NBA Power Rankings: Where All 30 Teams Rank with 1 Month Left in Regular Season
That low trembling you may have felt in the ground was probably the result of several giants crashing to earth at once in this week's power rankings.
Way up at the top, two of last week's three best teams took dives. And elsewhere in the top 10, a handful of playoff squads took tumbles of their own. This isn't supposed to happen so late in the season, but we've had major shakeups throughout the rankings.
Just as shockingly, a club that has spent months mired in the No. 30 spot managed to climb out of it.
It's been strange around here, to say the least.
As always, rankings are based on team record and advanced stats, with an emphasis on recent performance. These are meant to reflect the hierarchy of the league as it exists right now—which is great news for the San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards but significantly less great for the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
30. Los Angeles Lakers
1 of 30
↓ 1 Spot
It's hard to say exactly how much a failed coup and an emotionally fraught sibling power struggle for control of a franchise should factor into something as on-court focused as power rankings.
But...it's worth mentioning that the Los Angeles Lakers are the only team in the league currently facing that odd set of circumstances.
Meanwhile, the Lakers stink on the court—Thursday's win over the Phoenix Suns, which broke an eight-game losing streak, notwithstanding.
L.A. isn't scaring anyone, according to head coach Luke Walton: "We still haven’t truly figured out how to make teams uncomfortable," he told reporters. "I think teams feel like when they play us right now, that we’re kind of a soft team, that they can come in and get their offensive numbers against us."
Here's a number: 30.
29. Brooklyn Nets
2 of 30
↑ 1 Spot
Break up the Brooklyn Nets, baby!
This makes it two straight weeks with a win, which, by the warped standards necessarily applied to a team still comfortably on pace to finish the year with a victory total in the teens, counts as a streak.
The Boston Celtics don't need to worry about their swap rights depreciating in value just yet, though.
Knocking off the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday helps get Brooklyn out of the cellar. It's hard to believe this is really happening, I know. But with Jeremy Lin back (he led the Nets with 18 points in that win over Memphis) and Caris LeVert continuing to show signs of developing into a starting-caliber player on a good team, there's room for optimism here.
Also, the Nets have not made the news for being soft or undergoing a messy front-office overhaul of late. That counts for something.
28. Sacramento Kings
3 of 30
←→ No Movement
When the week's highlight is either a) something good that almost happened but didn't or b) an opponent's buzzer-beating tip-in that prolonged your losing streak, it's a good sign your season is basically over.
And so: The Sacramento Kings' season is basically over.
Skal Labissiere's development has been one of a few encouraging signs in this meaningless, play-out-the-string stretch for the Kings. He put in 15 points in just under 15 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, and he's been flashing some seriously slick and skillful moves in recent games.
The Kings, of course, blew a 28-point lead to lose that contest, which drew all the headlines. So Labissiere's development will continue to go mostly overlooked.
If Sacramento has any sense, it'll give its rookie big man as much time as his conditioning can handle.
27. Philadelphia 76ers
4 of 30
←→ No Movement
It'll take something special from Justin Anderson to give the Philadelphia 76ers any shot at winning the deal that sent Nerlens Noel to the Dallas Mavericks.
But after Anderson took 16 and 12 shots in games this week, his two highest totals since attempting 19 way back on Nov. 9 against the Golden State Warriors, it appears he'll get every chance to try.
"I think that, from my gut feel, when you talk with him and ask him different questions, there's a good vibe that comes out of that conversation and you feel like there possibly is a keeper because he ticks so many skill packages," head coach Brett Brown told reporters.
Anderson has the defensive half of the three-and-D label down. If he can stabilize the other element, he'll be a starting wing for years to come.
Philly beat the New York Knicks on Friday but lost its next three. Between Anderson and possible Rookie of the Year front-runner Dario Saric, though, there are still reasons to watch.
26. New York Knicks
5 of 30
↓ 2 Spots
Kristaps Porzingis is the first player in more than three decades to have at least 20 games of two threes and two blocks in a season, per Statmuse.
And those are the kinds of stats you have to cling to with a 26-39 team coming off a 1-3 week.
It's encouraging to see KP logging more time at center since Joakim Noah's season-ending surgery. His unique combo of shot-blocking and floor-stretching is easily most useful at that position, and the Knicks may as well give him as many reps as possible in that role.
