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NBA Power Rankings: Hawks, Warriors, Grizzlies, Trail Blazers at top – Metro US
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NBA Power Rankings: Hawks, Warriors, Grizzlies, Trail Blazers at top

NBA Power Rankings: Hawks, Warriors, Grizzlies, Trail Blazers at top
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1. Atlanta Hawks (43-10, Previous: 1) – The Hawks went 24-1 before dropping two of their last four games. The entire starting unit won “Player of the Month” for January which is actually awesome. Parents and coaches, show your kids film of the way this team plays.

2. Golden State Warriors (41-9, Previous: 2) – The Warriors are outscoring opponents by a staggering 11.2 points per game. That is far and away tops in the NBA, ahead of the 2nd-place Hawks in that category by 4.5 points. Fine, we’ll settle for these two teams in the NBA Finals…

3. Memphis Grizzlies (38-13, Previous: 5) – The Grizzlies have the second-best record in the West but just one All-Star? They may not be the flashiest team in the league, but they know how to win. And Jeff Green has been a great addition.

4. Portland Trail Blazers (35-17, Previous: 3) – It took a staph infection to Blake Griffin, but Damian Lillard is going to the All-Star game. You hate that it comes at another player’s expense, but Lillard certainly played well enough to deserve a spot.

5. Toronto Raptors (35-17, Previous: 10) – Every good team goes through a rough patch in the season, and it appears that is now behind the Raptors. After going 3-8 from Dec. 30 to Jan 21, the Raps have since gone 8-2 including two big wins over the Clippers and Spurs most recently.

6. San Antonio Spurs (33-19, Previous: 9) – Congratulations to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on his 1,000th win. Truly one of the best coaches in the history of sports. He’ll need to really pull off something special this season.

7. Houston Rockets (35-16, Previous: 6) – With Dwight Howard on the shelf for the next 6-8 weeks, the Rockets are really going to have to dig deep until he comes back. That said, they’ve won plenty of games without him already.

8. Dallas Mavericks (35-19, Previous: 4) – The hits just keep on coming for the Mavs. Already down Rajon Rondo with a broken nose and left orbital bone fracture, Tyson Chandler and Monta Ellis left Monday’s loss against the Clippers with

9. Cleveland Cavaliers (32-21, Previous: 14) – After LeBron James’ return, the Cavaliers are clearly a much better team. That said, there’s still some drama, highlighted by Bron Bron’s “FIT OUT” sub-tweet directed at Kevin Love.

10. Phoenix Suns (29-24, Previous: 11) – With the injury bug hitting the Mavericks and Clippers, this is a golden chance for the Suns to creep their way up the standings. It won’t happen with buzzer-beater losses like the one to Sacramento on Sunday.

11. Washington Wizards (33-20, Previous: 7) – Trouble in our nation’s capital. The Wizards have dropped seven of their last 11 games. Recent wins over the Nets and Magic aren’t making us feel that much better about them.

12. Los Angeles Clippers (34-19, Previous: 8) – Ouch. Bad news for the Clippers with Blake Griffin missing at least a few weeks after surgery to remove a staph infection in his right elbow. They can’t afford to drop too many more games.

13. Chicago Bulls (32-20, Previous: 12) – Good luck trying to figure this team out. Just when you think they’re back (wins over the Mavs and Warriors) they flop again (losses to the Lakers, Suns, and Rockets in a row).

14. Oklahoma City Thunder (27-25, Previous: 13) – Tough break – literally – for OKC and Steven Adams, who broke a bone in his hand. He’s out at least three weeks, which means Kendrick Perkins is going to get some more burn, to the dismay of the entire fan base.

15. Milwaukee Bucks (29-23, Previous: 15) – The team nobody is talking about, because it’s in Milwaukee. But you really have to hand it to Jason Kidd, who has his Bucks 7-1 over the last eight games and looking at a postseason.

16. New Orleans Pelicans (27-25, Previous: 17) – The Pelicans dodged a bullet with Anthony Davis’ should injury not being anything more than a sprain. They clearly need him to go anywhere, as evidenced by their loss to the Jazz without him.

17. Charlotte Hornets (22-29, Previous: 19) – With the trade deadline coming up, the Bobcats can still improve and perhaps upset a team in the first round. If not, it looks like they took a step back this season.

18. Miami Heat (22-29, Previous: 16) – One of the worst offenses in the NBA is only harder to watch with Dwyane Wade out with a strained right hamstring.

19. Detroit Pistons (20-32, Previous: 18) – Greg Monroe’s numbers are up across the board since the Pistons dumped Josh Smith. He’s averaging over 16 points and 12 rebounds per game in 2015. Look for Monroe to seriously cash in as he hits free agency this offseason.

20. Brooklyn Nets (21-30, Previous: 22) – Will Kevin Garnett opt for a buyout, or go down with the sinking ship known as the Nets? KG has said to be loyal to a fault, and staying would fall under that category. Abandon ship!

21. Sacramento Kings (18-32, Previous: 23) – Led by DeMarcus Cousins with 8.7 free throw attempts, Rudy Gay (5.6) and Darren Collison (4.1), the Kings take (and make) the most free throws in the NBA, averaging just under 30 attempts per game.

22. Indiana Pacers (20-33, Previous: 21) – As bad as the Pacers are – and they are bad – you can still see them squeaking into the playoffs as the No. 7 or No. 8 seed. They’ll need to have a much better second half of the season, but a win Wednesday in New Orleans would give them four wins in their last five games heading into the break.

23. Boston Celtics (19-31, Previous: 25) – With the trade deadline fast approaching, look for the Celtics to make a couple more moves in order to acquire more . . . assets. That probably means Brandon Bass is gone – but we’ve been saying that for a bit.

24. Utah Jazz (19-32, Previous: 27) – Two straight wins for the Jazz, which has only happened three other times this year. If they win on Wednesday in Dallas (unlikely) it’ll be their first three-game win streak of the season. Sing it!

25. Denver Nuggets (19-33, Previous: 20) – It’s hard to find a team playing worse than the Denver Nuggets are right now. Just a couple years ago this was a fun team to watch. Time flies.

26. Orlando Magic (16-39, Previous: 24) – After 10 straight losses, the Magic had finally had enough with head coach Jacque Vaughn. He got the boot last week, but something tells us the problem is more than just the head coach.

27. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-41, Previous: 29) – The Timberwolves are 4-4 since Kevin Martin returned, which only means they’re going to get a slightly worse draft pick.

28. Philadelphia 76ers (12-41, Previous: 28) – They lead the league in turnovers with over 17.5 a game, and it’s no wonder when you look and see that over half their roster wouldn’t crack the rotation of most NBA teams.

29. Los Angeles Lakers (13-38, Previous: 26) – Well, Kobe is done for this season . . . which is music to Swaggy P’s ears! Speaking of music, we’re fine if Swaggy P’s girlfriend Iggy Azalea never wants to create any more of it.

30. New York Knicks (10-42, Previous: 30) – Well, Carmelo Anthony is back for now anyways. He’ll play in the All-Star game and hang around for a bit – but that left knee is going to eventually put him on the shelf for the rest of the season.