We are now into the month of February, and the NBA All-Star break is just weeks away. This means that the end of the regular season is only about two months away. By now, teams have shown whether or not they can compete for a title, and unless there are any major trades, rosters will stay as they are. In the West, two star point guards will be returning within the next couple weeks. Meanwhile, other teams like the Grizzlies and the Nets are making late season runs. While there is still plenty of time let, teams will need to start finishing strong into the home stretch. Here’s this month’s NBA power ranking.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder - No Russell Westbrook, no problem. Even with their star point guard going under the knife, the Thunder haven’t missed a step. This is due in large part to the out of this world production of Kevin Durant. The Thunder have won ten straight games, including wins against some of the best teams in the league. It’s a scary thought of just how good this team will be when Westbrook returns.
2. Indiana Pacers – The Pacers have proved they are the clear favorites of the East. While the Heat have struggled, the Pacers have dominated. Paul George is emerging as a superstar and the Pacers are looking entirely capable of going all the way.
3. Portland Trail Blazers – The Blazers have struggled recently, especially on the defensive end. In addition to their offensive struggles, their All-Star point guard Damian Lillard is going through quite the slump. The Blazers are still one of the top teams in the West, however; they will need to continue winning to avoid slipping farther in the West.
4. San Antonio Spurs – Many of the top teams have been struggling lately, the Spurs included. The Spurs have had a brutal schedule and have currently lost three straight. With a grueling nine game road streak approaching, the Spurs could very well continue to struggle.
5. Miami Heat – Like many teams, the Heat have struggled recently. They are just coming off a brutal home loss to the Thunder and have a six game road trip coming up. LeBron James and Chris Bosh have been carrying this team, however; the Heat desperately need more consistent production from their role players.
6. Los Angeles Clippers – Chris Paul is set to return in the coming weeks, although the Clippers have been doing fine without him. Darren Collison has done a fantastic job filling in for Paul and Blake Griffin has elevated his game in the process. The Clippers have improved greatly on the defensive end and they appear fully capable of competing in the West.
7. Phoenix Suns – The Suns seem to have the Pacers number, as they have beaten them twice within the past few months. More impressively, they continue to win games without their standout guard Eric Bledsoe. Coming into the season the Suns were not expected to be very competitive, let alone compete for home court advantage in the West.
8. Houston Rockets – Perimeter defense remains to be the Achilles heel of the Houston Rockets. Fortunately, James Harden and Dwight Howard make up for any deficiencies. The Rockets will need to decide quickly what they what to do with troubled big man Omer Asik. If they could acquire the right piece in return, the Rockets could elevate their position in the West.
9. Golden State Warriors – Stephen Curry is now an All-Star, and is currently carrying this team. Even with poor performances recently, the Warriors are more than capable of making waves in the West.
10. Toronto Raptors – Ever since trading away Rudy Gay, the Raptors have been playing much better. Kyle Lowry is playing like an All-Star and has the Raptors currently third in the East. The East is finally starting to show some signs of life, however; I expect the Raptors to maintain their current position.
11. Memphis Grizzlies – The Grizzlies were one of the hottest teams in the NBA having won five straight and nine in their last ten. Unfortunately, point guard Mike Conley recently suffered an ankle injury which will sideline him for at least a few weeks.
12. Dallas Mavericks – Dirk Nowitzki has shown zero signs of decline and he has played himself into another All-Star game. Monta Ellis’ hot start as cooled, but he is still a dynamic player. Defense is the glaring weakness for the Mavericks and if they hope to make it out of the first round, they will need great improvement.
13. Atlanta Hawks – Despite losing their best player in Al Horford, the Hawks have continued to win games. While they are no longer third in the East, they will have to battle to keep home court advantage for the playoffs.
14. Chicago Bulls – Many people assumed the Bulls would attempt to tank once they traded away Luol Deng. Obviously, the Bulls though differently as they are currently 9-4 since trading him away. The Bulls are living off of defense, as their offense has been downright awful.
15. Minnesota Timberwolves – After a very promising start, the Timberwolves have struggled to keep their heads above water. Despite having one of the better offenses in the league, the Timberwolves just can’t pull it together.
16. Washington Wizards – John Wall is finally taking that next step to being the star point guard he was expected to be coming out of college. The backcourt combination of Wall and Bradley Beal is becoming more impressive after each game.
17. Brooklyn Nets – The Nets started the season with a record of 10-21. They are currently 20-24. They have managed to win a surprising amount of games, especially when you consider the fact they did it without Deron Williams.
18. Charlotte Bobcats – Al Jefferson has really been playing well lately. Even without Kemba Walker, the Bobcats have managed to continue to win enough games to keep their playoff hopes alive.
19. Denver Nuggets – Ty Lawson’s injury has been felt through this whole team, as they have struggled recently. The Nuggets are incredibly sporadic and have been unable to play consistently at a high level.
20. New York Knicks – Don’t count out the Knicks just yet. Despite having a roster rather devoid of talent outside of a select few, the Knicks have amazingly clawed their way back up the East. It is unclear if this is because the East is just that bad or if the Knicks are actually turning things around.
21. New Orleans Pelicans – On paper, the Pelicans are a very good team. Unfortunately, the injury bug has hit the Pelicans hard. Also, the fact that Greg Stiemsma is the starting center doesn’t help either.
22. Utah Jazz – The Jazz are currently playing themselves out of a top five lottery selection. The young pieces on the Jazz are finally starting to pull things together, however; they would be wise to continue to lose. Fortunately, the Jazz have the fourth worst offense, so that should help.
23. Detroit Pistons – The Pistons need to make a move fast if they hope to right the ship. Josh Smith has been grossly ineffective at the small forward position and they need to change something up soon if they want to make the playoffs.
24. Philadelphia 76ers – The 76ers had one of the more surprising starts this season. However, that impressive start is now overshadowed by an ever increasing cloud of losses. The 76ers have many young players that would be ideal trade pieces. Don’t be surprised to see a few names moved before the deadline.
25. Cleveland Cavaliers – This there a worse sports town than Cleveland? Both the Browns and the Cavs are consistently mediocre and now rumors are swirling that Kyrie Irving will be looking to get out of Cleveland. In addition, trading for Luol Deng has done absolutely nothing to improve this team.
26. Sacramento Kings – It’s at this point in the power ranking where it gets very hard to decide who is worse than who. Before injuries to DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, the Kings were actually playing pretty well. I suppose it is both a blessing and a curse for the two to get injured, as it brings the Kings that much closer to another lottery selection.
27. Boston Celtics – The return of Rajon Rondo has done nothing to improve the Celtics. Although, that’s probably for the best, as the Celtics should focus on getting as good a draft pick as possible. After trading away one of their few bright spots in Jordan Crawford, the Celtics don’t have much to be happy about right now.
28. Orlando Magic – The Magic struggled mightily without their star center Nikola Vucevic. Now that he has finally returned from injury, the Magic might see a few more wins come their way.
29. Los Angeles Lakers – The Lakers had the worst January in franchise history in over 40 years. The Lakers are officially in free fall, especially with Pau Gasol out with injury. The best thing for the Lakers to do is let Kobe Bryant recover entirely and hope for the best draft pick possible.
30. Milwaukee Bucks – There’s bad, then there’s terrible, then there’s the Milwaukee Bucks. You can count on one hand all the positive things going for the Bucks. The lone bright spots for this team are rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo and second year man John Henson. The Bucks and all their fans are eagerly looking forward to the NBA draft.