USA TODAY International Edition
Warriors, Spurs comfortable at top
USA TODAY Sports’ NBA power rankings for Week 17 ( Feb. 12 through Saturday, extended because of the All- Star break; records, standings and statistics through Saturday).
1. (—) Golden State Warriors ( 49- 9): The Warriors already have as many losses as they did all last season, so another 73win campaign is pretty much off the table. That said, the Dubs — who beat the Clippers 123- 113 on Thursday, their first game after the All- Star break — are on pace to become the fifth team in history to finish a season with 69 wins.
2. (—) San Antonio Spurs ( 44- 13): The Spurs, who sit comfortably in second place in the Western Conference, 4 1⁄2 games behind the Warriors and 3 1⁄ 2 games ahead of the Rockets, clinched the franchise’s 20th consecutive postseason berth with a win Feb. 14 against the Pacers.
3. (+ 1) Cleveland Cavaliers ( 40- 17): While there’s no replacing Kevin Love, who had knee surgery Feb. 14 and is expected to be out until late March or early April, the Cavaliers managed to hit the post- trade deadline jackpot. Veteran point guard Deron Williams intends to sign with the Cavs for the remainder of the season, which will take a bit of the load off the shoulders of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James as the defending champs gear up for the postseason.
4. (- 1) Houston Rockets ( 4218): After last Tuesday’s trade with the Lakers for Lou Williams, the top- two bench scorers in the NBA now reside in Houston. Alongside Eric Gordon, Williams adds another threat to the second unit, which ranks seventh in the NBA in points per game ( 38.7). In his Rockets debut, Williams, the 2014- 15 Sixth Man of the Year, dropped 27 points and knocked down seven three- pointers.
5. (+ 1) Utah Jazz ( 36- 22): The Jazz, who sit in fourth place in the West, broke a three- game losing streak before the All- Star break with a 111- 88 win against Portland. Nine days later, they carried that momentum to Milwaukee for a 109- 95 win and are on the verge of clinching the franchise’s first playoff berth in five seasons.
6. (- 1) Boston Celtics ( 3721): Despite being at the heart of the trade talks leading up to the deadline, the Eastern Conference’s second- place team decided to stand pat ( unlike the Wizards and Raptors, who sit in third and fourth, respectively), which raises the question: With their current roster, do the Celtics have enough for a trip to the conference finals, or are they a year — and a lottery pick/ free agency scoop — away from becoming a legitimate threat to dethrone the Cavaliers?
7. (+ 1) Los Angeles Clippers ( 35- 23): Though the Clippers suffered back- to- back losses to Western Conference foe Golden State and San Antonio on Thursday and Friday, there was good news on the injury front, as Chris Paul returned to the lineup Friday after a 14- game absence ( hand), scoring 17 points to go along with six assists and five rebounds.
8. (+ 2) Toronto Raptors ( 34- 24): The Raptors — who traded Jared Sullinger and two second- round picks to the Suns for P. J. Tucker on deadline day — are in a much better spot than they were two weeks ago. Tucker, a veteran forward who can hit the three ( career 34.7% three- point shooter) and defend multiple positions, joins Serge Ibaka ( whom the Raptors acquired Feb. 14) as Toronto looks to contend with the Cavaliers, Celtics and Wizards at the top of the Eastern Conference.
9. (- 2) Washington Wizards ( 34- 22): The Wizards brought in Brooklyn’s Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough the day before the trade deadline for Marcus Thornton, Andrew Nicholson and a 2017 first- round pick. Not the sexiest move, by any means, but Bogdanovic — who averaged 14.2 points this season with the Nets — should provide a much- needed spark to a Wizards bench that ranks 29th in the league in scor- ing ( 23.2 points per game).
10. (- 1) Memphis Grizzlies ( 34- 25): In sixth place in the West, just a half- game ahead of the Thunder, will the Grizzlies make a push during the final stretch of the season for the franchise’s seventh consecutive postseason appearance? General manager Chris Wallace thinks so. “We listened and were active fielding inquiries ( at the trade deadline) but decided to stand pat with our current roster,” Wallace told The ( Memphis) Commercial Appeal. “We feel great about where we stand with our team entering the stretch run of this season. We truly feel like we made key additions with the return of Brandan Wright from injury and adding Toney Douglas for the remainder of the season.”
