Western Conference Power Rankings: Early-February Edition
1. Phoenix Suns (40-9) — prev. rank #2
The Phoenix Suns absolutely roasted the month of January.
It wasn’t quite No Loss November, but a January record of 13-1 and a current 10-game winning streak has ascended the Suns to the best record in the league. Phoenix touted the #1 offense (117.9 rating) and a top-5 defense (106.8) in January, and for the season, the Suns now have the #2 offense and #2 defense, the only team in the league to be top-5 in both.
Whether or not it should be Devin Booker or Chris Paul in the MVP conversation has become a debate. But the fact is: having both in the same backcourt hurts both of their cases. This is the best backcourt in the league, and it ain’t particularly close.
The Suns red-hot January record was achieved with Deandre Ayton only playing four games. JaVale McGee missed some as well, and it has been BISMACK BIYOMBO who has filled the void, proving once more that The Point God can truly work wonders with just about any big man.
T-SHIRT All-Star Cam Johnson is currently shooting 43.1 percent from 3 on 5.8 attempts per game which is the 3rd-best percentage in the NBA among players averaging more than five attempts. Cam Johnson is up to six 20-point games so far this season after having just two games of 20+ points his first two years in the league.
The Suns play the Nets tonight on TNT and then hit the road for a four-game Eastern swing: @Atlanta, @Washington, @Chicago and @Philly. The next seven Suns games will all be against Eastern Conference opponents. Phoenix’s record against the East so far this season? 14-2.
2. Golden State Warriors (38-13) — prev. rank #1
Amidst Steph’s shooting slump, the Warriors did have a 12-game January stretch of going 3-9, but the Dubs have since regained their footing, winners of six in a row. There was no slumpin’ Steph to be seen last night in Houston. Steph racked up a 40-piece by way of seven 3s and 21 points in the fourth quarter. Ya know, just the most fourth-quarter points of his career.
The joke was that Steph’s shooting numbers looked like tour dates. And yet, 37.9 percent from 3 on high, HIGH volume of 12.6 attempts per game would be unbelievable for anybody else. It is the lowest percentage of his career, but the Warriors are still right in the mix. A hot-streak like last April could be imminent. (And could be ignited by KPJ’s shit-talking last night in H-Town.)
Sunday, January 9th will forever be known as KLAY DAY. Klay Thompson’s grand return to the court was pure bliss. It took the Sea Captain a while to get his sea legs back under him — as expected after not playing in an NBA game in 941 days — but Klay has recently found a groove, working that Splash Brothers magic with Steph. And a nice two-man game with Jonathan Kuminga.
Draymond has been out since January 5th after an injured calf was found to be linked with a disc issue in his back. Back issues, especially of the disc variety, are never a good sign, but Draymond was looking sharp and flashing his signature smile on TNT last Thursday night. Draymond is set to be re-evaluated before the All-Star break. Still no timetable for James Wiseman…
The Warriors finish up a back-to-back Texas two-step in San Antonio on Tuesday night. Then it’s back to the Bay for just one against the Kings, a quick two-game road trip to OKC and Utah, and back home for the Knicks and Lakers. Out of those next six opponents, the Jazz are the only team with a winning record.
3. Memphis Grizzlies (35-18) — prev. rank #4
The Grizzlies franchise-record 11-game winning streak overlapped the end of 2021 and started 2022 with a bang, but the Mavericks have proved a foil for the Grizz, halting that winning streak and handing them another loss about a week later. And the Embiid-less Sixers put an end to the Grizzlies 3-game winning streak just last night.
Even so, the Grizzlies are still first in the entire NBA this season in rebounds, steals, blocks, second chance points, fast break points and points in the paint. The signs of a truly succinct team that’s always ready to rumble.
All-Star Starter Ja Morant is a highlight waiting to be unleashed. (You don’t have to wait long.) His backcourt mate Desmond Bane might not be as flashy, but he sure gets the job done in his own way. Bane is fresh off scoring a career-high 34 points on Monday night. The same night Ja dropped 37.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is second in the NBA in blocks for the season and was first in the month of January at 3.4 per game! And on the other end, he’s certainly not afraid to hoist the 3. In the 12 games that JJJ has hit three or more 3s, the Grizzlies are 10-2.
After a shaky start to his rookie season, Ziaire Williams has been raising some eyebrows, most notably in that Warriors game when he and Ja put on a high-flying alley-oop clinic.
The bright lights of MSG will shine down on the Grizzlies in a matchup with the Knicks on Wednesday night, then it’s down to Orlando and a return home for just one against the Clippers before hitting the road again for three more: @Detroit, @Charlotte and @New Orleans. (Ja has a record of 1-6 vs. the Pels in his career.)
