NBA Top 15 Power Rankings: Week of February 15, 2021 (Volume 8) Rank Team Record LWR LW CS L10 Details: The Jazz are on quite roll and have won 19 of their last 20 games. Shooting guard Donovan Mitchell has expanded his game with better playmaking without sacrficing too much scoring, as he his still produces 24+ per night. As we approach the midway point of the seaosn I don't think it's too outlandish to have him in the MVP conversation. The Jazz have shooters throughout the roster and an defensive anchor in the middle with stalwart Rudy Gobert. It appears this team will continue to be elite throughout the season and should be taken seriously as true title contenders at this point. If people need more proof the Jazz host the Sixers tonight and 1 Jazz 22-5 1 3-0 W7 9-1 then visit the Clippers for a pair later this week. Will the dominant play continue? - HP The Lakers needed overtime in back-to-back wins over OKC and then found themsves down 20 in the first qtr against Memphis before rallying to win Friday night. Sunday night in Denver there would be no such comeback, as they were beaten soundly by the Nuggets. Postgame however the only thing that mattered was the health of Anthony Davis. He left the game in the 1st half and it was just announced minutes ago he has a calf strain and a re-aggravation of the right Achillies tendonosis. The Lakers will be extremey cautious with this so don't expect to see Davis until after the ASB at the earliest. Silver lining? This could help the King's 2 Lakers 21-7 2 3-1 L1 7-3 MVP candidacy should the Lakers keep winning in Davis' absence.- DG The Clippers had a light week in terms of challenges last week and took care of business easily. Still, not all is comfortable with LA's other team. Star swingman Paul George has missed six straight games and will miss Monday's contest with the Heat. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard is nursing naggng injuries, as is Patrick Beverley. It would be a shame if the Clippers aren't at full strength when Utah visits for two, then Brooklyn comes in over the weekend. One positive from George's abscence is that 6th-man Lou Williams 3 Clippers 20-8 4 3-0 W3 7-3 has found a resurgance after a poor start to the season. Williams is averageing 23.0 PPG and 6.0 APG with George out. - HP After a nice win Tuesday night in Sacramneto the Sixers have dropped 2 straight (@ Por, @ Phx). Shake Milton missed both of those games and won't be available tonight in Utah either as the Sixers conclude their trip. Furkan Korkmaz and rookie Tyrese Maxey have shot 7-26 in the last two as the philly bench has struggled in Milton's absence. The Sixers have also struggled from 4 Sixers 18-9 3 1-2 L2 6-4 beyond going 13-44 combined in the 2 losses. A 2-2 trip feels a lot better than 1-3 but it's a tall order tonight Salt Lake. -DG The Suns have won 9 of 10 including wins over Golden State, Dallas (2X), Boston, Milwaukee, and Philly. They are playing an efficent style and for the first time in a long time playing well on both ends. For anyone who thought PG Chris Paul was going to take multiple steps back -- Think again! With Paul running the offense the Suns get a good look just about every time down. Star Devin Boker has raised his game and averaging 32.3 on 56%+ shoting over his team's last four games. The Suns will look to complete the 5 Suns 17-9 8 4-0 W6 9-1 sweep of Eastern Conference heavyweights when Brooklyn comes calling Tuesday night. -HP While the rest of the East presumed top contenders have hit a rough patch, it was the Nets who looked the part Saturday night in an impressive wire-to-wire thumping of the Warriors in Kevin Durant's return to the Bay. Durant will miss at least the next two games with a hamstring strain as Brooklyn continues on their own West coast trip that includes stops in Sacramneto, Phoenix and then LA 6 Nets 16-12 6 2-1 W2 6-4 to battle both the Lakers and Clippers. -DG The Bucks had been winners of five straight, including three straight on their 6-game road trip, and a decisive win over Denver. So, the Bucks have finally righted the ship and will go on a stretch where they win 10 of 12 or even