PBT’s NBA Power Rankings: Warriors on top, Sixers on bottom, confusing middle

By Kurt HelinDec 21, 2015, 2:15 PM EST

The top four slots in our weekly rankings not only remain the same and that group has separated themselves from the pack. In reality, the top three separated themselves, then there is OKC on kind of its own tier, then we get to the great middle where teams five through 14 feel almost interchangeable week to week. Meanwhile, the Sixers are back on the bottom, proving the win over the Lakers was a fluke.

1. Warriors (26-1, last week No. 1). Great stat via Tom Haberstroh of ESPN: In the last two seasons, the Warriors are 18-13 in games where they trailed by 15 points or more; the rest of NBA wins .210 percent of those games. Golden State keeps on rolling. Fun showdown with full-squad Cavaliers on Friday.

2. Spurs (23-5, LW 2). We’ve talked about the Spurs having clear-and-away the best defense in the NBA, but they are fifth in offensive rating — and doing it in an anti-Warriors way. They play big, slow, methodical, and while you have to watch LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard plenty of other guys can beat you on a given night. They have won five in a row, nine of 10, and are heading into the soft part of their schedule.

3. Cavaliers (18-7, LW 3). Kyrie Irving is back and played 17 minutes in his return, moving well but looking understandably rusty at times. With him the showdown against Golden State’s small ball is fascinating because Cleveland can counter with Irving, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson. Thank you Santa for that Christmas Day matchup.

4. Thunder (18-9 LW 4). They sit fourth because of the loss to Cleveland, which exposed their biggest flaw against the elite teams: After Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka there is nobody they can consistently trust. Real test Monday night against the Clippers.

5. Heat (16-10, LW 11). Miami’s top-five defense on the season has been pedestrian the past 10 games, 14th best in the NBA. They have been saved by an improving offense. They are feasting against the West (8-1) but that may change with a home-heavy, relatively soft schedule the next couple weeks where Miami should rack up wins.

6. Hornets (15-11, LW 5). They are up and down at times, but they have the fifth best net rating in the NBA over their last 10 games. Plus, watching Jeremy Lin drop 35 is fun. Nicolas Batum was only out for one game, he scored 14 in his return against the Wizards, showing how much their offense needs him.

7. Pacers (16-10, LW 10). They had quality wins against the Raptors and Mavericks last week, but it will be tougher test in the Spurs to open this week. The Pacers have been very strong at home (10-3) but have struggled much more on the road.

8. Clippers (16-12, LW 9). There are no must win games in December but the Clippers are looking at Monday against the Thunder as a real litmus test — Blake Griffin said the Clippers aren’t a team that is winning big games, Chris Paul says they are not a team others should fear. Five of their next six are road games, although one of those is against the Lakers Christmas night.

9. Hawks (17-12, LW 12). Quality wins against Boston and Orlando last week. In his edition of the PBT Podcast, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (their Celtics insider) said he thought the Hawks were one of the teams most likely to break out of the crowded middle pack in the East and grab the two seed (and/or make it to the conference Finals).

10. Pistons (16-12, LW 13). They should get bonus points for the 4-OT win over the Bulls, but that’s not the way the NBA works. Their struggling offense from earlier in the season is starting to find a groove, but will be tested this week against the Heat, Hawks, and Celtics.

11. Bulls (15-10, LW 7). Derrick Rose may still be the Bull best at creating his own shot, but late in games it seems to me the Bulls are better off running actions (read: plays) through Jimmy Butler than the Rose iso we see too much. Tough road back-to-back this week with the Thunder on Christmas Day followed by Dallas on Saturday.

12. Raptors (17-12, LW 6). They lost to the Pacers and Hornets, but found a win against the Heat in Miami last week. Their Top-10 offense has sputtered and is pedestrian of late (14th in NBA over last 10 games). Kyle Lowry struggled the last couple games and was ejected on Sunday, the Raptors need the MVP conversation Lowry of most of this season to stay up near the top of the East.

13. Mavericks (15-12, LW 14). They went 2-1 last week with wins against West foes Phoenix and Memphis, and you know things are going well when you get a quality, productive game out of JaVale McGee. Dallas is at Toronto and Brooklyn this week, but they have a winning record on the road.

