Now that we’re past the festivities of Super Sunday, the focus of the sporting world is on the hardwood, both on the collegiate and professional levels. And concurrently, some of the league’s best teams at this point in the season are locked in on maintaining their momentum, while climbing teams like Milwaukee are beginning to get their legs under them as we enter the second week of February.

Meanwhile, sobering pre-season expectations are hitting teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and Orlando Magic, and it’s a mix of injury woes subsequently crashing into pandemic problems that have affected the NBA as a whole. Some teams have been hit harder than others by both plaguing issues and while they haven’t told the whole story as to how their seasons have gone so far, some teams like the Kings and Hawks have capitalized off of some streaks of key wins and are making the case to be within the realms of playoff qualification.

So with that, let’s get down to it and break down this week’s power rankings.

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1. Los Angeles Lakers (18-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

Should LeBron James be this year’s Most Valuable Player? Aside from Philly’s Joel Embiid, if this past week’s story told us anything, it’s a matter of why isn’t he atop the heap of the MVP race. James put up a near triple-double even in the hindrance of a maskless, rowdy, heckling Atlanta Hawks “fan” sitting courtside for 21-9-7, and then one game later goes for a 27-10-10 triple-double against the Nuggets. He finished the week putting up 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists against the Pistons and displayed LBJ-like heroics as per usual with back-to-back triples in OT against Detroit at home.

And speaking of that “Courtside Karen” incident, just like last night’s Super Bowl where Chiefs Safety Tyrann Mathieu unintelligently trash-talked Buccaneers Quarterback (and eventual Super Bowl MVP) Tom Brady, you’re much better off not tugging at Superman’s cape. James has averaged 30 points, 7.5 rebounds, 10.5 assists per game off 55.6 percent shooting from the field, and a near career-best 41.7 percent from three-land.

Anthony Davis has noticeably struggled as a scorer in the paint and concerns toward his interior game were accentuated this week, but this team has proven they can turn it on whenever they want, courtesy of their comeback win vs. Denver this past week.

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2. Utah Jazz (19-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Staying within the top three is this Utah Jazz team that is still on fire as we enter a new month. Their only loss came this month to the Nuggets, and they’ve picked up from where they left off before their 11-game winning streak came to an end against Denver, still a top-5 defensive team in the NBA. Currently, Utah makes the most threes per game, owns the league’s best record, and they hold opposing offenses to an average of 105.7 points per game.

Up by more than 10 points entering Sunday’s contest against the Pacers, a Mike Conley-less Utah Jazz team (hamstring tightness) prevailed behind Donovan Mitchell, who engineered the win against a resilient Pacers team on the verge of a comeback with ferocity in his adeptness to attack the rim and score with ease on the perimeter.

Mitchell came just short of his first career triple-double when he had 27 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds off an inefficient but persistent 36 percent from the field. That’s now 15 of their last 16 games they’ve won, and they surely look the part of contenders at this point in the season.

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3. Philadelphia 76ers (17-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)

Philly doesn’t move an inch in this week’s rankings, and why should they? A loss to Portland when they didn’t have either Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum was disappointing, but it didn’t dampen the tear that these Sixers have been on since 2021 began. The 76ers remain in first place in the Eastern Conference thanks to the inadequacy of both Brooklyn and rivals Milwaukee and Boston as they continue to sift through their own injury obstacles this early in the new year, and with Philly earning wins over the Lakers at home thanks to a Tobias Harris game-winner and a beatdown of a Nets team that didn’t have either Kevin Durant (health and safety protocols) or Kyrie Irving (finger(s)) it’s become that much more of a possibility the 76ers maintain this dominance over the Eastern Conference that will be leading to a first-place finish in the conference.

Joel Embiid is still a frontrunner on the MVP ladder, averaging a career-high 29.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists off 55 percent shooting in 19 games this season, and more importantly, post a top-15 defense to equal their high scoring outing on a nightly basis.

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4. Los Angeles Clippers (19-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

The Clippers played in what was arguably a finals preview this past Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets on the road and while they suffered a 124-120 loss, they were in a groove heading into that game. That groove, to their chagrin, has turned into a stumble as they’ve lost both Paul George and Patrick Beverley to lower-body ailments. Health has to be a primary focus if they’re to keep their deadlock at first with Utah atop the West, and they know just how lethal they can be when all of their guys are actively getting minutes and contributing to wins.

They gave up a second-half 16-point comeback and dropped a second-straight loss to Boston, an Eastern Conference foe in another inter-conference matchup on Friday night as they didn’t have Jaylen Brown, and then lost to the all-of-a-sudden red-hot Sacramento Kings two days later.

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5. Milwaukee Bucks (15-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)

It was only a matter of time that the Bucks got back to playing their best brand of basketball, so it’s no surprise they’re getting back into the swing of things. They’ve recalibrated and molded new pieces into their offensive and defensive schemes so that they could get back to being competitive in the East, and a 4-0 streak will easily signify that noticeable improvements are being made, and quickly. They made the bludgeoning Indiana Pacers humble themselves with a 20-point scalping, then followed that with a performance from Eastern Conference Player of the Week Giannis Antetokounmpo that featured 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists that garnered national attention and exclaimed this statement: the Bucks are coming, and they aren’t backing down.

