San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Suns peaking, but the Warriors are golden
With the Warriors becoming the NBA’s most compelling story and enough evidence to make some reasonable judgments, here’s one man’s set of power rankings in the Western Conference:
1. Phoenix: The Suns are the defending West champions, they’ve won 20 of their past 21 games, and they hardly miss a beat without Devin Booker, who has missed four games with a strained hamstring. With so many other teams immersed in transition, the Suns returned the same core of players and a rotation eightdeep in potential double-figure scoring — including JaVale McGee, who has proved to be a blessing as the backup center. (With Deandre Ayton out, McGee racked up 21 points and 15 rebounds in 26 minutes against Boston on Friday night.) Edge the Suns have on the Warriors? Possibly none at all. It’s just a matter of respect.
2. Golden State: What a delightful challenge for coach
Steve Kerr, sorting out rotations and playing time with 11 players in excellent form. You’d think other teams would study Kerr’s ball-movement system so intently, some pretty fair imitations would emerge. On the contrary: Everyone’s envious, not only of the schemes but how well everyone fits in. James Wiseman’s return will be inspiring, if only mildly influential (until next year). If Klay Thompson comes back strong, the Warriors win the whole thing.
3. Utah: Credit going to others seems to leave the Jazz frustrated. After grabbing 21 rebounds against the 76ers and rival center Joel Embiid on the road Thursday night, Rudy Gobert mentioned people “taking shots at me, for no reason,” then added, “When you’re the best in the world at something. ...” That may not be true, with
Embiid and Nikola Jokic in the picture, but Gobert rules the paint defensively and the spellbinding Donovan Mitchell deserves some MVP consideration. Mike Conley, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, coach Quin Snyder — the Jazz are all class, and a proven winner.
4. Clippers: This is more of a projection, assuming Kawhi Leonard is healthy for the playoffs, but there’s such a huge dropoff after Utah, even the current Clippers have a reasonable shot at home advantage in the first round.
When Paul George, Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, Luke Kennard and and Terance Mann are in rhythm, it’s quite a show. But this team also lost twice in three days to Sacramento. Potential wild card: Rookie Brandon Boston, the 6-foot-7 wing taken 51st in the draft out of Kentucky. Explosive and delighted to put on a show, Boston had 27 points, five 3-pointers and four steals in a victory over the Celtics on Wednesday. “He’s going to be great,” said teammate Nic Batum. We’re going to need that on some nights.”
5. Denver: Jokic is putting up astounding numbers, somehow performing even better than ever. But it never ends well with the Nuggets, and the team looks positively ordinary with Michael Porter Jr. out for the season (once again, his bad back) and Jamal Murray’s return uncertain. Perhaps there are fun times in the distance.
6. Lakers: How could they rank this low? Well, because they’re downright awful. Upon learning of Anthony Davis’ strange comment — “We’ve got to start playing like we’re the underdogs” — ESPN analyst
Kendrick Perkins cracked, “They’re just dogs.” LeBron James was fabulous Friday night against Oklahoma City, reminding everyone of his lofty status, but there’s no defense, no rebounding, no cohesion in the halfcourt set — basically a wasteland beyond LeBron and
Russell Westbrook turned loose on a fastbreak. Most nights, they’re unwatchable.
7. Dallas: So now Luka Doncic is a pudgy complainer? The snipers are out in force, taking note of Doncic’s weight and his annoying tendency to yell at the referees during play. (He says he’ll get better on both counts.) Not to worry; the man embodies greatness, and this team has potential. But you wonder:
Draymond Green tested his physical limits by playing in the Olympics, and he’s downright spry on the court. Doncic’s down time after Tokyo must have been quite the feast.
8. Memphis: Too much chaos in Portland. Minnesota can’t quite get it right. Sacramento fumbles with a light switch in the dark. The Grizzlies are young, exciting and on the rise, looking to continue their impressive run when Ja Morant (knee injury, COVID-19 protocols) comes back.