11. (—) Oklahoma City Thunder ( 33- 25): The Thunder, who sit comfortably in seventh place in the West ( seven games ahead of the eighth- place Nuggets), were one of the biggest winners at the trade deadline, nabbing Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and a 2018 secondround pick from the Bulls for Joffrey Lauvergne, Cameron Payne and Anthony Morrow. McDermott ( a career 39.6% three- point shooter) adds another dimension on the perimeter, while Gibson ( a gritty, seasoned vet) adds frontcourt depth — particularly defensively — to a Thunder team lacking in that category.
12. (—) Atlanta Hawks ( 3226): The Hawks have lost three games in a row by a combined 52 points and are two games behind the fourth- place Raptors in the East. They have a tough road ahead, too, with four of their next five games coming against Boston, Cleveland, Indiana and Golden State.
13. (+ 1) Chicago Bulls ( 3029): After trading away Taj Gibson — the longest- tenured Bull on the roster — and Doug McDermott — a 2014 No. 11 overall pick — the direction of the Bulls remains in limbo. Right now? They sit in sixth place in the East but are just 1 1⁄2 games ahead of the eighth- place Pistons.
14. (- 1) Indiana Pacers ( 3029): After a trade deadline dominated by Paul George commotion, the four- time All- Star opted to stay where he’s spent his entire career. For now. Paul hits the free agency market in 2018, and if significant changes aren’t made before then, he could be headed elsewhere.
15. (+ 2) Miami Heat ( 2732): The Heat picked up right where they left off after the AllStar break, with wins against the Hawks ( 108- 90) and Pacers ( 11395). They’re 13- 2 over their last 15 games — a mark that leads the NBA — and will look to continue their success with games against Dallas, Philadelphia and Orlando on tap.
16. (- 1) Detroit Pistons ( 2830): Despite trade talks surrounding Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond leading up to Thursday’s deadline, the Pistons held on to their two biggest assets as they look to stay in the post- season picture.
17. (+ 3) Milwaukee Bucks ( 25- 31): The Bucks sat in seventh place in the East at the turn of the new year with a 16- 16 record, the league’s ninth- ranked defense ( 103.9 points allowed per 100 possessions) and playoff hopes alive and well. They’re now in 10th, two games behind the eighth- place Pistons, and have the NBA’s 28th ranked defense ( 111.2 points allowed per 100 possessions) since Jan. 1.
18. (- 2) Denver Nuggets ( 26- 32): The Nuggets, who hold a 11⁄ 2- game lead over the Kings for eighth place in the West, rank second in the NBA ( behind the Warriors) in assists ( 27.3 per game) in the last 10 games.
19. (—) Charlotte Hornets ( 25- 33): Over the last 15 games, the Hornets ( 3- 12) have been the second- worst team in the NBA ( ahead of the Nets) in terms of record. Their most recent loss came Thursday, when they squandered an 18- point thirdquarter lead to fall to the Pistons in overtime.
20. (+ 1) Dallas Mavericks ( 23- 35): In one of the bigger moves on trade- deadline day, the Mavericks brought in Nerlens Noel, the No. 6 pick in the 2013 draft, from the 76ers for Justin Anderson, Andrew Bogut and a heavily protected 2017 firstround pick. Noel’s presence gives the Mavs a young, defensiveminded big man to build around as Dirk Nowitzki’s Hall of Fame career winds down and the franchise looks forward. In addition, veteran Deron Williams was waived two hours after the deadline, a move that will likely put the 23- year- old Cinderella Story, Yogi Ferrell, in the driver’s seat at point guard.
21. (- 3) Portland Trail Blazers ( 24- 33)
22. (+ 2) Minnesota Timberwolves ( 23- 36)
23. (- 1) Sacramento Kings ( 25- 34)
24. (- 1) New Orleans Pelicans ( 23- 36)
25. (—) New York Knicks ( 24- 35)
26. (—) Philadelphia 76ers ( 22- 36)
27. (+ 2) Phoenix Suns ( 1840)
28. (- 1) Orlando Magic ( 22- 38)
29. (- 1) Los Angeles Lakers ( 19- 40)
30. (—) Brooklyn Nets ( 949) List of power ranking, MVP and rookie award voters: USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt, Sam Amick, Kevin Spain, AJ Neuharth- Keusch and Michael Singer; The Arizona Republic’s Doug Haller; The ( Memphis) Commercial Appeal’s Ronald Tillery; Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis; The Indianapolis Star’s Nate Taylor; The ( Bergen County, N. J.) Record’s Steve Popper; HoopsHype. com’s Jorge Sierra and Raul Barrigon; USA TODAY Sports Weekly’s Howard Megdal.