If they can see their way to pairing him with Willy Hernangomez up front more often, the Knicks will really be offering their fans a glimpse of the future. Hernangomez tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's 104-93 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Finally, the best proof yet that I'm getting old showed up this week: I liked it when New York kept it quiet at Madison Square Garden.
25. New Orleans Pelicans
6 of 30
↓ 3 Spots
The New Orleans Pelicans haven't exactly gotten the positive DeMarcus Cousins bump they were hoping for. Worse still, the Pels, losers in three of their last four and six of their last eight, are somehow significantly worse on offense since adding a theoretically unguardable big man to their roster.
Since the break, New Orleans' offensive rating is 96.1, which is the worst in the league.
The Pelicans can't leverage their new twin-tower frontcourt into wins against conventionally hulking opponents (see: loss to Utah Jazz), and they haven't handled smaller, quicker foes any better (see: losses to Houston, Dallas and OKC).
Cousins' conditioning is a major issue, and his inability to get back on defense and join the fray on offense consistently means a serious offseason workout program should be in the works.
With Anthony Davis banged up again, Cousins could see his workload increase.
This hasn't gone well, and that may be the case for the balance of the season.
24. Orlando Magic
7 of 30
↑ 1 Spot
Shout out to the Orlando Magic for going 2-2 this week, the first time they've gone .500 in a single ranking session since late December.
Whatever the opposite of a shout out is goes to the Magic bench, which somehow managed to post a minus-20.9 net rating in the process.
If you want to go glass-half-full, that means the Orlando starters have been killing it. And all you have to do is note Elfrid Payton's triple-double on Wednesday or Evan Fournier's recent scoring binge (at least 18 points in four of his last five) to find evidence of that.
Having uncluttered their frontcourt at the trade deadline, the Magic look much more like a respectable team with a functional offense these days.
23. Phoenix Suns
8 of 30
↑ 3 Spots
We talked last week about the Tyler Ulis-Alan Williams combo being a fresh option for the lottery-bound Phoenix Suns, but Ulis gets the full shine this time around.
That's what happens when you author one of the season's most exciting finishes.
Ulis' 20 points and game-winning triple produced the Suns' first three-game winning streak since 2015, and his scrappy rise is a good metaphor for what Phoenix has done as a unit lately. Rather suddenly, the Suns are kind of a pain to play.
This could be a mere blip, but it's encouraging to see that even in their modest streak-ending defeat against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, the Suns remained competitive. Losing that contest by a final of 131-127 may have said more about Phoenix's fight than any of its three previous successes.
It's far too late for the Suns to think about the playoffs, but they're starting to look like the kind of team that could play the role of late-season spoiler for unaware opponents.
22. Chicago Bulls
9 of 30
↓ 7 Spots
Consider this a valuable lesson.
When all the evidence suggests a certain outcome, and then that outcome doesn't materialize right away, just wait longer.
The Bulls, constructed without shooting and too many ball-dominant guards this offseason, managed to stave off the offensive collapse we suspected for months. Now, losers of three straight and struggling mightily to score, Chicago looks like the squad we thought it'd be.
After averaging 15 points in their last two fourth quarters, the Bulls' issues are obvious, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com, who termed Wednesday's loss to the Magic a low point for the season: "The Bulls continue having problems late in games because their offense stalls. Instead of moving the ball from side to side, as they do early in games, the Bulls play too much iso-ball, which continues to get them in trouble."
The schedule gets brutal over the next two weeks. If Chicago can't somehow stabilize, it can kiss its playoff position goodbye.
21. Portland Trail Blazers
10 of 30
↑ 2 Spots
Jusuf Nurkic's first seven games as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers could hardly have gone better.
And then, in his eighth game, they did.
He averaged 14.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks in those first seven contests—all well above his marks with the Denver Nuggets earlier this year. In Thursday's 114-108 win over the Sixers, he did more than that.
Nurkic set new career highs in points (28), rebounds (20), assists (eight) and blocks (six).
If you're into metaphors for how Nuggets fans should be feeling about all this, here's one.
"There's no question he's had an impact," head coach Terry Stotts told Mike Richman of the Oregonian. "I don't want to undersell that. But I do think everybody is playing well off of him. But I think he has infused some energy and a different look."
He's a significant factor in Portland's continually poor defense, but it's hard to quibble with the overall results when the Blazers have now won four in a row for the first time this season. And when you can withstand 58 points from Russell Westbrook and still win, which the Blazers did Tuesday, it's a good sign you have a potent offense of your own.
