Western Conference Power Rankings: Early April Edition

1. Jazz (38-11) — prev. rank #1

The month of March actually saw a stretch for Utah where the Jazz lost four out of six games. Yet since then, the Jazz are back on another winning streak, currently up to 9 straight W’s and most recently a complete evisceration of the Magic. The Jazz’s offensive and defensive efficiency numbers have remained consistent over the last month, on par with their numbers throughout the season, and a soft schedule the rest of the way should keep the Jazz at #1 in the standings barring an injury or run in with the protocols. A play that we have really come to appreciate and enjoy: The Don Mitch drive and kick, usually with a jump pass from underneath the basket, the entire defense collapsing around him and the Jazz three-point snipers exactly where he expects them to be.

2. Suns (34-14) — prev. rank #3

The Suns didn’t do anything at the trade deadline. Except they did. Acquiring Torrey Craig was an under the radar and underrated addition to a team that’s still humming right along, winners of five in a row and 8 out of the last 9. Just like the Jazz, the Suns offense and defense have both been reliable and steady — just a tick behind Utah on both fronts. CP3 steers the ship and Book handles the heavy lifting, scoring over 30 points in 12 games so far this season. How it will all translate to the playoffs is the big question for the Western Conference regular season darlings. A slower pace in the postseason won’t be an issue for Phoenix, but the lack of playoff chops outside of Paul and Crowder might be.

3. Nuggets (30-18) — prev. rank #5

Aaron Gordon is precisely the type of player that the Nuggets needed. Even better, he looks locked in on defense, and comfortable rocking his new #50. (And Denver did not have to give up much to get him!) More good news is that Will Barton has turned things around over the last month, eight games with 16+ points post All-Star break after just nine such games before. Oh, and Jamal Murray and MPJ have continued to be more dependable after their inconsistent starts. All this and the Joker is very much still in the MVP conversation if he’s not in the driver’s seat after the Embiid and LeBron injuries. The Nuggets still have some work to do on defense, but Gordon offers size and switchability they had been missing since Grant’s Detroit departure.

4. Clippers (32-18) — prev. rank #4

The Clippers had won six in a row before a two-game slide. Some recent Clippers games have been all about… Terance Mann and Luke Kennard! Both can offer a jolt off the bench in contrasting ways: Mann is not afraid to attack the rim (an area where the Clips have been lacking this season), and Kennard’s lefty shooting is capable of catching fire to the point of Brian Sieman yelling: “Luke Kennard is having an out of body experience!!!” Shipping Lou Williams to ATL for Rondo means that the remains of the scrappy 2018-2019 post Lob City Clippers are down to just Pat Bev and Zubac. (And Zubac was obtained just before the trade deadline that season.) Big Zu is another normal bench guy playing solid ball lately in place of the injured Ibaka, snagging offensive boards like it’s his job (which it is). In the end, it feels like a lot here is going to hinge on… Playoff Rondo.

5. Lakers (31-18) — prev. rank #2

Could the AD and LeBron injuries be a felix culpa? If there was a time for this to happen, it’s in February, March and April so that the defending Champion Lakers will be ready to go at full force in May and June. The absence of the King and the Brow is forcing the other Lakers to find a way without them, something that could prove beneficial later on. Laker lineups without LeBron have undeniably struggled to generate offense, and Kuzma, Schroder and Harrell are shouldering a lot more to help fill the enormous void. While the Lakers defense obviously misses their backbone in AD, the Lakers still have the #1 defense in the NBA this season (105.6 rating) and have been only 1.3 points per 100 possessions worse without him (106.9 rating) since his last game on Valentine’s Day. Once Drummond’s toenail issues are resolved, Big Penguin should offer another experienced interior presence, 15 points and 15 boards, a commonplace Drummond stat line, will be welcomed with open arms.

6. Blazers (30-19) — prev. rank #6

The Blazers offense was incredibly good in March, the #1 offense in the league over the month with a 120.2 offensive rating. The Blazers defense meanwhile was incredibly bad, the WORST defense in the league over the month with a 118.4 defensive rating. But that still equates to a positive net rating and the Blazers went a damn fine 11-4 over that span. We liked Gary Trent, but we understand that the Blazers could use a Norm Powell more. Powell helps on D and in transition while the return of Nurkic certainly improves the Portland defense as well. Speaking of being back, C.J. McCollum still has his newfound propensity to let the 3-ball fly. Dame D.O.L.L.A. has to be in the current consideration for MVP, and we are not just saying that because he was our preseason pick. Has any player been more vital to his team’s success?

7. Mavs (27-21) — prev. rank #7

The Mavs had that horrid protocol-laden start to the season, and they have more than evened out. Dallas has a top-10 offense and top-10 defense since March 1st, and the three-point shooting has proceeded to get better and better, up to 36% and 18th after starting 32% and dead last. Porzingis has rounded into form. Luka looks more in control than ever. The trade deadline move to get Redick gives The Don another dangerous weapon from 3. It’s pretty safe to assume that Tyrell Terry has not assumed the Seth Curry role as some anticipated he would. In retrospect, that should have been obvious given Rick Carlisle’s notion to not play rookies. The Mavs have the 3rd easiest remaining schedule as they try to climb into the West’s top-6 to avoid the play-in, currently 7th in the standings and 1.5 games behind Portland.

