NBA Power Rankings: Anthony Davis powers Lakers into top 10; Kevin Durant's return boosts Suns; Celtics on top
And now ... the end is near ... and so we face ... the final play-in spots. The NBA postseason is just around the corner, with merely a week left in the regular season. It feels like only yesterday we were picking our jaws up off the floor after the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert trades went down. My, how far we've come.
The Boston Celtics succumbed to the Power Rankings curse, with a blowout loss to the Washington Wizards the day after they were proclaimed No. 1 last week -- but guess what? They're still No. 1 thanks to a thorough dismantling of the Milwaukee Bucks a couple days later.
The biggest risers of the week are the Phoenix Suns, partly due to the return of Kevin Durant, who shook off an uncharacteristically rusty return game and is right back to his old, metronomic self. Speaking of returns, LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers also made a significant jump, entering the top 10 behind some utterly dominant basketball from Anthony Davis.
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The biggest fallers of the week are the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were ravaged by an illness spreading through the locker room and lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, who seem to be doing everything in their power to avoid winning Games. Whoops.
Entering the final seven days of the regular season, here are this week's NBA Power Rankings.
*Please keep in mind that our NBA Power Rankings are based on weekly performance, not the whole season.
Biggest Movers
7
Suns
11
Timberwolves
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Celtics started the week with Jekyll and Hyde performances in an ugly loss to the Wizards and a "holy sh--" dismantling of the Bucks. Boston showed that when they're making shots, they could be impossible to beat. Jayson Tatum looks to be heading in the right direction as the playoffs approach, averaging 36 points this week on you've-got-to-be-kidding-me 65/60/96 shooting splits. | -- | 54-24 |
| 2 |  | After wins over the Pistons and Pacers, the Bucks shook off an embarrassing 41-point home loss to the Celtics by dominating the 76ers on Sunday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo putting up 33 points and 14 rebounds. Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 51 points in Wednesday's win over the Pacers. | 3 | 56-22 |
| 3 |  | Nikola Jokic only played in one game this week, a win over the 76ers without Joel Embiid (boo!), and the Nuggets went 1-2 without him. The win came on Sunday against the Warriors, when Michael Porter Jr. put up 29 points and 11 rebounds on 4-for-8 3-point shooting. | 1 | 52-26 |
| 4 |  | The Sixers lost to the Nuggets in what would have been an MVP showdown if Joel Embiid had played, then beat the Mavs and Raptors before losing to the Bucks on Sunday. Tyrese Maxey averaged 23 points for the week on 54% 3-point shooting. | 3 | 51-27 |
| 5 |  | The Knicks got back on the winning track with an undefeated week despite an injury to Julius Randle, highlighted by a 48-point performance from Jalen Brunson in a road win over the Cavs. Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes have stepped up offensively with Randle out of the lineup. | 6 | 46-33 |
| 6 |  | It's all happening for the Suns, who saw Kevin Durant return to the lineup en route to four straight wins this week (five overall). They still haven't lost with Durant on the court, and he shook off a rusty return against Minnesota to average 32.5 points on 67/50/92 splits in his next two games. Yep, he's back. | 7 | 43-35 |
| 7 |  | The Grizzlies beat the Magic and Clippers this week, while also suffering blowout losses to the Clippers and Bulls. Ja Morant averaged 21 points, but shot just 40% from the field, as Desmond Bane led the way with 25 points per game. | 3 | 49-29 |
| 8 |  | The Cavs lost to the Hawks and Knicks (without Julius Randle) to start the week, before letting the depleted Pacers hang around a little too long in an eventual win on Sunday. Donovan Mitchell is gearing up for the playoffs, averaging 42 points in the three games this week on 55/47/85 splits. | 5 | 49-30 |
| 9 |  | The good news is the Kings finally ended the longest active playoff drought in U.S. sports. The bad news is, they finished the week by allowing 142 points in a loss to the bottom-dwelling Spurs. De'Aaron Fox voiced concerns about the defense after the loss, saying that it's something they've needed to address all season long. | 3 | 47-31 |
| 10 |  | LeBron James is back and the Lakers look legit, taking down the Bulls, Wolves and Rockets this week. Anthony Davis scored at least 38 points in each game, and shook off an ankle injury against Minnesota that had Lakers fans fearing the worst. LeBron averaged 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the week. | 6 | 40-38 |
| 11 |  | The Warriors beat the Pelicans and Spurs to start the week, but missed an opportunity for a win against the Nuggets without Nikola Jokic on Sunday. Instead, Klay Thompson's potential go-ahead 3-pointer caromed off the back rim and Golden State suffered yet another road loss. Thompson averaged 24 points for the week on 42% 3-point shooting, while Steph Curry put up 31 per game on 43% shooting from deep -- Splash Brothers, indeed. | 2 | 41-38 |
| 12 |  | Despite a tough schedule, the Pelicans continue surging toward the postseason, winning seven of their last eight. They beat the Nuggets (without Nikola Jokic) in Denver this week, and withstood an onslaught from Kawhi Leonard in Saturday's victory over the Clippers. Brandon Ingram is simply on another planet, putting up 30.5 points, 7.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game this week on 55/50/90 shooting splits. | -- | 40-38 |
