Cavs. The NBA has changed and you need to shoot more threes to win games, and the 76ers shoot the 3rd least triples in the league. If you’re open let it fly.

#5 Los Angeles Lakers

You can start breathing a little easier Laker Nation, the 4 game losing streak is over. Getting Dennis Schroder back from covid protocols really helps, without him Lebron had to do all the heavy lifting on offense and it took its toll. With Schroder back they scored more on the fast break in both of their wins this week. They aren’t all the way healthy without AD, but with Schroder back they can hold their own until he is back.

#4 Milwaukee Bucks

Up and down year for the Bucks to say the least. After losing five in a row, they came back with five wins in a row including knocking off the Clippers. Their stars are putting in the work with Giannis and Middleton playing much better. Even better news they get Jrue Holiday back from Covid protocols and will slowly ease him into the lineup. They’ve had a roller coaster of season but with all of that they are still close to the top of the east.

#3 Phoenix Suns

Well here comes the Suns, do do do. Over their last 15 games they are 12-3, they are averaging 116.9 a game while only giving up 107.4. During that time they are shooting almost 40% from three as a team. Finally their two all stars Paul and Booker have found their rhythm together.

#2 Brooklyn Nets

I had the Nets at the top of the rankings last week and probably should have kept them there. But they lost a game to the Mavs after their 8 game winning streak and both KD and Kyrie missed games this week. The thing I am slightly worried about is the big 3 have only played 7 games together and they will need some time before the playoffs.

#1 Utah Jazz

After dropping down a spot in the rankings last week the Jazz are back on top of the heap this week. They went 3-1 this week and only dropped a game to the streaking Heat. They lead the league in three point attempts, almost 43 a game, while ranking third in percentage. The Jazz play a really great drive and kick game, playing it through Rudy Gobert. Utah is really starting to separate themselves from the rest of the West, let’s see what they can do the rest of the way.

NBA Power Rankings: Week 11