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6. Brooklyn Nets (14-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)

So…that happened.

As if the most publicized team in town needed another lede to add to the already compelling tale about the first year of the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving-James Harden trio in Brooklyn, go ahead and add the 19 minutes that a previously-“quarantined” Durant would play in a game against Toronto (Tampa, I guess?) he apparently wasn’t supposed to even be in right into the scrapbook.

After being told he wouldn’t start as a precaution from being in contact with someone who had an inconclusive COVID-19 test an hour prior to the game, Durant went into the game during the second quarter and was ultimately pulled as a result of further inconclusive testing. It was a weird and inconceivable occurrence, but that leaves Brooklyn without their 7-foot shot creator for the next few games until at least Friday against Golden State.

Brooklyn suffered a couple of losses after Durant was pulled, including that exact game against the Raptors, and went on to lose against the Sixers on the road without both Durant and Kyrie Irving on the floor. These games where players are quarantining directly affect the team’s record and can make playoff positioning a slippery slope now that we’re a quarter way and more through the season.

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7. Phoenix Suns (13-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

Make that five of six games that the Suns have won in the past few weeks, but that doesn’t mean Monty Williams isn’t apprehensive to making lineup changes to fine-tune things about his defensive schemes to produce a couple more wins so Phoenix can remain hot in the middle of the pack in the West. Cameron Johnson was moved to the bench in their loss to the Pelicans last Wednesday as has he scored only 8 points in 26 minutes.

He came off the bench in a sixth-man role, the place he started his career at coming out of UNC back in 2019, and in his place was the stronger defender of the two in 7’0, 240-lb Frank Kaminsky III, who was a temporary plug-in that’s been appraised as an ode to teams playing big, and as he’s the appropriate substitution for that specific role (Monty Williams’ words).

He’s averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds in two starts this season and off the bench this year, Johnson has produced in significant dividends, scoring 17 points and grabbing five rebounds in Sunday’s win over Boston while averaging 15.5 points as an integral piece in the secondary lineup.

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8. San Antonio Spurs (13-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)

Moving up three slots this week is the San Antonio Spurs, who are 6-4 in their last 10 contests and are getting healthier in an opportune time. Derrick White continues to get welcomed back into the fold, and DeMar DeRozan is quietly putting together an All-Star season, averaging 19.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5 assists in the Spurs’ last four games. Additionally, he’s putting up a career-best 60.7 true shooting percentage, keeping an attacking mindset to tuck his head to get to the line while making around 88 percent of his attempts at the charity stripe, and involving others in the offense as a point-wing, averaging a career-best 6.6 assists per game.

And, as a surprise to nearly everyone, he’s attempted and made as many threes this year than his first two seasons as a Spur with 14 threes made. Something to keep track of: the Spurs have a +12.0 net rating when DeRozan and White share the floor in Gregg Popovich lineups so far this season.

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9. Denver Nuggets (12-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

Denver is 6-4 in their last 10 games, and Nikola Jokic is still within the frame of the MVP picture. But lately, incomplete rosters for games have resulted in losses, and the injury reports are filling up going into their eighth week of the season. The week opened with the 11-point win and shocking road upset of a then-streaking Utah Jazz team, but they haven’t won since.

Two straight losses featured a 21-point loss to the Lakers that looked nauseatingly similar to the Western Conference Finals in the Orlando bubble and then they ran into a trap game against the suddenly succeeding Sacramento Kings, losing by five and allowing Harrison Barnes to score 28 points and rookie Tyrese Haliburton to drop 23 points, while Jokic went off for a now meaningless 50 points in a losing effort. Denver is still a top-5 defensive team, and that accolade will be put to the test the minute they face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.

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10. Boston Celtics (12-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)

Following their nerve-racking loss to the Lakers last week, the Celtics set their GPS for a Western road trip and during a trip they’re still on at the moment, they’ve gone 2-2 and have some key wins against the Warriors who were at full-strength, and the Clippers when they didn’t have both Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown. Led by the superstar trajectory of Jayson Tatum and a “return to what he used to be before injury” game by Kemba Walker, they outlasted the West’s best team before subsequently laying an egg against the Kings and Suns a few days later. They’ve lost four of their last six games and while it’s reportedly truthful that Danny Ainge is looking to make some rapid roster improvements in the coming weeks leading up to the trade deadline, most notably at the center position, they have to be focused on getting healthier just to stay afloat near the top of the East with all other teams in the conference showing their progress in becoming contenders.

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11. Portland Trail Blazers (12-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)

Though it’s understood that Damian Lillard has to burn the candle on both ends since his compatriot CJ McCollum will be out for a few more weeks, Lillard’s minute-by-minute usage is something worth the worry, as the 2020-21 season marks the third-highest usage percentage of his career at 30.7. The highest? His 31.5 usage percentage in 2015-16, a season that featured Terry Stotts utilizing Lillard to play over 35.7 minutes per game (second-highest MPG of his career since his rookie season) as he averaged over 25.1 points per game.

