NBA power rankings: Suns winning out West while Heat, Bucks make their moves in the East
* Through games played 3/10
1. Phoenix Suns (53-13)
Last week: 1
Chris Paul has been out since Feb. 16 with a right thumb avulsion fracture that could cause him to miss the rest of the regular season, but Phoenix should be fine with Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. The Suns have won 23 of 27 overall and five of eight since the All-Star break to open up an 8 ½-game lead for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Suns will face the Raptors on Friday and Lakers on Sunday before going on the road to play the Pelicans and Rockets. Ayton scored 30 points in a loss to the Bucks last weekend. He had 21 points and 19 rebounds in a win over the Magic.
2. Memphis Grizzlies (45-22)
Last week: 2
The Grizzlies are tied with the Warriors for the No. 2 seed in the West after going 13-5 over their last 18 games. The Grizzlies have cooled off a bit in recent weeks, losing four of seven, but they are coming off of a 132-111 victory over the Pelicans with upcoming games against the Knicks, Thunder, Pacers, Hawks and Rockets. Ja Morant had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the win over New Orleans. He had 46 points again Bulls on Feb. 26, 52 against the Spurs on Feb. 28 and 38 against the Celtics on March 3.
3. Miami Heat (44-23)
Last week: 4
Miami had won seven of eight and 12 of 14 to take sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference before suffering a 111-90 loss to the Suns on Wednesday with Jimmy Butler out due to sinus congestion. The Heat still holds the No. 1 seed in the East with a two-game lead over the Bucks and an opportunity to gain some more separation with upcoming games against the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Pistons and Thunder.
4. Golden State Warriors (45-22)
Last week: 3
Stephen Curry scored 34 points to lead the Warriors to a big win over the Nuggets on Thursday. The Warriors have won consecutive games for the first time since early February after going 2-9 to fall to third in the West. They are now tied with the Grizzlies for the No. 2 seed with a fairly comfortable three-game lead over the Jazz. The Warriors will face the Bucks in a huge East-West showdown Saturday on ABC.
5. Utah Jazz (41-24)
Last week: 5
Utah is fourth in the West after winning 11 of 14. The Jazz still has time to pass the Warriors and Grizzlies for the No. 2 seed, but holding onto homecourt advantage could be just as important with the Mavericks lurking 1 ½ games back. Bojan Bogdanovic had a big game against the Blazers on Wednesday, but the Jazz needs to get Donovan Mitchell going again after a couple of quiet nights.
6. Milwaukee Bucks (42-25)
Last week: 10
The Bucks have won six in a row to move into second in the East, two games behind the Heat for the No. 1 seed. Khris Middleton scored 44 points in a win over the Suns. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 39 against the Thunder and 43 against the Hawks. The Bucks have a couple of big games coming up with the Warriors on Saturday and Jazz on Monday.
7. Philadelphia 76ers (40-25)
Last week: 6
Philadelphia fans came to boo Ben Simmons but they ended up booing their own team in a 129-100 loss to the Nets on Thursday. The 76ers had won six of seven behind some big games from Joel Embiid and James Harden, but the loss left them at No. 3 in the East, one game behind the Bucks and two games behind the Heat.
8. Boston Celtics (40-27)
Last week: 9
The Celtics were a game under .500 on Jan. 21, but they’ve been one of the hottest teams in the league since then, going 17-3 over the last 20 games to move within a half-game of the No. 4 seed in the East. Their current four-game winning streak has been brought to you by Jayson Tatum, who had 33 points against the Hawks, 37 against the Grizzlies, 54 against the Nets and 44 against the Hornets.
9. Denver Nuggets (40-27)
Last week: 11
The Nuggets had won four in a row and 10 of 11 behind MVP-caliber performances from Nikola Jokic before suffering a 113-102 loss to the Warriors on Thursday. Denver is sixth in the West, a half-game behind the Mavericks for the No. 5 seed.
10. Dallas Mavericks (40-26)
Last week: 8
Luka Doncic scored 31 points, but the Mavericks’ five-game winning streak ended with a thud in a 30-point loss to the Knicks on Wednesday. Dallas is fifth in the West, 1 ½ games behind Utah for the No. 4 seed and just a half-game ahead of the Nuggets.
11. Chicago Bulls (40-26)
Last week: 7
DeMar DeRozan scored 36 points to help Chicago snap a five-game losing streak with a win over the Pistons on Wednesday. The Bulls, currently a half-game ahead of the Celtics for the No. 4 seed in the East, will play the Cavaliers at home on Saturday before going on the road to face the Kings, Jazz and Suns.
