Did the trade deadline change the balance of power? Not at the top of the NBC Sports NBA Power Rankings, but a few teams in the middle of the pack suddenly look more dangerous. This week, it’s all about All-Star Weekend.
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1. Oklahoma City Thunder (43-9, Last Week No. 1). It’s becoming difficult to put into words just how dominant the Thunder have been. They have won six in a row, but more than that, only one of their last 16 wins has been by single digits (and that was nine points over the Jazz). Two of the Thunder’s six straight victories have come with both Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in the lineup — that means no Jalen Williams center minutes (but you will get a few Jaylin Williams at center minutes). Holmgren had nine blocks in his first two games back with OKC.
2. Boston Celtics (38-16, LW 2). Remember the Celtics’ shooting slump that felt like a mid-season malaise in Boston? That’s over. The team has won 6-of-7 — including “we’re still the team to beat” wins over Cleveland and New York — and looks like itself again. Part of that is 3-point shooting — Boston is back to launching 44.3 3-point attempts a game and has hit 39.1% of them in their last 10 games. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will deservedly represent the Celtics in San Francisco for the All-Star Game.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (43-10, LW 3). Cleveland has a firm grip on the top seed in the East, having won 7-of-8 heading into the All-Star break — but the one loss was a concerning one to the Celtics. That matchup is where the addition of De’Andre Hunter will help, having his wing defense to throw at Tatum or Brown, but Boston presents real matchup challenges for Cleveland (and everyone). If the Cavaliers can hold on to the top seed and home-court advantage, it will give them a boost in a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup with Boston (and getting to that matchup would be an amazing season for the Cavaliers). Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley are all deservingly headed to San Francisco for All-Star weekend, including Garland, who is competing in Saturday’s 3-Point Contest (frankly, the best event of the weekend).
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4. Denver Nuggets (35-19, LW 7). Denver has won seven in a row and 15-of-19, and has done that despite injuries for part of that to Russell Westbrook and Peyton Watson (who is out for the rest of February). Nuggets management looked at that, their options on the trade market, and chose to stand pat and ride the roster they have — led by All-Star Nikola Jokic — into the playoffs. In a conference that is wide open after OKC, why can’t Jokic and Denver advance to at least the Western Conference Finals?
5. Memphis Grizzlies (36-17, LW 4). Watching All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. lead a swarming Grizzlies defense that stifled every Sun not named Durant on Tuesday, it was hard not to think “Memphis could be the team in the Western Conference Finals against OKC.” They look good enough. The one concern is how the Thunder won against Memphis on Saturday, with the Thunder grabbing 21 offensive rebounds, leading to 24 more shots by Oklahoma City, something coach Taylor Jenkins called “a big problem.”
6. New York Knicks (35-18, LW 5). New York clearly has a Boston problem. The Knicks are one of the best teams in the East (and the NBA overall), they have two All-Star starters in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and New York has an offense that can score with anybody. However, Boston is a matchup problem, and the way its offense intentionally attacks the best offensive players of the other team can wear guys down (Brunson and Towns had rough nights). There is no simple fix here, but this is shaping up to be a second-round of the playoffs problem.
PLAYOFFS OR BUST
7. Houston Rockets (33-20, LW 6). GM Raphael Stone was true to his word: Despite the pressure of being in the middle of a six-game losing streak, he didn’t make a desperate move at the trade deadline. Houston wants to see what this this roster, this core can do in the playoffs, then adjust from there. The All-Star break comes at a good time for the Rockets, as Fred VanVleet and Alperen Sengun are battling injuries, although Sengun is supposed to head off to San Francisco to deservedly compete in his first All-Star Game.
8. Los Angeles Lakers (32-19, LW 9). Luka Doncic looked like a guy who hadn’t played since Christmas, and Alex Len is a nice buyout pickup but isn’t the playoff center this team ultimately needs. Who cares – the vibes around this team are understandably high. It was easy to see the potential of this roster in Doncic’s debut — he, LeBron James and Austin Reaves give the Lakers real depth of playmaking and some high IQ guys. Every center on the roster, including Jaxson Hayes, is going to look good finishing lobs. Nobody will want to face this team in the playoffs. Doncic gets All-Star weekend off this season (because of his calf injury, which had voters looking elsewhere at the time), but LeBron heads to the All-Star Game to keep padding his records.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves (30-24, LW 12). Anthony Edwards has gone on a tear, not so coincidentally when Julius Randle went out injured and Chris Finch was forced to use Naz Reid in the starting five, who was always a better fit. In his last five games, Edwards is averaging 38.2 points a night, including hitting 46.7% on 3-pointers, plus grabbing 6.8 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists a game. The Timberwolves are in the clump of six teams sitting between the No. 6 seed (and avoiding the play-in) and the No. 11 seed (missing the postseason entirely) separated by just three games. The team needs wins, an the one we have seen the past couple of weeks looks more like one who can get those wins.
