NBA Power Rankings: The Raptors are standing on top

 For the first time in weeks, a new team is taking over the top spot in our NBA Power Rankings. How have the Raptors done it and who slid below them?

For the Suns present and future, it’s all about surrounding Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker with the right role players. In the 203 minutes that pairing has played with Mikal Bridges, the Suns have outscored opponents by an average of 10.8 points per 100 possessions. This the only trio Phoenix has with a positive net rating in at least 200 minutes together, seems like a good place to start.

The Bulls followed a winless week with the firing of head coach Fred Hoiberg. He was never given a fair shake but also probably wasn’t the right coach for this young core. Jim Boylen is taking over as the permanent head coach and hopefully there isn’t any ridiculous pressure to push for the playoffs. This roster needs to be focused on taking shape around the young core, not trying to be more than the sum of their parts.

The Cavaliers picked up their lone win of the week over the Brooklyn Nets on an at-the-buzzer dunk from Alec Burks. That pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the current state of their season.

John Collins has been back on the floor for nine games and this week he really began to regain his rhythm, averaging 16.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists, shooting 60 percent from the field. It’s not making a difference in the area of wins and losses but it will be good to keep him and Trae Young on the floor and although them to keep working on their synergy.

John Wall continues to lead by example with a surplus of apathy and lethargy, topped off with a heaping helping of righteous indignation at the team’s circling of the drain. Wizards!

The Knicks have been full of surprises this season, perhaps none as shocking as Emmanuel Mudiay masquerading as an effective point guard. He’s finishing better, hitting more than 35 percent of his 3s and averaging 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He’ll have to keep it up for a lot longer but because of his physical characteristics, he’s probably more viable as a long-term point guard solution than Trey Burke (especially if Frank Ntilikina is going to play off-the-ball or get traded).

D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie have really been struggling with shooting efficiency since Caris LeVert went out of the lineup and things came to a head this week. The two of them, along with Shabazz Napier, were 25-of-85 (29 percent) on 3-pointers in four games this week.

Things went off the rails quickly for the Spurs. They’re just a game under .500 but they also have a minus-2.7 point differential per 100 possessions, the worst mark of the tier of teams just above the obvious and outright tankers.

Nikola Vucevic had another sensational week, continuing his push for an NBA All-Star slot and maintaining his place as the most important piece for Orlando. On the season, he’s now averaging 21.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, shooting 55.3 percent from the field and 40.9 percent on 3-pointers.

For all intents and purposes, Bam Adebayo, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson appear to the be the future of the Heat. When that trio has been on the floor, the Heat are outscoring opponents by an average of 10.4 points per 100 possessions, with a defensive efficiency that would rank among the league’s best. So why isn’t that trio leading the Heat into the playoffs? For some reason, they can’t get on the court. They played a grand total of 17 minutes this week, across three games.

As the Kings have slid down the Western Conference standings, defense has been their biggest issue. They gave up 117.4 points per 100 possessions in their two games this week, the third-worst mark in the league for the last seven days. They have finally found their stride on offense, making use of their immense talent on that side of the floor. Making the leap to a playoff team is going to require buckling down at the other end.

Portland is in a bad way. After spending several weeks in the top 10 of our power rankings, they’ve slipped all the way to the bottom third. Portland has lost seven of their last 10 games, with their three wins coming against the Wizards, Knicks and Magic by a combined 17 points. Not great, Bob.

The Jazz offense still hasn’t looked right but they are hoping the addition of Kyle Korver will inject some much-needed shooting and help open the middle of the floor for Donovan Mitchell’s drives and Rudy Gobert’s rim-runs. Korver has played just 39 minutes across two games but he’s already hit 5-of-11 3-pointers, a very good sign.

The depth problems, defense and lack of complementary shooting have all been highlighted as problematic for the Rockets this season. Chris Paul’s decline can’t be overlooked either. At age-33, his true shooting percentage is the lowest it has been since his second year in the league, and his assist percentage is a career-low.

The Timberwolves have continued to improve and chew up the ground they lost as they floundered through the Jimmy Butler mess. Since the trade, they are 8-3 with the second-best defense and third-best point differential in the NBA.