NBA Power Rankings: Clippers peaking at the right time?

41. <p>72 wins and the season isn’t over yet. Golden State has been ridiculously good from wire to wire, and with an impressive road win in San Antonio on Sunday, there just isn’t a reasonable case for anyone else. The Warriors have a chance for history on Wednesday and it would be a surprise if they didn’t make it happen.</p>. (72-9). Previous: . Golden State Warriors. 1. team

29. <p>San Antonio has been so good this year that they can afford to lose three games without even a thought of moving them down. It must be noted that two of those defeats came to the Warriors, but even if they didn’t, the Spurs have done enough to build a profile without any real blemishes.</p>. (65-15). Previous: . San Antonio Spurs. 2. team

Previous: . Los Angeles Clippers. 3. team. 77. <p>Blake Griffin returned to action on Apr. 3 and the Clippers haven’t lost since. Griffin has only appeared in four of the five games during LA’s recent winning streak, but this is a team that appears to be peaking at the right time. I would say that this ranking is a bit high but the rest of the contenders have faltered lately.</p>. (52-28)

(54-26). Previous: . Oklahoma City Thunder. 4. team. 149. <p>It appears that Oklahoma City doesn’t care much right now. That might be an indictment in the grand scheme, but I have a certain level of trust with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. What is certainly a problem, though, is the regularity of 4th quarter collapses.</p>

Previous: . Cleveland Cavaliers. 5. team. 156. <p>The Cavs have dropped two straight, including a ghastly loss to the Bulls on Saturday. Still, Cleveland has built enough equity to pull off the number one seed in the East, and no contender in that conference wants any part of LeBron James in a meaningful game.</p>. (56-24)

125. <p>I’m planting my flag here. Since late February (a 22-game sample), the Hawks have the best net rating (+9.4) in the NBA, and Atlanta exercised some demons by knocking off the Raptors at home this week. Mike Budenholzer’s team hasn’t gotten much credit this season after their 60-win explosion in 2014-15, but this team closely resembles last year’s product right now and that is a very good thing for Atlanta fans.</p>. (48-32). Previous: . Atlanta Hawks. 6. team

Toronto Raptors. 7. team. 81. <p>The Raps have certainly earned the number two seed in the East, and from a season-long perspective, they have been better than the Hawks. However, Toronto has some demons to exercise in their own right, and they can’t be challenged until the postseason begins.</p>. (54-26). Previous:

Previous: . Boston Celtics. 8. team. 18. <p>Brad Stevens has done a highly impressive job with this team. The Celtics had a four-game winning streak halted in Atlanta on Saturday, but Boston looks like a threat to reach the second round of the playoffs, and given the roster constraints, that is noteworthy to be sure.</p>. (47-33)

(47-33). Previous: . Miami Heat. 9. team. 110. <p>Miami took a bad loss when it comes to positioning this week, dropping a road game to the woeful Magic. Still, the Heat have been nearly as good as the Celtics on the whole, and most feel as if Miami is even more dangerous in the playoffs.</p>

118. <p>The Jazz had a losing record this week… and jumped in the rankings. Why? Their two losses came by a total of five points to the Spurs and Clippers, and Utah hasn’t lost to a non-contender in nearly a month. I’m higher on Quin Snyder’s team than anyone should be, but I can’t get past how good I think they are. It’s a shame their playoff stay will be (quite) short.</p>. (40-40). Previous: . Utah Jazz. 10. team

Previous: . Detroit Pistons. 11. team. 64. <p>Since the trade deadline (read: the All-Star break), the Pistons are seven games over .500 and a completely different entity. Yes, I realize they are below two teams in the East standings that they are ranked ahead of here, but that’s not an accident. Detroit is really good right now.</p>. (43-37)

Charlotte Hornets. 12. team. 170. <p>I’m punishing Charlotte for what was a horrid performance on Sunday. The Hornets lost to a John Wall-less Wizards team by 15 points, and it wasn’t as if this team had nothing to play for. Playoff positioning really matters in the East and that showing must be noted here.</p>. (46-34). Previous:

13. team. 100. <p>Something about Indiana makes me wary but it is tough to deny the results. Frank Vogel has this team overachieving when it comes to its roster, and the Paul George-Myles Turner combo is a whole lot of fun.</p>. (43-37). Previous: . Indiana Pacers

(43-38). Previous: . Portland Trail Blazers. 14. team. 34. <p>A home loss to the Wolves (which happened on Saturday) looks worse on paper than it is in real life, simply because Minnesota is playing pretty well right now. More than anything, though, the Blazers remain here based on what the other West playoff teams didn’t do. Sometimes, that matters a great deal.</p>