12. Minnesota Timberwolves (38-29)
Last week: 12
Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell have helped the Timberwolves win six in a row and 14 of 18 to move into seventh in the West. They might not be able to catch the Nuggets for the No. 6 seed, but they have firmly established themselves as a play-in team.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (38-27)
Last week: 13
The Cavaliers are sixth in the East, three games ahead of the Raptors, following back-to-back wins over Toronto and Indiana. Darius Garland had a career-high 41 points and 13 assists in Tuesday’s win over the Pacers. Up next is a tough back-to-back road set against the Heat on Friday and Bulls on Saturday.
14. Toronto Raptors (35-30)
Last week: 14
Fred VanVleet scored 26 to help Toronto snap a three-game losing streak. The Raptors have a two-game lead over the Nets for the seventh spot in the East, but they have a difficult stretch of games coming up against the Suns, Nuggets, Lakers (2), Clippers, 76ers, Bulls and Cavaliers.
15. Los Angeles Clippers (35-33)
Last week: 15
The Clippers took a couple of ugly losses to the Knicks and Warriors, but they’ve played well despite the absences of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Norman Powell, winning eight of their last 11 to solidify their hold on a play-in spot in the West.
16. Brooklyn Nets (34-33)
Last week: 16
The Nets went into Philadelphia and silenced an extremely hostile crowd with a resounding 129-100 victory over the 76ers on Thursday. Ben Simmons didn’t suit up for Brooklyn, but he was there to support Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the rest of his new teammates from the bench despite being greeted with a rude reception.
17. Atlanta Hawks (31-34)
Last week: 17
The Hawks are coming off back-to-back losses to the Pistons and Bucks. They are tied for ninth with the Hornets for the final play-in spot, but this isn’t what Atlanta expected coming off an appearance in the Eastern Conference finals last season.
18. Charlotte Hornets (32-35)
Last week: 18
The Hornets were sitting pretty at 28-22 following a win over the Lakers on Jan. 28, but they’ve lost 13 of 17 since then to fall three games under .500. They are tied with the Hawks for ninth in the East, 1 ½ games ahead of the Wizards.
19. Washington Wizards (29-35)
Last week: 19
The Wizards trail the Hawks and Hornets by 1 ½ games for the final play-in spot in the East with a fairly difficult stretch of games coming up. If they can stay within striking distance, their April 6 game in Atlanta could be interesting.
20. New York Knicks (28-38)
Last week: 23
The Knicks have won three in a row, but they still trail the Hawks by 3 ½ games for the final play-in spot in the East. Julius Randle had a career-high 46 points and 10 rebounds in Monday’s win over the Kings.
21. Los Angeles Lakers (28-37)
Last week: 20
LeBron James put up 56 points in Saturday’s win over the Warriors, but the Lakers have lost six of seven and nine of 11 to fall to ninth in the West. Anthony Davis has been out since Feb. 16 with a mid-foot sprain. He is expected to be reevaluated in the next week or so.
22. New Orleans Pelicans (27-39)
Last week: 21
The Pelicans have a 1 ½-game lead over the Blazers for the final play-in spot in the West, but can they hold on? They’ve already lost three in a row. Now, they’ve lost Brandon Ingram, who will be out at least 7 to 10 days with a mild hamstring strain, and CJ McCollum, who entered NBA health and safety protocols Thursday.
23. San Antonio Spurs (25-41)
Last week: 24
Dejounte Murray had 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in Monday’s victory over the Lakers, but the Spurs have lost five of their last six to fall two games behind the Pelicans for the final play-in berth in the West.
24. Portland Trail Blazers (25-40)
Last week: 22
Anfernee Simons put on a show with 38 points in a loss to the Timberwolves, but the Blazers have lost six in a row to fall 1 ½ games behind the Pelicans for the final play-in spot in the West.
25. Sacramento Kings (24-44)
Last week: 25
The Kings were not pleased with the NBA’s decision to suspend Domantas Sabonis, but they nearly knocked off the Nuggets anyway behind De’Aaron Fox, who has averaged 28.2 points and 6.5 assists while shooting 38.7% from 3-point range over the past 13 games.
26. Indiana Pacers (22-45)
Last week: 26
Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield have been good with Malcolm Brogdon, but the Pacers have lost three in a row going into Saturday’s game against the Spurs.
27. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-46)
Last week: 27
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 33.3 points over a span of seven games before being held to eight points on 2-of-15 shooting in Wednesday’s loss to the Timberwolves.
28. Detroit Pistons (18-48)
Last week: 28
Rookie Cade Cunningham, Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey helped the Pistons win three in a row before suffering a 114-108 loss to the Bulls on Wednesday.
29. Orlando Magic (17-50)
Last week: 29
The Magic played the shorthanded Suns tough on Tuesday and then handed the Pelicans a 108-102 loss on Wednesday.
30. Houston Rockets (17-49)
Last week: 30
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 29 points in a win over the Grizzlies and rookie Jalen Green had a career-high 32 in Wednesday’s win over the Lakers.
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