20. Charlotte Hornets
11 of 30
←→ No Movement
Maybe the Charlotte Hornets weren't quite bad enough this week to deserve a drop, and they weren't quite good enough to warrant a rise. It's been mildly discouraging to watch them flail around even as they get key contributors back, but there have been signs of progress.
For example, Cody Zeller has been rounding into form after returning from a quad injury, and Charlotte managed to go 2-1 in its last three with him playing pretty well at center.
Eastern Conference Player of the Week Kemba Walker has enjoyed more offensive freedom with Zeller's screening back in the offense, yet the Hornets still mustered just 100 poitns in beating the Pacers on Monday and 101 in a loss to the Heat two nights later.
Charlotte is running out of time as clubs like Miami and Milwaukee heat up. The margin for error is tiny, and the Hornets must capitalize on a soft upcoming schedule that includes Orlando, New Orleans and Chicago.
19. Milwaukee Bucks
12 of 30
↑ 2 Spots
It seems like everybody's posting season-high winning streaks lately, and the Milwaukee Bucks are no exception.
With Malcolm Brogdon giving Saric all he can handle in the race for Rookie of the Year and Giannis Antetokounmpo posting highlight-filled 32-point outings, the Bucks are doing what they can to rejoin the playoff race.
If they make it back into the top eight, Khris Middleton will probably have something to do with it.
Per Eric Nehm of ESPN Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo's explanation of his team's recent success is simple: "Khris Middleton. That's it. I have said it before. It's Khris Middleton. Having him back allows everybody to play their role and play good basketball, team basketball. Whenever we don't play good basketball, he's a leader."
Leadership's nice, but Middleton hitting 48.4 percent of his threes and averaging 18.5 points per game during Milwaukee's winning streak helps, too.
18. Detroit Pistons
13 of 30
←→ No Movement
The Detroit Pistons seem destined to occupy the fringes of the playoff discussion for the balance of the season. If the Bulls weren't imploding, the possibility of Stan Van Gundy's team heading to the lottery would be a lot more realistic.
Let's assume Detroit, 3-1 this week after knocking off the Cavs in an upset Thursday, hangs on and secures either the seventh or eighth seed. What then?
With Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson both producing negative on-court net ratings this season, it's difficult to see how the Pistons could possibly expect anything but a first-round sweep. Because if a team's two best players in theory are actually killing it in practice, where can it turn when the stakes are elevated?
Is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope good enough to win a playoff game by himself? Ish Smith? The mighty Jon Leuer?
Not likely.
17. Indiana Pacers
14 of 30
↓ 1 Spot
For at least one night, Paul George got some help. It came in the form of a Glenn Robinson III game-winner against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. Of course, George had to score 34 points in that one to keep it close enough for GRIII's big shot to matter.
The next night, Indy returned to normalcy. Which is to say George was fantastic—producing 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists—in a 100-88 loss to the Hornets.
This doesn't bode well in light of George's intention to look around in free agency if the Pacers can't find him the help he needs to contend for a title.
Perhaps unfairly, I've been lumping the Pacers in with the Bulls and Pistons as part of an unwatchable low-end playoff triumvirate in the East. Indy's a little better than those two flawed outfits...but not much, even after a 2-1 week.
16. Dallas Mavericks
15 of 30
↑ 3 Spots
Wherever the Dallas Mavericks go from here—however high they climb or however low they fall—just remember they were once 6-20 on the season.
Winners of three straight this past week, the Mavs are playing their best ball of the year.
Set aside the overwhelming feels of Dirk Nowitzki lighting it up in the first half Tuesday to become the sixth member of the 30,000-point club and focus on the other encouraging signs: Seth Curry leading Dallas to a 16-9 mark since he became a regular starter, Yogi Ferrell winning Rookie of the Month for February, and Nerlens Noel erupting for 15 points and 17 rebounds in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Oh, and how about a defensive rating of 100.5 since the All-Star break, good enough for third in the league?
Having cut loose veterans Andrew Bogut and Deron Williams, a tank seemed imminent.
Nope.
15. Minnesota Timberwolves
16 of 30
↑ 2 Spots
In a way, the Minnesota Timberwolves are further proof of the lesson we learned from the Bulls.
Like Tom Thibodeau's old team, his new one has become what we thought it might from the outset. It just took some time.
