Grizzlies, Mavericks rising; Warriors, Bulls falling
MILWAUKEE – The NBA’s 75th anniversary season is winding down with a series of storylines.
The Phoenix Suns keep pressing forward without their All-Star backcourt.
The Golden State Warriors continue to skid without glue guy Draymond Green.
And the Miami Heat are staying atop the brutal Eastern Conference.
How will all of this shake up The Republic’s latest NBA power rankings through March 6 games?
1. Suns (51-13, Last week 1st)
The Suns continue to “navigate through uncertainty” as head coach Monty Williams often says.
Since the All-Star break, the Suns were 3-3 without Chris Paul and 2-1 in their last three games without Paul and Devin Booker, who is in the league’s health and safety protocols.
They came back from a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit to top the New York Knicks 115-114 March 4 as Cam Johnson hit a 31-footer at the buzzer to cap a career-high 38-point night.
This three-game road trip beginning with a loss at the Milwaukee Bucks and ending March 9 at Miami has a date at the Orlando Magic in the middle. If Phoenix can go 2-1 without Paul, Booker and Johnson (right quad contusion), that would further show why it’s been the league’s best team all year.
2. Grizzlies (44-22, Last week 3rd)
This is more about Golden State losing four in a row and eight of its last 10 than what Memphis is doing.
Still, the Grizzlies were 6-5 in their last 10 as they cooked the Magic by 28.
Ja Morant has been their headliner, but Desmond Bane continues to have a great season.
Averaging 17.8 points and shooting 41.2% from the 3-point line and beyond, Bane had started all 62 games played in his second NBA season. With Dillon Brooks battling injuries all season, Bane has been huge as his ability to space the floor gives Morant even more room to work.
3. Warriors (43-21, Last week 2nd)
Two things are glaringly evident when
it comes to the Warriors right now.
They really miss All-Star Draymond Green (back) and Klay Thompson is still working his way back.
Thompson missed two full seasons with injuries and nearly half this season ramping up and preparing for a return.
He’s averaging just 16.5 points, his lowest since his rookie year, clearly frustrated with his play, but the Warriors need him to be more of himself in the playoffs than right now.
It doesn’t get any easier for Thompson and the Warriors. Their next four games were against the Denver Nuggets twice, Los Angeles Clippers and Bucks.
4. Heat (44-22, Last week 4th)
Truth be told, the Heat should be ranked third this week.
They were 8-2 in their last 10, took down the Philadelphia 76ers, who were without James Harden (hamstring management), and their last loss was by a point in Milwaukee.
The upcoming Miami-Phoenix matchup is one the Heat should win, especially if Booker and Johnson aren’t available along with Paul being sidelined with the thumb injury.
On a seven-game homestand, Miami has a chance to further create separation
in the East as they have a three-game lead on the Sixers.
5. Bucks (40-25, Last week, Next 5)
They responded to that home loss to the Brooklyn Nets like NBA champions should by blasting the Charlotte Hornets by 24 and pulling out close ones over Miami and the Chicago Bulls.
Jumbled in there with Philadelphia and Chicago, the Bucks could rise as high as second in the East behind Miami or drop to fourth and likely open the playoffs against the surging Boston Celtics.
Either way, Milwaukee showed last season it doesn’t need to have a top seed to win a title.
Next 5
76ers (40-24) – He’s played just four games with Philadelphia, but a March 5 loss at Miami showed how much the 76ers need Harden to really compete for a title. Looks like Ben Simmons won’t play in the highly anticipated SixersNets matchup in Philly. Dang, but maybe they’ll meet in the playoffs.
(40-25) – Three of the four losses in this skid are understandable. The Grizzlies are having a great year, the
Bulls
Heat are atop the East and the Bucks are the defending champs, but to give up 130 to the Atlanta Hawks? The Bulls really need Alex Caruso (wrist) and Lonzo Ball (knee) back to shore up the defense.
Jazz (40-23) – Yes, the New Orleans Pelicans just beat Phoenix with Booker, but that doesn’t mean the Jazz should lose by 34 points to them. Utah scored a season-low 90 points after shooting 11 of 41 from 3. The Jazz have lived and died by the 3-pointer all season. Utah may need to tweak that in the playoffs.
(39-25) – Seeing Luka Doncic give LeBron James the business in the fourth quarter of a win in Los Angeles turned heads, but Dallas is playing as well as anyone in the league right now. Getting Spencer Dinwiddie in that trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards has been huge.
(38-26) – A case can be made for Boston here. The Celtics just beat the Grizzlies, but not after the Indiana Pacers rocked them by 21 in Indianapolis. The Nuggets fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, though. Boston and Denver were each 8-2 in their last 10 games. Let’s see what happens this week.
Mavericks Nuggets One last thing
LeBron James has already been drinking from the fountain of youth this season.
He must have took an even bigger gulp before Saturday’s matchup against Golden State.
The 37-year-old in his 19th NBA season scored a season-high 56 points in leading the Lakers to a 124-116 victory. Scoring 16 in the fourth, James finished the game with 10 rebounds and three assists.
It was a big-time performance in a necessary win that snapped a four-game losing skid, but the Lakers (28-35) are still seven games under .500 and ninth in the West.
Considered a championship contender entering the season, the Lakers are staring at a play-in tournament in which they’ll need two wins to grab the eight seed. That’s a tall order.
With 19 games left, the Lakers are hoping Anthony Davis (foot) returns and stays healthy, but that won’t matter if they can’t significantly improve on the defensive end.
So James will continue to put up numbers. But the Lakers are still falling way short of preseason expectations.