NBA Power Rankings: Week 18
Some brutal injuries for key players Jamal Murray, Donovan Mitchell, and Kawhi Leonard has made the West even more interesting. While in the East, the Sixers had a huge win over the Nets to solidify themselves atop. It is the fourth quarter of the season and these playoff races are starting to heat up! The standings are as of the morning of April 20th. Let’s go!
16. Golden State Warriors (29-29)
Previously: Not Ranked
I talked last week about the Warriors possibly tanking the rest of the season. Well they listened to us, as Golden State has won 4 out of 5. Steph Curry has taken his play to an MVP level. Averaging almost 40 a game and dropping 53 points against the Nuggets. Curry did have a slight ankle tweak to finish out the week, without him the Warriors are screwed.
15. Memphis Grizzlies (29-27)
Previously: #16
If not for Luka Doncic the Grizz could have gone 4-0 this week. Memphis will need depth scoring and they got it this week from Grayson Allen, he was the third leading scoring coming off the bench. Right now it seems the Grizzlies are pretty firm sitting in the 8 seed. How awesome would a Ja vs Luka or Ja vs Dame one game playoff be?
14. Miami Heat (30-28)
Previously: #9
I hate this team, well not really, but they are so confusing! They have lost their last three games all by 15 or more points. Jimmy is doing his part averaging 20 points and 8.3 assists this week. Jimmy will push this team and he did, they listened even without their star playing and they beat the Nets to finish out the week.
13. Portland Trailblazers (32-24)
Previously: #13
Dallas is coming and the Blazers are going to have a fight on their hands to stay out of the play in tourney. The problem now is the load Portland has asked of Dame is starting to wear him down, he had to miss a couple of games this week with an iffy hamstring. CJ helped carry the load with a 29 point game in a come back win over the Spurs. Challenging week ahead, the Trail Blazers will need to pick up some wins while Dame is out.
12. Dallas Mavericks (30-26)
Previously: #10
Luka and Mark Cuban are not fans of the play-in tournament, their thoughts might be different if they weren’t the seven seed right now. They would have gone 1-3 this week if it wasn’t for that circus shot to beat the Grizzlies by Luka. They have a chance to take over the 6 seed if they want it, but they need to play more consistently.
11. New York Knicks (31-27)
Previously: #15
Here we go again, the Knicks have won five in a row, because their offense has been on fire. Next week I will say the Knicks went 1-3 because they couldn’t score enough. Julius Randle is carrying the load, he is playing the most minutes out of anyone this season and he has averaged over 30 a game during this stretch. Can the Knicks make it into the top four and have home court for the first round?
10. Atlanta Hawks (31-26)
Previously: #11
Atlanta is playing really well right now, they have won eight out of ten. Bogdan Bogdanovic looks like he has finally fallen into a grove, but Clint Capela has been a force. He leads the league in rebounds and has 38 double doubles. He has also helped shore up the Hawks defense, when he is off the floor their defense struggles. Their goal was to make the playoffs, looks like they will make that goal.
9. Boston Celtics (31-27)
Previously: #12
Finally Boston has started playing better, they are rolling right now with a six game win streak. Jayson Tatum has erupted as the leader of this team during the win streak. He is scoring at an impressive clip, averaging 32.7 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. The C’s have signed former number 2 overall pick Jabari Parker for some extra scoring off the bench.
8. Los Angeles Lakers (35-23)
Previously: #8
The Lake show is back from their seven game road trip, going 4-3 on that trip with the injuries they have sustained is impressive. The Lakers still have the best defensive rating even with those injuries, careful for when they are healthy. Good news Lakers fans, AD is possibly returning this week and Bron shouldn’t be too far behind. They will need to build their conditioning back up, but help is coming.
7. Milwaukee Bucks (35-22)
Previously: #7
The Bucks are still playing an up and down game, win 3 then lose 3 in a row. Good news their two time MVP is back after missing six games with injury. They have also got trade deadline addition PJ Tucker back after he missed ten games. They will need Tucker for the playoffs and want him to get as much run in the Bucks system as possible. Big week ahead as they have Phoenix, Philly, and Atlanta coming to town.
6. Denver Nuggets (37-20)
Previously: #4
Well Eric called it, Jamal Murray has a torn ACL and with the injury, Denver’s championship hopes might be over. Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr, and Aaron Gordon will have to step up in his absence. The pick and roll game Murray had built with Nikola Jokic was a big reason the Nuggets were so great, without them they are out of final contention but can still make some noise in the playoffs.
5. Brooklyn Nets (38-19)
Previously: #3
Lamarcus Aldridge retired, it came as a surprise after he revealed he had an irregular heartbeat during his last game. He had only played five games for the team and hadn’t really fit into the system yet. They lost the big matchup with the Sixers, which was a bit of a let down with KD sitting out since it was the second half of a back to back. That loss could hurt as the 76ers now own the tie-breaker. I am worried that they won’t ever get healthy.
4. Utah Jazz (43-15)
Previously: #1
The Jazz are starting to come back to Earth a bit and their hold on the top spot in the west is starting to weaken. To make things worse Donovan Mitchell has an ankle injury and can miss a week or so. As we know he won’t be 100% when he comes back and the questions for Utah now is rest their players or try to secure the top spot in the West?
3. Los Angeles Clippers (40-19)
Previously: #5
The Clippers have won 14 of 17 games and had a seven game win streak before losing to the 76ers, but finished off the week with a win over the Timberwolves. Paul George is back to playing elite basketball scoring thirty or more in five straight before a 23 point game in only 27 minutes in the win over Minnesota. But without getting healthy soon the Clippers could be in trouble down the road in the playoffs, Ibaka, Beverly, Kawhi, and even George has missed some games. Kawhi will also be out a bit longer with a foot issue and without him the Clips won’t win the title, simple as that.
2. Phoenix Suns (41-16)
Previously: #2
The Suns have been one of the best teams all season and have continued that strong play winning 11 of 13. With Donovan Mitchell’s injury the Suns have a chance to catch the Jazz for the top spot in the west and the best record in the NBA. They really have all you can ask for, Devin Booker can score at will, DeAndre Ayton is a double double machine and Chris Paul is the point guard running the show. This week will start a five game road trip for the Suns, they could end it with the top spot in the west or drop a few spots, we will see.
1. Philadelphia 76ers (39-18)
Previously #6
The Sixers take over my top spot because they had a huge week. Four wins in a row including wins over the Clippers, Mavericks, and Nets. With that win over the Nets the Sixers hold the tiebreaker. Their speed and length is suffocating teams on defense and even against the Clippers we see the potential of a championship caliber defense. Is this finally the year for the Sixers?