This season is almost mirroring those efforts, it’s just that Lillard has become a much more skilled scorer since then, now averaging 29.1 points per game while playing around his career average of 36.4 minutes played at 36.1 minutes per game. It’s something to monitor for sure, and while he’s already showed he could handle the extra workload with season’s past as examples, rest isn’t something they can afford Lillard to have while they tread through the time of not having multiple starters in their five on the floor.

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12. Golden State Warriors (12-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)

A 5-5 stretch of 10 games has the Warriors on the cusp of qualifying for a playoff spot at eighth in the oversaturated Western Conference, and a 2-2 week that featured wins over the Pistons and Mavericks as well as losses to the Celtics and Mavericks in a two-game series on the road told one major inconvenient truth about these Dubs: even Stephen Curry’s greatness cannot absolve the ineptitude of a roster that is compact with injuries. The Warriors need to get healthy and get their deep frontcourt composed of James Wiseman, Kevon Looney, and Eric Paschall back as well as hope that Kelly Oubre, who’s struggled mightily to score the basketball, will start to resemble the star wing that averaged over 18 points off an efficient 45.2 percent shooting and 35 percent from deep during his lone but career-best year in Phoenix.

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13. Indiana Pacers (12-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)

Hanging on to a .500 record by a thread, the Pacers have lost 6 of their last 10 games and while they’ve been close, defensive lapses and Nate Bjorkgren’s reliance on floor-shrinking Domantas Sabonis played cause to Indy blowing an opportunity to beat the league’s hottest team in the Jazz on Sunday. As this three-game losing streak goes on, It’s becoming apparent the offense will have to diversify from a spacing standpoint and put their lone All-Star Sabonis in different areas around the halfcourt for the offense to not sputter as it has during this period of shifting pieces (ex. Victor Oladipo heading to Houston) and coaching adjustments.

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14. Houston Rockets (11-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

Following some tough news surrounding the faulty right ankle of blossoming All-Star hopeful Christian Wood, Houston will now have to rely on DeMarcus Cousins to do the dirty work inside as the hybrid forward/center for a Rockets team that ranks second in defensive rating and 23rd in offensive rating. Though undermanned, Houston is exceeding expectations this year as a team that’s supposed to coast and monitor the progression of its younger, developing players, as they’ve outdone all prior prognostications with a 7-3 record through their last 10 games to show for it. The West may not allow them to break into the playoff picture with it being so rigid in difficulty, but if the former All-Star Center Cousins can return to pre-injury form like he’s slowly doing (14.6 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per contest) they might just do it.

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15. Sacramento Kings (12-11, Last Week’s Ranking:

Make that seven of eight games that have resulted in wins for the flaming hot Sacramento Kings, who saw their coveted leader and Point Guard De’Aaron Fox reel in Western Conference Player of the Week awards. Moreover, they’ve earned some key wins over the likes of Boston, Denver, and the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-point shooting has been a welcome attribute that’s inflated Fox’s offensive production during this winning part of their season, increasing his 3PT% of 29.2 to now over 32 percent from the field.

Interestingly, his field averages have raised as Luke Walton feels confident to run the offense through the fourth-year guard out of Kentucky as he’s put up a little over 27 points, eight assists, and 4 rebounds in the last eight games. Since he’s one of the more athletic finishers at the cup, he’s converting around 70 percent of his looks from inside the restricted zone. More importantly, he’s finishing off games in the clutch, scoring an average of 10 points every fourth quarter which is third-best in the league, only behind two elite scorers in Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine.

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16. Atlanta Hawks (11-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

Clint Capela is experiencing a career year in the rebounding and scoring department, but when you play in such a spacious offense coached by Lloyd Pierce and operated by 2019-20 All-Star Trae Young, that’s more than a prerequisite to success. Playing 30.9 minutes per game, he’s grabbing a career-best 14.9 boards and 9.8 offensive rebounds per game, as well as 17.7 rebounds for his Per 36 stats. While on the topic of their frontcourt, the loss of DeAndre Hunter will be keenly felt throughout the defensive presence of Atlanta, as he’ll be sidelined for three to six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on a lateral meniscus. He’s averaged over 17.2 points per game with 32.2 minutes on the floor.

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17. Toronto Raptors (10-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)

Toronto doesn’t seem as if they’ve gotten worse or better, and that’s an issue. Since starting the season 2-8, they’ve shown they still have enough to compete and remain competitive in the East, but injuries and, albeit, just a lack of talent is catching up to them in the most inconvenient of times. And, promptly, they’ve seen their season act in parabolic motion; a tale of highs and lows puts them in a vegetative state of perpetual flux.

In one instance, Fred VanVleet will drop a career-high 50 points in a home win, followed by a rare road win against a Kevin Durant-less Brooklyn Nets team. And in another, the sobering reminder of them not having their best on-ball defender in OG Anunoby as he rehabilitates himself back from a calf injury to them still playing sub-.500 basketball with the possibility of shopping longtime Raptor great Kyle Lowry to build the future in the midst of an average 5-5 record in the stretch of ten games hovers above their heads. Staring at ninth in the East and now hoping that they can qualify for the play-in tournament, things are souring quickly for Nick Nurse’s Raptors.