10. Indiana Pacers (29-23, LW 11). Indiana was one of the hottest teams in the NBA in January — and Pascal Siakam’s play during that run is a key reason he is headed to San Francisco as an All-Star — but the team has dropped 3-of-4 and cooled own a little with losses to the Lakers and Knicks. After the All-Star break the Pacers have 6-of-7 at home, a real chance to get things back on track and make sure they hold on to that top-four seed in the East (home court is going to matter if 4/5 ends up being against the Bucks, as things are currently shaping up).
11. Milwaukee Bucks (28-24, LW 8). Milwaukee is 3-7 in its last 10 games, fallen back to fifth in the East, and now is without Giannis Antetokounmpo at least through the end of the All-Star break due to a strained calf (he will miss the All-Star Game as well, which sucks as the leading fan vote-getter). The biggest problem in Milwaukee is the defense, which is 29th in the league over the last 10 — that has to turn around if the Bucks have any dream of making a postseason run.
12. Los Angeles Clippers (29-23, LW 10). On paper, the Clippers look like they should be getting better. Kawhi Leonard’s return gives them an elite scorer and defender to go with All-Star James Harden — although, for my money, Norman Powell should be representing the team in San Francisco — while the pickup of Bogdan Bogdanovic should provide needed outside shooting. Even adding Ben Simmons’ defense and ability to get into the paint with the second unit looks like a smart pickup. In reality, the Clippers have gone 3-4 in their last seven, looking pedestrian, and after the All-Star break have eight straight on the road (although two are against the Lakers). If this team is going to hang on to a top-six seed it needs wins and a lot of them.
13. Sacramento Kings (27-26, LW 13). Domantas Sabonis has every right to feel snubbed for not being an All-Star (although the veteran might be perfectly happy with the extra days off). It’s early (four games in), but the DeMar DeRozan/Zach LaVine pairing seems to bring a needed spark to the offense as the former Bulls teammates regain their chemistry. The Kings close out the pre-All-Star slate with two games in New Orleans — those are the kind of games Sacramento needs to win in a tight bottom half of the West.
14. Golden State Warriors (27-26, LW 17). Golden State is 2-0 in the Jimmy Butler era and, more importantly, the vibes around the team are hopeful again. That was lacking. So was the consistent intensity Butler brings. That said, it’s still all about Stephen Curry in the Bay Area, where he became only the fourth player to drop 30+ points in four consecutive games after the age of 40 (LeBron James, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan). Curry will be the hometown star and host for All-Star Weekend.
15. Dallas Mavericks (28-26, LW 14). It’s not just Dallas fans who are mad at GM Nico Harrison and ownership over the Luka Doncic trade, it appears to have angered the basketball gods as well. Anthony Davis is out for weeks with an adductor strain suffered in his Dallas debut, and Daniel Gafford (knee) is out for a couple of weeks, on top of Dereck Lively II, who has an ankle issue. With the Mavericks in a clump of teams fighting for a playoff/play-in spot in the West, they can’t afford a losing streak. The Mavericks front office seems a little taken aback by the angry fan reaction to the Doncic trade, but that would be a sign of living in a bubble because it was obvious that would happen after the trade.
16. Detroit Pistons (28-26, LW 16). Should J.B. Bickerstaff be the frontrunner for Coach of the Year? The smart money is still on Kenny Atkinson in Cleveland (a legitimate choice), but if the award is about which coach did the best job getting the most out of his roster, wouldn’t Bickerstaff having this Pistons team sitting as the No. 6 seed in the East qualify? It’s helped him that Cade Cunningham has stayed healthy, made a leap and is a deserving All-Star this season.
17. Phoenix Suns (26-27, LW 15). The trade deadline followed the pattern of this season in Phoenix — a genuine disappointment. Not only did the Suns not land Jimmy Butler or any star they were looking for (and they traded away their best future draft pick in the process), they seriously considered Kevin Durant trades, which now has KD looking around and the sides likely to part ways this summer. On the court things are not much better with the Suns having dropped 5-of-6, and the one win was in overtime against Utah and took a brilliant Grayson Allen shot to get to that extra time. And the Suns have the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA. All that for a team with two All-Stars in Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
18. Miami Heat (25-26, LW 18). Tyler Herro deserves to be headed to San Francisco as an All-Star, and he’s a key part of whatever the future is in Miami… but what is that future? Chase a Durant trade and try to retool fast and win now? That’s an offseason question, in the short term the Heat have Andrew Wiggins — in a brilliantly petty move, he is wearing Butler’s old number — and the Heat are banking that he can find his groove, fit with Herro and Bam Adebayo, and get this team back into the top six in the East (Detroit is now 1.5 games ahead of them for the No. 6 seed).
PLAY IN HOPEFULS
19. Atlanta Hawks (26-28, LW 21). Atlanta’s trade deadline moves were underrated. They sold high on De’Andre Hunter, but they needed to because Zaccharie Risacher is the future on the wing. Georges Niang is now a starter, Caris LeVert will be solid in Hunter’s bench role, and Terance Mann can be a second-unit glue guy. The Hawks have won 4-of-5 and have turned things around after an 8-game losing streak. Trae Young is headed to San Francisco as an All-Star reserve, one added to the roster by Adam Silver to replace Giannis Antetokounmpo.