(41-39). Previous: . Dallas Mavericks. 15. team. 79. <p>The Mavs have been cooking lately, but they couldn’t keep that mojo working on Sunday against the red-hot Clippers. It looks as if Dallas will make the playoffs despite overwhelming adversity, though, and the Carlisle-Dirk combo gets a ton of credit for that performance.</p>

<p>I badly want to drop the Rockets this week, but there is just nowhere for this team to go. Houston’s home loss to Phoenix was flatly embarrassing given the context of a playoff race, and this team has been maddening for the entirety of the season. Alas, there are much worse products out there.</p>. (39-41). Previous: . Houston Rockets. 16. team. 169

(39-41). Previous: . Washington Wizards. 17. team. 142. <p>It is generally unthinkable that the Wizards could miss the playoffs this year, but that is what transpired. Washington has been better recently, including an unlikely win without John Wall over the weekend, but Randy Wittman and his crew just couldn’t capture anything resembling magic this season.</p>

24. <p>A home win over Cleveland only serves more of a reminder of what could have been for the Bulls. Chicago misses the playoffs despite relative health from Derrick Rose and most of its top-end players, and the Fred Hoiberg experiment hasn’t gone particularly well.</p>. (40-40). Previous: . Chicago Bulls. 18. team

86. <p>The Wolves are the fastest-rising team this week, and Minnesota is scary good from a talent perspective. The entire NBA world watched as they dethroned Golden State, and this group followed that up with two more road wins over the Kings and Blazers. The future is unreasonably right for Minnesota and Karl-Anthony Towns is <em>that</em> good.</p>. (28-52). Previous: . Minnesota Timberwolves. 19. team

<p>The Kings want this season to be over.</p><p>The Kings seem to want every season to be over by this time.</p><p>That’s not great.</p>. (32-48). Previous: . Sacramento Kings. 20. team. 84

73. <p>I’ve managed to slow down by love fest for the Nuggets, but I’m still quite high on the job that Michael Malone and his staff have done. With the recent results not withstanding, I’m high on the young core, and Nikola Jokic should be an All-Rookie team selection.</p>. (33-48). Previous: . Denver Nuggets. 21. team

Orlando Magic. 22. team. 38. <p>Orlando caught fire a week ago, but even as things slowed down, the positive signs were there. That manifested itself in a strong home win over the Miami Heat, and with a tweak here or there, the Magic could be a playoff team in 2016-2017.</p>. (34-46). Previous:

Milwaukee Bucks. 23. team. 89. <p>I still don’t know what to make of the Bucks. Giannis and Jabari are fantastic and Khris Middleton is a very, very nice wing player on a reasonable contract. However, the point guard position is a mess (even if Giannis plays it) and this team just doesn’t defend. Your guess is as good as mine. I promise.</p>. (33-47). Previous:

Previous: . Memphis Grizzlies. 24. team. 211. <p>God bless Dave Joerger for the work he’s done here. The actual performance of the Grizzlies must be separated from the team’s record, as the current state of the roster closely resembles a D-League squad. Memphis almost knocked off Golden State this week (somehow), but the recent results just aren’t good.</p>. (42-38)

team. 27. <p>The continued existence of Kurt Rambis troubles me, and it isn’t as if the Knicks are playing well. It is nice to have Carmelo and Porzingis, but the rest of the situation is… tenuous.</p>. (32-49). Previous: . New York Knicks. 25

26. team. 69. <p>The magic unearthed by this club last week has evaporated. The Pelicans lost, at home, by 21 points to the Suns and only a win over the Lakers salvages what could have been a lower ranking. Anthony Davis can’t get back soon enough.</p>. (30-50). Previous: . New Orleans Pelicans

<p>The Suns were about eight minutes away from three straight wins this week. Phoenix was beating up on Atlanta on the road before faltering in the fourth quarter, but that didn’t stop the Suns from rattling off wins over the Pelicans and Rockets. That says more about the opposition than anything, but hey, wins are wins.</p>. (22-58). Previous: . Phoenix Suns. 27. team. 66

Brooklyn Nets. 28. team. 147. <p>The Nets aren’t trying right now, with Brook Lopez and Thad Young sitting out for the remainder of the season. With that caveat out of the way, it’s been brutal lately with eight straight losses. Woof.</p>. (21-59). Previous:

team. 20. <p>Five straight losses will send you to this spot in a hurry, and the Lakers are as bad as the profile looks. Kobe Bryant will ride off into the night with a finale on Wednesday, and his fantastic career shouldn’t be judged on the calamity of this Lakers season.</p>. (16-64). Previous: . Los Angeles Lakers. 29

93. <p>10 wins! We did it! The Sixers won’t set the record for futility in the NBA, but that is basically the only positive thing from this season. The front office is a mess, the roster is a disaster and we can only pray for Brett Brown’s sanity.</p>. (10-70). Previous: . Philadelphia 76ers. 30. team