Warriors regain footing in West
Spurs, Rockets locked in, while Cavaliers slip
USA TODAY Sports’ NBA power rankings for Week 21 (March 19 to Sunday; records and statistics through Sunday).
1. (—) Golden State Warriors (59-14): Remember that rough stretch, where the Warriors lost five of seven after Kevin Durant went down and were on the verge of letting the No. 1 seed go to the San Antonio Spurs? Golden State hasn’t lost since (seven wins) and was 21⁄2 games ahead going into Week 22.
2. (—) San Antonio Spurs (56-16): The Spurs have a tight grip on the second seed in the Western Conference, and barring some sort of unforeseen slip from the Warriors (who they play Wednesday), it looks like that’s where they’ll end up.
3. (—) Houston Rockets (5122): Essentially locked in as the No. 3 seed in the West, the Rockets are in a great spot heading into the postseason. With nine games left, they’ve already won 10 more games than they did all last season.
4. (+2) Boston Celtics (4826): With Sunday’s win vs. Miami, the Celtics tied Cleveland atop the Eastern Conference.
5. (-1) Cleveland Cavaliers (47-25): The defending champs have lost seven of their last 12 games. That’s not the issue. Since
the have All-Starthe second-worstbreak, the defense Cavaliers in the per 100 NBA, possessions.allowing 113.5 points
6. (+1) Washington Wizards (45-28): The Wizards, who won three in a row, were back on track after losing four of five and were two wins away from surpassing 46 wins for the first time since the 1978-79 season.
7. (-2) Utah Jazz (44-29): For the first time since 2012, the Jazz are headed to the playoffs. Now comes the race for homecourt advantage, which could make the difference in a firstround series.
8. (+1) Toronto Raptors (44-29): While the Cavaliers falter and the Wizards and Celtics look to take advantage, there sit the Raptors, riding a five-game winning streak that has them just one game behind Washington and seven ahead of the threeway tie for fifth place.
9. (+1) Los Angeles Clippers (44-31): The Clippers let an 18point fourth-quarter lead evaporate and fell to the Kings by one point Sunday. Point guard Chris Paul called it the worst regularseason loss of his career. The Clippers were still fifth in the West and in contention for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
10. (-2) Oklahoma City
Thunder (41-31): If the postseason started today, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder would have a date with James Harden and the Rockets, who they went 1-3 against this season. It’s in the Thunder’s best interest to try to steal the No. 5 seed from the Clippers or Jazz, who they’re a combined 5-3 against this season.