20. Orlando Magic (26-29, LW 19). It’s a little concerning that this team is 3-7 since the return of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to the rotation, this does not look like the start of the season at all. Part of the problem is the elite defense this team was built around has been pedestrian of late (13th in the league over the last 10 games. The Magic are just 2.5 games out of the top six and have a soft schedule after the All-Star break, but none of that matters is they don’t regain their defensive form.
21. San Antonio Spurs (23-28, LW 20). While I love the De’Aaron Fox trade for the Spurs long-term, it has not made them better in the short-term and the chances of them making the play-in seem to be fading. The Spurs are 2-2 in the four games Fox has played, and while both losses were one-point games against Charlotte and Orlando, they are still losses and the Spurs are now 3 games behind the No. 10 seed (and improved) Warriors as well as Fox’s old team the Kings. That’s going to be tough ground to make up, especially with a schedule this week that includes Boston, Phoenix and Detroit (then a four-game road trip). On the bright side, it will be fun to see Victor Wembanyama in the All-Star Game.
22. Chicago Bulls (22-32, LW 23). With Zach LaVine out of the way, rookie Matas Buzelis has started to play more like a star in Chicago. In his last five games, Buzelis is averaging 15.6 points a night and shooting 50% from 3 — and he can dunk. Which everyone will see All-Star Saturday Night when Buzelis competes in the Dunk Contest.
23. Philadelphia 76ers (20-33, LW 22). Philly fans booed Joel Embiid when he passed up a 3-pointer to give the 76ers the lead, drove the lane and turned the ball over in the final seconds Tuesday vs. Toronto. Sure, Embiid was 1-of-5 from 3 in the game and has not been impressive from deep this season, but he has to take that shot. Has to. It’s moments like that that make you question if Philadelphia can even make the play-in in the East, and if so, what’s the point? Philly’s first-round pick is owed to Oklahoma City, top-six protected, and the Sixers have the seventh worst record in the league, but also a soft schedule after the break. It’s decision time in Philly.
CAPTURE THE (COOPER) FLAGG
24. Portland Trail Blazers (23-31, LW 24). Back-to-back losses to the Timberwolves and Nuggets cooled off the fever from winning 10-of-11 and getting fans dreaming of the play-in. It’s unfortunate news that Scoot Henderson is out with a sprained ankle after starting to find his groove in recent weeks, and now he is out for the Rising Stars game during All-Star Weekend as well.
25. Brooklyn Nets (19-34, LW 26). It’s a little surprising that Cameron Johnson is still a member of the Nets, but he’s so young and good there was no reason to drop the price on acquiring him. He can fit in with whatever the Nets are building. The Nets have won 5-of-6, have some talent on the roster with Johnson, D’Angelo Russell and others, and are just 2.5 games out of the final play-in spot. Never say never.
26. Toronto Raptors (17-37, LW 25). Masai Ujiri sure does love long wings who can score. The Raptors added another one, trading for Brandon Ingram at the deadline and then extending him at three years, $120 million (which seems higher than the market was for Ingram, but once Toronto traded for him, it had to lock him up). I’m skeptical of the fit of Ingram, Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett — that seems like a lot of midrange shooting and guys who will play next to each other, not with each other — but the Raptors are going to give it a shot because all those guys are locked up until 2027.
27. Utah Jazz (12-40, LW 27). It’s a little surprising John Collins is still in Utah after the trade deadline. Same with Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, to a lesser degree. The team couldn’t trade Lauri Markkanen at the deadline. The question is, how different are things this summer? Likely depends on how the lottery balls treat the Jazz.
28. Charlotte Hornets (13-38, LW 28). Here’s the little secret the Lakers appeared willing to look past: Charlotte has been 7.5 points per 100 possessions better on defense this season when Williams is off the court. Well, the Lakers looked past it until it came time for Williams’ physical, then the Lakers took a look at his medical situation and rescinded the trade. Charlotte is looking for a way to challenge that, not just because it’s awkward (and Dalton Knecht would be a better fit next to LaMelo Ball) but because what the Lakers did lowered Willaims’ trade value if Charlotte wants to trade him this summer.
29. New Orleans Pelicans (12-41, LW 29). If you’re looking for the silver lining in New Orleans — outside of having a high draft pick coming in — it is the play of Trey Murphy III in recent weeks. In his last five games, he is averaging 29.8 points a game, shooting 58.1% on 3-pointers, and just looks more comfortable with Brandon Ingram not in the mix (taking up spaces Murphy likes). That’s about it for bright spots, though. New Orleans has lost nine in a row, have the worst record in the Western Conference, and their fans should focus on watching Duke and Rutgers games to scout potential future Pelicans.
30. Washington Wizards (9-44, LW 30). Marcus Smart and Khris Middleton are not going to play a lot or help the Wizards win a lot of games, but they can be valuable mentors for guys like Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly. It’s all about the youth movement and lottery balls with the Wizards, but the veterans can play a role in that.
