NBA Power Rankings: Grizzlies looking formidable
1. Memphis Grizzlies (Record: 12-2; last week’s rank: 2): The Grizzlies, who have the NBA’s best record, earned a statement win Sunday by leading by as many as 25 points in a rout of the Clippers.
2. Golden State Warriors (Record: 10-2; last week’s rank: 3): Stephen Curry will get to spend Thanksgiving in his hometown of Charlotte before playing the Hornets on Friday.
3. Portland Trail Blazers (Record: 10-3; last week’s rank: 7): The Blazers have won seven straight, playing primarily at home.
4. Toronto Raptors (Record: 11-2; last week’s rank: 4): The Eastern Conference’s top team earned an impressive win at Cleveland on Saturday and has won nine of 10.
5. Houston Rockets (Record: 10-3; last week’s rank: 1) Houston center Dwight Howard, who has missed two games after undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy to treat his strained right knee, will not play Monday night against the New York Knicks.
6. Washington Wizards (Record: 9-3; last week’s rank: 5): The Wizards will play at Cleveland on Wednesday after beating LeBron James and Co. on Friday in Washington, 91-78.
7. Dallas Mavericks (Record: 10-4; last week’s rank: 8): Despite a tough divorce, the Rockets showed class by playing a video tribute of Mavs forward Chandler Parsons during Saturday’s game.
8. Sacramento Kings (Record: 8-5; last week’s rank: 9): The last time the Kings were 8-5 was eight years ago. Sacramento, which plays at New Orleans on Tuesday, was last 9-5 a decade ago.
9. San Antonio Spurs (Record: 9-4; last week’s rank: 10): The reigning NBA champs seem to be back to their old selves, winning four straight and seven of eight.
10. Phoenix Suns (Record: 9-5; last week’s rank: 15): The rising Suns are 4-0 on their East road trip, which concludes with a tough game at Toronto on Monday. The Raptors are 8-1 in Toronto.
11. Chicago Bulls (Record: 8-5; last week’s rank: 6): Since beating the Clippers a week ago, injury-plagued Chicago has lost at Sacramento and at Portland by a combined 33 points.
12. Los Angeles Clippers (Record: 7-5; last week’s rank: 11) The up-and-down Clippers have four games left on their seven-game road trip, with Charlotte, Detroit, Houston and Utah remaining.
13. New Orleans Pelicans (Record: 7-5; last week’s rank: 13) Anthony Davis has averaged 30 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks the past four games, including 43 points against Utah.
14. Miami Heat (Record: 8-6; last week’s rank: 14): Miami has been without shooting guard Dwyane Wade for six straight games because of a strained left hamstring and is 3-3 without him.
15. Milwaukee Bucks (Record: 7-7; last week’s rank: 18): Rookie forward Jabari Parker scored more than 20 points for the first time with 23 in a triple-overtime win over Brooklyn on Nov. 19.
16. Atlanta Hawks (Record: 6-5; last week’s rank: 16): The Hawks have a challenging Eastern Conference back-to-back at Washington on Tuesday and against Toronto on Wednesday.
17. Denver Nuggets (Record: 6-7; last week’s rank: 27): Denver has won four in a row, and Danilo Gallinari might have had a breakthrough game Friday with 17 points against the Hornets.
18. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record: 5-7; last week’s rank: 12): LeBron James called the Cavs "fragile" after a four-game losing streak. He last lost five straight from Feb. 27-March 8, 2011, with Miami.
19. Orlando Magic (Record: 6-9; last week’s rank: 23): Are the schedule-makers mad at the Magic? Orlando, leading the NBA with nine road games already, will play 10 of the next 13 away.
20. Brooklyn Nets (Record: 5-8; last week’s rank: 17): Keep an eye on veteran forward Andrei Kirilenko, who revealed that he was told by coach Lionel Hollins that there was no role for him.
21. Utah Jazz (Record: 5-9; last week’s rank: 19): Rookie Dante Exum told Yahoo Sports that he is not only working on his strength, but also stopped eating junk food to improve his stamina.
22. Indiana Pacers (Record: 5-8; last week’s rank: 22): The Pacers have cooled on the hope that injured All-Star guard Paul George will return before season’s end, a source told Yahoo Sports.
23. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record: 3-12; last week’s rank: 21): Injured stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook practiced Saturday. The Thunder have a lot of work ahead to get back in the West race.
24. Boston Celtics (Record: 4-8; last week’s rank: 25): Coach Brad Stevens said rookie guard Marcus Smart (sprained left ankle) could start practicing in the middle of the week.
25. Charlotte Hornets (Record: 4-10; last week’s rank: 20): Life as the Hornets hasn’t had much sting as they have dropped five straight and are the NBA’s most disappointing team.
26. Detroit Pistons (Record: 3-10; last week’s rank: 24): Detroit has dropped four straight games. The struggling Pistons’ next four are against teams that do not have losing records.
27. New York Knicks (Record: 4-10; last week’s rank: 26): Carmelo Anthony will play on the road this week against teams that recruited him hard in free agency: Houston and Dallas.
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record: 3-9; last week’s rank: 28): The top two picks of this year’s draft, Andrew Wiggins and Milwaukee’s Jabari Parker, face each other for the first time Wednesday.
29. Los Angeles Lakers (Record: 3-11; last week’s rank: 29): Kobe Bryant has shot over 50 percent from the field just once this season and is shooting 37.8 percent from the field.
30. Philadelphia 76ers (Record: 0-13; last week’s rank: 30): The Sixers are the first team to drop their first 13 games since the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets, who lost 18 straight in the worst start in NBA history.
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