14. Magic (15-12, LW 14). Monday’s game at Madison Square Garden the only road game for the Magic in a run of eight around the holidays. They are half a game out of a playoff spot in the East and it’s because of their sixth-ranked defense in the NBA over the last 10 games.

15. Celtics (14-13, LW 8). Losers of three in a row and it’s because of an offense that has slipped (20th in the NBA in their past 10 games). During the Celtics-focused PBT Podcast last week, A. Sherrod Blakely says Danny Ainge is certainly going big game hunting for the No. 1 option kind of player they lack, the question is who is out there to get (and no, DeMarcus Cousins is not an option).

16. Rockets (14-14, LW 16). They climbed up to .500 again thanks to a quality win over the Clippers Saturday, but can they sustain it this time (Hornets, Magic and Spurs on the docket this week). The Rockets need to go big with Clint Capela and Dwight Howard paired more often, as they did against the Clips.

17. Grizzlies (15-14, LW 17). The Grizzlies are just 2-3 since moving Zach Randolph and Tony Allen to the bench, but the problem has not been the starters so much as the bench. Marc Gasol has played his way into shape/gotten fully healthy and the Memphis starters are thriving.

18. Knicks (14-14, LW 21). The showdown last Monday with Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns was fascinating, with Towns winning the box score (25 points) but Kristaps Porzingis getting seven blocks and showing his potential. New York has won four in a row, in part behind the offense of Aaron Afflalo (21 points per game in those four). Can they keep it going on the road in Cleveland, Atlanta, and Boston this week?

19. Jazz (11-14, LW 18). How much does Utah miss Rudy Gobert? They are 3-8 since his injury and their defense is 29th in the NBA in the last 10 games. The big man is reportedly making progress, but Utah will be cautious bringing him back so it could be January.

20. Wizards (11-14, LW 19). They picked up a nice win over Charlotte, but Washington remains inconsistent and plagued by injuries (Otto Porter was the latest). The issue remains the defense, which is 26th in the NBA over their last 10 games.

21. Kings (11-16, LW 23). Don’t look now, but at the ugly back end of the Western Conference Sacramento is just one game out of the playoffs, having won four-of-five. They are 10-9 when DeMarcus Cousins plays, he’s the face of the franchise and it’s most popular player as they move into a new building next season, so explain to me again why you think they want to trade him?

22. Timberwolves (11-16,LW 24). Karl-Anthony Towns is the guy in front of the Rookie of the Year race as we come up on Christmas, he is putting up consistent numbers. Minnesota just isn’t putting up consistent wins and have some challenging games this week with Boston, San Antonio, and Indiana.

< 23. Suns (12-17, LW 20). They are up and down, with Markeiff Morris trade rumors continuing to swirl around the team and the league. Of course, if you’re going to trade him you need to show him off, so Morris has been playing quality rotation minutes and looked good against New Orleans (one of his rumored destinations).

24. Nuggets (11-16, LW 28). They made a nice little run when the schedule got soft, but reality set in with losses to the Jazz and Pelicans last week. This week they are on the road against the Suns, Spurs and Thunder — so much for the easy part of the schedule.

25. Trail Blazers (11-18, LW 22). They have started 0-3 on their five-game road trip, and now comes the news Damian Lillard is battling plantar fasciitis. Their offense is 12.5 points per 100 possessions worse without him and his shot creation, they can’t afford to be without him for any lengthy stretch. Not that they are tearing it up with him.

26. Bucks (11-18, LW 25). Jason Kidd is out for six weeks (give or take) with hip surgery, leaving Joe Prunty in the big chair as they head into a difficult part of the schedule (well, after the Sixers). To the Bucks’ credit they played Golden State well again, although this time in a loss, if only they could sustain that level of play against everyone.

27. Pelicans (8-19, LW 27). They picked up a couple or road wins last week, leading to the latest round of “have they finally turned the corner and gotten on track” questions. The offense has found a groove, but we’ll need to see more consistent defense before we buy in at PBT.

