NBA Power Rankings, March Madness edition: Blake Griffin back, Serge Ibaka, Manu Ginobili down
By Mark Carman
15 Phoenix Suns
2-2 week at home for the Suns who are in a stretch of nine of 10 at home. The wins came against Minnesota and New York dreck, the losses Golden State and Atlanta. Brandon Knight has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. The Suns still have an outside chance at the playoffs this year, only 2.5 games back, but should be very exciting to watch in the coming years. Few teams in the NBA can match the Suns stable of super young, 23 and under talent: Brandon Knight, Alex Len, Archie Goodwin, T.J Warren. All very athletic, all with high upside. Add that to Eric Bledsoe and the still emerging Morris twins and Brandon Wright and you see a Suns team poised to be a strong playoff foe for many years.
14 Chicago Bulls
The Bulls continue to slide both on and off the court after a 1-3 week, the only win in OT at Philadelphia. Joakim Noah didn’t speak to reporters after the last loss Sunday at Oklahoma City after not playing down the stretch due to a minutes restriction put on him from upper management. Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose are still out. They all are still expected back before the playoffs, but will that be enough time for the team to jell. Management and the coaching staff are still at odds causing a lot of stress in the locker room. A deep playoff run seems less and less likely despite a 15-4 record when all five starters are healthy.
13 New Orleans Pelicans
Light week for the Pelicans with four days off after back-to-back road wins Monday and Tuesday to start the week at Milwaukee and Brooklyn. Bad way to end the week losing in double-OT at home to Denver, blowing a 10-point second half lead. Anthony Davis nearly had a quadruple-double , 36 points, 14 rebounds, nine blocks and a career-high seven assists. No one in the NBA has had a game with totals that high in all four of those categories in at least 30 seasons, per the Pelicans’ research staff. That makes one loss feel not so bad for a Pelicans team that has an even greater shot at making the playoffs with Serge Ibaka out in Oklahoma City.
12 Oklahoma City
Kevin Durant is still 1-2 weeks away from returning from his foot injury. Serge Ibaka is on his way to New York to see a knee specialist with speculation being he will require surgery. Russell Westbrook is still a basketball god, but like the Bulls injuries are taking their toll on the once championship contender Thunder. Yes, Durant and Ibaka are both expected back, but how good will they be? If the Thunder are fortunate enough to make the playoffs – a big if – they will in all likelihood be staring at rested Golden State who wont take them for granted. The Thunder can’t defend effectively without Ibaka. Troubled times in OKC.
11 Toronto Raptors
The defense end of the court is the reason the Raptors have gone from Eastern Conference contender to potential first round knock out. They simply haven’t been playing much of it. Two more losses this week to San Antonio and Portland, who scored 117 and 113 respectively. The Raptors are 2-10 in their last 12,but they did finally beat the Miami, ending a 16-game slide. The schedule softens this week with New York, Minnesota, banged up Chicago and Indiana.
Next: No. 10- No. 6