Redistributing Zach LaVine's minutes to players who actually have a clue on D has helped, but there's been an broader maturation on Thibs' favorite end of the court. And it has produced results in the win column.
"You have to get close to winning first, and then the winning happens," he told reporters after the Wolves downed the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. "And so I think right now we're starting to understand that."
Per Wolves radio play-by-play man Alan Horton, Minnesota has held seven of its last nine opponents under 45 percent shooting.
And it hasn't hurt that Karl-Anthony Towns continues to dominate in historic fashion. Per ESPN Stats & Info, his streak of seven straight games with at least 20 points and 14 boards is the first since Charles Barkley in 1989-90, several years before Towns was born.
14. Denver Nuggets
17 of 30
↓ 1 Spot
The Nuggets are still in control of the No. 8 spot in the West, but it's getting harder to justify keeping them above several of the teams chasing them in our rankings. Because lately, the Nugs just haven't been that good.
No team has surrendered more individual season-high scoring nights than Denver, per NBA analyst Ed Kupfer, and the overall defensive rating remains dead last in the NBA.
Looking back a bit, the Nuggets don't have a true quality win in nearly a month. They beat the Warriors back on Feb. 13, but their only successes since have come against the Nets, Bulls, Bucks and Kings. And they needed 36 points from Wilson Chandler to secure that Kings win.
There's not much to get excited about there.
Banking wins earlier in the year may mean the Nuggets survive charges from the Blazers, Mavs and Timberwolves. But it's getting harder and harder to justify keeping Denver, 1-2 this week, ahead of that group.
13. Memphis Grizzlies
18 of 30
↓ 3 Spots
The Grizzlies caught a serious break this week as the Oklahoma City Thunder's ugly slide coincided with their own.
Losses to the Mavs, Rockets and Nets(!) have fans in Memphis a little restless, and they've been directing some of their anxiety toward Chandler Parsons...in the form of boos.
"I understand as a sports fan you want production," Parsons told ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon. "You see the contract I signed with the salary I make. People expect a lot better than I'm performing right now. That’s natural, and that’s how it goes, but I think it’s a little premature [for Memphis fans to boo]. But I get it."
At least Parsons cracked double figures in scoring for the first time in more than a month against the Nets.
The Grizzlies face an East-heavy schedule over their next four games. If they can't get right in that stretch, the boos will be directed at a few more guys than Parsons.
12. Atlanta Hawks
19 of 30
↓ 1 Spot
You'd probably prefer Dennis Schroder not squabble with Dwight Howard, lose track of Stephen Curry and get benched down the stretch against the Warriors in the first place. But at least he and the Hawks bounced back to beat Brooklyn on Wednesday to avoid a disastrous 0-4 week.
"He and I talked about focusing on a lot of things that are positive and where we can improve," head coach Mike Budenholzer told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He wants to be great. That’s what makes Dennis special. That includes being a great teammate. This is all part of that process."
Schroder scored 31 points, two off his season high, to beat Brooklyn.
If there are any further disagreements, the Hawks will be ready. Adding Jose Calderon on waivers gives them another option at the point if necessary.
11. Oklahoma City Thunder
20 of 30
↓ 4 Spots
There's nothing like a four-game losing streak to put a damper on thoughts of home-court advantage in the first round.
Despite continued statistical silliness from Westbrook—58 points against the Blazers, 48 against the Suns—the Thunder hit the skids hard since we last ranked. The trouble is on the defensive end, where OKC surrendered 118 to Phoenix, 104 to Dallas and 126 to Portland.
That's not to say the offense has been fully functional, though.
There are just so many apparently wrong things in the Thunder box score," ESPN's Royce Young wrote after the loss against Portland on Tuesday, "such as the four other starters not having an assist or just two other players scoring in double digits."
Still, we've grown accustomed to an imbalanced attack from OKC. The defense, though, had been more reliable until this week. The Thunder have fallen out of the top 10 in defensive efficiency. With an offensive rating lingering down in the league's bottom third, there's no room for more slippage on that end.
Beating the Spurs on Thursday to halt the slide was huge, but the Thunder still have their issues.
10. Toronto Raptors
21 of 30
↑ 4 Spots
Everyone repeat after me: Serge Ibaka is a center.