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18. Memphis Grizzlies (9-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)

Speaking of a roller-coaster season, Memphis has had a three-game losing streak, a seven-game winning streak, and another three-game losing streak, which have all been in 2021. In Ja Morant’s return to the hardwood since his ankle injury, Memphis has been outscored by 81 points in his 88 minutes spent on the floor through this current losing skid, as they’ve now lost three in a row after winning seven games straight. Offensively, he’ll need to see his numbers rise if the Grizzlies are to seriously challenge for the eighth seed in the West since he’s only shooting 33 percent from the field during this low period.

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19. New York Knicks (11-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)

Currently sitting at eighth in the East while losing 6 of their last 10 games, the Knicks find themselves clinging to the edge of the playoff picture – which is 1000% better than how anyone predicted they’d be at this point of the season. Additionally, they’re beginning to get some big names in New York and some old ones too for Tom Thibodeau. As of Sunday afternoon, the Knicks traded for Detroit’s Derrick Rose and gave away Dennis Smith Jr. and a 2nd round pick in the deal, but it’s yet to be seen if the acquisition for Rose will pay off in the long run.

The rotation of Elfrid Payton and rookie Immanuel Quickley is possibly coming to an end soon, with Payton’s name being involved in some trade packages to playoff contenders as this month’s trade deadline nears. The Knicks are still ranked No. 6 in total defensive efficiency, but find themselves tied with Detroit for 24th in offensive efficiency. That’s significant to the Rose deal, for Detroit was better offensively when Rose wasn’t on the court for them (6.5 points per 100 possessions).

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20. New Orleans Pelicans (10-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)

It seems as if last week’s ailments have been cured, as ever since their last embarrassing loss to the Timberwolves on Jan. 23, the Pelicans have won five of their last seven games and are only two games away from obtaining an even-.500 record through 22 games this year. While Stan Van Gundy’s starting five that consists of Eric Bledsoe, Steven Adams, Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram have earned their fair share of flack in their molasses-slow start to the season, they’ve netted a rating of plus-37.4 and an offensive rating of 137.4 in the past seven games. They have a fairly easy slew of games coming up with trips to Chicago, Dallas, and Detroit, but what will be of interest will be if, and who, the Pelicans decide to deal before the trade deadline is up.

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21. Charlotte Hornets (11-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)

James Borrego’s reliance on his backcourt depth has told the story of this season so far. Malik Monk looked like his elder Kentucky self as he put up 36 points in an overtime win against Miami last Monday, LaMelo Ball following that performance with one of his own, a stainless career-high 34-point, 8-assist night in a losing effort to Utah, and Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward’s combined 51 points in their blowout win over Washington. But the question remains: is James Borrego keeping Ball on the bench productive, or conducive to his confidence and insulting towards his ability this early in his career?

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22. Dallas Mavericks (10-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)

Putting Luka Doncic’s most recent display of the “Luka Magic” he’s so accustomed to putting on – I’m obviously referring to his 42-point, 11-assist double-double he put on for the patrons watching Saturday night primetime hoops on ESPN, Dallas has largely underwhelmed, and the team that owns the First-round pick they gave away in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis is the Knicks, who have a better record than them at the moment. They’re 3-7 in their last 10 games, but Luka is doing what he does best, averaging a little over 30.3 points, 9.8 assists, and 6.5 rebounds in four games.

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23. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)

The Cavaliers are 3-7 in their last 10 games after setting the world ablaze in the past two weeks. Now a whole four games out of posting a .500 record, they’ve been unable to stick with teams after the halftime mark, losing by a combined 43 points in two games this past week against Milwaukee, and by 22 against the visiting Clippers. Things will not get easier for a young team that’s still learning to put the pieces together for a whole 48 minutes, as they’ll play the Suns, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, and Clippers during a voyage out West.

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24. Oklahoma City Thunder (10-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

Mark Daigneault’s Thunder have managed to weather the storm of a strenuous schedule despite them appearing as a team many would perceive to not be as good as they’ve been at this point in the season. Yet, just like last year, a massive reason they’ve been able to not go on long losing streaks has been their ability to finish games in the clutch, going 5-4 on the year in the game’s final moments with a baffling 127.1 offensive rating. They have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to primarily thank for that, as he’s now ranked in the top-15 of any statistic relating to the clutch this year.

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25. Miami Heat (9-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

Jimmy Butler is back, which is good. They’re trying to get him back into the fold of things this year, and it’s been hard to do so when the schedule conflicts with that. They begin a tedious seven-game road trip that begins with a faceoff against Houston and Utah this week and need to find some sort of defensive identity quickly due to the hole that injuries, inconsistency, and the pandemic have left them to dig themselves out of.

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26. Chicago Bulls (9-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)

Look for Chicago to be a high-seller once the trade deadline approaches, as they’ll likely be adding to their backcourt if Lonzo Ball from New Orleans becomes available and if they can find proper compensation from a suitor that will take on Thaddeus Young’s contract. Other than that, Chicago should finally be receiving heavy Zach LaVine votes for an All-Star selection, as he scored 39 points on yet another occasion against Orlando. He then became the sixth player in Bulls history to record at least 40 career 30-point games in a Bulls uniform. That win over Orlando was their largest margin of victory so far this season.

