NBA Power Rankings: How high can the Thunder climb?

We’re highlighting the strong play of point guards in this week’s edition of our NBA Power Rankings.

This was a fun week in the NBA for point guards — Isaiah Thomas came back, Steph Curry got crazy hot, Russell Westbrook had a few triple-doubles, and Spencer Dinwiddie hit a game-winner.

More and more, the point guard position is becoming so important for teams. While Chris Paul has adapted quickly to his new team, without James Harden, things are tough for the Rockets. Without Victor Oladipo, the Pacers couldn’t beat anyone, and once he returned, they steamrolled the Bulls. Without Reggie Jackson, the Pacers have been listless, struggling to execute basic plays at times. The Lakers were able to snap their losing streak once Lonzo Ball returned to the lineup.

The season is halfway done for most teams. It’s that time of the year where good teams separate themselves from bad teams, taking advantage of their depth or talent to grit out wins in the third game over a four night stretch, or shake off an injury to a starter to win a hard fought defensive game.

Speaking of gritting out wins, here’s the No. 30 ranked team in this week’s power rankings.

The Hawks — yeesh. They started off the week watching the Suns snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, losing 104-103 after Marquese Chriss blocked Taurean Prince’s shot with seven seconds left on the clock. Kent Bazemore had a bad play in the final seconds, fouling Devin Booker with 12 seconds left on a 3-point attempt that gave the Suns the points they needed to take the lead. Bazemore and Dennis Schroder each scored 20 points, but it was the points they gifted the Suns in the final seconds that hurt the most. The Hawks just didn’t have it going in their loss to the Trail Blazers on Friday, being down by as much as 25 in the fourth quarter. Things didn’t get better for their road game against the Lakers, where they failed to execute on both ends of the court against a young squad.