4. Denver Nuggets (28-21) — prev. rank #5
The Nuggets have won 8 out of the last 10 games and currently ride a 5-game winning streak into February. The Nuggs are fresh off scoring 136 points against the defending champion Bucks in Milwaukee. Over the last two weeks, Denver has the #1 offense in the NBA, posting a ridiculous offensive rating of 120.7.
The advanced numbers still sing the praises of Nikola Jokic with the force of a thousand-man opera.
Aaron Gordon has had a tremendous start to 2022. Out of the 16 games in January, Gordon finished with a positive plus-minus in every game but two. He also scored 20+ points five times, matching the five times he did so over the first 2.5 months of the season.
There are whispers that Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. could return before the end of this season. <insert eyeballs emojis here>
The Nuggets close out a current six-game road trip (currently 4-0) at Minnesota tonight and at Utah on Wednesday night before returning to Denver for three straight against the Pelicans, Nets and Knicks, teams that Denver is 4-0 against this season.
5. Dallas Mavericks (29-22) — prev. rank #7
The Mavs started out 2022 by winning 9 out of the first 10 games, but Dallas is 3-3 over the last six, most recently losing to the bottom of the Eastern Conference Orlando Magic. Even so, the Mavs defense was the best in the association in January (until the 31st when the Celtics snuck by) after being bottom-10 over the first month.
Luka has 16 games of 10+ assists this season. Half of them came in January. In those 16 games, the Mavs are 12-4.
Kristaps Porzingis left the Mavs-Pacers game early last Friday night after experiencing soreness in the same right knee that he previously had surgically repaired. His current status is uncertain, he didn’t travel with the team to Orlando, and it comes at a precarious time after Tim Hardaway Jr. just last week fractured the fifth metatarsal on his left foot against the Warriors.
Jalen Brunson was the Mav to step up earlier this season when Luka missed 10 straight games, and now the Mavs will need others to contribute more with KP and THJ sidelined. Reggie Bullock was up for the task in that same Pacers game that Porzingis left early, scoring a season-high 23 points by way of 6-of-8 shooting from 3.
Good news for the Mavs is that February commences with six in a row at home: Thunder, Sixers, Hawks, Pistons, and Clippers twice. That’s followed by a five-game roadie: @Miami, @New Orleans, @Utah, @Golden State and at the Cryp vs. the Lakers.
6. Utah Jazz (30-21) — prev. rank #3
2022 has NOT been kind to the Jazz thus far. The only teams with a worse record than the Jazz in January? The Kings and Thunder. Over the last 13 games, the Jazz are a putrid 2-11 and have currently lost five games in a row.
The downhill-ness here all started when Rudy Gobert went out of the lineup in the protocols, and the Jazz defense fell off a cliff. Utah’s defense was tied for 5th from the beginning of the season up until New Year’s Eve. In January, the Jazz defense was bottom-5 at 26th!
It’s not all defense, though. A big part of the problem is that the Jazz are last in assist percentage at lowly 53.9 percent for January. (For comparison, the #1 January assist percentage was Denver at 70.6.)
Donovan Mitchell has been out since January 18th, missing seven straight games after suffering a concussion against the Lakers. The good news is that Don Mitch should be back soon, any game now, but the very bad news is that Joe Ingles just suffered a season-ending torn ACL on Sunday night against the T-Wolves.
At least February starts off with six in a row at home vs. the Nuggets, Nets, Knicks, Warriors, Magic and Rockets.
7. Los Angeles Clippers (26-27) — prev. rank #8
Without Kawhi and Paul George, the Clippers were supposed to sink. Instead, the comeback Clippers were born. Three comebacks of 24+ points in a two-week stretch was not just remarkable, it was pure crazy.
Defense has remained the Clippers anchor, still top-10 for the season. But over the last two weeks, the offense has actually started to come around, 7th in the NBA over the last fortnight.
Amir Coffey, the Brewmaster (shoutout Brian Sieman!), has played phenomenally for a guy on a two-way contract. A real deal for him should be forthcoming in the near future. He’s sure as hell earned it. Coffey was undrafted, but Brandon Boston Jr. joins Terance Mann as a winning second-round pick. Boston Jr. had one of his best games of the season on Sunday in Charlotte, contributing 19 points in the Clippers 25-point upset of the Hornets.
It’s unclear whether or not Paul George will miss the remainder of the season, but Brian Windhorst did report that surgery is a possibility.