28. Nets (7-20, LW 26). They have lost five in a row and the defense is a mess, signaling the end to the little run of nearly .500 ball in Brooklyn. The defense badly misses Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and his athleticism.

29. Lakers (4-23, LW 30). Despite all the losing and bad basketball, the Lakers remain the biggest road draw in the NBA thanks to the Kobe Bryant farewell tour. Kobe knows this and doesn’t want to sit out like he did with a sore shoulder against OCK (who they face again on Wednesday). You can see Kobe on Christmas evening against the Clippers.

30. 76ers (1-28, LW 29). As our Dan Feldman noted, the Sixers are in danger of the slowest 30-game start in NBA history — every NBA team has won at least twice in the first 30. The Sixers have a net rating of -18.9 points per 100 possessions in their last 10 games, which is worse than the numbers during their 0-18 start. We’ll see what Mike D’Antoni brings to the table, but nobody is winning with this roster.

Miami thrives in adversity. How will Denver respond to adversity in Game 3?

By Kurt HelinJun 6, 2023, 6:48 PM EDT

MIAMI —We know how the Miami Heat handle adversity. Their ability to deal with it is why we’re still watching them play.

“We faced a lot of adversity during the season,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after his team evened the NBA Finals at 1-1. “We handled it the right way where you are not making excuses about it, the injuries, the changes lineups. Because of all that adversity and the 57 close games that happened, due to a lot of that, it hardened us. It steeled us and we developed some grit, which is what we all want.”

The question heading into Sunday is how will the Nuggets handle adversity? Denver was the No. 1 seed for most of the season, has been up in every series 2-0 entering Game 3, and only lost three games in the West playoffs. While Denver has faced challenges during the season it had a very different path to this point than Miami.

“What I know about our group is for years now we’ve handled adversity very well,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I have no doubt that tomorrow night will be a much more disciplined, urgent team for 48 minutes.”

“Discipline” was one of the buzzwords around the Nuggets on Tuesday, heading into Game 3. The Heat players sounded like themselves, focused but a little looser, a little more comfortable at home in a familiar environment.

“This is who we are,” Kevin Love said. “Obviously when it’s time to get down to business, our focus is all the way there during our prep, during our film session… But when we’re working we still like to have fun and keep it loose. It keeps us loose out there on the court starting the game and throughout 48 minutes. But it’s not without intention and the willingness to do whatever it takes.”

A change in tone was more evident among the Nuggets. To a man they talked about urgency, discipline and communication.

The Nuggets also had a straightforward, honest film session out of Game 2.

“I showed 17 clips this morning,” Malone said. “Every clip was a discipline clip, if you will, where our discipline, whether it was game plan, whether it was personnel, whether it was defending without fouling, whatever it may be, 17 clips added up to over 40 points in Game 2.

“That, to me, is staggering. What we can do better is just be a lot more disciplined in terms of the game plan, who I’m guarding. Most of that stems from communication.”

Actually, the Nuggets may need to watch their communication during the game.

“We probably could communicate a little bit better and also just be more aware of the actions they are running,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “But also they are playing off of our coverages, they are hearing what we are communicating to each other and they’re doing the opposite. If we say ‘switch,’ they are slipping out for open threes and if we don’t say ‘switch,’ they are actually going to set the screen.

“So they do a really good job of playing off of what our game plan is. So that’s what this film session was about this morning, fixing that. So hopefully they won’t get as many open shots.”

Malone called out his players after Game 2, although he was quick to say it was more them calling themselves out.

Denver has been challenged, by their coach and Miami. How will it respond to this adversity?

“Yeah, we’re probably going to see tomorrow, are we going to respond well or not,” Nikola Jokić said. “That’s the answer.”

Coach, front office updates from around NBA: Fizdale headed to Suns bench

By Kurt HelinJun 6, 2023, 10:48 AM EDT

Things continue to move and settle around the NBA as teams find coaches (well, except Toronto) and some front office personnel move around. Here is the latest around the league.