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27. Orlando Magic (9-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)

Orlando finally got a win this past week as they split the series against Chicago from Nikola Vucevic’s 43 points, and subsequently were handed an L by the same Bulls one game later by way of a 26-point blowout. Orlando is without rhythm and flow offensively, and it translates in transition, as they currently possess the 25th best defensive rating in basketball. Their schedule gets rather gruesome this week, as they’ll have to play the Trail Blazers, Warriors, Kings, and Suns as they head out West.

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28. Minnesota Timberwolves (6-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)

Karl Anthony Towns has had a rough go of it, but he’s graciously returned from his bout with COVID-19. Towns has played in only four games this year, but he’s helped the Wolved get wins at 2-2. They’ve only won four games without him, and his floor-stretching ability is the impact he leaves on the court as their best player. Momentum is key in this league if getting ahead in the rankings is the goal, and Towns can help with manufacturing that.

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29. Washington Wizards (5-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)

Washington doesn’t move an inch in this week’s rankings, not just because they’ve lost seven of their last 10 games, but they’re getting healthier. Still, the defense continues to be their weak point as they simply cannot stop anyone, and their failure to build off their epic upset against the Nets last week resulted in them getting hammered by the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets two nights after. Bradley Beal finally cooled off against Miami, scoring only a bucket on a 1-14 night from the field.

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30. Detroit Pistons (5-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)

Losers of eight of their last 10, Detroit went 0-4 in their Western road trip with losses to Golden State, Utah, Phoenix, and Los Angeles in overtime. Though Jerami Grant has been the diamond in the rough in his 32-point night against the Lakers to force OT, the team lost a tightly-contested battle and is now shipping away talent; Derrick Rose was sent back to New York in exchange for a 2021 second-round pick and Dennis Smith Jr.

Photo Cred: Fox Sports 1430

We’re back with another Power Rankings Article as we are gearing up for the sixth week of NBA action in 2021! This week, we saw the Utah Jazz extend their winning streak to 11 games, ultimately having it snapped on the tail end of the week, while the Clippers steadily gain traction on the No.1 seed Jazz. The Lakers are slipping, due to their once-perfect road record getting its first L on the board, thanks to a resilient home win in the last second of the game by Tobias Harris and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Meanwhile, it’s teams like Boston, Miami, and Portland that are struggling with injuries heading into week six, and their record shows that they’re having issues getting into the midst of the fight in their respective conferences. Now that we’re officially in February, we ended January on a fiery note. Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook both played as the hero in a wild conclusion between the Wizards and Nets in the final 12 seconds that saw the Wizards go on an 8-0 run in a winning effort. A night before that, Damian Lillard drilled a game-winning fadeaway jumper after hitting a deep three with 8.9 seconds remaining to beat Chicago, and the Clippers now possess the best record in the NBA.

Let’s go ahead and find out what that means for the rest of the league in this week’s power rankings.

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1. Los Angeles Clippers (16-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Ever since the Clippers had been touched by the pandemic’s icy hand, with their most integral pieces being forced to quarantine for a total of six games, the Clippers saw their seven-game winning streak snapped by Atlanta this week as they didn’t have either Kawhi Leonard and Paul George out for that game. Since then, however, they’ve begun a two-game winning streak, have both Leonard and George back in the lineup, and have some big defensive tests this week against the Nets and Celtics.

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2. Utah Jazz (15-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

An 11-game winning streak saw its end for the hottest team in basketball right now, as the Jazz suffered an 11-point loss to the Denver Nuggets. Still, in the losing effort, Bojan Bogdanovic dropped a season-high 29 points, signalizing the second-best scoring effort of his season. A rare double-digit loss indeed, but it’s unlikely that becomes the precedent since Utah’s been a machine at home and on the road, averaging 114.8 points per game this month and more importantly, post the sixth-best defensive rating in all of basketball. Additionally, they’re winning games with the fourth-largest average scoring margin in the NBA, winning all of their games by 7.3 or more points per game.

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3. Philadelphia 76ers (15-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

Moving up a spot from last week’s rankings are the Philadelphia 76ers, who highlighted the week by giving the initially-perfect-on-the-road Los Angeles Lakers their first loss on the season away from the Staples Center, thanks to the late-game heroics of Tobias Harris as the 8th year pro hit a game-winning fadeaway jumper on the left hash of the right goal inside of the Wells Fargo Center, while switched onto Alex Caruso. They’re 8-2 in their last 10 contests, and just like last week, Joel Embiid has been putting the All-Star committee on notice, still averaging 34.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in the Sixers’ last four games.