The Grammy’s road trip has concluded at long last. The Clippers went an impressive 4-4 and are rewarded with two days off prior to Thursday night’s “battle” of LA on Thursday night on TNT. (The LA rivalry between the Clippers and Lakers hasn’t exactly panned out the way we thought it would.) The Clips get one more at home vs. the Bucks and then it’s hitting the road again for three more: @Memphis and @Dallas twice.
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (25-25) — prev. rank #9
The T-Wolves offense has been howling! Howling in a good way, a really good way: 2nd in the NBA in January with an offensive rating of 117.6, just a shade behind #1 Phoenix at 117.9. The defense has slipped from the surprising start, but they still have a positive net rating for the month, #6 in the NBA.
In just his second year in the league, Anthony Edwards is brimming with confidence. Saying that he is the toughest player to guard and that he feels like Black Jesus, Ant-Man is clearly on another level in terms of charisma and moxie.
Karl Anthony-Towns’ inconsistencies have been mostly smoothed out, but there will still be games like against the Warriors where KAT obliterates the first half, and then he’s hardly heard from after that. It’s a team issue, and it would be nice to see Chris Finch continue to hone in on the structure here.
Jarred Vanderbilt got a lot of recognition and praise on National TV in that Warriors game, and rightfully so. Vanderbilt’s rebounding ability is uncanny. He finished January with six games of 12+ rebounds!
The T-Wolves play the Nuggets on Tuesday night (tonight), then it’s a home-and-home with the Pistons before a four-game roadie: @Sacramento twice, @Chicago and @Indiana.
9. Los Angeles Lakers (24-27) — prev. rank #6
The Lakers had that four-game winning streak against the Blazers, T-Wolves, Kings and Hawks but have since lost 8 of the last 11 games. For the season, the Lakers are 23rd in offense and 18th on defense. Not good.
Just as AD finally made his return after missing a month, LeBron is now out with a knee injury of his own. At least AD has looked like the AD of old since getting back on the court, and LeBron averaged damn near 30 points per game in January at 29.8.
Westbrook had one of his best games of the season recently against the Hornets, scoring 30 points in the second half, the most points by a Laker in a half since Kobe’s final game. There was also a nice stretch where the turnovers had subsided, but old habits are hard to kick for good.
It’s been mentioned in this space before, but it’s not mentioned enough elsewhere: Avery Bradley and DeAndre Jordan could not make the final roster for the Warriors or Nets and they have started a combined 57 games for the Lakers. Kendrick Nunn has still yet to play in a single game, but he’s sure been included in the swirling trade rumors.
The Grammy’s six-game road trip for the Lakers is over (they went 2-4 with the wins coming against the Magic and the KD-less and Kyrie-less Nets). So now it’s four straight back home at the Cryp vs. the Blazers, Clippers, Knicks and Bucks. Three teams at .500 or worse is just what the doctor ordered.
10. Portland Trail Blazers (21-30) — prev. rank #12
After a dreadful December that saw the Blazers go 2-11, January was mostly a breath of fresh air for Portland, an 8-8 record (all without Damian Lillard who underwent abdominal surgery and will be re-evaluated in March) that ended on a dull note: losing by 17 points to the 15-win Thunder.
Dame left some big shoes to fill, but Anfernee Simons has stepped right in. Simons put on a tremendous Dame impression in January, averaging 26.3 points per game, top-10 in the NBA for the month, and 4.8 made three-pointers, #2 behind only Fred VanVleet’s 5.3.
The other Blazers budding young talent, Nassir Little, who was having a solid season, recently suffered a left shoulder labral tear and will miss the remainder of the season. A definite blow to the seemingly always injury bugged Blazers.
Jusuf Nurkic has played some of his best ball of the season lately. Nurk averaged 16.6 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game in January. He’s actually the only Blazers regular who has a positive plus-minus this season.
The Blazers play the Lakers at the Cryp on Wednesday night, and then it’s back to Moda for a five-game homestand vs. the Thunder, Bucks, Magic, Lakers and Knicks. Portland does currently have a winning record at home (but just barely at 14-13).
11. San Antonio Spurs (19-32) — prev. rank #11
It’s safe to say that January didn’t go according to plan for San Antonio, mostly thanks to an overlapping 10-game stretch from the end of December to mid-Jan. where the Spurs went 1-9. But a recent victory over DeRozan’s Bulls in which the Spurs scored 131 points and then hanging tough against the best team in the league Suns on Sunday night is encouraging.
Dejounte Murray should probably be an All-Star. We have applauded him numerous times here for averaging 18-8-8 with 2 steals and he’s not only maintained that but upped his averages to 19-9-8!