better, right? Nope. Well, not yet at least. Since that 5-game streak the Bucks dropped the final three games of that trip. Sure we can excuse tough losses to red-hot Phoenix and Utah, but another loss in OKC certainly has to leave a bad taste in their mouthes. Now, the Bucks come home for eight straight games beginning with a set against up-and-down Toronto. I'm sensing a decent run coming from this group in the next 7 Bucks 16-1 5 1-3 L3 5-5 week-and-a-half. However, one has to wonder, if it a dominant stretch doesn't come during this stretch, then will it come at all? -HP The shorthanded Blazers have won 7 of 10 and Damian Lillard has thrown his hat into the MVP ring. Lillard is 6th in PER and in his last 10 games is averaging 30 ppg on about 40% from 3. Portland has also been getting huge production from Gary Trent Jr and the 8 Trailblazers 16-10 14 4-0 W4 7-3 furure HOFer Carmelo Anthony. Melo is now 14th on the alltime scorig list and just 162 points behind Hakeem Olajuwon. -DG We keep waiting for the Nuggets to take-off and solidify themselves amongst the NBA elite. Well, maybe, the time is now. The Nuggets enter the week on a modent 3-game winning streak, but last night's 17-point win over the Lakers certainly caught out attntion. Nikola Jokic continues to play at a MVP-level and posted a triple-double in the game. The Nuggets head east for four games this week, but the slate appears manageable, and the hope here is that they establish the concistency needed to rise in the 9 Nuggets 15-11 9 3-1 W3 6-4 rankings. Stay tuned! -HP Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, Lonnie Walker... not exactly household names but then again this is the Spurs, and this how they like it. Sunday night in Charlotte leading scorer Demar Rozan shoots 3-8 and scores 8 points in 35 minutes so Murray and White combine for 51, Johnson gets 18, and 3 guys get doube figures off the bench. It's pretty incredible what they are doing. I'm not sure they can keep it up, but it's the Spurs so I certaily can't rule it out either. -DG Note: San Antonio's game tomorrow in Detroit has been postponed as a result of the league's Health and Safety protocol relating to 10 Spurs 16-11 11 3-1 W2 7-3 Covid-19. Don't shoot the messanger The Warrios have played 27 games and still don't possess anything more than a two-game winning or lossing streak. With hopes of garnering their first three-game winning streak of the year, they ran into a Brooklyn buzzsaw in a game played on the national stage Saturday night. A game earlier Steph Curry unleashed 40 points, while depositing ten threes in the game. Curry is averaging 37.6 PPG over his last 5 games and is surging towards a starting spot in this year's All-Star game. A pair of home games versus CLV & 11 Warrios 14-13 12 2-2 L1 5-5 MIA start-off the week before the team heads east for four games. -HP Indiana had been reeling but has managed to win two in a row and momentarily steadied the ship. In Saturday's win over the Hawks Doug McDermott led all scorers with 26. Myles Turner is avg 3.5 blocks a game and former Sixer TJ McConnell leads the team with 6.8 asst per game despite playing only 23 minutes a night. Still no definitive word on the status of Caris Levert following kidney 12 Pacers 14-13 13 2-1 W2 4-6 surgery about a month ago. -DG What is going on with the Celtics? Ok, a (2-3) west coast trip is more than reasonable. But after a feel-good win versus Toronto, they drop two to the likes of Detroit and Washington? A pair of Eastern Conference botton-feeders. Not good! Surely, the national media is in the midst of killing them, right? If shoddy play continues, will young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both get All- Star consideration? Or, does winning only matter for certain franchises? Anything else? Oh yea, how much longer does golden boy 13 Celtics 13-13 7 1-3 L2 3-7 Brad Stevens get a pass? Someone tap me on the shoulder when that begins. - HP Despite Sunday's setback against the Blazers the Mavericks are showing signs of life. Everyone knows of Luka's brilliance but Friday night in a win over the Peilcans Kristaps Porzingis dropped 36 on 8-13 from three.