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4. Los Angeles Lakers (16-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

After dropping consecutive road losses on an Eastern Conference voyage this past week, Los Angeles got their mojo back with two key road wins over offensive juggernauts in Boston and Atlanta to close out a 13-day trip. As they head back home, however, the case for not having a home crowd advantage could be made for their otherwise pedestrian home record of 4-4, one unbecoming of a title-contending favorite this early on. Still at third in the west – a noticeable improvement from their initial fifth seed in the West following their tightly-contested duel with Eastern favorite Philadelphia and head-scratching loss to Detroit in which Anthony Davis did not play, but before their consecutive wins against Boston and Atlanta on Monday night.

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5. Denver Nuggets (12-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)

Winners of six of their last seven, Denver is finding its groove and Nikola Jokic is playing the role of the main catalyst to this uptick of productivity. Most significantly, they knocked off the league’s hottest team this past week and didn’t just skate by the Jazz, but rather blew right past them for an 11-point win nary a soul saw coming. Jokic came out firing and stayed aggressive for the 37 minutes he spent on the floor and made his presence felt against a former Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert, scoring a career-best 47 points and swiping 12 boards off the glass in the Nuggets’ 12th win of the season. Fun fact – Jokic is making history as the 2nd player in league history to have a double-double in every game so far this season.

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6. Brooklyn Nets (13-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)

Good news: the Brooklyn Nets have won 7 of their last 10 games behind the spectacular chemistry built by the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, who currently post the NBA’s highest offensive rating (122.6). They’ve handily beaten the likes of the Thunder and survived the likes of Atlanta just to stay above water, but now it’s time for the bad news: Brooklyn is horrendously underperforming on the defensive end, now posting a 119.9 defensive rating, the absolute worst defensive rating in the NBA. If their defensive inadequacy continues, they’ll be on pace to have the worst defensive rating in NBA history. Their biggest test of the season happens Tuesday night against the Clippers, and that marquee matchup could very well be an NBA Finals preview.

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7. Milwaukee Bucks (12-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

So, it’s not all bad for Milwaukee, but they argue they could have played a lot better to start the year. Surely, you could chalk it up to entering in new pieces, but they’re not complaining as they’ve won six of their last 10 games in lieu of a 12-8 record. But, through 19 games, they’ve uncharacteristically lost eight games, something they didn’t do last year until three quarters through last season.

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8. Indiana Pacers (11-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

In last Wednesday’s win over Charlotte, Domantas Sabonis continued to make his case for his second All-star selection, scoring 20 points and racking up a triple-double while shooting over 90 percent from the field. Additionally in the same frontcourt, Myles Turner continues to rack up an acumen for what should be a year where he, at the minimum, touches an All-NBA Defensive Team with five blocks or more in six games played this season. They have a fairly easy schedule coming up, as they’ll have Memphis and New Orleans but will have to bring their best game to take on the likes of Milwaukee and Utah later this week.

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9. Phoenix Suns (11-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)

Phoenix dropped their first two games of the season without Devin Booker, who had to miss time due to a sore left hamstring, but quickly got back into the win column with some noteworthy wins over the streaky Golden State Warriors and slumping Dallas Mavericks. Chris Paul’s impact on this team extends far beyond his floor general presence, and in his mentorship role that he’s become accustomed to, his confidence in his younger teammates to play their best game is not taken for granted. Mikal Bridges is now being trusted to be an off-the-catch, spot-up scorer along the perimeter now, shooting above the league average from deep at 40.4 percent. DeAndre Ayton, CP3’s trusty Pick and Roll man, is becoming adjusted and comfortable with both Paul and Booker helping to get him touches, as he’s averaging 15.3 rebounds, 11.3 points, and 2.3 assists in Phoenix’s last four games.

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10. Boston Celtics (10-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

Injuries are piling up for the Celtics, first losing Payton Pritchard during a freak accident where Jaylen Brown landed on his knee, spraining his MCL which would keep him out for an undisclosed time. One week later, in a primetime battle with the rival Lakers, Marcus Smart went down with what was configured as a strained calf and will miss the next 2-4 weeks. Guard depth is one thing that’ll be missed, but what cannot be replaced is the heart and soul of the Celtics’ locker room, as Smart has helped Boston in a variety of ways as their best on-ball defender. They’ll have a five-game road trip without Smart on the floor, and it won’t be easy, considering that the Warriors, Kings, Clippers, and Suns are up next on their schedule.

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11. Portland Trail Blazers (10-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)

Damian Lillard is the superglue to a levy that’s splitting at the seams at every turn, proven in his dropping of back-to-back threes in the game’s final 8 seconds to break the hearts of the Chicago Bulls and winning the game with a side-fading three-ball in the right corner to give Portland their 10th win on the year. Down multiple role players and starters like both Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum, Dame Time has had to given unlimited minutes as their lone All-Star has needed to lead them in scoring (he is) and chariot them through murky waters. Averaging 34 points a game during the stretch of losing both McCollum and Nurkic, expect Lillard to do more of what he’s accustomed to doing during this period where his Blazers will have to face the Wizards, 76ers, and Knicks this week.

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12. San Antonio Spurs (11-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)

The Spurs don’t see any movement in this week’s rankings, and just miss out on cracking the top 10, as they’ve been snake bitten by some health and safety protocols. Fortunately, all tests for the players sent to quarantine came back negative. As they returned to action, they beat a Celtics team at home after storming to close a halftime deficit, winning the game by double digits. Also, Derrick White came back from his toe injury this past Saturday, making it the first game he’s played since New Year’s Day. In a return win over Memphis, White led the team in scoring with 22 points in 18 minutes off the bench.

