Monday, Feb. 24
NBA Power Rankings: Week 17
Cary Chow and Marc Stein break down Week 17.
More on how this week's order was calculated can be found on Stein Line Live.
You're also invited, as always, to rank the teams yourself here.
| 2013-14 Power Rankings: Week 17 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 | 1 Last Week: 2 | In spite of all the ups and downs and broken noses suffered through the Heat's first 54 games, they never lost their No. 1 spot in the Title Contender Rankings. As confirmed by the fact East-leading Indiana hasn't stopped trying to upgrade its roster since the calendar flipped to 2014. | ||
| 2 | 1 Last Week: 1 | OKC's next two games aren't exactly gimmes, with Cleveland and desperate Memphis in town, but folks will inevitably wonder if it would've been better to wait one more week before throwing Russ Westbrook back in there given the degree of difficulty in his first two games back (Heat and Clips). | ||
| 3 |
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Last Week: 3 | This three-game surge from Paul George coming out of the All-Star break has to be a welcome sight to Pacer People watching Indy's lead atop the East dwindle. He is still shooting only 40.2 percent from the floor this month -- even after the surge -- to follow up his 41.0 percent shooting in January. | ||
| 4 |
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Last Week: 4 | The rising Rockets have quietly posted the NBA's best record since Jan. 1 (17-5). In even quieter fashion, Houston has nudged its way into the top 10 in defensive efficiency while Dwight Howard became the first player ever to play in three straight All-Star Games with three different teams. | ||
| 5 |
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Last Week: 5 | One of the more interesting discrepancies that the committee (of one) can remember. Impressive as the Clips were to win a duel at OKC pitting two teams in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, I'm not sure how L.A. could be No. 1 like the Hollinger System says. | ||
| 6 |
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Last Week: 6 | The injury-riddled Spurs began the Rodeo Road Trip with the league's top away record. After nearly 9,000 miles, 25 days without a home game and sneaking in a couple of long-awaited wins over elite teams last week, they're finally back home Wednesday. And still No. 1 on the road: 22-8. | ||
| 7 |
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Last Week: 7 | Terry Stotts' tribute in honor of Dr. Jack's 89th birthday goes a long way with us. A long way. Yet it's safe to say Portland would prefer if we forget much of what we've seen during this 5-5 February, lowlighted by the groin injury that has LaMarcus Aldridge stuck wearing his own sport coat. | ||
| 8 |
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Last Week: 8 | The Mavs' 7-2 mark in February is the league's third best. Even better for Dirk Nowitzki's crew: Dallas is down to a league-low three back-to-backs remaining. Any giddiness is tempered, though, by the fact the Mavs still found themselves stuck at No. 8 in the West on Monday morning. | ||
| 9 | 3 Last Week: 12 | The Dubs have won three in a row for the first time since their 10-game win streak in early January. They also hold the distinction of convincing the Nets they absolutely had to sign Jason Collins after Jermaine O'Neal rumbled for 23 and 13 against Brooklyn in his first double-double all season. | ||
| 10 | 1 Last Week: 9 | Interesting reaction to a home win Friday over the Clippers -- and the Saturday night loss in Charlotte that followed -- from Grizzlies expert @HerringtonNBA: "Split this weekend was most likely outcome for Griz. Only problem is that most likely outcome at this point is missing playoffs." | ||
| 11 |
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Last Week: 11 | Jeff Hornacek has the Suns on the brink of the top 10 in defensive efficiency when he hasn't had Eric Bledsoe in uniform since Dec. 30. In related news: Jeff Hornacek has the lead on anyone else you want to nominate in the Coach of the Year race entering the final third of the regular season. | ||
| 12 | 2 Last Week: 10 | Fourth in the league in scoring defense at a mere 96.6 PPG allowed. Seventh in the league in defensive efficiency at 100.9 points allowed per 100 possessions. And a clear favorite now to win the Atlantic Division and snag a top-four seed in the East thanks to a favorable schedule from here. | ||
| 13 |
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Last Week: 13 | Legitimately surprised Chicago didn't steal one Sunday on South Beach with LeBron in street clothes. The Bulls showed up riding a five-game winning streak, sporting a league-best record of 8-5 against Miami in the LeBron-Wade-Bosh era and the East's best win percentage since Jan. 1 (.708). | ||
| 14 |
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Last Week: 14 | Most important development in Brooklyn absolutely no one is talking about today? There has been no mention of another juice cleanse or anything of that nature, but Deron Williams -- for the second successive season -- has emerged from the All-Star break looking a lot more like vintage D-Will. | ||
| 15 |
