NBA Power Rankings: An MVP candidate on the rise
1. Golden State Warriors (Record: 56-13; last week: 1): The Warriors will celebrate their 1975 NBA championship on Monday against Washington while hoping for another title run.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record: 46-26; last week: 3): The Cavaliers have won seven of their past eight games and have solidified control of the East’s second playoff seed.
3. Atlanta Hawks (Record: 53-17; last week: 2): Is it time to worry about the Hawks, who are 10-6 since the All-Star break, including blowout losses to Golden State and San Antonio?
4. Memphis Grizzlies (Record: 49-21; last week: 6) Just how good is Memphis? We’ll get an idea when it plays the Cavaliers, Warriors and Spurs over the next seven days.
5. Los Angeles Clippers (Record: 46-25; last week: 9): Don’t be surprised if the Clippers, winners of four straight, move up to third in the West soon. Houston and Portland are doing their part to help L.A.
6. San Antonio Spurs (Record: 44-25; last week: 7): Fun fact. The Spurs passed the Lakers this season as the all-time winningest franchise in NBA history, winning at a 61.4 percent clip.
7. Houston Rockets (Record: 46-23; last week: 5): Keep an eye on injured center Dwight Howard (knee swelling), who recently returned to practice and said he was close to playing again.
8. Portland Trail Blazers (Record: 44-24; last week: 4): Struggling of late, Portland got some good news as LaMarcus Aldridge told Yahoo Sports he believes his latest hand injury is of the day-to-day variety.
9. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record: 40-30; last week: 10): Move over Stephen Curry and James Harden, Russell Westbrook has forced his way into the NBA MVP race.
10. Dallas Mavericks (Record: 44-27; last week: 8): All-Star Dirk Nowitzi’s scoring average is down more than four points from the 18.3 points per game he averaged before the All-Star break.
11. Toronto Raptors (Record: 42-28; last week: 13): Kyle Lowry has regressed since playing in the All-Star Game, averaging 15.6 points and 5.8 assists in the second half of the season, down from 18.6 and 7.2 in the first.
12. Chicago Bulls (Record: 42-29; last week: 11): The backcourt could be back soon as Jimmy Butler (elbow) is nearing a return and a source told Yahoo Sports that Derrick Rose (knee) is progressing well.
13. Washington Wizards (Record: 40-30; last week: 12): The Wizards are 6-4 in their last 10 games, including a 23-point loss at lowly Sacramento on Sunday.
14. Phoenix Suns (Record: 38-33; last week: 17): It’s only a matter of time before the Suns, now ahead of New Orleans for ninth in the West standings, retire Steve Nash’s No. 13 jersey.
15. New Orleans Pelicans (Record: 37-33; last week: 12): The Pelicans are in desperate need of some late-season heroics from All-Star Anthony Davis to revive their fading playoff hopes.
16. Utah Jazz (Record: 31-38; last week: 19): The Jazz have a talented, young nucleus with playoff potential for next season, but they need a solid veteran point guard.
17. Miami Heat (Record: 32-37; last week: 21): It is possible LeBron James and the Cavs could face Miami in the first round of the playoffs. The Heat beat the Cavaliers in Miami last week.
18. Charlotte Hornets (Record: 30-38; last week: 16): Kemba Walker appears to have worked off the rust after returning from his knee injury, averaging 16.3 points in his past three games.
19. Boston Celtics (Record: 30-39; last week: 20): Boston is battling with Indiana, Charlotte and Brooklyn for the East’s eighth and final playoff spot. Stay tuned.
20. Milwaukee Bucks (Record: 34-36; last week: 18): The Bucks have lost a season-high six straight games and eight of 10, and are in serious jeopardy of losing their playoff spot.
21. Indiana Pacers (Record: 30-39; last week: 15): There could be pressure on Paul George (broken leg) to spark Indiana to a playoff berth once he returns to the court.
22. Denver Nuggets (Record: 27-44; last week: 22): Guess who’s back? After struggling with injuries, Danilo Gallinari scored a career-high 40 points against Orlando on Sunday.
23. Brooklyn Nets (Record: 29-39; last week: 23): The Nets have won four of five to revive their playoff hopes. Ex-Hawks star Joe Johnson could face Atlanta in the playoffs.
24. Sacramento Kings (Record: 24-45; last week: 25): Rudy Gay is flourishing under coach George Karl, averaging 25.4 points on 49.2 percent shooting in his last 10 games.
25. Detroit Pistons (Record: 26-44; last week: 26): Coach Stan Van Gundy, who has also coached Miami and Orlando, needs three more wins to reach 400 career NBA coaching victories.
26. Orlando Magic (Record: 22-50; last week: 24): In case you missed it last week, point guard Elfrid Payton became the first rookie in 18 years to have back-to-back triple-doubles.
27. Los Angeles Lakers (Record: 18-50; last week: 27): The Lakers have fallen to new depths: The Staples Center crowd gave the team a standing ovation for beating the Sixers on Sunday.
28. Philadelphia 76ers (Record: 17-53; last week: 29) Former Sixers center JaVale McGee still wants to play for a playoff contender, but his preference is to sign a deal only for the rest of this season, a source told Yahoo.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record: 15-54; last week: 28) Kevin Garnet has missed the past six games because of a knee injury and has only played five times since returning to Minnesota.
30. New York Knicks (Record: 14-56; last week: 30): Expect Knicks fans to cheer for Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who will be a free agent this summer, when he plays at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
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