| 13 |  | The highlight of the Clippers' week was an impressive road victory over the Grizzlies without the services of Kawhi Leonard, in which Russell Westbrook put up a throwback 36-point performance as the team shot 22 for 37 from 3-point range. Overall they went 2-2 for the week, and are holding steady without Paul George. | 1 | 41-38 |
| 14 |  | A big week for the Nets in terms of potentially avoiding the play-in, as they beat the Rockets, Hawks and Jazz. Mikal Bridges put up 33 points per game on 46% 3-point shooting, while Cam Johnson added 22 points per game. | 5 | 43-35 |
| 15 |  | The Hawks beat the Cavs and Mavs this week (too bad they couldn't find another team that rhymes), while falling to the Nets. Trae Young only had 10 points in 32 minutes in the loss, a total head-scratcher considering the Hawks are fighting for crucial play-in positioning. | 5 | 39-39 |
| 16 |  | The Raptors handily beat the Heat and Hornets this week, with a loss to the 76ers in between. The offense was impressive, putting up 124 points per 100 possessions, led by 25 points per game from Pascal Siakam. Fred VanVleet dished out a franchise-record 20 assists in Sunday's win over Charlotte, to go along with 20 points. | 1 | 39-39 |
| 17 |  | After losing to the Clippers and Lakers to start the week, the Bulls bounced back with blowout wins over the Hornets and Grizzlies. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan each averaged 24 points per game, while Nikola Vucevic put up 21 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. | 2 | 38-40 |
| 18 |  | The Heat extended their losing streak to three games after defeats at the hands of the Raptors and Knicks to start the week, and Jimmy Butler wasn't about to let them lose four straight. He went off for 36 points and 12 assists on 12-for-16 shooting in Saturday's win over the Mavericks to get Miami back on track. | 8 | 41-37 |
| 19 |  | A poorly timed illness is running through the Wolves locker room, resulting in three straight losses this week, including a disastrous effort against the tanking Blazers on Sunday. If there's an upside to a rough week, it's that Anthony Edwards finally got on track in the loss to Portland, putting up 37 points on 15-for-30 shooting. | 11 | 39-40 |
| 20 |  | Orlando beat the Wizards and Pistons this week, while losing to the Grizzlies, to make it five wins in their last six games. Rookie of the Year front-runner Paolo Banchero kept up his recent streak of efficient play, averaging 23 points for the week on 43% 3-point shooting. | 2 | 34-44 |
| 21 |  | Making the play-in may not be the priority for the Thunder, but it would put a ribbon on an impressive season. Going 1-3 this week didn't help their cause -- luckily the Mavericks aren't doing anything to gain ground. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only played in two of the games, but he averaged 39 points on 50% shooting. | 3 | 38-41 |
| 22 |  | The Jazz went 1-3 this week, with their only win coming against the lowly Spurs. Talen Horton-Tucker went off for a career-high 41 points on 6-for-11 3-point shooting in the win. | 1 | 36-42 |
| 23 |  | Well, the Wizards shocked the world with a huge victory over the Celtics without Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma, but then they sat Kristaps Porzingis and lost to the Magic and Knicks. Corey Kispert put up 24 points per game on 52% shooting for the week. | 3 | 34-44 |
| 24 |  | There was a brief glimmer of hope for the Mavs when they blew out Indiana to start the week, but that was quickly squashed with losses to the 76ers, Heat and Hawks. Kyrie Irving said Dallas' playoff situation was 'a bit of a clusterf---' and it's hard to put it any other way. | -- | 37-42 |
| 25 |  | The Pacers are in a bit of operation shutdown, as Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner missed all four games this week. Indiana was able to pull out a win against the Thunder, however, with seven of the nine players who got in scoring in double-figures, led by a near-triple-double of 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists from TJ McConnell. | -- | 34-45 |
| 26 |  | Just when you think the Blazers are going to lose every game by 30 for the rest of the season, they pull out a gritty, miraculous road win over the Wolves on Sunday. Rookie Shaedon Sharpe has thrived as the skeleton crew's main offensive option, putting up 24 points, six rebounds and five assists per game this week on 38% 3-point shooting. | 1 | 33-45 |
| 27 |  | It looked like another winless week for the Spurs, and then BOOM! They dropped 142 points in a road win over the Kings on Sunday, without Keldon Johnson or Devin Vassell in the lineup. Doug McDermott led the team with a 30-piece, while Julian Champagnie added 26 and Dominick Barlow had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds (I promise these are real NBA players). | 3 | 20-58 |
| 28 |  | The Hornets continued playing spoiler with a win over the Thunder to start the week, but came back down to Earth in losses to the Bulls and Raptors by a combined 50 points. Svi Mykhailiuk has been a nice story, averaging 20 points this week on 47% 3-point shooting with all the extra opportunity. James Bouknight scored 20 points or more in consecutive games for the first time in his career. | 5 | 26-53 |
| 29 |  | The Rockets beat the Pistons this week, but the other three games didn't go so well. Kevin Porter Jr. has come on of late, putting up 27.5 points per game this week on 50% 3-point shooting. | 1 | 19-60 |
| 30 |  | The Pistons lost all four games this week, including one to the Rockets which -- on paper at least -- should have been winnable. Jaden Ivey scored a career-high 32 points in the loss to Milwaukee, and shot 40% from 3-point range this week. | 1 | 16-62 |
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