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Last Week: 15 | On Saturday night, Nene was tying his career high with 30 points in a crucial one-point home win over New Orleans. On Sunday night, Nene took another hit to that vulnerable left knee and has the Wizards -- happy as they are to be back at .500 -- holding their breath and hoping for the best. | ||
| 16 | 1 Last Week: 17 | Trust us, Bobcats fans. Don't look at the upcoming schedule. Don't look at the next four games on the docket. Just revel in Monday's standings. Or those four straight wins. Or the fact Michael Jordan turned buyer at the trade deadline and snagged a couple of shooters for the stretch run. | ||
| 17 | 1 Last Week: 16 | You look at the numbers and figure Kevin Love's February couldn't be more fantastic: 34.1 PPG, 14.3 RPG and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range. Then you remember to check the standings and see that the Wolves are still are 6.5 games out of the West's final playoff spot with 26 to go. | ||
| 18 | 1 Last Week: 19 | They still had enough to beat the Knicks on Saturday night -- only adding to the woes for Melo and Co. in New York's 2-8 February -- but the Hawks are clearly in free fall. Atlanta dropped the previous eight games and its injury situation is only getting worse. | ||
| 19 | 7 Last Week: 26 | The Nuggets are banged up and demoralized, true, but the Kings aren't about to apologize after scoring their first win in Denver on Sunday night since April 5, 2008. It was also the first time three Kings (Isaiah Thomas, Rudy Gay and Boogie Cousins) scored at least 25 points since January 1996. | ||
| 20 | 2 Last Week: 18 | Here's a weird one: There were zero blocked shots in the All-Star Game in New Orleans ... which happened to feature a Pelican named Anthony Davis who leads the league in shot-blocking. The previous All-Star Game low for blocks, since the stat was introduced in the 1970s, was five. | ||
| 21 | 1 Last Week: 22 | It really wasn't all the trade speculation surrounding Luol Deng, Jarrett Jack and Tyler Zeller that brought a halt to the Cavs' unexpected six-game winning streak. Injuries to Dion Waiters, Anderson Varejao and C.J. Miles are what's responsible for messing with Cleveland's momentum. | ||
| 22 | 2 Last Week: 20 | We've been so focused on the marked difference in Utah's record with (18-25) and without (1-11) Trey Burke that we're guilty of overlooking his 35 percent shooting from the floor in 2014. Yet he's actually looked fresher and sharper since coming back from All-Star Weekend. | ||
| 23 | 2 Last Week: 21 | After a bright start under interim coach John Loyer, Detroit is reeling anew. Andre Drummond had a rough week, and the Pistons lost both ends of a crucial home-and-home with Charlotte to fall 3.5 games away from the No. 8 seed. Before this 1-4 skid, they were tied for eighth in the East. | ||
| 24 |
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Last Week: 24 | The only hoop consistency emanating from the Mile High these days is (A) Denver's losing and (B) Brian Shaw's public critiques of the Nuggets' effort during this month's 1-7 slide. Refusing to use their many injuries as an alibi, Shaw says: "What I can't live with is the disinterest in competing." | ||
| 25 | 2 Last Week: 23 | The Hawks, who awoke Monday as the No. 8 seed in the Leastern Conference, are on pace for a 39-43 finish. The Knicks need a 19-7 finish to get to 40 wins. The same Knicks who've lost to the Bucks (road), Kings (home) and Magic (road) this month with at least one night of rest before each L. | ||
| 26 | 1 Last Week: 25 | Not sure what to tell Magic fans at this point. Does the Victor Oladipo Show move you? Should we trumpet the fact he just became the first Magic rook since Penny Hardaway to record multiple 20-point, 10-assist games? Fifteen straight L's on the road make it hard to be sunny here. | ||
| 27 | 1 Last Week: 28 | The only previous season both the Lakers and Celtics missed the playoffs was 1993-94. That it's going to happen again this season, precisely 20 years later, got us wondering: What sort of odds could you get in Vegas now on the Lakers and Celtics both missing the postseason in 2033-34? | ||
| 28 | 1 Last Week: 27 | As long as this nightmarish season has been for Celtics fans, something tells me they're going to miss Gerald Wallace -- or at least those trademark Wallace musings -- when he's gone. Crash on Brad Stevens' first ejection from a game at any level: "I'm happy for him. Welcome to the NBA." | ||
| 29 |
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Last Week: 29 | The Sixers acquired a whopping five second-round draft picks through their various deadline deals last week. What we can't tell you is how many more games the Sixers (or what's left of them) will win for the rest of the season ... except to assure you that it'll probably be fewer than five. | ||
| 30 |
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Last Week: 30 | The Bucks have dropped 10 straight road games. The Sixers, meanwhile, have lost 10 in a row overall in their determined bid to sink to the bottom of these rankings. The teams meet Monday night in the Somebody Has To Win Bowl. Go ahead: Try to convince me you're not going to watch. | ||
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