• Former Grizzlies and Knicks head coach David Fizdale, an associate general manager with the Jazz last season, is returning to the bench as an assistant on Frank Vogel’s staff in Phoenix, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Fizdale and Vogel are tight, remember Fizdale was in the bubble on Vogel’s staff when the Lakers won a ring. Give new owner Mat Ishbia credit for spending, he made Kevin Young the highest-paid assistant coach in the league to stay with the team and has now hired a former head coach to be a top assistant. That’s a lot of coaching firepower, now the Suns just need to fill out the roster with some firepower around Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

• If you want to become a general manager in the NBA, the best way is to be an assistant GM for Sam Presti in Oklahoma City. Apparently. Presti has had five different assistant GMs under him and now all five have gone on to be general managers elsewhere.

The latest is Will Dawkins, who will be the GM and No. 2 in the power structure in Washington under new team president (and former Clippers GM) Michael Winger, reports Josh Robbins and David Aldridge of The Athletic.

The Washington Wizards will hire OKC executive Will Dawkins as their No. 2 executive, a league source tells @davidlaldridgedc and me.

— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) June 5, 2023

Also in the front office in Washington is former Hawks GM Travis Schlenk. That’s a lot of brain power and good hires. The question remains how much freedom owner Ted Leonsis — a guy who demanded his team do whatever it took just to make the playoffs every year — will give Winger, Dawkins and company. The team has big decisions this summer with Kyle Kuzma as a free agent and Kristaps Porzingis expected to opt out.

• The Milwaukee Bucks finally made the hiring of Adrian Griffin as their head coach official.

“Adrian is a widely-respected coach and former player, who brings great leadership and experience to our team,” Bucks General Manager Jon Horst said in a statement. “His championship-level coaching pedigree, character, basketball acumen and ability to connect with and develop players make him the ideal choice to lead our team. He has earned this opportunity.”

Heat’s Tyler Herro officially out for Game 3, return this series unclear

By Kurt HelinJun 6, 2023, 9:37 AM EDT

MIAMI — Game 3 was the target for a Tyler Herro return to the Heat.

It is not happening. Herro is officially listed as out for Game 3 on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, coach Eric Spoelstra said Herro was day-to-day and “has not been cleared yet” to play, although he would go through a workout with contact before a decision was made. That decision was to sit him at least another game.

Herro has been wearing bucket hats on the sidelines since his devastating hand injury against the Bucks, but he’s been working out with the team and going through practices for more than a week preparing for his return. However, he may not make it back this series.

On Monday, both Ros Gold-Onwude — the former WNBA player turned quality analyst for ESPN — and veteran Heat beat reporter Ira Winderman cautioned against expecting a Herro return.

Reporting from #NBAFinals: I spoke with Tyler Herro ahead his Game 2 pregame routine and he told me he experiences both soreness and swelling in the right hand after shooting and he can feel the soreness when he’s making a “follow through” shooting motion. He also shared his…

— Ros Gold-Onwude (@ROSGO21) June 5, 2023

A party familiar with process had told me over weekend that Tyler was not playing in this series. But that was just one of many familiar with situation, not enough to make it anything definitive. Just pointing out such sentiment is out there from those familiar with the process. https://t.co/qvJzm1D08I

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 5, 2023

If there is pain and swelling, can the Heat put him out there? This is the Finals, but this is also a 23-year-old under a long contract, and if there is a heightened risk of further injury Miami may need to protect the player from himself.

If Herro returns later in the series, expect him to come off the bench in a very limited role. It’s a huge ask to take someone who has not played in an NBA game since basically tax day (April 16 was his last game) and throw him into the highest level of basketball anywhere in the world. Spoelstra may give him a four- or five-minute run just as a test (the ideal situation would be minutes at the end of a blowout game either way, but we may not get one of those this series).

On the surface, you can say Herro would be what the Heat need — a 20.1 point-a-game scorer this season with the best handles on the team, able to create his own shot or shoot over the top of the defense (37.8% from 3 this season). Dig a little deeper, however, and that fit is not as smooth in this series. On offense, he can be a ball-stopper at points against a Nuggets team the Heat want to keep in motion. The bigger concern is on defense, where he is a clear target (and because of that Spoelstra can’t play him with Duncan Robinson, even in the minutes Jokić sits). This might have been a tough series for a healthy Herro.