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13. Golden State Warriors (11-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)

A positive note: the Dubs finished the week at 3-1 and beating the Timberwolves twice and Detroit by nearly 30 once bolstered the confidence in many of the role players Steve Kerr has on his bench. James Wiseman, their coveted Rookie, has averaged around 12 points and 6 rebounds per game off 50.3 percent shooting and, more impressively, has shot above the league average from deep, shooting 40.3 percent from behind the arc. But, recently the rookie had one of his worst performances of the season against Phoenix, as he only scored five points and had a team-worst -20 in the +/- margin. He quickly bounced back one game later, scoring 25 points in the win over the Timberwolves.

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14. Atlanta Hawks (10-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)

The Hawks are a cumulative 4-5 in their past nine contests, and while that may sound unsatisfactory to some, it means a leg up for Lloyd Pierce’s team, who saw Trae Young return to early-season form following his confusing scoring slump. Young dropped 41 points against the Washington Wizards this past Friday, becoming the fifth player in league history to score 40+ points in 14 games in an NBA career. For some perspective, only Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, Rick Barry, and Kevin Durant have achieved the same feat. Also, Young has 404 threes through his three-year career, doing so in just 160 games – the shortest amount of time ever needed to reach 400 threes in league history.

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15. Houston Rockets (10-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)

Well, what was supposed to be a year that the Rockets would rest on their laurels, play their younger guys, and allow their more tenured pieces in Victor Oladipo, DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall look good enough so they can get shipped out of Houston to build draft capital, turned out to be a year that they can realistically challenge for a playoff spot and honestly, their aspirations are not that lofty. The Mavericks and Pelicans are on a swift downturn, and Houston has won 7 of their last 10 games by just playing hard defense and getting some major contributions from Christian Wood, who will probably be an All-Star, as he is only in company with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic as the only players in the league to average 20 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field. Additionally, Houston currently has the second-best defensive rating in the NBA at 102.8.

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16. Memphis Grizzlies (8-6, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)

Memphis hasn’t lost a game since January 7. Okay, great! Since then, however, they’ve been hit hard by the pandemic, not being able to resume any basketball activities until this past week, when they picked up where they left with a win over the Spurs. That extended their winning streak to six games, and they’re still fourth in the West at the moment even with a long layoff. Ja Morant’s health has been in question, but in the past week, he’s looked good at full strength as he dished out 10 assists against the Suns and 11 assists against the Spurs a few nights later.

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17. Charlotte Hornets (10-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)

Moving up six spots in these rankings are the Hornets, who might need to start LaMelo Ball a little more often. This past Saturday, the Hornets found a way to upset the Milwaukee Bucks to go 2-2 on the week, as Gordon Hayward finished that game with 27 points in 38 minutes. Consistency has been their issue and while Terry Rozier and DeVonte Graham may have the experience from being Charlotte’s starters in the backcourt for two seasons, James Borrego turning to LaMelo Ball sooner rather than later should have more of a benefit than cost at the expense of the Hornets’ improvement in 2021. Ball also scored 27 points off 8-10 shooting from the field in the win over Milwaukee over the course of last weekend, and earned his first start of the season against Miami on Monday night, scoring an inefficient 14 points but dishing 7 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds in the win.

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18. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)

After such a momentum-gaining week 5 of play, Cleveland fell back to earth with a 1-3 week, giving up 46 points to the homecoming LeBron James while losing a tight contest to the Lakers. They then unceremoniously dropped two games against the Timberwolves and Knicks, which they couldn’t lose a game to since they are the types of teams that need to be beaten in order to keep the Cavaliers in the playoff hunt. They ended the week on a good note, beating the Pistons as Collin Sexton had yet another insane scoring outing of 29 points off 10-14 shooting with 5 rebounds and 5 assists to boot. They earned a win on Monday against the Timberwolves on Monday night but barely, as Sexton kept up the fiery and energetic stat-stuffing with 26 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds.

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19. New York Knicks (9-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)

The Knicks lost a tough battle against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, and have lost six of their last 10 games. It was expected that these Knicks would tail off and toil away down in the bottom tier of Eastern teams; the roster just isn’t talented enough to credibly compete. But what has been a sight for sore eyes: Immanuel Quickley should be in consideration for Rookie of the Year at the least. In back to back games this past week, Quickley dropped 25 points in 27 minutes against the Clippers, and on Monday, scored 16 points while racking up 6 rebounds and 7 assists. The Knicks have been pragmatic and optimistic about competing this season as any team should, but they should see the first full month of the Thibs/Rose era in NYC as a right-on-track situation.

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20. Toronto Raptors (8-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

Toronto is another team that’s dealing with a multitude of injuries, as they’ll now be without OG Anunoby due to a calf strain. A 6-4 record in their past 10 games signifies that they are finally getting out of the hole they dug themselves into earlier on the year and with somewhat of a soft schedule coming up with an exception to Brooklyn, the question remains: is this Toronto team good enough to keep up the momentum for the entire duration of what’s left this season, or are they a barely-.500 team, that’s grown anemic from injuries and free agency departures?