The Toronto Raptors have remarkably survived without Kyle Lowry, going 5-2 since wrist surgery shelved the All-Star point guard. While DeMar DeRozan's scoring has been vital, Ibaka's contributions at the 5 in undersized lineups has been even more important.
If we confine the numbers to the month of March, Toronto's two most used units with Ibaka at center both have net ratings over plus-30. Stick him out there with Jonas Valanciunas, though, and things go south. The Raptors' most used five-man group this month features Ibaka at the 4 and has allowed 116.8 points per 100 possessions on the way to a minus 15.4 net rating.
This may be a condemnation of Valanciunas' worth as much as anything else, but it's difficult to ignore the obvious truth: Toronto is at its best with Ibaka as the lone big man.
9. Los Angeles Clippers
22 of 30
↓ 1 Spot
The schedule didn't do the Clippers any favors this week, as a stretch of five games in seven nights forced them to rely on a bench unit that hasn't performed well of late.
Between the All-Star break and Wednesday's 107-91 loss to the Wolves, units including both Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers got outscored by 35 points in 148 minutes. And though Crawford's shooting was integral to a 116-102 win over the Celtics on Monday, tossing him out there remains a defensive gamble.
The Clips are getting vintage performances (minus the aerial stuff) from Blake Griffin, who keeps moving the ball as a secondary facilitator behind Chris Paul. But we've come to expect good efforts from L.A.'s top-end stars when they're healthy.
If the bench can improve on a net rating that sits all the way down at No. 21 on the season, the Clippers may yet climb the rankings.
8. Miami Heat
23 of 30↑ 4 Spots
If you can move past the sheer oddity of seeing the Miami Heat in the top 10, you'll come to understand this is right. This is deserved. This is real.
Call it an arbitrary cuttoff if you want, but the Heat are now 20-4 in their last 24 games. Nobody has a better record in that stretch, and, without looking it up officially, no individual player has buried more dagger triples from the left wing than Dion Waiters.
Miami downed the Cavaliers twice this past week, and the overwhelming bravado emanating from the Heat locker room is probably potent enough to serve as testosterone replacement therapy for most of South Florida's considerable population of male retirees.
Goran Dragic is having his best season since leaving the Suns, Waiters is closing games with gusto, and the only way we won't get the Cavs-Heat first-round matchup we all want will be if Miami climbs to seventh or sixth in the East.
Nothing has been more fun to watch over the past few months than the rising Heat.
7. Utah Jazz
24 of 30
↑ 2 Spots
The Utah Jazz have done this to us before.
They've had winning streaks that make them look like a viable conference finalist. Rudy Gobert has dominated plenty of games, and Gordon Hayward has parlayed his all-around offensive skills into tantalizing runs.
But the victory that capped this week's 4-0 surge makes things a little different because it came against a verified Western Conference playoff team.
Utah grounded the Rockets with a 115-108 win Wednesday—a contest Gobert controlled with 23 points, 10 rebounds and excellent interior D (duh). That result was Utah's first win against a top-seven team in the West since it beat the Grizzlies waaaaaaaaay back on Dec. 18.
"It's confidence. Shows that we can do it," Hayward told Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. "We haven't played well at all against any of those teams. For us to get a win, it's like finally seeing the ball go through the hoop."
Confidence has a way of building on itself. If the Jazz take that win over Houston and roll with it, they'll more than justify this week's climb.
6. Houston Rockets
25 of 30
↓ 1 Spot
Even if the Rockets have leveled off a bit by losing three of their last five games, they're still showing some positive developments outside of James Harden's scoring.
Clint Capela is averaging 15.4 points and 10.2 rebounds over those last five contests, and it's beginning to look like he won't be so easily hacked off the floor in the postseason.
John Lucas has been working with Capela on his foul shooting, and the results showed up when the Grizzlies intentionally fouled the big man down the stretch Saturday.
The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen chronicled the scene: "When Capela sank eight of his 10 free throws, he not only foiled the plan and sealed the Rockets win, he gave himself a reason to believe Lucas' long-term plans could work out, too."
Capela is up to 53.2 percent from the stripe after knocking down 65.2 percent of his tries so far in March. That's a far cry better than his previous career high, 37.9 percent, set last year.
5. Boston Celtics
26 of 30
↑ 1 Spot
We have to start with that win over the Warriors on Wednesday—partly because it represented a defensive high point for a Celtics team still in search of the form it showed on that end a year ago, and partly because that victory distracts from a week that was otherwise pretty lame.