Keldon Johnson might need to start taking more 3s. Keldon is averaging 43.7 percent from 3 on 4.2 attempts per game which is 2nd-best in the NBA for all players averaging four or more 3-point attempts.
Jakob Poeltl is still having a career-year offensively. Over his last seven games, Poeltl is averaging 19 points per game (!!) to go along with 2.8 blocks a night.
The Spurs get three games at AT&T Center before the annual rodeo road trip from Feb. 9th to Feb. 28th: @Cleveland, @Atlanta, @New Orleans, @Chicago, @OKC, @Washington, @Miami and @Memphis. Sheeeesh.
12. New Orleans Pelicans (18-32) — prev. rank #13
The Pelicans were declared dead by most everybody, but it’s February 1st and the Pelicans are 2.5 games back of the play-in.
In games that Brandon Ingram does not play or does not score at least 20 points, the Pelicans are 5-21. When Ingram plays and scores 20+, the Pellies are 13-11.
Herb Jones’ defensive chops continue to jump off the screen. He lives in passing lanes, averaging 1.5 steals and already has 10 games of three or more swipes. An All-Rookie or even All-Defensive team could be in the cards!
After seeing how calm and poised he was in the preseason, along with his lethal 3-point shot, if you had said that Trey Murphy would be averaging 12.8 minutes and 3.8 points per game at this point in the season, we not only would have not believed you, we would have flat-out laughed in your face. Garrett Temple’s plus-minus this season is -331, third worst in the entire league.
Three more games on the road for the Pels (@Detroit, @Denver and @Houston), but then it’s a six-game stretch at home at Smoothie King: Rockets, Heat, Spurs, Raptors, Grizzlies and Mavs. The Pels are definitely better at home (11-13) compared to the road (7-19).
13. Sacramento Kings (18-34) — prev. rank #10
A two-game winning streak in the middle of January is sandwiched by a 5-game losing streak and a current 7-game losing streak. Even worse, there was the 53-point evisceration handed to them by the Celtics and a 44-point swing the next game against the Hawks.
It’s certainly no excuse, but De’Aaron Fox has missed the last five games with a bum ankle. Fox had turned things around from his awful start to the season. Perhaps he can provide a much needed jolt once he returns.
Hats off to Tyrese Haliburton who has still been bringing it. His career-high 38 points against Philly was exceptional. Just like his words after the Celtics game.
Harrison Barnes has started to look more like the Black Falcon from October. If only Barnes and the Kings could keep that switch ON.
The Kings face off against the Nets on Wednesday night, followed by a quick jump to the Bay to play the Warriors. Then it’s back to the Sac for the Thunder and a back-to-back against the T-Wolves.
14. Houston Rockets (14-36) — prev. rank #15
The Rockets recently had a stretch of winning three out of four games against the Spurs, Kings and Jazz — all on the road! That’s been followed by losing four straight games, but they played the Warriors close twice in the last ten days.
Jalen Green has really struggled shooting the ball, but his speed and athleticism never stop wowing us on a nightly basis.
With the Feb. 10 trade deadline looming, Christian Wood, the Rockets leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker, remains in many a discussion. But it sounds like Eric Gordon is likely to remain in Houston, presumably due to that big contract and big asking price.
Rookie Josh Christopher had one of his best games of the season against the Warriors on Monday night, scoring 19 points which ties his career-high set earlier in January against the Wolves. Keep developing the young talent is the name of the game.
A lot of back-and-forth from H-Town coming up: home vs. the Cavs, @San Antonio, home vs. the Pelicans, @New Orleans and home vs. the Raptors. The Rockets have currently lost 11 in a row at home.
15. Oklahoma City Thunder (15-34) — prev. rank #14
The Thunder had lost 13 of the last 14 games prior to defeating the Blazers on Monday night without SGA. Sam Presti was sleeping soundly at night for most of January, but he might toss and turn a little after that one.
SGA has a sprained ankle that will keep him out through the All-Star Break, and it’s Lu Dort who has led the Thunder in scoring each of the last two games.
Josh Giddey has joined some elite company:
The most double-doubles in Thunder history, passing Russell Westbrook, per StatMuse.
The youngest to reach 500 points, 200 rebounds and 200 assists since LeBron James, per SportsCenter.
The Thunder as a collective are a pretty scrappy bunch, giving off some Pesky Pacers vibes. Last week, they pushed the Pacers to OT and almost pulled off a 28-point comeback against the Bulls.
OKC’s February begins on the road @Dallas, @Portland and @Sacramento. Then it’s back home for the Warriors and Raptors before another three-game roadie: @Philly, @Chicago and @MSG.
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Eastern Conference Power Ranks Coming Soon.
New Power Rankings every month.
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