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21. Dallas Mavericks (8-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)

It’s hard to fathom just how disappointing the Mavericks have looked this season, and no matter the numbers that Luka Doncic puts up, they don’t translate to wins if what we’ve watched over the course of this past week tells us anything. Dallas is the league’s worst 3 point shooting team at 32.8 percent, and they’ve lost nine of their last eleven games. You could say that their roster is just incomplete since they ended up getting Maxi Kleiber back from health and safety protocols, but even he doesn’t immediately solve the issue of how the team looks right now. Scoring looks like a foreign language to them, and the ball at times doesn’t move as much as it’s supposed to in the halfcourt. Dallas needs all the help they can get at the moment.

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22. Miami Heat (7-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)

After getting Jimmy Butler back from a sprained ankle, the All-Star scored 30 points in the Heat’s win over the Kings which snapped a five-game losing streak. Meanwhile, there is a bevy of injured bodies on the Heat bench that won’t be activated any time soon, as Goran Dragic tends to a groin strain, Avery Bradley deals with a knee contusion, Meyers Leonard is set to miss the rest of the season to surgically repair a shoulder strain, Mo Harkless has a thigh contusion, and Tyler Herro recently tweeted that he may have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Though the season extends to May, they’re walking on eggshells to reclaim the Eastern throne, and a week-opening loss to Charlotte doesn’t do them any favors.

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23. Oklahoma City Thunder (8-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)

These Thunder don’t know the meaning of “concede” on the road but know all about it at home. Weird, right? Count OKC AKA Loud City as a key place where crowd sound doesn’t play to the benefit of the home team and the silence is rather discouraging as the Thunder are an abysmal 1-7 inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.  And they’re 7-3 on the road, but those wins don’t translate on home hardwood. Their most recent losses featured ex-Thunder players in Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and James Harden coming back to where their careers started to drop 147 points on the Thunder, and following that, John Wall, Victor Oladipo, and Christian Wood came back to drop 136 points on this building team to give OKC their 7th loss at home this year.

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24. Chicago Bulls (8-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

Dame Time is something that every now and then just happens. The Bulls played a great game against an undermanned Trail Blazers team that Chicago blew a late lead to, but if there was a silver lining, Lauri Markkanen has shut down all trade talk and could be a viable piece to build around in the era of Arturas Karnisovas, scoring a season-high 31 points in the loss.

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25. Sacramento Kings (9-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)

Is Marvin Bagley III turning the corner? Consistency has always plagued him, but in two of the three contests this week for the Kings, the former Duke big man had a week where he scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Orlando and scored 17 points on 7-8 shooting against the Heat. The Kings are getting valid help from the likes of De’Aaron Fox and rookie Tyrese Haliburton (combined for 41.5 points per game off 43.7 percent shooting) and if Bagley can find a way to stay consistent, the Kings will definitely have something to compete within the West.

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26. Orlando Magic (8-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)

That’s now 11 of the last 13 games the Magic have lost now, after their 4-0 and 6-2 start of the season. The loss of Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac is too damaging to their season and chances to make it back to the playoffs but to make matters worse, Aaron Gordon will be out for 4-6 weeks with a severe ankle sprain. Two games against Toronto follow a heated matchup against the Raptors this week.

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27. New Orleans Pelicans (7-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)

If there ever was a restart button to not just the offseason, but the entire coach hiring and drafting process, Pels fans would certainly slam it, right? New Orleans is officially 3-7 in their last 10 games, and pose the sixth-worst defensive rating in basketball while simultaneously being 18th in total offensive rating. Their only positive of this past week: an upset over Milwaukee in which the Pelicans splashed a total of 21 threes against the Bucks’ defense, tying a franchise-best effort.

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28. Detroit Pistons (5-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)

After getting shellacked by Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors last week, Detroit has lost 15 of their last 20 games for the sixth time in franchise history. They’ve still yet to win back to back games this year.

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29. Washington Wizards (4-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)

In what was undoubtedly their biggest win of the season, the Wizards (ironically) helped the Nets become the worst defensive team in the NBA with a shocking 147-145 home win in the last few seconds of the game; Bradley Beal splashes home a transition three to draw the Wizards within a point, and a Brooklyn inbounder accidentally gives it to Beal, who kicks it out to Russell Westbrook (who had 41 points in the victory) cash out on the go-ahead jumper to give Washington their fourth win of the year. And amidst trade rumors, Beal has stated that his interest is to not leave the Wizards this year.

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30. Minnesota Timberwolves (5-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)

Losers of eight of their last 10 games, the Timberwolves have probably already chalked this year up as a year for developing their younger players, most notably Anthony Edwards, who looks to be turning a corner. Over the last two games, the first-overall pick has looked impressive, scoring 25 points against the Warriors while shooting 5-8 from deep as well as having a 23-point night agains the Cavaliers a few nights later. He’s scored in double figures for five straight contests and leads all rookies in scoring.