Boston held the Dubs to 86 points, making it the first team to keep Golden State under the century mark at home all year. Watching Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart deny the Warriors' shooters on the catch made one wonder how Boston entered that game with a defensive rating in the league's bottom half.
If the Celtics are going to climb in the rankings, they'll do it by finally manifesting their defensive potential.
Of course, they'll also want to avoid losing to the Suns and Clippers on back-to-back nights, which they also did this week.
4. Golden State Warriors
27 of 30
↓ 1 Spot
Well, this is odd. Golden State falls again.
The Warriors schedule got ugly at the wrong time. With Kevin Durant out and the ongoing slumps of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Dubs didn't need a road trip through the East and then a home engagement with the Celtics.
But Golden State won't find any sympathy around the league, and it is now, somewhat shockingly, just 2-3 in its last five games.
Head coach Steve Kerr insists the No. 1 seed in the West is a priority but that he won't "run guys ragged" to get it. Bad news for Kerr and the Warriors: His guys already look ragged, and the Spurs are within two games of that coveted top spot.
If the Warriors rest starters against San Antonio on Saturday, they'll almost certainly lose and relinquish their shot at a head-to-head tiebreaker. Remember, the Spurs smoked Golden State back in October's season opener.
Of all the alarming stats attached to the Warriors' swoon, this one may be the scariest: They've been outscored on the season in fourth quarters, per Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News.
We shouldn't strip the Warriors of their title-favorite status just yet, but it's bonkers to contend they're anything close to the league's best team right now.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
28 of 30
↓ 1 Spot
The Cavs kicked off the week by setting the NBA record for made threes in a game, drilling the Hawks for a grand total of 25.
From there, it got ugly.
Cleveland dropped back-to-back games to the Heat and failed to crack the 100-point barrier in both. Then the Cavs fell to the Pistons.
Also worth fretting over: The Cavs have played some of the worst defense in the league since the All-Star break. So while we can count on the returns of Kevin Love and J.R. Smith juicing the offense, we may not see much improvement on the other end.
Andrew Bogut's Cavs career ending 58 seconds after it started doesn't help, either.
This is all relative for Cleveland, though, as it has shown a tendency to crank up the stopping power in the playoffs.
Still, a stretch of four losses in five games (triggered by Boston's 103-99 win to close out last week) warrants a drop.
2. Washington Wizards
29 of 30
↑ 2 Spots
It's not hyperbole to say the Washington Wizards have been historically good this season.
No, really. Here's Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post with proof: "The Wizards just became the first team in NBA history to reach 15 games over .500 after starting 2-8 or worse. This is unprecedented."
Amazing, right?
A starting five that has played lights-out now has help, which means this history is likely to continue.
Bojan Bogdanovic drilled eight threes in Sunday's win over the Magic, and he's had three performances with at least 27 points in his last five games. Not bad for a reserve.
If Ian Mahinmi's 15-point, nine-rebound, plus-38 performance against Phoenix on Tuesday is any indication, he's ready to bolster Washington's newly potent backup corps as well.
For a long time, you could point to the Wizards' lack of depth as a major weakness. It's getting harder to do that now, and Washington, a winner in all three games this past week, is looking strong.
1. San Antonio Spurs
30 of 30
←→ No Movement
Where to begin?
Kawhi Leonard shifted the MVP discussion with a few seconds of transcendent two-way basketball, hitting a trey and snuffing out a Harden layup to give the Spurs a 112-110 comeback win over the Rockets on Monday. But it's possible San Antonio's next win was even more impressive.
The Spurs climbed out of a 28-point hole to beat the Kings on Wednesday, notching the season's biggest comeback victory in the process.
And they did it without Leonard or LaMarcus Aldridge.
As San Antonio draws closer to the top seed in the West, it's still all about Leonard, though.
"It’s not hard to see," Pau Gasol told Tim Cato of SB Nation. "If you've really watched, Kawhi has been very much deserving of being given the MVP this season. He’s contributing on both ends of the floor as opposed to a guy who just scores 30 points a game and that is it. He just makes huge plays defensively. He’s my MVP."
The Spurs have won nine of their last 10, with the only defeat coming against OKC on Thursday. Leonard had to leave that one early after getting hit in the face, so apply the asterisk immediately.
As the other top teams falter, San Antonio remains uncommonly steady.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated and are accurate through games played Thursday, March 9.
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