8. Grizzlies (23-23) — prev. rank #9

The word is that Jaren Jackson Jr. will finally return to the court at some point this month at long last. It can’t come soon enough as the Grizzlies have a gauntlet of games left on the schedule, and the offense has been borderline bottom-10 all season. The defense has still been the vigor. This team has more Grit ‘N Grind lingering within than you'd think, but JJJ will open up the spacing and a world of possibilities, a door for Ja to lead them back into the Fun House. Justise Winslow’s return to action has been met with middling results, the Grizz are 8-8 with Winslow in the lineup. He still can’t shoot, a frightening 12 percent from 3 and staggering 77 offensive rating, but his all-position defense is still very useful. Valanciunas is somebody who deserves far more credit than he’s getting this year. We aren’t even referring to him as Valanchoony any more. (Or at least not all the time.)

9. Warriors (23-26) — prev. rank #8

The Warriors have a very small margin for error this season, and Steph’s tailbone injury has proved costly. The 53-point beat down handed to them by the Raptors on Friday night was another one of those stare into the abyss type of nights for the Dubs. Folks, the Warriors are in jeopardy of missing the play-in! We wouldn’t bet on that happening, but it’s possible. The Warriors are a cringey 4-11 over the last 15 games. The good news is that the schedule is somewhat favorable the rest of the way, and that Wiggins has continued to impress. Did you know that he’s shooting 39.9 percent from 3 this season!? This is kind of random but on par for us — why does Kelly Oubre have so many less power dunks this season? Makes you wonder. One of the more fascinating subplots the rest of the way is whether or not the Warriors make the play-in, currently 10th in the standings with a 1.5 games lead on the Kings and Pelicans.

10. Pelicans (21-27) — prev. rank #11

We have written a lot about Zion Williamson. Like, how could we not!? One of the best things about Zion is that he has been even better than we thought he would be, and we thought he would be an amazing player. His efficiency in the paint is insane, and Zion is already putting up historic numbers that the league hasn’t seen since Shaq. The fact that Zion is 6 inches shorter than Shaq and is the Pelicans lead ball-handler should make you realize how special and unique a player he really is. Trading away Redick means more PT for Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis Jr, and we say let the youngin’s develop. NAW and KLJ have both shown some promising potential. Defense is still the big question for this team (although they were slightly better in March) and the thorn in their side that could keep them from finishing top-10 in the West.

11. Kings (22-28) — prev. rank #12

The Kings have several buzzer beaters now over the course of the last few seasons with Harrison Barnes turnaround 3 off Fox’s Grant Hill baseball inbounds pass and subsequent slap of Collin Sexton’s ass being the latest and maybe greatest. We previously stated in this space that Luke Walton being the next coach to get canned felt inevitable, but the Kings had a recent 5-game winning streak and stretch of winning 7 out of 8 games. Since then and most recently, however, Sacramento has dropped three in a row. Even so, since Bagley went down (he is either cursed or made of glass, or both) and Luke inserted Halliburton into the starting lineup, that’s when the winning ways began and the defense has improved by 3 points per 100 possessions in efficiency. The Kings also sported the 5th best offense in the NBA in March. It seems like this new post trade deadline group has more fun playing together and that sure goes a long way. Unleash Terence Davis!

12. Spurs (24-23) — prev. rank #10

We wondered why we had the Spurs so low in the last power rankings, and a month later we are still wondering the same thing. (Well, they are 3-7 in their last 10 games.) On one hand it feels like the Spurs lack a certain zestiness to them, but on the other hand, they have DeRozan, Dejounte, Keldon Johnson and Lonnie Walker, making them less mundane than they used to be. Not to mention the grand adventure that is watching Jakob Poetl at the free throw line… YIKES. Hide yo kids and hide yo wife! Patty Mills is having arguably the best season of his career. It’s hard to believe that the Aussie is in his 12th year in the league. The Spurs have the 2nd hardest schedule remaining according to tankathon.com who we trust. Currently in 8th place in the West, the Grizzlies, Warriors, Kings and Pelicans will all be gunning for them. Winter is coming? Where there is a Pop, there is a way?

13. Thunder (20-29) — prev. rank #13

Without SGA, their best player and borderline All-Star who is apparently dealing with plantar fasciitis, without Lou Dort, their defensive menace, the Dorture Chamber, and without Al Horford, their veteran big who has been shut down (??), the Thunder are still winning games and failing to tank! Well, at least the Thunder have lost five out of their last six games, allowing Sam Presti to sleep better. Moses Brown is putting up 20-20 games. Poku is a threat to do… just about anything. No player in the league who touches the ball has a wider variety of outcomes than Aleksej Pokusevski.

14. T-Wolves (12-38) — prev. rank #14

There were always glimpses that Ant-Man was more than just the most consistent power dunker in the league, and over the last month, Edwards has shown exactly why he was the #1 pick. Since Chris Finch started calling the shots, Ant-Man has taken off, averaging 24 points in March and scoring 34 in a win over the Blazers and 42 in a win over the Suns. He’s smooth and sophisticated yet different without making a huge fuss about it. We have noticed that KAT’s scoop passes are good fun but also quite treacherous. Jaden McDaniels, hello!

15. Rockets (13-35) — prev. rank #15

Christian Wood’s return to the lineup + KPJ’s arrival + the trade deadline newcomers of Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley, and The D.J.’s give Houston yet another funky mish mash collection of players that is very different than the team that endured a 20-game losing streak. It’s puzzling AF that the Rockets chose Olynyk and Bradley over Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. Or Ben Simmons for that matter! That’s a difficult pill to swallow if you’re a Rockets fan. We have to mention again that the demise of this franchise took place as soon as Tilman Fertitta showed up. Nevertheless, we stan Kevin Porter Jr. He plays with tenacity, and he’s currently shooting a stellar 60% on 2’s.

_____________________________________

New Power Ranks every month — only one left.

We love this game!