If he can play and come off the bench for short runs, he could boost the Heat offense this series.

Just don’t be so sure he’s ready to go.

Silver says NBA won’t mind if Wembanyama’s debut comes in Sacramento, not Las Vegas

Associated PressJun 6, 2023, 8:16 AM EDT

OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE/AFP via Getty Images

DENVER (AP) — Victor Wembanyama’s next couple of weeks are now set: He’ll be playing in the French league finals starting this weekend, and then the San Antonio Spurs will almost certainly make him the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft on June 22.

And if that means the French star’s summer league debut comes in Sacramento instead of Las Vegas in early July, the league is fine with that.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league doesn’t have a preference regarding the site of Wembanyama’s first game with the Spurs. While the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is the biggest – all 30 teams attend – and commands the most attention, there are smaller summer leagues that precede the Vegas event by a few days. Sacramento plays host to one of those events, and the Spurs are one of six teams headed there this year.

“All summer leagues are NBA Summer Leagues,” Silver told The Associated Press. “I’m very supportive of the Sacramento summer league. I remember when (Kings owner Vivek Ranadive) first came to the league and said this was something he wanted to do. I said, ‘As long as you have enough other teams who support it and players who want to play in it, it’s a good thing.’”

The Kings might be getting a lot more buzz than usual this summer. Not only are the Spurs headed there, but so is Charlotte – which holds the No. 2 pick. And it just so happens that the Spurs and Hornets will open Sacramento summer play against one another, potentially setting the stage for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup a few days before Vegas even starts.

If Wembanyama plays in Sacramento, he’d be the first No. 1 pick that didn’t debut in Las Vegas since Markelle Fultz for Philadelphia in 2017. The 76ers played in Utah’s summer league that year before going to Vegas.

Other recent No. 1 picks have opened in Las Vegas with big-crowd, big-spectacle atmospheres. Paolo Banchero’s debut in Vegas for Orlando last summer had John Wall and DeMar DeRozan sitting courtside, as was Jerry West – three guys who didn’t need to see the scalpers who were working outside the arena for hours before the game. Zion Williamson played only nine minutes in his debut in 2019, in a game that was stopped by an earthquake, and his debut got LeBron James and Anthony Davis to grab courtside seats.

The Spurs have not said whether Wembanyama will play in the Sacramento event, which starts on July 3, and almost certainly won’t address the topic until they actually draft him in a little over two weeks. Wembanyama is expected to be with the Spurs in Las Vegas as well; the league has already announced him as one of the participants for its inaugural NBA Con – which runs there from July 7-9 and will celebrate many aspects of basketball culture.

“What’s made the summer leagues so valuable are really the media rights more than the individuals who buy tickets there, because it’s a very affordable experience,” Silver said. “So, the answer is, I want Victor to get playing court experience and I think the team – assuming it’s San Antonio – should make decisions completely independent of any commercial implications from where he debuts.”

Wembanyama’s Boulogne-Levallois team beat his former team, ASVEL, 3-1 in a French league semifinal series that ended Sunday. Monaco, the top seed in the league, awaits Wembanyama’s team in the best-of-five final that starts Saturday and could go until June 20 – two days before the draft.

“So proud of my guys,” Wembanyama tweeted Sunday after the semifinal win. “Job ain’t done tho.”

Wembanyama said in October that he’s 7-foot-3; some still say he’s 7-foot-4 or 7-foot-5, and given that he’s only 19, it’s certainly possible that he had a bit of growing left in recent months. Either way, he’s a generational talent who’ll come into the NBA with enormous hype, the likes of which probably hasn’t been seen since James went No. 1 overall to Cleveland in 2003.

“What I try to advise players – and I’m not making a prediction that he will or won’t live up to the hype – is to control what you can control, and I think what you can control is doing the work,” Silver said. “If he is in San Antonio, it’s an organization that led the way in terms of international scouting and signing of international players. Certainly, everyone would acknowledge they know how to develop players and particularly big men. And so, if I were in his shoes, or if I’m advising him, I’m saying, ‘Quickly become part of that organization and be a sponge and listen to the advice.’”

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